Chapter 254
Hiccups POV:
It's been three hours since I got back to the village after beating 'The brotherhood of the blood eye' along with their demon master Tenebraug and their many redcap minions. That time had been spent drinking my fathers' weight in Irish alcohol while watching the men dance around drunkenly with the women laughing at the men's antics and I can't blame them since it was funny. Both my kids and the village kids were also enjoying the show since they found it funny to see grown men stumbling around like idiots while sounding like buffoons as they poured drinks down their throats and onto their heads. Of course, when I got back, I was immediately pulled into it as the guest of honor and celebrated as a hero with everyone wanting to hear all the details of what happened in my battle. I was able to hold off on this claiming it'd be better to do so when everyone was sober since I did not want the drunk men to freak out at the sight of some of the things I saw and wind up getting hurt. Still though despite this, there were some who did get hurt but not by their own drunken stupidity but by the women who they tried to hit on in their drunken haze, including my wives with Astrid throwing one man through the door of a house when he tried to feel her up. I did get a good laugh at one drunk man's attempt to flirt and win a girl over, but the girl was really a sheep that had wondered out of its pen to see what was happening.
Now I was laying in the makeshift bed of furs I had downstairs since I'd given the only bed in the house to the kids upstairs who were now sleeping peacefully from the last time I checked. My wives were also peacefully slumbering in their usual places at my sides or in Hadasa's case, on top of me with her head snuggling into my chest. As I lay there though, my mind kept wondering to the red gem that was now trapped in the sentinel metal orb that was still sitting in my spiderpack and I couldn't help but wonder what it was since I knew it was bad news since it came from a demon summoning item. I sighed and figured I'd keep it in my spiderpack, out of the hands of anyone who might use it to resummons the demon Tenebraug and put it in my vault alongside the dagger from Persia so nobody would ever be able to get their hands on it. I sighed knowing it best I get some sleep and stop worrying since now that things have been dealt with, me and my family might be able to enjoy a little peace and quiet while on vacation. With this in mind I drifted off into the realm of sleep, hoping that tomorrow would be the beginning of a nice relaxing vacation for all of us where we could forget our problems and just enjoy our time together.
Morning
The night had been truly pleasant since it was easy to sleep after a long day of facing an evil intent on destroying the world along with all its minions. Now after a good breakfast of bread and meat, me and my family were out in the village just enjoying our day and waiting to see what it would bring us. Presently I was sitting on a small hill overlooking a large field with Chara on my lap, Brant on my right and my wives all around me as we watched a group of village men play a game of hurling. I smiled at the sight since it reminded me of my time in Scotland with Uncle Fergus and Aunt Elinor along with my cousins, when there was the great gathering and how they had the clan games. To this day, whenever I go back to visit them, I still get glares from the previous record holders of the various events whose records I now held since none of them were happy about some foreigner stealing their spots as record holders. It was then I was brought out of my thoughts by Chara who asked.
"Daddy, how does this game work?" I smiled at her.
"The way it works is you have to strike the ball over the crossbar or under it into the net to score." I gestured to the crossbars before pointing at one of the players. "And you can only touch the ball using one of the sticks which is called, the hurley." She nodded.
"Isn't the ball really hard?" Before I could reply, a voice from in front of me answered.
"That it is lass, but it makes the game a wee more interesting." All eyes turned in the direction of the voice and only to see none other than Rooney smiling up at me.
"A tiny man." I chuckled as did Rooney.
"He's a leprechaun sweetie." Rooney then took his hat off and bowed.
"And a top of the morning to ya all, Rooney's the name." Astrid then asked.
"So, you're the leprechaun Hiccup met when he first came to Ireland?" He stood up straight and put his hat back on.
"That I am dear lass but I'm afraid I have yet to have the pleasure of knowing who you three beauties and the two wee ones might be." The girls giggled before Astrid did the introductions making Rooney's eyes widen in shock. "You took three beauties as your wives lad?" I shrugged and nodded.
"You can thank the customs of Blanca's people for that but just because I have more than one wife, doesn't mean I love any of them more than the others." He smiled.
"You've got a big heart lad, but I be guessing you also have a lot of energy in the evenings for these ladies." It took me a moment to realize what he meant but when he did, a blush quickly came to my face while he laughed but I just rolled my eyes and asked.
"So, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit on this day since it's not like a leprechaun to come to a place with multiple humans running around."
"I just wanted to congratulate you on your victory lad and to give you a little something from my clan for ridding our lands of that evil." He tossed me an item that I quickly caught it with my hand to find a gold coin with the Irish symbol for bad luck on the sides. "All the members of me clan put our magic into its curse." I raised an eyebrow.
"Curse?"
"On the sides be the symbol for bad luck and anyone who you give the coin to will be cursed with bad luck for a whole day and although the time may not be much, a lot can happen in a day." I nodded as the coin was pulled into my prosthetic. "Also, on behalf of me clan and all the leprechauns who call the emerald isles their home, we thank you for freeing it from that beastie and its minions who sought to wreak havoc upon it." He then stood up once more. "And don't you forget, you still have one wish from me." I smiled.
