"No day shall erase you from the memory of time." - Virgil – The Aeneid
Sepulchre
"I bored," Hiccup lamented.
"Go fly then," Toothless rumbled back.
Hiccup rolled over on his back, glanced outside at the morning light, and went limp. He had already read just about everything that his dad had in the house to read and Toothless always just told him to go flying. Flying was invigorating and peaceful to be sure but he wanted some variety in his entertainment.
"Not more flying. Want do something with two-legs."
"You are sad that Astrid is not here."
"Yes."
"So do something with other two-leg kin."
That was a thought. Now that the entire village had an idea of how smart he was, it was far safer to spend time with Fishlegs and the twins. Snotlout seemed to have distanced himself from everyone and never tried to make conversation. Both Fishlegs and the twins had taken great interest in him and asked him hours of questions after learning that he could write.
But what can I do with them?
He thought about what they could possibly do together and one idea for an adventure came to mind. There was that bizarre chest that he found in the nook hidden in Toothless's old cave. He still had not told anyone about it other than his father.
"I know! I tell my kin about the… two-leg thing in your cave!"
"Ssss, will they make the two-head-gas-breather leave?"
"No Toothless. You not need the cave now, yes?"
Toothless just grumbled in slight frustration.
"I still want it."
"Silly."
Snort.
"You come with me if you want."
Hiccup hopped out of bed and went outside looking for Fishlegs or the twins. They would probably be in the Hall at this hour.
"Hiccup, wait! I will come!"
Hiccup grinned as Toothless ran up behind him.
"I knew you would."
They walked through town together and waited at the door for someone to let them in. Ignis opened the door from the inside and paused to look at them.
"Hi little guys, you want in?"
Hiccup nodded emphatically. His attention was drawn to the basket of chicken she was carrying. Just the smell of it made his mouth water.
"No, this is not for you. This is for Arnie."
"Who would think that Nadders love chicken more than fish," she added to herself.
There is chicken today! Hmn, maybe I can get some. Something other than fish sounds great.
As usual, people glanced in his direction as he and Toothless made their way along the Hall. He hopped up onto the chair specially left for him at the Chief's table.
Sure enough, Fishlegs got up from his table and came over to him.
"Hi there Hiccup, you want me to get some food for you two?"
Yes please, he nodded with a smile.
"Ok, wait here, and I'll get you some."
Toothless stared up at Hiccup as he perched on the two-leg thing with his paws up over the ledge. It looked rather silly to him.
"Hiccup, you look silly."
"Silly? Why?"
"You are sitting like a two-leg."
"Yes, and I like it."
"Silly."
Hiccup just stuck his tongue out at him. Then he waited patiently until Fishlegs returned, and he did so with a plateful of juicy chicken. It was enough that even Toothless forgot to be glum and licked his chops at the smell of the chicken.
"Here you go, enjoy," Fishlegs chuckled as he set the plate down on the table.
Hiccup rumbled happily and bent down to dig into the chicken when he noticed Toothless glaring up at him.
"Hiccup…"
"Get up here Toothless," Hiccup relented while making room for him on the large chair.
Toothless hopped up and stood next to him. Then he viciously attacked the food, sending scraps all over the table and onto the floor.
"Toothless stop! You are making mess!"
"But ground-bird is tasty," he grumbled while a hunk of chicken dangled from his chin.
"No, not make mess. Bad!"
Fishlegs burst out in laughter and only stopped when he noticed that both young drakes were staring at him.
"You two are so funny together. I just wish I knew what you were saying."
Hiccup then lifted a paw and pretended to write in the air.
"Ok, I'll get some."
While Fishlegs was off getting some paper, Hiccup dug into the chicken as well, making sure to eat civilly and glaring at Toothless all the while.
"Here you go," Fishlegs laid out the paper and pencil on the table.
He was making a mess
And I need to show you something
"What is it?"
A surprise
Bring the twins
"A surprise, ooh. What is it, no… Uhm, where is it?"
In the mountains
"The mountains… I guess that means flying. I'll go tell them and get Meatlug ready."
Hiccup had to chirp to get his attention back.
Bring torches
"Uh, ok. We will wait outside your house."
He left, clearly eager to have an adventure with the little Furies and to find out what the surprise was. That left Hiccup free to return to what was left of the food.
When the plate was finally picked clean, Toothless hummed in happiness now that he had a full belly.
"That was good. We should eat ground-bird more."
"You should eat with less mess," Hiccup answered while hopping back to the ground.
They left the Hall together and headed back home. Sure enough, the twins and Fishlegs were both waiting for them along with their saddled dragons.
"Alright, I hope you can still fly."
"Fishlegs, where are we going?" Ruffnut asked.
"We are following them, they have a surprise for us."
Hiccup rolled his eyes and huffed at him while spreading his wings. The entire company was in the air moments later, the Gronkle and Zippleback following the two Furies.
What a beautiful day for flying. Sunny. No wind.
He could tell that the other dragons were flying slowly to allow them to keep the lead.
I wonder what they think of us. How do they think about their babies or other dragons?
He had to focus even harder though when they started ascending the mountain's heights. The wind seemed unpredictable up here with random updrafts that threw off his pitch. A quick glance at Toothless showed that he was not having any trouble at all, which made sense because he had many years of practice to draw on.
They finally made it up to the clearing that held Toothless' old cave. The entire company landed and dismounted.
"Guys, look at the view," Fishlegs remarked with awe.
"Pretty incredible, huh sis?" Tuff asked.
"Totally, it's perfect except that I can see you."
An amused chuckle brought their attention back to Hiccup, and he pointed at the cave.
"Woah, look at that. It's massive. Can't believe we never found this before. Is that what you wanted to show us, Hiccup?"
No, he shook his head. Then he beckoned to them and started walking toward the mouth of the cave.
"Guess we should get the torches out. It looks dark in there."
The three of them went to the bags to unpack the torches while Hiccup and Toothless continued on.
Toothless paused at the entrance and sniffed.
"Hiccup, the two-head-kin is here."
He peered inside as well and saw a large lump in the middle of the cave. It became apparent that it was a Zippleback as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.
"Let's go Toothless!"
"Hiccup, it is not…"
Hiccup had already run ahead, completely oblivious to the possible danger. He did not seem to understand how territorial wild kin can be.
The Zippleback's heads lifted as one and turned to face Hiccup, who was standing only a few bounds from it. Toothless realized two things when he saw the Zippleback clearly; it was angry and hungry. Dread twisted his insides.
"Hiccup, run!"
"What?"
Hiccup blinked in confusion. Why did Toothless tell him to run? He looked back up at the Zippleback.
