I Own Nothing

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Chapter 38

"Jennnawal Wufus Doofus"

Throk did his utmost to look calm and confident as he approached Grimmige Festung. It was a truly formidable looking place, and the black marble made it ominous to behold and, dare he say it, odious. He was dressed up to resemble a Meat Head Viking. He carried in one hand a piece of parchment in a waterproof cylinder, and in the other hand a sack. As he approached the gates a guard yelled down, "Halt! Who goes there?"

"A messenger from Chief Mogadon!" he yelled back, "I have an urgent message for your master and it's vital he see it immediately!"

The doors were quickly opened and he entered a long, dark, and dank corridor. He wondered how many people had come to cough up blood in this place.

A few grimy torches were lit here and there, but for the most part the place was pure darkness, and the only reason Throk did not lose his way was because there was no other way to go. If the intention was to intimidate visitors Viggo had succeeded very well, for Throk walked a bit more jumpy than usual, and often stopped anticipating an ambush. Where was everybody? The doorkeepers had vanished up a staircase as soon as the doors were shut, but aside from that he saw no one. If it had not been for the visible guards on the battlements he might have suspected the place was uninhabited.

And then he came to a great hall of sorts, which appeared to double as a meeting room and dining area. It was still built with black marble but there were a lot more torches, a roaring fire in one corner, upon which a stuck pig was roasting, and a great chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The fires gave the room a deep orange tinge which suited the black walls perfectly. In the back of the room was a large dais which a decaying statue of Hel, the Viking Goddess of one of realms of the dead. A fitting place for her! At her feet were statues of dead dragons, and Throk noticed with disgust that the gown the she wore was made of real dragon skin. Stair cases branched off on both sides of the room and coiled behind this dais, forming a kind of balcony directly behind and above her. Directly in front of her sat Viggo Grimborn. He sat as still as the statue behind him, deep in thought. A few hunters stood nearby, waiting for his orders and too wary to break his concentration. Dagur the Deranged was checking on the pig and was the only person who looked at ease.

At length Viggo's eyes moved upwards and he saw Throk standing in front of him. "Yes?"

Throk bowed. "I bring an important message from Mogadon,"

"Skip the pleasantries and hand it over," Viggo said curtly. He pulled the document out and read it to himself in silence.

"What's it say?" Dagur asked impatiently.

Only when he knew the full content did Viggo read aloud. "Mogadon announces a complete victory over the army of dragons. He promises me he will bring us nearly 313 dead dragons and 91 live ones. He says the Dragon Kings' forces are broken and on the run, and he will commence a pursuit immediately. The Dragon King himself was severely injured in the battle."

Dagur cheered wildly at the news and several hunters started to join in, but Viggo's cold reaction checked their celebration.

"This is not Mogadon's handwriting. Why not?"

"He didn't have any parchment on him at the time and he wanted to get a message to you as quickly as possible. So he dictated it. The handwriting's mine. I came as quickly as I could, Sir. I expect very soon he'll sail here himself to give you the details. I assure you Sir I was there myself and saw it all. It was quite a battle, but in the end we broke them with some of your tricks and…" he held up his sack and dumped its contents onto the floor. It was a bloodstained prosthetic. "Mogadon told me to tell you he'll bring you the rest of the Dragon King soon."

Viggo nodded slowly and finally allowed himself a smile. Everyone began cheering again and this time without restraint. Throk bowed and was dismissed, with orders to return to Mogadon at once and tell him Viggo would hold him to his promises.

"You know, Viggo," Dagur remarked, "This is a happy day! We should celebrate it properly!"

"There is still much to be done. Until Hiccup's dead body is in front of me I cannot afford to rest."

"Oh come on, drop the work for one night! You've won a great victory; you can afford a little relaxation! Too much stress is going to wear you out! You need a distraction, something entertaining, something to make you laugh! Laughter's very good, you know!" He snapped his fingers. "And I know just the thing! When I was out with Heather earlier this week we stopped in a nearby village and saw posters announcing a gypsy troop would be performing there! How about I invite them to come here and entertain us tonight? C'mon Viggo, old buddy, old, pal, it would do us all good to blow off a little steam and have some entertainment! Oh, and get this: the poster proclaimed proudly to have, in this gypsy troop, the greatest champion of Maces and Talons of the century!"

