It takes all of Drenar’s effort not to spit at the image of King projecting from the arcanlink, all fancied up and looking composed, while he’s still bruised up, bloodied, and standing in a danger zone under a lake. “So glad of you to join us, Rashalda. I was worried you wouldn’t make it.”

“Yeah, Val's men kinda gave me a bit more of a challenge this time around,” he growls. “Tell me why I should help you. And be straight with me, King. I haven’t forgotten what you did, nor will I ever fall for that again.” King takes a sip from a cup of tea sitting by his chair–does this guy just constantly put on a show to throw them off their game, or is it to annoy them?

Just let this jackass have his moment, Alex growls. Joey makes a gruff sound in her throat–is she still tied into that?

Alex, be nice. We have an audience. Three is a crowd, until Joey can find an off switch.

You don’t want that switch off at all. He lets out a sound of disgust that is more or less aimed at King, and Joey just peers at him with a murderous look. Don’t mind me, I’m just a dragon on the wall. Drenar would retort, but King’s done being a showman.

“I’ll tell you why. It’s in everyone's mutual assured survival. The truth is, that only part of the translation set is in those journals. Even Volkir didn’t have a complete set, but I’ve spent years trying to pick up other sources, as a contingency. I’ve already highlighted a few sites.”

“So, this is just a game to you?” Levine growls. King’s face droops slightly, and lets out a small huff.

“I’ve made my intentions clear. I have no interest in unnecessary bloodshed. Joey and Kyle’s discovery, however, has changed the calculus.” All eyes in the room turn to them, and Joey pulls out a sample vial from her alchemical belt. "Volkir's research into other subject matters related to mana, a key component of this of how the event occurred, are now of relevance."

“How?” He can't believe he's listening to this. King is either the master of bullshit, or there were unintended consequences of activating the device before.

“Like I said to your alchemist and engineer, mana is dying in the world. Magical biozones have kept the planet afloat in the face of human toxification, but if they go? You’re not going to see a global collapse in decades. It’ll be years. Tops.”

“How do I know you’re not lying, King?” Drenar says as he taps his dagger. It’s a subtle reminder to him, and he smiles politely in response. He’s just not going to be intimidated, this man has composure for days and the safety of distance.

“Ask your new friend. Find anything unusual out there, Miss Pyromist?” She clears her throat, as if reluctant to answer. She motions to the crystal in a plastic container, glowing with its own inner cerulean light. What's odd is Angela reaches out halfway, then retracts her hand, shaking her head. Something's been up with her ever since they came through that cavern laden with mana crystals on the way in. He'll have to ask her later.

“This sample was pulled two days ago, by Savosel Road. It hasn’t dimmed in potency like it should have over that period. The crystals have changed. I don’t know how, or what specific change. But they normally dim when fractured, just like mana primer would. Furthermore, that small deposit of mana crystals erupted in only a few years. Kyle, is that correct?”

“Unfortunately,” he says with displeasure. “You’re telling me that there is something else bigger at stake than the souls of two million dragons?”

“This machine was activated at least once before the collapse of the dragons. That much, I have determined. And ever since then, mana has been receding in the majority,” King states plainly. “Crosomer did find it odd that the runes were not in some standard array–it was almost as if someone had been tinkering with the rune plates before his discovery. Indeed, the burial site seemed to be too cleanly upheaved, as if someone had been there before. The ruins are about four thousand years old. Sound familiar?”

“Ballpark? Schism of the dragons,” Levine concludes. “How old is this thing? Did the Dragon Empire make this?”

“Sorry, Dillenger. The answer to that one is not free.” King looks happy to keep them dangling.

Drenar taps his fingers on the table, at a standing position now. “You don’t need the journal, do you?”

“Oh, I do, now. There was a slight bluff on my part, Volkir didn’t have everything I needed. Val however, is keen on bulldozing everything to seek power. She’ll get her fancy title, her need for glory, and to tear the Conclave down. I get to save the world. Because people have to live here.” Julia stands up beside him.

