"Only in quiet waters do things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world." – Hans Margolius

Chapter 26

As soon as I returned to New Berk, Tuffnut hounded me about solving the Hobgobbler problem (which he caused). "You gotta do things in the right way if you want to see progress," he said. "You can't expect to climb a mountain without the right tools, right? I'll teach you what you need to know to lead these Hobgobblers. Allow me to be your sherpa."

"If you're so smart, why don't you just get rid of them?" I said.

Tuff shook his head. "You wouldn't learn anything then, would you? Follow my instructions to the letter, and you will have the strength and spiritual attunement to lead the Hobgobblers. First! These dragons left scales all around New Berk. Find them and grab them!"

I decided it would be easier to listen to him than argue. So, I wandered around and picked up a bunch of Hobgobbler scales. Then I returned to Tuff and dropped them. "There are your scales."

"Excellent! Extra points on your collection form. Use those quads! Use them! Be a shame if we don't put your nice pile of scales to good use. Put it in Gobber's waiting hands!"

I picked up the scales and walked over to Gobber. Thankfully, he seemed to have calmed down. "There ya are!" he said. "Tuffnut told me you'd be coming. This better work to get all those cursed dragons out of here..."

"I agree," I muttered.

"The way I see it, the faster you jump through Tuffnut's hoops, the faster you'll be done with his silliness. He's waiting for you by the waterfalls. Stand in front of him!"

He did have a point. I wandered to the waterfall and found Tuffnut. I stood in front of him and raised my eyebrows in expectation.

Tuff grinned at me. "Well done, my very young apprentice. Second! Embrace the calm of the Hobgobbler. She has seen it all. Done it all. The world could burn and the only thing we'd see in her eyes is the reflection of the blazes. Sit there and channel the spirit of the Hobgobbler."

I sat near the waterfall and stared at a Hobgobbler. I did not see the point in this, but I had to humor Tuff. Thankfully, he seemed appeased after several minutes of silence.

"PERFECTION!" Tuff exclaimed. "That was intense! I need a break. Talk to Skulder by the Hidden World cave, okay?"

I could have used a break too, but I did not argue. I wandered over to the cave entrance and found Skulder. "Hey, Tuff sent me."

"What am I, the backup plan?" Skulder said. He sighed. "It's my lot in life." He turned to a group of Hobgobbler gathered before him. "These Hobgobblers have been waiting for their chance to shine. They're eager to have your presence with them! Well, I think they're eager."

"They're rather expressionless, aren't there?" I glanced at the white Hobgobbler. "Especially Harald Junior here."

Skulder stared at me. "I'm not even going to ask. Now, from what I've heard, Tuffnut has put you through your paces with a series of exercises. However, no exercise can replace face to face time with the dragons themselves. Will you find the gathering of Hobgobblers and touch them, one by one?"

I did as he asked. None of the dragons seemed very affected, but they did not run away either.

"Well done!" Skulder said. "Please, go back to Tuffnut and let him know you've aced my challenge."

I jogged to the place I last saw Tuffnut. "Hey, I win."

Tuff frowned. "You don't seem very tired. Aww... I was hoping Skulder would wear you out with some hard manual labor!"

I gave him an odd look. "What do you think this is?"

Tuff ignored me. "Are you ready? You look ready. Let's go! Moment of truth, Brennda: mount the Hobgobbler. Keep all my lessons in mind. You're going to need them to survive this harrowing experience!"

I stared at the small dragon. This would not be comfortable. I slowly sat on the dragon and prayed he would be able to support my weight. Somehow, he lifted both of us into the air.

"So far so good!" Tuff said. "Okay! Third: right before you came over here, this Hobgobbler dropped something among all those sheep over there. Fly over there and handle the situation, my young disciple!"

I found it difficult to maneuver the Hobgobbler. Eventually, I got him flying in the right direction. We wobbled all the way to the sheep. Astrid stood among them.

"Tuffnut sent you?" she said.

"You've got it," I said.

"Good. I was starting to think he was trying to wiggle out of his promises. Thanks to the twins' prank, these poor sheep have been scared out of their minds! And, well, they've also been scared out of everything else. They've left sheep droppings everywhere! You have your shovel, right? Find the sheep droppings and bury them. They're starting to stink!"

