A sense of urgency was felt by the riders as they searched the ocean for Trader Johann's ship. Stoick had been anxiously waiting for days for him to arrive with a special delivery and now he was three days late. They had taken upon themselves to find the man and bring him back to Berk. As they flew through the air they looked for signs of the man and his ship.
"Anyone spot anything yet?" Hiccup called out
"Nothing except more ocean! How do we know that Trader Johann isn't dead or that his ship sank?" Snotlout asked.
"I'll use my echolocation on the ocean floor to see if there's a sunken ship. If there's a recent wreck I'll find it," Orli replied. Nissa was riding on the female Nightfury for security reasons. They couldn't have Johann witnessing her manifesting from her dragon form so for now she rode Orli. The duo plunged towards the ocean firing echolocation bursts through the ocean's surface. A signal from Nissa the two of them dove deep below.
"Are they going to be alright? The water is freezing today thanks to that cold snap," Fishlegs pointed out.
"Their both dragons, well sort of. They'll be okay so don't worry."
The female Nightfury broke through the surface of the water spinning around sending droplets of water from her black and purple scales. Nissa partially manifest her dragon snout releasing a low level flame warming herself. The two of them joined the rest of the pack looking none the worse for the wear. "We didn't find any recent wrecks however we did spot a trail of cargo heading in a northwest direction that looked pretty recent. I suggest we follow it and hopefully it will lead us to Johann."
The group followed the trail without any problems until they finally stumbled across a small outcropping. Johann had washed up on shore partially buried under a few planks. There was no sign of the boat anywhere in the vicinity. The group landed and starting helping the man out giving him food and water tending to his wounds.
"How are you feeling Johann? How long have you been here exactly?"
"I'm doing better thank you. As for how long I suppose you know that better than me."
"You were suppose to be at Berk three days ago. Where is your ship? How did you end up on this island so far from the main sailing lanes?"
"I was on my way to Berk, the weather was perfect and the sea was cooperating with me. I was making good time so I decided to do a little inventory. I had just finished counting up my new weapons cache I had gotten from a friend of mine when I was surrounded by a thick fog. I could hear menacing growling all around me. I stumbled about trying to save my ship only to earn myself bites and scratches. The entire ship started to rise out of the water. I fell over the side along with some planks. I managed to hold onto one of them. I must have clung on for hours before blacking out."
"Sounds like a Smothering Smokebreaths saw your stock and decided to bring it back to their nest. When an entire pack works as one they can lift at least three times their weight."
"Thank you Mr. Book of Dragons. We'd never would have suspected that."
"Hush, Johann my Dad was expecting something from you. Was it on your ship?"
"The treasure was on the ship, but it wasn't for your dad Hiccup it was for you. The item in question was a gift from your mother."
"My...my...my mother? How could that be? She's been dead for years."
"It doesn't matter now the important thing is to find the boat and get it back. Johann, do you remember where you were exactly when the Smokebreaths attacked?"
"I was near Breakneck Bog. Fly south until you come across a group of islands in the shape of a hand. The Bog is on the one shaped like the thumb."
"Okay we're going to split up. Snotlout, you and the Twins, escort Johann back to Berk. He can fly on Orli."
"Wait, why should we go back with Johann?"
"Yeah, can't Orli take him back herself?"
"She doesn't know the area as well as you three do. Please do this and I promise I'll make it up to you."
Without further argument the group separated. The teens were a bit angry that they couldn't join the rest of them on the retrieval mission, but they had to act like adults. Escorting Johann back was just as important as getting the treasure. Who knew, they might even run into trouble along the way.
The group had been flying for half an hour; listening as Johann told tales about his journeys searching for items to trade and the people he encountered. He had just gotten to the point in the story when he talked about running for his life from a group of murderous pygmy men when the dragons stalled. They started sniffing the air and searching the waters intensely.
"Whoa Barf, steady boy steady. What's wrong?"
"I got a chill down my spines. I can't explain it, but I feel like someone is watching us!"
"That's impossible, there are no ships in the immediate area. Take a look around its open ocean."
"Yeah and there's nowhere to hide!"
"We know that, but our instincts are screaming that there is someone watching us," Belch replied. Hookfang and Orli nodded as they hovered circling around in an agitated manner. Johann was clutching on for dear life as Orli zig zagged back and forth firing echolocation blasts. Hookfang kept climbing higher into the air barely containing his urge to set himself on fire.
