Glacier island. So far it lived up to its name. It was almost entirely a cold desolate wasteland that stretched as far as the eye could see. So much so that Farran had come up with another name for it.
The Gates of Hel.
Even the yak skin he had wrapped around his form began to offer little comfort against the blistering winds. If it were to get any colder he would be frozen on the spot.
Now that the group was back on the move, now heading in the direction of the largest mountain. Ryker seemed convinced that the snow wraiths were hibernating within it as he ordered the hunters under his command forwards up the steep and slippery slopes. It was a miracle that no one had fallen and injured themselves. Yet.
It was hard for most to climb, but even harder for those who had to carry equipment with them. Extra tools for ice breaking and of course the cages. It took some time before they finally came across level ground once more. The hunters carrying the cages nearly collapsed the moment they were ordered to halt.
And there it was. Right in front of them, the entrance to a cave. Quite possibly where the creatures were sleeping right now. Though something was up.
Farran, along with half the crew could see a faint glow from within the cave. Were the dragons awake? If so this was going to be a tough fight.
He then noticed Ryker kneeling down, looking at something else. After moving round to get a better angle, he saw that there were footprints embedded in the snow. Not dragon either. These were human.
Someone else was here.
"Dragon riders"... He heard Ryker mutter to himself.
The mention of the riders switched Farran from bored and freezing to battle ready right away. After last time he was aware of how effective the riders were on their flying demons and was tempted to rush in and attack right there. And with dragon root arrows, he too would be effective, he would prove that much.
Ryker stood back up and pointed to several hunters.
"You, you and you with me. We're off to sort out some uninvited guests"!
The three hunters that Ryker had picked followed Ryker to the mouth of the cave while the rest of the group waited. Each armed with bows ready to put any dragon in there to sleep before butchering them later on. Heather and her dragon also advanced forwards. The only issue being that the tail of the dragon was covered in spikes, which also started dragging along the ice creating a loud scraping sound.
In seconds of this, the Hunters with Ryker opened fire. Whatever was in the cave must have heard it and spotted them.
In moments, large explosions and shouting orders could be heard within the cave before the hunters were forced out of the way as a sudden barrage of nadder spines shot from the cave itself.
So now they had a nadder too? Farran grunted in a mix of discomfort and annoyance. Nadders were known for having one of the hottest fires in all of dragon kind. Not to mention those spines were poisonous if they were to so much as nick you. Caution would most certainly be needed for whatever they would try next.
The group moved up and surrounded the cave entrance. Arrows ready to fire. If the riders were to try blasting their way out of here, they may succeed. But not without taking casualties. The cave was far too small for a group of dragons to fly out altogether.
Farran readied himself and aimed his weapon too.
The result seemed to keep them from rushing out, but the hunters couldn't exactly get in either. That much was proven when a trio of hunters were sent in, only to come crawling out unable to take out the riders. Like them, they were also ready to fire on anything that tried rushing them. Both sides were at a stalemate.
This was enough to frustrate Ryker into taking another approach. A very dangerous one.
He whispered something to one of the nearby archers and then, he just walked in alone.
The hunters looked to each other, confused. Had Ryker lost his senses? As skilled as he was, not even he could take on however many dragons was in that cave. No, this was something else. But what?
"Dragon riders"! His voice suddenly boomed out, breaking the silence. "Send out your leader to talk"!
Now this got the hunters talking. What was Ryker doing? Was he now planning on making a deal with them?
"Hiccup Haddock! Let's talk this out like men"!
It didn't take long for the leader to agree and step forward. Although Farran couldn't see him, his voice was clear as day as it echoed through and out the entrance. The same voice that he heard back during the auction. Realising this, his grip on the weapon tightened.
The two spoke for around a minute before something of interest was noticed. The archer that Ryker had spoken to moments ago was now lining up a shot. Unlike the others, he was right at the mouth of the cave, and heading deeper in, so he had a good chance of hitting a target. Seemingly the leader. One good shot and things would be wrapped up that much sooner.
Or rather it would have done had a certain dragon not done something very stupid.
Though no-one could see what had happened, a sudden yell and a bright flash appeared. Only Ryker, a couple of hunters, Heather and her giant pet had gone into the cave. When the sounds of firing shots from both sides calmed down from the sudden carnage, Ryker finally emerged, pulling out Heather by her arm. He did not look happy. None of the hunters outside of the cave were told what had happened, but whatever did would cost Heather.
Eventually, a decision was made to simply blast the entrance shut using the razorwhip. An irritating idea to most considering that the one thing they had been searching for was now destroyed before their eyes.
These looks did not get past Ryker so easily.
"Get moving! We're taking the long way around"! He snapped at his men. All of them moving at once lest they make Ryker mad. Or rather more so than he normally was.
It took another thirty minutes of wading through snow before they came across another flat surface. Despite the height, it didn't seem all that cold. At least compared to the land they had already explored. Half the group were on their knees, exhausted. Ryker spared no luxury for his men and had made them move as quickly as they possibly could to get where they now were.
This time however, the trip was worth it.
It was unsure how he did it, but Ryker seemed to lead the group to this particular spot for a reason. He ordered his men to dig at the flat surface and prepare the net. Everyone else was ordered to stand by. Hunters chatted to each other as they worked, most likely talking about Ryker behind his back. Harmless talk mostly. Though what Ryker would do if he heard them would most certainly be far from harmless.
