EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Yerig took in a deep breath. "Okay, if that's the plan, I'll do it." He answered, taking out the waterskin with his fire resistance potion. "Just make sure to make your first attack count if you have the element of surprise, if or when he attacks. I can protect myself from harm, at least for a while. Whether he attacks or not, I do expect he'll be willing to talk for a while. Dragons really do like to talk."

Yerig drank both the fire resistance potion, and the others Sabine had made to improve his stamina, then stepped out from behind the foliage and into the clearing. The dragon was faced towards the watchtower at the time, so he did not see Yerig immediately, which allowed the Nord to speak the first words.

"Drem yol lok, zin dovah." Yerig began, making sure he was not yet showing any signs of aggression. He had his hands clasped together in front of himself, far from the weapon on his back.

Upon hearing Yerig's greeting, the dragon turned his body towards him. Each step from his massive form was loud enough to be easily heard by the others, even on the dirt and grass. It gave him a powerful presence, if being a dragon by itself was not enough to accomplish that. This was an older dragon, Yerig could see. In all likelihood, he was one of the earlier dragons created after Alduin. He had faint scars marking the battles he had been through, particularly on his head and near his claws. The dragon raised up his head as he looked down upon Yerig, humming a low growl. "Ahst laat? Lost fin tiid meyz?"

The dragon stared more closely at Yerig, his head inching closer. For a few seconds, he looked over Yerig critically and took in his scent before giving another, more aggressive growl. "Niid! Ni bahlaan joor! Hi kos ni fin gein Zu'u yah. Hi kos ni Dovahkiin!"

With a glance around the area, the dragon spoke a few words: a shout. "Laas-Yah-Nir"

Immediately, the dragon's gaze went directly to the locations of Do'rhajul, then Sabine, despite both being out of sight. Regardless of whatever efforts Sabine might have made to keep them hidden, the dragon's shout had revealed them. There would be no surprising him. "Hmm? Nivahriin tafiirre. Kotin fin bex voth hi!"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Yerig was dead still, crouched down and peering through the bush behind which he was hiding. Do'rhajul was following suit by staying as silent as possible as they observed, giving off only the faintest sounds of breathing. Looking around the clearing, there were yet more details to take in. The grass in some places looked like it had been scorched, and there were what looked like weapons laying around: swords, spears, arrows, and the like. It certainly looked like evidence of a battle, though there were no bodies within view.

"I don't know. It looks like he's...hoarding things? Valuable things, or at least most of it looks valuable." Yerig whispered. "Some of those crates have East Empire Company markings, but that would mean he would had to have made an effort to drag them off of the ships he attacked. I just don't know why. That's not something dragons really do, not outside children's tales. I don't know why this one would be collecting a hoard of treasure; none of that looks like it would be worth much of anything to a dragon."

"But it's worth quite a lot to anyone else." Do'rhajul interjected just as quietly. "It is bait, a trap. The beast wants to lure someone here. Perhaps someone specific, or just people in general."

Yerig still had a confused look about him. "But...why? That would just bring down more hunters upon him. Dragons may be strong, and they may be arrogant, but even they know they are not invincible. They were hunted to extinction once before."

Do'rhajul gave another long look towards the watchtower. "I do not know, but if this Redguard was killed by the dragon, then the axe we seek is somewhere among those treasures, almost certainly."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Yerig nodded. "Aye, most dragons can speak our tongue. Whether they choose to or not is another matter. I can speak the dragon language, at the very least." He answered.

The mountains at the center of the island were not tall enough to be snowy, though the trees did still start to thin as the terrain became more uneven and rocky. Yerig voiced his concern that the group would have to start scaling cliff faces if they wanted to get to the top of the mountain with the dragon, only partially sarcastically. However, the tracks they were following eventually led onto an actual trail: the first sign they had discovered that the island had ever actually been inhabited by anyone. The trail was old and partially overgrown by grass. It seemed to wind its way up the mountain, and based on the tracks they could see, it had been what Cyrus and his group had followed up the mountain.

The trail was long, steep, and winding, but it did lead the entire distance up the mountain. Yerig was nearly out of breath by the time they neared the top, but fortunately, was not too distracted to keep himself quiet on their approach. The trail led up to a mostly flat clearing on the top of the mountain, which was wide and had only grass for foliage. At the very center of the clearing was a single old, stone Imperial watchtower that was just tall enough to be the highest point on the island at its tip, though with the tree cover on the island, it had not been easily visible from below. However, what would draw their eyes more would be the dragon itself, which had finally come into full view. For Sabine, or either of the others, it was among the largest of creatures that any of them had seen in person. Not even the largest and strongest of lycans could come close to the scale of the reptilian beast, which had massive claws and teeth which could easily rip a person apart. And that was not even to mention a dragon's magical abilities. What was even more curious about it, however, was what it was doing. Surrounding the base of the watchtower was what, at first, looked to be debris. There were smashed wooden crates, broken carts, and quite a few chests and other containers, all of which had been collected into a disorganized pile. Looking closely, however, they would be able to see that these containers were not empty, Although it was hard to pick out details from a distance, many of the crates carried trade goods like cloth, leather, and even the glint of gold and jewels. The dragon itself was on the ground in the clearing, dragging in its mouth a crate with East Empire Company markings towards the base of the watchtower.

