Chapter Thirteen: Open Sea
Whether it had been the supernatural lightshow that had rained down from the sky in the distance, the panicked masses fleeing from the settlement, or the general smoky war-zone flavor hovering over Outcast Bay, Hiccup suspected something serious had transpired long before he arrived at the scene. And it had largely run its course by the time Toothless was circling above the vacant settlement, three pairs of eyes looking for their friends amidst the wreckage.
Having never been to Outcast Bay before, Hiccup had no idea how it was supposed to look on a normal day. Linebreaker had warned that the people of the settlement were not very conscientious about upkeep, so they shouldn't be surprised if the place resembles an inhabited garbage heap. But Hiccup couldn't image that people would want to live in a place where there was more rubble than housing, which was the current state of Outcast Bay.
No one had been at the rendezvous location. No one. Their absence disturbed Hiccup more than seeing the rain of death rays on the horizon.
"By the Gods, please tell me none of the others were underneath that," Astrid had said as they watched the sky go berserk. Hiccup had prayed as well.
The first hopeful sign of life occurred when Astrid spotted someone waving to them in the middle of a debris-choked street. It was Linebreaker, kneeling next to a supine figure. As they landed, the figure turned out to be Nestor, breathing but unconscious, a rolled-up shirt under his neck.
Toothless immediately went on guard-dragon duty, watching the skies especially, as Hiccup and Astrid approached their downed friend. Linebreaker gave them a forlorn smile, as if apologizing for the mess.
"Alive, but out of it," explained Linebreaker as Hiccup knelt next to him. "He must have tangled with someone truly unfriendly."
"Did you see what hit him?" asked Hiccup, adding half-a-cup of disturb to his already brimming supply. For a scrawny guy with only slightly more muscle mass than Hiccup, Nestor could absorb more punishment than thirty Vikings put together. Whatever took him down had to be extremely nasty.
"No idea, nor am I eager to learn the answer. I found him in the rubble after I lost track of Saga."
"Saga?" Astrid's concern was unmistakable.
Linebreaker sadly shrugged, then explained what little he knew about what had transpired. "She was rushing in here like a woman possessed. I tried following, but she disappeared on me and then I got sidetracked when the sky literally opened up." He closed his eyes as he visualized that terrifying event. "Prophets preserve me, but had I witnessed such a thing in my youth, I would have lost all desire to travel the world. I hid in the fresh remains of a cabin while the crowds ran for their lives. When the settlement cleared, I came out to resume my search." He hesitated, then added, "If she was still around, she would have found us by now."
"She wouldn't leave Nestor," said Astrid morosely. "She doesn't run from fights."
"Took her," spoke a weak voice, focusing everyone's attention on Nestor as first his eyelids fluttered, then finally got to a half-opened state. He looked into Hiccup's relieved face and repeated himself, his face deadly serious.
"Who did?" Hiccup asked.
"Cragfist"
The name meant nothing to Linebreaker, but it sent instant shivers through Hiccup and Astrid. They exchanged frightened stares.
"You sure it was him?" Hiccup asked.
"Busy at the time getting zapped by green light of death, but otherwise I'm sure," said Nestor, his voice a touch stronger now.
A growl from Toothless alerted the group to a new arrival. Thankfully it was Arc flying in from the north, dropping his Shroud as he came in for a landing. Already wearing a distressed expression, it deepened when he saw Nestor lying on the ground.
"My boy?" he asked, lowering his head down to within inches of Nestor's face.
Nestor gave him a slight grin. "Still here, Old Man." Arc seemed reassured by that, but his frown remained as he faced the group.
"I take it I'm not the only one to have a morning visitation from the Alchemist's forces," Arc remarked.
"He's… talking," said Linebreaker, pointing at Arc, his surprise evident. "The dragon is talking."
"Address me directly, please," said Arc with an irritated glare.
"Uh… apologies," said Linebreaker quickly. "Qiao wasn't jesting when she warned me about the unusual nature of you bunch."
"They took her," Arc declared.
"We know," said Hiccup. "Cragfist."
"Cragfist?" questioned Arc. "Saga's puerile brother? He wasn't present at Qiao's kidnapping."
