Fishlegs pulled out Hiccup's notebook. It was such a small gesture, here on a boat filled with various trade goods, slowly pulling away from Berk, surrounded by far more impressive books. A small thing, but one of the things that had set them on this path.

Johann saw how all three teens cringed slightly at the mere sight of it and shied away himself. "What, exactly, is that?"

Fishlegs met Johann's eyes. "Johann, I know you like telling stories, but you're going to have to swear to us you won't repeat any of what we're about to tell you."

Johann did like to talk, but he knew serious business when he saw it and knew how to keep his mouth shut, which was the only reason Fishlegs was trusting him. "I swear. Now, what in Thor's name is going on?"

Fishlegs held out the book. "This was made by Hiccup. He didn't show it to anyone, we found it in his stuff. It's all true."

Tuffnut interjected. "Whatever you do, don't look at the last page." He sounded entirely serious, and a little nauseous.

Johann took a few steps back and sat down on a barrel. He opened the book to the first page. Fishlegs knew that the first page was just a rough sketch of a Night Fury. Johann turned the page, accidently skipping the introduction, and paused. "Hiccup is quite the artist..." He seemed to dread what he would see next. He turned the page, and sighed. "I figured as much. He was never like everyone else. But this..." He turned the page again and frowned at it. He turned a few more pages, and his face lifted with wonder at each new image.

Fishlegs could tell when Johann reached the confusing part. He wondered what came after. They had never actually checked. Johann turned a page. And another, and more in rapid succession. "It just goes blank! Why'd he have to stop writing there, of all places!"

Fishlegs was surprisingly relieved at that information. He wanted to warn Johann, who was rapidly approaching the end of the book in his frustration, but he also needed Johann to see what they had seen. So he said nothing.

Johann reached the last page. His eyes widened. His face slowly drained of blood. One would have to be completely battle-hardened to not be affected by that last page, and that did not describe Johann in the slightest.

"Oh.. Dear..." Johann stood and ran to the side of the ship. Fishlegs knew what came next. He closed the book that Johann had left lying on the barrel, having no desire to lose his lunch again.

"Hey, I warned you. Don't worry, we all puked when we saw that." Tuffnut was consoling if a little smug. Clearly, he had been worried that Johann would be able to stomach what he and Ruffnut could not.

Johann returned from the side of the boat, face still pale. "Did that last part really happen like that?" Fishlegs nodded.

"We were in the arena. She kicked the Terror off of Tuffnut's nose, breaking it in the process. We all were focused on Tuffnut, except for Hiccup. He was watching Astrid. But we all heard it, and saw the results." Fishlegs shivered.

Johann sighed. "I'm afraid that disturbingly well-drawn book raises far more questions than answers." He looked at them. "And I'm guessing the need for secrecy has to do with the information written on that last page. Assuming a dragon really can smell insanity and tell someone about it." He seemed to realize something. "Hiccup is no longer around, I take it. He is either dead or gone, judging by the events depicted in the book." Johann seemed sad about that.

"Nah, Hiccup's fine. We just don't know where he is." With that comment from Ruffnut, the teens explained everything they knew to Johann. It took a while. Johann listened intently throughout the piecemeal narrative.

"Well... you three might be in luck!" The teens all jumped at that. Johann smiled as he rummaged through a stack of personal belongings in the back. He didn't continue until he found the things he was looking for. "I have two things that I was unaware would be of any use, until today." He set a piece of parchment on the barrel. "I acquired this in a village known as Thalde a month ago, on my way here from the deep southern islands. I'm friends with a mapmaker, who keeps me up to date on anything new he finds. I thought this was total rubbish, but he insisted it was right."

Fishlegs examined the map. It was a fairly standard one of the local archipelago, showing Berk, the neighboring islands... and the Nest? "How did he know that the Nest was there?"

Johann slammed another map down on the barrel triumphantly. "And he had the gall to give me this, what I thought was a purely fictional map. Because no one had been to the Nest." He was laughing now. "I'm afraid I actually insulted him for offering me this. I'll have to offer my sincerest apologies next time I see him."

