ELEVEN

EXECUTIONERS

Denin's mouth had never felt so dry. He slowed down on his long journey up the hill to ease the dehydration in progress. He only wished that he would find some water on this island. Everywhere he went, it looked like it hadn't rained for over a hundred years. He grew tired of seeing more dead trees and dusty dirt. But once he reached the top of the hill, he finally found different scenery that had nothing to do with parched nature.

Two gigantic statues had been built right on top of the hill. They were giant men carved in stone, but neither of them looked completely human. One had the head of an ox, while the other had the head of a horse. Both statues had swords raised up high while looking down at the floor with mischievous eyes. Denin couldn't look away. These two statues, despite standing absolutely still, had the look of two menacing barbarians looming over a fresh kill. And when he did look away, he spotted a small opening between the two statues. It was an open entrance that led somewhere down below the hilltop.

At first, curiosity led Denin to believe that he would make a startling discovery downstairs. But then, exploring unknown territory would have been dangerous, seeing as how the entire island had become perilously unpredictable. He kept his dagger in his hand while trying hard to make his decision. With only minimal defense, it would be a risky move to try and uncover the mystery surrounding the Land of a Thousand Scars.

But suddenly, he looked behind him to see where the distant howl came from. It was a familiar sound. It was the sound of a war cry used by the Mongols. Fortunately, it didn't sound like it would be nearby. But Denin immediately grew even more cautious. He stood in an open area where someone could spot him even from a far distance. He had to make a quick decision. He needed to hide from his enemies. He heard a second war cry, and this time, it had grown slightly louder than the first.

He made a dash for the open entrance. He ran down the stairs before making a full stop near the middle of the staircase. He could barely see anything in the long hallway situated right alongside the bottom of the stairs. The only thing he noticed was a metal torch lying beside a dead man. The torch didn't rely on fire. Instead, a glowing crystal had been implanted on the top of the torch. He had never seen such a crystal, nor did he ever have any knowledge of one.

Soon, the sound of a Mongol's howling had stopped. Denin looked up to see nobody taking a peek at what lurked beyond the open entrance. He didn't have time to feel relieved. He made it to the bottom of the stairs and grabbed the crystal torch. He crouched down and examined the dead body. The man lying on the floor continued to decompose. The horrendous smell made Denin stand up and move away. He used the torch to get a clearer view of the hallway in front of him. It was long and empty.

Denin knew what he had to do. He needed to find some answers. He needed to discover the truth of the Dragon Riders' whereabouts. Anything could have been found at the other end of the hallway. He had to be certain that it would be important. He made his quick decision. He made his way across the hallway, going deeper into unknown territory.

So far, the hallway itself didn't look too threatening. Denin grew a little less tense when he could only hear his own faint footsteps. He kept moving until one footstep sounded different like the others. He quickly looked down to see that he stepped on a puddle of black water on the floor. It came from a small crack on the wall. It dripped down and landed on the floor, which caused the puddle. Denin now had a little residue stuck on his boot. The puddle already made him return to a state of unease. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and tightened his grip on the torch.

He continued on through the hallway. When he made it to the other end, he finally discovered what lay in the darkness. It was an enormous dungeon, the entire interior shaped like a cylinder. Empty cages hung from the ceiling. The cells themselves were compact, not enough room for a person to even lay down. Moonlight had seeped through the holes on the ceiling and illuminated the underground prison. Even without the torch, Denin had an almost clear view of what lurked inside. So far, he didn't see any other human roaming around.

He went down the curved staircase and checked every open cell to see if anyone had been imprisoned. Everything had grown silent. It was as though this place had been abandoned many years ago. Denin, however, had his doubts. He caught the smell of something foul. It turned out to be an uncomfortable aroma that made him assume that more dead bodies could be found. This made him almost shiver with dread.

When he reached the bottom of the staircase, he stood in front of a partially open door at the other end of another hallway. He brandished his dagger and took it upon himself to finish this exploration for good. He took slow careful steps toward the door. The sound of his footsteps did little to keep him completely calm. As soon as he opened the door all the way, he used the torch to see what lay inside.

It was a room filled with tables and desks. It looked like a horrific sight. Trails of black liquid were smeared on the tables. Various knives and machetes hung on the walls. The smell of a human carcass remained strong. Denin looked everywhere to see if he could find some clues regarding Genghis Khan and the Dragon Riders. All he could find was the dark-colored residue on the tables. He did, however, stumble across several pieces of paper lying on the floor, right alongside what must have been a young boy's clothes.

