cosmicblader12: Thank you :) I agree with you about Snotlout haha, but the rest of the team is here, they'll survive I'm sure! And for Melody Island, they are most likely headed to some peaceful lake or something, don't worry about the Deathsong :D
MassiveHTTYDFan: Hmm, let's see if your theory is right! :D
Dlydragon: Thank you, this chapter will finally give you some answers. :)
httydfangirl123 : Thanks ! Indeed I didn't send the riders away for nothing, get ready ^^'
WARNING: violence, blood, injuries. (2/3 of the chapter and same for the next, sorry to warn you only now !)
CHAPTER 7
The next day, Hiccup decided to go on patrol very early, in order to check the damage caused by last night's storm. Toothless yawned several times, but nevertheless seemed happy to accompany his trainer.
The viking scanned the ground and took note of the many fallen trees and structures illuminated by the sun as it rose into the sky.
"It looks like we're gonna have a lot of work to do.''
Toothless growled in response, obviously unhappy to hear this news. Hiccup caressed him as a sign of apology. It was unfair for him not to be able to go on vacation because his trainer had decided to stay.
"You know, nothing would stop us from taking the day off too, by a river full of fish..." Hiccup suggested in a light tone, and his dragon chirped with agreement.
"Well, once the others get back, of course.'' He added.
Hiccup expected another very expressive growl, but Toothless' roar put him on alert. He straightened up on the saddle, ready to dodge whatever was coming to them, but saw nothing. That's when he looked down at the beach. Something was shining in the sand, and it reminded him vaguely of the time he had seen a light during a night patrol.
"Let's go check it out, bud.'' He says when he clicked the pedal.
Before landing, the two allies made several circles at lower altitudes around the beach to make sure no one was here. That's when he saw something metallic coming out of the sand, before a wave covered everything. Maybe that explained how the light had suddenly disappeared last time. They were flying far too high to see that the object was buried so close to the water, or even underwater.
Hiccup jumped off Toothless' back and rushed to the place where he had seen the object, taking advantage of the withdrawal of tide to pull it out of the sand. The fact is that this object was much bigger than it looked. And soon, the dragon rider was submerged to his knees, struggling to get what seemed like a big chest out of the sand.
Toothless, seeing his friend in trouble, immediately came to help him. Together they dragged the object out of the water, and Hiccup leaned on it to catch his breath.
"Thank you, bud.' He breathed.
In response, the Nightury shook himself dry, throwing water everywhere, especially on his trainer who growled, protecting his face from the drops. The dragon laughed his throat out, as he used to do.
Hiccup shook his head with tender exasperation, then looked at the ocean behind him. The storm must have gotten the chest out of the sand last night. He looked at the object, no matter who had buried it there, he didn't want it to be found.
He ran his hands over the walls, trying to find inscriptions that could tell him where it came from, but found nothing significant.
'Well then, I have no choice but to open it.'
"Toothless? He asked, and the dragon understood immediately.
A quick plasma shot and the trunk was open. The chief waited a few moments, until the metal cooled, before inspecting it. His eyes widened as he saw its contents, weapons, provisions, parchment, and armor...
He took it in his hands, inspecting it more closely, the leather was sturdy, and the shoulder pads looked like they were made of Terrible Terror skulls. Hiccup dropped the garment as if it had just been burned and Toothless bent down to smell it. The dragon began to growl, his teeth barred, confirming his hypothesis.
This chest belonged to the hunters.
The viking tried to calm his beating heart with rational thoughts.
Unfortunately, dragon hunting is not new and perhaps this chest has been around for a long time. But then in this case there should be more traces of corrosion, shellfishs clinging to the wood, and even bumps.
However, this was not the case here.
He then inspected the weapons, axes, daggers, swords, all shaped in a way that was strangely familiar to him. But he needed to see to be absolutely sure.
Without wasting a moment, he grabbed a few of them and asked Toothless to fly him to Thoril's hut.
The apprehension compressed his chest as he approached the debris, he and Thoril had cleaned almost everything except for a few beams that they thought they would reuse to rebuild the hut. The floor creaked under his foot as he walked towards the stack of weapons, he grabbed a sword and compared it to the one in his left hand, they were almost identical.
"It's not possible.'' He whispered. Could it be that Thoril was one of the hunters anyway?
As he went forward to take another weapon, his prosthesis went through a hole in the floor that had been weakened by the fire. The moment later, his entire body passed through the floor as he screamed in surprise.
He landed painfully on his right flank, coughing as he waved his arms to sweep away the cloud of ash and smoke that his fall had created. The dragon rider heard Toothless make a distress call from above and got up.
"I'm fine, bud!'' He shouted at him, hoping that it would be enough to reassure the dragon.
