Rune and the others stood in awe of the Beweilderbeast as she stared down at them. They could feel how tiny and insignificant they were in the face of a force of nature. Now all eyes were placed on Rune, the mastermind behind all this. They had made it this far following his lead, now they needed him to come through for them one more time.
Rune stood there as his mind raced for what to do next. He hadn't thought up to this point, his aim was just to get here but no he had to think of a way out. Well, dragons are very intelligent creatures able to understand human command and emotions, maybe the Queen would be able to understand him now. Rune would bow before her acknowledging her position in the dragon rankings and as a sign of respect. The Beweilderbeast's eyes would look at him and then move to the others who stood like statues behind him.
Seeing her eyes fixed upon them, they would bow before her as well. Their dragons would follow almost immediately, giving her the respect she commanded. She would huff at them sending a gust of wind blowing their way.
'I guess she acknowledges us, but we still have to tread carefully. We came into her nest uninvited, she is merely tolerating us' Rune thought.
"My dear queen, we are sorry for entering your nest in such a way but we eagerly need your help" Rune spoke as he rose from his bowing position.
The others stood there and watched him. A dragon master at work.
"Hunters-"
As he said that word, she would begin to growl at him. It was clear that she didn't like them or that word.
"I see. Bad people have invaded the island and have destroyed the village that was built here. We ask that you aid us in this time of battle or you could be in danger as well"
That was the best he could put it and now it was down to understanding and a good amount of luck to get them out of this. The Queen stared at him before unleashing a powerful war at them. The humans covered their ears to prevent themselves from going deaf and had their knees bent for balance to withstand the force of the roar. It seems they were losing her and her patience was fleeting.
"What are we going to do?" Heather asked.
"I bet we look like hunters to her and is deciding whether to kill us or not" Bjorn said.
"I don't think she is. We are riding dragons after all. That should count for something" said Forde.
"Well, Dane's men ride dragons as well. There could be no difference between us and them right now" Dagur explained.
His explanation made the most sense. She had probably seen Dane's men outside and had concluded that they were one of them. The Queen would grunt at them as her patience ran low and their forces on the surface were counting on them.
"What can we do?" Vyra asked.
Before anyone could say anything, a high pitched chirp like roar would echo out from a cave on the opposite side of the nest, catching everyone's attention. With all eyes fixed on the cave, a miniature version of the queen would trot out merrily throwing the minds of everyone except Rune's under the bus. The King was actually a Queen?! That's what they were all thinking. The baby had his eyes on the humans and their dragons wondering who they were and what they were doing in the nest. The baby stood at eleven feet tall and probably weighed as much as two Groncles. He was a big chubby guy.
The Queen would grunt at her child stopping him in his tracks as he advanced towards them. The baby would stop, confused at why his mother would tell him to but trusted her nonetheless. Other dragons were not allowed in the nest so if they were some in there, then mom trusted them right? Well, not this time. The mother would turn to the riders and their dragons as things started to get heated. The presence of the baby seemed to complicate things with the Queen eager to chase them off as her maternal instincts kicked in.
She looked at them growling and bearing her teeth as they had outstayed their welcome and it was time for them to leave.
"I think she doesn't want us here anymore" Forde said as he held on to Spikethorn's saddle tightly.
"Rune, any bright ideas?" Dagur asked as the riders stood next to their dragons ready to fly off.
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking" he replied as the Queen began to puff out her chest as she drew in air, ready to fire at them.
"Think faster" Heather said with a worried voice.
Just as she was about to fire a shot at them, a cry rang out. It was her baby. He missed his step as he walked along the edge of the nest despite his mother telling him to stay put. Guess he was a stubborn one. The Queen turned and looked at her baby as he fell towards the hard rocks below, frozen in place. Sandstorm grunted, spreading his wings and propelling himself forward flying towards the baby.
"Sandstorm!" Rune yelled trying to run after his dragon but he wasn't quick enough. He was already gone.
Rune stood by the edge watching dragon race towards the baby at speeds he hadn't experienced yet. Sandstorm grew closer and closer as the baby neared the jagged rocks and then there was silence. A pin could drop and you could hear it, not a sound was made as humans and dragons stood in place like statues.
From the depths of the nest, Sandstorm would rise, with the tail of the baby within his paws. He would place the baby on the ground next to Rune before landing abruptly as he panted. Lifting that dragon was no joke, even if it was just a baby. The riders were relieved to find the baby safe and sound thanks to the Sand Wraith's efforts.