Fishlegs stared at the accurate map of the Nest island, down to the Queen's corpse. "Yup, this is right. No Berkian has left Berk since then. Except for Hiccup, and now us."

Tuffnut laughed. "Wait, Hiccup's love of maps is what's letting us find him? That's hilarious!" He cut off when Johann frowned.

"I'm afraid my friend got the information for these maps a little over seven months ago, according to him. So the trail is seven months cold." Johann smiled slightly. "However, I also acquired something that I thought was a coincidence up until now at a different island a mere two months ago. It was offered in trade by a Viking, and I took it because of a remarkable similarity to something I already had." He pulled out a spyglass.

Ruffnut pointed at it. "Hiccup makes those sometimes." She seemed nonplussed. "He's given you a few over the years. Someone must have just traded one back to you."

Johann nodded. "That's what I thought because this is so similar to the ones I have. But look at the initials!" He turned it over. Instead of the H.H. that should have been there, there was an S.F. etched instead. "I thought to show it to Hiccup. I was of the opinion that someone had started manufacturing these based on one I had traded away. But now, I think it is more likely this was made by Hiccup himself."

Tuffnut took the spyglass and examined it. As he was looking into the wrong end, he asked a surprisingly intelligent question. "What does S.F. stand for?"

Fishlegs thought about that. "Maybe the smith he's working with, or maybe it's just so that no one tracks him by his name."

Ruffnut laughed. "So, Johann, where'd the spyglass come from?" She seemed excited that they now had somewhere to go.

Johann pulled out a map. "Here." He pointed at an island labeled 'Mahelmetan'. It's actually where I'm heading now. It's part of a line I pass over twice a year." Johan drew a line from Berk to Mahelmetan, crossing over two islands along the way. "Actually, Thalde is one of the islands on the way. The other is more of a stopover point for boats than an island, most of the island is covered in mead hall and docks. He put his finger on Berk. "We are here today." He moved it in an arc to Thalde. "Here in two weeks, where I'll stop for a day." He moved it to the port island. "Here two to three weeks after that." And he moved his finger to Mahelmetan. "And here two weeks after that. One, if the wind is good. So all in all, six to eight weeks total." He smiled at the groans that elicited from the twins. "And as for payment, how does rowing when there's no wind sound? It will help my aching back, and make sure we get there in six weeks, instead of eight."

Fishlegs couldn't believe that Johann was letting them off with just that as payment. "Really? That's all you want?"

Johann laughed. "I was going there anyway, so it's no inconvenience. The rowing is payment enough for the extra food we'll need. I wasn't kidding about my back." He considered the deck, and then his tiny cabin. "I hope you don't mind sleeping on deck."

Fishlegs was pleasantly surprised that the twins' new seriousness mostly held on the two week trip to Thalde. They were still silly and rude, but they restrained themselves from doing anything destructive. He figured they didn't want to jeopardize their only ride. Whatever the reason he was grateful. He enjoyed listening to Johann's many stories, and Johann apparently had been in the habit of telling them to the empty ocean anyway, and much preferred having listeners. In that way, two weeks passed fairly pleasantly. They rowed some days when the wind was not favorable, but no one minded. It was something to do. Fishlegs was still happy to stretch his legs when they reached Thalde.

Johann had sent him to meet the map trader with his sincerest apologies. Fishlegs was thankful for that unintentional conversation-starter Johann had given him and the twins. It would make things less awkward. He followed the directions Johann had given and soon found a Viking with a strangely high-pitched voice behind a stand covered in maps.

"Hello, what can I do for you three?" The Viking had already given his spiel, and Fishlegs knew he wouldn't be able to take advantage of his deal with maps because Hiccup had already been here. Thankfully, he only needed one map, and he had money.

"We need a map of Mehelmetan and the surrounding area." Ruffnut and Tuffnut coughed in unison. "Oh, and trader Johann sends his sincerest apologies."

