Early the following morning, Hiccup had Heather and I round all the riders up at the Academy. Though we ended up asleep in each other's, I felt him sift throughout the night and eventually I rolled over to face him. Together, in our bed, we spoke softly about plans and dangers, different paths we could go and how we could deal with Krogan and the trappers. It's only been two months since Stoick's death, and there was never really any time to grieve but with Krogan rehashing recent rounds, Hiccup was more emotionally vulnerable than he cared to admit. I saw it though, and he knew it which is why he didn't hide it from me. I would be there for him as he was for me, as he said when we thought I was blinded; there will always be a Hiccup and an Astrid, together.
Everyone seemed raring to go, ready to take the fight to these trappers at their ports. They had become as brutal as the Hunters when Krogan took them over, like when we found Garff nearly killed. Only this time, they were operating much closer to home. A good and a bad thing, it meant they were within striking distance but it also meant that Berk was as well. Berk had become a stronghold no one dared cross in the Archipelago. We had more dragons than people, and more people than most islands and all were willing to battle for the end. We had faced countless threats, from the Great Beyond to even closer sources like Calder and Nepenthe. Where some threats were greater than others, they all held the same prospect; that we would endure, somehow. And watching Hiccup slowly transform into a Chief of his own making could not have made me prouder.
"Alright, gang. Thanks to a combination of interrogation and scouting by Dagur and my mother, we have our first two targets. Bashem and Swallow. We will be scouting Bashem today, and if the opportunity presents itself, hitting it. Mom?" Hiccup says, looking to Valka who steps forward.
"The landscape of Bashem is rocky and seemingly uneventful, filled with towering stacks and peppered waters that makes boat travel without knowledge risky. It seems unpopulated. Dagur and I spotted dozens of Whispering Death tunnels but no signs of the actual dragons themselves. We also followed the dinghies to a cove that housed at least half a dozen vessels." She explains and glances back to Hiccup.
"Now, going on that, we've also learned more form our prisoner. Krogan has been capturing exotic species to use against us, apparently he holds a grudge." Hiccup adds and Snotlout scoffs.
"Uh, yeah. Probably cause we totally kicked his butt on Berserker Island." Snotlout shrugs and the twins snicker.
"One might even say we abashed him in the eyes of his evil peers." Tuffnut adds
"Could also say he was discountenanced by our victory." Ruffnut seconds as I can't help but laugh lightly. Still the same twins and their random facts or uncommon words.
"One could probably say all of those things; what it means is that he is desperate to regain his reputation. Desperation leads to mistakes. We've seen it back on the Edge." Hiccup states, calming them down. "We also know that there are multiple bases and that the warlords do not have Drago's sway with the masses to keep them all in line. Krogan is trying to target Berk before we become to much of a threat. Problem is, we already are." Hiccup states and I hear several yeahs from the group.
"So, what's the plan then, Chief?" Eret asks.
"Same as before. We show them that their ways are not welcome within the Archipelago, nor anywhere. While we can't police the world, we can protect that which lies within our own waters. Where he was once a formidable and overconfident enemy with Singetails, he is now a desperate man trying to get back onto the field with vague threats and taunts. We won't let it affect us, and if possible, we will capture him and let the council decide his fate." Hiccup finishes as Fishlegs raises his hand.
"Uh, Hiccup, er, Chief. Aren't we technically the council? Not that I'd say this lightly, but, I'm pretty sure most of us are set on his fate ending soon. Dragon's can't be safe with him around." Fishlegs says slowly and I glance to Hiccup who is also looking to me. I smile softly and nod.
"I agree, we should capture him and let him answer for his crimes. Even if we know that answer will ultimately be death or imprisonment." I say, nodding to him as he smiles weakly and nods.
"Excellent! From Chief to Chief, I must say I approve whole-heartily of ending that miserable man's life, through justice!" Dagur exclaims.
"Alright then, gang. Here is how we're hitting this." Hiccup begins, drawing everyone's attention to the board. "Should the opportunity to strike present itself; Fishlegs, Snotlout, Twins, Mother and Eret will be taking out the ships, remove on-deck emplacements and get any archers into the water. Dagur and Heather, focus on land-based emplacements, working together. Astrid and I will try to get inside and see if we can find any intelligence or papers with information about the other outposts or their plans, possible even Krogan or one of the Warlords." Hiccup states before looking to Heather and I.
"How is the A team doing?" He asks both of us and Heather steps forward.
"They are still doing two-hour shift rotations around the island, staying strong. I checked in with them this morning." Heather answers and glances to me with a smile as I mouth the words 'thank you.'
"Great. Okay, We'll be wings up in half an hour. I need to check in with Gobber and before we leave." Hiccup adds and everyone breaks as I close in on Hiccup.