Surprisingly, it worked, the thumping noise from up there telling him that Toothless had probably sat there to wait for him. The Viking frowned slightly as he continued his inspection of the basement. Despite the fact that the only source of light was coming from the spaces between the floor slats, he could see two or three chests in the small space.
He approached them cautiously and his hip butted into the corner of a small table on which was placed a candle, pieces of parchment, and writing material. He muffled a cry of amazement, it was not just a storage, but a secret lair.
Hiccup tried to ignore his rapid heartbeat and decided to inspect the chests, which, unlike the one on the beach, were not locked. He found other supplies, other weapons. He panted when he recognized, despite its state of decomposition, the famous flammable plant that Thoril had brought to the twins. His throat tightened even more when he picked up the missing page about this famous plant, which according to what was written was only growing on the dragon hunter's island.
So Thoril was playing them all along? How could he even believe his lies when he knew there was something wrong with this guy?
Out of anger he kicked the trunk, managing to move it a few centimeters. A piece of parchment stuck under it then caught his attention, and he pushed the chest further to clear it.
His eyes widened as they followed the words written on a piece of paper. All this time, Thoril, in addition to infiltrating them, was exchanging messages with the hunters. And from the way the message was written, the dragon rider had a good idea of who it could be.
Caught in his own stupor, he heard someone approaching behind him, but too late. When he turned around, something heavy met his head, then, nothing.
Hiccup woke up with a severe headache.
He moaned with confusion and opened his eyes, not surprised to notice that he was still in the basement. What surprised him, however, was that when he tried to feel if his head was bleeding, he discovered that he was tied up. His heart rate accelerated as he tried to wiggle out of the ropes that held him prisoner against one of the chests.
"Easy, you took one hell of a blow.'' A voice advised him, and he jumped in its direction.
In front of him, sitting on the table, was Thoril.
"You.'' He growled as he pushed his chest forward with ferocity, shaking the chest and its contents in the process. "I knew you couldn't be trusted!''
"I told you to stay away from this, but you didn't listen.'' The boy reprimanded as he came down from the table.
The chief stared at him with anger, he felt so bad for believing his lies, and even more so now that he had been captured. He couldn't even warn his-
His eyes widened.
"My friends, where are they? And what did you do to Toothless?'' He asked, he knew that his dragon would have warned him of Thoril's arrival. Which meant he had been prevented from doing so one way or another.
"Your friends are currently looking for me after I accidentally got lost in the storm, it's going to take them a while.'' He shrugged before taking a pinch of a kind of purple dust from a bag hung on his belt.
"As for your Dragon, let's say he's going to sleep for a long time.'' He said slightly, letting the powder fall to the ground.
Hiccup followed it with his eyes, clutching his jaw, he recognized this powder, they had already used it against him once.
''It's funny you still worry about them, after everything they said. I thought it would be harder to put them against you.'' Thoril continued.
''Why did you do that?'' Hiccup asked.
''Isn't it obvious? To isolate you from the group, take out the central piece and let the rest crumble around it. Leaving your base vulnerable. Oh and thank you for this organized trip by the way, it made everything easier.''
Hiccup just glared at him, he hated himself for thinking Thoril wouldn't be able to do anything from Melody Island, since he clearly told him he wanted to stay on the Edge. Why did he even believe him in the first place?
''Your friends are fine, don't worry.'' Thoril repeated when he saw the thoughts whirling in the dragon rider's eyes.
"What proves me you're telling the truth this time?'' He asked, his voice wavering slightly.
"I've never lied to you, Hiccup.'' Thoril replied, and the dragon rider tried to hold back his laughter, which almost seemed to hurt the other man.
"I told you I would never hurt you unless you made me.'' He said sadly as he gestured to the room around them, "So, here we are."
Hiccup shook his head with exasperation, he wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.
"You're here, taking me hostage, and you still think you can make me look like the bad guy?''
"I tried to warn you! Several times!'' Thoril said angrily.
"And what did you expect me to do? Wait quietly while you planned to destroy our island? Or worse?''
"I'm not after your island, or your friends, or even your dragons!"
"Then what are you looking for?!'' Hiccup shouted, really not understanding why he kept acting as if he was still on their side.
The hunter seemed hesitant, his Adam's apple juggled as he swallowed nervously.
"I need the dragon eye.'' He said gravely.
The young Viking's green eyes widened, but he quickly regained a neutral face, not wanting to betray his emotions in front of the other man.
"The dragon eye has been destroyed.'' He stated, trying to find out if Thoril knew about the 2nd artifact.
"I'm talking about your dragon eye.'' The stranger corrected by showing him one of his plans.
