"By the pricking of my thumbs/Something wicked this way comes." - William Shakespeare - Macbeth
The Calm Before The Storm
An eerie melancholy had descended on Berk overnight. Word of what had transpired with Dagur had spread almost as soon as the ships had returned.
Stoick's sleep had been extremely restless. He pondered the most obvious problem for a long time before even leaving bed. Berk was defenseless without her dragons. Even back in the most glorious days of his tribe, Berk was not the match of the Berserker tribe. No tribe was.
We have to bring our beasts back now. They are our best defense. And we must let the other tribes know what Dagur plans. Maybe they will help us. Or maybe they will join Dagur. No, they have their own dragons now. Dagur is as much their enemy as he is ours.
He got up and called an emergency meeting of the entire tribe at dawn.
"I am sure you all know why I have called you here. Dagur the Deranged, Chief of the Berserkers, intends to lead his tribe here and to attack us. He wants to hunt our dragons for sport and to kill us."
The Hall was deadly silent.
"I told you all that we were going to go bring back our dragons eventually. Now is the time! I need volunteers for three ships to go to the island where the dragons went. You must find your dragons and get their babies on the ships. Then bring them both back here. Astrid will lead the mission. Follow her direction. Everyone else will stay here and prepare the defenses. Spitelout will lead the preparations."
He held a fist in the air and raised his voice.
"We have always endured, and we will again."
He walked out among his people and clasped shoulders in encouragement.
"I see in your eyes the same fear that would chill my heart! But what are we? We are a fire in the winter! We live rightly as the gods wish. We do not make war on other people like the Berserkers do!"
He returned to his pedestal at the front of the Hall.
"Do not be afraid of them! The gods will favor us!"
Everyone in the Hall got to their feet and raised their voices in a united cheer. Then everyone began to disperse without any apparent signs of panic. A crowd gathered around Astrid, clearly eager to volunteer for the mission to recover the dragons.
"Motivating as always, Stoick," Gobber said after he came forward.
"We have to move fast. Dagur could get here in as soon as a couple weeks."
"Yeah, I've been thinking about that. What about the other tribes, the Vaina, the Volsung, and even the Outcasts?"
"What about them?"
"Do we tell them? Do we ask them for help?"
Stoick stared down at the table and avoided his gaze. Some suspicious thoughts started creeping into his mind about the possible intention's of the other tribes.
"Can we trust them?" he eventually asked.
"What do you think? Dagur wants to hunt the beasties for sport, as you say. That makes him and the Berserkers the enemy of the other tribes too. I think they will join us."
"Even if they will help us, how do we get word to them? None of the riders have their dragons except for Gustav and the Frostbeard children. They don't know where to go and they are not old enough. Sending ships might take too long, and we need the fighters here. We are losing enough on Astrid's mission as it is."
No one proposed anything until Gobber spoke up with an idea.
"So send Hiccup. He knows where to go."
"I'd rather not."
"That is the fastest way. You could write down everything, and he could take your message to the other Chiefs."
"Let me think about it."
He left the Hall and watched as the crowd dispersed, most normal duties being abandoned out of necessity. Astrid led a contingent, unsurprisingly significantly weighted in favor of riders, toward the docks. Spitelout had already gathered together the best carpenters and craftsmen, presumably to discuss defenses for the upper level of the village.
I hope it doesn't come to that. If we can get the dragons back, we might be able to hold the Berserkers off.
He was almost back home when he heard the rush of wings. Hiccup swooped down in front of him, landed, and approached him with a clear expression of confusion and interest.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Let's go inside."
They did, and Hiccup sat down, clearly eager to hear the news.
"You know that I went to meet with Dagur?"
Yes.
"Dagur wanted to hunt dragons here on Berk. I said no, and now we are war with the Berserkers."
Hiccup nodded once and then froze, as if he hadn't understood at first. Then he looked up in clear shock and disbelief.
"You heard me right. He said he was going to pay us a visit. We cannot waste any time. Astrid is going to bring back as many of the dragons as she can, and the rest of us are going to fortify Berk."
What can I do to help?
His first thought was that a strong dragon could help by hauling logs or assisting in construction, but that would be treating Hiccup as a pack animal. He wouldn't allow that. Gobber's suggestion came back to him, and he begrudgingly admitted to himself that Gobber was right. There was no one better to take the request for aid than Hiccup.