When the ice was finally broken, they waited. Minutes passed before finally, they heard something.
A shriek.
It was faint, but it was getting closer. The sound of flapping wings proved that. Something big was making its way above ground.
It got closer and closer, almost about to reach the surface until...
"NOW"! Roared Ryker.
The net was thrown over the hole immediately, just in time as a large white figure shot out into the sky. It managed to reach fifty feet before it fell back down to earth with a crash hard enough to crack the ice. The fall was nowhere near high enough to kill it but even a dragon would have felt some pain from such a heavy impact.
The beast in the net was massive. Farran looked it over for a split second, noticing the icy blue eyes and the short snout that still drew breath. Before he could analyse it any further, more shrieks ruptured from the hole and another two snow wraiths emerged from it.
Farran spun round and fired his arrow right away without aiming, along with half a dozen others. If these creatures were as dangerous as Ryker had told them, it was smarter to stop them as soon as possible.
One dragon root arrow managed to bring the closest beast down and put it to sleep soon after but the other one was still coming, knocking aside anyone that got too close. It roared and snapped its jaws at the nearest hunter, very nearly grabbing them as it did.
Farran loaded another arrow as quickly as he could into the crossbow. Everyone was either taking cover or shoving the other two into cages while the third was distracted so it was now every man for himself now.
Ranged weapons were still the best bet if he was to keep himself from becoming a snack for the blue eyed demon. The dagger attached to the belt would be a final resort.
After lining up his shot, Farran fired. The arrow bounced off of the dragons wing without a scratch. Unfortunately it did get the monsters attention as it whipped its head in his direction.
The feral snarl it gave him was unnerving. Or rather it would have been had it been snarling at another hunter. Without breaking his gaze on the monster that was now turning to face him completely, Farran slowly walked backwards, trying to separate his distance between himself and the dragon while loading a second arrow. He shot the second it was ready.
Again, the arrow harmlessly bounced off of it. Its scales were too tough to penetrate. His best bet would have been to hit its weakest point. The belly. But now the snow wraith was on all fours. To hit it there was now impossible.
Farran, deciding to switch to the final resort, pulled out his knife. He had hoped that another hunter would shoot it from the side, distract it long enough for him to get out of its way.
No such luck.
Farrans mind forced him to hold his ground. No one was coming to help him and running now would not only be cowardly, but would get him killed the moment he tried. Fighting was his only option.
He gripped his knife and gave his own snarl. To go down fighting would at least allow him entry to Valhalla. This thought helped fuel his spirit. But perhaps more importantly...
He refused to give this foul beast the satisfaction of an easy kill.
His heart was beating like crazy. This was one of the closest experiences he had to meeting death.
It felt terrifying.
"RRRRRAAAAAAAARRRRRGHHHHHHH"!
Farran yelled! Yelled as loud as his lungs would let him! But this scream was not one of fear, but rather a warcry of anger and bloodlust! The sudden change in the hunters mood caught even the dragon off guard, but only for a second realising its target to be a minor threat and roared back.
Then, the hunter did what no other hunter would have done. He charged still roaring with fury. He charged right at the beast without a second thought. Forgetting all worry and fear, not even caring about what could happen to him. His grip on the knife was so tight it hurt. But that mattered not. In that moment, all Farran cared about was making this dragon suffer. It was the only thought that lingered inside of his mind.
When he got close enough, the snow wraith snapped down and tried to bite his head off. Farran with a quick enough reflex ducked underneath it in the nick of time and jumped, burying his knife deep into the demons shoulder.
The snow wraith shrieked in pain as Farran grunting and snarling still, savagely pushing the dagger in as far as his strength would let him until the blade was in as far as it could go. It wouldn't be a surprise if it was scraping bone.
The pain did not stop there as the crazed viking then pulled down, ripping its flesh more and freeing the knife, leaving a noticeable wound. But again, the knife entered the same spot again and again, stabbing without lacking in ferocity. The snow wraith thrashed wildly trying to fling him off. Each attempt getting more and more violent with each stab it received. Not once did the hunters roars falter.
His grip on his preys arm about to give, the now insane hunter ripped the dagger from its shoulder one more time and this time started attacking its neck. But only getting a few scratches out of it, Farran growled. He had to do something before he got thrown off. He was not done with this devil yet!
Without thinking, he grabbed the dragon root arrows he still carried. As many as his hand could grab and shoved them into the wound he had caused, again causing the snow wraith to screech.
They went in deep before Farran snapped them, using the dragons scales as a breaking point so that it couldn't pull it out with its jaws before letting go.
Farran fell on his back, barely avoiding getting stepped on as the snow wraith staggered in every direction before finally falling unconscious.
Farran slowly rose and looked at his work, now lying in the snow. Down because of him. Not to mention that he was still alive. That was comforting to acknowledge.
A sense of calmness washed over him. He felt relaxed all of a sudden. No more anger inside of him. Gone as quickly as it had come. The monster was no longer a threat. That was all that mattered.
On his feet now, Farran continued to look at the dragon. No emotion visible on his face. Satisfied, he turned round, snatching up his crossbow as he did and headed back to the majority of the group. Most staring at him after what had just occurred.
Passing one of the group, Farran stopped, looked to him and spoke.
"What are you doing staring? Get that thing loaded up. We're still on a job". He coldly snapped before continuing his path.
The hunter did what he was told.
Farran then sighed dejectedly as he realised something. How was he going to explain what had just happened to his boss?