Anyone reading this during the quarantine: hope this makes you feel better. Anyone outside of it: I'm surprised people are still interested in my work.
Now, I will read the (phone buzzes) one moment. Hello...really...not surprising...bye.
For anyone who has a vitamin C deficiency, I do apologise, but there are NO LEMONS!
On with the story...
(Note: I am introducing language barriers in this chapter because I feel it will be an easy method of having long conversations with Malek's people without having to write tonnes of nonsense.)
(Also: The language Malek speaks is stuff I make up on the dot, so there is no way of finding it yourselves, if that was going to annoy you.)
The Fires of Revolution Chapter 4: The Source of the Smoke
The riders had been travelling all day and night, but a dead silence had formed. No one was willing to talk as the only subject of interest was Malek Pyro, or as they now knew, Malek Bloodfist. Some of the riders were asleep, but Hiccup and Valka couldn't after this startling news, their minds were too racked with thought. Valka's were all of confusion, whereas Hiccup's were of hate. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted him, I should have blasted him off the island when I had the chance" He practically shouted in thought "Who knows what kind of trap he's leading us to?" "How could he be that monsters son? It makes no sense. He just couldn't." Valka tried to rack through her brain "My son will not be easily sweyed, but we need to wait till he can explain." Undenounced to them, Malek was suffering because of what Griselda had cried to them. His heart had sank as the words reached his ears, and he felt as if he was being stared down. "How could I have been so stupid? How could she have known? What will happen when we land? What could they try to do? Gods, this could be the worst mistake ever" Malek thought.
As the sun rose, the other riders began to stur in their saddles, getting used to the unusual way they had spent the night. "It's been so long, are we gonna land soon or what?" Snotlout groaned. "We still need to catch some fish, so that's my main concern" Malek replied. He suddenly saw an area of water bubbling with activity "And there is our target" his voice became excited. As they hovered over the bait ball, all the riders could do was wonder how this was going to work. Malek looked at Seldura and commanded "Salga beldusk." (Have at them.) The cerulium Cross-Wing suddenly bellowed skyward and dived into the depths just left of the bait ball. "She missed? What are you even doing?" Snotlout sarcastically questioned. "Just another minute..." Malek returned, raising his hand. The water around the bait ball began to move, making a foaming ring around it. The fish had been trapped out of nowhere. Beneath the water, Seldura had gone below the bait ball and was turning, using her wings like a fans blades, moving the water in an upwards pushing vortex, caging the fish in.
"I never doughted you, girl" Malek cheered as Anusazi roared in approval and hovered towards the snared fish, he then looked at the other riders "What are you waiting for?" he shouted happily. Seeing the swarm of fish, Toothless, who was starving, dived right towards the shoal, scooping up as many as possible in his jaws. "Bud! Calm down! We need to collect aswell as eat, remember?" Valka laughed hartily at the Night Fury's reaction, regaining some of her positivity "Someone get him under control before he eats everything" she joked, gasping for air after from laughing. Malek opened the baskets on the sides of his saddle and flicked out his blades, using them to stab the fish and place them in the baskets, trying his best to avoid damaging them too much. Snotlout, vane in his approach, simply told Hookfang to get near the shoal. The Nightmare, on the other hand, whooshed passed the fish, catching a large mouthful and swallowing them all. Meatlug simply hovered down to them while Fishlegs turned in the saddle and put fish in baskets one by one. Astrid was using the same technique but was having trouble as Stormfly is less stable.
After the riders gathered all they could, they allowed their dragons to eat their fill, until an eel entered the bait ball, scaring all the dragons except for the Scorchwing's. "Slimy little salthec's, aren't they?" Malek then violently stabbed the eel and pulled it out of the shoal, offering it to Solaris, who happily swallowed it like a noodle. All but Valka were shocked. He looked over to the riders, noticing their surprised faces "What, did I really not tell you about the fact they like eel's?" he questioned "I do apologize for not mentioning that fact." "Your dragon is quite something, isn't it?" Valka commented "Trust me, Berkians, you haven't seen anything yet" Malek returned, tapping Anusazi, who quickly ate 10 or so fish and flew upwards. "What do you mean by that?" Hiccup questioned, agitated, but Malek didn't hear as he was simulating a girgling sound, looking directly into the shoal, apparently calling Seldura below. The cerulium Cross-wing burst out of the water, straight through the fish, catching several as she went. Her and Anusazi reunited, stroking crests and making deep rumbling sounds.