"Hookfang buddy calm down! Please tell me what's gotten under your skin? There's nothing out there!"
"Trust me there is something out there! I can't see it, but I can certainly smell it!"
Snotlout was pulling on his horns hoping to calm him down, but it wasn't working. His dragon was just to agitated. One look at the Twins and Johann at it was clear that if they didn't calm the dragons down soon they all be taking an impromptu swim in the freezing ocean. Snotlout knew that his little party was known for their demimonde and was determined not to fail. A hand went to his opal necklace feeling its warmth flowing into his body. "I don't know exactly what kind of magic you possess, but if you can help me figure out what is bothering my dragon I'd really appreciate it."
The purplish glow shimmered around Snotlout and Hookfang's body. Their eyes widen becoming completely purple. A link was established between the two connecting their senses. The overload of sensory information threatened to do permanent brain damage. Snotlout struggled to make sense of the information. He could feel Hookfang's consciousness bubbling up inside him trying to help.
"Don't fight it, let your senses adjust to it. Take a deep breath and let your mind go; give your instincts a chance to do what they do."
Snotlout took his advice taking a few deep breaths slowly letting them out. His mind easily blanked out as his survival instincts kicked in loud and hard. Suddenly the new smells and sounds started to make sense to him. He smelled the scent of slightly charred wood and soaked linen sails. He could hear what sounded like human heartbeats and his sense of taste caused him to nearly gag on the foul tasting air. He scanned the waters once more searching for any sign of a boat or humans. Finally he spotted something in the distance, a pinprick near a dangerous reef. "Come on, I think I found out what's bothering the dragons so much!"
"Are you sure we should investigate this? I'd be happier if we returned to Berk right about noooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwww!"
A short time later the group was hovering over the reef doing an aerial canvas. Snotlout and Hookfang were reaching their limits as they struggled to pinpoint what they had sensed. Suddenly the sun glistened off something out of the corner of their eyes. "I found something oi oi oi!" The duo landed on the edge of the reef. Hookfang used his big snout to flip over a capsized boat startling the group.
"Whoa how did you know that was there?" Tuffnut asked.
"I saw the sun bounce off the brace on the mast. Come on we have to, what's the word, investigate the ship." Landing on the reef the humans dismounted carefully and hopped on the boat. It was brand new with no signs of damage. The catapults were all in place, no damage to the sail or rudder, no visible leaks anywhere.
"I'm not seeing any reason for the ship to be here. There's no sign of damage anywhere. Did you two guys find any markings to tell us who the ship belongs to? Johann, do you recognize this ship from your travels?" Ruffnut questioned. The man shook his head unable to give them an answer. As the female Viking turned to leave she notice an alcove near the back. She strolled over running her hands over it nearly getting a splinter in them. "There was a small canoe in this alcove. Whoever owned this boat used it to escape, but why sink their own ship?"
"Sometimes when we hunt for food if the prey sensed we were getting to close they leave something behind on the trail to distract us so they could escape. Maybe its the same thing here?" Barf voiced.
"It's a possibility. Its to heavy to fly back to Berk. We should take some of it back for Gobber to smell. Maybe he can figure it out. We should head back."
The escort group arrived back on the island at the same time the treasure recovery group returned. They all had slight burn marks on their bodies and their dragons seemed anxious. The humans were pale and their eyes kept shifting back and forth. "What happened to you guys? You look as if you saw a ghost or something? Were the Smokebreaths that scary?"
"Shut up Snotlout, the dragons were happy to give us back the treasure chest once we established contact," Astrid snarled. She was trying to ignore the racing of her heart. Their experience at the bog had greatly disturbed her.
"Then what's the problem?"
"Our dragons said that someone was stalking us. We tried to find signs of who could be after us, but found nothing. Unless you count a pit of skeletons nothing!" Fishlegs wailed. He was shaking so bad he could barely get off his dragon. She nuzzled him giving him a big sloppy kiss. The husky boy calmed down continuing to speak. "We figure the bones belonged to Vikings who got lost in the bog and died. Perhaps a Bone Knapper was gathering the skeletons, but we can't be sure. It was still creepy."
"Johann we're sorry, but we couldn't salvage your ship. It was in a million pieces. We'll have Pine and Fir carve you a new one. Maybe the Deaths trio can help with the pitch. The important thing is we recovered the treasure," Nissa explained. Hiccup was clutching the chest tightly. "Go on Hiccup we've got this. Your father is expecting you. Go see what your mom left you." Hiccup shook his head and opened the chest in front of all of them. His eyes widened as he gently took out a stuffed dragon toy, his hands trembling. "Hiccup?"