"Qiao?" said Linebreaker. More alarmed looks circled the group.
"Clearly we need to discuss what has occurred today," said Arc, "but not here. Nestor, can you move?"
"Not well, but I'll fake it," he replied, slowly sitting up and wincing as he did so.
Arc nodded, then gave his full and intense attention to Linebreaker. "Young Captain Linebreaker, it is time you showed us your boat."
The ship in question occupied a private jut of land adjacent to the western cliffs, a proper dock allowing easy access to the vessel and an obstacle-free strait allowing easy access to the open sea. There were several of these "secure harbors" for those smugglers who really loved their ships, and a pair of well-paid guards patrolled the secure harbor section to ensure that only the ship owner got onboard. Linebreaker claimed that while it might cost extra for secure harbor, it was well worth the cost to not put your trust in Outcast Bay's honor system.
The guards had hightailed it with the rest of the settlement. No big shock. The ship was still present and in pristine shape, having escaped the Alchemist's demonstration unscathed. Most of the other ships were missing. A few sat in their moorings, listing or half-sunk.
Hiccup marveled at the quality of Linebreaker's vessel. Equal to a longboat-and-a-half in length, its sleek contours gave it a narrow profile to rival the slim nature of Viking watercraft. There were no designated places for oars or weapon emplacements. Its purpose was speed, not battle, and it was total sailing vessel – it lived or died by the wind. Barnacle-free, rot-free, and hole-free, it had more class in its sails than the entirety of Berk's longboat fleet.
The prow carving resembled an angry-looking dolphin leaping out of the water. There had to be a story over that particular design, but it was a story that could wait. The priority was on getting Linebreaker's ship underway.
The least frazzled of the group, Arc coolly took charge of operations, using himself and Toothless to fetch gear and needed supplies, dumping basket upon basket of goods unceremoniously on the ship's deck, goods secured from Linebreaker's private storage shack not far from the ship. Linebreaker told Arc what needed to be done and Arc got it done. No time for explanations or planning. Get us out to sea now! had been Arc's demand, and no one was about to argue.
Hiccup and Astrid did most of the groundwork, unfurling sails and stocking goods below deck. Nestor had limped onboard and was given orders by Arc to take it easy when Nestor's self-diagnosis proved too optimistic. He could barely walk, much less carry supplies or man the rigging. He tried to make himself useful by sorting the gear on the deck, but even that was almost too much for him at times, having to take rest breaks after a few minutes of standing.
An hour passed uneventfully when Arc suddenly diverted from another delivery run and landed next to Linebreaker, who was checking over the supplies on the deck.
"Out of time," Arc declared. "We must launch."
"I get to say when we're ready to launch, not you," replied Linebreaker.
"I just observed a small fleet of warships moving in from the west. Undoubtedly ships from Riki Poka coming to investigate this morning's bout of unusual weather. If we go now, we won't be seen leaving, which means we won't be pursued."
"We are not yet ready," said Linebreaker, though his tone suggested that he, too, thought being pursued was an unwelcome prospect. "We have half the rations we'll need."
"Food will not be a problem. Those ships will be if we tarry any further."
Unable to refute Arc's reasoning, Linebreaker ordered everyone to get ready to leave. Unfortunately they were still a few crewmen short for a quick departure, with only half the sails on the mast at the ready. The waters between them and open sea were congested with flotsam and refuse, barrels and crates and ship wreckage left over from the Alchemist's "demonstration" and the settlement's mass egress, which would slow them down even further.
Once again, Arc took control, ordering Hiccup to tie one of the ship's mooring lines to Toothless's saddle while the Hyperion picked up another rope and took off. Toothless quickly got the idea and took off rider-less, matching Arc's speed and direction. Linebreaker finished untying the last of the lines attaching his ship to the dock, going as far as to chop the last few free with his cutlass.
The ropes went tight, Arc and Toothless continuing to strain at the stationary vessel with everything they had, twisting like kites in the breeze. Slowly the ship inched out into the water until, with one synchronized yank, the two mighty dragons pulled the ship from its resting spot and into the bay proper, pitting their combined strength against the bulk of the ship and dragging it through the thin channel between the worst of the wreckage. In the places where the debris was too thick to bypass, a lightning bolt or fireball easily remedied the problem.
