Part Three - #1 Karma

The night was cold and silent. The only sounds that could be heard were the sporadic creaks of the Pertriti's hull and the waves that were splashing up against it. Leaning on the railing, staring out to sea, was Viri, who was looking rather downcast as he let out a sigh. The only ones on deck were himself and Arc, the latter steering the ship when she called out to him, "We're nearly there, would you like to wake the others?"

"Sure thing," Viri replied as he turned to see the distant lights of Kyoraan shining through the fog. He turned, only to find Praze standing there, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Are you reluctant to see this friend of yours?" the younger brother asked, letting out a yawn. "You seem a little down..."

Viri let out a short sigh as he looked down at the ground. "It's just... I haven't had the chance to visit her with all that's been happening... and I've only sent her a few letters, so, I guess I just feel a little bad about going and springing this on her out of nowhere."

"How long have you known her for?" Praze then asked.

"Well, it was just after I lost Silva and left the nest, so... about a decade and a bit?" Viri answered, scratching his head.

"Do you know if she likes you more than a friend?" he then asked and Viri raised a brow at that. However, to Praze's surprise, Viri didn't even question him.

"Most likely not," he answered. "She... was in love with someone until she lost him, and she's been searching for him for a while. Going out and looking was what she did for a long time, but she... she's been pretty close to giving up. So much so that she gave me her boat to use – the one back on Berq right now – and has generally been staying in her house in Kyoraan ever since. In fact... it always makes me wonder about Ennis and whether or not I should go look for her."

"So, you do still love her?" Praze asked as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Yes, I told you that before." Praze looked up at him again before Viri continued. "Whether she's still alive or not, I won't know. I..." he trailed off for a moment, turning back to the sea. "I should have taken her with me, Praze. That... is my biggest regret."

There was silence for a few moments before Praze spoke up. "Hypothetically speaking..." he began as Viri turned, just in time to see the smirk that appeared on Praze's face. "If you two met again, how long do you think it would take before you became mates?"

Viri turned back to the sea with a groan. "Shut it, I don't even know if she'd still like me after leaving her like that!" he muttered furiously as Praze chuckled.

"That's why I said hypothetically speaking, but judging by your response I'd say you believe it wouldn't take too long," Praze quipped as he turned and walked towards the other rooms to wake the others. "Regardless, when this whole thing with the decree is over and done with, I'll help you find her."

Viri stopped, having been about to unleash a verbal assault on Praze for his insinuations, and just simply stood and watched him walk away. He then turned back to the sea with a smile on his face.

It took nearly half an hour sorting out docking permissions for the port but eventually Arc and Yoshino came back aboard with the news that they had permission to stay, before wishing the rest of the group luck. Shortly after, Viri, Praze, Toothless, Ace, Hannah, and Sym left the docks and walked into Kyoraan. The plan was for them to find out information regarding the decree then report back to Arc and Yoshino, who would then figure out where to go. But for the time being, they needed someplace to stay, which led them to the house built on the outskirts of the town.

"Alright, we're here, so stay back for a moment and let me do the talking," Viri murmured as they stopped by the ridge of the forest that stopped only a few metres from the house. He continued up to the door, stopping momentarily when he heard a slight sound. He could tell that someone was on the other side of the door but, even still, knocked on it as he called out. "River? It's me, can I come in?"

After a few seconds, the door opened slightly, and a tired, confused voice wafted out. "Ryu? What are you doing here?"

"Sorry for such late notice, River, but do you think I could come in?" he asked as the door opened fully, revealing the slender figure of a young woman with long black hair and bright cyan eyes.

"What even..." she trailed off, staring at him momentarily before placing her head in her hand. "It's been about three years since I last saw you and you just randomly turn up, unannounced, in the middle of the night?"

Viri laughed weakly, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry about that. You see, we're really in need of a place to stay and I was hoping you'd be able to do me a huge favour, if only for tonight?" he asked and she let out a groan.

"I cannot believe you... but, I suppose you may come in and have the chance to explain yourself," she murmured, walking inside. He followed her, but as he went through the door she turned to face him. "Well, aren't you going to invite your friends in as well? I'd imagine the cold to be unpleasant this time of year."

"Wait, you know there's others?" he asked and she let out another sigh.

