Disclaimer: Dream Works and Cressida Cowell own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.
Well, I am definitely getting better at posting stuff, enough that I was able to post this one only a few days after the last one, but man this chapter gave me such a beating. Sorry this came after Hiccup's snippet to those of you who wanted to see Toothless's story more, I hope this was worth the wait.
Anyways, this comes just in time for the weekend. Enjoy and if you like this chapter, please leave a comment explaining your favorite parts and ways I could improve upon it.
It would be so much easier to trust Camicazi if I didn't feel like she was trying to kill me. I mean, how else would I explain why we were going here of all places? It was practically suicide to stand next to her!
"Quiet, Toothless. You're going to give us a way if you keep at it like that," the Bog Burglar whispered, raising her index finger to her lips.
"It…Is… Cold…" I shivered.
Camicazi rolled her eyes, as if I was stating a plainly obvious fact. "You think?" She turned her gaze to the sky as if to make a point. Snow fell gently overhead, coating the ground and the nearby roofs with sheets of white. Outside, out here, I started to regret not bringing other means of keeping myself warm.
I gritted my teeth, wanting to be angry at her for something other than the fact she had us all imprisoned for a week. She just hadto take my friends from the nice and relatively warmer caves Alvin liked to keep for a headquarters. Honestly, I think I'd rather be stuck in those dark, dank caves if it didn't mean having to stand in the frigid, bone chilling air. I might gotten used to the fact my body was no longer naturally able to endure Winter's cold, but I still needed at least some form of protection from the elements; a simple tunic was not going to be enough. I really wish I didn't leave my jacket with Stormfly, but she needed it...
The Bog Burglar quietly leaned close to one of the shoddy and rundown shacks. He placed her ear against it, listening in. "Three, maybe four," she said. There weren't many people on the surface, since they probably had better sense than I did and stayed in doors. For much of the time, the only traces of human life were the dozens or hundreds of foot steps that scattered off every direction… which conviently hid our own tracks.
"Three… Outcasts...?" I shivered, wishing I had a sword or crossbow my side. That would have made trusting Camicazi much easier...
Surprisingly, Camicazi shook her head. "Not Outcasts."
"But… they serve Alvin."
"Not because they're of the Outcast Tribe," Camicazi spoke seriously.
That actually got my attention. If they weren't Outcasts, then why did they work for Alvin? They weren't in cages, so I doubted they were slaves, but then again… their homes weren't exactly the best for keeping warm. I mean, they looked so small, how could they even fit a hearth inside?
Before I could think on that more, Camicazi gave me a grin and pulled me forward. She then kicked open a door to one of the nearby shacks and then threw me inside. Then, she slammed the door shut. "Stay here," I heard her say.
Turning around, I found there was no one or anything else aside from me in that little run down building, leaving me to wonder what was that all about. Why would Camicazi put me inside here… unless… I leaned closer to the door, just in time to just barely listen into a conversation.
"...must find that boy!" shouted a definitely male voice. "You know what Alvin would do to you if you failed!"
"I honestly wouldn't mind that!" I heard Camicazi chirp, sounding eerily cheerful compared to how serious she was a moment ago.
"You'd probably end up a… Terrible Terror or some other small kind of dragon!" said another man.
"Hm, that still wouldn't be too bad. Being so small would let me sneak better!" said Camicazi. "... Well, unless I turn purple or something, then well, I couldn't be more noticeable!"
The men both groaned with frustration. "Honestly,why doesn't Alvin just get rid of you?"
"Well, I did capture that boy the first time! You wouldn't have had him if it weren't for me!" Camicazi declared so proudly that I wondered if maybe she really didn't regret what she did to us all. I mean, she just sounded so willing to say it.
"Heh and then you'd end up like the others, stuck in those cages down in the holding pen!" declared the more abrasive man.
"...Still beats living out here in the cold," said the other man. I heard the sound of something hitting the ground, making me wonder if one of those goons just hit the other.
"You should really learn to hold your tongue!" said the more easily agitated warrior. "You know that turning into one of them beasties is a curse!"
"Well, I think Alvin sound really be thinking of encouraging it!" declared Camicazi. "I mean, look at what you all did to Berk with only a couple of freshly turned dragons!"
"Quiet you!" hissed the more angered man. "Alvin's made it clear that it's a punishment!"
That got my attention for a moment. I would have figured that the Outcasts who ended up turning into dragons might have been given more status or some measure of prestige, because it gave so many capabilities and advantages above what ordinary humans had. I mean, sure, Outcasts probably didn't have much in the way of Honor even amongst themselves, but I doubted they didn't at least have some way of measuring personal accomplishment or power. Sure there were downsides, but I would have thought that the Outcasts of all Vikings wouldn't be a little more willing to see past them. Part of the reason I am still having a hard time making up my mind about going back to being a Night Fury is because I find it hard to not see the value in that sort of power. But here, apparently Outcasts turned into dragons made up some sort of lesser class… It made no sense. Why punish your own warriors, especially the ones that can do things like fly and breathe fire?
"Uh, Bellybasher," said the other, more easily frightened man. "The boy?"
"Ugh, right," said the man who was apparently Bellybasher. "You better come with us and help us find the boy, lueitenant."