"And here I thought dragons were only good for burning up my sails and ripping up my linen," said Linebreaker, laughing heartily at the spectacle as he manned the ship's helm, doing his best to keep resistance to a minimum.
The ship soon cleared the security of the bay, bouncing with the writhing waves of the wild ocean. Hiccup and Astrid kept at the sails while Nestor did his best to tie off and tie down everything else. By the time they hit open sea, the main sails were unfurled and catching the heavy breeze, making the dragons' task far easier. But despite the added power of the unchained winds in the ship's sails, Arc and Toothless kept up their heroic efforts, guiding the vessel straight out into the thick of the Mediterranean.
The coast rapidly shrank behind them until it was reduced to a thin strip of brown and green in the distance, the ship rising and falling with the rhythm of the sea. Hiccup never did see the fleet coming in from Riki Poka, which was definitely a good thing.
Arc signaled that they were in the clear, the two dragons ceasing their efforts and landing on the ship, exhausted from their efforts. Hiccup and Astrid patted down Toothless for a job well done while Arc went right to the helm and stood before the captain, demanding his attention.
"South by southwest," Arc informed Linebreaker. "Our new heading."
Linebreaker eyed Arc suspiciously. "Does this take us to your special destination?"
Arc understood what the captain was getting at and shook his head. "No, Young Captain, this will take us to Qiao and Saga."
Linebreaker's face lightened, relieved to hear that they weren't abandoning Qiao. His skepticism remained, however. "You know anything about ship navigation?"
Arc smiled his toothy, confident grin. "I've ridden the skies long before you've sailed the seas. You pick up a thing or two about navigation after eleven centuries."
The elated mood the group had experienced after getting free and clear of Outcast Bay lasted until they had gathered around Linebreaker, who had to keep an eye on the rudder and their heading, to discuss the encounters and battles of the morning. Overall consensus was that the Alchemist was behind it all, for unknown reasons, and that she had been thoroughly prepared for them, thanks to Saga's sadistic brother.
Hiccup and Astrid sat on a pile of secured crates, Astrid holding her head in her hands while Hiccup draped an arm on her shoulders. Nestor found another pile of crates as a seat, some color having returned to his face but his expression severe and morose. Toothless sat on his haunches near Astrid, nudging her occasionally in a display of dragon sympathy. Arc sat near Nestor, keep a worried eye on Nestor but also on the ship's compass.
"I should have killed him when I had the chance," spoke Astrid, her voice despondent. "None of this would have happened otherwise."
"Sparing him was the right thing to do at the time, Astrid," reassured Hiccup. "No one could have foreseen him doing this… well, maybe Saga…"
"I'll kill him myself the next time I see him," said Nestor. "Bet I could pop his head off easily."
"Let us table talk of vengeance for now," said Arc. "The Alchemist demands our attention. Whatever her reasons, it is evident that Qiao was her primary target. We must find out why."
"Saga's my concern," said Astrid, looking up at Arc with a steely glare. "Or did you forget about her?"
"Young Astrid, I will never forget about her," reassured Arc. "But her kidnapping is easy to sort out. Revenge drives Cragfist, which is good for Saga."
"How's that good?" said Hiccup.
"Based on Nestor's testimony, Cragfist desires to humiliate his sister, not just kill her. That means she may likely be alive when we catch up to the Alchemist's vessel."
"Assuming she has a vessel to catch," said Nestor. "How do we know they're not flying around on those floaty thingies?"
"From what I observed, the flying platform was not outfitted for long-range travel. No cover, no supplies. I'd imagine that a larger vessel is required."
"I've heard many tales of a ship as big as five sperm whales tied together prowling the oceans as of late," offered Linebreaker. "Bear in mind, most of the tales are from inebriated sailors who've spent too much time at sea, but the stories suggest this ship is always surrounded in unearthly fog and never seen during the day. One version claims the ship is crewed by living skeletons, but I suspect that particular story got mixed up with another."
