STORY DISCLAMIER – I do not own How to train your dragon, it is owned by Cressida Cowell and DreamWorks studios.
(A/N – Hello there my fellow Fanfictioners! Before I start this, I would like to throw out some thanks yous to all of those who have reviewed my oneshot that I recently put up, 'Razor'. I've already got a couple of requests to act upon soon but until then, big thanks to bookwurm247, HiccupHaddockLover, The Whisperer of Death, rewind73, ZefronsAngel and my two good friends, P-Artsypants and Ayame4679! Seriously, thank you all so much for the reviews and support, I really appreciate it!
Now, if you have already read 'Razor', you will be aware of this fic because I mentioned it in the A/N at the start. I stand by what I said but will say again: this fic will be mainly be an Adventure/Romance, due to the main plot of the storyline and the romance of Hiccup/Astrid and maybe Fishlegs/Ruffnut on the side, along with some Snotlout/Heather if I can fit it in somewhere.
This fic will be set before the sequel, as I have yet to see it, but only barely: it will be set two months after the Defenders of Berk finale, 'Cast out'. This chapter is the prologue, so you guys will be able to accommodate yourselves with our story antagonists. Ok, let's start this roller coaster!)
Dead man's hand – Prologue
Rome, Italy. A proud city... most definitely. Home to the greatest armies any ruler could wish for... going forth and conquering any lands that the ruler desired. Able to defeat any opposition that would dare stand against them. A great number of different humans, clans and tribes all over the lands had fallen to the Roman Empire over the centuries they had been there, for no one had managed to best the great Empire...
However, even the Romans had their boundaries.
And it is for this reason that Hermes Custis II (named after the messenger of the gods), the Emperor's royal and personal messenger, found himself walking along a dirty and possibly plague infested sewer, four Roman soldiers following his every step in order to protect him from any possible threat.
Being a messenger, Hermes would admit, was not the best job... but being the personal messenger for the Roman Emperor himself... that had some perks. His main article of clothing, a white short sleeve chilton, had been made with some of the finest wool and linen from across the Roman Empire, as had all the clothes of the Emperor's personal workers. His white toga that he wore over the chilton was made from the same materials and his sandals were made with the finest leather, perks that a normal messenger would not have. Finally, for protection, he had been gifted with a Roman soldier's armour vest to wear over his toga on trips to deliver important messages (after all, couldn't have one of the Emperor's personal servants dying now, could we?)
As he walked down the side of the sewer that run under Rome, his protective escorts trailing him, he couldn't help but feel for his current ruler. Up until now, the armies had always been the ones to do all the work. No Roman Emperor before the current had to even dare think of co-operating with unfamiliar forces... but now was a first time. The Emperor was scared, truly terrified, for what could happen if, as he spoke himself, true experts in that field were not the ones to deal and handle the situation.
Hermes and his guards eventually turned a corner of the sewer and found what they were looking for. Only a few more steps forward, guarded by many other Roman soldiers (one that Hermes happened to know), was the metal gate that blocked the only lawful entrance into a district of Rome that was abandoned twenty years ago due to mass flooding. Since then, it had been deemed uninhabitable...
However, that didn't seem to stop some people.
"Custis," the soldier that the brown haired messenger knew personally called. "Our Imperial Majesty's royal and personal messenger. To what do I owe this pleasure?" he ended sarcastically, a teasing grin on his lips.
"Do be so kind as to hold your tongue, Regent," Hermes replied mockingly. However, the air cleared very quickly when he stretched out a hand. "However, I must say, it is good to see you again, my friend."
Regent shook the hand strongly as he met the pair of blue eyes. "Likewise, sir, likewise." He released the hand before placing it back onto the handle of his holstered sword. "But truly, to what do I owe this visit? It is not every day that the messenger of our Imperial Majesty comes along to a filthy sewer."
Suddenly, all of his happiness was gone and replaced with seriousness as an emotionless blank slate washed over Hermes' features. "I am under the orders of our Emperor to venture into the flooded district."
His friend's eyes widened, all humour leaving his face as well. "Truly? But what for? For what reason would you need to venture into the flooded district? After all, it is flooded; no Roman has lived in that part of the city for twenty years.
Hermes shook his head. "I cannot say, for his highness has ordered that only the person who I must find is to be told why he had to be found. However, I can tell you that it is to calm our ruler's mind."
"Calm his mind? What has got him so riled up?"
