Bad luck ~ Bandit camp south of Berk (Rilkar intro) (Open)

[Rilkar Olden & Sindyr]

    A punch caught him in the jaw.  Rilkar turned his head and spat into the loose soil, his bound hands caused the ropes around them to creak, the pole he was bound to dug into his bare back.  Booming laughter echoed around the camp.  Heavy boots hit the ground, rattling buckles and trophies as the large bodies proudly walked about him.  He looked up at the large bodied men as they beat what was left of his crew.

"Quite a nice catch if I do say so myself.  Am I right boys!?"  one of the men shouted, throwing a knee into the stomach of one of Rilkar's tied up men.  "It's almost a shame I'm getting bored, your pathetic life will be over soon.  Once you're gone, we'll throw your corpses to sea.  Give the dragons something to nibble on for a while."  The man turned his back to him and began to walk away.

"Kill them."

    Around him, the other raiders pulled various knives and axes, taking a moment to stand in front of the helpless men in front of them, sharpening their weapons.  Rilkar's gaze was forcefully turned to the raider in front of him. 

"Except you.  Boss man wants you alive for a while longer yet."  Rilkar looked over to his crew once his head was released.  Splintering bone and rent flesh sounded as each man was executed in turn.  He sighed and watched the men clean their weapons and walk away, leaving the bodies still tied to the poles next to him.

    Keep calm, the last thing you need is to draw attention to yourself any more than they already give.  Need to remain calm and think about how to escape this.  You need to get your gear back, get your ship, find Berk.  Someone there should be able to help.  No, that's too far away to just leave the ship.  How tall is the pole?  Four or five feet?  Maybe you can climb it?  Lean your weight forward and use the bindings as a method to climb.  How long did he have?  Not long, the sun is setting.  He had to try.

    He shifted his weight and began to shimmy his way up the pole.  It was slow, painful, his body ached as he clamped his legs around the rough bark of the pole.  Closer.... Closer... His hand bindings came free of the pole and his weight shifted backwards.  Falling onto his back, pain shot through his already aching body.  He lay there for a moment, his hands still bound behind his back, and his feet bound together.  He had to rectify this, and fast.  Sitting up, he shifted himself to move his feet through his hand bindings until his hands were in front of him.  After wrenching himself into excruciating positions to position himself, he quickly unbound his feet and tore at his wrist bindings with his teeth.

    One of the raiders laughed as he left his hut.  Surprised, Rilkar quickly repositioned himself around the pole as if he were bound and lowered his head.  The raider, sadistic in intention slowly made his way towards him.

  "I know what the boss said, but sometimes, a man just can't help himself.  I'm sure you know what I'm saying."  The man's hand made for his weapon, and with a slow deliberate motion, drew a short dagger from his belt.  "I'm sure the boss won't mind if I gave you a couple cuts, now would he."  He held is blade to Rilkar's bare chest.

  "Oh... I know exactly what you're saying." He leapt up from the ground and headbutted the larger man, staggering him back and causing him to drop his dagger.  Before the man could react, Rilkar grabbed the dagger and ran it up into his throat.  After the body fell, as quickly as he could, he took what arms and armour the fallen brute carried and donned them himself.  In his mind, he made a mental checklist of the things he had to accomplish by nightfall.  Ensuring the proper burial of his once loyal crew was on the top of it.  Steeling himself for a tougher encounter, he turned and began to sneak his way into the buildings of the camp.

---

Admin note - Moved to Lands In Between - Other Places

[Rilkar Olden & Sindyr]

    Checking the huts was one thing, dealing with the occupants was another. Knowing very well he wouldn't be able to handle every one of the raiders at once, he had to find creative ways to deal with the occupants. Tossing rocks at things tended to be a bit of a common theme though, creating noises to lure them out of a hut then stab them in the back was a relative challenge compared to his normal skill-set. He ended up using the axe he found on one of the raiders more than the dagger he actually favored. It wasn't until he found the chief of the raiders waiting for him in the last and largest of the huts did he finally find what he was looking for. His armour and weapons sat on racks in the corner of the chief's hut. His weapons were thrown haphazardly about, but his armour was strangely well kept.