"I am going to let the other Chiefs know what Dagur plans to do. Will you take a message to them from me?"
All of them?
"Yes, all of them. You do know the way, right?"
Hiccup nodded.
"Ok, go get yourself something to eat. I'll write up the letters for you to take."
Hiccup wasted no time and darted outside. Then Stoick sat himself down at his table and began drafting his message to the other Chiefs. It was a short message that contained only the essential information that Dagur and the Berserkers intend to make war on Berk and that Berk requests the aid of the other dragon-friendly tribes against this threat.
Hiccup returned soon thereafter and quickly carved his fish on his own. Stoick finished the last copy of the message and set it aside to dry.
"Alright, the letters are here, and I'll put them in your pack. I need to go see the ships off. Remember, no wandering off. Just go straight to the Vaina, the Volsung, and even the Outcasts, and then come right back here."
He acknowledged his father's words and watched as he went outside.
Hiccup absentmindedly finished his raw fish, closed his eyes, and tried to imagine what it would look like. A true war of tribe against tribe. It wasn't something he had ever seen before. Despite his own desire for peace, he knew that this was a different case. He had direct experience with how cruel Berserkers could be.
There is no talking to Dagur. He is not the listening type. But why would he want to attack us? What did we ever do to him?
He collected and secured his pack and paused at the door.
Should I bring Toothless? No, probably not. No distractions. I should tell him about the danger though.
His mind made up, he left home and quickly jumped aloft. He found Toothless sunning himself and looking around the village with interest.
"What is happening? The two-legs are moving much."
"A different, bad nest will come here to fight us. We are working to make this nest more safe."
"What are you doing?"
"I am going to other good nests to get help."
The idea clearly intrigued Toothless.
"Why will they help?"
"Because they should. Because good nests help each other. You should help here when I am gone."
Toothless looked around and casually nodded.
"Stay safe Hiccup."
"You also Toothless."
Hiccup turned around and leapt from the cliff. He briefly glanced over at the docks where three ships were being prepared. He thought he could just spot Astrid out from among the crowd.
Then he turned out to sea, focusing his thoughts only on the air flowing over his wings and the warm sun on his back. But now there was also a faint sense of urgency at the thought of the impending threat. That feeling of danger added a bit more haste to his flight.
Stoick watched as Hiccup flew off into the distance and gradually vanished into the distant skies.
He'll be fine. Just don't think about it.
Then he went down to the docks to help with loading the remaining supplies on the ships.
"Do what you have to do Astrid!" he shouted up to her.
"We will sir!" she answered.
He stood back and watched as the ships unfurled their sails and began to pull out into the harbor.
"Gods watch over you. And us," he whispered.
Then he left the docks and headed back through the lower level of the village.
We will need to abandon this level. Can't hold the port. We will also need to move the ships. The far side of the island should work.
He considered the narrow path up the cliff to the main level where everyone lived.
Collapse the path and they cannot reach us this way. That leaves only the long way if they land this side of the island.
He gathered Spitelout, Gobber, and a group of the better warriors in the Hall at his table to plan for the inevitable invasion.
"Ok, we have never had something like this happen before. Dragons we know how to fight. Another tribe though..." he began.
"How many is he bringing?" Spitelout asked.
"No idea. It could be all of them. Over a thousand."
That sent groans all around the table.
"We will be fine. We will have our dragons by then."
"So what? What good will a few dragons do about all the Berserkers?" Spitelout wondered.
"We can attack from above while their ships are still at sea. And we can get them to fight for us on land. Fire is just as dangerous as ever," Stoick answered.
"But the Berserkers know that they will need to fight dragons. They will be ready. It will be a slaughter both ways."
"Don't tell me yer fond of them now," Gobber teased.
"So what if I am, they're our beasties."
"Maybe we can help protect them. Make some armor for them." Finnbjorn proposed.
"Can you do that, Gobber?" Stoick asked.
The smith stroked his beard, deep in thought.
"Astrid suggested something like that before. It's mostly arrows and spears they need to worry about. Some plates for their necks and bellies could help. Something for their heads though, that's harder and would need to be made for each one of them since they're all so different."
"Just do what you can."
"I will," Gobber answered.
"I sent Hiccup to carry a message to the Vaina, Volsung, and even the Outcasts. I let them know what Dagur was going to do. I told them that all dragon-friendly tribes are on the same side and we must defend each other."
"Do you really think they will come?" Spitelout wondered.
