Snart's Saga, Part I Chapter 25
The flight home was uneventful, and so were the next six days. Snart was beginning to wean Skybaby of her extreme dependence on him, but it was a slow process. On the seventh day, Hiccup announced his plans for a return flight to the Noidback Mountains, in search of wild dragons. He would lead this expedition himself.
"Who's going with you?" Snotlout was the first to ask the question on everyone's mind.
"None of you," Hiccup answered. Before anyone could protest, he went on. "We've got five Dragon Friends who have been bugging me for months for a promotion to Dragon Rider. They're good enough, they know enough, but they haven't had the chance to do something noteworthy. This expedition is their chance. I'll be able to watch them up close and make sure they really deserve their copper badges."
"How long will you be gone?" was Astrid's question.
"If we haven't found anything in a week, we'll come back. If we do locate those dragons, we'll probably be back sooner — we just want to find them, not train them."
"Are you leaving Snart in charge again?" asked Tuffnut scornfully.
"Actually, I thought I'd leave you in charge, Tuff," Hiccup said with a smile. "It'll be good practice for you. But as soon as you complain about it, Snart takes over. Deal?"
"Hey, why him and not me?" Ruffnut demanded.
"I had to pick one leader, and he spoke up first. Nothing personal."
Snotlout angrily blurted out, "You mean, if I'd said something first, I would have been in charge?"
"Count your blessings, Lout," Snart offered. "There's a lot more to being in charge than just giving a bunch of orders."
"There's more?!" exclaimed Tuff excitedly.
Fishlegs leaned over to Astrid and whispered, "I give him half a day."
The expedition left early the next morning. Hiccup and Toothless led three men and two women (including Kneebiter) off to the east, carrying plenty of food for people and dragons. The other Academy members watched them go.
They were barely out of sight when Tuffnut called for mock sword fights. "We need the training," he explained to his skeptical friends. He squared off against Snart, Snotlout chose Fishlegs as his opponent, and the two girls faced each other. "This is gonna be epic!" Tuff exclaimed.
"For me!" Lout added.
"And me!" Ruff chimed in.
"We'll see," said Astrid.
Tuffnut and Snart were both far from experts, and their battle became a long, drawn-out draw. Snotlout attacked the same way every time, and Fishlegs quickly worked out a parry, then a counter-attack; soon he was winning most of his duels. Astrid, who wasn't too enthusiastic about the whole thing, never tried to attack, but effectively blocked all of Ruffnut's strikes, which soon had Ruff furious.
"Astrid, you're not even trying!" Tuff objected.
"I've trained my entire life with an axe," she answered, smoothly dodging another attack. "How can you expect me to be an expert with a weapon I've never used? Besides, I don't see you scoring many hits."
"I'll show you a hit!" he yelled. He raised his sword over his head and charged at Snart headlong. At the last moment, Snart dropped to the ground and curled up in a ball, Tuffnut tripped over him, and fell flat on his face. "Ohhh, I am hurt! I am very much hurt!" he yelled, holding his nose.
The battle was interrupted by two of the Sea Dragons, Efelburr and Boogerboard, who burst into the Academy shouting, "Raiders!"
"Raiders? Coming here?" Snart asked, incredulous.
"We were taking a practice flight south," Efelburr began, "when we saw ships. We flew over to check them out, and somebody threw an axe at us! We came straight back to warn you."
"How many ships?" Snart demanded.
"About fifty, maybe more."
"Fifty!" exclaimed Astrid. "That has to be Dagur the Deranged and the Berserker tribe."
"They didn't win the first round, so they're back for more?" Fishlegs suggested.
"How far out are they?" was Snart's next question.
"An hour and a half, at a guess," Boogerboard replied.
"Okay, we've got to move fast," Snart began. "It figures they'd do this while Hiccup and our best recruits are away. I'd like to —"
"Hey, I'm supposed to be in charge!" Tuffnut protested, waving his wooden sword.
"You know we're badly outnumbered, right? Do you want the blame if we lose?"
"Snart's in charge!" shouted Tuff.
"Okay, as I was saying, I'd like to keep the bloodshed to a minimum, but if they're determined to die, we may have to give them what they want. You —" he pointed to Boogerboard "— warn Stoick; he'll take charge of the land defenses. Stay here in case he needs to send us a message. Ruff, Tuff, Lout, Astrid, spread out and find every Viking who has a dragon to ride. Get them down to the sea cliffs with saddles and harnesses ready to go. Fishlegs, count who and what we've got as they get there; I'll need to know what our forces are. You —" he pointed to Efelburr "— rest your dragon for a few minutes, but be ready to guide us to this fleet. Skybaby! Let's go, we got trouble!"