The cartographer froze. "He did, did he? Why did he apologize? Did he go and investigate my map himself?" He didn't seem angry with Johann. "I've been wondering if that boy pulled a fast one on me." He pulled a map from a stack and handed it to Fishlegs. Fishlegs handed over a couple of coins.

"No, the maps about the Nest are entirely accurate." Fishlegs felt like he should elaborate. "We're Berkians, and we've been there."

The map trader laughed. "So he was telling the truth. I shouldn't have doubted a fellow cartographer. Say, do you know the one who gave me the information? Strange fellow."

Ruffnut answered that. "Was he small, skinny, smart, and brown-haired?" She seemed to be interrogating the map trader.

He laughed slightly nervously. She was scaring him a bit. "Yes, that's the one. I say he was strange because a couple of the local kids were telling stories about him. They said he scared three of the tougher teens so bad they won't talk about what happened. From what I could tell, they deserved it."

Fishlegs thanked the man, and the three travelers left his stall.

"We're gonna find those teens, aren't we?" That was Tuffnut. He sounded happy about the prospect of future interrogations. "Next time I get to question the suspect."

Fishlegs nodded. "We might as well. We have some time to kill."

A few hours later, Fishlegs had to admit that that was all they had accomplished. Killing time. They had just finished talking to one of the three teenagers in question. He was entirely uncooperative, no matter what tactic Tuffnut and Ruffnut tried. He wouldn't say anything about whatever had happened. It had been the same with all three of them. The second they brought up a foreign teenager, they would pale and stop talking immediately.

"Gee, Hiccup must have scared the yak dung out of them." Tuffnut was despondent. "Now I really want to know what he did!"

Fishlegs was about to answer when a Viking about their age caught up to them as they walked back towards the docks. He looked at the boy, and a few things clicked in his head. Hiccup had done something to three teens. All three of them had given off 'Snotlout' vibes. Now there was an undersized Viking, catching up to them after they questioned one of the teenagers. He decided to call out his deduction.

"Let me guess. You're here to tell us about the mysterious stranger that saved you from three bullies in some crazy way?" Fishlegs figured he'd either look like a genius or an idiot.

The boy stumbled and almost fell. "How did you know that?"

Tuffnut grinned. "We are Thorston, Thorston and Ingerman, sleuths extraordinaire!" He whispered to Fishlegs. "Welcome to the company. We only pay in breadcrumbs. Hope you don't mind."

The boy grinned. He probably had heard Tuffnut. "Well anyway, yes. I assume you want to know what happened? I have a feeling you know more about the guy than I do. That's why I'm here."

Fishlegs coughed. They probably shouldn't tell the boy much. "We do, but most of it is best kept secret. What happened here?"

The boy frowned. "I guess I understand that. Anyway, the stranger got three bullies to stop beating me up and chase him. I followed them secretly. He led them into the woods and turned to face them. He said something about lessons in how not to be an idiot, and then a big black dragon dropped out of the trees and roared at them. One of them fainted, and the other two ran. I was still there. He talked to the dragon, and to another one just like it that also came from the trees. Then he said something about a race, and they all took off in the same direction, running really fast in the woods. That's all I know."

Ruffnut nodded. "That'd be the traditional Hiccup sarcasm." Tuffnut agreed.

"Yes, I'd say the sarcasm is a pretty good clue we're on the right track. That, and the two dragons. Pretty big clue there too." He punched Ruffnut. "Maybe next time lead with the obvious clues. If you lead with the subtle ones, the obvious clues aren't impressive anymore!"

Fishlegs decided it was safe to give the kid a little information. "His name is Hiccup. He came from our island. We're trying to find him."

The kid definitely understood keeping certain things discrete. "Is everyone from your island... like that?"

Tuffnut answered first. "Yes, and I'm our leader! The man with a thousand dragons, they call me."

"Terrible Terrors," Ruffnut added quickly. "They swarm around him like flies." She mock-shuddered.

Fishlegs sighed. "No," he glared at the twins, "Hiccup is the only one. That's why he left. No one else would listen to him."