"I seem to have underestimated your resourcefulness."  The chief laughed and turned to face him.  His scarred face far more detailed in the bright lights of torches.  "No matter.  Heh Heh.  You'll never beat me, not while I still have your weapons and some of my men left."  Almost on queue, a group of three raiders entered the room behind him, all bearing various weapons from axes to shortswords.  Rilkar sighed and sagged his shoulders.  No Honour.

"I'll play your game, but beware, you will lose..."  He said under his breath as he took a second axe from his belt, holding one in each hand.  He turns himself to point an axe at the chief and at the men at the door. 

"Get him boys!" The chief jumped over the table in the center of the room, an axe above his head.  The men charged as well.  You're in trouble... He thought to himself.  Within the moment, things seemed to slow down just that little bit to give him thinking space.  Heavy axe, if he swings it, he'll be hard pressed to stop it.  If you can use that to your advantage, maybe you can eliminate two birds with one stone, if only for a moment.  He did.  The chief swung his axe horizontally to catch his midriff as the three men rushed to meet him, the axe got stuck in one of the raider's chest armor as Rilkar threw himself into a summersault.  killing the man instantly,  Rilkar seized the advantage of the chief trying to pull is axe by climbing to his feet to meet one of the raiders that had gotten past the chief.  Their heavy foot falls made the boards of the hut creak as their weight played to their disadvantage when he caught one of their knees with an axe.  The remaining Raider threw a swing down at him, and he met it with the shaft of his remaining axe.  The raider threw a punch that caught him in the chest, winding him.  He staggered back and dropped an axe.

"Son of a..." he spat, putting a hand to his chest.  The chief turned, dropping his hopeless pursuit of pulling the axe, and bore his fists.  The last raider lunged after him.  He bolted the other direction, heading for his weapons.  He found his longsword, a broad bladed black steel sword.  The weapon felt familiar in his hands.  Without his shield he held his weapon in both hands before bringing the weapon across the raider with a sweep to the torso.  Stunned at the gash in his armor and chest, he fell back clutching his chest.  This left the chief, whose gauntleted hands grasped his blade and tore it from his grip before he could recover from his first swing.  A fist met his face and sent him sprawling once more.

"I warned you little man, you can't beat me."  He grabbed Rilkar by the leather armour's bindings and tossed him across the table.  Rilkar rolled to his feet, coughing as his face throbbed and his heart pounded.  He braced himself on his table as he felt his belt.  The dagger he had taken to start still sat securely in his belt, he had a plan but it would cost him a hit or two.  He's been through worse, he thought to himself.  As the chief jumped onto the table so did he.  He charged the chief and was instantly tackled with the force of a freight train.  He gagged hard as he hit the ground, the chief straddling him and raining blows upon him, dodging the punches as best he can, he grabbed the dagger from his belt and brought it up with a twist of his torso and thrust of his arm.  The blade skipped the shoulder armour and met the chief's neck.  He let go as the blade imbedded itself in his throat.  The chief choked on his own blood as he pulled the dagger from his neck.  The man collapsed on top of him, where he lay helpless and exhausted under the man's sheer bulk.  It was a good fifteen minutes before he could muster the strength to push the bulk off himself.

"Right then...  Mess with a hornet, and you get the stinger."  He stumbled to his feet and gathered his things.  He took a few minutes to put his own armour on, save the helmet, and gather the various weapons around the room, as well as the armour of the chief.  He threw the various pieces into a barrel from the corner near his armour.  He carried the barrel awkwardly to the docks, where they had his ship beached with all his possessions in barrels and crates on the shoreline.  He tossed it into the pile and made his way back to the camp, looking for some way to signal help.  There was no way he was getting his ship off the island without someone's help.  He searched the huts and along the walls until he found a large horn, used to sound an alert.  He would come back to this, after he tended to something rather important.

