Author's Note:
Hello everyone and welcome to this overdue chapter. There's a nice bit of action this time around and Snotlout's quest is finally back on track. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.
I own nothing.
Fur Flies by the Needles
Snotlout's flight north was rapid as Hookfang tried to put as much distance between himself and the pirates as possible and to make up for the huge amount of lost time.
The boy wasn't sure how far north the pirates had brought them but it was exceptionally cold forcing him to put on several extra layers so as not to freeze. Down below ice burgs peppered the ocean and Snotlout prayed that the Ice Needles were close as they pushed on north.
The day wore on and Snotlout found it strange how long it was lasting, he was certain it was roughly midday when they escaped but it was way past nightfall and the sun was still in the sky. Then something Gobber had mentioned once came to Snotlout's mind and he realised what was going on. It was summer and the blacksmith had said that when you got far enough north the sun ceased to set throughout the summer months. Thinking about it Snotlout had noticed the days getting markedly longer when he was on the pirate ship but had been too concerned with his captivity to bother thinking on it further. If he'd come far enough north that the sun didn't set then the Ice Needles must be close by.
He scanned the horizon and saw something appearing on the distant horizon, he patted Hookfang, "Look Hookster! There's something ahead of us."
The Nightmare rumbled in response and a couple of the Terrors chirped excitedly and they flew on towards it.
It was several hours before they reached what Snotlout had spotted and it took his breath away.
The Ice Needles
They were actually the end of a huge glacier and they were named because the edge formed a towering cliff of ice with row upon row of needle like projections sticking out towards the ocean, like a massive spiked wall to deter anyone from climbing into the frozen realm beyond.
Snotlout stood for a moment at their base simply gazing in awe at the sight. He'd never seen anything like it in his life and its sheer size made the glaciers near Berk look like pitiful copies. He slowly placed his hand upon its face and its frozen surface confirmed that it was indeed all ice and his mind was blown further, he was certain there was more ice there than Berk had ever had in its three hundred years of existence.
A nudge from Hookfang pulled him out of his awestruck reverie and he focused on his next move. If the sun was never going to set then he'd have to decide for himself when was best to rest, they still needed to sleep despite their tight time constraint and Hookfang was exhausted from flying at full pelt for several hours. Another problem was food because if he remembered correctly then the Ice Needles marked the beginning of the Ice Wastes and he doubted there'd be much in the way of food there. He had plenty of supplies for himself for a while if he rationed them out well but the dragons had been hunting for themselves until now, there was no way Hookfang could carry several days' worth of dragon food as well as everything else making it a major problem.
While he'd been thinking he hadn't noticed the Terrors diving in and out of the sea beside them catching as many fish as possible until one of them unintentionally tossed a fish into his face.
"Hey!"
He looked round in annoyance and saw the rapidly growing pile of fish as Terrors added to it at an amazing rate. Hookfang grinned at him before digging in to the humongous pile while Snotlout stood dumfounded as the Terrors kept adding to it. Hookfang kept eating long after he'd had a normal portion and it took Snotlout a while to realise what the dragon was doing. He was eating as much as he could so he could survive on his fat reserves in the Ice Wastes instead of relying on hunting and the boy had to admit he was impressed by his dragon's instincts. Smiling he began also taking from the fish pile deciding that it maybe wasn't a bad idea to have as much as he could now before he'd have to ration himself in the days ahead.
It was a long time before the dragons decided they had eaten a sufficient amount to last in the days ahead and soon they all settled down for a short sleep to prepare themselves for the flight over the Ice Needles and into the harsh wilderness beyond.
A sudden howling startled Snotlout from where he was sleeping curled up against Hookfang and he stood and rapidly looked around. Hookfang was already alert and growling and the Terrors had all swarmed together.
Another howl sounded and Snotlout recognised it as the howl of a wolf, it seemed to be coming from the direction Hookfang was facing but then another one sounded from behind them and Snotlout turned that way calling out to his friend as he did so, "They've got us surrounded Hookfang!"
The Nightmare roared challengingly at the wolves and four appeared in front of the dragon, another four appeared in front of Snotlout and all eight began approaching menacingly.
