It was another couple weeks after we landed that Eret heard word from one of his other contacts, though he hasn't heard back from Vern yet which is troubling. There had been no sign of the trappers out by Hysteria suggesting a change in tactics. Hiccup is trying to convince Eret to let us pull him out if he's still alive, but so far Eret has been unwilling to risk compromising his friends any further and seemed to be filled with a lot of anger, possibly guilt.
When Eret left the Trappers that were working with Drago, he left behind more than a few friends he had sailed with for years; and many of them were not bad people, just people doing a bad trade. It was no different than being a fisher or cattle farmer for these men; they did what they had to do to survive and never thought about the evils of their actions. Eret's eyes were finally opened when Stormfly saved him; he opened a few of his friend's eyes in the following month but still.
It was getting to be a lot to bear, to be honest. Eret had been over at Hiccup's house with him and I for the better part of each of these past two weeks; Valka too. Planning, arguing; it was making my head hurt as Hiccup tried to play the negotiator and Eret was as stubborn as a brick wall. The only good part of these past weeks had been the evenings when they left and it was just us, sitting before the fire pit and talking it out in a more reasonable tone. Sifting through the information together; he had grown to rely on me a lot since Dragon's Edge and I'd always be there for him. Tonight was a new night, and with word finally received, we had something new to argue about.
"I know what you're going to say, Hiccup. I can't risk Vern's life by swooping in unexpected, and I can't risk sending him a message. He has to lay low." Eret says angrily and Hiccup sighs.
"Eret, it's been two weeks. That's a long time for him, you've said so yourself. You got word from one of your other contacts, what did it say?" Hiccup says in his calm voice, not rising to Eret's anger. Valka and I sitting back, ready to intervene if need be with words of our own but, at Hiccup's request, remaining silent, for now.
"There is a new player in the game, a specialist. Supposedly, Khan hired someone he has worked with before and had worked with Drago. He has no name, and the man in question is only ever seen in a cloak and mask. He is lean and strong, though. Not the usual burly Viking sailor we're accustomed too." Eret answers and I'm suddenly having flashbacks to both Ryker and Viggo. Neither of them were typical Vikings, if they were even Vikings.
"Is he from the archipelago, the mainland?" Hiccup asks and Eret shakes his head.
"So far the information on this guy is little. He is elusive to say the least. What we do know is that he has a great deal of experience in the hunting, trapping and weaponization of dragons." Eret answers and my eyes widen.
"He can train dragons?" I mutter and Eret shakes his head.
"Train is a strong word but he can dominate them to do his bidding. Gerrick, the one who sent this message, witnessed him exert dominance over a Nadder similarly to how Drago did to Snotlout's Nightmare." He answers and I sigh, for that was an event that still haunted me. Seeing Drago wave his pike like some sort of lunatic and Hookfang cowering his head.
"That sounds a lot like some of the people we used to deal with back on the Edge. But we dealt with all of them." Hiccup says, shaking his head and glancing at me.
"We have the course of their ships. They are still focused around Hysteria. According to Gerrick, they really want to capture the Doomfang. This time, the mission is led by this specialist and Khan, though even Khan is reported to be taking a sidestep on the command in favor of whomever this is." Eret continues and Hiccup nods.
"When are they going to be back out there? We've been lucky to not have encountered the Doomfang yet, but something tells me our luck is going to run out soon." Hiccup suggests and I frown. I preferred his optimistic side.
"They'll be there within three days of this message reaching me. I'm not sure if Gerrick is with them, though I doubt it." Eret finishes and Hiccup nods.
"Okay, we head out there and scout the area for the next three days. Track all boat movement, look for anything beyond trading vessels that are passing through. We'll meet at the Academy in the morning to dole out assignments. Get some rest." Hiccup says, glancing to his mother and Eret and as Eret moves to leave, Hiccup adds. "Oh, and Eret, please consider my suggestion about pulling out Vern. We've run into that issue ourselves with a close friend of ours. She didn't want us to pull her out either, and she was very nearly killed. Just think about it." Hiccup finishes, and I can tell he's thinking of Heather. My heart aches a tad as I think back to that. That was the only time I've ever lied to him, and I regretted it, even if he forgave me for it long ago. Eret sighs and nods, leaving on Skullcrusher. Valka remains.
