CHAPTER 26: NEST
On board Stoick the Vast's flag ship and fourteen other vessels, Vikings approached an unnerving phenomena. A fog bank that never dispersed, never revealed the island they were certain lied within. For fifteen summers Stoick has tried to penetrate its mists, starting with the year his beloved Valka was taken from him.
Gobber approached Stoick nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "Uh Chief? Mmm, some of the men, not me of courrse, werre wonderin' what the plan is, if indeed therre is a plan?"
Focusing on the fog as if in a trance Stoick responded sternly, "Find the nest and destrroy it."
"Rright. Dirrect and to the point." Gobber sheepishly affirmed.
A trilling warble arose from the fog, so Stoick and every Viking on deck turned in unison to look at their scaly black intruder. The protuberances on his head that look like ears began to quiver. These were not actually ears but echo locators similar to a dolphin's sonar receptors. A dragons ears are more like that of other reptiles with small patch like disks of skin behind their jaws.
The noise was mesmerizing to Toothless, hypnotic. His pupils contracted to slits and without realising it his head turned left toward the source of the sound.
Stoick walked to the stern of the ship to take control of the tiller.
"HARRD TO PORRT!" He bellowed to his fellow ships' captains and the command was repeated down the line. One by one as the command was relayed, the ships turned left into the wall of fog. Stoick issued one more command before being swallowed up by the fog. "Stay within shoutin' distance and sound off frrequently."
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A group of five teens strolled into the arena where Hiccup was awaiting them.
"You did right by seeking help from the world's most deadly weapon." Tuffnut indicated by fluttering his right handed fingers towards himself.
This looked too much like another sign that Hiccup had grown familiar with. "What do you want me to wait for?" Hiccup asked in confusion. Tuffnut looked dumbstruck until Astrid explained to him his gesture looked like the sign for, "wait".
In a whispy voice, Ruffnut revealed to Hiccup, or so she thought, "What you did in the arena was just crazy. I like crazy! "
Feeling just a tad jealous, Astrid shoved her aside, but diligently interpreted Ruff's comment, just to have Hiccup shake his head in amusement.
Speak-signing for the benefit of the others, Astrid asked Hiccup. "What's the plan, oh mighty leader?"
Without a word Hiccup approached the lever that released the Monstrous Nightmare and pulled it down. Right away he started cooing to the beast so it wouldn't barge out like it had for him. The dragon came out calmly, surprising all his peers.
"Is he whispering to it?" Asked Ruffnut. "Wow, our very own dragon whisperer."
Snotlout became nervous, looked down and spotted Hiccup's discarded dagger from the morning's fiasco. He stooped down and picked it up. Astrid gave him a firm elbow jab to his ribs, followed with a shake of her head, so he changed his mind and threw it aside.
Suddenly Hiccup grabbed his hand, and pulled him into contact with the snout of a dragon Hiccup felt better suited for the brawny teen. Snotlout at first whimpered in fear, which quickly changed to a giggle of delight when he heard, and felt the purr of the large dragon.
When Hiccup stepped away, Snotlout panicked a little. "Hey, where are you going?"
Astrid had to run to get Hiccup's attention in order to relay Snotlout's plea.
"You're going to need something to help you hold on." Hiccup answered, holding up a coil of rope.
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With involuntary directions from Toothless, the fleet of Viking ships slowly weaved its way through a maze of reefs and sea stacks. At one point they passed under one of their older ships, suspended from a sea stack, hanging perpendicular to the ocean. It had been lost in a previous battle from many years past.
"Oh! That's wherre that went to." Gobber joked shakily. Several Vikings ducked when the mast of the Sea Dragon briefly caught on the bow of the hanging ship.
Once past it Stoick continued to deftly maneuver his ship through this maze. Grudgingly Stoick began to admit that Hiccup was right. Only a dragon could find the nest. While he was paying attention to turns of the dragon's head, he also began to remember other odd occurrences in his recent past. Events that the grief of having lost his wife may have temporarily erased from his mind. He now remembered the giant dragon that had endangered them on his return voyage from the Bog Burglars, with Énjal and Astrid. How two sets of sea dragons had both protected and escorted his vessel. He remembered Hiccup's words of warning regarding the creature they were hunting now. "You can't win this fight. It's not like anything you have ever faced before."
Stoick contemplated turning back, but they'd also never ever made it this far to the nest before. This far in they probably couldn't leave without a guide, and that Night Fury looked like it was operating on a one way course for the moment.
