Chapter Four
"You there, wake up!" a voice ordered, causing Ukiah to jolt suddenly.
"Wha-what's going on, who's there?" He asked in shock, his head whipping up in surprise.
"The Thariin Guard that's who; now get up!" The voice ordered again.
Feeling someone kick his side, Ukiah grunted as he rolled at the force. "The guard? I didn't call for the guard?" A lot more awake, he looked up and saw four heavily armed guards standing around him with torches.
The leader of the group continued to say, "No one called us; you're under arrest for poaching on Strogg the Stone's land."
Ukiah's head snapped up "What!? Poaching? I haven't been poaching! I've been hunting the same grounds for my entire life! I've never been even bothered with these issues!" Ukiah at this point was up on his feet "Besides! Strogg doesn't own Fallis Woods! No one does!"
"Wrong. Strogg owns all nearby land, which Fallis Woods fall under that category." Growled the captain. "Now, march with us quietly or in irons. Your choice." Turning to another guard, the captain then ordered "Prepare a cell for the arena."
"No! I can't go to the arena! The place that I swore to never would go to again!" Ukiah screamed in his head. "Wait! When did this become an issue? I'll pay whatever you charge!" Ukiah exclaimed "I won't hunt there again! I promise! I had no idea Strogg owned those lands!"
The expression on his face must have shown the fear Ukiah had, making the captain feel bolder. "It's an issue now and you will pay by serving time in the arena. Now move!" The captain yelled, drawing his sword.
"Fine, fine…you win. I'll come quietly. Let me just put away my stuff…" Ukiah whispered hoarsely, and sounding defeated. He slowly moved towards his pack, as if putting something away.
"Move now! I'll add five extra years to your sentence, supposing you live that long!" The captain yelled, waving the sword.
Ukiah was already sifting through his stuff. Pretending to fold some pelts, he suddenly reached out and snatched his crossbow and quiver; then bolted off running, all with lightning quick reflexes.
"Halt!" The captain screamed, seeing that he was played.
In one smooth motion, Ukiah slung his crossbow over his back with his spears' strap holding it in place. While running faster than he ever did before, he skillfully secured his quiver to his right leg with a strap attached to the quiver.
"You two, over there! Don't let him get to those stairs!" The lead guard ordered "Corral him up here! He can't go anywhere if we lock him in!"
Realizing that he was trapped in the upper marketplace, he began looking below the wall he was running next to. There were a few market stalls right below him a good fifteen feet below. Praying that a crazy idea would work, Ukiah jumped on top of wood railing; and in one bound, and without a second thought, leaped off the ledge.
Plunging into the darkness feet first, he felt something solid under his feet. CRASH! A table collapsed as Ukiah landed on it. His balance thrown off, he rolled on the ground. Finally stopping on his stomach, he looked around him to see spilled produce everywhere "Ugh, well it worked at least." He grunted, pushing himself up.
"No! Get him!" Screamed the captain, more panicked at the thought of losing his prisoner.
Energy surged through him as he used the little head start he had to run away. "I just need to get out of here and into the foothills; no one will find me once I'm out there." Ukiah thought, as his boots pounded the ground. Looking around, he quickly learned that jumping off the upper market was both good and bad. Good for the fact that he wasn't cornered anymore, and he landed facing a dimly lit street. The bad being the guards in the lower market place were now hot on his heels. Not wasting a moment of short lived advantage, he began to book it down the empty street. By all means, he was in better shape and was carrying lighter gear than what a Viking guard would be carrying; so staying ahead of them wasn't an issue.
Increasing his distance between him and the guards, he arrived at a three way intersection. Taking only a moment to study his options, he saw at least two torches in each street and walking towards him; being guards drawn to the unusual shouting. Seeing a stack of crates next to an awning, Ukiah whispered "Looks like I'll follow Arrow's method of getting away. Up!"