That got Viggo's attention. "Really?"

"Yes! Think about it! We could have the greatest Maces and Talons game in history right here! The Grand Champion against Viggo Grimborn! What a match it would be! And think about it, Vigg! I can see your name on all the posters around—in letters six meters high—Viggo Grimborn, the Conqueror of Dragons and the Greatest Champion of Maces and Talons in existence!"

Viggo felt himself giving into what Dagur said. He had to admit it would do him good to relax a little. And he was especially intrigued by this Maces and Talons champion. He doubted the boast was true, but he was still interested in seeing just how good they really were. "All right, Dagur, find these gypsies and hire them for the night."

Dagur was gone for nearly half the day. Upon his return to Grimmige Festung he skipped down to the cells singing:

"I know a man whose name is 'Paul'

He can jump higher than a wall

And that's coz walls can't jump at all!

Kill a dragon for the lassie!"

He jumped forward and struck a pose as if an actor who had just finished his greatest performance.

"Good evening everybody!"

"And what's good about it?" one guard yelled irritably, "We get to spend another long night in this frozen hole watching a bunch of boring old prisoners!"

It was true. Most of the Berkian prisoners were too depressed now to do much. Scarcely three words a day were uttered by anyone. They were mere phantoms of their former selves and more skeletal than living.

Dagur just laughed. "I'll be sure to bring your complaints to Viggo! I'm sure he'll be happy to address them! I know I'd hate to wear a dress, but maybe these complaints won't mind! Oh, and I also came to warn you all about something," his voice became lowered, his expression alarmed, and his words earnest. "Don't even think about ghosts while you're down here!"

The guards exchanged confused glances.

"You heard me! These cells are haunted! Headless ghosts and goblins! And they'll come for you in the dark if you don't take care! Take care you don't lose your heads, just like I did!" His eyes were bulging and his fingers were twitching.

"Beware! Beware!

They'll come for you without a doubt!

Beware! Take care!

They'll get you if you don't watch out!"

The guards snorted and one said impatiently, "Don't you have anything better to do?"

Dagur grabbed the man and held a knife to his throat. "You mind your manners! I'm not as forgiving as myself! With one knife I can end your life just like this!" He jabbed the knife forward. The man shrieked and tried to break free, but Dagur intentionally stopped the blade before it pierced him.

He laughed. And the guard laughed with nervous relief. Then Dagur stabbed him in the chest.

"I don't like it when people laugh at me! It's rude, that's what it is!"

He turned away from the body and looked at the stunned guards. "Make sure his ghost doesn't come for you lot tonight—or me either! Well, good evening everybody!"

And with that he skipped off again.

"I know a Hic whose name is Cup!

He's as cute as a dragon pup!

Comes at night when the moon's not up!

Kill a dragon for the lassie!"

While the shaken guards went to work disposing of the body, the imprisoned Berkians exchanged glances, wondering if there was a hidden meaning behind Dagur's words. A thrill of anticipation and excitement came upon some for the first time in weeks.

Night had fallen over the Fortress by the time the troop of gypsies reached its gates and were allowed admittance. Some distance away and in the air, invisible to the watchmen, Stormfly the Nadder was hovering. On her back sat the Dragon King, watching their progress through his spyglass. He directed the glass to look down below the Fortress, over the water, and then at last towards one of the walls, where he could see a faint light burning a dull red color. He nodded approvingly.

"The door's closed," Stormfly announced.

"So it has. All right, start ascending."

"Are you sure this is a good idea? What if someone sees you?"

"They won't see me because they'll see you first."

"And what if you miss the window?"

"You let me worry about that. And it sounds like Deafpool is in position. Let's get moving."

Inside the Fortress, before any gypsy show could start, Viggo sat up attentively. "That's a Thunderdrum call!"

Indeed it was. Such a roar was unmistakable even for the merest amateur. Viggo listened eagerly for a moment. "Is it just flying by or is it going to stay here for a while?"

One of the gypsies bowed deeply, "If it please yer eminence, I heard not too long 'go this very day that some dragon was seen buildin' a nest upstream,"

"A Thunderdrum on our own doorstep!" Dagur cried, "Well, Viggo? Shall we go catch it?"

Viggo nodded quickly. "Send some hunters out at once! It will be one more prize to add to my list of accomplishments. Now, who is this Maces and Talons Champion?"

