"Let me get this straight," began Snotlout. "Toothless lost a fin from one of those Devastators, and now he can no longer fly?"
Hiccup nodded as he ran along the road along with the group, no longer sneaking. "His injuries were somewhat severe when I woke up. He was covered in scratches and gouged with wounds all along his body. I swear by Odin's beard that Ivar will get what is coming to him."
"It'd be much easier if we had our dragons," commented Fishlegs. "Ivar's men chained them all up when we were captured and caged, though it seemed he also had other plans at the time, because instead of chasing after you, he just turn around and walk away, alone."
"That's... definitely odd" said Hiccup, raising a brow. "Regardless though, do you perhaps have any idea where they could be holding our dragons?"
"We overheard the captain mentioning a camp… Jyornstad, I believe it was called?"
"Jyornstad," said Magnus. "I've overheard that name before. That's the camp we came across after we sent our scout out to inspect the area. That place is fortified to teeth. It has trenches and spikes along the walls, as well as with dozens of warriors guarding it; no more than three groups."
Eira scoffed. "Something tells me they're jusy going to fortify it even more, now that they know we're here."
"If we're to take that camp, we'll need to find and rally more survivors," replied Hiccup, glancing around. "The more men that we can gather, then the better chances we-"
Suddenly, a loud voice from afar interrupted Hiccup's words. At first, it sounded like someone was shouting angrily to the sky as if they had had too much ale, but then the lad quickly picked up on the fact that it sounded like singing. Terrible, awful singing.
They all stopped, looking around for the source of the sound. though Snotlout himself cringed at the noise.
"What is that awful sound?" asked Fishlegs, covering his ears. "It sounds like someone ruining a lament... Well- actually, I think I can hear two people."
"...Two people you say?" Hiccup asked, spinning his head to Fishlegs. "Well if that's the case, then I may have an idea of who is singing that. All I can say is that their voices sound familiar to me."
Snotlout crossed his arms. "Hiccup, what are you trying to say-?" he said, before quickly interrupting himself, because as he listened more closely despite the vocals sounding cringey, he quickly began to pick up the familiar voices of who he could only identify as…
"Are those the voices of the Twins? Gods, please tell me that this is a dream." he said, sighing with a frowned face.
"As much as how I would wish for it to be a dream Snotlout - it is not." responded Hiccup, turning his gaze to the woods. "But still, if Ruffnut and Tuffnut are closer than we think they are, then where is the camp?"
Fortunately though, the voice of a Hooligan warrior spoke up to catch the group's attention as he pointed in the distance towards the Northeast. "Over there, sir!"
Hiccup spun himself into the direction the man motioned towards, and from afar he saw a few dimly lit lights through the fog along with a couple of tents, as well as more cages hanging from the ground with two of them moving violently.
"Well, seems like luck is on our side. Now, let's take this slowly and approach the camp with stealth. We don't know how many men are guarding that camp, and one wrong move could cost the Twins' lives."
"Agreed." replied Magnus. "Let's get moving- slowly."
The squad followed upon Hiccup's and Magnus' gestures, with the Hooligans and Warsung splitting up to follow their respective leaders as they snuck through the woody terrain, remaining in the bushes and behind the trees. As they got closer though, the voices of Ruff and Tuff became more clear, and soon enough, they could make out what they were singing.
Ruffnut sung first.
"Three yaks going over the hill,"
"Tonight they're gonna be my fill."
"Two dragons are flying in the sky,"
"Oh my gods, they fly so high!"
"This song is great I wanna sing more,"
"Or else I will become very booooored!"
After that, Tuffnut sang next.
"Oh ho ho sailing over the sea,"
"With an axe in one hand and a sword in my other!"
"My stupid enemies will bleed and flee before me,"
"And I'll make myself proud like my father!"
"Uh, helloooo! The words 'other' and 'father' don't rhyme, you idiot!" Ruffnut scolded, calling out to her brother from the other cage. "I can do better than that!"
