Chapter Five
After the leader of the guard knocked Ukiah out, he had him hauled off to the arena dungeon. Smiling at his genius that allowed him to catch the new criminal, he pulled up his belt with satisfaction and began to follow the rest of the guards that were carrying Ukiah away. While walking with his head up high, he failed to hear the small whistle sound, turning into the scream that everyone feared to hear. Unfortunately, he heard the scream too late to react, which allowed Arrow to blast him with one shot.
"Night Fury!" The rest of the guards screamed. Scattering, they left one guard with Ukiah, who ended up dragging him to cover.
One of the guards ran to a bell that was stationed in the marketplace. Grabbing the rope, he shook it violently.
DING, DING, DING, DING, DING, DING!
Soon the entire village was ringing with bells. Guards were running everywhere, torches were lit and hoisted into the air. All useless against a creature that no one ever saw before.
Boom! Again! Another orange explosion went off; this time at the arena and next to the Keep, bringing all of the guard's attention to that area. The whistling sound of the dragon hitting high speeds sounded in the air, confusing the guards in trying to find where it went. Occasionally a silhouette would catch a shimmer of light, only to disappear just as fast.
Stoick and Strogg were still discussing the trade route when they heard the alarm bells ringing. Strogg bolted to the nearby window. Staring out of it, he exploded with anger when he saw his favorite place erupt in flames. "Concentrate all the nets and ropes over the arena! Don't try to find where it's at specifically! I want that thing alive!" Then turning to a guard standing at the ready, he ordered "Captain, have the men load the keep's catapults with nets! Have them fire over the village at the same time! We're going to create a blanket in the sky!"
"Yes my Chief" Replied the captain, whirling around and running out of the room.
Stoick at this point could do nothing but grab his hammer and follow Strogg, who was running down the stairway and out the main door.
"I'm sorry Hiccup," He thought to himself, knowing what a Night Fury meant to his son "I have to help Strogg now..."
"Hiccup! Where are you going?!" Astrid yelled, watching him leave his balcony.
"I have to stop them! They can't kill it!" Hiccup roared, running out of his room and down the hallway.
"You're insane Hiccup! It's not Toothless! It'll kill you!" Astrid screamed back, also bolting out of her room to try and stop him.
Hiccup didn't hear her, he had to do something! He never saw a Toothless have an orange flame or blast, but then again, Toothless was the only Night Fury he knew! Maybe each one was different or unique? Bumping into guards or others in the hallway, he just kept on charging through. Focused on getting outside and back to the village, another explosion went off; shaking the walls.
Hiccup could see dust and dirt fall from the ceiling from the quaking and rumbling. Stumbling, he caught himself on a bookshelf. "Why is a Night Fury attacking without a real reason?" He frantically thought to himself "What about me? What am I going to do? Even if I see the Night Fury, how am I going to do to stop it from attacking?"
Running out of the Keep's doors, he gasped at what he saw. The market center was ablaze, and the arena just below the Keep was all but a raging orange inferno.
"Prepare all catapults with nets! We're firing them all over the arena at the same time!" A guard shouted "These are Strogg's orders! Do not let up!"
Catching his attention, Hiccup saw a catapult get loaded with a balled up net "No stop! Don't shoot the dragon!" He shouted, running to the men.
Taken back by the comment, the guard in charge of the catapult turned to Hiccup. Angry, he then barked "Get inside whelp! A Night Fury is attacking!"
"I know! You can't hurt him! It-" Hiccup was cut off by the words of the Captain in charge.
"Fire!"
Looking over at Thariin Village and the Keep, he saw dozens more catapults launching their nets and Bolas into the air. "I'm too late…"Hiccup whispered, falling onto his knees, staring helplessly at the village.
Astrid finally was able to catch up with him. Before she could say anything, a screech pierced the air. Hiccup swore his heart stopped as he went into a flashback of when he shot down Toothless. A silhouetted object fell out of the sky and crashed somewhere in the center of the village. A cheer rang throughout the village; from the docks, clear to the keep. The only ones not celebrating were Hiccup and Astrid, who silently stared at the arena, still ablaze.
"Where is it?" Strogg yelled, loud enough that guards from the street next to them tried to answer.
"It landed next to the market place! We've already secured it and are waiting your orders." A younger captain stated, marching along with Strogg "I've already had some of the men prepare the strongest cage we have in the arena."
"Let me see it before you haul it off. I want to see what this…dragon looks like." Strogg growled, his face visibly darkening; even in the darkness of the night.
"Yes my chief" The captain replied, marching ahead of him.
Turning to Stoick, Strogg apologized to him saying "I'm sorry Stoick, I must take care of this; you can go back to the Keep and wait for my return."
"No, I would like to be with you. This dragon attack also requires my attention." Stoick answered. He was hoping that he would be able to help the dragon in any way that he could, even if it was indirectly.
"It does not require your attention, only mine. I want to deal with this alone" Strogg replied firmly, ending any chances that Stoick had to be able to come along. "I'll only be a few minutes with it."
