The Desert is no friend

[Qhorin Solas]

I kept a proverbial eye on Serena and Morgana, idly petting the dewback napping at my feet. I was considering how to best proceed with Morgana's training. I had focused on shoring up her combat skills whilst other Jedi supplemented that with lessons in the Force. She was progressing well, by all accounts, but I was beginning to think that it might be time to take a more involved hand.

In the Force, I became aware of a pack of anoobas fleeing the Dune Sea, a dune worm hot on their heels. They yipped and yowled as they ran, their panic cutting jagged, staccato waves in the Force. They were upsetting the balance, and the relative quiet of the desert was utterly shattered. Even without the Force I would've been able to hear the commotion. The sound echoed through the ridges, reverberating from rock to rock. There were foothills between them and the cave, jagged foothills that sheltered the raiders. In packs, anoobas could be dangerous, but I wasn't worries about the anoobas, and I didn't think the raiders were worried either.

I was worried about what they'd woken with their racket. I felt is great size in the Force, felt its mind slowly shake itself from slumber, massive snout flaring as new scents hit its nose.

From deep beneath the earth came a roar that shook my bones.

[member="Morgana Forceborn"] [member="Serena Bouie"]

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

Serena was about to say something to [member="Morgana Forceborn"] when from below a roar echoed off the walls around them there was no mistake about the sound. The sudden stop to the Raiders activities as their heads turned almost simultaneously towards the sound was followed by the complete turn around and flurry of activity to now retreat from their position.

Serena looked at Morgana, "Do you hear that?" Of course she heard it Serena though, silly to ask if she did, "It would seem that scaring off the raiders has been taken care of we should probably get back to [member="Cronos Aegir"]" Serena could not help but be slightly disappointed but she had felt her heart quicken at the sound of the dragon's roar as it echoed around them.

A Krayt Dragon was quite the creature to behold at full maturity it could be about 158 feet in length, and weigh about 45000 pounds was it any wonder that the creatures were often left to their own devices based on sheer size alone. This did not take in the venomous teeth and spines, its strength, or its ability to sense the force.

"Have you ever seen a depiction of a krayt dragon?" Serena asked as they began to go back the way they came.

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

Morgana had jumped at the sound of the roar that seemed to echo from behind. She looked back to it, then [member="Serena Bouie"] , before seeing the Tusken Raiders run off in fear. At least they were gone for now, but they would be back in greater numbers. And it would likely take more than whatever had made that noise to scare them off next time. She looked back when asked if she heard anything, prompting her to answer Knight Serene "What? That loud roar just now? No, not at all." When she'd mentioned [member="Cronos Aegir"] Morgana gasped, realizing that he was left alone with whatever was there. She stood and hurried with Serena before answering "The most I've seen were in books. Why? Don't tell me they got the size wrong or something." ​

 

[Qhorin Solas]

I was gathering out things before the first roar even stopped echoing. The banthas tried to flee, but I grabbed hold of their minds with the Force to keep the calm, and the dewbacks and eopies too, when I felt their fear and anxiety. Id the Krayt Dragon came for us, a sacrifice would have to be made, for this was no juvenile dragon. I could feel how large it was. This one was a century old at least, possibly older.

Excitement spurred me to move faster. I spotted [member="Morgana Forceborn"] and [member="Serena Bouie"] returning to camp, and gave each Eopie a slap on the bum to send them sprinting towards my Jedi companion.

There was no telling where the dragon would surface. Or when.

I climbed atop my own mount and set the banthas to run ahead, with the dewbacks trailing on either side. The raiders were fleeing, and even the anoobas had turned away to scramble back toward the sea.

The rumbling, if anything, seemed louder.

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

[member="Morgana Forceborn"] | [member="Cronos Aegir"]​

​

​

"Oh no they got the dimensions right, unfortunately" Serena looked over "Just making conversation" She laughed slightly uneasy, "there's our ride" Cronos was up and moving with the rest of the animals.

