Chapter 32: The Truth

"This is exciting," Oliver whispered.

"Don't do anything reckless," Krogan warned. He glanced uneasily at the guard following them on their trek through the forest. "We don't want to mess this up."

Meanwhile, Oliver appeared perfectly at ease. "It will be fine."

Krogan hoped he was right. As they walked, they were careful to avoid coming close to any dragon that was not their target, especially their own. Finally, they found it: a wild Monstrous Nightmare basking in the sun. Krogan looked at the guard once more, noting the fear in his eyes. "Remain calm."

The guard raised his weapon, attracting the attention of the dragon. The Monstrous Nightmare rose on his feet and snarled at the Vikings. Krogan moved in front of the guard before he could do anything else stupid.

"I've got this!" Oliver said. He raced forward and leapt at the dragon, landing on his head. He held onto his horns while forcing his head to the ground. "There, that's better. We're not going to hurt you." He looked to Krogan. "You're up."

Krogan left the stunned guard and approached the Monstrous Nightmare with a vile in hand. Oliver kept the dragon calm while Krogan extracted Monstrous Nightmare gel. Then they left the dragon in peace.

"That was awesome!" Oliver said with a grin once they were far enough away to not be heard.

"What are you going to do with that?" the guard said uneasily, staring at the vile.

"You'll find out soon enough," Krogan said. "We have something else to do right now." If Viggo and Dagur were not back yet, they needed to round up all the villagers interested in their training. Then they could showcase their products.

Dagur burst with excitement over his current mission. He and Viggo each dragged a wagon full of rocks through the forest in search of a Gronckle. This was a great first step in winning over the village. Plus, he got to spend time with one of his favorite dragons! It was all uphill from here, as far as he was concerned.

"Hello, little Gronckle!" Dagur exclaimed when they finally came across a red dragon sniffing an ordinary rock in dissatisfaction. "We've got something you'll like much better!"

The Gronckle immediately perked up and bounder over to the Vikings. The guard tensed, and Viggo said to him, "There is no reason to be afraid. Gronckles are among the nicest of dragons."

"And the coolest. Watch this!" Dagur scooped up the rocks and tossed them to the Gronckle, who immediately gobbled them up. Soon enough, he spit up a huge piece of molten metal.

"What is that?" the guard said in astonishment.

Dagur grinned. "That is Gronckle iron, the best substance around." They repeated the process until they had another chunk. They waited for the iron to cool down and then placed them on their wagons. Dagur bid farewell to the Gronckle before starting back for the village.

Upon their return, they quickly discovered that Eira, Krogan, and Oliver had gathered a group of villagers together and were already beginning their training. Kids made up a majority of the group, but their was a sizeable amount of adults as well. Krogan currently held up a vile of Monstrous Nightmare gel, which the villagers eyes skeptically.

"I don't see the point of it," said one main.

"If you need fire quickly, this is the best way," said Krogan. "Think of the possibilities."

"Yes, like this!" Viggo said, drawing his fire sword and lighting it up. The villagers looked at it with fascination while Krogan appeared irritated at the interruption.

"That's not all!" Dagur declared. "We've brought Gronckle iron!" He motioned to the piles of metal with pride. The villagers, however, looked confused once more.

"Gronckle?" said a little girl.

"That's a dragon that eats rocks," Oliver explained. A murmur spread throughout the villagers. "And it spits up iron."

"That's pretty cool!" said a teenage boy. "I didn't know dragons could do anything other than destroy stuff."

"And how is it different from ordinary iron?" an older man asked.

Eira smiled. "Where is your blacksmith?"

The familiar sound of a Night Fury about to attacked sounded through the air. "You'll be safe further in the forest," Drago said. "They'll stop chasing you." He turned and ran through the trees without waiting for a response.

Snotlout cast Ingrid an anxious look. "We're not going to trust him, are we?"

Ingrid hesitated only for a second before directing Shadowwhisper forward. "We don't have a choice!" She heard Snotlout grumble, but Hookfang followed them. The dragons easily kept up with Drago, who led them a long ways in before stopping at a small hut. Thankfully, the sound of Night Furies faded into the distance. "I think we're in the clear."

"Then maybe we should try flying up!" Hookfang spread out his wings.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Drago said. "Those Furies will spot you and attack you. And they have wild dragons in the forest working for them if you try to leave."

Hookfang lowered his wings. Snotlout growled in frustration as he slid of his back. "What's the deal with them, anyway? I thought Night Furies were extinct! Well, except for Toothless."

