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Jarin and the Riders of Berk
Chapter 13 – Deception and Decision

Stoick the Vast had always prided himself on being one step ahead of his enemies and two steps ahead of his friends. It was very rare that he ever encountered an enemy that was two steps ahead of him. And yet for several days, he had languished in this dank dungeon with a frightened monstrous nightmare chained to the wall across from him. That mad chief Gelbrun who had sent such kind letters of inviation to discuss methods of integrating Dragons into his society the way stories said that Stoick had thew him down here while he decided how best to use him.

The Monstrous Nightmare eyed him with suspicion, even though it should have been clear that he was as much a prisoner here as the dragon. The creature seemed relatively healthy, but he had not seen anyone come down to give him food or water for at least two days. He knew exactly where he was, in the dark and evil place that Berk's newest dragon-citizen was discarded from. That was made evident by the torture that was done to the dragon each day.

The first day he watched Gelbrun and his cronies beating the dragon, he had demanded with all the authority of a chief that they stop. They did not ignore him. In fact, they responded by beating the dragon even harder, its usual defiant roars giving way to anguished cries of pain. Why wouldn't they stop? What point was there to this? Even during the many years of his animosity towards dragons, he never dreamed of doing something like... THIS. This was cruelty for the sake of cruelty, far more than revenge for the fallen.

Finally, at the end of its endurance, the Monstrous Nightmare burst into flame for a moment, then collapsed.

Now, these many days later, he looked across at the Dragon who looked back at him accusingly.

"Please, friend," he said. "Do not look at me with such mistrust. If I could free you, I would, and we would ride out of here together, leaving these beasts thrashing in their own entrails."

The dragon closed its eyes and turned away, clearly not wanting to sense whether or not he spoke the truth. This one was strong willed, he could see, relying on defiance rather than hope. Were he not bonded with Thornado, he would consider working with this dragon. Ah well. He would find a way out of here. He would see that dragon released, and he would make Gelbrun pay with blood for his treachery. But he had to be careful. The people who came with him were being held somewhere else inside this fortress. That's what Gelbrun had told him, though the man may have just as likely had them killed and may have been using threats against them to manipulate him.

Mnipulate me into what? Stoick asked himself. Since I've been chained up down here, you haven't so much as said two words to me, you bloody coward! Oh he knew full well what was going on. You're trying to wear me down through silent intimidation. You're trying to establish that you are in control of everything here, thinking I'll "realize my place" and just roll over for whatever plan you have.

"It's not going to happen," he shouted. "You hear me, Gelbrun? It's not going to happen!"

The dragon looked over at him, eyes narrowing as if trying to figure out if Stoick was insane or just being as defiant as it was. Stoick did not have a problem reading that look.

"Yes, friend," he said with a sardonic laugh. "I am insane. And getting more so by the day. And when that coward makes his mistake, I will get insane all over his cowardly face!"

The dragon's eyes widened and for an instant there seemed to be amusement, as if it wanted to say, "I would so love to watch!" But it was over in an instant, as it lowered its head dejectedly to the ground, closing its eyes.

Stoick understood. Things followed a strict routine here. It wouldn't be long before they came to give the dragon its daily beating. The creature clearly wanted to try to get some rest before having to endure that. "Rest, friend. I will try not to disturb you," he said in a low tone.

O O O

Gelbrun paced back and forth in the great hall of his fortress, pulling at the hair on his head. He had not slept since his daughter had disappeared without a word. She didn't need to tell him where she was going. He knew. She was going after that wasted piece of gargbage dragon that he had dumped into the ocean to do. What could she do? Nothing. It was at the end of its useless existance. He kicked the high-backed chair his pacing brought him close to, his booted foot puncturing the soft leather, which squeaked as he twisted to pull himself loose.

He glanced at the guards at his door who stared, blank-faced, straight ahead. They had learned long ago not to laugh if he did something that he knew full well made him look foolish in his raging. The skull decorating the little pedestal in the corner belonged to the last guard, a new recruit, who had looked like he might have been snickering at him. He took his head off with his ax right there on the spot. In his moments of weakness he thought that he might have been excessive in doing so, but he had to be hard. His word had to be law. It had to.

One good thing was that Stoick had played right into his hands. When he learned about Berk and its dragon-loving ways, he knew he had to do something. His people had believed that they, through constant show of strength and resolved, had defeated the dragons, and that was why they were no longer raiding. If the people learned that the dragons were never really defeated, but befriended by some other tribe, then they may start doubting his resolve. His people believed that all dragons were murderous creatures with no value whatsoever, and that they needed to be hunted to extinction. And now that the raids had stopped, he had said that it was the right time to do it, before they reproduced and it all started over again.

