The Dragons Bane finally reached the hunter docks. Farran hadn't known too much about Ryker other than the fact that his strength and attitude built an imposing image. But looking at him now from a distance, he looked slightly unsteady. Probably not looking forwards to his chat with Viggo on the mission. But the young hunter would be lying if he said that he did not feel some discomfort himself. He had yet to hear if he would be returning back to the Swift Arrow and he hadn't dared to confront the lion since he had been in such a rotten mood.

And so he waited. From the moment Ryker left the ship up to his return. Four hours of standing there like the obedient soldier he was. No one distracted him. Not even Heather. Farran had already spotted her on her dragon flying away once the ship had docked. Scouting a new location apparently if he heard right. One mission ends, another begins for her it seemed. There was little peace in this job. Very few breaks. Here, almost everyone he could see was doing something. Lifting boxes or repairing ships damaged by dragons, it didn't matter. Everyone did their part, and Farran was soon about to discover his.

Ryker returned. He seemed okay, all things considered. At least until he approached Farran, possibly ready to let off some steam. Farran readied himself for what was coming his way.

However, it never came. No anger, no shouting, no anything. Only a gruff grunt and a hand stretched out holding a letter. Farran looked at the letter, then back up to the large man before returning to the letter. Unsure what it was meant to be, it was clear that it was for him. The moment he took hold of it, Ryker moved on before Farran could ask what it was about.

Farran looked at the letter. It had been folded twice and had his name on the front. Curious as to why he had received the letter, especially with Ryker of all people delivering it, he slowly opened it. He had a haunting feeling that it had something to do with his actions on the expedition.

My dear Farran
Firstly I would like to extend my sincerest apologies for my brothers attitude during your mission on Glacier island. Clearly he is still learning that a leader must take responsibility for both the execution and the success of the mission, regardless of a single soldiers actions.
It is because of these 'actions' that I am writing to you. You my dear boy, according to my brother are different to many other hunters. A curious statement considering how new you are to my business, so I offer you my congratulations. You have my attention. Although understand that this does not make you by any means special. Not yet at least.
Defiance in the face of danger is noted as... lacking amongst even the strongest when tested, which comes to the main reason I write this letter to you.
In an hours time after you've read this letter, you will report to dock number three. There you will find the defender class vessel Thors Pride. Find the captain and he will inform you of your next task.
Also, a fair warning. This task will determine your role in this little organisation of mine. Succeed and you will be rewarded. Fail and I will question your worth to me. I hope this helps you understand the seriousness of your assignment. Nonetheless I wish you the best of luck on your endevour.
Sincerley,
Viggo Grimborn.

Farran had to check the name at the end three times. His mind was baffled and dumbstruck. Viggo. THE Viggo had written this to him!

And as stated in the letter, it did indeed have to do with his little incident. And the talk about a new task which sounded very... demanding. Still, this could be the first step towards securing his place here. He would be very foolish not to take this chance.

The hour wait passed quickly for Farran. Once it did he made his way over to the recommended dock, which was easy enough to track down.

Indeed, a small ship waited for him. Slightly smaller than the Swift Arrow but big enough to carry perhaps twenty hunters. It had the same design as every other ship too, not that it mattered.

The hunter approached the boarding platform and reached the main deck. At the moment only a handful of hunters were tending to the ship. Loading weapons, hoisting the sails and some even scrubbing the deck. The only one not working was the man observing it all. A bulky lad with a balding head and a short beard. His ears stuck out like an elephants and had a chubby nose. His eyes nearly sunk into his head and any time he smiled, a couple of teeth could be seen missing. He wore a light blue tunic and dragon scale gloves. Cautiously, Farran walked up to him.

"Excuse me. I'm here to see the captain." He explained as simply as he could. The sooner he could find him, the sooner he could find out what his task was, which was all he cared about.

The balding man, who was also a head taller than Farran, looked down to him and smiled.

"Take it yer Farran then?"

Farran nodded.

"Good good. Then to answer your question, I'm Mort. Captain of this fine ship. Seems yer the guest of honour today, eh? Not often one gets to perform the dragons duel."

"The dragons duel?" Farran questioned, not recalling ever heard of it. The captain let loose a small yet booming laugh. Farran couldn't help but feel dumb for not knowing what sounded like basic knowledge.

"Ah right, ye don't know! Of course. Hah, forgive me lad. Forgot yer a green horn. But to answer yer question, a dragons duel is when a hunter is selected by a high ranking member of the dragon hunters to go one on one with a dragon of the high members choosin'. The pair are taken to an island and are released on each side of the island. Now the hunters task is to find and hunt the dragon within 24 hours, dead or alive. If ye don't, that means yer either dead or yer gonna be. The ship sails back home without yeh and does'na return until the next dragons duel, so no pressure there."

Farran nodded, unfazed about failure. It made him the more ambitious to come out on top. Still, there was one question that he wanted answered.

"What kind of dragon is it I'll be up against?"

"Yer'll find out once we reach the island. But for now, ye might want to ready yer'self. Everything ye need is below deck so be sure to grab what ye can. Ye only get the one chance to prepare."

Farran nodded again and set off down to the next level without another word.

Upon reaching it, each side had several tables lined up. Each carrying a variety of weapons, tools, essentials such as water and food and a strange metal cylindrical device no bigger than his hand. Of course, the hunter still had his crossbow and knife though he would need a fresh supply of arrows. He managed to fill up the quiver with thirty and strapped a jug of water to his thigh. He also took a round wooden shield, big enough to protect him from a nadder spine, but not enough to throw off his aim with the crossbow.

Curiously, he took a second look at the metal cylinder. He noticed that the top of it was made of glass. Flipping it over, he found that the bottom was the same. Looking through one end he realised it was a spy glass. A useful device for looking over long distances. Satisfied, he added it to his arsenal. Finally, as a precaution, he grabbed a spear and wrapped it round the back of the quiver as tightly as it would allow, preventing it from sliding out.

When he had readied everything, he left the room, satisfied with everything he carried.

Several hours passed. The ship had set sail the moment Farran had exited the preparation room. The island that he would survive on was quick to come into sight. It had not been as large as Farran had expected it to be. Judging from the size of it, it would take a couple of hours at the most to hunt his target.

"I trust yer all suited up?"

The captain had come from behind, mere feet away from Farran.

"I'm ready to go." He confirmed.

"Excellent. In that case, maybe it's time teh introduce you to yer opponent."

Farran broke his gaze from the island and followed the captain to the centre of the deck where a cage covered in a white sheet sat. It seemed unusually quiet.

"By the way." Mort spoke. "Yeh trial will be takin' place at night. It'll make things fair against the two of you."

"At night?"

Farran looked back at the island. It was mostly flat with little shrubbery. Mostly just sand and rocks. And if the Gods allow it, the sky seemed free from clouds and would continue to be for hours to come. At least he would have the moons natural light. But right now he was more focused on thinking what dragon would be more dangerous at night. There were a few but the biggest one that entered his head was the-

"Right! Time for the big reveal."

Farran watched as the sheet was pulled from the cage. His eyes widened. The dragon was the one he had expected. A speed stinger. Though that alone was not the reason for his reaction. This particular stinger had a small mark on its head. The mark you get when the side of a wooden shield is smashed against it.

What's more, it was awake. The second it saw Farran, it lunged right at him, not getting all too far thanks to the cage. Farran made no movement, nor did he flinch at the aggressive act. Instead he stared at the beast, remembering it all too well. It certainly had no trouble remembering him from the Swift Arrow nor the Auction.