    A few hours passed before he was finally finished digging the graves for the men who served him until their untimely end.  He didn't know them personally, but he still gave them a burial they deserved.  Once he was finally finished constructing makeshift grave-markers, he made his way slowly back to the horn.  As he reached the horn itself, he steeled himself with a few deep breaths, unsure of what will be attracted to the scent of blood and the sound of the horn.  He blew as hard as he could, the horn bellowing into the night.  He repeated the task every so often, trying to get at least a little rest between calls.  He decided to burn one of the huts as a sort of signal fire as well, more on a whim than necessity.  The more he does to be found, the more of a chance someone, somewhere will find him.  Until then, he waited.

[Deleted]

Though she was a healer, Helle still took her responsibility to Berk as one of it's Dragon Rider's very seriously. This meant that she still volunteered herself to be put on the roster for border patrols to serve as an early warning against any potential invaders, or to assist distressed ships. Today she wished that she might have been a little less forthcoming in her willingness to help, as it was overcast, and the wind across the surface of the rolling ocean was sharp and nipped fiercely at her prominent nose.

Helle shuddered and used one hand to tug her fur-lined hood more closely around her face before returning her grip to the riding straps that went across her Saberthoothed Dragon's broad shoulders.

'Let's turn back,' she called to Swordfang in dragonese over the roar of wind and wave 'We've been flying for an hour since that last island, that puts us at the edge of our patrol route.'

The dragon didn't respond though, and Helle frowned in annoyance. She leaned over to repeat herself, but paused when she saw the way the Sabertoothe's small, but keen, ears twitched 'What is it?' the woman asked, her eyes automatically darting out to the horizon.

'Someone is blowing a horn. Loudly,' Swordfang finally replied with a snort of annoyance as she clamped her ears back along her skull 'There is fire as well.'

"Fire all the way out here?" Helle murmured to herself as she sat up straighter, the wind buffeting her tall form as she tried to see as far as she could. From what she recalled of the maps she'd been forced to memorize of the area, there were a few small islands within range of them, though none of them were particularly friendly. Still...Horn blowing loud and frequent enough to annoy her dragon, plus fire large enough to cast smoke this far out across the ocean...to Helle, that spelled distress call.

'Alright, let's check it out,' she told her dragon, who cast her an annoyed glance back over her shoulder. Swordfang was a master when it came to toeing the line with her human partner, but the look on the woman's face told her that this wasn't one of the times when she would be able to get away with it.

'Oh very well,' she drawled, pumping her long wings so she could get more height over the waves, and then turned slightly so she was heading directly towards the source of the horn. She may have to do extra work today, but at least she might be able to eat whoever it was that was blowing on that blasted horn. Such things weren't normally approved of, but the Sabertoothe was feeling testy enough to give it some consideration.

It didn't take them long to come within sight of the island, and there was indeed a large fire burning on the beach. They headed directly for it, and when they spotted the strange man on the beach, Helle automatically tugged her bow out of it's saddle straps and knocked an arrow. With a subtle squeeze of her knees, she told Swordfang to circle so they could get a good look at him and the situation on the land below them. The woman pulled her bow to half-draw and kept the stranger in her sights while her dragon got a good look.

'There are many dead here, but I can't smell much else over all the blood,' Swordfang told her rider with a distinct tone of disgust in her growl.

'You think he killed them all himself?' Helle asked seriously as they did one more large circle.

'He's certainly covered in enough blood,' the dragon noted.

'Alright...take us in, don't land too close, I want to keep the advantage in case this is a trap,' Helle said after a moment's consideration.

Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, Swordfang complied and took them in for a landing. She backwinged neatly, and dropped quickly to the ground, talons sinking into the damp, cold sand as she watched the man with the horn with intent golden eyes. As her rider dismounted, the Sabertoothe played with the idea of lunging forward and snatching the stupid horn from him, but tabled the idea as Helle stepped out from around her wing, bow at the ready.