"Oh really?" asked Tuffnut, chuckling. "I'd like to see you try!"
The lass laughed before inhaling a deep breath of air. And just like that, she began singing louder than before.
"OH HO HO, THIS SONG IS GREAAAAT,"
"I CAN SING BETTER THAN THE BRAVE!"
"HI-HO WITH ME PINT AND A MUG OF ALE,"
"I CAN SING BETTER THAN MY BROTHER WHO ALWAYS FAILS!"
Tuffnut placed his head against the bars of the cage in anger, facing Ruffnut. "NO YOU CAN'T!" he sang.
"YES I CAN!" she sung back.
"NO YOU CAN'T!"
"YES I CAN!"
"NO YOU CAN'T!"
"YES I CAN!"
"NO YOU CAAAN'T!"
"YEEESS I CAAAAAAAAAAN-!"
"SHUT UP YOU DAMNED HOOLIGANS!" the camp's captain roared as he slammed his hammer loudly against a nearby cage. "By the gods your SINGING IS DETESTABLE! HAS NO ONE EVER TAUGHT YOU HOW TO BE QUIET!?"
"Hooligans?" asked Tuffnut. "Well I mean- yeah, that's pretty much what we are, the Hairy Hooligans. What about yourself? Are you a farmer? Do you chop wood? Do you like to go fishing? Are you a fan of Stack the Yak? ...Oh! How about axe throwing, or even shooting the apple from atop someone's head. I heard that if you shoot the apple whilst using a bow instead of a crossbow, you're-"
The captain's fist shook as he yelled out in rage, "SILENCE!", now glaring up at both of the Twins with a face as red as burning flames. "Another word from either of you, and I'll gut you both! Got it!?"
The two pestering Vikings nodded at the Norseman, while from a small distance, Hiccup watched everything that unfolded in front of him as he hid in the bush, and a palm landed on his forehead.
"When will those two ever learn to remain silent?" he asked.
"They won't. Not even in a hundred years." commented Fishlegs, keeping his hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword. "Either way, we need to figure out how to get them out of there… draw the guards away, maybe. You know?"
Hiccup sighed. "Well, I see nothing that can grab their attention like a village to set aflame. That is, unless…"
Snotlout's attention fell upon him, curious. "Unless what? Do you have an idea in mind?"
Though it took a moment for him and Fishlegs to figure it out, they both realized that Hiccup was staring down at a single rock that laid next to him. Immediately, a wide smirk appeared on the lad's face as he picked up from off the ground, glancing towards an opening in the distance.
"This is going to be fun." he said to himself.
The scrawny Viking closed one of his eyes as he proceeded to aim in the direction he wanted to throw it, and as soon as he had his target, he threw the rock somewhat far into the distance as it went right for a cluster of shrubs. This in return caught the attention of several guards.
"What was that?" one of them asked as they pointed their spear out.
"I think it came from over there, in those bushes!" another pointed out as they all begun moving slowly with their weapons now unsheathed. By that point, they were filled with uncertainty.
Another spoke up, pointing their axe out. "We may be being eavesdropped. Let's be careful not to scare off whatever rat is watching us…"
Hiccup nodded in approval as their backs were turned, and his eyes soon met Magnus who stared at him with attention. With complex hand movements, Hiccup tried his best to tell the older Viking to make a particular move against the cautious Vikings with their backs turned.
"What's he doing?" Snotlout asked in a low whisper.
"I don't know." replied Fishlegs, rubbing his chin. "I think he is trying to signal the Warsung to make a-"
Suddenly, from the bushes where Magnus and Eira resided, the Warsung sprang forth with bows in-hand and aimed towards the enemy Vikings in the distance. At that point, Hiccup had his hand raised and was ready to curl it into a fist to give the order to fire…
...Were it not for the Twins however, who were able to spot the lad from their point of view, seeing as they hung in their cages from above.
"Hey, ain't that Hiccup?" asked Tuffnut.
