On the far side of the lake is a river that goes deeper into the island, but I can't see where it goes. The odd thing is that from here I can see the cliffs on the far side of the island. The cliffs form a rough circle and it makes me wonder if this is in fact a caldera.

If it is then it is definitely a super volcano because the far side looks to be a hundred miles or more away. The only reason I can see that far is because the middle of the island is the lowest point. So there is nothing in the way and my eyes are superior to a human's.

Everything between the cliffs is all covered by green, it is all jungle as far as I can tell. For now I start looking around for a good campsite, something for a few days at least. This place has a feeling of life to it so I expect there will be beasts here, so I want somewhere hidden.

The three of us split up to speed up our search of the surrounding area. While following a small stream I find that it originates inside a cave so I check it out. The cave isn't very wide, but it is deep and should make a nice secure place to make camp.

So I head outside and try to roar to summon Brightfire and Nala, but it doesn't quite work. While I am able to roar, it goes back and forth from high to low in a very embarrassing fashion. It makes me feel like I am back to being a teenager and my voice is breaking.

However, it still works to summon both Brightfire and Nala, so I lead them into the cave. We set up camp around the spring that is the source of the stream and have dinner. The spring water is much tastier than the water from the everful waterskin.

It is also decently mana rich, so once dinner is done I take the waterskin out of the pouch. Then I examine the enchantments on it to see if it is something I can modify. All I really want to do is replace the water inside with the spring water while keeping it everfull.

The problem is that the enchantment isn't strong enough to create anything but normal water. Another problem, the existing enchantment is the maximum amount that the waterskin can handle. Meaning that any attempt to improve the enchantments would probably result in an explosion.

Normally I would give it a shot anyway, but after recent events I feel like being more cautious. Besides, while I can improve enchantments, improving the waterskin isn't something I can do. However, maybe I can do something else, like make a different container and copy the everfull enchantment.

The waterskin is made of leather which is why it is so limited on what it can hold. Metal can hold a lot more mana, the purer the metal the more it can hold. So, if I make something out of decently pure metal I should be able to do what I want.

However, if I am going that far, why settle for normal spring water, I should use the sacred spring. However, that would probably take making an artifact to work, I shouldn't be too greedy. It would be better not to go overboard and just make something to use with the spring.

The problem is, I currently don't have any metal to work with, I haven't come across any in a long time. What I did have was almost all given to the smiths in Illium, except for a little Armatite. I was keeping it for when I reforged Blitz, but that isn't going to happen now.

Come to think of it, I didn't even think to look for the pieces of Blitz when I was in the volcano. Armatite shouldn't be able to be destroyed that easily, I really should try to reclaim it. Although, even if I forge another sword, there is no way I am putting a piece of my soul in it this time!

Especially after what Krenocia said, if I mess with my soul at all I will probably just die. Besides, the fire sword I picked up is decent enough, I don't really need to forge a new sword. Then again, unless I shapeshift, I can't even wield a sword, my new body doesn't have hands.

So, I should probably work on developing a new fighting style that fits my new body. Or I could just fight as a mage, with my current mana pool it wouldn't be hard. I have a ton of options currently, but I won't decide until I am done growing.

After all, for I know, by the time I am done growing I might be as big as a drake. If that is the case then it would be kind of silly not to use my physical abilities. However, if I stay on the smaller side then being a mage will make more sense.

Personally, if I had the choice, I would choose to stay on the smaller side. Being as big as a drake, while fun, would also have some big drawbacks. Of course, most of those I could cover by using shapeshift, but it wouldn't be as fun.

Anyway, I will just have to wait and see what happens in the future, for now it is time to sleep. Tomorrow we will begin the exploration of the island and see if there is anything interesting here. I have a feeling that we are going to find something, this island is really unusual.

In the morning, after breakfast, we head out and I lead the way past the lake. Then we follow the river deeper into the jungle, but we don't make it far. Movement in the jungle makes me stop and wait to see what it is, then my eyes go wide.

A group of triceratops slowly moves out of the jungle to take a drink from the river. They look exactly like they did in the movies, but I turn my attention to the surrounding jungle. If this is a dino island then I am far more worried about there being raptors here.

The triceratops barely even glance at us, we are too small to register as a threat to them. Once I am sure there are no raptors hidden nearby I move closer for a better look. I always loved dinos and now that I am this close to real ones I feel like I am a kid again.

Of course, I have already fought against several things that were close to being dinos. However, these are closer to the real thing, or at least how they were depicted in movies. There is something that bothers me though, if this is a "Lost World" I would expect the plants to be stranger.

The jungle around us doesn't look any different than what was on the other islands. At least as far as I can see anyway, I am not an expert by a long shot. We stay put and watch the triceratops until they finish drinking and move away.

Brightfire says "Just what were those things? It is a good thing they aren't hostile! Did you see those horns?"

Unable to answer her questions as I am, I quickly shift into an elven warrior. Then I explain what dinosaurs are and the many types I can remember. After that I describe the carnivores and what to watch out for if we run into them.

Brightfire says "Is it really worth exploring this island? What are we going to gain here?"