Chapter Four Hundred and Seventy-Seven — Like Shooting Fish with a Dragon
Chapter Four Hundred and Seventy-Seven — Like Shooting Fish with a Dragon I didn't know much about hunting. Actually, I didn't know anything about it beyond a few things I might have picked up from books and TV and stories.There was a culture of hunting back home, but it wasn't something I was super interested in. I don't think I could pull the trigger and take out Bambi's mom without crying. Besides, as much as I didn't like splitting things along those lines, I'd always felt like hunting was a bit more of a 'guy thing.' Not that that had ever stopped me before, but still!My dad liked fishing. It was pretty inexpensive as a hobby, as long as he didn't go out and buy all the latest gear and stuff. Just a licence and a rod he'd had since he was a teen. I'd gone with him a few times. We'd drive out to the countryside, park next to a river and I'd sit on a cooler while my dad tried to catch something along the shoreline.He never caught anything huge, but we'd still bring home a decent lunch for the cost of some worms and a bit of gas and time. I was worried that the experience was more fun in my memories as it had been in the moment. Fishing involved a lot of waiting around, and I wasn't super big on sitting down and not doing much.What we were doing now was a sort of combination between fishing and hunting, I supposed.Calamity, as our resident hunter, with an actual hunting class, was the lead for this one. Rhawrexdee's method of hunting was to fly in great big circles high above, then when he saw something he wanted to eat, he'd eat it, because he was a dragon.As it turned out, his plan for levelling Booksie up involved her riding him on his hunt and maybe smacking whatever he caught if it was still alive.There were a few problems with that plan. Actually, more than a few.So we came up with our own, slightly more manageable plan to hunt down some gryphons.The first step was baiting them closer. To do that, we picked up the leftovers from Rhawrexdee's lunch and loaded them up on a tarp on the Beaver's deck. Those were carried over to the nearby mountains, where we saw some gryphons in the distance.We slowed the Beaver way down, then waited."Looks like they're takin' the bait," Calamity said as he squinted out towards the horizon.I turned, following his gaze towards a flock of dark shapes way out in the distance. They were downwind of us, winged forms slowly growing closer. "Are we sure they're going to attack?" I asked."No way of knowing until we're in the thick of it," Calamity said. "But if I know one thing about apex predators, it's that they're prideful.""You can say that again," Booksie muttered with a slight smile. She tilted her head back, looking into the sky for her boyfriend. We couldn't see him, he was either too high up, or invisible.Discovering that Rhawrexdee could use magic wasn't a surprise. He was a dragon. He was a blue dragon, which apparently meant that he was naturally inclined toward thunder and lightning magic. That was what his dragon's breath was made of.But that didn't mean that it was the only kind of magic he could use. Lightning magic was only an aspect away from light magic, and light magic was fantastic for illusions.Amaryllis had used some very colourful language when we discovered that the dragon could use some pretty strong illusion magic to camouflage himself.It was far from perfect. He just turned the same colour as the space behind, but it left a large, blurry, dragon-shaped patch in the sky. It was kind of very obvious from up close, but when he took off and flew high up, it became tricky to spot him. He blended in perfectly with the sky above, but sometimes stood out if a thin cloud moved past.It was more than good enough, I figured. I had asked Amaryllis about applying that same kind of magic to the Beaver but she gave me a disgusted look and said that I didn't know anything. That was Amaryllis for 'this is a lot harder than you think, and I'm not nearly strong enough to do that, but refuse to admit it because it would sting my pride.'To be fair, I didn't expect it to be possible, at least not in an easy way. The Beaver was a pretty big ship, and covering it with even Cleaning magic was beyond me."Captain, any orders?" Clive asked.I snapped out of my thinking bubble and refocused. The Gryphons were approaching, I could make them out fully now. They had eagle wings and an eagle's head, but massive. Their heads were easily large enough that I could squeeze into their beaks. Their forelimbs were clawed talons, and their rear was more cat-like, with a tail and clawed feet.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story."Starboard towards the gryphons," I said. "Awen, get your turret ready. Everyone! Prepare for trouble!"The goal was simple. We'd all try to give the Gryphons a bit of a smack. As long as everyone was actively helping, then that should count as contributing to the fight.Then Rhawrexdee would sweep down and take care of the big beasties before they overwhelmed us.I felt a little bit bad. Hunting was already something I wasn't too keen on, and this was kind of like shooting fish in a barrel, only instead of using a gun, we were using a dragon. It was inherently unfair.Then again, gryphons were dangerous to passing airships. They were more than willing to attack the Beaver, even if we were baiting them with the stink of rotting meat. Amaryllis and Awen both confirmed that they were problematic, their populations often culled by the local government to prevent them from breeding too much and becoming problems.They were somewhat necessary for the local environment. They hunted mountain goats and other herbivores in the mountainsides, and where enough of them roosted, it