"Oh, speaking of that! While you two were busy goofing off..." I heard Camicazi step closer to the door and I felt my heart drop into my legs. "I already went and found him!"
I backed up far away from the door when when I realized what was happening. Hoping for anything that could save my skin, I took a quick glance for any other options that would have kept me alive for just a moment longer, but to no avail. The room was empty save some piles of loose snow that fluttered through the obvious holes in the roof.
The door knob twisted open, letting two large men to step inside the ruined building, both wielding large axes that looked like they could easily behead me. "Well, lookie what we have here!" said Bellybasher.
"Alvin's going to like this!" said the other man.
Right behind the two men was that backstabbing no-good traitor of a Bog Burglar, grinning at me. I hated that treacherous smile of hers; Camicazi set me up, yet again! I should have known better than to trust her, not when she already abused it ones. She diverted me away from friends only to send me to my doom, while making me suffer for it. Now, I was alone up against two oversized brutes! There was no way I could beat them.
Bellybasher stepped forward, bringing his axe over my head. "Now then, Alvin wants you alive, so you better come quietly and-"
I spat in his face before he could finish. I was sick and tired of being pushed around by them. If there really was no hope for my escape, then fine, I'd rather die than serve Alvin like. I just wish I could have saved my friends, most especially Stormfly...
My single act of defiance angered Bellybasher enough to draw the axe's head high up. "Oh, now you done it! Alvin's going to have to settle for your head."
I stepped back all the way to the wall, afraid of getting chopped into pieces, yet at the same time, so willing to just end it then and there.
Then, before Bellybasher swung the axe, I abruptly closed my eyes, flinching before the blow was even swung… and it never connected. I heard a metallic clang as something heavy hit the floor, followed by a slumping noise.
I opened my eyes to find Bellybasher and his axe right on the floor in a heap. Camicazi stood over him, a small club in her hands. "Oh, you thought you were so big and strong ain't ya!" taunted the Bog Burglar at the downed man. Bellybasher was still apparently conscious and tried to get himself off the floor, but Camicazi didn't let him. She slammed her club into him with a very audible thwack, knocking him out cold as the frigid air around us.
The other man turned and looked at Camicazi, fear in his eyes and hands."You better- Uh- That club down!" said the other man, clearly hesitant and shivering at the thought of what must have been a much smaller girl.
Camicazi simply just grinned. "Gladly!" she declared, throwing the club away, but drawing her sword before it hit the ground. She then lunged at the timid warrior, sending her sword a dozen ways while her taunts attacked her enemy in a different way. "Oh you think you're so good don't ya? Ha, you couldn't even beat a little girl!" The fight couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds, ending only when Camicazi hit the Outcast warrior's head with the pommel of her blade, stunning him just a moment for her to kick him onto the floor. Now the other man was in a groaning heap. "Heh, you better stay down, you look like you could use a rest!" she said cheerily as she also knocked him out with her club.
The whole thing looked so surreal, that I didn't even know what to think anymore. Camicazi betrayed me, so that he betray these other two men and save my life? My head was spinning a dozen different ways and I asked a question I was sure would only make the situation even more confusing, "Wait, are you on my side or not?"
"I think that's the wrong question," Camicazi said so positively. "More accurately, are you on my side?" I didn't know what she meant by that, but as long as it meant she wasn't going to kill me…
"Right," I said, looking at the two downed me. Immediately, I went over to Bellybasher and stripped him of his large fur cloak and his heavy one-headed axe. Both items were oversized and heavy for me, but it was still better than nothing. It was at this time, realized what Camicazi and I just did. "Wait, so you used me to lure them, so we could mug them?"
Camicazi gave me an almost knowing look. "Well, it's not my fault you escaped without any real equipment," muttered the Bog Burglar. She then burst out into a wide grin, pleased with what had happened. "But still, it's your first official mugging! Maybe we'll make a good Bor Burglar out of you yet!"
"...Don't I have to be… more female for that?"
That only made the girl grin even wider.
We stepped outside of the building, leaving the two unconscious men to themselves.
I felt so much better about our chances now that I actually had some weaponry and protection; though, I had to cut off a portion of the large cloak to stop it from dragging behind me.
The rest of the journey was mostly uneventful compared to the run in and the subsequent mugging of an Outcast warrior. There were maybe one or two times we could have ended up getting captured, but nothing came of those.
After that, we arrived at our destination. Surprisingly, I recognized the building, the Harbormaster's quarters, just a few yards away from the frozen over harbor. Vaguely, I recalled Camicazi was staring intently at the building at the night of her… betrayal, something escape plans. Did that mean she was planning the whole thing? Well, that's one more set of things she's got to answer for.
The other thing I noticed about the building were that instead of the two men who stood watch over the building that day when everything went wrong, there were two women, standing at the the door, looking official. Immediately, I recognized them as two of Camicazi's Bog Burglar 'handmaidens', even though I was pretty sure having some gray hair and some wrinkles might have disqualified them.
Camicazi walked past them just fine, they didn't even so much as acknowledge her existence; but when I tried to do that, I suddenly found myself being lifted upside down by my feet, causing my recently… acquired axe and cloak to dangle off the ground. "Camicazi!?" I wailed.
