It was always something of a risk approaching the shores of the Cursed Lands of Tomorrow, no Viking had ventured there in over a hundred years and returned to tell the tale. Rumor was that the Island was guarded by dragons that flew as fast as Speed Stingers ran. The idea that the Trappers would base anywhere near this cursed island was likely a rumor at best, but it did have surrounding sea stacks and smaller clumps of land that could be potential stops.
Neither Hiccup, nor I, were not very keen on staying near this island longer than we had too. Fortunately, we didn't need to explore it overly in our search of Krogan, because as was willed by the gods, on our flight we happened upon a ship sailing northwest. Almost towards Bashem in direction but probably south of that, not that we'd let it get there. It flew the trappers flag and was wrought with activity on the deck. Hiccup glanced to me and I nod, we knew what we were going to do.
"Finally. Something to shoot." Snotlout exclaims as Hiccup issues out the order to attack.
Together, our six dragons sweep down and within seconds, completely wipe out the emplacements on deck, sending several trappers to the sea. They weren't prepared for us, which either tells us they thought they were safe, or they didn't know to expect us. Either way, when we landed, they caved rather quickly.
"Tell me where Krogan is." Hiccup states, still on Toothless's back as the Night Fury opens its jaw to reveal a building purple plasma ready to fire, the hiss of the Night Fury's signature scream echoing within.
"I'd tell him if I were you." Tuffnut suggests, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, our good Chief isn't too happy with your boss. Pretty sure he had his dragon eat someone last time." Ruffnut adds sarcastically as I roll my eyes. Hiccup ignores them completely as Toothless moves closer to the trapper on his back on deck.
"Tell me." Hiccup states, not asking, not requesting. Sitting on the back of Stormfly, I can genuinely see the anger and seriousness in his eyes as he glances to Heather. "Heather. You, Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins go below deck. Find any paperwork, any sign of Krogan. Free any dragons. If you find Krogan." Hiccup states and Heather nods, taking her axe and smiling.
"You got it." She answers and together, those four leave. We had separated outside our assigned groups from earlier, but something tells me that was for a reason.
"You, trapper, have a choice. Tell me now, or I fly you as high as I can and let you fall." Hiccup then says, prompting me to glance back at him.
"No, okay. Fine. Promise me you'll protect me from Krogan and I'll talk." The man says weakly.
"If what you tell me leads to his capture, then fine. You'll have a home on Berk for protection. Now. Tell me." Hiccup states again, his brow furrowing as my own softens. His eyes meet mine briefly and he softens his gaze, shaking his head before returning his glare to the man.
"Krogan's main base is on Villainy. The Trappers have been using it for almost a year now since it hasn't seen traffic in over three. When he isn't hunting dragons across the archipelago, he is there. Usually with Khan, but Khan has been gone as of late." The man states and I shake my head.
"We've flown past Villiany and seen no signs of a base there. It's uninhabited. There aren't even dragon's that are native there." I state as Hiccup glances back to me with widened eyes.
"There weren't." He mutters as the trapper nods.
"The Snow Wraiths you relocated from Ryker. Krogan tracked them down, said a former associate figured out their location. They've been in chains for months. Krogan has been using their cave as a base." The trapper confirms as Hiccup turns his blade and ignites it to the trapper.
"Why? What's his game? What's yours?" Hiccup demands as I slowly reach my hand out but withdraw. This was his role as Chief, I couldn't interfere. It wouldn't be right to subvert his authority here, not even if he was starting to worry me.
"No game on my end. Krogan is a loose cannon. Every single group of hunters since Grimborne has been put out of business by you; the trappers employed by Drago were different. Then they became led by the warlords who are less organized than a flock of Terrible Terrors. And Krogan, that maniac kills anyone who asks too many questions. If telling you this is my way out of this, so be it." The trapper states, rather soundly as Hiccup nods, lowering his sword.
"How can we trust you?" I ask, glancing to Hiccup.
"You lot win more often than my lot does. I'm not above switching sides." He states as I sigh.
"Yeah, so what'd stop you from switching again" I retort as he shrugs.
"Survival. Those in this trade don't take turncoats well, my life is already forfeit if I tried to stay with them. Krogan would find out and kill me. Better to help you nail him and live as a peddler than die." He states and Hiccup takes a deep breath.
