Follow the dragon's path.

As the one closest to the dragon's tail, you speak up after a lengthy period of following in silence, filled only by the rustling of branches and the chirping of birds. Though you do briefly both hear and see mysterious figures farther beyond, they seem to disappear swiftly, presumably ahead of where the dragon is going to distance themselves from the strangers on their island. "What's your name, by the way?" you ask. "I'm Kyle. This here is Niki, Eva, Amara--"

"Too many names," she cuts you off. Then after a pause, she continues. "I won't remember them all."

"... All right. Fair enough. I can't argue with that."

She leaps over a stone, and lands on a root, crushing it beneath her weight. The sound of the splintering wood is like a limb beneath her snapping in two. When her tail swings after, it crashes into the trunk of a tree beside her, though she continues forth. As this happens, you can feel Peony's grip around your arm tug. Clearly it's bothering her.

Peony speaks up. "It's impossible to avoid stepping on grass, and when not harvest in excess, wood is a valuable resource to gather, though you hurt the island you live on so carelessly, Ms. Dragon."

This causes your guide to halt. She glances back at the dryad, and for a moment, you fear that you soon may smell the smoke of burning plant. Instead, however, her eye trails away in an almost timid manner as she ponders quietly. She turns forward once more, though moves more slowly this time. "I apologize. Often, I am... too clumsy, in relation to my strength. And normally when I am much larger, the thought comes to me even less. The island has not wronged me. That would be Thunderbeard."

"Is that a pirate?" you ask. "Sounds like one."

"A dwarf. But a pirate too I suppose. Something like that. He has a ship and steals from others, so I'll say yes. But worst of all, he deals in living cargo."

"So he's a slaver," whispers Luna. "How cruel."

"Let's kill him!" Ariusia shouts.

The dragon takes time to respond. When she does, she whispers, "Perhaps your group is to be trusted after all."

"So the others you protect here. Were they the living cargo?" you ask.

"Yes. I was sleeping here when they came. Now I guard them with my life."

"And Thunderbeard..."

"He does still live."

"Incredible that he escaped the wrath of a red dragon."

"You flatter me. It's not necessary." Then at last, she parts the way forward by pulling open the vines in her way by the tip of her spear, as if opening curtains to a room ahead. Though it is no room of course, though the forest opens to a massive clearing with a stony hill directly in the middle, entirely surrounded by gorgeous pink flowers. The most distracting sight to behold in the glade, however, is the frigate-sized ship crashed right over the hillside--what Luna spoke of earlier. "This here was one of my homes. I was resting on top, when a boat from the sky came down right on top of me. My wing was torn, and I was greatly injured for a time. Though after slaying the crew and finding the captives, the captain was gone. Thunderbeard found a way to disappear, though I don't know how."

While the party stares in awe and thinks on her words, Peony steps forward and kneels down to a nearby flower, brushing her fingers delicately along the petals.

Niki steps forward and eyes the ship up and down. "Damn. You were crushed by a boat?"

And since then she's been stranded. A dragon, unable to fly, trapped on an island. No wonder she hates Thunderbeard, and that's on top of hearing all sorts of stories from the captives I assume. They're free from the pirates, but now they're just stuck in a larger cage. At least this one has flowers.

"I'm sorry," you say. "We--"

The dragon raises a hand towards you. "Stop. I didn't tell you this or lead you here for pity." She looks over. From around the boulders and distant trees, figures emerge once more. "I am Vyzia. You asked for a name before. Vyzia. I suppose we aren't so different, stranded here. So then how did it happen to you? Was it Thunderbeard?"

You shake your head. "No. It was Seno'nojoch."

Her eye widens. "The ancient one from beneath the sea? You embellish. Don't mock my question."

"It's a long story, but you'll have to take my word that I'm telling the truth. He ate us whole, and we had to fight our way out."

Gwynevere says nothing.

"The sea is merciless," says Vyzia. "I miss seeing it from above."

"So how long have you been here?" you ask.

"I've claimed this island as one of my own for a couple decades now, though the ship first crashed... Hmm. Let me think."