As the dragons gathered on the cliffs, Stoick came running to meet them. "What's your plan?" he asked Snart.
"I want to break up their fleet, weaken them, turn them back if possible. I don't want to kill anyone, but we're Vikings and we'll do what we have to do. If any of them do get to land, they'll be wet, burnt, and tired, and there won't be many of them. The dragons will stay out of your way if that happens. We've got the sea, you've got the land."
"If they're Berserkers, they won't turn back."
"Well, they won't be able to say I didn't warn them. Fishlegs, what have we got?"
"Two Nightmares, three Zipplebacks, six Gronckles, and eight Nadders. There would be more, but Stoick wants those riders in his ground forces."
"Nineteen dragons against fifty ships?" Stoick repeated. "Those aren't good odds."
"Actually, Stoick, they're very good odds. You've never seen what a dragon can do to an incoming raid. For me, this is familiar territory. Unless something terrible happens, the Berserkers are either going home or going down."
"I hope you're right, Snart." The chief turned and headed for town to organize his warriors.
"Okay, everyone!" Snart raised his voice. "We're going to make multiple attacks on those incoming raiders, as I give the orders. Everyone, make sure your dragons are ready to flame. Nadder riders, find a rock about the size of your head, and bring it with you into battle. I'll explain why later. Sort yourselves out by dragon type and get ready to fly. We're earning a new battle star today!" That gave most of them encouragement.
In about five minutes, everyone was ready. "Efelburr, lead the way. Dragon warriors of Berk, let's ride!" The force of dragons that lifted off the cliffs wasn't nearly as big as Snart might have hoped, but it should be big enough to execute his plan.
He and Skybaby flew from one side of the gaggle of dragons to another, sorting them out. "The Zipplebacks will make the first attack. Lay a line of gas in front of the lead ships; when they enter it, light it. Ruff, you're in charge of that. Tuff, I didn't pick her because she's better, only because she's closer to me right now. Ruff, take your dragons and get them ready." She grinned wolfishly and started giving orders to the other Zippleback riders.
"I don't think they'll turn back after just one attack, so here's the second part. All the Gronckles and Nightmares will fly from the front of the fleet to the back, setting their masts on fire. If you just burn the sails, that's fine, but I really want the masts. I want to make them row."
"So they'll be tired when they get to land?" Fishlegs guessed.
"So their hands will be full of oars and they can't throw any more axes at us," Snart answered. "Lout, you're in charge of this stage. Make sure the dragons don't fly right over any ships — that's a good way for them to get hurt. Fishlegs, tell your Gronckle riders that when they reach their shot limit, they should fly back and eat another rock that the Nadders are carrying. With those reloads, eight dragons should take out most of the masts in the fleet, even if you miss a few shots. Lout, get your dragons ready and tell them the plan."
"You got it! Those ships will never know what hit them!" Snotlout rounded up the Nightmares and Gronckles and explained the plan.
"What about the Nadders?" Astrid called.
"Keep them flying in circles in front of the fleet so the Gronckles can find them," Snart shouted back. "You're in charge of them. I'll tell you more if the first two attacks don't do the job."
The Berserker fleet was in view now. Snart counted fifty-two ships sailing in three rows, all laden with warriors. His last concern, that this was just a fishing fleet that had been misidentified by a panicky Sea Dragon, was laid to rest. "Ruff, do it!"
The three Zipplebacks, excited to lead the attack, laid down a curtain of thick green gas just in front of the three lead ships. A few axes and spears were thrown at them from long range, but all missed. The ships plowed straight into the cloud. "Now!" shouted Ruffnut, and the entire cloud exploded with a noise like a close-range clap of thunder.
When the smoke cleared, the lead ships were blackened and their sails hung in tatters. The crews were blackened as well; some were sitting on deck, clutching their ears. Those ships ran out their oars. The fleet kept coming.
"Lout, take your dragons in! Tuff, when they're done, if the raiders haven't turned back, you do the same thing Ruff just did, except you're in charge this time. Try to blow up some ships that aren't badly damaged yet."
"Ha ha! Boom!" laughed Tuffnut.
Snart and Skybaby gained height to watch the next stage of the battle. The eight dragons with long-range fire swept down the length of the enemy fleet, spitting flames every few seconds. The flames spread as masts and sails caught fire. Fire is a sailor's greatest enemy, and the enemy sailors wasted no time in cutting away burning sails and chopping down flaming masts. The Gronckles' aim was not perfect, but they made up for it by recharging their shot limit with rocks from the Nadders and making a second pass. In about twenty minutes, the entire enemy fleet was moving under oars; not a sail could be seen. They kept coming.
