Apologies for the delay once again, everyone! My schedule got mixed up and I was unable to update the next chapter when I wanted to. But now, here it is! So for now, rather than going through further explanation, let's jump right into the next chapter!
Though it is a short one, I hope you enjoy!
Hours passed, and there they were. Hiccup, Magnus and Eira stood by the Blacksmith, each of them discussing about the recent events which had transpired, all after Eira had awoken from her deep sleep from being unconscious and exhausted, but it was a relief that she was now awake and recovered.
"It's good to see you awake and well, Eira." said Hiccup, giving a smile. "Magnus told me that your condition was severe, but it seemed you healed up fast - so that's good to see."
Eira gave a light chuckle. "Thank you, Hiccup. It's good to see familiar faces again as well… but, where are the others? Astrid, Snotlout and the rest of them?"
"Hiccup told me that they had gone off into the wilderness." Magnus replied. "For the days you were out and cold he was teaching the. much about Dragons which you, I, or even anyone had not known about. He had taught them about what they really eat, how they act, and even how to approach them. He taught them how to train a Dragon."
"...Is this true?" she asked, turning her head to the younger and slightly shorter Viking.
"It's true." Hiccup replied. "I taught the gang what it meant to be friendly with Dragons, and how one can go by to training them. I assure you that if this goes by successfully, and without flaw, then Ivar will not see what is coming to him."
Magnus nodded his head slowly. "Indeed." he agreed. "...The first Dragon riders in Norse history will be made and written in stone. Something no one could've ever dreamed about in their very lives."
Hiccup sighed. "Well, we can only hope that everyone learns to agree with the Dragons, because I mean…" He stopped short of his word as he turned his head to Toothless who was attempting to help out a villager who was hulling a cart filled with wood.
The Black Dragon ran in front of the man, blocking his path as the villager slowly began to stop pulling the heavy cart filled with lumber. Toothless would give off a Dragon-like smile as he opened up his mouth to bite down onto one of the handles used to pull the cart, all in an attempt to help the man... but it would not go out the way he intended.
As Toothless eyed the man while attempting to pull it for him the villager made a flickering motion with his hand and gesture him to walk off.
"Bah! Back off, Dragon! I don't need your help!" he responded gutturally to Toothless. "Your kind still disgusts me. You're only going to make things worse for everyone!"
With no other choice, Toothless backed off and released his grip from the cart, lowering his head down a bit as he sat there until the cart rolled by and was out of sight. Was no one going to accept or appreciate his help?
Hiccup noticed this and gave an unnoticeable glare at the man that passed by his Dragon, but his thoughts turned to Toothless as he made his way towards the almost-helpless Dragon, petting him on the head.
"It's okay, Bud." he said, sighing. "I know deep down that there is somewhere in this town where you can help others. I know you're not useless, and I assure you that we'll find a way to make all these people appreciate you for what you've done. Alright?"
His friend's words made him raise his head up a bit, and with a thanks he extended his head forwards towards the young Viking's chest. Hiccup smiled. "See? Don't be so down, Toothless."
"I must admit, that Dragon is possibly worth more help than we could ever think of." Magnus said in the distance. "Toothless is a Night Fury, and I know that a Night Fury is unlike any Dragon that you can ever find. You Hiccup, you were lucky to ever stumble upon this magnificent creature, and because of you we have earned a great ally… stay close to him, and you may just be able to learn his secrets."
Hiccup arched a brow from Magnus' words. "Toothless has secrets? Like, special abilities or something? Things we haven't learned yet?"
"...Maybe. But that's what I heard from a children's story. We Scandinavians never thought Dragons actually existed physically. But now, here they are in front of us… hm, perhaps these stories were written for a reason?"
…
"Hmm… these tracks look fresh." said Astrid as she knelt down upon seeing the snowy foot tracks of a Dragon. "It seems that this Dragon prefers being in dense forested areas. Though it's nowhere near any of the other environments."
Her hand ran along the edges of the track, feeling the depthness and spacing of it. So far her tracking for the Deadly Nadder had lasted for about three hours, and so far there was little luck. Eventually however, the previous tracks she uncovered were caught in her sights, and though they were fading out she was still able to follow the direction of which they led into.
Once more as Astrid followed the new batch of tracks, she made sure to inspect her surroundings. She found herself in a more widely spaced out forested area, and the air was beginning to pick up a strange but familiar scent.
"Come on, come on… the Nadder has to be somewhere around here." she told herself as a branch soon appeared in her way. She gently placed her hand against it and tried moving it to the side, only for it to come back at her and whack her in the face with a small patch of snow flying against her.
"Agh!" she hissed, placing her hand against her right cheek from the pain, and as she looked back at her palm she saw very small droplets of blood against it. She was bleeding, but it was only a mere scratch.
"Great. I've been scratched by a branch, and-"
She immediately stopped in her words, looking back at what she tried to move to the side. 'Scratched by a branch?' she thought to herself, soon noticing that the branch she tried moving wasn't in fact a branch but rather part of a tree.
Looking further to her right, she could clearly see that a path was made through the woods as trees and bushes were sliced into bits by something sharp, and that made a possible indication of who or what it was.
Following the path that was now visible to her, Astrid made sure that she stepped carefully and inspected what sort of damage there was, and it was at a certain point that something caught her attention.
At the base of a nearby tree, a blue and yellow spike stuck out of it like an arrow - and as Astrid stepped forward and took a closer look she instantly knew what she was looking at, thus she knew what she was following.
