Hello again!
Well….what can I say, guys? Sorry about the long wait, but college is (unfortunately) necessary and time consuming. Anyone in pre-vet or pre-med, I'm sure you understand.
Enjoy chapter 4 guys!
Disclaimer: I don't own How to Train Your Dragon. Also, inspriation to help me write was the HTTYD 2 trailer (I am shamefully late in the game on seeing it but it is magnificent! Animation…so beautiful…so smooth…colorful…the detail…so…ahem, yeah.)
Eirik Albertsen sat at the head of the table the group of young Berkinas were currently feasting at, smiling in a way that made Hiccup wonder why he found so much enjoyment out of their presence. He himself was on his third plate already, erasing the pangs of hunger the food shortage had left them in for the past week or so.
They were sitting in a large room with multiple stone tables, and the one they were occupying had been covered in various dishes to fill their appetite.
Chicken, he silently checked each dish to himself, fish, bread, potatoes, mead, elderberries.
This hidden, underground village seemed to be fairing extremely well against the winter. Not that the winter bothered them extensively. The temperature inside the cavern that housed Drómundr was almost hotter than that of Berk's summer months. Hiccup and his friends had shed their fur coats before they had even entered Drómundr's version of the Great Hall.
Eirik sat at the head of the table, with Hiccup on his right and Tuffnutt on his left. His clothes seemed regal but not exquisite, with plain grey pants tucked into his leather boots, and a purple shirt that faintly made Hiccup wonder what his tailors used to dye it such a rare color. He noted the chief's crutch that lay against his chair. Hiccup hadn't noticed it when the blonde first introduced himself, but he walked with a noticeable limp, and needed a cane to steady himself when he walked. With the limp, the scar, and the title of Chief, there was definitely a story somewhere in Eirik, and he wanted to hear it.
"So…we're related?"
Eirik took a long swig of his drink, holding up a hand to excuse his silence before he answered, "Well, only by a little bit, but yes. The Haddocks and Albertsens come from the same family line. Go back quite a few generations, too many to guess, and our relatives were siblings. So, aye, we are cousins, but very distant cousins. Probably a few times removed as well."
The young chief's voice was soft and light, and it bounced off the palace's walls like the light of a torch would. There was also a sense of power to his figure. The way he sat up straight, how his tone of voice never wavered, his eyes filled with confidence. A leader through and through.
It both put Hiccup at ease and filled him with a sense of foreboding at the same time. Although, Eirik had given him no reason not to trust him…yet.
Hiccup scooted his plate away from him, more interested in the conversation at hand than the food, "How do you know this? Are…any Haddocks here?"
"I am afraid the answer to that is no. However, the story of how we came to live here may shed some light," Eirik shifted in his seat, the bread he was munching on momentarily forgotten as he leaned closer to Hiccup, "If you would like to hear it, that is."
Hiccup nodded, "Of course."
Eirik gave him a sly smile, one of genuine excitement that made the slight scar across his nose shift, "A long, long time ago, around three hundred and thirty years according to our records, our ancestors, Grintlug Albertsen and one of your namesakes, sailed to the North in search of new land with their armies and a few of their women."
The others had stopped eating by this time and sat in silence to listen as well, " The land they came across is your very own Berk, and they settled there. Grintlug and Hiccup ruled the land together, sharing duties and giving the village more than one mindset to help it get started. It was a wonderful diarchy they made and, when their sons were of age, they wanted the regime to stay the same."
"Let me guess," Astrid twirled her stone chalice in contemplation and watched the liquid inside swirl with her words, "the sons-"
"Didn't agree, of course," Eirik waved his hand in a flippant manner before placing his elbows against the stone table and lacing his fingers together, "They both wanted the chieftainship to be for themselves, and only themselves. So, when the time came and both of their fathers died, there came an argument, a huge argument," Eirik snorted, trying to hold back a laugh, "Apparently both men were the size of bears, it's quite comical to think about nowadays."
Hiccup had to smile as a picture of two huge men shouting at each other in the Great Hall on Berk, like toddlers throwing a tantrum, entered his mind. He could imagine the way the shouts would have echoed over the island, or how they possibly could've just skipped the argument and gone straight into beating each other to a pulp. Berk hadn't changed much since then.
Eirik continued, "They shouted their disagreements, some blows were exchanged, and Hiccup's ancestor kicked mine out, along with those loyal to him. They set sail for a new home and found themselves here."
"Yeah, Liva told us they stopped here to wait out a storm, and got trapped inside," Hiccup said.
