Chapter Thirteen
"Ukiah? What are you doing on the front porch? Why didn't you go on inside?" Stoick called out, walking towards his house. Both he and Gobber headed to Stoick's home, finishing up what was needed at the council that night. Seeing the two sitting on the steps, with Arrow resting his head on Ukiah's lap, Stoick promptly stopped in front of them, staring them down.
"I, uh, I-I didn't want to invite myself in." Ukiah stammered, looking up at Stoick and seeing him angry "It's not my place, and I've never really slept inside a building before."
"Stop acting like you're a guest, and start acting like you've been here with us for years!" Stoick grunted, grabbing Ukiah by his hunting vest. Hefting him up onto his feet, he gestured for him to walk inside.
"Alright, I guess I can try to do that." Ukiah replied with a jest in his voice. Opening the door, he then added "I just never had people actually care about me like this before. Usually only when I gave them a good deal on a pelt or something like that."
"Better start getting used to it." Stoick grunted, following closely. Grabbing an armful of wood, he then set it down in the central fire pit.
"Here, I'll start it." Ukiah called out, seeing Stoick reach for some kindling. Turning to Arrow, he gestured to the stack of logs. Arrow promptly walked up to the pit and blew a small stream of orange glowing sand. It looked like he was blowing small embers rather than sand. As the sand rested on the logs, smoke started to rise, eventually leading to a small flame as the heated sand burned through the wood. Arrow sat there proudly as the logs began to burn brighter and brighter.
"What an interesting dragon…" Gobber called out, taking a seat near the fire. Shaking his head in wonder, he then asked "What did you and Hiccup call him again?"
"Arrow? We decided on Sand Wraith." Ukiah answered, cautiously taking a seat as well. He still was getting used to the idea of being inside a house. Trying to relax, he then explained "He loves the sand and thought wraith was a good description for him after watching him fight. Astrid actually came up with that one."
"Good enough reason." Gobber replied with a smile, pulling his hook arm out and putting his mug hand back on.
Ukiah watched him curiously, intrigued by the hooked, peg legged, Viking.
"Where's Hiccup at?" Stoick asked, grabbing a mug that was resting on the table. He then easily grabbed a small barrel in his other, pouring himself and then Gobber a drink.
"Don't know. Said he had to do something." Ukiah answered, shrugging to add to his explanation.
"Hmph…boy's late…" Stoick grunted, taking a huge swig of his drink "You'd think that he would want to be home after the long trip."
"Well, I imagine he's wanting to get some hours in with Toothless" Ukiah responded, staring into the growing fire.
"Of course he would…" Stoick huffed, shaking his head.
The four sat in silence, with Arrow again resting next to Ukiah. Thinking about the day's events, Ukiah furrowed his eye brows in contemplation. Looking at Gobber, he then asked out loud "Hey Gobber? That's your name right?"
"Aye, it is." Gobber replied with a wide smile, sitting back in his chair.
"I just wanted to say, thanks. Thanks for backing me up during that council." Ukiah continued to say, staring into Gobber's eyes with sincerity "Meant a lot to me. And I'm sure Stoick too."
"Heh, Stoick knows I'll always support him. Regardless of how stubborn or bull headed he gets." Gobber answered, smiling at the gratitude "I'll do the same for you too, Ukiah."
"I knew that the moment you started talking in that council." Ukiah complimented back, smiling at his new friend. After a few more moments of silence, Ukiah then asked "What do you know about me? About the island, Crev?"
"How about we wait a bit before I talk to you. Let you settle down a little." Gobber replied, smiling at Ukiah "I know you're anxious to learn something, but you still look like your head's going to pop off with what you're still getting used to."
Dejected at the delay, Ukiah could only nod and stare into the fire. His thoughts were pulled away as Gobber spoke up again, adding "I promise Ukiah. I'll tell you all I know about Crev. I just want to tell you when you're going to be able to understand what I tell you."
"I get it. I do." Ukiah quietly replied, looking back at him "It's just hard to wait again. I've lived my life as someone who had no idea about his history, and not being able to get any answers."
"And I hope I can answer a few of your questions." Gobber said aloud, smiling at him "But, in the meantime, just get used to Berk. And having friends."
Smiling, Ukiah nodded and face the fire again. Rubbing one of Arrow's spikes, he sat there contemplating how much his life changed in the short span of a few weeks; but also how much it will change when he finally learns a little bit about himself.