Something about the way its heads were snaking his way and its eyes were trained on him was very disturbing. He suddenly felt like a mouse that had wandered into a wolf's den. A tiny, unbidden whimper escaped him as his fear grew.
"Run!"
One of the necks lunged for him, and he stumbled backwards. He couldn't see anything other than its glistening teeth and the saliva dripping from its jaws.
He turned tail and ran for his life, the dragon's heavy footfalls close behind him. Toothless was screaming something, he could not tell what. They burst into the sunlight.
At every moment Hiccup expected sharp teeth to close around his tail.
He heard someone shouting. Something massive appeared in front of him and then disappeared. He only stopped running when he saw Toothless in front of him. Toothless was staring over his shoulder and did not look afraid anymore.
Fishlegs' and the twin's dragons had charged the wild Zippleback and were growling and hissing at it while backing it toward the cliff ledge. Meatlug charged it and knocked it off the cliff, only for it to fly away shrieking in complaint.
"Hiccup?" Toothless whispered.
"It… it tried… eat me… I not know…"
Toothless lay down next to him and started licking his neck.
"Ugh, why Toothless?"
"Make you feel better."
As if that was not embarrassing enough, Ruffnut chose that moment to run over to him and start stroking him.
Please… no more. Anything but this…
"Alright Ruff, let him go," Fishlegs told her.
"He was just almost eaten, Fishlegs! He is terrified."
"He is fine now though. And I think he wants down."
"Alright then…"
She did step aside. Even Fishlegs could not resist stroking the trembling dragon on the back though.
"Are you ok?"
He meekly nodded back.
"I don't know why it would attack you. None of our dragons ever do that."
Meatlug waddled over to him and started sniffing and prodding him.
"Good girl, you saved little Hiccup. Good job."
Hiccup couldn't wait any longer. He had to know why that happened.
"Toothless, why that kin… bad? Not like two-leg-friend-kin."
"It did not nest with two-legs. It was hungry. And it thought you challenge it."
"What? How? I small."
"You are a Night-Fury-kin. It knows a Night-Fury-kin lived here. We are danger to it."
That made some sense. Maybe it was just defending its territory. Still though…
"But what about this stone-belly and two-head?"
"They are kin and protect the nest. We are young of their nest, so they protect us."
"Hiccup, do you still want to show us something?" Fishlegs asked when Toothless stopped rumbling.
Might as well now.
He got back up and led the group back inside the now-empty cave, still feeling a slight twinge of fear as he paused in front of the dark entrance to the inner cavern. He knew that fear made no sense, but still it is not every day that one almost gets eaten!
"In there?" Fishlegs asked.
Yes.
"Alright, we love adventure. Let's go sis," Tuffnut announced.
The twins disappeared inside the small entrance, torches in hand. Fishlegs, Hiccup, and Toothless followed behind. It was only a few seconds before…
"Fishlegs! Look what we found!"
"A chest!" he exclaimed as he ran over to investigate it himself.
"This. You wanted to show us this?"
Yes, Hiccup nodded.
"Woah…" Fishlegs ran his fingers over the rusty chest, looking for a lock.
"I can't get it open!"
"Let us," Ruffnut offered.
She and her brother began fussing with the rusty lock while they were not knocking into each other. One of them produced a small knife from somewhere.
Click.
"Huh?" "I got it." "Whatever."
The three of them opened the creaky chest. Hiccup also came over and stood upright to peer inside.
Scrolls. Books. And gold coins. Lots of gold coins.
They all just stared in awe at the sight.
"What is it, Hiccup?" Toothless asked.
"Two-leg picture-things."
"Guys, we should tell the Chief about this," Fishlegs announced.
"What is it?" Tuffnut asked.
"They are histories. Writings that are generations old. See here! This one is about the first generation here on the island when it was called Bjork. Genealogies, maps, lists of dragons, oh this is an amazing find! Thank you Hiccup!"
He felt very bashful indeed. Even more so when Ruffnut gave him a pat on the head.
"Let's take a few of these back with us. We can come back for everything later."
Fishlegs grabbed a few of the scrolls and headed back outside. The twins took one look at each other, nodded once, and pocketed a few of the coins before grabbing some of the books.
Oh well, there is plenty to go around. I wonder what they will do with it.
The entire party was soon back in the air and gliding down the mountain. Hiccup nervously kept a watch out for any nearby dragons that he did not know in some way. The encounter up in the cave still had him on edge and nervous. Toothless said that dragons of his nest, of his tribe, would protect him because he was a youngling. But how to recognize which dragons were friendly?
He waited until he and Toothless landed outside his house and let themselves inside. They lay down in front of the smoldering fireplace.
"Toothless, how I know which kin are good kin and which are not this-nest kin?"
"Smell."
Smell?
"I not understand."
Toothless grumbled in frustration. Then he walked over to Hiccup.
"What do I smell like?"
"Like a kin?"
"No."
"Like fish?"
"Not that. My smell talks. It tells other kin what I am thinking. You smell like you still have fear. Smell can say angry, hungry, sad, happy, and more."
"But I not know smells. Two-legs not talk with smell."
"Hmn, you will learn. Just like you learned how to talk to me and to fly."
That was a small comfort and it left him very frustrated with himself.
"I am bad Night-Fury-kin…"
"No, you are not bad," Toothless growled before continuing, "You learned how to fly and to talk very fast. The life-organ learning is different for you."
"Not understand."
"Knowing without learning. Things we break our egg and know. Those things you might not know."
"Because I was two-leg?"
"Yes. Also because we not have sire and dam to teach us," he added.
The mention of teaching reminded Hiccup of something else.
"Toothless, why you not want learn two-leg picture-words?"
"No need. Who would I talk to?"
Even if there was no specific person to talk to, it could be a useful skill for him to be able to write.
"Still good thing to learn. You could need talk with two-leg me."
Toothless paused, not quite sure he had heard right. He had already discussed this with Hiccup.
"You are not a two-leg Hiccup. I cannot change that."
"Not you but maybe my sire can. I not want not talk with you then."
Toothless said nothing. It was a terrible thought to consider. He had long accepted Hiccup as his kin, as a nestmate. The thought that Hiccup might be changed back into a two-leg… it would mean that he would be alone again with no one to properly talk to. Hopefully none of this changing back would ever happen.
"Do many kin eat other kin?" Hiccup meekly asked.
"Normally small ones or very big ones not of their own kin or nest."
"But why? Very bad."
"It is. They must eat or die, and it is better to eat. Most kin here are safe because there is much fish. The kin in this nest do not eat kin or two-legs."