"Patience, yer eminence, patience! Let's have some laughs first 'n save the best fer last!"

Viggo wanted to play Maces and Talons, but opted to let them have their way. Why not? He had all night.

And as they finished preparing for the show the Thunderdrum continued to roar away, to the point where everyone began to unwittingly tune the noise out.

Out on the water Deafpool roared as loudly as he could. A Thunderdrum always repaid its debts, and since he owed those strange Merpeople-with-legs his life, when the Dragon King had asked him to do this he had at once agreed. The way he interpreted his job, it was as if the entire undersea realm rested upon his scales, and he acted accordingly. While he roared, it would be very hard to hear any other noise coming from outside, and that was just what the Dragon King wanted.

Three hunters had been sent out to catch the Thunderdrum. They had only gone about a hundred yards when a group of Changewings grabbed them. Nobody could hear their cries.

Elsewhere, Queen Mala glanced at her map and showed it to the Whispering Death that was hovering before her. "We are positioned approximately here and we need you to ensure we reach this location located here. If you are able to chew a pathway through—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, the Hatchling already told me, and in a lot fewer words," the Whispering Death muttered impatiently. She had no idea what he was saying so she kept talking, until the dragon turned towards the rock face before them. Grimmige Festung stood on a Fjord, and they were directly behind and below the Fortress, out where the sentries could not see them. The Whispering Death opened his giant mouth, with the rows of razor sharp teeth, and began to chew his way into the earth.

Up in the air, when they had flown high enough, the Dragon King braced himself and leapt off of Stormfly. She at once dropped in height and swooped over the battlements of the fortress. She could see the sentries pointing and aiming their weapons, but she knew she was going too fast for them. The thought pleased her greatly. She had decided that because Viggo had helped built Drago's iron ship, he was also indirectly responsible for the death of her hatchlings. Tonight she saw herself as settling this debt and saving her humans at the same time. And when that was done, if that Razorwhip did not fail them, she promised she would try to forgive it. But she had to focus on her flying now. It was essential to keep the sentries looking at her and not at Hiccup, who was about to spread his own wings.

The Dragon King had very rarely tried a jump from this height. The wind whipped past him at an insane speed until he released Dragonfly 45. He immediately began gliding downwards, speeding directly towards the Fortress wall. Dragonfly 45 had been built specifically for this jump. It was a modified version of an early design, with the intention being to allow his arms freedom so he could hold his shield.

"Not yet, not yet, fire it…now!" Less than a hundred meters from the ground he aimed his shield at the window with the red light. In the center of his shield was a grappling hook and he fired it directly at the window. His aim was true and it caught, anchoring him to Grimmige Festung. He clenched the shield tightly and braced himself as he swung into the wall at an alarming speed.

"I'm beginning to think I should've just walked over," he muttered right before impact. But the rope was not long enough to reach that window from the ground.

He slammed into the wall. It was all he could do to not cry out in pain. Every limb screamed in agony and for a moment he felt incredibly dizzy, so dizzy he hung there without moving.

"Ugh, I'm going to feel this tomorrow." He groaned. Then, with a shake of his head and several deep breaths, he began reeling in the rope, which pulled him upwards to the window.

And all the while the sentries did not hear or see a thing. Deafpool's roars and Stormfly's appearance had them looking completely the wrong way. Stormfly had flown off by then, but none of the sentries were interested in telling Viggo about her presence. It would mean admitting a Nadder had flown right over them and still gotten away. Discretion was the better part of valor in this case, and it was just as well for the Dragon King, for Viggo would almost certainly have become suspicious had he known that a Thunderdrum and a Nadder were in this vicinity at the exact same time, assuming he was not suspicious already.

As it was, Hiccup climbed up the side of the Fortress without any trouble beyond the pain of his growing bruises. When he reached the window a pair of strong arms grabbed him and pulled him into the room. His first reaction was to hug his wife as tightly as he possibly could. Then he punched her in the shoulder.

"Never pull a stunt like this again! You've had me worried sick!"

"I could say the same to you!" Astrid retorted, trying to sound angry but grinning. "What in the name of Odin have you been?"

"I was a prisoner too. I'll explain more later." He looked around quickly.

"Ryker isn't here, thank goodness."