Denin picked up the pieces of paper and set them down on one of the desks. He brought the torch closer to see if he could decipher the various drawings presumably by the one who did it. They were certainly a child's drawings, either done by paint or ink. The child's amateur formations had been done by the same black liquid that had been prevalent on this island. Denin paid close attention to the topic scribbled on each piece of paper.

One of them consisted of dragons destroying a village with either a lightning strike or a purple ball of fire erupting from their open mouths. Another one had a group of Mongols, albeit drawn very badly, wielding their weapons and charging at a group of men and women, the latter looking absolutely helpless while shedding their tears. This particular image made Denin tremble. He could only imagine the pain and suffering that this child went through while observing the most unthinkable crimes on this island.

The third piece of paper looked even more ominous than the other two. The child had drawn six human figures with various swords, axes, and spears in their hands. Denin had recognized them almost immediately. The Dragon Riders weren't drawn as the vivacious Vikings that Denin once knew. All of their faces had been covered with black paint. Their blond and brown hair had been changed to black. Even their clothes had been smeared by it. But the main reason why Denin knew them to be the Dragon Riders was because one of them didn't have a left foot. Denin looked closely to see that the child had drawn something else in place of Hiccup's prosthetic leg. It appeared to be the foot of a reptile. Denin remembered the footprints on the dirt. Now he had to be certain that they belonged to Hiccup, his own friend who was still nowhere to be seen. His curiosity also reached a higher level since he wanted to know what the reptilian foot really was.

The fourth piece of paper had the image of an animal walking on its two hind legs. It had the opposite look of a faun with its feline head and its human legs. Furthermore, it had red blood spilling out of its open mouth. It was an absolutely terrifying drawing. It may have been a very important clue. It could have been something who had a big influence on the people of this island.

The last piece of paper didn't contain a drawing. Instead, it had written words.

"They want me dead. I am scared. I want to see Mom and Dad again."

Denin checked the other side of the paper. The child's last words said it all.

"I hope Mom and Dad will find me in the dungeon."

Denin turned around to see if he could find anything else in this room. Within seconds, he spotted a book placed on another desk. He rolled up the drawings and put them in one of his pockets. He grabbed the book and checked the front cover. It was an ordinary hardcover, but with a strange-looking insignia on the front. He flipped open the book and checked the first few pages. Only one paragraph had been written on the first one. But Denin knew almost instantly who had written it. He recognized Hiccup's handwriting. It looked like the one-legged Viking had produced a brand new journal.

This time, the words weren't written in black oil. And it appeared neater than what Hiccup had written in his last moments as himself. And so far, Denin didn't like what he had just read.

Hiccup wrote:

"These people are such a drag. They always scream for help when all we want to do is show them the truth. Unfortunately, none of them seem to be smart. They just don't want to listen to us. It's too bad. Now, they have to see what happens when they don't listen. The hordes of our father don't take no for an answer. But most importantly, our father never takes no for an answer. We all have a job to do. They will never scream for help anymore. Their blood is worthless. Their entire lives are worthless. They're completely worthless. This is why they'll never see daylight again. My friends think this is fun, and they're not really wrong. Blood is everywhere, and that's how it should be. This is what our father wants, and this is what he will get."

The rest of the journal remained blank.

From the corner of his eye, Denin caught sight of a dark and narrow entryway in the corner of the room. From what he had just read, the darkness became a terrifying concept. He began to feel goosebumps on his skin. He stopped himself from trembling as he set the journal down on the desk and moved closer to the dark entryway.

He stood right in front of it. He used his torch to see what he could find inside. The crystal's glow showed him another long and narrow hallway. He discovered more black stains smeared on both stone walls. Big blots, hand prints, and even scratch marks made the journey through the gloom more uncomfortable.

Both walls contained open prison cells that stood several feet away from each other. And much to his disgust, Denin had found more dead bodies in every open cell. Men, women, and children lay on the floor lifeless and slowly decomposing. They looked to have been the Romans who inhabited this island. The blood on their clothes made Denin absolutely certain that he would never enter any of these confined spaces.

He didn't stop. He delved deeper into this underground dungeon. Despite the long trails of blood on the floor, he had to stay composed. The silence was uncomfortable. There would be no way to stop himself from shivering with the thought of discovering a horrifying sight at the other end of the hallway. And when he did reach the other end, he found a large wooden door partially open.