"I'm coming with you." I state and he smiles, nodding. Together we take off and head to the forge where Gobber usually is this early in the morning. True enough, he is there this morning and seems to be working on some manner of new weapon.
"Gobber." Hiccup says as we enter the Forge.
"Ah, if it isn't the Chief O' Berk and his General. To what can I do for ya today?" Gobber asks.
"I need you to hold the fort while I'm gone. We're scouting Bashem for the Trappers today. The A team is flying in rotations and the people need to be ready for an attack." Hiccup states and Gobber nods.
"Aye, no rest for us Vikings, is there. Ye got it, Chief. Make sure yer careful, Berk can't survive without ye." Gobber adds. "I'll finish this project up then head to the great hall and organize our ground defense. With what Berk's survived in its 400 years, now with a horde of dragons, nothing can get in, I promise ye, Chief." Gobber states with his usual grin and I smile.
"Excellent, on that note, I forgot one thing in my work room." Hiccup states and Gobber waves him off as I follow to his station. Opening the door he walks in and I follow.
"So, what did you for- mmph" I began before I was pleasantly surprised by the pressure of his lips against mine. Pulling back, I narrow my eyes and smile. "Careful, Chief. You may start something you can't finish." I whisper and he smiles, kissing me again. I run my tongue across his lips and soon my tongue meets his as he presses me back against the door I had just shut. It was a breathless kiss that left us both flustered and panting as he finally pulled back.
"That, was what I forgot." He whispered and I smiled.
"Glad you remembered it, nothing like a Good Luck kiss to start the mission." I retort and he nods.
"I've half a mind to press our luck and kiss more than your lips, but that probably wouldn't be smart." He says softly and I roll my eyes with a smile.
"No, probably not. But." I pause and glance to him.
"But?" He continues as I pull his lips back against mine. We may or may not have time for that, but we certainly had a few minutes to spend lip locked in his little room. This long series of kisses passionate with our tongues dancing and our lungs left breathless with each one, our lips and heads constantly rotating as we finds new angles to deepen the kiss that by the end of it, we both were sweating slightly and out of breath as if we had just had sex.
"We." I say, breathlessly, trying to slow my heartrate down. "We are finishing this tonight, here." I finish, nodding my head to this room and he smiles.
"Deal, this room is pretty sound proofed too… just saying." He adds as I blush and nod.
"Come on, let's not keep the others waiting." I finish and he nods, kissing me one last time before we exit the Forge together. He grabbed a small tool he didn't need just in case Gobber asked him, which he didn't. And soon after, we were flying in the air.
Bashem wasn't far from Berk on the backs of Dragons, even flying carefully and high in the sky, it was still barely an hour away. The initial fly by confirmed everything Dagur and my mother had told us before. Bashem's geography was inspirational, maybe double the size of Berk on a lark but no mountain ranges or forests, just countless rock formations and a lang peppered with Whispering Death tunnels. It was very similar to the island where the Screaming Death ended up calling its home.
There was a secluded cove on it's southwestern side which is where Dagur and my mom spotted the dinghies going. Heading around there on our fly over, we found the ships. Sure enough, there was seven ships in port, one more than there had been the night before. A sign that maybe Krogan or another Warlord was present. Our initial flight also showed a limited number of personnel on the decks, and a high number of dragons in cages. We couldn't let them be shipped off, one more ship or not, this was our que to strike.
"Alright, riders! Just like we talked about. We're saving these dragons! Wave Formation! Ships, Ground, Air. Watch each other! Dive!" I call out and we fall into our waves. Dagur and Heather taking point and doing a fast and low fly by to draw fire as they target several ground emplacements and make short work of them. The ship wave followed next, with each of them working in pairs as they targeted the ships themselves. Astrid and I flew in last and on our initial flight, targeted a few of the deck-side emplacements as we circled, looking for a commander's tent or area. There wasn't any.
"Hiccup!" Astrid calls out and as I look, she is pointing towards a large tunnel with torchlights going down it and several men running inside.
"Good enough, let's check it out!" I shout and she nods.
"On your wing!" She calls back and I smile as we dive in, blasting our way past several archers that run scared quickly. These trappers did not have the fortitude of the Hunter's we faced in the past under Krogan's command, which was reassuring at least.
Flying deeper inside the tunnel we found several tents scattered about with shouts about an attack on the ships, but one tent was different than the others, an obvious commander's tent. Perhaps too obvious if we were dealing with Viggo but Krogan liked being grandiose and anyone who called themselves a warlord was no different. Glancing back to Astrid, I nod and point towards the tent and she nods.
