No Bark, All Bite
The Dragon Riders were headed home to Berk, to tell Stoic about Johann. Hiccup was nervous about this. Stoic hated being duped. Hiccup knew Stoic would be outraged when he found out. Aurora and Tenor flew next to him. Ever since Aurora had come back, she seemed perfectly normal. Nothing had changed about her, except for one thing; she was extremely unhappy. She had let her father down, and she was so upset about it. The only things that brought her comfort was that; even though Re was gone, she knew he was alive and that she would get him back someday. The other thing, was Tenor. With him around, she felt like she was not alone. She looked over at him. He was talking to Fishlegs about the King of Dragons. Aurora noticed that Tenor seemed happier then she'd ever seen him. She couldn't remember the last time Tenor talked so casually, and so much. Usually he stayed away from people, and just wanted to be by himself, and not talk to anybody. Aurora had heard the stories of what happened on the Edge while Re and her were away. He seemed like a completely different dragon then he was in Draconia. She wondered if he would be happier on the Edge, then in Draconia.
They approached Berk. The Riders were talking among themselves about how Stoic was going to react. They landed in the plaza. Hiccup headed towards his house while the others waited. Aurora turned to Tenor.
"You seem happy with these guys," she said.
"Do I?" Tenor asked.
"Yes," said Aurora. "I'm wondering if you'd want to stay with them, instead of returning to Draconia." Tenor looked surprised.
"You mean for the rest of my life?" he asked. Aurora nodded. "I'd never thought about that. I do like living on Dragon's Edge. But Draconia's my home."
"It's up to you," said Aurora. "You don't have do decide anything for a while." Tenor considered it. But was snapped back to reality by a loud roar coming from Hiccup's house. Stoic had no doubt been told about Johann. A few minuets later, he came storming out of the house with steam coming out of is ears.
"Gather up everything from Johann's last shipment!" he ordered. Aurora and Tenor exchanged a worried glance.
The village gathered up all food and supplies they'd gotten from Johann. They were nervous about it, as this was all their food. Tenor and Aurora helped. They put it all into a big pile.
"Do you think the merchants back home will bring food here?" Tenor asked. "Since Johann is out."
"I believe so," said Aurora. "I'm also sure Berk's other allies will want to help as well." She looked at Tenor. "Have you heard from Serenity lately?"
"I got her last letter a few weeks ago," Tenor said. "She seems pretty happy too with the Wingmaidens."
"What did she say?" asked Aurora.
"She's already been given a Razorwhip dragonet," said Tenor. "She calls him Scissors. She's also help heal the adult Razorwhips, and the other Wingmaiden's dragonets."
"We should visit her soon," said Aurora. Tenor turned to watch the vikings finish piling up the food. Stoic then turned to Skullcrusher.
"Skullcrusher fire," he ordered. Skullcrusher shot a fire at the pile of food. Hiccup looked shocked.
"Uh Dad, don't you want to test it first?" he asked. Stoic was still fuming.
"I assume you did the same thing on the Edge," he said. "Like any good viking would."
"No, the plan was to test it to see what was safe to eat," said Hiccup.
"That sounds like half a plan son," said Stoic. "The other half is what to with the vikings you killed with that poisoned food."
"I'm immune to most poisons," said Tenor. "It's in my system all the time. I could have tested it for you."
"And what if it was a poison that you're not immune to?" asked Stoic, as he stormed off and Hiccup followed him. Tenor and Aurora followed as well.
"You're immune to poison?" Aurora asked. "When did you discover this?"
"While you were away," said Tenor. "We had a run in with some Slitherwings, which are almost as poisonous as I am. I got some on me and I didn't feel a thing."
"But you still get sick from eels," Aurora pointed out.
"I am only half Blackfang," Tenor pointed out. "So there are still some poisons out there that will kill me." They followed the Berkians up to Gothi's house. They arrived at the same time Hiccup did. They saw Stoic come out with Gohi's medicine.