So, this was what Tuff had in mind. I would have to get back at him later. For now, there was nothing to do but shovel the poop. For Thor's sake, there's so much poop.

"You're a saint for taking this chore off Tuffnut's hands!" Astrid said when I finished.

"You've got that right," I muttered.

"Thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate you taking the time while so many people need your attention! I think Gobber was looking for you next."

I forced a smile. "No problem. I'll see you later." For what seemed like the 100th time that day, I wandered over to Gobber.

"Working on such accursed scales wasn't fun!" he said. "Here you go." He held out a set of armor made from Hobgobbler scales. "Keep it close; I'm sure you'll need it to survive whatever Tuffnut is planning for you in the future!"

"I have a feeling you're right." At least I was getting something useful out of this.

Just then, Tuffnut approached and grinned when he saw the armor. "Good!" he said. "Now you are armored for the job. Now we need you to spread the seeds of your knowledge all across the archipelago, and handle the Hobgobblers everywhere!"

"Great. We're finally getting to the point."

"I've taken the liberty of letting them know you're coming to save the day. Put that armor on, my friend, and go to the lookout. Phlegma is waiting for you."

I carefully put on the Hobgobbler armor. It fit perfectly; Gobber did a great job. Bolt gave me an odd look before mounting him. We flew to the School with my new friend trailing behind. Here too the Hobgobblers had taken over. I pushed past them to find Phlegma. She appeared startled at first, so I dropped my hood to show her my face.

"Brennda, there you are!" she said. "I've been waiting for you for ages. I love these little guys, but they're overstaying their welcome. These adorable babies are eating everything and being a terrible burden on everyone. I need you to grab all the babies! They're the green ones. I can handle the Broad Wings!"

I smiled. "Alright!" The babies were pretty cute. I ran around in my armor, rounding all of them up. It was tiring work, but it was eventually completed.

"I knew I could count on you, Brennda," Phlegma said. "You're reliable. Ruffnut is waiting for you at Zippleback Island. Also - next time you see Tuffnut, tell him I'm not a message board! He can pass on his own notes next time."

I smirked. "I'll relay the message." It was off to Zippleback Island. This island was overrun by Hobgobblers, and I had trouble spotting Ruffnut.

"Yo! Yo! Over here, Tuffnut's Disciple!" Ruff shouted.

I followed the sound of her voice and landed before her. "Hey."

"You came here just in time. Things are getting really riled up here! I was trying to gather as many Hobgobblers here from the other nearby islands so that my group is bigger than Tuffnut's, but one of them found some dragon root from Odin-knows-where. We need to take the dragon root before it drives them all bonkers!"

Yes, that would be a good idea. There were Hobgobblers everywhere, and they slowly surrounded me. I stood protectively in front of the dragon root and withdrew my sword. I knocked back all the dragons that approached. Soon, they got the message and backed off.

"Whew. Are you doing okay?" Ruff asked.

"I've been through worse," I replied.

"That was a close one... I'm super impressed."

"Thanks!"

"You'd think averting one crisis is good enough for a full day, but what do I know? Astrid thinks that we need to send everyone back to their homes. Luckily, that's Tuffnut's burden. Find him and talk to him, will ya?"

I chuckled lightly. "You bet." I returned to Tuffnut at New Berk. He looked proud as I relayed my tale.

"You did it, Brennda," he said. "You are a graduate of the Tuffnut Gifted School of the Gobbler."

I smirked. "Thanks."

"Now go out there and make me proud. I've seen a steady conga line of Hobgobblers headed here from other islands. Our disciples have done a great job herding them through the cave while you were out there dousing fires! I think Skulder is watching the migration. Will you talk to him?"

I noticed the lines of Hobgobblers headed to the Hidden World. I followed them and ran into Skulder. "Nice work," I said, offering him a small smile.

"It would have gone a lot smoother if Tuffnut had lifted a single finger to help out!" Skulder said. "I suppose I should have expected it."

"He's great at getting out of work."

"Forgive my grumblings. Most of the Hobgobblers have been incredibly sweet and docile as we've herded them through the cave. However, the stragglers are being incredibly stubborn. Perhaps you would have better luck moving them?"

