Both riders and dragons were drained from the little skirmish from earlier and were now heading out on a long journey. The dragons were worn but with the leading and words of their riders, they had the courage to push on. Rune carried a few throwing axes and an extra load of Z.E.Ps, with the speculated amount of men rumored to be on ground, it was needed. The others did carry extra tools too. Virgil carried an extra quiver of arrows and borrowed a sword from Thyra. Forde carried two daggers to pair with his axe in case he lost it, Sten carrying another blade as well as some throwing knives. Thyra on her own carried another mace a, a chained version of her mace which she could swing and a spiked hammer. She was really looking to do some damage to those trappers.
Night had come and the stars and moon lit up the sky. The winds were cold and calm as the dragons flew silently above the clouds. Everything was peaceful, perhaps too peaceful as some began to doze off; namely Sten.
"How are we looking Forde?" Rune asked as they cruised.
He was up front and center in the dragon formation. They flew in the classic V shape formation as Sandstorm's strength helped the other dragons plough forward. In time, the lead dragon would rotate to let the previous leader rest. Just as birds did in real life, the stronger birds stay in front to spear head the way as birds with less strength or were a bit tired, moved down the order to regain their strength.
"We've made good time. We are right on schedule" he reported.
"Well in that case, I guess Vyra can take point and carry on for most of the night" he said as he rubbed Sandstorm's head.
Vyra nodded as Sandstorm drifted out to the right as Vyra took the lead. The rest of the dragons adjusted their positions in the formation, Sten moved up as he stayed to the right of Vyra. Forde moved back as he stayed behind Rune as Thyra drifted out to the left behind Virgil as they continued their trip.
As the hours passed by, something began to brew in the air. A low rumble hit the ears of the sleepy riders, Sandstorm rumbled as he alerted Rune to the situation. The others dragons let out worried short roars and rumbles as they shook their riders awake.
"I'm up, I'm up" Sten said as he yawned.
"Wha- what's going on?" Forde asked with sleepy eyes.
"The dragons… they sense something" Thyra said as she rubbed her eyes.
"What's wrong boy?' Rune asked his dragon.
Sandstorm looked ahead and grumbled. Rune pointed his gaze forward and then he saw it, a flash of light and another low rumble. A storm was approaching, and it was quick.
"A storm" he said.
"A storm? Now?!" Virgil exclaimed.
"Why did Odin choose to send a storm to us now? He can send it any other day but not today man" Sten sighed. He was too tired for this.
"It looks too big to fly around. We will lose time. Our only option is if we fly through it" Forde stated.
"Rune, what do we do?"
With Vyra's question, all eyes were on him. He could feel the weight of their gazes on him, one wrong move they could all be killed. He could feel it upon his shoulders, the burden of a leader, making the hard calls. He looked at the storm and then out to the open sea around it. The storm was very very large, if they were going to go around it, they may end up arriving at night or in the early hours of the morning.
"We must arrive as scheduled" he said as he exhaled loudly. "We fly through the storm"
"I hope you all brought extra rope to strap yourselves down because we are in for one hell of a ride" commented Sten.
"Let's try to not tear our dragon's wings off" Virgil added.
The riders double checked all their gear and ensured that everything was tied down firmly. Nerves ran high and the dragons were uneasy, tension filled the air around them as the cold winds began to blow. Sensibly, they took out their fur coats and jackets to protect themselves from the winds and the rain that was due. They dropped in altitude with stronger winds found at higher altitudes. They needed to stay in a goldilock zone, one where they would be safe from large waves and not take on mighty crosswinds.
Thunder rumbled loudly, lightning flashed profusely, the winds strengthened by the minute and the rain began to pour as they closed on the storm.
"We aren't even in it yet and we're already struggling this much!" Thyra yelled.
Rampage flapped his hardest to keep steady, grunting loudly as the winds tried to fling him about.
"Rune, are you sure about this?! Can we really do this?!" Forde yelled as he used his right hand to shield himself from the blinding wind.
"We can't turn back now! We keep moving forward!!"
Spikethorn roared as she also struggled to keep steady. Rune was silent, trying to connect with his dragon as Sandstorm tried to tame the winds. To be fair he was doing better than most, his resilience and determination ensure that both he and his rider wouldn't get killed. Vyra on the other hand, was in a class of her own. Strombreaker showed them all why they were called Stromcutters, she battled the winds and tamed them. Her wings cutting through the turbulent winds gracefully, there were no ups and downs, just consistent steady flying. Eruptor did his best, his large wings did help him ride through the streams of air better but with the low visibility as the rain increased, things were beginning to look pale. Virgil and Hothead tailed Eruptor, the bigger dragon paved the way forward as they rode the less turbulent air behind him.
Now they had flown into the storm, the intensity and unpredictability increased. The wind howled in their ears, the rain poured down prepensely, lightning crackled ahead as thunder almost threw them out of the sky with its loud rolls and rumbles. The once beautiful night sky was now covered by the black storm clouds. As their visibility reduced, the team needed a target to follow or risk missing their way.
"STEN!!!!" Rune shouted. "We need light! We need Eruptor's flames!! Or we can get lost in this thing!"
Rune struggled to get the words out of his mouth as air and water rushed into his mouth with every word he took.
