Sorry, still typing this on my smartphone and spellcheck sucks on it so typos abound.
. . . . . . . . . . .
Savage said nothing as he dragged Hiccup through the corridor and Hiccup was actually happy for that. He glance over his shoulder to the room he had been in with Dagur, his mind still reeling with what had happened. Dagur had always been touchy-feely and invading his space but this time was too much. He could still feel Dagur's lips pressed against his hands it made him sick to his stomach. How far would Dagur have gone if Savage hadn't shown up when he did? How long could Hiccup have fought back if Dagur insisted on…
Yep, Hiccup did not want to dwell in that thought for long. The problem he now faced was the lunatic who wanted to torture for information on the Dragon Eye. He was not going to hand it over. Not willingly at least. He knew who had it last. Fishlegs had been studying it with Meatlug before Hiccup was captured. So it was either in his hut or the clubhouse. He didn't know for sure son He hadn't lied to Ryker. But it was only a matter of time before he gave up that information. Hiccup wasn't fool enough to think he could outlast Ryker's tortures, he just had to outlast it long enough to escape or be rescued. The problem with being rescued was that his friend would hand over the Eye to save him and that was the last thing Hiccup wanted. And by then Barf and Belch could be dead.
Escape it would have to be.
Luckily Savage was not the most competent person around. Hiccup took stock of where they were in the large ship. Seriously, this thing was larger than any ship Hiccup had been on before. Almost five times the size of his father's prized flag ship, The Blue Whale, and at least three time the size of the ice breaker used to keep trade flowing through the Archipelago through the winter. It was easy to get in the hold. Nonetheless, Hiccup listened for the sound of dragons to determine where Barf and Belch were. Sure saving them would most likely put them further in his debt and cause even more mayhem but it was better than the situation they were in now.
"So you went from Outcast to Berserker to Hunter?" he asked Savage, eyeing a far off door one of the Hunters were headed to with a basket of fish. "Quite a career change."
"Shut up," Savage growled, yanking him toward the latter.
Hiccup stumbled, his body still a little weak from the ice and cold that he had been submerged in. The fact was, that despite the burst of energy he had while fighting off Dagur was seeping away and exhaustion was starting to push in along the edges. He needed to rest but there was no time.
"Just pointing out that with the Outcast and Hooligan war over you could go home. I'm sure Alvin will take you back. He's mellowed out a lot over the years." All he needed was for Savage to loosen his grip just a little.
He stumbled when Savage yanked him to a stand still and turned on him. "And whose fault it that, huh?" Savage demanded with such rage that Hiccup was taken back. "He spent all that time trying to capture you, the precious son of his worst enemy, to force you to train his dragons. And what happens? He's nearly killer, the Outcasts taken by Dagur and forced to serve him. And then when Alvin teams up with you to save you father and take back his tribe, anyone who served Dagur, whether by choice or not, are thrown in the dungeon along with the Berserkers to rot away. I spent three years there, boy. Alvin didn't take me back then, he won't now." A cruel upturn of lips gave him a nasty grin. "But now there are people who don't give a damn who you are and their going to punish you for everything you've done and I'm going to smile as you scream."
Hiccup stared at him in utter shock. He had never really given Savage much thought other than the changes in his alliance, but he never thought the man help such hatred for Alvin or even him. But Savages rant had given him the opening he needed. His grip had loosened on to the point he was only barely holding on to the tattered tunic Dagur had put on him. Hiccup was not about to waste the opportunity. With his right foot, he swiped it under Savage's, hoping to knock him to the ground. He succeeded in unbalancing the man. Then for good measure, he kicked Savage behind his right knee with his prosthetic, effective knocking the man to the ground with a howl of pain.
Hiccup didn't wait to see if the former Outcast was alright. He began running toward the door, praying it led to the caged dragon. He almost immediately regretted not knocking Savage out first as the man started yelling for the Hunters. Hiccup didn't have much time. He shoved the heavy door open, startling the Hunter inside who was busy filling a long trough with fish. The scent smelt like rotting carcasses. The fish were no doubt rotten and not suitable for eating. Hiccup fought back to urge to vomit and dashed toward the man. Caught by surprise, the Hunter was easy to take down. Hiccup stole the keys from his belt and hurried toward the lone dragon in the hold.
"Am I ever happy to see you guys," he breathed, reaching through the bars to stroke the Zippleback's two heads. They warbled happily at him. "Yeah, Yeah, I know you missed me, too."
