Chapter 11: Ash and Bone
As the Vendal led him and the others through the densely forested wilderness, Gobber began to wonder if he had made a mistake. With his hands bound behind his back like the rest of his friends, Gobber walked with them in a procession down a barely visible trail winding through the woods, Vendal warriors flanking them on either side with weapons at the ready while the girl led them forward. Glancing over his shoulders, Gobber saw Grump bringing up the rear along with a pair of Vendal, both the dragon's wings and his mouth bound with ropes.
Snarling, one of the Vendal near Gobber poked him hard with the butt of his spear and growled something at the Viking. Hissing in pain, Gobber stumbled half a step before catching himself and shooting a glare at the Vendal.
"Yeah, yeah," Gobber grumbled as the Vendal continued badgering him in his native tongue, "Ah'm hobblin' as fast as Ah can."
The group continued on that way for a while, with the Vendal leading Gobber and his friends deeper and deeper into the wilderness. As they went, Gobber noticed the ground began to slope upwards, making his legs ache as they carried him towards a higher elevation. Finally, after an hour or so of walking, the group came to a clearing in the forest.
Looking around, Gobber realized they had arrived at the crest of a particularly large hill, where the surrounding woodlands had given way to rocky outcroppings that pierced the top of the rise. Upon the jagged gray stones, a small settlement had been constructed, consisting of a dozen or so ramshackle, wooden buildings, all of which were gathered around the mouth of a large cave. As they drew closer, Gobber could see a number of Vendal, ranging from children to the elderly, all of whom stopped to watch their approach.
As she led them into the settlement, the Vendal girl was met by the old man Gobber had seen before.
"Hey, there he is!" Will exclaimed as the Vendal girl talked to the old man, "Hey, auld man! We've gaet tae talk tae ye!"
When the Vendal girl and the old man ignored them, Will turned to look at Andra.
"Well, daenae jist stand there," Will said hotly, "Say saemethin' tae them!"
Nodding his head, Andra called out in the Vendal tongue. Andra didn't get more than a few words out however before the Vendal girl spun around and barked something at him, silencing the lordling.
"Ah think she might 'ave told 'im tae shut up," Boyd observed.
"Thanks, but Ah think Ah picked up on 'at one maself," Will replied venomously.
A moment later, the Vendal girl finished her conversation with the old man and motioned towards the warriors, who quickly grabbed the group by their arms and began leading them away.
"Wait!" Gobber called as he struggled against the warriors' grip, "Wait, we need tae warn ye! Th' dragon is caemin'! Ye're all in danger!"
The Vendal all ignored his cries however, and the two guards at his side roughly dragged him away along with his friends. The group was quickly marched through the settlement until they came to the opposite edge of the village, where a collection of ramshackle cages had been set up. Opening the doors of the cages, the Vendal shoved Gobber and his friends into them before sealing the doors by tying thick cords of rope around them.
As the Vendal began to leave, Andra quickly turned and grasped the bars that made up the front of the cage before calling out to them with a worried voice. As the lordling spoke to them in their own tongue, the Vendal warriors looked at him in confusion before the girl dismissed them with a wave of her hand. As the Vendal walked away, the girl turned to look at Andra with narrowed eyes.
What followed was an impassioned conversation between Andra and the girl, one which none of the others could understand. After a moment, Andra's shoulders sagged in defeat as the girl crossed her arms and looked away from the lordling.
"Sae," Gobber spoke up with an awkward tone, "How'd 'at gae?"
With a sigh, Andra glanced over at Boyd and mumbled something.
"Andra said 'at he tried tae warn 'er aboot th' Boneknapper, but she wasnae havin' any o' it," Boyd explained, "She said 'at we're all killers an' liars, an' 'at th' anly reason we're still alive is because Andra saved her an' her grandfather, who is also th' village shaman, from th' burnin' jail."
"Fantastic," Will groaned as he leaned against the bars of the cage.
As the Vendal girl moved to leave again, Andra called out to her, prompting her to sigh and look over her shoulder at him.
"Andra," the lordling clearly said as he placed his hand to his chest.
The girl blinked in surprise at this and looked at Andra with a hesitant expression for a moment.
"Ansei," the girl said, her voice barely above a whisper. Then, without another word, she turned and hurried away.
