Did Anybody See That? Chapter 10
The ship bobbed placidly on the waves; the wind in the heavy sail pushed it onward. There was no need for oarsmen, so the warriors who might have been plying their oars were free to relax. It might have been a pleasure cruise, were it not for the long black dragon in the middle of the ship, and the threatening heights of Helheim's Gate looming up ahead of them.
Toothless was unhappy. Hiccup had to keep reminding him to lie still, for fear of tipping over the ship. He gave evil looks to everyone except Hiccup and Astrid. It was hard for the others to keep their distance from him when he filled so much of the ship, but somehow they avoided him. They ignored Hiccup, too, except for Astrid and Gobber.
As their goal drew nearer, Gobber asked Hiccup, "What is it, exactly, that we're going to see?"
"A dragon whose head is the size of my father's house," Hiccup replied. "Its guts exploded when it hit the ground, so it might not be as impressive as it was in life. But it's still bigger than half the village."
"That, I'll believe when I see," the smith muttered. "Can ye say ye don't lie on purpose? Yes. Can ye say ye're never mistaken? Not so much. All those times ye said ye shot down a Night Fury..."
"We're getting close," Stoick said to no one in particular. "How do we find our way in?"
"Watch Toothless' head," Hiccup answered. "If he looks to the left, steer to the left. He can hear the dragons talking, and he'll guide us in." As if on cue, the Night Fury raised his head as though sniffing the air, and looked to the right.
"Out of my way!" Stoick ordered. He took the rudder himself, and steered the course that the dragon's reactions suggested. One of the nearby warriors heard him mutter, "I never thought I'd see this day. I'm taking sailing orders from a dragon!"
They made the passage in nervous silence. Most of the adults had attempted similar journeys before, and had always been turned back by either dragon fire or the impenetrable maze of rocks. They could hear the chittering and hooting of dragons in the distance, but that and the slapping of water against the bow were the only sounds. They clutched their weapons, more for security than for any hope that they'd be useful if the dragons attacked the ship. Astrid kept one hand on her axe, but she left the head resting on the deck, not raised and ready for action.
Finally, the bow slid up against a rocky beach and ground to a halt. Stoick was the first to jump ashore; the moment he landed, the dragons' noises stopped. Everyone left the ship except two sailors who stayed behind. They all gave Toothless plenty of room. He acted tame as long as Hiccup was near, but he was still a dragon and they didn't trust him.
"All right, Hiccup," Spitelout said. "Show us this dead dragon of yours."
Hiccup pointed. "It's right over there."
"You mean, on the other side of that strange-looking hill?" Gobber asked.
"Uhhh, Gobber... about that hill..." Hiccup smiled.
"Well, where else could – beard of Thor! Look at the size of that thing!"
"The hill is the dragon!" Spitelout squeaked. He covered his mouth, embarrassed that his voice had broken.
They all stared, seemingly rooted to the rocky ground. Even Astrid, who had seen it before, was stunned at the sheer bulk of the thing.
Finally, Stoick began walking toward it, followed by the others. It was about a half-mile walk. Hiccup rode on Toothless because his leg still hurt to walk on, and the rocks were rough. Finally, they stood next to the beast.
The smell of burnt dragon was strong; many of the ribs were visible, and the skull and half the neck were crushed almost flat. The lower end and the tail were nearly intact. The chief stared at it. Somehow, his endless rage against all dragons was sated by the sight of this obscenely huge beast lying dead before him.
"Well, there's no question it's a worthy dragon, and there's no question that it's dead," Stoick decided. "To make your case, though, you have to prove that you killed it, and you have to back up your claim that the dragons won't raid us any more."
"The fact that I knew where it was, is evidence that I killed it," Hiccup began.
"I'm a witness to him killing it," Astrid interrupted. "I saw the whole thing."
"A woman's word isn't valid in a formal hearing," Spitelout countered.
"The law says, if a man contradicts a woman, the man's word prevails," Hiccup said. "But there are no male witnesses to this, except for me, of course. So unless you find some other male witness to contradict Astrid's testimony, then her word is valid."
"Where did ye learn so much about Viking law?" Gobber asked.
"I learned a lot of things here and there," Hiccup replied. "Over the past few weeks, I've had plenty of time to think about stuff like this. To answer your question about the dragon raids: the only reason they raided us was to feed this thing. We saw them bringing food to it, and we saw it eat a dragon alive if it didn't bring enough. Now that it's dead, the dragons have no more reason to bother us."
"Don't they still need to eat?" Phlegma asked.
"They like fresh fish better than anything," Hiccup answered. "Why would they risk raiding us and getting killed, when they can catch all they want from the sea with no risk?"
"You're assuming dragons are logical, sensible creatures," Stoick countered. "You can't possibly know if that's true."
"Actually, Dad, I do know that. At least, this guy –" he patted Toothless' neck "– is pretty sensible."
The discussion was ended by a loud roar. They looked back the way they had come. A group of dragons – a Gronckle, two Deadly Nadders, and a Monstrous Nightmare – had landed on the beach and was advancing toward them. They didn't look tame.
"That's too many for this group to fight," Spitelout muttered as he laid a hand on his sword.
"Then we won't fight them." Hiccup swung off his dragon and hobbled toward the approaching dragons.
"Hiccup! No! Come back!" Gobber shouted.
"No, you need to see this!" Hiccup called back. "You have to see that me training Toothless wasn't a one-time fluke. They aren't what we think they are! We don't have to kill them any more." He turned back toward the dragons that were now in easy fire-breathing distance of him.
He spread his hands, showing them that he had no weapons. "Hey, guys," he said. "We want to be friendly. Do you?"
The Monstrous Nightmare rose up to its full height. It didn't look friendly. It growled and glared down at Hiccup, who looked back.
Those dragon eyes looked angry.
But they also looked very familiar.
The dragon stared at him, motionless, for nearly half a minute. Then it lowered its head nearly to the ground, and stuck its nose right up against Hiccup. He fell backwards – his new leg betrayed him – but he scrambled back to his feet. The dragon pushed him again with its head; this time, he laid his hands on its nose, and resisted the push. It moved him back, but not as far.
"It's okay, it's okay," he said quietly. "Do you remember me?"
The dragon stopped. It sniffed him once, twice. He rubbed its nose horn and looked it in the eyes. Its growl dropped to a basso purr that the other Vikings could feel through the air. It almost seemed to smile at him.
The other dragons looked confused. They had been playing follow-the leader, and their leader appeared to be making peace with their prey. They looked around the huge Nightmare, trying to see what was going on, unwilling to go past him. The Vikings couldn't retreat past the bulk of the dead super-dragon, and they certainly didn't want to charge. As a result, no one attacked anyone.
It was a remarkable tableau. One thin young man had stepped up against four big dragons, and stopped them with nothing more than his open hand and his certainty that he was right.
"You can't fault his courage, Stoick," Gobber said quietly. The chief nodded wordlessly. He was more amazed than anyone else at what he was seeing, because he knew his son's faults better than anyone else. Those faults were nowhere to be seen now. The boy had certainly changed!
Stoick looked again at his son, holding a Monstrous Nightmare at bay bare-handed to protect his fellow villagers. Then he looked at the massive dead dragon behind them. He turned to the other Vikings. "Are any of you witnesses prepared to say that we're looking at a traitor?"
No one replied. The answer was obvious. They all knew a Viking warrior when they saw one.
o
A/N
The scene where Hiccup holds four big dragons at bay was a deliberate homage to the unknown man in Tiananmen Square, China, in 1989, who held off four main battle tanks in a very similar manner.