Jumping onto the crates, he leapt up and grabbed the awning. Hefting himself up, he quickly rolled onto his feet. Now being unhindered by random objects in the streets, Ukiah moved silently on top of the awnings and roofs. Jumping between buildings, he saw a place to where he could cross to the other side of the street. A thin plank of wood stretched over the street, while a single lantern hung from the center.
Focusing on it, he leaped forward and landed one foot on the plank. Without hesitation, he and then immediately pushed off the plank, feeling it bend with his weight on it. Landing safely on the other side of the street, Ukiah laughed softly and began making his way back to where he came from. He could hear the guards shouting obscenities about him and ran past where he was standing on the roofs. Watching the guards run past him, he continued to glide across the rooftops. "I should have been a thief!" He thought confidently, as he continued his course.
At length, he was back at the intersection where he first climbed on top of the roof. Seeing the crates that he used to climb to the roof, smashed and tipped over, he knew exactly what happened when the guards tried to do the same as him. Smiling, he silently jumped down from the roof. Double checking the streets, he then whispered smugly "Good. No torches."
"Great observation, poacher." A voice came from behind.
Those were the last words Ukiah heard before the world went black.
"I think it's this way" Hiccup announced, turning down a well-lit street.
"Hiccup! Don't you remember that blacksmithing stand? We passed it 3 times already!" Astrid replied, a little agitated that Hiccup wouldn't let her lead.
"Hmm? No, no, this is totally a different way; trust me I know where I'm going." Hiccup responded pathetically.
Astrid then walked over to the counter of the stand and kneeled down, picking something up. "What's this then?" she asked turning around and holding a dagger with the wolf carved in the handle.
"Oh well, um, that's a dagger that you, um…found?" Hiccups voice kind of cracked when he finished that sentence.
"Face it, you're lost! Let me try to find the way to the Keep, ok?" Astrid growled, trying to be as calm as she could.
"Fine…" Hiccup whispered dejectedly. He was so disappointed in his navigation skills.
Looking at the massive Keep, Astrid started to head towards down a darker street "Come on, we'll go straight." She announced, pointing down the street.
Hiccup shook his head as he quickened his pace to catch up to Astrid. Ever since they left the market, they've been wandering the streets of Thariin for a good hour! Thanks to his navigational skills. In his defense, the path to the Keep wasn't as straight forward as it looked.
Walking for a few minutes, they found the path that led up to the Keep; but also noticed a pathway that led what looked like a big arena. It had large wooden platforms built in a circle around the foreign looking object. Located next to the Keep, it looked like it was a popular place to go; given the size of the structures.
"Wonder what that is?" Astrid asked, intrigued by the sight "I can't believe we missed that earlier…come on, let's check it out real quick."
"Don't you think we should be getting back to the Keep?" Hiccup quickly threw in, looking at the arena like structure "Why don't we explore it tomorrow?"
"Oh come on Hiccup, where's your sense of adventure? I thought you loved seeing new things." Astrid teased, smirking back at him. "Besides, we're already late; a few more minutes won't hurt. And if you were in a hurry, you would have asked the group of guards we saw on how to get back! Or at least have let me lead earlier."
"Well yeah, but, uh…um...oh alright, fine." Hiccup groaned, a lot more defeated than when he let her take over the adventure to find their way back. Following Astrid, he couldn't help but think how he embarrassed himself at trying to figure out how to get to the Keep. It wasn't like they couldn't see it at any point.
Both walking to the ring like structure, they quickly realized that it was a dragon arena. Banners hung from the large wooden structures, which turned out to be seats for a crowd to sit around. Murals of dragons being killed were painted on the walls of the arena, creating an eerie feeling. Almost hesitating against her own idea, Astrid kept on moving in. Walking through one of the arch-ways that sat in between the stadium seats, she stood there gaping at the size of the place. With seats around the entire ring and a chain net draped over the actual arena; they both stood there amazed.
"You could fit two of our arenas in there." Hiccup whispered, staring down at the stone floor that made the arena. It was almost polished, as if it were wet. It reflected the stars that shone above them, creating a mesmerizing feeling.
"You there! Halt!" a voice came from beside them, which startled both of them.