He took a peek through the open space. It was a large chamber with three rows of pillars. He assumed that he spotted various ornaments hanging from the ceiling. He entered the chamber while keeping the door partially open. Upon closer inspection, owing to the torch and the moonlight seeping through the square-shaped holes on the ceiling, he had a much clearer view of whatever hung from the ceiling.

He left his mouth wide open. He couldn't blink. He couldn't even move.

They weren't ornaments. They were human bodies hanging upside down.

They were naked. Their feet had been bound with rope. A metal hook on a chain kept these corpses from dropping to the floor. At the bottom, blood seeped out of their mouths and a red puddle remained on the floor, right below every single body hanging from the ceiling. Some had buckets filled with blood to keep it from spilling over.

Denin had to cover his mouth with his hand. Whoever owned this dungeon had cut their victims' mouths and forced them to bleed to death upside down. The stench of it all made Denin want to flee the scene, but he still needed answers. There had to be more rooms constructed underneath the hills. He tried to ignore the human corpses and see if he could find anything else in this enormous chamber besides dead Romans.

But as he delved deeper into the chamber, all he could find were more pillars and more bodies. A few had been left in small iron cages hanging from the ceiling. They were children, and they didn't move at all. Denin had to look away. He could almost see the hopelessness that used to stay on their faces.

He felt so repulsed by this silent prison, but he immediately found something to keep his attention away from the children. The body of a clothed Mongol sat on the floor and leaned against the wall. Denin crouched down to get a closer look. He could easily recognize the body's place of origin just by its clothes, its masculine body armor. But what really drew his attention was the face, or rather the lack of one. The Mongol's face had been entirely blackened with black oil, as if a demonic shadow shrouded his identity. It was almost the same as the dead Viking found on the Isle of Berk, only this time, the liquid on the Mongol wasn't as thick. It had previously dripped down his armor.

The dead Mongol became a frightening image. In fact, the entire dungeon made Denin unsteady in the head. Every discovery didn't have anything to do with a more optimistic scenario. Only death and destruction made by the Mongol Empire remained in triumph. Denin held his breath for a moment. He could only hear the faint sound of the ropes and metal chains moving the bodies around ever so slightly.

And then, he heard the sound of metal scratching against metal somewhere in the distance.

Denin stood still. He tried hard to hear if a possible intruder confirmed its intentional welcome. At first, it grew silent again. But Denin almost gasped as he heard another sound of clashing metal that could have come from the spiral staircase. The faint echo made him reach down to his belt and touch the hilt of his dagger.

He turned around and gazed at the partially open entrance at the other end of the chamber. It looked empty. But a high-pitched two-note whistling sound made him believe that someone was already on his way in. Whoever whistled must have been a hundred feet away, but the echo made it seem louder than it should have been. The new intruder continued to whistle two notes.

Denin placed the crystal torch on the ground and left it alone. It would have given his position away if he managed to find a hiding spot. He tiptoed across the room and hid behind one of the pillars. He took a peek to see if the partially open entrance experienced any changes to its original presentation. It stayed the same so far.

The whistling suddenly stopped. Footsteps replaced it as the brand new sound that Denin didn't want to hear. Someone's boots started as a faint noise before gradually moving on to a crescendo.

Denin had to think fast. He moved and hid behind another pillar, one that was further away from the entrance. The dead bodies in the chamber would soon become an afterthought if the unknown intruders made it so.

Denin peeked from behind the pillar. The moonlight managed to brighten the entrance. He could see no one yet. The slow-moving footsteps grew louder. Denin's heartbeat grew faster. He grabbed his dagger and pulled it out of his belt. He kept it close with a tight grip.

The footsteps stopped. Denin waited to see what happened next.

He heard a young woman's playful voice.

"Who's in here?"

It was almost a whisper. Denin could almost recognize the voice.

She continued with a mischievous yet petrifying tone of voice. "We're here to get you."

Denin looked away and stood still behind the pillar.

He could hear the door beginning to open, its old wood making a loud creaking noise.

The room grew darker. Something far more demonic could have infiltrated the premises. Instead, Denin looked up and saw that the full moon began to hide behind a cloud. He held his breath as it completed its invisibility. The entire chamber was covered in darkness. Only the torch left on the ground illuminated a small fraction of the interior.

Without making any noise, Denin took a peek. The light only caught the image of the dead Mongol.

The footsteps didn't stop. This time, Denin heard another man's hoarse voice. It was a deep one, something that demonstrated an ominous presence.