The kid nodded. "I know how that feels. I hope you find him." He turned down a side street as Fishlegs and the twins kept walking, casting a dubious glance at the twins as he did.

Fishlegs ignored the twins as they argued. They knew Hiccup had been here. Apparently, he was still traveling with the two Furies. Toothless, and whatever the other one was called.

But that had been a while ago.

By the time they reached the island of docks and mead halls, Fishlegs felt like he could use something to dull his senses. The trip there had been almost all rowing, and he and the twins were exhausted. But he valued his brain and dignity to do more than sit in the hall and order some chicken. The twins were out exploring the small island. Fishlegs figured it'd take them a grand total of twenty minutes. He listened to a nearby conversation. After a few minutes, he started paying close attention.

"Night Fury? Two of them no less. Thorgils musta been drinkin'!

"So I said! But he was sure. So we went lookin' and ran into a skinny guy in the woods. I asked 'im 'bout it, and he seemed to know where they were. So I told 'im we'd split the money fifty-fifty."

"Wow! For two Furies, you'd all live like kings for the rest o' yer lives!"

"I know! The little guy convinced me to cut Thorgils out o' the deal, so I knocked 'im out. But when the little guy told me where they were, he lied! He knocked me into a river!"

"What, why?"

"I'm not sure, but I met up with Thorgils a few days later. He said he had gone looking for the Furies once woke up. He said the little guy captured him on 'is own if you can believe it. Tied 'im up. Thorgils said that in the morning, two Furies erupted out of the sand. The little guy had buried 'em!"

"You must have hit Thorgils pretty hard, for 'im to be talkin' nonsense like that."

"He was dead sure that's what happened. He said the little guy forced him to swear never to hunt a dragon again, and pick up a different line of work. That's what he was doin' when I ran into him. Said he swore on Odin himself. I still don't believe any of that happened."

Fishlegs left the Mead Hall trying to hold in his excitement. They were getting closer, he could feel it. He had no idea when the events spoken of had occurred, or where, but that didn't matter. They were getting closer.

"Ah, Mahelmetan, my favorite of all the islands I travel to!" Johann was giving his opening speech to a crowd of Mahelmetans on the dock around his ship. Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut hopped off and went into the village. It was a small village but had a bustling sea trade. They headed to the blacksmith shop, spyglass in hand.

The blacksmith in question was an old woman, surprisingly. She had red hair and was more muscular than anyone Fishlegs had seen on the entire island. She had a surprisingly melodic voice for someone who worked around smoke and fire all day, hammering metal into shape. They could hear her singing from a block away.

Fishlegs approached the order window. "Um, hello?"

The blacksmith paused her singing and walked over to the window. "Yes, what do you need done?" She saw the spyglass in Fishlegs' hand. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you need me to look at that?" She sounded like she knew that wasn't why he had it, and she wasn't happy about what he was going to ask.

"Um, my fair lady, would you happen to know who made this?" Tuffnut had picked up on her reluctance and was doing his best to win her over. She glared at him, and he wilted.

"I do, but why should you care?" She sounded quite suspicious.

Fishlegs decided to lay their cards on the table, figuratively speaking. "We're looking for a friend. His name's Hiccup."

Ruffnut elbowed him. "You're not supposed to just ask for him like that. You need to be subtle in the sleuthing business." That had been whispered, so quietly Fishlegs could barely hear it.

The blacksmith's face scrunched up in confusion. "I don't know any Hiccup. That was made by a friend of mine. His name's Maour." She sounded honest enough.

Fishlegs refused to give up. "What does he look like? Maour, I mean." He wasn't sure why Hiccup would randomly change his name to Maour. Hiccup hadn't even liked nicknames as a kid. But he refused to believe someone else just randomly duplicated Hiccup's work.

The blacksmith frowned. "Why should I tell you?" She glared at them suspiciously.

"Fine!" Ruffnut whirled away. "I mean, why should you help three potential customers look for their missing friend, a skinny guy with brown hair, green eyes, and a sarcastic streak?"