"Whoa Dad," said Hiccup. "Burning the food is one thing, but Gohi's medicine?"
"Everything made with Johann's supply of willow bark," said Stoic, and he threw the box into the ocean. He then turned to Aurora.
"Does Serenity have anything from Johann?" he asked.
"No," said Aurora. "She gets everything from the Wingmaidens and from home." Hiccup looked at Tenor.
"Does she have willow bark?" he asked.
"She might," said Tenor. "And she might need it." Just then Gobber came running up to them.
"Chief, three new ships just came in," he said. "Stacked high with anything we want." Stoic growled.
"I knew to savages would come the moment they knew we were helpless," he said.
"Dad, those are the most trusted merchants in the Archipelago," said Hiccup. Stoic glared at him.
"And you know that how?" he asked.
"Because I sent for them," Hiccup explained. This didn't improve Stoic's mood and he stormed off again. "We need supplies." Hiccup followed him.
Down the the docks, Stoic examined the three merchants and their items. Stoic didn't really touch any of the food and just glared at them.
"Too fish," he barked. "Too tall, shifty eyes. Take your garbage back out to sea." Hiccup ran up to him.
"Don't you want to test this stuff?" he asked.
"I've seen enough Hiccup," said Stoic. "Did you notice that none of those merchants had willow bark. How can we trust these some one who doesn't account for our health?"
"He's got a point," said Astrid. Hiccup sighed. Aurora turned to Tenor.
"I might have to stay on Berk and lend a wing," she said. "Until they can find a reliable resources."
"Good idea," Tenor said. "So you stay on Berk, and I stay on the Edge. Until Re's released?"
"Yes," said Aurora. "Or until the King of Dragons is saved." Stoic left at that moment. Hiccup mounted Toothless and took off. The two Draconians followed him.
They landed outside the arena, where Stoic and Gobber were saddling up Skullcrusher. Hiccup dismounted.
"Going to get willow bark I assume," he said. Stoic didn't answer.
"That's the general idea," said Gobber.
"So Dad, maybe it would be a good time to sit down and come up with a plan," said Hiccup.
"Already have a plan," said Stoic. "Right up here." He pointed to his forehead.
"Care to share said plan?" asked Hiccup. But Stoic just mounted Skullcrusher.
"So Chief, now that you've got the willow bark taken care of," said Gobber. "I'm thinking we should give those traders a try." Stoic heaved a sigh.
"Fine," he said. "But it's only a trial run. And make sure they have all the other stuff we buy: wool, honey, the lot."
"You got it chief," said Gobber.
"Aurora, you stay and give a second opinion," said Stoic. Aurora nodded. Skullcrusher spread his wings and took off.
"I'm off to pick our new trader," said Gobber. He left the arena, and Aurora followed him. Hiccup was staring after Stoic. Tenor and Toothless, stood next to him. Hiccup mounted Toothless and took off, with Tenor right behind him. Hiccup made a quick stop at Gothi's house, then headed after his father.
They flew for a few hours, through dens grey clouds. Hiccup kept his father in his sight but stayed well back. All was quiet. But then Hiccup looked down for a second, and when he looked up Stoic was gone. Hiccup pulled Toothless to a stop, Tenor almost ran into him.
"Something I can help you with?" Stoic asked, from behind them. Hiccup turned Toothless around.
"Hey Dad, fancy meeting you up here," he said. He pulled a scroll out of his bag. "I thought you could use this map from Gothi. It shows all the islands with willow bark." Tenor suddenly heard loud roaring coming at them, followed by the sound of hundreds of beating wings.
"Hey guys," Tenor said, nervously. "I'm thinking you should move."
"Shut up Tenor," said Stoic harshly. Tenor shrugged and dove out of sight. About three seconds later a stampede of dragons came flying at the two Riders. Tenor stayed on the outside of the stampede. Neither Hiccup nor Stoic moved. The wild dragons sped past them. Non of them hit the two vikings, except for a blue Monstrous Nightmare. He was heading right for Skullcrusher. Stoic rammed Skullcrusher into the wild dragon, knocking it back. The dragon roared and burst into flames.
