AN: Sorry. THIS is the last T rated chapter. Next chapter will be M rated.
"Ow. Owwww! You know, poking me is just going to make me want to walk slower." I complained as I was led by a host of women down off of the plateau.
"Did you expect kind words of encouragement after you tried to feed me to your dragon!?" the spear thrower quipped before poking me with the butt end of a spear, again. I was originally confused when I saw her without her mask. Girls weren't supposed to have short hair, least of all blonds. However, there was no doubt when I saw her pale smooth skin and, upon second glance, her ... other ... feminine features were noticeable despite the masking effect of her clothing.
"Are you ... daydreaming? Keep moving!" the spear thrower shouted before giving me another poke. I noticed that she was still trying to wipe off Fanghook's saliva while pushing me forward.
"You know ... you could just ask me ... ow." I started before I was poked again.
"No talking! Just walk." she commanded, gesturing to where she wanted me to walk.
"I'm just trying to ... ow ... If you just ... ouch ... FINE! Have fun with that saliva!" I stated cryptically. A few seconds passed in silence but I didn't even need to turn around to know that my comment got to her.
"What about it?" she asked. I said nothing and made the 'my lips are sealed' gesture. She growled in frustration.
"I just know what happens if you don't get it off and trust me, you are in for a bad time." I smugly stated.
"Is it poisonous?!" she asked, with more than a hint of panic in her voice.
"You know, I would love to tell you all about it but some crazy girl with a spear pokes me every time I talk for too long." I stated smugly.
"HOLD!" she commanded to the host of women behind her. "If I die, then everyone in my village is going to blame you. You won't last five seconds after I die." she threatened.
"Yeah but the thing is, I don't know if I am going to last five seconds if we get to where you are taking me. There is no real incentive for me to tell you now, either." I negotiated.
"I'm not letting you go free so think of something else." she adamantly stated. Damn it.
"If you can reassure me that I'm not just a walking soup ingredient to your tribe, then I will tell you." I bargained. I didn't expect her answer to be a poke hard enough to knock me on my back.
"That is disgusting! Did you just assume that we're cannibals?!" she screamed. The group of women behind her also make sounds of disgust.
"Ok ... ok." I admitted, holding my hands in surrender "I believe you!". I got back onto my feet and rubbed my stomach where she had poked me. That was definitely going to leave a bruise.
"And?" she asked, expectantly.
"What? I'm not apologizing for asking that. It was a reasonable assumption." I defended.
She sighed. "What do I do about the dragon spit?!" she asked.
"Oh, just wash it off" I stated and I felt I was about to receive another poke before I quickly added "thoroughly because that stuff burns hotter than ... well ... thats not really important. Also, try to stay away from open flames.".
She glanced back to the woman directly behind her. The woman shrugged and then the group, and myself, were ordered to move forward.
"See, sometimes words work better than a poking stick right? Right? Ow." I asked before I was jabbed again.
"No talking." She, once again, commanded.
"What? Ow. Come on! Ouch. Stop that!" I complained as the host of women moved onwards.
We descended farther and farther down until we entered the mist of the swamp. There were boarded walkways that provided, at least, some distance from the rancid bog. As we walked further into the swamp I started seeing ships and huts along the pathway that we took.
Who would choose this as a place to live? These people had to be insane. Even more insane was the fact that I had not seen a single man in the party that captured me or in the village that we were walking into.
I dared to speak again to ask a question "So what is with all the women? Are there any men here at all?".
There was a slight pause and I expected a poke before she curtly answered "No.".
"How?" I simply asked.
"We started a village with just one rule. No pigheaded, moronic, or reckless people allowed. Funny how that worked out, huh?" she quipped. I scowled at her but I was relieved that her answer did not come in the form of a wooden stick to my back.
"Or ... the reasonable people said there was no way they were going to live in a swamp." I quipped back. That got me a poke.
We started to approach a massive tree that seemed to be hollow. We turned down a path that led into the tree. Inside there were several women all focussed on the far side of the room. On said side of the room there was a large woman with large ... well ... armored with a large chest plate ... sitting in a chair ... or throne carved out of the tree itself. To this woman's right there was another woman that sort of looked like Gothi. She had a similar staff and an eccentric wardrobe but she was much taller and looked, I daresay, more crazy.
"Mother. We need to speak." I heard the spear thrower say as I was forced onto my knees. Mother? Interesting.
"I see. Everyone else out. I will deal with gripes and grievances tomorrow." The large woman commanded. Everyone except for the two women holding me down, the spear thrower, and the crazy looking woman, left.
"Now, what is his name?" the large woman asked.
The spear thrower seemed to be at a loss for words before she stated "Names have never been important before so ...".
The older woman sighed "This clearly isn't the normal case of a stray pirate or castaway finding his way onto the island. I expected better of you Camicazi.". The large woman turned to me now and asked "What is your name?".
I swallowed before answering "Gustav Larson".
"Where did you come from Gustav?" she asked. Suddenly the situation became a little more real. I couldn't tell them about Berk or about dragon training.
"Somewhere far from here." I answered. Luckily I wasn't pressed for a more conclusive answer as Camicazi, the lady of the stick, spoke up.
"Mom. There is the more pressing issue of how he got here. He ... flew ... over the farm riding the largest dragon I have ever seen." Camicazi stated. I smirked at that description. I always knew I looked awesome on the back of a dragon but having these people describe me was like icing on a cake.
"Preposterous. The limited minds of men could not tame a dragon." the crazy looking woman acclaimed, affirming her lunacy. The large woman looked at the two women holding me down for conformation. They nodded their heads and the large woman's gaze sharpened.
"Take him away and prepare him for a proper interrogation." the woman boomed and I was dragged away.
Camicazi POV
"Tell me. Who attacked first. You or this ... Dragon rider." Bertha asked.
"Well ... I had my spear with me so ..." I stumbled with my words. Mom started glaring at me.
"I threw my spear at him ok? But, he was stealing apples." I defended.
"What is our most valued strength Camicazi." Bertha asked, holding the bridge of her nose.
"The ability to remain unnoticed and unseen." I recited while rolling my eyes.
"Good. Try to remember that next time." Bertha scolded. "Now, if you will excuse me, I need to appoint someone to interrogate that boy.".
"I could do it!" I stated, jumping at the opportunity to make up for disappointing her.
"Are you sure your ready to do what needs to be done?" Bertha asked.
"Yep." I stated, unsure if I was but I still wanted to make it up to her.
"Very well. Whenever you are ready to start." Bertha stated.
"Actually, I kind of need to bathe ... as soon as possible. I was kind of ... inside of a dragons mouth ... and it's saliva is very flammable." I stated. Bertha just sighed and waved me out the door.
"Well to my credit I already learned that from him so ... I'm already ahead on the whole interrogation thing." I self-congratulated, only to have the door shut in my face. I really need to ace this interrogation. It's a good thing that boy is talkative.