"Maybe some of them if they have any honor. But for now we need to plan on our own. Suppose the Berserkers do get to Berk. We abandon the docks and bring everyone up to the top level. We cannot fight them all in the forest. It has to be in the open where the dragons can fly. What should we do?"
Spitelout thought long and hard.
"The best we can do is to build a wall here," he pointed to a place on the map, "and funnel them into one area and hope to hold the line. We could dig pits to stop them from scaling the wall everywhere. It will be a lot of work, but I think we can do it in a couple weeks."
"Do it," Stoick declared.
"I did have another idea, but you probably won't like it," Spitelout began.
"I'm open to anything right now."
"Ok, we know where there are large supplies of weapons and armor waiting to be taken. Your dragons found them underground."
Everyone took a moment of silence in honor of their ancestors.
"Yes, but we would be disturbing the dead," Stoick began.
Elder Vuulthir chose that moment to speak up.
"The bones of our ancestors rest down there, right? They are in Valhalla right now. I don't think they would mind if we disturbed their bones and claimed the weapons to defend ourselves. Our ancestors would consider it an honor for their blades to see battle again."
With that reassurance in mind, Stoick nodded.
"It is agreed then. We will recover all the weapons and armor we can from underground."
"What about the women and children? We can't have them fighting too," Gobber asked.
"Clearly you don't know our women," Ignis interrupted.
"That is not the point," Gobber protested, "Not everyone can fight, and I do not want the Berserkers to have a chance to take any of them alive."
"We will hide everyone who cannot fight on Mount Thor. There are enough caves to keep everyone hidden," Stoick declared.
He didn't need to say that it wouldn't matter where they were hiding if the battle was lost. Everyone understood that without needing to hear it.
"Is there anything else we need to know?" Spitelout asked.
He considered letting them all know that he might have seen a Skrill. That Dagur may have tamed one of those arcane beasts.
But he said nothing.
It wouldn't change anything except to make everyone more afraid.
"Let's get started. No time to waste."
He stood up, signaling the end of the meeting. Everyone except Spitelout marched out the doors, eager to spread the word and get to work.
"I don't need to tell you brother, but we cannot hold if we don't get the dragons and other tribes to help us."
He clasped Spitelout's shoulder and gave him a grim smile.
"Have faith, Astrid has never let us down yet."
Hiccup arrived at the Vainian island at sunset without even realizing how sore his wings were from an entire day of non-stop flight. The sight of the other dragons comfortably lounging throughout the village was a testament to just how far this people had come.
Still, his arrival and touching down in the main square sparked quite a reaction.
"Where is its rider?" "It's the Fury!" "What's that on its neck?"
Please get Svana
He sat down and waited while the Vainian Chief was fetched from their Hall. He recognized several of the younger people among the gathering crowd as being dragon riders and gave them a bow of acknowledgment. Then he noticed the massive woman marching toward him from behind the crowd. She stepped forward and regarded him.
"It really is you. Welcome."
We need to talk
Then he overtly glanced at her house. She nodded and led him up to her house. It was just as he recalled except that there was now a stable with a dozing Nightmare located next to the house.
She did say that she got one of her own.
She let him inside and watched as he found a place by the fire in the living room. He managed to knock over a chair with a swipe of his tail.
"You've grown a lot since last time you were here."
Yes, he nodded.
"You will have to forgive me. This is still strange for me to be talking to a dragon."
He just shrugged his shoulders and grumbled casually. Then he reached inside his bag and pulled out one of the sealed letters which he handed over to her. She unrolled the message and began to read it by the firelight.
Her brow began to furrow in apparent concern as she read the letter. When she finished, she gave a great sigh and turned back to him.
"Do you know what it says?"
Yes, he nodded. He could reasonably guess at what the letter said.
"I don't know what we can do. We are not fighters, and most of our dragon riders are still youths."
He turned away to yawn politely as his exhaustion started to catch up to him.
"You are sleepy. I am sorry. Follow me."
She led him outside to a new stables where she let him have his pick of stall.
Much cleaner than last time at least.
The only problem was that there was a large crowd gathered around for no apparent reason other than to look at him. Fortunately, she noticed and intervened.
"Alright, get going everyone. He has had a long day and wants to get some sleep! All dragon-riders to the Hall..."
Thanks.
He set aside his pack, covered himself with a wing, and abandoned himself to his exhaustion.