prevented young dragons from coming and installing themselves in the local mountains.Even Rhawrexdee said that young dragons were a pain in the tailbone.The whole crew gathered on the deck, and we started going through last-minute preparations. One of those included tying everyone to the ship. We made quick knots around our belts, the other end of the rope linked up to the railings in the centre of the ship between the two hulls.Gryphons hunted by grabbing their prey, dragging it aloft, then releasing it and letting gravity do most of the work. We didn't plan on letting them get close enough for that to work, but being safe didn't cost anything.Everyone that had a ranged spell lined up by the rails facing the flight of gryphons. The rest of our group grabbed a crossbow. Booksie had a large one in hand, Awen's current go-to crossbow, actually. It made her look surprisingly small and awkward, but she was able to shoulder it well enough."Remember," Caprica said. "One hit on each is all you need. Don't linger on any of them. We're not trying to kill them, just do a bit of damage and that'll be enough!"The Scallywags and the rest of the crew nodded. We didn't just have spells. Awen and Amaryllis had gotten their heads together and created small glass bottles filled with an unstable spell that would go off a few seconds after being pumped full of mana. The spell wasn't explosive, but it did make a bright burst of light."Ready!" Calamity said.I gulped and summoned a big brace of little fireballs, as many as I could manage all at once.The gryphons were getting closer, close enough that the whoosh of their wings and their angry cries reached us. They were loud, really loud, and their calls were the sort that sent shivers down my spine and made my instincts shout at me to hide."Steady... steady," Calamity said. "Fire!"My fireballs rocketed forwards, trailing after Desiree's more numerous and stronger fireballs. Arrows and bolts flicked ahead, and then the glass bulbs tossed by the crew, followed by quick snap-shots from more crossbows. Awen's big crossbow turret opened up just as the flash-ball went off and created a few bright bursts of light.I had a moment to see a couple of the Gryphons jerk back, their wings flapping wildly. Then Rhawrexdee was on them.He came down like a falling star. A very, very big and very, very angry star that was discharging crackling lightning from his maw like a prairie thunderhead roiling over usThe air stung, and I felt every hair on my head puff outwards before the dragon was suddenly past and gone below in a flash of blue.The gryphon flight collapsed, a dozen bodies flopping through the air, sparks of electricity dancing across their fur.Ding! Congratulations, you have shocked Seven Peaks Gryphon, level 19!Due to combating as a team your reward is reduced!Ding! Congratulations, you have made Seven Peaks Gryphon, level 22 buzz off the mortal coil!Due to combating as a team your reward is reduced!Ding! Congratulations, you have electro-executed Seven Peaks Gryphon, level 17!Due to combating as a team your reward is reduced!I blinked as Mister Menu had a field day, bringing up a bunch of dings all at once."Huh," Booksie said. "That actually worked!"
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Chapter Four Hundred and Seventy-Eight — There Were More Fish Than Expected
Chapter Four Hundred and Seventy-Eight — There Were More Fish Than ExpectedBing Bong! Congratulations, your Wonderlander class has reached level 6! Health +5Resilience +5 You have gained: One Class Point,You have unlocked: One Class Skill Slot I blinked as Mister Menu reappeared before me. This was the second level-up in as many days for me. It was... actually, probably not too surprising. I was covered in a sheen of sweat that I hadn't yet Cleaned off, and my limbs felt heavy.Worse, my mana was almost completely drained from casting non-stop fireballs. I hadn't spent this much mana in a long, long time.The space around the Beaver Cleaver was only now clearing up, freed of the gryphons that had descended upon us over the last few minutes.I saw Booksie slump down next to the railings; her hair was plastered to her head by sweat and her ears were too tired to stay upright. "They're gone," she said with a sigh."Looks like it," Calamity said. The cat-boy was in a better shape than Booksie, probably because he was a lot more used to moving about and hunting, and he had a few levels on Booksie too. "The last couple have turned tail and taken off. I dunno if your boyfriend will be going after them or not.""Hopefully not," Amaryllis said. "Those things came out of nowhere."I nodded. A few minutes after Rharexdee had obliterated the first batch of gryphons, we noticed a few specks high above us, and more racing along close to the ground below. Calamity had been the one to notice them, but it was Awen with a monocular that was able to confirm what we were seeing. More gryphons. A whole heap of them.As it turned out, gryphons were territorial. To them, our group showing up and hunting a few of them down was tantamount to us coming in and staking a claim on this mountainside, and so they did the equivalent of calling up their buddies and flew right at us.Sure, we had a dragon, which was the equivalent of putting a brick on one side of the scales, but Rhawrexdee was just one dragon, and he wanted Booksie to get a hit in on every gryphon before he swooped in and took them out.That was easy when they were all coming in as one big, grouped flock, but when they were attacking from every direction, all at once?"That was quite exciting!" Desiree said. She curled a tail around and brushed her fingers through it. There was a small burnt patch in her fur. Friendly fire? There had been a little bit of that as we ran around