"He's dead." One reason for getting Ryker out of the way was so Astrid could set a signal in the window without risking discovery.

She paused slightly. "Heather didn't tell me that was going to happen. She's hardly told me anything, just 'make sure to have a candle in the window on this night and wait for you'. What's the plan?"

"Mala's team should be underground by now, and the Bog Burglars are distracting Viggo as we speak. C'mon, we're going to avenge Berk and restore her."

"Suits me just fine,"

They stole up to the door, picked the lock with ease, and slipped into the corridor.

Standing with a group of Bog Burglars who were dressed up as knights, Thuggory felt incredibly foolish in his costume and suspected this had been Camicazi's idea. He was dressed up like a knight too, complete with a rusty old helmet that felt like a bucket. It covered his entire head, as did a sack specially sewn for tonight. With these on he could hardly see, but it was essential to keep his face covered lest he be recognized.

All the pseudo knights had to do was stand still and not laugh, while another of the Bog Burglars, dressed like someone of nobility, stood before them. This had not been rehearsed, so Thuggory had no idea what she was going to say. He just kept reminding himself to stay still and to not laugh or his voice might be recognized.

She said, in the most appalling accent that no one could tell if it was Norse, French, Scottish, or Italian, or some bizarre combination, "Now, Knights uv za Welm. Yoo-a have been sewected…today! to wecieve our bewoved Jennnnnnawal-a Wufus Doofus at yooour-a countwy wetweat! A gwave wesponsibility wests on yoooour shilders!"

Thuggory had the fight of his life trying not to laugh. The other Bog Burglars, whose faces were visible to the spectators, were having an equally hard time keeping a straight face. It was part of the humor behind this skit. As for the spectators, most were doubling over and roaring with laughter. Even Viggo was starting to crack a smile.

"Jennnnnnnawal-a Wufus Doofus is zee most…stwict and wespected Jennnnnnawal in the welm…today! He is stwong! Sens-a-teeeeve! And he wides the pwettiest horsey in all the vorld—except for the one wode by Jullllius Seize-her. But zat ees besides zee pint! Zee pint is Jennnnnnnawal-a Wufus Doofus is a gweat man, and if you should….cwoss him...he vill be so put out, he vill give yous a very nasty bimp on ze four-hed."

Not being allowed to laugh turned this into cruel and unusual punishment, Thuggory decided. No, this was straight up torture! The Bog Burglar next to him started giggling.

"Stop that! Jennnnnnnawal-a Wufus Doofus hates waughter! Stop it! This is no waughing matter! Ooooh, he vill give yous lotsa nasty bimps fer zis!"

As if to emphasize, she suddenly hit Thuggory on the head. The noise from the struck helmet rang out like a gong. The blow did not hurt him, but he staggered and struggled to stay on his feet, which made the audience laugh even harder.

Viggo suddenly interrupted. "This is all childishly amusing, but where is the Maces and Talons champion?"

"Shut it, yous!" the Bog Burglar said without missing a beat or breaking character, "Jennnnnnawal-a Wufus Doofus does not—vhat are yous all waughing about! Zis ees not funny! Yous ees all gonna git nasty bimps on za four-hed! Siwence! I've nevvvvva heard such insowence! Silwence! Jennnnnnnawal-a Wufus Doofus and his wife Ima vill be howwified by such wespectful-less insowence! I should geeeve you all a hundwed lashes for dis!"

It was hopeless to try and stop the laughing, and that was the point of the comedy. It was also one more way to cover up any noises that might be heard from elsewhere in the fortress.

Down in the cells the guards had been very jumpy ever since Dagur had passed through. The passages around the cells, dark, damp, and lit only by menacing torches, did nothing to improve the atmosphere. On the contrary, those only increased the sense of something supernatural and dangerous lurking around a corner.

"You think Dagur was right, about headless ghosts and goblins?"

"I don't know."

"But since when is Dagur ever right?"

"Still, crazy people are more likely to know! Their minds are more connected to ghosts and goblins than ours are. He might be able to sense something we can't!"

"What is that?" one guard suddenly cried. They could hear a grinding sound that was steadily growing louder.

"What is that?"

"I don't know!"

"It's a goblin! We're doomed!"

"Why don't you go and find out?" Greta Hofferson yelled irritably from her cell.