"Sorry!" she apologized. "Put him down, he's fine." They did so, but not before letting me land on my rear. Good thing there was still a layer of snow to soften the fall. Camicazi pulled me up and then we strode inside.
Once we were inside, I immediately found my friends gathered around a table. Fishlegs and Meatlug sat beside each other, each sharing a hand. Next to Meatlug was Stormfly her back positioned right behind me, facing a dark haired girl. Beside the four of them were a small entourage of Bog Burglars, more women of various ages positioned in key points all over the place.
"...be anymore uncooperative!?" said the unknown Bog Burglar girl to Stormfly, apparently already in a conversation before we arrived. She looked around my age, making her the only one of Camicazi's 'handmaidens' to well, actually be a maiden.
"It's hard to cooperate knowing you work for a traitor!" Stormfly barked, raising her bare right hand as if threatening to use it. Stormfly and I were both glad her arm recovered a few days ago. While she apparently still aches and pains within the limb, that was better than losing it entirely. "If I see her again, I'm going to-"
"Going to what?" Camicazi chimed in, making fearful things might have gone worse.
Stormfly turned, her eyes beaming at the Bog Burglar. "You…" she hissed with a glare. Her eyes looked around the room, checking the distance of the Bog Burglar warriors nearby before focusing on me. She was dressed in different clothes this time, but she still wore my jacket.
I knew what she was thinking about and I got between the two of them. "Stormfly, please, don't!" I said, gesturing my arms to hopefully tell her to stop.
"So you're siding with her?" Stormfly hissed in a tone I hadn't heard from her in months. After, well, getting to know her, it stun way worse than it ever did back when we were just Squires. Now, I valued her opinion of me.
"No!" I said automatically; I didn't want her to be mad at me, not over something like this.
Stormfly stood up from her seat, prompting the other warriors in the room to converge on us. "Then get out of the way!" Stormfly barked, raising both of her fists.
"Camicazi's not an enemy!" I pleaded. Stormfly looked at me like I had gone insane, which unfortunately might not all be too far from the truth. "Have you gone mad?"
"She helped me escape and had-" I began, turning to the dark haired girl when I realized I didn't know her name.
"Heather," the dark haired girl said nonchalantly.
"Had Heather break you out! She might have had good reason to-" I know I probably sounded so hopeless and desperate that way I did, but I just really wanted to things to go back to normal, even with the fact that Camicazi's betray was still fresh in my mind.
"Let us rot in a cell," Stormfly grumbled. "It was her fault any of this happened! She's the one who started this whole 'heist' and then betrayed us to Alvin."
"And I'm not going to deny that," chirped Camicazi.
"Then why did you do that!? Why did you betray us!?" shouted Stormfly her voice filled to the brim with anger… and a hint of something else. "I thought, I thought-" she trailed off, unable to bring those words out of her mouth.
While I knew Stormfly and I were the ones most upset at Camicazi for stabbing us in the back; it was then I realized, I never really understood just how much the betrayal might have scarred her. I wished I could have provided some morale support instead of just stand there like the idiot I truly was. It was going to be hard for her to just let go, way more than it would be for me… and I still wasn't sure of whose side Camicazi was on other than her own.
Camicazi looked down at the floor, as if pensively trying to think of an answer to a very difficult question. "I… don't have the right to call you my friend do I?"
Stormfly glared, as if already reserving judgement. "I don't know, do you?"
Camicazi drew something from her pockets, a white sheet of silk, stained with some dirt. Stormfly's eyes focused on it intently, probably because it belonged to her. "I don't know either," the Bog Burglar answered.
Stormfly seemed to consider it for moment, before promptly taking the white silk and putting it around her neck. "Maybe, but you still owe me a few things, most importantly, a new outfit."
Camicazi gave a small smile in reply. "Well, looks like Toothless isn't the only other other person here to go mad now is he?"
Stormfly glowered, but it was considerably less threatening than anything else she did before. "Just… don't make me regret it..."
"Of course not!" Camicazi chirped. Her guards retreated back in the corners of the room, realizing there was no danger. Still, they kept a close watch on the two girls. "Well, hopefully I don't…"
Whatever went on between those two, it went over my head. I get the bandana belonged to Stormfly and all, but how was an accessory supposed to make up for the fact that she was imprisoned in the cold for about a week? Was this one of those girl things that us boys are not fit to know?
I shook my head. I guess with that crisis averted, we could focus on the more important things in life. "So… what now?"
The three girls all looked at me, as if wondering the same thing themselves.
"Well, I guess this heist wasn't a complete success," Camicazi muttered.
"I told you you have gone straight in and nabbed the spear while you could have!" Heather said.
"We could have done that, but then we wouldn't have learned where Alvin got it from…" said Camicazi.
"Who cares about learning where Alvin got his spear?" Stormfly interjected. "I say we should just gutted Alvin right then and there!"
"I like her plan," Heather agreed. "Then we could have taken the spear and be right on our way!"
Camicazi shook her head. "Yes, but that doesn't solve a few other problems."
Heather just rolled her eyes. "Because the whole point of this was to cause even more problems, wasn't it?"