The Eopie that was headed toward her did not look at all happy but then their species were known to be grumpy and stubborn. Serena moved quickly trying to push calm and comfort toward the animal as she lifted her hand to take the reins to slid up onto it's back she stroked its neck reassuring it. "Let's go baby"

She did not need to urge it forward the roar of the dragon had been enough to stir it into action. Serena looked to make sure Morgana was ok the padawan was quick for certain but Serena did not know if the thought of the dragon had given her pause.

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

When [member="Serena Bouie"] had said the question was just conversation Morgana scratched her head, only for [member="Cronos Aegir"] to arrive. She wasted no time and scrambled onto the transport. She looked back as another roar went out before looking back and seeing Serena coaxing the Eopie to start moving. As they rode off, going further from the cave, she began to sigh with relief. The last thing they needed was to have a fowl run-in with a krayt dragon while on this mission. She looked to Cronos, giving a look that basically said "That was close" before rubbing her temple.​

 

[Qhorin Solas]

The rumbling grew ever louder, and twice the banthas tried to flee, only for me to reign them in and force them onward. The Force offered little insight as to how to deal with an aggressive krayt dragon: fighting was categorically out of the question.

The rumbling stopped, a growl exploded out from somewhere to my left, from the rocky hills that curved alongside the Dune Sea. And then --

The dragon was there, pushing through the stone and heading directly towards us. It was huge, its head seemingly large enough to swallow a man whole. Its tan scales were as thick as durasteel, and perfectly colored to blend in with the seas of sand outside the Wastes. And it's fangs... the less said of them, the better.

My Eopie stopped running and refused to go any further. I found out why when one of the dewbacks shuffled forward to escape, and fell into a pit that had been dug into the ground and covered with some sort of holographic sheet. From its undulating squeals, I figured there were spikes at the bottom.

Had the raiders built this trap? Or something else?

The krayt dragon loomed closer, visage growing more sinister with each step. Soon it would be upon us.

[member="Morgana Forceborn"] [member="Serena Bouie"]

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

Just when you think everything is really going to be calm, that there was no immediate threat, THAT this time would be different from all the other times. A dragon bursts out and changes all the thoughts had for that day.

Serena instinctively pulled back the reigns, she could feel the trembling fear within it, its need to run She stroked its neck it's ok she whispered to it. The screams of the dewback were too human for comfort, it was suffering from the sounds being made, not enough to kill it enough to stop it. Serena tried to harden her emotion, her empathic senses shimmered and wiggled within her as she coped with the sounds the vibrations of the creations own emotions.

It was coming closer the very air around them seem to change, from the trap though clearly someone was hunting the krayt fools she thought. "I don't know that we are ready to take on a dragon" Serena was not about confrontation it was a weakness within her. As she went to say another word, the sounds upon the shifting sands and rocks around them could be heard, a tap upon rock and within moment the head of the krayt came from their left.

Serena took pause as she took in the details of the magnificent yet deadly creature.

[member="Cronos Aegir"] | [member="Morgana Forceborn"]​

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

The sudden sound had caught her attention first before turning to see the beast. "Oh poodoo..." was then only words Morgana had to describe when the Krayt dragon appeared. Elegant and dangerous. Majestic and horrifying. The beast had flown through the sands towards them, Morgana unsure if they should fight or flight, especially after the comment made by [member="Serena Bouie"] . She looked between her and [member="Cronos Aegir"] while frantically asking "Please tell me someone has a plan? Because I ran out after trying to run faster." ​

 

[Qhorin Solas]

I tasted the Krayt Dragon's mind. It was wild, savage and untamed, but little different from the mind of other such animals. I wasn't confident in the eopies' ability to outrun the dragon in its home turf, and if there were more of those traps around... "No," I said. "Fighting the dragon is out of the question."