and tried to keep the ship afloat. "I'm one step closer to gaining my third tail, at least! Is that not worth all of the effort we've put into this kerfuffle?""Ah, I levelled three times," Booksie said. "I'm at level eleven for my main class, and two for Sue-Chef. This... worked, I suppose."I nodded. "I got a level for my second class too!" I said, happy to share the good news.Amaryllis huffed. "No level ups here," she replied. "But I feel as if I'm close. But levels, while all well and good, don't make up for the amount of trouble we'll be in if we don't get moving."I winced, but she was right. The Beaver was one tough cookie of a ship, but we had taken a bit of damage there. A gryphon had flown face-first into one of our balloons above, and while its beak hadn't pierced the bag under the tarp, it had cut into the material.Another had tangled up in some of our rigging on the port side, and in freeing itself had cut some of the ropes apart. Not all, not even most of the rigging it was caught in, but enough that it would need replacing too. Redoing any amount of rigging wasn't impossible while in-flight, but it was tricky, and would take a bit of time. We had some rope to spare, but still.The Scallywags and the rest of the crew, under Clive's watchful eye, were already working on that.The rest of the damage was pretty superficial. A few scratches over the paint, some stains where dirty gryphons had thumped right into the hull.All in all, we were fine, if a bit worse for wear.Caprica had her chin in her hands, a serious expression on her face as she watched the sky. I had the feeling that she was keeping an eye out for Rhawrexdee. Not that she had to, he was still circling high above. I could just about see his shape as a smudge in the sky.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.I gave Orange a little kiss on the head, then went over to where my friends were waiting and plopped myself down. Awen scooted closer to me and laid her head on my lap. "This is going to be so much work," she said."It'll be okay," I promised. "We're almost out of the Seven Peaks anyway. Once we are, there's less chance of a random flock of gryphons ambushing us."Amaryllis hummed. "I suppose. But that does bring us to the next big problem. Where do we go from here? Back to Port Royal?""Probably," I said. "Unless there's somewhere else we could visit."Booksie came and sat down next to me, then she flopped onto the side, her head resting on my shoulder. "I want to sleep in my own bed," she whined.I shifted my arm around to wrap it around Booksie's back. "Tired?" I asked."Mhm," she said. "But we probably shouldn't sit around too much, we do want to keep moving, right?""Yeah," I agreed without standing up. The rest of my friends were being a little lazy too. Clive and the others were looking at the rigging more than they were fixing it. With a bone-deep sigh, I carefully slipped out from under Awen's head, then I stood up, pushed Booksie to the side, and bent down to tug Awen closer so that she could lay her head onto Booksie's lap instead. "There. You two take a minute," I said.I had captain things to do.Being responsible could be a real drag, sometimes, but if I wanted my friends to be as happy as could be, then I had to be a good captain for them! I walked over to the other deck, then patted Clive on the back. "How are things here?" I asked."Hmm, well enough," the old harpy said. "The Beaver didn't take much damage, all things considered. We're fine to travel even with this bit of rigging undone. The remaining lines can handle the increased strain for a time."I nodded. That made sense. "Alright. As long as everything holds together, it shouldn't be too bad, then. We'll be aiming for Port Royal. Do you mind keeping an eye on things here? I'll take the helm.""Aye, captain," Clive said. "I'll have Steve help you with the sails. No sudden maneuvers, please.""Thanks!" I said before skipping to the back of the ship and up a level. The wheel was locked in place at the moment, and the engine was idling so the big prop at the rear of the ship was only barely turning because of the wind.I unlocked the wheel, cranked the engine out of neutral and into first gear, then let go of the big clutch lever to engage it. There was a thud as the engine engaged, then the prop picked up some speed behind me and I felt the wind whipping by pick up.With a glance up, I was relieved to find that Rhawrexdee was still with us. He had moved closer, and I could see his blue form more easily now. It was probably time to give the few remaining gryphons a little more distance, though, before they decided to try fighting us again.This whole hunting gryphons plan had seemed so smart. And it had been fun, if a little intense, at first. The levels we'd gotten were nice, and I'd gotten a bit of a power-up too. But it left me feeling like I was a bit of a bully.I checked the compass, then turned so that our heading was north and east, away from the mountains and more or less towards Port Royal. If I kept good notes of where we were heading and at what speed, then it wouldn't be too hard to chart our course later and make some corrections. It wasn't perfect, but it would work!Besides, Amaryllis liked fussing over the charts.I was reaching the level of competency behind the helm where I could let my mind wander a little. So I spent some time thinking more about where I'd be going with my levels moving forwards.Wonderlander had just unlocked a new skill slot, and I hadn't gotten a new skill right away. That was... actually kind of nice, but I'd have to get to practising soon, so that I could pick up something fun for that slot!More importantly, I had a couple of open slots in my general skills too!
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