Shattermaster had created a nice fire for his companions and Dagur was using it to cook a yak leg, "It's not half bad out here, huh pals? Of course, the fire would last longer, if this boulder were smaller. That way there would be more pieces and they could get, evenly, heated." He smiled, sweetly, at the silvery dragon, "Windshear, would you mind?" The reptile cut the boulder with her tail, splitting it into chunks. Dagur put his hands behind his head and leaned against Shattermaster's warm body, "Thank you." The group's relaxation period was, however, cut short. A rustling sound in the bushes caught the attention of the trio and they stalked over, battle ready. Dagur held a blade in both hands, waiting to throw it into the eye of a dragon hunter. He restrained himself from giggling at the glorious thought.
Figures emerged from the brush, although they were not the anticipated hunters. "Brother!" Dagur exclaimed, happily, going over and hugging Hiccup. The Berkian tensed when he saw the knives, "C-could you put those away?" The Berserker raised a brow and then followed Hiccup's gaze, "Oops, sure." he chuckled, sheepishly, "Was expecting someone else." Toothless went over to the viking and nuzzled against him, lovingly. Dagur returned the affection and glanced at the dragon riders, "Hey, is Fishy, Fishy again or still 'Bonecrusher?" he whispered. Hiccup grinned, "He's his old self again." Dagur walked over to the Ingerman and patted him on the shoulder, "Glad to have you back, buddy. How did you do it?" Fishlegs, once done wincing at the impact of the Berserker's hand, spoke, "They just had to scare me. Gothi told us that it would help and seeing my baby, Meatlug, in trouble," he hugged the Gronckle, "well, that was enough to snap me back."
Dagur's expression went unreadable for a moment, "Had to be scared back?" he echoed. Fishlegs nodded, still hugging his Gronckle. The Berserker's brows furrowed, slightly, and Hiccup strode over to the new dragon, "You found a Razor Whip?" Dagur turned to look at him and shrugged, "If that's what she is, I guess. I've never seen a dragon like her before. Cool, though, isn't she?" At this point, Fishlegs was over there by the dragon, inspecting and examining her, "Incredible. Hold on, let's see what the Dragon Eye says about her." He pulled out the artifact and went near a cave with Meatlug. After a few minutes, he ran back, smiling. "What did you find out?" Hiccup inquired, grinning at his friend's enthusiasm. "Razor Whips can cut, basically, every surface with their sharp spines! They're extremely powerful and even have poisonous tears. Isn't that amazing?" he told, eagerly.
The twins' mouths gaped as they eyed each other, mischievously, "A dragon that can kill you with everything." Tuff whispered, excitedly. "Does Heather have a dragon, yet?" Dagur asked, hopefully. "No, actually. We never found a dragon that she really was able to connect with." Fishlegs informed the Berserker. Dagur patted the Razor Whip's head, "Maybe Windshear, here, can be her new dragon? She's really affectionate and likes taking out hunters. I can see her and Heather getting along." The riders shrugged, "It's definitely possible." Hiccup commented. Still going over the dragon's body, Fishlegs gasped, "She has scars. From the size, they indicate that she was in a really bad fight." The chief nodded, "She was in a real bad shape when I first saw her. Shattermaster and I decided to stay here for a bit to help nurse her back to health. She's okay now, but isn't ready to be on her own. That's another reason why I was suggesting that Heather ride her."
Tuffnut's face fell, "I can ride her. She can be Mrs. Tuffnut Thorston." he proclaimed, dramatically. Astrid crossed her arms, "Tuff," she began, scoldingly, "you already have Barf and Belch." The twin scowled, "Why can't I have two? I wouldn't have to share Mrs. Thorston at all." Hiccup rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Oh gods. Dagur, we'll see if Windshear," he stated, with a significant look at Tuffnut, "would be willing to come back with us. After that, we'll introduce her to Heather and see what comes from it." Dagur smiled and it faltered, slightly, "Could you not tell her about my relation to Windshear? Maybe say something like, you found her on an island-which wouldn'tbe a lie." The riders looked at one another, then back at the Berserker, "Sure, we can tell her that. But, maybe she needs to know about you helping this dragon." Hiccup suggested, "Proof that there's another side to you." His friend looked down, "She won't want anything to do with Windshear, if she knows. I don't want Sheary to miss out on a good home because of me."
The Berkian gave a smile, "You know, since Windshear is so familar with you now, she could stay with you." Dagur shook his head, "Not a chance. She just got better. I'm not throwing her into battle so soon. If she's on Berk, she can help you guys keep everything safe and not have to be in the heat of it all." Hiccup looked upwards, trying not to be too obvious, "Although, if you weren't attacking ships everday, she'd be safe around you." The chief's brows furrowed, "I'm not done yet, but I'm changing tactics. Viggo can go through these hunters like water and it's taking too long to find him again. I gotta hurt him where it counts. Know where that is?" he sang. Hiccup shrugged and his comrade answered, "His gold. They'll be taking dragons every second no matter what, but if I mess up where they sell them-or whatever they do to get the real income rolling in-he'll be ruined." the viking laughed.
