My apologies for how long I have been absent. I have never abandoned this series, though I know it seems that way. I had planned on posting this chapter months ago but we had a hurricane sweep through my hometown back in Sept and she caused all kinds of problems. Thank God my house was fine and none in my family injured but we did loose power for several days and then as the weather turned cold it became apparant the hurricane damaged the lines my internet provider used. I would lose internet and cable for many nights during winter. However, I do have good news. I now have a new laptop and those lines appear to be fixed. I do hope you enjoy this chapter and I will answer reviews one the next chapter.
Toothless landed at the foot of an ash-colored hill. Dark wings stretched skyward to their fullest extent, momentarily hiding his riders. When the wings folded down, Sharpshot sat upon his brother's head while Hiccup dismounted. The dragons who accompanied the three on their errand began landing in a half circle around them. The Riders and dragons who stayed with the ships followed suite. Stoick grinned as no dragon barred Astrid's path to Hiccup's side. Dragons were smarter than most Vikings Stoick knew.
As he vaulted his ship's railing, Stoick hoped Snorre paid attention to Hiccup and Astrid. When Stoick warned Hiccup about chiefs using their daughters to ensure alliances with Berk, Snorre had been the one Stoick was thinking of. The man found many chances over the years to speak of the benefits of a marriage contract between his family and Stoick's. Even with his abject failure as a father to Hiccup, Stoick always refused the man's offer. The man had a similar outlook as Old Man Jorgenson. He dictated everything his daughters were to be able to do, say, or think. Stoick would not subject his son to what he had to deal with. He may have been blind to who Hiccup truly was, but he did love his son.
Stoick was also not without wit. He knew what Snorre had planned. The man might speak about marrying his daughter to Hiccup and seem to hold no issue over that, but Stoick knew the man actually despised Hiccup. The marriage contract would have nothing to do with uniting the two families or any allegiances. Berk, according to Johann, sat in the middle of many sea lanes, which explained why many sea-faring merchants graced her docks. The Haddock clan also had the wealth left by Hamish the Second. A story Snorre often asked about at any meeting Stoick and he had to attend. Ruling Berk would gain Snorre access to her wealth. Having his daughter married to Hiccup would gain the man access to the Haddock clan's wealth. Stoick held no doubts the snowbound chief believed that Hiccup's preceived lack of being a Viking, marrying his daughter to the boy would let Snorre accomplish his goal.
Stoick's upper lip curled back as a loud and colorful protest screeched behind him. Barf and Belch had done well to get the ships as close to the island as they could, but every Viking disembarking would have to wade through boot-high water. Even with winter being over, the water held a biting chill. Most of the Vikings who lived in the Archipelago prided themselves on withstanding the waters surrounding their islands. It became a mark of glory over the mainland Vikings, who seemed to avoid the Archipelago at all cost. Even being a chief of an island further north than Berk, and thus subjected to far colder waters for far longer, it seemed Snorre took after those mainland Vikings.
Stoick was tempted to order Gyda to silence the fool. He knew she could. She and her son had landed close to the edge of the half circle around Hiccup. That placed her near enough the spell would work. While he never attended the magic lessons, Stoick knew what they entailed. Hiccup, with encouragement from all of his teachers, told his father all the things he learned from every lesson he attended, human and dragon alike. Hiccup vowed to never go behind his father's back and Stoick vowed to listen to his son on all things.
Stoick resisted the urge, even as Snorre's protests got louder. For everything except her magic, Gyda obeyed Stoick as her chief. Since Hiccup now knew she named him her liege lord, she declared she would only obey Hiccup when it came to her magic. A feat that amused Stoick as it still befuddled his brilliant son, especially since he and Astrid now had to obey Gyda's instructions on their own magic training.
Ordering Gyda would only result in her refusal. Something that would confuse the other tribe leaders. A tribe leader's word was law. None would understand why Stoick allowed Gyda to disobey him. None would see past that to learn what Hiccup wished to teach them. Stoick would not allow that. His son would have his chance to enact his plan. Stoick would make sure of that.
Gyda's steadfastness about Hiccup being her liege lord aided Stoick in a way he had not anticipated. It let him see the dragons' actions and their loyalty to his son clearly. The dragons respected Stoick. They knew Stoick's place in Hiccup's life. Though Hiccup's bond with his dragons was now complete, according to Old Wrinkly, those that lived in the village began to defer to Stoick once more. At least on certain issues. They let him know that such deference came because Hiccup requested it, and only because Hiccup requested it. Where Hiccup unable to give an order, Astrid became the one the dragons obeyed. After that it fell to the Elders and Stoick was not considered one of those.
It took time for Stoick to come to terms with that. He knew his temperament. He knew his beliefs. Every tribe leader had to hold a great deal of confidence in themselves in order to keep an island's worth of Vikings living and working together. They had to have a great deal of pride and the ability to portray both to those they led. A tribe had to believe their leader capable of handling anything, good or bad, or the tribe ceased to thrive. A leader had to show their tribe this, and only this, side of themselves. Stoick's father instilled that into him daily as he grew. With opened eyes, Stoick realized Hiccup had learned that as well.
As his boots shifted the pebbles on the beach, Stoick shoved aside the guilt that thought exposed. Guilt over his failure as a father would not help his son achieve peace for the dragons. Stoick would do nothing to hinder Hiccup, not anymore.