Whirling around simultaneously, they watched a guard with a torch walking towards them.
"You shouldn't be here." Growled the guard, stopping right in front of them. His eyes narrowed in the flickering light the torch gave. Realizing they were kids, he then barked out "Why are you out this late?"
"We uh, were just looking around and um and…" Hiccup stammered, only to be cut off by Astrid.
"We were lost, trying to find the pathway to the Keep." She inserted, standing up to the guard "We were looking for it when we found the path way to here."
"You're not from around here?" The guard asked, his angry expression softening a little.
"No, we're from Berk. We're with Stoick the Vast." Astrid answered, still not backing down.
"Stoick?" the guard replied, puzzled at the answer "I thought he was in the Keep? What are you two doing out here this late by yourselves?"
"Stoick and Strogg stayed in the Keep to talk. We decided to visit the village and see what there was here." Hiccup replied, seeing the guard was getting a lot less angry.
"Yeah, we were supposed to meet back at the Keep; but we got lost and found this place instead." Astrid affirmed, gesturing to the arena.
"Humph, maybe you should tell me your names and then I might believe you." The guard said a little suspicious.
"My name's Astrid Hofferson." Astrid stated with a hint of frustration behind her voice.
"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third." Hiccup followed up with. He spoke with authority this time. He knew his reputation was known here.
"What? You're Hiccup the dragon killer? The guard said looking surprised and even more suspicious.
"Why do people not believe me!? Do they think that I lost my foot tripping over a rock or something?!" Hiccup exclaimed angrily, shaking his leg in front of him.
"No, no, no!" the guard quickly added, changing his attitude and demeanor. He didn't want to be the one guard that offended a renowned hero "I was just expecting someone…bigger, if I'm honest."
"Yeah, everyone says that too." Hiccup said gloomily.
The guard burst into laughter, saying "Well I didn't think a hero such as yourself would be the type to get lost."
"Yeah, tell me about it." Astrid threw in, looking at Hiccup with a smirk "Led us astray for a good hour, I swear!"
Hiccup just shook his head; it was a losing battle for him so he wasn't even going to try to excuse himself.
"Let me get someone to take my watch. I'll be more than happy to escort you to the Keep." The guard added with a smile.
"Thanks." Hiccup replied, still a little dejected.
"Horker! HORKER!" the guard yelled, cupping his hand over his mouth to amplify it.
"Yeah? What is it?" replied another guard whose torch was the only thing visible.
"I'm going to guide some kids to the Keep, cover my post will ya?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure thing." The other guard yelled back, sounding a little annoyed at the request.
"Come on, it's not a far walk." The guard announced, beckoning the two to follow him "Almost the same pathway really."
"So is the arena used…often?" Astrid asked, following the guard.
"Well, not recently. We haven't had a dragon raid in a while; plus the last criminal in the ring was lucky enough to get an axe into the throat of our last Nadder." The guard answered, not turning to face her "But he never recovered from the burns; lost him a day later too."
"What?!" Astrid and Hiccup exclaimed at the same time, staring at the guard with wide eyes.
Hiccup was the first to follow up with a question "You said…a criminal was fighting a dragon?"
"Yeah, we use the arena to either execute criminals or dragons; and in that case, both of them. In the end, we win." The guard replied calmly, not giving it a second thought.
Hiccup and Astrid were disturbed. Not only because they loved their dragons, but the fact that Thariin uses arena as a form of execution. To be honest, they never really had criminals either that weren't dealt with swiftly. And justly.
Walking in silence, the two just looked at each other with a little relief. It was a good thing they didn't bring their dragons; who knows what the people would have done? Especially if they were short on dragons.
After a few more minutes, they arrived at the door to the Keep. Elbowing Hiccup in the side, Astrid then teased him by saying "See? Not too hard to find!"
"How long are you gonna ride that?" Hiccup asked, grimacing at the jab.
"Haven't decided yet." She laughed, looking at him mischievously "But more than likely, I'll run it as far as I can."
