Hiccup considered himself and Heather lucky not to have run into any Dragon Hunters so far. He knew it was just a matter of time before they'd come after them and hunt them down for sport. This island wasn't exactly a maze. He recalled the first sight from when they had a perspective from the ocean. It wasn't a mystery island; it was composed of leafy trees and a few cliffs allowing a small creek to flow through the island and offer the few living creatures inhabiting the islet some spring water.
The sun was high in the sky, warming the Earth with its loving rays. Hiccup was glad they had some foliage to serve as shade. Back on that ship, there had been nothing to protect them from the light that grew harsher the longer the day stretched. At least he was still able to find some positive in this whole mess of a story.
They had been walking again for the majority of the day, headed a different way than going straight for the opposite side of the island. Hiccup knew the Hunters would assume that'd be where they'd hang out, so he made sure they didn't go anywhere near that coast. It had been dead silent the entire day, all but for the wind ruffling the leaves and the occasional singing of the birds and a few Terrible Terrors.
Hiccup was surprised they hadn't crossed paths with any particularly large wild dragon. The island itself was quite livable despite its size after all. Hiccup quickly concluded that the Hunters' occupation had driven them away from their home.
And as if the gods themselves had heard his thoughts, the howl of a dragon echoed in the distance and both Hiccup and Heather froze in their tracks before exchanging a glance. That call wasn't just of any type. It was a distress call. They had both heard too many howls of despair, rescue after rescue. No words were needed and they both broke to a run, heading straight for the source of the call. The forest thinned as they neared a cliff edge, and Hiccup held his hand up at Heather while he looked out for any Hunters that might be roaming nearby. But the path was clear and he gestured to follow.
They stepped out into the open. They were on high ground and could see the vast and open ocean from up here. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore was a welcomed resonance from wandering in the boring woods for hours. The salty breeze brushed Hiccup's bangs out of his face as he gazed out. Heather was at his side, looking out with a determined shade washing over her eyes. The roar echoed against the cliffside again, and Hiccup lowered himself as he gingerly crept closer to the edge. He looked down carefully, the indistinct chatter and the growls of dragons more audible as he lowered himself, hidden from the whistling wind.
"Get down," ordered Hiccup when he saw Heather near the edge, standing. He grabbed her wrist, pulling her down next to him.
"What is it?" she asked, recovering from the rough meeting with the rocky ground. She neared closer, watching the activity below.
"Dragon Hunters…" said Hiccup, a dark edge to his tone. "Looks like we found their camp." He narrowed his eyes, taking another moment to count. "Looks like the same crew that brought us here too."
He scanned the clearing a bit more closely. The Dragon Hunters had set their camp at the bottom of a bone-dry canyon dead-end. The walls were high and solid, and Hiccup could see that there was only one way out of that camp, one that led directly to the beach they had docked on. It was a perfect location for a camp, easily defendable against any dragon attack. He drifted his attention onto the cages and spotted a Monstrous Nightmare, prisoner of the dragon-proof bars. There were other cages, covered with drapes.
"I see a few dragons down there," reported Hiccup, sliding back into hiding next to Heather. "They could be our solution off this island."
"Wait, you think you can just train these dragons in a matter of seconds?" asked Heather, taking him poorly.
"It's worth a shot, don't you think?" replied Hiccup, shrugging at her with a cocky smile stretching his lips.
Heather sighed, shaking her head sideways. "I guess…" she admitted.
Hiccup crawled closer to the edge again with Heather following his lead.
"Alright, here's the plan," he said, nodding the Hunters' way. "You distract them, lead them as far away from the camp as possible. I'll go in there, free those dragons, and hitch ourselves a ride."
"You really think you can pull this off?" said Heather, giving him a curious look. She had heard the stories from Astrid; how Hiccup could apparently train almost any dragon on command. She had yet to see it happen herself. But she trusted Hiccup and trusted his judgment and skills with those dragons.
"I sure hope so," replied Hiccup before backing off from the edge while Heather stayed put, raising her head to keep an eye on the campsite.
Hiccup had to move under the cover of the trees to avoid getting spotted so early. He followed the tree line that moved to the curve of the rocky cliff edge. The terrain led downhill gently, giving him an easy time as he made his way for the enemy's campground. He would soon require a distraction as he finally reached the bottom, hiding behind a pile of supplies gathered at the entrance of the canyon (to be transported in or out, he wasn't sure). The path to the dead-end was wide, offering little options to hide and sneak closer without being detected. The sight in general almost made him forget there was green on the island. The canyon was bone-dry, the warm dusty colour of the ground and walls giving the place a desert-like quality. He could see the Hunters moving around from where he crouched behind the crates and barrels, the distant voices bouncing around against the steep cliffs. He could barely see Heather from here, but the sunshine reflecting off her raven-coloured hair peeking out from hiding let him know she was standing by, awaiting his signal.
Heather watched the activity below attentively, looking out for Hiccup to reappear and give her the go. When she saw him reappear among a gather of furniture at the entrance of the canyon, she knew her part was coming into play. If he asked her, she found this plan very flawed and risky, especially for Hiccup himself. But they were short on options, and this was probably the only escape option available. So she rose to her feet, exposing herself completely to the Hunters below.
"Here goes nothing," she said to herself before waving exaggeratingly to drag eyes on her. "Hey, muttonheads!" Her heart leaped to her throat when all heads turned her way. But she didn't freeze. "I believe you have some unfinished business to deal with! Come and get me if you dare!"