"And I look forward to the day that I can come up with something worth using it for." He smiled at me and then I blinked, and he was gone before Brant asked.
"Where'd he go?" I shrugged.
"I have no idea where that leprechaun went and to be honest with you, I doubt I ever will so best not to dwell on it." He nodded before we returned our attention to the hurling match.
3 hours later
Me and my family were now in the Irish planes with the kids running around playing, Astrid chasing after them, Hadasa singing a gentle toon while manipulating the plants to grow some flowers and Blanca allowing me to use her lap as a pillow while I watched the clouds go by. All in all, this was a moment of peace that reminded me of home but unlike home, there was just something different about being here in Ireland with the gentle smell of the Irish planes blowing over me with the distant sound of the villagers going about their daily life. It was because of this I was happy to forget about all my troubles both here and at home on my island and just enjoy the peace of the time that was now. With all this in mind I closed my eyes and drifted off into the realm of sleep with the sound of my wife's singing and my children's laughter.
10 minutes later
My peace was not to last, I am sad to say for as the sweet melody of my wife's singing and children's laughter was brought to an end and replaced by the sound of large boots crushing grass followed by a shadow landing over my face and cutting off the warmth of the sun. Knowing I couldn't hide from this interruption, I sighed and opened my eyes to see what was going on and saw none other than Connor looking down on me. I sighed and sat up while saying.
"Alright Connor, what is it you or the village need?"
"Well lad, I know I shouldn't bother ya when you're with your family and taking a nap but I've been getting requests all day to have you show us what happened with that demon that took our eyes and those who worshipped it." I sighed and sat up while running my hand through my hair and said.
"I knew this would happen, but I was hoping that I'd be able to enjoy a little peace before this was brought up." I slowly stood up. "Alright, gather the villagers and I'll begin the show." He nodded.
"Thank you, lad." With that said he walked off to gather the people while I stood up and tried to fully wake up.
Nightfall
Night had fallen over the village and for that I was thankful since today had been nothing but questions, pleads to show more of the battle and multiple other headaches after showing what happened with 'The brotherhood of the blood eye'. I wasn't given a moments peace after that until it was time for dinner which everyone was eager to get to, so I was able to head back to my house and enjoy a meal cooked by my wives. Now I was shirtless and wearing just my pants while making my way over to my bed of furs and collapsed on it face first knowing I'd at least have a little peace while my wives were out at the river, bathing. I did have a Scouter automaton follow to keep an eye out for any possible peeping toms who would like to eyeball my wife's bodies while they cleaned themselves. Of course, with me being a man myself I did have a second Scouter perch itself nearby and watch the girls bathing for my own personal pleasure.
I sighed and rolled onto my back while closing my eyes and enjoying the view of my wives through the eye of the dragon and for a few precious moments, I was able to relax a bit and enjoy my down time while enjoying the view of my wives splashing in the waters. It was only a few moments later that I was embraced by the sweet realm of sleep and drifted off into the land of dreams where nobody would bother me.
10 days later
A week passed after I showed everyone what happened with the 'The brotherhood of the blood eye' and during that time not much happened other than things calming down a bit so me and my family could relax a bit. That all changed on the afternoon of the seventh day in which me and my family were enjoying a quiet day in the fields while playing a game of chase. Our time of peace was ended when Seamus ran up to us claiming there was someone from a small city a few days away by horseback in the village looking for me. The man was wearing a red long-sleeved shirt under leather body armor and a metal chest-plate, brown leather gloves, a helmet with a cage mask covering his lower face, red pants with knee high leather boots and leather gloves. Apparently, he'd been sent from the city of Kilkenny by the city lord, Oliver Cromwell to request my aid in dealing with some wolves that had been causing trouble for his people who were trying to develop the city and clear a bit of the forest.
Knowing that if I didn't come and help relocate the wolves somewhere else, they'd most likely be killed and the possibility of them hurting people in self-defense I agreed to it and was given a map to the city along with a confirmation message to be given to the guards before the man took off on his horse. We were packed and out of the village by morning the next day and flying towards the city on the backs of our dragons but I knew they'd need to stay in my shadow during our stay in the city since there would be people who feared them or might not have heard of them. Getting to the town by dragon only took a day to get there and when we got there, it was easy to tell that this city was different to the ones I'm used to and not the good kind of different.
The city while lively was clearly a little overcrowded, people sold things at stalls that were clearly low quality most of the time but the people were without a doubt different to anyone I've ever met. The people were mostly alright but when the guards show up all joy and liveliness seem to leave them as they make way for them and keep quiet while allowing the guards to pass. To make things worse, a man was talking about wolf walkers existing and calling the wolves off before healing him and he was locked in a stockade for lying while the lord claimed there was no such thing but I knew better considering all I'd gone through. It was because of this though I kept the dragons in my shadow coat and decided it'd be best to only fly them at night when nobody would see us. Along with this, a lot of them didn't take too kindly to Blanca and Hadasa since they looked different to the people of the city and none of them took kindly to the fact that I had three wives. Because of this we were eager to get to the house we'd be staying in so we could relax a bit and just enjoy our time together before I got to work.