"Oh want to play with fire to ya?" roared Stoic. Tenor saw Skullcrusher open his mouth to shoot the Monstrous Nightmare. He dove towards them, and knocked the Monstrous Nightmare out of the way, making Skullcrusher miss. The wild dragon looked at Tenor.
"Sorry about that," Tenor said.
"Humans and their tempers," said the Monstrous Nightmare, bitterly. "Thanks anyway stranger." He flew off and Tenor flew back up to Hiccup and Toothless.
"I had it all under control," said Stoic.
"I'm sure you did," Tenor said.
"But you would feel horrible if you'd hurt that dragon," said Hiccup. Just then the smell of wood smoke filled Tenor's nose. He sniffed the air. He looked in the direction the smell was coming from.
"What is it now Tenor?" asked Stoic. Tenor just looked at him them looked down again. They all followed his gaze to see the island bellow, in flames.
"Strange that the first place we need do go is on fire," said Hiccup. "It's almost as if..."
"It's not the only island on the map son," Stoic interrupted. "This is just a minor set back." He urged Skullcrusher onwards. Toothless wined a bit when the smoke surrounded him. He pawed it away from his face. He looked over at Tenor, who didn't seem to like the smoke either. They took off after Skullcrusher.
"Is the arguing getting to you cousin?" Tenor asked.
"Yeah it is," said Toothless. "And I know this must sound odd coming from a dragon, but so much smoke bothers me too."
"That's not odd," said Tenor. "I don't like so much smoke either." They picked up speed and caught up to Skullcrusher.
On Berk, Aurora watched Gobber and the Riders examine the three merchants. It was going nowhere. The Riders' dragons stood beside her.
"Does Draconia have any merchants?" asked Meatlug.
"We do," said Aurora. "But we have never traded with anyone before, we've never really had anyone to trade with."
"Maybe your Draconian merchants can trade with Berk," Hookfang suggested.
"I was thinking that," said Aurora. "We would need something to carry all these goods in, we have no ships."
"Berk could give you a few ships," said Stormfly. Aurora smirked.
"Our citizens have never seen a human vessel," she said. "They wouldn't know how to sail one."
"They could learn," said Hookfang.
"Perhaps," said Aurora. She heaved a sad sigh. "It's so different without Re. We always come up with solutions together."
"Well, you can talk it over with Tenor when he comes back," said Meatlug. "He's still here for you."
"That's true," said Aurora. They turned back to watch the humans. The merchants had suggested a cook off. "I'll keep brainstorming." The dragons followed the humans up towards the Great Hall.
Hiccup, Stoic, and the three dragons landed on the next island on the map. Hiccup, Toothless and Tenor walked on foot to the willow trees. Stoic and Skullcrusher stayed in the air. Hiccup began pulling bark off the willow trees. Tenor used his claws to scrap the bark off, and sharpen his claws at the same time. But then Stoic rammed Skullcrusher into the tree, knocking it over. Tenor had to run out of the way before it fell on top of him.
"Dad we just need the bark, not the whole tree," said Hiccup. Stoic laughed.
"Telling me how to gather bark?" he said. Suddenly both Tenor and Toothless sniffed the air. They looked up to see pillars of smoke. The two vikings saw this too. Hiccup jumped on Toothless and they all took off. They looked for the source of the fire, and found two Flyers setting the willow trees on fire with their Singetails. Tenor shot towards one of the Singetails. He was about to blast the Flyer off the Singetails, but was knocked aside by Stoic. Tenor stopped himself before he crashed into a tree. Skullcrusher managed to knock the Flyer off his Singetail. The dragon shook off his bridal and flew off. Hiccup knocked the second Flyer off the second Singetail. That dragon followed his fellow. Hiccup and Stoic regrouped. Tenor sighed and flew up to them.
"I would think Johann was smarter than that," said Stoic.
"He is," said Hiccup. "Ruining our food supply and burning the willow trees can't be his whole plan."