"Who are you? What happened here?" Helle asked, tone wary, hazel eyes narrowed as she watched the stranger closely from down the length of her arrow.

[Rilkar Olden & Sindyr]

    By this point, Rilkar hadn't even thought of washing himself of blood.  It had been well over seven or so hours of resting and horn blowing.  The night was well on its way into the dawn hours by the time he finally heard their arrival.  Wings...  The dreaded sound of wings.  Though what did he expect?  He sailed out here in search of the dragon riders to begin with.  But what if it was a raider scout, investigating the alarm of their fallen brethren?  He took no chances and prepared himself.  He gathered his helmet and lance and donned both.  With shield in one hand and lance under his arm, he made his way towards his ship and makeshift graves.  In the time it had taken them to finally find him, he had gathered the raider's corpses and thrown them haphazardly into a pile, not wanting to give them any respect for their occupation.

    It was there he waited.  He searched the sky and saw the dragon before he saw its rider.  His heart sank and beat faster as he held his weapon and shield at the ready.  As the Dragon and its rider landed, weapons drawn, he stared at them through his closed helm, his vision limited but not terribly by his helmet.  He could see the beast was larger up close than it was in the sky, he began to circle around them slowly in a defensive posture, trying to find any possible blind spot.

"I heard you speaking with the beast!  What matter of person are you!?  Friend, or foe!?"  he shouts, his armor scratches together and the bindings creak as he moves slowly. 

"There are no friends of mine in these lands, as they are stranger to me.  Prove to me that I can trust you, and I will answer your question."  His grip tightened around his lance, making ready to dash forward into a thrust if he had to, his wide, black sword, sat neatly at his side.

[Deleted]

"What matter of person I am matters not, and the burden of proving trustworthiness falls to you, considering the pile of bodies lying behind you," Helle called across the empty space between them. As he circled, so did she and her dragon. The large, dappled creature stood out starkly against the pale sands, her scales and fur, normally so thorough in camouflaging her in the forest doing her no good on the sands. Still, Swordfang cut an imposing figure, built like an immense, predatory feline as she was. Her thick, barbed tail swayed in time with her graceful, heavy steps, giving no hint of the terrifying swiftness she was capable of in short bursts. To lunge across the gap between herself and the stranger and crush him with her mighty paws would be nothing. Armor would peel away beneath her talons the way a clam gave way to a skillfully wielded knife...

Feeling the rising tension of her partner behind her, Helle hissed at her in the sibilant tones of Dragonese 'Control yourself. We don't know if he's an enemy yet.'

'Then find out before my patience wears too thin,' the dragon growled in response.

Helle snorted, still watching the strangely armored man as they went through the steps of their potentially deadly dance, and decided to make a concession in the hopes of sparing them all bloodshed "I am Helle...of Berk. This is my dragon, Swordfang. Her patience grows thin, and I cannot guarantee your safety much longer, stranger. I suggest you explain how it is you came to be covered in the blood of so many, Raiders though they may have been."

Oh she knew they were raiders. The area was rife with them, and their ramshackle settlements were always easy to pick out. Question was, just who was this man to them?

[Rilkar Olden & Sindyr]

"Berk."  he says and drops his guard slightly, dropping his weapon out of strike position but keeping his shield up.  "I am Rilkar of Heirah.  Once a kingdom far to the south west but no longer.  If you wish to know what happened, you must turn your gaze to my marooned ship, buried crew, and scattered belongings.  The raiders found and boarded us, we were brought here, and I'm sure the rest you can figure out with your dragon's 'keen' observation skills."

    It's almost a taunt at that point, by what she had said, the dragon had a short temper.  He figured he'd test its loyalty and "Training" by wearing on the beast's nerves.  He'd make himself seem more open though, prove he's not a threat so long as they're not.  It's best to keep himself armed and his weapons not far though.  He decides to remove his helmet to reveal a handsome and shapely face, though bruised and cut as it was.  Its a tad on the gaunt side, much like he'd not eaten in a few days.  He bore a single tattoo on his neck, a small dragon with a lance piercing its chest, almost inconspicuous to most as the armor and clothing he wears normally covers most of it.  His facial hair was a bunch of matted scruff, he'd been unable to tend to it since he began sailing due to lack of proper tools.