"Fine. For now, we'll pretend I believe you. Tell us more about this base." Hiccup states as the Trapper nods, standing up as Toothless relaxes. Stormfly still barbed up ready to jump should the trapper make a false move.
"There is a cove under the mountain accessible by ship but nearly invisible from the air due to the glacier on the northern facing side of the mountain. The entryway is protected by catapults, bola-launchers and nets, as well as archers. When needed, the entryway can also be sealed off by a dragon-proofed steel net that blocks ships or dragons from coming or going. Get past all that, the rest of the cove is defenseless except for the ships. Anywhere between three to twelve ships will be there at a given time." He states as Hiccup nods.
"And the Snow Wraiths?" He asks
"Kept in the back of the cave. There is a large loading area that houses dozens of cages, most of the time they are full." He answers and I nod along with Hiccup as I glance to my side and see Heather and the others start emerging from below deck with several dragons in tow.
"We've freedom some dragons and found some communiques." Heather states as Hiccup nods and points to the trapper.
"What about these warlords. What do you know about them?" Hiccup asks
"Ragnar is an idiot, but he is the strongest by far and sometimes quite tactical. Khan is the quietest and probably the most lethal. Griselda is cruel and absolutely grievous. When they work together, they are like one Drago; individually they are like power mad kids." He states
"And how do you know them like this, aren't all you guys power mad?" Snotlout asks, walking up to the man.
"Some of us are just in it for the money. Money doesn't trump survival, and at this point I'm tired of getting threatened for asking questions or with being burnt." He shrugs his shoulders.
"Can't argue with that logic." Tuffnut retorts before looking to Hiccup. "So, what's the word, Chief. Want Barf and Belch to eat him?" He suggests with a wicked smile as the man waves his hands as he is now surrounded by six dragons.
"Woah, woah, woah. I told you everything I know!" He exclaims as Hiccup sighs.
"Oh, gods. No. Snotlout, you and the twins take—what is your name anyways?" Hiccup asks
"Arne Skarde. My family was formerly of the Berserker Tribe but was exiled a couple generations ago." Arne states as I glance to Heather who shrugs.
"Okay. Snotlout, Twins, take Arne to Berk. For the time being, put him in a cell with a guard on him. If his information checks out, we'll see about lifting that sentence." Hiccup states as Arne sighs and nods.
"Better than I can hope for from the trappers. It'll check out. Good luck taking out Krogan; I can tell you he is there now and probably will be for a few days at least. He is recovering from that cave in and in a foul mood." Arne finishes as Hiccup nods.
"The rest of us, we'll scout Villainy then head to Berk. We'll need the A team for this run to be successful." Hiccup states and with that, everyone takes off. Me flying close to Hiccup's wing as my mind raced. We were close to finding Krogan, if this Arne checked out and there weren't more surprises, that is.
My mind was racing at the prospect of finally putting the threat of Krogan to an end, and I'll be honest, simply ending his tenure with the living had crossed my mind more than once. He was more deranged than Dagur was on his worse days, more ruthless than Viggo. He didn't have the same degree of intellect on his side, which was to our favor but he was a threat that if left unchecked would certainly cause a great deal of harm.
And now knowing that he had tracked down where we relocated the Snow Wraiths. We hadn't used Villainy for hunting or skiing in a decade, easily. Since it was an island entirely covered in snow throughout the year, and uninhabited and fairly close to Berk, it was an excellent place to relocate them too. They had been living there in peace for years, or until the trappers made it a base. We hadn't been patrolling the area, focused on Drago, Viggo or whatever other threat we had to face. I am mentally kicking myself for this, and for letting my anger flare. I was becoming more and more like my father after taking the mantle of Chief.
More tolerant than him, by far, but when it came to the safety of the dragons or my people, I wasn't sure if I had a limit I wouldn't cross. I was fortunate that I had Astrid there to keep me grounded. All it took was a look from her to temper my anger and soften my reaction. Where she was once the sword that I blunted, she would be what blunted my own blade before our enemies. Krogan was no different; I'd like to say I am a bigger man who wouldn't kill a man while he was down. But Krogan, I can't honestly say that I wouldn't strike him down even if I found him on a sick bed. He had done too much to be let go with a few words.
