Sorry for the longer wait this time. I have been really busy with a lot of new things.

Painstakingly, Dagur began to shift on the bed. He let out a mild grunt as he tried to open his eyes, readjusting to the bright light. The first thing the chief saw was Mala's worried face. She smiled at him and helped him sit upright. "How..long have I been out?" Dagur inquired. "A day." the queen responded. Seeing his expression turn to mild horror, she added on, "Which is actually rather fortunate, considering that you were poisoned by Triple Stryke toxins." This calmed him down, moderately, "How did you all get the antidote? That isn't one that's easy to come by and I know Viggo wouldn't just give it as a parting gift." he asked, curiously. "Hiccup Haddock traded the Dragon Eye for the remedy." the Defender informed Dagur. His eyes widened in shock and he got all the way off the bed, heading over to Hiccup's hut. After knocking on the door, it was briefly answered by the Berkian. He smiled brightly upon seeing the Berserker back to a non-poisoned state. "How are you feeling?" Hiccup inquired, opening up the door more to let him in. Almost in a timid manner, Dagur entered. "Definitely a lot better." he divulged, looking at the younger viking, "Mala said that you traded the Dragon Eye for the antidote."

Hiccup nodded, "It was the only way we could make sure we'd have the right one. Tryple Stryke poisons are surprisingly hard to diagnose, let alone to heal from." Dagur was still unable to understand, "But, you've been working so hard on trying to keep the Dragon Eye out of the hunters' hands. You didn't have to give that up for me." The Berkian appeared almost hurt by the sentiment, "Dagur, ideally, the Dragon Eye could be kept with us, but it's just an item. It can be replaced. I wouldn't trade any of my friends' lives for it and that includes you." The chief was taken too much by surprise to say anything and Hiccup went on, "Everyone was in agreement about it." He gave a warm smile, "I told you. We're your friends." A small lump formed in the chief's throat and he tried to clear it. He turned slightly, thinking, "We'll need a good plan to get it back." Hiccup smirked, "Not necessarily. I've been working on this since yesterday." Walking over to his table, the Berkian brought out a cylindrical object and showed it to the Berserker chief. Dagur looked at it, impressed, and chuckled, "I probably shouldn't be surprised. What do you need to finish it?" His companion leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms, "I need different gemstones so that it can work, but the only place I know would have them is the Northern Markets."

Dagur scrunched up his face, "We can still get there and back as long as we're vigilant." Hiccup eyed the other viking, doubtfully, "'We'?" he questioned. Dagur nodded, "I feel fine now and the Northern Markets are dangerous enough that you'll need as many people on your side as possible." Knowing that it was futile to attempt dissuading the Berserker, Hiccup sighed, "It'll be better to go sooner than later. I'll see if Astrid wants to come with us and we'll leave the others to cover the Edge while we're gone." He exited the hut and found the aforementioned Berkian. "Astrid, Dagur and I are going to try to find the gems." Hiccup informed her. Astrid's expression was full of disagreement, "The Northern Markets are too risky. If they even have the gems, we'd only run into more trouble being there in the first place." Her friend was determined, "If there's nothing else good about the Northern Markets-and there kind of isn't-it's that they have practically everything. If they don't have the gems, I'll know that they can't be found within the required time and that I need to change tactics. Either way, I'll gain something important from there and still need to go." The young lady grabbed her ax and slung it over her shoulder, "Then I'm coming with you." Hiccup grinned, "I thought that you might."

While the two Berkians conversed, Dagur went back to find Mala. She was in the stables, petting Sleuther. "Hey." the chief greeted, quietly. She looked at him with an indiscernible expression, "You and Hiccup Haddock are going to go to the Northern Markets, I am guessing?" The Berserker stopped for a moment, surprised, then nodded his head. "We need to find what's on that Dragon Eye before the hunters do. If we can beat them to the punch, we'll be able to take them out." The queen listened and continued to pet the Triple Stryke. "I have missed seeing you and had hoped that when we met again, it would have been under better circumstances." she divulged, still not facing Dagur. He looked at her, "I've missed you too. A lot." At this, the Defender spun to him, her visage angry, "Then why were you staying away? Have you completed whatever task you have been seeking so desperately? All that I know is that I see you leave one day and be nearly deceased the next. If you still want to not be together yet, fine, but you need to be more careful. The farewells I say to you are not meant to be permanent." Tears stung and brimmed Mala's eyes, though she kept them in their ducts. Dagur had his eyes locked on hers and thought that he had seen a twirling Speed Stinger with his peripheral vision. With much melancholy, he glanced at the floor.

"I'm not done yet. Honestly, I don't know if I ever will be." the Berserker stated, sadly. Mala went over to him, "If that is so, it would not be for the best to wait until this possibly impossible task is accomplished." She cupped his cheek in her hand, lovingly and Dagur started to lean into it. Just as he commenced, he heard an agonized cry and saw Mala with her head bleeding severely. She began to slump and he caught her before she could hit the ground, himself getting down on his knees. Prior to him fully registering what had happened, two hands shook his shoulders and he looked up to see the Defender, alive and well. "What happened?" she asked, concerned. Dagur rose from his knees and looked at Mala. He balked, though managed to stammer out, "I'm sorry, but...I-we just can't." The queen stared at him for a moment, then exited the stables and maintaimed her composure. Hiccup and Astrid were walking in simultaneously as she left and saw Dagur's depressed expression. They both wanted to ask about what occurred, though thought it best to leave the subject alone. "We're ready to head out." Hiccup informed the Berserker. Dagur gave an absent-minded nod and mounted Strykie's saddle.