"If you are here in response to the horn, I am in your debt.  I've run into a bit of bad luck, being nabbed by Raiders and losing my crew and such."  He turns his shield arm towards his ship and points at the various gear, crates and barrels, as well as the ship that had been run ashore.  "I lack the strength to get my ship back into the water, and would appreciate any assistance in finding Berk."  He frowns a bit, looking at the bodies, graves, and feeling the aches and pains of the previous day.  "I've already been through much trying to locate this place."

[Deleted]

"Heirah," Helle repeated the unfamiliar word, letting it roll off her tongue and across her lips as though tasting it. It rings no bells in her memories, but it doesn't necessarily denote a lie. She knew the maps for leagues around Berk, but if he was from further away than that...well, who knew what kind of kingdoms rose and fell from year to year?

Swordfang bared her teeth with a threatening hiss as the human in a tin can dared speak of her as though she were some lowly dog. She stepped toward him, ominous purpose in her gate, but paused when Helle shot her a look 'Oh just let me eat him and be done with it. We're wasting our time here,' the dragon growled.

'You'll do no such thing. Circle around and see if he's speaking the truth about the graves and the ship,' Helle told her dragon in a tone that brooked no argument, jerking her bow in that direction briefly before turning it to focus back on the man. Even as she did so, though, she wondered if the man was quite sane, taunting a dragon that way.

Swordfang hesitated a moment, then did as she was asked and circled around to the ship, baring her teeth threateningly at the man on her way, but moving no closer to him.

Helle watched as her dragon sniffed about in the sand, and then turned her attention to the ship. She pulled her eyes from the Sabertoothe's dark form when the man spoke again. So, he was looking for Berk bot got himself nabbed by raiders in the process? Hardly an uncommon tale in these waters. It happened more than anyone, let alone Berk herself, liked.

"And what business have you on Berk?" she asked, finally lowing her bow. She kept the bow knocked and her finger on the string, though. Even if the man were to charge at her in a full sprint at this point, he'd never make it to her in time, not with Swordfang at his back the way she was. Even now the dragon had lifted herself onto her hind paws and planted her fore-limbs on the edge of the ship as she sniffed curiously, her keen gaze sweeping over it's tossed contents.

Seemingly satisfied, the Sabertoothe made her way back to her rider's side, and in a low rumble, told her 'It appears to be a merchant ship, ransacked. There are bodies beneath the sand, though they might simply be more raiders.'

Helle gave her companion a thoughtful nod, then turned her attention back to  the man, waiting for him to answer her question before she came to a decision.

[Rilkar Olden & Sindyr]

    "You keep your bow knocked as if expecting an attack.  With you to my front and dragon to my back, it would be a fools errand."  He turned and stepped back so that he could keep both the dragon and Helle in view.  He could deflect her arrow with his steel shield, but he'd get the dragon on his back before he could make any significant move.  "My business on Berk is my own.  Saving me though would earn a fair discount on any goods on my ship, save my tomes.  When I feel I can trust you more than this task, I will tell you why I seek Berk.  Until then, time will tell." 

    To ensure he keeps Helle's trust, even if the dragon despises him, he decides to rig his lance into it's quiver-like holder on his back.  His shield is strapped to his forearm to ensure he couldn't be disarmed of it in a fight.  He gestured towards his ship and began to walk towards it.  The various gear scattered over the sand has been neatly gathered back into the various crates and barrels already to ensure it was only a matter of carrying them back onto the ship itself.  Which was another problem as he had no form of dock to gangplank his way onto the ship.  He had to get the gear onto the ship, then the ship into the water.  With the dragon rider's help he could finally make more progress towards reaching Berk.