"Should we get Viggo?" asked another guard nervously.

"And tell him we're afraid of noises and have no idea what's causing them? C'mon, you bunch of cowards!" With that he prodded a few comrades with his sword. His words and actions were a lot braver than he really felt.

They cautiously crept down the passageway, weapons held in trembling hands.

"I heard something! I think there's something over there!" one of them whispered.

Suddenly something ghastly and luminous leapt in front of them, screeching loudly. The men screamed, for the specter was headless!

"It's the headless ghost!"

"RUN FOR IT!" It was the last thing any of them ever said, for a flurry of arrows struck them all down.

"You know," Queen Mala said coldly to Camicazi as she pulled off a sack covered in Changewing scales and her head became visible, "There was no need for such theatrics,"

"Now where's the fun in that?" she asked lightly. "Besides, a frightened enemy is half beaten." Even with her head visible, Camicazi looked like a ghost. She had eaten some of Glowing Algae that Flightmares often consumed, and the result was her body was glowing light blue, even through her clothes. Her mother was very proud of her adventurous spirit.

Other guards had heard the noise and came to investigate, just as expected. Much like their former colleagues, it was the last thing they ever did. The Defenders of the Wing may have been deficient in some matters, but they were superbly deadly with their arrows.

Bertha grabbed the key from one of the fallen guards and rushed to the nearest cage. The prisoners recognized her at once and cried out in delight.

"Don't do that or we might be discovered!" she warned quickly. Screams were one thing coming from dungeons, but joyous cries were quite another. It was hard for the prisoners to obey her, despite their weakened physical conditions.

"Where's my daughter?" Greta said.

"Where's my husband?" another asked.

"Where's mama?"

"Is Hiccup here?"

Bertha held up her hand before everybody began asking questions, "We'll explain everything later. Right now we need to get moving!"

A handful of the rescuers took up the task of helping the freed Berkians out through the tunnel. Outside Persephone and a squad of dragons were waiting to fly them to safety. The rest, led by Bertha and Mala, and including Eret and the Thorsten Twins, crept up the stairs out of the dungeon.

Unaware of what was going on below, but feeling the show had gone on long enough, Viggo impatiently struck a gong near his seat. The sound echoed throughout the halls and made the gypsies pause. "Well? Where is this champion?"

"Siwence! Our Bewoved—"

"That's enough with the jokes. Did Hiccup come up with them for you?" Viggo asked lightly. "Ah, that one's face betrays her. Luckily for me…"

A large mass of archers and swordsmen appeared on the staircases.

"…I didn't leave my home undefended. Kill them all."

The archers took aim.

Then Thuggory threw his helmet off. Like Camicazi, he appeared headless. The men did not panic and think of ghosts, but the sight was enough to get them to do a double take—after all, how many times had they seen a living person with no head?—and in that short pause the gypsies threw off their drab rags and revealed themselves to be fully armed Bog Burglars. The fight was on.

In one of Viggo's torture chambers, for perhaps the millionth time, Hookfang tried to find a way to loosen his bonds. How he hated this! He wanted to get free and fly with his human again, or just get free, or anything but this! And lighting up his beautiful body had no impact either.

The door was pushed opened. His eyes, one of the very few parts of him that could move without any hindrance, darted to it, expecting to see Viggo enter with a few strongmen to make him breathe into the Dragon Eye again. But no! He saw Ruffnut Thorsten.

"Hey, it's Hookfang!" she grinned, "How ya doing, old buddy?"

She had never addressed him like that before, and he soon realized what had put her in such a good mood. That Eret man was with her.

"Just get me out of here!" he tried to say, forgetting that neither Thorsten could understand Dragonese. But they got the point. Barf n' Belch squeezed through the doorway and carefully draped green smoke over his bonds. One of them (he often forgot which head was which) opened their mouth and a small flame was lit. Hookfang braced himself for the explosion that was about to happen.

As soon as the fighting in the entrance hall had commenced, Dagur had run off screaming like a little child. Nobody knew where he was going or why and nobody cared. They had more pressing matters to worry about. Arrows flew and struck many Bog Burglars, but their armor was prepared for that. They charged and the hall dissolved into a ferocious mob brawl, where every person was their own general, and there were friends and foes in every direction.

