[rework] Minglings - chapter 41: Retaliation

"Are you awake?"

Jake shot up, his head foggy as the horrible nightmare rapidly withdrew into the depths of his mind. Mason would never do that! He shivered as the remains of the dreams evaporated, and he forgot the reason for the lingering fear.

"Jake?"

The careful question caused him to look around. Tergin sat on a branch, staring at him.

"I'm fine. How did it go? Did you get everyone out?"

Tergin nodded but frowned, and Jake almost wanted to tell him he didn't want to know. Instead, he took a deep breath, trying to relax.

"What happened?

"Melisa and her group aren't back yet," Tergin said. Jake could see pity in his eyes.

"That doesn't mean anything! They could just be-"

Tergin shook his head. "You've been sleeping for half a day. I searched for her, but I couldn't find anything. There is no trace of them."

Jake looked up and realized the dark sky was due to a thick grey cloud cover. As if on cue, his stomach cramped, demanding meat. Staring dumbly at the clouds, he heard the buzz of chatting people coming from below. Is she gone?

"How many did we save?" he finally managed to ask.

"Two hundred and thirty-seven made it back. Two groups trampled through an invested heart tree and..."

Jake's eyes widened, and he forgot his worries for a moment. "That many?" Then he saw the pained look on Tergin's face. "What?"

"I've talked with some, and the stories they tell all match. The Goblins have figured out how to determine when Kobolds change and killed any that showed the signs," Tergin said, his voice cracking at the end. Then he cursed in a language Jake hadn't heard before.

"They tortured and killed hundreds of awoken! If Bolyr hears this-"  Tergin struck the tree trunk, hissing through his teeth.

Through Jake's growing anger, he was surprised by Tergin. The other had never reacted this strongly before. He understood the feeling, though, and he wished the yellow-armed Kobold was here. He had a knack for finding people in the jungle that went beyond that of even Tergin. But he had left for the Antracii, and without wings, it would take days before he returned.

Should he go and search? He wanted to. The simmering rage he thought he'd subdued was bubbling deep inside of him.

"I'm going down. Do the new ones know about me?" he asked, forcing himself to keep calm.

"They do, and most are curious. Especially after learning that they could change too. A few were... very interested and kept pestering me about how to expedite the process."

Jake simply nodded as he plunged his talons into the bark, climbing down. When he realized Tergin wasn't coming, he looked back.

Tergin was staring at leaves, a blank look on his face. Jake hesitated for a moment, then continued down. He sometimes forgot that Tergin also had a rough few months. Losing his tribe and having his world put upside down couldn't be easy.

We would know.

He thought about Earth, something he barely did, probably courtesy the changes to his mind. He pictured movies, coffee, his family, his mother-

He quickly stopped his line of thought as he felt his grip on his emotions slip.

--

Half an hour later, Jake wished he had stayed up in the tree.

Kobolds clustered around him, packed tight like on a market square.

Some demanded things, others had questions, but they all had one thing in common— they kept shouting.

He had tried answering one question, but a dozen new ones came right after. The most annoying thing, however, was Gary.

"I am sure he will help us all! He must be planning something great!" Gary's gruff voice shouted in response to some of the questions.

"No, no. We aren't all going to change right away! It takes a while, something like a week or two?" Gary answered loudly, a dumb grin on his face.

Jake shook his head as he stared at the Kobold. Ever since he had caused the storm, the annoying bastard had tried to get close to him. If he weren't so scared of Melissa, he would probably have tried sleeping next to Jake. The thought of Melissa caused a surge of anger. First Mason, then Emma and Tir and Ter, and now her?

"Enough!"

His roar caused everyone to freeze and gawk at him. Some slowly backed away, panic in their eyes.

Garry swallowed before stuttering. "Don't worry. He isn't going to hurt you."

Jake slammed his tail next to the smaller Kobold, pelting him with stones and dirt. "That's the only sensible thing you've said all day!"

Garry perked up, ready to speak, and Jake glared at him. He wondered if he should drop the pest from a hundred feet. Something must have shown in his eyes because Gary's toothy jaw snapped shut.

Jake gazed around. The others had backed off, causing a small muddy area to open up around him. Only Gary was still standing beside him. Jake faltered for a moment when he saw Sam glare at him from amongst the mass.

Melissa's friend, he thought. She seemed to have a problem with him. Ever since Mason changed, she had been out hunting, and when he was close, she would move away.

Not now, he thought, pushing the rising agitated questions aside. He had more pressing matters.

"You've been screaming questions at me for ten minutes without giving me a chance to answer," he said.

Seeing a few Kobolds step forward, appearing ready to ask one right away, he hissed.

"One question at a time! But first, I will answer some of the ones you've been asking. Got it?"