Ukiah slowly awoke from his makeshift bed. Not being able to see anything because of Arrow's wing, he slowly pushed it away, allowing a flood of fresh air to come in. Soaking up the change sudden change in temperature and air, Ukiah laid back down on his fur blanket. "Arrow did a pretty good job keeping me warm." He whispered, turning to see Arrow's head also under the wing.
Laughing, Ukiah pushed Arrow's head, which promptly woke him up. Looking around to see what was happening, Arrow saw Ukiah trying to keep a straight face. Roaring angrily, Arrow pushed Ukiah against the wall, pinning him. Trying to get himself away from Arrow, Ukiah pushed against Arrow's head. His laughing wasn't helping him as he was powerless in even shifting Arrow away. "Get off of me! Heheheh, get off you stupid dragon!"
His cries were ignored, as Arrow kept him pinned for a few minutes. Finally, after feeling Ukiah stop fighting him, he lifted his head, with a not so happy face. Staring at the wheezing person, trying to get air flowing normally in him, Arrow just snorted at him in an uncaring way. Ukiah was still chuckling when he began to stand up. "You cheated, that's why you won." He wheezed out with a grin. Arrow just glared at him, almost daring him to say it again.
Shaking his head, Ukiah smiled at the angry looking dragon. "Come on, I bet we overslept thanks to your wing!" Looking around, Ukiah still didn't see Hiccup at his bed. "Stoick and Hiccup must be gone already." he observed, seeing the fire in the center room barely alive, almost smoldering. "Come on let's go find Hiccup" he said turning to the door. As Ukiah was ready to open it, he noticed a white paper stuck in the crack between the door and the frame. Puzzled, he pulled it out and opened it.
'Ukiah, meet us at Gobber's place, the blacksmith shop. We have your saddle ready!
-Hiccup'
Shocked at the news about getting his saddle finished so soon, Ukiah flung the door open and bolted out. "Come on Arrow! Hiccups got a surprise for us!" He shouted, sprinting down the pathway that led deeper into the village. He honestly thought it would take days to make it! An incredibly happy feeling rush over him as he whispered "Thank you Hiccup. Thank you!"
After a few wrong turns, and asking the local villagers for directions, He finally arrived at Gobber's. Ukiah saw Hiccup, Gobber, and Astrid; all sitting and talking with each other; while Toothless and Stormfly were sleeping outside of the shop. Noticing Ukiah and Arrow walking up to them, Gobber called out "Oi! 'bout time you get here! We've been waiting for a good hour or so!"
"What happened? I didn't think a hunter like you would be the type of person that would sleep in." Astrid teased, smirking at him as he jogged up to them.
"Thanks to Arrow here, I would have gone through the entire day! His wing covered me and made it seem like it was midnight." Ukiah huffed back, a little embarrassed at Astrid's remark and also catching his breath.
"Doesn't matter I guess." Gobber replied, smiling at Ukiah "Now then, I'm guessing you found Hiccup's note?"
"About the saddle? Yes! That's why I'm here!" Ukiah replied excitedly, smiling at Gobber.
"Ah…I thought you were just here to visit us!" Gobber cried out sarcastically, pretending to be hurt.
"Here it is!" Hiccup laughed, picking up a saddle from behind the blacksmith counter. It was colored a flat, dark brown; exactly what high quality crafting leather should look like. It had a small lip on the back, created for him to sit against when casually flying. It had stirrups as well, exactly what Ukiah and Hiccup designed so he could balance himself a little better during turns and climbs. Strapped to the front right side of the saddle was a quiver, already loaded with bolts. It was big too, just what Ukiah asked for, holding at least fifty bolts; more than he'd ever need. The left side of the saddle had a smaller sheath, which Ukiah guessed it to be for a dagger.
"It's amazing…" He whispered softly, taking the saddle slowly from Hiccups hands. "It's everything that I imagined it to be. When did you do this?"
"Last night…I wanted to get it done so you could fly with us as soon as possible. That's why I never went home last night." Hiccup answered, putting his fists on his hips, looking at the saddle proudly. "Think it'll do?"
"Of course it will! I'll actually be able to fly the same way as you guys, and not worry about falling off!" Then turning to Arrow, he asked "Want to get that rope harness off friend?"
The idea of getting the rope off, thrilled Arrow as he began to squirm as to attempt to get it off himself. Laughing, Astrid began to remove the harness, while Ukiah and Hiccup double teamed the saddling. Within a few minutes, Ukiah was sitting on Arrow, adjusting the stirrups to fit him.