"Again, I cannot be explicit... but I can inform you that recently... we had new information come in from some of our spies... regarding a problem that we actually first heard of about a year ago. Sadly though, there has been a development in events over there and so... our Emperor believes something must be done." Hermes nodded to himself. "He has already decided what must be done."
"I understand, my friend," Regent replied with his own nod of understanding. He waved a hand to another gate guarding soldier. "Bring this Roman a rowing boat! He is to venture past the gate!" The soldier ran off immediately.
"Is it really that bad?" he continued. "I have heard the rumours of those who still remain past this gate but... I hoped it would not be true, for I have heard they are in no way merciless."
"The Emperor and I ourselves are not sure if they actually live... but he has said that there is no one better for the task if they are in fact real. Roman spies have provided me with a possible location of inhabitancy for the people I am to search for... and so my only hope is that they reveal themselves to me."
Before the soldier could say anything else, they found a one man rowing boat floating gently towards them along the dirty sewage water before it came to a stop just next to where the pair stood. Hermes turned around to face those who had escorted him.
"His Imperial Majesty has requested that I go this part of the journey on my own, as he believes that I going alone will show those I am to find that there is no threat. You may all return to your posts of work." The soldiers all nodded before turning away from the messenger, making their leave along the side of the sewer tunnel.
Regent gave his friend one more worried stare as the royal servant jumped into the boat. "Do you have any objections of going into the flooded district, my friend?"
Hermes sighed. "It is not like they would be acknowledged even if I did have them but... no; I do not have any objections. Our Emperor is truly terrified of what could happen, Regent; truly terrified of what could happen if this is not dealt with... and he has said that if anyone is to do it... he wants experienced people doing the job."
Regent sighed himself as he turned his head to look at the metal gate that had been emplaced twenty years ago. He turned back to stare at his friend and placed his right hand over his armour protected heart.
"I am with you Hermes; I pray to our gods that you return safely."
Said messenger nodded in reply, a smile of true gratitude on his face. "I thank you for your kind words, Regent. If I do return, we should gather for an informal meeting one day." The soldier chuckled.
"Yes, we should." He nodded one last time. "Goodbye, my friend."
Hermes nodded back. "Goodbye."
Regent waved to the two soldiers that stood by the cranking wheel, awaiting orders.
"Raise the gate!"
The two Romans began cranking the wheel with all the strength they had, the chain on the wheel winding up. Along with this, the metal gate ever so slowly lifted, its spiked points rising from the sewage water. Eventually, the gate had been raised a substantial amount from its original place and Hermes, now with a rowing oar set in his hands, pushed the boat forward. When he was past, he heard only three more words from Regent, followed by the rumbling of a chain before his mind set itself on his task.
"Lower the gate!"
A full ninety minutes passed before Hermes eventually found the location he was looking for. The flooding of twenty years prior had left the Roman buildings uncared for, resulting in many of the buildings in the district now being scummy, slowly crumbling and even missing some parts of the walls and complete ceilings. There was enough water around the city for the messenger's boat to float at the height of about fifteen feet above the ground.
Eventually though, with tired arms from constant rowing, Hermes found the location he had been ordered to find. It was the district's old armoury, the place where the main supplies for war such as swords, bows and arrows, shields and war machines were made for the people who had once lived in the now abandoned part of Rome. Unlike other armouries, this one had been well known for having other aspects of activity instead of just metal making facilities. For example, Hermes had knowledge to believe that somewhere, in that building... stood a massive library, holding over two thousand books created by a vast variety of Romans.
The armoury was on a higher bit of land than most of the area, meaning that the Custis family member was forced to land his small boat to proceed. He came to the land's edge and then jumped off before removing his armour vest so as to remove his toga, tying one end to the boat and another to a nearby tree that had miraculously survived the flooding.
Pulling his armour back over his head, the Roman took several steps forward until he came to one side of the building, one with a front door over to the right end of the wall. He did not hesitate in trying the door, only to find it locked. He knocked loudly several times.
"Hello?" he called. "I am Hermes Custis II, royal and personal messenger of his Imperial Majesty! If anyone is present, you will allow me entry in the name of the Emperor!"
No answer met his ears. With a sigh, he backed up slightly so as to look up to the roof, hoping to find any signs of life. Of course, he found none.
