CHAPTER 7: METAL FOR DRAGONS PT. 2
It was hot. Unusual for a day that was moving away from winter. But it must have been normal for the number of people missing from the streets and houses of Visithug and they was now huddled shoulder to shoulder in the now seemingly tiny Great Hall. The unusual embarrassment along with the few torches that lit up the room plus the whispering, shouting, and confused complaints from the villagers made it an uncomfortable place indeed. More for a seven-year-old kid.
Astrid watched the villagers occupying the entire space from her hiding place. She recognized some faces among the sea of people but most were just blurry memories in her mind, but of course, she noticed that there were no children in the Great Hall.
All the children were excluded from whatever was going on, and as the only kid in the place, she felt a mixture of pride and regret for what was to happen.
She managed to get in through a small window atop a log wall in the Hall thanks to strategically stacked hay wagons before the adults entered the meeting, and some scraped knees and red hands later, she got climb with his agility and small size to one of the old beams of the ceiling buttresses, giving her a perfect perspective of the scene.
The girl pressed herself against the beam praying to the few gods she knew not to see her. That situation would be difficult to explain to the ladies of the orphanage, and she also didn't want to add one more thing to her already long list of antics.
Spending several minutes in which nothing happened, the intermingled words of the town making them difficult to understand distracted her for a while, but after two minutes she was already swinging her legs on the sides of the rafters, terribly bored looking at the window through which she had walked in, wondering if she was wrong to think something cool and different was going to happen and if she should've gone straight home, maybe to get some apple pie from the kitchen, when suddenly the whole room fell into a deep quiet.
Astrid peeked out a bit, straightening up to see what had caused that change. Chief Birger had entered the Great Hall. No air of self-sufficiency or grandeur, no air of drama, just a serious look on his unnaturally pale face.
The girl raised a curious eyebrow. It was not the first time she had seen her village chief. Astrid'd seen him only from afar and in passing, but she had liked his humble gesture and his normality. She had seen more villagers with pretense of grandeur than he, a chief himself. Astrid didn't like fake people.
The man's footsteps echoed in the room thanks to the silence that hung over the air like thick fog as he approached the center table to his usual position with the Council. Astrid could not make out from the distance and height of her the sad and tired faces of the Council members already seated at the head.
The slightly lower, more sneaky whispers returned as the man sat down in his well-carved chair.
"What's up chief?"
"What are we doing here?"
"I have work to do!"
"What are those cages out there?"
"They were for dragons, dumb yak what were they going to be for"
"Dragons? There're no dragons in Visithug."
"It sure has to do with that man from the port from a few days ago"
"Must be"
-What's going on Chief Birger?
The last demanding comment filled the room and turned off the others as if supporting it.
Astrid watched the chief take a breath before speaking, leaned closer to the edge of the beam and tuned her ears in anticipation.
-As you know, a few days ago, a man came to our port- a vein of fatigue filling his voice. He waited a few seconds until new questions from people came and went -That man was Drago Bludvist.
Questions and questions filled the mouths of the villagers, some confused, some angry with appreciation, but mostly feared for the future.
"Drago Bludvist"
Astrid repeated his name in her mind several times until she made sure she wasn't going to forget it.
"Drago Bludvist Drago Bludvist Drago Bludvist"
-A renowned dragon hunter further north of the archipelago.
"Dragon hunter?" Astrid thought. Dragons weren't a big deal, they were fun and cute, why would there have to be hunters?
-He came to Visithug to warn that the situations with those... beasts would get worse ... And he was right ... - he said the last with resignation.
"Beasts?"
-The raids have gotten worse, the dragons have become more dominant and daring with each fire, person, cattle and reserve taken. The situation is spiraling out of control.
"Out of control? Everything is fine here!" One of the vikings in the front row raised her voice.
Birger sighed almost imperceptibly.
-For now- he put out the flame of anger and confusion that began to ignite among his people -It is a matter of time ... they reach Visithug -he explained in a calm and sure voice- Crescent Island, Berserker Island, Berk, Tomorrow Island, the Bog Burglars ...- he sighed tiredly again- I don't see how long it will take to get here.
Various "oh!" and rage viking screams flooded the villagers.
-Calm down, calm down ...- he silenced down in a neutral voice- That's why we have to be prepared ...
Astrid's heart clenched. Her hands gripping the beam until her nails chipped.
Birger straightened up, looking to announce something else.
-Two days ago, there was a big meeting of chiefs.
He waited for the crowd to speak and continued.
-No one made it out of there alive- Astrid almost fell when he heard it. The people raised their fists and it looked like they were going to start a fight, but the chief kept talking hoping they would shut up-Except chief Stoick The Vast, from Berk ... My friend was lucky to get out of the burning building when the dragons attacked. A great blow for him, after losing his wife by dragons and being left alone with his only little son...
Astrid fought the urge to put her hands to her mouth in amazement to keep her balance.
-No one was left ... All the tribes are in chaos looking for a successor to the command and what to do with the cursed dragons-his words with contained fury and resentment- I am really relieved that I did not attend that meeting for the state sick of my wife, because now, Visithug probably wouldn't have a chief.
Wailings, cursings, and complainings crossed the silence.
-Stoick informed us that Drago Bludvist showed up in the middle of the meeting, that those dragons with armors that destroyed everything and killed the chiefs were his... Given the rumors surrounding that hunter, I'm not really surprised.
Screams of rage and insults.
-Drago Bludvist, is considered an enemy of the Barbarian archipelago, a man, a hunter who has ... allied himself with the dragons-he spat-I don't even want to imagine what would happen if Visithug were attacked, or any of the other tribes ...-he lowered his head thoughtfully, to raise it again with determination-But that will not happen. We will be prepared. We will not give him the opportunity, and we will eliminate all the dragons of the archipelago. Until the last of them- he finished with a slam to the table that woke up the crowd.
An "Aye chief!" of the ensemble echoed loudly along with the metallic sounds of raised weapons.
Astrid bit the inside of her cheeks hard, trying to hear her own quick, confused thoughts about the bubbling of screams beneath her feet.
-Times have changed- continued Birger now almost shouting to make himself heard over the people- It is time for Visithug to change too. Dragons won't kill us if we take them down them first- cheers in the air. Astrid gulped.- Those cages in the harbor-he waved his arm- They're just the beginning. And as Vikings, we will face anything!
More cheers exploded in Astrid's ears.
"Drago Bludvist... Dragons...Chiefs...Dead...Change...Enemy of the archipelago... Beasts... Cages...Vikings...Hunters...Eliminate all dragons"
The words echoed and spun in her head senselessly like pieces of a broken puzzle.
Astrid patted her cheeks until they were red and she looked down again with narrowed eyes with determination. Towards the vikings ready for anything.
She would get answers. Even if she had to ask Drago Bludvist himself.