Minglings - Book 3 chapter 29: Escalations

"Wu- what? Jake? Why are my legs stuck?"

Jake gritted his teeth as he kept flying forward at his top speed. The massive bat chasing him was still chasing him, and although the distance was growing, he had no idea how much stamina the other flier had.

"Those bats messed with your mind," he said. "I had to lock you in place so you wouldn't try to hurt me."

Calips muttered something before cursing, something Jake hadn't heard him do before.

"Can you release me now?"

Jake flexed a tiny bit of his energy, releasing the bonds around Calips's legs.

"Do you know what the thing is that's chasing us?"

"What? It's still-"

There was a moment of quiet as Calips turned around.

"Chirothel… What are those monsters doing here?" Calips shouted.

So he knows what they are, Jake thought.

"How do we get rid of it?"

"Normally, I would say, flee. Although they aren't as powerful as a dragon, they are able to manipulate someone's mind making it hard to fight them. You… you somehow managed to flee! It's the ice, right?"

"Yes. so, if we don't flee, you are implying I should fight it?"

"Well… if you can catch it," Calips said.

"Are you sure?"

"Only if you are sure you can stop it from affecting your mind?"

Jake frowned. Was he sure? It had felt easy enough, and at that time, there had been three. Then again, if they usually easily overpowered dragons, they might not have expected it either. After hesitating for a moment, he continued ahead.

"Let's not risk it," he said. "Can it follow us to Azurill?"

"No, these things are poor swimmers, and they can't breathe underwater," Calip said.

"Alright, let's head down and try to return to Azurill," Jake said as he looked down. "Ready to dive?"

"Ready!"

Jake folded his wings and plummeted down. A few feet above the water, he spread his wings to slow slightly before folding them again and plunging into the sea. He quickly looked around while stretching his senses, but there was nothing in the deep blue water around him.

"Let's go down," he said, surprised at the dullness of his voice after having been above water for such a long time. With a quick wave of his tail, he shot in a straight line down.

–

The massive bat hovered above the ocean, staring at the spot the dragon had left. It could vaguely sense it disappearing into the murky depths as the energy in the deep water interfered with its abilities.

It remained there for a while before turning and returning back to where it came.

–

Three weeks later, after a roundabout path where they had to dodge multiple groups of Hydraci and two large Hydra's, Jake and Calips watched Azurill appear far ahead.

"Something happened," Calips said.

Jake merely grunted in response as he looked at the dragons hovering around the barrier. They had already been spotted, and as he continued ahead, he was surprised to see a group of six dragons, each bigger than him, rush towards them.

"Stay where you are!"

The dull roar was accompanied by a bubbling pressure as the water surrounding him seemed to compress. Calips let out a strangled gasp, and Jake felt how the Kobold began sliding from his back. Jake frowned and pulled in a massive wave of water mana-lits. With a tiny flex, he took control of the water directly around him.

"Waterlock," Calips grunted as he scrambled back in his icy seat behind Jake.

"Stop resisting!" the largest of the dragons, a dark blue, teal-eyed one with long shimmering plumes that ran down his neck, roared. He stopped a short distance from Jake, glaring at him, while the others began circling around, above and below him.

"I am Balzirduran'calips together with the frost dragon Jake!" Calips shouted. "We are returning from a mission for Lady Talia!"

There was a stunned silence before the lead dragon sniffed. Jake saw his eyes glance over the ice on his back.

"I recognize you both… However, you need to come with us so we can make sure your minds are clean," he finally said. At the same time, Jake felt a larger push on the mana around him, this time from the sides. He gritted his teeth, and it took all his willpower to keep a tiny bubble of clear water around him and Calips.

Clear mind?

"We will come with you," he said. "There is no need-"

"Either you stop resisting, or I will have no other choice but to think you have been contaminated," the dragon growled.

Jake frowned as he felt the pressure increase minutely.

"Jake… I think we should just do as he says," Calips muttered.

Jake hesitated, his mind spreading through what he'd just heard. Finally, he frowned.

"I don't know what is going on, but if there's something wrong with the minds of some of the dragons, how am I supposed to trust that the six of you aren't contaminated," he said.