"Get a room! Thor!" Snotlout mocked, earning a deathstare from all six of Anusazi's eyes, freezing both him and Hookfang in terror. The behemoth snorted, almost laughing, as he looked away. "Let's get a move on, we're only afew hours away." Malek broke the silence, leaning over to look Anusazi in the eye "Singa mosk, Anusazi" (Let's go home, Anusazi) he told his dragon, smiling. The creature roared so loudly that the air practically buzzed as the sound travelled for miles around. Anusazi then spread his wings and moved full throttle forward, shocking the others. "Hold on there, you're not leaving so soon" Hiccup shouted, growing more annoyed as the foreign rider continued to ignore him. "C'mon, we can't lose him" Toothless then shot after Anusazi. The riders tried to catch up to the behemoths, but before they could, the enourmous dragons entered a thick fog bank, moving out of visibility, leaving the riders with no other option.
"Into the cloud!" Hiccup shouted as the Night Fury surged in, the other dragons speeding after to avoid losing sight of their chief aswell. Eyes were useless where they were now.
The riders could barely see each other within the cloud, so they stopped and hovered around one another. "What are we supposed to do? Malek is already too far ahead." Astrid questioned. "Toothless, find him" Hiccup demanded as the Night Fury let out an echo blast. Toothless shook his head, they were gone. Suddenly a hissing sound began as a trio of white lights came into view. "What Are Those?" Snotlout questioned. "Bright lights" Tuffnut stated, dazed. "Could they be Malek?" Valka enquired. As they got closer, Hiccup realized what they were "EVASIVE ACTION!" As the riders heard his order, the lights came fully into view, revealing that they were a set of high speed magnesium balls. The riders suddenly ducked for cover, heading straight down. "He Tricked Us! I knew we shouldn't have trusted him." Hiccup stated, stern in his convictions. "NO! There must be a misunderstanding, he just wouldn't" Valka repied in disbelief. "What are we supposed to do then?" Fishlegs questioned, increasingly frightened. "We need to stop whatever is shooting at us." Suddenly a hissing could be heard again, but from behind.
Out of nowhere, a silver Cross-wing came into view, surging towards the riders, bellowing as it went. It forced the riders to go forward, eventually losing it in the fog, fortunately. "What was that thing?" Snotlout questioned, gasping even though Hookfang did the work "Another one of Malek's pet's, I'd imagine" Hiccup replied, his voice full of venom.
Hissing could be heard from all sides as three Cross-wings appeared from behind, forcing the riders forward again until eventually they exited the cloud only to be faced with a cliff face. As they slowly rose higher in the air, the Cross-wings copied their every move. Another three Cross-wings were sat on the edge of the cliff, acting as turrets, probably the ones who fired at them. As the six creatures hissed violently, Hiccup had a sudden idea. "Let's see their reaction to the Alpha's call, shall we?" he stated as Toothless let out at an almighty roar, shaking the heavens. "They won't listen to him, they spent so long without the Alpha, that they have fazed out of his control" a familiar voice stated very matter-of-factly. Hiccup suddenly felt a wave of anger.
Malek had approached slowly on Anusazi's forehead while the behemoth had flown over to them, maintaining a surprising balance. "Now what? You here to finish us off personally?" he demanded. Malek was surprised "What in Thor's name are you talking about?" Malek replied. "These dragons, they're under your control. You ordered them to trap us, didn't you?" Hiccup spat. "Gods, no." he replied, almost laughing, until he considered the situation. "I apologize for their attitudes, the Blade-wings only job is to defend from outsiders, so naturally they wouldn't like you." "Segarsce mol durinda" (back to your posts) he commanded to which the silver dragons hissed in displeasure befor leaving, allowing the riders to take a breather away from all the action. "Why in Thor's name did you think I would try to capture you?" Malek questioned, taking this whole thing as some big joke. "Guessed that cruelty could run in the family" Hiccup replied. Hearing this, Malek sharply glared at Hiccup, his eyes full of malice. "My father was a good man. The monster who forced you to take position as Chieftain was Not my father, not truely."
