"Did the dragon land near here?" asked Nisfar. "I am unsure. If it did we would surely be doomed. Only a few Ka Po' Tun patrols are in the area and they would surely attack anyone who is not Ka' Po Tun or Tang Mo." Kerepu said. "We should probably go now. We have a dragon to hunt. Goodbye." Nisfar said before the Blades continue forward into the jungle. They go from island to island until sunset when they see Ahbiilok, sleeping in a small clearing. "There he is, we should strike now before." said Nisfar before he was interrupted by Elone covering his mouth.
Elone pointed to a trio of what appear to be armoured humanoid tigers, similar to the Khajiit, standing next to Ahbiilok. "Those must be a Ka Po' Tun patrol Kerepu told us about. We should wait for them to leave before we move in." Nisfar said. Ahbiilok wakes up and trips the soldiers with a swing of his tail before breathing fire on the soldiers. They run away and dive into a small lake to extinguish the flames. The Blades then charge, brandishing their spells and weapons.
Ahbiilok breathes fire at the Blades but the female Breton casts reflect on the fire and redirects it back to the dragon. Ahbiilk is blinded by the stream of fire as the Blades wail him with their weapons. In response, Ahbiilok whips them with his tail and throw them into the treetops. The Blades shoot Ahbiilok with arrows and spells but he retreats to the sky. "He better not be going back to Tamriel, we just got here!" Elone complained as she and the rest of the Blades climb down from the trees.
"He's been flying for days. Surely he would need to rest his wings." Nisfar assured. "Yameru! Dareda?" a Ka Po' Tun soldier yelled. "We do not understand Akaviri. We are the Blades." Nisfar announced. They say something to the Blades that sound like a warning before walking away and resuming their patrol. "I guess they left us with a warning. Now that they're out of the way we can hunt the dragon without being disturbed. Right now we should check on Tyermaillin and the base." Nisfar said.
They return to the small island where they find the ship in pieces and Tyermaillin gone and several five-foot mushrooms on the shore. "Where is Tyermaillin? He was supposed to watch over the base!" Nisfar yelled in frustration. The Altmer healer walks out of the jungle holding a bunch of bananas in his arms. "Where were you? We thought you got captured by those soldiers!" Nisfar asked worriedly. "Sorry, I got hungry and I saw some bananas." Tyermaillin said. "Well we're glad you're still alive, but what happened to the ship?" the other female Redguard asked.
"I came running here when I saw the dragon blow up the ship." Tyermaillin answered. "Great! Not only the dragon got away but he destroyed our way home!" the Argonian Blade complained angrily. "Calm down, Nine-Toes. We can just build another ship after we kill the dragon." Nisfar assured. "Where do we sleep for the night then?" asked Elone. "Mushroom towers grow in a matter of hours but can be sped up by fertilizers such as… compost." Nisfar planned as he looked towards Tyermaillin eating a banana.
After eating the whole lot of bananas the Blades throw their peels at the mushrooms as several Tang Mo emerge from the forest with barrels. "We heard about your need for fertilizer. We have plenty to spare for you. We could let you stay in the village instead." Kerepu said. "Thank you. We only need the fertilizer. The dragon should have its focus on us instead of harming any innocents." Nisfar said. They dump the contents of the barrels on the mushrooms and they start growing rapidly until full growth to a small tower. "Telvanni, eat your heart out." Nisfar boasted as he looked up to the tower's cap.
The Blades salvaged what they could find from the ship and placed them inside the house. "Now that we have a roof let's sleep under it, we need enough energy to hunt down the dragon tomorrow." Nisfar announced. The Blades sleep in the tower as two mysterious figures in black cloaks spy on them through the window. "Dareda?" one figure said. The next morning Nisfar, Tyermaillin, Elone, and Nine-Toes scout the jungle with the fireproof rope net as the rest of the Blades stayed behind and guarded the tower.
"Alright, the dragon is still on the isles so we need to look carefully with all these strange trees around." Nisfar instructed. "There are similar trees back in the Summerset Isles. I haven't seen tropical beauty for centuries." Tyermaillin commented. "Focus, the dragon could be in front of us and we don't… realize… it." Nisfar said in surprise as he sees Ahbiilok sleeping in a burning clearing in front of them. "Just our luck, he's right in front of us." Nisfar whispered as he and the others hide behind a fallen tree. "What should we do?" Tyermaillin asked quietly.
"It's best not to wake a sleeping dragon, so we should follow wherever it goes." Nisfar answered. A few hours pass and Ahbiilok has woken up and flown away. "Quickly, after him!" Nisfar commanded. The Blades then follow Ahbiilok for many hours, until Ahbiilok lands again in another cleating, but a Ka Po' Tun patrol walks into the clearing so Ahbiilok attacks them with fire breath. "Doragon! Ikou ze, ikou ze!" a Ka Po' Tun soldier screamed in fear.
The Blades charge in as Tyermaillin climbs a tree with a short blade before jumping from the tree and landing on Ahbiilok's scaly head and grabbing onto his horns. "Tyermaillin, what are you doing?!" Nisfar yelled to Tyermaillin in surprise and concern. "I'll distract him while you get the net and trap him!" Tyermaillin instructed as Ahbiilok swung his head around. "Elone, Nine-Toes, get the net ready!" Nisfar commanded.
To be continued…