There are also the city kids who I thought my kids would be able to play with but the group of kids who were pretty much running things for kids in the city were like a bigger group of Snotlout and the twins when they were young. They tried to torment Chara, calling her a wolf and putting her in a wooden cage but Brant was quick to come to his sisters' aid and under a minute each of those kids had learnt some of the things my ninja had been teaching them. I wasn't going to complain though since me and my family weren't going to be in this city for more than a few days and I did not want those kids messing with my own.
Then there's Lord Oliver Cromwell who sent me the message to begin with and to describe him, he had long flowing grey hair with a tuft of hair beneath his lip and wore the same armor as the city guards but with a dark brown cape and no helmet. He ruled this city with an iron fist and when he first saw the kids, he tried to have Chara sent to the scullery to do various chores while having Brant sent to the stable to pick up horse poo. I put an end to that by telling him who I was and got him to back off before he told me to keep them in the house we'd be staying in and had a hunter he hired to hunt the wolves take my family to the house since it was next to the one he and his daughter were staying in.
This hunters name was William Goodfellowe but people called him Bill and he had shoulder length blond hair with sideburns and he wore the same armor as the guards without the metal chest plate and had a dark brown cloak with a fur cape. Unlike the Lord Cromwell and the guards, he was actually friendly towards my family and welcomed us to town before inviting us to join him and his daughter for dinner. We were happy to accept, and it was at dinner we met his daughter Robyn who was Brant's age, had long blond hair she kept braided and a green tunic on and her brown falcon Merlyn. Robyn seems to be a bright and adventurous young girl who wants to be a hunter and hunt alongside her father in the wilds, but he insists she stay in the city where it's safe. I couldn't help but symphonize with the girl seeing a bit of my young self in her since my father used to do the same with me, but he was nowhere near as nice as her father was.
Anyway, I started scouting the forest today and so far, came up with nothing other than a few tracks of the wolves and a few of Bills traps that had been set off but with no animal caught in them. It was during this time me and Bill got to talking and it was from this I learnt that to keep Robyn out of trouble, he'd sent her to the scullery to do chores for the day. I frowned at this since Brant had told me he hoped he and Chara could spend the day playing with her since it'd be nice to have a friend who wouldn't constantly ask questions about me. He claimed he'd let her off tomorrow so the kids could play together but he did ask me to tell my kids to keep a close eye on Robyn since she could get into trouble.
Now I was out in the sky with Toothless enjoying an evening flight with my Astrid and Blanca flying their own dragons while Hadasa was at home with the kids. She understood that the dragons didn't enjoy being cooped up for so long, so she was happy to allow us to take them out for a bit of a flight after I promised her a massage when we get home. I'd managed to get past the guards with my wives hiding in my shadow while I claimed to the guards that the wolves were more active at night so I could better hunt them to which they just nodded and let me pass. Still though as I flew through the air, I couldn't help but feel something was up with not only the wolves but the forest itself since whenever I put my kitsune mask on I could see a glow surrounding certain parts of the forest. I couldn't study it with Bill nearby though since he'd go to Lord Cromwell and that was just asking for trouble, so I settled for doing sweep overs at night like now but so far there was nothing out of the usual. I shrugged and decided to just enjoy the flight this evening since I knew tomorrow was going to be busy.
Back in the city
Brant's POV:
It'd been over an hour since dad left with mama's Blanca and Astrid to take the dragons out on a flight and while sleep came easily to Chara, it didn't come as easily to me. Back on the island I'd made a habit of going for evening walks in the garden whenever I couldn't sleep which I'm sad to say is not a luxury I got here in this overcrowded city with the guards keeping everyone inside at night. I wasn't going to let that stop me from getting my time out though and had taken out the window a few minutes ago to go on a silent run across the rooftops while also using it as training for my ninja stealth skills. That was how it started but now, I was chasing after a grey wolf that had entered town somehow and had just escaped Lord Cromwell by jumping into the moat surrounding the castle. I knew that was no ordinary wolf since it seemed to be a lot smarter than a regular wolf, so I figured it best to tail it and see where it went and if it meant anyone harm.
This brings us to now, with me standing on the roof of the house where Robyne and her father were living and watched as the wolf wondered around a sleeping Robyne. The reason I wasn't doing anything though is because dad had taught me to first examine the situation before reacting or I could end up doing more harm than good and so far, the wolf hadn't made any hostile moves towards her and instead looked to be trying to figure something out. It was then I saw it continuously pat its paw against her hand and she didn't wake up but then much to my shock, the wolfs body began to get a golden glow wrap around it. The body then glowed golden before it jumped into Robyne's body before she woke up just as her father came up to the upper floor to check up on her.