There was a moment of silence as the group watched her go, most of them leaning against the walls of their cages and sighing in defeat.
"So, Oi take it her name is Ansei den?" Sheamus questioned as he looked around at the others.
Before anyone could reply, the rest of the Vendal warriors dragged Grump up and used stakes to secure the ropes binding the dragon to the ground right next to the cage Gobber and Maudie were occupying. As the Vendal began to move away, Grump started growling at them and pulling against his restraints, prompting the warriors to start muttering worriedly to one another.
"Easy, Grump, easy," Gobber whispered as he reached through the bars and began petting the dragon on the flank, "Save yer strength, there'll be time enough fer 'at later."
Grump calmed down in response, prompting the Vendal warriors to quickly hurry away. However, only a moment or so later, an uncomfortable expression came over Grump's face as his stomach began to gurgle ominously.
"Uh, Gobber," Maudie spoke up as she looked at the dragon with concern, "Is Grump alright?"
"Oh no," Sheamus said as his eyes widened, "Dat's de same face he was makin' last noight roight before he-"
Before Sheamus could finish, Grump opened his mouth and vomited what looked like a puddle of molten metal up onto the ground right in front of Gobber.
"Oh, 'at's nae right," Will groaned in disgust, "Ah didnae need tae see 'at."
"De good news is dat it hardens up pretty quick," Sheamus stated.
"Oh well, thank th' sun above fer 'at!" Will snapped as he spun on Sheamus, causing the young man to flinch backwards in surprise as the lordling turned and rested his head against the bars of his cell before growled in frustration, "Can this day get any worse?"
It was at that moment that a thunderous roar ripped through the air from somewhere above them.
"Is dat-" Sheamus began to say as he turned his gaze upwards.
"Nae a word!" Will shouted as he held up his hand to silence Sheamus.
"We're too late," Maudie muttered fearfully as the panicked screams of the Vendal visitors filled the air, "It's here."
Above them, the Boneknapper burst through the cloud cover, strands of mist trailing from its outstretched wings as it dove upon the village with another thunderous roar. As soon as it drew close enough to the village, the dragon belched a tongue of fire, igniting a few of the buildings, and sending the Vendal running for cover.
"Nae, it's nae too late," Gobber replied as he looked at something on the ground.
As everyone turned to look at Gobber, the Viking leaned down, his gaze focused on the pool of molten metal that Grump had spit up. The pool had already cooled, forming a hunk of dark grey metal that sat on the ground. Gobber's gaze was specifically focused on the topmost portion of the hunk, which had solidified into a point about the size of a dagger.
"What is it?" Maudie questioned as she leaned down next to Gobber.
"It's saem kind o' metal an' Ah think Ah might be able tae break 'at off," Gobber explained as he reached through the bars of his cell and grabbed the point, before he hissed in pain and pulled back. Looking at his hand, Gobber could see the sharp point had sliced a deep cut into his palm, causing blood to start oozing out of his palm.
"Gobber!" Maudie cried out in alarm, "Ye've hurt yerself! Here, let me bandage 'at."
"There's nae time," Gobber replied as he waved her off.
"But-" Maudie began to argue, her face stricken with concern.
"Trust me, Maudie," Gobber interrupted her as he glanced back at her, "Ah've 'ad a lot worse 'an this in mae time."
Even though concern was still plastered across her features, Maudie nodded in understanding, and made no further attempt to argue.
Turning his attention back to the hunk of metal, Gobber reached out and grabbed the point, hissing in pain again as it bit into his flesh once more, blood running down his palm in rivets as he squeezed tightly. Then, with a grunt of effort and a sharp twist of his wrist, Gobber broke the point off with a sharp cracking noise.
Pulling his arm back through the bars of the cage, Gobber quickly set to work cutting the ropes that held the door closed with the metal shard. The shard proved capable of cutting through rope just as easily as it did flesh, and within moments, Gobber and Maudie were free. After that, Gobber worked at freeing the others and soon enough, Sheamus, Will, Andra, Boyd and Grump were all let loose as well.
"Good thinkin', Gobber," Will congratulated the Viking as he patted him on the shoulder.
"Aye, let's jist hope it daesnae cost ye yer other hand," Maudie stated as she tore a strip of cloth from the hem of her dress, "Now, let me see tae 'at wound."