He woke up the next morning to the glorious smell of smoked fish placed on a wooden platter before him. He grinned and happily rumbled to himself when he realized that she had remembered this detail from their last encounter. Chief Svana showed up shortly after he started on his meal.
"Sleep well?"
Other than the wooden floorboards, yeah.
Yes.
She walked over and sat down next to him with a gesture towards his pack.
"You are going to take this message to the other Chiefs, aren't you?"
Yes.
"I shared the news with my riders and elders. They understand the danger, but they agreed that we should help Berk."
Really?
He looked up at her in surprise.
"Yes, I don't know what we can do, but we will think of something."
Well, this is less friendly. Not surprising though.
He nervously shuffled about on his feet as he looked around at the Volsung welcoming party. The men crowded in around him while the dragons glared in his direction in clear suspicion. The dragons all had bridles in their mouths and large saddles on their backs. They also seemed an odd combination of docile or submissive and also angry at the same time. Completely unlike Berk's dragons.
Get your Chief
Everyone started muttering and pointing at his inscriptions, but no one moved. He eventually had to growl at them to get someone to go fetch the Chief.
Edgaras eventually came up to him, leading a particularly angry-looking Nightmare by a leash. The man stood back and regarded him after glancing at the writing. He clearly recalled their very brief prior encounter.
"What are you doing here?"
Not one for chatting. Ok then.
He handed over a letter to Edgaras who carefully took it from him and read it over with growing amusement.
"Oh really, well that is interesting," the Chief said when he finished.
Edgaras began to pace while clearly weighing his options.
"The Berserkers want to war with Berk, and Stoick wants our help to defend his people."
And all dragon-friendly tribes
"They could be a threat to us. Dagur is very unstable, that is for sure. But who knows? He may have no quarrel with us. I might sit back and watch the two of you destroy each other and then move in afterwards."
Hiccup bristled at that and barely restrained a growl of anger.
"Or maybe I will teach the Berserkers a lesson for certain... offenses they made against me."
What should I tell my Chief?
"Dear Stoick... tell him... that we will be there. Any opportunity to get back at the Berserkers and maybe take their lands is welcome. Plus, we'd like to see our beasts in action now, won't we?" he shouted to the gathered crowd.
They roared aloud at the thought of battle.
I will tell him
Then Hiccup leapt into the sky and left the village behind. Edgaras tried to shout something after him, but he had no interest in staying there any longer than was absolutely necessary.
Can't say I like their reasons. Alright, just one more to go. My favorite too. Good old dragon-knapping Alvin.
He wheeled in above Outcast Island just after sunset. It looked very different from above, not much unlike any other tribe's island. The main difference was that he could not see any evident signs of there being any dragons on the island.
Alright, here goes nothing.
A group of men down on the island noticed him and raised the alarm. Concerningly, there were a good number of people who emerged with nets, so he landed on top of one of the houses and out of their reach. He stayed there until a familiar figure pushed its way through the crowd.
Alvin stood before the house and stared up at him. Then he gave a signal to the crowd and they lowered their nets and backed away.
He glared at Alvin for a minute before he decided to take the risk. He spread his wings and jumped down to the ground, then he cautiously walked up to Alvin while keeping an eye on everyone else.
It couldn't hurt to be cautious when dealing with the Outcasts.
"What should we do Chief?"
"Let it be," Alvin replied.
Hmph, it indeed...
Alvin did a very good job of maintaining his composure in front of everyone, but Hiccup could tell that he was nervous. The usually proud and confident man could not even properly meet his gaze.
Maybe looking into a Night Fury's eyes by firelight when he knows he wronged me before is a little scary. Yeah, that sounds right.
Even so, he was a bit surprised that the thought that he was a bit scary felt good. It certainly was not the aura he intended to give off. Though with Alvin, he couldn't say that any discomfort the man felt was undeserved.
He reached into his carrying bag and pulled out the last letter, which he handed off to a very surprised Alvin. The man grabbed a torch and quickly read over the message, then the Chief started to pace when he finished reading. Hiccup let him pace for a minute.
A soft grumble got the man's attention again. Then Hiccup remembered that the rest of the Outcasts hadn't seen that he could write.
What is your answer?
That set off a firestorm of shouting and disbelief within the gathered crowd. Several people began screaming for his head and even made threatening gestures.
"Stop! You will not touch it!" Alvin's voice carried over them all.