"Feel good?" Hiccup asked as he observed the crafted saddle on the Sand Wraith.
"It feels amazing…Come on, let's go ride!" Ukiah shouted excitedly "I want to test this thing out!"
"Hold on, we have a few more things to…give you." Astrid interrupted, smiling mischievously as she reached for something hidden behind a wall.
"What do you mean?" Ukiah asked curiously, and a little shocked since he didn't really know what to expect.
Pulling out from behind the wall, Astrid held out a smaller, brand new quiver; built almost exactly like his old, ruined one. "This should hold together a bit better than your rag of a quiver that you used to have" She said tossing it to him.
Catching it, Ukiah observed the craftsmanship of the new quiver. It was tightly threaded together, professional like. The straps were strong and it had slots in it that actually held on to the bolts, rather than letting them rest in it loosely. He was stunned at the quality of it, running his hand up and down the side of it and pulling an arrow out of it. It was truly a gift.
"That's not all" Hiccup called out behind him. Turning around to face Hiccup, Ukiah's mouth dropped. Hiccup was standing there with a brand new crossbow. It wasn't really the same size as his old one; it had a little longer stock with narrower arms. Ukiah gently took the crossbow from Hiccup; holding it like it was a newborn baby. He ran his hand across the smooth wood and felt the sturdiness of the arms. It was perfectly set. As if he had it for ages, he quickly raised it up and aimed at an imaginary target. It felt good. Balanced.
"Thank you…" He whispered, as that was all he could do. He was overrun with emotions, trying his hardest not to cry at the priceless gifts that were given to him. "I don't know what to say…"
"Well, you could say thank you; and you can do that by using to fight any Thariin warrior that walks on this island! Pretty simple if you ask me!" Gobber joked, looking at Ukiah smugly.
Smiling at the comment, Ukiah turned to Gobber and asked "Did you make this?"
Well…yes, I did the crossbow, the only thing Hiccup can't really do, but he did the saddle and the quiver. All of that was him." Gobber answered, motioning to Hiccup with his hammer for a hand.
Returning his attention to Hiccup, Ukiah dismounted Arrow and walked over to him. Not sure how to express his gratitude, he awkwardly extended his hand. Smiling, Hiccup grabbed his hand and pulled Ukiah to him, bringing his other arm around and held Ukiah in a brotherly hug. Ukiah was taken back by the action, but realized it was really the only proper way he could thank Hiccup. Squeezing him back, he whispered "Thank you Hiccup...thank you."
"All right, before ya' get all lovey on me, go fly and get away from here! I got quite an order to fill with the coming battle!" Gobber ordered as masculine as he could, trying to hide the emotion behind his voice. He was obviously touched at the event that took place.
Smiling, Ukiah said "I have one more thing to do now…" He reached for his dagger, which he quickly realized he had left in Hiccup's house. "Ah…well, I must be getting soft! I left my dagger at your place."
"Perfect time for my gift then." Astrid exclaimed, pulling out her dagger with the wolf head carved into it "I want you to have this, you're better with daggers than I am anyways. Plus you have a sheath on your saddle that needs one; I think this one will do."
"Astrid, I don't want to take the one thing you bought at Thariin!" Ukiah began to protest, only to be interrupted.
"You do realize I'm wearing your headband right? The very one you made in Thariin?" Astrid huffed angrily, shoving it into his hands to make him grab it. Smiling, she then added "Besides, we brought you from Thariin. That's more than I ever thought we'd take home."
Caught off guard with the comment, Ukiah could only smile and nod; accepting the gift. Taking the wolf carved dagger, he whispered "Thank you…"
Taking the crossbow, he then set it on the countertop. On the left side of the stock, he took the dagger and began to carve a single line in it. It was diagonal, going high left to low right.
"Your war paint?" Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow at it.
"Yeah, it was on my old one when Jessika, my guardian, gave it to me. I guess I just wanted to make it consistent with the one and only tradition I know." Ukiah answered, brushing the shavings off. Satisfied, he then turned and announced "Alright, I think I'm ready to go!"
"Let's ride then!" Hiccup laughed, running to Toothless. Astrid did the same with Stormfly, leaping on her saddle in one bound.
Ukiah strapped his crossbow to his back with his vest's straps. Making sure it, and his new quiver were secure, he slid onto Arrow's new saddle. It felt great not needing to maneuver around the countless spikes, and to have something to stabilize himself with.