"So where exactly are we?" Tuffnut asked "Isn't it obvious, dufuss, we just ascended to Valhalla, we died in that cloud" Ruffnut replied. "I'll take that as a compliment" Malek intervened. "But we are not in Valhalla, my friends, welcome to the Isles of Titans" Malek replied as he moved in for a landing. The other riders followed, surprised by the area to which they would land. A small village sat in the middle of the small island, several people were moving around normally until they saw the riders. The children immediately swamped them, asking unknown questions.
"Hask, besindel solga mirona, toldes" (Kids, leave them alone, okay) he said, causing them to moan in disapointment "Tomra esk malves, mor sindu lesp ter" (They are guests, so can you help them.) The children began to go for the dragons, pulling the baskets off of them and taking them into the village. "Children, sweet and helpful, but soooo annoying sometimes" Malek joked afterwards. "I have to agree with you there" Valka returned the joke, earning a face full of agitation from Hiccup "but they have their moments." Eventually the riders got used to the area, then they began.
"So where are all the Cross-wings?" Astrid enquired "How many species do you currently have documented?" Fishlegs followed "Where is the nearest Bore Pit?" Tuffnut ended. Thor above. "The Cross-wings are spread across the islands, we don't keep a record so i don't have an exact number, and, there isn't one." Malek answered, gasping after due to long term speech. "Every island has a different village with a different type of dragon, I can give you the tour if you like?" he offered, to which it only took afew minutes before a simple "yes" was decided. "Then get on your dragons, flying is the only way to travel around here." Malek stated as he mounted Anusazi and took to the air, the riders quickly followed, getting a birds-eye-view of it all. "The area you were just in belongs to the fishing people, who provide fish for all the people of the isles" he narrated "them and the Aquial Scorch-wings, of course, they couldn't do it alone." "Aquial Scorch-wings?" Hiccup asked "Oh, right. The sub species that Seldura is in" Malek replied "all dragons here are the same species, they are just a different subspecies'" he followed.
As they flew on, Malek cotinued to narrate "To your left, you can see the village where we make and supply toxins and medicines for the area." "Can we take a look?" Valka requested, curious. "Fine, but I warn you..." he commented as they landed "don't follow the lights, or you may not be found again." The area was a complete jungle, with afew paths cut out off the shrubs. "Follow the trail, there are some seriously nasty things in here" Malek commented, leaving a small ounce of worry in each of the riders. They followed behind the foreign rider, tracing his steps. After about 10 minutes, the riders were deep in the jungle environment, their dragons nowhere to be seen, and they had only just realised this fact. "Um Malek, what happened to our dragons?" "They flew ahead most likely, this path is too small for most dragons" he replied "Anusazi probably led them to the village, so we will see them in about another 10 or so minutes, as long as..." Out of nowhere, a large, almost vine like tendril reached from the undergrowth and grabbed Fishlegs and lifting him by his small legs before bolting back into the treeline, taking him with it.
"FISHLEGS!" Hiccup shouted as his fellow rider disappeared behind the shrubery. "Dang it, why does he always get like this? He just doesn't like people, I guess" Malek commented. "What in Thor's name are you talking about?" Astrid questioned, worried about her friend. "That tendril most likely belonged to Vikros, meaning we should get after him, very quickly." Malek quickly unsheathed his blades and ran into the undergrowth after the tendril, followed closely by the other riders until they entered a clearing, lit by a single beam of light. "On your guard, they attack when you relax, so stay tense" Malek stated as the riders made a circle in the middle of the clearing, looking into the black plantlife beyond them. A hissing could be heard from the trees, giving all of the riders chills. Malek closed his eyes and listened to the sound, trying to locate the dragon "Where are you, Vikros?" A tendril shot out of the treeline, moving straight towards Malek, who remained motionless. Suddenly, he rolled under the whip like limb and jammed his blade into the tendril, latching on.
