The Firebreather

The next morning, Stoick was well enough that he went down to the great hall to deal with some of the village business that had likely piled up. Hiccup didn't think he needed to try to stop his father, and wasn't sure he'd be able to anyway, so he headed to the forge.

"Ah, nice to see you back from your wee vacation," Gobber greeted him while pounding a piece of softened steel into a vicious curve.

"If that's vacation, I don't need another one. Ever," Hiccup said, tying on an apron and grabbing a pair of gloves. "What's on for today?"

"Oh, the usual. Sharpening and fixing and lighting things on fire, plus saddles. Oh - and I have something for you."

"For me?" Hiccup followed Gobber into the storage room, where Gobber squeezed himself between two cabinets, pushed some barrels aside, and nudged a pile of spears, causing half of them to tip over like tall pines in the forest.

"I'll… I'll wait out here," Hiccup said, backing away.

"Just be a minute," Gobber said, the upper half of his body behind a cabinet. "Had to hide this one. Not good if anyone found it."

"Uh, oh," Hiccup said.

"Aye," Gobber replied. He backed out of the storage room, carrying what looked like a catapult, except that it was small, and mounted on the old stock of a crossbow.

"What is that?" Hiccup tried not to stand in the line of fire, but he wanted to get closer to figure out what Gobber had built.

"It's a Firebreather."

"A what?"

"I got to thinking, you know, all that time alone in the forge this past week, all this work, lots of time by myself…."

Hiccup folded his arms and leaned back against a table, saying nothing.

"Anyway, I got to thinking, dragons, they breathe fire."

"Yes. Yes, they do." Hiccup had a feeling that he wouldn't like where this conversation was going.

"What if we vikings could breathe fire, too?"

"If we could... what?"

"If vikings and dragons both could breathe fire in battle. Now that would be quite useful, wouldn't it? Dragons have a shot limit, after all."

"How do you propose we begin breathing fire?"

"Not with our mouths, laddie. I tried that. Didn't work."

Hiccup decided he didn't want to know and was better off not asking.

"But, think of it this way: if we've got hot metal, and we hit it with a hammer, or we're sharpening a blade, what do we get?"

"Sparks, usually."

"Exactly. So what if we set up a wee ball of something that's already on fire -"

"Already on fire?" Hiccup said.

"Aye. Keep up. You load the wee ball here, and pull back like a crossbow," Gobber continued, arming the weapon as he demonstrated. "When you light it and fire it, this hammer follows the flight path, and should strike the ball from behind. That'll cause it to go faster, and cause a trail of sparks AND fire at the same time. As it's flying toward your enemy. Almost like breathing."

Hiccup did not know what to say, but he did think quickly about whether any of Gobber's clothing was fire proof, because he knew what was coming next.

"Come on, let's test it out."

"Ok, um, Gobber, this is a great idea, but - before we test it with dragons in flight, we should probably test it on the ground."

"Already did. Want to see?" Gobber balanced the Firebreather on his shoulder and headed for the yard. "Follow me."

Hiccup went out a different door.

"All right, Hiccup." Gobber walked around the forge, and looked to his right. "Hiccup? Where'd you go?"

"Here. Other side of you."

"How'd you get over there? Never mind. Now, you see where I tested it?"

The entire back wall of the forge was covered in deep black scorch marks, like dragon fire, only much smaller.

"That's a lot of firepower you have there."

"Aye. This is a great invention, I'm telling you. Will change everything."

Hiccup didn't know what to say.

"Ok, then. Here you go." Gobber tossed the crossbow at Hiccup, who caught it while jumping back from it at the same time.

"What would you… like me to do with this?"

"Go north, where it's darker, and find a place to test it out. Melt a few icebergs with it and see if we need to add more fire."

"Uh, ok. I think I could -"

"No, no, go tomorrow. That way, when we start preparing for the next battle practice, we'll have had time to make more!"

"Ok," Hiccup said. He looked down at the device in his hands, and could see how it might be improved, though he wasn't sure that the vikings needed handheld weapons designed to increase the speed of things that were on fire. They had plenty of flammable weapons. And he wouldn't want the twins having a weapon like this one.

"Take some of the others with you. Give you targets to practice on," Gobber was saying as he went back inside the forge. Hiccup followed, and tucked the Firebreather in his back room, behind his desk.

"I'll tell them, sure."

The rest of the day was busy, and there were more than the normal number of visitors in the forge. Somehow, a few people had gotten the idea that Stoick had been at home this past week caring for Hiccup. They hadn't seen him or Stoick and had drawn their own conclusions. So they came to ask how he was, and stayed to talk with Gobber, who never lacked for things to say.

Hiccup couldn't reveal that it was the other way around. After awhile, the misunderstanding of a few, which was sure to spread, became a weighty feeling, pressing on him. By the end of the day, the forge felt smaller, and he did want to fly off and not be bothered for awhile, with or without firebreathing weaponry.

"Don't forget the Firebreather," Gobber said as they left.

"Oh, no, won't forget that," Hiccup mumbled, going back to retrieve it.

Gobber watched him from the doorway with a smile. Then, in a loud, jovial voice that carried probably all the way to the water, he said, "Now get yourself back to bed, young man. You're up much too soon, sick as you were."

"Thanks, Gobber."

Gobber lifted his hand, and Hiccup anticipated a push on the shoulder. But instead, Gobber put his hand on Hiccup's head and gently smoothed his hair. Hiccup froze.

"Good lad," he said in a voice that barely reached between them. "Off with you."

Hiccup stood in the doorway, watching Gobber make his way down to his home.

...

When he started the long path toward his house, Hiccup's mind was already filling with ideas and alterations he might make to the Firebreather to create a slightly safer and much more useful weapon. He turned the device over in his hands - after disarming the bow string - and looked at how Gobber had constructed it.

He was so focused, he didn't hear Astrid until she was beside him.

"Hiccup!" He jumped and nearly fell off the path. Where had she come from?

"I've been calling your name - are you ok?"

"Oh, sorry, I didn't hear you," he said.

"Yeah, I noticed," Astrid said. "What is that?"

"A Firebreather. Gobber made it. It's supposed to shoot lit balls of fire and somehow make sparks as it fires. I haven't tested it yet."

"Huh," Astrid said, stepping forward for a closer look.

"He tested it on the back wall of the forge, and now he wants me to go north and test it in the darkness with Toothless."

"How do you think Toothless will react to you firing a flaming cross bow over his head?"

"I'm guessing not well. Probably why Gobber told me to take people with me."

"I'll go," Astrid said quickly. "I mean, someone has to pull you out of the water when Toothless tosses you."

"Yeah, thanks. Can you tell the others?"

"You want the twins to test a weapon called a Firebreather?"

Hiccup scratched his cheek and thought a moment. "No, no. Probably not. Fishlegs will want to come, though. And Snotlout."

"When are you going?"

"Tomorrow evening. It'll be darker the further north we fly. We can camp out and return in the morning, if we have to," Hiccup said, looking closer at the firing mechanism of the crossbow. He didn't see Astrid look up at him, then away.

"I'll spread the word," Astrid said, turning toward the village. "How many of those do you have?"

"Just the one - I hope. I think it's a good idea, but I'm not sure this is the best way to go about it."

"You'll figure it out," Astrid replied. She started walking down the hill. "See you tomorrow."