Astrid jokingly called out "We'll follow! I want to see how much it helps, or if it even helps you at all! You know, the balance issue may just be you." She had a joking tone in her voice with the last statement she threw in.
"Ok, just try to keep up then will ya?" Ukiah laughed, getting lower in the saddle, ready to fly. "Alright Arrow, let's go!" Feeling his body being propelled forward, it didn't take long for him to utilize the stirrups. Already he was balanced and felt like he was one with Arrow.
Doing a quick roll, Arrow roared with approval as he knew Ukiah was essentially stuck to him. He could now do things that he couldn't do when Ukiah only had his makeshift rope harness and few spikes. After climbing for a few seconds, Arrow rolled onto his back and then dove straight down. All the while Ukiah was centered in his saddle, his body shifting with every turn, roll, and bank that Arrow was doing.
Ukiah was enthralled with idea that Arrow could fly normally without having to worry about falling off. Cheering and shouting, he was never going to be thrown off, regardless of the twists and turns that Arrow made.
Hiccup and Toothless were right behind them, trying to perform the same maneuvers that Ukiah and Arrow were making. Able to match them step for step, they tailed closely behind them. Astrid was just behind them, throwing in a few spins and twists of her own, maintaining the same distance that was between them and her. She and Stormfly shared the same competitiveness, which allowed them to gain on the Sand Wraith and Night Fury.
After pulling out of the dive that they were in, Arrow began climbing again at an incredibly fast rate, using the inertia from the dive and his wings powering for max speed. Almost twice the height at where they were at before the first climb, Arrow leveled out for second and flew straight. Ukiah braced himself for anything that Arrow could do, but was completely caught off guard when Arrow promptly folded his wings. The two dropped like a stone, with Arrow falling flat on his stomach. It was anything but a dive! Then Arrow began to go into a tail spin, going round and round.
Ukiah was using all the muscles in his body to hold onto the handles and to stay in the stirrups, but was getting dizzy from the wild tail spin. Down, down, down they went, getting closer to the village square. At the last second, he felt his body magically lift, seeming like he was just floating. After a few seconds of trying to shake the dizziness away, he looked around at his surroundings. He was flying in a big lazy circle around the center of the village, with villagers cheering from the ground. Honestly, Ukiah had no idea what Arrow did, and decided that whatever it was, it was impressive.
Hiccup and Toothless finished a dive that put them right next to Ukiah and Arrow. Laughing at the sight of Ukiah, who looked like he was going to throw up for a week, Hiccup called out "How are you feeling? Just watching you made me sick!"
Looking at Hiccup with a pale face, he replied "I don't even know what he did! One moment I was looking straight and then the next it was everything I could do to hang on for dear life!"
By this time Astrid was flying alongside of them. "That saddle must have been the only reason why you're still on then!" She laughed, seeing Ukiah's face still dazed.
"I bet it was! Because of the saddle, Arrow can do what he normally does with me on him!" Ukiah shouted back, smiling at Arrow who in turn smiled back. "Though, I've never seen him do that before."
"It was definitely a something to see! The village is still cheering!" Hiccup pointed out, turning his attention to the applause and shouting.
"I've definitely done cooler stuff than that!" A voice called out above the three. It was Snotlout and his Monstrous Nightmare, along with the rest of the group.
"That was totally awesome!" Ruffnut shouted, followed shortly by her brother Tuffnut who said "Probably the coolest trick we've seen!"
"I don't know about that...Remember when Hiccup jumped off of Toothless and over a rocky arch? And then landing back on him?" Fishlegs replied, balancing on his Gronckle, Meatlug.
"You did what!?" Ukiah asked looking at Hiccup with shock on his face.
"Uh…yeah, I did that with Toothless shortly after I recovered from losing my leg. It was way scary at first, but it's a lot easier now." Hiccup replied humbly, not wanting to show off or brag. "But it took time; I wasn't just good at it from the beginning."
"Whoa…" Ukiah groaned, looking back at Arrow "We definitely have a lot of flying to do." To which Arrow just roared in agreement.
Returning his focus on flying, Ukiah was about to pull Arrow up to begin climbing again, when he heard his name get called from below him. Looking around to see who it was, he saw that it was Stoick. He was waving his hand and gesturing for them to come down. Banking hard to the right and taking a sharp dive, Ukiah sped to Stoick with the others right behind him.