"This is a Nadder spike." she told herself. "But if the Deadly Nadder was here - possibly running from something... or someone, where is it?"
Her answer would swiftly be given as a squawking sound caught her attention. Astrid looked to her left and saw the path continuing on down a hill, and as she went down it she finally saw what she was looking for with light mists surrounding it.
It was the Deadly Nadder, specifically one of the Dragons that had assisted Toothless and the people of the Hooligan Tribe during the battle of Berk. However, although Astrid found the Nadder, she did not find it in the way she expected it to be in.
…
"We'll have a small legion of two hundred storm the beach as our front line, and we'll do it swiftly." began Stoick. "They must consist as shield bearers and shield maidens, those who can take the most amount of enemy fire without falling that easily."
"I'm pretty sure just the Berserkers can provide what we need Stoick." said Spitelout. "Dagur seemed 'eager' to be on the front line with his men last battle, though that bastard nearly cost us. I am sure he can provide all the cover we need to-"
Stoick slammed his hand. "The Berserkers will not go in alone, Spitelout." he responded, interrupting the lad. "Despite what you think about Dagur, you must understand that those old hatreds from long ago have passed away. If we hadn't saved Berserker Island from the infamous Murderous Tribe then we probably wouldn't be here."
"Aye, e's right!" agreed Mulch. "Holding old grudges isn't going ta solve a thing. Plus, remember it wus yer son tha' fought alongside Dagur an' Heather in the Battle o' Shattered Spears! Was it not? I 'em sure ye would at least 'ave tha decency ta respect 'em after yer son was respected by THEM."
"Alright, lads!" exclaimed Gobber, stepping in. "We shouldn't get off tha topic at 'and! All old grudges ar' set aside! Period."
Stoick sighed. "Thank you, Gobber." he said. "...Now, any other suggestions from anyone else if I may ask?"
"Well…" began Sven, raising his hand. "I may have an idea."
He slowly approached the map which Magnus had earlier drawn out from the documents and maps he had looted off the enemy Vikings, and quickly his ideas began to lay out.
"If we all look at the side of the island here where there is a smaller beach head separated by cliffs from the main one, we can see that there is a tower guarding this opening from which it may warn those if enemies approach. As much as we think that our superior numbers can eventually seize the main beach head, using up anything we have won't work."
"But we still have those Dragon buggers. Don't we?" asked Spitelout.
"Remember tha' there's still Devastators guarding tha island on tha main beach an' atop tha iron cog ships. Those things will jus' shoot 'em outta tha sky."
"Aye, he's right." nodded Sven. "Which leads me to my next point. This tower here on the side beach is manned by one Devastator. From what I've seen and heard so far from Magnus when he drew the map, this Devastator is still in repairs... somewhat."
Stoick arched a brow, nodding. "The young lad did describe almost every single bit of detail."
Sven bowed his head at Stoick. "Indeed... So, I say that if we run up this tower without alerting the nearby iron cog ship, we can take the enemy by surprise and use their own weapon against them. Afterwards we can destroy it and leave them heavily weakened from even just one single sneak attack."
Gobber gave a light chuckle. "Sabotagin'! I like it!"
Stoick nodded in agreement. "Indeed. With this information we may yet have chance to not just attack the enemy when they least expect it, but to as well start a fight on two fronts… they won't stand a chance."
Bucket stood up in agreement. "Aye, this will be a worthy battle for my bucket and I, and- uhh… wait, will I fight with my bucket?" he asked, receiving a facepalm from Mulch.
"Bucket, tha thing is on yer bloody 'ead! It doesn't matter!" he said to him.
"Oh… right."
"Right then." said Stoick. "Now that we have a good idea on where to strike, we should consider the fact on deciding when we should strike. I would suggest consulting with Gothi-"
Before being able to finish, the doors to the Great Hall suddenly spun opened with Hiccup, Magnus, and Eira running through. Each of them breathless. Stoick's brows lifted as he ran up to them from the war table, curious to see what they had to say or what news they had to bring to him and the Council.
"Hiccup." he said, approaching his son and placing a hand on the lad's shoulder. "You seem breathless. Has something happened? Do you have something to say?"
"...Dad." he began. "Magnus, Eira, and I were just discussing with one another, and something grabbed our attention out to sea. We've spotted a set of ships off in the distance, and they're coming right towards Berk."
"More of Ivar's warriors?" asked Spitelout, however he received a 'no' from Hiccup when the young Viking shook his head.
"Their colors are unknown, and they fly no crest. Plus, their ship structure is nowhere similar to of what Ivar or his lackeys built, they're too different… but there's- there's something else you should know."
Stoick raised a brow. "Oh?" he asked.
"While our backs were turned and too distracted on the ships, I must've let down my guard on Toothless because he just wandered off, and when I saw his tracks, I followed them and they led into one of the store houses, and- …"
"And?" Stoick asked once again.
"And when I got there…" Hiccup suddenly turned silent. The negative thoughts of his Dragon soon began to hit him. Or, more of what would happen to his Dragon if he didn't act soon.
He then continued with; "Toothless' tracks turned into drag marks before wheels took their place, and multiple pairs of footsteps were found going into the same direction of the trail before they started to fade out… Dad- he's just gone! Someone has taken him, and I swear that whoever it was that took him-"
"Easy, Hiccup!" his father interrupted, placing both his hands on his son's shoulders as his anger and emotions boiled. "Easy now... I tell you this, son, and I promise you this: We will find Toothless... I will find Toothless, one way or another.