Chapter Eighteen
"I foun-goouugghh!" A soldier's shout was cut short. A bolt sinking into his stomach quickly collapsed him.
Ukiah then sprinted into another thicket. Sliding under the brush, he quickly reloaded his crossbow. "Two left…" He mumbled to himself, sliding one of them into the crossbow. Rolling onto his stomach, he waited for the next soldier to walk into his view. At night and in the forest, he easily lost his pursuers, which all split up trying to find him. With them being spread out and separated, he was able to take down three of the soldiers, but without his quiver of bolts, he was limited with how many he could take at a distance. Now that the forest was crawling with the soldiers, he had to be extra careful with his movements, which he was doing poorly.
"…Get back on me! Everyone, on me! Hekker! Help me get this bolt out…" A voice shouted, obviously in pain. Ukiah instantly recognized it as the champion he saw talking to Murky. "The archer was a rouse. The dragon that attacked earlier. It had a rider, and they took the prisoner we had." The champion continued to shout "Form up! We're raiding the village right now! We're not going to wait to for them to come with a bigger army!"
Ukiah silently cursed the champion. Though he was glad that Hiccup was able to save Astrid, this champion was pushing his attack right then! That, and the fact he didn't kill him when he first shot him. Gritting his teeth, he began to crawl towards where he heard the shouting. He needed to try and end the champion at least, then there would at least be a chance that the rest of the men wouldn't be able to react as fast; maybe even try to retreat. He could hear multiple men talking ahead of him, making him freeze in place. Still under the cover of the thicket, he glanced over to his right to see three soldiers walking towards where the champion was talking. Using their noise to mask his, he crept forward under the brush, trying to get a view of where they were gathering.
"Gah!" The champion cried out painfully, his voice sounding through the trees "Ho-how much flesh did you take with it?"
"A little bit." A voice replied, almost uncaring.
"Ergh…patch me up." The champion ordered, sounding annoyed.
Ukiah finally found them, looking from under the thicket, he let out silent huff of anger, seeing that the champion was just a silhouette in the darkness, and was surrounded by his remaining men; making it impossible for him to really know who was who. Venting with a deep breath, he waited to see if there was any opportunity to end him.
"How many of us do we have left?" The champion demanded.
"We lost three with the Night Fury attack." A man reported "Plus the two guarding the prisoner."
"I can't find Torulf and Haegen." Another voice shouted "But I found Vrak's body with a bolt in his neck. I imagine that the archer got the other two as well."
"To Niflheim with him!" The champion spat, angry at the report. He only had twelve men left. Well twelve men and an old traitor.
Ukiah smiled to himself as he listened, knowing he was making the champion's life miserable. He then saw the silhouetted champion sit down on a fallen log, while another soldier was working on his side.
"Ugo, hold still. I'm trying to staunch the bleeding." The first voice replied, apparently named Hekker.
"As soon as I'm able, I'm taking ten of you and we're going to raid Berk from behind." Ugo growled, loudly "Mikael, you take Asger and search for the archer. He's still out there, and you're my best tracker."
"Of course Ugo, We'll leave right now." Mikael replied, sounding loyal and unmoving.
Ukiah shifted slightly, seeing the group of men make way for two soldiers. One had a bow and another had a spear. Ukiah eyed the quiver that the bowman had, wishing he could just take a handful, though arrows would barely work for his crossbow. Watching them disappear into the trees, his attention returned to the remaining group as Ugo slowly stood up.
"After our raid, meet back at camp and get ready to load back to the Water Cutter. We've failed our primary mission." Ugo continued to announce "Now that we know they ride their dragons, we've got to move now! Before they come back to try and finish us."
Ukiah couldn't believe it! Ugo started to limp ahead of the group, opening himself up right in front of Ukiah! Capitalizing on the opportunity, he aimed his crossbow and held his breath. Aiming right at the center of Ugo's chest, he knew his bolt wouldn't have a problem piercing the chest plate. Staring at Ugo, he was starting to squeeze the trigger, when an arrow sank itself into the stock of the crossbow.
Thunk!
Shocked, Ukiah glanced over to see Mikael already notching another arrow and glaring right at him. "I found him, Ugo! Get down!"