"Very well." Stoick replied, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice "I'll go check on the kids and my crew, make sure they're not doing anything they shouldn't be."
"Ha! If anything I bet they helped! Especially the girl, Astrid!" Strogg laughed, grabbing his friend's shoulder and squeezing it.
"Yes, they may have…they very well may have…" Stoick whispered, hiding his doubt in his voice.
"I'll see you tomorrow then, my friend. Please, I insist that we meet at the arena; bring the two young ones with you. I'd like to treat you three to front row seats of the arena! I think we'll be having an eventful day tomorrow!" Strogg said smiling. Then turning to the burning arena, added "Well, I may be able to give you the only seats left, if they haven't burned away."
"I'll see that they get the invitation; good luck friend" Stoick acknowledged, returning a hand on the shoulder.
"Now, take me to the dragon!" Strogg ordered, turning away from Stoick.
Several 'yes sirs' went off at the same time and Strogg was led away, out of Stoick's sight.
"So, this is it?" Strogg asked, staring at the unconscious dragon. It was sleeker than what he expected, but it did indeed look like what he imagined a Night Fury looking like. Mean, quick, deadly. Sharp even.
"Yes my chief, it must have been knocked senseless from the impact. We already checked to see if it was still breathing." The young captain replied. Pointing to a house, he then added "You can see that it went right through that house right there." Then changing his attention from the building to the dragon, the captain observed "It's not as big as I imagined it being, but you can see the damage it created for being smaller than most other dragons."
"Remember this captain, size does not matter in a fight, skill and experience does." Strogg stated, almost annoyed.
"Yes my chief, I'll be sure to remember that from now on" The captain acknowledged, realizing he annoyed his leader.
Turning his complete attention to the unconscious dragon, Strogg just stood there and just stared at it; curling his fists and wishing it was awake. Realizing there was nothing to do about it, he finally ordered it to be sent into the arena. At least what was left of it. As he began walking back to the Keep, his attention was turned to a guard carrying a lifeless body on his back.
"You there, is that a villager?" He asked curiously, staring at the body laid over the guard's shoulders.
"No my chief, he's a hunter; poacher actually. We learned that he has been at it for years, and then he ran from us when we were making his arrest. He was crafty, but our lead guard got him. It happened shortly before the Night Fury attacked. In fact our captain was the first to be killed." Replied the guard shifting Ukiah over his back.
"Well now, isn't that interesting; and quiet timely. I was thinking of letting one of our champions having the honor of fighting a Night Fury, but I think we should let this poacher have one more hunt." Strogg said with an evil looking grin on his face. "Where were you putting him? In an arena dungeon?"
"Yes, my chief." Came a quick reply.
"Put him in the middle of the ring instead. Make sure he can't escape, and also…" looking at the dagger still strapped to the criminal's chest, added "Make sure he has all of his weapons with him. I think this will be an entertaining fight, thought I doubt this hunter will fair long against a Night Fury."
"Yes my chief, it will be done" the single guard replied, resuming his walk to the arena.
Strogg smiled evilly, watching the criminal be carried away. Though his arena was crisped, and his market center in tatters, the night proved to be a good night. Costly, yes; but he was going to be able to enjoy a relaxing afternoon of watching a fight between a dragon and a hunter take place.
"I told you Hiccup, I can't stand against Strogg! It's his Night Fury by all rights!" Stoick yelled "I may be Chief of Berk, but I have no power here to even ask for that!"
"I thought you and Strogg were friends! Why wouldn't he listen to you?" Hiccup asked loudly, frustrated that his dad wouldn't help him get the Night Fury. At this point, all three were in Hiccup's room, talking about what to do.
"It's not that simple, and you don't know a thing about Strogg and me." Stoick quickly shot back "There's a reason why I haven't told you about him. He's not the person he looks or acts like. He…he's different." Stoick went into a somber mood, putting both Hiccup and Astrid a little more on the edge. "He enjoys death son. He enjoys bloodshed."
"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked cautiously, realizing that he may just touched a sensitive topic for his dad.
Stoick let out a sigh, closing his eyes as he reminisced. "I need to start at the beginning to really explain it. Before I married your mother, and when I was a little older than yourself, I was part of a Viking raiding party for a few months. We were tough, real tough. Even other Viking tribes didn't get in our way…except one." Stoick almost growled. "This Tribe were warriors by heart. In fact they were known for their skills at war more than farming or fishing."
"What was the island called? Hiccup asked quietly.
"I forget, its' been a long time since then." Stoick replied "Crack? Cres…something? Ugh, I forget. I just remember what it looked like. It was made of canyon lands, with lots of rocks and boulders. Hardly any vegetation other than the few fields that had water running through them. Anyways, this raiding party was where I first met Strogg. He was in charge of the band, and he liked me I guess because of how I could handle myself in battle." Stoick closed his eyes as he cast himself back in the memory "Strogg was always an ambitious man; he always wanted our raids to be the bigger and better than the last one. So he suggested that we attack this tribe to show the world who was best. We agreed to do so, thinking that we would just burn a building down or two, load our ship with food and loot. We wanted to do it to show the world who we were. However, Strogg was thinking something completely different; something that no Viking should think of, and hopefully, never will again." Stoick grimly said with his eyes narrowing.
Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he then resumed his tale. "We started the raid in the twilight of the day, fighting tooth and nail with the defenders to just get an inch of ground. Soon, we were able to make a small push and break the line. We lost a lot of men in that fight if I recall correctly." Stoick said this time with a hint of anger behind his voice "Their houses were dug into the side of the cliff walls and canyons. Few buildings were even burnable; but we set fire to those that we could. Soon we had the entire village in flames with furniture and other items." Stoick said with regret in his voice. "I don't know how it happened; it felt like it went by so fast."
Turning to face Hiccup and Astrid, he continued. "After most of the battle was over, we were obviously tired and ready to sail away with what we looted. However, Strogg had acquired a murderous look in his eyes, and ordered us finish the rest of the job by killing the rest of the men, all the women, and the children left alive; which weren't that many to begin with." Stoick paused for a moment, letting the story sink into both Hiccup and Astrid. Seeing the somber look on their faces, he continued "I, along with most of the other Vikings, refused. We couldn't even comprehend doing that! He told us that he would leave us on that island if we didn't do what he ordered. I guess that was the last straw for us, because me, and the most of the group, grabbed the few survivors from the tribe and escorted them down to the ship. Strogg and his few men tried to fight us, but in the end couldn't do anything, but watch us take the ship and sail away."
"But you and Strogg acted like old buddies when we met him!" Hiccup pointed out. "If you left me on an island, I don't think I'd be calling you friend."
"Yes, that's true, but let me finish my story first." Stoick answered, reining in the anger that wanted to so badly come out. "We sailed here, to Thariin after the raid. A few days after landing, another ship docked. It was Strogg and the rest of his men, picked up by a trade ship. We confronted them on the docks to which he and his men kneeled to us and began to plead for forgiveness." Stoick shook his head as he remembered seeing them. "Strogg said that he knew what he did was wrong and that he would retire as a raider and warrior. While others forgave him, I could not. I accepted his request that he would stay and live in Thariin, but I couldn't forget the look in his eyes when we destroyed that village." Stoick finished solemnly. "I guess saying sorry just doesn't cut it for me" Turning to Hiccup and Astrid, he said "Now you know why I couldn't ask him for a favor like that. I won't do anything for him. I can't do anything for him."
"I'm sorry dad…" Hiccup said softly "I had no idea"
"No one did, that was the point." Stoick grimly replied "The group and I wanted the history of that island to be forgotten. Even the survivors wanted to forget everything. So much slaughter happened that day. The few that we took all let go of their traditions and tales, except for one woman; a young hand maiden. Can't remember her name or nothing, but she told us all, that she could never forget the day that they were killed. Murdered even." Stoick continued saying. "We wanted the story to die with us, but it looks like it will live on in another generation with you two."
Hiccup almost sighed with relief when the silence set in after story; it seemed to be the only thing that was comfortable at that point. The three continued to sit in silence, until Hiccup decided to say "I still have to help that Night Fury though…"
Stoick looked at him and said "I can't openly direct it to Strogg without defying him, but whatever you choose to do, I will support you."
"Thanks dad, I know you will." Hiccup said gratefully.
"I will say that it's odd that a Night Fury attacked by itself." Stoick mediated loudly, stroking his beard "Toothless usually attacked when other dragons are raiding, not just by himself."
"They also usually have blue plasma blasts." Hiccup added, folding his arms and staring at the ground in contemplation "But it's the second Night Fury we've ever encountered. I'm sure there's a lot we still don't know about them; even Toothless!" Looking up at his dad, he then whispered "I just don't know what to do to help it."
"I might have an idea" Astrid spoke up. It was the first time she said anything since Stoick returned to the Keep.
"What's that Astrid?" Stoick asked, a little curious at the sound of an idea. Of all the youth, Astrid was one that he respected; her, and now his son Hiccup.
"Well, he may know you," Astrid began to explain, gesturing to Stoick "but he doesn't know anything about Hiccup. All he knows about him, is that he's small and skinny; but also the victor over the Red Death."
"Yes and so does everyone else" Hiccup cynically responded, raising an eyebrow at Astrid "What's your idea supposed to be?"
"Quit interrupting and maybe I'll tell you." Astrid quickly shot back, glaring at Hiccup "Imagine when the great Hiccup asks the Chief of Thariin a favor, he will almost be expected to oblige to it! Because everyone will know that you went to him for help!" She exclaimed excitedly.
"Thor's beard…she may be on to something Hiccup!" Stoick exclaimed, seeing Astrid's plan. "You have more influence than I ever will!"
"But not everyone will hear me ask him!" Hiccup replied objectively "How will the village support me in my request?"
"Oh, yes they will," Astrid said grinning "because everyone is going to see the supposed execution of a Night Fury tomorrow."