A strange noise suddenly sounded behind him. It sounded like something rushing past a person, much too fast to even begin to comprehend what it was. Hermes turned around and screamed, his eyes enlarging in shock.
For there, a few steps in front of him... stood another human.
They wore a black overcoat for their first layer of clothing, one that reached down to their knees. Below that, Hermes could see, was a black cloak: one that appeared to stop at the person's waist but covered the rest of the body upwards. On the waist, Hermes could barely see, was a brown belt, probably made from leather, which had a large metal buckle on it and had a sword holster on the side. He wore brown leather boots with belt buckles on them, with pale yellow trousers on his lower half and to cover his hands, he wore a black pair of elbow length gloves: Hermes noticed that there was, what appeared to be, a smaller version of a crossbow attached to his left wrist. Finally, buckled to the face to cover his identity, was a black plague doctor's mask, the beak made out of metal. Hermes became notably more worried when he noticed the sword held to the person's waist.
Suddenly, another person, dressed exactly the same, appeared behind him with the noise sounding out again. Hermes screamed for the second time that day, the shock sending him forward so that he was between the two people.
"This is the one who is sometimes with the Emperor when he makes a public address," said one of them, a deep voice emitting from behind the mask.
"A not-so important royal Roman then," replied the other, his voice a little higher. He turned his attention to the messenger. "What brings you here Roman?"
"I bring a message for your leader... if you are who I believe you are."
"A message?" said the one with the deeper voice. "A message for our leader? For what reason would the Roman Emperor wish to deliver a message to our leader, all the way out here in the flooded district?"
"I cannot tell you that," Hermes stated. "For I am forever loyal to his Imperial Majesty and so I respect all of his wishes... including his wish that only your leader sees the message I bare." For a few moments, neither of the men answered him. After a while though, they both drew their swords.
"What do you think of this?" the deep voiced one asked his partner. Before he replied, the other man moved forward and poked his sword into Hermes' back.
"Amateur trickery. He deserves to die for wasting our time." Suddenly, the deep voiced swordsmen disappeared, that sound emitting... only for him to reappear next to the other man. Before he could do anything, the lighter voiced man was pushed away from Hermes.
"That is not your choice to make, Leptus. You know that the fates of any possible intruders are always left up to Kaag." The man, apparently named Leptus, stood up straight in an attempt to intimidate the other man.
"What about Cassindra? Does she not get a say?"
"Cassindra is only ever in total command when Kaag is absent. Any other time, she is only second in command and so only gets a say. However, the ultimate fate of the person is always up to our master. You know that."
With a groan of frustration, 'Leptus' sheathed his sword, prompting the other man to do the same.
"Alright then messenger," he muttered bitterly. "You wish to meet Kaag? You can meet Kaag."
Hermes was unable to do anything before the two men took a hold of him, one shoulder each. They pushed him towards the door he had tried before, the deep voiced man taking a key out from one of the pockets of his overcoat. The door then opened, allowing the three to enter.
As the three walked through the now abandoned metal shops of the armoury, the royal messenger was celebrating his head. These are the people his Emperor had tasked him with looking for: the so called 'Plague doctors'. Called that for the bird masks they wore to conceal their identities, they were a group of assassins that were hired by people who so desperately wanted someone dead in Rome. Why were they so feared? It was no rumour that the group was connected to the forbidden art of using black magic to assist them with completing their assassinations.
As the trio exited the metal shops on the first floor and entered an empty hallway, another assassin suddenly appeared in front of them. This one was clothed differently though: for one, his overcoat was white instead of black. Another thing was that his gloves were not black either, for they were in fact brown, similarly to his belt and boots. The cloak was black but unlike the two assassins he had already met, Hermes noted that this assassin did not use the cloak to conceal the back of his head. He did though; still wear a plague doctor's mask.
Leptus and the other man did not waste time in releasing their intruder so that they could descend onto their knees, bowing to the one in white.
"My mistress," they both said at once. Ahh, if the leader was the one known as master Kaag, this must've been Cassindra, the second-in command.
"Rise assassins," she ordered to which the two men followed. "What do we have here?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"We found this Roman calling for us just outside," informed Leptus. "He claims to be here on an order from his Imperial Majesty to bring a message to master Kaag."
"Is that correct?" Cassindra asked. Knowing his place, Hermes did not respond, he simply looked down at the floor.
