Dragon Born

Gideon groaned, his eyes falling into a dull stare as he replied flatly.
"Why yes, I did come back safely, thanks for your concern."

Gideon certainly preferred the cooked meal in front of him to the trail rations he would've had to eat if Saraphina hadn't saved him a plate, and his appreciation showed.
"What can I say, you're a lifesaver."
He picked up his fork, giving a quick nod to Saraphina.
"Much appreciated."
He took his first bite as she asked him about the mission.

Gideon's expression turned grim as he recounted the events that took place.
"I did. There were less of them than I expected, but they were moving quickly, which is why my little trip into the woods took longer than I'd hoped. But more importantly..."
He rested his head on his folded hands.
"...Unfortunately, the rumors were true. It's them, alright...I saw the two of them myself. Bhaulf and Locus are heading towards this city as we speak."
Gideon's eyes drifted downwards. He had the look of a man with a world of troubles weighing on his mind.
"We can't intercept them before they arrive in the city, they're already too close. Once they're here, they'll most likely meet up with a sizable amount of reinforcements. They won't take on just any old job; this must be something big, which means they'll bring as many hunters as they can get...which is probably quite a few."
He leaned back slightly, the gears turning in his head as the beginnings of a plan were just starting to form in his mind.
"We'll need a lot of equipment if we want to have any chance at all. Fortunately, I think I know just the person to ask."

Gideon let out an exasperated sigh, his shoulders slumping down a bit.
"Come on, don't be like that. It's just...hmm, how should I put it? When you're in a fight, you can throw down with the best of them."
He pointed his fork towards her.
"Key words there. "In a fight." This wasn't a fight, this was a recon mission, and you've still got a thing or two to learn about stealth and infiltration. I know because I've seen you try it. Your camouflage is a little off, you make too much noise, and you don't cover your tracks properly. Remember that incident in the Haverpids Valley?"
He took another bite of his food before continuing.
"But...if you really want to come with me next time, I'm sure we can make it work. It just wasn't going to happen this time. This little scouting operation of mine needed a more...delicate touch."

 

Gideon chuckled, hiding his true feelings behind a wry grin.
"Hmm, almost forgot about that. You really were a mess the next morning, weren't you?"
Despite his dismissive tone, he remembered that night all too well. Old memories came back to haunt him in the form of a nightmare, and he woke up in a cold sweat. When Saraphina came to check up on him, he hastily made an excuse about being hungry to avoid discussing his past and the inner torment that came with it. He knew he could not put it off forever, but he could at least delay it until the time was right.

Gideon let out a wistful sigh.
"Ah yes, I remember her well. Luscious raven hair flowing down past her waist. Gorgeous violet eyes that you could lose yourself in for hours. That glorious dress she wore, jewels reflecting the moonlight in a captivating prism, silken fabric clinging to each one of her voluptuous curves just right. Her voice was like a sweet melody, she carried herself with dignity and grace, and her lips were as soft and inviting as a down pillow stuffed inside a cloud floating on a calm lake in the dead of night."
He leaned back and took a sip of his drink.
"As if you even needed to ask. "Do I remember her?" How could I ever forget her?"
Fearing that any further teasing might lead to a very bad time, he sprang up from his seat and motioned to the tavernkeeper.
"We have some business to take care of. What do you say?"
Even as he said that, looking as casual as ever as he tried to change the subject, he knew all too well that he may have already provoked Saraphina's wrath.

 

New Character:
Name: Lawrence
Age: 47
Species:Human
Anything else you want to add: Ex Hunter of Hunters, now just serves as an info broker for a series of taverns he owns, very well read on all of the patrons that come in, still useful in a battle, Has some rather unique tricks up his sleeve.

Lawerence had been a silent observer, as he slowly began walking through the front door of the tavern, Though his keeper acknowledged him Saraphina and Gideon were in the middle of something. Something that didn’t seem important, as he walked to the table Gideon and Saraphina were at. He made a comment. “Now, Now, settle down children. Rooms her are cheap if you’re going to be flirting like that In this mostly empty tavern.” It was true, it was really only the keeper and them. Once he approached the table he pulled up a seat next to them.