I shrugged. "I'll give it a try." I gently nudged the nearest Hobgobbler, and he started moving. This worked with the others as well. Lastly, there was the white Hobgobbler that was following me around. It did not take much convincing to get him to hollow me to the cave.

"You've done it!" Skulder said happily. "Now we'll be able to get rid of the last Hobgobblers on the island! I'll meet you at the Hidden World, my friend. I'll usher the last Hobgobblers as we go through!"

I nodded. "Sounds good to me." I whistled for Bolt, and the two of us headed deeper into the cave. I stared in awe at the large mass of Hobgobblers flying around

Skulder and Muddie joined me a minute later. "Well, now they're... here. I hope no one will be offended by the mess. How about we fly deeper into the Hidden World and see what's going on?"

"It's a plan." We had to make sure these guys were here to stay so there were no more issues. We flew through the Hidden World, passing many Hobgobblers along the way.

"I don't remember seeing this many Hobgobblers in here last time..."

I opened my mouth to respond, but then something caught my eye. I noticed Toothless and the Light Fury surrounded by Hobgobblers, and they did not look happy. I gasped. "I have to go help them out!" Bolt started for them before Skulder could respond.

The Light Fury pushed back the Hobgobblers, but there were too many of them. Toothless roared at the pack, causing them to fly to a certain cave entrance. I landed near the Furies to check on them.

"Is... is the alpha upset with us for causing all this trouble in his kingdom?" Skulder said timidly.

"Nah, you're alright, aren't you?" I reached out my hand to Toothless. The Night Fury regarded me at first and then pushed his head into my hand. I smiled. "See?"

"Wonderful! I'm so relieved. I'm not sure my heart could take disappointment from the king of all dragons. Wait. When he was... and when they... hmm..."

I knew that look; he was in the middle of figuring something out. This might take some time. I approached the Light Fury and smiled at her. "Hi. Remember me?" She simply stared at me, though it was good she did not attack or run away.

"Wait a second," Skulder said at last. "Eureka, I've figured it out! Let me tell you my plan, Brennda!"

I walked back to him and looked at him curiously. "What is it?"

"Did you watch when Toothless commanded the Hobgobblers away from him? They should have scattered. Instead, they all flew towards the same place. That must be where the Hobgobbler nest must be! We can make things right again."

"Ah, we can make sure they all return to their nest."

Skulder nodded. "Unfortunately, Muddie doesn't like the idea of heading into that cavern. It will have to be you, brave Brennda, to see this through to the end."

"That will be no problem. I can handle it."

"Thorspeed! I have faith that you can do it."

And so, I wandered off into the cavern to make sure all the Hobgobblers made it home. It turned out to be a long adventure that required quick thinking and persistence. Eventually, I made it to the nest. It was beautiful, and it felt good to see the Hobgobblers wander around happily. Satsified, I returned to where I left Skulder.

"Heavens!" the archaeologist said. "You're back! None of the Hobgobblers have left the cavern so I assume that it was a job well done. Can you fill me in on the details?"

I gave a him a quick version of the story. He seemed very interested in everything I had to say. I was just glad this was all over now.

"That sounds majestic. I wish I could have seen it with my own eyes. Mission accomplished! (Why does that sound so familiar?)"

I smirked. "Let's go home."

We flew through the tunnels and back to New Berk. Soon after I was out, I spotted Tuffnut waving me down. I dropped down in front home. "Hey, all the Hobgobblers are back at their nest!" I declared.

Tuff grinned. "It's no surprise you were able to do so much, after my concentrated tutelage. It was truly my pleasure."

"I'm glad you were amused."

"It was a partnership for the ages, Brennda. Me, with the brains. You, with the muscle. Together we became one with the Hobgobbler and accomplished impossible things! Hiccup wishes he was so well attuned with dragons! One last order from me, my dutiful student: rub it into Hiccup's face! Ha ha ha."

I smirked. "Yeah, I'll do that." It was much easier to find Hiccup now without all the Hobgobblers around. The other Vikings appeared relieved as well.

"That's fine by me," Hiccup said once I finished my story and gave him Tuff's message. "I was starting to get worried they'd get out of control! I'm just glad all those Hobgobblers are out of our hair."

"You said it!"

"Well, maybe not all of them. There's a surprise waiting for you at the wagon where you first 'fell' for a certain someone... Why don't you go take a look?"