Some frowns and annoyed looks caused him to puff out his chest and stand up straight, glaring down his snout. He towered over them now, his most recent growth spurt making him bigger than the largest plow horse. The sputtered complaints quickly died down, and he nodded.

"I am not a Dragon. At least not what they call a Dragon in this world. I might become one if I continue growing, but those details are hazy at best. Not that it matters to me, but it does to the natives."

A few Kobolds snorted.

"If it looked like a duck and quacks like a duck," someone whispered at the back of the group as more muttered.

Jake waited for them to calm down again before continuing.

"We are not safe here! At least not yet. We are in the middle of a massive ocean, far from any known civilization, on an island with Goblins and Insectoids that want to enslave or kill us."

This time the racket took almost a minute to calm down, and he saw many worried faces. He waited for most of them to quiet down before raising his voice.

"We do have one thing going for us. There is a small group of native Kobolds on another island not far from here—some of you know two of them. Bolyr and Tergin."

"Will they help us? Why aren't we going to them?"

The screamed questions silenced similar mutters.

"We don't know yet. Me and..." Jake fell silent for a second when he realized he was the only one left from the original group.

"I've been there. It didn't end well. Some of the natives have very old-fashioned ways of thinking. But recently, there has been a change in leadership, and Bolyr has gone there to see if they want to come here and join us."

"Why don't we go there, away from the Goblins?"

The question was seconded and thirded as everyone loudly voiced their opinions again.

Jake sighed. He wasn't cut out for this. Taking a deep breath, he bellowed. "Because their island is too small, with too little food and too many sea monsters surrounding it!"

Small pockets of Kobolds began whispering amongst each other. Jake didn't care. He had said most of what he wanted to except for one thing.

"Listen up! Is there anyone here who has experience in construction? We need more shelters, a dock, and a barrier around the island.

It went silent as people looked around until a lanky green-scaled woman with long blue hair stepped forward. She was scale-over-bone, and her clothing was ripped in so many places that Jake could count her ribs.

Her voice was soft and uncertain, and she kept looking at the ground. "I th... know. What you need isn't just someone in construction. You need someone who can work with primitive materials. Create rope, board, and-"

Jake interrupted her. "What's your name?"

"Hellena Morison, but you can call me Hellen." Her voice was a whisper. Jake wasn't sure he would have understood half of it if not for his improved hearing.

"Alright, Hellen? I need you to build a wall of some sort around the island. Oh, and houses to live in. And a gate with a dock," he continued.

When she nodded, wide-eyed, he looked at the gathered Kobolds. "From now on, you do as Hellen says. I need to go up the tree again and guard against Insectoids, or they will swarm us and eat us." He snapped the last part, unable to keep his anger out of his voice.

There was a stunned silence, and he quickly turned around.

Behind him, Hellen gasped and whispered something about not being ready. He ignored it and moved towards one of the low-hanging branches thick enough for him to climb on.

"Wait! Who made you our leader? Just because you're a Dragon or whatever?"

Jake looked back at a short, skinny Kobold, his temper flaring. "What's that now?"

The short Kobold looked around in panic. He took a step back, stammering. "I... I didn't mean it in a bad way. But... Listen! I used to be a government official! I know how to run things! Have you ever even been in charge of anything?"

Jake closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The squinty-one wasn't wrong. Before, it had been Sandra and Willson taking charge of everything, and after that, Bolyr took care of most of the day-to-day things. Did he want to be burdened with taking care of all these details? Stay here and guard these people he didn't know?

No. The distaste at having to stay here was so strong he almost turned and left in the spot.

What he wanted was to leave and find Mason. Or give in to the strong desire to explore the vast ocean! The only reason he was ever here in the first place was because of Mason, Emma, Tir, and Ter. And all of them were gone! A weight dropped from his shoulders, and he opened his eyes. The small Kobold was staring at him, and he realized a whispered conversation was going through the group.

"You know what? You can all just go and do whatever you want. I'll wait for the last group. After that, I'll decide what I want to do," Jake said as he turned around.

"Wait! Will you still protect us?" The small Kobold's voice rose in pitch while there was a panicked mutter from the others.

He didn't bother to respond and climbed up the tree.

--

Jake woke up confused, trying to find out what had awoken him. He was groggy, his muscles still sore. Hunting had taken longer than usual last night, and when he returned, it was the dead of night.

"Are you sure he is sleeping? We really need to talk to him," a soft, vaguely familiar voice asked.

"He is sleeping. Now go away."

Tergin's voice was sharp and on edge, but the other voice continued complaining.

I should just pretend, Jake thought before stretching himself. Right away, the whispers stopped. He ignored them for now, looking around. Dew covered the leaves around him and a red haze colored the horizon. Was it morning already?

Hellen sat on one of the nearby branches. The squinty-eyed Kobold that had made him realize he didn't want to be in charge sat next to her while Tergin was blocking their way.