"So, son. What are you thinking?" Valka asks and I glance to Hiccup as he shrugs.
"That things might get complicated." He says softly, sitting back in his chair. She shakes her head.
"Not good enough. You know something you aren't saying." Valka adds and I can't stop the smile that forms on my lips. Mothers always seem to know. Hiccup only sighs and shrugs.
"Yeah, I'm thinking I might know who this specialist is, but I can't be sure. I don't want to be right." Hiccup says with another sigh and I get up and move next to him, taking his hand in mine.
"Whoever it is, we'll beat them together." I add and he smiles.
"Share; who do you think it is?" Valka asks softly and I glance to her then to him. From what I know, everyone who it could be should be dead. There is a long pause as Hiccup closes his eyes and I can see him grit his teeth as he breaths softly.
"Krogan." He says softly and I audibly gasp.
"No way. We heard the rumors that Drago had him executed." I say quickly and Hiccup shrugs.
"Yeah, but how often did Drago actually get his own hands dirty. No. I'm guessing that Krogan escaped like you guys did with Eret when Drago was going to execute you guys. Laying low and since Drago's death, has felt comfortable resurfacing. Eret said he wears a mask now, maybe that's to hide his identity from former coworkers." Hiccup says softly and I glance to Valka.
"And who is this Krogan?" She asks and I glance to Hiccup who has since placed his hand to his forehead, then look back to her.
"He was a bounty hunter and a right-hand assassin for Drago Bludvist. He tried to kill Hiccup multiple times and nearly succeeded on several of them. He's not really a trapper or hunter by trade, he just does the job he's paid to do, and does it very well most of the time." I explain. "He dominated Singetails to do the bidding of his own." I add and see her face contort with anger.
"Then we'll be on our guard. I'll see you two in the morning, have a good night, try to relax, Hiccup." She says, standing as Hiccup nods.
"You too, mom." He adds and escorts her out before returning and sitting with me in front of the fire. I had refilled our drinks and found my way sitting half on his lap and in his arms as he leans his head to the side of mine. He was mentally struggling with dealing with Krogan again, the first and few men Hiccup had ever actually tried to kill himself.
"Hiccup, babe, we'll be fine. We will beat him, again." I say softly, my face finding his cheek and turning his head to face me. He opens his eyes and gazes into mine and smiles weakly.
"I hope so. Tomorrow we'll find out Drago survived." Hiccup sarcastically says and I shake my head, leaning up and kissing him softly on the lips.
"Shut up and kiss me." I say softly and he needs no more command as he shifts his hips and leans into the kiss. Whatever the future held, we wouldn't let it threaten our dragons, our people or each other. We had grown stronger since the time of Krogan, possibly rusty, but we wouldn't let that man best us again. I had more to come home too now, more than I am willing to lose.
The prospect of dealing with Krogan again filled me with an anger I didn't realize I had, it was similar to the prospect of dealing with Drago. Both men ruthless and cold; deserving of no mercy or talks. I would do the world a service to remove them from it entirely. It scared me that those thoughts struck so strongly to me when thinking about Krogan.
I had given the briefing to everyone, and we had split up into different teams as we begin our recon again. Luckily, we had backup this time. Dagur and Heather had both showed up on their own dragons and were working with us; their dragons Sleuther and Windshear a welcome addition to our pack.
Heather, Astrid and Valka had all opted to team together which made me nervous but not due to their inability. Those three are some of the strongest among us, but I learned about Heather and Astrid's boytalk phase back on the Edge and wasn't too excited about them rehashing that with my mother around.
Snotlout, Eret and the Twins formed the second group with Dagur, Fishlegs and I taking the third group. We patrolled together and watched the waterways around the island. Dagur had really grown considerably in the past couple years since his marriage with Mala.
"Brother! It has been so long. I am sorry that I was unable to be here for Stoick's Day, but I'm not sure I would've been welcome considering.." He starts and trails off into a laugh before sighing. "the past." He finishes.