Viggo ran up the stairs, unnoticed by anyone. He did not care about leaving the fight; the guards could take care of it. After all, that was what he paid them for.

In the hall the Burglars and Thuggory suddenly began falling back to the passageway that led to the outside. Scenting victory, the hunters pressed forward, eager to finish them off. And then the iron chandelier came crashing onto them, with the Thorsten Twins falling with it.

"LOKIED!" they cheered. The hunters still standing turned around to see their old ally Eret alongside the Defenders of the Wing and the Burglar leaders as they swept into the room. And they were not alone, for Barf n' Belch and Hookfang were with them, and both meant business. The Monstrous Nightmare in particular was ready to live up to his name.

These men were not on the threshold of victory; they were in a vise that was tightening on them!

Viggo, completely unaware that his own forces were being pulverized, rushed into his room, taking care to bolt the door. He looked around but there was nowhere in his room to hide except under the bed, which he checked. He smiled with satisfaction. He was safe, and his room was undisturbed.

It was a sparse room. A bed was in the center, a desk in one corner, a Maces and Talons board in another, a simple chest of drawers in a third, and in the fourth was a smaller chest, covered with a Persian rug. He took care to step to the side of it, for the stone directly in front of this chest, the place a thief would be most likely to step, would trigger an axe on a swinging pendulum. He carefully unlocked the three padlocks, removed the false top, and pulled out his ledgers and the Dragon Eye.

Smiling with satisfaction he shut the lid to the chest and stood up. At that moment the door was literally pulled off its hinges. For once in his life, Viggo jumped in surprise.

"What the—!"

The Dragon King burst into the room and seized what Viggo was holding. Viggo pulled them back, the King pulled again and the ledgers slipped out of Viggo's grip. He tried to grab them back but the King tossed them to Astrid.

For an instant they all paused, standing tensely while wondering who would make the next move. Viggo carefully attached the Dragon Eye into his belt.

"How did you know when to enter here?"

"Your door isn't as soundproof as you think it is."

"And where were you hiding in the corridor?"

"That's for us to know and you to never find out," Astrid retorted, readying herself to jump at him.

Viggo suddenly darted onto a slab, pulled a lever, and slid down a trapdoor.

"Darn it!" Hiccup yelled, "Astrid, get yourself and those ledgers down to the dungeons! You'll find a tunnel to the outside. I'll catch up when I can!"

"No, I'm coming with you!"

"No! Those ledgers are vital to saving Berk! Get them to safety first and then you can come and fight all you want!"

Astrid reluctantly held back. "Well just be careful! I don't want our child growing up fatherless!"

Hiccup stopped dead in his tracks and spun around to face her. "What did you just say?" One look at her beaming face was all he needed to confirm he had not misheard her. "You're not—"

"I am!" she cried, "I'm pregnant, Hiccup!"

For a moment he just stared at her. Then he gave her the biggest hug he could under the circumstances, quickly kissed her on the forehead, and leapt down the trapdoor cheering. A knife was thrown at him from an unseen source, but he took no notice.

"Hey, Viggo, guess what? I'm going to be a father! Whoohoo!"

A hand grabbed him by the arm and flung him to the stone floor.

"Congratulations," Viggo said dourly. He pointed a sword at Hiccup's throat. Hiccup kicked him in the shins with his metal leg and Viggo recoiled. Hiccup rolled away and Viggo kicked him in the side. His actions prevented Hiccup from getting onto his feet, and instead he rolled right into the wall and was cornered.

"And to think, if you had just accepted my offers of friendship we could have run the world together!" Viggo sneered. "But no, you just had to drive me to extremes! I wish it had not come to this, but we're fighting here tonight because of you, boy!"

"Oh really? Do you even understand why I'm here?" Hiccup gestured to his gauntlets. "My father gave me these. The man whom you had beheaded."

Viggo leapt backwards. "Nice try, boy. I know those things can shoot flames, but I doubt they can reach this far."

Hiccup tapped a small lever, and a crossbow bolt shot from the gauntlet right into Viggo's shoulder. Viggo doubled over with a cry. Hiccup fired the other bolt from the other gauntlet and it grazed his enemy's face. Then Hiccup grabbed him and shoved him into the wall headfirst. "And to think, after all this time you should know to never underestimate a Dragon Rider!"