"Hey don't start with me! It won't end well for you!" said Camicazi with a threat.
Because the conversation was going faster than I could even understand, I turned back on my other friends, Fishlegs and Meatlug, who were having some time to themselves at the table.
"So… do you two know anything about what's going on?"
Fishlegs shook her head. "Not really," he said. "All we know is that Heather came by to break us out and lied to quite a lot of Outcasts to get us here… Course, Stormfly didn't really like listening to her, especially once she claimed she knew Camicazi."
"Well, they seem to be getting along fine now," I muttered, noting how the 'arguement' right in front of me was turning out. I couldn't understand any of it, but I got the idea that it was half joking, half serious debate given the way several of the comments were turning out. Still, I am glad that Camicazi was able to arrange getting a such talented ally, whoever she was. Maybe once this was over maybe I could learn a little more about the one who broke Stormfly out for me.
Meatlug scooted closer to Fishlegs, apparently not feeling like she had enough of him, despite being trapped in a cell with the boy for a week. He didn't seem to mind her company. "All, I want to do is just go home, back to Berk..." she said aloud.
I was a little surprised she didn't say the King's Domain was her home, but then again, I didn't want to go back there much either; Berk was my home now. "I do, too," I said.
Fishlegs nodded. "Whatever this heist was all about, it was a mistake. We should never have become involved in it!"
"Well, at least we got to spend some time together," said Meatlug.
"Well, I guess that's true…" admitted the blonde boy.
Thinking on it, I decided that maybe it was time to head back home. I mean, we've waste a week on this island for what purpose exactly? "So… how about we head back?" I suggested to the three girls.
They all blinked in unison, as if they idea.
"Well, we're still not done," said Heather. "We haven't gotten the spear yet."
"Or slain Alvin," said Stormfly, enough most of us in the room faced the draconic monstrosity that he was only survived because he cared about getting bartering tokens.
"Well… those things were secondary objectives," Camicazi muttered aloud. That caused all eyes on the room to turn to her, mostly out of disbelief.
"Um... what?" I voiced the question for everyone in the room. "Then, why are we here?" And more importantly, what was so important that it required a week for most of us to be imprisoned?
Camicazi turned to Heather, as if waiting for a prompt, but the dark haired girl shook her head. "Alright," the Bog Burglar started, "so, doesn't it bother you that at all Alvin just happened to show up right when we tried bag you, Toothless?"
I blinked as all eyes turned to me. It's been months since that day, but I still remember the feelings and pictures of the last day I lived as a Night Fury. I could imagine the sudden loss of control I had when I was sent crashing to the ground, I can still taste the fear of death that Hiccup, then a mere stranger gave me in what I almost knew to be my final most, I could still the faint glow of unnatural fire that burned away the falsehood of a form that I had lived in my whole life, and most importantly of all, I still felt the pain very action that became my namesake. And none of it really stuck out to me as… well, something that bothered me. "Uh, no…"
"That Alvin came mere minutes after you went down and ended up a naked boy on a pier?" Camicazi insisted. I probably should have been embarrassed by that, but the sheer gravity of the discussion quashed any humor that could be derived from it. "That he even knew where the Tribes would gather and then was near enough to go capture us?"
I blinked. Sure, I know the events seemed a little unlikely, but, I mean it still could have happened, right? Of course, the more she spoke, the more I wondered just how improbable it all really was.
Fishlegs, the only other person in the room who was there when this insanity started stepped forward and continued of the Bog Burglar's thought, "And then the fact Alvin shows up one day over a month later with a magic spear that can turn people into dragons..."
Camicazi burst into a big grin. "See, I knew you were smart!"
Fishlegs blushed as the whole room looked around him. Meatlug gave him an almost proud expression.
"So… it's also not a coincidence Alvin wanted me to make something to protect his head?" I asked, feeling a little lost but that feeling was ebbing the more we all discussed.
Camicazi then gave me a grin that despite how cheery it looked sent a shiver down my spine, "But to protect his head from what?"
I frowned, suddenly realizing that there was something going on behind the scenes. I spent just over a week building helmets for Alvin, each one getting better, stronger than that last as I figured out better metalcrafting techniques and improvising new runes to make the magic stronger. At some point, I even managed to make a helmet that broke a warhammer trying to bash it! Yet no matter how much time I spent, no matter how strong the helmet was, Alvin threw it aside and told me to make a new one. Now I had to wonder, what if Alvin didn't want me to protect him from physical harm? "I don't know…" I half-lied. I had an idea, but it was too early to tell whether or not it was actually what was going on.
Stormfly looked at me somewhat suspiciously. I think she and I were thinking the same thing, she said nothing to confirm it, "So, the whole reason you stabbed me… us in the back is to learn that Alvin wanted to have a helmet?"
Camicazi shook her head. "No," she said, almost glad she could say it. She took out something from one of her pockets and placed it on a table. I unfolded it, revealing a rather large map of what might have been the whole Barbaric Archipelago. Dozens of names were written all over it, listing the names of Viking Tribes and islands. Among them, I could make out familiar names like like the Meatheads, Bog Burglars, and even the Hair Hooligans, my own Tribe, but most of them I was unfamiliar with such as the Shivering Shores or the Peacables. Oddly, several of the names are crossed out, underlined, or circled, their meaning completely lost on me.