"My mother made this for me when I was a baby. I was terrified of it! I threw it in the ocean one day just to be rid of it. How did you?"
"A fisherman traded it to me for some new nets. I recognized your name and contacted your father. He told me to bring it back as quickly as possible."
"Thank you for returning this to me. I'm glad to have a piece of my mother back."
It was a few days later and the group was out searching for a missing boat. Nissa was enjoying a chance to stretch her wings and was doing tricks to help pass the time as they searched. The riders were hyper vigilant for signs of danger. Gobber had surprisingly been unable to figure out where the mysterious boat had come from leaving the group on edge. Stoick had been hesitant to send them out, but they were the best riders so they had to go.
"So far we haven't seen any signs of the missing boat. For that matter neither have we seen signs of anyone following us. Maybe it was just a one time thing?" Nissa voiced out loud.
"We should be that lucky right? Something tells me that we still have reason for concern. Hey bud how are you holding up?"
"I'm doing okay for now Hiccup don't worry about me. Concentrate on finding that missing boat as quickly as possible. I smell a storm coming this way."
"Toothless is right, judging by the smell and the way the clouds are starting to gather its going to be a big one. We'd be safer back on Berk then the open ocean when it hits," Meatlug added. She sensed how nervous her rider was and tried her best to comfort him which wasn't easy during mid flight.
The group redoubled their search efforts hoping to find their quarry as quickly as possible. The winds starting picking up getting stronger by the second. The ocean waves started to get higher and higher. They could hear the sound of distant thunder and a crash of lightning nearly knocked Hookfang out of the sky. This was getting to dangerous. They needed to turn back now before one of them got hurt.
Hiccup was about to give the order to turn around when out of nowhere a burst of lightning nearly hit him. As he dodged out of the way Toothless accidentally collided with Nissa. The female Daypeace started spiraling down towards the ocean. As she struggled to regain control her tail blade slapped Fishlegs off his dragon. Meatlug plummeted after her rider. The others were rushing to help only to freeze in midair. A giant waterspout had formed in the middle of the ocean. Its raging combination of water and wind caused sever turbulence. The downed trio tried to fly up and around the waterspout only to get caught in the edge. Their friends could only watch helplessly as they were spun around, bashing into flying rocks and creatures, being carried away by the spout as it continued on its destructive path.
"We have to go after them!"
"Don't be stupid Astrid, if we try to help them we'll only get sucked in the funnel too. Our best chance is to return to Berk to get help."
"Snotlout's right, the more dragon riders searching the easier it will be to find them."
"Besides Thornado knows these waters better than anyone. If anyone can find our friends its him." Reluctantly the riders retreated flying back home at top speeds praying to Odin that their friends weren't dead.
At the moment the trio was being tossed around fighting for their lives. Fishlegs had already lost his helmet and the sharp blades of water had tore about his shirt. The winds were spinning Meatlug around and around like a top nearly forcing her wings out of their sockets as she struggled to stay in the air. The husky Viking eyes were searching Hiccup and Nissa, but couldn't spot them anywhere. "THIS IS REALLY BAD! HICCUP! NISSA! WHERE ARE YOU TWO?"
"FISHLEGS, WE NEED TO FLY INTO THE EYE OF THE WATERSPOUT IF WE'RE GOING TO MAKE IT OUT OF THIS ALIVE!" Hiccup shouted at his friend. The duo was fighting against the air flow trying to get to their friend. A few feet below a nearly exhausted Nissa was calling on her reserve strength trying to push through the wall of water and wind to get to the center. Her scales were being ripped off her body causing blood to trickle down her flank.
"The wall of the storm is too strong! I can't push through it!"
"KEEP TRYING! IF WE DON'T REACH THE EYE WE'RE DOOMED!" Hiccup urged his friend towards the eye when all of sudden a large piece of underwater rock shot straight through the false tail fin ripping it to shreds. Unable to control his flight Toothless started going down. Nissa looped around ready to go after them only to be hit on the head by more flying rocks losing consciousness along with Fishlegs and Meatlug who met the same fate. As blackness started to shroud the teen's vision he prayed they make out of this alive.