"You're as thick as you usually are, Ryu," she muttered. "All of your trudging and whispers woke me up, not to mention you even said 'we're in need of a place to stay', anyway."

"Oh. Right." With that, River went back into the house to light some lanterns as Viri returned to the edge of the forest. "Alright, it seems we at least have a place to stay for tonight, so come on in. But, she only knows me as Hakuryuu, so don't call me Viri in front of her, okay? Now-" Viri began but he cut himself off, having no idea how he didn't notice that Hannah was the only one there. "Wait, where's everyone?"

"Sym told me she's gone to investigate the town, Praze decided to sleep out in the forest instead, and Ace and Silva both have gone into town to find their own lodgings with the money Hiccup gave them," Hannah told him and Viri could only roll his eyes.

"What about you, then?" he asked, wondering why she didn't go off on her own as well.

"I'm completely exhausted and I have no intentions of trying to find my own place to stay," she responded as the two of the walked back to the house.

"Fair enough."

As Sym looked around the loud and rowdy tavern that was the Tabibito, her eyes narrowed as tried to find someone that could give her information. Though the bar mainly consisted of burly men with their wooden mugs of mead and other assortments of the inhibiting kind, she knew the perfect place to go. The waitress. All Sym had to do was wait, and the information would come to her. And come it did.

"What can I get you?" the bright and bubbly young woman asked, a smile on her face. Sym gestured for the girl to move closer.

"What do you know of the decree?" Sym asked as she discreetly showed some of the silver coins she had appropriated from Toothless.

"Those be dangerous words to mutter in these times," she whispered quietly as she sat down, taking the coins from Sym's hand and putting them in her apron pocket. "Plenty of men get drunk and share their secrets here, what specifically do you want to know about them?"

"Where are they situated?" she asked, red eyes scouring the room as she listened to what the waitress had to say.

"A lot of ships make port here when they want to go inland, so we get a lot of customers during these times but..." she then trailed off, looking at Sym's hand. Without needing any further indication, she passed a few more coins to the girl, who smiled and continued. "The only time there's been a drunken slip up that resulted in the correlation of the decree and a specific destination... has been Lanos."

"Lanos, huh? Do you have any idea what sort of numbers they might have?"

"Unfortunately, no," the waitress responded, leaning back. "That's about all the information I can offer you regarding them. They're extremely tight-lipped."

"Thanks for your time," Sym responded, standing up.

"Well, would you at least like a drink before you leave?" the waitress asked, standing also.

"No, thanks," Sym murmured, leaving the table and heading for the door. She had to get back to the others to tell them what she'd found out. She couldn't believe how incredibly easy it was. Of course, there was a chance the information was incorrect, but at least they had a place to start. The only unfortunate thing, however, was the that this was the only thing that was on her mind. She didn't notice the two men that had followed her outside. But the man who had been watching her from the corner noticed, and narrowed his eyes as he went to follow the three of them, tightening the scarf around his neck.

When she was outside the tavern, Sym turned and began walking, remembering where Viri had taken them all earlier. I'll take a quick cut through the forest, she thought, not bothering to take such an ineffective route, instead opting for the direct path. She didn't notice she was being followed, even in spite of her heightened senses. That was, at least, until she saw the knife in front of her face. The knife had swung out at her neck from behind a tree and she barely managed to dodge it in time, falling over backwards as she did. Her eyes widened as she fell onto her back but before she could do anything, she was pinned down and almost didn't see the knife in her assailant's hands as it plunged towards her chest. Instantaneously she reacted, grabbing the attacker – who she identified as a man – by his hands and stopping the blade just before it came into contact with her.

"She's a strong one, Carl," the man seemed to chuckle as he pushed down harder, but before Sym could do anything else, his hand reached out and he grabbed the bit of cord that was around her neck, tearing it off her. "My gods!" he exclaimed, only to find himself thrown into the air as Sym expertly kicked him off her. She heard the clang of the blade as it hit the ground, but instead of running to finish the first attacker, she tried to find the other one, only to be caught from behind in a clearly larger man's grip.

"Now, now, missy, didn't your parents ever tell you not to roam the woods at night, there are all sorts of heinous people out here, remember?" the man chuckled into her ear as he gripped her tighter.

