Minglings - Book 3 chapter 30: Dementia or legend

Jake didn't move as Emma remained nearly plastered against him. As her neck wrapped around his, and she shuddered, he was again reminded of how much he had grown. She had been smaller than him before, but now the size difference was more apparent. Tir was nestled in the crook of his neck, purring almost like a cat. Just seeing her made him feel slightly guilty. He'd completely forgotten about her until he just saw her again.

"I thought something horrible had happened," Emma whispered again. "Nobody came back, and then the attacks began, and I had to remain in school-"

Jake sighed as he listened to her continue, and slowly, a realization began to kick in. If he did leave, she might never forgive him if he left her here. And worse, how sure was he that she was actually safer here?

He continued muttering calming words until Emma finally moved away. Her eyes were glazed from tears that she wiped a few times, causing glistening wetness on her scaled cheeks.

"Why do you have all that ice on your back?" she asked, wiping her face a few more times.

"It's to hold the eggs," Jake said, glad to have something to distract her with.

"Eggs?" Emma shouted, moving to his side and nearly crawling on top of his back.

"Wait, wait," he said as he laughed. "I'll show you!"

Emma moved back reluctantly, and he pulled in ice mana-lits, taking control of the ice and slowly extending a tendril to show her the eggs. Tir looked up, letting out a soft croon.

"They are so small…" Emma muttered. "What kind of baby is inside?"

Jake blinked at that, then grimaced. "There's no baby in it. These are dragon eggs-"

"Really!? But they said that was impossible!" Emma shouted as she moved closer to nearly pressing her nose against the ice.

"It seems eggs are nearly impossible, but not completely," Jake said with a smile. "However, none will ever hatch. They are infertile… Do you know what that means?"

"Of course I do," Emma snapped. "I'm not a kid anymore!"

Jake grinned. "Definitely not!"

Emma looked at him for a while as if trying to find out if he was being sarcastic. Finally, she looked back at the eggs, frowning.

"So there's no baby dragons inside?"

"No, sorry. They are probably a bit like chicken eggs- you remember those?"

Emma frowned, cocking her head slightly, and Jake barely managed to hold back a grimace.

How much did she forget when she blended with the other mind? he thought.

He quickly pulled back the eggs, causing Emma to follow them with an odd longing.

"Anyway, how has your school been going? Did you learn any magic?" Jake asked.

Emma let out an exasperated groan. "They say I'm too young, and because of my high potential, they are afraid I might destroy something! All I've been able to do is some simple things-"

As she spoke, Jake saw some water appear in tiny drops above her hand. They combined in a marble the size of a fingernail, and Emma glared at it.

"I can make it better when I'm in the sea, but I'm not allowed to practice there. It's sooooo annoying!"

Jake nodded as agreeably as he could.

"So, can you tell me a bit about what happened? When they attacked you?"

Emma's shoulders slumped, and she curled up on the ground, putting her blue-scaled head on her back.

"There was only one, and he was in my class," she muttered. "I think you might have seen him when you first came to see me there."

Jake tried to recall, but he only recalled some general things.

"He was bigger than me, and… well, he was insane, you know?" she looked up, confused. "He was talking in a language I couldn't understand, all -*$@#!$- she made some sounds that sounded part cough and part choking."

Jake frowned. "Talia didn't talk about that. Do they know what language it was?"

Emma nodded. "It's from Hounda. Sadly, I couldn't remember what he said to mimic it enough for someone to understand."

It was quiet, and then Emma sighed.

"He attacked me in the hallway, and if I hadn't seen something in his eyes… well, it reminded me of those Goblins, remember? They had this crazy look in their eyes. He had that- but worse. So I jumped aside and…" she hesitated.

"Emma, whatever happened, it's not your fault," Jake said. "If someone attacks you, no matter what, you should always protect yourself."

Emma nodded as she looked at her claws. "They're really sharp," she whispered. “Went through his throat… so much blood…”

Jake saw her shudder, and he was about to move closer to hug her when she shook herself and stood up. "They found two more in my class and another five in the school. Do you think there are more?"

Jake frowned as he pulled in more mana-lits, freezing his mind into a perfect state of calm.

That's odd. Five in the school, but two in her class?

Did that mean they were there for her? It made sense. As many people as had likely come here, there were those that had managed to reach Azurill. As he thought that, he sat down.