What felt like hours later the group slowly winced as they forced their eyes opened. Their bodies covered in bruises and their clothes were damp with sea water having been partly dried by a fire started by Toothless. His tail fin was gone and the connecting rod on the saddle had snapped in half. Meatlug's right wing was hanging on a twisted angle, having been pulled out its socket. Nissa had reverted to her human form with a multitude of raw skin patches where her scales had ripped off. Her body was having trouble healing itself.
"Thank Odin we're alive! I'm so glad that we aren't in Valhalla! Ow, must not move arms."
"The question is where are we? That waterspout could have sent us miles in any direction. This island seems pretty familiar to me, but I can't quite place it. There are so many dead and deserted islands in the archipelago. Toothless, oh man your tail!"
"It's not as bad as it looks. Meatlug has it worse. Her wing is broken."
"Not... broken... just pulled out the socket. I think it's severely sprained. I'm not sure if I'll be able to fly off this island." The female Gronkle was trying to hold back tears of pain. Her injury was severely hurting her. They needed to pop the wing back in place before it got any worse. Struggling to her feet Nissa managed to make her way over and exam the injury. The bone hadn't snapped thankfully. With Fishlegs help they managed to rotate the wing gently and pop it back into place without too much trouble, though the Gronkle did roar the entire time. Nissa tried to smear blood on the injury to heal it, but it wasn't working.
"Something is interfering with my blood's healing properties. I feel so weak and tired."
"We were just tossed about by a storm and spent who knows how long in the water. Maybe you just need a chance to recover?"
"It's more than that. I'm having difficulty using all my powers. I can't even partially manifest right now. Something on this island is causing problems." Nissa was trembling and her face was losing color. Hiccup, who had miraculously held on to his satchel, gave her the last of their food and water. She stopped trembling and her color was starting to return. She sat down on the cold, hard, barren rock catching her breath. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Do you know what could be causing your problems? Maybe there's some Blue Orilander on the island making you sick."
"This island is too barren to support the flower. Besides if that was the case we'd be sick too."
"I read in a book somewhere that creatures of dual nature are susceptible to poisons to both sides of them or resistant sometimes depending on the circumstances. For instances some shape shifters are allergic to plants that normally wouldn't affect humans. With Nissa unique nature maybe something that is harmless to us is causing problems for her. Are you aware of any plants, foods, or minerals that could cause this?"
"In my studies... to becoming heir... to Xanadu's throne... my tutor Keto gave me a book about the effects of different gems and plants. In it.. it mentioned a stone that has unusual effects on us. Its called galena. The stone is silvery gray and is normally used in spiritual transformation or to fight off deadly infections, radiation, and addictions. Normally this earth stone of power can help increase the strength, courage, and perseverance of an individual, but it seems to have a negating effect on me. There might be deposits of this gem on the island."
Before the boys could respond they heard shouting and men approaching. Quickly extinguishing their fire they all hid behind some rocks. Peeking through a hole in one their blood ran cold as they saw Savage leading a group of Outsiders on a hunt for dragons to take back. Fishlegs let out a squeal of surprise. Savage heard it and marched over poking his sword through the holes and walking around examining the barren rock for clues to the sound. The trio had barely managed to slip out of the way racing as far away from him as possible. They needed to fix Toothless's tail and get out of here pronto.
The group had managed to put some distance between them and Savage as they made their way through the twisting gorge and passed rows of barren trees. It was nighttime, but it seemed even darker and grayer then normal with no hint at all of the stars and moon. The only sounds they heard were the distant roaring of wild dragons. The group climbed onto a small dip to rest. Nissa's color had returned and she didn't feel as weak as before. She still couldn't access her full powers, but at least she felt better.
"We've put some distance between us and the galena. If we can get a bit farther from it I think I'll be able to manifest," Nissa said to the boys. She was about to ask Hiccup if he had a plan when she paused. Turning her head around she stared at the trail behind them. She could have sworn she had seen someone behind them. Chalking it up to paranoia she turned her attention to Fishlegs who was babbling in fear.
"We're going to die no question about it. Outcast island is the most dangerous place in the Archipelago. Not only is it crawling with blood thirsty Outcasts the dragons here are completely feral! They'd sooner eat us then listen to us. Oh and lets not forgot how deadly the floral is here. What are we going to do for food and water? We can't very well sneak into the village for some. We'll be captured for sure! With our dragons out of commission and Nissa unable to manifest we have no way off this island. There isn't enough material for a large and study enough raft to sail off this island. We might as well just turn ourselves over and..." Fishlegs rantings came to a stop as Nissa slapped him hard across the face leaving a red impression.