Ugo was tackled by one of his men, who was ready to take a bolt for him. Ukiah quickly rolled out of the thicket and sprinted away, hearing another arrow sink into the ground where he was laying. Angry that his cover was blown, he ripped the arrow out of his crossbow to help vent the frustration.
"Everyone after him! That's Ukiah!" Ugo roared "We get him, we can get off this forsaken rock.
"Great." Ukiah groaned to himself, running in between two trees "At least Berk isn't the focus anymore."
Thunk! An arrow sank into the tree on his right. Mikael was hot on his heels, and wasn't showing any signs of slowing or waiting for the others. Ukiah gritted his teeth as he ducked and weaved behind another thicket.
Boom! An orange explosion went off behind him. Turning to see what exploded, he saw a few silhouettes of dragons fly overhead in the night sky. Then Mikael appeared from the thicket he ran through, with a couple of men running with him! Whirling around, Ukiah kept on sprinting through trees and low hanging branches.
"You were easy to find!" Mikael called out, running after Ukiah. Drawing another arrow from his quiver, he shouted "You got sloppier in covering your tracks after every person you slew. I don't think I was tracking you for a minute when I found where you were laying!"
Ukiah didn't even try to reply. He just kept on sprinting through the trees. At this point, he wasn't even going to try and hide. If Mikael was a tracker, which he proved he was, then trying to hide from him would be pointless.
"You three! Go to his right! Hekker, Asger, stay with me!" Mikael ordered.
Ukiah turned to his right, knowing he had to get ahead of the three that were going to try and corral him. Tttthhiiip! An arrow whizzed above Ukiah's head, forcing him to dive to the left. Scrambling to his feet, he could hear footsteps pounding in the brush behind him. Sprinting through the some low hanging branches, he felt his face get scratched up. Pushing through, he found out exactly why Mikael wanted to push him to the left. He was overlooking a cliff. Looking down into the bay, he saw the Thariin ship below, the unique looking skimmer.
"Halt poacher!" A voice shouted behind him.
Ukiah whirled around, aiming the crossbow at the person who had a spear aimed at him. Soon Mikael broke through the clearing, followed by four others. Mikael smiled as he drew his bow back, aiming at Ukiah. "Heh, honestly, I was hoping for something more challenging to hunt. The way the men back at Thariin talked you up…I was expecting to be hunting a ghost."
"Just kill me and spare me your gloating." Ukiah growled, his eyes narrowing.
"Kill you? No…that's Strogg's business." Mikael smiled, walking around Asger, who still leveled his spear at Ukiah. "Why don't you put down the crossbow, and I'll make it a painless journey to the ship."
"Liar…" Ukiah growled, not bothering to lower his weapon.
"Just finish 'im, Mikael!" One of the men jeered, snickering at Ukiah "Strogg just wants 'im dead!"
"I got a better idea." Mikael smiled, closing one eye and taking aim.
Ukiah quickly ducked and weaved to the left, but Mikael was already expecting it. In his attempt to dodge the arrow, he found that he jumped in front of it. A thunderbolt slammed into his left shoulder, catching a buckle that held a strap to his vest. The force spun Ukiah in a violent spin, to which he crashed on the edge of the cliff. "Gah! He shouted painfully as he landed roughly on the ground, feeling a growing, stinging, and lingering pain in his shoulder. Glancing at it, he saw the buckle stopped the arrow from going any deeper, as the arrowhead was the only part of that buried itself in him.
"Well now," Mikael jested, letting his bow slide in his hand "that was easier than I expected. I think Strogg would be alright if he only has an injured shoulder."
Ukiah slowly stood up, his eyes burning with anger at Mikael. Staring at the taunting tracker, he began to see an opportunity present itself, seeing the bow hang loosely in the tracker's hand. Jumping on the moment, he then asked "Do you know why I like a crossbow over a bow?"
"No, nor do I really care." Mikael teased, shaking his head with a smirk. Looking at Asger, he then ordered "Go grab him. I did my job."
"Because I only need one arm to fire it!" Ukiah spat, raising his right hand. Aiming it at Mikael, he squeezed the trigger and sent the bolt flying.
