They calmly flew, the wind carrying them towards Berk. It was quite the flight from the fortress back to their village. Especially since they didn't have the wind in their backs. It came from the side, neither helping them nor slowing them down. But still cold and rather annoying.
It was calm though, the cold winds only being felt on uncovered skin, and they could see the occasional bird or dragon far away from them, usually flying near some sort of landmass. Or above a school of fish.
Their dragons would sense the source of food too, and although they were perfectly being taken care of, which meant that they received proper and large meals multiple times during the day; they would still turn their heads towards the packs of circling dragons. They'd coo softly, trying to alert their riders that they wished to join the others in a mid-flight snack. A dragon's appetite was difficult to sate.
Their riders had to be stern though, they'd let their fearsome beast stop often enough, and in springtime the seas weren't exactly hot-springs, so they denied, keeping an eye on each other and the goal on the horizon, Berk.
Besides being the most deadly dragons of their formation. They were probably also the most spoiled. Since where a dragon like Stormfly would only squawk once at the school of fish, before before returning to a normal flight after a denial by her Rider; Toothless and Bolt would coo and wine repeatedly, switching between their respective riders and the school of fish. Begging to be allowed to top their bellies off with just that little bit extra.
Hiccup cursed softly to himself, his dragon was impossible to please. The relatively small Nightfury had the hunger of the Red Death. And through the years it had surprised Hiccup more and more that the dragon was never seen stealing any food. It didn't have to feed the huge dragon, which was understandable. But he did find it strange that he never decided to pick some for himself.
Barrels with fish, racks with dried beef, they usually stood out in the open for anyone to take. Nadders and Zipplebacks often quickly got to them, sometimes even fighting for who could steal it. Gronkles preferred the tougher targets, like large nets from the ships at the harbour.
But the Nightfury would never steal food, nor would he actively fight against the Viking defenders. He'd attack and destroy the catapult towers, that was a known fact. But he'd never shoot at Vikings or houses; something other dragons did plenty of time.
But right now, while the fearsome and deadly dragon was looking at him with looks that even make the toughest of Vikings yield, he didn't recall any of that. Right now the dragon was like a huge kitten, a scaled and flying kitten that was, but still kitten-like. It had large dilated pupils and a soft and calm gummy smile.
He was glad that Berk was growing closer and closer with the second, because he wasn't sure if he was strong enough to deny the dragon much longer. They calmly lowered, their dragons carefully keeping in mind that a dive too steep would cause them to gain speed, which didn't help with landing. So they slowed their descent.
They landed calmly, close to the mead hall and near the Haddock home. They slid off their dragons calmly and looked at the mead hall. It had been a long day and they were getting rather hungry.
"Mead hall?" Astrid asked the group, she knew the answer from most, but still wanted to confirm it. "Get something to eat?"
"Sounds like a plan!" Heather said as she told Shimmer to go find herself some food, the tidal dragon quickly hurrying off towards one of the feeding bowls.
Ragnar also send Bolt off to feed himself. He was certain that the dragon was already full enough, but off course that didn't stop the large beast. He followed the girls, but turned around to look at Hiccup.
"I'm going to tell my dad what we found." Hiccup said as he held the lens in his hands. "I'll see you afterwards."
"Okay." Ragnar said as he turned towards the Great hall, heading off to catch up with the girls. Hiccup turned to his home and started walking, quickly closing the distance.
He still knocked before entering, and only opened the door when he heard his father yell from inside. Signalling him to come in.
"Hiccup!" His father greeted him jovially. "How has your day been?"
"Great." Hiccup said joyfully back, his father's happy mood was highly contagious. "We've got another lens for the dragon eye."
"Did you now?" His father responded as he stirred in a soup that hung in a kettle above the fire. "Soup?"
"Yes, please." Hiccup said as he sat down. Looking at his father with a smile.
Stoick whistled softly as he poured some soup into a bowl for Hiccup. Hiccup remembered the song he whistled, since it had been the day before that Stoick was singing it with the love of his life. Stoick handed the soup to Hiccup.