"It's fine, Tergin. I'm awake now," he said.

He unwrapped himself from the tree and stretched like a cat. The tip of his tail went straight up, and his chest pressed against the branch while plopping sounds came from throughout his body. For a moment, he felt pretty good, then his stomach growled, and the nagging to head to the sea both returned with a vengeance.

"I will hunt and search for Melissa again," Tergin said.

Jake looked up, and Terging gave him a short nod. Then the native Kobold turned and disappeared through the dense foliage as if someone was chasing him.

Jake sighed and focused on the two quiet people. The silence quickly turned uncomfortable until the man sighed and looked at the treebark between his feet. He had a few bruises on his face and neck that hadn't been there the day before.

"I am sorry about yesterday. But... we just got free, and then you started commanding us around, and-" he stopped talking and shrugged. "I didn't want to sound ungrateful, and I don't want to be responsible for you leaving us all to die here."

Helen nudged him, and he looked at Jake. "Will you stay here? I won't complain again."

The awkward silence lasted for another minute, and the two Kobolds started fidgeting.

"I am not sure what I will do. But you were right about one thing. I am no leader," Jake said slowly.

The man's shoulders slumped. "I didn't know about the Insectoids. If you leave, there won't be anybody left to protect us."

"Not yet," Jake said.

The two Kobolds looked at him, Helen seeming confused, while a calculating gleam came to squinty's eyes.

I need to figure out his name, Jake thought.

"Bolyr will hopefully be back soon and bring his tribe along. With them here, you will be able to survive just fine," he said, suppressing his desire to add a probably. He wasn't sure about any of that or even when Bolyr would be back.

"And until then?" Squinty asked.

"I'll stay here until Bolyr gets back. Perhaps."

Helen glared at the other. "You idiot, Bert. If he leaves and we die, it's your fault!"

The man flinched as if struck, and he slumped.

Jake felt a slight pang of sympathy for them, but not enough to sway him. Ever since he became a Dragon, he had found that he didn't care as much for others as before. Well, besides the ones he counted as friends. Towards those, his feelings had greatly increased, to the point where he wondered how far he'd go for them.

"There are likely still a few days until Bolyr returns. Until then I suggest you build houses and a wall. If you want to have any say in what happens after the Antracii arrive, you must show you are capable," Jake said.

Helen nodded before turning to him with a look of grief. "There are a lot of scared people below, wondering if you will leave them here. Can I tell them you will stay until the wall's done and that Bolyr person is back?"

Her voice was barely above a whisper, but the sympathy Jake felt came back, much stronger this time. He could feel his certainty, the desire to leave recede slightly. With a frown, he gazed at her. Just before, when Bert had asked, he'd felt nothing. Now he did. What was going on?

Inspecting her, he quickly noticed something. Helen resembled his previous Kobold form, blue-scaled but with green highlights instead of silver. A similar arrangement of colored patches decorated her arms and neck, and as he scrutinized her more, he felt a sort of... familiarity. He saw her scales paling slightly and turned his gaze to Bert. The other Kobold had green and yellow coloring, the patterns distinct and different. Was that it? Did he feel a stronger connection to those Kobolds that were similar to him?

If that's how it is, I have to be careful who comes begging, he thought.

"Fine," he replied absentminded.

A smile lit up Helen's face, relieving some of Jake's stress. As the two climbed down, he followed them with his gaze. He needed to figure out what was going on with his emotions before people figured it out and began taking advantage of him. Climbing to a vantage point that gave him a good view of the lake, he sat down.

--

Two days later, during the final hours of the morning, Jake again sat at the same spot, staring dumbly at the jungle. The others had left him alone except to bring food, and he was bored. He was just wondering if he should head down for a while when a figure jumped out of the jungle and into the lake, swimming towards the island.

Tergin? he thought, recognizing the other. Why was he only back now and without any prey? A pink trail followed the other through the water.

He is wounded!

Jake surged up, and as he did, there was movement all over the tree line. Shadows appeared, and branches moved, but there was no indication of what was causing it.

The skin beneath Jake's scales tingled, and he was about to rush down to warn the rest when something stepped out from the bushes.

A large green-skinned Orc dragged a dark figure with it, holding it by the neck.

"Melissa!" A wave of anger rushed through Jake, and it took every ounce of willpower he had to resist the urge to jump forward and save her.

"If you don't want your friends to get hurt, get down here and talk to me, you stupid Dragon!" the Orc roared across the lake.

Friends? The bad feeling got worse when he saw an Insectoid step out next to the Orc. It was holding something small in his hands.

What is... TIR!

Jake lost his self-control and surged forward, splinters of wood shooting out as he ran across the branch and jumped off. He shot forward, opening his wings at the last moment and shooting across the water.

Wait! Stop it, you idiot, he screamed at himself.