Heather whistled, apparently understanding what that was. "Okay, that's definitely important..."
Camicazi gave her a big grin, as if she had just the most valuable thing that she could have taken from Alvin.
"So… you betrayed us so you could steal map?" Stormfly questioned.
"Not just any old map!" said Camicazi. "I'm going to be showing this at the next Thing once it happen."
"I fail how to see how it could influence politics," muttered Stormfly.
"It's worth it," insisted Camicazi. "This thing can destroy Alvin…" She folded the map up and put it back in her pocket.
"I'm with Stormfly on this," I admitted. "I fail to see how a sheet of paper can undo the Outcast Chief."
"Says the boy who can make things explosives by writing letters…" muttered Camicazi almost wistfully. I guess with all the time I wasted trying to fruitlessly navigate the tunnels, Savage or one of the thugs by the door told the story of what happened. "With this, we can all go home now!"
Stormfly focused her attention at Camicazi, as if wondering if that sheet of paper was completely worth the suffering she went through. "Are you sure it will lead to Alvin's demise?" she questioned.
Camicazi nodded. "So long as I can bring this before the other Viking Cheifs, once everything thaws of course."
"So... why exactly did you need me and Fishlegs?" Meatlug asked.
Camicazi blushed. "Well, I didn't, I just wanted Hiccup to come along, but he kept refusing. So I thought to pressure him in, but-"
Stormfly glowered at the Bog Burglar and then turned to the two larger teenagers. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry for forcing you two to come along. I just thought Camicazi needed more people coming to start the whole trip."
"Oh," Meatlug said sheepishly.
"Not that you weren't bad company!" said Stormfly with a forced cheer. "Even if it meant less leg room…"
"So… does this mean we can go home now?" I interrupted. I still didn't understand what made the map so important, but if that's what we came here for, then fine, let's leave before things go worse.
Heather stepped forward, " Yeah, you did say back when this all started that we'd all leave once we we got what we came for. If that's what our prize was, then I think that should mean we return home in piece."
Camicazi shrugged. "That I did. Alright, a promise is a promise. We can leave, now."
At the sound of those words, a wave of sudden relief fell upon me. My friends were safe, we got something that might help us defeat Alvin. What more could I possibly want? We could go home and abandon this place while things were still good.
The door fell inwards and suddenly I realized that things were about to get a whole lot worse. I hefted my axe in a readied position, just in time to meet the red eyed glare of a creature that was both man and dragon. Alvin strode into the room, his gnarled spear in one hand and his small hatchet by his hip. Outside, I could see the unmoving forms of the two women who stood outside being dragged away by a small force of thugs. "Ol' Alvin thinks he'll send you home," he said mockingly. "'Cause I know they'll want to bery you!"
I immediately took a step back, very sure that if I were to try and face him that I'd be nothing but a bloody pulp.
"Well, looks like I get to fight you after all," Stormfly tried to step forward, very unafraid even though she was unarmed, but Camicazi's arm barred her way.
Alvin glared at Camicazi and though I was not the primary target, I could just feel the absolute hatred he had for the girl. "So ya thought to betray a Trecherous did ya'?" snarled Alvin.
Camicazi, just as brave as Stormfly, burst into a laugh. "It's not betraying if I never planned to work with you in the first place!" snapped the Bog Burglar Heir. "You were just too much of an idiot to notice!"
Alvin raised his his clawed hands at the daring girl, declaring a threat with action alone. At that, several men stepped in behind their leader, wielding vicious weapons and vicious demeanors that almost counted as weapons themselves.
In response, Camicazi's bodyguards stepped in, their shields and arms becoming the only things that stood between my friends and an onslaught that would have just slaughtered us. "Alright, ladies, you know the drill!" said the Bog Burglar. Camicazi was no coward, but she backed away from the frontlines and to the back of the door. Then, she kicked open one of the walls and a small section of it collapsed immediately… Okay, she definately had been planning this from the get go. The Bog Burglar took off in a sprint, using the improsived backdoor to leave.
Alvin snarled wordlessly. He almost charged after the girl, but one of the older women got in his way, bashing him aside to her shield. He slammed his own arm into the shield, causing to shatter and break into pieces. That set off the rest of the Outcast and the Bog Burglars, sending them at each other.
Because most of us realized this was a battle we couldn't exactly win, we followed Camicazi's example and took the back exit out of the building. Fishlegs and Meatlug took off after her first followed by Heather, who pulled on the redhaired girl's arm to keep her moving forward. I threw off the heavy cloak I stole from Bellybasher to stop it from slowing me down, but kept the axe, just in case, making me exit after all of my friends. After me, several of the Bog Burglar warriors leapt out as well, slowing down the Outcasts that followed after us, yet both groups somehow managed to stay at least a stone's throw away from me. Thankfully, Camicazi's little ploy caught the Outcasts off guard enough that we only needed a rearguard instead of… well, a guard for everywhere else.
