A/N: How's the story going? It would be great if y'all could leave a review telling me how you have enjoyed it so far, and what could be improved!
Chapter 4: Up Close And Personal
Warm fumes rose from the cup and tickled the inside of his nostrils. He breathed it in and felt the warm air filter through his lungs. It felt nice having warmth back into his body after being out in the cold for a whole night. They hadn't lit a fire, fearing that the light might give them away.
He took a sip from the cup the blonde girl had given him. The hot drink they gave him tasted good. Warmth trickled down his throat and spread across his entire body. As he was drinking, the door opened. Jerrick expected to see the blonde girl who was being surprisingly nice to him.
But when Jerrick saw who was at the doorway, all the warmth left his body and instead it was replaced by an icy coldness.
In the doorway stood Fury. Unlike the drink they had given him, his face did not look warm at all. His green eyes were hard, and his lips were pursed into a thin smile. His metallic foot thumped on the wooden ground as he quickly closed the distance between the door and Jerrick. All his henchmen entered the room as well. They stood a distance behind and remained silent, except for a pair of twins. They were constantly bickering or doing something stupid. Maybe musketeers would be a better word to describe them.
Fury took a chair and sat in front of Jerrick. He glanced down at the cup in Jerrick's hand and smiled. Was it poisoned?
"I see you've been given our signature Berkian beverage," he said.
"Yeah, it's good," Jerrick said. Absently, his fingers fidgeted with the cup.
"Is it good, or is it awesome?" One of the two twins asked him, eyebrows raised and hands on his hips. Jerrick stared blankly at him for a moment.
"Don't worry about him," Fury interrupted. "He's always doing these things." The blonde girl nudged Fury on the shoulder. He sighed.
"Alright, I guess it's time to address the Gronckle in the room." Jerrick stiffened. He mentally braced himself for the onslaught of questions. Before they came in, he had prepared himself for the basic questions. The only thing he had to worry about were questions that he hadn't prepared for.
"Who are you?" Fury asked. Jerrick remembered the engraving on the back of his breastplate. JT Brandt.
"My name's Brandt." As much as he had tried earlier, he hadn't been able to think of any other names that began with J and T. He didn't want to give his real name, in case Fury might recognise him as the son of Hagen Brandt.
"For a moment I was hopeful that Fishface here would have competition for the worst name," the short Viking said, earning an indignant 'hey!' from the Viking who would be Fishface.
"Not the time, Snotlout," Fury said. Did everyone on this island have a horrible name? Fury diverted his attention back to Jerrick and cleared his throat. Maybe that was his name. Clearthroat or Cough or Sneeze or Hiccup or Burp or some other bodily action. "How did you get here?"
"I was shipwrecked," Jerrick answered. Scarface had told them to stick to this cover story, no matter what. They would do what they can to make sure the cover story was believable. He hoped that they fulfilled their side of the plan.
"Then why don't I see a wrecked ship?" The same twin asked. Jerrick couldn't think of anything to say to him. Was he being serious?
"Tuffnut, that's enough," Fury said. "The ship was wrecked, that's why you don't see it."
"Fair point, Hiccup," Tuffnut said. So his name was Hiccup? He guessed that right after all. "But if his ship was wrecked, how did he get here?"
"I had an emergency longboat on the ship," Jerrick said. "I managed to put it out to sea before the ship sank. I paddled for a while before I simply let the current carry me, and before I knew it, I arrived here. The forest is quite thick, I must say."
"How long were you out at sea?" The Viking known as Fishface asked.
"Two days," Jerrick said quickly. Much too quickly, he thought in hindsight.
"Two days," Fishface repeated. "Not long enough to get any serious illnesses, but there might be a chance that he could have-"
"Thanks, Fishlegs," Fury interrupted. Apparently Fishface did not have a fixed name. Someone might call him Fishtail next. Jerrick decided to just call him the Fishman until he knew his actual name. Fury turned back to Jerrick. "Was there anyone else with you?"
Jerrick hesitated. He hadn't expected this. Should he say that he had a few friends? If they were here, they could help him search for information much easier. But if these Berkians didn't know about them…
"No," Jerrick said. "After the shipwreck… I was the only one alive." He lowered his eyes for effect.
"How did it happen?" The blonde girl asked. He looked to the side and let a hurt expression cross his face.
"I don't want to talk about it," Jerrick said. He noticed the blonde girl raise an eyebrow at the corner of his eye.
"You don't have to," Fury said softly. He gave a soft smile. "I'm sorry to hear that. In the meantime, you're our guest here until you can find a way back to your home.