He had already figured as much but it still left him feeling a bit better. Until he seized on the last thing Toothless had said.
"Other kin eat two-legs?"
"Yes, some do," Toothless answered after a short pause.
Hiccup ought to have known. What else could possibly happen to those who were carried off in the night raids?
"But not Night-Fury-kin, not you."
A longer pause ensued.
"No, not us."
But something felt strange to Hiccup. He noticed that Toothless smelled… nervous. It was horrifying to imagine what might have brought that on.
"Toothless, what you not saying?"
.
"Tell me!"
"There… was one big male two-leg who found me far away from here. He was going to try to kill me. I bit his neck and killed him."
Hiccup froze, aghast at hearing that Toothless had killed before. His friend, the dragon who would not kill a human, had killed a human.
But did it change anything?
It was in self-defense. He had to do it.
"Hiccup?"
"I… not think you do thing like that. Not like you."
Toothless stared blankly at the wall for a while until Hiccup thought that Toothless had completely forgotten about him.
"Life was hard. Bad times. When I flew over your two-leg-nest in fights, I tried to not kill your kin. That bad two-leg took his two-leg-metal-tooth and looked for me."
Hiccup reluctantly forced a wry grin.
"Never again. Good times now."
Toothless huffed in frustration.
"As long as you do not get yourself eaten!"
Oh, don't worry about that. I learned my lesson there…
He heard the door open and heard the unmistakable sound of his father's footfalls.
Time to see what he thinks about the treasure!
Toothless ran into the bedroom and curled up on the covers while Hiccup was busy. He had no interest in joining Hiccup and Hiccup's sire.
It had been so close to coming out. He had again been sure that Hiccup would have forsaken him if he had found out the truth.
It had happened after his first close encounter with the two-leg monsters after his escape from the first cave. He had fled into the wild, far from any sign of two-leg caves or hunters. He hunted, keeping everything sire had taught him in mind. The fur-covered-four-leg-head-horns were good hunting if their head-horns could be avoided. The bushy-tail-small-four-legs were aplenty, but their fur was annoying and caught in his teeth and they were fast. The patience needed to catch the fish. Much patience. The vigilance needed to avoid the traps of the clever-bad-nest-breaking-two-legs.
Two season-cycles passed, and he grew deadlier and better at hunting with each season-cycle. In all that time, he saw several other kin, but none of his kin, his dark-wing-kin.
He was alone.
The two-leg nests also started growing and more of the two-leg-hunters started passing through his hunting grounds.
Perhaps it was a fault of his, but he was still curious about them. He wanted to understand why they were so bad and what their weaknesses were, other than having naturally weak and frail bodies. So he braved the bushes nearest the closest two-leg-dead-tree-pile-nest and watched. A set of mates in their strange furs were making their strange growls at each other while their young ran around outside, calling to each other in their own way.
There was nothing here to indicate that they were the monsters that they truly were. They were not breaking living eggs or wearing the skins of kin. The first clawtip of doubt began poking at his liver.
He came back a few more times, being particularly interested in the hatchlings and young. They seemed different from the adults. The young were more full of life, of energy, of doing. They did not behave at all like the nest-hunters that killed his sire, dam, and egg-nest-kin. Maybe he was wrong and two-legs were only monsters as adults.
He was stalking a four-leg after many days of not catching anything when the two-leg hunter found him. It was easily large enough to threaten him. He hid but it was clear that the two-leg was on his trail. One of its shiny-false-rock-teeth appeared in its paw.
He remained perfectly still, hoping that the two-leg would pass by and miss him. It took another step forward but was looking down at the trail and missed him on the rock next to the path.
Two-legs had unknown powers and he had been warned that they can throw long teeth far into the air to tear at wings and ground kin. This two-leg had found his trail and there was no escape. Even flight was no protection here near the ground and among the trees.
This would be a fight to the death. He coiled his body and pounced without hesitation.
The two-leg tensed and looked up an instant too late.
He fastened his jaws around the two-leg's neck, and they both collapsed to the ground. His claws dug at the two-leg's belly and his teeth sunk into its throat. A sharp pain bit at his side as the two-leg's false tooth bit and cut at him, trying to dig into his life-organ. He clenched his teeth in pain and anger, and the two-leg thrashed under him, its hot life-water dripping over his tongue.
Until the two-leg went still.
He stepped away, panting in excitement and pain as life-water fell from his teeth. He had just done it! Gotten his first two-leg kill! Killed a monster!
This changed everything! If only his sire could see him now.
A sharp twinge reminded him that it had bitten him too. He licked his side until the pain receded and the flow of his own life-water stopped. He checked himself over to make sure that nothing else had been hurt.
That would leave a tooth-mark.
He glanced back at the torn body covered in its own life-water and wondered.
It had been many sun-moon-cycles since he had eaten. The life-water in his mouth had not tasted good, but he was desperate. He slunk over to the body and inspected it. There did not look to be much actual meat on it. He had never had two-leg meat before and did not know what to expect.
The first mouthful of flesh was not satisfying, but he had to eat to survive. By the time he was finished, he promised himself that he would never hunt two-legs. They did not taste good. Getting past the false-fur-skin was very tedious. But more than that, there was something else about them that he could not put a claw on. If only there was some sign that they were not monsters…
That uncertainty was only reinforced after he came back to the place after several sun-moon-cycles. Other two-legs had found the remains and took all the bones away. Beasts would leave their dead behind.
His hunting grounds became far too dangerous after that. More two-legs started stalking about and searching for something. Searching for the killer of their kin. He left the place as soon as he realized their purpose. He was not foolish enough to seek a fight with such dangerous creatures. That victory had been because of surprise.
He flew farther north along the shore, looking for a place where there were no two-legs. He eventually found several fire-scale-kin and spike-tail-kin flying out to sea and decided to follow them. Surely the two-legs could not swim or fly to wherever these kin were going.
His tail twitched in nervousness as he relived the memory. He knew in his liver that he had done nothing wrong. Life outside of nests, two-leg or kin, could be nasty, cruel, and short. Even if he were starving now, he could not imagine himself feeding on a two-leg ever again. Not after making Hiccup a part of his life. It would be like feeding on another kin in a way.
Hiccup cannot know, he would not understand.
"Toothless! Fish here!"
That was a good thing since he was very hungry after the day's activity.
"It is amazing Hiccup! These are as old as our tribe itself! See this one, this is the mark of Chief Gorm. He led our tribe to Berk and helped us survive against the dragons."
Hiccup honestly could not remember seeing his father so excited since perhaps before his own incident. It was a very good feeling.