Camicazi then dashed off the harbor, leading me and my friends onto the frozen sea. Off in the distance, I could see Camicazi's still unnamed ship, no longer hiding behind the rocks for what was likely unnecessary camouflage when the Outcast thought she was their ally.
"Alright, now is my favorite part of the heist, the getaway chase!" she chirped, much to everyone's relative discomfort. "I love running away for my life!"
"It's don't!" yelled Fishlegs. He was just barely keeping up with the rest of the group, Meatlug just barely in front of him.
I don't know how long we've all been running, only that with each and every step we took, we were getting ever closer to our own rescue. Turning back at the Bog Burglars who guarded our rear, their numbers were getting thinner, down to maybe only half of where they had started. Several of the women had to abandon the rear to flee alongside my friends once it was clear they couldn't fight at their best. I didn't know how long they could resist, but hopefully they could last the rest of the way. We were so close, that I almost felt like I was about to make my escape.
The key word there was 'almost'. Just when it seemed like we were about to get away, things had to suddenly get worse, yet again. A blast of dragon's fire cut a burning line of fire between us and the ship, right at the last few yards from its hull. Several Bog Burglars onboard cried in outrage and began shooting their bows and crossbows at the dragons responsible for matter. Several dragons, maybe five or six darted over head and harassed the ship, while another two came after the us.
We all stood, our mouths agape. We were so close and now our means of escape was now being threatened!
A Nadder went after Fishlegs, causing the blond haired boy to stumble back land on his rear. Meatlug tugged at the hulking boy just in time to prevent a volley of spikes from piercing his sides. "Woah, thanks, Meatlug!" shouted the boy, quickly picking himself up off the ground.
Stormfly and Meatlug turned to each other. The redhaired girl removed my fur jacket as well as her bandana, tossing them aside before the two of them returned their amulets. It has been a while, since I saw either of them in their natural forms and as a result, I actually almost forgot that well, Stormfly wasn't…well, human.
"Wait, they can do that?" shouted Heather, surprised as the two girls became dragons. Quite a lot of Camicazi crew...women also looked stunned; I guess it wasn't everyday this sort of thing happened, well, for anyone who wasn't me, at least.
"Yeah!" chirped Camicazi. "Isn't it amazing?"
"Then, why didn't they just fly away instead of run the whole distance!?" Heather exclaimed. "We could have saved so much time!"
Camicazi just shrugged. "Well, then it wouldn't have been as fun!"
Heather just sighed and took out a sword, facing the Outcasts. She didn't charge in, but I knew she was getting ready to defend herself if need be.
The wall of fire was still going strong and while we knew it would go out soon, I didn't think we would have that long to wait.
Meatlug spoke a few words to me and I relay them to others. "Alright, Meatlug says she's going to take us one at a time to the ship!" I shouted. Hopefully, that would give them some protection.
"Alright, Fishlegs and any wounded who can't fight any longer, get on board, now!" ordered the Bog Burglar Captain. "We'll buy some time for you!" Camicazi then charged in to assist the Bog Burglar warriors, bashing her enemies both verbally and physically. "I know sheep who are better fighters than you! And we toss ours over houses for fun!"
Meatlug accepted Camicazi's orders and allowed Fishlegs to get on her back. He was a liability out here, especially since he was unarmed and couldn't transform into a dragon. Then, a few others Bog Burglars, the women who had blood dripping down from their arms got aboard the dragon. She didn't have enough room for everything, but when she took off, she had taken probably the heaviest burden I had ever seen a dragon her size carry. Her wings taking her over the flame wall and slowly over to the ship. Thankfully, the dragons didn't attack her as she did so.
It was at this time, I noticed the problems the defensive line was facing. While the Outcasts had their own casualties to worry about and the Bog Burglars were able to match and block off the Outcast mob lead by Alvin so far, the key problem was the Bog Burglars did not have the advantage of reinforcements. Just behind the battle, I could see a line of Outcasts marching their way across the ice and I knew that once they got here, it wouldn't be an even fight any more. If only things were what they were like a few days ago and the ice was thin enough to shatter, then things would be different.
Alvin broke through the line, alone, his weapons, both natural and manufactured, hinted red. "Who faces me first!" he roared with challenge
"I will!" roared Stormfly. Even if no one could understand the words, the meaning would still be easily understood. She fired a volley of venomous spines at the Outcasts, sending several of them reeling in either pain or fear.
Alvin though, simply stood there and took a took several wounds at his arms. He pulled each spine out, disdainfully casting them aside as if they were no more than mere pinpricks. "Nice trick ya' got there," Alvin taunted, stepping forward with every word. "But it's gonna take a whole lot more than that to beat ol' Alvin the Treacherous!"
Stormfly understandably stepped back a little, enough that she actually ended up right next to me.
Then, Alvin grinned maliciously. "Say now, can ya' even fly? Does tha' arm of yers still hurt? I gave it a good thrashing didn't I!?"Glancing at Stormfly, I knew Alvin wasn't bluffing. Stormfly hadn't taken to the skies where she would have an advantage and for good reason. Her right wing, which was her right arm in human form, was still very purple with bruising that previously been much fainter; I suppose it was easier to notice the injuries on a larger, yet more vulnerable wing. It was doubtful she could keep her arm steady or flap it under stress.