A horrifying shriek could be heard as his blade sank into the vine, convulsing as it was flicked off the blade and slammed into Malek's stomach, making him keel over, coughing. "Oh, Now It's ON!" he shouted as his adrenaline began to pump. He then began to immitate a dragons cries, but they were extremely loud and sounded increasingly aggressive as he continued. A roar kicked up from the forest, a similar sense of violence in its tone as an emerald green Cross-wing entered the area. It had a dull green, blade like crest and a pair of tails behind. One of them was dripping bright green liquid from where Malek cut it, the other had Fishlegs tightly wrapped, stopping him from squirming, which he was desperate to do judging by his shaking. "Thank Thor your okay" Hiccup stated, trying to ignore the trailing eyes of the green dragon. "Has he bitten you yet?" Malek inquired to Fishlegs while keeping eye contact with Vikros. "WHAT! WHAT'LL HAPPEN IF HE DOES?" Fishlegs screamed as the dragon tightened his grip. "Don't shout, but has he?" Malek repeated his question "No" Fishlegs replied "Good."
Vikros suddenly threw Fishlegs across the clearing and into a tree, knocking him out. "Oh, so you really do want to fight then, don't you?" Malek taunted, getting the beast's full attention. The emerald dragon hissed in anger as he flicked his tail at Malek, who dodged by a hair. He then raised his head and let out a violent screech as dark green liquid dripped from his mouth. "That is why you avoid getting bitten or slashed at all costs" Malek stated as he pointed at the liquid "That is the strongest narcotic currently known, if its enters your body, you'll be out cold." "What about the stuff in his tail? Is it different?" Valka enquired. "Yes, and this is what it does" Malek replied as he pulled out a small metal sphere from his belt "If you enjoy sight, look away." As the riders turned there backs, Malek threw the object to the ground, creating a blinding light, that if you were able to look at (but you arent) would appear to be white with a light green tint.
Malek was looking straight into the blast, as if unfased, Vikros, on the other hand, was shrieking in shock and agony. As the flash disappeared, the riders looked on to a surprising sight.
The emerald Cross-wing had dropped his head, seemingly stunned by the sudden light flash, while Malek was calmly walking behind the creature "This is the 6th time, when will you learn, Vikros?" He then flicked his right wrist out and unsheathed his stinger, surprising the riders. "Just What are those?" Hiccup asked as his eyes fixed onto the glossy weapons "Retiring him for the day." Malek jabbed the edge of the stinger into the dragons back, making him cry out before dropping his head and shutting its eyes. We have about two hours before he gets back up, so relax." "We need to talk about your gear when we get the chance." Hiccup stated as Malek drew his stinger back in "And we will, as soon as we get to the main village, but I need a new flash-bang." "And Where do you get them?" Snotlout questioned, bored of all the attacks. Malek removed his mask and smirked at Snotlout "In the village over there, but I need some of his bio-glow, so..." "His what?" Ruffnut questioned, more stunned than Fishlegs, who was just getting up "Its an...organic substance...produced by dragons...that allows them to create...really bright lights" he said.
"Welcome back, friend, good news, I can answer your questions soon" Malek greeted as he collected the green substance dripping from his tail "Bad news, we have to go over Goliaths Arena." "What's that?" Valka asked, concern growing in her chest. "It is the current nesting, breeding and brawling grounds of the Titanus Scorch-wings, also known...as Blackcrests." Malek admitted. "And that's a problem because?" Tuffnutt enquired, showing no memory or common sense. "Because They are practically a bigger, angrier and more dangerous version of Anusazi" he replied. "And...?" Ruffnutt asked, showing all that the pair don't even share half a brain. "It doesn't matter, lets get going" Malek gave up, walking out of the clearing and into the undergrowth. The riders quickly followed, finding the path and walking for around 5 minutes until they entered a very large clearing with trees growing over the area, as if a dome stopped them from entering. Within the clearing was a mid sized village, about half that of Berk, with buildings devoted to the creation of medicines, tonics and other such wonders of chemistry, surprising the Berkians.