"Aye, she is correct. Lightning struck the outside of the island and it caused a rock slide that covered up the entrance. From a fleet of ten large boats, we dismantled seven of them and recycled the wood and metal into more useful things."
Well, that explained the wooden furniture at least.
"The rest we carved out of the stone and grew under the only source of sunlight. And, well, we have been living the same way since."
Eirik's smile seemed sad this time, Hiccup mused as he watched the young chief go to the opening in the wall that served as a window.
Eirik looked through the carved-out window, "Oh, it seems I've kept you way too long, it's dark outside."
Hiccup looked over and, sure enough, the giant hole that conquered most of the cavern's ceiling was black except for the twinkling Cave Winkers that littered the area. The storm still raged outside, but Hiccup figured it would.
Blizzards could last weeks on Berk. He couldn't see any snow falling through it, but he could hear the winds flying into the cavern, growing in the space, filling it up, devouring the silence in its wrath.
One of the cool tendrils of air made its way through the carved window, flowing lethargically to his Hiccup, full from it's meal. It licked at his face and neck, tousled his hair slightly before dying in its greed.
"I will provide all of you with rooms here, tomorrow you may go about the village, do what you must to get you home."
He gave a sharp whistle, and moments later Axel and another guard entered the dining room.
"Axel, take our guests to their rooms, Ylva, dine with me, there's plenty left."
Ylva, tall with cropped dark red hair, nodded, but remained standing where she was while Axel gestured for Hiccup and the others to follow him.
Hiccup gave one last look at his plate, wondering, out of some primal instinct, if he should eat more in case there wasn't another chance later. He shook the feeling off when his eyes drooped in drowsiness. He got up behind the others, waving off his survival instincts.
There'd be plenty in the morning.
H~~~T~~~T~~~Y~~~D
After waking up late in the morning, Hiccup went out into the village, and, with directions from Axel, found his way to the blacksmith's workshop. He had taken note of the elder man, one that seemed way too old to still be working, introduced himself, and asked if he could have a job done. Hiccup was able to draw up a rudimentary sketch of Toothless' harness, saddle, and tailfin in record time.
Explaining the concept to the resident blacksmith, however was a different matter, even with Toothless next to him for a model. He shouldn't have been surprised, considering how cut off the village was from the world, but the equipment the blacksmith had wasn't capable of creating such fine equipment with the metal they had, or at least not as quickly as Hiccup himself could have made back on Berk.
The metal they had was old, dull, rusted, and fairly fragile. The elder man said he could find iron ore in the ground to compensate if needed, though. But not much.
Either way, Hiccup found himself growing more and more irritated at how long all of this would take. He sat outside the shop, glaring at the covered sky with frustration.
Up to a month at the most, the blacksmith claimed, possibly more even with his help.
Hiccup hid his face in his hands and rubbed his temples as the thought went by again. A month of waiting to get out. A month of sitting and doing nothing. A month of living in darkness.
A month of his father scouring the globe looking for him.
He suppressed a groan at the thought. Stoick would have a field day when he got back. He would rattle his son's bones while he yelled at Hiccup for worrying him in that fatherly way of his. He'd probably be grounded for a long while.
Not to mention his position as future chief would be set back a ways from his actions.
The distinct thud of footprints, quite different from the crunch he was used to hearing from the loose ground on Berk, made him pick his head up. A slice of bread and cheese was held under his nose. Lunch, he approved to himself before snatching the offering and taking a bite.
Astrid sat next to him, after giving the Night Fury laying next to his master a decent sized shank of meat. Her right side pressed against his left, sharing heat they didn't need to share. She had her own slice of food, but was halfway through hers.
"So, how's the designing going?"
The mention of it brought back all the bad thoughts Hiccup's food had momentarily driven away. He made an unpleased sound and leaned against Astrid.
She laughed, "It can't be all that bad."
"It's going to take a month."
"Well that gives us some quality time with our newfound neighbors then. And we can eat more of their food."
She finished off her bread and cheese as if to prove it.
Hiccup took another bite, chewing slowly as he thought to how good it was to have enough food again.
Which made him feel all the more guilty when he thought about how his village was fairing.
Astrid sighed, "It's…amazing in some way."
"What do you mean?"
Astrid gestured to the all of the village. Hiccup followed it, looking down the slickened street, at the stone homes, the torches, a group of young boys running with a dog, the three elderly women sewing with black thread a ways down from them. One of them looked up from her work, catching Hiccup's eye and smiling at him before turning back to the cloth.
"This place, these people," Astrid continued with a smile, "It's amazing what they've done. They survived being stuck here all these years, with little supplies and guidance, and look what they've done with it. They're not only surviving, but thriving."