There is more up there
"Fishlegs told me that there is an entire chest and that it has gold too. This is great for our tribe. He said that you found it. How did you find it?"
I was exploring with Toothless
"Up in a cave in the mountains?"
No one had ever been there and it looked fun
"Well, I'm not going to tell you not to go up there. Just be careful about the dragons you might see."
No kidding…
"I'm going to send some more people up there to bring down the rest of the treasure. Who knows what it might have for us."
Hiccup was at supper in the Hall that evening when the chest itself was brought down. Naturally, everyone crowded around and inspected the find. All the muttering paused when the chest was opened and the golden glint appeared. Then everyone started whispering all together as the piles of gold coins and old scrolls were heaped on the Chief's table.
"Where was it?"
"Up in the mountains in a cave," Stoick answered.
"Who found it?"
"Hiccup did."
Hiccup felt everyone's eyes seek him out as soon as they heard that he had been involved in finding the treasure.
"Three cheers for Hiccup!" Gobber yelled.
For the first time in forever, the entire Hall cheered for a dragon. Hiccup felt very sheepish about it and gave them all a slight grin. The idea of them cheering for him was still one that he was completely unfamiliar with.
"Woah, look at this Stoick," Gobber exclaimed while handing over a piece of parchment.
"What is it?"
"A map of Berk. But look at these here," Gobber pointed out some strange markings.
"Are those caves?"
"Yep, and look where they go."
Hearing about more caves piqued Hiccup's interest, and he hopped over to inspect the map as well.
"They are all over the island. All the way under Thor's Hammer! How did we not know about this? And what is this?" Stoick indicated a place titled 'Loki's Hollow.'
"No idea, it looks easy enough to get to though. Just have to fly up to here and take the passageway into the mountain. We should send some people to find out," Gobber said.
"Look at this one here, Gobber. This one goes from a cove by the ocean right under the ledge outside the village. If any enemies knew about this…"
"Ah, that would be bad I see. Well, let's send the Ingerman lad and the Thorstons. They have enough appetite for adventure anyway."
Me too
"Uh, what do you say Stoick? Hiccup wants to go with them. He did find the treasure after all."
Stoick of course did not want Hiccup to go venturing in strange, unexplored caverns. There was no telling what dangers there could be deep underground. But he also felt terrible with the idea of keeping Hiccup penned up inside with nothing to do. Hiccup always was an adventurous lad who was fond of the outdoors. That fondness had only grown stronger since he became a dragon.
"Hiccup, can you stay safe with them? Not wander off or do something stupid and crazy?"
Hiccup was very thankful that no one had told his father of the incident up in the cave.
Yes
"Ok, go with them and be careful."
I will
"I'll tell them to head out first thing in the morning. No sense keeping adventure waiting."
Hiccup hopped down from his chair and roused Toothless.
"We go under ground next sun-cycle."
"Why?"
"Fun. See new places, places other two-legs walked."
"And I need to come to keep you safe," Toothless groaned.
"Yes!" Hiccup answered with a grin.
They left the Hall together shortly thereafter. Gobber watched them go as they had done many times before. Then he sat down next to Stoick and decided to broach the delicate topic.
"I don't know what it is about those two Stoick. I feel like… I should know them or something."
"What do you mean Gobber?"
"I dunno. Well… they are so much smarter than the other dragons and they are so little. And… Hiccup reminds me of… your son. What do you think?"
Stoick stiffened and thought hard over an extended drink from his mug. He had been able to keep the truth from everyone so far. Would it do any real harm to let Gobber know the truth? He knew that Gobber had been a mentor to Hiccup in the past. And Gobber was probably the one person he trusted the most on the island.
"I don't know Gobber. Maybe a little."
"Do you think it is possible that Thor, Odin, or the Valkyries might… uh… send someone back or give them another chance?"
"Gobber, are you saying that the gods would send someone back to life as a dragon?"
"Technically you said that, but sure, it makes some sense. Doesn't it?"
"I think you've had too much to drink."
"But don't you think it is odd that…"
"No! I won't have you spreading these rumors," he clenched his fist and slammed the table.
Those at the nearby tables turned in surprise at their Chief's sudden outburst. Gobber was left slack-jawed. And he felt real anger towards his lifelong friend. Anger born of knowing the truth and knowing that Stoick did not trust him with the truth. Anger that Stoick was deliberately concealing wonderful news from him and from the entire tribe.
He stood up and turned his back on Stoick.
"Gobber, I'm… sorry."
"For what?"
"For… yelling at you."
"No, you are not."
Stoick shook his head slowly and whispered, suddenly looking very tired.
"I just don't want the people thinking that anything strange is going on."
"Stoick! We live on an island of friendly dragons, what is not strange about that?"
"You remember the stories about the Seiðr, don't you Gobber? About sorcerers and conjurers who summoned demons and sacrificed people to the gods to gain their favor. What do you think would happen if people hear rumors that someone got turned into a dragon?"
"I'd hope that we are beyond that Stoick. We've seen some strange things in our time and we ended up alright."
"I don't think that the gods would take someone from Valhalla if they earned it. No. Hiccup is in Valhalla. He died a hero."
Gobber paused for a long time before answering.
"Aye, he is a hero."
He left without waiting to hear if Stoick responded. Once outside the Hall, he clenched his remaining fist and closed his eyes. It hurt, knowing that his old friend would lie to his face. A deliberate lie by omission.
What's his problem?
He returned to his forge and took out his frustrations on some soft metal that needed shaping. Stoick was a very proud and confident leader and man. Outwardly, Stoick's outburst could have any number of explanations. But he knew the truth.
Almost wish I didn't know… it would make everything easier.
Hiccup woke up with the dawn and stretched his limbs with a wide yawn. Then he remembered his wings and stretched them too. He blinked in surprise that they did not hurt at all after all the flying he had done the other day.
That's a good thing. Maybe I can get Toothless to show me some tricks now.
He hopped over and shook Toothless awake.
"We go now."
Toothless grumbled incoherently and followed him down the hall. Hiccup paused when he saw his father already awake and clearly waiting for him. That itself was not surprising; rather, it was how haggard he looked that was strange. As though he had been very frustrated at something and not slept well.
Is something wrong dad
"I'm just… angry at myself. I yelled at Gobber after you left last night and I shouldn't have. He was asking questions about you."
Why not tell him then
"Because it is too dangerous. He would not do anything to hurt you, but I don't know about everyone else in the tribe. I don't think he could keep it a secret for long."
.
"And you are still so little. I can't imagine you getting hurt."