A woman aproached the group, who appeared to be dressed in some kind of medical outfit, a bage hood covering her head but leaving her face exposed, while a scarf hung loosly around her neck. "Hi there" Fishlegs greeted, leaving a confused look on the woman's face. "You need to show her what you mean, Fish Face, let me handle this." Snotlout stated, strutting to the front. "Hello" Snotlout greeted in a condesending tone, as if she were a child while waving his hand "My name (points to himself) is Snotlout (flexes in an "effort" pose, as if squeezing)." The woman suddenly nodded her head and muttered something before giving Snotlout a cup like vile of a green substance "Tironte benoka sol fergonass" she stated with a smile on her face. "She offers the Snotman a drink, That is respect, Astrid" He said before popping the top off. Malek was clutching his mouth while Snotlout drank the vile in one go "Oh Thor, this is rich." "What are you talking about?" Hiccup asked before Snotlout coughed "It's quite bitter, isn't it? You drink this alot, Malek?" he asked, his voice raspy, while Malek gave in and laughed suddenly.
"Oh my Gods, I cannot believe this" he gasped as he clutched his stomach. "What?" Ruffnutt asked as Malek calmed down. "That wasn't a normal drink, Snotlout, that was bowel medication." "What medication?" Snotlout asked as he glared at the vile. "It's a cure for dysentery, she thought you said you were havng trouble in the toilet" Malek gasped as another wave of laughter hit. "And what's in it?" Astrid asked, beginning to grin. "Afew things, but what's funny is what's about to happen." Malek grinned as he glared at Snotlout, who looked very confused and abit scared. Suddenly, Snotlout cluched his posterior and screamed "HOOOOOOTTTTT, HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOOOOTTTTT" leaving Malek gasping for air and sloapping his thigh in euphoria. "Over...there...there's a...water trough" he said as he pointed to the right. Snotlout quickly ran in that direction and left their line of site, leaving the riders to laugh to their hearts content. Malek walked towards the woman and began to speak in the language of his people, leaving the riders to wonder what exactly they were discussing.
(Language Barrier)
"It has been too long, Mirona, how have things been here?" Malek asked while greeting the woman. "It has been peaceful as always, though Vikros has been acting up again, for who nows what." "Speaking of him, we encountered the delinquent on the journey here. He's unconscious in a clearing about 5 minutes away, but you have time, he's out like a light" Malek recalled the incident. "He attacked the large one and gave him a rather nasty injury to the head, might be worth taking care of" he told Mirona, who smiled and said "we will see what we can do, if he asks." "I thank you as always, your skill will someday defy all logic, Mirona, after all, you fixed my eye like it was nothing" he commented, leaving her smiling "It was nothing, a simple procedure." "Anyway, I need to refill on some things, has Anusazi arrived yet?" Malek asked the woman, who pointed into the village "He has been waiting for some time now, he will be agitated."
"Isn't he always" Malek joked, Mirona responding with a light chuckle "It has been good to talk with you, all of them are welcome" she said as he bid her farewell before returning to the group.
(End of language barrier)
"So?" Hiccup asked as Malek returned. "You've been given access to the village, have an explore, if you need any help with dialect, just call for me, and I'll help how how I can" Malek stated. "So we can have some fun?" Tuffnut asked with a devilish face. "Normal fun, yes, toxic, explosive, fatal or in anyway hazardous fun, no" Malek replied. "What's the difference?" Ruffnut asked. The riders split off and travelled around the village in groups, depending on what they are looking for...
Group A (Malek, Ruffnutt, Tuffnutt)
Malek had walked to a shop that appeared to sell tools, an elderly man sat in front with his legs crossed as he tinkered with a strange ball of metal that had several holes in its exterior.
(Language Barrier) "Malek my child, how did the fish run go? Did you get to test my new machine?" the man asked while putting the orb aside. "The run went perfectly, Dreyzen, and your tool's handiwork is Vikros." "You stunned the arrogant boy? Fantastic! A complete success! I knew this design would work!" Dreyzen celebrated as he lifted the new design and displayed it to Malek "this will be of use then." "An advanced model? What are the holes for?" Malek enquired as Dreyzen began to laugh. "All the tools at your disposal and you can't understand it, think about it, my boy" he chuckled. Malek took the device and had a look over before making a guess. "A reusable grenade? Is that what you're trying to make?" he enquired followed by Dreyzen clapping his hands "Correct!" "This should allow the user to add vials of their choice to the bomb and activate it on a timed mechanism, so it will work in many different ways for many different activities" Dreyzen stated. "As always, an incredible design and a perfect idea, what would I do without you?" Malek complimented. "Lay around doing nothing and probably end up being eaten." "In your dreams."
