Chapter 23 - Master Is Angry:
The thundering footsteps surrounding him kept bringing a new wave of fear, shaking him to his core every time the creature made a thud. The darkness and chill of the night not helping either.
"What happened to your arm?" The creature asked him.
Harun touched his now bandaged wound on his left arm with his shaking right hand. "M-Master, I was stabbed by Savas. The army commander. He launched at me when I was threatening Hiccup."
"And what happened to him?"
Harun knew the following would upset the creature a lot, but he knew he had to say the truth.
"My lord, Savas has vanished. My forces haven't found him. After he stabbed me, I was unconscious for about ten minutes till Orah woke me up. He was injured too, he has two broken-"
"I care not about your servant, tell me what happened next." The creature hissed.
Harun nodded to the darkness. "When Orah woke me up, I sprinted out of the tunnels and gathered up the Myrkian Army. With no sign of Savas, we charged down towards the wharves, but then a Skrill with a rider came swooping down and attacked us."
"We managed to drive it off, and it seemed injured when it flew away. I also think we might have killed its rider. It flew down towards the boat that Hiccup, Kormak and Vali escaped on and crashed onto it. But by that time their ship was far ahead of us. We just retreated-"
Suddenly Harun felt his left arm bitten off him in the blink of an eye. And then a powerful slam on his chest and he went blasting backwards, screaming in pain. He landed on his back, while clutching his now rapidly bleeding left shoulder where his arm used to be. Rolling around on the ground all over the place, in unspeakable pain.
The creature approached slowly, thudding heavily on the grounds in front of Harun. Harun attempted to scramble backwards. "I warned you, Harun. You should have pursued the boat! You filthy Viking!"
"MASTER I'M SORRY!" Harun bellowed.
"Heh heh." Chuckled the creature. "Not yet you're not."
"Your next task now is to prepare your forces for war. For it could come at any time from now. Keep a close eye on the Bog Burglars, if they look like they are about to attack, let me know and I will take care of them. From now on, Hiccup and the Six are no longer your concern. They will not return to Myrka for a long time, and they are now my problem. And as for Savas, leave him to me."
Suddenly Harun felt a heavy weight shaped like a foot being pressed hard onto his chest. "You're lucky I'm letting you live for a little longer. Next time you retreat, or fail me in any way, it will be your life."
With that, the creature beat powerful wings, and left the King sprawled on the ground outside the castle on Myrka.
Out in the ocean on a boat heading to Dyflin…
"Vali?" Hiccup began kindly, slowly walking into the room where he last put her whilst she was unconscious.
She was lying down in the same spot Hiccup left her, on the hammock.
Hiccup shut the door behind him, and slowly approached. Her face was turned the opposite way, facing the wall. Hiccup was unsure if she was awake or not. He listened intently, and he could hear her breathing quite fast.
He had a feeling she was awake, so he kept his distance.
"Vali?" He whispered, not wanting to be too loud or quiet.
Suddenly she threw back the sheets and hurled her pillow at Hiccup at full speed.
Due to Hiccup's acquired Night Fury abilities and training from Savas, he caught it and held it to his side. While Vali stood up, one hand on her head and another in front ready to fight him.
"Vali, we're not going to hurt you. You're not a prisoner or anything like." Hiccup tried to explain.
She didn't acknowledge that she even heard Hiccup's words, and instead looked like she was about to throw a punch. Her eyes were locked to Hiccup's, showing a mask of anger, confusion and betrayal.
"You wait till father hears about this." She spoke. Taking her hand off her head, and keeping it at the ready. Hiccup guessed her head was very sore and probably had some major bruising.
Hiccup sighed. "You're most free to have a look around. We're not stopping you from leaving this boat."
Vali laughed. "Well, in that case, mind if I?" She gestured at the door.
"Go right ahead." Hiccup moved out of the way, and sat down on a nearby chair. Vali looked at him, almost dumbfounded, surprised he was letting her go.
