Race to the Edge 6
In Plain Sight
Hiccup stood with his fellow Riders and Tenor on Dragon's Edge and watched Heather and Windshear fly away. After Dagur had told her where their father, Oswald was, she wanted to fly to Vanahiem to say fair well. The Dragon God Draco, had personally come down to give her and escort to Vanahiem so she wouldn't have to fight the Sentinels. Heather had sworn to him that she would keep Vanahiem a secret from everyone, including her own people and she swore to help protect it from the hunters.
"I can't believe Dagur's not going to Vanahiem with Heather," said Fishlegs.
"Heather wanted to say good bye to her father alone," said Hiccup.
"It's too bad you don't still have that Dragon Eye," said Dagur. "Then we could look at the other lens."
"Other lens?" Tenor asked.
"Dad gave us both lenses," Dagur explained. "I used mine to look at stuff and to start fires."
"Do you still have it?" asked Hiccup.
"No, but I know who does," said Dagur, a bit uncomfortable. "Anyway it's not like you have another Dragon Eye laying around." Tenor chuckled.
Hiccup took Dagur up to the clubhouse and showed him the new Dragon Eye. Dagur was surprised.
"What do you know, you have another Dragon Eye laying around," he said.
"I call it the Dragon Eye 2," said Hiccup.
"Eyes do come in pairs," said Tenor from the rafters.
"Does it work?" asked Dagur.
"Not yet," said Hiccup. "See this dial? You turn it to slide different colored gems into place. I still need those gems."
"Tenor you don't have any gems on you do you?" Dagur asked.
"No sorry," Tenor said. "And I will take me forever to get some from Draconia."
"Perhaps I can be of assistance," said Johann as he entered the room. He was carrying a box.
"What are you doing here?" asked Snotlout.
"I come bearing a gift for Mis Heather," said Johann.
"She's not here," said Snotlout. Johann frowned.
"But lets go back to you helping me to get the gems for the Dragon Eye 2," said Hiccup. Tenor slowly to his feet.
"Yes," said Johann. "I could obtain them and deliver them to your door in 3 to 4 moons."
"No, we don't have the time," Hiccup said.
"Well, there is always the Northern Markets," said Johann. "But we all know of the dangers there."
"Toothless and I will keep you safe," said Hiccup. "And you can ride Tenor." Tenor jumped down.
"I'll be outside," he said. He left the clubhouse and glided down to the stables.
He put on his saddle and armor. He was aware of the other dragons watching him. When he was ready he went back outside just as the Riders came to get their dragons. Tenor waited quietly as they got ready. Johann approached him, timidly.
"If you would be so kind to lay on the ground so I can mount you better," he said. Tenor knelt down and Johann clumsily crawled into his saddle. He got back up as the Riders came out. They took off and split up. Fishlegs and Snotlout went with Dagur, and the Twins followed Tenor and Hiccup.
Tenor led the way back towards the Northern Market. Johann was making it difficult for Tenor to fly straight. He kept squirming around and readjusting his grip. Tenor noticed that Hiccup had the satchel he kept the Dragon Eye lenses in.
"You bringing the lenses?" he asked.
"It'll help me find the right gems," said Hiccup.
"I see," said Tenor. "You want me to keep them safe for you?"
"I think I got it for now," said Hiccup. "Thanks though."
Soon they landed at the market. Johann got down from Tenor's saddle, then Tenor took off again. He circled the stalls, keeping an eye out for trouble. The place was crawling with shifty-looking folks. Hiccup, Johann, and the Twins went to the closest stall to get the first gem. Unfortunately the Twins got in the way. Johann sent them to the far side of the market. While they were occupied Hiccup and Johann got the gem. Tenor kept his eyes on the two of them. He had a nasty feeling something bad was going to happen and he need to stay where he was. Once they had the gem, they moved on. They went down the dark alley between two stalls. Almost at once they were ambushed by hunters. Tenor hovered over the alley. Toothless shot at the hunters. Tenor attacked from the air. One of the hunters grabbed Johann and held an ax to his throat.
"It's over Hiccup," roared the hunter. "Give me the Dragon Eye lenses." Hiccup took the satchel off her shoulder and was about to toss it over. But then the Twins landed their Zippleback right on top of the hunter, and Johann walked away. Tenor and Toothless took out the rest of the hunters.
"What's going on here?" asked Tuffnut.