(End of language barrier)
The twins were watching from behind the corner of a building, studying the shop, seeing many things catch their devious eyes. "So many usable Lokiing tools" Tuffnutt gauked while he stared. "We need to get our hands on some of that stuff, but what do they pay in here?" Ruffnutt enquired to her brother, who responded with a shrug of his shoulders "No idea, but it won't be normal." Undenounced to the two, Malek had spotted them awhile ago and had a trick up his sleeve. "Terola masto pols "cara" sig" (Allow me to "test" it) he said as he slotted a grey vile into the device.
The man nodded and chuckled while Malek twisted the device which began to tick and rolled it towards the twins, who were busy having a heated discussion as to how they would get the items. Suddenly the machine gave a loud tick and a cloud of black dust exploded from the holes of the device, making a large cloud. "Simorest" (Magnificent) Malek said as he handed over a bag of coin. Malek walked towards the two who were coughing in the cloud of black air and hooked his arms around their shoulders, forcefully pulling them out the cloud with a large grin across his face.
"And just what would you two be doing" he said as he brought them to the stall. "Nothing, we were just standing around" Tuffnutt pleaded "So let us go, seriously, this hurts" Ruffnutt added. "You wanted to steal some of Dreyzen's tools, didn't you?" Malek eqnquired as he tightened the squeeze "Which ones?" The twins eventually gave up as they couldn't take the pressure. They pointed out each of the items that caught their eye, and Malek released the two. What occured after was shocking, Malek began to collect each of the items aforementioned. Once he had all of the intruiging items, Malek moved over to Dreyzen and started to make a deal with him. "Tor mana?" (How much) he asked, followed by "Tinoc, pera" (For you, 30). Malek then handed over a bag of what one would guess was coins, before heading towards the twins and dropping a small crate in front of them before walking off "You owe me, dont forget it." The two stared at the crate before opening it, revealing every item they had had their eyes on. The two were agast until Tuffnutt stated "He has earned my undying respect" "and mine, brother."
Group B (Astrid, Snotlout)
Astrid had followed the trail of laughing people Snotlout had left and was now staring at ced viking who currently had his back end completely submerged in a trough and looked very relaxed. "Oh...My...Gods, this is just priceless" Astrid blurted out as she erupted in laughter. "And what would be so funny?" Snotlout asked in a very self assured, almost cocky tone, not thinking once. "Oh, I don't know, maybe it's the viking with his butt in a water trough" Astrid replied, her voice gargling behind her laughter. Snolout looked at himself for a second before jumping out. "Ok, so I was in the trough, it's Malek's fault, he should have told me what she was giving me before I drank it" Snotlout tried to defend himself, though he had no chance of escaping it. "Whatever, we should probably have a look around this village while we have a chance" Astrid advised as she wandered away, followed shortly after by Snotlout, who was grumbling. After a few minutes of walking, Astrid spotted Malek glaring into a blacksmiths shop and wandered over to him "Anything particular you're looking for?" she enquired as he turned around.
"Nothing, really, just checking if my mechanisms could use an upgrade" he responded while glaring at a vial full of black liquid "after all, I want my doses to be delivered effectively, don't I?" "Doses?" Snotlout enquired, slightly confused. "I'll explain once we get to the main village, I suggest you don't buy anything until then either, who knows what you'll drink next" Malek sniggered. Astrid snorted as she tried to hold her mouth shut, failing. "No matter, do as you will, if it interests you, the dragons are supposed to be over there" Malek commented as he pointed to his left. "Thanks, what will you be doing?" Astrid asked, curious as to why he was wandering. "I'm just gonna refill on some things, then we face Goliath's Arena, or at least try to pass over it." As Astrid started to walk to the area Malek gestured to, she heard him bartering in his common tongue "Timola vida, tora?" (For the vial, 10?) Malek started, but the owner shook his head.
"Pera" (30) he counter offered. "Pera? Tonok! Fara" (30? Ripoff! 20) Malek returned, leading the shopkeeper to glare at the vial before nodding, leading Malek to hand over another bag of coins.