"Leptus, return to your guard post and Reflux, transverse up to the third floor, there are a group of novice trainees who require a session." At the order, both men vanished from the messenger's sides. The woman stepped forward, the bottom of her white overcoat moving in the slight gust of the building.
"I will take you to Kaag, Roman."
She placed a hand on his shoulder, that infernal noise sounded out again and then, Hermes found himself in, what appeared to be, a ransacked library. Many of the book shelves were overturned, the holders of literature sprayed out on the floor like rubbish. Many of the windows were smashed and when Hermes hung out slightly to take a look, he noticed that the inner sections of the building had not managed to escape the flood.
"Master."
At the simple word, the royal servant looked to where Cassindra stood... only to see another man beyond her, standing in the corner at a desk, his back to them.
"Yes Cassindra?"
"You have a visitor... a messenger, in fact."
The man turned around slowly, revealing himself in all his glory. Like all the assassins he led, he wore an overcoat except his one was a dark red shade and like his right hand woman, he wore brown gloves instead of black. His boots, trousers and belt were all the same but it had to be said that he, by far, had the biggest differences in appearance from all the other remaining inhabitants of the flooded district.
He did not wear a black cloak beneath his overcoat. Instead, he wore a white tunic that stopped at his waist, tied at the top completely to ensure no skin was being shown and finally... he did not wear a plague doctor's mask. Without one, Hermes was able to take in the short brown hair on the white skinned man's head, his brown eyebrows, his black eyes that led to another realm and the creases in his skin, hinting at a possible old age.
"A messenger, you say?" the man questioned as he stepped towards the pair. "And the royal messenger, Hermes Custis II at that." Hermes tensed.
"How do you know my name?"
The assassin smirked. "I know a great deal, Roman." He paused to stretch out one of his gloved hands. "So... you have a message for me?"
With wary eyes on the old man, the Roman buried his hand into his chilton and seconds later, brought out a scroll of parchment, tied together with a tie of soft, red material. The man took it into his gloved hand before opening it forcefully.
As the assassin's eyes wandered all over the parchment, Hermes took the time to inspect Kaag's desk... or more, what was behind it. For there, on the wall behind the man's personal table, were pictures, drawings of numerous humans. Some, Hermes recognized as Romans: generals, traitors to the Empire... there was even a picture of past Emperor Romanos Diogenes IV with a cross through it. Other pictures were displayed also, drawings of people wearing, what Hermes believed to be anyway, Viking and Celtic war clothes.
Assassination targets, past and present.
"Cassindra, leave us," the man ordered after reading the message completely. "I must speak with Hermes privately."
The woman spoke one word, "master," before disappearing.
"Have you read this message of yours?" Kaag asked.
"No, his Imperial Majesty would not allow me to; he said it was only to be for your eyes... he did though tell me that it was regarding a big problem, and that he only wanted the best possible people to deal with it."
The man's face turned blank as he re-read one part of the message on the parchment. He looked back to Hermes afterwards.
"It says here that the Emperor would like to have a formal meeting with me in order to speak about the situation in further detail," he informed, pointing at the part of the message where it said exactly that. "I will come along to this meeting... on one condition."
Hermes shrugged. "What condition?"
"I may be a skilled swordsman with great experience in black magic, but I am not simply going to walk into the building of the Roman Emperor without protection. If he wants this meeting to go ahead, you tell him that I wish to bring six of my fellow assassins with me as protection."
True to his word, the messenger did return to the Emperor with Kaag's say on the matter: he would come to the meeting, showing his agreement to possibly conduct the job if he was allowed to bring some of his fellow 'Roman villains' as protection.
Hermes was sent away again only minutes later to tell Kaag the Emperor would meet his condition.
Two days later was the date of the meeting, the meeting that could decide Rome's salvation... or its possible destruction. His Imperial Majesty, the Roman Emperor, Alexios Komnenos I, sat in his grand chamber, his eight Praetorian bodyguards surrounding him. The grand chamber was massive, coloured completely red with the exception of the yellow path that led to his Imperial Majesty's meeting table. Torches lit up the entire room, hanging from the walls and as decoration, memorial statues of all previous Emperors stood at the walls.
Despite his great protection though, Alexios could only quiver in fear. Not for his own safety... but for the outcome of this meeting.
Moments later, the doors of the grand chamber opened, revealing one Roman soldier.
"Your Imperial Majesty, the... assassin has arrived."
The Emperor did not hesitate in answering. "Send him in immediately."