"Someone is here. Let's have some fun."

Denin recognized the voice. It was Snotlout's voice.

He wanted to show himself for them to see that it was only a friend. He resisted, however. He couldn't forget all of Hiccup's manuscripts, with no hope surrounding the details of his whereabouts. A little brainwashing could have been in effect.

The female voice drew nearer. Her playful sarcasm showed in her words. "I wonder who's in here."

Denin knew that voice. It belonged to Astrid.

There would be no doubt that the Dragon Riders of Berk had entered the dungeon and searched for the intruder. Denin crouched down and waited for the exact moment to move away. He previously spotted another open entrance on the other side of the room that led to somewhere. He could no longer hear any footsteps. He moved to see what was behind the pillar, and he immediately pulled his head back. The image of a shadowy figure standing behind the crystal torch made Denin make a decision in a split second. He couldn't see who it was, though he did have an immediate understanding of who it used to be.

Denin crouched down and prepared to tiptoe toward the second entrance. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. He didn't shiver with fear, though he felt like he should. He began to tiptoe with his dagger still in his hand. He hid behind another pillar and waited until someone made a noise.

Absolute silence had a temporary hold in the dungeon.

Denin moved again. He was only approximately fifty feet away from the entryway. He moved from pillar to pillar. All of a sudden, a loud noise prevented him from moving forward. It sounded like a metal banging against metal. He still saw nothing but darkness.

He heard Astrid proclaim, "You can't leave us. We know we will win."

The chamber grew brighter. Denin looked up to see that the full moon made its return in the sky. The same loud noise erupted and echoed across the chamber. Denin continued to tiptoe across. He finally made it into the open entryway. Thanks to the moonlight coming from the ceiling, he now had a good view of the new corridor that he had just entered. He looked behind him to see that no one had followed him so far. He stayed close to the wall as he delved deeper into the corridor.

He slid his hands across the wall. Suddenly, he stepped on something slimy. He looked down and found another puddle of black liquid on the floor.

He had no time to examine it, since the Dragon Riders' footsteps grew faster and louder. He didn't want to look back at the open entrance. He began to make a dash for it.

He could hear Snotlout cry out, "We're coming to get you!"

Denin found himself in front of two different hallways, one of the left and one on the right. He took the one on the left. He didn't care if his own footsteps gave his position away. He just wanted to leave as fast as possible.

He found another T-shaped corridor and quickly decided to turn to the right. He pushed open the wooden door in front of him and ran down a flight of stairs. And when he reached the bottom, he stopped and froze. The crystal torches hanging on the wall revealed what he just discovered in this enormous room. There was a constant squishing noise that echoed all across the room. Denin couldn't tell how many maggots had infested this place. But he had a good idea how many dead human bodies lay on the floor and on the tables. There were at least one dozen wooden tables, and many dead men and women either lay lifeless on top of them or below them. The naked corpses had nothing but hundreds of maggots feeding on their decomposing skin and flesh. The stench almost made Denin want to hurl, though he didn't eat anything all day and night.

Denin turned around when he heard the sound of more footsteps from the top of the stairs. Now, improvisation was the key to survival. He grabbed a blanket from the floor and crawled underneath one of the long tables situated in the corner. Since there were numerous other blankets piled beneath him, there would be a good chance that the Riders of Berk would never detect him when he hid in that exact spot. In addition, he would be hiding in the darkness, since the light from the torches were non-existent in where he began to hide.

Now, he waited. He lay flat on his stomach as he hid underneath the blanket. He lifted up a small portion of the sheet to see the bottom of the stairs. He heard someone's footsteps as they descended into the same room. But the pattern was different. It sounded like someone had a boot on one foot and something much larger on the other. Hiccup was here.

Denin tried to ignore the abominable odor and see who entered the room. The footsteps increased in volume. They were slow, but also frightening to the human ear. Denin held his breath. He began to see someone else's right leg touching the last step on the stairs. It appeared to be normal, but once the other leg joined in, something was different about it. Somehow, Hiccup had a left foot again. But this time, it didn't look like a human foot. Instead, it was a foot that could have belonged to a mutated reptile. It had oily scales and sharp claws.

Denin's eyes widened. Hiccup drew closer into the room. His slow and patient movement made Denin even more anxious. He watched Hiccup's two feet moving from one place to the other. The uneven sound of his footsteps made it much more unsettling. Denin tightened his grip on his dagger. Hiccup stepped closer to his hiding spot.