"You will just have to trust me," the lead dragon said as his own frown deepened.

Jake was about to say something when a loud scream tore through the silence of the water, and he looked up just in time to see a tiny spec shoot through the barrier around the city and rush up. Two dragons followed moments later, then followed by another four that were shouting something.

"What the…" he muttered.

More movement at the barrier closer to the city made him turn that way. As he did, he noticed that the lead dragon had held his position, but his eyes radiated worry.

A pale blue dragon, twice as long as Jake, moved towards them, accompanied by a nearly black dragon. Jake instantly recognized the black one as Zendrin, the odd black dragon that he and Emma had met at a restaurant. As it closed in, Jake realized it was now slightly smaller than he was, showing that he had grown more than he had thought.

"Well! If it isn't the ice dragon," Zendrin said, his voice cool and calculated. "Are you causing trouble?"

Jake frowned, not sure how to respond.

Zendrin looked at him for a few moments. Then he grinned and turned to the leader of the dragons that had stopped Jake before.

"You can leave. I don't sense anything from him, so he's clear. As is Calips."

The dark blue dragon nodded, glanced at Jake, then swam back to the city, quickly followed by the other five.

"We were wondering if you were ever coming back," Zendrin said. "Let's go. We need to talk with Lady Talia."

Jake followed him as he swam away. He had a bad feeling.

"What is going on? What did you mean by not sensing anything from me?"

"Lady Talia will tell you," Zendrin said as he glanced back, his eyes flickering silvery.

Jake didn't respond and quietly followed him. When they reached the barrier, they went through and into midair. Jake quickly spread his wings, following the other two as he scanned around. At first, the city seemed mostly the same, but then he noticed something. A group of four to six dragons was sitting on roofs and building edges, looking around.

With his worry growing, he continued looking around. Now knowing what to look for, he found more of the groups of dragons. Some sat on roofs, others along the side of the colorful reefstructures

Great… why do I have the feeling this is somehow related to those bats and the bloody ship pulling an iceberg away? he thought as he gritted his teeth. Would Emma be alright? He gazed at the towering school building, but besides a few groups of dragons atop it, looking around, he saw nothing different from before.

They flew towards Lady Talia's building, and upon arriving, Jake saw many more dragons, some staring at him while others were keeping a keen eye on the city.

Landing on a large balcony, Zendrin walked forward while the massive dragon that had been escorting him remained behind.

"Lady Talia told me to bring you to her as soon as you returned, but right now she is meeting someone else."

Jake nodded, then thought of something. "Did Eagin and the others return?"

Zendrin glanced over, his eyes narrowing. "They left before you?"

So. That's a no, Jake thought, turning his attention to the road ahead.

As he saw a group of kobolds with swords and deep-blue chest plates march passed, he couldn't resist. He pulled in ice energy to calm his agitation. As soon as he did, he felt better but also slightly detached- something he'd discovered during their trip back. It wasn't too bad and didn't seem to have any bad consequences. It just felt… odd.

They continued through the building until they reached a familiar door which he knew led to Lady Talia's personal chambers.

Zendrin stopped, and Jake copied him, looking slightly down toward the dragon.

"Wait until she calls you," Zendrin said, his eyes glittering before he turned and left.

"Something really bad is happening," Calips whispered as soon as they were alone in the hallway.

Jake lowered his head until it was at the same height.

"Do you have any ideas?"

Calips grimaced. "Dozens, but I think we should just wait and see what our lady has to say."

Jake nodded and sat down.

They didn't have to wait long, as a few minutes later, the massive doors swung open, and a teal, azure dragon stomped out. With an angry glare on his face, he nodded at them without seeming to see them.

"Jake, please come in!"

Lady Talia's voice echoed out, and Jake and Calips quickly walked through the doors.

The massive room was changed greatly, with odd wood-looking structures covered in canvas and maps standing around. Lady Talia was in her kobold form, sitting at a desk and leafing through a stack of papers.

Seeing how her hands moved, Jake felt a tiny tug of jealousy bubble up into his cool mind, and he sighed.

