Disclaimer: the Characters of How to Train Your Dragon belong to Dreamworks
Everything else is by Travis Church
They traveled for about four hours before Hiccup asked Toothless to go down to the boat owned by the two crusaders. Toothless gladly accepted the boy's request and gently descended to the sand colored craft. Toothless then carefully landed on the bow of the ship and as Hiccup climbed off the rigging, Toothless outstretched his body onto the floor.
"Ah, Hic-cough," Ilias said exiting the cabin while holding his shell, "Do you feel the need for rest?"
"Can we talk for a sec?"
"Yes of course! Please come inside! Do not worry, your dragon shall not cause the ship to capsize or tip in one direction."
Hiccup gave Toothless a final scratch behind his ear -and entered the cabin. The smell of roasting plant slinked into his nostrils when he was underneath the doorway. He saw Decessus ignite a pile of herbs in a porcelain cup and then extinguish the match with his breath.
"Please, do seat yourself upon a cushion!" Ilias motioned to a large indigo cushion.
Hiccup eased himself into the massive pillow which was roughly larger than him and grunted when it swallowed his shape. "Ilias," he said as he tried to readjust his seat, "What is exactly the plan? And how do you know that this thing is real?"
"Ah yes, we do need to speak about the strategy. The first priority is the location of the former Green Death." The elder pulled out a large map and set it down on the miniature table that lay in the center of the cabin. He then twisted a knob underneath the hanging lantern that was suspended above the table and increased the light inside. "Where," he said pointing at the Arabic atlas, "would you estimate that the Green Death?"
"Uhh," Hiccup was not familiar with demonic scrawl but he was able to find some landmarks such as the Anglo-Saxon outpost and the island that his cousin discovered. "Well, I'm not sure."
"That is fine Hic-cough do not be discouraged! This," Ilias pointed at a small island in the North part of the chart, "is Berk. Could you estimate the distance from your home?"
"I," Hiccup sighed deeply, "I'm sorry, I can't. Only Toothless can do that. We never could find the dragon's nest and when we did it was because of Toothless."
"Deus, I knew we should have asked for a traveler's log!" Decessus cried out from behind the two. "Maybe if we go back-"
"We cannot, we have already outlived our visit with the Berkians. If we return, we shall raise suspicion and they shall have no faith in us. We must proceed. Hic-cough, are there any islets within our distance?"
Hiccup studied the map and said, "Yeah, there's one about two hours from here if we keep moving this way," he said guiding his finger northwest.
"Excellent, Decessus!" The mercenary stood up from his red pillow. "Please direct us four degrees starboard."
"O captain, my captain." He left the cabin to some unknown part of the ship.
"Hic-cough," Ilias, "Do you desire sleep now?"
"Yeah," he looked out the bronze window to his now napping dragon, "Toothless and I need the rest."
"Your dragon may rest on the bow of the ship. When the climate becomes colder your dragon shall need to hide somewhere else. But where he now lies is absolutely acceptable. You," waving his aged hands towards his entire body, "may sleep on one of the cushions or you may take a spot on the floor." Hiccup's eyebrows rose in disbelief but Ilias added, "I shall provide you a blanket and if you prefer to not sleep in a cushion, I shall also provide you a flat cushion for the floor."
"Thanks," Hiccup then exited the cabin for the fresh night air.
Toothless's body ebbed in some largo pulse, almost too slow to notice. Hiccup took a seat next to his friend and gently began to rub circles on his arrow shaped head. He purred and the vibrations ran through Hiccup's chest eliciting a chuckle from the boy. He gave his resting friend a hug and carefully stood up from his spot.
When he regained his center of balance, he walked to the stern of the ship marveling at the evening sky.
The moon that dangled from the heavens outstretched her long arms and draped the Earth in her night robe. The stars shone like thin gold and silver chains on her nighttime dress. Hiccup looked up to her pale face and wondered if he could touch those jewels and gems.
He finished his thoughts and proceeded to the back of the vessel and, to much of his discomfort, he saw Decessus operating something from behind a cabinet.
