38 Show Me The Way To Go Home
"STOP RUNNING MEN" Stoick bellowed "FALL IN BEHIND ME, AND HOLD FAST."
The Viking Chief knew that if he and those with him kept running, they would soon be cut down one by one. But if they were to all face their enemy, then each one had a fighting chance and even if they failed, they would definitely take some of the Imperial Force with them. The Elydonians followed Stoicks orders almost to the letter but instead of standing behind the huge man with the giant axe, they all stood beside him.
The speeding horsemen kept their gaze low; each one was aware that the biggest individual threat to his personal health, was the heavily armed Viking in front of them. As the distance between them rapidly closed, Stoick and the Elydonians suddenly became aware of a dronish buzzing behind them and then much to the horsemen's surprise, Stoick gave up his tense battle stance; standing instead straight and casual. The enemy raised their swords in readiness to cut the Viking down but before they could strike, Meatlug swooped down from above and literally bounced between the first two soldiers sending the riderless dragon into a horizontal spin. The remaining horsemen did not stand a chance as the tail of the spinning Gronckle knocked them flying from their saddles and left them lying unconscious on the ground.
"GRAB A HORSE EVERYONE" Stoick ordered.
The Elydonians did not need to be told twice; without their riders, most of the horses slowed and were easily caught and the other two were soon chased down by the soldiers on their new equine assets. While some had to double up, a couple of men had a horse to themselves and Stoick of course, rode back on Meatlug.
"Fishlegs, you brilliant little hero" Stoick beamed on his arrival back at the retreating column "How did you train Meatlug to come straight to me?"
"Oh I've got drawings of almost everyone on Berk that I use to train her" the proud young man explained "that way I can send her to anyone who needs the kind of help only a dragon can provide; fast and efficiently."
"You'll have to teach me that method when we get home... and when I get another dragon" the Chief sighed as he remembered Viper; the dragon who had died saving him.
Fishlegs also bowed his head, but the brief silence was soon broken by the piercing call of a Monstrous Nightmare; they both looked up to see the dragons returning from the border.
"Hey Chief" Sigrid smiled as Skywolf set down "Where'd you get the horses?"
"Never mind that for now" Stoick declared "I need you to get back up there and tell Spitelout to take a third of the dragons down the road behind us. There's a whole heap of soldiers back there, and I need him to stop them."
"Right Chief" she turned to leave.
"WAIT... that's just the start. Tell Kara to take another third west to help Hiccup and the Elydonian Navy; Fishlegs can show them the way. Then tell Starkard to lead the rest and protect the column; there shouldn't be any more trouble, but I want the eyes of every Dragon Rider watching over us."
"I can leave Meatlug here for you... if you want Chief" Fishlegs offered.
"Thank you lad, but you take your dragon; I'll be alright. Now that Joric is back at the border, I can always catch a lift from Sigrid."
"Actually Stoick, Joric is leading at the front of the column" Sigrid admitted.
"WHAT... WHY?" Stoick boomed.
"You can blame yourself for that Chief" Sigrid grinned "He wants to model his leadership style on you... as much as he can get away with it."
"Why do I get the feeling that Elydonia is in big trouble?" a particularly cynical Viking declared as his dragon landed nearby.
"Oh Gobber" Stoick sighed "How can you say that I'm the one who causes unrest in the masses."
Kara landed Adelinde on the fire blackened deck of the Elydonian flagship and was greeted warmly by Hiccup, Astrid and Boron while Fishlegs lead the Berkian Air force out to relieve Snotlout and the twins.
"I see you're still being closely followed by enemy ships" she noted.
"But not for long" Astrid declared as some of the newly arrived dragons sent some choice warning shots down, almost on top of the Imperial Navy.
"Yeah... we'll soon see them off" Kara agreed before she noticed the man standing next to Hiccup.
"Hellooo... who do we have here?" she grinned.
"Kara, this is Boron; former king of Elydonia" Hiccup introduced him.
"Only for a few days" Boron smiled as he offered his hand.
"Hmm... roll up, roll up ye Berkian ladies; Elydonian kings all round methinks."
"What did she just...?" Boron asked.
"Don't worry about Kara" Astrid chuckled "She's never backward about being forward."
"Tell me, oh former king" Kara asked as she took Boron's arm and lead him away "have you ever taken a ride on a Deadly Nadder?"
"Is that how Sigrid and Joric..." Hiccup began.
"Nope... it was nothing like that" Astrid smiled.