"And who told you that?"

"Grimmel."

Drago's face immediately contorted with rage. "Grimmel?! You've seen Grimmel?!"

Snotlout paled. "I take it you're acquainted."

"Grimmel did take over his entire fleet," Ingrid said.

"Yes, I know him," Drago snarled. "That no good thieving' hunter. He took all my hard work and thinks he can do better." He pointed a finger at Snotlout. "Grimmel is a liar! He killed one flock of Night Furies outside the archipelago, not every dragon in the entire world! That anyone would believe such a claim... I've been around the world, boy, and I'll tell you his claims are not possible. The world is too big."

"Maybe he's mistaken?" Ingrid suggested.

Drago snorted. "He knows very well it's a lie. He's working with the Furies on this island, especially the white one."

"The Light Fury?!"

Drago shrugged. "I suppose that's a good name for her... unless by 'light' you mean to say she's pure, which couldn't be farther from the truth."

"That's what I said," Snotlout said, "but Hiccup wouldn't listen."

Everything was happening so fast that Ingrid's mind was racing with the news. She needed everyone to slow down. "Wait, I agree the Light Fury was acting suspicious, but why would she and the Night Furies work with Grimmel? He wants to kill all dragons!"

Drago shook his head. "Not true. He wants to rid our world of dragons, but that doesn't require killing them."

"You lost me there," Snotlout said.

"There is another world - a Hidden World - below us made up of a network of caves. Legend has it that's where dragons came from, and there are still plenty of them living down there."

Ingrid gasped. "Another world? Wow!" A world full of dragons. She would have liked to see that!

"I suspect the Night Furies are guarding an entrance on this island. I've seen them bring in dragons that just disappear."

"I knew the Light Fury was stealing our dragons!" Snotlout exclaimed.

"So, you're saying Grimmel and the Furies are working together to bring all dragons to the Hidden World?" Ingrid said. That sounded like quite the undertaking. Then again, the Northern Alliance had managed to cause destruction through most of the world. This might not be a problem for them - especially if they worked with dragons. She knew firsthand what that type of alliance could do.

Drago nodded. "That's exactly what I'm saying. Grimmel wants the glory of saving humanity from the dragon problem, and dragons want to be safe from humans in the Hidden World. Not that either side entirely trusts each other, but it seems to be working."

"And Grimmel is distracting us with his threats of war," Snotlout said. "We have to tell Hiccup the truth!" He reached for Hookfang's saddle.

"Snotlout, we won't be getting off this island without a plan," Ingrid said. "We need to stop and think."

"You better listen to her," Drago said. "And before you do anything else, you might want to built a shelter. Night will fall in a few hours." With that, he walked into his own hut and shut the door.

"That was a pleasant talk," Snotlout said sarcastically. "I guess we better get to work."

"Agreed," said Ingrid. She rubbed Shadowwhisper's side, who appeared despondent. "Don't worry, boy. We'll find a way out of this mess."

The couple spent several hours constructing a suitable hut. In the end, it wasn't much with one small room and two beds, but it would work as a shelter. Once they were finished, Ingrid started thinking about how they were going to find food. She thought about asking Drago, but before she could even make the suggestion to Snotlout, Drago's door opened, and he stepped outside. Then he stood there, staring out into the forest.

"What's he waiting for?" Snotlout said in confusion.

Ingrid nudged him to keep him quiet. The huts were far enough away that he probably couldn't understand what they were saying, but she still did not want to disturb him. He may have been acting friendly, but he was still dangerous. Who knew what could set him off? She tensed and the dragons growled when something approached them from the trees. Then she saw it. A Night Fury carried a basket of fish in her mouth and headed straight for Drago.

In the light, Ingrid observed that the dragon was likely female with dark gray scales instead of black and bright green eyes. Drago did not seem surprised or frightened. Instead, he took the basket from the Night Fury when she stopped in front of him. "Thank you," he said in a tone gentler than Ingrid ever thought possible.

"What was that?!" Snotlout exclaimed, earning a glare from Ingrid.

The Night Fury looked in their direction but appeared more thoughtful than angry. Then she looked from Shadowwhisper to Hookfang and yipped. The two dragons responded by walking over to her and then following her into the forest.

"Hey, where are you going?" Snotlout said.

"Maybe they're going to bring us food," Ingrid suggested.

Snotlout scoffed. "What kind of captors bring their prisoners food?"