Pulling up and landing feet away from the Chief of Berk, Ukiah took a moment before trying to step off of Arrow. He was still getting used to the fact that he was flying. By the time he dismounted, the others were already off their dragons and circling around.
Stoick, who looked like he was concerned about something, began talking to Ukiah "Thanks for coming down, but I have some…bad news I'm afraid. You're not going to like it." He then added "You're all not going to like it."
Concerned now, Ukiah braced himself for whatever might come, while the others looked at each other in confusion.
After pausing for a few seconds, Stoick began to say "The council has decided that…you're not to be fighting in the coming war."
This was blow that Ukiah couldn't prepare for. Not help the fight?! After all the things that Stoick had done for him, and he couldn't even help! Nevermind the fact that the war was because of him! "No!" He shouted angrily which took the entire group off guard, even Arrow. "You think I'm going to sit and watch a battle that was started because of me, and not help fight it?" Spit was flying from his mouth, adding the anger that was surging through.
"It's not my choice! Murky and Mildew rallied some other Vikings saying that you are all too young to fight other Vikings. The council agrees!" Stoick sternly answered "They say that you may be dragon trainers, but if you get separated from your dragons, you'd be killed!"
Hiccup then spoke up, looking at his dad with a concerned look "Dad! We can't afford to not use our dragons! That's what gives us an edge!"
"I know son…I think it's ridiculous too!" Stoick growled, shaking his head in frustration.
Astrid took this a lot more personal than the others. She was by far the best Viking warrior in her generation, and was even better than most of the adults. "That's not fair! What about me when I was helping Ukiah! We both showed we can fight without dragons! Never mind that we were also raised to kill dragons!"
Stormfly squawked horror at the comment, which Astrid quickly turned to her and said "Not any more girl, I was just saying what we used to do. Sorry about that…"
"Trust me, I argued for you, but they won't budge on this." Stoick said, rubbing his forehead to vent his anger "They never saw you, and won't believe me when I told them what you two did at least." Breathing angrily, he then added "But they do have a point; you do lack experience in fighting other Vikings."
"So hiding us from the fight is going to help us learn?" Ukiah fired back, a vein bulging out of his neck.
Stoick stared at Ukiah, looking like he was getting an idea in his head. "Actually…you know what. Maybe I can get you all allowed to fight."
Ukiah stood there, wondering what he meant.
Stoick then gestured to Astrid, saying "Going with what you were saying…what if you all entered another round of dragon training?"
Everyone except Ukiah perked up at this, as he had no idea what Stoick was talking about.
"Instead of dragons, you learn how to fight Vikings? With your dragons." Stoick continued to say, thinking more on the idea "That way, the council can't say that you're not prepared! And you'll all benefit from it!"
"Is that what it'll take to convince them?" Ukiah asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It'll satisfy me. And will give me more of an argument to let you all fight." Stoick acknowledged "Besides, it's always good to learn as much as you can about fighting."
"But that's what I've been training to do my entire life!" Astrid growled, glaring up at Stoick. She was still furious that she would have to go through training again, as she excelled in everything that involved fighting.
"I know Astrid. Trust me, I do." Stoick replied, resting his giant hand on her shoulder "But, until I can get this sorted out, show them that you're willing to do anything to defend our home."
Huffing, Astrid simply stared down at the ground, wishing she had her axe.
"Go get your weapons, and meet at the arena." Stoick announced loudly, standing up straight "I'll be sending Gobber and Spitelout to instruct you."
As everyone jumped back onto their dragons, Ukiah and Hiccup stayed back a little bit. Still furious as to the reason why he couldn't fight, he turned to Stoick and said "I plan on fighting regardless, Stoick. Just know that."
"We'll see Ukiah. As much as I want you to, I don't want you dying either…" Stoick replied with some misting eyes.
His eyes narrowing, Ukiah just climbed on Arrow and took off into the air, following Hiccup and Toothless.
Watching them leave, Stoick whispered "I just don't want to repeat the same mistakes…"
Strogg was on his personal ship, the Water Cutter, with his two remaining champions. They were surrounded by thirty other Thariin ships, each loaded with twenty men that were armed to the teeth. After looking over his vast fleet, he turned his attention to a map of Berk on a table. Still trying to come up with a strategy on how to invade the cliff plagued shores of the island, he glared at the faded map. The only decent place to land his army were at the docks, which he was sure would be protected by catapults and the Berk fleet. On top of that, it was confirmed that they did indeed have dragons, which would undoubtedly be used to harass them at all times of the day and night.
