Chapter 10:
The sky turned dark grey due to the heavy clouds, and the Berserkers were standing outdoor to witness this unprecedented scene. An electrical storm formed on top of the island. Few bright bolts of lightning stroke a wooden house on the ground.
Dagur and Savage stood on the open beach with a couple of archers with dragon root arrows with them, ready to take down a Skrill. The Book said that lightning could attract Skrills, or the Skrills could produce lightning. All the ships docked in the harbor for safety because the ship captains didn't want to take the risk of being hit by a flash of lightning.
"What does he think he is doing," said Heather. She was standing on top of the cliffs which the beach was right underneath it. Her personal guards were surrounding her.
"The chief said that he set a trap to catch a Skrill," a guard answered.
"A Skrill? He will get himself killed," Heather shook her head, "A Skrill is not that stupid."
"He is using the old method, from the Book."
"Well, good luck to him," said Heather, she paused, "If that Skrill kills him, then I will take full control of this island, right?"
"Yes, madam."
A shadow appeared in the clouds, with light blue electricities floating around it. Seconds later, a catapult few hundred feet away from them got struck by lightning and exploded into a bright orange fireball. Some anxious soldiers beside the catapult started launching arrows and throwing spears into the air even though they had no idea where was their target.
The arrows and spears indirectly provoked the dragon who was flying in the clouds. The Skrill dove down towards the soldiers and released a strong lightning bolt from its mouth, and the soldiers turned into broken bodies when the lightning hit the beach.
"Get its attention," ordered Dagur.
The archers behind him shot multiple dragon root arrows at the Skrill, but all the arrows landed on the sand harmlessly. The Skrill turned its head towards the men on the other side of the beach. Dagur held his metal dagger in the air, slowly swinging it at the Skrill. The Skrill instantly flew up into the clouds at a high speed and disappeared.
"Where is the Skri...AHHHH!" before Savage could finish his sentence, the dark blue dragon dove right down at them with flashes of lightning splashing around its scales.
Dagur did not move, he still held the dagger high in the air and started waving it. The Skrill stopped in the air and watched the metal object in Dagur's hand. His wings flapped with a rhythm in order to keep the Skrill levitating.
"Easy dragon, easy," said Dagur, trying to calm the dragon.
"Now fire!" Savage shouted.
Before the dragon could react, two dragon root arrows shot through the air and pierced into the Skrill's scales. The dragon lost all of its power due to the dragon root and fell into the sea with a loud and painful roar.
"Bring him up, but keep him in a watered cage," Dagur said as he put the dagger back into the sheath.
As the archers started working on pulling the Skrill out from the water, Dagur looked up towards the cliffs. He could see a figure on the cliffs with silver metal armor watching at him.
He gave a mild smile, even though he knew that she could not see his minor gesture.
"Savage, you lead the archers to trap as many Skrills as possible. We need to control the air during the war," Dagur commanded.
"They look aggressive and powerful. Mmmmm, I have to say, nice work, Astrid. Berk finally got two teams of riders," commented Stoick as he watched the new riders during their training. Astrid stood beside him and Hiccup followed behind them with Stormfly and Toothless. After Astrid took over the control of the training, Hiccup became her assistance.
The new riders presented some fancy moves with their dragons in front of their chief, seemed like to get his attention. Under Astrid's strict, iron-grip, and severe training, the girls finally achieved Stoick's expectation.
"We went over air-to-sea and air-to-land combats and personal sword-fighting lessons. Their dragons met my standard as well," reported Astrid, "Now they can join a battle with and without a dragon."
"You chose the Nadders for them?" Stoick asked, "I can see eight Nadders right now, but do you think they need some varieties?"
"They chose the Nadders, and I don't really know why, and I think it is okay to have one species of dragon."
"Cool, I guess we can teach Dagur some manners when he comes here," said Stoick, then he pointed at Hiccup, "Did he do anything?" Stoick asked sarcastically.
"Well, he helped me to prepare the fight dummies before training," Astrid answered.
"Hey, tell him the truth, Astrid," Hiccup objected.
"That's what you did!"
Then Astrid and Hiccup fell into an argument about what did Hiccup do during the training. Stoick quickly lost his patience and decided to interfere the quarrel.
"Enough, just stop," said Stoick, "I've seen enough. Right now you two need to let them stay sharp and be ready for a bloody war."
"A bloody war you say," commented Hiccup
"Yes, our war against the Berserkers will be brutal and blood-spreading-everywhere," Stoick patted both Astrid and Hiccup on the shoulder. Then, he left with Skullcrusher by his side.
"What's in your mind?" asked Astrid.
"We need to lead them into a real battle for practice. Otherwise, they will freak out during the war," said Hiccup as he gestured towards the new riders.
"That's a… pretty good idea, but where do you want to take them?"
"Somewhere near the Island of Berserk, Dagur surely has some patrol ships. Maybe we can ambush one or two."
Sorry for the wait. I'm busy these days so I didn't have a lot of time for writing, and I know that this chapter is a little short.
Do you agree with Hiccup's opinion? Don't forget to leave a review and tell us your perspective.