He worked as quickly as possible but it seemed his hands were shaking and knees still wobbly. He sorted through the ring of keys, hoping to find the right one before the Hunters reached him. But the gods were never really kind to him. Just as he shoved the fourth key into there whole men rushed into the room. Hiccup desperately turned the key, praying for a click that would release the latch but nothing happened, the lock didn't spring open.
Men grabbed him from all sides, dragging him away from the cage as Barf and Belch hissed and snarled at the men, unable to fire for fear of hurting Hiccup. Hiccup reached out for them as he kicked and lashed out at the men as best could. But it was no use. Hands grabbed at him from everywhere, stopping him from landing any serious blows while he was carried up to the deck and then all but thrown into Ryker's chamber. The man was waiting for him with a look of glee painted on his face.
"Dagur was right, you don't disappoint," he told Hiccup as the youth was forced back into the chair he occupied earlier and bond to it. Ryker slowly paced around it, his gaze cold as he inspected his prey. "He said you would run the moment you saw an opening."
"Yeah, well given my options between maniac A or B, I thought I'd go with option C," Hiccup retorted. He fought back a shiver as his gaze travelled to the tub where, just luck, even more ice and water had been added. Lovely, he'll either freeze to death or drown. The options just kept getting better and better. "I told you I don't know where the Dragon Eye is," he said, hoping to reason with Ryker. He couldn't handle that frigid cold again. And where in Helheim did they get all that ice? It was mid spring.
"Aye, and I believe you," Ryker answered, waving the men off. "Now you're going to tell me about the islands you visited and mark them on that map." He nodded toward a large map attached to the wall behind the desk. "Do it quickly and without issue and you can afford the ice bath. If not…well I have other ways of making you talk."
"Why capture dragons?" Hiccup countered, tearing his gaze away from the tub to look at Ryker. "They are the most amazing, loyal beings you'll ever meet."
Ryker nodded. "That they are. But this is business, Hiccup Haddock, and I have a quota to keep. Since you won't give me what rightfully belongs to my people, you will serve as our Dragon Eye until it is returned to us."
"I'm not going to help you," Hiccup bit out.
Ryker lowered down at him as he lifted a long pointed rod in one hand. "Yes you will," he answered calmly as he inspected the thin rod. "It might talk time but you will. Can you guess which part of your body this little beaut is going?"
After what happened with Dagur, Hiccup didn't even want to consider where something like that might be placed. He'd take it back, after Dagur fawning over him wasn't nearly as bad as what his imagination wad conning up at that very moment. It only got worse as Ryker removed his prosthetic foot and pushed the leg of his trousers up to reveal the wrappings around his stump. A moment later they were gone, too.
"Hey, give those back! Do you have any idea how many prosthetics I broke this week? Gobber just built that one for me!" Hiccup objected, struggling to pull his leg free without tipping the chair. His arms still hurt from the last time and he no doubt had some large bruises from the incident.
Ryker left for a moment then returned with a crate. He propped Hiccup's left leg on it then placed a long board on either side of the leg and tied them together so Hiccup couldn't bend his knee. Hiccup watched in confusion, his mind tingling as understanding suddenly assaulted him.
"Oh no…no, no, no, no, no…" he breathed as Ryker sat across from him. Hiccup looked from his leg to the Hunter in sudden fear. "You're not…you can't possibly be planning to…"
"Tell me about the dragons on Dark Deep," Ryker purred, eyeing the sharp tip of the rod. "What else resides there other than Gronkle?"
Hiccup's breath came out in pants even though Ryker had yet to do anything. He stared at the rod in unbridled horror. "Just Gronkle," he lied, hoping beyond hope Ryker would buy it.
Ryker nodded more to himself than Hiccup. "My brother says a desperate man would say what you want to hear in order to save themselves. I say only a fool would sacrifice themselves to protect dragons." He grabbed Hiccup's stump in one hand and lifted it while he twirled the rod between the fingers of his other had. "This is an iron spike used for mining. It's tipped with dragon root. Do you know the effects of dragon root on a human?"
Hiccup shook his head, sweat beading on his forehead. Dagur was looking better with every passing second.