Frustrated at the situation, he stood up and walked to the side of the ship. They were less than a week away from Berk, and they desperately needed something to base their attack on.
Ugo and Malke walked slowly behind Strogg. They didn't dare say anything after they watched a soldier get thrown overboard with a weight tied to his neck earlier that day; just because he walked in front of Strogg. Ugo, being the smarter of the two, began to back up and review the map once again out of the countless times he's done so before.
Malke, not being as wise, stepped a little too close to Strogg. Wham! He was floored by a force that he never felt before. Rolling on the deck to where Ugo was standing, Malke just laid there and whispered painfully "He's still in a bad mood."
"Hmm? Really? Didn't notice it" Ugo replied sarcastically, never taking his eyes off the map.
"Why is it that the most powerful fleet and army, not to mention the minds that are in charge, can't come up with a single strategy? Just one idea that we could use! That's all we need!" Strogg roared, throwing a barrel into the side of the ship, shattering it into hundreds of pieces. "Is Berk really going to be this difficult?"
"Probably harder than that, they have two Night Furies that we know of. Ukiah's Arrow and Hiccup's Toothless, remember?" Ugo replied coolly, still studying the map.
This just resulted in another barrel being smashed, this time punched instead of being thrown. "I'm well aware of that, Ugo! It's the entire reason why we're sailing this forsaken sea in the first place!" Strogg shouted, storming off to the other side of the ship and gripping the railing so tight that it looked like he was crushing the thick wood. If it wasn't affecting him, Ugo would have stood there in amazement. Watching the behemoth of a Viking rage was almost awe inspiring, making Ugo wonder if anyone survived being attacked by the chief.
Shaking his head, Ugo stared at the map with more intensity. He was studying an inlet on the north eastern side of the island. Looking at the inlet, he didn't know why, but it seemed to draw his attention to it. An idea slowly began to form, as he ran all the possible scenarios in his head. "Chief…what if we had a smaller force land behind them?"
"Great, just sail a ship into the cliffs huh? That'll be a lot of help." Strogg growled, still gripping the rail and staring into the sea.
"What if they set anchor in this inlet? They'd be protected from the waves, and they could use a smaller boat to insert themselves. They could climb the cliffs as a smaller force, not to mention they could hide more easily." Ugo persisted "Allowing them to get into position attack from behind. Or to sabotage their defenses, or…even steal away a prize…"
Releasing his grip on the rail, Strogg sensed Ugo had a potential idea, which it had been too long since they had one. However, his cynical attitude wasn't to be dismissed so easily, which he snarled "So we row a third of the army in one boat?"
"Not at all, I can lead a single longboat of your elitist soldiers. Twenty men is all I need. In a single night we could be camped behind the actual village, ready to strike when the rest of the fleet arrives." Ugo pointed out, drawing an imaginary line on the map with his finger. "My source says that Berk is only preparing the village itself for war, leaving most of the island exposed."
Studying the map also, Strogg stroked his beard. His attitude was simmering down, allowing him to think a lot more clearly "Hmm…I guess it would give us that one advantage we need…who is you source?"
"A fellow friend, he's been among them for a while now. He can be trusted." Ugo said confidently, standing up away from the map "He's…not too happy being dragged into a war. And doesn't like Stoick as much now."
"Good, send him another bird, with a letter; tell him exactly what you told me. Have him make sure no one will be around the inlet when you arrive there." Strogg growled, his eyes narrowing "Stay hidden and wait for us to start an initial invasion. We'll send just enough to pull all their attention while you and your men attack from behind. If you strike fast enough, they won't be able to recover to stop you and us at the same time."
Ugo bowed slightly, acknowledging the request.
"Take this ship, the Water Cutter. Let it get you there at least a day and a night before we arrive." Strogg continued to instruct.
"Yes, my chief." Ugo replied, again bowing in respect.
"Where are we going?" Malke asked, finally recovering from the blow he took earlier.
"To another ship of course." Strogg growled, glaring at Malke. Malke was warrior, but that was about it. His brains were less than desirable. Turning to Ugo, he then said "Until we meet, Ugo. May fortune smile on you."
"Likewise Strogg, may your travel be smooth." Ugo acknowledged, watching him march to a small boat, ready to take them off. Malke followed behind, limping slightly.
Seeing them leave the ship, he then ordered "Set the sail to pull away from the fleet! We're going to make sure Berk falls!"