    "Though I cannot answer your first question, I can tell you more of what I am.  By the looks of the ship, one could paint me to be a trader or a traveling salesman.  But one sees the armour and weapons, and they double guess themselves.  I was once part of an order of knights.  Dragonlance they called themselves.  Though once this order was destroyed, I had taken to being a trader and selling what goods I could accumulate over time.  Kept me from being a sellsword or some other worthless hobby."  He approaches some of the crates and sorts through a few before pulling out a quiver of arrows.  Upon inspection, the arrows were longer of shaft and came to a bodkin point, designed to penetrate body armour at range.  They also proved effective against dragon scale.  He gathered about twenty or so arrows into the leather quiver and tossed it onto the sand. 

    "Consider this a token of trust for now."

[Deleted]

"I'm always wary around strangers, particularly those I find on raider islands," Helle remarked dryly.

'First he will not talk, and now he talks too much,' Swordfang muttered in annoyance as she sat back on her haunches, her rider covering up a laugh of amusement with a slight cough.

Helle's attention was drawn back to the man when he walked to his stash of goods and came back with a familiar item. The quiver of arrows clattered to a stop at her feet and she looked at it suspiciously for a moment. Finally, she placed her own arrow in the quiver on her back, slung her bow across her shoulder, and carefully lifted the quiver at her feet. She inspected the arrows within thoughtfully, noting the quality, and the fact that they were armor piercing. Either the man had a death wish, or he was in earnest. Helle shared a look with her dragon, then turned her attention back to him.

"Alright, we'll help," Helle said at long last before turning and attaching her new prize to the straps hanging from Swordfang's saddle and securing it tightly. She turned and looked around thoughtfully, surveying the scene and making a plan "Swordfang can get your boat in the water, but her claws aren't the best for lifting. We'll need to make a gang plank of some sort to get your things on board," she said, then turned her eyes inland to the huts. Well, it wasn't like anyone was using them.

'Go find what long, flat pieces of wood you can,' she told her dragon, who looked ready to mutiny at this request 'the sooner this gets done, the sooner we can get back to Berk.' When the dragon still looked reluctant, Helle sighed and added 'I'll see about getting you a haunch from the butcher if you do it.'

Swordfang pretended to think it over for a moment, then nodded her head and sauntered up the beach and proceeded to knock over the nearest hut with a casual swing of her thick, armored tail.

Helle rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the man and said "While she does that, we need to go find some rope or something to join the wood together so we can get your stuff up into that boat," then took her bow and an arrow from her back and readied them and headed up the beach to another hut. Rilkar certainly seemed to have taken care of everyone, but that didn't mean that there was no one waiting to pounce and get revenge.

[Rilkar Olden & Sindyr]

    "Good, Good.  Thank you for your help, and the beast too."  Rilkar jogs to the backside of the ship and climbs up the ladder into his ship, gathering some extra ropes that were originally intended for the masts.  "Once we get my gear and stock back onto the ship, as well as the ship out to sea, we can further engage in jolly cooperation as we make our way towards Berk."

    He makes his way back down to some of the longer fallen boards from the huts and begins to rope them together, noting the still wary attitude of Helle.  He smiles to himself and continues to rope various boards together forming a rather long gangplank.  He ties off the rest of the rope, ensuring that there's no loops to catch anyone's feet on before picking up one end and dragging it to the side of his ship.  One aligning the plank with the side of his ship, he begins to hoist one side and with a grunt of effort, pushes up and creates a point the dragon could use to push the plank the rest of the way, or if none was willing, he would push it the rest of the way himself.

    "If the beast here would be so kind as to help push this the rest of the way."  He adds, holding the plank up until someone shows him some sign of acknowledgement.  "If you're still wary out of fear some poor fool would be lying in wait, I can assure you I've been quite thorough of this wretched place.  Wanting a safe place to rest, one had to be doubly sure nobody was waiting for him to rest."

    Rilkar held the board up with one arm then worked his lance out of its holder.  He then used his lance to prop up that side of the gang plank until the dragon could work their way around to helping him.  Maybe I should have tied a long piece of rope to the other end of this then pulled it myself?  He thought to himself.