“Gideon, Saraphina. For what do I owe for his misfortune to? Last time you folks hit the bottle a little too hard we had to shut down for a week.” Fortunately he could smell the blood and sweat on Gideon, he knew why he was there. “Or perhaps, you are on a mission.” Lawrence didn’t miss much, he knew about bhaluf and locus visit, but he needed to know what they already knew. “You know the deal, secret, rumor, or cash, and I’ll repay you in kind.”

Ezekiel pondered Val’s question for a moment, “no, I don’t think they’ll strike tonight. They’re going to be hiding away, they know better than to attack after failing, we’re prepared for them by then. Which is exactly why we are going to set up, they know how I think, so they might still rally and attack.”

Ezekiel let out a quick sigh. “And even so Tyran won’t get the reinforcements he needs to continue a hunt. The bosses aren’t that generous. They never met me, but they know of me, might be the men your family kept talking about.” He continued walking to show his presence to Michael and Nat. “As for trusting me, Val. You really don’t have much option.” Whether or not she agreed with what he said it was the truth.

Michael smiled at Nat and grabbed one of the berries, she luckily grabbed blackberries, he quickly ate one and noted “sour, a little early to eat but adequate.” He was curious if their tastebuds were different.

“you should try one.” He said as he smiled at her. Quickly he turned his attention over to Ezekiel once he heard him walking close.

 

Gideon stared blankly for a while through half-lidded eyes, silently blinking a few times as drops of water slowly dripped down the long, dark hair that was now partially obscuring his blue eyes. He turned his head in Lawrence's direction, eyebrow raised.
"So this is your definition of flirting? Personally, I think it's just someone not taking a joke very well. But, you know...to each their own."

Gideon put his palm to his forehead and pushed his hair back, getting most of the water and his hair out of his face. Now that he was at least somewhat presentable, he chimed in.
"I agree, I thought that was a great night. At least, the parts I can remember. Those priests sure were pissed, though. So was the farmer. And the blacksmith. And that visiting nobleman. On second thought, maybe that night was more trouble than it was worth."

Gideon took a good look around to make sure there weren't any eavesdroppers. That done, he leaned in and spoke in a low voice.
"I'm sure you've heard the same whispers I have. Well, it's true. Bhaulf and Locus are en route to this very city. I saw them myself, in the Keelbrook Woods to the southeast. There weren't many of them, somewhere around two dozen by my count, but I'm guessing they plan to rendezvous with reinforcements once they get here."
He started pacing back and forth, still trying to formulate a plan in his mind.
"We need gear. Lots of it. And I'm not just talking about your run-of-the-mill equipment that you could pick up at the local blacksmith, we need more...exotic fare. Traps, poison, alchemist's fire, burning arrows, black powder, that kind of thing. I could use a new crossbow, as well. Now, I don't know if you have a stash of weapons lying around, but I'm absolutely sure that at the very least, you know who does. There is another thing..."
He leaned on the table and sighed.
"You know how much I don't like getting outsiders involved. So far, it's just been Saraphina and I, and I'd rather keep it that way. We've done pretty well for ourselves. But with the sheer numbers they have, and considering how strong two of the top hunters must be, it would be far too risky a mission with just the two of us. I don't suppose you might know of anyone else in this city who would be crazy enough to take on two of the most dangerous men in the land, would you?"

 

Lawrence was pleased to hear that the rumors circulating of the hunters guilt were true. He had caught wind of it but never any confirmation until Gideon. There wasn’t much need to circle around the topic anymore.

“Well Gideon, if Baluf and Locus are around I would assume they’re having a meeting nearby, luckily this is neutral ground, meaning no violence on my property, I don’t care how strong they might be, they will be dealt with accordingly if they cause any problems with patrons.”

Even top hunters knew not to cause any issues on neutral tavern grounds.

“as for the Exotic gear you need, I know a blacksmith, lives at the edge of town, he is a hermit by all stretches of the word and is a blacksmith in secret, if you tell him I sent you, he will show you everything he’s got. And let me tell you, what he has will most assured give you the edge in Battle.”

with one matter out of the way, Though they were only rumors they were significant enough to look into.

