18 Olvors Battle

The tribe were impressed at how Astrid, Odd and Agnar had managed to returned with three new Deadly Nadders, but Fishlegs team had blown everyone away when they brought back seven Gronckles; although two were little more than babies and one was the size of a large sheep. A large crowd of Vikings gathered around to see all the new dragons which made the Nadders a little nervous so Odd, Freya and Ack took care of the ten newcomers while an unofficial dragon training lecture was called around the large cooking fire.

"Sorry everybody" Astrid began "but these new dragons are not really used to being surrounded by people yet. Well... we did learn a bit about taming wild dragons and it's not easy but anyone willing to be patient and careful could try their hand at it."

A loud cheer went up and Astrid began to wonder if they had fully understood what she had said, so Agnar stood to speak hoping that an adult voice would make the eager Vikings a little more willing to heed their warnings.

"Did any of you fools hear the part about being patient? Chief Stoick was right when he said you can't throw a fish to a wild dragon and then just jump on its back; we made one tiny error and almost ended up with a raging dragon fight" he exaggerated for effect "You have to go slow and be ready to stop if the dragon decides he doesn't want to be friends; after all, you have an island full of dragons here to chose from and they are not all the same. So if one gets cranky, BACK OFF and try another one."

"That's right" Fishlegs continued "my Gronckle was very helpful in getting close to a group of similar dragons, but Stormfly and Toothless got very protective so we repeat; you have to go slow and I mean very slow and let the dragon get use to you."

They spoke for another ten minutes about approaching and talking to dragons, when to offer a fish and where they liked to be scratched, but then Gobber arrived and commandeered seventeen Vikings to help fix the ship and to raise the mast. The disappointed group slunk off to do their work while the rest helped themselves to a few fish each and went off in search of dragons.

"Do you think they'll do okay?" Fishlegs wondered out loud.

"I sure hope so" Agnar tried to reassure him "as long as they don't rush things, they'll do fine."

"I dunno" Astrid was worried and shook her head "most Vikings I know are not known for their patience and tact."

"Well neither are dragons" Agnar smiled.

"Yeah I know... and that's what worries me."

Snotlout and his Nightmare had just re-heated the rock pile at the cooking fire and were about to head back to the beach to help with the mast when Olvor stopped him for a brief chat.

"That's quite the dragon you've got there lad."

"Yes Ma'am" he patted the Nightmare on the flank proudly "he's the best of the lot; strong, fast and can turn a tree into a pile of ash with one breath."

"Impressive indeed but I wanted to ask you this; I remember when you all arrived here yesterday, Stormfly was carrying both Hiccup and Astrid, so could this beast of yours carry you and I all the way back to Berk today?"

"Sure he could, but I think Chief Stoick needs us here to help with the ship and stuff."

"Yes he does, but I think I'll go and have a little talk with him about that; thank you Snotlout."

"Err... no problem" he looked confused as she walked away, but that was normal for Snotlout.

As Olvor walked off towards ship, she noticed Astrid and Fishlegs riding on their dragons on the ground and in the air; they were attempting to show the new dragons that carrying a Viking was nothing to be afraid of. She soon found Stoick overseeing the repairs and called to him.

"Time to take a break from all that Chief and have a chat with your favourite bone cutter."

Stoick stood up. "You flatter yourself, my favourite bone cutter is the one that took off Gobbers leg and slowed him down enough that I could get away whenever he starts singing" he laughed.

"Oh thank you very much" Gobber dripped with sarcasm "if you're gonna be like that, you can fix your own ship."

Stoick strolled away with Olvor out of earshot from the others.

"Good to hear you making jokes again" she noted.

"Ahh... I'm still very worried, but I can't let them see that."

"But we're doing so well" Olvor was surprised.

"True... but for how long? We came here on over twenty Longships and now we only have one so even with a full load of Vikings, a five day round trip to Berk means that it'll take nearly two months to get everyone back and that is if... IF... everything goes smoothly; so we're not out of the woods yet."

"I glad to see that you are fully aware of the situation" Olvor smiled "it should make it easier for me to convince you to give your permission for my crazy little plan."

"What plan is this then? I've really had my fill of crazy plans for one lifetime."

"I'm worried about Hiccup" she stated bluntly.

"Hmm... as am I...Wait, what's happened?"

"Calm down, nothing's changed, but I don't want to leave him in that cave any longer than I have too; in fact... I want to take him back to Berk... now."

"Don't worry; he'll be on the first trip back to Berk, but I don't think we'll have the ship ready to sail till the morning."

"No good Stoick, I don't want to put him on a ship for two or three days; I want to take him back now, and I want to take him back by dragon."

She stared at him sternly and waited for him to explode; she didn't have to wait long.

"WHAT! ARE YOU MAD? I'M NOT SENDING HIM BACK ON A DRAGON IN HIS CONDITION, HE'LL DIE!"

"Right" Olvor kept calm "now that you've had your little rant..."

"I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU KILL HIM WITH YOUR CRAZY PLAN" Stoick shouted turning red.

Olvor knew that he would not be easy to convince, so she changed her tactic by drawing her sword and offering it to Stoick.

"RIGHT THEN YOU STUBBORN OLD GOAT; YOU KILL HIM THEN... IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT!"

Stoick stared at her engulfed with rage for what felt like an eternity, until finally he was ready to listen.

"Alright... tell me why then."

Olvor wanted so badly to just hit him on the head, so she took a deep breath and imagined doing it in her mind; it made her feel much better.

"The fact that he has not woken up yet, means that he still has a lot of healing to do. And the best place for that is in a warm house and under Gothi's care; not lying in a cave, or getting covered with sea spray on a heaving deck. It's still daylight and the weather is good; he flew here with Astrid on Stormfly, so I know the dragon can carry them both back as well. I want to get him wrapped up, onto that dragon, and back to Berk before nightfall; Snotlout will take me too so I can keep an eye on him. Once we've got him settled in with Gothi, then I'll come back here with the Dragon Riders and help you to keep your head on straight."

"Oh that's my job" Gobber stated while eavesdropping "best you stay with the boy I think and I'll take care of Chief grumpy pants here."

"Please stop calling me that" Stoick fumed.

"You wish."

"Take the twins too" Stoick ordered "I want you to have a back up dragon in case anything goes wrong."

Without waiting for any reply Stoick strode off to see Astrid while Olvor and Gobber went back to the ship to tell Snotlout and the twins.

"Well that went smoothly" Gobber noted.

"Smoothly? I thought he was gonna take my sword and cut my head off!"

"I remember a time when he probably would have" Gobber smiled "he must have mellowed with age."

"Stoick and mellow; now there are two words you don't often hear in the same sentence."

Greatest jokes on Berk: How many dragons does it take to change a light bulb?

What's a light bulb?