En Route to Trout's Landing.

Sam drummed his fingers nervously against the wheel as they drove steadily up the road. He kept glancing at the rearview mirrors, just waiting to see flashing lights speeding after them or some dark SUV to be lurking just around every bend in the road. The fact that he hadn't seen anything yet did little to quell his nerves and instead made him more on edge.

Just what the hell was he thinking, he thought as they rumbled along without incident. Blowing past a federal blockade like he was some kind of bootlegger. Then he cast a glance through the mirror at Sammy who stared out at the moving scenery. Oh hell, he knew why he risked prison or worse doing this. He wasn't the only one that missed Jeb something fierce. Sure he and Sammy had their spats, but they were kin through thick and thin.

She didn't say anything, but he was sure that Jeb leaving without saying anything to her stung deep. Especially since her mom left the same way. Sam sighed at the thought of Sammy's mom. After his messy "relationship" with that thing on the mountain, he wanted someone normal afterwards to hopefully act as a better role model to Jeb and Sammy both.

Instead he found some bottle-blond airhead with more hair and tits than brains or personality. But after 'her' she seemed like a saint in comparison. He should've expected better, but he was so strung up on a better future for his family that he looked past the vapid woman and tried to find someone that simply wasn't there to begin with.

He wanted to say he was surprised when after Sammy was born that she hopped on a bus for California in order to pursue a career as a movie star. Last he heard she was going to an audition for something called Acting Sofa or something like that, but he never heard from her after that nor did he really want to. He had to take care of two kids now on his own and didn't want to waste time or effort tracking down someone that simply didn't want to be there.

So no, Sam wasn't surprised when Sammy was hellbent on going and seeing Jeb. He would bet money that their little spats would pale in comparison to what she was going to say to him. But that was how siblings worked it seemed. Or at least how they worked at least, Sam thought.

After not seeing anything for a few minutes he moved the mirror and peeked at the ever nervous Greg. Poor boy looked like he was fixing to faint any second now. He still wasn't sure how him and Sammy became a thing. Poor boy could barely string a single sentence together on the best of days. He'd also bet money it was Sammy who was the instigator of the two. Though he couldn't possibly understand what it was she saw in the poor lanky boy.

He adjusted the mirror back to its position looking out for any tails or pursuers before glancing at the halfling woman that hummed nervously beside him as she held onto a warm cast-iron pot of stew like her life depended on it. He weren't no fool. He knew that she wasn't human. He knew that those bearded folk at the railyard wasn't either. He knew that those lizardfolk with Jeb weren't "friends from out of town". At least not the way he made it sound that is.

Seemed Somewhere was just getting weirder and weirder everyday now, Sam thought as he glanced in the mirror at the other two cars. Clive and Mortimer and their own plus ones, or three if he counted Morty's bodyguards and his little green maid, or whatever she actually was.

What a motley group they had, Sam thought as they crossed the bridge over the Greenbriar and gave some old man a wave and a smile as they did. If his memory was correct, the turning point up to the lodge shouldn't be much further. Which just made him more nervous and paranoid as he kept glancing at the mirrors.

He also half expected those helicopters to come flying overhead above the trees. The fact that nothing has happened or appeared made the hair on his arms stand on end. Like he was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. There wasn't a chance in hell that it was this east, he thought as he slowed down to a snail pace as they neared the road that split between going further north and towards Pennsylvania and north west up towards the lodge that Jeb was supposed to be staying in.

He took one more glance at the mirrors and even peaked his head out the window and looked around. Sure that at any moment that there was going to be a swarm of feds and cops jumping out of every bush and rock. He still didn't breath easy as no such thing happened. He still didn't as Morty honked to hurry them along, much to his continued annoyance at his presence. Sam grumbled as Sammy leaned out and flipped Morty the bird as he touched the gas and pulled to the left, and started heading up towards the lodge.

Or he would if a bullet didn't ricochet off the roof of his truck! Sam slammed on the breaks and cursed as he and the others both fell flat as they could as bullets continued to ping against the roof of his truck!

"Shit! Keep down!" Sam cried out as gunshots continued from the tree line and pinged off the top of his truck.

Then he did something he shouldn't have done a second time. He threw his arm out the window and called out.

"JEB! IT'S YOUR PA!"

Unlike last time though, the shots ceased not long after the declaration. With no sign that the shots would continue, Sam put his head out of the truck and prayed he wasn't about to meet his maker.