"Here you go." Stoick said as he got a bowl for himself and poured some in. The chief took a spoon and tasted some of the soup; it was tasty, but still too hot. So Stoick placed the spoon back in the bowl. "Now," He said as he calmly stirred in his wooden bowl. "Tell me about your day."
"Wow, well." Hiccup began, surprised by his father's interest. "We headed back to the trappers fortress."
"Ah, yes." Stoick said as he blew gently over his stew, hoping to cool it down. "Did you run into the trappers again?"
"No, luckily not." Hiccup said as he thought back about the fortress. "Looked like they left that wreck for good."
"Could be possible." Stoick muttered. Valka had told about what she had done to the trappers' fortress, with the help of the dragons.
"We found this strange cavern underneath a well." Hiccup said as he grabbed some soup with his spoon. "There we found the second lens." He finished as he blew over the contents of his spoon before putting it in his mouth.
"Good job son." Stoick said as he extended his arm and patted his son on the shoulder. As he did they locked eyes, staring at each other. The fire crackled softly next to them, supplying the room with heat and light.
Stoick slowly removed his hand, clearing his throat as he looked at the fire. "I, eh" He began, having difficulty finding the right words. "I'm sorry, for," He thought deeply as he tried to formulate the sentence. "I," He said again. "I don't know how to say this."
Hiccup looked at his father with a curious expression. "What is it?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't know." Stoick repeated himself. "I'm in doubt." He said. "I'm in doubt about my choices yesterday."
"On the ship?" Hiccup asked carefully, blowing over his bowl of soup.
"Yes, on the ship." Stoick confirmed. "I'm not happy about what I said."
Hiccup looked up from his soup, Stoick still staring into the fire. The silence was strange, it had a tension that he couldn't describe.
"I don't regret the things I said." Stoick began slowly. "Since they lead me to someone I feared I had lost forever." He said, Hiccup nodding softly. It was an understandable thought.
"I guess that makes two of us." Hiccup said softly. "We're both not happy with it, but are glad with the results of it."
"Yes." Stock said softly. "I think we're both happy to have Valka in our lives again." Stoick said, earning a smile from Hiccup.
"Definitely." The assassin said softly, taking a sip from his soup, it was still just a bit too hot.
"But that's not all." Stoick said. "I don't regret what I've done, but I don't want to do it again."
Hiccup continued to nod, at least he and his father were agreeing on the fact that the discussion on the ship wasn't pleasant.
"But, to be able to do that I need to understand you." Stoick said. "I need to know you." Stoick added as he looked at him. "You're my son, Hiccup." He said as he looked him in the eye. "But sometimes you feel like a stranger."
"I can understand that." Hiccup said softly. It wasn't nice to hear your father say that he didn't know his son, but then again, it was logical. He had been gone for a long time, and had come back an entire different person. "Where should I begin?"
"You don't have to tell me your story, Hiccup." Stoick said softly. "I can put the pieces from your tales together." He said. "But what I need to know is where the story ends."
Hiccup looked at his father, a surprised look on his face. "Ends?" Hiccup asked. "What do you mean?"
"You started on Berk, a village torn by the horrors of war." Stoick said, calmly eating a spoonful of soup. "You did the unthinkable, stopped the war. But then you left us." He said.
"I thought I was casted out." Hiccup interrupted to defend himself. "I forgot some things and thought I couldn't return." He added. "You did say I wasn't your son."
"I know, Hiccup." Stoick said sadly. "And I regret every word I spoke that day." He added, earning a smile from Hiccup again. "And you came back." Stoick said. "Boy turned man, a trained and skilled warrior." He said, complementing his son.
"But?" Hiccup asked, feeling some kind of twist coming.
"But you came here for a reason." Stoick said. "You came here with a mission." He added, afterwards staying silent to think how he was going to phrase the next part.
"And?" Hiccup asked, looking at his father.
Stoick sighed deeply, turning his gaze to the fire again. "I'm scared." He said softly. His eyes cast down onto the smouldering embers.
"I'm sorry." Hiccup said, taken aback. "What?"
"I'm scared, Hiccup." Stoick said, his eyes still locked on the fire pit. "I'm frightened." He said as he took a sip of his soup, moistening his throat.
"I didn't think I'd ever hear that from you." Hiccup admitted as he too drank from his bowl. The soup now at a good temperature.
