Before starting, firstly, I'd like to point out that there will be more scenes in this chapter, but they will also be shorter. It's something I'm not worried about, I just wanted to remind you guys before beginning.

Secondly, this chapter will focus a bit more around Magnus due to what he's going to do in this one, and after you finish reading this, begin to consider how he was from Chapter 1 to how he is now when he's trying to protect Hiccup. So consider this to be Magnus' own chapter.

Lastly, a thanks to AngelofTheNight and HikariCruz for reviewing on the previous chapter, and an extensive thanks to everyone for the support! This story is already at 1.2 thousand views, and we're only 4 chapters in! So thank you!

Now, without anymore moments to waste, let's begin!

Magnus held the dull axe firm against the grinding wheel. For hours he'd been working in the Blacksmith going through swords, axes, and maces. The line that day was also faster than usual, which to him was surprising since he was working without Hiccup.

But as he continued to sharpen the weapon he slowly began to lose focus through his thoughts as his mind was set more on the current situation between the Slavemaster and Hiccup. He never anticipated that it would rise to this level, and even so he still wanted to desperately get back to his hut as soon as possible.

However, because of his loss of focus - he nearly didn't notice that his remaining patron was trying to speak to him, and it took the man a third time to get the smithy's attention. "HEY! Are you finished with my axe yet, or what?"

Magnus rapidly shook his head to get out of his thoughts, and he raised a finger up. "Wait one moment. It's nearly… finished!"

He held the axe up in front of him, inspecting the work he placed into it before walking towards the counter and placing it in front of the Viking, hilt first.

The man picked it up and took a glance, giving a nod of approval before sheathing it and dropping a pouch filled with silver coins onto the counter - but from this Magnus arched a brow. Picking it up, he felt that it was heavier than the usual payment.

He opened it up and out came twenty silver coins, to which he looked back at the patron and called out; "Hey! You overpaid, lad!" But there was no response, the man still kept walking.

He gave a sigh, clearing his throat as he went to put out the forge's fire. He wrapped his sheathed weapon back around his waist and went to put on his furred cloak, before proceeding to lock the doors to the Blacksmith and close up, making his way back up the hill to his hut.

"Hiccup and Eira may need to know about what I learned…" he said to himself.

…

Hiccup sat once more with the two Vikings around the long-table, discussing a very important matter from Magnus' experience at the Forge that day, and though it was without incident, he spotted very strange activity from some of his patrons.

"The main thing that caught my attention were these four guards that approached as a group." he said. "For some reason they each wanted their weapons sharpened."

Eira placed a fist under her chin. "Did you ask what it was for?"

"All they said was that it was for practice, though I highly doubted their words. I mean, you don't even need a sharpened blade for training against another allied combatant."

"Well to me it sounds just like those guards who want to ambush me." Hiccup added on. "It was four of them who chased me, and I remember that one of them was a captain wearing no helmet."

Magnus nodded with a light sigh. "One the guard patrons wasn't wear a helmet either, so I assume that those were the four who plan to ambush you. Well, it's a good thing I did a poor job with sharpening their weapons. They won't be able to strike down horses with those things."

"I find it foolish that they came to you." replied Hiccup. "The Slavemaster instructed them to set an ambush after I left my cottage, though it seemed that they wanted to give me more than just a beating by sharpening their weapons and… well, it's too bad for them now."

"Regardless." began Eira. "We need to catch them by surprise… you said you had a plan, Magnus?"

"Aye." he said, standing up from his seat and making his way towards the weapon rack by the door as he started to shuffle through the weapons, eventually picking something out of it. "Hiccup, come here."

The young Viking raised a brow and stood up, walking over to Magnus who seemed to be holding something with both his hands. He then turned around, and in his hands he held a sword.

"Here." he said. "This sword seems to be your fit."

Hiccup eyed the smithy, slowly leaning his hands out to reach for the sword, and Magnus in return calmly placed the blade in the eighteen year old's hands. With ease, Hiccup was able to carry the sword as if it was as light as a plank of wood.

"It's… very light." complemented Hiccup.

Magnus gave a hearty chuckle. "My father made this for me when I was younger." he said. "The blade itself is made of a very light and strong iron which to this day remains unnamed, and the blue fabric around the sword will make your grip more comfortable… I decided that I should pass it on to you. I know you're more than capable of wielding a sword."

Hiccup's eyes slightly widened. "W- Wow." he stuttered. "I don't know what to say… thanks, Magnus."

He nodded. "But remember; with this sword in your possession, it is your best friend in fighting. Use it for good, not for your own intentions. And of course, keep it close to you. You don't know if one day someone will take it and-"

Before he could finish, a sudden knock came at the door and everyone in the room immediately froze, exchanging glances. Then, both Magnus and Eira's gaze fell upon Hiccup.

"Hide." whispered Magnus. "And keep your blade ready."

The young Viking quickly nodded as he rushed to hide under the long-table, with Eira giving him cover by standing in front of him while her hand was gripped onto her sheathed sword.

With no time to waste, Magnus approached the door and opened it, and on the other side there was a guard. A guard which the smithy instant recognized as he was one the warriors that came to his Blacksmith.