She peels off and distracts those men running around on the ground as Toothless and I disappear inside the darkened tunnel. Torchlight or not, Toothless was virtually invisible in a cave such as this which made our approach much easier. These tunnels were larger than average Whispering Death holes, but they appeared to be man-made renovations, not Screaming Death renovations.
We dart around and land on the exterior of the tent and peak inside, it's empty. Maybe we actually got lucky and found this place without the leaders present. Rushing inside with Toothless, there is a large table map of the Archipelago with countless islands. My own map was more detailed but this one was strategic. It pointed out several different locations, ranging from Tomorrow Island, Murderous Mountains and Hero's End, the very edge of the Archipelago before open sea. They even seemed to have resources dedicated out in the Great Beyond, far north where the Edge had been located. This operation was much larger than the Hunter's Operation. The documents seemed to suggest hundreds of ships at their disposal all headed by three warlords; Ragnar, Chaghatai Khan and a previously unknown third one, Griselda.
We'd met Ragnar and Khan, never seen Griselda yet. Krogan was recruited by Khan to do the work of Drago and act as his former master. None of this bodes well. They had more bases than we could scout properly and more ships than we could contest with openly, even with our dragons. Our best bet would be raids, cripple their forces, free the dragons, bring them to Berk. It'd make Berk a beacon to attack by sea but if they had no air power to match, hundreds of dragons beats hundreds of ships.
Oh, there was something else. Something I'd need to keep close to the chest; they were targeting Toothless and I specifically. But it was more than that, they wanted to see me killed and Toothless Captured. Apparently, word has gotten out that he is the new Alpha, luckily, since he is unique, countering Toothless has proven a task no one has been up too yet. They're trying their luck with Krogan again, but knowing all of this, we should be ahead of him. It'll take months to hit all these locations and free all these dragons, and that's assuming this is everything.
Free them we will, though. Taking the notes I made as detailed as possible, Toothless paces, just listening to the sounds of the Nadder's spine shots and magnesium blasts.
"Okay, bud. Let's go and get Astrid. We're done here." I whisper and hop on his back. Glancing to the map, I struggle with having toothless destroy it or leaving it alone and hoping they remain oblivious to us knowing about it. The side of my father says to destroy it, the side of my mother says to leave it. As much as I wanted to honor my father, in this case, if they didn't know we knew, maybe they wouldn't change and it'd give us more time to hit them. Leave it, it is.
Darting out with Toothless, we take to the air in the cave and blast at an archer lining up a shot on Astrid as we fly past. "Let's go!" I call out and she nods, darting behind me we make our way out of the caves. We were fortunate that the caves didn't seem to house dragons, I didn't hear any calls for help anyways.
When we exited the caves, what I saw was a mixture of beauty and horror as smoke filled the sky from the seven ships that were sunk or sinking and the countless emptied cages with a whole flock of dragons circling overhead with the riders. Smiling, I darted up with Astrid and flagged them down.
"Diamond Formation. Let's escort these dragons back to Berk and introduce them to their new home. After that, we've got some things to talk about!" I call out as we start flying.
"Did you find anything useful!?" Eret calls out and I glance back at him with a smile, then my eyes find Astrid as I nod, my smile wide which makes her smile.
"Oh, yes. Enough to get these guys on the run, a pity Krogan wasn't here to see it." I call back and hear them shout yeah. The twins suddenly break into the Hooligan song with a new sect of lyrics.
"Hooligan Tribe; won't you come out tonight. Come out tonight, Come Out Tonight!" the twins begin as Snotlout and Fishlegs join in. "Hooligan Tribe; won't you come out tonight. Come out tonight, Come Out Tonight!" Prompting the rest of us to laugh as we repeat it with them. "Hooligan Tribe; won't you come out tonight. Come out tonight, Come Out Tonight!"
"Or fly by the light of the moon! Oh, by the light of the moon! Oh, by the light of the moon! Remember your dragon hide and fire! Also get ready for the burn!" The twins add as we all glance back.
"You guys can't keep changing those lyrics!" Snotlout exclaims as we laugh at the exchange.
"We have changed nothing, merely adapted!" Ruffnut retorts and Snotlout yells
"That literally means to change!" He yells back as Tuffnut shakes his head.
"No, my mistaken young Viking brother. Adapting is to modify the purpose of or alter slightly, thus becoming adjusted to new conditions!" Tuffnut retorts as I hear Snotlout growl to himself. Shaking my head, I glance at Astrid with a smile and shout back.
"Dinner in the Great Hall tonight, gang!" I say and they all shout. It was a victory, to be sure. We'd see the end of these trappers even if it took is months. We'd free every dragon they capture from every corner of their trapping empire.