Hiccup tapped his chin, "That's not a bad idea. We could question a hunter and have them tell us the information." Dagur smirked, "You might want to wait until after I get the info. Then, I can bring you all in. I doubt that you'll agree with my methods of interrogation." A, grim, smile was plastered on the Berserker chief's face. The heir could not help the disturbed expression that he made and he walked over to Toothless, "Yeah, maybe you should contact us after you learn where we need to go." Dagur handed the Berkian a map, "I'll be going to one of these islands. Not sure which one yet." Hiccup nodded, "All right, in the meantime, we'll bring Windshear back with us." The riders walked to the Razor Whip and Dagur gave her one last pat, "Hey, Sheary, they're going to see if they can get you a rider. How does that sound to you?" Windshear raised her head and nuzzled it against the Berserker, lovingly. She rose from the ground and began walking over to the Berkians. Seeing that she was willing to go with them, the riders flew off.
Using another map, Dagur saw one that had a peculiar mark on it. "Wonder why they wrote that on there. Looks like we'll have to find out, Shattermaster." The Gronckle wiggled, preparing himself for the flight. The two set off in search of the mystery island, arriving within a few hours. The land mass was multicolored with flowers covering the ground. Dagur recognized none as Blue Oleander, so he had Shattermaster alight on the island. Listening closely, the pair followed the distressed roars of dragons. "Stay close." Dagur instructed, quietly. Typhoomerangs and Changewings were being forced into cages by a fleet of hunters. Load by load they were getting hauled onto the ships. Stealthily, Dagur crept past some vikings and caught one, taking him behind a boulder.
The Berserker pushed a blade against the hunter's throat, "As you can see, it'd be best if you, quietly, told me what I wanted to know." Fear was in the viking's eyes and he nodded. Dagur smiled, "Good. How does Viggo bring in the big cash? He can't get it all just from selling hides, can he?" The hunter's breaths were shaky and his voice trembled, "No, he can't. H-he uses dragon fighting arenas a-and dragon auctions." The Berserker pondered about what he heard, "Helpful to know. Where do these take place?" His informant gulped, "I don't know where the auctions are. Th-they move around, constantly, I swear. The other hunters and I were going to take these dragons back, though, for the fights." Dagur nodded, thoughtfully, "You've been so good in aiding me that I, almost, don't want to kill you."
The hunter attempted to smile, "I appreciate that-" "Of course," the chief began, tapping the hunter's neck with the knife, "you'd be a loose end that I, really, can't chance having around." He dug the dagger into the man's windpipe, "Think of it this way, you died helping innocent dragons. How noble of you." Dagur yanked the knife out, widening the gash and making the hunter fall down, dead. Striding over to the Gronckle, Dagur planted himself on Shattermaster's saddle, "The next Terrible Terror we find, we use to let the riders know. Right now, though, we need to know where, in the name of Thor, we're going. On the bright side, buddy, it seems like we'll get some guides." He giggled and the two embarked.
They followed the ships to another island that was coated in hunters and audience members for the fight. Wanting to keep his dragon from being caught, as the others had been, Dagur hid Shattermaster away within some rocks, mud, and brushes. As he did this, they saw a Terrible Terror. Dagur got to his knees and, quietly, called the dragon over, "Come here, little buddy. Can you help us, help the other dragons?" The Terror crawled towards him and stood still for the letter to be attached onto its body. "Thanks, now if you could go find Hiccup. Uh, here." the viking pulled out the map that Hiccup had touched, "This has his scent. Can you use that to track him?" The Terrible Terror scurried off and the duo kept an eye on the arena.
"Yep, we got some Groncles, a Razor Whip, our champion, of course." Dagur heard a hunter say. "A 'champion'?" the Berserker wondered. "It'll all be set up in about half an hour." the same viking told. That would not provide enough time for the other riders to come and help. Dagur had to handle this on his own, "No big whoop there." he thought, "Let's see where the main guards are. Okay, the East and West wing hunters keep watch over the arena. Sure are doing a poor job, though. A few dozen vikings are scattered throughout the place. The pins are to my right, it seems. And-" his thoughts were cut into when another, more familiar, voice sounded, "You better make sure that none of your new dragons are too valuable. If they get hurt and we can't sell their skins, I'll be selling yours."