Astrid tasted fresh air for the first time in weeks, and it felt wonderful. Never in living memory had she felt so alive, and it was helped by the sight of a Nadder landing near her.

"Stormfly! Hey girl!" she hugged her dragon around the neck as best as she could.

"Did they hurt you anywhere? What's that stuff in your hands? Where's Hiccup?"

"I'm fine—here, let me get rid of these and we'll go after him!"

Further off were the escaped Berkian prisoners. Greta Hofferson left this group and went rushing over to Astrid and Stormfly. She seized her daughter in the tightest embrace Astrid had ever known and then, for the first time in her life, Greta hit her.

"I don't know what you were planning, but don't you ever do it to me again, young lady! I've been worried sick about you!"

"I'm sorry, mother. It didn't go the way I intended, I can tell you that. Here, take these. We'll need them to save the rest of the tribe!"

"All right, but where are you going?"

"I've gotta find Hiccup of course!" she leapt onto Stormfly, "C'mon, girl, I want to touch the clouds again!"

"Always going off to get in a fight without even thinking about it!" Greta yelled as they flew away, "Olaf, she got this from your side of the family!" She was actually proud of her daughter's tenacity, but equally terrified she might not see her again.

She returned to where the other escapees were hiding. The plan, as communicated to them, had been to leave at once, but everybody, human and dragon alike, wanted to see what happened, so they remained where they were, and once Greta joined them they all began asking her if she knew what was going on.

"My daughter's gone off to find Hiccup,"

"Well I hope she brings him back safely, because I wanna beat him to a pulp for leaving us in prison for so long!" one Viking shouted, and there were vigorous and cold nods of agreement.

In the dark corridor Viggo slipped away from the Dragon King and made his way to a door that led outside onto one of the battlements. From here he could easily slip away down a staircase. He patted the Dragon Eye, hanging from his belt, stepped into the night, and waited.

Hiccup appeared a moment later, but the instant he stepped outside he ducked. Viggo cursed loudly, for his attempt to decapitate his enemy failed. But in the process Viggo swung a second time and slashed Hiccup across the hand, giving him a long but fairly shallow cut. Viggo at once backed away for a better position and held his sword at the ready.

"Fight me if you dare, boy!"

The Dragon King held up a large hilt. With the darkness around them he looked as menacing as a demon from the afterlife. "I dare." A blade of cold steel emerged from one end. Viggo stepped forwards and the blades met. They parried and struck and dodged, each one fighting for their life with all their strength and skill. And unlike their first fight, in the Tabernas Desert, this time there was nothing to impede their attacks but their opponent's weapon.

After a skillful block the King ended up with his sword pointed in the wrong direction. Viggo thought he was about to win a victory, only for a second blade to extend from the hilt. Viggo backed away just in time. The second blade had nearly gone through his throat. Now the King held a weapon like a bladed quarterstaff, and he spun it around at almost dizzying speeds. It took every physical trick that Viggo knew to dodge them.

And yet, he sensed the King was not very proficient with this method of fighting. His attacks looked dangerous but they seemed to be few in number and not very powerful. Besides, as they moved along the confining battlements, the extended sword had limited space. So Viggo moved further along and backed up to where the rampart entered a turret, where the sword would have little mobility.

And then the King, to his astonishment, divided the hilt along the middle and converted his long staff-like sword into two conventional ones.

The King smirked at Viggo's surprise. He said harshly, "Neat, isn't it? My wife gave me these!"

So now he had two swords and was much more at ease with them. And Viggo was unused to fighting people who were left handed. But the King was well accustomed to dueling those who were right handed and as his strokes grew harder and more savage his expression became more ferocious.

Over on his position out on the surf, Deafpool squirmed with anxiety. He was entirely uninformed of the night's progress, and for all he knew the plan had been a total failure or complete success. Being in the dark like this made his mind wander and construct theories about what was going on and what he should do. So when he spotted Stormfly rising into the air with a person on her back, he assumed the person was the Dragon King and that the plan was ready to proceed to the final stage, even though he ought to have realized that Stormfly was flying in the wrong direction for that scenario to be true. Not sensing this, he changed the pitch and pattern of his cries.

At that signal, only vaguely perceptible underwater, the giant Bewilderbeast rose from the sea with a deafening roar. He reared up, throwing spray everywhere and making waves with every movement, and slammed his great tusks into the walls of Grimmige Festung.