His tone sounded disgruntled. "Hey blacksmith! What have you done to my weapon? It's as dull as a kitchen knife!"

Magnus gave an unnoticeable smile at the corner of his lips before replying; "I… I don't know what you're talking about, warrior. I did what I could with your fine weapon."

"Don't play stupid with me!" he growled. "I know you purposely didn't sharpen my axe for a reason, and I want to know why - so don't waste my time, because right now you're messing with a warrior!"

"Alright." he began. "You need a reason? Then tell me this; why do you need a sharpened weapon for training? You can practice with swords and axes as dull as a stick, and nothing will change."

"I never said I was training." the warrior responded stupidly.

"...Yeeees you did, you said so yourself along with your fellow warriors."

"Well, we were lying!" he replied. "We are… doing… uhh, something else more important!"

Now the smirk on Magnus was starting to show. "Like what? Prepare for an ambush on a slave?"

"Yes! -I mean, no! No no no no, we- ...Uh…"

Magnus arched a brow, motioning to Eira to let Hiccup come out, knowing at that moment that the guard was caught red handed for admitting it, and he gave out a growl to the blacksmith, but mostly to Hiccup. "You damned thrall! You told them!"

"Yes, he did." answered Magnus. "And you're not returning to the Slavemaster to tell the tale."

Immediately he pulled his arm back and gave a firm punch to the guard in the face before pulling him into the hut and closing the door behind him. From outside, all that could be heard were a pair of two blades cutting at the guard as his voice screamed with a muffle.

…

Hiccup stared out the window, looking at the sun set behind the clouds. The day had gone by quickly, and with night coming it was no doubt that the guards were already waiting for him to come so they could ambush him, though by this point he wasn't afraid now that he had a weapon in hand.

Magnus and Eira came back from upstairs where they hid the lifeless body of the guard, and the two finished washing off the blood from when they stabbed him through the chest again and again. "That was quite the bloodbath." said Magnus.

"Well, at least it's one guard less, which leaves three left - one for each of us." replied Eira.

Hiccup turned his head around and looked back at them. "I don't think I'm actually ready to fight, guys." he said. "This sword - I only know how to use in my defense, though on the offense-"

"The blade will cut through those guards like butter, and it won't even be much of a fight." replied Magnus. "That's why I gave you this valuable possession, Hiccup. Deep down I know that you're more suit for it than I ever was."

"Okay…" he replied to the smithy. "But after we're done dealing with them, what's going to happen next? Are we going to just go after the Slavemaster and kill him? Ivar will-"

"Ivar will come after us, that is for certain - but that doesn't mean I'll stand and fight to protect you until my last breath. After all, this dump of a city has nothing left for me."

"But if you die, how will I escape?"

Eira stepped forward. "By sea." she said. "I own a private longship that I use whenever I go fishing, but I only use it on occasion and I'm starting to see not much use for it aside just sailing."

"And where will I go? Out to sea to search for the rumored Archipelago?"

From those words, a grin began to form on Magnus' face, and when Hiccup noticed it his eyes immediately widened as his face lit up.

"Maybe I should've told you the truth about that before you left my hut the day we rescued you…"

…

Night time had now fallen. The citizens of Kattegat were well indoors by this point, sleeping or doing their own things while civilization outside in the city had gone down to where there was little to no noise, aside the torches, braziers, farming animals, and blowing snow. Because of this, Hiccup and the others saw this as an opportunity to make a move and deal with the Slavemaster's men.

Outside the cottage the two guards approached their captain who had been waiting. His arms were crossed, and his face looked disgruntled as he eyed them.

"Where's Hröd!?" questioned the captain. "You sent him out to Magnus' hut hours ago, and now all of a sudden you can't FIND him!?"

"There's no one in the hut, sir!" replied one of the guards. "Maybe he got lost or something?"

The captain splurted. "A guard cannot get lost in Kattegat! They're supposed to know every single road, every hut, and every damned part of this city!"

Hiccup, Magnus and Eira stood by as they watched the captain yell at his men. Before they left they strategized how they were going to play out their plan on the guards, and seemed that they were in a perfect position. Now was the time to take action.

The captain sighed. "...Did you even tell Hröd where Magnus' hut was?"

"Yes, sir! It was that way where the Blacksmith was, only it was up that hill. I swear, sir, I don't know where Hröd is-"

Suddenly there was a distant pair of footsteps coming from behind along the road. The three turned their heads and saw the shadow of a cloaked figure walking towards them, and to this the captain grinned. "There's the thrall…" he whispered.

He then gestured the two guards with his hands to take positions, and quickly they rushed to hide behind the nearby bushes that stood next to the cottage. The captain however didn't make a move, instead he stood at the door with his arms crossed, waiting.

When the cloaked figure finally came into view and slowly approached - he gave a smile at them. "Ah, it's the runt." he said. "You know, the Slavemaster has told me all about you, and he said that he wished to… make your life easier."

They didn't respond to the man, instead they just stood there with their cloak wrapped around and their hood raised. But the captain still continued to talk to them.