"Regardless, we'll know the truth when the time comes," said Arc.
"So when will that be?" said Hiccup. "You're acting like you already know where they are." Arc grinned lightly, prompting Hiccup to add, "You already know where they are?"
"I know their direction," admitted Arc. "Qiao's direction, to be precise."
"One of Arc's plans," said Nestor flatly. "That Trail Stone we took from Qiao? He tampered with it."
"Indeed," confirmed Arc. "Trail Stones forge a mental link between it and its user, much like myssteel. Anywhere the stone goes, the user can sense it and follow. Mental breadcrumbs, so to speak. Once the link is established, you have to deliberately sever it with a special ritual."
He held out his left claw-hand for everyone to see. Qiao's pesky little stone had been wrapped in olive-green netting and tied around his wrist. The netting camouflaged most of the stone, so it was easy to miss if it wasn't pointed out to you. "Either she doesn't know the ritual, or Qiao doesn't know that the link can be reversed. I can see the mystical energy emanations coming off the stone. They'll lead us straight to Qiao, no matter how far the Alchemist flees."
"I'd feel better about this if I could see what you saw," commented Linebreaker. "Any way to fix that?"
Arc shook his head. "My eyes are better than yours, I'm afraid. Nothing I can do about that."
"Just trust him, Captain," said Nestor. "It's easier that way."
"Well, one less problem to deal with," said Hiccup. "Now we just have to have a tremendously-great plan when we catch up to them."
"Right," said Nestor darkly. "One that takes into account myssteel weaponry, stone platforms that float in the air, suits of hovering rock, half-trolls with barrier fields, half-metal Night Furies that fire off death rays, and some kind of super weapon that rains down more of said death rays from the sky. Did I miss anything?"
"That's about it," said Hiccup glumly. "Thanks for summing it up."
"An actual half-troll," remarked Astrid, shaking her head in disbelief. "How do you even…?"
"You don't want to know," said Arc.
"Do you have any ideas, Arc?" asked Hiccup. "Any clue as to who this Alchemist is?"
Arc closed his eyes and went silent for a few moments, a sign of serious contemplation. It didn't last long, barely ten seconds. "Before the rise of the Artisan Empire and the rampant use of myssteel, there had once been a form of mystical talent known as True Alchemy, the manipulation of minerals for mystical use. I know a little of the basics – most Artisan and Ancestor magic was based off of it – but not much of the history."
"Alchemy," said Linebreaker. "Like the superstitious tales involving turning lead into gold."
"That is sham alchemy," countered Arc. "Con jobs by short-sighted humans. Lead has never led to gold. True Alchemy is real… and far more dangerous. Much of what we witnessed today can be attributed to True Alchemy. Admittedly, it is a very advanced form of True Alchemy and those… death rays, for lack of a better term, are unprecedented." A disturbing thought crossed his mind. "Latimar's memories of the end of his world… there are too many similarities."
"No kidding," said Nestor. "She's also not shy about using it. Cervantes was at least judicious about pulling out the heavy weapons."
"I fear she's trying to impress the locals," said Linebreaker. "Everyone at Outcast Bay was treating her like a queen. After today, everyone in Riki Poka will be talking about her, and word will spread across the coast faster than bad fashion trends."
"Why would she care about her reputation?" said Astrid. "With all her power, she could conquer the continent all by herself."
"I don't have answers," replied Arc. "I've never witnessed True Alchemy until now, and I fear that we have not seen the full extent of the Alchemist's resources."
"Take heart, my friends," said Linebreaker. "Amidst all this bad news, there is one sliver of good."
"Which is?" said Hiccup.
"We won the Harvest Festival fashion contest. Something about mechanical legs being the new 'brown' this year."
Any hope of a quick resolution to their chase died after the fourth day at sea. Two days after that, frustration moved in like an inconsiderate houseguest and made itself to home.
Physically, Nestor bounced back to health after the second morning, his barrier field back to full power. Mentally, his attitude had gone down the outhouse. The joking had died away and he took to standing at watch on his free time, ignoring conversation and even dinner half the time. Hiccup grew concerned for his friend, but he already had morale issues with Toothless and Astrid. He kept hoping Arc would pick up on Nestor's mood slippage, but the dragon was too focused on aerial searches and navigation to be bothered.