"I doesn't happen often." Stoick said calmly. "And it's even rarer for me to admit it."
"But, why?" Hiccup asked as he looked at his father.
"Because I don't want to lose you." Stoick said as he looked at his son. "Because every day I fear that I'll never see you again."
Hiccup had a soft smile on his lips. It was a sad thing his father mentioned, but it was nice to hear that he cared so much for him.
"I can handle myself dad." Hiccup said. "And I've got Toothless and Ragnar to keep me in check."
"It isn't that, Hiccup." Stoick said. "I don't fear your death." He said. "No, I do fear that, but less." He said, confusing himself a bit.
"What do you fear then?" Hiccup asked curiously, he hoped that he could deter this fear that his father had, for both their sakes.
"I fear losing you." Stoick said. "I fear that after this whole ordeal is done," Stoick began. "After you've found Mjölnir, after you've defeated drago," He continued, turning his chair to face Hiccup. "that you'll leave again."
Hiccup looked at his father. He hadn't thought about what to do after Drago was done, he didn't think that far ahead. "I" Hiccup began. "I don't know."
"Me neither." Stoick said. "And that's okay, it's your life, your choices." He added. "And whatever you'll do, whether you'll leave or stay." Stoick continued. "I'm proud to call you my son." Stoick said. "But I don't know if I'll ever be able to forget you."
Hiccup looked up, unnoticed by his father. Why did that sound so familiar? Why did that sentence echo around in his head like he threw water down a well? Why did it bring up blurred images, and a strange feeling?
"Every day I feel like five years ago." Stoick continued. "When I walked through thick clouds of smoke, searching for you." Stoick said with a hoarse voice. "That moment I felt scared, more so then I had ever." He said. "I failed the most important member of our tribe." He said. "I failed you."
Hiccup didn't catch the sentences, his mind was clouded, filled to the brim, at the edge of overflowing. His brain was clogged, filled with memories he didn't know he'd supress, things he didn't remember ever happened.
"I feared that I'd lost you forever." Stoick continued without noticing the change in Hiccup's stare. It had gone from thoughtful and listening to absent and shocked. "I couldn't accept it for months to come." He continued. "I cried through the winter, sobbed through the spring." Stoick said. "I couldn't, wouldn't believe that I lost you."
Hiccup was still experiencing the world in his mind, images flying by so fast that he couldn't comprehend them. He felt war, extremely warm, hot. It wasn't the fire in the room, since he felt the burning heat on his back too. It came with the images in his head. Large flames, a sea of fire, and it was coming straight at him.
He gasped loudly, shaking himself from the mixture of a daydream and a nightmare. His breathing was quick, and he looked around himself to make sure where he was, his hands a tight grip on the chair. Stoick looked at him shocked.
"Are you alright, Hiccup?" He asked as he looked at him. "More soup?"
"Erm," Hiccup said, pressing a hand against his head. He had a headache, a bad one. It had come up from nowhere. "No,I, yes, please." He said, rubbing his temples with one hand. "I'd like some soup."
Stoick calmly poured more soup, a part of it had burned against the inside of the cauldron because they hadn't stirred it during their talk. But Stoick was careful and avoided it. He added another log to the fire.
"Sorry, but what did you say?" Hiccup asked, it still flew around in his head. Like a dragon circling around a school of fish.
"I couldn't believe I lost you?" Stoick said questioningly as he handed him the filled bowl. He wasn't sure what Hiccup meant.
"No." Hiccup said as he took the new bowl of soup from Stoick. "Earlier."
"I searched through smoke?" Stoick summarized, trying to guess what Hiccup meant.
"Not that." Hiccup said. "Further back."
"That I'm proud?" Stoick asked. "That I'm proud to call you my son?"
There it was, that heavy, almost hoarse voice, so sincere, so true. It was perfect. It was like a puzzle piece in the form of words. Filling in that last blank, that last variable. It slotted perfectly in the picture, filling a gap that Hiccup hadn't realised existed.
I'm proud to call you my son.
"You said that to me." Hiccup said softly, earning a raised eyebrow from Stoick. "You did."