"A plan is a plan Hiccup," said Stoic. "Even if it's a bad one." He steered Skullcrusher onwards. Hiccup, Toothless, and Tenor followed.
"Sorry Tenor," said Skullcrusher. "I hope you're not hurt."
"I'm fine," said Tenor. "I'm used to it." He flew on, not saying anything else.
They stopped to rest on a sea stack. In the distance was the next island on the map, and it too was smoking. Hiccup was looking the map over.
"We'll rest our dragon here before continuing," said Stoic.
"The next island is halfway across the Archipelago," said Hiccup. "Dad."
"What now?" asked Stoic, annoyed.
"Just listen to me for a second," said Hiccup. "You've known Johann for years."
"Not this again," said Stoic.
"This can't be about us fly around looking for tree bark," said Hiccup. "It makes no sense."
"Okay then," said Stoic. "What do have us do? Sit around, come up with a plan, go over it again and again?"
"I'd be better than flying off with no supplies and tired dragons," Hiccup pointed out.
"I'm not that tired," said Tenor to himself.
"Oh, I must have forgotten," Stoic shouted. "I'm talking to the expert on getting duped by Trader Johann."
"Yeah, well I was fooled for half as long as you were," Hiccup shot back. "So what does that make you?" They glared at each other for several minuets. The three dragons looked nervously at each other.
"I don't know about you two," said Tenor. "But I have half a mind to fly off and not come back until these guys start acting like adults."
"Me too," said Skullcrusher. "I'm getting so tired of this." They looked back at the vikings as Stoic snatched the map out of Hiccup's hands and mounted Skullcrusher. Hiccup, Tenor, and Toothless watched them fly away.
On Berk, Aurora was sitting in the plaza with the other dragons. The Vikings were still in the Great Hall. Aurora was feeling so restless. She got up and started pacing. The other dragons followed her with their eyes.
"Why so anxious your majesty?" asked Meatlug. "I'm sure Re's safe wherever he is."
"It's not that," said Aurora. "Not entirely. Something's coming, my instincts are blaring in my mind. Re and Tenor are better at battle strategies than I am."
"But you are good at fighting," said Hookfang. "I've seen you."
"I'm as good as you guys are," said Aurora. Suddenly she hissed and looked up. The air was filled with the rattle of hundreds of Singetails. A moment later the Flyers filled the sky, setting fire to the village. Before the Berkian dragons and Aurora could react, they were covered in nets. Hunters ran a muck and captured all the dragons and vikings. Astrid came running out of the Great Hall. She tried to rescue Stormfly, but ended up getting captured herself. Aurora bit, clawed, and burned the net around her and managed to free herself. She jumped to her feet and took off. She headed towards the other dragons.
"No your majesty," said Stormfly. "Don't worry about us. Go find Hiccup and Stoic. We'll be fine."
"You sure?" asked Aurora.
"Just go, before they catch you again," said Hookfang. Aurora reluctantly turned around and flew away, dodging the Singetails. She was about to head over the ocean, when she felt an arrow stab the membrane of her left wing. She looked to see a dragonroot arrow sticking out of her wing. The point had gone clean through, so the dragonroot didn't effect her. She landed on a sea stack, ripped the arrow out of her wing, then took off again ignoring the stinging pain.
Over the ocean Hiccup and Stoic flew beside each other in silence. Tenor flew slightly separate and sang to himself, quietly. Toothless and Skullcrusher looked at each other, and tired to inch closer. However their riders would pull them back every time. There was a few more moments of silence. Then both Hiccup and Stoic started talking at the same time, trying to apologize. Then Hiccup managed to say something.
"Look Johann's got us so turned around that we're out of control," he said.
"Aye," Stoic agreed.
"Full disclosure, I had no idea how to test the food for poisoning back on the Edge," Hiccup continued.
"Isn't that what Snotlout's for?" Stoic sneered. They both laughed at that. "I should have just picked one of those lousy traders. Even though they had no bark and all the same fish." Hiccup perked up. Stoic caught the expression on his face.