As Stoick contemplated this, the fog bank vanished as they must have passed its limits. Without warning the Sea Dragon bottomed out on a gravelly beach. Stoick looked high up onto a cliff wall of rock where he saw dragons retreating back into the mountain. It appeared to be honeycombed with caverns higher up, but nothing low enough to be used as an access point for his Viking warriors. Stoick jumped over the gunwale of his ship to land on the beach, and immediately the dragon song ceased. He began to issue orders. "Land the rest of the fleet, bring out and erect all the catapults." The Warriors tended to their orders, as he examined the face of the cliff wall.
From top to bottom the honeycomb entrances reduce in number. Stoick noticed how some were only partially open, and the wall around these were slightly protruding. He looked for a similar feature closer to the base of the wall and found one. Stoick called over his commanders and drew a diagram in the dirt. He indicated his plan of attack and how he wanted all the catapults to target the slight protrusion on the face of the cliff wall in front of them. "When we crrack open that mountain all Helheim is going to break loose." Stoick warned his men.
"And my undies!" Proclaimed Gobber. "It's a good thing I brrought extra skivvies."
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"I'll warn you now so you hopefully won't be shocked into panic. The monster we're about to face is massive. Astrid and I saw it eat a Gronkle like a cat eating a housefly."
This made Fishlegs gulp. He was very uneasy, since it was the only Gronkle in their group that chose him. Ironically Fishlegs named his sausage looking dragon Meatlug. Despite its massive boulder crushing teeth this dragon was actually a big "sucky poo" when given some affection.
Aside from choosing Snotlout's dragon for him, all the other dragons chose their own riders. The two headed Zippleback somehow realised Tuffnut and Ruffnut were related, if not actually twins, so they became its riders. The Twins immediately called it Barf and Belch.
Hookfang was the only name Snotlout could think of for his dragon, since it's teeth and claws were quite prominent.
The prettiest but dangerous, blue and yellow Deadly Nadder, chose Astrid. Privately Hiccup thought, But of course she would.
"Listen up guys. When we get there I obviously won't be able to hear you. Fishlegs, you do a quick analysis on it and see if you can figure out any weaknesses we can use against it. Try the tricks Gobber taught us in training; noise, blind spots. Your main goal is to distract it from our fleet, and our warriors. Do not get too close, please. I'll be riding with Astrid until we get there. You guys go ahead and take off. Astrid and I have to retrieve Toothless's rigging."
Tuffnut spoke up, "How are we supposed to get there oh wise and brilliant leader?"
Followed by Ruffnut's rusty peevish voice. "We don't know the way."
After Astrid's conversion, Hiccup informed them, "Only dragons know how to find the nest. Trust your dragons."
The four teens and three dragons flew out of the arena. Three of four teens whooped it up, and Fishlegs whimpered at first, until he realised the Gronkle's flight was more similar to a hummingbird, therefore very stable. They were an odd looking duo since Fishlegs was nearly as large as his dragon.
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The eight catapults began to hammer the weak spot on the cliff wall, one at a time, keeping up a steady flow of boulders. The barrage succeeded in breaking through the cliff wall after about twenty-two impacts, revealing a rather large tunnel. It appears a huge gas pocket had begun to form while the magma was still liquid hot, but failed to penetrate before the outer shell cooled. This of course had occurred eons ago.
Stoick approached the mouth of their new opening without any apparent fear. He was exceptionally confident of the marksmanship of his "catapulteers". After all they had hit the exact same spot every time. He signaled for a fire ball, simply standing there while they lobbed it over his head, down the tunnel. The fire ball illuminated hundreds, perhaps thousands of dragons lining the tunnel wall.
Just as Stoick stepped to walk into the tunnel, all the dragons erupted from the newly created escape route. Not a one attempted to attack or hurt Stoick despite his waving and swinging his hammer at them. They just flew off for freedom.
Gobber looked at the torrent of dragons spewing from the tunnel opening, and as they vanished into the sky above he asked "Is that it?"
Vikings all around him began to cheer. They couldn't have hoped for a greater success with no casualties.
Stoick couldn't help thinking This cannae be rright. Therre's no way it should've been this easy. Not with the warning Hiccup had given him.
The wall started to vibrate with an ominous earth rumbling roar. Stoick ran from the cave and the ground tossed his warriors around like beans on a drum skin. Another thunderous roar is heard and the side of the cliff began to crumble, as something from within broke free.
Despite an avalanche of rocks that lookef like the mountain had come down, a gargantuan head emerged from the cliff wall, followed by a yet larger winged body.
Several of the "catapulteers" regained their footing and managed three hits on the beast. Unfortunately to a creature who was able to push its way out of a mountain, the boulders were simply an annoyance.
Someone yelled, "To the ships!"