"Oh," the solider said without looking up from the object, "It's you."
"Yeah," he replied with a bit of disrespect, "What're you doing back here?"
"I'm just steering the ship."
Wary, Hiccup asked, "How does this move without any sails or oars?"
He sighed and stepped back from the cabinet. "This ship is unlike any other in the world. It was built with a special device and this," he said stepping back from the device which looked like a bashyball, "Guides it. This creates an invisible line that the ship follows."
"Hmm," Hiccup then approached the orb but Decessus held him back.
"You can look at it, but don't touch it. It's written in Greek," Hiccup realized what he meant. The sphere had numerous symbols on it that looked completely alien. "If you hear a click, you've done something to it. Don't try to be a man and undo what you've done." Hiccup slightly glared at him for the accusation, "You'll only make it worse. Just call me and I'll fix it."
Decessus left the boy and the device in silence. Hiccup approached the thing and began to examine it. He approached the cabinet that shielded it from the world and was completely in awe. The device was supported on a small pedestal of ivory. His face was dimly reflected in the bronze globe. The pale moon illuminated the few symbols he could see and he saw many little notches that were carved in with perfect symmetry and distance. Although he was advised against touching the machine, he held it in his hand. It was warm, probably from Decessus using the apparatus, but in an inhuman way. He remembered when he cut his hand and Toothless licked the wound. It filled his hand with a magical warmth. This, this thing had that same warmth but it was not nearly as sticky or affectionate.
He wondered what was inside such a thing. The pulleys and levers must be incredibly small! The inventor within him wanted to open it, play with its contents, and draw it so he too can replicate the device. But he eased away from the orb and closed the wooden cabinet.
Satisfied by his discovery, he decided to go back into the cabin and sleep.
Gently opening the cabin door, he found Decessus and Ilias in their own cushions and wrapped in their own blankets. He noticed that the lantern was extremely dim and repeated Ilias's motions. He twisted the knob underneath the hanging light and watched the flames from behind the metal and glass lantern die away. He found a blanket and a pillow next to a flat cushion where he once attempted to sit. He took the cushion, laid it out where the moonlight streamed in from the thin curtains, and laid his body down carefully. He admired the pale moon that snuck in through the drapery and carefully undone his prosthetic. He wrapped himself in the surprisingly soft blanket and his mind eased away on the pillow, which felt like a cloud tamed and domesticated for the purpose of sleeping on. In a state of bliss, he fell into a slumber.
"Hmm?" Hiccup rose up from the makeshift bed and looked around the cabin.
Decessus and Ilias were no longer within the cabin and he thought he heard alien voices underneath the boat. He attached the prosthetic and climbed up to scout the boat and where they were.
He opened the doorway and was greeted by blood red light peeking over the sea. But what surprised him was that the boat was floating but was somehow docked on a beach of pebbles.
"Good morning Hic-cough!" A large mass of white fabric said as it approached him. "We are at the islet you have specified. Let us descend from this vessel and set up a temporary camp. We must discuss how we are to find the island of the Green Death!" Ilias's face appeared from the floating heap of white cloth and then said, "Please take your dragon and have it roam freely for a moment, Decessus and I require the full space of the ship if we are to unpack efficiently."
Hiccup approached Toothless and began to coax him out of his sleep. Usually this would be an herculean feat but Toothless awoke with the first touch of his friend. He outstretched his leathery wings and let his tongue loll around before he gave Hiccup a "good morning" lick to the face.
"Thanks bud," Hiccup chuckled. They both left the boat and began to explore the islet, giving the two strangers time to unload and prepare for the next few days of voyaging.
The islet the four arrived at was nothing worth noting. It was about less than a day's travel from Berk and there were few trees and hills. His father said once that it was, "A nice camping ground and a terrible defensive position." Hiccup didn't understand the strategy that went into finding a defensive-anything but he agreed that it was an okay camping ground.