Ingrid raised her eyebrows. "The just kind?"

"Or maybe they need us alive for something."

"I've had that thought myself," Drago said, setting down the fish. He proceeded to walk around the grass, picking up sticks.

"Where did that dragon get that basket?" Ingrid asked. She and Snotlout moved closer so they could talk better.

Drago did not look at her as he responded. "I made it because I got tired of eating food with dragon drool on it."

"You made that?" Snotlout said incredulously.

"I've had a lot of time on my hands the past several months."

"This is where you ended up after falling in the ocean," Ingrid said.

"That's right." Drago brought the sticks back to his hut and proceeded to build a fire. "Of course I ended up on the one island I can never leave!"

"The dragons probably just don't want you blabbing their secret."

"That makes sense for him," said Snotlout, "but what about us? We're friends with dragons!"

"They probably don't know that. Remember how the Light Fury treated Hiccup? I bet they think all humans are awful."

"If you're thinking about changing their minds, you'll only get yourselves killed," Drago said. He sat on a stump and began to cook his fish. "They won't let anything get in the way of their plan. But I have to admit they're not out to destroy us like I once feared. At least these Night Furies, they won't bother you if you stay out of their way."

Snotlout watched Drago with a hard look, his arms cross. "That makes sense, but why haven't you killed us?"

Drago shrugged. "What benefit would I gain from that? Besides, it's nice to have other humans around after months of solitude. One can only take their own thoughts for so long! And aren't you the ones who should be trying to kill me?"

"That's not the way we roll," Ingrid said. She brightened when Shadowwhisper and Hookfang returned. They both stopped in front of their trainers and deposited fish from their jaws.

Snotlout gave Hookfang a disgusted look.. "Ew." Hookfang growled and put his face right up to Snotlout's, who became white. "Okay, I'll eat it!"

Eira and her companions spent the day engaging with the villagers and teaching them what they needed to know to defend themselves, both mentally and physically. She was pleased that the expressed interest in the Monstrous Nightmare gel and Gronckle iron that were presented to them. Perhaps this was the first step to a better relationship with dragons.

Everyone began to disperse as the sun disappeared. Before the dragon riders could retire to their hut, they were approached by Chief Reidun and her son Jarl. "That was awesome!" Jarl said. "Thank you for teaching us!"

Oliver smiled at him. "You are quite welcome."

"I agree," Reidun said. "You have done some excellent work here. You have helped us set a better path for the future."

Jarl gave his mother a hopeful look. "Now can you let them introduce dragons to us?"

Reidun frowned. "No, Jarl. We're not ready for that yet."

"'Yet,'" Dagur said with a smirk.

"However, that does not mean we cannot continue to progress." Reidun looked around at the dragon riders. "I will talk to you tomorrow about where we will go from here. For now, you have all earned a good night's rest."

"Thank you," Eira said, dipping her head. "We look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Have a good night."

"Likewise."

The dragon riders started for their hut, and as soon as they were close, they gave each other encouraging looks. "That went well," Viggo said. "We are making progress."

"But Reidun's right," said Dagur. "Now we need to sleep!" He jogged the rest of the way to the hut.

Eira remembered something important that had her running after him. "Wait!" Then she realized he was not the one who needed to stop and turned around to face the others. "Give us some time alone, please." Then she dashed into the hut after Dagur.

"What's going on, Eira?" Dagur said in confusion.

Eira did not respond until they were both safely in their room. She took a deep breath and faced him. "We just need to spend some time alone."

Dagur blinked. "I want alone time too, but right now we need to sleep."

Eira shook her head. "No, it's time."

A puzzled look crossed Dagur's face. "Time for what?"

"Time when I can, you know..." Eira swept her hand over her stomach, blushing.

Dagur's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh... that." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "As much as I want to, Eira, now isn't the time."

Eira's heartbeat sped up. "But we'll miss our chance!"

Dagur shrugged. "We'll just take the next one."

"But-" Eira jumped when the door handle wiggled and the door opened.

"Uh, can we go to sleep now?" Oliver said.

Dagur looked to Eira, who gave a defeated sigh. "Yes, we can go to bed." But she was not happy about it. Despite Dagur's comforting presence, she could not rid herself of the worries that plagued her through the night.

A/N: I read that Drago originally had a redemption arc in the Hidden World where he washed up on an island and had to befriend a dragon to escape. What I'm doing is not that but was inspired by it, which should be interesting.