"I be seein' no signs of dis mass've dragon."
Stoick once again let his upper lip curl back even as he reminded himself that throwing Snorre into the volcano would break the Oath.
"If you actually looked instead of complained, you might find all kinds of interesting things."
Stoick's gaze snapped to the top of hill. An elder Viking wearing armor similar to Old Wrinkly stared down at everyone. Stoick's brow furrowed. No other humans were supposed to be here. That had been the reason his sons had to deviate earlier. They needed permission for the humans to disembark. The fog around the island, though less dense with the Red Death's passing, was still treacherous enough to require Hiccup to use his alpha call to guide the dragons and thus guide the ships in. No other ship had been spotted when they arrived and none had shown up as Barf and Belch executed their orders. Everyone would have known about that as the dragons who did not accompany Hiccup kept watch over everyone as the Zippleback and their riders worked. Stoick also doubted the man lived on the island. The man was an elder. The Red Death would have never suffered a human living in her nest.
Stoick's eyes widened as a saddled Night Fury, bigger than Toothless and Obsidian, though not by much, flew up from behind the hill and settled next to the elder Viking. Even as bad as he was at keeping the dragons separate, Stoick knew this was not Onyxwing. His brow furrowed again. His mouth opened to ask the man a question. Someone else spoke first and Stoick had to force his hand from his sword's hilt.
"Stoick, ye lyin' dog! Ye be draggin' us out'ere ta kill us!"
"Bold words," the elder Viking said. Though it did not have Hiccup's draconic growl, Stoick could hear the weight of command the elder had. The Viking had tasted leadership before. "Completely wrong, but bold. Chief Stoick has nothing to do with why I am here and no one seeks your death."
"Ye be of Old Wrinkly's tribe?" Stoick asked in an effort to silence Snorre before he did throw the snowbound chief into the lava.
"I am his eldest son," the elder Viking said, a rather familiar smirk upon his time-weathered face.
"Stoick, who be dis? And who be dis Old Wrinkly you speak of?"
Stoick turned to Henrik, thankful his old friend seemed willing to aid him in keeping Snorre from speaking again.
"Old Wrinkly be someone Hiccup met 'fore any leaders began arrivin' ta Berk. His tribe no be raided by da dragons so him and his people learn ta live wiv dem."
"Ha!" a voice Stoick thought cowed by his punishment cried. "Knew ye be nothin' special! Ye be stealin' da- urk!"
Whatever Thuggory had to say fled as a dagger embedded into the pebbles at his feet. Stoick watched as a gray and silver Terrible Terror flew over the saddled Night Fury. The small dragon earned a gasp from Steinar as it set about retrieving the dagger and returning it to the elder Viking.
"Oath Breaker!" Einar screamed.
"My father has never joined your treaty," the man said, staring at Einar as if the boy was some wild thing caught in a trap and unaware it. "Nor have any of my tribe swore to the Oath you all have." His gaze fell upon Thuggory and Stoick watched green eyes become as hard as emeralds. "Young Hiccup has stolen nothing from myself or my family. The glory he stands in he has earned. Never accuse him of such again."
Stoick frowned. The man was a Haddock, was an ancestor, and held every right to be angered over Thuggory's accusations and insults to Hiccup's honor. Stoick got the feeling the man took both far more personally than the tie of family warranted though. The man did not elaborate. He merely gestured to his feet. Only because Stoick had seen so many burnt animals and humans during the war did he recognize what the man and his dragons stoon upon.
"Most of her flesh burnt in the explosion," the elder Viking began, "and what remains is so blackened many would mistake it for the land around us. Look closely though and you will see the difference." He paused, his gaze boring into the non-Berkian Vikings. "We stand upon a collection of her fangs, the rest of her is scattered behind us."
"Dem bones be bigger den Stoick," Bertha exclaimed. "And ye say it be jest da dragon's fangs?!"
The elder's gaze shifted to the Bog Burglar's chieftess. "Aye. She was one of the smallest Leviathan-sized dragons my tribe has come across. We knew her as a Lava-dweller as her scales allowed her to live in volcanos."
"I named her the Red Death," Hiccup began though Stoick knew his boy spoke with great hesitation and only really began due to a subtle nudge from Astrid. "Due to her reddish color and the fact she brought death to humans and dragons alike."
Stoick grimaced though he let none of the other Vikings see. He had been the reason Hiccup still underplayed his role and believed his words would be ridiculed and cast aside.
"Be jest yer word," Snorre stated. "Ain't no real Vikin' be seein' dis dragon."
"Ye be sayin' me and me tribe's warriors be no real Vikin's?!" Stoick growled spinning to face the Thunderhead chief. "Ye spew more dishonor even after yer false accusation earlier?"
Before Snorre could reply, Gothi moved from the water's edge. As she passed Snorre, she cracked her staff against his arm. Uncaring that the man cursed her and reached for his sword, Gothi moved to stand next to the Woolly Howl who had placed himself at the apex of the half circle around Hiccup. Gothi then slammed the end of her staff into the pebbles at her feet. The pebbles scattered to the air and began forming the runes Gothi used to speak. Gothi tapped the end of her staff onto the beach again and then pointed at Bertha.
"Da gods give proof," Bertha translated slowly. "Look to da mountain 'fore dishonor bring deir wrath upon us all."
Stoick turned. An all too familiar, and nightmare creating, roar drove ice down his back.