"Would you kindly stop your nonsense babbling and shut up already? For Helios sake; your suppose to be braver than this! When I flamed you with my yellow attribute changer your courage and confidence seemed to increase by ten folds so where is it now? We've been in worse situations than this coming out of them alive. Meatlug isn't worried and neither should you."
"Nissa is right Fishlegs, my wing is injured, but that doesn't mean I won't push myself to get off this island. I know your scared now, but we need to draw on our inner strength if we are to survive. Hopefully I can convince the dragons on this island to leave us in peace long enough for Hiccup to construct a new tail for Toothless. How long would that take?"
Hiccup, who had been busy attaching the temporary tail fin to Toothless, responded with a slightly defeated tone of voice. "Depends if I can make a new connector rod. This tail fin will hold out until we reach Berk though that doesn't matter unless we find a way to make a new rod. We're going to have to risk getting inside the forge to shape a new one, but to get there we have to pass through a wild dragon pack. Not sure how they'll respond to our presence."
"We don't have any choice. I can hear Savage and the other Outcasts making their way towards us. If we don't move they'll find us for sure," Toothless commented, his ears twitching back and forth. With no other options the humans climbed onto their dragons to avoid leaving tracks as they hurried towards the village.
They had gotten halfway to the forge when a pack of wild Gronkles surrounded the group. Meatlug and Toothless bared their teeth hissing at the group. Hiccup held up his hands to show them they meant no harm. "It's okay we're not here to hurt you. We're friends with dragons really."
The leader of the pack, a large blue scaled beast with a green underbelly, growled firing a lava blast at them. Meatlug intercepted the blast devouring it and then tossing it back causing the leader to fly up to avoid it. The other members of the back tightened the circle getting closer and closer. "Lies, humans always lie! You're exactly like the monsters on this island. You want to hunt us down to imprison us in their metal cage of death! We refuse to be broken like that poor Gronkle slave you have."
"I'm no ones slave; Fishlegs is my partner and friend! He would never harm a dragon, none of them would."
"As if we'd take the word of a defeated dragon. You're so delusional it's not even funny. Take them!"
"Not good, not good at all. There must be someway to convince them we don't mean any harm. Oh, I wish I had the courage of a dragon right now," Fishlegs muttered, one hand on the saddle and the other around his topaz necklace. The gem glowed brightly. Unbeknownst to anyone the essences of Meatlug's courage flowed into the pudgy teen giving him exactly what he asked for. With a rush of courage he order Meatlug to pounce on the leader. She obeyed him leaping on the back of her fellow Gronkles sending them sprawling in all directions.
The pack leader saw her coming and starting shooting at her only for her to dodge. Even with an injured wing she managed to connect bringing him down from the sky. She used her large girth to pin him scratching him on the face. With her teeth barred she let her human roughly grab the other dragon's ears forcing him to listen. "I'm only going to say this once. We are not the enemy. I love dragons, especially Gronkles. My friends and I don't want any problems. We only want access to the village so we can get materials to escape from here and go back home."
"He's right, the people of Berk have made peace with the dragons. They'd never harm any of them; in fact the chief there risked his life to save them once."
"If you let us pass we won't bother you again." The dragons listened detecting no falsehood in their statements. Grudgingly they let them pass. Thanking the Gronkles for their hospitality they made their way closer to the forge. Finally they reached a cliff face a few feet from their destination. Using Hiccup's spyglass they observed the activity below them trying to formulate a plan. After half an hour they came up with one though there were many objections on all sides.
"This is highly dangerous, we don't even know if they'll cooperate with us," Fishlegs pointed out as he mounted Meatlug. He was supposed to convince the Gronkles to launch an attack on the Outcast village drawing their forces away from the forge so Hiccup could slip and make the new rod. Nissa and Toothless would be standing guard if they saw anyone they were suppose to lead them away then double back to the beach where they'd make their escape. It wasn't a fool proof plan, but it was all they had.
"We're out of options Fishlegs, this may be our only chance. Do it." The group dispersed heading for their destinations praying to their Gods this would work. At first everything started out fine. Apparently the Gronkles were itching for revenge and enjoyed a chance to blow up part of the village. Most of the Outcasts rushed to save their village including the blacksmith. Hiccup hurried inside getting to work knowing there wasn't much time.
Things were going fine until Savage and his party appeared. Spotting someone in the forge he was making his way there when Toothless fired a plasma blast. "A Nightfury! Go after it! The person who brings it back alive gets a reward from Alvin!" The men shouted, waving their axes and swords going after the Nightfury, unable to see the girl on his back.