I knew right then and there that I'd need to talk to Robyne about this and let my father know but before I could begin to leave the sound of people yelling from the other side of the house caught my attention and I went to investigate. What I found was an angry mob of towns people who were not the least bit happy that a wolf had gotten into the city and it was easy to tell that Lord Cromwell wasn't happy either if the scolding he gave Bill followed by the demotion into foot soldier was anything to go by. Then when the lord began his speech about how he'd hunt down every wolf and destroy their den, Robyne tried to explain that there was another way, but as expected Lord Cromwell wasn't having any of it.
He had his guards restrain her, which is when I wanted to intervene, but I knew that would just cause trouble for dad and the family so I kept hidden but brought out a knife I kept on me in case that lord tried to hurt them. Fortunately, he didn't do anything except threaten to send Robyne's father to war and a threat to Robyne to do as told or she'd never see her father again. I watched as things cleared up before Robyne's father took her home and I followed them from above and sat on their house's roof, knowing it best to wait for Robyne's father to fall asleep before I snuck in, to get some answers on what's going on. As I sat there though I looked up at the stars and couldn't help but look back on how much my life has changed since me and my sister were adopted by the man, I now call father.
Half an hour later
Bill had finally fallen asleep and this made me smile as I snuck into the house through Robyne's window just in time to see a gold glowing wolf float from her body but quickly pulled back in when she woke up. I didn't give her chance to do much else though before I quickly covered her mouth making her look up at me as I put a finger to my lips, signaling her to be quiet. She nodded before I whispered.
"I know you're the wolf that just ran through town and that something is going on but what I don't know is what's going on so will you tell me?" She nodded and I took my hand off her mouth. "We should continue this talk outside before your father wakes up." She nodded before I helped her up. "Come on, I'll help you onto the roof where we can talk in peace." I helped her through the window and onto the roof before we sat down. "Alright now could you tell me what in the world is going on?" Before she could reply a voice from behind us said.
"That's exactly what I'd like to know." I froze at the sound of that voice and turned to see my father standing behind me with his arms crossed. "Why don't we start with what you're both doing out here on the roof." I knew lying to him would be useless, so I answered.
"Dad I know this is going to sound crazy but Robyne has some sort of wolf magic and I was hoping to get some answers." I could tell he was confused bus sighed before he turned to Robyne.
"We have a lot to discuss but we'll do it in my house before someone spots us." We both nodded and allowed ourselves to be taken back to the house and sat down at the dinner table which is when our interrogation began.
1 hour later
Hiccups POV:
It's been an hour since I got back from my flight and found both my son and Robyne on top of the roof of her and her fathers' home before bringing them back to the house to get some answers. Turns out Robyne had become something called a wolf walker which are people who could leave their bodies in the forms of wolves and the wolf that Lord Cromwell has caged up is one as well and the mother of her friend Mebh who was the one to make her a wolf walker in the first place. She wanted to pass on a message to Mebh that she and the pack needed to get out of the forest and move far away without Mebh's mother who believed she was going to be killed tomorrow.
Now I was sitting in my chair while looking at the kids and processing everything I'd just been told before I sighed knowing I couldn't allow another person to go through the pains of losing a loved one if I could stop it and began planning to get Mebh's mother out of the cage and the city. I took out my pipe and began to puff it as I said.
"I understand the situation but it's not going to be that easy to solve." Brant then asked.
"Can't you just sneak in and break the wolf out before pulling her into your shadow and taking off back to the forest."
"It's not that easy son, the castle is now heavily guarded while the patrols in the city have doubled so there are guards on every street so getting there would be hard even for a ninja and that wolf walker now has no less than ten guards in the room watching her."
"Can't you take them all down before freeing her?" I shook my head.
"If that happened, I'd be putting our entire family in danger of being arrested and possibly executed for treason." He frowned but nodded as I turned to Robyne. "Would it be possible for you to meet with Mebh and let her know what's happened?" She shook her head.
"No, my father is going to have me taken to the scullery again tomorrow so I'm going to be cleaning, cooking and doing laundry all day." I nodded.
"Can you tell us where we can find her?"
"We promised to meet by the tree on the hill tomorrow but with my scullery duties-" I cut her off and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of it." She nodded. "For now, though, we better get you back to your house before your father realizes you're gone." She gasped making me chuckled as I helped her off the chair and took her back to her room and then returning home knowing tomorrow was not going to be an easy day.
Late afternoon the next day
Today had been busy so far with Lord Cromwell having a large stage built for some big event that was meant to happen today and I couldn't do anything since he was having me remain at his side to help keep an eye on things. It was because of this I had Brant go and inform Robyn's friend, Mebh about what was going on in town and that I had a plan to get her mom out of the cage and away from the city. This position I was forced into had some advantages that helped with my plan since it allowed me to plant a few jewelwigs around the stage with black Loki balls in their pincers. The plan is to wait for the right moment and then have them drop the balls, covering the area in black smoke so nobody would be able to see me cut the chains and help the wolf walker escape the city.