Ruffnut looked at her brother, and nodded with chuckle. "Looks to be so! Hey Hiccup, up here! Quick, get us out!"
All eyes; from the Hooligans, Warsung, and Scandinavian Vikings, fell upon Hiccup's direction as they all looked at him with various expressions. His allies, angered and embarassed, realized their cover had been blown, while the enemy was shocked upon realizing that they were being eavesdropped.
Hiccup landed a hand against his forehead, letting forth a sigh as he stood to his feet and unsheathed the Dragon's Blade, calling forth to Magnus and his men.
"NOW!"
The Warsung immediately fired upon Hiccup's commands, striking the enemy Vikings from behind. To that, the warriors fell to the ground, bleeding out.
"SPIES!" the captain called out. "We've been discovered, men! LET'S TAKE THEM ON!"
"BERKIANS, ADVANCE!" shouted Snotlout as the Hooligan warriors sprung from hiding and ran at the enemy.
They clashed with the Scandinavians in a frontal attack, with Fishlegs and Snotlout in the center of it all, and soon, Magnus too engaged in the fighting as well, charging out from the bushes in a flanking attack.
What was meant to be a mission of stealth and silence had escalated into violence. A battle had now begun.
As Hiccup entered the fight himself however, he was met with the captain who had two bodyguards at his sides. The young lad knew that although they were outnumbered nearly three to one, they were not outmatched in that instance. Even Magnus alone was a great warrior who was able to pick out his foes one at a time and kill them clean without much trouble.
The man gritted his teeth at Hiccup, tightening the grip around his hammer.
"Look who it is!" he said. "If it isn't the Runt from Kattegat! King Ivar's slave! You know, your departure from Kattegat was the whole reason this conflict started! The tides of war churned once more, and we have you to thank for that! Our King thanks you for that!"
Hiccup shook his head. "I am not a slave!" he exclaimed, pointing his sword towards the Viking. "Ivar started this war on his own accord, promising land and gold that was never his for the taking, whilst creating a twisted version our belief amongst those who aren't even Norse. You call yourselves a Viking Army, but with outsiders in your ranks!? You are not a Viking!"
"GAH! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THE MEANING OF 'VIKING,' YOU RUNT!" the captain bellowed as his voice became guttural. "Vikings by title are RAIDERS! We explore, pillage, and kill because that is what we are! ...That, is what Odin wanted us to be!"
With an animalistic huff, he then pointed his large hammer outward, and with a low toned voice, gnarled, "Kill him!"
The two men rushed at Hiccup with fierce speed and strength, but even with that alone, the two did not know what Hiccup could do. They knew not the scrawny lad's ability, which, unbeknownst to them, outmatched their own.
With a great horizontal cleave, Hiccup struck with the Dragon's Blade towards the two men who closed in on him, and as he held his blade with both hands and spun in a circle, he felt two bodies of flesh strike at his weapon.
Quick to recover from his spinning cleave, the lad looked in front of him and saw that he made two deep slices across the upper stomachs of the two bodyguards. Although they were not split opened, they were definitely bleeding out quickly, and as well as greatly injured.
Almost instantly, their weapons fell out of their hands as they fell to the ground in pain, groaning loudly and looking off into a different and separate direction - before eventually, becoming deceased due to their blood loss.
The captain stared in shock as his two best warriors were cut down. He gripped his large hammer with both hands as if it were an axe, and at that moment he was prepared to stomp Hiccup to the side. "You will PAY WITH YOUR LIFE, PUP!"
He roared at the lad, sprinting towards him with great speed before he started swinging his hammer at the young Viking. Hiccup responded with only dodging however, for if he attempted to parry or block with his weapon against the hammer, then his blade would be crushed and bent, and he would risk his life.
But even though the captain struck fast with such a heavy weapon, it didn't mean his attacks were entirely precise.
The larger Viking mostly swung his hammer in circles, cleaves, and arcs at the scrawnier eighteen year old Berkian, and even though very few of his hits found his mark, the inaccuracy of his swings made the blows weaker. To this, Hiccup knew what to do.