It's almost like a sedative when mixed probably. That's how we take down the dragons without seriously harming them, but in a human the root tends to burn first. It will make your body feel on fire and then it'll make you delusional. Your jaw will become unhinged and you'll start talking. And if that doesn't work then the excruciating of having a metal rod shoved into your stump will." Ryker gave Hiccup a moment to absorb his words before continuing. "You can save yourself by answering my questions truthfully. What other dragons, besides Gronkles, reside on Dark Deep."
Hiccup stared at him for a long moment, his gaze flickering over Ryker's eyes. "You already know," he breathed in realization.
"Perhaps," Ryker agreed. "Think of this as a trust exercise. Tell me what other dragons are there."
Hiccup shook his head. He wasn't going to tell this man about the Quaken. He wasn't sure what the Hunters would do with the Dragon but he didn't care either. He was not letting them capture it. He pursed his lips into a hard line and said nothing.
Ryker chuckled. "My brother would like you, Haddock, but eventually all men break."
He thrust the tip of the rod through scarred flesh, piercing it right night to the bone.
Hiccup screamed in sudden pain. He knew what Ryker intended but couldn't pull his leg away let alone bend his knee. It was like a red hot poker going through him. But the pain didn't stop. Ryker didn't pull it out.
"Talk to me, boy. Tell me what I want to hear and the pain will stop."
Hiccup shook his head. He wouldn't give up. It didn't matter what Ryker did, he would not betray the dragons.
Instead of pulling the rod out, Ryker pushed it deeper into Hiccup legs causing the youth to whine in utter agony. "I can push this right into your knee," he mused, twisting the rod just so and making Hiccup scream again. "Pierce the bone and cause a crippling effect that will travel straight to your hip. It would make dragon riding utter agony. Or I can pull it out now and let you go."
The pain was like nothing Hiccup had felt before. He was drenched in sweat as tears rolled down his cheeks. He fought through it to control his breathing. If this man was willing to torture him to get to the dragons then what would be do once he had them. The threat of skinning and cooking Barf and Belch came to the forefront of his mind and renewed his determination to protect the dragons at all cost.
With a deep, shuddering breath he met Ryker's steely gaze with his own. "Do It," he spat out.
"You are determined," Ryker answered with a hint of admiration. He twisted the rod and tilted it ever so slightly before ramming it all the way in to Hiccup leg, leaving barely an inch sticking out of the stump.
Hiccup howl in horrific agony, his leg and knee seemingly on fire. He thrashed in the chair, prayed for unconsciousness to take him, for his friends to rescue him, a rogue dragon attack, or Odin help him, Dagur to come and take him away. None of those things happened and all he could do was scream.
Eventually the screams stopped but the pain didn't. He sat in the chair still tied up, his left leg still on the crate and Ryker watching him intently. Hiccup fought back a whimper and tried to school his features but there was no hiding the pain. He wasn't going to answer. He didn't care what Ryker did to him. To his surprise, Ryker removed the make shift brace around his leg then untied him from the chair.
"What are going?" Hiccup gasped when the man lifted him up.
"What happens when iron meets ice?" Ryker asked in a strange almost innocent tone, as if a parent talking to their child.
Hiccup's eyes widened. The fresh ice water made sense now. Ryker wasn't going to drown him this time…he was going to put him through an all new agony. "No!" he cried as he was lowered into the ice water.
His wrists tied above his head and over the edge to the foot of the tub so that his head was above water while the rest of him went under. It was biting cold and with what little clothing Hiccup had left, it seeped through quickly. The cold burned like Hel fire and Hiccup thrashed in the water in an attempt to get out. His stump strung worse than the rest of him as the iron rod in it grew colder and colder. It didn't take a genius to know that if inside his leg froze it would need to be amputated again. The same could be said about to toes of his right foot, but that didn't frighten him nearly as much as the idea of losing his leg above the knee.
"Let me out!" he screamed, kicking water out of the tub with his right leg. The tears were running down his cheeks in as steady stream. He couldn't stop them. Everything below his shoulders were freezing. He was freezing. There was a thin crust of ice forming on the water surface.
The problem with the cold was it zapped a person's strength and soon Hiccup lost the urge to fight. He settled into the water with a whimper, his body accepting his fate even as his mind screamed to keep fighting. Ryker didn't ask him anymore questions, just watched him with cold, dark eyes, the brown nearly black in the dim light. Hiccup met his gaze with a pain filled one but it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep eye contact. Eventually Hiccup vision faded to black as he drifted away with the ice and cold.