"We need to split up and get back to Toothless. You lead them to the right I'll go left. We'll meet back at the forge and head to the beach. Be careful!" Nissa warned as she jumped off and raced away. She could hear the men chasing her, their footfalls getting closer. Her enhanced reflexes saved her as she ducked under a few thrown axes. Coming to a dead end she started to climb, but the rock broke and she fell rolling underneath a shelf. Curling up small she closed her eyes hoping no one would see her.
Her heartbeat was so loud she thought someone would hear it. She breathed in shallow deep breaths straining her ears for some sign. The footfalls were right on top of her searching. It was only moments before she was found. Just before someone searched she heard sounds of struggle and the overwhelming scent of fresh blood filled her nostrils. She waited until the slaughter stopped. Counting to ten she wiggled out from her hiding spot to a horror show. The men who had chased her were dismembered and lying pools of blood. The stench was overwhelming. She turned to run away only to bump into Savage. "Well what do we have here? You're quite a blood thirsty child aren't you?"
"I didn't kill those men! I wouldn't do that! Ahhhhhh!" she let out a scream as the man twisted her arms behind her. He tied her hands behind her and started pushing her down the path.
"It doesn't matter if you did or didn't. You and your friend Hiccup are going to make nice birthday gifts for Alvin. He might have some use for you," Savage hinted, his feral grin letting her know what he wanted from her. Disgusted she reached out with her bond calling for Hiccup. His own fear was intermingling with hers. He'd been captured too and now they were being dragged off to meet with Alvin. This wasn't good.
As the two teen were literally being dragged off Toothless met up with Fishlegs and Meatlug. The Gronkle pack agreed to help rescue the teens. They had only just gotten into position when someone from the shadows fired a crossbow impaling two of the Outcasts and cutting the ropes. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth Toothless caused an avalanche separating the two parties. The Gronkle pack scooped up rocks, dodging bolas as they lobbed their fire balls nearly taking Alvin's head off. Down below a recovered Nissa managed to use her tai chi to hold off the Outcasts long enough so Hiccup could finish the repairs. With a burst of speed the trio left leaving behind an angry Alvin, clutching a torn piece of cloth.
As soon as they were miles from the island Nissa jumped off Toothless manifesting her dragon form smiling as her transformation took place. It felt good to stretch her wings and be away from the galena. "I can't believe we managed to escape from Outcast Island! That's nearly impossible!"
"Just goes to show you how a little teamwork can go a long way."
"That and luck Toothless. Someone was on that island was looking out for us. How else do you explain the dead Outcasts and the crossbow fire that saved Hiccup and Nissa?"
"That's what worries me the most. What length would someone go to deliberately make an enemy with the Outcasts to help us?"
"Something tells me we won't like the answer one bit."
It was a few days later on Berk and the riders were helping Steinar out at the school with the children. The little ones were experiencing some troubles with the Terror partners. Many of the Terrors were starting to act up in their friend's home and had stopped listening to their kids. Today's lesson was all about how to communicate better with their dragon friend and be respectful of one another personal space.
"Dragons are all about respect; you need to respect them, their space, and their opinions when working together. Dragons are pack creatures especially Terrors. Because of their small size they depend on group numbers in order to survive. Bigger dragons form packs when they need to defend a territory or if they're hunting together. There is a hierarchy in a pack with an alpha, beta, and then the rest of them. With dragons and riders you both have to be willing to share alpha status to succeed," Hiccup lectured to the starry eyed kids. The kids were all whispering among themselves as they tried to inch closer to the rider to touch him. Many held their squirming Terrors causing them to wail and bite, some even trying to spit up fire.
"Alright children that is enough if you keep holding your friends like that your going to hurt them. I suggest we move this lesson outside. Astrid and Stormfly are going to give us a demonstration on how to share alpha status. Remember children it's all about respect and kindness."
"Yes Teacher Steinar!"
"Don't think you Terrors are off the hook either. You need to be willing to work with your kids putting up with their antics and their behavior. Think of them as hatchlings learning their place in the pack. Be willing to teach them how you want to be treated and how to have fun," Nissa reminded them gently ignoring the mutterings of the little guys. Everyone marched outside to watch as Astrid and Stormfly flew down to meet the group. The children cheered as they watched her effectively command her dragon. They landed in front of the children Stormfly preening and showing off her beauty as Astrid slid off her giving her hugs and pats.