Malek then slotted the vial into the back of his belt and walked off, leaving Astrid to wonder 2 things, what were the two of them even saying, and what was in that vial, but she brushed it off. Astrid once again found Snotlout, but this time he was being hounded by 2 women and a man, all spouting unregisterable blabber while branishing products, each looking extremely unusual. "What did you do, you muttonhead?" she asked, getting Snotlouts attention. "Oh, thank Thor it's just you Astrid, I need your help, I asked them where our dragons were, and it set them off. "By the looks of things, they think you wanted to buy something derived from dragons, so I highly suggest not intaking anything they offer" Astrid replied, chuckling under her breath. "Good idea, but where should we go?" Snotlout asked. As if on queue, the deafening roar of Anusazi filled the air, stopping the sales people in their tracks, and answering Snotlouts question. "That way, I think" Astrid replied, pointing in the direction of the almighty sound. Snotlout nodded and the two speed walked away to try and avoid any more street venders, for health's sake.
Group C (Hiccup, Valka, Fishlegs)
The three riders were wandering through the village, their eyes darting all around them at the exotic and unusual devices and chemicals around them, facinated by every object in sight. At one point, Fishlegs caught site of a shop selling what appeared to be Scorch-wings based products with a middle aged woman inside. He stopped dead in his tracks, looking all over the stall. "Hiccup, Valka, look over here, this is all so facinating" Fishlegs called the others over, who were also immediately fixed on the stall. "Too bad they don't understand us" Hiccup replied, saddened. The woman then stepped out of the shop and smiled "Welcome, travellers, has anything caught your eye?" he said in a slighty jumpy accent, stunning the riders as they stared, gormless. "Uh, you can understand us?" Hiccup asked. "Of course, I was taught your tongue when I was a child, I understand you perfectly" she replied, continuing with her beaming smile. "Ok, good to know" Valka replied, still shocked. "So, what were you interested in?" the woman asked, still smiling. "Oh, right, could you explain some of your products to us?" Hiccup requested.
"As you wish" she said as she picked up a small vial of black liquid. "This is the concentrated venom of an Emeraldine Scorch-wing, capable of incapacitating a man within 5 seconds" she stated. "Wow, is that from the type of dragon Vikros is?" Fishlegs asked, very curious of the strange concoction. "Yes, but he is rarely milkable because he is extremely temperamental" she replied. "What about that?" Valka asked, pointing at what appeared to be a battle axe, except that both blades were covered in serrations, similar to Malek's wrist blades "what's so unique about that?" "That is a crazek battle axe, a traditional weapon of our people" she took it in hand and thrust it forward, causing the blades to jump forward "and what is special is that it doubles as a spear." "Fascinating" Fishlegs grabbed the weapon and scowered it over, looking back with interest, but not as much as before stating "why is this so basic compared to Malek's weapons?"
"Maleks gear? Oh, of course it is" she laughed as she took the weapon back "he has been advancing and changing his gear for years, it's so complex now that its on another level to most others."
"Most others? So someone else has his level of gear?" Hiccup asked, leaving the woman with a distressed face "I...I am not at liberty to tell you that, I suggest you leave, the others are ready" "But what about..." Fishlegs was cut off as she walked back into her shop and closed the door. With no luck, they decided to continue wandering around the many others shops in the area. They travelled for about 10 minutes, meeting only two others who could understand them, until eventually they saw the other riders and Malek near the centre of the village, with the dragons. "Hey, guys, over here" Hiccup called, waving his arm at the group to get their attention. "Took you long enough" Astrid commented as they approached the group "at least you're here." "Well then, shall we go?" Malek asked, awaiting a reply from the riders while stroking Anusazi's crest. "Before we go, we heard that someone else in these villages has your advanced gear, who?" Malek's face became serious "Who told you that?" he demanded. "Oh, no one important, it just slipped out, she didn't tell us anything exact" Fishlegs hastily replied, attempting to defend them.
"You know what, you might as well know, I'll tell you about it when we land" he ended, mounting Anusazi's saddle and looking at the others "whenever you're ready, we can go, so, you good." The Berkians looked at each other and gave a synchronized nod before turning to Malek "Lets move!" Hiccup declared as they each mounted their dragons, and they took off towards the arena.