It was a task to keep the banthas and the sole remaining dewback calm, but I managed, watching the dragon stomp ever closer, eyes glinting menacingly beneath the light of the stars. It's long, muscled body almost slithered across the rocks, claws rending the ground asunder with each step. I could feel its hunger.

"Your first test, padawan," I began, tone calm and placid, as if I were unconcerned with the massive predator bearing down on us. "A Jedi knight must devise their own plans. Our fates are in your hands." The dragon was close enough now that I could count its individual scales, see every wicked tooth in its gaping maw.

[member="Serena Bouie"] [member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

[SIZE=12pt]A test. Serena looked over at Cronos and then to Morgana. A padawan test under fire so to speak. Serena could feel the creature lumbering closer, its nose in the air tasting it for anyone nearby.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]It takes a calm mind to devise a plan or in this case an escape. For Serena not everything came from the force at times the intuition of one’s own mind with the force as guidance, a tool so to speak she often found the path.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Serena not interrupting the lesson held back and waited for Morgana to tell them the way they would choose.[/SIZE]

[member="Cronos Aegir"] | [member="Morgana Forceborn"]​

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

"ME?!?" she blurted out as they continuted to storm away from the krayt dragon. After [member="Cronos Aegir"] had given his reasoning she looked to [member="Serena Bouie"] who seemed to silently agree with this. Oh great. Now all the preassure was on her. And here she thought the dragon wasn't the worst of it. Well if this was her time then so be it. She looked around, trying to see if there was any means of dealing with the krayt dragon. A Jedi always knew to see their surroundings and take advantage of them, but all there really was around here was sand. And Jawas. And Banthas. And....THAT'S IT!​

​

"Which way were those radiers from ealier?" she asked. As soon as someone gave her an answer she insisted "Turn us that way towards them. We can deal with two minoks in one hit!" ​

 

[Qhorin Solas]

"If that is your plan," Cronos said, "then we will follow it."

They pushed the eopies onward, up into the rocky outccroppings where the Tusken Raiders had been preparing to raid them. They were long gone. Tusken Raiders were deathly afraid of Krayt Dragons. Even the merest hint of one was enough to send them scurrying.

They were down a bantha, now, leaving them with a single dewback and bantha combo. Cronos chanced a glance down at the dragon, which was still trying to get at them, even with chunks of bantha hanging from his teeth and blood dripping from his lipless mouth. As if sensing his scrutiny, the dragon let out an earth shaking roar and started climbing.

[member="Morgana Forceborn"] [member="Serena Bouie"]

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

[SIZE=12pt]It was a slow movement the three of them following behind one another like Jawas. Serena looked up toward the ridge behind them she could hear the dragon.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]First it seemed to want to come after them, but then we turn back to devour its prey. The dragon would not leave the carcass for others to find it would finish every morsel the need to hunt would be stayed off by a full stomach.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]But the force sense of the creature seem[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]ed to be triggered as it now had a new need to fulfill. The three Jedi perhaps provided a convergence point that the Dragon could feel.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]She felt a need to be silent though hoping that silence would in some way helps their situation. It seemed to be a matter of time before the dragon would decide to sink its claws into one of them.[/SIZE]

[member="Cronos Aegir"] | [member="Morgana Forceborn"]​

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

As they turned towards the raiders direction, the dragon still following, Morgana hoped and prayed this plan would work. Otherwise both [member="Serena Bouie"] and [member="Cronos Aegir"] along with herself would suffer for it. As Master Cronos turned she looked back to the dragon, seeing it was still following. She kept saying to herself how it had to work. As they came into the direction she hoped the first thing the Radiers would see would be their little caravan riding along across the desert. After that the dragon would appear, scaring them off but also giving the dragon a much bigger choise of food to hunt down. That, by extension, would give them plenty of time to run to saftey while the dragon and radiers dealt things out. Again a good plan but one she hoped would work. In truth she was only coming up with this off the top of her head.​