Wait. Is that why? he thought with a frown.

With so many people, probably millions, having come to this world, thousands- no tens of thousands- had likely picked Kobold. There should have at least been a few that made it here. Unless someone was actively preventing them from coming.

To prevent them from finding Lauruna?

It made sense. If someone was doing something containing information was-

"Jake?! Are you alright?"

Jake blinked and looked up to see Emma stare at him worriedly.

"Yes, I'm fine, little one," he said without thinking.

"I'm not little!" Emma muttered. "So…"

Emma focused on her as she lowered her head.

"What is it?"

"Are you going to leave again?"

Jake stared at her, then sighed as he saw the weary resignation on her face.

"Probably, but not just yet," he said. "Talia is afraid that if I stay here, more attacks will happen."

Emma nodded as she stared at the ground. "Where are you going to go?"

Jake looked at her, then at Tir, and didn't answer as his mind began racing.

If they are preventing others from coming here, it might not be a targeted attack. Or at least not one at me and Emma, but just in general at everyone that comes here.

"I'm not sure yet," he said. "But I need to think for a while, alright?"

Emma nodded, then looked at the bed. "It's not very big, but you can use my slab!"

Slab… Jake thought as he wondered if she still knew what a bed was.

He hesitated, then decided to accept just to make sure she didn't think he was going to sneak out. Which he wasn't. Because as he lay down on the barely large enough slab, noticing a happy smile on Emma's face, a plan began forming. And it didn't involve staying here or leaving Emma here.

Nor Tir, he thought as he nuzzled his tiny sibling. As he did, he absently noticed a few of the pale-white mana-lits drift towards her. He was about to focus on his plan when he saw Tir raise her nose and sniff at them, then they whisked into her. A tiny flicker appeared in her eyes, then she yawned and curled up on his back.

Did she just absorb ice mana?

–

"Do you think he will go?" Gaugurim asked his head on the wet rock beside the deep lake.

The others were nearby, watching Talia as she paced along the edges.

"Yes, I think he will," she said before turning to him. "But is it really wise? He is the only one-"

"We don't know that," Ga'lurinder snapped, taking a deep breath as a few of the others sent him disapproving glances. "We thought we were ready and well hidden, but it has been proven we were wrong. We need time. Time to weed out the rot in our ranks and time to find out how they got there! If he stays here, that will cause-"

"And we don't know that either," Libuxeria interrupted him, her voice weary. Then she sighed. "But I fear I agree with you this time. We are caught unaware and need time. Any risk is too great."

Lady Talia sighed, shaking her head.

"Did you offer to keep and protect the young one?" Libuxeria asked, an apologetic smile on her scaled face.

"Yes, but he didn't really react," Lady Talia said. "I'm not sure, but…"

"You fear he will bring her along?" Gaugurim asked.

Ga'lurinder muttered something that everyone ignored.

"It's possible," Lamia said.

"Which means that any reason for him to return or have good feelings will leave with her," Libuxeria said.

Everyone was quiet, and finally Ga'lurinder snorted.

"Why are you acting as if losing one young dragon is such a loss? Yes, he is of a type we have not seen in ages, and yes, he is from another world. But, so what? From what he told us, there should be many more around. We could simply locate that island and help them out a bit and get much better results!"

The others looked at him, and slowly, his scarred visage turned ugly. With a snort, he sank away in the water, disappearing into its depths.

"He isn't wrong," Gaugurim said. "We should try to find that island, as difficult as it might prove to be."

There was a moment of quiet hesitation, then Talia shook her head. Although she always came to get advice from her predecessors, in the end, she was the one to decide. And she felt she didn't fully agree.

"No. I'm going to try and somehow connect him to us," she said. "I don't yet know how, but-"

"Tell him we know where his friend is."

Talia blinked as she looked at Aegeana, her ancient, weathered face raised and her eyes showing a sharp glimmer.

She snapped out of it, Talia thought as she focused on the eldest of the old city leaders.

"But we don't know where he is…?" she asked.

"No, but he doesn't know that. Besides, we can make a reasonable educated guess, can't we?" Aegeana said. "Any awoken fire drake will be drawn to a place of heat. So, volcanoes or deserts or the like. From where we have estimated Jake's island should roughly be, that doesn't actually leave that many options."

