A week and a half had passed by...
For many days and nights, Hiccup and his friends spent their time within Dalgard preparing for the inevitable battle, whilst also seeing to their own needs. They trained with their allies, polished out their skills and weapons, and saw to it that their dragons were taken out on frequent flights.
However, Hiccup had other plans up his sleeve…
Within the Great Workshop, the lad hammered down on an anvil, working in a distant corner on a new project that suddenly came to his mind. However, due to the workshop's sweltering heat, he wore nothing but his green wool tunic and leather pants, along with one of the dwarves' smithing aprons which, to his luck, managed to fit on him.
Yet at the same time, he could not help but admire the cavernous workshop around him. The massive circular forging hall of the dwarves was much more than he anticipated, for it was unlike any workshop that he had ever seen.
Not even Gobber's workshop compared to it.
A great lake of molten lava resided in the center of the hall, bubbling and steaming with intense heat. As with the Royal Ring, a stone bridge crossed over from one side of the district to the other. But it was one that was even larger.
In the center of the bridge laid Dalgard's greatest anvil; the Golden Anvil. Yet to Hiccup's surprise, that was where the dwarves were least present, for it was atop the wide ramparts circling the boiling lake where the dwarves were hard at work, either on weaponry, or siegery.
They hammered down upon weapons and armor with the finest of smithing hammers, yet they also shaped great plates of iron and steel with anvils and mallets as large as dragons. For the case of their forges, some were as small as those found within the smithies of vikings, while others were nearly as large as trolls.
And yet that was but a fraction of the dwarves' technology...
Many more great machines were found all across the workshop, with gears and cranks working them non-stop. Such an example were large buckets of stone and iron, of which were attached to massive chains and constructs from high above. They helped in carrying sizable amounts of lava from one side of the ginormous forging hall to the other, either for melting down metals, or for other purposes.
However, the machine that caught Hiccup's attention the most was made up of a group of large metal carts attached to one another, with its wheels running atop a contraption known as rails. It carried supplies from one end of the cavernous forge to the other, and to his amazement, it was neither moved by ram or dwarf, but by coal. The bulky cart at the very front had a funnel sticking out of its top, with clouds of steam blowing out of it.
From what Hiccup knew, the dwarves called it a steam engine.
"I wonder if Odin ever imagined such an invention…" he said to himself, watching as the dwarven engine made its way around the great hall, whilst making the occasional stop. "...Though that's probably beyond me."
To that, Hiccup let out a sigh. He wiped his brow of sweat, before turning his gaze back down at his work. Laying his hammer to the side, his eyes briefly glanced back at his plans, of which he drew out on a large piece of parchment and laid against a stand.
"Hmm…" he said in a mumble. "I think the edges need a little more scale-paint. Gotta make sure this whole thing is protected…"
To that, Hiccup grabbed a hold of his nearby paint brush, and proceeded to dip it into the bowl of black paint that resided next to it. With both sides evenly coated, he continued away at his work, and began brushing.
Whilst at first glance the black paint appeared typical, upon closer inspection, one could see that it was no mere paint. The dark liquid was, as a matter of fact, made from dragon scales, melted and crushed down into a substance similar to a thin paste. To that, Hiccup named it scale-paint. Best of all however, the paint was fireproof.
"I think he's going to love this…" smiled Hiccup, once again talking to himself. "...If, of course, he accepts it, and doesn't end up smashing it apart."
As Hiccup continued his work, all the while talking to himself, he did not notice the sound footsteps coming up from behind him. But before he knew it, a familiar voice suddenly followed, calling out to him.
"Oi! Hiccup!"
Hiccup immediately spun around in a startled manner to the sound of the voice, and upon turning his head, he caught sight of Beldrak walking towards him, fully armored.
"Ah! Hey, Beldrak," the lad sighed with a light smile. "You kinda scared me there. How are you doing? Are you well?"
The dwarf nodded as he halted in front of the lad. "King Kharinz has requested fer me tae check on ye and yer friends, tae see if ye're all fine."