"Yes." Stoick said softly. "I can say it again." He added. "If you'd like."
"No, no, not now." Hiccup said, looking at his father. "You said it, at the nest."
Stoicks eyes grew large, he remembered too. "After you mounted Toothless." He said. "And prepared to fight the dragon."
"Yea." Hiccup said. "When I mounted Toothless." He repeated as he looked at the ground.
"I meant it then just as much as I do know." Stoick said. "I am proud."
"All that time?" Hiccup asked, trying to remember the full scene. It was still foggy and vague, but so were most of his memories around that time.
"All that time." Stoick confirmed. "And before that too." He added. "I didn't realize what I had until I had lost it."
"Wow." Hiccup said softly. "I never realised."
"Doesn't matter." Stoick said as he blew air across his soup. "You know now."
"Yea." Hiccup said as he looked at his father, a smile on both their faces.
It was silent, neither of them knew what to say. It felt like they could at least scrap a few things of the list of things that they needed to talk about.
"I'm sorry." Hiccup said softly. "For leaving."
"What?" Stoick asked.
"For leaving you alone." Hiccup said. "For making you all think I was dead." He added. "I should have returned."
"Hiccup, what you did was smart and logical." Stoick said. "How could you know that any of us could have changed?"
"Still." Hiccup said. "I could have come back, at least send a letter or something."
"You couldn't know how we'd react." Stoick said softly. "You couldn't trust us."
"I, I couldn't." Hiccup agreed. He had wanted to say that it wasn't true, but it was. As painful as it had been, it was the truth.
"But, I need to say one thing." Stoick said. "We're your tribe." He continued. "Whether you like it or not." Stoick said. "So whatever happens, whatever comes your way. We'll have your back."
"And I'll have yours." Hiccup said with a small smile. He hadn't truly experienced the tribe backing him up in the years before he left. He only really learned the idea of people having his back and truly watching out for him during his time with the Brotherhood. But then again, that was a totally different thing.
"So don't tell me that you're planning on going after Drago alone." Stoick said. "You have friends and allies, allow them to help."
"I didn't want to pull you all into this." Hiccup said. "I felt like it was my battle to fight, not yours."
"Hiccup, every battle you fight is ours as well." Stoick said. "That's what a tribe is for."
"Thanks." Hiccup said as he took a sip from his soup. It was already slightly cold.
"Anytime, son." Stoick said with a calm smile. "Anytime."
They were done just in time, since there was a soft knock on the door of the house. "Come in." Stoick yelled towards the door, reaching the ears of the people waiting outside. The door opened, and Astrid, Heather and Ragnar entered slowly.
Hiccup and Stoick both turned to greet the others, who had filled up their stomachs at the great hall. They had probably eaten the same as them, a weak soup with some meat and vegetables in it. Good taste, not too much actual food in it, and it filled pretty well.
"Hello." Ragnar said as he walking into the room, Heather following behind him and Astrid allowing Toothless to sneak inside before finally closing the door.
"Hey." Hiccup greeted as the rest of the group found a place to sit. Hiccup stood up to retrieve the dragon eye from one of Toothless' saddle bags. He calmly twisted the dials as he moved it in front of the Night Fury, allowing the dragon to form a small fire of the Acetylene and Oxygen supplies that he could produce. The light in the back of the beast's throat was sharp purple, and it hurt to look at it.
Hiccup slid the new lens into the Dragon eye, holding it in front of Toothless' fire to project the light on the wall besides them. "Let's see what this gives us." He said as he turned the lenses inside the cylinder, adjusting the image to portray a clear and sharp image on the wooden wall of the house.
The map was centred on a strange picture. It was a drawing of some sort of temple, two pillars supporting a triangular shaped roof. On the bottom left there was a large collections of strange swirls. Which could indicate anything ranging from water to clouds. So that wasn't all too clear.
At the bottom right was a picture of broken ships, entangled in giant snake like creatures. Perhaps giant eels. This could perhaps be the ship graveyard where they had been before.
"Alright." Ragnar said as he looked at the map on the wall. "So this is the location of the final temple?"
"Seems like it." Hiccup said as he looked at the map. "I think this is the ship graveyard, which gives us some indication of where it is."
