I Own Nothing—All Rights Reserved

There are two things I want to make clear about this chapter:

Never take any of Viggo Grimborn's words at face value.

When it comes to playing 'Maces and Talons', my portrayal probably takes liberties and makes mistakes. I freely admit this. But in my defense I went through Wiki pages, transcripts, episode clips, and even looked up genuine Viking board games for information, and the results were pretty meager. So while I probably made mistakes, I feel I should not be judged too harshly for them when a clear set of rules for this game does not seem to even exist.

Chapter 17

Maces and Talons

As soon as Hiccup and Astrid landed on the deck, a man grabbed Hiccup. "Listen to me," he said quietly and urgently, "I'll let the Eruptodon go if you throw the Eye overboard right now. Deal?"

"Excuse me?"

But before anyone could say anything more someone from another ship called to them "DRACCUS, YOUR BROTHER ASSUMES YOU AND OUR GUESTS ARE COMING OVER RIGHT NOW TO SEE HIM!"

Draccus faltered, glanced at the sailors behind him, and then back to the other ship. "Err—WELL OF COURSE! TELL VIGGO WE'LL BE RIGHT OVER!"

"HE'S ANXIOUSLY EXPECTING YOU!"

Draccus turned back to Hiccup and Astrid. "There's still time. Drop the Eye while we're swinging over and no one will be the wiser!"

"No." Hiccup said firmly.

"What? Look I'm—I'm on your side," he said so low that only they could hear him. "I want Viggo to fail too!"

"Then let us play this out our way," Astrid whispered. They moved away from him and made their way down the deck. On the way Hiccup tripped and fell on his face.

"OW!" he shouted, "Toothless, I think the Eruptodon's on this ship!" To everyone else it sounded like he was simply crying out in pain.

After this they swung over to the next ship. The first person Hiccup saw was a man with short red hair and several scars and tattoos on his face, who looked positively delighted to see him. "Why it's my little brother, come to rejoin the family!"

"And just when I was starting to think the Gods didn't hate me," Hiccup groaned.

Dagur the Deranged, for it was him, was outraged. "Ungrateful! We've been apart for nearly a year and that's the welcome I get! He treats me like a tree treats a pinecone! Why gizzard I'll through your run this!" he whipped out a knife and nearly threw it at Hiccup before he realized everyone was staring at him. Sheepishly he put the knife down. "Sorry, I meant to say 'why I'll run this through your gizzard,'"

"Well, they don't call him Dagur the Deranged for nothing," Astrid commented to Hiccup, who nodded with nervous amusement.

"And it's the lovely Astrid Hofferson! Berks Ex-Hare! Ex-hare? No—let me see, ex-hare, ex-hair, ex-hare, ex-air, ex-err—"

"Dagur, would you please knock it off?" Draccus snapped as he joined them. "Viggo doesn't want to be kept waiting."

"Quite right! So, little brother, how have you been? Keeping busy?" Dagur asked eagerly as they moved towards the stern end of the ship.

"Very," Hiccup retorted.

"Such hostility! He's so mean to me! Hiccup, you're mean!" Dagur pouted.

Astrid scowled. "Well, let's see: you've tried to destroy our island, kill everyone on it, enslave our dragons, threatened us on every possible occasion, took part in torturing him—to name just the events of last year—do I need to go on?"

Another man appeared in front of them and grinned. "Nah, I think we get it,"

"Why am I not surprised?" Hiccup moaned.

The grin on the face of his old tormentor Hognose grew even wider, revealing a lack of teeth, "'Ello there, Fishbone! Fan-sea meeting you here! An' if it ain't Astrid!" he grinned lewdly at her. "'Ello, lassie! Come ta lose yer virtue ta me? Assumin' the Fishbone or Snotty 'aven't taken it already!"

Astrid calmly replied. "Hello, Hognose. Come to lose a few more teeth to my fist?"

"If it meant gitting ta touch yer—"

"I believe we're here to see somebody?" Hiccup said loudly.

Hognose looked disappointed but gestured to the very back of the ship. A large bald man was standing there.

"That's my brother Ryker," Draccus whispered.

"So you're the leader here?" Hiccup asked as they approached him.

"Actually not," said someone from behind Ryker, "step aside, brother, and let me introduce myself." Ryker moved away to reveal a man seated on a chair. He was much leaner than Ryker and had short black hair and a beard. His clothes were brown leather, and he wore spiked plates of metal over his shoulders. His eyes were dark and his gaze was piercing. "I am the head of the Hunters, my boy." He said in a smooth voice. "Perhaps you have heard of me? Viggo Grimborn."

Hiccup could not help himself. "What, did your mother have a hard time giving birth to you?"