"Sandstorm" Rune said rushing over to him. He would embrace his dragon, wrapping his hands around his neck, hugging him tightly. "You did good bud, real good. More crabs for you when we get home"
Sandstorm was delighted, humming and rubbing his head against his rider. The baby would run over to Sandstorm and Rune, showering the dragon with affection even licking him and Rune.
"Hey. Wait a second- " Rune said before his voice was drowned by the sound of the dragon licking both of them.
"Those two" Forde said, still shaking his head in disbelief.
His mom would let out a cloud of snow, relieved for her child's safety. The Queen would coo, calling her child to order before giving him a little scolding. He bowed his head showing remorse chirping back an apology. After performing her parental duties, her gaze would return to the riders and their dragons, with a softer look in her eyes. Rune would look at her as a little smirk would form on his face. Sandstorm saving the baby had set them up nicely in her good books and now she would be willing to listen to them.
Out on the surface, the team was on the ropes with Dane getting more fliers in the air to repel the rebel's attacks. So far they haven't made it to the last two ports and had to join up with Sander and his team to keep themselves from getting shut down. In essence, Dane's men had created an iron curtain defense to stop them from advancing.
"Things aren't looking good" Thyra said flying next to Sten.
"You don't have to tell me twice. These hunters literally spawned more men out of thin air" he replied as Eruptor banked past a couple of arrows.
"The others better get here quick. We're not sure how long we can hold out"
Virgil and Thora flew together in sync as they tried to force their way past Dane's riders and attack one of the two ports left. So far their attempts were made with a wall of fire from the opposing dragons. The two had riders on their tail, firing shots at them as they flew separately this time. The two had come to understand each other so well that they flew even without talking. They flew at one another with their chasers having no clue what had been planned for them. Just before they could collide, Thora and Virgil would pull their dragons in opposite directions leading their attackers to fly right into each other and fall out of the sky.
"Our dragons can't keep this up any longer. We're running on fumes right now and the hunters just keep on coming" Virgil said.
"Stand strong soldier, we fight until the end. Even unto death" Thora replied, her words spreading courage into his heart.
He nodded at her spurring his dragon on as they went to engage more hunters. Sten was on his own, isolated from the group and had two men on his tail firing down on him. Eruptor weaved past buildings at blistering pace with the hunters keeping up on Nightmare's of their own.
"Come Eruptor"
His dragon would dive into the streets with the other two following. Eruptor would make a sharp turn left, then right, then right again with the aim of losing them through the buildings and catching them from behind. Sten managed to lose one attacker with their sharp movements as they caused the rider to crash into a house displaying the distance in skill between them. The other hovered in the village square as the two vanished from his sights only to reappear from behind and blast him of his dragon's back.
"Hell yeah!!" Sten yelled as they pulled into an ascent.
Their victory was short lived as a Rumblehorn would run into them from the sky sending them both to the ground. Sten got separated from Eruptor as they hit the ground, the Viking rolled into a set of barrels with Eruptor rolling into the side of a building. Sten grunted and grimaced as he felt pain in his shoulder. He spared it a glance and it was evident that it had been dislocated. He struggled to get up to his feet, still disorientated from the crash as he looked for his dragon.
"Eruptor"
He could barely put one foot in front of the other as he drew on all his strength to get to his dragon.
"I guess this is the end of the line for you" the hunter said a light chuckle at the end from above.
He would take aim at the staggering Sten ready to end his life. The Viking fell to his knees as he turned to see the hunter ready to fire. He accepted his fate, there was no escape now. At least he would be welcomed into Valhalla, dying in battle like a true warrior; there was no better way to go out. He closed his eyes and opened his eyes ready to be turned to ash as he heard a shot fire. A few seconds passed but he didn't feel anything, he would open his eyes a little and find himself still on Earth but the hunter had crashed. He was confused and looked around, that's when he spotted Vyra flying over him.
"You shouldn't give up just yet. There's still a lot to do before you can die" she said before flying away.
"Vyra? Wait if she's here that means-" he said with his eyes widening. "Eruptor!! Get up boy!"
he said rushing over to him.
A flurry of blasts would rain over the sky as the hunters were knocked down in sizable numbers. The team looked to the heavens as Dagur, Forde, Bjorn, Heather and Vyra revealed themselves from the cover of the clouds. Their appearance on the battlefield raised morale as some of the riders began to cheer.
"Forde. I'm glad you guys made it back in one piece" Virgil said flying alongside him.
"Where's Rune?" asked Thyra since she didn't see him appear with the others.
"Oh him? He's about to make an entrance you wouldn't want to miss. I suggest keeping your eyes fixed on the sea" he replied with a smirk.
The tide of battle was about to shift for the better. Dane had no idea what was coming for him.