Reluctantly, Gobber held his hand out for Maudie to see, grimacing at the bloody mess his palm had become. Maudie, for her part, barely flinched as she caught sight of the wound and quickly went to work bandaging it.
"There," Maudie said as she tied off the bandage as tightly as possible, "'At will hae tae dae fer now."
"Speakin' o' now," Will stated as he pointed upwards, "What are we gaein' tae dae aboot 'at?"
Turning their attention towards the sky, the group watched as the Boneknapper dove on the Vendal village and blasted more of the buildings with its fire breath.
"Alright, Ah hae an idea," Gobber said as she turned to face the others, pointing at the lordlings as he spoke, "Ye three need tae track down th' village elder an' get 'at piece o' bone th' dragon's after. Maudie, Ah need ye an' Sheamus tae get as many people tae safety as ye can. Ah'm willin' tae bet 'at cave leads tae saemewhere safe."
"What aboot ye?" Maudie inquired with a concerned tone.
"Ah'm gaein' tae learn a new trick," Gobber replied as he glanced over at Grump, who was sitting next to the blacksmith.
"Alright, lads, ye heard th' man," Will said as he glanced at his friends, "Let's get a move on."
Nodding in reply, Andra and Boyd followed Will as he ran into the burning village. Sheamus moved to follow them but stopped after a few steps when he realized that Maudie was not with him. Turning back, Sheamus saw Maudie still standing near Gobber, looking at him with a concerned expression.
"Maudie?" Gobber asked as he looked at her confusion.
"Ah jist wanted tae give ye saemethin'," Maudie replied as she walked up to Gobber.
"Wha-?" Gobber began to question, before Maudie leaned forward and kissed him on the lips, causing the Viking's eyes to go wide.
"Fer luck," Maudie explained as she pulled back and gave him a small smile.
"Ye know, if ye keep daein' this, Ah could get used tae it," Gobber said with a smirk.
"Well, we cannae hae 'at, now can we?" Maudie replied as her smile grew.
Before Gobber could say anything more, the thunderous noise of the Boneknapper's roar cut through the air and brought them back to the present.
"Gae!" Gobber urged as he gestured towards where Sheamus was standing, "Ah'll be alright!"
"Ye had better be!" Maudie replied before she turned and hurried over to Sheamus, prompting him to fall into step with her as they ran into the village.
Gobber watched them go for a moment before he turned his attention to the jagged shard of metal still gripped in his hand. Glancing around, Gobber's gaze fell on one of the smaller bones that made up the cage that previously held him. Using the piece of metal, Gobber cut the bone free from the rest of the cage before using some of the rope that had kept the door closed to bind the bone and chunk of metal into a makeshift weapon.
"Ah suppose 'at'll hae tae dae," Gobber thought aloud as he secured the weapon to his prosthetic stump, before turning his attention towards Grump, "All right Grump, Ah've gaet an idea, but Ah'm nae sure ye're gaein' tae like it."
Grump's only reply was to stare at Gobber blankly, causing Gobber to sigh and walk over to the dragon. Then, grabbing hold of the scales on Grump's back, Gobber managed to pull himself onto the dragon, the Hotburple only letting out a few annoyed grunts as he did so. After that, Gobber arranged himself in a seated position at the base of Grump's thick neck.
"Alright, well, this is at least better than ridin' a horse," Gobber mused as he settled in, "Now Ah jist hae tae figure oot how tae make ye-"
Gobber was interrupted by Grump flapping his wings and suddenly lifting into the air, causing the Viking to let out a cry of surprise as he fought to stay seated.
"Alright," Gobber muttered as he settled back down, the ends of his mustache whipping in the wind, "Ah guess ye gaet our part o' th' plan then."
Grump grunted in reply as he flew above the Vendal village, smoke rising up towards them from the burning buildings Glancing around, Gobber quickly spotted the Boneknapper as it came about to make another pass over the village.
"There he is, Grump!" Gobber shouted as he pointed towards the Boneknapper with his makeshift weapon, "Let's gae show him a thin' or two!"