"Well- I'm still holding up," said Hiccup, as he turned his attention back to his work. "...By the way, doesn't it feel humid for you with all that armor on? It's hotter than the summer in this workshop."
The dwarven thane shook his head. "I've gotten used tae it. We dwarves are easily adaptable tae harsh temperatures, whether we're as armored as Tyr, or as naked as a jötunn!"
Hiccup laughed as he placed his brush aside and grabbed a gear from the dwarven toolbox beside him, attaching it to his work. "So you say it doesn't matter, huh?"
"Well… sometimes," chuckled Beldrak. "...Out o' curiosity though, what are ye workin' on?"
"Something for my dragon," replied Hiccup, going through the tools and parts in front of him as he slowly began bringing his contraption together. "I hate to say it but, in times like these, although we must stick together, we cannot always stay attached to each other. Sometimes, you just have to cover more ground, whether it be from the ground below, or from the skies above."
Beldrak's eyes slightly widened. "Ye mean ye-?"
"Yup," the lad nodded back. "All I hope is that he doesn't end up smashing the thing to bits like he did with the last one."
"And when did that happen?" asked the dwarf.
Hiccup shook his head with a smirk. "Many years ago, during Snoggletog."
"Snoggle… what?" questioned Beldrak.
Hiccup's jaw slightly dropped. "Oh!" he said with a realization. "It's a uh… a festival that my tribe celebrates once every winter. It was made up hundreds of years ago, though I don't think it was ever made clear as to who thought up of it."
"Hmph. I see…" said Beldrak. "Are there any other tribes that celebrate this festival?"
"No," responded Hiccup. "As far as I know, the Berkian Tribe is the only tribe on Midgard that celebrates Snoggletog. Not really surprising, if you ask me. To many people, we're an odd folk…"
"...Now then, if I simply adjust this, and align the gear with the rod, a single beat of the hammer should do the trick and…"
There was a brief silence. As Hiccup picked up his smithing hammer, he immediately swung it down a final time onto his work, and thus let out a sigh of relief as he tossed it to the side. After spending nearly the entire morning working on his project, he was finally finished.
He grinned, satisfied with his work. "I think Toothless is going to like this."
"Will it work?" asked Beldrak, to which Hiccup chuckled.
"What do you mean by, "will it work?" Of course it will!"
…
"...Yep. The king is doing better, according to the other thanes," said Astrid with her arms crossed. "The elven healers have been working their magics and remedies day and night to heal Kharinz, but he still hasn't fully recovered. They are doing their best, but their progress simply isn't fast enough."
Fishlegs let out a sigh. "Even with his current state, the king won't be able to charge into a fight, let alone lift anything heavy…"
"And yet he wears heavy armor everywhere he goes," added Heather. "Save for bed…"
In the center of the vanguard's camp, the young vikings and their dragons, save for Hiccup and Toothless, sat in a circle around a large brazier, with the vikings conversing amongst one another in regards to recent news. However, they also felt a sense of unease and impatience; it was a feeling of dread, for the enemy had yet to arrive at Dalgard's gates.
"It's hard to believe more than a week's passed by," said Ruffnut. "I really want something to stab my spear into, and yet Drago's as slow as a snail. It's taking him forever to get here!"
"Good," said Astrid, to which the Twins rose a brow.
"Whaddya mean good?" asked Tuffnut.
Astrid sighed. "The longer it takes for Drago to get here, the more time we'll have to prepare. I thought you two would've known such a thing by now."
"Nope," the two said in unison.
"Muttonheads…" grunted Astrid under her breath.
"...Hmph," muttered Snotlout.
"For the most-part, I think our troops are prepared," said Heather. "All we really need to do is plan out a proper course of defense, and theorize where the Dark Legions will attack; though I imagine that'd be Hiccup's job…"
"...And speaking of which, when is Hiccup going to return from the Great Workshop?"