Dad do not worry about me
"Oh, but I have to. You keep yourself safe down in those caves. I doubt that there will be anything down there, but be careful."
He nodded in acknowledgment and a brief, awkward moment of silence ensued before they went their separate ways.
"Hiccup, who do you want to touch bellies with your sire?"
"Because… it is like nose touching… it means care and wanting them happy."
"Why you not do that for me?"
"I not know kin do that like two-legs."
"They do not."
"Why you ask then?"
"Because you do many things that kin do not do. Those things are twisted."
Hiccup glanced around for Fishlegs and the twins and failed to see them. They must still be on their way.
"How kin show care and happy-wanting? Only nose-touching?"
"And giving food."
"Hmm, like you gave me fish?"
In a way, that was an appropriate comparison. It suddenly struck him that he had actually greeted Hiccup as he would have a nestmate. How appropriate…
"Yes, and also playing together, teaching each other, and protecting each other."
Hiccup thought for another subject to fill the silence while they waited.
"Toothless, you fly very fun. Many spins. I not know how. You show me?"
He twitched his tail for emphasis as that was his major problem. He did not understand what he was supposed to do with the fins in anything more complicated than flying in essentially a straight line.
"Now?"
"Yes, now."
"Watch me."
Toothless jumped aloft and flew away to make a pass by the house. Hiccup watched closely as Toothless flew by while spinning in a corkscrew. It was very impressive and hard to see what exactly he was doing.
I better try this myself.
He was aloft as well in moments and gained enough height that he was able to practice flying without having to worry about the buildings. He tucked one wing in close to his side and flared the opposite fin as he thought Toothless had done. It only sent him into a wild spin that he could not control. He righted himself and resumed flying normally.
It was so hard. Normal flight was almost like swimming through the air and there wasn't much to think about. Here there were all different angles to consider and there was too much to keep in mind.
I'm thinking too much.
"There they are!"
He recognized Fishlegs's voice and spied both Fishlegs, the twins, their dragons, and, surprisingly, Snotlout in the square. As far as he knew, Snotlout did not care to spend time with them. He banked toward them after shouting out for Toothless.
"You ready for this, little guy?" Fishlegs shouted.
Yes, he nodded back eagerly. The idea of exploring a cave was very exciting since he had not done so in years. And it would be nice to be back around the gang again, even if they did not really know him.
"Alright everyone, hold on tight now. Let's go!"
The group jumped aloft in moments and began flying toward the mountains with Fishlegs in the lead. Hiccup hung back and flew alongside his cousin and Hookedfang.
What was going on with his cousin? It was a question that would have to wait until after they finished their adventure.
Leagues passed under-wing as the group flew on. He heard Fishlegs shout something from ahead and looked where he was pointing.
It was near the base of Mount Thor. A sheer wall of grey rock that rose several hundred lengths near vertically and had a narrow path that snaked along the base of the rock wall.
He hovered and stared in amazement once he flew around the corner and saw what they had come for. A cavern entrance. It was far larger than the entrance to Toothless's old lair. But aside from its size, there was something else that was exceptional about it. The rock all around the entrance was smooth and glossy, as though it had been melted in the distant past.
Everyone landed and dismounted.
"Look at this everyone, it's amazing," Fishlegs shouted.
"How deep do you think it goes?" Tuffnut wondered.
"The map says it goes all the way under the mountain and that is where we are going. Everyone got your supplies? Torches and food?" Fishlegs took the lead.
Yep. Yep. Yeah.
"We don't know how big this passageway is, so we should have the other dragons stay outside."
The three of them dismissed their dragons after getting all their supplies.
"And you two, you ready?" Fishlegs turned to him and Toothless.
"Toothless, you ready go in?" Hiccup asked.
Toothless stared into the darkness and sniffed at the air. There was nothing in the cave from what he could tell. It should be safe.
"Yes, we go."
For emphasis, Toothless charged into the cave first.
"Well, that answers that," Fishlegs shrugged.
Fishlegs and the twins laughed at the Fury's antics and lit their torches. They all started walking into the darkness of the cave.
No one said anything for quite a while. The only sounds were the crackles of their torches and their footfalls echoing all around them. It was very eerie how worn and smooth the path was except for several very deep grooves cut in the rock.
Hiccup felt surprisingly nervous. Something about hearing the echoing click of his talons with every step and smelling the musty air was unsettling.
"Hiccup," Toothless stopped walking.
"What?"
"I do not like this place."
"What? Bad kin?"
"No, I do not smell anything. My liver does not like this place."
"We stay with two-legs. Safe."
Toothless reluctantly resumed walking and followed Hiccup as the group went deeper and deeper. The path eventually sloped downward and everyone had to watch their feet around the cracks in the path. The dust swirled with their every step.
"So, do you want to talk about it?" Fishlegs asked.
Hiccup glanced back and saw Fishlegs and Snotlout walking together. His cousin looked very unsure of himself.
"Not really. I mean, it's not like you have any more experience than I do."
"Only a little. But talking can only help. We have missed you a lot."
"Bah, I guess so."
Hiccup slowed down to let the two of them catch up so that he could hear more clearly.
"You've never lost family, Fish. I hated how clever he was. Then things became different after we lost him."
"We all regretted how cruel we were to him."
"Fish, that's not the issue. I am now next in line to be Chief after my father. My dad has already told me that he wants me to take over from him. I'm not the smartest, but I could be a good Chief."
"I thought you always wanted that."
"With Mildew's rebellion, other tribes, there is so much to worry about. Even with all that, yeah I do. And then there's her."
"What about her?"
"What do you think, Fish?"
"She is very busy."
"Yeah, she is so busy with work and dragons and treaties… Why does she get to do the important stuff while I am stuck here fishing, shoveling dung, and building stuff?"
It finally struck Hiccup who the she was that Snotlout was referring to. Astrid.
His Astrid.
"My father has already said that he is looking for a wife for me. We are just about that age Fishlegs. Why shouldn't I have her?"
"You know she is not interested in anyone."
"I know, any ideas how I can get her attention?"
"Beats me."
Hiccup was very disturbed and confused. His cousin was thinking about wooing Astrid! Not that he thought Snotlout had any real chance of succeeding, but it was the principle of the matter.
Astrid was his!
True, their situation was very strange but… he had feelings for Astrid. They had flown together to the dragon nest after a long and romantic evening among the clouds. She had even given him a kiss!
It wasn't fair or right! It all came back to his present condition.
He took a deep breath to calm himself. Astrid was a sensible person.
She won't be interested in him. She knows he is… dumb, ugly, grr…
"Hiccup, what is it?" Fishlegs asked in alarm.