The sound of beating wings pulls your attention right before talons hit the ground. There's a short harpy nearby, with a teal bob cut, and a long, loose white t-shirt, making it unclear if she wears anything more. By how pronounced her assets appear, there's at least one thing she isn't wearing. They're also quite large despite her size--almost as much as Eva. Over the bridge of her nose is a pair of round glasses. The middle looks as if it's been mended by tiny green string--the same material woven for the jewellery Vyzia adorns herself with. "Two hundred and ninety-eight days," she says quietly.

"Thank you. There. Your answer."

"Almost a year," Eva mutters.

"Well, we're gonna make sure that counter doesn't reach one year," you say. "One way or another, we're getting off this island, and you're coming with us."

"What?" Vyzia squints. "I appreciate the sympathy, but I don't appreciate blind hope. I saw no ship of yours."

"How many are here?"

"Including myself, seven."

Hmm. I could Bunny Hop. If I don't count myself, I'd have to move twenty three? I think that's right. Maybe if I took about eight at a time. The problem is I have no idea where we are now. I could trust Invisible Ties, but there's no guarantee I could lock on and hop back here successfully, especially if I'm gonna be taking that many people that many times. It's not impossible though. Still, we should look at all our options.

You turn to your party. "Let's assess. I have my Sending Stone, so I could let our friends back home know, though we're the ones with the foldable boat, and we'd have no way to tell them where we are. Speaking of which, we have the boat, but there's not a chance we could fit even half of the people here. I can also Bunny Hop, though let's look at other options first, just in case. Does anyone have ideas? Meti, do you have any useful trinkets?"

The djinn frowns. "No means of teleportation, and I already supplied the boat I had."

Eva points upward. "What if we get that back in the water?"

Everyone turns to the crashed ship. It looks to be of frigate class, so it could easily fit everybody and then some. It's a strange looking vessel--fancy as well, likely to be worth a pretty copper. It's a shame to see it in such ruin. It hasn't been here so long to rot, thankfully, though there's definitely damage. There are three sails, though two of them are torn. It's difficult to discern what the figurehead was before breaking, though it almost looks like part of a propeller. The dark wood is trimmed with iron braces, and there are holes for cannons along the sides. Some of what you see you can't figure out, however, either because it's too broken, or it's something you've never seen before, almost like bits of a motor, though you haven't seen technology like that in Abso yet, so it may be something else entirely. Most of the damage is on the front. It seems to have nosedived right into the rocky hillside, and it's been stuck in that position ever since--nearly three hundred days later.

But Vyzia doesn't look excited. "I'm not sure about that."

"It's worth a shot though, right?" you ask.

"Maybe not. I know nothing of repairs, and the only craftsman here mends clothes and weaves jewellery. There are unique plants here. A certain vine-like thing, that stretches and is difficult to break. Even somewhat resistant to flames. I wear it. But even with that, we can't put back together a ship. And not one like this."

"Wait. So this isn't a normal boat, is it?"

"No. One of Thunderbeard's vessels. I believe it came from the sky."

"An airship?!" Eva shouts. "No way."

"But that doesn't mean it can't sail on water too," you say. "I don't expect us to get the flying mechanisms all working without Fava, Laira, or whoever, but if it's seaworthy, we can sail--"

"No," interrupts the dragon. "I mean, it's too dangerous."

You step up beside her. "Vyzia. With us, we've tripled your numbers. And if we can get this fixed enough to float, and Thunderbeard comes, we'll take him down for you."

"I would never watch another fight for me."

"You're free to join. I mean, looking at you, I think you could take on a pirate captain, even without the ability to fly."

"But the others--"

"Them we'll protect. If you help us, I'll let you finish off this dwarf, and me and my allies will keep the rest safe. Don't worry."

Vyzia throws her hand to the side, as if to gesture your party to remain still. She then steps forward, closer to the hillside, and then raises her spear up horizontally above her head. When she shouts, her voice is so mighty that all birds and animals scatter in a rush to escape, and though you're a short distance away, you wince from the volume. "Everybody! Come!" she demands.