[Deleted]

"Her name is Swordfang," Helle corrected Rilkar as she returned from the nearest hut with more rope, her bow once more slung across her shoulders. In her absence, he had managed to get the gangplank mostly assembled using the wood her dragon had acquired for them. His tone was enough to make her consider just leaving him there to sweat as he held up the wood construct himself, but she was ready to be off the wretched island. So, instead, she scaled the ladder onto the ship, leaned over the railing to tie off the rope around the plank, and then looped it over the boom. That complete, she took the rope in hand and hauled on it, easily lifting the gangplank into place.

With a satisfied dusting of her hands, the woman finally shoved her fur lined hood back off her head to cool herself off after her exertions. Her long blonde hair was braided into a crown around her head, though stray tendrils fluttered around her angular, dark skinned face in the stiff ocean breeze. 

"Alright, lets get this stuff on board so we can get out of here," she said as she jogged nimbly down the gangplank and grabbed the nearest box and started back up again. Tall and lean, she was stronger than her spare frame made her seem at first glance, not that it was easy to tell considering all the layers she wore to keep warm while flying. She returned for more again and again until, between the two of them, everything was on board.

[Rilkar Olden & Sindyr]

    Rilkar scoffed at the dragon's name but gladly assisted in hauling his gear back onto his ship while the dragon watched from its perch in the sand.  "What made you decide to train that thing?  Surely its violent nature would overcome even the most rigorous attempts to train it."  He thought about what he said for a moment then smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand.  It probably sounded better in his head than when he actually asked it.  

    He looked down at the dragon and thought as he brought the last crate of supplies up into the ship.  "Would you happen to be hungry?  I'm sure being up all night as you have been must have been testing on your hunger by now, I know it has for me."  His curiosity was finally getting the better of his mind as he watched it wait out their tedious deed.  His distrust for the thing lingered as he'd seen how the thing looks at him, eyeballing him waiting for him to make a mistake and enrage its owner.  He thought it would be best to give it some leeway as to NOT enrage the owner, as she seemed to take great offense to his attitude towards said beast.  

    "I have some spare food left from the journey in one of the barrels.  Its salted meats to preserve it, but i'm sure once both of you get past the salt, the seasonings should make it quite palettable."  I started arranging the barrels on the deck of the ship while taking the crates lower to be stacked in the hold until he got a response from either the dragon or his owner.  "Perhaps 'SwordFang' might like some as well.  I'd rather not test it more than I have been." 

    "In the long run, I'm sure the various supplies I carry would be welcomed in Berk while I conduct my personal studies."

[Deleted]

Helle broke out into laughter when Rilkar remarked on the difficulty of training such a dragon, thinking he was joking. When she realized that he was in earnest, her laughter broke off "Oh, you're not kidding, are you? You really think that?" she asked with some surprise "Dragon's aren't dumb animals," the woman explained as she shoved a barrel up the gangplank and settled it on the deck while Rilkar brought up the last crate. She paused to brush some hair from her light hazel eyes before continuing "They're perfectly intelligent, she can understand most of what you're saying by this point, she's picked up a lot of Common over the years. Haven't you?" the last part was addressed to the dragon in question, who was occupied in staring off down the beach. Her only sign of hearing her partner was a dissmissive flick of one small ear.

The dragon rider rolled her eyes before continuing "Anyways, dragons and humans are partners on berk. They're not like dogs or horses, they're our friends, and we help each other out like friends." A slight smile crossed the woman's angular features before she turned her gaze to Rilkar as he offered them food.

"Thanks, but the salt tends to make her over-produce venom. Learned that one the hard way," she said with a grimace "and I'm not hungry. Thank you though," she added with a thoughtful look in his direction before turning her assessing gaze to the ship itself.

Everything seemed to be in place, so she said "Looks like we're ready to set off. You might want to hold onto something," as she herself went to the nearest railing and took a good hold of it.