"Out with it," he ordered.
"It's kind of a big coincidence," said Hiccup. "That all those traders had no bark and all the same fish." Then a thought struck him. "Wait that fish, what kind was it?"
"I was too busy acting like a child I didn't get a chance to see," said Stoic.
"It wasn't icetail pike was it?" asked Hiccup. Stoic looked surprised.
"Indeed it was," he said. Hiccup glared.
"That's what Singetails eat," he roared.
"Johann sent us on a wild goose chase," said Stoic. "To get us away from Berk." At once they turned around to head back to Berk.
"Didn't Johann pull this stunt before?" Tenor asked Toothless. "The whole wild dragon decoy. Then again when he sent Hiccup looking for some plant so the Hunters and Flyers could overtake the Edge."
"Hey you're right," Toothless said.
"I really don't want to call Hiccup gullible," Tenor said. "Because he's so smart."
"Well, Johann's pretty clever and cunning with his plans," said Toothless. "I'm sure a lot of smart people would fall for it."
"I hope we get there in time to rescue everybody," said Tenor. Suddenly they heard a roar ahead of them. They looked to see something shiny flying lopsidedly towards them. Hiccup and Stoic pulled their dragons to a stop as Aurora approached them. She was panting very heavily and seemed to be favoring her left wing.
"Aurora, what's wrong?" asked Stoic.
"Berk...under...attack," Aurora wheezed. "Singetails." Hiccup and Stoic instantly flew off, at a faster speed. Tenor and Aurora followed.
It was nighttime when they got back to Berk. They landed on a sea stack that had trees and bushes on it. They did in the bushes and Stoic looked through his spyglass. Aurora landed heavily and had to lean on Tenor.
"You going to be okay?" he asked, nervously.
"I'm so tired," said Aurora. "I've never flown that hard or that fast with an injured wing."
"Well I think you did so well that I think you've earned a break," said Tenor. He laid her down. "Wait here." He hurried over next to Hiccup and Toothless.
"They've got a whole lot of guards in front of the Great Hall," said Stoic.
"That must where they're keeping everyone," said Hiccup. Stoic scanned the island.
"What are they taking that ballista to the arena for then?" he asked.
"Must be where the dragons are," said Hiccup. "They're going to use it on them." He hurried over to Toothless and mounted up.
"Hang on son," said Stoic. "My island, my plan." Tenor turned back to Aurora. She was still panting.
"Feeling better?" he asked. "Do I need to fetch my healer?"
"No," said Aurora quickly. "She doesn't need to be dragged into this. I'll be fine, I just need rest."
"You think you can fight?" Tenor asked. Aurora considered. "Be honest."
"Well, you're better at fighting than I am," Aurora said. She hid her head under her wing and folded in on herself. Tenor looked concerned. But Hiccup called Tenor over.
"Is Aurora not joining us?" asked Hiccup.
"No, her wing is bothering her," said Tenor. "And she's not feeling well. What's the plan?" Hiccup told him Stoic's plan. Tenor was thrilled. "This will be fun." Hiccup got back on Toothless and took off, with Tenor following.
"You ready?" asked Toothless.
"Yeah, I love seeing you in action cousin," Tenor said.
"Let's see if you're as good as me," Toothless challenged. "You think Aurora will be okay? She seems so distraught with Re gone."
"Oh gosh I hope so," said Tenor softly. "Last time I saw her like this was about eight years ago."
"What happened then?" asked Toothless.
"That's when Re got struck by lightening and almost died," Tenor said.
"When Serenity first got her medical bag?" Toothless asked.
"Yeah," said Tenor. Toothless spotted Stoic quarreling with Krogen.
"Here we go," he said. "Time to go back in time a bit." Before Tenor could ask any questions, they took off.
