a collection of tales [[ chronocompass writing ]]

Today's bounty was an... odd one, to be sure. Tenoch was always prepared to hunt down any sort of creature if he needed to, so long as there was a meal for him at the end of the day and enough gold to survive. Today's hunt, a runaway tsotska, had apparently stolen some important trinkets, some fancy pieces of metal, and ran off toward a different planet. Tenoch had no idea why people cared so much for metal scraps. Anonymous was excited about the prospect of treasure, however. Well, good for him. Let the dragons fight for the promise of loot. Tenoch just wanted to get his job done.

The planet the dragons and the rider were on today was a delightful place, in theory. A purple sky shone above, and the stars shimmered brightly. Around them was a vast ocean, dotted with small islands. Tenoch, thankfully, had a canoe. Dian and Hestia did not fit inside, so the two firey beasts whirled about high ahead to scout out the surrounding landscape. Anonymous sat in the back of the boat and frowned up at the stars as Tenoch rowed.

"Do you still have the map?" Non asked over one shoulder. He and Tenoch sat nearly back to back. Not touching, though - neither one was still used to the other. 

Tenoch put down his oar for a moment to pull out a folded piece of paper. The people who had hired him had given him this page. It was a basic diagram of the planet. Interesting, and useful, but not the best when tracking down a sneaky thief. A whole planet was a large spot to search - or it would be, for anyone but Tenoch.

"I do. Far easier to just check the future, though. The lizard dropped the loot over that way -" he pointed - "and hid nearby. Hence why we're here and not digging through every single island."

Anonymous nodded, a gesture that Tenoch didn't see. "Of course, of course. Hunting down a tiny gecko man - fascinating adventures we go on. I'm glad we can work together so well." He grinned ominously.

Tenoch folded the map back up and started to row again. The dark water rippled quietly below them. The strangest part of this planet was how quiet it was. There were no crickets, no birds. This planet was abandoned - apart from all of them, of course. Their approach would likely be heard.

The Quetzalcoatl chose to ignore Non's words and glanced up towards the two sibling dragons, as they weaved between each other and soared above the world. He, with a glimmer of frustration at having to speak this way, sent a mental message up toward Dian and Hestia. *Do you two see anything... worthwhile?*

Dian hissed at him, a sound that was very quiet from the sky but very loud in his head. *The eastern island seems like the one you saw in your visions. The same pattern of rocks.*

Tenoch didn't bother to say thank you. He rowed faster than before, headed for the east. It was a few tense, silent minutes before the canoe landed on the shore.

Anonymous had hopped out of the boat almost before it touched down. The dragon flared his wings and landed lightly on the dark sand below. His many pieces of jewelry lightly jingled. Tenoch grabbed the gear he thought he would need from his canoe: a net that could be thrown, several knives, and various potions and gadgets. The Tsotska didn't stand a chance.

Hestia's landing on the sand was a bit louder, and a puff of flame announced her arrival. Dian was quick to follow. Tenoch glanced about the island. It was fairly small - he could almost see the other side of it from where he was. The island was dotted with rocks, rocks of all sizes, from small to shockingly huge. The largest stood around the middle of the island, where several palm trees grew tall.

Tenoch folded his wings in close, nodded to his dragons to remain silent, and began a slow crawl toward the largest rock. He listened close, and took one small step at a time. When he got close, he hopped to the top of the stone. The Tsotska was there, apparently asleep in the sand. Tenoch reached for his net, took another step -

- and the lizard woke up. Tenoch threw the net, just in time. It landed over the lizard and the weights on the edges meant they weren't likely to escape. The Tsotska, in small gecko form, wriggled around, but found no way to get out. Tenoch leapt down from the rock and landed next to the net. Non phased into existence next to him. Dian and Hestia took a spot on top of the large rock to watch, but they were looking around - for the treasure, most likely.

Tenoch knelt down next to the lizard and leveled a glare at them. "You make a habit of being a thief?" he asked.

The lizard spat angrily. "I had a good thing going," they said. "I was sending loot to folks who could really use it. Not the riffraff like you." They struggled more underneath the net, despite the hopelessness of it.

"Good, it's really you. Would have been bad if I took down some innocent lizard. Well, maybe bad. Where'd you put the treasure? I'm sure it's on the island."

The lizard grimaced, pondering options, and after a few long seconds they inclined their head toward the end of the island Tenoch and his dragons hadn't been to yet. Tenoch and the fire siblings shared a look, and impressively, Dian and Hestia did as he quietly asked and went to take a look. Anonymous stayed by his side, just watching. As always.

Tenoch said nothing, merely stared the lizard down for several minutes. When Dian returned and offered a nod of affirmation, Tenoch smiled. He didn't care about loot, but he did care about keeping his dragons happy enough to listen to him. All three of his dragons seemed to have quite the hoarding urge.

"Thanks for working with me. I'm sorry about this... but I don't leave a contract uncompleted." Tenoch drew a dagger before the Tsotska could speak. He struck quick, and he struck true.

The memories of the lizard person rejuvenated his magic, thankfully, and as he gathered up his net and his dagger, he pondered where his journeys would take him next. Dian and Hestia had finished gathering up the important pieces the lizard had stolen, and they climbed back over to Tenoch with plenty of things to take back. He hoped it wouldn't sink his canoe.

Anonymous was over to the other two dragons in a flash, and before long had found himself a new shiny bracelet. He attached it around his wrist and smiled. "Perfect. Shall we be off?"

Tenoch looked around the island, at the bright and shining sky, and at the water all around them. The job was done. There would be time to admire the landscape on the way back to the portal home. The rider grabbed some of the loot to help carry it back, and nodded. "There's nothing left for us here."