"Stormfly good girl, good girl. Alright as you know you need to be respectful of your dragon's individual personalities. Because you are still learning how to understand and speak Dragonese you'll need to figure out other ways to understand what is going on their minds. You need to pick up on the body language and social cues. For example, when I couldn't understand what Stormfly was saying I judged her mood based on her actions and responses to my voice. It takes time and patience, but you can learn to work with your dragon becoming the best of friends. Isn't that right girl?"
"Of course it is Astrid? Why don't we show them how we work as one?"
Astrid nodded fingering her sapphire necklace not noticing how it glowed blue creating the same effect in her dragon's eyes. Mounting Stormfly the two took off high into the sky their minds as one. The duo didn't seem aware as they did loops, fired at targets or when Astrid did back flips that they were reading each other thoughts. The children cheered happily as they watched Astrid jump off her dragon only for Stormfly to catch her and bring her gently to the ground. "Do you think you kids can learn to do that?"
"Yeah!" "Can't wait!" "Fang and I are going to be the first ones to talk to each other!" The children were easily excited and couldn't wait to start practicing what they had learned. They were about to divide up into groups to practice sharing status when a small blur rushed passed them knocking over Hiccup.
"Hiccup we've got an emergency!" Lumina shrieked. The little Skrill was visibly shaking and her tar covered eyes were starting to streak. She had tiny cuts on her legs and was babbling incoherently.
"Slow down, what is going on Lumina? I thought you and Gothi had gone into the forest to get new herbs for making medicines. What happened and where is she?"
"Gothi and I were picking herbs when the Fireworm dragons attacked us in hordes. They were burning everything in their path as they wiggled after us. I managed to fight most of them off, but Gothi got slightly burned. Orli heard the commotion and dispersed the group. She brought Gothi back while I stayed behind to find out what was the matter with the Fireworms. They were ranting and raving about how their cave was starting to flood. They said that something big and deadly was trying to eat them so they managed to crawl away. Whisp, Murmur, and Hiss tunneled inside the cave trying to drain the water, but ended up being attacked by something leaving gaping wounds in their hide. You and the other riders need to come quickly before it gets out of hand any further!" Lumina begged not realizing she was clawing Hiccup's vest.
"Lumina go keep an eye on Gothi. Steinar, can you inform my father what's going on? Toothless call for Orli, we're heading into the forest to find out what is going on now."
"Yeah time for some mayhem!"
"We'll show that intrusive dragon whose boss!"
When they got to the part of the forest where the Fireworms made their home the sight before them stunned everyone. A large portion of seawater was flooding the area. They could see a canal where the water was rushing in from. The Fireworm dragons were stranded on tiny island in the midst of the water aflame screaming in terror. The three Whispering Deaths were the air covering one another as they fought against angry Scaldrun. The sea dragon was shooting deadly boiling water stripping the Deaths of their scales. One blast hit Hiss in his vulnerable eyes! The Death screeched in pain flying off to heal from his wounds. The other two dragons went after the intruder only to be nearly impaled by its horn.
"Unbelievable, what's a Scaldrun doing so far inland? Why did it flood the forest? What could it be possibly looking for?"
"Well they do eat Blue Oleander along with fish, turtles, and other sea life. This one might have come searching for some if it thought there was some to eat here."
"No way, that's the same dragon that bit Mildew? How did it find its way here?"
"Who cares how it came here we have to get it to leave."
"Right we need a plan. Okay, Snotlout you and Hookfang rescue the Fireworms. Get them as far from here as possible and be careful of their skin! Ruff, Tuff, you and Barf and Belch help the Deaths out. Fishlegs and Meatlug try to cut a path back towards the ocean to get rid of this water. Astrid, Nissa, and I will try to deal with the Scaldrun. Hopefully Orli will show up to help out. Let's go people!"
The dragons split up narrowly dodging the attacks from the Scaldrun. The beast was staying in the water for now, but if it took off into the air it would be a whole other story. The Scaldrun stretched out its long neck managing to bite on Whisp's tail. The Death struggled trying to break free as he was pulled towards the water. Murmor flew down to help only to be smacked in the head by the sea dragon's tail fin. Several teeth fell into the water as the Death tried to get his head on straight. Whisp felt his tail snap off as he finally managed to break free. The Scaldrun bellowed raising one forearm to slash the Death wide open when a small explosion caused it to fall backwards into the water.