Roaring in agreement, Grump swooped down towards the Boneknapper. While Gobber was fairly certain that the Boneknapper was more maneuverable than Grump could ever hope to be, they had the element of surprise on their side, and the other dragon was unaware of their presence until the Hotburple was practically on top of it. Grump slammed into the Boneknapper with as much momentum he could muster, and the three of them went crashing to the ground, smashing through a burning building in the process and reducing it to kindling.
Standing a short distance away, Maudie looked at the destroyed home with wide, terrified eyes. She was pulled out of her shock, however, when she heard the universal sound of a child screaming in fear. Turning her attention towards the source of the sound, Maudie found a small Vendal child standing by a burning hut and wailing in terror.
"Oh dearie me," Maudie whispered before she hurried over to the child and held her arms out to them, "Come here, wee one! Come away from those flames!"
Pausing their cries, the child looked at Maudie with uncertainty for a moment. Then, coming to a decision, the child rushed into Maudie's arms, the Highlander scooping them up and carrying them away from the danger as fast as she could manage.
A short distance away, the Vendal girl Ansei watched the scene with a surprised expression.
"Ansei!" Andra's voice rang out, and turning towards the source, the Vendal girl found the three lordlings running up to her.
Though she initially tensed up as they approached, Ansei didn't move to run or attack them, allowing Andra to ramble at her in Vendal. As he spoke, Ansei narrowed her eyes at the lordling and began to shake her head.
"Look!" Will suddenly snapped, drawing Ansei's attention to him as she jumped in surprise, "Ah get it. Ye daenae like me an' Ah daenae like ye, but th' fact o' th' matter is 'at t'at dragon is gaein' tae burn yer entire village tae th' ground unless we get th' ane thin' it wants! It's yer people or a bloody piece o' bone!"
As Ansei stared blankly back at him, Will snarled and grabbed at his hair in frustration.
"It's like talkin' tae a bloody wall!" Will growled as he turned towards Andra, "Andra, ye've gaet tae make her understand 'at-"
"Okay," Ansei suddenly spoke up, causing Will's last words to die in his throat.
"Excuse me?" Will questioned as he turned his attention back to Ansei.
"Ah think she said okay," Boyd pointed out.
"Ah know she said okay, Boyd!" Will snapped in frustration, "Since when can she speak our language!?"
"I….listen," Ansei said with deliberate carefulness.
"...Fine," Will sighed as he fully turned his attention towards Ansei, "'At dragon 'at's been attackin' yer people is called a Boneknapper. It makes armor oot o' th' bones o' other dragons, an' we think 'at ane o' th' trinkets hangin' from yer elder's staff might be what it's after. Sae if we can get th' right ane an' give it tae th' dragon, we can end this whole bloody catastrophe."
It seemed to take a minute for Ansei to process what Will had just said to her, but after a moment, she nodded.
"I….understand," Ansei stated, "You stop….dragon and….we not….eat you."
"Ah was nae aware 'at was a possible outcome," Will replied as he turned slightly green, "But Ah think we hae ourselves a deal."
Nodding in agreement, Ansei quickly turned and began making her way through the burning village, prompting the lordlings to follow her. As the four teenagers ran, they were suddenly blocked as Gobber and Grump came smashing through a building and into the road in front of them, the Viking and dragon rolling to a stop amongst a shower of timber. A moment later, the Boneknapper came barreling into view, roaring at the top of its lungs. The dragon spared a glance towards Gobber and Grump before turning its attention towards the four teenagers. Drawing their weapons, the four watched as the Boneknapper snarled and began stalking towards them.
Before the Boneknapper could attack, however, a piece of timber came flying into view and struck the dragon on the side of the head. Snarling in irritation, the Boneknapper turned to look for the source of the attack and found Gobber and Grump back on their feet, the Viking holding another piece of burnt and broken wood in his hand.
"We're nae done with ye yet, ye bag o' bones!" Gobber shouted as he held the piece of timber in a threatening manner, Grump echoing his sentiments with a deep throated growl.
Roaring in fury, the Boneknapper turned its attention fully towards Gobber and Grump, spreading its wings wide as it charged towards them.
"Run!" Gobber shouted at the four teenagers before hurling the piece of wood at the Boneknapper, the attack bouncing harmlessly off the dragon's shoulder. As the teenagers beat a hasty retreat, Grump bellowed in challenge before charging towards the Boneknapper. A moment later, the two dragons crashed together, Grump ducking his head low and slamming into the Boneknappers midsection. The blow only stunned the Boneknapper only for a moment, however and it quickly lifted one of its clawed feet before slamming it down onto Grump's head, pinning the Hotburple to the ground.