Now I was on stage and finished listening to Lord Cromwell talk about how he'd tamed the wolf walker and how he'd do the same to all the other wolves he finds before a young red-haired girl wearing a green tunic, brown arm bands and gold circle ear rings, ran up onto the stage claiming the wolf was her mother leading me to believe she was Mebh. Presently Bill had her restrained and was getting ready to put a metal collar on her which is something I was not going to allow but before I could interfere, the wolf broke free of its muzzle and bit Bills arm. Mebh ran off the stage while the guards pulled the wolf back into the cage by the chains connected to the metal collar around its neck and the second the door was closed the girl came back on and ran up to the cage asking the wolf walker.
"Mammy what have they done to ya?" It was then before she could react a guard grabbed her from behind and she immediately began to struggle while Bill walked up with the metal collar as Lord Cromwell said.
"This uncivilized and wild creature shall be tamed into obedience the way it should be or like the beast, she will be put down." That was all I needed to hear to decide it was time to put an end to this and stepped forward.
"That is not a beast, that's a little girl who's clearly upset at the wolf being caged."
"She's crying over a savage beast." Before I could reply a voice from the edge of the stage said.
"If you want to see a savage beast, go look in a mirror." Everyone gasped as I turned to see Brant standing there with Robyne at his side and made eye contact with Brant who nodded, meaning he had already told Robyn the plan and that they were ready.
"Somebody, take these brats away."
Hearing this I immediately had the jewelwigs drop the Loki balls since there was no way I was going to allow those guards to lay a hand on my boy. The area was filled with black smoke blinding everyone except for me, allowing me to see the guard drop Mebh who ran for the cage as Brant and Robyn did the same. I immediately ran to the cage and put a hand Mebh's shoulder making her turn around and growl at me as she said.
"Don't touch me or me mammy."
"Don't worry, I'm here to help." Before she could reply, Robyn and Brant rushed up with Robyn saying.
"Mebh, he's telling the truth, they're here to help get you and your ma out."
I decided actions spoke louder than words and used my prosthetic to rip the lock off the cage freeing Mebh's mom who quickly got out of it while scooping both Mebh and Robyn onto her back before rushing through the smoke. I grabbed Brant and helped him onto one of the roofs of one of the houses and we quickly took off after them, while using the height our places on the roofs allowed us. I'd do my best to help them get out of the city by dealing with the guards, using my boomerang to slice through the poles of their halberds and spraying a bit of knockout gas over the ones who were blocking the way. Brant was doing his best to help out to by running ahead and yelling out warnings to them about what they were about to face and when they got to the gate he ran onto the walls, where the guards were readying crossbows and I had to say I felt a great deal of pride, watching my boy take the guards down before they could fire them and tossing some down onto those who were shutting the gate. While he did that, I dealt with the men trying to raise the drawbridge and once the girls were through I signaled Brant to lower the gate which he was happy to do and then joined me on the ground before we all took off towards the woods.
5 minutes later
Nobodies POV:
The group had just made it to the woods where Hiccups wives were waiting with Chara since he wanted them away from the city just in case things got a little crazy. Now they were standing there and smiling as they watched Mebh embrace her mom with a golden glow of a woman and a wolf embracing flowing off them and floating above them. When they pulled away from each other Robyne who's hair was now free of its usual braids walked up saying.
"Mebh, I'm so sorry." Mebh looked down. "I was only trying to keep you safe, trying to help." Mebh turned her back on her. "I didn't know what to do." Robyn then glanced at Mebh. "I'm sorry Mebh." Mebh's mother nudged Mebh making her sigh and turn to Robyn as she rushed at her and said.
"Come here to me townie." They swung each other around laughing before hugging and Hiccup couldn't help but smile at the sweet moment as Robyn said.
"I'm not a townie anymore Mebh."
"Thanks for helping mammy."
The sweet moment however was ended by an arrow piercing Mebh's mother's chest making her collapse as Mebh cried in horror while questioning what was happening and trying to check her mom. Everyone turned to see Robyn's father rushing towards them as he put his crossbow onto his back and yelled for Robyn to run quick while Hiccup and his family began surrounding Mebh's mother to try and see how bad the wound was. While they did this Robyn ran up to her father and began beating his chest while saying how he shot her and asking him how he could do such a thing and if he knew what he'd done. It was then Hiccup walked away from the downed wolf and towards the father who was trying to calm his raging daughter down and gained his attention making him say.
"Hiccup, ya need to get your family away from that beast."
"Now why would I do that when they're perfectly safe but if you don't shut up and listen to what you've done then you won't be safe at all."
Before he could reply, a howl from behind got all their attention and all eyes to see Mebh howling as a golden glow formed around her mother's body which slowly turned into the same glowing spirit that formed when a wolf walker leaves their human body. It floated into the air and began floating back into the woods while Robyn cried for Mebh to wait for her before Hiccup turned back to Bill and said.
