MLP - Age of Exploration (D&D 5e Custom System)

[Cyan Hide]

GeneralTyrus Dreamweaver

"Me?" Wind answered Applebloom, turning to her, and frowning. "I believe I am fine. The better question is are you feeling well? After all, it was you who was kept in chains."

"The pleasure is all mine," Wind then answered Spitfire, wheeling around, before adding; "There's something familiar about you, and your name, but I don't believe we've met. You're not wearing a ribbon in your tail, which means you're not from Dream Valley. And I remember every visitor we get, so we couldn't have met back there."

Once they were at the library, Wind first studied the sections, and what subject each shelf contained. Books on dragons might be useful, but they only wanted to know about one specific dragon, and where it might be. Books on local legends might contain the exact information they need but it would be a very slim chance to find it, if it's included at all. Wind instead headed straight for the local geography section. If they could find the location of a large cave in the desert, surely the Dragon would be there.

Intelligence Check: 12 (Rolled 2. Becomes 10 due to 'Logic Clearly Dictates' ability. +2 modifier)

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver Cyan Hide

Applebloom, seeing that everyone was alright for the most part, would falter, and stagger for a moment, before laying down, "I'm... I'm okay Windy. I'm tired." She'd mumble softly, before slowly sitting up, smiling. She was just happy her friends were safe. She was honestly happiest for Rose being home safe with Fluttershy. She'd look over at Spitfire, and wave, feeling a bit guilty about having ignored her at first.

She'd make her way over slowly, and sit down in front of Spitfire, "Howdy, Ah'm Applebloom..." She'd say, holding out her hoof for a hoofbump.

Intel Roll: 9 (7 + 2)

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver
'Shapeshift baby' was a very weird way of describing Aurelion, but... not an entirely... inaccurate one? She did at least shapeshift quite a bit, but was definitely not a baby. "I'm here because... I dunno, because I can do the job just fine still." She shrugged her shoulders. Why she was really allowed out to do this, she wasn't entirely sure on that. Everypony that mattered had given the 'OK', so here she was, out hunting dragons in a desert. Very far from home. With demons that want her dead.

A great way to spend your childhood. Ten out of ten.

When they made their way to the library, Aurelion actually felt a lot more at home than before. Libraries were a place where she liked to be, not really for just reading, but because they were nice and quiet. Too many loud places everywhere, it made her ears hurt after a while. Of course, it wasn't so bad that she consistently holed herself up in one. Anywhere quiet would do her fine. She went around the library, looking for books on dragons, particularly anything that might give them information on the current one they're after.

Intelligence Check: 21 (16, +5)

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide GeneralTyrus Dumbledoof
Spitfire just... stared at Valentine. The stare was a decidedly unhappy one. "... I'm going to kill you, mare. I don't care if you're a devil, or an angel, or Celestia herself for that matter. Don't ever spill my cereal again, or I'm going to tear you into little pieces and FEED YOU TO A DEMON!" Spitfire was super mad now. You could tell, because her mane and tail were on fire! Which was also terrible for a library but somehow nothing caught on fire.

Spitfire smiled a bit at Applebloom and hoofbumped her back, "... Yes, I know who you are. I am pretty sure we've met, right?" Considering Rainbow Dash and Spitfire were together, and Spitfire had been in and around the Mane 6 for a while, they had probably met.

With that being said, Spitfire focused on Wind again. "Well I was the Captain of the Wonderbolts before I punched a client and got kicked out. So maybe you know me from that. Anyway, if you ponies will excuse me... this reading looks fun and all but, uh... I need food."

How was she supposed to adventure on an empty stomach?! This was preposterous.

Spitfire flew away with a trail of fire behind her. Also really bad for a library.

Some time later she returned, but by then the group had found clues as to the dragons whereabouts! The only known blue dragon in this area was an adult named Boraksaghegirak, who was known to live in three lairs around the desert. Unfortunately he hopped between them at random, so...

 

[Avedon]

Dreamweaver Dumbledoof
Spirtfire? Threatening HER? A Devil? This little mortal had no idea the powers she was messing with.
"That's it!"
She smacked one hoof into the other, baring her teeth and locking eyes with the enraged mare as she spread her wings and moved closer.
"You asked for this and you've given me NO other choice!...I'm gonna-"
She pointed her hoof right at Spitfire's face!
"- say sorry! I didn't mean to ruin your breakfast! I will make you your choice of pancakes, waffles, or muffins tomorrow to make up for it!"
She spun around, wrapping her wings around herself like she had just finished a grand battle and trotted along her merry way to read!