"Dagur, you've grown and changed. I've considered you my brother for a couple years now, and I know that my father would've welcomed you, especially considering everything you've done since." I answer and he smiles, genuinely.
"Yeah, I've been keeping in touch with Heather, you two have changed the Berserkers for the better!" Fishlegs adds and Dagur laughs.
"I had considered changing our tribe from the Berserker Tribe but, that's our roots. We'll always be a little…" he trails off to his customary laugh before pausing and smiling. "Berserk."
"No argument there." I say lightheartedly
"I can't thank you enough for inviting Heather and I on this mission! The thought of getting another crack at Krogan makes my head spin! I never did get to properly meet him before, and I know Sleuther would love to give him a 3-point high fight!" He exclaims with a maniacal laugh that I had honestly just come to ignore as part of how he talks. Hours and hours and hours and hours of alone time does damage to ones sanity when stranded on an island, even if it was years ago.
"So, how're things with the Defenders of the Wing and Mala?" I ask mid flight and he laughs.
"Great, Hiccup! Absolutely great! Mala completes me. She has really helped reform the Berserkers too." He answers
"I had heard that she makes regular visits from Heather, that's awesome!" Fishlegs adds
"How about you, Chief Hiccup! How're things with your blond viking warrior lover?" Dagur asks and I laugh nervously as I feel both his and Fishlegs' eyes look to me from my wings.
"Going great. Not married yet but don't worry, I'll send you a Terror Mail as soon as it happens." I answer
"They've been together a lot more since too, they practically act like they are married! It's so adorable!" Fishlegs adds and I scoff.
"Fishlegs!" I exclaim and he just giggles to himself as Dagur pulls up next to me.
"You know, Hiccup. Mala completes me. I've seen how you and Astrid are together. I don't think that's something even Mala and I have. Cherish it, brother." He says simply and I nod and smile. Sometimes Dagur could go from serious to deranged to maniacal to thoughtful in the same sentence. It was actually quite terrifying.
Our conversation is interrupted by the dragoncall of a Monstrous Nightmare, from Snotlout. Glancing to Fishlegs and Dagur, I nod and they resume their wing formation and join me as we take high to the sky and dive to the other side of the island, where we find the other dragons already circling high in the sky as we join them. Below we can see a half dozen ships, and worst of all, the Doomfang is caught in a net.
Pulling up to Eret, we glance down. "They moved faster than expected." I say as I pull out my spyglass and look down on deck. The others talking as I scope the deck, I see something I was afraid of.
On the deck of the one of the larger ships is a man tied to a mast. "Eret." I say, getting his attention and tossing him the spyglass. "Is that Vern on the boat due north?" I ask and he looks down and I see his shoulders drop.
"That's Vern." He says solemnly and I sigh.
"Alright gang, this has turned into a rescue mission. We're going to redivide our groups." I state. "Astrid, you, Heather and Dagur are responsible for destroying the net. Your dragons have good speed and Windshear can cut through almost anything. Dagur, you are covering them." I explain and look directly to him in the eyes and he nods.
"On my life, brother." He answers as he understands my silent message. I'm trusting him to watch over his sister and my love and he knew it. If anything, I think it made him happy.
"Snotlout, you, Fishlegs and the twins are our distraction. Whatever you need to do to light up the other boats. Clear their decks, take out their emplacements and keep them busy." I look to them and see the twins grow a mischievous smile.
"I love it when Hiccup gives us the jobs of destruction." Tuffnut says wiping an imaginary tear from his face.
"It's like he knows us so well." Ruffnut adds as Snotlout sighs at their over-production of it.
"Eret, you, my mother and I are going to get Vern out of there." I finish and they nod. Sighing I look around us and add. "Okay gang, remember, we may be dealing with Krogan again, and these are trappers. Expect dragonroot arrows and dragonproof chains and nets. Work together and stay safe. No one play the hero today. Steer clear of the Doomfang at all costs, we do not want to anger it or make it attack us. We want to release it and let it go back to sea. Hopefully." I finish and glance around. "Any questions?"
Everyone shakes their head and I nod, smiling. "Alright, let's do this!" And they all shout as my eyes find Astrid's for a moment before we all dive down. This would be dangerous, and I keep feeling like I am forgetting something…