40. New threats
Visiting the Wingmaidens was a thing the pair did fairly often. They had a system by now, considering that from their group Storm was the only one that could safely step foot on the island unannounced. The dragons had woken the pair when the island came into view and the pair couldn't contain their gasps of horror as they saw the damage the island sustained.
They could clearly see that the Razorwhip nesting grounds had been almost completely destroyed. With the destroyed forest that meant that a lot of angry Razorwhips were on high alert. The pair landed on a sea stack that they used for these occasions, they had to wait for the guards to come so they could be escorted to the village. It didn't take long for them to be spotted, it seemed like Atali had increased the patrols after the attack.
The first thing they noticed was that the village itself was intact, no stray boulders had hit any of the buildings. A relief, as all of the buildings in the village were more or less vital for the baby Razorwhip's survival.
When they landed in the village, Toothless and Shadow went directly to the stables for a well-deserved nap. Atali was there to greet them, she had a tight smile on her face, it was clear that the stress of the situation had gotten to her.
"Hiccup, Storm," Atali calmly greeted them. "It's good to see you, but it's not the best time."
"We know," Storm agreed, "We just want to know about the damage and any suspicious activity, if you have the time."
"I can spare some time," Atali said and gestured for the pair to follow her to a high point in the village, from where the nesting grounds could be seen. "Most of the damage was dealt here, the Razorwhips are on high alert and only let us and other female Razorwhips near."
"That poses some problems," Hiccup commented, "I hoped Storm could look at the damage closer."
"That's not possible at the moment," Atali regretfully informs them.
The par look over the destroyed part of the island. The damage was controlled to a point, clearly meant to hurt or enrage the dragons that were in the forest. That kind of damage would only distract the Wingmaidens and make them more alert, so launching another attack after this would be unwise.
"Suspicious activity?" Storm questions not taking her eyes of the forest.
"There have been some boats passing where they never have before," Atali sighs. "We assumed they were lost traders, they carried no crest on their sails, no obvious equipment that could be used to trap dragons. Now we believe they were scouts."
"Scouts," Hiccup agreed with an exhale. "But attacking the island like this is stupid, you're not distracted, you're more on alert than before." He said, a confused frown showing on his face.
"Our efforts are now mostly concentrated to calm down and relocate the dragons to other parts of the island." Atali told them and turned to look at the pair. "You are right, another attack would be stupid, as we would be prepared. This 'distraction' wouldn't work for whoever launched the attack."
"Not if they weren't trying to distract you," Storm said, her voice thoughtful.
"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked as both he and Atali looked at her.
"Think about it," she crossed her arms, her gaze firmly set on the destroyed forest, her tone growing with anger with every word. "Two of our direct allies attacked, almost at the same time. It's a distraction for sure," her anger filled gaze started jumping from Hiccup to Atali, "A distraction for us."
"What?" Hiccup asked in a whisper, he then shook his head and spoke in a normal tone. "But why? There had been no suspicious activity except for this, right?" He directed the question at Atali, who shook her head indicating that no other suspicious activity had occurred.
"To make sure our attention is on this part of the archipelago?" Storm proposed with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Our home base is in this part of the archipelago, and no one but us knew that we're on Berk," Hiccup said with a confused tilt of his head.
"This was some kind of plan by Drago. We're in agreement for that?" Hiccup nodded, Storm continued. "If we heard about an attack on an island in the other end of the archipelago and had nothing better to do, we would go check it out, unless we had other things to worry about."
"Like unexplained attacks on our allies," Hiccup closed his eyes in anger. "So their plan is distract us from other attacks that may happen?"
"I think so," Storm nodded, she turned to Atali regret in her eyes. "We're sorry you got dragged into this."
"We really are," Hiccup agreed the same regret mirrored in his eyes, putting others in danger would never be something they overlook.
"There is no need for apologies. You were not the ones who led this attack," Atali explained, "We, as allies, sign up for your help and for your enemies. If we were not allies, I believe we would have still been attacked, for the closeness of our islands if nothing else."
"Is there really nothing we could do to help?" Hiccup questioned.
"Unless you train some female Razorwhips, I'm afraid there isn't." Atali gave them a sad smile.