"Don't know," shrugged Astrid. "When I asked him why he was leaving for the Workshop, he never gave me a direct reason. All he said was that he was going to work on some special project, and when he left, he carried a bowl with him filled with… something- I don't know what. Since then, Toothless has been waiting outside of the camp, unmoved."
"...Honestly, I probably should have tagged along, especially since this elven scalemail is getting a little out of shape."
"If I were you, I'd take it off," said Fishlegs, to which Astrid arched a brow. "I mean- all I'm saying is that you should probably only wear your armor in cases when needed, and not every day and night until you go to sleep."
"Perhaps," nodded Astrid. "But I'm a viking, Fishlegs; a warrior. My duty is never truly done until this war is over, or until I reach either Valhalla or Fólkvangr."
"Yet all warriors need their time to rest. Wouldn't you say, milady?"
The heads of the young vikings and their dragons suddenly shot up, and as they turned their heads, they saw both Hiccup and Beldrak walking towards them, with Toothless following just behind them.
"Look who finally showed up," smirked Ruffnut.
As the three of them approached, the riders and their dragons proceeded to stand to their feet, and grouped up in front of them. Hiccup's face was slightly sweaty, and the lad still lacked his black leather armor, now along with his apron.
"Wow, you're sweaty," pointed out Tuffnut.
"You don't say?" replied Hiccup. "I worked nearly all morning on my project without taking a single break, and now that it's finished, I intend on seeing it in action."
"And you have yet to tell us what this secret project of yours is," stated Astrid with her arms crossed. "Was it really necessary to hide it from us?"
"Well… yeah," he nodded. "But not because I didn't want you to know; rather, I didn't want Toothless to know. Being a Night Fury, he could've easily overheard me if I told you."
"What does Toothless have to do with this?" asked Fishlegs.
There was a brief moment of silence. Hiccup turned back to face Toothless, who stood behind him, and as the lad beckoned him forward, the black dragon let out a croon that hinted embarrassment, and walked around to Hiccup's side, stopping on his left.
However, upon coming into sight of the group, they immediately noticed something different about the Night Fury. Although his saddle was still in place, along with a few of Hiccup's belongings packed behind it, the pedals used to control the prosthetic tail fin were no longer there. As a matter of fact, the entire mechanism used to control it was gone.
"...Is this really necessary?" asked Toothless. "I REALLY prefer the other one."
"You'll get used to it, bud," said Hiccup assuringly. "You used it once before. You can use it again."
"If ye ask me, yer craft is a beauty," grinned Beldrak, with his palms against his waist. "I've never seen a human like ye make such a design before. Most are just… lazy with their werk."
"Wh- What are you guys talking about?" questioned Heather.
Hiccup and Beldrak gazed their eyes towards Toothless with gesture. The dragon let out a huffing sigh from his nostrils, but despite the persistence, he nonetheless complied as he slightly turned his side towards the group. He then flexed out his tail, and showed it off to the young vikings. All of a sudden, their faces expressed shock, and that was when it hit them.
Toothless once again bore an automatic tail fin, and this time, it nearly matched with his right fin.
"Looks like Toothless's left fin has grown back," said Barf in Dragonese.
"Looks weird though," added Belch.
"That's because he didn't grow it back, you fools," responded Hookfang. "It's a new prosthetic."
"Ohh," warbled the two-headed dragon.
"You made him a new tail fin?" asked Astrid.
"Yup," nodded Hiccup. "I came to realize that Toothless and I can't always be stuck together in the same place. In a war like this, there will be times where we'll need to split up, and fight as dragon and viking. To that end, I decided to make a new fin."
"...As for how I did it? I managed to melt down some of Toothless's shedded scales into a paste, and I used it to coat this new fin. Compared to the last one, it is fireproof, and it also has better control. It should allow Toothless to fly faster and better than ever."
"Uhh… if it's fireproof, how did you manage to melt them down?" asked Tuffnut.
"Toothless's saliva," answered Hiccup.
"Eww…" the vikings replied in unison.