"He said that he knows a way to make you treated more of a person and less of a thrall. Wouldn't you want that?" he asked, but once again they didn't respond. This caused him to begin getting more disgruntled as a slim glare started to show on his face. So, he tried asking again.

"I said wouldn't you LIKE that?"

"...No." responded a female voice as the figure gave a hard punch to the captain in the stomach, and he fell back against the door of the cottage. The figure removed her hood, revealing it to be Eira as she unsheathed her sword and pointed it at the captain.

He growled at the scrawny-looking young woman. "GET HER!"

From the bushes the two Vikings came rushing out to charge her. However, from the distance a blade came flying out of nowhere, and it struck the guard on Eira's right flank. Then, just as the second guard on her left was about to strike her, a scrawny figure came running at him and sliced against his right arm.

The slash which Hiccup intended to give to the tall Viking turned out to be more than just a mere cut as he roared in pain from the deep gouge. He turned to face the young Viking who held a sword in his hands, and from this the warrior widened his eyes with surprise.

"You!?" he questioned angrily. "How dare you take up arms against a guard, slave! Ivar and the Slavemaster will know about this!"

Hiccup grinned. "Not unless you live to tell them." he taunted. Then, in an act of fury the guard raised his axe up and attempted to bring it down onto the scrawny Viking, but Hiccup struck back with a very firm strike as he made an upward diagonal swing with his sword on the blade of the axe. What followed was the sound of metal breaking and shattering.

The guard looked at his axe… or well, whatever remained of it and he tossed it aside, raising his hands up in the air in surrender.

Hiccup glanced at his sword. In his lifetime he never wielded one, nor did he know how to properly use one - and yet here he was standing up against a guard after shattering an axe using the little skill he knew along with the strength he had. Magnus was right when he said it was a strong weapon.

After breaking the large Viking's weapon he pointed his sword up at his neck and gestured him to sit down next to his captain, and the guard with no other choice did as he was told.

The two young adults sheathed their weapons, and Magnus came out of the shadows, kneeling down to the captain's level.

"Now." he began. "I want you to know before I question you that the two other guards lie dead. One of them who came to my hut was sliced apart, and the other lies next to you with his miserable body impaled into my blade, so if you try anything tricky then you two will be next."

The guard next to the captain looked up at him. "Piss off, smithy!" he spat.

"Bad choice of words." replied Magnus, and he unsheathed one of his daggers from around his waist and quickly slit the throat of the guard, giving him a quick and quiet end as he washed off the blood.

He looked back at the captain. "Now, this is the part where I ask you one simple question: Why does the Slavemaster want Hiccup dead?"

The captain chuckled. "Because he wants to. It's not like the slave is worth anything to him." he replied. "Why waste bothering and looking over him when we can just kill him and lift a burden off our shoulders? After all, the Slavemaster's intentions aren't just his own."

Magnus arched a brow. "What are you talking about?"

"...There's someone else." he replied. "Someone else shares the same desires as him, and someone ordered him to do it… and gladly he accepted."

"So someone else ordered the Slavemaster to kill me…" finished Hiccup. "This all makes sense so far. But the knowledge on who it is still a mystery, and the reason why makes no sense."

"Here's a reason: it's because we don't need you! All of us don't need you, slave! You should just go rot and die in a hole where we'll never need to hear from you again!"

"You may not need him." growled Magnus. "But I do… Anyways, I would like to thank you for giving us all that we needed to know, and now you shall be rewarded."

He looked back at Eira as he held the dagger by the blade, handing it over to her. "He's all yours."

…

The Slavemaster stood by the brazier near the watchtower from the previous night, waiting for the guards to show up. He held his hands together, grasping them as he raised them over the flaming heat source. The snow blew hard in his face, and for hours he'd been waiting for them. With every minute going by his anger rose.

He gave off a growl as he began speaking to himself. "It's been three hours. How long does it take for them to capture a single runt? ... Something isn't right."

As he was about to go wandering off - the sound of galloping caught his attention. From the distance his gaze was set upon a horse being ridden by a manly cloaked figure who held a bag in his hands. The horse whined as he raised it up, before throwing it down towards the large Viking, and then he rode off without saying anything.

At first the Slavemaster rushed towards the stranger, but by the time he did they were already long gone. His eyes then shifted onto the bag.

He leaned down towards it and noticed a note stringed onto it. The note was written in parchment and charcoal, but it also had a small stain of blood at the corner of it. What he read was;

"Stop trying to go after him,"

"Or else I will come after you next…"

He arched a brow, but his curiosity took over and slowly he began to open it up, expecting that perhaps the bag was filled with a valuable to bribe him off, but that would not be the case.

Instead, what he was met with was the head of the captain he sent out to ambush Hiccup, and from this he soon realized the truth; all four of the men who he ordered to capture him were now dead, leaving Hiccup still standing.

He dropped the head to the ground. His right eye began to twitch in anger, and his hands started to close into fists. He unsheathed his sword from it's sheathe and raised it up high towards the air before letting out a mighty and loud roar of rage into the snowy night, loud enough that it able to wake the nearby denizens from their huts up from slumber.

His roar was a promise that he would not stop until Hiccup laid dead beneath his feet...