So immediately she sped to the door and opened it slowly. Before walking out quietly.
When Hiccup left the room to follow her, he saw she was staring at Asan who was by Kormak's side in the room opposite, the chief looked at her and nodded in acknowledgment.
"Greetings Vali."
She turned away from him and looked desperately for an exit. When she saw the steps leading up to the hatch, she went for it.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Hiccup warned.
She paid him no mind, and thrashed open the hatch door. Hiccup followed after her, glancing back to Asan. "Don't worry, I think she might come round in time."
He half smiled and looked back to Kormak.
The scream came as no surprise before Hiccup had even left the hull, as he climbed up the steps, he saw Vali facing the Skrill, with her eyes nearly bulging out of her head. Her face turned white.
Hiccup emerged from the hull and observed the surroundings. There wasn't that much light outside, other than that from the lamps on the main deck and the full moon in the sky. But Hiccup could see easily in the dead of night.
He also saw the Skrill was still asleep. Then suddenly there was a roar.
Vali spun around to face a very angry looking Toothless, who was snarling and growling at her. Even some of the crew edged a little away from the black dragon.
"Remember me?!" Toothless growled. Making a biting motion at her.
Hiccup couldn't blame the poor Night Fury, he'd be furious at Vali too if she was torturing him for over two months.
Vali just attempted to scramble backwards in fear, then passed out again then and there, her body falling limp and Hiccup just managed to catch her in his arms before she hit the ground.
"I'll take her back."
Hiccup turned at the sound of the new voice, and looked down the hull to see Kormak limping out of the room towards the steps.
"No, I'll take her back. You need rest Kormak." Hiccup replied, descending into the hull again whilst holding Vali, then closing the door behind him.
Hiccup quickly placed Vali back in the hammock in her room, and locked the door behind him when he came out.
"How are you feeling Kormak?" Hiccup asked politely.
He smiled. "Never been better. I'm so glad we're finally rid of Myrka."
The auburn haired teen agreed. "I couldn't possibly agree with you more. And also I'm so sorry that you had to go through all that. And plus our original plan didn't work out."
Kormak shrugged. "Ah, never mind. Anyway, the general goal of the plan worked didn't it? You managed to escape with everything you aimed for."
Hiccup smiled and placed a hand on Kormak's shoulder, "Yep. And I couldn't be more grateful to you, Kormak."
Kormak hugged him. "You're welcome, Hiccy."
They both laughed at the nickname and separated.
"All vight you two, come on it's time for ya bot' to sleep." Came Asan, striding out of a room holding some blankets.
"Oh yes please." Kormak said, limping as fast as he could towards the blankets in Asan's arms, as if they were about to fall out of his grip and run away to never be seen again.
Hiccup smiled. "You guys get some rest. I have to spend some time with the dragons upstairs. I'll sleep later."
Asan looked at Hiccup slightly concerned. "You sure? You need some sleep."
The young man waved it off. "Yeah I'm sure. Thank you though Asan."
He smiled and led Kormak to a bedroom, while Hiccup ascended up the stairs again, and opened the hatch.
Toothless had finished licking his wounds, while the Skrill was still unconscious.
Hiccup shut the hatch behind him and walked over to his best friend of whom he had missed for so long.
He hugged the dragon again for a while, neither of them saying anything.
"Be with you in just a moment." Hiccup whispered quietly and softly to him.
The dragon blinked and nodded to him.
Hiccup walked over to the main crew member from Dyflin, one of Asan's fellow Vikings and stood next to him as he navigated the ship.
Just before he began talking to the sailor, he turned around and saw a couple Vikings picking up Gothi's body and placing her into a long and large wooden box. Once done, they moved the crate to the side of the ship.
Hiccup looked at them and said, "Thanks guys. We'll give her a proper send off when we reach Dyflin. For now she can stay on the deck, if that's all right."
The Vikings nodded solemnly, then went back down into the hull.