Toothless wanted to go flying ahead. Constantly. Three guesses why, and the first two don't matter. Hiccup had frequent arguments with the anxious dragon, forcing him to settle for scout missions and fishing trips instead. The female Night Fury, this Metal Fury, had really thrown him for a big loop. Hiccup couldn't tell if it was attraction, anger, or both.
It brought home how little Hiccup understood about Night Furies, especially on their natural habitat and numbers. The few times Hiccup had offered Toothless the right to go search for his old home or mating grounds had been rebuffed, Toothless shaking his head and nuzzling Hiccup and effectively saying I'm home, don't need to go looking. A nice gesture, but it smelled of a deeper tragedy, suggesting that Toothless didn't want to go back home because there was no home left to find.
If Metal Fury was the only other Night Fury out there… what a horrible cosmic joke that would turn out to be.
Angry Astrid raised her head for the first time in a long while. She worked hard to keep the ship in perfect working order, every sail smooth and fastened down, every rope knotted and tight. She yelled at the wind when it didn't blow sufficiently. She yelled at the waves if they got too choppy. She yelled up at the heavens, demanding that Odin come down and kick Alchemist butt and save Saga and Qiao before it was too late. He owed the group that much. After all, they were out to stop a premature Ragnarok.
She had two friends with their heads on the chopping block. Hiccup got that. Her anger wasn't helping matters.
With all this angst and anxiety swishing about the ship, Hiccup was glad to find excuses to get off the boat. Years of riding on an insanely fast Night Fury made boat travel infuriatingly slow, even on a ship as speedy as this one, and it only added to the general frustration.
Linebreaker was the relaxed one, humming sailor ditties or telling tales about experiencing near-death at the hands of a typhoon or an irate crew of mutineers. The sea had a calming effect on him, mellowing to the point where he looked asleep at the wheel. Yet their course never faltered once, and anytime something was askew on the Ship, he would ask someone to immediately correct it. Ship was almost an extension of him, like Toothless was an extension of Hiccup. Ship had an itch, Linebreaker scratched it.
Yes, the name of the ship was… Ship. Hiccup asked Linebreaker about the unimaginative name one day and the Captain's answer was this:
"I can't name Ship just anything, you understand. Every vessel has a personality, and a name is supposed to express that. When I truly understand Ship and what it wants from me, I will give it a name. Until then, I won't insult it with a placeholder name."
He also called the ship it. Not she, or even he. Odd, but that was Linebreaker for you.
Provisions were adequate for humans, but the heavily preserved rations were not very appealing to dragon palates. When they weren't scouting around for any rogue fogbanks or anything remotely strange, Hiccup, Toothless, and Arc formed a fishing team, Toothless armed with a fisher's net and Arc supplying the fish-zapping electricity. A perfect opportunity this would have been to test the fish-catching function of Hiccup's grapple launcher, had the launcher not been destroyed in their battles with Cervantes. By the sixth day at sea, Toothless and Arc had worked out the kinks in the process and were able to net a school of soon-to-be-dinner with minimal effort.
It was on one such run that Hiccup spotted a localized fogbank far to the south of their position, one that didn't move with the wind and hung out unattached from bigger patches of weather. One that was suspiciously gray and heavy for a low-lying cloud.
Hiccup had Toothless abort his fishing attempt and fly casually toward the fogbank. Getting in closer would be a snap, but if it really was the Alchemist's ship inside the mist, a close-in reconnaissance might tip her off that she was being followed. For all he knew, the Alchemist might have no trouble seeing through her all-concealing portable weather front.
"Looks the part, doesn't it?" observed Arc, who had quietly become Hiccup's wing-dragon while his attention was on the fogbank. "It's also in the right direction."
"I guess we're catching up finally," replied Hiccup. "None too soon, too."
"That, or they're slowing down."
"Does the distinction matter?"
"It may." Arc beckoned to Hiccup to head back to the vessel, the two dragons veering off in tight formation as Arc continued to talk. "I didn't want to say anything until now, not before I was absolutely convinced of my conclusion. But after six days of evidence, I fear my conclusion is correct."
