"And good riddance," Jake said, seeing the Horned King consumed by the cauldron. Always the same smug arrogance, and always the same screaming disbelief. Bad guys just don't ever learn. He turned to look at the rest, trying to see if anyone was wounded or killed in the fight.

He was pleasantly surprised when Gurgi was revived; the mutt was annoying at times, but it took a lot of heart to sacrifice oneself for others. He pulled out some jerky from his backpack, gave them to the dog, and rubbed his hair.

"That was brave of you there, buddy. Just make sure not to make it a habit; you nearly gave us a heart attack back there!"

He took Taran aside for a bit after his kiss with the Princess.

"Say, kid?" he whispered to the boy. "That was some sword-swinging there... could use a little improvement, though. Try to follow through on a slash by using the momentum to guide you into the next hit, just maintain your footing and don't just spin like a top, know what I mean? Oh, and try and be a gentleman; ladies love the knight in shining armor bit, so be nice to the Princess and you might keep her heart. Good luck, champ."

He gave a shooting motion with his hand, winking with approval to Taran before turning to Thomas.

"Thanks for the covering my back, buddy," he said, reaching out for a handshake as he put away his axe. "Guess we better go find Reno now. I think the Horned King mentioned something about a portal?"

He looked around to see if there was a portal, or some clue as to where Reno had disappeared.