Jazz was a proud cat despite the fact that he was not technically a cat. He had been raised by the great and powerful Soral and his partner Ruena. This had given him the chance to gather and lead a team of magical cats to sniff out the best information Althaedor had to offer. In reality, Jazz was a rare magical being called a kitica, and he never bothered to hide it. Even Jazz himself was not completely sure what a kitica was, but he knew he was special.
He had special powers as well. One of them, teleportation, was especially useful for sneaking and information gathering. Since this was Gero he would need to track down, Jazz returned to the scene of the fallen trade from nine years ago to see if he had been foolish enough to return. Everything was exactly as Jazz had left it. It seemed they hadn’t even bothered to pick up the remaining valuables before everyone fled.
There went the only lead he had. Well, almost. It had been nine years, but Jazz was confident his second special skill would still work fine. Jazz could track magic traces. The traces were faint, but he could still find and follow them. He would never forget the magic of that vile man or his evil accomplice. The accomplice in particular had a darker feel to him and his traces stood out the most.
A little tracking later and Jazz discovered that Gero was a sloppy fool after all. He hadn’t returned to his old haunt, but he had settled in the base of his accomplice. That dealt with the issue of his living space, but where would the new trade be? If he failed here, Jazz knew that Soral would put himself up as bait after all.
That was altogether unacceptable. If Soral was endangering himself here, who would make delicious treats for him? Even worse, what if Gero did something to him that hindered his ability to make delicious things? With this in mind, Jazz slunk through the halls for any information he could use. With swift steps and trickery he was able to follow someone through a portal without being noticed.
Jazz had the distinct feeling he was somewhere different, but this place was exactly like the place before. No, there was one distinct difference. Jazz could feel the aura of a powerful dragon here, along with a slight haze of dangerous magic that seemed to fill the halls. As he was a spy and not technically a cat, Jazz had no problems giving in to curiosity to find the source.
The further in he went the less people and places there were to hide and slink between. Jazz came upon a large cage where a rose red dragon was chained and bound to an evil looking artifact. Magic drained or not, why was such a powerful creature in its true form not fighting back? As if sensing his question the dragon turned its head, locking its pastel pink eyes on him.
“What brings you to this accursed place, little one?” she asked, sounding weary more than anything else.
While there were many things that Jazz should not convey there was one thing he could answer truthfully. It was impossible to say whether or not the dragon had the ability to understand him, though.
“Curiosity.”
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Ruena tried not to worry when Jazz did not return swiftly. The cat was proud, but he was also skilled. If needed he could and would prioritize his safety over the mission, and Ruena supported this prioritization. What this likely meant was that Jazz had found a promising trail and would have plenty to share upon his return.
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Upon his return, before he would even consider giving any sort of a report, Jazz demanded dinner. Ruena regretted more every day how much she had allowed Soral to spoil the cat. Once the meal was finished, he begrudgingly allowed Ruena to attach his temporary collar.
One of the first projects Ruena had worked on with Janon was a device that would allow someone other than Soral to understand the cats they used as spies. No matter how sneaky or effective the cat network was, it meant nothing if no one could understand their reports.
Perhaps it was because of his plentiful experience with the circular objects, but what Janon ended up creating was a temporary collar and bracelet pair that harnessed Soral’s telepathic abilities to allow two minds to link regardless of language. The main drawback was that no matter how well they could understand the cats, the cats had to be willing to communicate with the one wearing the paired bracelet. That was, if you could get the collar on in the first place.
This had begun the cat partner system where the warriors would adopt, care for, and bond with one of the many cats that had gathered in the Alodan Forest. Then there was Jazz. Jazz would only speak directly to her or Soral unless he was begging for food. Whenever anyone else dared to present the collar to him he would mysteriously disappear. Since the system worked, Ruena had yet to design a more convenient form for the device to take without sacrificing some of the current functionality.
Ruena snapped her pair bracelet into place and locked eyes with the fluffy white feline. “So, what did you find?” she asked him.
‘A dragon,’ Jazz answered with a yawn, ‘A mother with a tragic tale.’
“A dragon?” Ruena repeated with a sinking feeling.
Dragons, especially full blooded dragons, rarely appeared in Altea, the human half of Althaedor. When they did, they were usually disguised in human form. So why had Jazz, who she had sent to get information on Gero, returned with news of one? None of the scenarios in her head would end well. Even more so if that dragon was also the tragic mother. Unfortunately, the cat’s explanation only confirmed her fears.
‘Gero has united with his partner from before to revive the trade,’ the fluffy feline explained, ‘She is the key to their plan. They have taken her family hostage to use her poison to craft slave seals instead of collars.’
Ruena had to stop him there for some clarification. “Who is his partner? Are you referring to the man who offered to fix my lack of magic nine years ago?”
Jazz nodded in confirmation, lightly closing his eyes as he did a slow and deliberate stretch. To any onlookers rather than a report or any kind of conversation she would appear to just be watching a lazy cat. If she hadn’t been talking as well, that is.
“What did you mean by her poison?” Ruena questioned, “Does she craft it, or is she who I fear?”
‘I don’t know who you fear, but she is a powerful poison dragon.’
There was only one poison dragon in Altea. Her name was Venerosa and she resided in the kingdom of Valen. The Valen were a mysterious and seclusive race of silver haired sorcerers. If they were involved, things would be far more difficult.
“Where is she being held?” Ruena asked instead.
‘Some kind of noble dwelling’s hidden bunker at the border of Valen,’ Jazz described, ‘The one facing the Warlord Territories.’
Scratch difficult. This was going to be near impossible. Ruena had a feeling she knew how Gero intended to revive the slave business. He was going to smuggle slaves to the Warlord territories. No one who entered that place had ever returned, but if anyone could, it would be a weasel like Gero.
Jazz finished his report by helping her mark the exact locations of everything he had found on a map, and giving her a base layout of the bunker’s structure. One advantage to using telepathy to communicate was that descriptions could go far beyond words.
With this new information, Ruena was more convinced than ever that her secret weapon was necessary. After all, no matter how powerful the enemy’s magic, it would do them no good if they couldn’t use it.