Everyone looked around in surprise at their Chief, but they all complied. Then Alvin purposefully walked up to him and stood within his reach. It was a noticeable statement of trust that he was sure that the dragon would not lash out at him.
"You tell Stoick that we will be there. We hate the Berserkers too."
He gave Alvin a curt nod and then launched himself into the sky and vanished into the night.
Alright, find somewhere safe to sleep tonight and then get home tomorrow. Hmm, I wonder where their dragons are.
He landed after several minutes of flight down the coastline. He found a nook at the top of the cliff and hid himself inside to rest as his exhaustion began to catch up with him.
Maybe they didn't get to train any dragons of their own after all. Still, anything they can do will help if the Berserkers are really coming.
Gobber frowned and stared down at the plans on his table. He had somewhat hastily drawn the sketches only this morning based on his years of experience with the subjects of the drawings. He even had the latest Book of Dragons brought out to him to help make the designs as proportioned as possible.
Still, these were easily going to be the most bizarre constructions ever to come from his forge. Dragon saddles were just modifications from horse saddles. Armor though...
Blazes this is hard. They are all so different. I don't even know where to begin. Probably going to need something to protect their bellies first.
The enormity of the task gradually set in as he thought about how much leather and chain-weave would be needed to make enough armor.
"Gobber, you sent for me," Spitelout announced as he entered the forge.
"Aye, I did. How did the underground recovery go?"
"They brought back a lot of stuff. Armor, shields, arrows, bows, pikes, axes, everything we could need. They did say that some of the bones looked like they had been disturbed."
"Disturbed?"
"Like someone took parts of dragon skeletons."
"I see. Someone probably did sometime. Maybe after the battle that happened long ago. Anyway, that is not why I called for you. This is about the dragon armor."
"What about it?"
"I cannot make it all in time. We have twenty-six dragons with riders if they all come back. We don't have enough leather or metal to make armor for all of them. And it can take days just to make the armor and a helmet for just one of them even if I have enough supplies."
Spitelout grimly nodded.
"And don't even get me started on making sure everything is sized correctly. It cannot be done without having each beastie right here."
"Just do it for a few then. Make what you can. Maybe some of the chain mail we got from below can be reused."
"We should have started on this long ago. Should have known the peace wouldn't last forever."
"Yes, we should have, Gobber. We won't make that mistake again."
He struggled under the backbreaking weight of the log as he made his way back from the forest for the fifth time this day. He heaved the weight off his shoulders in front of the beginnings of the barricade and stepped inside to survey the progress.
Everyone had been at work in one way or another for the last week. Cutting down trees to build the barrier wall, digging ditches, organizing supplies, mending shields, preparing meals for those working. No task was too small. Even the children were helping to dig.
The wall was progressing nicely and would be completed within the week. It should be high enough to prevent anyone from being able to easily scale, especially when combined with the ditch.
He briefly glanced to the forge where Gobber was hard at work. He had apparently run into some problems making armor for dragons, but he had been able to produce some protective coverings.
His gaze was drawn out toward the sea.
Where are you?
"Chief Stoick?"
He turned around in surprise and found a strange man standing there. It was one of the foreigners whose name he did not know.
"She wants to talk to you."
It would mean leaving his people for part of the afternoon, but when a sorcerer his hopes depend on summons him, he must answer.
"Let's go then," he answered the man.
They both left and set out through the forest. When they finally arrived at the hidden shelter, Stoick was very exhausted and short of breath. The man went inside to fetch the Moirai, who emerged immediately.
"Stoick," she began without wasting any time, "is there something I should know about? My people tell me that you are fortifying the village."
"Yes, we received a threat from another tribe, the Berserkers."
"I have heard about them. Vicious warriors. And they are going to come here?"
"Yes."
"How do you intend to fight them?"
"We are bringing back as many dragons as we can from their nesting grounds. They will help defend the island. We are building defenses in case the Berserkers do get on the island."
"Were you ever going to tell us?"
"Of course I was. You are welcome to shelter with us inside the village."
"It is still a great risk to stay here," she seemed unconvinced.
"Can you help us?" Stoick asked.
"Help you how?"
"You know, with your powers..."
"With my powers..." she mumbled.
She gained a distant look in her eyes as she was deeply in thought.
"I suppose it is worthwhile. Will there be a place outside the wall where many Berserkers will need to gather?" she eventually asked.
"Yes, we are digging trenches around most of the wall. They will only be able breach the defense at the gate."