Mikael's smirk quickly disappeared, as the bolt entered his heart. Launching backwards out of reaction and the force, he landed on his back with his eyes staring up at the infinite starlit sky forever.
"He killed Mikael!" Asger shouted, staring with wide eyes at where Mikael lay.
"Kill 'im!" A voice shouted.
"Throw him off the cliff!" Another added.
Ukiah helplessly stared as the crowd of soldiers rushed him. Asger was the first to get to him. Using the butt end of his spear, he pushed Ukiah with as much force as he could. "Go die, poacher!" He screamed, watching Ukiah launch backwards.
Ukiah stared in fear, watching the cliff rise higher and higher, with the wind getting louder and louder. Just as he was sure he'd crash into the ocean below, a force slammed him from behind, violently jerking him back up. He lost his breath at the sudden change of direction, causing him to wheeze. Unsure of what was going on, he looked around and saw that he was grabbed from behind. Black and brown wings flapped in and out of peripheral vision, which instantly comforted him. "Arrow…" He whispered, putting together what happened.
Boom! A blue explosion appeared at the top of the cliff where he was pushed off of, followed by a black streak. Two soldiers were flung over the cliff, and screamed past Ukiah and Arrow. Hovering at the top, he saw the crowd of soldiers laying on the ground. Out of the darkness, the twins and Snotlout flew and perched over the remaining stunned soldiers.
"I thought you said you'd be avoiding them!" Hiccup's voice shouted.
Ukiah turned to see Hiccup and Toothless hovering near Arrow. Hiccup was scowling at him, obviously angry with how they found Ukiah. "I said I was bringing the fight to them!" He quickly countered. Arrow gently let him down, to which he landed next to him. His green eyes narrowed as he glared at his rider, angry that Ukiah sent him away earlier. "What? Am I in trouble with you too?" Ukiah huffed, shaking his head. A jolt of pain surged through his body, starting with his shoulder. Wincing vividly, he dropped his crossbow and placed his hand around the arrow that remained in his shoulder, trying to quell the pain and slow the bleeding.
"What happened?" Hiccup asked, landing next to him and staring at the arrow in his shoulder.
"Got shot. They had a tracker that used a bow." Ukiah grunted, his eyes shutting closed. "He's dead." He added simply.
"Come on, let's get out of here and get that taken care of. My dad's coming with a patrol to clean up all the stragglers." Hiccup replied, seeing that Ukiah was in pain.
"Where'd Ugo go? And the rest of their soldiers? I though all of them were coming after me?" Ukiah groaned, finally opening his eyes to look around.
Hiccup shook his head, pushing lightly on Ukiah to get on Arrow. "The others? We already strafed them before we found you. If Arrow hadn't been looking for you, I don't know if we could have saved you from falling."
"Guess I owe Arrow another favor for saving my life a second time." Ukiah huffed, turning to face Arrow. Then, a lot softer and more sincere, rubbed one of his spikes, whispering "Thanks friend…that's the last time we're separating ourselves…I promise."
Arrow just huffed, still not believing Ukiah. Turning his side, he let Ukiah tenderly climb on.
"Keep them pinned until my dad gets here." Hiccup ordered, turning to Snotlout and the twins "He shouldn't be too long after he deals with the others. When Fishlegs and Meatlug get here, send them to sink the ship. Got it?"
"Wait! Why does Fishlegs get to sink the ship?" Tuffnut cried out, shocked that he wasn't assigned the task.
"You should leave those kind of jobs to those that know it best." Ruffnut added, looking at Hiccup with a disappointed look.
"Alright then, when Fishlegs meets up with you guys, you guys go blow up the ship. Just make sure it sinks!" Hiccup replied, rolling his eyes at whining.
"Come on friend, let's get back to Berk." Ukiah whispered, letting Arrow slowly take off.
Hiccup was right behind him, flying to catch up and fly alongside. Looking at Ukiah, he asked "How bad is it? Do we need to find my dad to get it out right now?"
Ukiah shook his head "No, it hit a buckle, stopped it from running through me. Only the arrowhead's buried in the shoulder, shouldn't be too hard to get out."
Hiccup just stared at Ukiah, still worried about him.
