Jake floated high above the sea, expertly using the air currents to waste as little energy as he could.

A soft tap on the left side of his neck made him bank left. It took him a moment to find what Melissa had seen. Far below him swam a group of tightly knit shapes. They were moving towards one of the giant sea turtles. Below them was the reef that seemed both smaller and less intimidating now that Jake saw it again.

Only eight or nine... we should be fine even if they attack. He folded his wings and grinned in anticipation.

"No. Noooo!" Melissa screeched, hugging his neck so tight it almost hurt.

Ten meters above the water, Jake realized he was going too fast. He unfurled his wings, flapping to slow down. A second later, they slammed into the water with such force that the water splashed meters high into the air.

The water surged around them, and Jake welcomed the familiar surge of energy. An abundance of energy particles gravitated towards him.

Not too far away, A group of eight Hydracii stared at him with wide-open eyes. The turtle they were hunting, forgotten as it fled in a straight line away from Jake.

"Oops, I guess we ruined their hunt." Jake grinned and swam towards the Hydraci.

When they saw him move over, the Hydraci raised their harpoons and spears and spread out. Jake just snorted and stopped when he was eight meters away from them. Right, let's try plan A first.

"Do you understand me?" he asked in the harsh Dragon tongue.

The Hydraci glared at him but seemed confused. Many were staring hungrily at Melissa, one going as far as to lick his thin, scaly lips.

Jake frowned. Why would someone need to wet their lips underwater?

A heavily scarred individual who grasped his spear with a three-fingered hand stepped forward.

"What want filthy one?"

Filthy one? That's a bit harsh. Jake's frown deepened, but he would continue for now. He didn't want to use plan B unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Do you know the islands surrounding us?"

The Hydraci burst out in hissing laughter before snarling. "You stupid?" Speared pointing his way, they swam a little closer.

Jake cursed. This wasn't going as he had planned. Bolyr had warned him the Hydraci hated Kobold, but he had expected them to at least listen.

"There are filthy Goblins on one of the islands, breeding like crazy." He tried again.

The Hydraci just snorted, and Jake felt his fury bubble up. His instincts telling him to attack them and rip them limb wasn't helping either.

"We have heard they have something precious in their village."

The Hydracii stopped and began whispering amongst themselves in a throaty, frog like language.

"One of them just swam away behind you, trying to be stealthy," Melissa whispered from his back.

"Keep an eye out. If more come, they could overrun us."

The Hydraci had quieted down, and the leader stared at Melissa for a moment. "Goblins have nothing we want!" he spat as he scowled at Jake.

"A mana-well."

For a moment, the slow and steady pull of the sea was all that moved. Then the stunned silence was broken by excited shouts and screams.

The leader turned around, roaring at the others until they were silent.

"You lie! If they did, you would never tell us!"

Jake shook his head. "We will not stay here. Soon we will leave. But when we do, we don't want those soft skins to have the mana well! Although there is hate between us, at least we have something in common. Goblins are far vile, repulsive creatures!"

Melissa fidgeted and tapped him on his shoulder. "There's a whole swarm of them coming this way! We need to leave!"

Turning around, Jake saw she was right. A cloud of small specs, hundreds if not more, was rushing towards them. The sound of them swimming was like a tree rustling in the wind.

With a flap of his tail, Jake sped upwards. He tried a final time, roaring so loud the incoming Hydracii should hear it too. "Don't let those loathsome Goblins swarm these islands! With the mana-well, they are unstoppable and will kill you!"

He broke through the surface of the water, shooting up and quickly unfolded his wings. With quick flaps, he gained altitude, water streaming down, and clattering on the sea surface.

"Loathsome? Seriously? You sound like my grandfather!" Melissa giggled behind him.

"Do you think they will believe me?"

Melissa's tone became flat. "I don't want to hurt your feelings, but... no. And even if they do, I don't believe they will attack the Goblins."

Jake sighed inwardly. He had feared as much, but it was worth a shot. "So that leaves us with plan B."

Melissa hit him on his back and cursed. "I don't like it."

"Neither do I," Jake responded while flying towards the small smudge in the distance.

--

It was dark, but the little moonlight filtering through the canopy was enough for Jake to see Tergin as if it was the middle of the day. But it wouldn’t be daytime for another hour or two, giving him plenty of time for his plan.

"You're sure you won't get caught?"