"Let your daughter go, she's one of them now, a wolf walker."
He shook his head not believing it while Robyn closed her eyes and allowed her wolf form to leave her body while Bill stared in shock and then she ran into the woods with Hiccup and his family following. A few seconds later Lord Cromwell and his men arrived before putting a metal collar on Bill, claiming they'd deal with him later before he noticed the fresh wolf tracks and ordered the men to begin burning the woods. While this happened, Mebh had gotten on Robyn's back and was now leading the family towards where her mother's human body was, revealing a pathway with stone pillars on either side leading to a large cave with Celtic symbols drawn on both the walls of the cave and the pillars. Mebh's mother was surrounded by wolves who were looking at her in worry as the wound she got as a wolf formed on her human body before Mebh ran up and begged her to keep breathing before turning to the humans and Robyn as she said.
"I've never healed anything this bad before, it's going to take time." She turned back to her mother as tears ran down her face. "I'm not leaving ya mammy." Hiccup walked up to her and placed a hand on Mebh's shoulder making her turn to him.
"I have something that might be able to help but the wound's never been this bad before." He reached into his coat and pulled out his mystic ganji water before letting it flow onto Mebh's mother where it immediately began circling around the wound. "It's working but it's not working fast enough." Mebh sniffled before she began howling and channeling her magic into her hand, coating it in a golden glow before the cave shook turning all attention to the entrance as rubble fell as Robyn ran up to it, only to turn back and say.
"I'll hold them off." She then took off while Hiccup walked to the entrance with his wives and turned back to the kids.
"Stay here with Mebh and the wolves while we help deal with the soldiers." They nodded before Hiccup and his wives followed after Robyn and when they reached the cliff overlooking the forest, they saw the soldiers had broken into the large cove that the wolf walkers called home and were burning a path through it using torches, crossbows and catapults. "Looks like quite a few men but I've seen worse." Hiccup walked up next to Robyn. "Let's show those men what happens when you mess with the woods." She growled and nodded before Hiccup summoned his ninja. "Go deal with those men from the shadows and knock them out at worst but leave the man on the horse alone and try to free the man he's dragging along if you can." They nodded and jumped from the cliff and into the woods while Hiccup turned to his wives. "Hadasa, can you control the trees and plants to make them attack the men." She smiled and nodded.
"Easily!" He smiled.
"Attack from the back so nobody notices and try to block their path." She nodded as he turned to Blanca. "Blanca, use your magic to get them away from the catapults and then disable them." She nodded as she slowly took on her guardian form making Robyn stare in shock while Hiccup turned to Astrid. "Think you can lure a few of them into the traps."
"You know I can." He smiled before Hiccup turned back to Robyn.
"I know we have a lot of explaining to do but that'll have to wait till later since for now, we need to stop an army and just to make sure they understand not to mess with wolves anymore I'll call in a few of my own wolf pack." He looked to the sky and yelled out. "ADAL!" A howl echoed through the area as a portal opened and Adal jumped through with his Shadow, Snowflake, Wyanet and Bidzill following. "You see those fires?" Hiccup pointed at the fires and the wolves growled while nodding. "Make the men who're starting them realize why they should never mess with the forest." They growled and nodded before taking off. "Now let's go show Lord Cromwell and his men why they should fear the forest."
With that said they all began charging towards the fire to deal with the invading army which were already in a panic due to the actions of the ninja who had been luring the men into traps and rushing past while hitting them with quick nerve strikes, paralyzing them. They believed it to be the wolf walkers using magic to paralyze them and this led to some stumbling right into Bill's rope traps which pulled them into the trees. When the others arrived, their forces were quickly brought to a standstill by Hadasa pulling them into the bushes using tree branches and vines while also having trees fall to block their way, Astrid on the other hand attacked the men from above by dropping on them and then jumping back into the trees while Blanca used her magic to throw the men to the sides and then smashed the catapults with her tail. Hiccup on the other hand acted like his ninja and was quick to attack from behind using nerve strikes to paralyze the men or deliver a quick chop to the back of the neck to knock them out. Then there's Robyn who drew their fire and attacked from the shadows alongside the other wolves, mostly attacking the men who'd separated from the group to try scout the area.
It was then the runes carved on the stones and trees began to glow gold as multiple howls echoed through the area before much to my shock, my own wolves began running towards the lair except for Adal who stayed at Hiccups side. Bill who had begun seeing things through the eyes of a wolf walker then saw Robyn jump through the flames and stop to look at him before he blinked and saw the face of his daughter before looking down at her sleeping and then back at the wolf as he asked.
"Robyn?" Lord Cromwell took the opportunity to aim his own crossbow at her but before he could fire, Bill pulled the chain throwing off Lord Cromwell's aim, making the arrow just miss her. "Robyn go!" Robyn was quick to obey and ran up the path towards the lair as Lord Cromwell brought out his sword and ordered.