Hiccup hummed, and gave a small smile, "Yeah, I guess it is."
Toothless' head perked up beside him, the dragon gave a soft snort at the approach of the young chief of Drómundr and his head guard, Ylva. The red-haired young woman stared at the two of them without emotion. She towered over her chief, with his head just reaching her chin. The freckles on across her nose stood out vibrantly against her pale skin. The brown eyes that stared down at Hiccup were harsh, and it took all he had not to look away first.
Eirik stopped in front of the couple, his stone walking stick in his hand to help with his limp. Hiccup idly wondered, again, what caused it.
He pushed his curiosity back at the look on Eirik's face, though. He was staring at Hiccup with his eyebrows raised.
Astrid noticed it too, "What is it? Is something wrong?"
Eirik looked to the blonde next to Hiccup and gave her a soft smile, "Oh, no, Miss Astrid. Nothing is wrong, I was just surprised to find you two here. What business do you have with Njord?"
Hiccup scratched under his dragon's chin at the question, "Toothless has only one tailfin, his gear was left. Once he can fly again, I want to take him up to the hole in the cave's top. It might be a close call with his wingspan, but I think he'd be able to fly through."
The hole in their natural cage was smaller than Hiccup had initially thought when he stood straight under it. With the dense fog that nested around it, it was hard to see and get an exact measurement. However, Hiccup wanted the gear made anyway, just in case.
"Ah, I see. Where are the rest of your friends then? Exploring?"
Astrid smiled and nodded, "Apparently. I'm just going to go ahead and apologize in advance for anything they destroy."
Eirik chuckled, the baritone of his voice echoing pleasantly in the cave, "No worries. You must all be curious about our village. And I can tell you that we build most of our possessions to be indestructible."
Ylva spoke up for the first time since the group from Berk arrived, "Sir, we are needed at the guard's post, remember?"
Eirik straightened up as she reminded him, "Oh, yes, well feel free to come to us if any of you need anything."
Hiccup stared at the two as they walked away. He felt there was something odd about the way Eirik addressed them, how he was always polite and humble when he talked to them. He knew he shouldn't be worried about it, but…
He abruptly threw the rest of his lunch to Toothless before standing up and addressing Astrid.
"Stay with the blacksmith. You know my designs well enough. Help him measure Toothless for his gear, I'll be right back."
He left too quick to hear what his girlfriend said afterwards as he ran to catch up with Eirik.
"Eirik wait!"
The older boy stopped and looked back as Hiccup ran up to him, "Yes, Master Haddock?"
Hiccup turned to Eirik as he came to a stop in front of them, "Listen, can I talk to you for a second," he glanced at Ylva subtly, "privately? Please?"
Ylva glanced warily at Eirik, who waved his hand flippantly at her, "I'll be fine, you can send the message just as well as I can. Go on without me."
Ylva nodded, and looked at Hiccup before she continued her trek. Hiccup felt like a block of ice settled into his stomach at the look from her, but dismissed it as he looked back at Eirik.
The older boy smiled, "What can I do for you Master Haddock?"
Hiccup spoke gently, but with a tone that couldn't be argued against, and stood straight in the eyes of this new leader, "When Axel heard my last name, he reacted as if under orders to bring anyone by the name of Haddock to you, no matter what. And you didn't seem all that surprised when me and my friends showed up without any warning. Which leads me to believe that you expected our arrival."
He saw Eirik's face fall straight from that of a kind and friendly leader into one of seriousness. His eyes sparked in a sharp gaze and he straightened form leaning against his stone walking stick and into an authoritative posture, "You believe it is my fault you fell down here. It is not. I had nothing to do with it."
"Then why weren't you surprised when we showed up?"
Eirik shifted from foot to foot and looked over Hiccup's shoulder, "I wasn't going to bring this up until tomorrow. I wanted you and your friends to trust us, trust me, first. But I will show you now, if that is what it takes for you to believe I had nothing to do with you coming here."
"I would be grateful if you would show me."
Eirik nodded and strode off down the streets of Drómundr, his limp somehow not taking away the air of power surrounding him.
They walked past the large, stalagmites that served as homes to the citizens, past the muddy grass on the outskirts of the village, and to the opening in the rock that let the river back into the tunnels it emerged from.
"This was here before we came, and has stayed here since. It has'unt faded or cracked or eroded. You should read it," Eirik pointed on the wall where carved words stood out clearly against the dark granite.
Hiccup leaned close in the low light to read it to himself.