I'll get there eventually, he thought to himself.

"Jake, Calips. I'm incredibly glad that you made it back, though… without Eagin and the others. What happened?" Lady Talia asked as she looked up.

The thin, beautiful scales below her eyes were slightly darker, and her cheeks seemed hollowed out, giving her a gaunt and haunted look. Still, her eyes shone with the same calm energy as always.

"They should have returned by now," Jake said. "They headed back a week before we did."

Lady Talia looked at him, then nodded and rose from her seat.

"I think you should just tell me what happened," she said as he moved to the far side of the large room. As she did, her body warped and grew until she was in her dragon shape. A tiny, happy sigh came as she lay down on one of the enormous couch-like areas.

Jake sat opposite her, while Calips looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Calips, you may pull up a chair," Lady Talia said softly. "Forgive me, but the last weeks have tired me immensely. This makes it easier."

So, changing to a kobold isn't completely the same, Jake thought calmly, stowing the information away for when it would become relevant.

"If you would be so kind?" Lady Talia asked him.

Jake nodded and, in a calm, methodical way, told everything that had happened since they had left. Lady Talia remained quiet, only showing a tiny reaction when he mentioned the dragon eggs. At that point, her eyes snapped to the ice still covering his back.

When he spoke about the ship, she didn't react, but when he explained how he had stopped the odd control he'd felt over his mind with his ice, her eyes widened minutely. Finally, he told her about the nearly uneventful trip back, and she nodded before turning to Calips.

"Calips, do you have anything to add?" she asked.

"No. I can only say that Jake managed to learn a few of the basic water magics during the trip back. Although his control has increased tremendously, he still uses needless amounts of force. You asked me for my final conclusion, and based on-"

Jake blinked as a long string of words he'd never heard in that order began spewing from Calips' mouth. He hadn't expected Calips to talk about this, though he wasn't surprised that Lady Talia had asked Calips for information on his progress. Looking up, he saw Lady Talia stifle a yawn while her eyes flick across the maps on one of the wooden constructions.

I wonder how they even got this much wood down here, Jake thought as he dropped his icy calm and let his mind wander around.

He had no idea how long it lasted, but at some point, he realized it was quiet. Looking up, he saw Calips staring at Lady Talia with a proud smile. She was blinking, looked at Jake, then back at Calips, and nodded.

"You did great, Calips. I'll be expecting your two reports tomorrow! Now, if you don't mind, I'll need to speak with Jake for a short while."

Calips nodded and jumped up from his chair, seeming very energetic. "I'll make sure to add some of the things I just mentioned!" he stated before turning and nearly running out.

Jake watched him leave, then turned to Lady Talia and smiled.

"So… is it odd if I didn't get any of that?"

Lady Talia shook her head, stifling another yawn before she spoke.

"Not at all. For all Calips strengths, brevity is not one."

Jake nodded, then he cocked his head. "So, why two reports?"

"One is short and meant for me to hand out to others," she said mockingly. "The other is a full-length, book-sized thing I use for reference… sometimes."

Jake nodded, and the slight humor faded.

"So. Could you tell me what has been going on?"

"Of course, although I'm afraid I know less than I wish," Lady Talia said. "Also… please keep everything I tell you to yourself."

Jake nodded, pulling in ice mana-lits from his back to calm his mind.

"Nearly two weeks ago, we were alerted that some confidential information had somehow found its way into the hands of the Hounda empire. As there were only a few people privy to this, we managed to pinpoint the only potential leaks, and… to my horror, I found that it was someone I would have never suspected. At first, we thought they had betrayed us, but it quickly became evident more was wrong. This personal friend of mine wasn't as he had been- his mind was… corrupted, and we soon found that he had been that way for a fairly long time."

Jake quietly listened to Lady Talia explain, and as she continued, his frown deepened.

"Having found one, we set out to see if there were more leaks, and that's when the first probing attack on my person came."

Jake sat up straight. "An assassination?"

"You could call it that," Lady Talia said sadly. "It was again from a person close to me. Soon we found that there were many people affected, and we've been trying to purge them ever since. Sadly, we have only a few with the ability to detect them."