If Arne's information was accurate, the base at Villainy, which wasn't on the map, would be Krogan's last resting place. And we'd hit it once we confirmed the information in the morning. Flying closer to Villainy, I bring the Riders higher in the sky.
"Okay, gang. This is simple recon. Information says Krogan is here, and will be for an extended period of time. He has the Snow Wraiths and who knows how many others captured here. The front of the cove is fortified and we can't take it without current numbers. All we're doing is flying by, confirming it's there, seeing if we can see anything then flying to Berk. We'll mobilize the A team and hit it in force tomorrow." I explain as they nod.
"Hiccup, question. Can we rely on this Arne guy?" Fishlegs asks and I shrug, shaking my head.
"No, not really. Not yet." I state and glance to Heather. "Let's see those communiques really quick. Check them for anything relating to Villainy." I ask and she nods, opening her satchel and shifting through some paper. She nods along.
"At least half of these came from Villainy, and all of them from Krogan or Khan specifically. Last one is from Krogan, from Villainy, telling them to head north to The Murderous Mountains with no other details." She explains and I nod.
"Maybe to throw us off course. They may not have honestly expected a turncoat in their midst again, and I truly didn't expect him to just unload like that." I add and Astrid sighs as I glance to her.
"You didn't give him much of a choice, Hiccup. At least with you, he avoided death by Krogan." Astrid says softly and I smile weakly.
"Was I too much? I-I'm sorry. We're just so close, and I'm so tired of all this fighting. I just want peace, and what follows after that." I admit and glance to her and see her expression soften into a smile as she nods. She knew, I wanted to forgo my time hunting trappers and saving dragons and live peacefully with dragons on Berk; with her.
"It'll be over eventually, Hiccup." Heather adds and I nod.
"Sooner rather than later, I hope. Okay, we'll go low and fast. Astrid, with me. Heather with Fishlegs. You two stay high, Meatlug isn't exactly built for speed." I state as Fishlegs scowls.
"Hey, we talked about mentioning her weight. It's okay girl, you've still got the biggest heart." Fishlegs retorts, patting Meatlug on the side as we all chuckle lightly.
Glancing to Astrid who nods with a smile, we dive down and glide low against the water together. Stormfly was one of the few who could glide with Toothless like this and keep up, which was one of the many reasons we often partnered. The sun was nearing the horizon after a full day of scouting several islands and now on a return trip to Berk, the darkening sky and bright hue against the sea helped offset our dragons visages and we would appear like nothing more than a pair of dragons.
Taking out my spyglass as we pass by the mouth of the cove, it was right where Arne said it would be. From the sky, we didn't see it, but down here it was plain as day, and I could see at least four emplacements near the mouth of the cove with several dark silhouettes resembling ships inside.
"Looks like Arne was on point, at least four emplacements right at the cove, and probably five or more ships inside right now. If we attack low and fast at midnight, both sides of the entrance to the cove, we could take out the emplacements and be inside before they can react. Thoughts?" I ask Astrid as we fly by.
"We could use your mom and Eret on this, if they haven't left yet. But otherwise, it seems straightforward. Did you see any emplacements further inside?" Astrid asks and I shake my head.
"I can't see that far in without getting closer and I'm not willing to risk it as we are right now. Let's get back to Berk, regroup, grab the A team and form a plan." I state and she nods.
"I'd suggest we let the riders have a few hours to rest, we've been flying all day." Astrid adds and I nod.
"Yeah, some rest would be nice before hitting this target." I state with a smile and she grins looking back to me.
"I was thinking we could rest at the forge; that's more refreshing than just sleep is for me." Astrid teases back and I laugh and nod.
"You read my mind. Alright, let's double back. Seems we've got a lot on our plates tonight, especially if we can capture Krogan." I state and she nods.
"We'll get him, Hiccup. We will." She states, confidently and with a smile. It did reassure me, maybe we could finally close the chapter of Krogan out of our lives and deal with the trappers. Without a focused effort, they were little more than mercenaries who trapped dragons. They didn't have the same level of threat that the Hunters did under Viggo. Remove Krogan from play, and they become a discombobulated fleet that will be easy pickings. Then maybe, we can have peace.