"Will you stop being your usual mysterious self and just say it?" said Hiccup.
"If we were going to the Repository instead of pursuing Saga and Qiao, we would be using the exact same heading," revealed Arc.
Hiccup didn't know whether to take this as good or bad news. Considering how his life worked, he decided the latter was the safer option.
"So she might be stopping to visit an ancient tomb of forbidden secrets. That's just great," he grumpily commented. "You think the Alchemist is after what we're after… whatever we're actually after in the Repository?"
"We're after a clue that points us toward the nature of Saga's dire vision, Young Hiccup. Ironically, the Alchemist may have supplied us a clue already. If she has the power to call death from the sky, it's possible that such power must be tightly controlled lest it fall into dangerous hands… if it hasn't already. As for the Alchemist herself, I don't deign to guess what she's after. But it is safe to say that she is well and truly connected to the disaster we seek to prevent."
Hiccup thought about it. Arc hadn't shared how to get to the Repository with anyone, not even the rest of the team. The Alchemist couldn't have gotten the location from Qiao or Saga. The only way the Alchemist could know how to get there was if she already knew the location.
What did that make the Alchemist?
Needing to shift his mind away from uncomfortable musings, he gave Arc a half-smile. "You do have to credit Saga's visions for this one."
"She didn't predict this," the dragon countered. "Her visions faltered before we even knew of the Alchemist."
"But Saga got us where we needed to be, in the right place at the right time. Otherwise we wouldn't have run into Qiao and the Alchemist would have gone on her merry way and we'd be none the wiser."
Arc grumbled and rolled his eyes. "I suppose these matters are far too convenient to be a product of coincidence. I will have to give her credit when I next see her… assuming she still lives."
Hiccup let the conversation drop as they flew onward, his mind back on uncomfortable musings. He really could have gone all day without hearing that last reminder of grim reality.
Astrid learned a long time ago that it was easier to get through life if people thought that insulting or abusing you came with broken teeth and dislocated shoulders. Yelling also helped a lot – people weren't fond of taunting shrews that got up in your face. Most importantly, when someone did something wrong to you or to someone you cared about, you didn't let them walk away scot-free.
The people who had wronged her, the ones who had taken Saga and Qiao – she couldn't get at them. They were untouchable, and it was driving her crazy.
She needed to do something, so she got upset with everything and everyone else. She couldn't help herself… didn't want to help herself. Her usual routine of burning off excess stress in sparring matches with Saga had been disrupted and she had no substitute routine. Hiccup had fled the ship to escape her ranting, going out alongside Arc on longer and longer flights. This had led her to getting angry at the wind or the ocean or even the clouds over her head, which proved pretty unsatisfying as they didn't typically put up a fight… or if they did, it was a totally lopsided fight in their favor.
Linebreaker was off-limits. Never smart to yell at your captain. Nestor had also been off-limits for a time, but his constant moping around the boat and staring off into the horizon had gotten old. Six days too old.
About the time Hiccup was spying a mysterious mist in the distance, Astrid was doing her latest rounds on the boat, making sure every knot and rope knew who was boss. Nestor stood near a set of supply barrels containing fresh water, having checked them for leaks and contamination. He looked as happy as a lobster that knew it was three seconds away from a dunk in the cooking pot.
"Any problems?" she asked as she neared him.
"Where to start?" he answered.
"How about with the water supply?" she clarified.
"Oh." He shrugged indifferently. "We won't die of thirst."
"You think you could give me details?"
"Okay, fine. We won't die of thirst because I imagine we'll be dead long before the water in these barrels runs out. Better?"
"What is your deal, Nestor? You think you're the only one who cares about Saga? I'm worried about her just like you, but I'm not acting like a troll who's decided to hide under a bridge the rest of his life."
Nestor made a weird face. "You do realize that Norom…"
"I'm keeping the phrase! My point is that the rest of us are doing what we need to do, not hiding from the world."
Nestor finally showed some emotion – in this case, anger, but not much of it. "I'm also not making everyone else's lives miserable with her misplaced antagonism."