"JEB?! IT'S US! I'VE GOT SAMMY AND GREG HERE WITH ME AND CLIVE TOO!"

He didn't hear or see anything for a long minute. He really hoped Clive was right and this was Jeb and his lizardfolk or things were either going to get really dangerous or really awkward. However, after another minute of nothing, one of the lizardfolk descended down the path and made its way towards them while still clutching a Remington rifle with an ease that comes from much practice.

One of its curved ram horns was broken while the other was adorned with strings of beads and colorful bird feathers that reminded Sam of those tropical parrots you see in pet stores. Its scales were bright, almost tomato, red. The lizardfolk made its way over to Sam's truck and peered up at him with amber colored eyes silently.

It then stood on its claws and peered into the back of the truck. Earning a startled yelp and bout of stuttering from Greg, and an eye roll from Sammy. It then glanced at the frightened form of Millie in the passenger's seat and narrowed its reptilian eyes before speaking.

"Who's that?"

"Millie. She's with me." Sam declared firmly.

The lizardfolk hissed and flicked its tongue.

"Fine. But she better not start any trouble."

Sam didn't even respond as the lizardfolk left their truck and made its way up the convoy and no doubt did the same check up as it did with them. From his mirror he could see it giving a brief glance at Clive before once again standing on its claws and peering into the car. Much the same then occurred. It hissed and flicked its tongue before heading down to Morty.

The response wasn't quite as 'friendly' it seemed. The two sisters that were with him glared and made to impede or even attack the lizardfolk when a barrage of bullets rang out and forced the two to take what little cover they had within the Cadi convertible.

"WILL YOU STOP THAT!!! HAVEN'T WE MOVED PAST THIS ALREADY?!" Morty shouted out as the lizardfolk neared the Cadi. With his window down Sam could hear what they were saying.

"Most of those here can pass without issue." The lizardfolk said.

"But you shoot me?!" Morty yelled.

"No. We shot AT you. If we truly wanted you dead you wouldn't see us when it happened." The lizardfolk clarified/threatened.

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"Tell that to my car! YOU'RE PAYING FOR THIS JEB!!!" Morty cried out and gestured to his bullet riddled Cadi.

"You're still alive aren't you?" The lizardfolk asked rhetorically before leaving Morty to bitch and moan while the lizardfolk waved the small convoy up the road while it looked about the road in search of any more visitors.

Sam and the others inched forwards up the road as the lizardfolk scrambled up the back and into the bed of his truck and accompanied them up. Sam didn't see any other lizardfolk within the trees. Which was unnerving considering their brighter scales should've made them pretty easy to spot.

If the other lizardfolk were following them he couldn't see. They certainly made no effort in coming out from their hiding spots, Sam thought as he adjusted the mirror and looked at the lizardfolk in the back of the truck. From closer up he could see that its scales were actually a little darker than last time he saw them. Maybe some sort of camo, Sam thought as he continued up.

The air soon grew dense with a thick haze as they neared the lodge itself. It got so bad that Sam had to all but stop as he couldn't tell what was road and what was tree until he almost ran right into one! The others behind him weren't much better and seemed practically attached to his rear bumper in an effort to stay close.

"Just what the hell are you up to Jeb?" Sam muttered as road turned to gravel and he pulled off to the side at the prompting of the lizardfolk in the truck.

This was his que to park then, Sam thought as the lizardfolk jumped out and it and a couple others guided Clive and Morty where to park as well. Once they were all stopped and parked, Sam took a deep breath of the weirdly familiar sweet smelling haze as he tried to calm his nerves, the others weren't much better and none really made an effort to leave their vehicles. The lizardfolk didn't seem too concerned either and merely stood guard nearby as the lead lizardfolk departed into the sweet haze.

"Well. We didn't come here just to sit in the parkin' lot." Sam finally declared and got out and glanced around at the lodge. Or what he could see that is.

He could just see past the a few feet. But past that was just more and more haze. The only thing he could spot were flickers of blue and red among the haze. The red were probably the lizardfolk he decided. But the way the blue moved made his skin crawl. Something unnatural, Sam thought and rubbed his arms.

"Oh Jeb." Sam muttered as he feared what he might find of his son in this haze.