"Well, that was a crazy training session." Ukiah whispered, forcing a smile to try and lighten the mood.
Hiccup didn't say anything, but just turned and faced forward. Ukiah couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about. Then the thought hit him. Looking back at Hiccup, he asked "How's Astrid?"
"I don't know. I'm sure she's fine, but…" Hiccup replied, shaking his head "I guess we'll find out when we get you to the Great Hall."
Ukiah nodded, understanding exactly what Hiccup was thinking about. Looking up at the countless stars, and the waning moon, he then thought of what would happen when Strogg's fleet would be spotted. Realizing that this was just a handful of soldiers, he wondered what was going to happen when an entire army arrived at their shores? Slightly shaking his head, Ukiah let Arrow glide silently alongside Hiccup and Toothless; not wanting to think of those who would be killed in the eventual fight.
"Just pull it out!" Ukiah groaned, his eyes shut closed and his teeth clenched.
"Easy, laddie." Gobber replied, using his good hand to push Ukiah back down on the cot he was laying on "Gothi's got a certain way with doing these things. She'll be able to take it out without it doing any more damage. And speed up the healing process."
"It's barely in there!" Ukiah grunted, his eyes flipping open and glaring at Gobber "It didn't hurt like this before she started to mess with it! Just pull it out and be done with it! Barbed or not!"
Suddenly a stick flew out of nowhere and hit Ukiah in the forehead. Wincing, he rubbed the spot where he was hit with his good hand. Gothi glared at him, daring him to keep on arguing. Realizing that she was going to do what she was going to do regardless of his complaining, he settled back down on the cot he was assigned to.
Gobber performed his task to the tee in regards to setting up a hospital. Within minutes of Stoick leaving, the Great Hall was cleared of tables and chairs. Now a few cots were placed in an orderly fashion, with more arriving every minute.
"Toughen up. You didn't whine this much when your arm was slashed." Astrid teased, sitting on the side of her cot. A single bandage was tied to her head, holding another cloth over where she was hit on the head. Hiccup was sitting alongside her, with a relieved expression on his face. The moment Gothi attended Astrid, she was easily assessed and was even woken up by her.
"Easy for you to say! All she did was bandage the spot where you were hit." Ukiah growled, glaring at Astrid.
"And had me drink this nasty liquid!" Astrid replied, pulling a face at remembering the flavor or the medicine "But it's helped my headache, so…can't complain too much I guess."
"Well, the sooner you two get better, the better chance we'll have at fighting Strogg's fleet." Gobber replied, catching everyone's attention.
"What do you mean, Gobber?" Astrid asked.
"Murky wanted you all to go through training sessions to stall you from helping us in the war." Gobber replied with a smile "As far as Stoick and I are concerned, you're all going to be helping us fight! The dragon riders proved useful last night with those sneaky Thariin soldiers. It proved that we do need all of you!"
The three smiled at each other, realizing that they were going to be able to help without any more training sessions; and more importantly, less politics. Ukiah's joy was short lived as his shoulder began to increasingly sting. Gothi had lightly dabbed some kind of putty from a container, and then gently pushed it into the wound and around where the arrow was still lodged in his shoulder. The arrowhead was halfway out, but with the edges being barbed, and the fact that it was caught in the metal buckle that stopped it, was creating some issues while removing it.
"Gah!" He cried out, feeling it sting unbearably "What's she doing? I've never thought a process so simple could be this painful and take this long!"
"She's making it so that it doesn't damage your muscles as much." Gobber explained, shaking his head at Ukiah "So it'll just be sore, rather than needing time to recover."
"I guess if it saves time in the long run…" Ukiah huffed, doing his best to relax. Turning to Astrid, mainly to keep himself from looking at what Gothi was doing, he then said with a forced smile "Glad you're alright Astrid. Hiccup and I were worried when we found you."
"Yeah, would you two mind explaining what happened to me?" She asked, looking at Hiccup with confusion "All I know is that Murky hit me from behind, I woke up here, and Ukiah's taken an arrow to his shoulder."
"Well…" Ukiah began to say, to which he yelped in pain as Gothi hit him with her stick again "Augh! Really?"