While Sabine may not have been informed on the habits of dragons, the perplexed look on Yerig's face would show that it was an unusual sight. "That's...odd." Yerig whispered.

Star Wars - Lawless Galaxy

Circumtore

While the Devaronian did have a good set of armor, three blaster bolts was no small amount of destructive energy. Sol'id had been accurate, and dropped the Devaronian quickly and efficiently the moment he had the opportunity. Dead or no, Sirka decided to shove over the top crate on the stack of heavy, metal crates right on top of the Devaronian, both just to make sure, and to clear a line of sight onto the rest of the pirates behind him.

"Officer's down! Push on the rest!" Sirka shouted through the comms as she rested her blaster on the crate in front of her and squeezed the trigger. Sol'id had already thinned the numbers of some of the pirates in front of her, and with the angles from which they were attacking, they could not take cover from both of them at the same time. Without direction from their commander, the remaining pirates were more likely to route and try to flee than to give an organized response. Sirka was vulnerable to being flanked from her back at the moment, so Elias would have to protect her rear. Though, the pirates on that side were more focused on him regardless. Fortunately, there were not all that many left.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Since the axe is the goal, avoiding the dragon is the most efficient plan." Do'rhajul answered. "Although, I believe that not all of us will be helpful for that. Neither myself nor Yerig are particularly adept at stealth, and we would likely be liabilities if we tried. You will likely need to be the one to approach, since your magic can hide you."

Yerig nodded. "I think so too, unfortunately. I've never been one for sneaking around. Still, we need to be careful; it's not easy to sneak up on a dragon. They have sharp eyes and are quite perceptive. Not to mention, there is a shout that can detect life. If he gets and inkling that we are there, he will find us."

Fortunately for the trio, Cyrus' group had done nothing to hide their own tracks, so they remained relatively easy to follow deeper into the island. The hills they were climbing started to grow a bit steeper the closer they came to the mountain, and thusfar, it did not seem like Cyrus had stopped at any point. The island was not terribly large, so they could likely reach the center of the island by early afternoon.

Finally, through a gap in the trees above them, the group would be able to see movement in the sky, just above the taller of the two mountains at the island's center. It was the dragon, coming down for a landing on the mountain in the distance. Its scales were reddish, or perhaps a shade of violet, and it was, of course, a gigantic creature. This was likely the closest that Sabine had been to a dragon before, and they would only be moving closer.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Yerig lightly shook his head. "No, I wasn't joking. Reasoning with him is an option, though I can't say what the chances are of actually talking him out of a fight. You said this one has a bounty, right? Been attacking ships out at sea? He might be a violent one. It's in their nature, unfortunately. They're prideful, dominating. I have talked to dragons before, one or two with more restraint. There was one who made his home in the Reach, not terribly far from me. It's the perfect home for a dragon, really. Plenty of mountains, which they like, and which also makes it easy to find places that the locals can't or don't go to. His name was Aarfrinidok; I would call him shy for a dragon, believe it or not. After the defeat of the World-Eater, he just wanted to find a place to be left alone. I climbed his mountain once, gave him some advice on avoiding the locals."

"But, uh, like I said, this dragon doesn't sound that peaceful." Yerig added. "I could imagine some situations where he might have attacked a ship out of self-defense, but there's definitely no guarantee. Your plan is definitely the safer bet."

Do'rhajul was the one leading the group at the moment. He was not a hunter, but he still seemed to be a skilled tracker. He did have a lycan's sense of smell to pick up on the traces that Cyrus' group had left behind, and a sharp eye to spot traces of their tracks. The landscape around them was still forested, but was starting to become more hilly as they drew ever-closer to the mountains at the center of the island.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I...thank you. I will consider your advice." Do'rhajul replied, standing up once Sabine turned away. He walked ashore and over to his belongings, quickly dressing himself, albeit only in a loincloth for the moment. It took longer for a Khajiit to dry himself than a Human, and he did not wish to soak his clothing. Picking up the rest of his belongings carefully in his arms, he turned back to camp, but gave one more look towards Sabine. "Sabine..." He began, though there was a pause as he seemed to consider his words. "...sleep well. And thank you, again. I do appreciate the second chance."