Berk needed to fall. But he did not dare go against them directly. IF dragons and Vikings could live in peace, he could not let the people see it... So he would use Stoick against Berk. The trouble was he wasn't sure how he was going to do that. Why couldn't he think straight. He went from yanking on his hair to tapping his forehead against his palm, continuing to pace. Where was Tarina? He was going to beat her half to death this time when he could lay his hands on her. Berk must fall He had the key to bringing that about in the dungeon. He did not need to have to worry about what sort of trouble his useless daughter was going to cause for him. He hoped she got lost at sea and died, but the gods would never make it that easy for him.

He went back to yanking on his hair again.

And the guards continued to stare straight ahead.

O O O

"Oh Thor in a thunderstorm hurling lightning bolts!" exclamed Jarin.

"What's the matter," asked Tarina with a concerned expression.

"Your island is where our chief went to establish diplomatic relations. He was under the impression that hostilities had ended between the people and the dragons there and he was invited to advise on the best way to integrate dragons into their way of life, like we have." Jarin began to pace back and forth. "we need to do something!"

Tarina considered the situation for a moment. "If he has your chief, then he's probably not going to harm him, at least not for a while. He'll find some way to try to leverage him to gain whatever ends he's after. He will kill him eventually, either if it becomes clear that whatever his demands are are not met, or if they are met."

Jarin looked at her. "So no matter what, Stoick is going to die?"

Tarina nodded sadly. "If my father makes demands, and your people don't take him seriously, or come off as if they do not really care, he'll kill your chief without a thought. He won't be worth anything to my father, and he keeps nothing that he considers worthless. And if he gets what he wants, he won't need a hostage anymore. Same result."

O O O

"So it seems to me," said Hiccup, stroking his clean-shaven chin thoughtfully, "That whenever the demands come, we need to make sure we do not meet them, while at the same time making your father feel like mine is a valuable hostage, at least until we can make our move..."

The council had been assembled already when Jarin and Tarina had burst into the Great Hall, reporting on the situation with Stoick. There had been a lot of shouting, finger-pointing and grandstanding, before Snotlout slammed a meaty had down on the table with an "ENOUGH!" that was likely still echoing in the chamber if one could just listen hard enough for it. Why he was actually there, Hiccup didn't know. But knowing Snotlout, it probably had something to do with staying close to where power was, either to bask in it or try to figure out how and when to grab it for himself. Hiccup figured it was more the former than the latter.

"Alright," Hiccup said. "Jarin, Snotlout... I want you both working as hard as possible to get Shadowhorn combat ready. All of the Riders of Berk will go. And we need to be riding dragons we are bonded to, so we can be most effective. I will make sure Shadowhorn's armor is ready. Jarin, you explain the situation to him. I know he will understand."

Jarin nodded. "You got it, Hiccup!" He was about to say "Chief", but stopped himself. Calling the acting Chief Chief when the real chief was captured somehow did not seem apropriate.

"What exactly is it that we're going to do," Astrid asked. "We don't know what to expect."

Hiccup nodded. "True."

"I will tell you as much as I can about the island's defenses," Tatina stated. "But you need to promise me that the people will not be harmed."

Hiccup nodded gravely. "When we attack, we will do our best to avoid harming the people. Our goal is to secure the release of my father. I do not think that when the people of that island see a large number of people riding dragons, they will put up much of a fight."

Tarina nodded. "Indeed not. The mere thought of humans and dragons co-existing together is foreign. When they see humans riding dragons, they will be confused and intimidated to say the least. But I must caution you that whatever we do, we must keep my father away from your chief when we do it. If he feels threatened, he won't hesitate to kill him."

Hiccup nodded. "This attack is going to take careful planning." Who would have thought it. Not so long ago, he was the village idiot. Now he was about to engage the village council on war plans. One good thing that had come of his filling in for his father was that people began to trust his judgments. There were skeptics at first, of course. But he was not dumb. His calculating mind helped him come up with solid workable solutions to the problems the councilors brought to his attention. But the decisions he was about to make would mean the difference between life and death.

O O O

Snotlout and Jarin spent the next several day putting Shadowhorn through rigorous training to get his strength up as quickly as possible. Hiccup had the body armor for the dragon ready a lot sooner than he originally planned, and it was ingenious the way it overlapped onto the remaining scaled portions of the dragon's back and sides. His wings were now fully heald as well. Tomorrow would be the day of final trial. Tomorrow, Shadowhorn will fly again for the first time in years. And Jarin would be riding him.

Okay guys... I figured it was time for more than just characters talking to each other and walking around all nice and peaceful. There will be conflict to come.

A word about Gelbrun... He's not playing with a full deck. He was once a great warrior, strong and intelligent. But the loss of his wife and infant son during a dragon raid broke his mind, and he's been losing more and more of himself since. He knows his days are waning, but in his insanity, he will not go down without taking his enemies with him. Trouble is, he's at a point where he cannot distinguish friend from enemy.

Thank you for reading. Please leave feedback.

God bless...