Oops…
Nothing, he shook his head.
"Guys!" Ruffnut yelled from up ahead.
"What?"
"Come look at this!"
They all raced ahead and looked where she was holding her torch.
There was a skeleton clad in full Norse war attire. Someone who had died with their axe in hand. His empty skull stared up at the ceiling.
None of them said anything for a long time. They all bowed their heads for a moment in respect for the fallen warrior.
"What do you think happened?" Tuffnut finally asked.
"Well, none of the bones have been touched. And look at all the burn marks. I think this was a dragon," Fishlegs answered.
"How long do you think he has been down here?" Snotlout wondered.
"Probably as long as the chest has been up in that cave. Maybe over a hundred years."
"Do you think anyone else is down here?" Tuffnut wondered.
"Only one way to find out," Ruffnut answered.
The four of them slowly turned away and started wandering deeper down the passageway.
Hiccup remained behind, unable to tear his eyes from the skull. How had the man died? Why was he left here? Who was he?
He had also never seen a skull before. It was very disturbing.
"Guys! There is more!"
He ran ahead and joined them in staring at a strange dragon skeleton. It looked somewhat like a Nightmare except that it had a shorter neck and had curved spines running from the crown of its head to the tip of its tail. Old scales completely devoid of any shine or color lay on the ground around the bones.
And it had a massive notch in its spine where something had cut into its neck. One of its wing-bones was also snapped in half.
Again, everyone stared solemnly at the sight.
"I've never seen a dragon like this one. It's… a shame," Fishlegs sighed.
"I think there was a fight down here. Long ago," Tuffnut whispered.
Fishlegs apparently thought Hiccup needed comforting because he knelt down and started patting his neck.
"It's ok, this doesn't happen anymore."
I know… it's still sad.
Hiccup gave him a grim smile and nod before turning his attention back to the skeleton. He had seen dead dragons before, and the sight had always sickened him. Old bones were somehow less disturbing. Perhaps because they had a certain nobility or sense of tragedy about them.
"We should keep going," Fishlegs told them.
Hiccup hopped over to Toothless who had walked right up to the bones and was staring at the notch in its spine. What might he be thinking?
"Toothless, you sad?"
Toothless did not react for a while and just kept staring at the skull. Then he snorted.
"I do not know it. I do not feel."
They began slowly trotting along behind the four humans as the path continued to slope down.
"Hiccup, what do two-legs do with dead two-legs?"
"They… give them fire. Or put them under ground. What about kin?"
"Nothing. It is too hard to move no-life kin."
They all passed several more skeletons, human and dragon. Some were whole but more of them had terrible wounds the deeper they went. Horns, wings, and necks were completely shorn off while skulls were crushed flat or pierced by spines and limbs were snapped in half. Swords and spears were more and more common. They even found a strange type of arrow with carved dragon-scale sharpened into arrow-tips which were still sharp.
The air also became fouler and mustier.
Then they reached a split in the path. The left-hand path angled up whereas the right-hand path continued downward. The left-hand path looked larger and seemed to have a draft while the right-hand path was somewhat smaller and completely still. There was only one problem…
"I don't remember this on the map," Fishlegs finally said.
"So, we don't know which way to go," Tuffnut bemoaned.
"Hey, if even Tuffnut could understand that…" Ruffnut teased.
Fishlegs kept looking at the two passages in the flickering torchlight without having any clue as to which one they ought to take.
"I don't know guys, which one do you think?"
"No way to tell. Maybe just guess," Snotlout offered.
Hiccup turned to Toothless.
"What way should we go?"
Toothless looked at each path and let out his strange shriek. Everyone but Hiccup jumped in surprise.
"What the?"
Both of them listened carefully and noticed something odd. The right-hand path seemed to widen and open into a large cavern. Could that be where they were going?
Hiccup walked over and nodded toward the path. He paused when he did not hear them behind him.
They were staring at him and Toothless in confusion.
"What happened?" Snotlout wondered.
"I think he made that sound. But why that way?" Fishlegs squealed in excitement.
Hiccup stood up and wiggled his ears.
"You can hear something?"
Yes.
"That makes no sense, but why not. Let's go."
The entire group started moving again. Fishlegs started whispering to the twins.
"They must be able to hear something. Night Furies have much better senses than I thought…"
It was not long before the path widened drastically. They came upon a massive chamber in which even the roof of the cavern was too high to see from their torches. Everyone stared in disbelief at the size of the place. Columns of rock sprouted from the ground. The air itself felt heavy and stale.
Most shocking were the bones and bodies.
Skeletons of dragons and a few men were scattered as far as any of them could see through the darkness. Abandoned or broken weapons lay everywhere. This place had seen true violence and death.
Fishlegs looked up at the tunnels that seemed cut into the rock walls, considered the passageway that the group had just walked down, and realized what this place was.
"It's a nest!"
Nest…nest…nest…nes…nes…esst..esst.. . .tt.t.t.t...
The echoes finally stopped ringing all around them.
"It was a nest," he continued in a whisper, "but these men tried to take it. Gods… how big is this place?"
They continued on slowly and saw more of the same. A ledge appeared in front of them and dropped off into the darkness far below.
"How far down does it go, I wonder…"
Fishlegs flung his torch into the gulch and almost jumped in shock.
A truly massive skeleton stared up at him. The head was as large as most homes and adorned with massive spikes. It was snakelike and had no wings. None of them could even see the end of its body which stretched off into the darkness.
"That… is a big dragon…"
Toothless peered over the ledge and hissed when he saw the skeleton.
"What Toothless?" Hiccup asked.
"I do not like big kin."
"It bad kin?"
"Yes, big kin are bad."
"Why they bad?"
"They eat kin and make kin think bad things."
Fishlegs looked away from another skeleton of a dragon even he had never heard of before.
"Well guys, I think this is Loki's Hollow. Why do you think they called it that?" Fishlegs asked.
"Maybe because they thought the dragons were a curse from Loki," Snotlout offered.
"Everyone who died here certainly didn't help," Fishlegs added while staring sadly at an old Gronkle skeleton.
"They must have been some of the first people who ever came here."
"Guys, I don't like it down here. I think we should go."
Tuffnut turned to his sister.
"What's the matter sis?"
"That," she pointed at a Zippleback skull.
"Oh," he muttered, "yeah, I want to go too. There is nothing good here to see."
"Come on little guys, we are leaving," Fishlegs addressed the two Furies.
"Toothless, we leave now," Hiccup said.
"Good, this is a bad place."