"You're on the island of Berk. My name's Hiccup, and these are my friends. Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Tuffnut and Ruffnut." He waved a hand at each of them as he introduced them. Jerrick made it a point to remember all their names. "Feel free to come to any of us if you need anything."
"Anything at all," the girl named Ruff said smoothly. She fluttered her eyelids at him. Disgusting.
"Ruff," Fury called sternly. Jerrick cleared his throat.
"Thank you Fu- for being so kind," Jerrick said. Close shave with death. "I'll let you know if I need anything."
"Take care Brandt," Fury - no, Hiccup, he should start calling him by that name - said to him. He had to get used to being called Brandt too. "We'll take care of you." He smiled again, and for a brief moment Jerrick could sense warmth coming from him. Maybe it's this warmth that lured so many people to their deaths. Would he be the next? Hiccup and his cronies rose from his seat and began to leave the hut.
When they had left, Jerrick took a moment to analyse his surroundings. This had to be a guest hut or something to that extent. No one would simply put a stranger in their own hut. The hut was cosy and quaint, he had to admit. Wooden planks lined the walls of the house and did a good job keeping the cold out. There was a fireplace in the middle of the hut. The fire crackled and sparks flew out of the dancing flames. Beside it was a makeshift kitchen. There was not too much crockery available, just a basic kettle for boiling water and a pan. Enough to keep the place neat and cosy.
Subtly enough, the hut seemed to hint Jerrick on to his next course of action. Get nice and cosy with Hiccup. Learn about his plan from his own mouth. Get up close and personal with his own father's killer. He shuddered. It wasn't going to be easy, but it had to be done.
Outside the window, the sun was almost at the highest point in the sky. It was almost time for lunch. There should be food in the Great Hall, most tribes had that anyway. It would be a welcome change from all the stale food they had packed. How were the others doing? He made a mental note to give a signal as he went to the Great Hall. Perhaps they would still be there looking out for any sign of him. He walked out of the guest hut and took a look around him. The guest huts were situated near the arena, much to his delight. On the downside though, it did make it quite tough to simply roam into the wilderness behind the Great Hall. The path to the Great Hall was quite wide. A raw fish was lying in the middle of the path, and Jerrick grabbed it and tossed it into a wooden tray by the side of the path. Water splashed out of the tray and splattered on the floor. That was probably a water point for the dragons. Immediately, a blue Gronckle landed beside the path and began to drink greedily from the water point. He tried not to react to it, no matter how much his instincts told him otherwise. Leave them alone, and they would leave you alone, that's what he was told. He had been briefed about the peace between dragons and Vikings on Berk before coming here. It was definitely something he had to get used to if he wanted to stay on Berk for a while. The Gronckle picked up the fish that Jerrick threw in there and ate it quickly. Its massive jaw moved up and down in smooth motions as it chewed the fish. Suddenly, the Gronckle stopped chewing and looked up at him, and suddenly Jerrick realised he was staring at the dragon. He looked away as quickly as possible. Staring at a dragon was probably not the most effective way of showing that he didn't mean any harm.
As he approached the Great Hall, he took a quick look around. He didn't see any sign of his friends on top of the hill they were at, but he guessed that they were probably somewhere there. Try a bit harder, and he'll probably spot them.
"That's the Haddock house," a nasally voice spoke from behind him. Jerrick whirled around. He didn't want anyone to see him looking above the Great Hall.
Behind him was a rather short and stocky Viking. One hand and one leg was replaced by a metallic hook and a wooden peg respectively, and he had a long blonde moustache that extended down to his chest. His giant stomach bulged out a lot, desperately trying to escape the clothes restraining it.
"Majestic, ain't it," the man said again. What was he talking about? Suddenly, he noticed it. There was a house slightly to his left. He had been too preoccupied with searching for his friends on the hill that he didn't notice the house standing tall and proud on another hill off to his left.
"Yeah, it's pretty nice," Jerrick said.
"That's where the chief and his heir stays," the man said.
"Who's the chief?" Jerrick asked.
"Him." The man pointed at a large, burly Viking standing at the entrance of the Great Hall. He had a thick auburn beard that was braided, and his massive hands were welcoming people into the hall by patting them on their backs. He was an imposing man, no doubt. No one would want him as an enemy. "Stoick the Vast, they call him," the man continued. A chief like that should have an equally imposing heir too. Jerrick wondered who was the heir. He hadn't seen anyone who was as massive as the chief. Snotlout, maybe? He was the closest.