Knowing that the man required to use much of his strength to swing his weapon, Hiccup decided to wear him down by dodging each of his attacks and running behind or to the side of him so that he would have to turn for his attacks.
This in turn caused him to become dizzy and, eventually, go off balance of his offensive moves.
Soon enough, Hiccup's efforts on slowing down and tiring the armored captain would pay off well as the man fell to his knees with heavy exhaustion. By that point, sweat dripped down his face like rain, and he no longer had his hammer gripped in his hands.
Hiccup smirked with approval, crouching down to the Viking's level with his sword still lit and blazing close to his face. His brows lowered as he spoke in a low tone to the weary captain.
"Runt you say?" he asked, replying with a quick stab through the upper chest with his fiery blade. "I hope you like the way you die, because that is how you will remain in your afterlife. So tell me; who is the runt now?"
The captain could not reply with words from the burning sensation of fire in his chest, and as Hiccup pulled the Dragon's Blade out from the large man's chest, he fell over with a hoarse groan as the life from his body slowly left him...
Hiccup panted and gasped, bowing his head in a taunting manner which meant 'good riddance,' and as he looked around, he saw already that the battle was over with every single Scandinavian Viking warrior laying down on the ground, lifeless.
Once again, a simple camp, this time heavier with number, fell to their might - and to this, the eighteen year old lad grew confident that the mission was tipping evermore in their favor.
But the moment of victory would quickly be ruined as two familiar voices called out.
"Uh, helloooo?" called out Ruffnut as she waved her hand through the cage. "We could use a little help here!"
"Yeah, and no offense H, but you nearly got us killed there." replied Tuffnut, nodding his head with a slight frown.
"I, nearly risking your lives?" Hiccup asked as he sheathed his sword, looking up at the Twins. "You two blew our cover and nearly costed us the entire mission! Were it not for our strategy, you two would've likely been dead along us! Think about what would happen to Astrid and Heather…"
"They would find a way out…?" asked Tuffnut. "I mean, they're skilled and strong. And they-"
"They would have been executed." called out Fishlegs, joining in. "Either that, or they would slowly rot in their cages, waiting for us to rescue them. Do you even know how bad it feels to rot? To feel your own flesh and blood dry away like dying leaves?"
"...Noooo?" the Twins replied, almost seeming careless about Hiccup's and Fishlegs' lectures, and more caring about getting out of their cages. To this, Hiccup sighed and shook his head, before motioning an order to one of the Hooligan warriors.
"Lower those cages and get those two out of there." he said with a serious tone. "And make sure that they don't leave our sight. Make sure to also free the rest of the prisoners from there."
"Aye sir!" he said, before he started calling over others. "Come on men, let's get these cages lowered!"
From there, Hiccup stood and observed the surprising dozens of captives being freed from their bonds - from the tents and cages, all consisting of warriors from Berk, the Warsung, and more surprisingly, those from another Tribe.
Snotlout and Magnus approached Hiccup with their faces somewhat charred and dirty from battle, but their expressions told the young man that they had something important to tell him.
"Hiccup." Magnus began, stopping a couple of yards from him. "We've successfully freed all of the prisoners, but some of these men aren't of the Hooligan or Warsung Tribes."
He arched a brow at the Chief. "What colors do they carry, then? Whose men are they?"
"They're the Berserkers" answered Snotlout. "Dagur's men. They say that they don't know where their Chieftain went after the battle, only that they know that Dagur is missing in action somewhere out there. But if that's the case, then searching for him would help increase our strength once he is found."
"That as well applies for all of the other Tribes." Magnus added on. "But for right now, all that's important is rescuing the rest of the group, finding a place that we can call our own, and then feasting on whatever we can salvage. Right now, our numbers have increased from just a dozen to over forty five."
"If that's indeed so, then we must search for the last camp where Astrid and Heather are being held up." Hiccup said, turning to face the road leading out.