He turned away from the ledge and started back up the path they had come down. None of them, not even the twins, were talkative after everything they had seen. Battles, fire, and blood they were familiar with. Brittle and dried bones in a massive underground cave were an entirely different matter.
Especially when those bones belonged to a person or to their own type of dragon.
They walked in relative silence until Snotlout cursed at his torch in frustration.
"It's dead."
Everyone looked at the torches the twins were still carrying and shared a nervous glance. They were noticeably dimmer and running out of flammable material.
"Let's hurry up."
They all picked up the pace after noticing that. No one wanted to be trapped underground in what had to be pitch black.
Hiccup and Toothless trotted along behind them, barely able to keep up. Hiccup was starting to get winded.
"Wait… for me."
They turned to each other.
"I think he is getting tired," Fishlegs said.
"I guess I could carry him," Snotlout offered.
Hiccup huffed and stomped on the ground once.
Oh, no you don't!
"You don't want to be carried? Hurry up, we don't want to be stuck down here."
"Uh, guys…" Ruffnut whispered.
"What?"
"My torch is dead."
Sure enough, only a few embers were still burning. That left only Tuffnut's dimming torch. None of them knew how much further they had to go. The narrow tunnel was getting very dark and none of them could see more than a few lengths ahead or behind.
"This is bad!"
"Don't worry Tuff, we can get out even if your torch dies. It'll just be slow," Fishlegs reassured him.
"Yeah, but I don't want to step on anything… crunchy… or step into empty space, fun though dying might be."
"Oh, yeah…"
It was only a minute later when the last of the embers of Tuffnut's torch died, leaving the entire group in complete darkness.
"Uh, now what?" Tuffnut asked after dropping his torch.
"Come here everyone," Fishlegs took charge.
They bumped into each other in the darkness and started stumbling blindly up the slope.
"You there little guys?"
Hiccup warbled back to let them know he was there. He and Toothless were walking side by side to not get lost. Then he had an idea.
"Toothless, you show us way? See with hearing."
"Yes, you do it."
"I not know how."
"Not hard. Like flying. Make sound from deep in mouth."
Hiccup took a deep breath and tried to make the same noise that Toothless could make.
What came out was more like a shriek that made everyone jump in alarm. Complete silence followed afterwards.
Hiccup cringed and was glad that no one could see how ashamed he was.
"Bad," Toothless perfectly summed it up. Then he did it correctly himself.
Once again, Hiccup had that strange sensation of seeing a shape of everything around him. This image kept filling in farther up the path.
He also found it easy to remember what he had seen, and roughly knew where all the rocks and ledges were.
He hopped over to Fishlegs and tugged on his leg.
"Was that you Hic?"
Yes, he warbled back. Then he gave another tug.
"You want me to follow you?"
Yes.
"Guys, I think they can see in the dark."
"How? That's impossible." Ruffnut objected.
"I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with the odd sounds they were making. Uh, how will we know where you are Hic?"
Oh, the things I have to do for them.
He brushed his tail against Fishlegs's side until he found his arm. Fishlegs gently clasped the tail and understood the plan.
"He will show us the way, let's go."
The motley procession began making its way up the path, the four humans stumbling hand-in-hand and being led by two Night Furies. Toothless kept shrieking every so often so that they could both see. More than once, Hiccup stepped on something that crunched underfoot and was very glad that he could not see any specifics.
And there was the one time that he suddenly saw nothing in front of him. Nothing, as in a gap or a void along the edge of the path. He yelped aloud and stopped in mid-step, almost to be run into by Fishlegs.
They made very slow progress after that point as Hiccup started doubting himself. What if he accidentally led one of them into a pit? What if one of them got hurt because of him?
No sooner had he started doubting himself when he heard a faint wind and noticed a glow up ahead. Could it be…
Light!
"Guys! I see light. We're almost there!" Fishlegs yelled.
The entire group emerged from the tunnel a couple minutes later. It was very late in the afternoon. They had been underground almost the entire day.
"Thor… I hate caves," Ruffnut groaned.
Hiccup collapsed on the ground, glad to be finally on dirt again and to not have every single sound echoing around him. Or to have a hand holding onto his tail for over an hour. It was very different thinking about what he had seen underground now that he was safely above ground and the warm sun was shining again.
It was horrible even though it happened hundreds of years ago. All the skeletons with various degrees of injuries. So many dead people.
I hope that never happens again.
His thoughts went out to Astrid, somewhere out there in the wild. She was probably doing exactly what he wished he could do.
Fishlegs stepped over to him and gently patted him on the head. Hiccup didn't even mind it at this point.
"Hic, I don't know how you did that, but thank you. You two are amazing."
"Yeah, thanks for getting us out," Tuffnut added.
"How are we going to get down? Our dragons all left," Snotlout noted.
"Will you go get our dragons Hiccy?"
Hiccup wasn't actually sure he knew how to. Neither he nor Toothless could talk to the other dragons, as far as he knew. Still, he had to try something.
He got back up and nodded once at Fishlegs.
"Toothless, we need get the kin of two-legs come here. How talk them?"
"We show we need help. They come."
Not very helpful…
They leapt off the ledge and flew down the mountain together, Hiccup making sure to practice his maneuvers. It felt truly great to be back in the air again after being in the tunnels all day.
They found the appropriate dragons lazing about on the outskirts of the village. All three of them perked up as soon as they saw the two Furies land next to them.
Uh, now what?
"Help us?"
Meatlug just tipped her head to the side and blinked.
"Toothless, what I say?"
"No, not say."
Toothless then started barking and yowling completely incoherently. Then he turned about, stared up the mountain, and beat his wings. The other dragons apparently understood the message because they immediately took off toward the mountain.
"How you do that?"
"I show them… having fear or needing help. Then I show them where. They know to get their two-legs."
"So you not know words for them."
"No. Only we have words, remember?"
"Yes. That makes me sad."
"Why?"
"I want talk to them. Hear their words and ideas."
"Grr, they only think about fish and have small heads..."
That did not sound right to Hiccup. He had seen how the other dragons behaved around their humans, and they certainly seemed to like being around them. Toothless almost sounded angry or bitter toward the other dragons.
Maybe he is just hungry, I know I am.
"We should get food. Come with me?"
Toothless grumbled to himself before nodding and following him toward the Hall.
"I don't believe it," Stoick whispered.
"It's all true sir, there are dozens of bodies down there. It looks like a war happened down there," Fishlegs answered.
Stoick just sat in his chair and stared off at the wall where there hung portraits of previous Chiefs.
"Find the nest and take it…" he whispered to no one in particular.