---

The night was mostly uneventful, apart from one or two more distant roars. They never drew closer, though they did serve as a firm reminder of the stakes of their current task. The more Sabine traveled with him, the more it became clear that Do'rhajul still had a strong, military sense of discipline. He was awake before sunrise, and already had breakfast cooking before anyone else was even fully awake. He was much like Lorag in several ways, except less inclined to levity. Yerig, on the other hand, was in no hurry to wake up, and was the last to rise. He preferred to act at his own pace, which was somewhat slow compared to the the others. Being an old hermit, it was likely that he was rarely in a rush for much of anything.

Nevertheless, it did eventually come time for the group to get moving, and Yerig was just as ready as everyone else to focus on the task at hand. They would be following Cyrus' trail deeper into the island in search of the axe. The hope was that they would not need to confront the dragon, but of course, they could not merely assume everything would go to plan.

"So, Sabine." Yerig began. "What exact approach would you want to take if we happen to run into this dragon? Would you rather ambush it, sneak by it, or try to reason with it?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Do'rhajul seemed almost more surprised by Sabine's last question than by anything else she had said or done up to that point. He turned his head directly towards her and looked at her almost as if she was insane. It took several seconds for him to actually respond. "Um, that...that will not be necessary. Nor would it be appropriate, I do not think. I am not dressed at the moment." He replied. It appeared that he was far from being accustomed to the average lycan's lack of modesty.

Do'rhajul shifted around in place where he was sitting, but seemed to be reluctant to stand up. "There is quite a lot I wish was different about the past, but it is only painful to dwell on it. I cannot alter history, and my soul may or may not already be doomed. But, I can at least have some confidence, some...peace in the fact that my actions in the rest of my life will at least be for a better cause than what I have done in the past decade. It is something. It will not erase my sins; it may not even atone for them, but it is something worth doing."

Star Wars - Lawless Galaxy

Circumtore

It would be a brief window of opportunity, but an opportunity nonetheless. "Hey, uh...other Mandalorian, cover the left flank when I cross." Sirka said over their comms to Sol'id. She waited for Elias to make his throw, then started to lean out just as he took his shot. "Crossing!" Sirka shouted.

The flames, while perhaps not deadly, were certainly startling and painful to the three pirates in the center of their lines. The Devaronian had seen it coming and quickly hit a button on one of the devices on his belt, activating a personal energy shield around himself. He was protected from the fire, though it still burned against the shield in front of him to obscure his vision, while the other two were not even that lucky.

Sirka sprinted at full speed across open ground, trusting Sol'id to cover the left flank while Elias had the attention of the right. She wanted to capture the center. She would take a look at the E-Web if she could, but she doubted the rocket had left it in one piece. Of course, she still had to take the position first.

As Sirka sprinted up towards the center, she was firing her blaster full-auto from the hip at her blinded foes. It was not a particularly stable firing position, but as she rapidly drew closer, accuracy mattered less and less. Several shots hit the Devaronian's shield, while about three or four struck a Human pirate in the torso. The other pirate, a Rodian, did not get hit by a blaster bolt, but by the time he had cleared his vision enough to know what was going on, Sirka was hardly even a meter from him. From a full sprint, she led with a kick to the Rodian's head that carried enough force to split his skull in two as it smashed into the nearest crate.

The pirates had arranged the crates around the E-Web in a semi-circle to offer protection from multiple sides, so Sirka would have decent cover if she could keep the position. Of course, she did have enemies on opposite sides of her, but she hoped that the Mandalorians would be enough of a threat to them to keep them from pushing her location. From where she was, she could take shots at the rest of the pirates against which they would have no cover. Now under much more immediate threat from Sirka, the Devaronian ducked behind several of the stacked crates on the left flank, potentially within view of Sol'id.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Ocrest..." Do'rhajul repeated. His mind turned back towards the past, and his face turned grim. Again, he started to look away from Sabine as he spoke. "I remember what happened. It was an order that came down from the priests. I did not understand it at the time; I thought it was too aggressive. We launched simultaneous attacks against multiple clans, every one of which we knew the location. It was a short term victory for us to destroy so many clans, but ultimately a long term loss in the war effort. Your people learned, adapted, and retaliated effectively."

Do'rhajul took in a deep breath, the reminder of the clans he had attacked not doing much to improve his mood. "I did not understand it then, but it was because Vile had already given up on you. He had already deemed the war not to be worthwhile, so attacking at that time made sense just to claim what souls he could before abandoning the war. I was a fool not to see it, and to keep following those orders. Thinking about it now, I would wager that my task to hunt down and kill the Champion was meant as a way to be rid of me. I doubt Vile would have any issues sacrificing a loyal zealot like Arinette if it meant tying up a loose end like myself. Perhaps that shall happen still; this Ri'vashi's rage against me is completely justified. It would be wrong of me to raise a finger against her, no matter what she does to me."