"What?!" Sten yelled back. He could hardly hear him with all the noise from the rain and thunder.
"He said that you and Eruptor should light the way!!" Vyra echoed.
She managed to catch what Rune was saying and relayed it to him.
"Okay!! We will try!!" he said before a strong gust of wind pushed Eruptor downward.
The Monstrous Nightmare fought against the enforced way of the wind and overcame; he flew back up and remained with the group. In the midst of the rain Eruptor set himself a blaze for only a few seconds before his flames died off. The strong winds and rain blew the gel off his body almost immediately. He could only keep it up for a few seconds at intervals but it would help the Team stay on the same path.
"Vyra! Sten! You two spearhead the formation!! We'll tail you guys!!" Rune yelled.
"What is he saying?!" Sten asked.
"I think he wants us to lead!"
"I got it!"
Rune turned to the others, pointing at each individual and ordering them to fan out behind the leaders. Eruptor and Strombreaker took point; Rune stayed to the left of Sten, and behind him was Thyra. Virgil and Forde were on Byra's side, the winds were calmer on their end thanks to Strombreaker. Rampage had finally got his bearing and was powering through the crosswinds, on the flip side, Sandstorm had begun to struggle. Fighting against the elements had left him drained and he was beginning to look of pace with the others.
"Come on Sandstorm! We can do this!" Rune said as he tried to raise his dragon's spirit.
Sandstorm grunted and huffed, hinting at his exhaustion but also at his determination not to give up.
"Stay behind me Runy. Rampage and I will clear the way for you and Sandstorm" Thyra said as they powered past them.
"Thyra-"
"No time for arguments" she said sharply.
Sandstorm fell back as the two stayed ahead of them. The rest was needed, urgently.
With their flaming beacon, guts and grits, they made it out of the storm. Drenched, tired, sleep deprived, but they were alive. The scenes after the storm were calm, as if it was never there. The sea was calm and the winds stilled, ahead of them, the Rookery was in sight.
"We made it!" Virgil cheered at the top of his voice.
"Oh yeah!"
Sounds of victory ran through their ranks as they closed in on dry ground.
At last, ground was beneath them, Sandstorm couldn't wait; He dropped to the ground not even caring to land normally. His wings gave up power and his eyes began to close as they descended. He and his rider endured a controlled crash onto the Earth as the Sand Wraith huffed loudly, exhausted from all the flying. Rune rolled off his saddle and fell to the ground, if he was feeling tired, Odin knows just how much his dragon was feeling. Rune placed his hand gently on his head as he spoke to him affectionately.
"You did good bud. I'm proud of you"
Rampage landed on the ground thunderously and with a mighty roar, his legs gave way as he slumped to the ground. A large puff of steam escaped his nostrils as he fell fast asleep.
"Oh my boy" Thyra praised as he hopped of her saddle. She rushed to his head and gently held his nasal horn in her palms. She delicately placed her forehead on the large horn as her lips curled into a smile.
"You did good today. I'm so, so proud of you"
Eruptor landed next and let out a cloud of smoke from his mouth. The dragon grumble and didn't care if Sten was still on. He curled up into a ball and fell asleep. Sten wasn't all too amused. He tumbled off his dragon and appeared from under his wings.
"Man, sometimes I hate that dragon, some days I love him. Today is both, more on the love, but both" Sten said with his face still planted to the ground.
The others landed as well and it didn't take long for the dragons to fall asleep. They were tired, drained, exhausted. They used all their might to navigate the storm, all while keeping their riders safe in the process, they a=had earned their rest.
"Odin's beard. If we had chosen to go around the Storm, we wouldn't have made it" Virgil said as he stood next to Rune and Forde.
"Yeah, the winds made that thing move like crazy we wouldn't have made it around nonetheless" Forde added.
"It was the right call flying through it. Whether we chose to go around it or not, we would've still met it" Sten said as he bumped Rune in the back with his elbow.
"I don't know about you but that flight felt like a real test. It put us on the edge, had us trust our dragons more than ever and their faith in us not to send them to their doom" said Thyra.
"I agree" Rune said.
"Well now that that test is over, let's get down to setting up camp for the night. I am exhausted" Vyra said with a yawn. She stretched her hand s to the heavens, bones cracking in to place.
"Good night guys" Virgil said with a wave.
One by one they dispersed to set up their tents for the night. Rune stood there, gazing into the horizon as he watched the storm disappear on the edge of tomorrow. He couldn't help but think of what would have been if things had turned out worse than they did. The thought troubled him for a bit as he remained fixed in thought. Then a sound broke his focus, Sandstorm bellowing as he turned over to the side as he slept.
"Right. Sleep" he chuckled nervously.
He rubbed the back of his neck and yawned as he went on to set up camp. The others were already fast asleep within their tents, except one, Vyra. She watched Rune stand there almost the whole time after setting up her tent. She wanted to speak to him but hesitated, after their little argument the day before, she felt as if she wasn't in the best position to sooth his troubled mind.
"I'm sure he'll be fine. He will be fine. He is Rune Yakkerson, the strongest man I know. He wouldn't need any assurance from me" she said to herself.
She tucked herself in for the night and went to sleep. They had a big day ahead tomorrow, they needed all the rest they could get.