Unfortunately, Sym was in a terrible position. He had managed to pin her arms and elbows to her sides, so she couldn't disable him using her arms, as well as apply pressure to her windpipe so she couldn't breathe. Even in human form, Night Furies were very strong but this man was insanely strong. Sym couldn't break free and because of how large he was, nor she could she throw him with her legs or trip him up. Damn, I may have to use reconstruction, she thought but before she could even begin, the pressure had stopped and the man fell to the floor. Sym fell with him down onto her hands and knees, trying to regain her breath, as she realised another presence.

"You should really be careful about how you get information in this town," a voice murmured and Sym looked up to see the young man she had noticed sitting in the corner of the bar. He fixed his woollen scarf that had come a little loose as he watched her get up. Sym felt around her neck and her eyes widened when she realised her scale was gone – and the other man had run off whilst she was getting strangled. "That waitress in the bar has a deal with those two ruffians – for a cut of the profits, she sells out people with money and they get jumped, mostly killed-"

"Where's the other one?" she cut in, looking around frantically.

"He ran past me, but I-" the man began but stopped as Sym went to pass him, grabbing onto her shoulder to stop her, "he's probably already-"

The second the man had grabbed Sym, she jumped up onto him and swung around his body, grabbing his head between her legs before elaborately throwing him to the ground with a thud. Wasting no time, she ran back towards the town, leaving the young man on his back, staring with wide eyes up at the stars. He let out a long whistle of astonishment.

"Damn..." he trailed off, a grin on his face.

About half an hour later, Sym had returned to the Tabibito. She opened the door and turned to the right, finding the young man right where he was the first time before she walked over to his table and sat down. She let out a groan as she put her elbows on the table and put her head in her hands.

"Didn't find him, did you?"

"No," she responded with a sigh, stopping for a moment. "Thank you for getting the other one off me, I'm sorry I threw you like that." He smirked.

"Considering how pissed and frantic you looked, I'd say it's because the thing you lost was quite valuable," he said. "I'd also say you're not here to apologise. You want to know more about where's he's taken it, don't you? Considering you've come to me, you've figured I know at least that much because of what I was saying before."

"You're not wrong," Sym replied, looking up at him. "Well, can you-"

"It's too loud here, let's talk upstairs," he interrupted her, just as another bout of laughter came from the crowd. "I have a room here." Sym was about to say something, but she stopped herself and just nodded, following him as he walked across the bar, nodding to the barkeep as he walked past him and down a hallway, which in turn led to a set of stairs. After a short climb and walk, they arrived at a room and he opened the door, gesturing for her to go in. He shut and locked the door behind them as Sym sat down at the small table, watching as he did the same.

"Karma," he began and Sym was taken aback for a moment, not understanding what he meant. "My name is Karma, what's yours?" he asked, and Sym sighed. She could tell that this man – Karma – would be able to tell if she were lying. He'd proven at least that much earlier. She was even willing to bet that he'd have been able to block her throw had he been on guard.

"Symphony," she told him. "Now, do you know?"

"That would depend on how valuable the stolen item is," he responded. "Socially."

"Socially? What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"Is it seen by the general populace as a rare item, perhaps?" he asked and Sym thought for a moment, remembering something Praze had told her that Viri had mentioned to him. Night Fury scales are extremely rare, so you should be careful about displaying them. They are often used in jewellery and fetch extremely high prices.

"Yes, extremely so," Sym told him and he reached into a satchel, bringing out a piece of parchment and placing it on the table. "What's this?" she asked, momentarily confused.

"This is a tournament that's held around about this time of year; The Sword's Song," he told her. "While the runner-up prizes are money hand-outs, the first, second, and third place prizes are all items of a substantial rarity. The organisers offer money for such items from the public so they can have a decent amount of participants to compete, and robberies are a very frequent occurrence due to the fact."

"So... if they thing they stole ends up as one of the prizes, I'd need to enter the tournament to win it back?" Sym asked and Karma nodded.

"It's not that simple, though," he continued. "It's the most well-renowned tournament on this part of the mainland, not to mention brutal. It's called the Sword's Song, but all non-ranged weapons are allowed... and so is murder. There are about a thousand people that sign up, with fifty qualifying matches consisting of twenty participants. Last-man standing. The remaining twenty-five matches are one-on-one, then so on and so forth."

"Do they publish what the prizes will be beforehand?" she asked.