She took some time to cross reference her books with Aurelion since the two of them seemed to be able to dive through the myriad old texts best.

After they finished their research Valentine felt rather disappointing. Certainly it was useful information but it didn't tell them a whole lot about the dragon himself.
"Well finding him is easy enough. If we just head out to the nearest of these three spots with some camping supplies his route will take him there eventually. Plus who knows what he's got stashed in these places. Doesn't help we gotta find a way to beat a dragon. As powerful as my magic is, it's still an adult dragon! I might only beat him by a hair and that's an undignified route to victory! This is a fight for our brains..."

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dreamweaver

Wind Whistler took a break from reading to put the fires out that Spitfire had left in her wake, by stamping them out. As she did, she listened to the others. They finally found information on the dragon, and the fires were out, so Wind rejoined her comrades at the reading table.

"It is certainly true that we will only have a 1/3 chance of finding the dragon in the first lair we come across, and Dragons have highly irregular migration habits so if we decide to wait, we could be waiting a very long time. I suggest we split up and scout. Each party takes one flyer with them, and whoever finds the cave with the Dragon in it, do not engage, but fly to the nearest other cave and give word. That's how we'd handle a situation like this in Ponyland.

We will need to use our brains to beat an adult dragon in its home territory, instead of our brawn. Unlike in Dream Valley, we don't have a large team of gifted unicorns, and unlike Flash Magnus, we don't have an fireproof artefacts. We need a plan."

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver

Applebloom nodded to Spitfire leaving, eyes wide as she left flames. Thankfully Windy was quick to move and put it out.

When She'd returned, she was happy they had some info. As the group looked everything over, she'd raise a brow, tapping the table, "Do we know if he uses one of 'em more than another?" She'd ask, looking around the table, before sighing, "Ah mean... I dunno..." She'd say softly, shrugging her shoulders. If would have been a cool idea, if they could easily confirm which cave he'd be in the most. She'd then look to Windy, "Splitting up is prob'ly the best option, s'long as we stay safe." She'd say, nodding her head in agreement with the idea.

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide GeneralTyrus Dumbledoof
As Spitfire returned and heard the group talking about the dragon, the first thing that she noticed was that... nopony really seemed to know anything about the creature they were going to fight! "Are we... sure it breathes fire, Wind?" She said after hearing Wind mention 'fireproof artifacts'. Spitfire wasn't exactly knowledgeable about these things, but she did know not to assume all dragons breathed fire.

"Let's see, maybe..." Spitfire searched around for a moment for a book that held more information on blue dragons, and gave a slight cheer when she found it! "Here we go!" She said while bringing it over to the table and laying it open, before beginning to skim through it and read it to the party. "Okay, blue dragons. They have lightning breath... they're the best fliers of dragonkind who enjoy fighting from the air, and can burrow into the sand out of reach... and... there's a lot of information here."

She skimmed through it for whatever useful information she could find and stopped on something interesting. "It says here that blue dragons, because they live in deserts, often form into small clans ruled by the eldest dragon, known as a suzerain. They are surprisingly lawful creatures who don't usually seem to bother mortals much... why is Borak bothering Saddle Arabia?"

She tapped a hoof on the table. "Everything here talks about how lawful they are. They mate for life, they love their children, they enjoy tricking travellers in the desert but rarely fight unless they need to unlike a lot of chromatics. So why is Borak so... evil?" Of course all blue dragons were evil, but they were generally a lot less evil than others.

She didn't understand at all. "Also, the other book said that he was the only dragon in the area, right? But here it says they live in clans. I'm really confused..."

She let out a sigh and shrugged. "... I suppose splitting up would be the best route, but those caves are literally hours apart by hoof. I can cover the distance quickly, but that still leaves us individually vulnerable. Do you all think splitting up is the best option?"

 

[Avedon]

Dreamweaver
Valentine hadn't minded waiting out in a cave for a few months or more, maybe even years though she doubted it'd be that long. She had forgotten though about that whole "ageing" thing mortals loved to do.
"If they're only hours apart would it really be that hard to just check all three as a group?" She shrugged her little wings but something else that Spitfire said bothered her.