"Ah, dragon hunter ambush," said Hiccup. "You just saved us."
"You don't say," said Ruffnut. They dismounted and Tenor landed next to them.
"That's the thing about dark alleyways," he said. "Bad things always happen."
"Anyway, and ambush requires planning," said Ruffnut, thinking aloud. "And planning requires pre-knowledge. Which means these hunters knew we were coming. That can only mean one thing, there's a mole among us."
"That's ridiculous," said Hiccup. Tenor rolled his eyes. "They saw us and decided to take the chance. There is no spy. We need to move fast. Lets find these jewels and get out of here." He put his sword away and left with Toothless. However as they left the alley, Hiccup secretly transferred the lenses from the satchel to Tenor's saddle bags.
They got four of the gems they needed; Turquoise, sunstone, amethyst, and emerald. Hiccup put them in his pocket.
"Four down, three to go," he said, he turned to Johann. "We need rubies." Johann beamed. He went to another stall and found them a ruby. As Hiccup put it with the others, Tuffnut ran up to them.
"Those hunters must have called for backup," he said.
"Because now, they have air support," said Ruffnut. Hiccup looked up to see a few Flyers flying low over head.
"We need to leave quickly and quietly," said Hiccup. "We may not get another chance."
"But Hiccup we still require one topaz, and one sapphire. Those aren't just found on the ground," said Johann.
"You're right Johann," said Hiccup. "But what about underground." He remembered the Sandbuster and his hoard of human treasures.
They got on their dragons and headed for the Sandbuster's den. They landed on the patch of sand that marked the entrance. Johann got down from Tenor's saddle. Luckily the lenses remained hidden.
"Do you get the feeling something bad's going to happen?" Toothless asked.
"I do," said Tenor. "But for some reason, I'm not too worried about it. I'm ready to fight at any moment." Hiccup looked around.
"We need to get in, get the gems, and get out before the Sandbuster knows we were there," he said. "We just need to find the he back way we used to..." He was cut off by the sound of a door opening. They all turned to see Johann opening an enormous trap door. Curious Hiccup went over, followed by Tenor and Toothless.
"You don't expect a seasoned trader like me to pass up access to a cache of tradable goods do you?" said Johann pridefully.
"Johann you're full of surprises," said Hiccup. Just as Tenor jumped inside, Ruffnut looked through her spyglass.
"I think you should take this underground," she said. They all followed her gaze and saw two Flyers heading for them.
"Ruff, Tuff, you lead these guys away while we go for the gems," Hiccup ordered. The Twins took off and charged at the Flyers, who turned around and chased them. Johann, Hiccup, and Toothless joined Tenor in the pit.
They wondered around the space. So far there was no sign of the Sandbuster. As they looked around Johann looked at Hiccup.
"Perhaps it would be a good idea to have both dragons stand guard," he said. "Incase we need to make a hasty exit." Hiccup turned to Toothless and made a hand signal. Toothless nodded.
"Come on Tenor," he said as he turned around. Tenor followed him away from the humans. "I think Hiccup suspects something."
"What makes you say that?" Tenor asked.
"That hand motion doesn't mean stand guard," Toothless said. "It means circle around."
"Do you suspect anything?" Tenor asked.
"I do now," said Toothless. "And I'm kind of glad you and the Twins tagged along."
"Would that make three dragons or four?" Tenor asked, amused.
"Now's not the time Tenor," said Toothless.
"Sorry," said Tenor. They walked around the cave, and watched the two humans rummage through the treasure. The two dragons stayed in the shadows.
"Eureka! A perfect topaz," said Johann. He held up a yellow gem and tossed it to Hiccup.
"That just leaves the sapphire," Hiccup said.
"Right behind you," said Johann. Hiccup turned to see a dark blue stone resting on a box. He picked it up. Then the dragons heard the draw of a knife.
"I'll be taking those lenses boy," Johann said in a much darker voice. Hiccup turned around to see Johann aiming the knife at him. Hiccup gasped.
"Look whatever Korgen and Viggo are paying you," he stared.
"Them? Pay me?" said Johann, with an evil chuckle. "I pay them to serve in my fleet."
"But why do you want the lenses?" asked Hiccup. "And why now?"
"They're the key to help me find the King of Dragons," said Johann. Both Tenor and Toothless paused at this.
"King of Dragons," Tenor whispered. "That sounds familiar."
"He's not talking about Re is he?" Toothless asked.