He stopped right in front of the table. Denin couldn't help but stare at Hiccup's reptilian foot. He waited to see what would happen next. Hiccup didn't move a muscle. Denin wanted to lift up his blanket and see Hiccup's face, but he didn't want to risk exposure. He kept his sight on the Viking's partial transformation.

Hiccup finally moved away. Denin watched him walk back up the stairs. The lack of a shadow on the floor proved that he exited the room altogether.

Denin wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but the stench forced him to suppress his reprieve for now. He could hear a few flies roaming around. He looked from left to right. All of the bodies on the floor kept on decomposing. All but one. A young woman lay lifeless in a corner. Her skin looked clean and untouched by time. Her blank stare made it seem as if she gazed at the new intruder.

Denin didn't waste any time. He tossed the blanket away and crawled out of his hiding spot. He tiptoed up the stairs and reached the open door. He picked up speed and ran across the corridor. He remembered where he was. He made sure he made the right turns. He didn't look behind him. He only had one chance to leave this place. He drew quicker breaths and ignored the growing soreness on his feet. He returned to the chamber with the hanging bodies. He didn't have time to hide behind pillars. He just made a hurry toward the correct route for an escape.

All of a sudden, something swift moved right past him in the air. It hit a pillar and fell to the floor. It was an arrow. Someone had already spotted him, but he didn't care. He made it to the first entrance. He hurried past the room with Hiccup's journal and ran up the spiral staircase. He kept his spirits up even as the footsteps from behind him didn't stop.

He heard Snotlout scream, "You can't stop it!"

It was followed by a laugh that sounded almost psychotic.

Denin finally found himself outside with the two giant anthropomorphic statues hovering over him. He didn't stop. He ran through the forest filled with dead trees. He still didn't look behind him as he thought it to be completely worthless during a crucial moment in his life. The path in front of him led to more dead trees and dry bushes. Regardless, he needed to keep going. He never felt so tense before.

From a distance, Astrid cried out, "You can't run from us!"

Another arrow shot right past him and struck a tree. He had no time to see where it hit. He also had no time to see where he fell. He slipped on the edge of a small precipice. He lost his balance and began to roll down a hillside. The entire world seemed to whirl with lightning speed. Every part of his body bumped into the dirt floor.

He finally landed at the bottom of the hill, right next to a gigantic dead log laying on the floor. He stood up and looked around. He found himself surrounded by huge boulders. He looked up and spotted someone's shadow at the top of the hill.

He couldn't react to it, simply because of someone preventing him. Someone from behind him covered his mouth with a hand and pulled him closer to a dark spot near the boulders. Whoever dragged him into the darkness made it impossible for him to escape the stranger's grasp.

The person behind him whispered, "Don't move and don't speak."

Denin no longer struggled. He recognized the voice right away. He turned around to see Stoick the Vast as normal as he could be. Nothing about him showed any harm to his body or spirit. Denin couldn't bring himself to feel so worried about it. The older Viking demanded that he stay low to the ground. He and Denin stayed in a small opening beneath the boulders. It would be so dark that not even the Riders of Berk would have a chance to find it.

Stoick whispered, "They will be here. Don't do anything."

The two of them lay beside each other on the floor. Denin caught the sound of a twig snapping not far from here. He kept his eyes on the open forest in front of him, with the full moon giving him an ample opportunity to see everything near and far.

A shadow appeared from the left. Denin and Stoick froze. They spotted another human being in the distance. The reptilian foot made him easily recognizable. Hiccup held a crystal torch in his hand and a sword in the other. He began to look around. He didn't seem to catch sight of the two other Vikings hiding under the boulders. Nevertheless, his more antagonistic figure somehow didn't match his original personality.

Denin now had a clear view of his friend. Hiccup didn't even show his face. He wore a mask, colorful but petrifying. It resembled the face of a wild feline. His entire apparel signified a more Oriental exterior, an entirely Mongolian appearance.

Hiccup stood still for a few more seconds until he slowly turned around and walked away. Denin and Stoick no longer caught sight of him. Everything went silent again. The escape from the dungeon had been completely worth it.

Denin whispered to Stoick, "What happens next?"

Stoick kept his eyes on the open forest in front of him. "We wait a little longer. And then, we leave."

Denin noticed a look of concern on Stoick's face. "What's happening here?"

Stoick replied, "Just wait. I will tell you later."

TO BE CONTINUED…