"...That's racist! I mean - it's kind of a bad idea to assume that ALL members of a single race have the same morals and alignments and end up acting and behaving the same! I've met Equestrians that aren't happy friendship addicts and angels that aren't literally the worst! I'm sure I can think of other examples, being the the highly competent and clever Devil that I am, but I will save my brain-juice fuel for other thoughts! Like uh...I dunno...why ask us all these questions? We wouldn't know. Ask the people that live here. They probably know all about dragons and...sand I guess?"

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dreamweaver Avedon

"We are not. But the dragon that Flash Magnus fought did. I was making the comparison with emphasis on the artefact, not the fireproofing," replied Wind sharply, not about to take any kind of knock on her logical mind lying down. Her face was flushed. Clearly she had an ego about her intelligence and was embarrassed to have been made to look a fool.

"Also, Valentine makes a good point. Any creature can act in any way depending on their past. Regardless of what their nature is, if their nurture drives him to a life of violence and aggression, then they will become a violent and aggressive creature. That said, our briefing was vague on the nature of the problem than the Dragon and the Saddle Arabians are having. Is it attacking them without reason? Is there a reason? Is it even attacking them or just inconveniencing them by stealing gems or blowing smoke? I personally say that maybe, before we set off, it wouldn't hurt to ask around and see what the locals say. Then we could...hear out the Dragon's side of the story? We might not even need to fight, though we likely will."

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide GeneralTyrus Dumbledoof
Spitfire just smirked at Wind, but didn't say anything in response to that. She knew that Wind was feeling a bit touchy about having her intelligence questioned and, honestly, it was pretty obvious that Spitfire enjoyed bothering her like that! But it was all just fun and games anyway, it's not like Spitfire had purposefully tried to embarrass her.

The group seemed to all be in agreement that the next step in their quest was to talk with the locals. Spitfire was fairly confident in her ability to do so and shot into the air, giving them all a salute! "I'll explore the trade district and see what I can learn. I can sweet talk a few merchants and such. Meet back here in a few hours?"

With that being said, Spitfire took off in a blast of flames!

Right when she disappeared, Luna suddenly appeared. She appeared right beside Aurelion and just said, "Her mothers don't want her out anymore so she's being replaced. Sorry!" before promptly teleporting both herself and Aurelion out of the room. And in their place was Rainbow Dash, their newest party member!

So with Spitfire covering the trade district, that left two main areas of the city left to explore; the poorer region near the docks where all the shady inns were, and the upper class area where all the nobles lived and the most expensive inns were. Those were the two best places to find information.

Everybody choose a partner and then choose a place to explore! Two ponies per region.

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver
Aurelion looked extremely confused when Luna suddenly appeared. And... what was that about her parents? "What do you mean 'don't want me out anymore?'" She said quickly. "They're the ones that agreed to this! I object! I—" 'm gone. Good bye, little filly, you shall be missed.

In came Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty, who looked about as confused as Aurelion was before, glancing around the place. At least she didn't have a bowl of cereal, too. Eventually, she settled on one thing; she was in a library. "... Of course I'm in a library when I get teleported. I bet it was Spitfire. Was it Spitfire?" She looked around, only briefly catching the last bit of flames fluttering. "Of course it was Spitfire. SPITFIRE!"

She stood up and shook herself quickly, flapping her wings a couple of times. Walking over to the nearest window, Dash opened it up, glancing backwards. "Also, hi to the rest of you. I'm Rainbow Dash. Will talk more later. Got a marefriend to murder hypothetically." And then jumped out of it, taking off with a short boom into the sky, accelerating quickly to find the Harmony damned orange pegasus that had teleported her!

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dreamweaver Dumbledoof GeneralTyrus Avedon

Wind Whistler nodded in agreement as Spitfire left, then turned in time to see Aurelion teleported out and replaced by Luna with...Rainbow Dash? An Element of Harmony, and multi-time Hero of Equestria? Their chances in this mission had just gone up drastically in Wind's eyes! A pony with such vast experience in this field couldn't be a bad thing.

Rainbow immediately chased after Spitfire. Those two obviously knew each other. Three of them were left. Wind Whistler looked back at the city map, then pointed to the docks and looked up at Applebloom. "Adventurers, explorers and traders will likely be at the inns around the docks, drinking and sharing stories. It's the first place a bard would go to tell stories and it's the place we should look for information regarding the history of this Dragon, possibly even from ponies who've seen it in the flesh. Valentine." She looked up, this time looking at the small demon. "We'd cover more ground if we split up, and the uptown district is full of wealthy, probably learned people, several of whom might have made it their business to know things. Why don't you...impress them? Try to find out if they know why the Dragon started causing trouble, and what kind of trouble. If we're all clear, let's head out."