"Eldest, I don't see what you mean," Libuxeria said, saving Lamia from asking the same thing. "There are upwards of a thousand islands in that region."

"Yes, yes," Aegean said, her head rising while her eyes flickered. "But any beast with enough draconic blood and a fire heritage would need more than just fire. They need food, so any island too small for that can be ruled out. If he had awoken on something without food, he'd be dead now. Besides… Jake and Emma, and all those others that descend from Lauruna, were brought to an island so close to us that it can't be a mere coincidence. Besides Jake's friend, from what I've heard, nearly all of the others had water or plant affinity."

It was quiet, and then Libuxeria asked the question that Lamia had been pondering.

"How does that help us?" she asked quietly. "If you suggest that Jake's friend was spawned near some ancient fire dragon, none of those survived."

Aegean didn't say anything, but a thin smile came on her face.

"Right?" Libuxeria asked with a frown.

"Long ago, when I was still a young Kobold, one of the ancient dragons of the time told me legends about his youth. One of them dealt with a dragon of fire of the time before the first scourge came. For some ancient crime, he was locked away inside an ancient volcano."

Libuxeria nearly raised herself out of her water, her confused enthusiasm making her look far younger than Talia had seen her.

"Eldest, why have I never heard of this? Do you remember more of the legend?"

Aegean blinked, her head cocking. "I am sure I told you about this… yes, yes… back when…"

Her voice trailed off while her eyes dulled.

"Aegean, where is the volcano in the legend?" Gaugurim asked, his voice carrying a sudden deep allure that made Lamia look over in surprise. The old dragon's eyes were glittering, and his eyes were locked onto Aegean's.

"What?"

"Where is the volcano with the long lost fire dragon of old?" Gaugurim asked, his voice now a deep rumbling humm.

"Ah, yes- far north of the Hound's eye," Aegean said, her voice rising in pitch. "Somewhere in one of the thousands of volcanoes that border the coast!"

Gaugurim coughed, and he lay down, the sparkle in his eyes gone, as was his imposing presence. Immediately, Aegean blinked, her eyes going dull as she sank back down, finally disappearing into the water with a confused look.

"How can this be?" Libuxeria asked, turning to the Gaugurim. "I've never heard of this!"

"Although I am nearly as old as her, I wasn't here when the one she speaks of still lived. Aegean always loved history, but before most of you came, she had already forgotten more things than I know," Gaugurim said, sighing sadly.

Lady Talia held back a sad sigh as she turned to Libuxeria.

"What do you think?"

"Tell him we have a possible lead to where his friend might be and that we will start investigating. Then we should send a small force to see if we can get any information on that location," Libuxeria said immediately. "If Jake asks what the lead is, tell him what we just heard, with the addition that the location can be in any of several spots, and we will send out people to find out which it is."

Lady Talia nodded. The response was nearly identical to what she had thought of. A quick look at Gaugurim showed he was yawning and leaning his head on the rocks.

"Then I'll get everything arranged," she said as she turned.

"Don't forget to look into that legend," Libuxeria's voice drifted after her.

–

Jake followed Emma around the school as she showed him locations she liked to hang out at. He wasn't surprised to find that the classes had been stopped, and the enormous school was mostly empty.

As they moved around, he kept a close eye on Tir, who kept absorbing the ice-lits that closed in on her. There wasn't any obvious thing it seemed to do to her, but deciding it couldn't get much worse than it was now, he kept pulling a steady stream of ice-mana lits to her. She didn't consume a lot, so even the reasonably small amount he had infused in the ice on his back seemed plenty.

They flew through the largest hallways and, late in the morning, headed to the school mess. It was still open, as many of the younger dragons and teachers only ever ate there, and it was odd to see the suddenly busy room.

Emma seemed zoned out as they waited for their meal, and Jake wondered if he should tell her what he'd planned. Eventually, he couldn't think of a reason not to and drew her attention with a small cough.

"Listen, I'll be heading out to another iceberg soon," he said.

Emma's face fell, the scales all across paling slightly.

"Do you want to come with me?" Jake quickly continued.

Emma's jaw fell down, revealing her rows of sharp teeth, and then she jumped up, nodding.

"Yes, yes, yes!" she shouted, drawing some attention from the surrounding dragons.