Two lost brothers torn by pride
Steel yourselves against the tide
Sail strong, sail fast, sail last
Go into the cavern's grasp
For salvation is at the end
And a home it will mend
The hiding Scale Reader you seek
If ye brave enough to cross the deep
Beware the dangers in its depths
Some come, you will not expect.
Eirik stood by silently as Hiccup took his time in reading and rereading the text before him, letting the rhyme dance around in his head as he tried to make sense of it.
He eventually turned back to Eirik, who was patiently letting him take it in.
"A warning?"
"A prophesy."
Hiccup backed away from the wall, "A prophesy for what, exactly? And why show it to me?"
Eirik cast his eyes downward and let his shoulders fall as he let out a deep breath. Hiccup noted the exhaustion that became apparent in the young man's eyes, "There is a legend, a very old one. I do not expect you to know it, since it is mostly forgotten now, about a device made by the gods that was used by great warriors called the Scale Reader. It's an ancient piece of armor or jewelry. One would simply gather a scale of a dragon and somehow place it into the device and you would…become that dragon."
Hiccup stared blankly at the ruler of Drómundr before letting out a sigh. He mentally kicked himself.
"Way to let Eirik one up you," he thought, "falling for a stupid thing like that."
Eirik held a hand out, "Now, I know what you are thinking-"
"Oh, come on! Turning into a dragon? It's impossible," Hiccup turned to leave, not wanting to waste his time with the joke any longer.
"So was befriending and riding one, last I heard."
Hiccup paused in his departure, "How do you know about that?"
Eirik has the decency to look abashed for prying into Hiccup's private life, "I asked your friends. About your leg. Just out of curiosity, and they told me the story."
A part of Hiccup wanted to feel angry at his friends for letting out information without his consent, but Eirik's next few words made him change his mind, "You should've seen them tell me the story. You are their leader, Hiccup. One they admire and trust with all their will. You not only saved your best friend, you saved your home. You saved your father. You saved the people who once hated you."
The look on Eirik's face was one of amazement and respect, "You are a hero. Please, my people cannot stay trapped here forever. We have plenty of supplies and food now, but who knows when the roof will collapse, or the river will flood. I can't take that chance. I need to get them out. I need to find the Scale Reader. And I need help finding it. Your help."
Hiccup stared at him. Praise came short and sharp from the villagers back home, with subtle smiles of appreciation when he walked down the street and 'thank you's that held more than just gratitude for fixing up a Zippleback's saddle strap. He wasn't used to speeches. Frankly, he'd never seen someone who believed in him so much before. Aside from Astrid.
Hiccup shuffled a foot across the muddy ground as he weighed the pros and cons against going after a legend.
"How is this going to help you and your people?"
"My mother had this necklace, a possession that was passed down through the generations of cheiftan's wives, it holds the scale from a dragon." he tugged out a leather string that was hiding behind his shirt collar and pulled out the scale attached to it. The scale gleamed in the distant firelight, it's yellow shimmering golden and the black marking going across it being set aflame in the orange glare.
Eirik twirled the chain and watched the gem of a scale shimmer, "It's from a dragon called the Mountain Screecher. They're from the mainland to the south. They are very rare but have been said to have the endurance of a mountain and the strength of armies. If I can turn into one, I can break through the rocks trapping us. And we will be free."
Hiccup tore his eyes from the scale. The name of the dragon being a new one in his mental index.
"Say I agree to help find it, what's the plan?"
"We have a boat, one from the original fleet that sailed in here. It's the smallest of the vessels that came, but we've taken great measures to keep it in fair condition. The writing tells us to go along the river, into the tunnels. I will take a couple of my guards, a healer, you, and whoever you desire to bring. We will sail along the river, and go where it takes us. Just, look at the writing, it's us, Hiccup. The lost brothers, the last remaining ship. If not us than who?"
Hiccup frowned, skeptical at such a vague plan. The prophesy told of dangers that were hidden in the river. If he were to accompany Eirik, he'd be going in blind. It wasn't something he liked.
Eirik's demenor deflated at the hesitation on Hiccup's face. He looked downcast at the necklace with the scale of the Mountain Screecher.
"Please," he said, "I know it sounds bad, but I am their chief. I want to…I must do all I can to protect them."
Eirik's eyes met Hiccups, and he could see the spark of hope the young Berkian had set in them, just by standing in front of him.
"You're a leader, Hiccup Haddock. You understand. They need me, believe in me. These are my people, my family."
Hiccup knew, felt it on the inside, if he were in Eirik's place. He would say the same thing.
He looked at Eirik, who was clutching the necklace so hard his hand was trembling.
"Is there nothing you wouldn't do for yours?"