The others, perhaps emboldened by him, or curious themselves, also exited their vehicles and joined him in staring at the strange colors flickering in the dark. He heard Clive's halfling date mutter something about witchfire as she glanced warily at the blue flickering lights within the haze and made to grab something at her hips and cursed when her hands landed on nothing but air and clothes.

"Jeb?!" Sam decided to call out hesitantly. Unsure what would emerge from the haze, either his son, or something else.

He heard coughing and saw a figure begin to emerge. He tensed and stiffened as he waited for what was to come. Only to breath a sigh of relief when Jeb appeared and waved his hand about as he tried to clear the air of the haze. He glanced up and seemed surprised to see them all.

"Pa?"

"Jesus Christ, Jeb! Are you makin' moonshine again?!" Sam pivoted, less worried after seeing his boy in a very much human form, though he was looking a little scraggly and his face appeared somewhat gaunt and there was something in his aquamarine eyes that was different. But it was still his boy he was looking at.

Jeb seemed to stiffen and shuffle nervously at being put on the spot all of a sudden.

"No?"

"Then why does it smell like burnt sugar?" Sam pressed as he moved towards his son.

"I don't know?" Jeb muttered guiltily as Sam neared him.

Jeb let out a grunt as Sam wrapped him in a hug and seemed to squeeze the air from his lungs. The tension in the air seemed to flee away at the sight of familial affection and the others began to shuffle away from their awkward standing spots.

"What the hell are you all doin' here?" Jeb asked as Sam finally let him go and he could get a breath again.

"What do you mean what are we doin' here? We're here for Thanksgivin'!" Sam declared and gestured to the pots and buckets and other containers with them.

"Why?" Jeb asked simply.

"Jesus, you're thick sometimes." Sammy muttered and brushed past Jeb.

"What did I do?!" Jeb yelled as the others moved past him and into the lodge as the haze began to finally clear away from a breeze, leaving Sam and Jeb alone.

"You really didn't think we'd just let you spend it alone did you?" Sam asked.

"Well, didn't really expect ya'll to just up and come out here either." Jeb replied.

"Because you didn't tell us where you were goin'?" Sam said accusingly.

Jeb glanced at the still bandaged wound on his pa's face and winced.

"Figured I'd done enough already."

"Oh hush! This was my own damn fault! What happens when you go to a warzone."

"Wasn't exactly planned." Jeb muttered under his breath.

"Don't matter! I made the choice to go up there and check on my boy and got this for my trouble." Sam declared.

"I'm-"

"If your about to say sorry, don't bother. Like I said. It was my choice, and my consequences. That's what bein' a man is all about didn't I tell you when your Harry Potter book smashed that window at the trainyard?"

"God, that seems so long ago now." Jeb stated.

Sam sighed.

"It does doesn't it?"

"Look at us now." Jeb said with a pained grin.

Sam smacked Jeb upside the head.

"Hey, don't be like that you hear! There're plenty to be gloomy about. But we're all alive, well, and with kin. That's what matters. Besides, Thanksgivin' is about eatin' and being happy."

"Pretty sure you're only happy because you stuff your face with turkey and gravy." Jeb said.

"But you ain't sad, and that's the point. Now how about we move on from talkin' about serious stuff for the moment and get things set up. And where the hell did this haze come from exactly?" Sam asked.

"Uhm..."

-----

Fifteen Minutes Ago.

"What are you doing, Master Jeb?" The Chief asked as he watched Jeb playing with an assortment of pots, tubes, and ingredients.

"Well, since I figured we're just jumpin' feet first into all this eldritch stuff we may as well have a lil bit of fun while doin' it. Not like I can stop ya'll." Jeb said as he gestured to the various blue flames that the kobolds were using to heat themselves up before getting back to work.

It was like night and day, Jeb had thought the day after. The kobolds REALLY didn't do well in the cold and it showed now that they got a core full of balefire. Before they were moving at a pace you'd expect from coldblooded reptiles in the cold. Now they were running around like it was midsummer!

Progress on the kobold burrows was now going at a breakneck pace as the kobolds were no longer concerned about keeping warm. All they had to do was take a little dip in some of the blue flame and turned a formerly day's worth of work into an hour's!

Jeb still didn't like the idea of them playing with literal fire. Especially this kind. But the Trap Master was right. They were treasured. But they weren't treasures. They were folk just like anyone. Even his fears and concerns about them changing didn't hold much weight when it was pointed out that they were changing just from his mere presence.