"That would take too long," Hiccup's eyes lit up. "Heather could help you!" He exclaimed with a clap of his hands, Storm quickly nodding next to him in full support of the idea.
"The help would be appreciated, but aren't the Berserkers in danger of an attack as well?" Atali asked, worry clouding her voice.
"Too close to Berk, but we'll tell Dagur just in case," Hiccup explained. "So, Heather could help you?"
"Yes, she could," Atali's face relaxed into an easy smile for the first time since they showed up.
"Great!" Storm's face was overtaken by a jokingly annoyed frown. "We have to go back to Defenders of the Wing now."
"You don't have to, we can wait for the help," Atali told her.
"No, we're going to go today," Storm countered with an easy smile, showing that she wasn't actually annoyed. "It's really not hard for us, it's the least we can do."
"We'll go right now, Heather should be here in a day or two," Hiccup promised with a smile, as he turned to go to the stables. Atali stopped him with a hand on his arm, rooting him in place.
"How can you be so sure she'll come?" she asked.
"Atali, you know us. You know Heather, she would never pass up the opportunity to help," He said and removed her hand from his arm.
With another smile the pair left Atali to her own devices and almost ran to the stables. The sooner they left the sooner they would reach the Defenders of the Wing Island. Both Toothless and Shadow were a little bit annoyed at being woken up so fast, but the dragons knew that the Wingmaiden Island was not the best for naps when the Razorwhips were angry.
They got in to the air faster than they landed, the dragons having a bit more energy after the short nap. They once again set course for Defenders of the Wing. Dagur should still be there and getting him to go home and send Heather to the Wingmaidens was a priority. The only reason Dagur needed to go back to Berserker Island so the island wouldn't be without a Chief if an attack was planned.
The island came to view after a few short hours. The sky had already turned dark, and the lights of the village below welcomed the pair. The tribe was still mostly outside, the warm weather making it possible to stay out long past the sunset, a few older children were still running around having fun.
No one really noticed the pair land, the darkness concealing them without them trying. The dragons were a bit cranky so the pair let them go to sleep near the guest huts where they had landed. Leaving their helmets behind, the pair made their way to what they knew was Mala's home, neither doubted that Dagur was with her.
"Hello again," Storm exclaimed as she pushed the door of the home open, Hiccup silently following behind her.
"You're back already?" Mala asked from her place at her table, a cup of tea on the table in front of her, Dagur was sitting next to her the same cup in front of him.
"We sure are," Hiccup smiled and pointed at Dagur. "You."
"Me?" Dagur asked a confused look on his face as he pointed at himself.
"Yes, you," Hiccup confirmed. "You need to go back to Berserk and get Heather to come here. The Razorwhips on Wingmaiden Island are angry, and the Wingmaidens need help with them." He quickly explained.
Dagur nodded after a few moments, still a bit confused on why they couldn't just send a Terror, but he would was faster so that made sense. Mala silently poured two more cups of tea and motioned for the pair to join them.
"What did you learn?" Mala asked after they sat down.
"These attacks were meant to distract," Storm took a sip from the cup in front of her and clarified gesturing to Hiccup and herself, "To distract us."
"Bludvist?" Mala quietly asked, like she was afraid to speak the name in a louder tone.
"Yeah, and that's why you need to go back," Hiccup once again pointed to Dagur, "An attack on Berserk is unlikely, but still possible."
"Why unlikely?" Dagur questioned, lifting his cup to his lips.
"Too close to Berk." Hiccup simply stated.
"What does all of this have to do with Berk," Dagur asked, his voice full of frustration.
Hiccup sighed in exasperation, already tired of having to explain himself, even though the conversation hasn't even started yet. He explained everything to Dagur and Mala, they were hanging on to his every word.
Hiccup explained everything to the last detail. He told them why he went to Berk and why he stayed, Storm volunteered some information once in a while but mostly stayed silent. When he finished the cups were empty and the noise from outside had stopped, a sign that everyone was already back in their homes.
Dagur had agreed to set off in the morning and Mala insisted that the pair stay in one of the guest homes, so they could get a good night's rest and not have to fly to their hideout. They agreed, a good night's rest sounded great to both, and they still had plenty of time to visit their hideout before they had to leave once again.