“You know, what's to keep us from telling Val that you’re scheming behind her back? That looney tunes dragoness might be enticed to eat her favorite nefarious advisor when she hears you’ve been double-dealing under the table.” King laughs at this threat.

“Nothing, actually. But I don’t think you will. I’ve calculated it.”

Joey, I need a simple yes or no. Is there a pending crisis if mana is going kaput, and is there evidence to back this up? He is taking the gamble of his life, with a man he despises with every fiber of his being. If this journal by itself isn’t enough to cause Armageddon, I am willing to take a risk to protect the people of Asqualia. A nod or a shake of your head is all I need.

He glances her way, and she gives a resounding nod. The far-away look and gently biting her lip tell him that this answer was not reached easily. He turns to King to give his answer.

“King, I will do this to preserve the lives of the personnel here of Asqualia. But you can be rest assured, I expect you to uphold your end of the bargain, or I will come and find you and kill you myself, no matter how long it takes. I am not easily deterred, and you know that.”

“Splendid–”

“One other condition,” Drenar interrupts him. “You give me the name of who killed my mother. And you tell me why they killed her.”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, given current circumstances,” King answers calmly. “Suffice to say, she has–had enemies.”

“‘Has?’ Listen jackass, I buried her. And I almost made a fatal mistake later, because of that.” King doesn’t even flinch at his contempt.

“I was aware. That must have been a difficult time.” That itch on his wrist feels more like a crawling sensation now, and he’s willing himself to not rub at it like he has been. He wants to lay into King, but bites the inside of his cheek. There will be another time to put this man in his place–somehow. “Very well. I can abide by these terms.”

“This is a bad plan, Drenar,” Nick says quietly. He doesn’t even bother hiding his disdain for it. “We can’t trust him.”

“We are right now. Lavernius, are you good for your word?” he turns to face the quietest man in the room, and is trying to be the smallest person visible in the room, too, based on the way he almost curls up in the seat.

“King, I can disable the primary teleportal hub to prevent Val’s forces from coming here permanently, but I need time. How close are they to it?”

“They’re not. They’re–hang on.” That is the first time King has broken composure even slightly, and Drenar knows something is up. King is typing something, keystrokes sounding more like raindrops than individual strokes in the audio. “Val’s soldiers are still staging. Why are they powering up the portal? All the secondaries are disabled, they can’t bypass the SAF biometric IDs.”

There’s a ping nearby, and Drenar glances at Kyle, who has a tablet out for him and Joey to examine. “What is it?” Kyle points to something on the screen, narrowing his eyes as the golem switches to thermal imaging.

“That’s…something metallic. Moving closer.” He presses the golem onward, and Drenar feels a cold chill seep down his spine. This is something that should not be there. “It looks like the plating for a teleportal pad, similar shape, same materials. It’s…modified…” Kyle narrows his eyes. “This cavern took a while to get to with the golem. About a couple of hours in, past some nearly impassable terrain.”

“Is it active?” he taps his dagger hilt reflexively. Kyle zooms in with the remote.

“No, it’s not. Why isn’t it–” he pans around, and looks at the cavern. There are a few mana crystals nearby, with their otherworldly blue glow that seems to accompany them, and he taps the remote anxiously. “I see bootprints, one set…maybe, one guy, walking around.”

“Well, why did they put a teleportal out there? It’s useless if it’s impassable terrain.” His danger sense is going through the roof right now, something is wrong. “Joey, call Claire’s team. Call them right now.”

“What’s going on?” King is looking up and half-answering, but still typing, and Lavernius has edged from his seat.

“Bertance, zoom in on the array!” Lavernius barks and he bolts quickly over to the tablet, and motions for Kyle to zoom in. “It’s…how do I get closer, I need to see the arcane circuitry.”

"Also, why are there wads of plastic explosives on this thing?" Kyle asks nervously, and points at several ominous bricks of white pasty material with silver cylinders and wiring embedded in them. "Why would they rig this thing to blow?"

“Joey, call Claire, and tell them to prime whatever area denial plan they’ve got.” Drenar can feel the pulse of dread down his spine, there is something ominous building and the worst part is, he hasn’t figured out why. She gets onto her ID badge and radios her, while Kyle brings the golem closer. “Curtis was baking in spliced-in circuitry to bypass the primary portal and use it as a relay. Why would they put one there?”