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver Cyan Hide Avedon

Applebloom would look around, watching as another party member turned into... the one and only Rainbow Dash! She'd grin, wanting to say hi, but was quickly dissuaded by the fact she rushed off to go find Spitfire. Shrugging, she'd turn to look at Val and Windy, "Well, if ya want to send Val up to them high-risers, Ah s'pose it would be me headin' to the docks an' inns around it. Some sailor boys are sure to have seen somethin'." She'd say, shrugging, before looking at Val, "Also, be careful." She'd say, smiling at the Devil. She'd then look to Windy, "I s'pose I should tell ya both, good luck." She'd say, before nodding that she was ready.

 

[Avedon]

Cyan Hide GeneralTyrus
Valentine beamed
"Finding guilty secrets, impressing vain and flabby rich people, eating falafel. All this sounds exactly like what I'm best at."
She smacks one hoof into the other with a grin
"...can we do that last one for lunch Windy?"

Valentine's ears twitched as she turned to hear Applebloom wish her luck. A blush growing on her face as her eyes widened in delight
"Hehe, shut up stupid, like I need luck, what a stupid thing to say!~"
She said grinning happily and trying to wave Applebloom off while doing a little pleased dance

 

[Dreamweaver]

Dumbledoof
Spitfire reached the trade market in about 0.3 seconds and was a bit shocked when Rainbow Dash arrived 0.1 seconds after that! Shocked, surprised and absolutely ecstatic to see her marefriend here! "Rainbow?! What the hay?! What are you doing here??" She said while quickly embracing her lover and planting a big wet kiss on her blue cheek, before pulling away. She knew Rainbow's look right now and knew what the question was about to be, so she preemptively said, "... No, I did not teleport you. Princess Luna must have. I suppose that means... you're part of the group!"

She quickly explained to Rainbow that they were here to find information on Borak the blue dragon who rules over the deserts outside the city. She wasn't quite sure where to start though! "Every merchant will be able to tell us a little, but we need the really juicy information. Like what caused the dragon to go so crazy. And to do that, we need to likely talk to one of the more knowledgeable merchants around here... any ideas how to find one?"

Cyan Hide GeneralTyrus
As Applebloom and Wind made their way to the docks, they'd quickly realize it wasn't an overly nice part of town. There were inns everywhere that were loud, and ponies were constantly being thrown out for fighting. The docks held all of the rowdy sailors who liked to stir up trouble, so that's what they were walking into. And yet at the same time, there was plenty of opportunities to gather information here!

So... what did the group want to do first? They could go to the docks and talk to ponies there, or go straight to one of the busier inns and see what they could learn at that place.

Avedon
That left Valentine to go to the high class area. She should hopefully not stick out like a sore thumb! There were plenty of of stuck up nobles to steal the soul of so that should be fun. In the noble area you had the churches for all major deities, as well as banquet halls which had nearly endless parties happening in them and some of the more expensive inns around the city. There was also stores for any kind of item available, where you could go to talk to shop and steal.

So... what did Valentine want to do first?

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dreamweaver GeneralTyrus

Wind tutted as she walked around the docks. "We probably won't be able to hear ourselves speak in most of these inns. I've never seen a dock so busy or rowdy before. It's so different to both Ponyland and Equestria. We'd better start by asking the sailors on the docks, unless you want to try the inns. I don't have a very loud voice, I'm afraid." she explained to Applebloom, as she approached a group of tradesemen standing near a recently docked boat.

"Excuse me, friends. I'm looking for information on Borak, the Blue Dragon. What's going on? Why is there trouble? How did itr start? Those kinds of things. If you know anything, or know anypony who might, I would be ever so grateful."

 

[Avedon]

Dreamweaver
Valentine would head immediately to the pet store. That a type of item so she was sure there some around if it had every type. Plus dragons were pets. They probably knew something. That was the reason. She stood next to the window of one and slammed her hooves in, face smooched as she waited for them to open
"Let me touch your dogs!"