Most of those present were horrified, except Dagur, who burst into a loud laugh and congratulated his 'brother'. Viggo Grimborn himself only smiled very slightly, "Childishly amusing. I expected better from the vaunted Dragon King. But to business. You have the Dragon Eye. I want the Dragon Eye. I have an Eruptodon. You want the Eruptodon. A simple exchange is quite reasonable here, wouldn't you say? We are surely both reasonable men of business, reasonable enough to see that it would benefit us both to agree to my offer,"

"Can't I jest kill 'em?" Hognose asked imploringly. "Me an' Iccup go way back—he's had this commen for a long time!"

"Quiet," Viggo said. Hognose at once fell silent. "This is business, not personal, Hognose. Well, Dragon King? What do you say to my offer?"

"It's very clear and concise," Hiccup returned, "But what will you do with the Eye if I give it to you? Hunt down every last dragon for profit?"

Viggo looked appalled. "I would never do that!"

"Right, because we'd destroy our own business if we did," Draccus said loudly.

"Draccus, if I want your opinion I will ask for it!" Viggo said sharply. Then in a smoother tone he said, "Rest assured, my young friend, I have no desire to see dragons go extinct,"

"You haven't answered his question yet," Astrid interrupted, "what will you do with the Eye if you had it?"

"Use it to further my own interests," Viggo replied easily, "as would anyone who possessed it. I imagine you two would like to use it for knowledge. A wise idea. Knowledge is power, after all. And with that knowledge you will gain more prestige and respect among your fellows, ensuring your own advancements and the defeats of your enemies. I have much the same desire, only my interests are more material."

Hiccup and Astrid both felt very uncomfortable with what he saw saying.

"Surely you would at least let me borrow the Eye, if you desire it so much?" Viggo added, "Let me have it for an hour—just an hour—and it shall be returned to you, with a bag of gold in addition. Think about how much good can be done with such wealth, my young friends." He moved forwards a little, his hand extended, "I suppose you do not trust Dragon Hunters, but Vikings did not trust dragons once, and now both sides are friends and beneficiaries. History can repeat itself. Let me have the Eye for just an hour and we will soon form the strongest alliance in existence. Berk will benefit in ways you cannot even imagine. Just one hour…"

Astrid spoke up. "Hiccup, remember what you told me about Troy? That priest said—what was it?—I fear the Greeks most when they bring gifts?"

"Quite right," Hiccup replied, "Sorry Viggo, but as people of business, I'm afraid we must decline the offer."

"Then what is your offer, if you do not mind my asking?" Viggo replied, resuming his original position. "You came here to talk and you have brought the Eye with you," here he indicated to the chest Hiccup was holding, "You surely would not come here for an idle reason. And I do hope," his voice hardened a little, "you do not forget that at this very moment your ship is surrounded by my fleet and you two are surrounded by my men."

"Thanks for the reminder, but it was unnecessary," Hiccup replied.

Viggo stroked his beard thoughtfully. "What is the game, young man? You will not agree to my very generous offer. And I will not agree to anything you offer unless I get the Eye in return."

"Let me at 'em, brother!" Ryker growled, "They'll hand it over!"

"Give me ten minutes with them, brother, and I'll see they hand it over!" Draccus added very eagerly.

"Let's jest kill 'em!" Hognose added.

"Lock the key up and throw them away!" Dagur shouted. "I mean…lock them up and throw away the key,"

Viggo raised a hand up. "Quiet, all of you. I have a new offer. Since we seem to be at an impasse, how about a game? You know how to play Maces and Talons, yes?"

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged glances. "I used to, but I'm a bit out of practice," Hiccup said at last. In fact he had not played it since he was fourteen.

"Ah, well so am I." Viggo said quickly. "Excellent, excellent. Then let us play. If I win, I get the Eye. If you win, you may keep it."

"And get to leave?" Astrid added sharply.

"Of course, my dear." Viggo replied sweetly. So sweetly it was like food with too much sugar added. "Deal?"

Hiccup smiled and gestured to the chest. "You win and I will hand this over to you without hesitation. Where's the board?"

"Oh I prefer to play with live pieces," Viggo replied. "Hognose, will you please go and fetch some more men? Dagur, you will be one of my hunters. Brother Draccus, why don't you play the role of…oh…how about the Traitor?"

"This is a waste of time, if you ask me," he grumbled.

"I didn't, so take your position. Oh yes, and Ryker, fetch a chair for our guest."

"You can have the chair, Astrid," Hiccup said. He sat down on the chest.

"Actually, Astrid, why don't you take your place as one of Hiccup's pieces?" Viggo suggested. "It would not be fair if both of you were playing against me, now would it?"

"Sure you know what you're doing?" Astrid asked in Dragonese. She looked calm and steadfast as any soldier, but inside these niceties and games made her stomach squirm. She would have preferred to bring her axe and just split their skulls opened.

"We're just here to buy time and keep them occupied," Hiccup said reassuringly. And they were there to examine their new enemy up close. "Let's play the game for now,"

"Stop making those noises," Dagur ordered. "If we want loud noises I'll start singing!"

