Four days had passed quickly for Farran. Everyone seemed to have something to do except for him. It was different compared to what hunters did back on the Swift Arrow. On that ship, everyone was more laid back. Working the minimum amount of effort required to keep the ship up and running. Here however, every hunter that he could spy was hard working.
It was... surprisingly annoying.
If everyone was busy working then there was little that he could do. It was different to his original role, regardless of how short said role was. There was no job of actual importance to deal with. All the hunters had taken them. Those who were not working were down in the barracks. Sleeping.
Lazy.
The first word that came to mind whenever these hunters popped up into his head. At least he was able to stay ready and sharp even if there was nothing to do. Maybe if he was lucky one of the hunters would decide to pack it in and give him the chance to do something. Anything. He would welcome it.
Still, was there any point of expecting anymore? They were getting rather close to their destination. The island that they had spent most of the week travelling towards was now no more than a few hours away. At least there he could be useful. He hoped.
For what must have been the Twelfth time today, Farran checked his crossbow for any signs of damage or dirt. Of course there was nothing. Just like the other eleven times. But what else was there? Patrolling? That's what he was technically doing. But there wasn't much difference between patrolling and taking a casual walk on this ship. Either way it was pointless.
Hopefully the hunt to come would be worth it. Snow wraiths weren't easy to fight, according to the crew. Though Farran highly doubted that any of them had ever actually encountered one. Dangerous beasts that hunted their prey using snow storms to ambush them sounded challenging. He was curious to know what the plan was to deal with them. No doubt Ryker had come up with some sort of strategy to beat them at their own game. He was a professional at hunting all kinds of dragons. Only a fool would question that.
Another hour passed before the change in temperature was noticeable. It had gone from mild to freezing in minutes. Hunters from below deck had emerged with bundles of warm clothing and began handing it out to everyone in sight.
Farran was quick to seize a large yak skin cloak which wrapped around his body with ease. It was light enough to travel with but it would be a little difficult to use his crossbow when trying to aim. Still, it would do its job and keep him from freezing.
Finally the ship arrived at the rim of the island. On the far side of the land mass not hidden by snowy mountains you could see wild storms battering down. Such weather would certainly slow their progress if they came across it.
The men and cargo were quickly moved from the ship to the snowy land b
elow. Large cages were wheeled down the ships ramp and onto the icy surface. Hunters hauled cart loads of tool and weapons, ready for anything to cross them.
After ten minutes of this Farran noticed something flying past him from above. He looked up to see none other than the silver beast itself and its rider heading further inwards. Most likely scouting out the land to see which areas were safe to cross or to try and spot the snow wraith from the air.
The hunter tore his eyes from the creature and checked the stash of weapons brought from the ship. Maces, axes, swords and knives. Nothing he could take it seemed. His crossbow was something he preferred not to trade in. Not to mention he already had a knife strapped to his belt just in case.
The wind kept coming and going whenever it felt like it, giving loud harsh whistles as it did. In a matter of seconds you could have gone from seeing clearly to not seeing anything that was more than four feet away from you. It made Farran wonder what it would be like when they travelled closer to the centre of the island where the weather would surely be that much worse.
When it finally came time to move out a good portion of the party were to remain behind and guard the Dragons Bane. The rest, Farran included, made their way forwards. Ryker made sure to let everyone know that they should stick close. Anyone lost would get left behind.
Time lost meaning. It could have been hours of travelling before they came to a stop, in which no one housed any complaints. Farran took a moment to look around and check that everyone was still in one piece. After seeing that no one had been lost, he too sat down. The yak coat was long enough to act as a mat luckily for him. Others found no protection from the cold floor and took to standing up.
Five more minutes passed. A sudden roar filled the sky. Farran and most of the hunters were able to quickly shake themselves from their 'comfortable' positions and readied themselves for what they assumed to be their target. Seconds later it turned out to be the Razorwhip emerging from the grey sky.
The hunters relaxed. Ryker made his way towards the dragon, shoving one of the hunters to the side as he did and began talking to the rider, Heather.
Farran sat back down again, a little annoyed over the dragons lack of subtlety. Just as well that the snow wraith wasn't close by otherwise it would have easily heard the dragons roar.
The hunter could hear both Ryker and Heather talking. What about he didn't really care. Probably just filling Ryker in on what she may have found. It didn't take long before the unmistakable sound of arguing reached his ears.
It seemed that whatever they were fussing about, Ryker won. The annoyed scowl on Heathers face made it obvious.
"Alright! Listen up"! Rykers voice boomed out, catching every hunters attention. "I want tents set up here right now"!
Many of the hunters murmured to each other in confusion. Tents here? Out in the open? With the snow wraith out there, it seemed very risky.