"I don't think so," Tenor said. "Re's not that hard to find. I don't even think he's on the Dragon Eye." They went back to watching the humans as a thought struck Hiccup.
"Heather's lens," he said. Johann clapped his hands.
"Bravo Hiccup," he taunted. "Don't be so morose. How do think it's been for me all these years. To pretend to actually care about you." Then he paused. "And yet and I'm wondering, why aren't more surprised? And what do you find humorous?" He'd spotted the amused look on Hiccup's face.
"The Twins and their rants," Hiccup said, smirking. "I ignore most of it. But this spy thing got me thinking. Maybe it was coincidence that those hunters ambushed us. But how did they know to ask for the lenses. The lenses I only brought because you suggested it. Then more thing started adding up." Johann just glared at him. "You were there when Heather lost her lens. Your distress call got most of us off the Edge right as the hunters decided to invade. You sent us after Dagur assuring us he'd be alone. And your ship was conveniently located on Outcast Island right when we broke out of prison."
"The worst part was letting him think he actually stole my ship," said Johann.
"That makes me wonder actually," Tenor whispered to Toothless. "Does that mean Dagur knew Johann was a bad guy?" Toothless considered.
"Hmmm, interesting theory," he said. They fell silent and watched the humans again.
"You've been behind all of this," Hiccup said.
"Ever since Breakneck Bog I've been trying my to rid the Archipelago of you and your dragon riders," said Johann. "But you have a most annoying habit of not dying when you're supposed to." Tenor snickered quietly.
"You have a problem too Johann, you never stop talking," said Hiccup. "You give away everything, especially when you think you have the upper hand. You see when I made this hand motion to Toothless telling him to leave. Leaving is actually the last thing I told him to do." Right on Que. Toothless emerged from his hiding place and growled at Johann. Tenor snuck up behind Johann.
"The Sandbuster will surly hear if a plasma blast is fired," said Johann.
"Yeah," said Tenor, also coming out of hiding. "But who needs a plasma blast when he has so many other things he could use." He snapped out his black teeth. Toothless went into a crouch. Johann pointed his knife at Tenor.
"Don't come any closer," he hissed.
"Oh no," Tenor said sarcastically, as he circled Johann. "I'm so scared of a tiny knife, now what will I do?" Toothless suddenly saw that Tenor was about to step into a netter trap.
"Look out cousin!" he shouted. He pounced and shoved Tenor out of the way, only to be snapped up by the trap. Tenor rolled out of the way. Johann flung his knife and it pinned Tenor's right wing to the ground, so he couldn't get up. He hissed in pain.
"Ow, why is always the right wing?" he muttered to himself. Johann pulled out another knife and turned back to Hiccup.
"Now I believe we're all caught up," he said. "Now give me the lenses." Hiccup sighed and took off the satchel. He handed it to Johann. Then while Johann was distracted but it, Hiccup ducked out of sight. Johann opened the bag, only to find it empty. He roared in outrage, then turned to find Hiccup gone.
"Come on Hiccup," he said. "Why make this harder than it needs to be?" Tenor rolled his eyes. He caught Toothless looking at him.
"So where are the lenses?" he asked in dragontongue. Tenor winked at him and subtly tapped his saddlebag with his tail fin. Tenor zoned out of the rest of Johann's monologging. He suddenly spotted what he though was Hiccup. But when he threw his knives at him, it turned out to just be a reflection in the glass that littered the cave. Hiccup quickly darted out of his hiding place and over to Tenor. He wrenched the knife out of Tenor's wing.
"Thanks friend," Tenor said. He flapped his wings to make sure they still worked. Then dodging more knives he flew up and cut Toothless free. Both dragons dropped to the ground and ran over to Hiccup. Johann threw more knives at them. Tenor swatted most of them away with his tail, Toothless shot the last one. The sound of the blast carried throughout the cave. Next second the Sandbuster came roaring into the cave. He saw the intruders and snarled.
"Oh, I was hopping to get another shot at this guy," Tenor said eagerly. While dodging Johann's knives, the two nightly dragons fought the Sandbuster, trying to keep it off Hiccup. Tenor remembered to only bite with his gums. Together, Tenor and Toothless fought the Sandbuster back towards the tunnel. They soon succeeded and Toothless shot the tunnel, making it cave in and prevent the Sandbuster from coming back.