As Grump struggled against the Boneknapper's grip, the dragon opened its jaws to bite down on the Hotburple's neck. Before it could though, Gobber charged the Boneknapper with a thunderous warcry, and slashed at the dragon with his prosthetic. Sparks flew as the metal shard cut into the Boneknapper's armor, but did not manage to reach the flesh beneath. What followed was an awkward silence as Gobber and the Boneknapper regarded one another.
"Well, crap," Gobber muttered before the Boneknapper snarled and lashed at him with its tail, the blow catching the Viking in the chest and knocking him clear off his feet, sending him crashing into a nearby hut. Groaning in pain, Gobber managed to push himself into a seated position, just in time to see the Boneknapper stalking towards him, burning fire building up in the back of the dragon's throat.
His eyes going wide, Gobber held his good hand in front of his face in a vain attempt to shield his face from the flames. However, as the Boneknapper shot a tongue of fire at Gobber, Grump suddenly leapt between them, shielding the Viking from the dragonfire with his durable hide. Caught off guard, the Boneknapper was unprepared as Grump swung around and smashed his clubbed tail against the side of the other dragon's head, the heavy bit of cartilage at the end of the Hotburple's tail connecting with the Boneknapper's skull helmet with a loud crack.
The Boneknapper roared in pain and fury, but recovered faster than Gobber would have expected, catching itself after taking a step back before charging at Grump. Ducking its head low, the Boneknapper managed to get its head underneath Grump's stomach as it slammed into the other dragon. Then, with a roar, the Boneknapper lifted his head and flipped Grump onto his back, the Hotburple's stubby legs kicking wildly in the air as he desperately tried to right himself. Before he could, the Boneknapper slammed one of its feet down onto Grump's chest and roared in triumph over the Hotburple.
As this happened, Gobber's eyes caught something. Looking at the Boneknapper, Gobber saw a gap in the dragon's armor on the side facing him. It was a small gap, barely large enough for a hand to fit through, but it was an opening all the same.
"There's yer weak point," Gobber observed with a wolfish grin before he rushed towards the Boneknapper. The dragon, it's attention fully focused on Grump, did not notice Gobber's approach until the Viking let out a warcry and drove his makeshift arm blade into the gap in the Boneknapper's armor. The blade pierced the flesh easily, causing the Boneknapper to screech in pain as blood spurted from the wound.
"Aye, scream fer me!" Gobber laughed victoriously, "How dae ye like 'at, ye-"
Gobber's words died in his throat as the Boneknapper turned its head towards him and growled menacingly.
"Uh oh," Gobber muttered before the Boneknapper flicked him away with a swipe of one of its large wings, sending him crashing into another hut.
Near the cave at the center of the village, the three lordlings followed Ansei up to the mouth of the cavern, where a number of the Vendal villagers were huddled fearfully. Among them was Ansei's grandfather, the village shaman, who was leaning against his staff.
As they approached, many of the Vendal began to mutter amongst themselves and backed away from the approaching Highlanders, though the elder stood his ground, watching them intently. His gaze was pulled away from the lordlings, however, when Ansei ran up and began talking to the elder in rapid-fire Vendal. As she spoke, the old man nodded along with her words, occasionally glancing at Andra every once in a while as the Highlander added something to the conversation.
"Come on," Will muttered impatiently, glancing over his shoulder every few moments as the sound of breaking wood and dragon roars filled the air, "Come on, come on!"
After a few more moments of talking, the elder cautiously held his staff out to Ansei, who took it with a thankful bow of her head. She then turned away from the elder and held the staff up for Will and Boyd to see.
"Which?" Ansei asked.
"What?" Will questioned in confusion.
"Which...one?" Ansei repeated as she indicated towards the fetishes hanging from top of the staff.
"Uh….Ah…." Will mumbled as he glanced at the multiple bits of bone that hung from the staff before snarling in frustration, "Oh, screw this!"
With that, Will snatched the staff out of Ansei's hand before he took off towards the burning village. Letting out a cry of surprise, Ansei shouted something angrily at Will before chasing after him, prompting the other two lordlings to follow behind her. Racing among the burning buildings, Will skidded to a halt as Gobber suddenly rolled in front of him.