It wasn't that surprising, knowing that he had been spying on them for more than two weeks.
"Why do you need it?'' Hiccup didn't even bother to deny it and went straight on, the more he knew about his plan, and the sooner he could find a solution to defeat it.
"I just need it.'' Thoril said dryly before kneeling before him. "I don't want to hurt you, just tell me where he is and I'll leave you and your friends alone.''
"I don't think you have any idea what this object is capable of.'' Hiccup argued, while trying to slide his hands through the ropes that bound them together. He knew things could escalate very quickly now, and he had to find a way to free himself before that happened.
"That's right.'' The other confessed, "But I don't care, all I know is that it'll get me what I want.''
"And what do you want?''
"I already told you that, Hiccup, and I didn't lie.'' He showed his hand curled up, as if he was holding an object in his palm. "This is what I came here for, and stayed for, only this.'' His hand closed into a fist, while the other grabbed the dragon trainer's shoulder, squeezing lightly.
The brunet tried not to flinch with the contact, and looked the other boy in the eyes, listening carefully.
"You wanted me to leave, didn't you? If you give me this object, I'll go away, far away, and you'll never hear from me again.'' He said nicely, as if he was trying to reassure a frightened child.
"I know you're planning to hand it over to the hunters.''
"How is that a problem?'' Thoril asked.
The dragon trainer snorted then frowned at the confused expression on the stranger's face.
"So you're really not from here, huh?''
"I told you, I'm not lying.'' The other repeated firmly.
"They're hunters! They hunt, they kill, dragons and humans, without mercy! If they get their hands on this object, they'll exterminate all the dragons, down to the last one!'' Hiccup listed, hoping to bring back into Thoril a little common sense.
"It's not my problem.'' He replied by shaking his head, his eyes shone with an emotion that the chief had difficulty understanding.
He seemed both lost and more determined than ever. Only if Hiccup could still reason with him, he had to try.
"Look, I don't know what promises they made to you, but they won't keep them. Let me go and we'll find a way to solve your problem, whatever it is, together.''
"If you really want to help me, tell me where the damn dragon eye is!'' Thoril screamed, punching the chest Hiccup was tied to, right next to his head.
'Or maybe it is already too late.' He thought as he swallowed nervously.
Thoril leaned over him, his hand still resting near his head, his face a few centimeters away from his own.
"I'll do anything to get it, you understand? And I'll get what I want, even if it means burning your island, and you with it. Trust me, I'm not lying this time either.'' He whistled as he drew a dagger to approach it to Hiccup's cheek.
"You don't have to do this..." The Viking said, his gaze fixed at the glittering blade.
"I have to, you made me.'' Thoril replied by approaching the object even closer.
"If you do that, there'll be no turning back, let me help you, we can find another solution.'' Strangely, he could not prevent his voice from trembling.
"It's already too late for that.''
"No, stop..." Hiccup tried to escape the blade that touched his cheek, only to bump his head in Thoril's arm. Suddenly, the blade went down a few centimeters, drawing out blood and a painful hiss from the viking.
"Where is the dragon's eye?'' He growled, approaching his blade again.
"I can't tell you that- Ah!'' Hiccup shouted in surprise when the blade cut his cheek again, a little lower. It was not good, the stranger was so desperate that he would not hesitate to torture him to get what he wanted.
But he had to hold on, his friends would eventually return to the Edge to tell him about Thoril's disappearance...
"Don't make me continue.'' His attacker whispered. The hand holding the dagger was shaking as it approached his face once again.
Hiccup maintained a determined expression, his gaze challenging the other to continue. Thoril shook his head, then turned it away when he suddenly planted the dagger in the dragon rider's thigh.
Thoril whimpered almost inaudibly through the scream of his victim.
Hiccup tried to control his breathing, refusing to look at his leg. Thoril then grabbed his hair, straightening up his head to force him to look at him. Hiccup pushed on his other leg, desperately trying to free himself, his prosthesis scraped the ground ineffectively while the stranger kept an iron grip on his scalp.
"I don't want to do this, but you made me do it. I just want it to stop, just like you.'' Thoril said to him in a trembling voice.
"Then stop it.'' The dragon rider replied with a hoarse, emotionless voice.
"I'll do it, but first you have to tell me where it is.''
"I can't do that.'' Hiccup resigned himself as he watched different emotions pass over the other man's face. There was neither malice nor pleasure, just anger, sadness, but above all pain.
This seemed totally illogical, considering the position in which the two were in.
Thoril released an inhuman cry by twisting the dagger still stuck in the rider's leg. Said rider could not hold back his scream of pain as he threw his head back. He was almost happy that the hand grabbing his hair was still there, otherwise he would have hit it against the chest.
