Hana watched silently as the Rio-dragon lifted into the air and angled towards the approaching shapes on the horizon. She turned away when Wheel approached her, a twinkle in his eyes betraying his otherwise deadpan face. "What do you know about dragons?" He asked. She'd been asking herself the same question, "Honestly? Not much. I know that they live in the east, they know more than any single human could possibly know, and you can win their favor by fairly beating them in a game. Oh, and they're incredibly dangerous." He nodded, looking out on the horizon. "Can you think of any reason a dragon would be out this far at sea?" She shook her head, "I have no fucking clue." Surprised, Wheel let out a barking laugh. 

"Alright, come with me, we're going to get the weapons out."

And Hana followed him down to the armory, trying to ignore the worry building in her breast.

---

Pieter heard the clatter of Uban's fallen mug. A smile briefly warmed his face when he looked at his resting apprentice. "The lad will be fine," He thought to himself, "An hour nap should put him back in service." 
He took stock of the wind, and adjusted course. Thankfully, the wind was with them, and they'd be able to maneuver the [i]Borealis[/i] with ease. Of course, a galley didn't rely on the wind, and he didn't know what to expect with a dragon. He waited for the boy to return. 

---

 Although nobody on the [i]Borealis[/i] had a reference point for what a healthy dragon would have looked like, it's unlikely they would have described what was in the air above them. The eyes were a clouded milky white, and the membrane of it's wings were scarred and mottled like patchwork. The dragons great mouth hung open, and massive, yellowed fangs jutted out. Impossible to see from a distance, but those close enough would have been able to make out three figures atop the dragon. They clambered across the dragon, which seemed to either duly tolerate or ignore them. The figures were bundled in thick jackets and trousers to fight the chill, and one of them would peer over the side of the dragon to look at the galley below. 

From such a distance, the sailors aboard the top deck of the galley were miniature, and it was easy to assume the danger they represented was as slight as their size. The faint crack of gunfire whenever the dragon ducked lower was very real, however. 

The dragon and the galley were in a stalemate. The galley didn't have powerful enough guns to hit the dragon when it was at a distance, and the dragon and those atop it seemed reluctant to dive into the range of the slavers. It would have been a trivial matter for the dragon to drop a heavy rock on the ship and anyone unfortunate to be standing beneath, but nothing like that occurred. 

By now, both the dragon and the galley had spotted the small ship approaching them. Neither of them changed course. The dragon lifted further into the sky, staying completely out of range of gunfire.

Clouds rolled across to the east, and the wind was stiff. The distances between the galley, the dragon, and the [i]Borealis[/i] created a sensation of stillness. Nobody was moving, the sea and sky around them shrank.

Soon, the space between them would disappear completely, and it was anyone's guess to what would happen then.