Toothless made sure to support Hiccup when his footing became unstable in the pebble beach and Hiccup gladly took the help. They both watched the colors of the sky become lighter and somehow Hiccup knew that the sunrise was about to take place. The duo accelerated to a spot where they could see the sun begin its ascent to the heavens.
The light gained intensity as the sun rose with every second. Then from red to orange to yellow, the process was complete and it was a new day.
Toothless loved these moments he spent with his little human. Over the years, he hated the sunrise and hated the things that rose with it: humans, other dragons, stupid birds that would screech in their own ugly tongues, but especially humans. In the night he was whatever he wanted to be. He could be merciful and simply observe, he could be ruthless and attack everything in sight, he could be a fool and go into the human stocks and have their strange intoxicant (but that was only once). He could be anything.
Yet in the daylight he was an outcast, a deviant, a demon.
"You okay bud?" Hiccup asked while rubbing a spot behind his ear.
At least he was someone's demon.
The duet finally returned to the boat after their "round-the-islet" marathon, which was surprisingly short. They saw Ilias hefting a scroll, a red carpet bag, and his shell in his arms while Decessus was carrying a small table and an unknown crate to the little woods.
"Hic-cough! Come with us! We shall serve you your morning meal!"
Hiccup guided Toothless to the small grove of trees that was a short distance from the boat. He and Toothless both sat down under a young fir tree and watched Decessus place a table in front of them. Ilias opened his pack and uncovered small metal tins on the table. Hiccup could already smell the weak smell of meats and other things.
"Go ahead Hic-cough! Please help yourself and for your dragon," Ilias said as he unwrapped a paper package on the table, "Here is some fish on behalf of your Viking friends."
Toothless licked his lips at the sight of the cod and gladly took it in his mouth.
"Hic-cough," Ilias said as he lifted the lid off of some dried fruit, "You stated that your people found the island of the Green Death because of your dragon, correct?"
"Yeah," he replied as he took a piece of cabbage marinated in some unidentified soup.
"Interesting, did Decessus tell you about the origins of the shells we use?" Slurping up the cabbage, he nodded in confirmation. "Then you are already two steps ahead of us! Good, excellent. Hic-cough, the reason why these shells function so well is because the magic imbued is in a higher concentration. It just so happens that the larger shells are also the ones that contain the highest potential for this magic. But there is a single type of shell that contains more magic per area than the average shell. It is called the 'Sero Angulus Calx.' You may know one of these as the 'Rosetta Stone' in Egypt." Hiccup only gave a look of confusion. "Right, you have never visited Egyptian lands. Anyway, the 'Sero Angulus Calx' was made of a black stone that adorned the base of the Tower of Babble and so a large majority lay within that part of the tower. We are very lucky to have such a stone with us."
Decessus laid down a crate and opened it carefully. The stone was as dark as Toothless's scales and shone like a jewel in the morning light.
"This stone," Ilias said while carefully picking it up, "Can be used to translate any language, so long as it is chronicled upon the stone."
"What is," Hiccup asked while inching towards the granite, "Leet speak?"
"Some ultra-modern gibberish that only the foolish use. But there is a greater purpose to the 'Sero' stone. This item can translate anything into a comprehensive and understandable native tongue. Anything," Ilias uttered underneath his breath.
"Like any language."
"Or any mode of speech between any living being! You said that your dragon knew the way to the Green Death, so we shall use our 'Sero' stone to translate the directions!"
At that moment, Toothless's ears perked up as he became aware of the conversation that was unfolding.
"Will it hurt?" Hiccup asked.
"I," Ilias began to stroke his beard in contemplation, "I am not sure! We never required the need to have conversations with animals before. I do not believe that this would harm your dragon, but now would be an excellent time to find out!"
At that point, Toothless's ears flattened and his eyes turned to thin dark slits. He gave the old man a deep growl and pounced into the tiny forest.
"Decessus! Take the stone and translate!"
The man looked at the large piece of granite that sat on the table. From Hiccup's point of view, it was roughly larger than a newborn child and possibly weighed three times as much.
"Are you going to help?" Decessus asked.