Up on the battlements, the fighting paused at the sight. Viggo gaped in awe. "Look at all that ivory!"

The King slashed at him and landed a blow on his leg, "It figures you'd look at something beautiful and consider how to make a profit!"

In the hall the opposing sides heard a terrible noise, felt the room tremble and walls shake as if an earthquake had struck, and then saw the black wall pierced by a huge white tusk that sent the marble tumbling to the ground like a child's tower of blocks. Hiccup's allies cheered, while the hunters screamed. The tusk was pulled out and thrown against the wall again, and a second tusk penetrated the room this time. The hunters ran for the doors, only to discover they were locked. They had been locked on Viggo's orders, ironically so that the 'gypsies' could not escape!

Ruffnut laughed at the sight of them trying to break down the door. She turned to Eret, whom she had seldom strayed far from this whole time. "So how'd I do? Does my fighting prowess meet your approval? I know yours certainly met mine!"

Eret gave a noncommittal answer.

Throk of the Defenders said, "Your fighting prowess certainly impressed me, Lady Ruffnut Thorsten!"

"Yeah, whatever," she said dismissingly. She was not out to get his attention.

At that moment a fresh wave of marble came cascading down and Mala ordered them to pull back to the cells.

"As if we need the prompting!" Thuggory yelled, for he was already making his way there. A block came down less than a meter in front of him.

"Watch it!" Camicazi shouted.

He grinned, glad to see her looking worried for once. "I'm just fine, darling,"

"And I want you to be able to tell me that once we get out of here!"

Thuggory was taken aback by how sincere she sounded.

Ruffnut laughed some more. "Love on the battlefield! Oh, this is just—"

A hunk of marble fell on her head and she fell to the floor. Without stopping to think, Eret picked her up and carried her out. Tuffnut followed, not really concerned. After all, Ruff had been hit on the head plenty of times before.

The Berkians watched the black fortress twist and writhe with agony as its structure fell apart and collapsed under the force of the Bewilderbeast. This was a dragon they had only ever heard about, and they were awestruck by it. And to think that Hiccup had been the one to command it! They might have fallen to their knees and worshiped Hiccup as a god if he had been present, but they had no idea where he was. Neither did Astrid and Stormfly, for it was difficult to make out any details in the darkness and with all the motion and clashing of sights and smells Stormfly found tracking difficult.

Hiccup and Viggo were still on top of the battlements, fleeing for their lives as the floor beneath them collapsed into rubble. Viggo was infuriated and tried to strike at Hiccup at every opportunity, but in the chaos of the flight he seldom hit him and did no harm to the man.

"Not so impressive a place now, is it?"

"You'll pay for this!" Viggo roared, "I still have allies and resources the likes of which you cannot imagine!"

The King, who was in the lead, abruptly stopped, grabbed the Eye at Viggo's belt and pulled so hard the cord connecting it snapped.

"Thank you!"

Viggo responded with a slash at his arm. The King's response was ruined by the crumbling of the structure beneath their feet. When the wall lurched forward he knew they were out of time, and he leapt into the air and extended the leathery wings that were attached to his armor.

"I hope you're happy, Gods!" he shouted at the night sky as he glided to the ground, some distance away from where he imagined everybody else was, "Here's another one of my plans you decided to mess up for me!" The plan had been to destroy the castle after everyone was out of it, but for reasons he did not know the Bewilderbeast had begun his work prematurely.

The Bewilderbeast, unaware of the mistake, slammed his colossal tail into the wall and raised it again for another blow when he froze in place. So did the other dragons. Each and every one stopped right in their tracks and stood still as statues.

Hiccup looked around in amazement, when he was suddenly snatched up by a pair of claws. Up into the air he went, away from the fight and the ruined fortress, away from his friends and family.

All Hiccup could determine was that a dragon had grabbed him, and at first he thought it was Stormfly. But that could not be, for whatever was carrying him clearly was unused to flying with extra weight, for they tilted and sagged, and he heard labored breathing.

As suddenly as the flight begun it ended. The dragon descended close to the ground and dropped Hiccup unceremoniously. He picked himself up with a groan and found he was surrounded by black shapes. Looking around quickly he saw the shapes were Night Furies. After four hundred years, the Alpha had emerged from hiding.