Gothi glared at Ukiah, pressing a finger against her lips and signaling him to be quiet.
"Take it away, Hiccup." Ukiah growled, setting his head down in the cot.
"Well, when you left us, we were ambushed by Fishlegs and the others." Hiccup began to say "Almost lost, but Ukiah pulled a fast one on the twins, and I was able to get Snotlout out when he was distracted."
"Really? They got the jump on you guys?" Astrid asked in surprise.
"This isn't the part of the story that matters." Hiccup answered, looking down at the stone floor. Taking a breath, he then continued to say "When we saw that you weren't anywhere nearby, we followed your tracks; er, well Ukiah followed your tracks. We then found you with Murky and a Thariin soldier-"
"Champion. It was one of the champions. Ugo I think…" Ukiah threw in, not moving from where he lay for fear of Gothi hitting him. Again.
"Wait. Strogg's men are here?! Murky was with them?" Astrid asked with wide eyes, her mouth agape.
"Yeah he betrayed us…that's why he knocked you out. He was meeting up with them, at least a small group." Hiccup explained, looking at Astrid with a worried expression "You were going to interrupt their meeting."
"But…their fleet isn't here. How did they get here so fast?" Astrid questioned.
"They took that one fast ship that caught up to us on our way back from Thariin." Hiccup explained "The twins are supposed to sink it."
"So…what happened when you found me?" She asked, still thinking of Thariin soldiers being on Berk.
"You were taken to their camp. I guess they were going to bring you to Strogg as leverage over us." Hiccup continued to say.
Ukiah held his tongue. The real reason why Strogg wanted her, was as a trophy; collateral for Berk making him sail all the way to kill the last Crevite. He didn't have the heart to tell her exactly why she was a prisoner. He was sure that was why Hiccup didn't say that as well.
"How did you get me away?" She continued to quiz, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, Ukiah basically led the entire camp after him. Leaving only two people." Hiccup answered "I came in when it was clear, Toothless stood guard while I grabbed you. Took you here right after."
Astrid didn't say anything at first. She couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed that she was captured so easily. Even though it was a blindside hit from Murky, she basically walked right into the Thariin camp. Looking at Ukiah she then asked "That's why you got an arrow in the shoulder…you were distracting them."
"I got an arrow in the shoulder because they had a tracker." Ukiah replied, looking at her from where he lay "I was hidden from them, about to take Ugo's life, when he found me. Shot my crossbow." Looking up at the ceiling, he added "When he cornered me on the cliff, I tried dodging the arrow, but basically ran into it…"
Suddenly, he felt a tugging on his shoulder. Glancing over, he watched as Gothi slowly pulled the arrow out. Relief instantly flooded his body, as the stiff feeling disappeared. Amazingly, it only felt sore. He didn't have any feeling that his shoulder was torn or tearing.
Gothi pressed a cloth against the small hole that remained, which she immediately started to wrap with a bandage.
"Eh? What'd I say Ukiah. She's the best." Gobber called out, smiling as Ukiah watched her tie off the bandage.
"I was wrong. This was definitely better than just pulling it out." Ukiah replied, a little sheepishly. Sitting up, he rotated his shoulder and felt the sore feeling thump where the arrow entered. Inconvenient, but a lot better than having his arm rest it in a sling for who knew how long.
Gothi smiled as she started to write something on the ground. Gobber began to translate, saying "She says you're lucky that metal buckle stopped the arrow. It would have been a different procedure if it went in deeper. More painful. And a lot longer."
"Lucky me." Ukiah groaned, not wanting to think of what it could have been. Swinging his legs around, he sat on the side of the cot, still testing his shoulder and trying to get used to it.
"Oh…you'll like this Ukiah." Gobber announced, still reading what Gothi was writing.
Ukiah's head perked up, as did Astrid's and Hiccup's.
"She says she's willing to talk about the Crev. She knows a little bit about your people." He answered, smiling at him. Looking at Gothi, who had a stern look on her face, he realized he may have said the wrong thing.
"Really? What do you know?" Ukiah asked, completely ignoring the shoulder.