So when he stopped and really thought about it. There wasn't much he could actually do about it at this point. The line in the sand had already been crossed before he even thought to make one. Then there was all the food he could just conjure up from thin air. Who knows where, or how, it actually came into being. For all he knew they could've been eating pure eldritch corruption.

At this point he may as well have some fun with it because there wasn't much else to do but worry about something that was already happening. Which led him to do a little experiment of his own. Eldritch Moonshine!

Name pending, Jeb thought as he looked over the assortment of weirdly colored and equally flavored produce he had conjured up. Most of it was conjured, some was gathered from nearby, the rest required him to get a little creative. Like molasses. He couldn't just make the stuff out of thin air. Yet. So he had to get smart about it.

Thus, his idea of using eldritch conjured candy and rendering it down into syrup. Then he had some black corn. Not burnt. Black. Like the kernels were pitch black and it tasted like corn flavored dirt, or dirt flavored corn, he couldn't decide. He was getting better about the flavors at least. The snozzberries still didn't taste like snozzberries though. But everything else tasted at least partially like what it was supposed to taste like. Even if the color was still... off.

Except the apples. He's kinda grown fond of the bitter blues as he was calling them and didn't really make any effort in trying to change them. Bitterblue, Jeb thought. Not a half bad name for a apple liquor.

Another day, he thought as he stared off into space, leaving the Chief to stand there and look at him patiently.

"SO! I decided that I could try a lil hobby of mine and my kin's. Brewin' hootch."

"Hootch?" The Chief asked as a few other curious kobolds meandered in.

"Moonshine. White Lightnin'. Mountain Dew. Firewater. Rotgut if you don't really care about quality. Same thing. Distilled alchy." Jeb explained as he grabbed some pots and other stuff and gestured for the others to do the same.

Then he lead them out into the main area of the lodge and over to a balefire pit that had some rocks and left over lumber to keep the improvised still off the fire.

"So. The goal is to distill this into somethin' that'll knock you on your ass."

"Why?"

"Because it's fun. And you can make money off it if your careful. Though we don't really need money anymore now that I think about it." Jeb said as he really couldn't think of what he would need money for. They had fresh water, food, heating. Other than maybe electricity there wasn't much else. Cell service hasn't exactly been good lately. Not like it was good before either. Internet? Meh. Satellite TV perhaps. But that was about it.

But bullets for the kobolds would have to come from somewhere. He doubt they'll be so lucky to find what they'll need to make their own bullets. Tools they could maybe make if they find some iron. If not then he'll have to think of a way to get them something more in their size. But a problem for another day, Jeb thought as he began setting up the still with a crowd of kobolds gathering to watch what he was doing.

"So it's like alchemy?" The Chief asked.

"You could say that. And I guess we are makin' some kind of potion. Liquid Courage is what they call it."

"Oh! How exciting!" The Chief exclaimed and made to help wherever he was needed, as did the other kobolds.

He should be concerned about the possibility of this still going up in smoke and flames. But he knew what he was doing and so he didn't really worry about the kobolds as long as he kept an eye on what they and the still was doing.

What was the worst that could happen, Jeb thought as he began the distilling process.

-----

Now.

"Chem trails?" Jeb said uncertainly.

Sam sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Just tell me somethin' didn't blow up."

"Nothin' blew up." Jeb said with far more confidence.

Sam cocked a brow.

"What? Nothin' blew up!"

"Then what happened?"

"Nothin'! I thought you said not to dwell on serious stuff! Where's the turkey anyway?" Jeb pivoted from the conversation.

"Couldn't get one in town. Figured we might be able to find one out here. Or fish up a fishy turkey." Sam said and pointed to the nearby river.

Though he turned his head to the side when he saw the kobolds fishing up fish that weren't at all what he was familiar with. Jeb coughed to get his attention back on him.

"Can't have a Thanksgivin' without turkey! Fish is good as a side meat but you can't have it as the center piece!"

So Jeb led Sam pointedly away from the river and the strange transformed fauna within and towards the main admin building that the others made their way to and began setting stuff up. Jeb hadn't heard anything from the Trap Master about seeing any turkeys in the area. But he was sure there had to be some nearby. Unless Anna and her spiders snagged them all, Jeb thought.

Jeb bit back a groan as he suddenly realized this was going to be about the weirdest damn Thanksgiving they've all ever had.