Dagur felt his muscles tense as he heard Ryker speaking. Temptation whispered in his ear, begging him to drive a blade into the hunter's head. As lovely of a thought as that was, if he did that, everything would be on lock down and he would be unable to free the imprisoned dragons. He needed to focus on the big picture. Begrudgingly, Dagur thought up a different plan. The arena was too full of hunters for him to start an attack out there, he needed to be inside. "They'll have to open that hatch when they let out the dragons. As soon as they do, we fly in and free them." he whispered, "We'll have to be quick and efficient, so our usual selves." The viking chuckled and crouched down, waiting for their opening. Speedily, he scanned the area again and saw the hunters that were in his and Shattermaster's way. They would be easy to take out and he would do so by utilizing his knives.
Gradually, the arena hatch went upwards, letting out two dragons. One was a Monstrous Nightmare and the other was one that Dagur had never seen before. It was dark brown and orange, had a long tail with stingers on the end, and pinchers for front paws. Taking no time to marvel at the unique creature, the Berserker and Gronckle went past the hunters and zoomed into the dragon prison. Shattermaster spewed lava onto the pin doors, releasing their locks and emancipating the captives. In a frenzy, the dragons escaped their cells and flew out into the main arena. Some hunters tried shooting down the, newly, freed reptiles and Dagur stopped them. The viking and Gronckle hovered over one hunter, with a raised crossbow, and Dagur dismounted. He tackled the other viking to the ground, pinning him to the floor with a knife down his mouth and through to the back of his head.
Shattermaster did his part by roasting any hunter that attempted to recapture a dragon. Soon, practically every dragon had escaped. All except the unfamiliar one. The reptile was antsy, kept pacing back and forth, and looking from where the other dragons were to the hunters. "He's been in captivity too long." Dagur realized, sadly, "He knows that it's terrible to be here, but he doesn't know what it's like out there and fears it." The hunters seemed capable of sensing the dragon's fear and began stalking towards him, "Get back in your cell, you pathetic beast." one snarled. The dragon eyed the pins and shrunk, slightly. The hunter was not feeling patient and raised his bow, "I won't repeat myself." Still hesitant, the reptile stayed stationary, preparing himself for the unpleasant effects of Dragon Root. He growled, quietly, when he saw an arrow whiz in his direction.
Opening one eye, the dragon saw that the arrow had been caught by Dagur. The Berserker charged at the hunter, digging the arrow into his flesh. Crying out, the hunter's legs went limp and he collapsed to the floor. The other hunters had been taken out by the viking, the Gronckle, and the freed dragons, so the last was gone. "It's not safe for you to be here, bud." Dagur told the reptile, "I get it that the unknown can be terrifying, but even the chance of happiness is better than the certainty of misery." Shattermaster backed up what his friend was saying and communicated to the other dragon. Timidly, the dragon walked over to them and looked to the skies. "There's a whole world out there that you could see. How about giving it a try?" the Berserker suggested, grinning. He got onto Shattermaster's back and watched as the reptile took to the air with them.
As they hovered over the island, Dagur looked down and frowned, "He got away." he growled, "Ryker was, actually, there and he slipped through our fingers." The viking let out a sigh and looked at the dragon to his side, a small smile forming. There would be another day for revenge and justice, but that day, lives had been saved. That, in and of itself, was enough of a reason to celebrate. The Berserker chief laughed as he saw the Berkians flying over to him, "Well, good to know that my message was received." The riders gaped at all the dragons, "Where did they all come from? How many ships did you have to raid?" Hiccup asked, dumbfounded. "None." Dagur told, "Got all of these from a fighting arena. This big boy was the champion." Fishlegs looked through some notes, "He's a Triple Stryke. Ooh, I've never seen one in person before. I guess, eventually, he'll start making his way to his own island."
The riders began making sure that the dragons got back to their, respective, homes. "They have auctions too." Dagur informed the others, "The guy didn't know where they had them, though, so I'll have to keep asking around." Rubbing his chin, Hiccup was deep in thought, "We could really do something with those auctions. Get right in the middle of it all and trick them." he figured. Time passed and more dragons left to rejoin their families. When they were done, only the Triple Stryke remained. "I don't think he has a family, anymore." Hiccup mentioned. Dagur eyed the reptile, empathetically, "Maybe he could use new one." he thought aloud.
As the riders had to go their separate paths, the Triple Stryke did not hesitate to follow Dagur. The chief cackled, "Okay, it looks like we're having a new comrade on our trips, Shattermaster. You'll need a name, though." He stroked his beard, thoughtfully, "Triple Stryke. Triple Stryke." he repeated, quietly. "How about "Sleuther'?" Tuffnut offered. Dagur shrugged, "Not bad, but to be honest, I'll probably end up calling him 'Strykie'." The vikings went their own ways and the Triple Stryke followed the Berserker and Gronckle off to their next location. "While I'd love to get out there and start messing up Viggo some more, maybe we should train you a bit, first, Strykie. Have to make sure that we know what you can do." Dagur pulled out another map, "I remember this one. Nice, serene. Let's head Northeast, Shattermaster. School is about to be in session."