Chapter 5 is finally written! WOOT-WOOT!
This one took a bit of time and research so it was all accurate. So, here it is.
Hiccup squinted through the spyglass. There it was. Viggo's base. After almost three days of flight, they had reached the hunter stronghold, and it looked almost completely unchanged. The light of torches flickered in the dark. Guards were stationed at the entrances and barriers of the island, ready to cut down any intruder on sight. Men were at the docks, unloading the ships of various dragons. Ryker was there, inspecting things and making sure everything was going smoothly.
"Wonder where Viggo is," Hiccup mumbled thoughtfully to himself. He then turned his eye to the far cliff of the island which was occupied by a dense forest. Handing the spyglass back to Astrid, he asked, "Alright, you ready for this?"
Astrid tucked the spyglass safely away. "I'm ready if he is," she replied, looking at Toothless who nodded.
Hiccup reached down and petted the Night Fury's head reassuringly. "Okay, buddy, it's go time."
Without hesitation, Toothless went into a nosedive down towards the cliff. Hiccup held tight around Toothless' neck, involuntarily holding his breath as they swept down. Getting into the camp, he knew they could do. That would be the easy part. Getting out with no casualties, that was the part that could prove to be tricky.
Toothless landed silently, and Hiccup and Astrid slid off his back. Hiccup was about to enter the forest when behind him came a low warble. Hiccup glanced over his shoulder and saw Toothless staring at him with round, concerned eyes. Hiccup swallowed slowly. He knew exactly how Toothless was feeling. He was scared, too. No, he was terrified. He was terrified that he was leading Toothless and Astrid to their deaths? What if he lost Toothless all for the sake of that stupid Dragon Eye? But Hiccup shoved these thoughts aside, fearing that one negative thought might get them all killed.
Hiccup crouched down on his knees to meet Toothless' gaze. "Don't you worry, bud, it'll be alright. I won't let anything happen to you." He reached forward, his fingers stroking the Night Fury's scaly head in a reassuring gesture. "I promise."
After a moment's pause, Toothless crooned softly in response. He closed his eyes and leaned into Hiccup's hand. With a shaky sigh, Hiccup reached forward and embraced Toothless tightly around the neck. He did not want to let go. He felt a vague temptation to climb onto Toothless' back and fly off, disappear far from here. Yet he knew that running was not the answer. There were other lives on the line, and even if they ran, they would be found eventually. They had to end this, here and now.
With a sharp exhale, Hiccup pulled back and rose to his feet. "Okay," he whispered to himself. "Here we go."
The three entered the forest, going as quickly and quietly as possible. They crept down the darkened path, all but blind from the lack of light. They brushed past the leafy arms in their way and avoided the brambles creeping along the ground, slowly but surely making their way through the shadow-enshrouded surroundings.
The forest seemed to get less dense the further they tramped through it. They must have been nearing the end of it. Hiccup leapt over a mossy log, pushed through the brush, and then, a few yards ahead, he saw it. The tunnel. Their way in!
"Get down!" Astrid hissed suddenly, and she yanked Hiccup to the ground behind the brush.
"Astrid, wha-" Hiccup began, but she clapped a hand over his mouth, her blue eyes flashing out a silent warning.
Slowly, Astrid withdrew her hand from his mouth. "Guards," she whispered.
Timidly, Hiccup peeked just over the tall blades of thick grass so that only his eyes and the top of his head showed, Toothless following suit. Sure enough, there were four enormous guards stationed at the mouth of the tunnel, bearing torches and longswords.
"Thor, they're cave trolls," Hiccup breathed, and Toothless growled in indignation. "Yeah, I know, bud, this is not gonna be easy."
Toothless rolled his eyes in a "no kidding" way.
"But not impossible," Hiccup added. "We've got the element of surprise."
Astrid nodded in agreement. "We'll flank 'em. You two go left. And try not to make any noises," she added pointedly before proceeding to the right.
