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Minglings 40: Retaliation [Part 2]
🕑 Added 2020-07-11 18:24:54 +0000 UTC
Jake woke up, slowly 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 came back, 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 began complaining.
I should just pretend, Jake thought before stretching himself. Right away, the whispers stopped. Looking around, Jake saw dew on the leaves around him and a red haze coloring the horizon. Was it morning already?
On one of the branches sat Hellen. The Kobold that had made him realize he didn't want to be in charge sat next to her while Tergin was blocking their way.
"Its fine, Tergin. I'm awake now." Jake unwrapped himself from the tree and stretched like a cat. The tip of his till went straight up, and his chest against the branch plopping sounds came from all over his body. A growl came from his stomach, and he sighed. Hungry again.
"I will hunt and search for Melissa." Tergin nodded at him before turning and disappearing through the dense foliage.
Jake turned towards the two silent Kobolds. 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 fell silent 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 yet. But you were right about one thing; I am no leader. "
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."
The two Kobolds looked at him, and he sighed. "Bolyr will hopefully be back soon and bring his tribe along. Together you will be able to survive just fine." Jake wasn't sure about the last part, or even when Bolyr would be back.
"And until then?"
"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 those, he counted as friends. Those feelings had increased a lot, to the point where he wondered how far he'd go for them.
"There is still a few days until Bolyr should be back. Until then I suggest you build houses and a wall. If you want to have any say in what happens after Bolyr comes back, you need to show you are capable."
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 is 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 stared at her. What was going on?
Inspecting her, he realized something. She resembled him from before, blue scaled but with green highlights instead of silver. Turning his gaze to Bert, he saw the green and yellow coloring of the other. Was that what was going on? Did he feel a stronger connection to Kobolds, who were more like him? If that was true, he had to be careful who came begging!
"Fine." He replied absentminded.
A smile lit up Helen's face, relieving some of the stress Jake felt before. As the two climbed down, he followed them with his gaze. He needed to figure out what was going on here! Climbing to a vantage point that gave him a good view of the surrounding lake, he sat down.
-Two days later-
Late in the morning, a figure jumped out of the jungle and into the lake, swimming towards the island.
Tergin? Jake recognized the other. Why was he only back now, and without any prey? A thin trail followed the other through the water.
He is wounded! Jake surged up, and as he did, there was movement all over the treeline. Shadows and branches, but no clear view of what was there. He got a bad feeling and 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!" Feeling his anger surge, Jake resisted 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!" A roaring voice echoed out across the lake.
Friends? The bad feeling got worse when he saw another figure step out next to the Orc. An Insectoid by the looks of it, he held something in his hands.
What is... TIR!
Jake 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 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.
"To bad. I almost thought you'd be stupid enough to come closer..." The Orc laughed, kicked Melissa, who was struggling. One of her arms stuck out in 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 towards 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 dragged her along.
"I want you and your filthy scaled minions of 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 jungle, stretching 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 they were building. 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.
"So, what do you think?" he asked, looking at Tergin, who was bandaging a nasty gash on his arm with long thin purple leaves.
"Even if we leave, if 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."
"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, and if too many come, it will tire me out."
A large, blue scaled Kobold stomped forward. Jake remembered him, Estaban, or something like that. He was with the group he had freed what seemed like ages ago now.
"I say we leave! Better the danger of the sea, then a certain death if we stay!"
Dozens of Kobolds nodded and murmured in agreement, and Jake shrugged. "You won't survive the sea. Besides, not all of you can breathe underwater. Will you leave the others here to die?"
"Better some of us die, than all! And you survived in the sea! I've heard the stories."
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 group split off. Almost fifty, they were all blue scaled and intent on heading out 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 and dangerous, but 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.
"Estaban, stay close to the seafloor and keep an eye out for the 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."