"But what's that?" Heather asked as she pointed at the swirls on the bottom left. "Clouds?"
"Clouds aren't a good enough indicator to put on a map." Astrid said. "Maybe it's fog."
"We've flown around almost the entire archipelago in the last two years." Hiccup said. "I haven't seen large static walls of fog anywhere."
"I might know what it is." Stoick said from his chair, poking the fire with a cast iron rod. "But the fog is gone right now."
"What is it then?" Ragnar asked. "Or what was it?"
"Helheim's Gate." Stoick said. "The fog disappeared after the Red Death was killed." He explained. "But it was probably around at the time the map was made."
"That sounds pretty possible." Hiccup said as he motioned for Astrid to move over and take the dragon eye from him. She held it in place while Hiccup grabbed his notebook.
"If Helheim's gate used to be here." He muttered as he unfolded his map. "And the graveyard is there." He said as he looked at the map on the wall before turning back to the map on his own chart. "Then the temple would be here somewhere." He said as he drew the temple icon in his map. It was on matched a already existing island, where they had flew over once before.
The island was a dormant volcano. Whose crater was filled with water. It was so far north that the ice was frozen every time they flew there. And he didn't suspected it to melt soon.
"It's an island we know." He said. "I don't recall any temples there."
"Perhaps it's hidden." Ragnar said. "If this is the last resting place of the hammer then I'd make sure that it was pretty difficult to access."
"Could that have anything to do with it?" Heather asked as she pointed at the decorated ring of the map. Around it were detailed pictures of suns and moons, each one in a different state. The bottom sun was dull and not bright. Almost like the soft winter sun. While the top one was radiant and bright, shining like the sun would be in the middle of the summer. Intense and filled with heat.
"Could be." Hiccup said as he looked at it. Trying to make sense of it. "But what would it mean?"
"Don't know." Ragnar said calmly. "But we should head there as soon as possible."
"Flying off tomorrow morning?" Stoick asked, earning a nod from the rest. "Take a detour past Valka's nest." The chief said, knowing it wasn't that far of a flight. "I'll come with you."
"Sounds good." Hiccup said as he looked at the map a last time. Signalling Toothless that he could let the purple flame die down. "I'll see you all at sunrise."\
The sun climbed slowly as they flew. And the air was still cold. Luckily they were Vikings, and to say they were used to the cold was an understatement. They were one with the cold. It was a part of them.
The wind batted at them. Harsh winds trying to dislodge them from their saddles. But they still flew calmly. A scrabbled formation consisting of the mixed species of dragons. It was an interesting clutter.
Hiccup peered at the horizon. Eyes squinted underneath his helmet. Something wasn't right. But he couldn't place his finger on it. He looked at his father. And his glance told him enough. He felt it too. A tense feeling that something was wrongs. Something was going to happen, or worse, had happened.
The horizon grew clouded, but not the regular clouds, it slowly filled with dark clouds, grey and sometimes pick black. Those weren't clouds. That was smoke. And where smokes is, is fire.
Hiccup eyes widened. It came from the nest. He looked at his father. Who was still squinting at the smoke in the distance. But it didn't take long for the chief to add one and one together, his eyes went large, and he looked at Hiccup.
Hiccup immediately understood. He locked Toothless' tailfin, moving his legs to lie flat on the back of the dragon, and Toothless understood his ideas. The dragon tilted into a shallow dive, its wings flapping powerfully to gather speed.
Stoick did so too, and the other riders slowly followed. But it quickly became difficult to keep up with the charging Night Fury. Even Bolt had difficulty with keeping up with the black dragon, which slowly grew more distant as he accelerated. The wind already started to whistle softly between its wings, and Hiccup closed to the sanctuary quickly.
The sight was devastating. On the rocky, frozen beaches in front of the icy fortress lay an armada of destroyed ships. Countless bodies lay in the surf of the sea. Some slowly bobbing up and down with the water. More bodies were scattered further up the land, slowly mixing in with those of dragons. Destroyed equipment lay on the frozen surface. Small burning pieces of wood collaborating together to create the large cloud that hung above the battlefield. Hiccup looked at it speechless. Inspecting everything carefully through the eye holes in his helmet. But then his eyes hit something that truly shocked him. Against the icy fortress lay the body of a dragon, large and lifeless. White and graceful. The great Bewilderbeast had probably tried to defend its nest with all its might, but had lost to something equal in size.