They were sitting high up in a tree, staring at the swamp. High pitched screams and clacking came from the jungle behind, a notable difference with the silent and dank swamp.

"Jake, I will be fine. But you should reconsider."

Tergin seemed almost fuming, something Jake hadn't seen him do before. He vehemently pointed at the swamp, his finger shaking.

"That Noshrile in there is hundreds of years old. Even if it is stupid and can't fly, it is fast and lethal."

"I know. Don't worry so much! You sound like my mother." Tergin's face fell, and Jake continued in a less ridiculing tone. "I managed to get away when I was half this big and fast. I will be fine!"

Tergin glowered at him, before shaking his head. "I don't see why you can't just give the Antracii the mana-well. That's a far safer option!"

Jake cringed when he heard the native Kobold repeat the exact words Melissa spoke an hour ago.

"If we do that, we don't just give them the mana-well. It means the Antraci will have to live here, with us. And I don't trust them enough for that!"

Seeing Tergin look at the ground, he cursed the other's prickly personality. Since when was he this hard to talk to?

"Not yet, anyway! If we can free those captured Kobolds, I expect those will join us. Then we can talk with the Antracii but from a position of equals."

As he spoke, Jake realized he sounded a lot like his estranged father. A successful lawyer, Jake had heard him discuss things with his mother many times when he was younger. Never thought any of that rubbed off, he thought grimly.

"You think too badly about the Antracii. I know what happened before, but that was just a few of u- them..." Tergin sighed, still looking at the ground, and Jake wondered when the rugged native had changed into a petulant child.

He knew that talking to them triggered something in Tergin and Bolyr, something ingrained in them that caused them to act out of character. But this?

"Listen. I won't continue if that Noshrile gets too close. I'll just fly up and out of his reach, and we can try something else. Alright?"

Tergin shook his head and began climbing down. "I'll head to the edge of the Goblin camp. Next to the swamp."

When he disappeared, Jake sighed. As soon as the Goblins were taken care of, he was going to head out and search for Mason. This whole, leader-of-a-tribe thing sucked. Pushing his annoyances to the back of his mind, he jumped into the air. Wings spread, he glided to the middle of the swamp, his full attention on the murky surface.

Almost at the point where he had seen the Noshrile the first time, he saw a few three-eyed crocks, lurking between some driftwood. Not crocks, Noshrile, he corrected himself. He focused on the water-energy, drawing it towards him and using it as fuel for what he wanted.

The water below him began churning as he forced it to move as he wanted it. Driftwood and plant debris began moving, slowly increasing speed until a whirlpool formed. Slowly first, a roaring sound echoed from the tree-line as it increased in power. White foam appeared on the water, while the Noshrile tried to swim away.

This should get your attention! He barely finished the thought when he sensed movement below the water. An enormous thing moved up from one of the deep fissures of the bog, and Jake banked, turning back to the jungle edge.

A massive disturbance in the water dispersed the large whirlpool as if it was nothing, and Jake felt his connection to the water severed.

"Here we go!" he roared, increasing his speed. From behind him came a sound like a waterfall as the Noshrile surged up out of the bog. It roared, drowning out all other sounds. Jake felt the soundwave push him forward. Taking a quick look behind, he realized the thing was even bigger than he remembered.

The enormous crocodile closed its mouth, but the animal sounds from the jungle had fallen silent. With a massive wave of its tail, it surged after Jake's flying shape.

Jake had expected he would have to slow down so the thing could keep up, but as he raced across the bog, he knew he was wrong. The Noshrile was gaining on him rapidly, and Jake increased his speed until he was going as fast as he had ever flown, shooting towards the distant part of the bog.

He had timed himself and knew it took him ten minutes to get from this part of the bog to the small Goblin cabin at the other side. He had thought that was fine, but as he heard the growls and snarls get closer, he was starting to doubt his plan.

When he finally saw the cabin, he felt the proverbial hot breath on his back. It seemed so close, but would he make it? A slight movement close to the cabin told him the others were ready. He needed to do this! He focused on the water, and a massive wall rose behind him. The Noshrile crashed through, barely slowing, but Jake created another and another.

It was barely enough, and he shot passed the cabin like a blur. The Noshrile followed him, crashing out the bog and spraying water and mud across the cabin. Out of the water, Jake saw it had three pairs of legs and barely slowed on dry land.

At the end of the chopped down path through the jungle, small pricks of light flickered, and Jake snarled.

Let's see how you like being hunted!