"They have to in order to get a large group of people to sign up, thus making them more money-" he began but cut himself off as he stood quickly, his eyes on the door as he ran over to it, quickly unlocking it and opening it as he looked out, and Sym could hear footsteps as someone ran away down the stairs. "Pervert..." he muttered as he shut the door and locked it again, walking back over to the table.

"Pervert?" Sym questioned.

"Some people notice when you take a beautiful woman up to your room," he explained as he sat down. "Pathetic, really."

"I would've thought their eavesdropping to be a little more... pragmatic," she murmured, letting out a sigh. "Anyway, when is the tournament and when will they publish the prizes?"

"Actually, in about a week or so they'll put up posters in the town square – where the ring will be set up – and a short time after that they'll be in the square doing sign-ups," Karma replied, becoming more and more intrigued with the young woman before him. "You're not actually thinking of competing, are you?" he asked with a smirk.

"I'll have no choice if the thing they stole is in the prizes," Sym responded, a glint of condescension in her eyes. "Do not forget that I put you on your arse before, so you would do well to choose your words wisely, Karma." He chuckled at her words as a grin formed on his face.

"It's my fault that I jest with strangers because they don't understand my sense of humour," he told her as he leant his head back on his hands and closed his eyes. "I'm not partial to prejudice."

"Good, neither am I," she told him. "Are you going to compete?"

"That would depend on the prizes," he replied. "I've never really bothered before, but because I'm in town, I thought I'd give it a go." There was silence for a few moments, and Karma opened his eyes to look at her again. "You can always just pay me to win it for you," he added with a smirk.

"Not a chance," Sym replied, almost instantly, as a smirk crept on her own face. "I'll win it back myself if it comes to it. And I'll beat you, too, if it comes to it." His smile grew slightly as his eyes narrowed.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, but I won't go easy on you," he told her.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, either," she told him as she stood. "It's getting late, however, so I'll have to leave."

"Now that's a shame, and here I was enjoying your company," he added with a smirk as he stood with her and walked over to the door, unlocking and opening it for her. "I meant that. It's not often I find someone as... enigmatic as yourself."

"Don't give me too much credit," she replied with a smirk. "I'll see you at the tournament, so get ready to be beaten."

"I look forward to it," he replied before shutting the door, and Sym walked away back down the hallway, a puzzled expression on her face. I did enjoy that, didn't I? She was surprised.

What really caused her to stay so long was the fact that Karma had appeared charismatic on the surface, but in reality, was just as enigmatic and unmoved as herself. And, of course, there was the one fact that had surprised her the most; that Karma's eyes were a deep, blood red like her own. Of course, it was naturally occurring in humans, just very rare. But there was just something about him that made her... confused. Almost as if he were simple yet intricate at the same time, and the only reason she had stayed so long was so she could try and figure him out. Which in and of itself was so unlike her.

Stop overanalysing it, Sym. You're just going to arrive at a non-conclusive conclusion that leaves you with nothing but wasted time. Best to just leave it and forget about him. Well, at least until I see him at the tournament. He'll definitely be there... and I'll definitely crush him. Yeah, that's how I'll get some closure, at least. With that in mind, she returned to the house, taking the normal path this time and being wary of any possible robbers, and knocked on the door.

A/N

I'm hoping to get some more regular updates going, so I've decided to reduce the word count a bit. Doing 8k+ chapters can take longer if I get stuck on multiple things.

Anyway, I'm going to return to answering reviews, because I just want to. Yeah.

QuiteARandomFan: Thanks! Although it was a few months ago now, hehe. You did get quite a look at Black in this chapter, though, so maybe you're more interested in him now. Well, probably. Claire may or may not get healed, time will tell. And, well, what I decide. And yes, the plan is for the whole family to be interesting. Fun fact, as thanks for being my best reviewer, I'll tell you that Praze (when I began writing him) was based on what I used to be like, and Sym (when I began writing her) was based on who I am now. Both these characters, obviously, have been developed into their own characters. But, well, Sym is still a lot like me. Expect to see a lot more with her. And I'm glad you're enjoying it, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

mathmonkey167: Do I even need to respond to this? I'd say I already have, to be honest, but thanks regardless for the review :)

Yeah, that's it. Hope you all enjoyed. Please leave a review.