I'm back!

Miss me? Didn't think so..

What about the story? Did you miss the story?

Here you get to meet a brand new character. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Still don't own HTTYD, just my OC.

Chapter 11: The Stranger in the Bush

These days it was difficult for the Dragon Riders of Berk not to think of all members of the Berserker tribe as being nothing more than crazed and unreasonable warriors like their appropriately named leader, Dagur the Deranged. The Berkians however felt the same under the previous leadership of Dagur's late father, Oswald the Agreeable who had greatly raised the status of the Berserker tribe within the archipelago by being a strong leader and a loyal ally, even though they never went to war.

Simon the Slow watched intently as the Dragon Riders departed in three different directions. He did not realize how lucky he was that Astrid and Stormfly were not present or he surely would have been found in his hiding place behind the bushes. As a skilled Berserker Scout, a young man like Simon should have been highly valued in the tribe, but his commanding officers, and pretty much every other Berserker on the island treated him with a great deal of disrespect thanks entirely to the nickname Dagur had unfairly imposed on him.

It had been Simon's task to explore the central part of the Lava Flow Island back when Dagur had first decided to build an outpost there. He had done his job well, keeping clear of any dragons and finding the perfect cave for the hidden base to be built, but his impatient chief had derided the young man for taking too long and given him the title that would follow him for the rest of his life.

Like the other Berserkers, he had heard tales of the awesome 'Dragon Conqueror' who hailed from Berk. And like the others, he thought they were simply that: stories made up by the Berkians to instill fear in their enemies.

But then came the fateful day Dagur had gone to Berk with the Berserker fleet to sign the peace treaty. When they returned to Berserker Island, the warriors who went with Dagur said there had been a Night Fury and it almost killed Dagur, but the son of Stoick the vast had stepped in and saved him.

Simon thought back to the thin young man who was languishing in a holding cell back at the hidden base . Surely this child could not be the Dragon Conqueror; he couldn't possibly be the son of Stoick! No, this kid, this weed of a boy, was only a walking fishbone! (A common insult for late developers all over the archipelago)

Then again, there was the night fury. Simon remembered researching night furies out of curiosity after listening to the stories of the senior warriors. All accounts claimed that they only came out at night. But Dagur was attacked by one in broad daylight, so the dragon would not have had any hope of being hidden with its onyx scales. Now there was one of those mighty beasts right here at the outpost! And what's more, there were also four more riders and three saddled dragons on the island. They were probably here to rescue the son of Stoick and his Night Fury.

Simon the Slow had done his best for Dagur just so he would be allowed to stay and work at this outpost. He was the youngest Viking on the island (not counting the Berkians, of course) and if he wanted to keep the little respect he had remaining, he knew he would have to do something big… but what? He should probably tell Dagur what he'd seen, but their leader really was truly deranged and no one could know precisely when he would over react because of his madness. On the other hand, if he didn't tell Dagur, their unbalanced but mighty chief would surely find out eventually and Simon could be hanged for treason… or worse. After much careful consideration, the young Berserker crept away from his hideout. He would tell one of his commanding officers and let him take the risk of telling Dagur the news.

A short time later, back at the Berserker Outpost, Hiccup looked up as the Berserker chief stormed into the room. He barely had time to duck as one of Dagur's knives flew towards his head with great speed and accuracy.

"YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE ALONE!" the Berserker fumed. "You said that your pathetic friends stayed at home!"

"First of all, my friends are not pathetic," Hiccup replied calmly. "And second, I did come alone."

"Then how come one of my officers just informed me that a scout has seen your friends on this island? I was so ANGRY… I had him thrown into the deepest pit we've got. I was going to throw him into the volcano…"

"But that's impossible!" Hiccup said, pretending to be shocked. Mentally, he cheered. If the riders were here, that meant they got the note and the blossoms. Hopefully Stormfly was okay. He just hoped Astrid had stayed back on Berk with her dragon.

"Impossible or not, there are more Berkians on this island. If they find you, all my chances of becoming the Dragon King go down the drain!"

Hiccup mentally groaned. What was it with all his enemies? They all seemed to want nothing more than a huge dragon army to pillage and conqueror with. Was there no creativity in the world of evil madmen anymore?

"They probably just decided to…" Hiccup searched for an excuse "come and have a picnic… or err… something. So what are you going to do to them?" Hiccup asked his captor nervously.

"Nothing yet," Dagur sneered. "But since we can't have them finding you…We will just have to relocate you."

Dagur motioned behind Hiccup, and he turned around just in time to see a large Viking wielding a large bludgeon that came crashing down on his not-so-large head.

Why doesn't anyone simply use blindfolds anymore? He thought as darkness overtook him once again.

To be Continued...