Stormfly stepped back even further and not wanting to face Alvin alone, I followed her lead. Both of us ended up standing beside Heather as a result. While the line of Outcasts and Bog Burglars was still holding and we outnumbered Alvin three-to-one, that didn't make me feel any better about facing Alvin.
"I'm… not much of a fighter," admitted Heather, her weapon pointed at the large dragon-man-thing.
"I'm not much either," I said, hefting my axe awkwardly above my head. I knew I wasn't the best in a melee, but that was all I had with me.
Then, seeing as we weren't willing to face him, Alvin surged forward. It all happened so quickly, I was sent to the ice by nothing other than my own surprise. With my face turned up skyward, I saw the small battle the dragons had trying to burn the ship into nothing but blazing driftwood. The crew fought on, downing maybe one or two dragons with a lucky shot every few seconds. Meatlug still ferried the wounded back and forth over the wall of fire, but pretty soon that might not be necessary. Briefly I saw Fishlegs holding…. wait, is he using a treasure chest to whack a Gronckle? My eyes might be playing tricks on me, there was no way Fishlegs could ever do that.
I rolled off my back and pushed myself, just in time to see Stormfly charging at the beast, her jaws extended to take out a bite out of the opposing dragon and her arms flailing out of control. Alvin in turn just barely had enough time to get out of the way of the Nadder's attack, causing the Nadder to miss completely. He shoved Stormfly out of the way, hoping to knock the Nadder down, but she was too quick on her feet.
Alvin, infuriated threw his spear at the Nadder, apparently forgetting its magical properties in a fit of rage. Stormfly leapt over it, making the attack only accomplish buring a magical spear in a foot of ice.
Then, Heather leapt in, almost as if she coordinated her attack with the Nadder. She lunged forward, her sword's tip extended and would have probably landed a blow if it wasn't for Alvin's split second parry with his left massive sword-like talons. Heather slashed with her sword, flailing it at Alvin in a wildly imprecise and very undisciplined manner. And Alvin kept parrying it again and again, so much so that I was sure the only reason he probably kept parrying was just to see the girl's desperate attempts to attack. "Why don't you let me hit you!?" Heather screamed.
Alvin looked bored and then suddenly sent the girl flying with a backhanded jab. "I had enough."
I went in the moment Heather went tumbling to the ice, finally managing to bring my composure together. I might have been the worst Viking on the whole island, but at this point, but I was just so desperate, I didn't know what else to do., not when we were all so close to making it out with our lives.
Alvin didn't even bother blocking my attack and instead delivered a blow to my jaw not unlike the one he gave me when we met. I reeled and found myself flat on my back, my weapon by my side. I coughed up some blood as I tried to breathe in and put air in my lungs. The only thing that could have made the whole thing more familiar would have been if any of my teeth fell out, yet again..
"Well lookie what we have here, a useless good for nothin' boy. Ol Stoick shoulda a named you 'treasonous filth'!" Alvin taunted as he loomed over me. "You're going to regret crossing me, boy." Alvin showed me his clawed hands, hint of malice in those inhumanly piercing red eyes of his. I knew what that threat was and at it terrified me.
"Toothless!" I heard Stormfly scream. She lunged at Alvin yet again, this time with her taloned legs extend. She slammed both of her huge taloned feet on the Outcast Chief, sending him back a step from the blow.. I was stunned for a moment, relieved to see her...but then that all turned turned into terror.
Alvin, with Stormfly's feet still him, quickly grabbed hold of them. With each foot in a meaty handy, each claw managing to digging in and tearing cuts, she threw the Nadder hard onto the ice. "Yer good for somethin' after! Ya' make it easier to kill yet so-called friends!" Alvin spat at my direction, as he slowly made his way to the downed Nadder.
I don't know what went through my heart when I saw her lying on the ground, the monster that was Alvin looming over her. I don't know what I felt. Was it anger, rage? Or was it fear, foreboding? I don't know what it was, but it helped me see a simple truth, something really should have seemed so obvious to me.
I quickly got up and ran towards the spear Alvin left behind. The misshapen thing had terrible balance and felt awkward to hold, but it might have been my only chance with Alvin distracted, probably thinking of ways to execute the downed Nadder. The axe was too heavy for me to use, but a spear, even one as malformed as this, was just a metal on a wooden shaft.
And, praying for the best outcome from whatever gods might have been watching, I sprinted forward threw the spear at Alvin. For a moment, I thought Alvin would have just side stepped out of the way, evaded the blow or blocked it like he would at any other attempt on his life… but this time, he wasn't exactly paying attention. Even though the spear might have been a gnarled piece of wood with an equally twisted hunk of metal on top, it still managed to go where I wanted it to. I didn't miss my shots, not as a dragon, not as a scrawny boy; that was the truth. It struck into Alvin's back, causing him to scream in anguished frustration and pain. He tried desperately to reached over and remove the weapon.