Hiccup now turned back to face the sea ahead of them, and stood close to the sailor who was navigating.
"Hey, around two weeks you think till we get there?" He asked him.
The man turned to him and replied, "Yeah, I'd say about that. If this wind keeps up we'll be there quicker."
Hiccup nodded understandingly. "Can you guys see well enough in this darkness? I mean we wouldn't want to hit an iceberg or reef or something." He asked cautiously.
The man laughed. "Boy, I've been sailing on boats for most of me life in-between Dyflin and Myrka. I'm sure we'll be fine."
Hiccup trusted him and nodded. "Okay. But, if you ever need help feel free to ask me. And also, if you see anything suspicious, or even a dragon, please let me know."
"You got it boy." The man patted him on the head and winked to him before turning back to face the sea and steer the boat.
"And just a word of warning," Began Hiccup, "I will be chatting to the two dragons we have on deck here, and at some point when the Skrill wakes up, it might be a little aggressive. So please leave the talking to me and don't try to hurt the dragons."
The Viking took a little time before replying, "Ok, we'll do our best." He replied, a little nervously.
"Thank you."
With that out of the way, Hiccup walked back to Toothless but before he sat down, he examined his tail fins. One of them was clearly sawed off, which must have hurt the dragon immensely.
When he sat down in front of Toothless at last, the first thing he said to him was, "You will fly again. I will fix your tail."
Toothless looked at him as if he was crazy. "Hiccup, there's no possible way for you to do that."
Hiccup shook his head. "No, I will find a way. I'm an inventor remember? If I can manage to shoot down a Night Fury, I'm sure I can fix one."
Toothless chuckled, and responded, "We'll see. Now, please tell me how we escaped from Myrka so easily, and what happened to you after we were shot down."
Hiccup sighed and took a deep breath.
"Okay. Well, after we were shot down, I landed around all the craters in the ground…"
And so Hiccup explained what happened to him whilst he was in Myrka, unaware there was another dragon who had woken up and had begun listening intently.
On the shores of Dyflin…
"Mummy, how much longer?" A young boy asked his mother.
Polk, Kormak's younger brother was sitting on the sand with his mother, and the two of them were alone on Dyflin's beach. Behind them was the village.
"I don't know sweetie. The Chief's letter said they could be back at any time." Drifa tried to comfort her son.
Drifa checked her pockets for the letter itself, but it was not there.
"Would you like me to read you the letter again?" She offered. "And give you a biscuit?"
Polk nodded and replied, "Yes please."
Drifa smiled and kissed her son on his forehead. "You're a good boy, and I love you, don't forget that."
"Eww mum!" Polk said, wiping his forehead with his sleeve and giggling.
"I'll just go get them, I'll be back." She announced.
Drifa stood up and began to walk back towards her house.
When she reached it, Drifa opened the door and proceeded inside. She walked to the kitchen and grabbed two biscuits. She put one in her mouth and enjoyed it, while storing the other in her pocket.
She walked up to her bedroom, and saw the letter folded neatly on her bedside table.
Drifa picked it up and headed out of the house, back towards Polk.
"Can you read it to me?" He asked when she returned and sat down bedside him.
"Sure." She replied. Handing the biscuit to Polk who chewed on it happily.
She opened up the letter, and began reading.
"Dear Drifa, I have good news to inform you of. I coincidentally bumped into Hiccup at one point whilst in Myrka Markets for trading in the morning quite a while ago. At that time, he had already rescued Kormak out of Myrkian prison and was finding food for them both. He had also found an empty house in the Myrkian village and they stayed there."
"When we first met up, Hiccup explained to me that he'd contact me again soon for a plan. I agreed to help him and Kormak out in any way I could, so I took residence in a house in Myrka temporarily. Not long after, I had a note delivered to me from Hiccup."
"It said that Hiccup had devised a plan, and a rather risky one if I may say so myself. He heard about a new event taking place in Myrka called Sword Training for the Myrkian Army. The event, which was voluntary to join, stated that the winner of training would be able to join the Myrkian forces after the winner had executed a slave and killed a dragon."