Astrid prediction proved to be spot on correct as the Imperial ships soon saw the advantage in allowing the Elydonian vessels (and their dragon escort) to simply depart with no more hostilities while on the North Border Road, the commanders of the local garrison came to a similar conclusion when Spitelout's forces started bombing the road in front of them; making it quite clear what their fate would be if they decided to continue to follow the retreating army.
When the last of the weary marching mass finally crossed back into Elydonia several hours later, Sigrid finally managed to convince Joric to give command back to General Thurston and come with her on Skywolf. The rest of the Dragon Riders returned to Staggshund, while the King and Queen took a short side trip to Port Yoric; just to let Sigfus know that all was well. The only thing left to do was to strengthen the southern border of Elydonia against possible reprisal from the New Loran Empire. All members of the invasion force who hailed from Staggshund, were instantly given special leave to return with the Dragon Riders and prepare for an evening feast, so a few riders did a little impromptu hunting on the way and picked up some wild boars in the forests.
The celebration had already started for Gobber and Mulch by the time Hiccup and his friends arrived; while everyone else was setting up a camp site in a large field on the southeast side of town, the two older men were already enjoying an Elydonian beer and making up songs about their adventure. The aroma of roasting beef and boar filled his nostrils as the Dragon Master began to truly relax for the first time since he had left Berk; his colleagues and allies were safe, and Astrid was by his side once again.
"Yak for your thoughts?" Astrid asked as he watched the commotion going on around them.
"Oh... I was just thinking."
"Well duh, I can see that; but what about."
"It's hard..." he stopped for a moment before finally admitting "it's hard to talk about."
"Walk with me" Astrid almost ordered as she took his arm and led him slowly away from the crowd and through the village.
Townsfolk carrying chairs and bowls of food to the campsite, greeted them cheerfully as they wandered by; the people of Staggshund were looking forward to another Viking style feast. It did not take Hiccup very long to realise that Astrid had not said anything since they had left the field, but she seemed to know precisely where she was taking him, and he felt both incredibly happy and relieved just to be with her in this home away from home. Staggshund may be the first place where he had led his people into battle, but these days it was a place of comfort and friendship where a Dragon Rider could simply arrive at any time of the day or night, confident that he or she would find food, shelter and peace for both rider and dragon. The citizens of this little farming community felt a certain pride that they had fought alongside their true King, as well as the Dragon Riders of Berk, at a time when their land could have easily slipped from the hands of one tyrant, into the hands of several others; and they loved to regale any passing travellers with slightly embellished stories of their adventures. Now some of the citizens had new stories to tell of this day; when they had taken part in a successful journey through foreign territory to rescue the King and Queen, along with the Chief of the Dragon Riders, from the clutches of the evil Emperor Scias. They would tell of building a burning wall, higher than the tallest tree to thwart the enemy's advance, and of their narrow escape under the leadership of none other than the gigantic Viking chief himself; who was so strong, he could lift a horse on each arm at the same time. They love to tell of how Stoick had personally asked for the men of Staggshund to assist him, and of how they had not abandoned him when fifty horsemen had almost overrun them during their escape. The exaggeration did not really matter; it just made the stories more exciting.
At last the young lovers exited the western end of the village to where the Battle of Staggshund had taken place, and there stood the monolith that Astrid had wanted Hiccup to see.
"You know what this is... don't you" she said firmly.
"The memorial... one of the reasons you all came on this trip" Hiccup nodded.
"Do you see Ivar's name?" Astrid asked.
Starting at the top, Hiccup began to scan the list of over a hundred names, but soon noticed that they were in alphabetical order, so he quickly moved to the I's and found what he was looking for.
"And what about Pigg?" she added, and her words instantly sent Hiccup gaze down to the P's.
"Everyone who died in the battle is on that one, single list" Astrid went on "Joric insisted that they not be separated into groups; so even those who fought against him, including the ones who were going to shoot you down... the ones... I killed, are there with their countrymen. Do you know why he did that Hiccup?"
"So that in the future, nobody could use this list to work out whose side anyone was on" Hiccup declared.
"Exactly" Astrid nodded "He wants his country to stay united, and not to have some families looked down upon or persecuted just because one of their members was on the wrong side of a short lived civil war."
Hiccup smiled to himself as he squeezed Astrid's hand. She knew exactly what he had been thinking about; she knew him so well.
"You were right about what you said... when I was upset about Little Freya" Astrid added "so when you get worried about anything like that... just remember this list... and remember that we are all in this together. Not just you and me, not just the Dragon Riders... but all of us."
Hiccup turned to gaze at her and was soon lost in her eyes "Have I told you lately?"
"Told me what?" she asked as she put her hand on the side of his face.
"How much I love you" Hiccup whispered as he kissed her.
On the home stretch now; two more chapters and an epilogue.