It had been overpowered, thrown against the icy wall, its belly exposed to attacks. Whatever had charged him had noticed this. Since two large holes were evident in the dragon's chest, trails of thick red blood staining the white dragon and the snow it lay on. And making Hiccup's stomach turn.
He heard the soft warble of Toothless as he looked at the defeated alpha. He was worried, and so was his rider. Hiccup calmly patted his dragon. "Take us down bud." He said, saddling himself normally again. He unlocked the tail to allow himself to fly. And the Nightfury folded its wings in, allowing them to quickly dive towards the ground.
They gained speed rapidly. And Hiccup started to feel the wind trying it's best to dislodge everything that wasn't secured tightly. Saddlebags flapped against the saddle, his helmet shifted ever so slightly on his head, and pieces of saddle and armour stated to rattle.
Slowly Toothless started to extend its wings, using them to glide over the remains of the battle and scanning it for any signs of life.
There wasn't a single ship that was still operable. They either had their masts and sails destroyed or they had their hulls breached and were taking water. Some were even completely capsized. It was an utter wreck.
They landed. Looking behind them, seeing the rest of the group still far behind. Hiccup slid of Toothless, looking around the wrecked battlefield. He walked among the destroyed siege equipment and smouldering wood. Looking for any signs, any leads to what had happened.
The nest had been attacked, that much was clear. And when he looked at the ships he could make out the occasional Templar insignia. He had a good idea what had happened. But it was more who then what. Drago Bludvist had paid a visit.
Hiccup cursed softly. He remembered the trapper saying something about Drago finding the ice-spitter's cave. This was what he meant. He continued walking. The snow not crunching beneath his feet, since it had already been pressed together by the men that had stormed the nest. He noticed something laying in the snow. Something that wasn't as white and clean as it. It was rougher, a slightly different colour white then the snow.
He recognized it surprisingly fast. A large staff. Made from two large pieces of bone, with smaller rattling parts inside it. It lay in the snow, left behind. Hiccup walked over to it with a quickened pace, finding her mask not far from it. Discarded between the other things that littered the battlefield.
He picked them up calmly, walking back to Toothless to tie them to the saddle. He didn't know what had happened to his mother, but whether she was well or not. He'd be taking these, whether it was to return them to her or for memory.
He carefully tied them to the saddle. Making sure that they couldn't just fall off mid-flight or while walking. He just finished tying the helmet to the saddle when he heard a crack of wood behind him. He spun around quickly, grabbing his sword to check the possible threat. What he saw was one of the last things he expected or hoped for though.
Eret, son of Eret, stood calmly on a piece of singed wood. One sword pulled and aiming at the assassin. Behind him Hiccup could see remnants of his crew. Some holding weapons, other tending to wounds.
"What happened here?" Hiccup asked as he kept Inferno retracted, trying to show not an all too hostile stance towards the trapper. They looked more like cornered animals then an actual thread. But a cornered beasts will fight ferociously.
"Drago happened." Eret said as he slowly walked. Carefully observing the assassin to make sure neither of them preformed any sudden moves.
"And you're looking for stragglers?" Hiccup asked carefully. The trappers had witnessed the fight, so he suppressed the urge to attack them and waited calmly for an explanation.
"That was the plan." Eret said as he slowly sheathed his weapon, Hiccup doing the same as a mutual sign of non-aggression. "But not many of us are really jumping at the chance of going back." Eret explained as he sat down on a piece of wood. "We don't expect a warm welcome."
"Sounds like you and your employer have some trouble." Hiccup said calmly as he looked behind him, seeing that the rest was closing in quickly. "Perhaps we could help each other."
AN:
Alright, another one done. Just a few more. A bit on the short side again, but it's really getting difficult to find motivation, and to ignore simple excuses not to do it. But I don't expect it to take too much longer. Anyway, I hope everyone likes it and can forgive me for the horribly inconsistent update moments. I hope I'll get my shit together.
R4y