"Nice job guys," said Hiccup. He and the dragons turned around to find Johann gone. Tenor and Toothless snarled.
"And Johann goes off to pout like a baby," Tenor taunted.
"We can get him," said Toothless, gnashing his teeth. Both dragons went into fighting mode again.
"Not now guys," said Hiccup. "I get the feeling we're going to get another shot at Johann." Both dragons relaxed. Hiccup mounted Toothless. "Can you fly Tenor?" He looked at the small tear in Tenor's wing.
"Yeah I think so," Tenor said. Both dragons spread their wings and flew out of the hole, Tenor closed the door behind them.
They met back up with the Twins and headed back towards the Edge. Tenor's wing stung the whole way, but he could still fly with it. Tenor made sure he had all the lenses and assured Hiccup that they were safe.
When they got back to the Edge, the first thing they saw was Queen Aurora on the runway pacing. She looked up when Hiccup, Tenor, and the Twins landed. Tenor quickly saw the ashamed look on her face.
"Aurora, what happened?" Tenor asked. Aurora just sobbed for a few minuets.
"It's Re," she said, when she got her breath back. "Father arrested him." Tenor looked surprised.
"What?" said Hiccup, also surprised. "Why?" Aurora took a deep breath.
"He said he was ashamed of our actions with the Mountainbacks," she said. "Father said I'd have to regain his trust in order to get Re back." Hiccup and Tenor exchanged a glance.
"I don't know if this will make you feel any better," said Tenor. "But we might have an opportunity for you." Aurora sniffed.
"What?" she asked.
"I'll explain when the others get back," Hiccup said. "This is kind of big."
"Very well," Aurora said. As Hiccup and the Twins went into the stables to unsaddle their dragons, Aurora looked at Tenor.
"I'm so sorry Tenor," she said sadly. "I'm so sorry we treated you so badly, I'm sorry we banished you." Tenor hesitated, then nuzzled her neck.
"It's okay Aurora," he said. "I forgive you." Aurora nuzzled him back. "We'll get Re back, I promise." Aurora took a deep breath.
"Thank you Tenor," she said.
"Do me a favor though," Tenor added. "Don't mention any of this to Serenity. She doesn't need to know about our fight."
"I wouldn't tell her anyway," said Aurora. "I don't want her to be afraid that she's loosing more friends." She stepped back.
"Let's go meet everyone at the clubhouse," Tenor said. Aurora nodded and they flew up to the clubhouse. Tenor showed Aurora the Dragon Eye 2, and everything that happened while she and Re had gone rogue. Hiccup came up a few seconds later and added the gems to it. Tenor gave him back the lenses.
When the other Riders came back, with Dagur's lens, Hiccup gathered them all up at the clubhouse. Hiccup and Tenor told them all what had happened at the Northern Market. Aurora was most interested in the part about the King of Dragons. Hiccup looked over at her.
"I assume Re's not the dragon they mean," she said.
"No," said Aurora, as calmly as she could. "This would be a dragon far older then Re or myself." Hiccup and Tenor wrapped up their story.
"So Johann has been playing us all for years?" said Astrid. "And the Twins were the reason you figured it out?" Hiccup just shrugged.
"And you're sure my lens will help us find this King of Dragons?" asked Dagur as he handed the lens to Hiccup.
"One way to find out," said Hiccup. He slid the lens into the Dragon Eye 2 and set it on the table. Toothless lit it up and it projected images onto the back wall. They all looked at it.
"It's the five dragon classes," said Fishlegs.
"And we have lenses for three," said Hiccup. He pulled out two more lenses and held them up to the light. More images appeared.
"First one to find all five lenses," said Astrid.
"Reveals the King of Dragons," said Fishelgs.
"Game on," said Hiccup.
Later that evening, Aurora stood on a cliff near the outpost by herself. She reached into a pocket on her armor, and pulled out the golden Dragon Eye lens. The lens showed the way to the dragons' homeland Draconia. Draco himself had made it, saying it would come in handy towards the Dragon Riders much later in the future. Aurora knew that the hunters should never get their hands on it. She also knew that it served no use to the Riders currently. So the only thing she could think of to do was get rid of it. She could not risk the bad guys getting it again. She clamped the lens in her talons and took off. She flew a few miles from the island. Then, when she was a good distance away, she threw the lens as far as she could. She watched it sail down towards the sea, and vanished with a small splash. Aurora then turned around and headed back to the Edge.