Normally wolves left people be but Snotlout had heard of them going for lone people far from any form of help, they'd also never attempt an assault on a dragon in normal circumstances unless it was a tiny one like a Terror. However Snotlout could see how scrawny and starved these wolves were, there was a mad look in their eyes and he wondered how long this pack had gone without food. They were obviously desperate enough to risk taking on a Monstrous Nightmare to get to all the food he was carrying and the juicy human he was protecting.
Snotlout decided they needed to get in the sky now and he turned to mount Hookfang when another howl sounded from the Ice Needles. Looking up he saw two more wolves standing on a bunch of large boulders beside them and they instantly pounced.
Like lightning Snotlout dived and rolled away from their landing spot but the motion had taken him away from Hookfang and towards one of the side groups of wolves. Hookfang made to dive to his aid but the dragon found himself hemmed in by four of the beasts snapping and growling as they tried to bring him down, three tried to pounce on the Terrors as the last three surrounded Snotlout and he cursed the fact that he didn't bring any weapon with him except the knife that the pirates had taken.
One leapt for the boy's throat and he barely had enough time to grab the creature's neck and throw it away from him causing it to yelp in pain as it hit the ground. Another tried to bite his leg and he jumped aside to avoid it and barely avoided the next one as it snapped at his side. The first had recovered and jumped at him again but this time Snotlout was prepared and swung a hard fist in from the right sending the animal flying with a punch to the jaw, the second pounced but he stepped back and floored it with a kick to its side. The third caught him unawares and it clamped its jaws on his arm and Snotlout cried out in pain before he brought his other hand down in a vicious karate chop on its neck, the wolf released his arm with a howl which was drowned out by a ferocious roar from Hookfang.
He'd heard his rider's cry and had lit up his fire coat sending wolves jumping back from the flames, he clamped one in his jaws and flung it at its pack-mates and several were taken out by their thrown member. The Nightmare's tail slammed back and forth catapulting more wolves and he charged at the ones around Snotlout roaring in rage, they growled ferociously back but quickly ran for it when they were nearly incinerated by the wrathful dragon's fire. The three attacking the Terrors soon followed the rest of the retreating pack a couple with their fur on fire courtesy of the little dragons' fire breath and Hookfang roared at the routed predators. Still fuelled by adrenaline Snotlout also roared after the wolves, "TAKE THAT YOU MANGY FLEABAGS!"
As their foe vanished Snotlout's adrenaline began to rapidly wear off and he clutched his bleeding arm with a small gasp as its pain made itself known. Hookfang rumbled at his rider in concern and Snotlout waved him off, "It's not that bad Hookfang. That pack are probably starving enough to come back and try again so we need to get out of here, I'll dress this properly in the air."
The Nightmare growled discontentedly but crouched down to let Snotlout climb onto his back, ignoring the pain Snotlout gripped the dragon's horns and Hookfang took off and flew up the immense glacier. When they were in the air, Pain landed on Hookfang and inspected Snotlout's wound. He growled before scrabbling into a good position and began to gently lick it, the boy felt some of the pain ease at the Terror's ministrations and he smiled, "Thanks Pain."
The dragon chirped and resumed licking and Hookfang flew on away from the Ice Needles and into the Ice Wastes.
On Berk things had become far worse.
Now all the children had entered a deep faint and would not wake up despite the cries and shakings from their distressed parents. Stoick hadn't left Hiccup's side and never took his eyes off his son as if it was the only thing keeping him alive. None of them had died yet but people were terrified that it could happen any moment and every breath their child took was like a miracle of the gods.
In a smaller room nearby Gothi had exhausted all of her options, her medicinal skills were useless and her skills as a seer had also failed to divine a cure for her. She'd cast bones, studied entrails and even attempted scrying but to no avail.
She sat dejectedly on the floor and carelessly cast her precious staff aside in defeat. The only chance now was for Snotlout's nearly impossible quest to succeed and she turned her eyes heavenward and prayed for the boy.
That and hope was all they had left.
PS-So how did you like the wolf fight? Please let me know what you thought and I'll try and update soon.