Tuffnut huffed. "Yeah, he might not be the brightest, but still, we're worried!" That was about when Fishlegs figured out what they were doing. The blacksmith, not knowing the twins, was not as fast on the uptake.

"Hey, Maour's plenty smart-" She stopped, her eyes narrowing.

Ruffnut whirled back, her face smug. "And that, my friend, is called leading someone on."

"Yes, you would not have objected to the lack of intelligence if he was as stupid as I described," Tuffnut continued for his sister, smiling, "and that in turn also implies 'Maour' has green eyes and brown hair, as you did not object to that. The sarcasm too."

The blacksmith's eyes narrowed. "You tricked me."

"Obviously," Tuffnut muttered.

"I'll not have you harassing him. He's never done anything wrong that I'm aware of, and I like having him around." Her voice was threatening. She picked up a pair of pincers and brandished them menacingly.

Fishlegs gulped and backed away. "That's our friend, and we definitely mean him no harm. We've been trying to find him for two months! Do you know where he lives?" Ruffnut and Tuffnut glanced at each other excitedly.

The blacksmith took in the joy written on their faces and sighed. "No, I don't. He comes in once a month or so. He'll be here in a few days if he sticks to his pattern. He's been with me for four months now, so I don't see why he wouldn't."

Fishlegs thanked her for her help, though it had been given involuntarily. "We'll be around, so hopefully we'll run into him." He didn't really want to admit that they'd be staking out the blacksmith's shop night and day. That might seem a bit excessive, but Hiccup did have a habit of secrecy. They didn't want to miss him. Plus, it wasn't like they had anything else to do. But first, they went back to the dock, where Johann was packing up to shove off, and begin the next leg of his journey. Fishlegs tossed him the spyglass, and he caught it with a smile. "I take it you found him?"

Fishlegs smiled back as he responded. "Not quite, but we know he'll be here in a few days. Thanks for the help, Johann!"

Johann rolled up a rope he had been picking up. "I take it you'll be staying here. Tell Hiccup he's always got a friend in Johann, and that I can keep a secret where he is concerned. Although, If he ever wanted to make a fortune, just have him finish that book and make copies for me to trade." Johann laughed. "Quite the amazing art, and a true story too! Although he should maybe tone the last page down a little. It would give kids nightmares. It gave me nightmares!" He waved to Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and they waved back. "See you three around, wherever you might end up!" They left the docks and found an inn that would rent them a room.

Fishlegs calculated that they had money for room and board for five days at most. After that, they would be sleeping in the fields around the village, or the small rocky woods on the other side of the island.

He hoped Hiccup would get there soon. Their journey was almost over. He, Ruffnut and Tuffnut spent the next two days staking out the forge.

Nothing.

Then the third day arrived. Ruffnut was the first to spot him, walking towards the forge. "Is that him?" She sounded uncertain.

Fishlegs didn't blame her for that. He couldn't see the face, because the person was wearing a heavy coat with a hood. Under the coat and gloves, it looked like the same general shape of the boy they knew. They were sure once he entered the forge and hung up his outer layer. It was Hiccup.

"So, do we just walk up to him?" Ruffnut did not sound like she preferred the simple approach.

Before Fishlegs could answer, Tuffnut scoffed. "This is a moment we've been working towards for months, sister! Have you no sense of drama?"

It was a rare occasion when Fishlegs agreed with Tuffnut, but it did happen. This moment could be more dramatic. It wouldn't hurt, and the end of their journey should be cool. "So what do we do?"

Tuffnut's jaw dropped. He turned to Ruffnut. "We have been given permission."

Ruffnut nodded. "I heard it too. Have we corrupted him?"

Fishlegs was rapidly regretting his agreement. "Hold on, nothing too crazy!"

Tuffnut shrugged. "Fine." He turned to Fishlegs. "A question. How did Hiccup get here?"

"By… dragon, I assume." Why ask that?

Ruffnut smiled. "And where is it now?"

Fishlegs pointed towards the single scrawny forest on the edge of the island. "Probably…" What the twins were proposing hit him. "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"