The soldier bowed his head in respect before turning his head away. "He will see you now," Alexios heard him speak. Seconds later, the door opened wider, allowing the red overcoat clad man to walk through.
The room became incredibly tense as the man walked towards the Roman ruler. The praetorians stood up straight to conceal their fear, for they all knew what this man, despite his age, was capable of. The Emperor's outside persona did not change: he had to show this assassin that whilst it was the more powerful who was asking for help, he could have this man killed at any time. Could he though? With that black magic... there was no apparent limit to what this man could do.
Eventually, Kaag reached the Emperor's table and sat down.
"Assassin," Alexios began.
"Emperor," the assassin replied. One of the Praetorians stepped forward angrily.
"You will refer to Emperor Alexios as his Imperial Majesty!" he shouted. The Emperor raised his right hand in protest.
"Calm yourself, Campbell. The assassin can refer to me as he pleases. After all... he is not a Roman." The Praetorian Guard backed away back into his protective position. Alexios turned his head to search his grand chamber. "Where is the protection you desired to bring alongside you?"
"They are around," Kaag replied emotionlessly. "They will appear if I require them." The Emperor nodded slowly, processing this information; best not to danger the swordsman then.
"If you do not mind me asking, assassin, where did you find those fine articles of clothing?" he asked. "I have not seen that type before but it looks quite exquisite." Kaag looked down at his appearance before replying.
"As you said yourself, I am not a Roman. My men and I have our own personal tailor, one who is experienced in the art of thievery so that he is able to gain the greatest materials for our clothing." The man proceeded to rest his elbows on the table, intertwining his fingers whilst those black eyes stared into the Roman's very soul. "But we are not here to talk about clothing now, are we Emperor?"
Alexios nodded, holding out his left hand to a Praetorian. The guard placed a scroll into his ruler's hand only for his Imperial Majesty to throw it across the table to the assassin. Kaag, pulling his hands apart, took the scroll into his grip and opened it up.
On the parchment was a picture, a drawing, of the target.
"In your message from Hermes, you greatly stressed that the fate of this person was of great importance to the Roman Empire. Why?" Kaag queried.
"Recently, Roman spies returned home with dreadful news of activity over at the British isles," Alexios informed with a heavy heart. "There has been a development in activities over there in the last few months, developments that do not ease my being one. Little. Bit."
"Care to tell me the full story?"
"Over the last few months, the people I was concerned with were involved in a small war with previous members of their own community. Recently though, the information that has been brought back tells me that the conflict is no longer going on so... the chances of the concern dying over there have narrowed explicitly."
"And it is for this reason that you want my men and I to deal with them ourselves? Why is this so important?" The Emperor sighed.
"The concern, he... about a month ago, he did something I believed no person could ever do, something I until recently believed to be impossible."
"What did he do?"
The Emperor forced his own eyes to meet Kaag's. "The Viking scum trained a dragon."
The assassin's eyes widened slightly. Now that... that was a surprise. Even Kaag, someone who had never been to the British Iles, was aware that the Vikings over there had been in a three hundred year war with the flying beasts. But one Viking had managed to actually train one?
"I think I am beginning to see where this is going," Kaag said.
"The cause of concern managed to change the ways of his fellow Vikings, they now live with the dragons on their island, the island called Berk. If that Viking was to spread his beliefs, get others to befriend dragons... they could revolt against Roman reign. He could be the reason for the destruction of the Roman Empire that my past Emperors and I have worked so hard to create."
Ahh... there we go. Alexios wanted the concern eliminated because he believed that if it was left unattended too long, the Viking could use the dragons to destroy the Roman Empire. A logical reason to worry, Kaag guessed.
"Your Imperial majesty, my men and I will be able to dispose of your problem." The Emperor began to speak in protest but the assassin raised his hand. "Sir, you must remember..." The assassin's cold eyes stared into the emperor's. "I've killed powerful people before. Celtic generals, figures of influence, Roman traitors... why should a Viking 'Dragon conqueror' be any different?"
The Emperor smiled in relief. "So you'll take the job?" he asked, hope hidden in his voice.
"Yes, the Plague doctors accept your proposition. What is the bounty that we shall receive for the assassination of this target?"
"For one, I will make it a crime punishable by death to hunt out your group of assassins, for your group is, you are quite aware, not the most likable group of people." Kaag nodded in agreement. "Secondly, I will pay you 30,000 coins for the assassination of that... nuisance who has dared become a thorn in my side."