"Good," she gave an evil grin, "we sorcerers know things that normal people do not know. For example, did you know that rock contains fire and light?"
"What?"
"Yes, some rocks can be turned into fire and light under the right conditions. A lot of fire and light. Enough to burn scores of people."
"I don't understand how that could happen," Stoick muttered.
"No, you cannot, but you don't need to. I will bring you a container. All you need to do is set fire to the container and my power will be revealed in battle. Any around the place will die."
"I am in your debt again."
"When will your enemy arrive here?" she wondered.
"We don't know. We probably have over a week."
"A week... you should know then that I will be taking my ship away from the island before they arrive here. I don't want to be in the way and have all the work that I've done for you be lost."
"No, of course not," he agreed, "that would not be good. You do what you must."
Stoick returned to the village just before dawn. He had a fast dinner of soup and bread and then went out to get back to work. It was hard to stay focused because of how drowsy he had become after working almost non-stop for the last few days. His brother waved him over after he helped lift another beam.
"Go on Stoick, you need to get some rest. You've been working yourself too hard," Spitelout said.
He was about to protest when Elder Vuulthir lay a frail hand on his forearm.
"No sense in stumbling about out here Stoick. We need you strong and rested."
"Well, if you insist Elder."
He dismissed himself and struggled back to his home, fighting exhaustion the whole way. Secretly, he was a bit thankful that the Elder had given him a good excuse to get much needed rest and save face before his people. He let himself inside and started down the hallway toward his bed when he noticed motion from the living room.
Hiccup lifted his head from the ground and quickly got to his feet. Stoick felt his own exhaustion vanish when he realized who had returned.
"Hiccup! You're back!"
He ran over and unabashedly threw his arms around Hiccup's great neck in a hug that made the dragon purr in happiness. The moment lasted for a few seconds.
Then the feeling of pebbly-leathery skin under his fingers and the claws on his back reminded him that this creature was not really his son as nature and the gods intended. His son was trapped inside this alien form. He stepped back from the Fury and easily feigned exhaustion.
"So, any news for me?"
Hiccup nodded at the table. Stoick went over to the table and retrieved the already-written response. The words were more than he could have hoped for.
"All of them? They all said they would help!"
Yes, Hiccup nodded.
"That is amazing. I didn't expect... Even Alvin?"
Yes.
"I hadn't hoped for all of them to come to our aid. Even if they don't know when they will get here, this is still wonderful news. None of them gave you any trouble I hope."
No.
"Good. Well, I have had a long day and I am going to bed."
Perhaps the mention of bed had some magical power, but Hiccup yawned at that precise moment.
"You should rest too. You've been doing a lot of flying."
He walked Hiccup down the hall and watched as the dragon lay down. Then he went to his room and collapsed into his bed. As tired as he was though, his mind was still unsettled as he thought over the news Hiccup had brought. The Vaina, Volsung, and Outcasts were all willing to sail or fly to Berk's defense against the Berserkers. This could change all the dynamics between the tribes, if they were victorious of course.
We might have a real chance with all of them on our side. Dagur won't know what he got himself into.
The next week passed uneventfully as the preparations continued. Most of the barricade was completed and the ditches were being deepened. With the main defenses completed, several men started hauling out from storage the old catapults. Hiccup helped to pull the devices and helped to erect watchtowers on the nearest structures from which one could oversee the battlefield. Even Toothless had joined in by helping to carry logs and by taking instructions from Hiccup.
Stoick felt very confident about Berk's readiness as he watched everyone working together. His peace was interrupted when one of the lookouts ran up to him with urgency.
"Chief! Chief!" shouted Hirgon.
"What is it man?"
"They are coming!" he breathlessly said.
Stoick frowned as a coldness settled on his heart. It was too soon. He had hoped for more time, enough at least to get help from Astrid or the other tribes.
"Then we shall meet them in battle anyway," Stoick grimly declared.
Hirgon just stared in confusion for a moment before he continued.
"No, not the Berserkers. It's our ships and dragons!"
It was Stoick's turn to look confused before realizing with joy that this was only a misunderstanding. He went from thinking that doom was about to befall his people to elation that their greatest strength was just returned to them.
"Well, why didn't you say so before!" he happily shouted.
He immediately ran to the cliffs and looked out to sea. There were three ships inbound and bearing the Berk flag upon their sails. And above the ships was a flock of swarming dragons.