It was a rather quiet flight to the Northern Markets and the group made certain to hide their dragons as soon as they had landed. Looking around, the vikings found a vendor who was selling the sought after gems. Hiccup's face lit up as he purchased them. "Okay," he said, in a hushed voice, "I've got everything I need for it." The three started to walk away and noticed a tall, hooded figure. He was with a group of vikings who wore matching face masks/helmets. Something about them seemed suspicious, though staying at the Northern Markets is even more foolish than going. As they were walking back to their dragons, Dagur could have sworn that he had heard someone say 'Viggo'. He paused, "Did you two hear Viggo's name mentioned?" he asked the others. Both Hiccup and Astrid shook their heads. With a deep frown, Dagur continued striding alongside them and got on Sleuther's back. From this point, they returned to Dragon's Edge. Hiccup wasted no time in going to his hut and testing out the gems with the new Dragon Eye. The others followed him in there, though Astrid quickly got bored by his scientific jargon and left. As Hiccup switched jewels to make sure that they all were functionable, he smiled at his success. Dagur watched the Berkian in amusement and sharpened some knives, using the tool that Mala had given him.

"What are you going to name it? We can't just call it 'The Dragon Eye' too." the chef commented, filing a blade to a lethal point. Hiccup squinted into the object, "I've been thinking about that. How does 'Dragon Eye two' sound?" the younger viking brought up two fingers, "The number two, not as well." he prefaced. Dagur bobbed his head, "Sounds good to me." A faintly mischievous look sparkled in the Berkian heir's eyes, "I've got a question for you." Dagur peeked up from the knife and Hiccup elaborated. "So, Viggo mentioned you and Mala having gotten close. I noticed that too." The Berserker's face saddened a bit, "Yeah. She and I had started spending a lot of time together." Thinking back on the memories gave him a combination of joy and remorse, though the good outweighed the bad. Leaning back, Dagur let out a happy laugh. "I've got to admit, H, I love being around her." "Or more plainly love her." the chief thought. He went on, "She's so fun and smart. Really tough too. It's great." Dagur beamed, "She doesn't even mind my laugh!" Hiccup laughed at that, "Well, I'm glad that the two of you are happy." His friend's demeanor altered slightly, "We were." he mused to himself and thought, miserably, "Until I messed it up."

Trying to shake the regret from his mind, Dagur pointed to the Dragon Eye two. "Do they all work?" he inquired. Hiccup practically shone with satisfaction, "They do. I'll call the others in and we can look at it." It did not take much to convince the others to come see what the item might reveal and within minutes, they all were in the main hut to observe. As the riders and Mala entered, Heather locked eyes with Dagur for a moment. There was a different emotion behind them than what he was accustomed to seeing. The queen kept her focus on the Dragon Eye. Turning their attention to the wall, Hiccup had Toothless do a slow burn in order to light the tool. The team awed as the pictures changed and moved to the sides, leaving one hole in the center. Automatically, Fishlegs went over to the wall and began translating, "It's talking about a 'King of Dragons'." Hiccup rubbed his chin, "Then one does exist and if that's true, what the legends say about its telepathy over other dragons might be true as well." The vikings stared at the wall, attempting to decipher what was and was not presently displayed. "It looks like it can be found on Berserker Island." Fishlegs realized. All eyes went to Dagur, whose own were wide also. "What? I suppose that him being a Berserker seems about right." The Berserker leapt to his feet and started out the door, "If the dragon's there, then my vikings are in danger of attack."

The Berkians and Heather followed the chief out and got on their dragons. Given the necessity of speed, Mala got on Sleuther with Dagur. They set their course for Berserker Island and when the group arrived, no hunters were there. They each let out a mild sigh of relief, then landed in the stables. Dagur went to warn the other vikings and they began preparing for an attack. Once this was done, he went over to Heather, "Welcome to Berserker Island. I imagined you coming in a different way." he admitted, sighing. She looked around, "It doesn't really seem like I imagined it either." Heather chuckled, "It's kind of better, to be honest." Dagur smiled, "After this is over, I'll give you a better tour, if you're up for it." Heather seemed open to the idea, "That sounds all right, I guess." She went to join the other riders in preparation for the hunters as a thought nagged in the back of Dagur's mind. "For the King of Dragons to be here, he has to be hidden somewhere and the only place that could be is in that cave." The viking commenced going towards the center of the island. He found the cave and stepped in, looking from side to side. Similarly to how it was the last time he had ventured inside, it was illuminated with a pale blue color. The temperature was also very cold, bordering on freezing.

Listening closely, Dagur could hear breathing. He went in further and began to see the a large mountain of ice. As the viking moved closer, he saw an object within the frozen water. It was an enormous dragon which had white scales. It did not seem to notice Dagur and the Berserker felt as though they were not alone. Calmly, he strolled over to a large rock, marvelling at the reptile. Abruptly, he turned and threw a knife, hearing a grunt afterwards. Dagur walked over to where he had thrown the weapon and glared. On the other end of the dagger, was Viggo. It dug into his shoulder, nearly pinning him to the wall. The hunter's breath was short and when he reached for the blade, one was stabbed into his hand. He cried out and Dagur stated, "Now, I'm going to assume that you're really here and that means that you'll be able to tell me what your friends are planning."