"Let me guess, Harald Junior?"

Hiccup blinked. "What?"

"Never mind." I wandered to the wagon near the fountain with Hiccup following behind me. Sure enough, the white Hobgobbler waited for me. "Are you ready to be friends now?" I touched his head once more. This time, he almost seemed to smile.

"It's heartwarming to see you two bonding," Hiccup said. "Tuffnut's weird taunts aside, you really did become an amazing advocate for Hobgobblers. You can be really proud of all that you've done for New Berk."

"Tuff is actually pretty smart when he wants to be. (He was smart enough to get Skulder and me to do his work for him). He did have a point about seeing things from another's perspective. But I'm still glad it's over."

Hiccup nodded. "Me too. Do me a favor: can you let Ruffnut know she's not off the hook just yet? There will be consequences. Oh yes, there will be consequences."

I chuckled. "For sure." I glanced at the white Hobgobbler. "Come on, Junior." The dragon trailed behind me as I made my way to Ruffnut. "Hey, Ruff, you lost the prank war - to me - and Hiccup said to be prepared for the consequences."

Ruff groaned. "Aww man. I lose the first prank war of new Berk and Hiccup's going to be a stickler for the rules this time? This sucks. You win some and you lose some. And you won this won! You freaked Gobber out more than we ever could. So I'll have to get my vengeance on you during the next prank war, okay? Be prepared, buddy."

I smirked. "Right. I look forward to it."

"Oh, and Skulder wanted to talk to you or something? He doesn't look as pale as he usually does after our little escapades. Progress."

I nodded. "He's getting better." I walked across the center of town to meet my friend. "What's going on?"

"When we first met, I was deathly afraid of Terrible Terror sneezes," Skulder said.

"I bet Harald had fun with that," I said.

Skulder ignored me. "I've now flown through the home of dragons on the back of my own dragon friend. Thank you, Brennda. You are a great friend and an amazing partner. You'll make an adventurer out of timid old me in no time!"

I smiled. "No problem. It was good to have you along."

"One thing still bothers me about this whole affair: Gobber. For a dragon dentist, he is quite distrusting of such a harmless dragon! Do you think he still believes you are cursed?"

I shrugged. "I might as well go find out." When I approached the smithy, I was surprised to find Gobber appearing content even as a stray Hobgobbler gnawed at his ankle. Maybe he snapped?

"I can't believe you're safe," Gobber said. "Who'd have thought that a simple Viking could overcome the greatest curse of all? It's amazing. Maybe I've had them wrong all along. Even this little gnawer is a cute one, isn't he? Maybe I should give him a fair chance..."

"They're really not too bad, though I've had enough of them for one day." But there was one more thing I wanted to do before I got out of this dragon armor.

Bolt gave me another strange look as I mounted him. We flew back to Auction Island as the sun began to set. Thankfully, the Hobgobblers seemed to have left this island. The inhabitants stared at me as I walked around in my Hobgobbler armor with the hood up. I did not stop until I found Harald. He stared at me long and hard, and then he grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the forest.

Once we were alone, Harald pushed my hood down to reveal me face. "What are you doing?" he said.

"Just making sure everything is good here," I said. "I brought all the Hobgobblers back to their nest."

"Good. Thank you for dealing with the problem quickly. What's with the outfit?"

I grinned. "Tuffnut said I needed to be one with the Hobgobblers to get them to follow me."

"And you listened to him?"

I shrugged. "It worked."

"But that one is still here."

I looked down at the white Hobgobbler. "Yeah, he's in love with me. I think I'll let him stick around. You better watch out."

Harald scoffed. "You think I'm threatened by a dragon?"

"You should be. Another man isn't going to steal my attention."

Harald narrowed his eyes at the Hobgobbler. "Then let me show him you're mine." He brought his arm around me, pulled me close, and kissed me. I smiled as I kissed him back.

A growl distracted me. I looked in time to see the Hobgobbler leap at Harald and latch onto his back. Harald appeared annoyed and tried to get him off. I laughed as the two of them tussled. "You gotta watch out for Harald Junior!" I teased.

"I will not loose to a dragon," Harald muttered, causing me to laugh even more.

A/N: That is it for part three! What do you think will happen in part 4?