"Ooh," responded the dragons.
"So that's what that bowl was filled with," said Astrid. "Ugh!"
"Haha!" laughed Beldrak. "I'm startin' tae really like ye, lad!"
"It took a bit of convincing to get Toothless to offer me a scoop- without spoiling the surprise, of course," replied Hiccup, tossing a quick glance to the Night Fury. "And that also included the scales. But in the end, it was worth it."
"Looks like all that's left to do is try it out," said Fishlegs. "I think Toothless will like it a lot."
"I don't think he likes it," garbled Meatlug.
"Gods no, I don't like it!" grumbled Toothless.
"Yup. He doesn't like it," squawked Stormfly.
"Oh come on, bud," sighed Hiccup. "We haven't even done anything with it yet! It's not the same as the last one I made for you during Snoggletog!"
"Heh," chuckled Snotlout.
"...Eh, I think he's just over-exaggerating," said Ruffnut. "First time's the charm, I tell ya. Go try it out! I bet he'll get used to it right away."
"I agree with her," nodded Windshear. "Just give it a go."
Toothless gave a draconic grunt. "There's no way in Thor I'll get used to this…"
…
"...FORGET WHAT I SAID EARLIER! I'M LOVING THIS!"
When Toothless took flight, his opinion of the new prosthetic changed rather quickly. In that moment, the Night Fury found himself circling above and around Dalgard's valley, speeding through air as he waved over the pine trees on the hill to the west, and soared high above the rocky cliffs that were north of the mountain.
And the dragon did all of this while Hiccup sat atop his saddle.
From the height they were at, the lad could see much of Dalgard's grassy valley, with its white patches of snow as well as its brown dirt roads, leading to and fro the city gates.
With the afternoon sun against his hair, and the cool, breezy wind blowing in his face, the moment could not be any better.
Hiccup looked down at his dragon with a grin. "Have you changed your mind now, bud!?"
"Ohohohoho, gods yes!" he warbled happily. "I feel like myself again with this fin! And y'know what, I think I'm going to speed things up!"
"Wha-!?"
Hiccup's brows arched. Before he could give a proper response, Toothless's speed suddenly bolted. For a brief moment, the dragon flew faster than the speed of the wind, and his rider let out a scream as such. But as soon as the Night Fury came to an abrupt slow, the lad gave a gasp, before looking down at his dragon with widened eyes.
"Don't… scare me like that... again!"
"Oops," grinned Toothless. "Well what can I say? I couldn't resist… In my opinion, I think that was pretty fast. Wouldn't you agree?"
"I guess so," sighed Hiccup. "After experiencing that however, I feel like I need a moment to lay down… Mind looping around and landing us somewhere? On top of the cliffs, maybe?"
Toothless gave a nod, and thus began to turn, making a final lap around the valley. But as the Night Fury began looping around, he suddenly spotted something out of the corner of his eyes, amidst the tallest peaks of the northern cliffs; something he had not noticed before. Although it took a moment, he soon realized that what his eyes gazed upon were a set of stone ruins. From what he could make out, the ruins were made up of arches, collapsed walls, and broken statues, all of which were surrounding a large circular platform with fancy engravings carved into it. Engravings that appeared… light elven.
Nevertheless, Toothless made his way towards the ruins, and upon landing near the edge of the stone platform, the lad dismounted his dragon and fell onto his back, for his head was spinning.
"I just… need… a moment…" spoke Hiccup exhaustingly, spreading his arms and legs out.
"Take all the time you need," the dragon said assuringly. "Once you're done, we'll return to the camp."
While Toothless and Hiccup took the time they had to rest atop the cliffs, down below, the young vikings, along with Beldrak, Olof, and Valara, stood on top of the empty ramparts, where for a while they watched the Night Fury and his rider fly around the valley. But now, their eyes were set upon the ruins.
"That's a strange place for a set of ruins to be," said Astrid. "On top of a cliff?"