Gothi let out a sigh and began to write on the ground. Gobber, watching the writing carefully, suddenly had a surprised expression on his face. Glancing between her and Ukiah, he then whispered "Actually…I don't know if you'll like it…"
Ukiah's face turned to stone. He waited to hear the new information, which he knew in his heart he couldn't prepare for.
"The Crev were gifted warriors. They had an inborn ability to fight, and to learn how to fight." Gobber began to quote, reading the words as they appeared "Their elitist fighters and leaders, were often quiet and methodical. They rarely showed emotion to others outside of their tribe. Even…kindness."
Ukiah's pulse quickened, not sure how to take the last bit. He just sat there intently, waiting for Gobber to continue.
"She remembers she visited their village elder, when she was just becoming our islands healer." Gobber proceeded to say "Their elder was the only one who dealt with other tribes, as they were the only ones that could associate with others."
"Where are you going with this?" Ukiah asked, looking at Gothi "Are you saying they were recluses? Loners?"
Gothi looked at Ukiah with sadness. Looking down, she wrote on the ground. Gobber watched her write, a surprised expression growing on his face. Looking at Ukiah, he then whispered "They destroyed other tribes Ukiah. Not for loot, or for food. But to prove themselves. It was…their sport. Not only that, but in order to get a status or title in the tribe, you had to kill someone ranked higher than you with the tribe. To show you were stronger."
Ukiah stared at Gobber, and then at Gothi. "Are you saying…I'm a murderer?"
Gothi shook her head, writing on the ground hurriedly.
"No, not you. But your people were ruthless. The only reason why Gothi was able to visit with their elder, was because most of their tribe was away on a raid." Gobber said aloud, reading as she wrote. Gothi then gestured to Ukiah, which Gobber explained "She says you haven't been tainted by them. You don't have their traditions! You're a Crevite with their abilities to fight, but innocent to choose your own fate."
Ukiah just stared into nothing. His people…were killers. Thinking about his past events and fights, he then thought to himself "Am I like them? Do I kill for…fun?"
"Ukiah?" Astrid asked, taking a seat next to him. Hiccup did as well, looking at him with concern.
"I…I need to think about this…" Ukiah whispered, standing up. He just had to get out. To go think.
"Not yet laddie." Gobber replied, pushing him back down on the cot "Not 'till tomorrow morning at least."
Gothi began to write something in the ground, which Ukiah barely noticed. He had a chilling thought run through his head. One that almost made him cry out in agony. It was all he could think about.
"Ukiah…she says the Crev were warriors by birth, but killers by rite. You are a warrior by birth, and a hunter by rite. You're not like your tribe. You're different." Gobber quoted again, seeing Ukiah begin to shut down.
Ukiah only nodded, hearing what was said, but not really listening.
Gobber saw the conflict on Ukiah's face. Knowing that talking wouldn't help him right then, he rested his hand on Ukiah's shoulder, saying "Think about it…we'll talk more tomorrow. Ok?"
Again, Ukiah just nodded, staring down at the ground.
Sighing, Gobber looked at Hiccup and Astrid, silently instructing them to stay with him. At that, he and Gothi left to keep working on the hospital.
The three sat there in silence, unsure of what to say. Finally, Ukiah said something to bring relief to the other two. "I…I had no idea. I figured they were different, but…not murderer's…"
"But you're not a murderer!" Astrid cried out "You may have killed, but you're not like them!"
"No, you're missing the point." Ukiah whispered hoarsely, looking at Astrid with tearing eyes "It's not what I am that's hard for me…its…if my people were murderers, then Strogg was justified in destroying them. They needed to be destroyed."
Astrid and Hiccup just stared at Ukiah, seeing what was really bugging him.
"Don't you see? Strogg was in the right for killing my people." Ukiah whispered hoarsely, looking away from his friend's gaze "That's why he's after me…he doesn't want the Crev to come back…"
Astrid scooted closer to him, seeing him break down in front of them. Unsure of what to do, she reached around and pulled him closer to her. Ukiah started to sob, letting her pull him closer to her. Looking at Hiccup, he just nodded in agreement, that she was doing the right thing.
Then, Ukiah whispered these chilling words "My people…my history…my family…we've doomed Berk…I've doomed you guys. I've killed my friends."