"Catapults, don't let it get away!" The men brought the remaining catapult forward. "Slay the fowl beasts." They launched the boulder towards her with it landing a few inches away from her, throwing her forward and into a pillar, knocking her out while the men continued their march. "Men, run and you will be killed, follow my command and we will prevail for the lord is guiding us." The glowing runes died down before a chorus of howls echoed through the area, making them glow once more. "You wicked creatures, come meet your end." He then saw the runes lead to the waterfall that hid the cave. "There it is, the devils lair." He turned to the men. "Our victory is at hand." He then turned back to the waterfall. "Catapult, fire!"
Before the catapult couldthrow the boulder though Hiccup pointed at it while giving Adal a hand signal right making the wolf growl and nod as he obeyed his master's orders. Multiple icicles flew down on the catapult, destroying it beyond repair and making all the men back up in shock before Hiccup and his wives alongside Adal and the ninja made their presence known by walking out of the woods and stepping in front of the men, blocking their path. The men took one look at Adal and ran away with their tails between their legs while Lord Cromwell ordered them to come back but Hiccup chuckled and turned to his forces as he said.
"You guys fall back to the cave and make sure everyone's alright; I'll finish things up here."
They nodded before heading down the path as Hiccup turned back to face Lord Cromwell and realized he was no longer on his horse but when he was about to look for him, the screeching of a bird caught his attention. He turned towards the sound and found Lord Cromwell glaring at Merlyn's downed form while drawing his sword and getting ready to bring it down on Robyn's downed form. Before Hiccup could jump into stop him, Lord Cromwell was knocked to the side by a large black wolf who was glaring and growling at him. It wasn't hard to figure out that it was Bill who had become a wolf walker due to the bite from Mebh's mother and it was clear he was not going to let any harm come to his daughter. The two were quick to begin fighting with Lord Cromwell being able to lay a single scratch on the right side of Bills head that then appeared on his human body and nothing more. Seeing that Bill had things handled, Hiccup quickly went to check on Robyn who Merlyn was trying to wake up by squawking and nudging her.
Hiccup kneeled down and shook her body before she woke and immediately turned to her father's wolf form and Lord Cromwell that were still doing battle. She ran for her own human body and got back into it just as Bill bit down on Lord Cromwell's sword, shatter and breaking it before Lord Cromwell went for a discarded crossbow a little distance away. He turned to aim it at Bill's wolf form but Bill was quicker and pinned him to the ground by his arms while snarling which is when Lord Cromwell took notice of the cut on the man's head and how it was the same one he left on the wolf. He realized he could still win if he shot Bill's body and aimed the crossbow at it before firing, letting the arrow fly towards the body, only for a plasma blast to destroy it when it was ten feet away. Both men gasped as Bill got off Lord Cromwell and turned to where the blast came from and saw Hiccup with Toothless on his right with Robyn now mounted on top of him while Adal was at his left.
Lord Cromwell took this opportunity to try and run but Bill gave chase as Lord Cromwell pulled out a dagger as he was backed up to the edge of a cliff with sharp rocks and water at the bottom. Lord Cromwell stabbed his dagger forward, but Bill ducked to dodge it before Bill lunged forward, snapping his jaws around Lord Cromwell's torso as the dagger went flying out of reach. Lord Cromwell did his best to pry Bill off as the runes glowed gold along with Bills bite marks before Lord Cromwell looked around and saw that Hiccup was waiting behind Bill with Robyn mounted on Toothless and Adal glaring at him. He realized there was no way out of this situation for him and he looked to the sky as he said.
"Into your arms my lord" He reached the buckle of his chest plate. "I commend my soul."
He pulled the buckle freeing it and allowing his body to fall below into the rocks, ending his life before Bill tossed the chest plate down the same way its owner went before turning around to face the group. Robyn dismounted Toothless and slowly walked towards Bill as she asked.
"Father?" The wolf whined before Robyn ran up and embraced the wolf who gently nuzzled her. "Father." Bill licked her making her giggle before the howling died down with the glowing runes making them pull away and look towards the waterfall. "We have to help Mebh!"
Hiccup nodded in agreement before they began making their way down the path towards the cave where they continued inside and found Mebh crying on her mothers' body as she begged her mother not to leave her again. The wolves surrounded them looking down in sadness with Hiccups family and ninja doing the same with Chara crying at the sight. Robyn walked into the circle and asked.
"Mebh?" Mebh turned to her.
"Robyn." Robyn rushed up and joined Mebh in her mothers' lap. "I tried, I really tried but I'm just not strong enough even with the waters helping the healing." She let out a sniffle. "I need her."
"I can help like I promised." She took Mebh's hand. "Mebh there's two of us now." Mebh sniffled and wiped her tears.
"There's two of us now." Robyn held up her hands.
"Show me what to do Mebh, I don't know how."
"I'll show ya." She took Robyns hands and pressed their palms together. "Follow me."