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver Cyan Hide

Applebloom would trot alongside with Cyan, smiling as they went about their business. When she spotted the docks, and how busy it was, and the sight of the rowdy sailor rushing about, she'd frown, "Ah'm not completely fond of this idea, Windy." She'd point out, but followed along. She'd stay by Windy's side, looking a bit like a bodyguard, and she kind of was.

As Windy spoke with the traders, Applebloom would keep an eye out on those around them. She didn't want to think these Saddle Arabian's we're bad, but she knew docks were rough anywhere, she wouldn't be surprised if she'd see Gryphons or Minotaurs.

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver
Rainbow really put her speed to the test right there. If Spitfire had teleported her all the way out to Saddle Arabia, and then didn't even pause to say 'hello' to her, that mare was going to get it. There's a certain line that got crossed when you teleport her completely out of the blue, into the middle of who-the-fuck-cares, and without permission. She doesn't do teleportation! It makes her stomach turn tumbles more than getting caught in a hurricane! Professional note: don't get caught in a hurricane.

She stopped on a dime right in front of her marefriend, fuming intensely, opening her mouth to say something... and then having it be lost from just how happy Spitfire was to see her. Dash hugged back, still a little peeved, but she had effectively doused her previous righteous fury with love, hugs, and a kiss. To then immediately put the rest out when it was Princess Luna that had teleported her out here.

Staring up at the sky in annoyance, a long and suffering sigh came. "Luna. You suck. But I'm sure Celestia enjoys that." That's about all she was going to say. She's here and that means it's time to help out. Rainbow shrugged, looking around the place. "Honestly? Could probably silver tongue some of 'em. Lay on the charm, and for those who won't be tongue twisted, money tends to solve that. Just make sure not to mention anything about the information being extremely important of the greedy bastards will up the price."

The cyan pegasus shrugged. "Worst comes to worst, we take them into an alleyway and beat the information out of them."

 

[Dreamweaver]

Dumbledoof
Spitfire winced a little bit as Rainbow started staring into the sky and insulting Luna, "Hey... you know she has anger problems, maybe don't do th-...." nope too late. A little bolt of lightning came down and struck Rainbow, though it didn't have much power behind it at all. Rainbow takes 7 damage and gets put onto Luna's shit-list! Thankfully she wasn't mad enough to steal Rainbow's shadow powers!

Spitfire chuckled a little afterwards and just shook her head. At the mention of 'laying on the charm', Spitfire blushed slightly and hid herself behind one of her wings. She wasn't good at... flirting! She was good at flying, and posing for photo shoots. When it came to actually being charming, she never felt very charming at all. But hey she has the charisma stat so its her job.

"... Uh, yes. Let's... lay the charm on?" She proceeded to walk over to a booth and stood there awkwardly while the stallion behind the counter just stared at her. She then leaned on the doorway in an attempt to look sexy but just looked awkward as fuck. "... Hey there... stud. I was hoping you could, uhm... help out little old me??"

She shot a super awkward glance at Rainbow and then smiled at the stallion, who somehow was buying it! He leaned in closer and then exclaimed, "... Wow, you're Spitfire! And Rainbow Dash, hi." He gave her kind of a dismissive wave. "What can I do for the both of you?"

Cyan Hide GeneralTyrus
Of course the docks were full of all races, because Equestria wasn't prejudice! If you were willing to work, then there was work to be had. Minotaurs, centaurs, bat ponies, earth ponies, changelings, all manner of races swarmed around the docks. Everybody was hard at work either recruiting new sailors, or fixing holes in their ships caused by pirates!

The tradesmen that they came across were ones who were working on repairing a ship. All the tradesmen simultaneously looked at them, and then looked away. When they didn't immediately leave, one of the tradesmen turned around looking quite annoyed! "Oi cantcha see we're workin' 'ere! Get a fuckin' move on 'fore we throw ya inta th' water for th' sharks!"

... And then he turned back around and started hammering a nail back into a board.

Avedon
Oh god how do I handle Valentine alone?!

The store owner looked at Valentine very slowly and proceeded to close the blinds of the window! Before Valentine could do much else, a hoof grabbed her shoulder and she was spun around to be face to face with a cyan blue mare! She had a purple hat and cape on with stars all over it and looked genuinely confused. "... Hello. I saw you trying to... pet dogs. Are you okay?" She leaned in and squinted her eyes as if trying to see if Valentine was sick! "... You don't really strike me as a noble. What are you doing around here?"