"Yeah take that you overgrown sea snake! We don't let anyone mess with our friends!" Ruffnut shouted in delight. Her eyes widened in fear as the Scaldrun tried to bite into Barf's neck to inject poison, but the Twins flew up and out of the way. Tuffnut spotted the trail of blood leaking out from Whisp's severed tail. It looked quite painful and the dragon was having a difficult time staying in the air.
"Belch, get close and spark on Whisp's tail. You have to cauterized the wound or he's going to bleed out."
"Get me closer and I'll see what I can do. Whisp you have to calm down or I can't help you! Hey watch it I'm not the enemy here!"
"My tail, my beautiful tail is half gone! How am I suppose to live without it? What if it doesn't grow back?" The Whispering Death wailed. He was so upset he didn't realize he was about to crash into a tree. His sensitive eyes were half blinded by the sun so he was unable to dodge. Thinking quickly the Zippleback managed to tackle him away from the tree. Murmur had finally regained his senses flying over and holding his friend in his talons still long enough for Belch to spark on the tail. At the same time Barf was spewing cloud cover to keep them hidden. Neither Twin noticed that their necklaces were starting to glow and they were linked with the dragon's senses.
While this was going on the others were doing their best to carry out there orders. Snotlout was hollering in slight pain as he managed to scoop up the last of the Fireworms into his helmet, ignoring the blisters forming on his hands. Hookfang was also muttering in pain as he had to light himself on a low level fire to avoid having his scales burned off. Fishlegs and Meatlug were dodging about and doing a pretty decent doggy paddle in the flooded area. Meatlug was doing her very best to carve a channel for the water to drain out, but kept having to spit out the sea water. It tasty nasty to her.
"Hold on girl, just a bit more. You can do it ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Fishlegs screamed as the Scaldrun got ready to swallow them. Tail spikes shot from Stormfly drew the Scaldrun's attention back to the other three along with a plasma blast from Toothless.
"Hey, eyes on us dragon! We're your targets not him!" Astrid shouted.
"Where is it? Where is my food? I know there are fields of Blue Orilanders on this island! I smelled them! Give them to me!"
"Back off sea slug!" Toothless shouted hovering in the air firing more plasma shots. He dodged about avoiding streams of deadly water. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Nissa land on the Scaldrun's back reverting to her human form. She held on for dear life as she struggled to connect with her Dragon Heart. The beasts thrashing and chaotic thoughts were making forming a bond extremely difficult for her.
"Steady bud, steady. Please hear me out Scaldrun; there are no flowers here not anymore! There to deadly for our friends. I'm sorry we don't have fresh flowers for you, but we have fish if you want that."
"Lies! If this is a dragon's paradise then I know my flowers are here. If there not then I'll take down this entire forest searching for them!" the Scaldrun shouted in anger. His massive forearms smacked the air managing to connect with Toothless. The Nightfury was going down when a furious cry filled the air. At super speed Orli flew straight at the Scaldrun blasting him with a mega plasma shot before catching her mate in her talons pulling him back into the air.
"Someone needs to lay off the cod, wake up Toothless!"
"I'm up female let me fly! Nissa, we need you to get that Scaldrun out of here now!"
"In case...its...not obvious I'm doing my best here! That's enough out of you! Calm down right now!" Nissa growled. She had climbed the beast's neck placing her hands directly on his head. Pouring her emotions into the Scaldrun via her Dragon Heart she pushed for control. The sea dragon struggled trying to lilt her off, but the young royal held on. Even as the beast dove under water trying to drown her she refused to let go using her gifts to form a bond with him. As they broke the surface the dragon finally stopped thrashing, its eyes dull and his body limp.
"It's okay its okay. I'm sorry, but there are no flowers here. You need to return to the open ocean where you have enough food and space. That's right no ones angry with you. Go on return home," Nissa told him gently. The Scaldrun left for the open ocean through the new channel as the water drained. The group landed to talk about finding the Fireworms a new home. As they talked Hiccup noticed a single blue flower. Someone had deliberately lead that dragon here, but for what purpose?
On Berserker Island the deranged teen chief was having a temper tantrum throwing knives and screaming at his men on how useless they were. So far they had messed up by losing a boat, nearly getting caught on Outcast Island after killing those men, and worst of all they practically drowned when he ordered them to create crises to learn more about his targets. He only avoided killing them because he gained a bit of insight, but it wasn't enough. He needed push his source on Berk for more information if he was going to claim his prizes.