She closed her eyes with Robyn doing the same as she howled making a golden glowing projection of wolf paws and patterns engulf their hands. All the wolves suddenly perked up with their eyes glowing gold as they raised their heads and began to howl letting a golden mist flow out into the air as Hiccups wolves did the same with that same mist appearing. Robyn looked to her father and gave him a small nod, asking him to do the same which he did as the runes on the wall once more glowed golden as Merlyn flew around it. As this happened, transparent golden wolves slowly floated out of the girls body while an invisible wind flowed around them before the wolves began circling around each other and then up to the ceiling where they met, shining a bright light. The runes drawn throughout the forest then began glowing as rain began falling down, extinguishing the flames as the light shone brighter to the point that people could see it from the city.
The golden wolves took the form of the girls with wolves behind them as floated around the image on the ceiling of a pack of howling wolves surrounding two human handprints. All the runes seemed to flow off the wall as the wolves that surrounded the handprints jumped off and began circling the girls who circled the handprints shifting from human to wolves as the wolves then ran into the handprints that shone brighter. The girls then stopped as the handprints pointed down before they slammed down on them forming a ball of light that flew down into Mebh mother and for a few moments there was silence until Mebh reached up to touch her mothers face right before her mother opened her eyes, gasping. She looked down at her daughter and tears slowly formed in her eyes as she whispered.
"Mebh!"
"Mammy!"
"Oh, Mebh my little wolf."
"Mammy you're back." They then hugged with tears in their eyes. "I thought you were gone again, I missed you." She then turned to Robyn. "Thankyou my friend." The wolves from the wolf walkers pack all leaned in and began licking them as the girls giggled while Bill turned to begin leaving the cave feeling he didn't belong there after what he did but Hiccup cut him off and said.
"You made a mistake Bill but that doesn't mean you have to pay for it with your daughter." Before he could reply, Robyne took notice and asked.
"Father?" He turned to her. "Please don't go." Mebh's mother then said.
"Stay, you're one of us." He walked up and joined them in the hug along with the other wolves while Hiccup smiled and watched with his own family before Mebh pulled away and looked at Hiccup and his family.
"Thankyou for everything." They just smiled at her before Hiccup replied.
"You're welcome." It was the Mebh's mother reached into her purple dress and pulled out Hiccups mystic ganji water.
"Is this yours?" Hiccup nodded before she tossed it to him with him catching it in one hand. "Thankyou, that strange item helped keep me alive for a short time." Hiccup nodded.
"I'm just sorry we all had to go through so much trouble because of that lunatic Lord Cromwell." It was then Robyn said.
"By the way, I've been meaning to ask you something if ye don't mind."
"Go ahead." She pointed at Toothless and the wolves.
"What is that giant black beast and where did those wolves come from?" Mebh then asked.
"And how did your wives do those things with the plants and the snake tail?" Hiccup chuckled nervously.
"It's all a bit of a long story." Mebh's mother then said.
"I think those are the best kind."
Knowing it would be best to explain everything, Hiccup took a breath and began explaining everything to the wolf walkers about who they were, what Toothless was, where the wolves come from and why the ninja weren't speaking.
3 hours later
Hiccups POV:
It's been three hours since I was asked to explain who me and my family were, what Toothless was and everything else that the wolf walkers asked. Answering their questions took an hour and following that we spent another hour cleaning up the mess left outside by freeing soldiers who'd been caught in the rope traps who ran back to town in fear, gathering up the discarded weapons and of course, bringing Bills body in with Lord Cromwell's horse. Following that we began to plan our next move since it was clear as day that the woods and the cave were no longer safe for the wolf walkers which lead to me offering them a place on my island. They were hesitant at first, but I assured them there'd be no issues and that my island had plenty of room for their pack to roam and for them to roam around when they're wolves. They all agreed to come after that but for now we all needed some rest which brings us to now, with everyone laying around the cave sleeping while I lay against Toothless with my wives snuggling against their own dragons, Chara sleeping on my chest and Brant sleeping against one of the walls. As for the wolf walkers, although their human bodies were here, their wolf bodies had taken the pack out for one last run through what remains of the woods and showing Bill how to be a wolf.
I looked around at the various carvings on the cave and couldn't help but wonder what they all meant and what magic they held since it was impressive. I shrugged, figuring all these questions could be answered tomorrow since for now, I needed some sleep since it'd been a long day and tomorrow was not going to be any easier with all I'd have to do. For now, though, I figured it best to forget about my worries and embrace the realm of sleep.
AN: And that brings an end to this chapter with Hiccup finding new allies in the form of the wolf walkers from the film 'Wolf Walkers' a good movie in my opinion but I cut out a lot to get this chapter out on time. Anyway, I am a little hurt at the lack of reviews since the last chapter got only three reviews and two of them were from the only two to review the chapter before it. Anyway, I get it these might not be my best work, but I am honestly trying so I'd appreciate a little support here guys as it's not easy coming up with these things. Till next time review kindly and have a nice day.