The dragons were high in the air, so high the villagers looked like blips below them. "We almost there?" Hiccup asked. Malek, who had his mask back on because of the wind, turned to face him. "Almost, cause if you look over there..." he pointed down, ahead and slightly to his left, at a very large stone plateau, covered in a sea of red-orange wings, each one pushing against another. "You will see the Goliath's arena, and the place we wanna avoid" he stated, glaring down at the nesting sight, almost as if his eyes were plastered to it "be on your toes, or you'll regret it" "What is so dangerous about them?" Tuffnutt asked "They look so small" Ruffnutt added. the two suddenly looked at each other, menacing smiles crossing their faces. "What are you doing?" Malek's concern only grew as the pair reached into their saddlebag, pulling out a small vial of pale liquid, almost like milk, before throwing it straight beneath them at the red-orange mass.
"Idiots! Why did you do that?" Malek shouted as he saw the vial plummet towards the Blackcrests. "To prove they aren't dangerous" Tuffnutt stated. "Well we're in trouble now, well done."
The vial struck the ground, letting off a small blast of blinding light. The Blackcrests froze in place, one slowly looking up, followed by the others, each one deathstaring the riders. Suddenly, each one of them roared in patterns, as if chanting, as they backed away from the centre, revealing an enourmous Blackcrest in the middle, twice the size of Anusazi, glaring at them. It let out a monumental roar, reaching them even from their high vantage "Oh, just great, we got Dravek's attention, perfect" he said as the creature beat its mighty wings and took off. "What's the problem with this "Dravek" then?" Astrid asked, not paying attention to the twins antics. "That is the problem, so MOVE!" he pointed at the rapidly approaching Blackcrest. The riders split, allowing the enourmous dragon to rise above them, where it glided, unmoving "What's it doing?" Valka asked as it glared at Anusazi, hissing like a savage cobra. Anusazi returned the hiss "Oh gods, you guys need to go, the village is straight ahead, about a 2 minute flight, so go!" Malek shouted as Dravek dived towards Anusazi, claws bared.
Anusazi dodged the assault and roared in retaliation, earning a nasty glare from the behemoth. "Show yourself! You wanna fight, you can have it, you and me" Malek shouted towards the monster. "Really now, you want a fight, do you?" a voice answered from Dravek, as a rider stepped into view on his back. They were dressed the same as Malek, with the same leather armour and mask. "Yeah, so lets settle it, you and me at the main village, in the square" Malek responded, his voice aggressive. "You remember what happened last time, don't you?" they questioned. "Enough with the talk, lets get on with it, come on" Malek finished, tapping Anusazi on the side of the head. Anusazi, in response, let out a massive roar and surged towards the village. "Don't think yourself impressive, we'll even beat you there" the unknown rider stated as the Blackcrest streamed after Anusazi, marginally faster than the adolescent Bluecrest. The dragons landed at the main village, in a stone circle in the middle of the village, one on each side, the riders dropping to the floor. The two began to circle one another, facing the enemy.
Malek flicked his wrists back, unsheathing his blades and raising his arms in a fighting position. The opponent reached onto their back, pulling of a large staff, which they held in front of them. They twisted it once, unsheathing a set of blades, similar to Malek's, on either side and half of the staff, before spinning the unusual weapon and pointed one end at Malek in a fighting stance. "Shall we begin?" The unknown rider asked, lightly wobbling the staff "I wanna test my gear on a good opponent". "Whoever submits first loses" Malek replied, a little excitement in his voice. Villagers from all around were watching, a mix of worry and excitement lining their faces. The Berkians were many things, worried, confused, but mainly intrigued for the outcome...
And that is the fourth chapter of my little story over and done with. As always, I would like to hear your opinions as I want to write to please my readers. I would also like to hear what other stories you would like me to write as I have many ideas in my head. The options for you to choose from are as follows: (note: if an anime, it'll be based of anime, not manga)
My Hero Academia
Voltron: Legendary Defender
Harry Potter (possibly)
Fire Force
Pokémon (that would be VERY long)
SCP (would be short, a few chapters at most)
Absolute Duo
Sekirei (possibly)
Darling in the Franxx
Steven Universe
and I'd prefer writing these after The Fire's of Revolution, so I'd like to know what you want, so thanks for reading, tell your friends, and this story will continue in Chapter 5: Traversing the Firepit