 

[Avedon]

Dreamweaver
"This isn't over old man!"
Valentine was surprise when she was spun around to face the random cyan mare blinking. She seemed perfectly healthy just retarded.
"Haha! That is where you are wrong! I am a noble of the lowest caliber!~"
She said proudly, lifting her head up and spreading her bat-like wings.
"I was coming here to try to learn about blue-dragons. Blue dragons move in big clans, there's a blue dragon without a clan. Something had to happen to them. Eggs would go to petshops, body-parts to craftsman. Either way someone dealing in animals would know if there was any disaster or sudden influx of dragon goods!...Also they have other...animals to look at!"

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver Cyan Hide

Applebloom would watch the deck ponies with a wary gaze, raising a brow as one turned around to suddenly start yelling for really no good reason at all. She'd stay where she was, and gently put a hoof over Windy's back, "Hold on." She'd whisper, before clearing her throat loud enough to make the trader hear her, "Oh yes of course, where are our manners." She'd say, before trotting up beside him, smiling politely. She'd carefully take his hammer from him, staring at him the entire time, before with one quick and clean strike, drove the nail in with ease, "I know a thing or two about repairing things, maybe if you give us some information, I could help you out with some repairs?" She'd offer polite, hoping her show of good work would help their case.

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver
Rainbow was a little late on regretting her choices. The lightning bolt came and zapped her, and... didn't do as much as she was expecting! Guess that meant Luna wasn't that angry with her over that little quip. But she didn't exactly know when to quit. "Aw, come on, Luna! It was a joke! Do you hit every pony that makes jokes with lightning bolts?" She whined. Stupid freaking alicorns...

Shaking her head, her wings fanned out and she shook herself lightly. That lightning didn't really hurt all that much. So she refocused on the task at hoof; finding out more about that dragon. Spitfire never came across as a very awkward flirt to Rainbow... they'd always seemed relatively okay. Now, granted, Dash didn't flirt very much either, due to an extreme lack of interest in flirting with anypony that isn't Spitfire. This is going to be a real treat to watch.

She actually had to stop herself from bursting out laughing at Spitfire's pathetic attempt for flirting. The merchant seemed to take pity on her and went along with it. She just waved in reply. "We're lookin' into some dragon that has been rumored about. You know anything about 'em?"

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon
That was actually a rather well formulated sentence! Rose would be proud at Valentine for that one if she were here. It's almost as if Valentine knows how to not be retarded!

Trixie seemed to understand what Valentine was saying and smiled gently at her. It was fairly obvious that Valentine was... maybe a little challenged... but Trixie was willing to help her out! "Oh dear, if you're looking for dragon parts then you're looking in the wrong area. Eggs would be far to valuable to go to a pet shop, not to mention illegal! True Dragon eggs are not permitted to be sold in Equestria. And actual dragon body parts would only go to the finest quality smiths to work into extremely expensive armour."

She shrugged a little. "Trust me, if such a thing were in the area then Trixie would have heard about it. I'm... kind of a big deal." She held her hoof out. "The Great and Powerful Trixie is at your service, little mare! What say we head to the nearest blacksmith and see if they've heard anything?"

Dumbledoof
The merchant perked up a bit at the mention of a dragon and narrowed his eyes. "Ah, yes. You are talking about Borak. He's a real terror in these parts. He won't come near the city itself out of fear of death, but the villages on the edge of town get attacked nearly monthly by the beast. The worst part is how difficult to tag blue dragons are! We've hired groups of adventurers to hunt him down before, but they never have any luck. I've heard that he just flies around for entire days at a time and launches lightning bolts until the adventurers are all dead! Or he burrows into the sand if he's in trouble and just leaves!"

He looked at the two of them and nodded a bit. "... You two could probably keep up with him in the air and harass him enough to make him land. I would place money on it. But even then, you'd need some friends on the ground to deal with him when he lands. Take out his wings and hope you ground him before he grounds you."

After a bit of a closer inspection, Spitfire noticed a few things about the stallion. First off, he was quite old; looking about 160. He had numerous scars, and wore a sword on his hip. But the way he wore the sword was... to casual. "... You've been through all of this before, haven't you?" Spitfire asked with a little arched eyebrow.

He just smiled. "My best advice would be to speak with Little Shadow over in the alley..." He pointed at said alley. "He will take you to the... shadier merchants. If anypony has information, it'd be them."