H~~~T~~~T~~~Y~~~D
"Okay, hold on a minute, you want to what?"
Astrid had begun to think she was wrong, that she was being paranoid the first day in Drómundr. It wasn't a crazy dangerous place as she initially made it out to be (or maybe she was just feeling better since she got food in her stomach). But, now, as Astrid sat in the back room of Drómundr's blacksmith shop, she thought about taking it back. She sat, watching Hiccup pace violently in front of her, hands running through his hair in an anxious way.
He had come in earlier, grabbed her arm and drug her away from the blacksmith, who was asking questions about Hiccup's saddle design, with a quick 'need to speak with Astrid, please and thank you!'.
Now he'd just finished telling her about some sort of curse or story, and how he needed to go on a boat to save the people by becoming a dragon.
Obviously he'd eaten something bad during dinner last night.
Hiccup paused in his pacing, holding up his hands in defense, "I know it sounds crazy-"
"As most of your theories do."
Hiccup opened his mouth to argue, but stopped, reconsidering.
"Point taken, but, Astrid, as weird as it sounds, this is a guy willing to do anything for his village. He's out of options, this is his last hope, you should've seen the look on his face! He…" Hiccup paused, tapping the tips of his fingers against his mouth.
"He what?"
Hiccup paused, shaking his head and shrugging, "The way he looked at me. He was terrified. Terrified I'd refuse, that he'd lose his chance to save his family."
"His family?"
"That's what he described his people as."
Astrid sighed and stood up, crossing the distance between them, "Hiccup, he probably said that to get you on his side. He's exaggerating."
"No, no it's true. When I look at him and think about if our places were switched. If Dad, Gobber, our friends, you, if all of us were trapped down here and I had a way to get us out, I'd do anything. Even rely on a prophesy someone could've just written for laughs on a wall. Because the people of Berk are my family, dysfunctional and crazy, but family nonetheless."
Astrid smiled at him, It was rare that Hiccup ever showed sentimentality towards Berk, being raised to do the exact opposite. He was, after all, a pure-blooded Viking. She knew he cared, they all knew he cared, but hearing it out loud was different, stronger, more definite. It's how she knew he was deadest on something of his; a saying or a practice or a feeling. Something he believed in wholeheartedly.
Astid kissed his cheek and rested her chin on his shoulder. Smiling, she closed her eyes, "You do realize you just implied that you loved me like family, right?"
She felt Hiccup tense, then had to bring her head up as he started chuckling, so her head wouldn't start bouncing off his shoulder.
She let out a soft sigh, "Well, first thing's first. What do we do about him?"
Hiccup grimaced at Toothless, his head sticking in through the window of the blacksmith's shop. The dragon tilted his head at the couple, an action Astrid knew he used to make himself look endearing.
She felt Hiccup take a deep breath against her and sigh loudly, "Ah man."
H~~~T~~~T~~~Y~~~D
Eirik waited outside of the Blacksmith's shop, nodding to the people as they walked by him. His people. Eirik gazed up at he hole over Drómundr, wishing for the feel of sunlight on his skin. He was addicted to it from the rare times the direct sunlight shone through at the right angle and lightly kissed at his skin.
He thought back to Hiccup Haddock and his friends, thought of their tanned complexions and energy that just wasn't seen in Drómundr, and felt envy.
But, if all went according to plan, he would be out soon. He and the people he ruled over would finally taste the fresh, chilled, dry air of the outside. He finally had a chance! As long as he had the help of the Berkians.
"Eirik?"
The chief of Drómundr stood up as Hiccup came up to him, and hope filled his heart.
He glanced between Hiccup and his lady friend, Astrid, and asked, "Have you made a decision?"
Hiccup nodded to him.
"This boat, does it have room for a dragon?"
Constructive criticism is appreciated :) Especially with the OCs
Now to take care of things:
In answer to anonymous reviewer, Matt: Yes, I know Stormfly is the real name of Astrid's Nadder…but, while writing my previous story To Change a State of Mind the name wasn't released or well known yet, so I had to name her myself. And decided to stick to the one I chose for this story J Hope that clears things up!
Also, congratulations to Megadracosarus for getting last chapter's question right! Yes, the book series Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins (author of the Hunger Games trilogy) also centers around an underground city. It's a brilliant series guys, one of my top 5. I consider it better than the Hunger Games. I wholeheartedly suggest it for those looking for a new series.
This chapter's Random Question is easy guys ;)
Question: When is the release date of HTTYD 2?
Thanks for putting up with my laziness and waiting patently! You guys are fantastic!
~Oliver