Hiccup picked up a thick, fallen branch then crept through the brush and behind the treeline, edging closer to the guards. He stopped, then peeked from around the trunk, his makeshift club gripped tightly in his fists. The guards were hardly keeping watch. They seemed more engrossed in an idle, mind-flexing debate how one makes a wooly igloo. Hiccup exhaled quietly, and he looked sideways at Toothless. He made a move to step out, but a twig snapped loudly under his foot.
The hunters immediately were stricken with attentive silence, their heads snapping in the direction of the sound. With a sharp gasp, Hiccup swiftly concealed himself behind the tree. He clenched his mouth shut, hardly daring to breathe lest they hear him.
"Who's there?" demanded one of the men.
There were footsteps, slow, soft, and tentative, but approaching closer and closer. Hiccup's heart skipped a beat as he heard the tell-tale shing of many swords unsheathing. They were very close now. Swallowing hard, Hiccup swung his stick hard, which bashed into a hunter's ribcage, causing him to stumble back in pain. Hiccup jerked forward, ready to swing again, but before he got the chance, he was seized and relieved of his weapon. His arms were twisted behind his back by the other hunter. He struggled, but his opponent had the upper hand.
The hunter to whom he had dealt a painful blow made a move to rush at him with his sword, but in a split second, he was tackled to the ground by Toothless and knocked out. He snarled ferociously, his teeth bared.
"A Night Fury!" cried the man holding Hiccup. "Get the-"
Taking advantage of his opponent's terror, Hiccup stomped on the hunter's foot and, pulling his arm free, he clocked him in the chin with a knock-out punch.
"Thanks, bud," Hiccup sighed, petting Toothless affectionately before picking up a sword from one of the unconscious hunters and darting out of the treeline towards the other pair of guards charging towards him.
Hiccup's sword clashed with a hunter's, but the other one was about to bring his blade down on his head. But then, the guard cried out in pain when he was slashed in the back. Astrid gave her opponent a kick and he fell to the ground. Hiccup kicked the guard in the ankle and hit him across the face with the scabbard of his sword, effectively knocking him out.
Astrid sighed, a hand pressed on her hip while she hefted her axe up over her shoulder with the other. "That could have gone better, but at least they're dealt with."
Hiccup picked up one of the abandoned torches, still burning on the dirt. "Okay. No time to lose. Let's hurry."
He hopped onto Toothless' back with Astrid, and the three of them darted into the dark tunnel.
If they continued down this tunnel, they should reach where the captured dragons were kept. From there, with a little luck, they would reach Viggo's tent, find the Dragon Eye, and get out of this Thor-forsaken place. Toothless flew at a reasonably quick pace but slightly slower than normal to be stealthy. Plus, he was not able to completely see in the dark and using echolocation was not an option.
Hiccup watched as the light from the torch casted onto the tunnel walls, the shadows from the stalactites and stalagmites performing an eerie, eldritch dance in the orange light. It almost seemed as if the shadows were warning them, pleading with them to turn back before it was too late to save themselves.
Up ahead, the end was slowly but surely looming into sight. Quietly, Toothless landed, and Hiccup slid off, dropped the torch, and kicked dirt over it to extinguish the flame.
He peeked around the stone wall, and Astrid and Toothless followed suit. Just beyond, columns of cages were calculatedly lined up a few inches from the surrounding trees and bushes, and guards stood just beyond the caged dragons. One of the men carried a small cage of Terrible Terrors and set it down on the end of one of the columns then threw a tarp over it before walking off.
"We can't get through there," Hiccup whispered with the shake of his head. "There's too many of them. Astrid, do you have any-"
Hiccup turned to find Astrid staring down at the blade of her double-headed axe, turning it left and right to watch the small speck of moonlight running up and down it.
Astrid lifted her head, her eyes fixed ahead. "No. But you and Toothless will get through."
Hiccup followed her gaze. She was staring at the cage of Terrible Terrors. He looked back to her, but before he could say anything, Astrid pulled a dagger from her belt and placed it firmly in his hand.
"In case you run into trouble," she said quietly. "When I release the Terrors, run to those bushes. Keep going, and you'll reach Viggo's tent."
"Wait, but what about-"
"I'll be fine. You worry about getting that Dragon Eye. I'll be back in the forest."