"We have yet to finish our morning meal. Do not worry we shall assist you in due time." Ilias said with a slight humor in his voice.
The mercenary sighed despairingly and picked up the stone and marched off into the thin forest.
"Should we, you know, help him?" Hiccup asked looking in the direction of the thin woods.
"Hic-cough! Now you have invoked the feeling of guilt and sadness within my being! Let us go after him." Ilias stood up from the coffee table and lead Hiccup into the woods. But then he ran back for a cup of coffee and then returned to Hiccup taking no time to explain himself or his actions.
"Decessus? Where are you?" Ilias called out in the forest still holding his shell and coffee cup.
"I'm over here," the two found Decessus holding the 'Sero' stone outwards in his hands as if it were a diseased infant.
"Where's Toothless?" Hiccup approached the man.
"That's what I've been trying to figure out for the past few minutes. Hiccup, call your dragon."
Hiccup tried to use the infamous high pitched whistle which would have his friend running to his spot in seconds, but to his surprise it failed to attract the dragon. He tried again, this time with a stronger breath and a longer sustain, but it failed again.
"Decessus!" Ilias cried out from behind, "There! The dragon!"
They both looked to where the aged hand pointed and saw a massive black cocoon hanging from a pine tree branch in the distance.
Decessus leapt towards the dragon while carrying the 'Sero' Stone. Toothless must have heard the mercenary because his ears straightened and his entire body outstretched from the branch. Toothless jumped from his hiding place and bounced behind a fairly large rock. Not to be eluded, Decessus followed suit with the piece of granite outstretched with his arms. Toothless then jumped atop the boulder and glided in the opposite direction of Decessus.
"The dragon!" Ilias frantically cried out, "It lies behind you!"
Decessus preformed an about face and faced the massive creature who playfully wagged his tail before climbing up a tree.
"Decessus! There behind-"
"Ilias shut up! I don't see it! And you yelling is not helpful! At all!" The mercenary scoured around the space: above his position, in the trees, behind him, around him. But he felt a strange heat underneath his extended arms and looked downwards. With his paws covering his head, Toothless attempted to hide right under Decessus's nose. The dragon opened a single eye and inched his head above the forest floor.
Exhaling, Decessus simply dropped the stone on top of Toothless's head and watch the stone split in half on his skull. The stone made a light thud on his head and then his head made a thud on the woodland floor.
"Toothless!" Hiccup cried out as he approached his possibly wounded dragon. "Why'd you do that?"
Decessus simply shrugged at the boy's question.
When Ilias arrived at the scene, he looked at Decessus, then at the dragon, then the stone, back to Decessus, and splashed his cup of steaming coffee in his face.
"Ahh! Deus!" Decessus began while wiping the hot beverage off his now red face, "What could possibly force you to do that?"
Ilias pointed at the stone and then reprimanded, "Allah save us, the stone is broken!"
"You old fool, magic does not disappear because the vessel is destroyed. Maybe the translation magic passed through the stone and to the dragon."
Ilias replied by throwing his metal cup at Decessus's gut and continued reprimanding him, "Magic does not necessarily pass the vessel if is broken!"
"How do you know if it hasn't?" He groaned massaging the possibly bruised area.
"Ooooo." A deep filling voice resonated from the dragon. "My head…stupid clementia…dropping big mystic things on me."
Everyone's jaws fell to the ground as they heard Toothless speak, clearly.
"Tooth," Hiccup stammered, "Toothless?"
"Hiccup? Hiccup!" The dragon leapt up from its position and began to lick the boy's face. "I was worried Hiccup! You might've been hurt!"
"Buddy," he tried to break from the affectionate licking, "What's going on?"
"Well it is fairly obvious," Ilias stepped forward, "Your dragon is now comprehendible."
"But, how?" Hiccup asked dumbly.