"Tuff, do your stuff!" Snart flew back to the small flock of Nadders. "Astrid, once the Zipplebacks are clear, take the Nadders in from the land side, low and fast. Flame the ships' rudders. Blast them, set them afire, chase the steersmen away from them... I want those ships unsteerable. Skybaby and I will fly in with you, but you're in command of this phase."
"Got it!" she replied, and carried the orders to the other Nadder riders. As she finished, another loud blast announced that Tuffnut had carried out his task. He had targeted the second ships in each row. One of them pulled out of line, turning slowly because they had to steer with their oars, and rowed slowly for home.
"Astrid, if any ship retreats, let it go! Focus on the ones that are still a threat."
"Okay, Snart. Nadder riders, you heard that. Follow me!" She led the Nadders in a straight line parallel to the raiders. Then she let out a piercing whistle; every Nadder turned ninety degrees and swept toward an enemy ship.
Snart guided Skybaby toward the third ship in the nearest row. "We're a little high; come down, come down. That's good. I want you to flame right there, where I'm pointing. Ready? Ready... fire!" A blinding shaft of superheated flame lanced out and struck just aft of the rudder. Snart nudged his dragon's horn to correct her aim, and the rudder vanished in flames.
"Fly left, Skybaby!" They banked and flew just aft of the ship they'd just flamed and through a gap in the middle row. "There, that's our other target, that one in the last row. Same thing as before. Ready? Ready... fire!" His dragon's aim was spot-on this time.
All the dragons met in front of the fleet. "Lout, check the enemy ships for damage; see if any of them are retreating and if any need special treatment. Is anybody hurt?"
"Efelburr got hit," Astrid said.
Snart's face turned hard. "How? Who did it?"
"He overflew the lead ship, and someone threw an axe and hit him in the shoulder. He's in a lot of pain."
"All right, if that's the way they want it... Fishlegs, take two Gronckles that have used up all their shots, and escort Efelburr and his dragon home. You're in charge; get him safely back to Berk."
"You got it, Snart!" Meatlug hummed away; Fishlegs would see to the wounded rider's safety.
"Ruff, Tuff, I have a special job for you." They recognized the rage on Snart's face and hoped it meant something painful for somebody. "I'm going to fly on the right side of that lead ship and find out who threw the axe. Then, while they're all looking at me, I want your dragon to swoop in from the left and carry that man back to Berk. I want him alive!"
"Aww, can't we kill him just a little?" Tuffnut begged.
"If he gets dunked in the ocean once or twice on the way, I don't want to know about it," Snart answered. "Just bring him back to Berk, uninjured. He's going to pay for what he did."
Snotlout returned at that moment. "Most of the ships are turning back; only nine or ten are still heading for Berk. Can I sink them? Pretty please?"
"They're in sight of Berk; if they get much closer, we'll have to sink them. But first, I want that sailor who threw the axe. I'm going in; Ruff, Tuff, get ready." He guided Skybaby into a long descending curve that led him next to the lead ship in the middle row.
"Who threw the axe that wounded my dragon-rider?" he bellowed.
"Who wants to know?" came the reply from somewhere on deck.
"The man who's about to sink you wants to know, and so does his dragon," Snart yelled back.
"Then this is for your dragon!" One man stepped up to the gunwales and heaved a small throwing axe. Snart pulled Skybaby into a quick climb, and the axe splashed into the sea.
"Is that the best you can do?" Snart shouted, pointing directly at the thrower and hoping Ruffnut and Tuffnut were paying attention.
"When I reach land," the belligerent one answered, "you'll see what I — YAAAH!" His voice trailed into a scream as a two-headed dragon plucked him neatly off the deck and carried him away.
"As for the rest of you," Snart shouted to the crew, "I've tried not to kill anyone. But if you don't turn back, I'll have to start sinking your ships, one by one."
"You're bluffing!" came someone's answer. "Your dragons are all out of fire!"
Snart sighed. "Okay, Snotlout, show him how wrong he is." He pulled Skybaby up and away as Hookfang made a slow, deliberate approach. Snotlout looked like he was really enjoying this. He gave the word to his dragon, and a jet of liquid flame splashed the ship from figurehead to sternpost. The crew immediately threw themselves overboard, shed their weapons and armor, and swam like mad to the nearest ship.
Snart now caught up with the other two Zipplebacks. "You've each got one shot left? Lay them right on top of a ship that's still headed for Berk, and blow it. Then get back to Berk." They did as they were told. One ship sank immediately; the other turned back, half its crew bailing water from multiple leaks while the others rowed. As Snart gave orders to the remaining dragons, the rest of the raiding fleet also laboriously turned back.
Snart watched them go, and let out a deep breath. The plan had worked, and casualties were light. Now it was time to wrap up loose ends. "Belay those orders. All dragons, return to Berk! We have a victory!"