He glanced over at Hiccup and Toothless's respective chairs.
"And, how did they behave themselves? Not giving you any trouble I hope."
"No sir, they actually helped us a lot. I think they can see in the dark."
"What?"
"We had a bit of an accident. Our torches went out when we were still deep inside. Those two helped us get out. I'm not sure how, but they guided us out."
"Really?" he asked Hiccup.
Hiccup looked up from his plate of grilled salmon. He had only been paying a little attention to the discussion because some of the details were still disturbing.
Yes.
He thought that his father almost gave him a grin.
"Well, good job. Fishlegs, you did a good job leading your people."
"Thank you Chief, are you going to do anything about what we found?"
"I think we should leave the dead alone to be respectful to our ancestors."
"Ok sir, is there anything else you need from me?"
"No Fishlegs, you may go."
Fishlegs obediently left the table.
Hiccup watched as his father leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed.
"So strange to learn these things about our people, isn't it Stoick?" Gobber asked.
"I know, I wonder why our ancestors put the chest up in the cave. It had to be after the battle."
"Maybe they wanted everything to be remembered."
"But they left the gold too. Why would they do that?"
Gobber just shrugged.
"Who knows? Maybe to honor the dead. I don't really care."
"Fair enough. You two about done Hiccup?"
Hiccup glanced over at Toothless's empty plate. Yes, he nodded back.
"Stoick, I was just wondering, why don't you ever talk to Toothless?"
Hiccup happened to be looking at his father at that moment and noticed how he suddenly stiffened.
"He just… they are not the same. It's not your business."
"Alright, there is no need to get angry Stoick…"
Hiccup sadly looked over at Gobber and could clearly see how hurt he was by Stoick's harsh words.
I should talk to him about that.
It was the first thing he brought up when he got back home.
Dad, you should not be angry with Gobber
"I can't have him asking those questions."
But he is right, you can talk to Toothless
"I know, but that is still very strange. Toothless is a real dragon, and none of the dragons talk."
I do
"What?"
I talk and everyone knows that
"You are not really a dragon."
Hiccup pointedly flexed his wings and flicked his tail for emphasis.
"You are not a dragon in here," Stoick pointed at his head and then thumped his own chest.
"You never thought about killing people or fighting. I know they are not like that now, but they used to be."
Do you trust me
"Of course I do. Why not?"
Do you trust Gobber
"Yes, he is my old friend."
So tell him the truth about me
"I… you know I cannot do that. We've already talked about this."
Hiccup turned away with a growl of anger and ran to his room. Toothless hopped up next to him on the bed.
"Why are you angry?"
"My sire not want other two-leg kin know real me."
"Why not?"
"He has fear. Thinks other two-leg-kin… think bad… at me. He want me a two-leg."
Toothless sighed at the reminder of that issue again. It just would not go away.
"Toothless, if I be two-leg again in next season-cycles, what you do?"
It was surely impossible. Making him not a kin made as much sense as rocks that could fly without wings or water falling up.
On the other paw though, he made me fly again when I knew I never would. Maybe he could find a way.
It was a terrible thought. He liked having Hiccup as his nestmate, as a fellow Night-Fury-kin. It meant that he was not alone like he had always thought he would be. It meant that he could fly with Hiccup properly instead of having to carry him around.
But Hiccup was still unhappy.
Hiccup uncertainly continued with his question.
"You fly away? You stay here… and be my kin-friend? Us be like other kins and two-legs?"
"I think I stay here for time. You are good to me. I will always remember what you did for my tail," Toothless answered a moment later.
Hiccup sighed in relief that Toothless would not want to leave Berk in that case.
"That good. I happy."
Toothless curled up next to him and shut his eyes with a soft purr. Hiccup was still a bit unsettled though. Something about the thought of changing back was nagging at him. He knew that it was definitely what he wanted, but still…
He glanced at his paws and his tail curled around in front of him. He found himself idly stroking the fins. Then he shook his head and lay down as well.
What am I thinking…
Stoick remained at his table, looking through all the items brought back from the ancient chests, long after Hiccup had run off to bed.
They were as Fishlegs related, genealogies, stories, and lists of useful plants to name a few. Some of the scrolls were stored in the Great Hall's annex and ones relating to dragons had been put in the the Academy for Astrid. The rest were here with him.
One of the parchments in particular caught his attention. Specifically, the one most yellowed with age that had lain on the very bottom of the pile. The title was faint and covered in dust.
On Ragnarok
He gingerly picked it up and unfurled the scroll. The ink was so old that it had grown faded in places and was hard to make out without holding a candle close to the cloth-paper.
What is a god but a being above nature? Above the winds, the seas, and the soil. The gods grew in number and built things worthy of the gods. All the lands, winds, and seas became theirs. Things moved like birds in the clouds and among the stars. The gods captured worlds out of dreams and locked the worlds in living boxes. The gods even shaped the dirt into great and terrible new creatures and breathed life into the dirt. But the gods were always part of the cycle, not above it. The gods gave up their power. They forgot each other, each becoming the gods of their own world, and turned on each other. They hurled stars and engulfed their spire-cities with heavenly flame. Thus was Ragnarok begun.
He carefully rolled the parchment up while thinking over its strange words.
I don't remember that tale from anywhere. Hmm. No wonder why not, there are no heroes. Can't keep interest among the people without giving them a hero.
He returned the scroll to the pile of other works, giving it the respect that an ancient text deserved, even if its meaning was incomprehensible. Then he turned in for the night, although not without feeling a twinge of regret that he had not been able to better handle the Gobber situation.
Hiccup woke up late that night to a pounding noise. He yawned widely before being enough awake to realize that someone was rapping at the outside door.
That was very unusual. No one ever disturbed the Chief at night unless there was a dire emergency. Sure enough, his father's heavy footfalls began stomping down the hall while he grumbled and groaned to himself the entire way.
I wonder who it is.
He was just interested enough to get up and hop out of bed to listen at the bedroom door.
"Do you know what time… Astrid!"
Astrid!
"Sir, we need to talk."
"It's the middle of the night. Can it wait until morning?"
"I just got back, and I haven't spoken to anyone else."
"Fine, come in," he relented.
Hiccup could not restrain himself any longer and ran down the hall. It had been too long since he had seen Astrid, and he desperately wanted to hear her news. He paused outside the living room though when he heard how frantic and disturbed she sounded.
"I'll tell you more in the morning, but you need to know what happened with the Berserkers."
"What happened? Surely Osvald did not give you trouble."
"No, he couldn't because he is dead."
"Dead? How?"
She took a breath and paused before answering.
"Dagur killed him."