As Astrid made a move to stand, Hiccup grabbed her wrist. "Astrid, wait."
Astrid locked eyes with him. "What?"
"Just… be careful."
Astrid nodded. She crept out of the tunnel then over to the cages. Hiccup watched her unblinkingly as she pulled off the tarp and opened the creaking cage door. Immediately, eight Terrors scurried out. Astrid raised her axe up and the moonlight bounced off it onto one of the guards who had heard the cage squeak. He screamed as he was suddenly swarmed by the little scuttly dragons gnawing at him. He dropped his lantern which released three Fireworms which trailed over to the cages and melted the bars of a cage holding a Monstrous Nightmare, breaking him free.
Without hesitation, Hiccup and Toothless made for the bushes while chaos ensued for the Dragon Hunters. Explosions and snarls and cries for help sounded behind them as they ran, but Hiccup did not look back for one second although he was extremely tempted to. He had to keep going. He just hoped that Astrid would make it out okay.
He pushed past the bushes, his feet struck against the dirt in rhythm with the beating of his heart. All sounds were dampened by the pounding blood in his ears. Abruptly, he skidded on his heels to a stop. Up ahead standing ominous in the dim glow of torchlight was Viggo's dragonskin tent, completely unguarded.
Hiccup took a shaky breath. "Okay, it's go time," he whispered to himself. "It's go time."
He and Toothless rushed to the tent, stopping at the entrance. Hiccup's eyes locked with Toothless who gave a nod of understanding. Hiccup quickly tore back the curtain, and he and Toothless looked in. It was deserted. No sign of Viggo. Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief, and stepped in.
Toothless growled lowly, looking around.
"I know, bud. I don't like it either," Hiccup said softly, his hand resting on the knife in his belt. He walked over to Viggo's desk. "Could ya keep a lookout?"
He began to search the desk for hidden compartments, any place that could be big enough to hide the Eye. But suddenly, he stopped. Viggo was not going to keep it in such an obvious place. He was crafty, all about the games. He would hide it someplace that was hidden yet accessible any time he needed.
He almost jumped when he heard a tapping against wood behind him, but he turned to see Toothless sniffing a wooden box set on a table.
His head cocked curiously, Hiccup approached. "Ya find something?"
Toothless shrugged his shoulders. Hiccup lifted the lid of the box to find a game board and pawns, all of them turned over except the Marauder Chief, the only one standing in the graveyard of stone men.
Maces and Talons. A game he was all too familiar with, especially of late. He ran his fingers over the edges of the board absentmindedly when he stopped. On the left side of the wooden box were two round notches, about two inches from each other. Hiccup crouched down to examine them. Curious. What were these doing here? Were they simply there from miscare? They seemed too round and too strategically placed to be the result of someone dropping or denting the board.
Hiccup exhaled frustratedly as he stood up, figuring he was wasting time, and he was just about to walk away when his eyes fell on the Marauder chief game piece which leered at him threateningly. Hiccup picked it up, staring at it thoughtfully. His index finger went to the top of it, meeting the curved horns of the carved Viking helmet. He looked down at the two divots in the board then back at the game piece.
Hiccup crouched down quickly. "What if-" he breathed.
He inserted the horns of the game piece into the two notches. It fit perfectly. Then, he heard a sharp click. He knew it!
With elation, Hiccup stood up to find the board had popped up and was loose. After a few tries, he lifted it up to find a hidden compartment under it.
But there was no Dragon Eye, only some folded-up piece of parchment. Hiccup snatched it up and unfurled it. It was a map, well used and marked-up in red Xs and circles which had been crossed over. Viggo must have been searching for the five lenses. Then, Hiccup's gaze traveled downward to see a thick crimson circle around an island with the words "last one" written above it.
"Wingmaiden Island," Hiccup breathed. He looked at Toothless worriedly. "That's where he's going next."
Then, behind him he heard the tent rustle.
"Aren't you curious?" came a cold voice which sent a chill of fear down Hiccup's spine.
He turned around fast, and his fear was confirmed. Standing before him was the man he never thought he would see alive again.
Viggo Grimborn.