The guard had knocked on the door. The door opened with a loud creaking to it, causing both Hiccup and Astrid to grimace as the sound grained against their ears. The guard then began to converse with someone inside. Hiccup and Astrid waited until the guard finished talking, to which he turned and stood aside to let them in "There you go! You'll be guided to the rooms you'll be staying in."
"Thanks for your help." Astrid said with an expression of relief on her face.
"Yeah, thanks..." Hiccup followed up with, still a little depressed.
This obviously wasn't his night to shine for Astrid. Looking up at her, his face then broke into a small smile. Seeing her with her new headband, it made everything fade away. Getting that headband for her was worth everything that happened tonight. She would have that for a really long time, mainly due to the fact he threw away her old headband when she was adjusting the new one.
"No problem. Tell you what, if you two want to, you can come back to the arena tomorrow and I can give you a tour of it. The cages are all empty, even the criminal ones. Which is actually pretty rare for that to happen." The guard said, smiling at the two "Think of it as a way for me to repay how I treated you two earlier."
"Thanks, we'll have to see about that." Hiccup replied, though secretly he wanted nothing to do with the arena.
"I hope you come by!" The guard called out as he walked into the night "Have a good night!"
"You too!" They both shouted back.
The guard just waved his hand in acknowledgement, not looking back.
"Wooh…ready to get some rest?" Astrid asked, yawning as she began to into the hallway. A person was standing there, ready to guide them.
"I'm way past ready!" Hiccup replied, also yawning "Even my peg leg feels tired."
The person then smiled, overhearing the conversation. "Then please, follow me!"
Smiling, Astrid and Hiccup nodded in acknowledgement as they followed the single servant. That alone was something they never truly experienced; and honestly, the thought of telling a person what to do made them feel a little awkward.
The two were guided through a series of hallways and rooms. Hiccup and Astrid had to stop to stare at the Great Hall. It was huge! It could fit two of Berk's Great Hall. After getting their fill in for observing the room, they continued on their journey to their rooms.
"Here you two go!" The servant replied, gesturing to two doors next to each other "A fire is started in each room, and your beds are ready as well."
"Uh…thank you." Hiccup replied, looking at the servant sheepishly.
The servant did a quick bow and turned to walk away, leaving the two standing in the empty hallway.
Astrid gave Hiccup a wry smile as she opened up the door to her room. "Huh, look at that. A balcony!" She said, walking through her doorway.
Hiccup opened up his door as well, revealing a balcony on the far end of his room as well.
Astrid already disappeared into her room, setting her axe next to the bed and was standing on the balcony to stare at the sight. Smiling, Hiccup also walked into his room, standing on his balcony next to her.
"Wow. Never thought I'd live to experience something like this…" Astrid whispered, leaning against the stone railing.
"Yeah…me neither." Hiccup replied, staring down at the village that was dotted with lanterns and torches.
The serene moment was interrupted when Astrid asked aloud "Hey. How about we check out the rest of the market tomorrow? I want to see Ukiah one more time before he leaves."
"Wait, why?!" Hiccup asked, looking across from his balcony to hers, a little alarmed at this.
"Well, he was nice to us, and he gave you a deal that you obviously needed for me." She explained while pointing to her new headband.
"Yeah, well, that was…well…" Hiccup was lost for words again.
Astrid laughed "I just want to thank him for the headband, nothing more." Turning to face the village, she then quickly added "Oh and maybe give him a kiss goodbye."
Hiccup looked at her with a horrified expression to which she just laughed again. Realizing it was a joke, Hiccup relaxed, smiling also. Both of them were enjoying the view and each other, when faintly, they began to hear a familiar sound. It was almost a faint whistling sound, which grew louder and sharper; almost turning into a banshee like scream.
Astrid, realizing what it was, looked at Hiccup whose face went pale. "Hiccup, is that a…" She began to say.
"NIGHT FURY!" Someone screamed, taking the words out of her mouth.
Suddenly a huge orange explosion went off in the middle of the village, right where the market place was at.