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“I don’t know. You can’t bypass the security,” Lavernius frowns. Kyle pushes the golem closer. The platform starts to light up, and the shimmering appears over the air. Then he gasps and his face is filled with sheer horror. "Kyle, pull the explosives off. Get in there now!"

"What--why?!"

"They're using a safety exploit! Move damn it!" Lavernius takes over the golem controls. But it's too late. That shimmer of the portal builds up, and there's a blinking light on one of the cylinders. “There is one other way to bypass the security. An emergency override. If a platform is deliberately sabotaged or damaged, there is a hard-wired contingency program to divert to the next-nearest viable leyline, and disable all security protocols. It was designed to prevent casualties if a platform shorted out while people were in transit." Lavernius is trying feebly pull detonators, but there are many.

“What?” Kyle's eyes go wide and he lets out an explicative. He’s made the connection. “They’re going to reroute it by deliberately doing something suicidal!”

He doesn’t wait. He acts and bolts out the door, with Joey keeping up to his reckless pace, and everyone else is following suit.

“Angela, Julia, dragon forms now!” He’s sprinting after Joey points towards a hallway and Kyle is dashing incredibly fast for someone who was a tad on the shorter side. “How do we stop it?!”

“We burn the whole platform, then get the hell away before we do! Joey, do we have enough pyromethanine in the lab?!”

“Do I ever!” she shouts. “Angela, Julia, make sure to keep clear of the teleportal, those safety rails are there to prevent disincorporation!”

“Total protonic reversal?! Joey, seriously, I’m convinced mages are insane, every last one of them!” James pants from the rear–he’s really not built for this nonstop sprinting around, in retrospect. James needs to work on that cardio if they somehow get out of this mess!

“Stop trying to psychoanalyze, Drenar, Nick, help me get the canisters!” Joey pulls him to a diverting hallway, while the rest head over to the teleportal hub, on the north end of the building. She’s a blur of red hair and an impossible grace–despite the appearance of being a lab worker, she is built more like a lithe athlete, and he’s mildly impressed.

Wait. Why would that impress him?

Better start thinking with the brain, the Talons are bringing the pain! Drenar would comment on his terrible rhyming, but he’s in too much of a dead rush while Joey slams her access badge on the steel-clad door marked with an unhealthy level of hazardous materials. He’s greeted by a small armory of weapons, lab equipment, and an auspicious sterile room in which one half is immaculate and neatly sorted alchemical cabinets of various potions and primer ingredients, and the other half is a mishmash of welding equipment, scrap, and various halfway put together projects.

He has a guess whose side of the lab belongs to whom when Joey grabs two deadly red canisters, lifts them gently, and hands one to him and Nick. "Pyromethanine, it’s napalm in a can! Add a detonator, it’s a one-way isekai trip for anyone too close!”

“You can’t just blow up someone so thoroughly they land in another plane of existence,” Drenar pants. Why didn’t he switch to his dragon form, that would have been simpler!

Think like a dragon, damn it! Would it kill you to learn how to be one, seeing as you’re letting your weaker-ass half do the lugging? It’s more annoying that Alex is prone to sassing when he’s in dire straits. They have got to set some ground rules. Joey whips together a few canisters while Drenar and Nick head back down the corridor.

“Have you ever used this stuff?” Drenar grunts. The canister is about the size of a milk bottle and made of heavy plastic. Nick nods with a tad more enthusiasm than he should for the situation.

“Let’s just say we’ve been acquainted,” he grins. “Seriously, don't shake it. It’s volatile.”

“C’mon, hurry up!” Kyle says while he ushers them in. Claire and the fire response team are on overwatch of the teleportal, the gleaming metal and glass platform still inert. Lavernius is busy unscrewing an access panel to what looks like a circuit breaker, working as fast as his fingers will allow him. Kyle took the controller to remove the detonators. “Lavernius, how many could they teleport at once?”