'Okay, we're ready. Get us off this beach so we can hurry up and get home,' Helle called to her dragon.

'Finally,' the dragoness drawled as she got to her feet and stretched, cat-like, before sauntering over to the back of the boat 'You'll be riding with him?' she asked skeptically as she rose to her hind legs and planted her fore-paws on the ship's stern.

'Yes. I might be able to get more information out of him this way. He's already admitted that he's coming to Berk to study.'

'Study what?' Swordfang asked as she readied herself. She pushed hard against the seasoned wood, the quick jerking motion enough to distract Helle from answering. There was a second lurch as Swordfang caught her footing and was able to move the boat more smoothly along the sand, until it made it into deep enough water that it was properly afloat. She waded back out, flicking her paws irritably in an effort to shake off the salty water. The dragon sat on the beach and proceeded to clean her paws while the humans scrambled to get the sail's down and set to catch the wind.

[Rilkar Olden & Sindyr]

    "Finally!  It feels so good to be making progress again!"  Rilkar looked back at SwordFang on the shore and gave her an approving nod.  He shuffled around the ship tightening ropes and making sure things are well and good.  It wasn't really his job to know how a ship worked but he picked up precious few things from his now dead crew.  The cloth he wore around his hip and matching shoulder cape flapped in the wind as the ship reached full speed.

    "You speak the dragon's language fluently.  Another thing to tally into my studies.  So much to accomplish on my quest.  So little time."  He looked back at the strange huntress who had decided to grace his presence and rescue him in his time of need.  No doubt he could have eventually found a way off the island by sacrificing his cargo, but he couldn't have that, not with so many tomes stored beneath the decks.  He would have his own dragon, he would turn the very tool used against his people, against the cultists.  But he wouldn't use the dragon as a tool, or a means to an end, he would befriend it.  He would have back what was stolen from him so long ago all the while striking blows against the very remains of the cult that destroyed his home.

    A few minutes after the ship had reached its full speed he had vanished below deck before he even expected a response to his outburst on the deck.  He eventually came back up with a few large tomes and plopped them onto the deck near the wheel.  Kind of in order to multi task he had a stand built next to wheel to hold an open book so he may read more into the norse culture.  The books had said nothing of dragons and people working together out of genuine friendship and trust.  The only cooperation he'd seen between man and the beast had been as a tool of warfare.  It fascinated him that there was this completely new culture to explore, but it terrified him to the core that one wrong move would spell his demise.  He chose to try and banish those thoughts from his head before he spoke.


    "Tell me again which way I am going?  I've been exploring island after islant trying to find your people before my ship was ransacked.  Now that I have someone on board who actually knows these waters, now I can make some real progress!"

[Deleted]

Helle gave a little snort of amusement at Rilkar's joyful shout at finally being on his way again. She leaned against the main mast and watched him thoughtfully as he moved this way and that, adjusting the occasional rope here, or turning the wheel there. He didn't move with the practiced ease of a sailor, more like someone who had learned by watching. Still, better than nothing.

"The language is Dragonese, we make no secret of it's existence," the woman said, tone wry as she watched him scamper down below deck and come back up with a few books. Realizing that he couldn't be paying full attention to the ship and reading, Helle stepped away from the mast and went about adjusting the sails with a practiced hand. She had no real love for the sea, as the deep water frightened her in ways she didn't like to admit, but like every viking child, she had been taught to sail as a girl. Dragon rider she may be, but she was still Viking.

When things were adjusted to her liking, Helle turned to look towards shore. It was out of sight by this time, but she saw Swordfang rise into the air and catch them up with a few lazy beats of her large wings. The Sabertoothe glided past, moving faster than seemed likely considering the slow rate of her wing beats. She trailed ahead, leading the way back home, wing tips skimming the waves.

"Just follow her, she always knows the way home," Helle told Rilkar when he asked what direction to go "She'll lead us around the reefs, so keep a close eye on her," the woman instructed him.