Jake ignored them, staring at her seriously. "You do realize it could be very dangerous-"

"I don't care," Emma said as she interrupted him. "It's dangerous here, too, and I don't want to stay here alone!"

"You are hardly alone," Jake said as he raised an eyebrow.

Emma snorted. "You know what I mean!"

Jake grinned and nodded. "Yes, I do."

Emma instantly began asking a barrage of questions about what she should expect, and he answered them as best he could. She only stopped when their food arrived, and Jake smiled as she ate with more gusto than he'd seen the day before.

After a long brunch, they were just heading back to Emma's room when Jake noticed a familiar shape hovering near the entrance. As soon as he saw the dark dragon, it moved towards them.

"Lady Talia requires your presence," Zendrin said.

"Alright, lead on," Jake said as he smiled at a suddenly worried-looking Emma.

As they traveled back, they noticed even more dragons in small groups while kobold patrols moved through some of the narrow streets.

When they reached the door to Lady Talia's quarters, Zendrin left with nothing but a nod.

"Are you sure I can go in?" Emma whispered as she hugged Tir close. The tiny lizard had fallen asleep, something she kept doing.

"Zendrin didn't say anything, so I'm sure it will be fine," Jake said as he moved to the door and pushed it open.

Lady Talia was waiting for them in her Dragon form, lying on one of the couch-like slabs to the side.

"Jake, thank you for coming as fast as you did," she said.

"Of course. I was going to look for you later today, so this makes that easier," Jake said as he moved across from her and lay down. Emma remained close enough to touch him.

Is she afraid I'll change my mind or that Lady Talia is going to disallow it? Jake wondered.

"Have you decided on my request?" Lady Talia asked.

"Yes," Jake said with a nod as he returned his full attention to her. "I will go and see what that other iceberg is about, and I will be bringing Emma with me this time. I understand that you will guard her if she remains here, but with everything that is going on, I'm not so sure she will be safe if she remains here in the city."

Lady Talia calmly stared at him.

"Even if there could be Hounda people after you?" she asked.

Jake nodded. He'd thought about that possibility, but in the city, anybody could be compromised, or corrupted as they called it. If he was out in the sea or above, he was sure he and Emma could flee.

Lady Talia turned to Emma.

"And you want to go with Jake? Even if-"

Emma was nodding fervently as she barely seemed able to keep her teeth together.

"I see," Lady Talia said with a soft smile. Very well. Then I will arrange for an escort to the iceberg."

Jake nodded, about to say something, when he realized she had to say more.

"A few days ago, we got some information that leads us to believe we may be able to find out where fire dragons awaken," Lady Talia said slowly.

Jake froze, and he barely managed to pull in a burst of ice mana-lits.

"You know where Mason is?" he asked.

"Mason!" Emma shouted before putting her hands over her mouth.

Lady Talia smiled sadly as she shook her head.

"No. Or, more correctly, not yet. Although we have a set of locations where fire dragons could awaken, there is no way to know for sure if your friend is there. Also, we will have to check all of them to be sure if there is one. Still, we will be sending out parties to find out anything we can."

Jake listened quietly as she spoke. When Lady Talia finished, he nodded slowly.

"Can you tell me these locations?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"I am afraid that wouldn't help, they are vague, and each will still require extensive searching. But I am sure that when you return, we will have more information."

Jake gazed at her for a few moments, then smiled ruefully.

"Thank you for going to such lengths," he said. "If there's nothing else, Emma and I will go and rest up. When can we expect our escort to the other iceberg?"

Lady Talia looked at him, then sighed.

"Jake, I am very sorry I don't have more information for you, but know that we will do anything we can to try and find your friend."

Jake forced a smile on his face. "Thank you. I am very grateful, and if I can, I'll be sure to pay you back for your effort."

Lady Talia grimaced, which surprised him slightly.

"Please, don't worry. We will always help our friends and allies," she said.

Not sure what to say, Jake smiled, and after some more pleasantries, they left with the information that their escort would arrive the next morning.

Zendrin wasn't outside this time, and as they left the tower and began flying back, Emma turned her head to him.

"It's good that they may have found where Mason is, right?" she shouted, sounding confused. "Why do you look so… odd?"

"I'll explain later," Jake said. "But yes, it's fantastic news!"

Emma frowned, but Jake continued forward. Even his cool and icy mind couldn't completely contain the worry he felt.