by The Kingpin » Thu Nov 25, 2010 9:54 pm
as the boats approached and Septimus neared the water, he suddenly spread his wings, the wind filling the webbing as he shot forward with tremendous speed. "HIT THE DECK!" yelled the captain of one of the larger fishing boats in the Dragon's way, the crew dropping to the floor, hands over their heads, bracing for whatever horrible fate the Dragon would unleash. instead, all they got was the net tangling up in their rigging, the Dragon shooting past overhead, closing in on the village at high speed.
"Kirk! The Dragon's closing in!" called the harbour master. Kirk grumbled as he turned around and ran for the cannon again, which by now had been rearmed, a precaution in case a second dragon showed up to aid the first or to take advantage. he took aim, and fired, but the Dragon twisted sideways, catching the net in his claws, curling it up into a ball, which glowed whitish blue as it was hurled back at them, hitting Kirk and pinning him to the floor, tangling him up. more nets were fired from the few other defense cannons around the area, and a single ballista was fired, but all missed, with the ballista shot actually being caught by the Dragon, who had seen it coming, the Dragon shooting past over the cannons and landing in the middle of the harbour. "STOP!" boomed the Dragon as he glanced around at them, eyeing Kirk and tossing the ballista bolt to his flank, the man cowering away when the dragon saw him, expecting death. "If i knew this was how you treated visitors perhaps i would've gone to another village" growled Septimus as he went down on all fours, walking towards Kirk and offering a clawed hand, wrapping it around the man's arm and lifting him to his feet. The man backed away as the rest of the guard took aim, the dock workers standing back at a distance, murmuring over the fact the dragon had actually spoken to them. "Stand down" ordered Kirk as he regained his composure, before turning to the dragon, a somewhat bewildered look on his face, Septimus responding with a grateful smile. "What do you want, dragon?" questioned the man, Septimus chuckling. "Nothing that will threaten your home, i assure you" growled the Dragon as he lifted a wing, eyes glowing as the strap unbuckled on a creamy leather satchel on his flank, a ruffling sound coming from the satchel, drawing the men's attention to it as out of the top levitated.....a book. "I'm trying to learn what there is to be learned of Aster. Books, elders who would be willing to give me an audience...anything that could give me information. after that, i'll take my leave". the man stared at the dragon, dumbfounded. "You mean to tell me....that ALL you want....is knowledge?! you actually think i'd fall for something like that?! MEN! Take aim!" barked Kirk, the men raising their weapons and training them on Septimus, the Dragon sighing, his eyes narrowing with a rich blue glow. in an instant, the weapons the soldiers wielded were tugged out of their grip, landing on the floor at their feet, the men jumping back, somewhat frightened by how easily they had been disarmed. "If you won't give me what i wish, then i'll simply leave and search elsewhere. though i don't think it'll bode well for you to take decisions without at least checking with the village leader" responded the Dragon. Kirk stared at the Dragon, not really having much of a response, finally saying "I AM the Village Leader". "And your information is so valuable you won't even allow a scholar to learn from it?" responded Septimus sincerely. Kirk sighed, looking at his men, the whole lot of them confused and worried, not knowing whether to be awestruck by how the Dragon behaved, or to fear for their lives if it got any more annoyed. "Look dragon....we're just fishermen...fishermen and shipwrights...if it's knowledge you want, there's a large elven village in the bay nearby that you may be able to get information from. I believe they have a library or two. And last i heard, they also had a few temples. maybe you could persuade their priests to give you some information as well. We have nothing for you here" said the man finally, considering it dangerous to get on the Dragon's bad side. they had successfully driven off teams of 2-3 dragons with their defences in the past, but this one managed to weave through their defences single handedly. in addition, the glowing runes on it's body discomforted him. they looked like they were connected to magic, but he couldn't be sure, and he certainly wasn't willing to risk his or his men's lives to find out. luckily, he would never find out. the Dragon bowed in gratitude. "Then I take my leave of you. My gratitude for the sincerity, even if i gained nothing from it. Don't worry about your men in the boat. the net just got tangled in the rigging. none of them were harmed and the ship will be fine. Were your men not so fearful of me I would ask you to teach me of your fishing and ship-building techniques. But perhaps that will have it's own time, sometime in the future maybe. As a side note, next time you try and convince a visitor you're the Village Leader, at least try and look the part. I saw through that one without even reading your mind" responded the Dragon plainly, before turning and spreading his wings, Kirk sighing in relief that the conversation was over without anything being damaged or anyone hurt, though he worried about what would happen when word of his little masquerade reached the Village Elders. the Dragon's eyes shimmered as the book returned to the satchels on the beast's flanks, the Dragon leaping into the air, heading for the bay village, hoping he would have better luck there...
"Ah yes, organised chaos. the sign of a clever but ever-busy mind. To the perpetrator, a carefully woven web of belongings and intrigue, but to the bystander? Madness!"
–William Beckett, Lore of Leyuna RPG