The Dragon Hunters weren't too suspicious of her invitation and Hiccup watched with a grin as they grabbed their weapons and hurried out after her. When the Rider turned back to look at Heather, he could see she had already taken off. At least she had quite the head start. He wasn't too worried about her; he knew she could take care of herself with a task as easy as this one. When the crowd had rushed past him, with crossbows, swords, maces, (you name it), in hand, he jogged out of his hiding place and hurried for the camp made of a few permanent buildings, a few tents, crates, barrels, and cages.
He wasn't hesitant when he approached the cages, unbothered by the threatening growls from the Monstrous Nightmares, Deadly Nadders, and other common species. He flipped the lock and swung the gate open. The door whined, and the Nightmare inside the cage reared its head slowly, growling down at the Rider. Hiccup knew the dragon was uncertain whether to trust him or not.
"Easy, big guy," reassured Hiccup, holding his palm forward invitingly for it to sniff and familiarize itself with his scent. "I'm a friend. I'm here to help."
Hiccup sighed the stress away and turned his head the other way, assuring the Nightmare he meant no harm and trusted it enough to take his eyes off its form. And the dragon would've pressed its nuzzle against the soft skin of the hand if it weren't for the sound of a door swinging wide open.
Hiccup's eyes widened in alarm and he turned around to see two Hunters step out of the tavern, weapons at their sides.
"Hey, you!" shouted one of the two as he approached imposingly, pointing his way aggressively. "What are you doing with that dragon?"
"Oh, not good…" said Hiccup, taking a step back with his hands raised involuntarily at his sides.
The Monstrous Nightmare growled low, stepping out of the cage with its sharp teeth bared at the two Hunters. Hiccup backed off slowly as the dragon advanced heavily, spreading its wings in order to appear twice its size while it faced off against its captives. It snarled, puffs of smoke rising from its nostrils.
Hiccup didn't miss the opportunity and used the distraction to escape. He covered his head with his forearms as the heated dragon fired its lit kerosene gel the Hunters' way. Hiccup noticed the men take cover before the dragon ever fired and he knew they'd survived the Nightmare's wrath. But that didn't stop him from turning tail and run for safety. Getting himself captured to help out a dragon would do no good for anyone but the Hunters themselves.
So he ran, back the way he'd come from, leaving behind small clouds of dust with every contact his feet made with the hard and dry ground of the canyon floor. He panted, looking back over his shoulder, afraid the soldiers would be right on his tail. But they were still busy with the Nightmare, jabbing their swords at its side until it backed off into the cage. Something caught his eye as the dragon twisted back around and sought refuge in its prison, dragging its heavy tail along with it.
There.
Something was attached to the dragon's tail, and from what he'd seen, battle after battle against the Dragon Hunters, he could tell it was dragon-proof. The unmistakable green metal stood out against the Stoker's warm-coloured scales.
He frowned as the Hunters turned to look at him after shutting the gate and imprisoning the dragon again. But he took off again, climbing back the way he'd come from on the cliffside. He locked gazes with the two Dragon Hunters following every single one of his movements, like predators. He was surprised they hadn't bothered to chase after him. Maybe they figured the others would get their hands on him, or maybe they thought they'd have another chance at it. Either way, one thing Hiccup knew for sure, was that he and Heather weren't getting off this island on dragon-back. Not with any of these dragons down there, at least. The closer Hiccup looked, he could see that every single dragon in those cages wore a manacle around their tail, preventing them from flying off the piece of rock or take to the air at all.
He needed to find Heather.
Hiccup headed back to the cliffside where he and Heather had spied on the campsite before their first attempt at an escape. But the plan had failed, and now he needed to regroup and figure out another way out. He followed the footprints in the sand and soil, tracked them until he had a pretty good indication of which way the Berserker had gone off. He'd been walking for a while, alert for any Hunter activity. Whether the party that had set out had returned to their camp or not, he didn't know, so Hiccup was careful to stay low.
The sun was already going down again. The orange rays penetrated through the canopy, kissing the forest floor and turning the leaves to gold. Bugs buzzed unbothered while the crickets began their nocturnal choir. With the rest of the day to find Heather, he also had plenty of time to absorb the new information and realize what this meant.
It was the ruffling of leaves that had Hiccup freeze in his tracks. The quiet atmosphere had been broken, and the Rider spun around on his heels at the same time as Heather dropped from a tree branch high above, landing in battle-ready position. They stared at each other for a moment before easing off.
Heather was the first to speak.
"What in Thor's name happened?" asked Heather, reaching her hands to her hips with a puzzled look. "Weren't you supposed to give me a ride?"
"Yeah, well, things just got a whole lot more complicated," sighed Hiccup, running a hand through his locks, looking all too discouraged to Heather's liking.
"What do you mean 'complicated'?" she asked, narrowing her toxic-green eyes on him for more context.
Hiccup paused before turning back around to face her.
"Heather, we're on dragon-hunting ground," said Hiccup, his concern unmasked. Heather picked it up right away and shared his emotion. "Those dragons we saw, they're being used as hunting practice."
"How do you know?" wondered Heather, blinking.
"Because their tails are manacled, preventing them from flying away," said Hiccup, gesturing up at the sky – to freedom. "It's grounding them on this remote island for those Hunters to hunt without any trouble."
Heather stared down at her boots, taking it in, before raising her gaze back up to meet Hiccup's, and said, "Just like us."
Boy, do I love complicating things : D Hope you like so far! Be sure to leave a review, I always love to hear your thoughts! ❤