"Astrid! Where we are going?" Snotlout asked Astrid after flying for hours on the wide, blue ocean.
"The island that Hiccup is being kept a hostage on should be near. We need to hurry up Snotlout. Keep up!" Astrid answered as she put on a burst of speed. The two were known for being one of the fastest riders after Hiccup and Toothless, of course, so soon the island that Hiccup was on came into view.
"We can't search for Hiccup on a dragon back. We need to go down on foot," she said. Snotlout agreed as the two landed.
"Where should we start from? " Snotlout questioned. He dismounted and walked toward Astrid.
"You're right. We need to split up. I'll search in the forest, and you can go along the beach. If you come across any village, ask about a dragon and its rider. Can you do that?" she asked, putting her right hand on Snotlout's shoulder. He answered her with a wide smirk, telling her that he could get the job done.
Astrid took her ax and made her way through the bushes of the forest. Snotlout watched from the beach until he couldn't see Astrid anymore.
"You can trust me on this, Astrid," he said to himself, and started to run as fast as he could along the beach. He examined the island as he kept on.
At some point, he stopped for a break and looked around for a second. His eyes fell upon a weird shaped rock and a dead tree. He approached them and gazed at them for a second.
"I've run by these things twice. I should have circled the island at least once by now, but there's no village." He jumped to the conclusion that this island was inhabited. He decided to find Astrid and inform her.
He took his sword and made his way through the forest. His flexible, athletic body helped him run easily through the trees. Time to time, he would stop and make sure that he was on the path that Astrid had taken, and then he would continue.
He soon found a small stream that he followed, running non-stop. Soon, he came upon a small village. Why was the village in the center of the island and not by the sea shore? Why it was in the middle of the forest? It had no way of trading with ships! He decided to forget about those questions, but Astrid was very clear about asking any villagers about Toothless and Hiccup.
He entered the small town and walked through the main street. The few people who were out gazed at him curiously with wide eyes. Snotlout continued on his way until he came upon a building that was bigger than all the other houses. It must have been their Great Hall.
Snotlout walked purposely towards the building until he reached the door's threshold. He pushed it open and took a look inside. The inside looked like a large wooden hall, with wooden tables and a stony floor. A few torches lit the area nicely.
But the hall was empty. There were no signs that someone had been in the hall that morning, so Snotlout closed the door and turned to leave. It seemed to him like they didn't know anything, after all.
Snotlout returned the way he came. On his, his eyes fell on a girl who she was working in a store. He just couldn't take his eyes off of her.
"May I help you?" the girl demanded politely when she realized that Snotlout eyes were fixed on her.
"Ah…me…I was looking for my friend. He landed here a few days ago and we haven't heard of him since. Is there any chance you know who I'm talking about?"
She thought for a second before answering Snotlout. "A missing traveler? No, I don't know anything about him!" she answered Snotlout with a smile. Snotlout was disappointed.
"Of course you don't. Excuse me!" Snotlout turned and continued to exit the village. The girl he had been talking to replaced the innocent smile with an evil smirk once his back was turned.
"Call Bryan! We have another Berkian," she instructed one of the other workers. The worker ran to do what the girl had told him to do.
"Where in Thor's name is Astrid?" Snotlout complained to himself after he got bored of trying to track her in the woods. She was moving fast and constantly changing her way. She must be chasing someone or something, Snotlout thought.
Snotlout wanted to call Hookfang, but before he could act, a knife was thrown few inches from his hand and settled with a THUD! in the tree next to him.
"That was close throw! The next one will go through your heart," a man called. Snotlout turned to face him, his hands up, ready to fight if the need arose.
Four men surrounded him. Two of them would have looked like twins if their hair color wasn't different. They were armed with swords, twice as big as Snotlout's, and the third was short with bludgeon. The man who threw the knife was a young lad, well built, with scars that told he was a fighter. He carried knives as weapons.
"Name's Bryan!" the scarred one introduced himself. "You will end up just like your friend: dead!"
"Name's Snotlout!" Snotlout introduced himself as well. "And I'm nothing like my friend. Keep that in mind!"
"Wow, a very confident Viking! Let's see where your confidence leads you." The man started throwing his knives at Snotlout without warning. Snotlout avoided them one by one, but the last one nicked his neck barely.
"Impressive!" Bryan stated. Snotlout answered with a confident smirk.
"My turn," Snotlout said as he ran towards Bryan in a zig zag pattern. Bryan kept throwing his knives and Snotlout kept avoiding them. Bryan was having a hard time concentrating on Snotlout while the dark haired Viking kept running past.
One misplaced shot from Bryan was all that Snotlout needed. Bryan threw a knife and Snotlout snatched it in mid-air. He threw it back towards Byran in a perfect shot. He followed the throw with an upper-cut that sent Bryan flying.
Snotlout stood and gazed toward the others. "Are you just gonna stand there and watch?"
"Attack him!" Bryan ordered, furious as he tried to check his damaged jaw.
The three of them attacked all at once. Snotlout retreated a few steps and then raised his hands in defense. He avoided a double attack from the twins by ducking, then the one with the brown hair. Snotlout turned around to face the other with blonde hair, but he mistakenly forgot about the short man, who surprised him with a tricky blow to the knees.
"ARGH!" Snotlout cried in pain as he fell down holding his knee. The twins launched their attack again, Snotlout up until this time hadn't taken his sword out, but now hewas in a sticky situation where his life was on the line. He pulled out his sword and blocked the twin's blows. He returned their strikes with a wide wound on one of the twin's leg. The wounded man fell down and his brother lost his concentration when he heard his brother's screams. Snotlout hit him in the leg, too. The short man attacked again, but this time Snotlout was prepared as he avoided the blow and knocked the little guy out.
Snotlout stood and raised his hands in triumph. "Is this all that you can do?!" he challenged.
Bryan was on the ground shocked. How could a young teen beat the four best fighters in his village?
"Now, can you tell me about a black Night Fury and one legged man? Or else…" Snotlout put his sword on Bryan's neck. Bryan recognized that he was defeated and all he could do was tell Snotlout what he knew.
Bryan raised his hand and pointed towards a direction in the forest. "Follow this line and you will find him."
Snotlout put back his sword its sheath and started running.
Bryan laughed the laugh of a crazy man. "You're gonna die, boy. She will kill you, she will kill you all!"