Author's Note: Chapter four, chapter four, chapter fourrrr! I hope you enjoy it! =D
Chapter Four: A Meeting With an Old Foe
The group of former dragon hunters pushed the Dragon Riders through the forest. They were in chains and the hunters had caged their dragons and hid them somewhere else on the island. Hiccup gritted his teeth as a dragon hunter poked him with his stick again. Hiccup reluctantly continued to move forward, and the young viking began to consider kicking the hunter in the knees with his prosthetic and run, but Astrid already seemed to know what was going on.
The blonde said she knew who commanded the assault on them, but Hiccup didn't recognize anyone from the group that had captured them. Many dragon hunters had managed to flee the battle and hide before being captured. Hiccup turned to Astrid and whispered, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
"Of course," she whispered back. "Trust me, I know who planned all of this. Once we get into cages, he'll probably come to gloat. I'm already planning something."
"Shut up, you two," said a hunter. Hiccup and Astrid glared at him, but complied. If they found out that they were planning to escape, things would become a lot more difficult.
After thirty more minutes of walking, the trees ended and in front of the Riders stood a large cave. It had many tunnels that led to many different rooms, one of them being a room of dungeons. It reminded Hiccup of the set up on Outcast Island, except this setup was more filthy, gritty, and very unpromising. Hiccup saw bones lying in the corner of a cage, which made him shudder.
The Dragon Riders were put in separate cages, and Hiccup whispered a thank you to Thor when he was put in a cage with Astrid. Ruffnut was put in a cage with Snotlout, much to her disgust, and Tuffnut and Fishlegs were put in a cage together, much to Fishlegs' disgust.
The head of the group stepped into the center of the room. His clothes were completely black and on his back was a large axe with a handle made of solid bone. He wore a mask and his voice was deep.
"You all have a lot to pay for," said the leader. Hiccup could tell by his tone that he was snarling. "You've already messed up enough for us, and it's about time we got our revenge."
"What do you plan on doing to us?" asked Hiccup, a hard look on his face. He had been captured and taken prisoner multiple times, so he had a lot of practice on how to approach his kidnappers...and how to get on their nerves.
The man in black chuckled. "You shall find out soon, but I'll give you a hint." He suddenly whipped out his axe and threw it at a barrel. The weapon flew through the air and sliced the barrel in two. The Riders froze.
The man yanked his axe out of the wall and turned to each of the Riders. "You brought us to ruin, now we're going to ruin you." With that said, he walked out of the room, taking the little light that the Riders had with him.
Hiccup turned to Astrid. "I don't suppose you know a way out of here, do you?"
"As a matter of fact, I do," said Astrid. "I have a plan, but we're going to have to draw their leader down here."
"Before we do that," said Hiccup. "Who is their leader?"
Astrid smirked. "Savage."
The other Riders gasped from their cages.
"Savage?! Are you serious?!" blurted Snotlout. Ruffnut clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Hush up or they'll hear you!" she spat.
Astrid nodded. "It was obvious, really. The weapons they use are made of bone and we haven't seen him in a while. I remember Heather telling me that he escaped prison on Berserker Island."
"So, Savage is behind all of this?" asked Hiccup.
Astrid nodded again. "Yep. Look, the Outcast symbol is even on the wall." And sure enough, the familiar viking helmet of the outcasts was etched into the stone wall.
"Wow, I can't believe this," remarked Hiccup. "At least getting out of here will be easy."
"Yeah, Savage is a total idiot," said Tuffnut.
"We're still going to have to be careful," said Astrid. "Who knows what he said to these people to get him to work for him."
"'Hey, you get to kill the Dragon Riders if you work for me!' is what I'm guessing," said Hiccup.
"Well, that, and probably some sort of money," said Astrid. "I have a plan, but for it to work," an impish smile spread across her face. "We need to get some people down here."
…
"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!"
"OH MY GODS, IS SHE DYING?!"
"I DON'T KNOW!"
A few dragon hunters ran into the stone dungeon and saw Hiccup holding Astrid in his arms. The viking girl looked sick and the other Dragon Riders were freaking out.
"Is she going to die?" asked Fishlegs.
"I don't know!" shouted Snotlout.
"Somebody, get a medic!" cried Ruffnut.
"Quiet!" shouted one hunter. He turned to Hiccup. "What in the name of Thor is going on?"
"I-I don't know!" said Hiccup in a rush. "She just fell down and went limp!"
"Who cares," said the second hunter. The boss wants them dead anyway.
"N-no! You can't let her die!" shouted Hiccup. "She has valuable information and she's an expert on tracker class dragons."