"With our numbers, taking on the last one before moving on to Jyornstad should be no problem. About one more squad of warriors should give us the manpower to seize the base camp. But until then, we must keep our eyes opened, and hope that they are both still alive."
Magnus and Snotlout expressed in agreement, nodding their heads at Hiccup as the Warsung Chieftain asked; "And what do you want to us to do about this camp?"
"...Burn it."
…
They were back marching on a Southeastern road leading to the Eastern part of the region, hoping that they'd be able to find Astrid and Heather, but no longer were they sneaking around as if they were on a scouting mission. Now, they were slowly anchoring themselves back into the war, once more battle ready for more conflict to come.
However, stealthiness couldn't be Hiccup's choice regardless, seeing that now the Twins were with them.
"Why do you think the captain hated our singing?" asked Tuffnut. "Did we not sing loud enough for him?"
"Nah." replied Ruffnut. "Maybe it was just because the song wasn't Viking enough. You know, we didn't put in enough effort into it!"
"Ooh, so like, get more yaks involved?" he asked her.
"Mhmm." she replied.
"Boars and wolves?"
"Yup!" nodded Ruffnut with a smirk. "And if you put all of those things together, you get a true Viking shanty!"
"Or you get a muck up that doesn't sound like singing, but rather moaning." briefly responded Magnus, causing nearly the entire group to laugh out loud in splurts and chuckles which made the Twins become viewed embarrassingly.
"Some Chieftain he is." Tuffnut muffled immaturely, but not so much under his breath as he was easily heard from those around him.
"More than you can imagine, Tuff. At least he knows how to play a lute." Hiccup replied, earning quite an amount of "oohs" throughout the ranks, and from that, Tuffnut remained silent the rest of the way they marched - along with Ruffnut.
Snotlout sighed in relief, grinning at Hiccup. "Finally, some peace and quiet. I can now concentrate on the mission"
"Tell me about it." Eira said from behind, catching both the attention of Fishlegs and Snotlout. "Honestly, I don't know how you lads are able to handle these two. They're noisier than a tavern from Kattegat."
"Well, what do you expect? It's the the Twins. That is all they know aside fighting." replied Fishlegs, earning a reasonable nod from Eira who understood what the Ingerman meant.
For the time they continued the march, the group remained quiet without peeping a single word. Every man and woman, warrior and maiden, stayed on alert with their hands on the hilts of their sheathed weapons, expecting some sort of attack to happen out of nowhere.
However, it wasn't until a voice rose up that the warband had to halt upon reaction. Something laid ahead of them on the road.
"Look, over there!" a Berkian warrior shouted.
Up ahead on the road, more than several yards away, many dozens of Scandinavian Vikings stood with their weapons and shields out, raised towards Hiccup and the group.
At first, the warriors of the Hooligans, Berserkers, and Warsung were about to advance on them, but Hiccup quickly shouted "hold!" which caused them to halt and hold their positions. The scrawny Viking was curious to see what the Scandinavian Vikings were trying do, and most of all, figure out how exactly they found him.
From the front of the enemy ranks, a man stood with a scrawny figure grasped in his hands, along with another grasped in the hands of another warrior. Most likely it was the commander of the region, and by extent, the overseer of Jyornstad.
It wouldn't take long for Hiccup to realize however that the two figures in the commander's possession were not just any ordinary captives or prisoners. One of them was a black haired girl who had a ponytail running down her left shoulder along with ripped brown and grey leather armor. He knew there and then that it was Heather.
But the other one, the one who the commander had in his hands was a blonde Viking, a shield maiden… Hiccup's lady and lover. Her blue tunic was charred and somewhat tattered, and her face was dirty for the time she was a captive.
He realized who the young lady was.
Astrid stood before him, grasped in the hands of the commander with a dagger held to her throat.
The commander grinned at Hiccup with a wicked stare. "Looking for someone?" he asked mockingly.