"Hiccup told me, that somehow he would win the training, and the plan would be to place Kormak back into prison, and somehow make Kormak the slave that the winner of training was supposed to execute. Also, Hiccup said that the dragon that would have to be killed, would be his dragon, the Night Fury named Toothless."
"Of course, he said he wouldn't kill them. And when that time came, if all went well, he would take Kormak and they would ride Toothless out of the arena and escape Myrka. And when he reached Dyflin, he'd send a letter to me telling me to come back. That was plan A. Plan B was slightly different, but personally I think this one is what will happen."
"Plan B was that sometime between the time I received his note, and before training ended, that I was to wait on my ship in Myrka's docks and he would come out of Myrka on his Night Fury as he said he would not leave without him, whilst being chased by the Army on the ground. He would run onto my ship, hopefully he said with Kormak and Vali."
"Vali is the woman in charge of the training exercise and also manager of the forge. Hiccup said that she also was extremely important to get out of Myrka."
"So, all in all, his original plan was to escape Myrka with Toothless, Kormak and Vali if possible. I do not know which plan will work, but I'm not likely to send another letter. If Hiccup arrives there before I do, please treat him well and his friends. By the power vested in me, I dedicate that my chief powers go to you Drifa in my absence till I return."
"I wish you the best, and tell Polk that he will see his big brother again. Good bye Drifa, I look forward to when we see each other next. Farewell. From Asan, chief of Dyflin."
Drifa finished, folded the letter up again and tucked it into her pocket.
Polk said nothing, and just sat there, staring towards the ocean in front of him with the light of the full moon above them.
"Listen Polk, I'm going to go inside and make dinner. You want to come?" She asked softly.
Polk shook his head. "I just wanna be out here for a little longer."
"Okay." Said Drifa. "Please don't be long. It'll get cold quickly, and dinner will be ready soon." His mother added. Beginning to stand up.
She gradually began walking back to the house, while Polk kept looking out to sea, wondering when he would be able to see his brother again.
Polk lay down on the sand. He knew his mother didn't like that, but he liked it. He stared up at the full moon in the sky, watching it with fixed eyes. Staying completely motionless.
Suddenly he saw a figure, a very fast speeding figure fly directly above him and it blocked out the moon for half a second. He was unable to make it out.
He stood up as fast as he could, just in time.
What he next saw, was the stuff he wouldn't have even dreamed about in his worst nightmares.
On a lone, remote island a considerable distance by boat from Myrka…
"I see our form of travel is pleasing you, Orah."
Orah disembarked from the form of transport that only he and King Harun used in secret, smiling. "Yes master. It is very enjoyable."
He stood at the top of the highest peak of the hill, staring directly into the darkness where the eye cannot see in the blackness of night. The full moon was covered by clouds now, thus created a pitch black atmosphere.
"Tell me, what is it you're here for now?" Asked the creature. The mysterious and unknown beast that in Orah's eyes rules all.
Orah bowed, and rose whilst saying, "Master, King Harun of Myrka has accepted your task you set out for him, but asks with respect if any of the business relating to Hiccup and the Six has involved the clan Dyflin. As the meeting of chieftains of all tribes is approaching in two months."
There was a silence for several minutes, before a quiet reply, "That is none of his business. As to the meeting, I know it is coming up. And it will not contain the Dyflin tribe's chief, Asan."
"Yes master, but why-" Orah nervously began to ask but was interrupted.
"Very well. Why won't it contain Asan? Because he isn't a chief anymore."
Before Orah could reply, the creature answered it for him.
"You'd ask why? That's because he has no clan to lead. His island has no village."
"What do you mean?" Asked Orah, confused.
The beast growled at him. "I thought you were smarter Orah."
Orah said nothing. But he didn't have to, the creature just spoke for him again.
"I just came from Dyflin."