And then, with his defenses still down in confusion and pain, I keep running forward. Not even stopped, I picked up my heavy axe by its grip and dragged its head on the ground it as quickly as I could toward the distracted Outcast Chief. For this, it didn't matter the axe had no height to use. ground, I wasn't aiming that high. With a very a lunge and the desire to inflict pay back for an old injury he gave my brother, I chopped at Alvin's ankle. I didn't sever the limb and the axe might have been caught in his foot, but it did what I wanted it to do. Alvin howled in even more pain, and lifting his foot in agony.
Stormfly, in a brief moment of clarity, quickly got up and tackled Alvin face first into the ice so hard, it actually dislodged the spear stuck in his back. With the axe I stolen still stuck in Alvin's ankle, I quickly picked up the spear and brandished it at the Outcast Chief.
"Ye'll regret that!" he yelled Alvin, forcing Stormfly off of him with push. He stood up and pulled out the axe in his foot, ready to face the two of us.
Stormfly and I gave each other glances of uncertainty. Looking at the Nadder, I could tell Stormfly was getting drained from all of the fighting and I felt even worse than she looked. I used up all of my strength in that attack Alvin was still not beaten; there was no way either us would come out alive if we kept at it. Maybe if I did the smart thing and hit his head, I could have finished him then and there, but no, I had to hit something nonthreatening.
Fortunately for us, it seemed like the fight wasn't going to last much longer no matter how it turned out. Cracks began form in the ice, frozen material finally giving way to all fighting and fire done upon it. The ice was starting to break into sheets, making this place no longer suitable for conflict. Things were going to end really fast.
"Alright ladies, let's go!" I heard Camicazi howd. She and whatever was left of her forces quickly made their way closer to the ship, very intent at beating the Outcasts aboard before the ice broke off into even more pieces. Heather quickly joined up with Camicazi group and before I knew it they were quickly making their way the side of the ship.
I turned to Stormfly and immediately decided to get aboard her; she didn't seem to mind in it in the least. Under any other circumstances, the whole thing might have made me die of embarrassment, but these were not normal circumstance. Stormfly was injured and still wasn't well enough to fly, but her legs were still working well, even with the damage Alvin did to them.
Many of the Outcasts, instead of chasing after the retreating Bog Burglars tried to make their way back to the harbor before the cracks did. The few that were bold enough to chase after the Bog Burglars received the full attention of a Bog Burglar marksman. The dragons, too, broke off their attack, even though the fact they were in air made the ice breaking apart a non-factor for them.
There was only one Outcast who was truly undeterred and he was right after behind us.
Alvin leapt forward, matching Stormfly jump for jump as we leapt over the ice, getting ever close to our destination. He screamed, fully intent into making sure all that was left of us was a bloody mess.
Frightened, I pointed my spear at Alvin and then… tendrils of flame burst out from the spear, wrapping around Alvin as it blasted him away.
"You. Won't. Get. Away!" Alvin shouted at the top of his lungs, each word clear and concise. laying on his back as the world around him slowly broke to pieces. And then, no longer able to support his weight, he dropped into the icy water below.
And then it was over. I didn't know what I did, what command or spell I willed into being to make the spear work like that, but it just happened. I used the same spell Alvin used to destroy so many people's lives to save my own… I didn't know how I felt about that, especially since I didn't know how it was going to affect Alvin.
Stormfly made one final jump, landing on the boat. We both tumbled onto the deck in a heap. Opening my eyes, I found we were greeted by the remains of Camicazi's crew and my friends.
"Hey, you actually got the spear!" Camicazi chirped. She seemed more at ease now, once we were free from danger and she no longer needed to betray us.
"And beat up Alvin!" added Heather, eyeing the weapon in my hands.
Meatlug licked me on the face, a dragon's way of showing respect and admiration. "That's definitely something to compose a song over!"
Fishlegs gave me a sheepish smile. "Well, your Dad's going to want to hear about this…"
I groaned, not really sure how to begin explaining this adventure.
But one thing I did do was take a look at Stormfly. "So, was it all worth it?" I asked her.
Her broke out into a smile, well, as best as she could have done as a Nadder. Even as a dragon, I couldn't stop looking at her grins. And then to my surprise, she gave me a little lick on the check. "Well, we won," she said. "I think that has to count for something."
I was a little stunned at that action. I had Stormfly's respect… Was I dreaming? It sure felt like I was dreaming… Dreaming sounded so good. I moved over closer to the ship's mast. The sails might have been burned and ashen, but they were still functional.
"Toothless?" I saw Stormfly question me.
I leaned back, putting my back to the mast. "I think I am just going to take a nap..." I said wearily. With the rush of emotions and activity gone, I had just realized I did all of that running, all fighting without any furs or protection. Waves of cold and exhaustion washed over me.
To my further surprise and and weary confusion, Stormfly gave me another lick. She laid down beside, bringing her wing as a blanket over me, much like how Hiccup did for me every now and again. "Well, rest easy then, you've earned it."
I was too tired to think anymore about it and I slept.
Well, that's a lot to take in.
Now, we've got Heather of all people working with Camicazi, a map, and the various mysteries and questions I've set up. Maybe you can all guess what makes them all so significant.
And Matt: the whole reason I had to dedicate the chapters to either Hiccup and Toothless entirely was to ensure the flow of the action came in properly without too many major cliff hangers and breaks. Dividing it like normal made the writing so much more difficult to pull off.