Stoick realised that's exactly what not to do and shouted even louder, "No! Stay clear of the ships!" and just after this the juggernaut dragon bit a catapult to kindling, then expelled a vortex of flame, setting nearly every ship afire. Toothless was still trapped aboard an inferno Sea Dragon. He struggled, pulled and pushed, but was unable to overcome his fetters.
Stoick exploded a new command. "Head for the north shore!"
"That's a smarrt one it is." Gobber declared of this walking nightmare, as it knew to attack the vessels of these puny humans first.
"Go with the others!" Stoick commands Gobber. "I can buy you all some time by giving that thing something to chase."
Locking onto Stoick's forearm Gobber shouts back at him, "Then I can double that time." and he hurtled a spear, nearly hitting the dragon's eye.
The titanic dragon looked down to see two of these pathetic bipeds jumping and squeaking at her. When one of them threw a sliver at her and nearly hit her eye, she becomes enraged again. She was about to squash these two gnats when three of her slaves have returned all roaring and flaming at her. How dare they! Wait, something is wrong. There's more of these puny insects on the backs of her servants.
Stoick can't believe his eyes and mouthed, "What the-"
"Everry bit the stubborrn Viking you everr were." Gobber sort of completed his thought when he also saw all of his young recruits riding on the backs of dragons.
Stormfly landed on the burning Sea Dragon to discharge Hiccup. "Go join the others. I'll catch up with you as soon as I free Toothless."
Stoick watched the Deadly Nadder, with his son, land at his burning ship and immediately knows what his son needs to do. Stoick ran for his ship.
"Toothless! I'm here! I'll get you out bud!" Hiccup struggled with the lock securing the neck stock holding down Toothless. Panicking he looked around for something to pry open the lock with.
Stoick barely escaped a gigantic crushing claw, as the massive dragon attempted to deal with four smaller beasts, and their riders. In its distraction it stumbled into the Sea Dragon, throwing Toothless and Hiccup into the water.
The five teens currently orbiting the giant head were banging their shields and weapons, in a pitiful attempt to disorient the massive dragon. This ploy backfires because it also throws off their own dragons.
In an attempt to twist away from humongous jaws, Hookfang barrel roled and ended up dumping Snotlout onto the head of the gargantuan dragon. Not missing a, beat he pulls his hammer from his belt.
At first the behemoth only seems to have two eyes. "Uh guys! I don't think she has any blind spots!" Fishlegs yelled out after the queen opened another two pair of eyes.
Snotlout ran for one set of three eyes on the right side of the queen's head, and starts whacking at them with his hammer. "What's the matter buddy? Something in your eye?" Snotlout crowed, not aware of the larger dragons gender.
Annoyed, the titanic dragon spun around attempting to dislodge the insect near her eyes. The air current caused by her tail nearly hitting the Gronkle, sent Fishlegs and his dragon spinning out of control. "Mayday! Mayday! Gronckle losing power!" Fishlegs shouted out. When they landed Fishlegs was thrown into the gravelly beach and announced, "I'm okay!" Only to have Meatlug somersault onto him. "Less okay." He muffled out from under his dragon.
The Zippleback flew over Snotlout hammering at the three huge eyes, and Ruffnut screeched at him, "Yeah! You the man!" Well, finally hearing a compliment from his favourite blond, he became distracted and lost his grip, nearly falling into the human sized teeth of the enormous dragon. Hookfang soared under him and Snotlout let go with perfect timing to land on his dragon's back.
Astrid shouted at the twins to distract and lure the queen away from the ships, and they immediately began arguing about who was more annoying. Somehow this actually worked and the hideous queen tried to snap at them.
Hiccup clung to Toothless' platform, vainly attempting to set his dragon free. Unfortunately he hadn't had a chance to inhale properly and quickly passed out in the briny waters. Stoick dove in right in after him, pulled him back out onto the shore where Hiccup coughed up a bunch of water. Right away Stoick dove back into the water for the Night Fury. Stoick had no way to unlock the wooden stock holding Toothless down, but he wasn't called Stoick the Vast for nothing. He grabbed a hold of the open end where the hasp was, and with a great strain ripped apart the blocks of immediately grabbed Stoick in his claws and pulled him out of the water, with his momentum leaping onto the shore.
Hiccup didn't hesitate in rigging up Toothless for flight. In short order Hiccup mounted Toothless, but before he could launch Stoick put a hand on his arm. Hoping Hiccup would understand him he signed "I'm sorry. Proud to call you my son. You don't have to do this."
"Thanks dad. It's an occupational hazard." And he flew off to join the fight with his peers and now new friends.
Stoick heard one of his crew cry out, with a cheer this time, "Night Fury!"
Sign of the Chapter - Ship: This is an easy one. Form both hands in the shape of a ship's hull in front of your sternum, then push them forward away from you, simulating the ship pushing forward through the water.