Astrid narrowed her eyes, privately thanking Nestor for giving her a genuine excuse to get mad. "You know what? Forget it. There's the side of the ship. Jump off it any time you like."
She started to do a traditional storming-off move but only got as far as turning her back on Nestor before she felt the regret kick in. Maybe it was the look he'd given her, a totally resigned expression, or the mean-spirited suggestion she'd given him, but suddenly her anger didn't feel so justified.
Splash!
Her heart seized up upon hearing something large hit the water behind her. She whirled around, thinking the worst. But there was Nestor, standing where he had been, still wearing the same resigned expression, though now he seemed surprised by her abrupt turnaround. His eyes widened when he realized what she must have thought.
"Porpoise," he explained. "We have a pod playing in the ship's wake. One of them jumped."
Understandably skeptical that Nestor hadn't thrown something overboard to punish her for her remark, Astrid looked over the side. She quickly spotted the darting, angular form of a gray porpoise swimming alongside the ship, occasionally leaping out of the water in a moment of frolicking joy. She knew of porpoises but had never seen them play so near to humans. Then again, she'd never been on this fast of an ocean-going vessel. Longboats were too boring and too full of gruff Vikings to court the likes of porpoises.
"You actually thought I jumped?" said Nestor. "Wouldn't be looking forward to the swim back to the coast."
"Can you blame me for thinking it?" said Astrid, turning away from the underwater speed show and giving Nestor her full attention. "My less-than-understanding bedside manner aside, I am worried about you. We all are."
Nestor looked off to the horizon briefly, collecting his thoughts, then turned back to Astrid. "I couldn't help her, Astrid. I was right there and I couldn't stop Cragfist from taking her."
"None of us did very well that day, Nestor. The Alchemist took us all by surprise."
"You don't understand, Astrid. I fight monsters for a living and I've come out on top every time. But all the important battles, the ones important to me… I always lose those. My parents, my village… and now Saga."
"We haven't lost her yet."
"Astrid, what do you think the odds are? They have no reason to keep her alive, and Cragfist has every reason to want her dead. It's been six days… what are the odds?"
Astrid felt the same fear. What were the odds, really? Yet her face had a smile for Nestor. "If anyone in this world can hold out against Cragfist and the Alchemist until we arrive, it's Saga. You notice how things tend to happen around her, don't you?" Nestor hesitated, then nodded. It was hard to ignore that particular quality about Saga. "I plan on kicking some Alchemist butt, and any other butts that get between me and Saga… and Qiao, but you know what I mean. It will go a lot easier if that guy who fights monsters for a living is standing with me, instead of sitting around on this ship like a cranky old man."
Nestor didn't say anything for a time, but his face slowly softened and grew livelier. He chuckled lightly. "I guess I have been overdosing on the self-pity. Tell you what? For Saga's sake, I'll toss my depression overboard and piggyback on your optimism. In exchange… could you lighten up yourself?"
"I haven't been that bad, have I?" asked Astrid.
"Hiccup has to go fishing thirty miles away from the boat because you keep frightening our dinner away."
It was Astrid's turn to chuckle. "Deal." They shook hands for the sake of formality.
"Hiccup always said you were good at pep talks," said Nestor. "He even joked about how he might need one so he's not too jittery when he proposes…"
Nestor didn't quite catch himself in time and Astrid heard the word proposes slip out of his mouth. She gave Nestor a suitably eager and expectant stare. "Proposes?"
Nestor knew he'd done it, his expression saying as much. "…Proposes… that he sets up a smithy in Riki Poka. Great location, lots of customers. Big move. You two should talk it over, but don't be surprised if he acts like he has no idea what I'm referring to. Oh, look, something important and unusual may be on the horizon. I should look at it very intensely and without further talking. Bye."
Nestor scrammed, fast-walking to the bow of the ship and pretending to be looking at that important-something. Astrid didn't bother to follow. She really didn't need to torment Nestor over his blunder.
Proposes.
Nothing much had changed in her situation. Saga and Qiao were still in danger, and the world still teetered towards Ragnarok. But Astrid suddenly found that staying frustrated was more of a chore than it was worth.