"Well magic has a strange ability to pass from object to object, much like a breeze of wind can pass from place to place. But if an obstacle is large enough, it can stop the effects of the magic. But the stronger the wind, the more it can affect with its power. The same postulate functions for magic: the stronger magic becomes, the more it can effect." Ilias then pointed to the now broken stone, "That magic has the properties of a God, not a specific God, but a God in general. No creature is stronger or greater than a God's magic, including dragons." Ilias then pointed to Toothless, "The magic has passed from the stone and onto your dragon. But, just as the wind, magic is fickle and free spirited. I am not sure how long the magic shall stay upon your dragon, but we must act soon."
"Can Toothless and I have a moment?"
"Well, it is much preferred that-"
"Alone?" Hiccup cut in, "I promise we'll be there. I just need a sec."
Ilias was about to speak but Decessus whispered something in Latin stopping his protests. They both picked up the pieces of the stone and began to exit the small forest. When Hiccup could no longer see the two he began to ask Toothless.
"Are you okay buddy?"
"Stupid clementia," he began to rub a spot on his skull. "I'm fine Hiccup."
"Oh Gods," Hiccup exhaled in anxiety, "I was worried that-"
"I'm fine," he said as he nuzzled the boy.
The two sat down and tried to regain their breath from the events that unfolded. "Toothless, how long does magic last on dragons?"
He gave a low hum and then said, "Not sure. Magic is weak on dragons. But Ilias is right, we are not above this kind of magic."
Hiccup thought about the implications and asked, "Do you think it will last?"
"Maybe, maybe not," Toothless said cocking his head to the side.
"Can I ask you something?"
"I guess now would be an excellent time."
"I uhh. Dang it! Now that I can talk you I don't know what to say." He fell to the grassy Earth and said, "Isn't that great?"
Toothless laid down with him and said, "There are no words for you and I. My human."
Hiccup relaxed underneath the now cloudy sun and accepted the warmth that emanated from his friend.
Ilias was pacing the shoreline madly in a circle while Decessus watched from the table that he had been forced to bring. But the elder's insane walking stopped abruptly causing him to wonder what caused such a change in moods.
He craned his head around and saw the reason: a boy with a prosthetic leg and a dragon with a mechanical tailfin.
Ilias skipped giddily for the two and clasped Hiccup's wrist in a wrinkly old chain of fingers. The trio then approached Decessus who had already opened the map and laid out some charcoal pencils.
"Now, Hic-cough." Ilias said facing the boy, "Ask your dragon where the island of the Green Death is."
"I'm right here," Toothless growled irritably.
"I apologize."
"Apology not accepted." Ilias was mildly shocked at his response but calmed himself down to continue the line of questions.
"Looking at this atlas, how far would you estimate that the island is?"
Toothless craned his head closer to analyze the chart and pointed at a small unmarked spot on the map with a bit of hesitance.
Decessus felt the uncertainty and asked, "Are you sure that's where it is?"
"On my life, that is where it is." Toothless snapped back.
"Then it is settled! Decessus begin reloading our ship; I shall begin to modify our coordinates. By these calculations," he said jubilantly, "We shall arrive at the Rage within three days!"
They began to repack and within a few minutes the ship heaved off of the pebbled beach.
Again, they sailed off for the hateful burning; but this time they had a dragon's guidance to take the path untaken. And that would make all the difference.
A/N: Plus three coolness points for a Robert Frost reference! And plus ten awesome points for getting this in before midnight (Pacific Time). :D
So now things kinda picked up as far as action but it's still not "explosions, bloodshed, and fire ball casting" action yet. But Toothless can talk, but for how long and what will he say before time runs out? OOOOOO, internal and external character conflict! Maybe he'll talk about what a 'clementia' is and how it relates to Decessus. Maybe he'll have cool monologue like Ilias and Stoic. Or maybe he'll talk about his experience with alcohol (I totally hinted at that somewhere and now I'm making it official).
A big thank you to Spyden, xxHaleinaxx, and the anonymous Frostfear (if I gave you death then how shall you continue to read my stuff?) for their reviews! And also a big thank you to eliasdarklight and thehuman13 for responding to my poll with their opinions!
Rate, review, see my poll, and give me your thoughts!