A small flock.
He quickly counted only about twenty sets of wings hovering over and around the ships, far fewer than the flock that called Berk home.
"Where are the rest of them?"
He made sure that he was the first in line to meet the people returning from the ships. It was very strange though to see so much activity from the gathered dragons. They crowded in closely on the shore, surveying the ships more intently than they ever did for fishing runs. It was not hard to imagine why.
Astrid shouted to the people gathered on the beach.
"Stay back and don't try to touch them!"
People started to emerge from the ships while carrying little bundles no one had ever seen before on Berk. Some carried their passengers in baskets and others they carried by hand if there were only one or two to carry. Several dozen hatchlings of all different types were welcomed onto Berk.
Some were clearly drowsy and completely clueless and others were wide awake and looking around in alert curiosity. The one commonality between them was that they all had large heads and looked very clumsy. Almost all the gathered women and girls gave a collective sigh and even the men in the crowd grinned despite themselves.
As soon as each person came forward, the parents of the hatchlings would come forward, shoving other dragons or humans out of the way, to stand protectively near their brood. A lot of chirping and calling went back and forth between the hatchlings and adults.
It was an experience that no one on Berk had ever had before.
Astrid was the last one to leave the ship with hatchlings in tow. She carried a small basket and walked straight over to the patiently waiting Stormfly and Blueback, the former of which bent down to inspect the basket.
He slowly walked over to her and saw something that no one would have thought possible. Astrid picked up the three hatchlings one at a time and put each one in Stormfly's open mouth. Once she had her three babies secured, the dragon and her mate flew up into the village leaving Astrid behind on the beach.
"Astrid, how did it go?"
She looked back at him, still with a bit of a dreamy look in her eyes.
"There is a lot to talk about," she answered.
"We can talk on the way to the Hall."
She nodded and they both set out together.
"We found the island easily enough. There had to be a couple hundred dragons there not including the little ones."
"Ours?"
"We found them all there, sir."
"So, where are the others?"
She frowned at that question.
"Well, the rest stayed behind. They didn't all like us getting close to their babies."
"What! They don't trust us?"
"I think that most of those cases were that the mother is a wild dragon and the father stayed with her. But even outside of those, there were some that are ours and still would not let us take their babies."
"Why not?"
"I do not know. Maybe they want to wait longer to let their babies get bigger. Maybe those people didn't do enough to earn the dragons' trust."
"Trust... we only have twenty dragons now. How can we trust that they will fight for us? What if they decide to fly away and betray us!"
She glanced at him in surprise and a bit of dismay that he would suggest such a thing. But he seemed to realize what he had blurted out and sighed heavily.
"I'm sorry... I'm just very worried about us here."
"I understand. I am sure that they won't fly away. Remember that this is their home, or nest, now and their hatchlings are here too. True, we have not taught our dragons how to fight people, but I don't think they have forgotten how to. They are smart enough to know who an enemy."
"Hopefully you are right, Astrid."
"Did anything happen while we were gone?" she asked while they ascended the narrow path to the upper level.
"Yes, Hiccup took word to the other tribes, the Vaina, Volsung, and Outcasts. They will all come to our aid."
That is good news indeed! she thought to herself.
"I'm glad they will. We are all on the same side now."
She observed the substantial progress that had been made in fortifying the village since her departure. She also noticed a certain Night Fury helping out in the construction of the barricade.
I'll have to go talk to him soon. After some real food though...
It was now the third day since the dragons had been brought back to Berk. Stoick had needed volunteers to take on patrol duties over the south-eastern seas, so naturally Thorvald had volunteered first. His main goal was to impress Sifa with his bravery. His first day of patrol revealed nothing, but the morning of his second day of patrol brought a number of specks on the distant horizon.
His usual bravado and smug confidence began to dissipate by the time he started counting the number of longboats on a fifth set of ten fingers.
"How can they possibly have that many ships?"
He coaxed Hookedfang lower to get a closer look at the ships. It didn't even matter that they saw him at this point. Most of the ships flew the Berserker's flag, but some had a flag he had never seen before and could not identify. One of the ships launched a shot at him from its crossbows, but he made sure to keep his dragon high enough to be beyond their reach. The vessels looked packed to the rims with soldiers, and a loud roar echoed from the ships below as hundreds of men raised their voices together.
He tugged on the reins and turned Hookedfang for Berk with great haste.
Odin Allfather, help us...