"Zendrin," Jake said.

"Yes, and some others," Lady Talia agreed. "Over the last few weeks, a few more attempts have been made on my life, as well as… an attempted abduction."

Jake saw how she was observing him, and somehow he immediately knew that it had been to someone related to him.

Emma.

If he hadn't had his ice mana-lit calming him, he probably would have exploded with worry. As it was, he merely drew a sharp breath.

"They failed, you said?"

"Luckily," Lady Talia said. "You don't need to worry, she is being guarded by one of my most powerful personal guards."

Jake nodded, but in reality, he wanted to go and see Emma.

"The same information has been coming from the other cities in the kingdom. Sadly, not all attempts were thwarted, and a few people important to me did not make it out," Lady Talia said as she leaned back and looked at him. A cool twinkling was in the back of her eye.

Jake was quiet as he let everything he'd found out so far pass through his mind when he noticed something. When he'd spoken about what had happened, Lady Talia hadn't looked at all surprised when he mentioned the ships.

"Did you already know those ships were out there?" he asked.

"Not when you left, but we've heard about them over the last few weeks," she said. "Hounda ships have been seen moving all across the waters above our territory."

"Are they trying to start a war?" Jake asked.

"And that is the question," Lady Talia said, her eyes narrowing. "We don't know. There are rumors that something has been going on in Hounda over the last few months, as well as with the Goblinoid tribes. The problem is, we have nothing more than rumors."

"Can't you capture some of those ships and interrogate them?" Jake asked.

"We have, but they know nothing or are extremely adept at keeping it to themselves," Lady Talia said.

"What about those assassins and abductors?"

"The assassins… those with their minds changed- they knew nothing. It was as if a part of them had been wiped away. Perhaps if we had a true mind reader of old, we could find out more, but none of those have been seen in as long as we have seen an ice dragon."

Jake blinked as his mind returned to the island with the others. Couldn't one of those turn into a mind reader? But that meant they probably needed to become a dragon, and how would he even know where they would have awoken?

"Which gets us to the following," Lady Talia continued. "We don't know why they are dragging the iceberg away, we don't know why they are here, and we don't know what is going on in Hounda."

Jake raised a scaly eyebrow. "I hope you aren't suggesting I go there to find out?"

"No, no. What I would like you to do is find out why they would be interested in that iceberg. Is it something that could be inside? Is it the iceberg itself? The water?"

Jake frowned as he stared at her. "Why me? I am not good at subterfuge."

Lady Talia sighed. "Because we know of another iceberg, and we want you to go and investigate it. It is still far away and won't reach these areas at any time."

"Why didn't you tell me this before? And again. Why me?" Jake asked.

To his surprise, Lady Talia didn't seem at all bothered by his constant questions.

"Why you? Because the iceberg is in an area far too cold for us to remain for extended periods. And why didn't we tell you before? Because I didn't want you to go there. It is far away, likely going to take you a month to reach it, and by all accounts highly dangerous."

Jake frowned, slightly surprised at how honest she told him that.

"And what changed?" he asked, pretty sure he knew the answer.

Lady Talia sighed. "The information the Hounda empire gained was about your existence."

Jake looked at the ground. He'd been afraid she'd say that, but between that and Emma's attempted abduction, it was the conclusion he'd made.

"You think it's safer for me not to be here," he said. And you think it's safer for Azuril if I'm not here, he added to himself.

Lady Talia merely nodded.

"We will take great care of Emma! Nothing will befall her, but I think this is likely the safest."

Jake was quiet for a moment before he rose.

"I'll need to think about it for a bit, and I'd like to see Emma before I decide," he said.

"Of course," Lady Talia said as she got up. "She is at the school. I'll have someone escort you there. Please think about it, and I hope to hear your answer tomorrow."

"I'll try. And thank you for keeping Emma safe," Jake said as he walked out.

Zendrin was waiting for him beyond the door.

"Let's go," the nearly black dragon said as he turned.

Yeah, let's go, Jake thought as he followed the other.