Looking at the older man with wide eyes, Will moved to help him but was stopped as the Boneknapper came charging into view with a bellowing roar. It's attention focused on Gobber, the Boneknapper rushed towards the blacksmith, its jaws wide as the Viking tried to push himself to his feet. Before the dragon could reach him though, Will interposed himself between the Boneknapper and Gobber.
"Hey, whoa, hold it!" Will shouted as he held the staff up for the Boneknapper to see, "Ah gaet what ye're lookin' fer!"
This seemed to give the Boneknapper pause and it studied Will for a moment, its head cocked to the side in confusion, studying the staff. Then, with a snarl of rage, the Boneknapper swept one of its wings at Will, knocking him clear of his feet and sending him rolling across the ground. Grunting in pain, Will pushed himself to his hands and knees and glanced around, spotting the staff sitting nearby, the various fetishes laying about with their cords broken.
"Well, 'at's jist great," Will grumbled as he turned his attention back towards the Boneknapper.
Growling, the Boneknapper began walking towards Gobber, who had managed to push himself back to his feet. As the Boneknapper opened its jaws to bite the Viking, a bellowing roar came from behind the dragon before Grump slammed into it, the weight of the Hotburple's bulk knocking both dragons to the ground.
Limbs flailing about in every direction, the two dragons rolled across the ground, wrestling for supremacy. Gobber quickly hobbled out of the way, just barely avoiding being crushed as the two dragons fought one another. Eventually, the Boneknapper managed to get on top of Grump, pinning his head to the ground with one of its clawed feet. Roaring in triumph, the Boneknapper stood up straight, spread its wings and threw its head back as it roared at the top its lungs.
As the dragon roared, Will managed to spot the blood from the wound Gobber had inflicted on it oozing through the gap in the Boneknapper's armor. Seeing this, Will realized he had seen the exact bone that would fit in this gap and began rummaging around in the dirt for it.
"Ha!" Will exclaimed in triumph after a moment as he sat back on his knees and held the sliver up in front of his face. Turning his attention back to the dragons, Will's eyes widened in surprise as he saw the Boneknapper prepared to finish Grump off.
"Oi!" Will called as he jumped to his feet and raced up to the dragons, holding the sliver of bone above his head as he ran, "Ah think ye're lookin' fer this!"
Hearing Will's words, the Boneknapper turned its attention towards Will. Spotting the sliver of bone, the dragon suddenly froze in place as it stared at the fragment. Stepping off of Grump, the Boneknapper began marching towards Will, it's gaze entirely focused on the sliver of bone.
"Hold it!" Will shouted as he pulled the sliver back and held his other hand up to get the dragon to stop. As Will's words the dragon suddenly froze, looking at the young man in confusion. Glancing around, Will saw the other standing around, watching the display with wide eyes. As his gaze fell on Gobber, Will saw the Viking making encouraging motions at him with his hands. Looking back at the Boneknapper, Will took a step back in surprise as he found the dragon drawing closer to him.
"Ah said stop!" Will snapped as he thrust his hand authoritatively towards the Boneknapper. The dragon stopped and blinked in surprise at this, before it let out a low, rumbly growl and moved towards Will again.
"Naene o' 'at!" Will yelled before he took the sliver of bone in both his hands and prepared to snap it, "If ye take another step closer, Ah'll break this in half an' then ye'll hae naethin' tae show fer all o' this."
At this, the Boneknapper froze on the spot, and Will could see that its eyes were wide with fear.
"There now," Will said with a grin and a nod, "'At gaet yer attention, didnae it? Now, maybe we can…."
Will trailed off as his gaze drifted towards the wound in the Boneknapper's side, watching as blood began to ooze down its leg. As he looked at it, Will began to notice that the Boneknapper's wound was wearing on the dragon, and it was having trouble standing.
"Old Gob gaet ye good, didnae he?" Will questioned as he nodded towards the wound, prompting the Boneknapper to glance at it before grumbling in discomfort.
"Well," Will said as he palmed the sliver of bone before he began hesitantly approaching the`Boneknapper, "It waenae dae us any good if ye pass oot from blood loss afore we can get ye tae leave."
