Steam and Hellfire

[Dahrinn (Groucho)]

Enki nodded, listening to the stories.

"The first Dragon I ever saw. It was a white Wind Dragon. It landed on the top of the merchant ship I was on, It's scales shining like silver. It stood as still as a statue, except it's head swivled around... and of all the people on that ship, it look at me. The soldiers on the ship opened fire with small arms, they just bounced off of it's hide, and then... It opened it's mouth, and shrieked. A sound that ear piercingly high pitched coming from something that big was just... unnatural. I felt dizzy, I saw men just, flying into the air, and then it was upon me. It swatted me, and knocked my lights out.

I woke up in a cave, bloodied, battered, and broken. Couldn't walk, couldn't fight. I would have died if John hadn't been there, I would have been torn to shreds by the dragonlings. Also, John would have been torn apart by a dragonling If I hadn't shot it dead when it pounced him. Can you imagine it? If John Caine never became famous because he was eaten by a baby Dragon early in his career?"

Shifting his position, he concluded his story.
"...And then I joined the crew."

 

[RJS]

Alyss felt a chill run down her spine as Enki told his story. Fear. Something she'd missed. To be thrilled by fear - certainly an odd sensation. But to Alyss, who had found hunting people so trivial, it had felt like something was missing every time she lifted a weapon. A numbness, where there should be sensation. The fear she felt was like a shot of the finest whiskey - bringing her to life, opening her senses, sharpening every part of her...

And it passed. For one beautiful moment, she had revelled in the intensity of an emotion she had thought lost. But it faded, leaving her as she was before. Taking another swig from her hip flask, Alyss set aside her second pistol and took her blunderbuss out of its case, beginning the laborious process of cleaning, polishing and oiling the components. Her hands busied, she looked at Enki, a seemingly battered and scarred veteran, and saw someone who had lived life to the full. She directed her next question to both Cayde and Enki.

"What's it like...to look something so immense, so powerful, so dangerous in the eyes? How do you feel, knowing that you're standing next to one of the most powerful creatures on the planet...and you're trying to kill it as it tries to kill you? If that's not too personal a question to ask..." Alyss's voice trailed off as she realised that both of them, young and old, had seen people the knew killed in front of them. It was something she'd never really considered, but knew from experience that it affected others a lot more than her.

 

[Shalashaska]

Listening to Cayde's story intently, he was somewhat taken by his tale. To be taken by a dragon to be fed to their young...? He couldn't even begin to imagine what Enki felt in that situation. Fear? Hopelessness? Anger? And to be rescued by John Caine, before he became the famous dragon hunter he is now?

"Wow." He said under his breath as he slowly began to respect Enki and John more and more. Yes, he didn't really know either of them, but the story Enki told was more than enough to sway Cayde. Blinking, he turned to Alyss and listened to her speak before he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"It's... Surreal, I guess you can say. When I was sixteen I snuck into this bar, if you could even call it that. It was rotten from the inside out, half of the roof was gone and the floorboards were weak... But that's where all the men were. The ones that worked in the mines. I was only a farm boy, but I decided I took care of my family so I figured there's where I should have been. With the men. I get into this place and immediately I feel... small. I was only about maybe... five foot nine. Everyone else was well over six feet tall and their faces... None of them were happy. They all looked angry, as if the whole world was there enemy. I bump into one of them and he stands up. I only come up to his chest, and I look up at him. He's missing an eye and he has a couple of scars on his face, right? I step back and he just snatches me up by my collar and beats the shit out of me before tossing me out." Cayde recounted his tale, foot tapping lightly against the floorboard.

"It was the scariest thing I had ever experienced in my life. Then, a few years later, this group comes through Felwinter. We never get many travelers so we know something is wrong. They explain they're dragon hunters and they need a tracker to help find their mark. No one steps up. Everyone just walks away. But I went forward... Told them I'd help them. So, we're tracking the Frostback through the Frigid Peaks, and we're slowly inching our way along the side of a cliff where's this... thump. Causing us to shake and almost lose our balance, but we hold on. And... I remember how cold it got. I'm used to the cold - always have been... But this? It was different. Whenever someone got sick and died, we'd naturally have to move their bodies. And the corpses are always so damn cold, and that's how I felt. And, we all just look up and we see this... Thing, staring down at us. Cold blue eyes. Just watching us from the top of the cliff and I'd never felt more scared in my entire life." He said, shifting in his seat slightly.

"I'd never seen a dragon before then. A real one, at least. I'd seen pictures and drawings, but in my mind I could never really picture their presence. When I saw it, the only thing I could do was remember when I walked into that bar and felt so small. But this was different. I knew this wasn't some adult that had a bad day who was looking for someone to take his anger out on. No, I knew it was a creature that was just going off of instinct. It was doing what was natural for it to do - no other reason, no greater motivation. And then it just lifted up off the cliff and began to circle us - it never attacked or even took the easy kills. We had no way of fighting it, but it just kept flying around us, waiting for us to reach the top of that plateau. And the moment we did, it landed. Right in front of us. I remember the way its wings expanded, and from where it was and where we were, it blocked out the sun. We were in its shadow. I never felt so small or scared, but at that moment I felt the most alive. Because I knew that, even if I were to die, I'd live. Even if no one knew my name, the group that went to kill the Frostback of Felwinter would live on in memory. And I guess, even if you are to die, so long as the memory of your life lives on, you'll live forever in a way." Cayde finished, a sheepish and somewhat embarrassed smile making its way onto his face.

"Sorry... Got caught up and started rambling. I just never had anyone to tell." He admitted, inwardly glad he was finally able to share his story. Yes, his mother and siblings had asked about it, and even others in Felwinter, but he always gave short answers.