Kaag's eyes widened slightly. "30,000 coins? That is the highest bounty my group have been offered since the great Doukid job of 1071." He suddenly smirked. "Though, of course, you Romans would know all about that."
Alexios then smirked, something the assassin was honestly not expecting.
"I honestly do not care that it was your group that assassinated Romanos Diogenes IV, I despised the way he ruled over my people and so had no respect for him." The smirk quickly became a sincere smile. "Before you leave to attend to the job, Kaag, there is something I have for you."
He moved his left hand in a 'come forth' motion to one of his Praetorian Guards. The soldier then took steps towards Kaag, who had his eyebrow raised in question. The Roman, upon reaching the older man's side of the table, revealed a sheathed sword, laying it on the table. Kaag unsheathed it, taking the blade into his hand.
It was an extremely light blade, almost like a feather. The handle was patterned metal, formulating a gold-bronze pattern all the way up the handle. The metal itself was very shiny and seemed to glow in the light.
"I thank you for this gift, your majesty, truly I do," the assassin began, his sincerity shown through his use of the ruler's proper title. "But this blade would of no use to me: it is far too light to use."
"That is what I first believed when I held that sword, Kaag," Alexios countered. "But trust me on this, for I have seen it: that sword will cut through any other metal like a normal blade would cut through flesh." The older man did not need to speak his question; it was all over his face. "The metal comes from a special kind of lava that is regurgitated by the Gronkle dragon species." He smirked. "The Vikings are not the only ones who have encountered the winged demons."
"I thank you for the gift, your highness," Kaag thanked before standing from his chair. "I am going to make my leave now; I have a job to prepare."
As the brown haired man walked back to the grand chamber's doors, the Emperor called to him. "Are you sure you will not require assistance?"
Before opening the door to leave, Kaag looked over his shoulder, a truly dark expression on his face.
"Emperor Alexios, you could float one of your greatest ships on the amount of blood I've spilled."
And with that, he walked from the hall, the door closing behind him.
The old man used his black magic to rapidly appear in his home, the abandoned library. He took a few steps forward to be next to his desk, the wall of assassination targets behind him. He reached down slightly and grasped hold of one of the drawer handles before pulling it open. Inside was only one current item of interest: an old, but still in good condition, brown journal, held closed with a small metal buckle.
Kaag released the buckle, allowing him to turn the pages of the journal. Coming to the most recent page, almost full, he read the list of words.
*Names of all targets are given by the employer, once asked for a full ID of the target*
Cronsontvious, former general of the Roman armies – bounty of 1,500 coins offered. Target assassinated, bounty received.
Drago Bludvist, capturer of various dragon species – bounty of 10,000 coins offered. Location of target unknown.
Romanos Diogenes IV, current Roman Emperor at time – bounty of 40,000 coins offered. Target neutralised, employer informed, original bounty received + 10,000 coins extra for neutralisation method.
Oswald the Agreeable, chief of the Berserker Viking tribe – bounty of 6,000 coins offered. Target assassinated, payment refused, location of employer unknown.
Sollard, former Roman soldier, traitor to the Empire – bounty of 5,000 coins offered. Target assassinated, bounty received.
Lady Prancellia, daughter of descendent of Celtic ruler Lysimachus – bounty of 10,000 coins offered. Target abducted and delivered, bounty received.
Unnamed masked felon – bounty of 8,000 coins offered. Revealed to be Molligan.
The one known only as 'Kalerned' – bounty of 2,500 coins offered. Location of target unknown.
Molligan, killer of Roman Empress Irene Doukaina – bounty of 25,000 coins offered. Target abducted and delivered to Roman soldiers, bounties of both Molligan and the 'Unnamed masked felon' received.
Taking a bird's feather from his drawer, Kaag dipped it into the pot of ink that sat on his desk. He added the name of Emperor Alexios' target, writing the name given and the bounty offered.
Now, under the entry of Molligan, the journal wrote...
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Viking dragon trainer – bounty of 30,000 coins offered.
(A/N – There we go, the prologue is finished! Did that get all of you hyped up for the rest of my upcoming fic? I sure hope so! Please show some love and support and leave a review for me, just so I know how much you guys really care!
I send out a MASSIVE thanks to my friend P-Artsypants for being my beta reader on this, thank you all so much, hope you enjoyed, see ya next time!)