He barely managed to stop himself ten meters before he reached the Orc. Seeing the glittering eyes hidden in the jungle, he dropped into the water with a massive splash. The wave of energy cleared his mind but also sharpened his rage. Staring up through the shimmering surface, he snarled at the Orc.

"Too bad. I almost thought you'd be stupid enough to come close enough," the Orc said. Then he laughed nastily and kicked Melissa, who was struggling. One of her arms stuck out at an odd angle, and bruises and blood covered her face. Next to him, the Insectoid held Tir. The small lizard wasn't moving.

Jake surfaced, the energy in the water surging toward him like a whirlpool. "What do you want, you monster?"

The Orc laughed uproariously.

"Monster? Your one to talk, you overgrown lizard! What do I want? Eating your brain would be fantastic, but if that's not on the table-" The Orc took a step forward, his hand around Mellisa's neck, dragging her along.

"I want you and your filthy scaled minions off my island! You have two hours, and then I want to see all of you swimming for the sea."

An ugly smile covered his face, and he bent forward. "Otherwise, I will kill all of your friends and attack the island. I don't care how many losses we have. We will slaughter you!" Roaring, he raised Mellisa in the air before tossing her back into the jungle.

A loud whooping and hollering came from the bushes, which began rustling. It happened hundreds of meters in each direction. The Orc disappeared into the jungle, followed by the Insectoid.

Jake held back the desire to flood the entire region of the jungle. There wasn't enough water in the lake to do what he wanted, and he might kill himself if he tried. He turned around and headed back to the island, the image of Tir's silent form and Mellisa as she was orc-handled in his mind.

--

"What do we do now? The wall isn't ready, and I don't know how to fight!"

"Fight? Are you crazy? Let's just leave and find another island!"

"And go where?! Didn't you hear the stories about what's in those water?"

Jake ignored the shouting. He was sitting next to Tergin, staring at the few sad sections of the perimeter that were partially finished. The water glistened behind it, and beyond was the jungle. If only they had a few more weeks! They could have finished the first two meters, and between the wall and him, the Goblins would have no chance.

That is, if we would be fighting them, he thought. It was something he hadn't decided on yet, and his mind was a mess.

"So, what do you think?" he asked, looking at Tergin, who was bandaging a nasty gash on his arm with long thin purple leaves.

"If we leave, the Goblins get the mana-well. They will spread across this and the other islands and wipe everything else out. We have to hold out until Bolyr gets back," Tergin said, not mentioning Melissa or Tir.

"That can be days, and what if the Antracii didn't come with him?"

Tergin smiled at him. "Then, we will all die, but you can still fly away."

The shouting Kobolds had calmed down, and all of them were staring at him with hope.

Bert stepped forward, a pleading look on his face. "Jake, can you stop them?"

"I don't know. The magic we can use here comes at a price. If there are too many, stopping them will tire me out."

A large, blue-scaled Kobold stomped forward. Jake remembered him, Estaban, or something like that. He was with the group they had freed what seemed like ages ago.

"I say we leave! Better the danger of the sea than a certain death if we stay!"

Dozens of Kobolds nodded and murmured in agreement, and Jake shrugged. "You won't survive the sea. Besides, many of you can't breathe underwater. Will you leave those here to die?"

"Better some of us die than all! And you survived in the sea! I've heard the stories," Estaban shouted.

Jake shook his head, wondering what stories those were and who had told them. "Do what you want," he said, staring at the other side of the lake again.

The Kobolds began arguing. A few minutes later, a small group split off. Barely fifty, they were all blue-scaled and intent on heading to sea. The leader was Estaban, and he stepped towards Jake.

"You should come with us! It makes no sense for you to die here!"

The other Kobolds muttered but quieted down when Jake turned.

He was going to tell them off, but staring at the Kobolds, a sudden wave of desire to follow them into the deep, dangerous, beautiful sea flushed through him. If it wasn't for Melissa, Tir, and Tergin, he wasn't sure if he could have resisted. Feeling exhausted, he shook his head.

"I can't. I have to try and save my friends."

Estaban stared at him for a moment before nodding. "You're a good man, even if you're a Dragon." He turned and headed for the edge of the island.

Jake didn't blame them for leaving. Perhaps he would have if he had still been human, but now all he hoped was that they would survive.

"Estaban, stay close to the seafloor and keep an eye out for Hydraci. They look like Kobolds, but they are dangerous and will kill you on sight!"

The Kobold turned and raised his hand before jumping into the crystal clear water. Jake saw them shoot forward, heading in the direction where the river ended in the sea. With their speed, they would be there in under an hour.

With an uncertain wistful look, Helen stepped towards him. "What do we do now?"

Pushing away his doubts, Jake looked at the hundreds of Kobolds. "We prepare to fight."