“If I were you Gideon, I’d follow up these rumors, on the way to this tavern a few of my scouts said they spotted a series of dragon born, one of them going by the name of Ezekiel, though he is a hunter, he also hunts other hunters, but also his own kind. As dangerous as he might be, he could be a valuable ally. I’d track him down if I were you, I know you want it to be just you and Saraphina but you might need some more man power, and I’d imagine all those dragons would be more than enough.”

Lawerence ordered his barkeeper to bring over 3 glasses of scotch, 1 for each of them.

“on the house, I urge you spend the night, maybe clean yourselves up, looks like you’re having a long night Gideon, Saraphina”


Ezekiel though normally would contemplate these answers he just gave a flat

“No, No pets. You don’t have enough time to raise a companion, Natalie, you must learn to fight and you will have no time to also take care of a pet.”

though his answer seemed bitter and likely let down Natalie, Val was likely relieved. Ezekiel looked at Michael and didn’t really say much of anything, it did signal for Michael to meet him somewhere privately when everyone fell asleep though.

“We should set up camp, Val, Nat. You must be sore and tired from your days of running, take as much time as you need.” Turning to Michael,”as for you, you’ll be gathering wood for a fire.”

Michael nodded and got right to it.

 

Gideon grimaced at the mention of working with a dragon hunter. Lawrence mentioned that he hunted both dragons and hunters, and he wasn't sure what to make of that. He just knew that he didn't like it. Before giving an answer, he looked over to Saraphina to see what her reaction would be, though he could guess that she wouldn't exactly be pleased about it.
"Sorry about this, but it has to be done."
He kept silent, hoping he could communicate his intention to her through his expression and a slight nod. He turned back to Lawrence and lifted his scotch.
"Appreciate it. Cheers."
He took a quick drink and got back to the topic at hand.

"Ezekiel, was it? And he's travelling with other dragons...even though he hunts dragons?"
Resting his head on his closed fist, Gideon was lost in thought for a moment.
"What's his angle in all this...?"
He shook his head and continued.
"I guess we can't be too picky about our allies. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," after all, and besides, you haven't given me any bad leads yet. If you think he can help us take those bastards down, I'll find him."
He took another drink.
"In the meantime, I'll take you up on your offer. We need to be careful in how we go about this whole operation, and taking some time to rest and clean up could do a lot of good for us. After that, we can find the blacksmith and Ezekiel."

 

OOT: I think it's about time...for a TIME SKIP!

Spoiler: Dead meme

OOT: Just until the next morning to get things moving again.



Taking advantage of Lawrence's hospitality, Gideon and Saraphina stayed the night at his inn. The night was mostly uneventful; Gideon marked the location of the blacksmith down on his map and, despite rolling his eyes at Saraphina's snarky suggestion, decided that a proper bath was certainly in order. His sleep was restful for the most part, until a familiar nightmare came back to haunt him. He tossed and turned in his sleep, muttering incomprehensibly to himself until he shot up out of bed, cold sweat clinging to his skin despite the comforting warmth of the morning sun. His heart raced as he looked frantically around the room, quickly coming back to his senses as his vision focused and he raised his arm to shield his eyes from the sunlight. Letting out a deep, heavy sigh, he started thinking out loud.
"That same dream again...happens every damn time we're about to go out on a big hunt. Even after all these years."
Shaking his head and slapping himself awake, he got to his feet and started to gather his belongings.
"And this has got to be our biggest hunt yet. Maybe this'll keep those old memories away for a while."
He gave a self-derisive laugh.
"Doubt it, though. Besides...if I'm being honest with myself, I don't really want to forget, anyway."

Suited up with his armor, weapons and other necessities, he left his room and went a few doors down the hall to the room where Saraphina was staying. He gave a few quick knocks on her door.
"You up yet? After we get some breakfast, we're heading over to the blacksmith's place, so bring some gold and try to think of anything you might need while we're there."
As he said this, he was making his own mental checklist of various weapons and supplies to look for when they get there.