"Aye," nodded Beldrak with his arms crossed. "But the structure that once stood there wasn't built by dwarven hands. Tae be honest, it took me a while tae figure out why it was built there tae begin with…"
The blonde dwarf came to a brief pause, before his eyes glanced back at Valara. "Though I'd imagine ye already know what those ruins are, Valara. Eh?"
"...Indeed. I know them all too well," she replied. "Those are elven ruins."
"Elven ruins?" asked Fishlegs. "What business did the Nordellians have in Dalgard? Were those ruins some kind of outpost?"
Valara shook her head. "It may seem like it, but no. Those ruins were actually once an elven mage tower. A runic sanctum that held the secret knowledge of many powerful spells and magics. Unfortunately, the tower was destroyed by a magical accident; an explosion, and nearly all of the mages within were killed, save for a few who managed to barely escape."
"Interestingly enough, it was King Elendar himself who asked King Kharinz fer permission tae build the tower," added Beldrak. "But aye. Tis a shame it only lasted a hundred years."
"Indeed," agreed Valara.
"...That seems like a long time," said Snotlout.
"Hah. Not tae us," responded Beldrak, referring to both himself and Valara.
"So then. Why was it built to begin with?" asked Heather. "What's so special about it?"
"It's the place that the mage tower stood upon that made it special," the elf responded. "Those ruins sit on top of a leyline."
"Uhh… a leyline?" questioned Ruffnut.
"A place of great power," answered Valara. "Beneath Midgard's earth lies hundreds of rivers of magical energy; energy that comes from the World Tree Yggdrasil itself. These rivers alone are responsible for allowing the use of magic, such as the elements of fire, ice, and storm. No matter where you go in this world, they will always be present beneath your feet… However, when they cluster up in one place, they create a leyline. In the hands of a powerful sorcerer, it may be used as either a place of knowledge, or a destructive weapon."
"Well in that case, let's hope that Drago doesn't learn about any of this," stated Astrid. "Otherwise, who knows what'd he do with that kind of power."
"He would probably end up blowing his head off," said Olof suddenly, causing all eyes to fall on him, questioningly. "Just so you know, I've seen orc warlocks and dark vikings in action before, but some of the strongest among them tend to become overly greedy with the use of their power. Many times before, I've seen them attempt to channel up all of their magics to unleash devastating spells upon the ranks of the Alsworn, yet in the end, the chaotic energies they commanded ended up consuming them."
"The same could happen with the Dark Legions' warlord. And if that happens, then it'll only serve as an advantage."
"Hmm…" mumbled Astrid. "Drago never was the sharpest one. He sent thousands of vikings, dwarves, and dragons to their deaths when we fought his dragon-viking army in the Northern Archipelago. Of course, that was over a year ago…"
"We can only hope fer the best from here on out," sighed Beldrak. "...But aside from that, I think we should get back inside. It's gettin' a bit cold, and dusk is soon tae come. We have more important things tae do."
The young vikings and the captains responded unanimously in agreement. Yet as they turned around and made way for the stairs, Astrid remained where she was, leaning over the edge of the rampart as she looked around at the sight of the grassy, hilly, mountainous valley, thinking deeply to herself. However, in the midst of her pondering, something came to her mind, and as she turned around, she spotted Beldrak, who was about to head down the stairs.
"Beldrak," she called out, catching the lone dwarf's attention.
"Aye, lass?" he asked.
"When was the last time King Kharinz went out for fresh air?" she questioned him. "Like- actual outdoor air."
"I don't know," he replied, raising a brow. "The last time I saw him go out, twas more than a hundred years ago. Since then, he's been held up in his throne room. Why do ye ask?"
Astrid smirked with an idea. "...If you can, I'd like you to convince him to come up on the ramparts tonight, and take a moment to take in some air."
"Heuh?" the dwarf questioned.
"Just trust me on this," added Astrid. "And make sure the healers come along as well."
"Hmm… Ye know what. Ye may be on tae something, lass," grinned Beldrak.