"He has a point," said the first hunter after a moment.
"Please, just do something!" said Hiccup impatiently. "You can't let her die!"
"Fine. Open the cage," said the second hunter. The first hunter opened the cage and all of a sudden Astrid sprung up and kicked him! The hunter cried out in both surprise and pain and the second hunter growled.
"You tricked us!" he shouted. Astrid kicked him as well.
"Sorry, not sorry," she said to the now unconscious hunter. Hiccup walked out of the cage and picked up the keys. He unlocked the other Riders and ran out of the dungeon with caution.
"Okay, step one of the plan is done," said Snotlout. "Now what?"
"Now we get back that flower," said Hiccup. "We can't leave without it."
"We should probably split up," said Fishlegs. "Some of us can go and find the dragons while the others look for the Hedendra."
"Okay, Astrid, Snotlout, you're with me. Fishlegs, Ruff, Tuff, go find the dragons," ordered Hiccup. "The three of us will cause a distraction so you can escape."
The trio nodded and made their way toward the exit. Hiccup, Astrid and Snotlout made their way to a tower of crates.
"Let's knock these down. It should cause enough noise to alert the hunters and divert their attention from the entrance," said Hiccup. Astrid and Snotlout nodded.
"On three," said Hiccup. "One...two...three!" The three of them pushed the tower and all of the wooden crates fell down with a bang. Several hunters heard the noise including the ones standing at the entrance. Hiccup, Astrid, and Snoltout managed to hide before they arrived at the scene, and Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut were able to run outside.
"Yes! They made it," smiled Astrid.
Hiccup smiled back. "Now we just need to find that Hedendra and get out of here."
The three Riders ran down a dark stone hallway. The clicking of Hiccup's prosthetic hitting the stone ground and the footsteps of Astrid and Sntolout were the only sounds that filled the silence. The three kept their guard in case they were discovered, but doubted that they would be caught so quickly.
"Guys, I think I found Savage's office," whispered Astrid. She pointed to a door with the Outcast crest on it. "Maybe the flower is in there."
"Let's take a look," said Hiccup. He began to approach the door and Snotlout scoffed loudly.
"Are you crazy?" he said. "He could be in there! And what if it's booby trapped?"
Astrid rolled her eyes. "Snotlout do you really think Savage has enough brains to actually booby trap something? We haven't seen him at all. He probably isn't even here!"
"And besides, we need to hurry," said Hiccup. "The hunters probably already know that we escaped and we need to get out of here with that flower."
Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Fine."
Hiccup walked up to the door and opened it slowly. There were no alarms, booby traps, or any other dangers that Snoltou had listed. The pink flower was sitting on top of the desk and Hiccup picked it up triumphantly.
"See? Simple as that," said Hiccup. "Now let's get out of—"
Suddenly, the door closed! Hiccup and his friends' eyes widened in horror when they heard the lock click into place. Astrid kicked at the door, but it didn't open.
"I told you it was booby trapped!" shouted Snotlout. "You're not right all the time, Hiccup!"
"Thank you for the support," said Hiccup sarcastically. He looked around and didn't see any other way out.
"Annnd we're stuck here," said Hiccup. Astrid grunted in frustration as she kicked the door one last time.
"What are we gonna do?" she asked.
"We wait," said Hiccup. It wasn't long until they heard the lock turn and standing in the doorway was none other than Savage himself.
"Well, hello, 'iccup," he said with a sinister smile. "Fancy seeing you here."
"What do you want, Savage?" said Hiccup. "We just came here for this," he held up the flower. "And nothing else."
Savage laughed. "Well, it may disappoint you that the flower you are holding will not solve your situation."
"Wait...you know about the outbreak on Berk?" asked Astrid incredulously.
"Of course," said Savage. He plucked the flower out of Hiccup's hands. "Why do you think I placed that fake book in your friend's house?"
"The Hedendra is a fake?" said Astrid, anger flashing across her face.
"It sure is," said Savage. "And it was just enough to lure you here for me and my men to capture you. I know the other three have escaped already, but it won't be long until my men find them."
Hiccup narrowed his eyes. "You don't happen to know the cure, do you?"
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," said Savage. He pointed his sword at the three of them. "Now, you all best come with me, or I'll be the last face you see." He laughed. "Hey, that rhymed."
The Riders, however, were not amused. In fact, they were absolutely devastated. They had come all this way for a flower that wasn't even the cure to the illness on Berk. Hiccup turned to Astrid and Astrid looked at him. They hoped the others had found the dragons and had a plan to break them out.
And once they did break out, they'd go to find the real cure.