“With this teleportal platform? They could keep an indefinite connection if they had enough juice at their end. Remember it’s not like the one-time-use ones, this creates an entanglement tunnel between points!” he’s panicking and keeping an eye on that platform while Kyle tries pulling the detonators out on the remote. "I didn't plan for them to be outright suicidal!"

"You had a plan for things going bad, man. Not helping your case." Kyle is quick to needle him even as he works.

"That was all above-board earned, Bertance. I didn't earn a cent of it from ill-gotten gains. I did this for King, not the Talons."

“Yet you still had an escape plan for your family in a bug-out bag?” Kyle counters testily. Drenar has no patience for this, and Joey pops open the bottle, and waves away an errant fume. They need this done now. “Look Lavernius, if the Conclave is so bad, why this path?”

"Chastise me later. We're not gonna make it in time, too many detonators..." Lavernius looks like the life has left his face when Drenar peeks and sees the detonators flashing ominously.

There is a flash of blue light on the screen. The golem feed goes dead, and Kyle taps at the tablet anxiously.

“They blew up the relay!” Kyle taps the tablet, and Lavernius looks like a ghost. A split second later, an emergency alarm goes off in the room.

"Warning, emergency reroute. Clear the platform immediately for incoming arrivals. Failure to heed warning may result in fatal injury," the emergency speaker echoes in the room, and the platform lights up.

“Less talking, more burning!” Drenar snaps. Joey dumps the liquid over the glass platform, and there’s a warning siren. The barricades are starting to go up, and there’s a charge building!

“Drenar, we need to get out of here right now!” Nick shouts even as he gently pours the gel over the support struts. This is going to be an ugly job. “Lavernius, how long will it take to charge?!”

“Thirty seconds! Damn it, they slingshotted over that relay, they’re redirecting it via emergency protocol…they were willing to kill their guys if this didn’t work!”

“That sounds about on par!” Drenar responds heatedly. He can hear that hum building to a crescendo, and the platform lights up with ghostly white-blue light. Joey is tapping the rune into the gel-like material, and it’s glowing red.

“Fifteen seconds! Hurry!” Lavernius screams out. Nick is off the platform after mantling over the barricade, and is shouting at him and Joey. “You need to get out of there, now!”

“Almost done…there!” she declares triumphantly there’s a shimmer in the air around them, and he can feel static on his skin, and his danger sense is leaving him with his heartbeat racing. There is trouble coming that he won’t be able to handle alone. She taps the rune and he grabs her and practically shoves her over the barricade before mantling over, coming down in a tumble.

“Joey, now!” he shouts out once they’re clear. There are ten seconds left, and she clicks on a small metal plate with a red rune that matches the one on the gel, and he makes sure to pull her behind a shielding wall and protect her with his barrier.

There’s a muffled explosion and the room flashes with red light. But there is something seriously wrong. The hum is still building, and when he peers over the barricade, he grabs his autobow and aims at that shimmering ball that is still hovering in the air.

An arcane barrier is protecting the platform, shimmering weakly while the compound burns off into motes of red dust, and Joey looks horrified. “Curtis added an arcane barrier generator to the platform…he just killed us from the grave," she utters with horror. He starts shifting to his dragon form as fast as he can after handing her the autobow.

“Not today, they’re not,” he states defiantly and turns his head to address the defending volunteers. “Focus fire on the first wave! We buy an opening, the last line falls back!” he barks out to the mages anxiously eying the portal opening as a harbinger of doom.

With less than three seconds left, Drenar glances when he hears Julia’s plasma building over her scales, Angela is also wielding the might of the tsundere dragon, and both of them are waiting for the uninvited guests to arrive. With a single jolt down his spine and seeing her eyes almost alight, he knows he's not alone in this fight before she gives him one determined nod.

“We’re ready for this. This is our fight now.”

When the portal opens…the room breaks out into chaos.

They are not going down without a fight as the might of the Talons army emerges from the portal, and they’re about to have a very bad day. Julia sets the tempo with a roar of defiance, and plasma dances across her scales as she unleashes heaven’s fury.

“Wrong goddamn door, Talon scum!!”