"I can't tell you where it is! I just can't!'' Hiccup cried, hating the way his voice went high pitched.
He could, of course he could, one simple word and he would avoid another assault from the hunter. But the consequences would destroy him in a way that a dagger could even hope to.
"Why? Why are you making me do this?!'' Thoril screamed as released the rider's head, which fell forward as if it weighed a ton.
For a moment, there was only the laborious breathing of the two men.
Hiccup took a few more moments to try to get rid of the pain that ran all over his thigh, and raised his head with difficulty. His eyes were glassy, but he refused to let the tears flow.
"No matter... what you do, I won't talk.'' He paused before adding, "There's too much life at stake.''
Thoril, trembling with all his being, hit the chest with the palm of his hand before yelling in frustration. From his sitting position, Hiccup watched him stand up, his hands clawing at his head. He could see fresh tears coming down his cheeks, slowly and continuously, unlike his fast, hatched breathing.
"I have to do it, I have to do it, I have no choice, I have to do it..." He chanted again and again, as if it could prevent him from losing his mind.
Unfortunately for Hiccup, it seemed that this was already the case.
The dragon rider had rarely felt so helpless, all he could do was stand there hoping that he would survive what Thoril would do next. Given the state of distress in which his aggressor was in, it was very unlikely that he could prevent him from committing the irreparable.
Of course, he didn't forget his teammates who were supposed to be on their way to the Edge right now, so there was still a chance that this nightmare would end soon.
He looked at Thoril with apprehension as this one let out a long sigh. The silence lasted for long and painful seconds before the stranger finally spoke.
"All right.'' He said as he approached a chest to pick up an axe.
The dragon rider's heart immediately began to hammer at the sight of the sharp object, and he unconsciously straightened up. Then he relaxed slightly when the other passed the axe over his shoulder. It seemed that he had no intention of using it at the moment.
"Since you won't tell me anything, all I have to do is look for the dragon's eye in the ashes of your base.'' Thoril announced on his way out.
Hiccup didn't know if it was because of the pain, but it took him a while to understand what the other person meant.
"And risk destroying it?'' He tried, knowing himself that the object could not be destroyed by fire.
"Don't take me for an idiot.'' Thoril growled before extinguishing the candle, plunging him into darkness.
No, no, no, no, no. His friends weren't there yet to stop him, he had to buy time, stop him from leaving.
"Wait a minute! You can't leave me here!" He called as he pulled on ropes that dug into his chest.
"If only you had listened to me, things could have been a lot different.'' Thoril said sadly before pushing the hatch originally intended to descend with his axe, letting the daylight pass.
Hiccup clenched his jaw as the stranger climbed out of the basement using a ladder. He silently hoped he would leave it there, but all his hopes of running away from this place were crushed when Thoril withdrew his only chance of getting out.
He heard a muffled crackling sound before biting his lips as he watched the pieces of the ladder fall one by one. When Thoril closed the hatch, the rider broke in his turn, letting out a cry that he had has been holding for too long to escape from his mouth.
Tears slipped from his eyes, the saline substance mixing with the dried blood on his cheek. He was alone, he was in pain, his dragon was Thor knew where, unaware of the danger, just like his friends who were probably heading straight into a trap. While he was still stuck here without any way to warn them.
Maybe there was already no one left to warn.
He shook his head, refusing to consider such a possibility. He had to get out of here, find his dragon, and stop Thoril.
Preparing for the pain, Hiccup planted his heel and prosthesis in the ground, then pushed so that the upper part of his body rose up along the chest. He felt the dagger move as his leg bent, and was almost happy to be almost plunged into darkness, in which case he would see blood flowing down his leg.
He growled with the effort, not being able to use his hands to push against the chest. Unfortunately for him, the wooden box slipped backward, causing him to lose his balance. His butt met the ground again, he was completely out of breath, if the ropes that held his chest had slipped over the trunk like the others, he would probably have collapsed to the ground.
He straightened up as best he could, trying to ignore the constant feeling of electricity in his thigh and the blood gradually wetting his pant leg.
"Come on." He encouraged himself by pushing again.
This time the pain was three times worse, but he continued, biting his lips to stifle his screams. In a final effort, he pumped his legs, and immediately felt the last loops of rope coming loose around the trunk.
Hiccup collapsed on the ground, his labored breathing shook his whole being and his eyes burned as new tears of pain came up. He stayed there for a while, appreciating the freshness of the ground against his cheek, he was tempted to stay there, to succumb to unconsciousness.
Only to make the pain go away.
Note: Sorry. Thoril's behaviour still doesn't make any sense right? XD It's normal.. I think.