"B-but Ryker, sir"! One hunter bravely spoke up. "Wouldn't it be easier to head back to the ship and wait out the weather there"?
"Not if we want to get to the snow wraith! So man up and do what I say! We're going to be here for quite some time"!
It took some time for Farran to ask Ryker, especially since he had to set up his area of the camp first, but he was able to seek out more information from the large hunter. After being passed on a few ridiculed comments and mutters about lack of attention, he learned that snow wraiths had a few extra tricks up their sleeves.
Burrowing was one of them. That alone explained why they had set up camp. Trying to find something underground would take much longer than finding something up on the surface. Thor knows how many caves there were out there hiding their prize. It could be days, maybe even weeks before they could find it.
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Two days had passed. Two long, miserable days. The hunters warm clothing was really being put to the test. A couple of hunters had to be dragged back to the ship after getting hypothermia. This left twenty eight members of the party remaining, including Ryker Farran and Heather.
Farran was sitting down next to a larger hunter on the south side of the camp. Even through their large thick animal hides did the trick of shielding them from the elements, the cold still managed to find its way through to their skin underneath.
Ryker was most likely where he had been for most of the last few days. In his large zippleback skin tent. Bigger than all the other tents no question. One of the many perks of being so high up the ladder. Heather, if she wasn't in there with him arguing was probably patrolling, checking the perimeter.
The dragon, not so far away on the other hand seemed the most relaxed out of everyone outside. It was like it couldn't feel the cold. Maybe it couldn't. Many kinds of dragons have thick scales after all. Maybe that had something to do with it.
"Maybe we should have taken some dragon skin clothing instead". Farran hissed bitterly to the hunter beside him as the pair sat round a barely lit fireplace. The wind had calmed down enough to try.
The larger hunter laughed.
"You're telling me! What I'd give for a gronckle skin right about now".
"Gronckle? You would get weighed down with that. It's too thick and heavy". Farran countered, looking at Rykers tent for a moment. "Maybe Zippleback would be more efficient".
"Oh? Well what about a monstrous nightmare then eh? Stoker class oughta keep you nice and warm".
Farran thought about it for a minute before answering.
"Maybe. So long as it's come fresh off the corpse. I'd imagine that its ability to harness and maintain heat would slowly diminish the longer the skin remains inactive".
"What are you an expert"?
"Just a thought".
As the two continued their talk on skinning dragons, Heather made her way past them towards her dragon. She caught a few words but decided better than to say anything. At least up until the conversation took a turn.
"You've done what"? She heard Farran ask in surprise.
"Yeah, you heard right. Nadder meat is filling".
"You've... eaten dragons"?
"Long story. It happened when we were stuck on an island just like this. We had three dragons in tow and about a dozen of us with snow up to our knees. Our supplies were low and it would take another week to get back to our ship. So on the third day, one guy came up with the idea to take a knife and sliced into one of the dragons thighs"-
That was as far as the man got before a sharp blade planted itself in between the two from above. The larger of the two yelped while Farran flinched. They looked up to see that the curved blade was none other than Heathers own self made one. The look on her face suggested that she had something to say.
"That's disgusting"! She sneered at the story teller.
"W-well you see miss... We had to"-
The hunter quickly found the weapon inches from his face before he could finish his sentence.
"You're lucky you know! If you had done that with me around, you would be VERY sorry! I ought to tell Ryker you know. See how understanding he would be compared to me"!
The hunter continued to stutter out his words as Farran watched, annoyed by Heathers appearance yet again. This was the third time she had butted into his business! This time over food of all things! Granted eating dragons was... extreme. But it sounded like extreme times in that moment.
He was tempted to say something just to irk her. Maybe go over how the beasts probably deserved it. Though that would only make matters worse for both of them. So for now he would have to sit down and listen to what was now a one sided conversation.
It didn't take long before she rounded on him.
"And as for you"...
Him?
Farran gave a look of confusion. What had he done? He was just listening to the poor mans story! He most certainly hadn't eaten any dragon flesh, at least to the best of his knowledge.
"We're heading out soon so you had better be prepared! Your laziness is not something I tolerate"!
With her piece said and done, she left the two alone. Farran frowned. More so than he had done moments ago.
"Shes a real piece of work, ain't she"? The larger hunter asked with a harsh chuckle.
Farran said nothing. Instead he stood up, gave a moment to clench his hands.
For a moment he seemed calm and relaxed before suddenly delivering a fierce kick and throwing his own foot into the fireplace, knocking the burning wood all over the place. The snow quickly consumed the flames.
Before the hunter could ask what he had done that for, he hissed out a single sentence.
"I HATE being considered lazy"... Before walking off, his crossbow in hand along with an itchy trigger finger.