"And Hiccup's the heir," the man responded, as though reading his mind. A thousand things raced through Jerrick's mind. Hiccup's the heir? How did such a massive Viking get such a scrawny child? But his mind was screaming something else that many would have overlooked. That house is where Hiccup stays! Jerrick tried not to react to this news. His mind was screaming a thousand different ways to use this to his advantage. Knowing Hiccup's house can make things a lot easier. Maybe they could capture him as he left or something like that.
"Who's the chieftess?" Jerrick asked.
"She was taken by dragons a long time ago," the man replied. Jerrick nodded thoughtfully. So Hiccup lived there with his father and his dragon. There were only two people in that house - three if you wanted to count the dragon. Scarface had warned him not to underestimate the power that dragons had. Maybe three would be a better representation.
"My name's Gobber," the man suddenly said. Jerrick snapped out of his thoughts.
"Jerrick," he responded.
"Jerrick? Hiccup told me your name is Brandt." Jerrick froze. He had been so preoccupied he forgot his cover name.
"Yes, but… my friends call me Jerrick. It's my middle name."
"I don't think that I'm close enough to you to call you what your friends call you," the man chuckled. Jerrick heaved a soft sigh of relief. "Going for lunch?"
"In a while, I'm not that hungry yet," Jerrick replied.
"Catch you later." Gobber began to hobble to the Great Hall, leaving Jerrick standing there on his own.
Jerrick turned back to face the Haddock house. Heading there was probably a bad idea, but something in him kept urging him towards that place. What if he got caught? He hadn't found anything valuable yet, this whole mission would have been in vain. Yet the daring and determined side of him kept pushing him towards the house, like a piece of metal to a magnet. Most people would be at lunch anyway, so the house should be empty, right? After all, the chief was at the entrance of the Great Hall. He probably wouldn't be going home any time soon. Jerrick took one more glance at the Great Hall. The chief was still there. He would be able to see him head towards his house from there though. A good thing was that the house was on hill, so he could sneak around on the far side, using the small hill as cover.
Jerrick began to walk back the way he came. He sneaked another glance over his shoulder. The chief wasn't looking his way. Abruptly, he dashed off to his side, ducking between two huts. If anyone saw him, they would probably think he's mad. He dashed out the back of the small alleyway and found himself on the far side of the hill. The front of the Great Hall was still visible, but only the top half. The chief had gone underneath the ground. Jerrick didn't want to take chances though. He ducked down and moved quickly towards the Haddock house. The grass felt soft underneath his feet, but he felt it get harder and drier as he approached the house. Whether it was actually getting harder and drier or if it was his imagination he couldn't tell.
The house drew closer and closer, and before long Jerrick found himself at the Haddock house. Hidden from the Great Hall, he could finally examine the house without any villagers judging him. It resembled an overturned ship, just like the other houses, but it was bigger than the rest. Why the Berkians liked this style so much, he didn't know. All he knew was that it didn't look that bad. Sure, there were other better designs for houses, but he couldn't say that this was the worst he had ever seen.
There were large wooden spikes along the side of the house near the front. There were three spikes on each side. The wall was made out of light coloured wooden planks. The house was tall, it probably had two storeys or a loft somewhere. There was a small hatch near the top of the house. If only there was a way to reach that. Would the planks in the wall provide him a way to climb up? Sadly, there were no gaps in between the planks where he could stick his leg or a hand in. That should have been expected. Why would there be gaps in a wall? The cold would go in too easily. He chided himself for thinking there would be gaps. So if the wall couldn't be climbed, that left only one option. The large spikes. They weren't that far apart. He could easily reach the first one and pull himself up onto the second one. The third one was a little further away, but at that point the roof was a little flatter and so he could push off the roof a little to reach the third. There was only one problem. The spikes were at the front of the house. If he were to climb it now, the whole village and their ancestors would see him climbing up. There was not a chance he wouldn't be spotted. Maybe if he came back at the dead of night he could go up. But would there be a point? Could he hope to gain anything from climbing the house? Far above him, the blue Gronckle he saw earlier flew over him. It looked at him briefly, and Jerrick could feel his heart in his mouth. But thankfully, the Gronckle looked forward again and continued flying wherever it was intending to go. Jerrick exhaled deeply. What did the Gronckle want? Did it know he was trying something, or does it have some deep rooted loyalty to Hiccup? He couldn't tell. But he knew one thing for certain, though. He couldn't do anything more here. There was nothing he could hope to learn from staying here. If he wanted to gain some information, he could only hope to do it in one way. Get close to Hiccup. Prise the information straight from his mouth. Get up close and personal with his father's killer.