Using the dark sky as their cover, the two nightly dragons snuck passed the Flyers and towards the arena. They put on a burst of speed and fired a plasma blast at the ballista just before it could shoot Hookfang. The blasts hit it at full force, but didn't even dent it. Toothless and Tenor sped off, and circled around for another attack. The hunters pulled the ballista out of the arena and began shooting at them. Fortunately, it was very difficult to shoot to black dragons at night. Toothless lead the second attack and blasted the weapon again. Again, nothing happened. Hiccup was getting frustrated.
"There must be some way of stopping it," he said. Tenor spotted the look on Toothless' face.
"You have an idea cousin?" he asked.
"I am the biggest expert on attacking Berk," Toothless said. "I know exactly what to do. You go free the other dragons." He went into a dive back towards the arena. He dodged the harpoons with expert coordination. He put on a burst of speed and rammed into the ballista as hard as he could, knocking it off the cliff and into the water. Instantly Tenor flew into the arena and landed.
"Hey guys," he said. "Mind if I joined the party?" He freed the dragons one at time.
"Not at all Tenor," said Stormfly. "And you're not even late, you're right on time." They took off and joined up with Toothless. They sped towards the village to help Stoic. The Berkian dragons chased the Flyers away. Tenor knocked several off their Singetails. Toothless and his friends aimed at the Great Hall doors and blasted them, freeing the Riders. With their added help they managed to rid the village of Krogen and the Flyers. Everyone broke out into cheers. The dragons landed in the plaza.
"Brilliant move cousin," said Tenor. "I assume that's what you meant by go back in time a bit."
"Yes," said Toothless. "I would attack Berk almost every night before I was shot down. I got the idea from Skullcrusher shoving you out of the way back there." They turned back to the RIders.
"Trader Johann has no idea what he's started," said Stoic.
"A war?" asked Tenor.
"Something like that," said Stoic.
"I'll go check on Aurora," said Tenor. He spread his wings and took off.
He flew back to the sea stack where Aurora was, catching a tuna on the way. He found her laying in the bushes. Her breathing had gone back to normal. She was breathing, and awake, but motionless.
"Are you feeling better?" Tenor asked. Aurora looked at him.
"Physically yes," she said. Tenor tossed her the fish. She looked at it, but didn't eat it.
"You'll need your strength," Tenor said, and pushed the fish closer. Aurora sighed and ate the fish. Tenor sat beside her, as close as was comfortable for him.
"So, you want to come back to the Edge with us?" Tenor asked.
"No, I'll stay on Berk," said Aurora. "Help fix their trader problem, as well as help find the King of Dragons."
"I hope we find it before the Flyers do," Tenor said. Aurora smiled at him.
"Even if they did find it first, they'll have a job trying to control it," she said. "It's very big and very old." She finished the tuna then yawned.
"Let's go to the Apple Tree," Tenor said. "We can spend the night there." Aurora slowly and shakily got to her feet. Tenor got up and they both flew back to the village.
The next day Hiccup and Stoic gathered up all the items the traders had left behind. They planned to put it to good use.
"Nice of those traders to leave all this behind," said Stoic.
"You make it sound like they had a choice," said Hiccup cheerfully. They placed the last of the items with the rest of it. Then they stood in silence for a few moments.
"Hiccup, I said a lot of things yesterday," said Stoic sincerely. "That came from anger and were not meant for you."
"Yeah me too," said Hiccup.
Outside under the Apple Tree, Aurora woke up feeling fully restored. She yawned and sat up. Tenor was standing nearby, eating a sheep.
"I hope you didn't get that from the farmlands," she said.
"Nope, found it in the woods," said Tenor. Aurora got to her feet and stretched her wings. She munched on a few golden apples. When breakfast was over, they headed down to the plaza. Dagur had sent a box of willow bark, so the Riders were able to return to Dragon's Edge.
"You coming with us Aurora?" asked Astrid.
"No," said Aurora. "Berk is still in need of a good trader. I'll stay here until they get one. Shouldn't take too long. But I will help with finding the King of Dragons." The Riders mounted their dragons and took off. Tenor said good bye to Aurora, then followed them.