As Will approached the Boneknapper, it suddenly snarled at him, prompting the lordling to freeze in place.
"Hey now, naene o' 'at!" Will countered crossly as he shot the Boneknapper a glare. Surprisingly, this seemed to cow the dragon, and it let Will continue approaching it.
"Aue, 'at's nasty," Will muttered as he expected the wound. After thinking for a moment, Will reached down and ripped off a large section of his kilt. Once he had a good wad of cloth in his hand, Will stepped forward and pressed it to the bleeding wound in an attempt to staunch it. The Boneknapper grumbled uncomfortably as Will treated the wound.
"Aye, Ah know," Will replied with a sigh, "But it's fer yer own good. It's better than ye deserve, in all honesty, with th' way ye've been actin'."
The Boneknapper growled at Will in reply to this.
"Och, daenae ye gae givin' me lip, laddie," Will said as he shot a glare at the dragon while he continued staunching its wound, "Ye may nae hae killed anyane, but ye did manage tae burn two whole villages tae th; ground on th' eve o' winter o'er a piece of bone, sae Ah think ye hae tae accept 'at ye're in th' wrong 'ere."
The Boneknapper grumbled at this, but in a smaller tone, as if it wasn't trying to argue.
"Speakin' of'which," Will said as he held up the bone sliver, "Ah suppose we shud get this o'er with."
Removing the now bloodsoaked wad of cloth, Will inserted the bone sliver into the gap, and found that it fit as perfectly as a puzzle piece. Once he was sure the sliver was in place, Will backed away and watched the Boneknapper uncertainly. Slowly, the dragon turned its long neck to look at the spot where Will had placed the bone sliver and sniffed it experimentally. After a moment, the Boneknapper lifted its head and roared towards the sky, spreading its wings as it did so. Then, settling back down, the Boneknapper turned its attention towards Will.
"Sae, ye gaein' tae get oot o' 'ere now?" Will inquired with a quirked eyebrow.
In response, the Boneknapper leaned forward and sniffed at the lordling before nudging Will with its snout.
"Um, hi?" Will said as he pat the dragon on the snout.
"Looks like ye made a friend, lad," Gobber commented with a chuckle as he walked up behind Will and put a hand on the lordling's shoulder.
"What!?" Will questioned in shock as he whipped his head around to look at the older man, "Nae! Nae way!"
"Ah'm nae sure ye hae much choice in the matter, lad," Gobber commented with a grin as he nodded towards the Boneknapper, which nudged Will with its snout again, "Ah'm jist happy he's nae tryin' tae kill me anymore."
"Ah'm sure ma Da will be thrilled," Will sighed as he pat the Boneknapper on the snout again.
Glancing over his shoulder, Will saw Andra, Boyd, and Ansei standing a short distance away, watching events unfold with wide eyes. Past them, Will could see Maudie and Sheamus along with the rest of the Vendal villagers, who were looking around at the devastated village with sad and terrified expressions.
"What are we gaein' tae dae?" Will questioned softly, his expression concerned.
"What dae ye mean?" Gobber inquired as he looked at Will and arched an eyebrow.
"Ah mean, if we daenae dae saemethin', these people are all gaein' tae die caeme winter," Will explained as he gestured at the Vendal villagers.
"They are Vendal, ye know," Gobber countered warily, "They were plannin' on killin' us nae too long ago."
"Ah'm nae sae sure, an' it's nae like we wuldnae hae daene th' same if our situations were reversed," Will replied with a sigh, "If all 'at craziness on Berk taught me anythin', it's 'at maybe th' people an' creatures Ah was raised tae think were bad arenae actually as bad as Ah think."
"There's certainly wisdom in 'at, lad," Gobber agreed with a chuckle, "But Ah'm nae sure how it's gaein' tae help these people or th' folk in Yorksdale through th' winter."
Looking around at the devastated village, a pensive expression crossed Will's face before his gaze fell on the Boneknapper.
"Ah think Ah might hae an idea fer 'at," Will said with a knowing smile.
A/N: So this chapter ended up being a big one, but it is the climax of the story, so I suppose it fits. Next chapter will be the last and then I can finally start moving on with this series. Hope you all liked it! As always, feedback and critiques are always welcome, so please review! Later!