Astrid smiled and ignored the man. "I trust you, you know." She then went to take her place on the deck, which was serving as the game board.

Hiccup felt his cheeks burn and prayed her trust was not misplaced. "All right. Are you playing as the Marauder Chief or Viking Chief?"

"Well I would prefer to play as Viking Chief, but it would be more fitting if you took that side. I'm sure you are an honorable Viking Chief if ever there was one. Oh, but then of course, I forgot, you are not a Chief yet, are you?" His smile looked benign but Hiccup suddenly felt a bit colder.

Hognose returned with more men, they were distributed, and the game began.

Viggo led off, moving his pieces around the sides of the board, clearly intending to flank Hiccup's. So Hiccup moved his pieces over to the left, hoping to concentrate a superior force against a portion of Viggo's pieces and capture them. But this meant his right side was largely undefended, and the other half of Viggo's pieces moved to exploit the opening. Hiccup gave up the chase and put his pieces into a defense position, but he lost a hunter in the process.

"Yeah!" Dagur shouted jubilantly, "Get 'em, Viggo! Lock 'em up in the Berserker cells for the rest of their natural lives and rip them to pieces and cut their heads off and dance over their rotting corpses and turn their guts into mandolin strings—and then make them eat pinecones!" He suddenly sniffed. "I did that when I was a little boy…that and threw them at everyone I saw!"

Viggo smiled with satisfaction and suggested some wine be brought. Hiccup raised the glass to his lips and sniffed it carefully. "Brandywine I think?"

"Why Hiccup, I did not know you were a connoisseur of wine,"

"Sometimes," Hiccup replied before pretending to take a sip. Viggo looked at him calmly but his eyes seemed to burn as they stared at Hiccup. "Aren't you going to have some?"

"Oh yes, of course," Viggo sipped his wine but kept his eyes fixed on Hiccup. And Hiccup guessed why. Viggo had probably poisoned the drink and was expecting him to drop dead at any moment. Whether or not this was for real or just a test—a probe of the defenses, so to speak—he did not know, but he was not inclined to take the chance. So he just smiled, pretended to take another sip, and had Astrid move over a space. Viggo resumed the game too, as if he had not just tried to poison anyone. "You see, Hiccup, we hunters are not animals," he said. "We all like to enjoy the finer things in life."

"Clearly," Hiccup replied, putting on an aristocratic air.

"Old wines, old books, old estates, and old allegiances. Our kind like the traditional luxuries of a healthy life. Surely you do not object to such things?"

"Depends on how they're acquired," Hiccup replied, "and thanks for the hunter." He had repositioned his pieces into an inverted 'V' shape on the center island. Viggo had gone leftwards in another flanking maneuver, and Hiccup went after it with one side of the 'V'. Viggo sent another hunter down the left and Hiccup responded by moving all of his pieces after them. It looked like he had just exposed his chief a second time, except Viggo did not have enough pieces in the right place to exploit the opening. He at once pulled his pieces back, but Hiccup got one in the process. Astrid could not help but look at Hognose smugly.

"Very clever, Hiccup, very clever. But those tricks can only fool a person once, unless you're playing with a fool."

"Like Dagur?" Hiccup teased.

"That's right!" Dagur said arrogantly, "And I—wait a minute!"

"So Viggo, mind clearing something up for me? If you wanted the Eye so badly, why did you steal the Eruptodon and let the volcano erupt? It would be a bit hard to locate the Eye under a river of lava, which is where it nearly ended up."

"Ah, I am sorry for that. Our intention was to take the Eruptodon after the Eye was brought to us. I believe Draccus got a little carried away or misunderstood the plan," he gave his brother a hard look, and Draccus look up at the sky.

Back on their ship, the other Riders and dragons were having an anxious time waiting. Some wanted to save the Eruptodon at once and get out of there, but Toothless refused to act, knowing the Hunters would just take Hiccup and Astrid hostage and make them stop. No, they could only mount a rescue when their humans were safe. Thankfully, the plan to stall for time was working. The dragons could feel their firepower returning, Meatlug had gotten her breath back, and they had finally woken up Barf n' Belch. Tuffnut had banged the rhythm of a Viking war song on the Zippleback's heads with his helmet, and for some reason this had stirred him.

At first everyone waited tensely for a fight to break out on the hunter's ship, but nothing happened that seemed out of the ordinary. As the calm continued, Heather decided to pay their captive a visit. Eret was relieved to see her, for Ruffnut was cuddling up next to him and creating syrupy love poems again. It was then Heather noticed a slight bulge in one of Eret's pockets and wondered furiously why nobody had searched him.

"Where did you get this?" she demanded once she removed the object. It was a small bag that held a rock and a crumpled up sheet of paper. It was the map to the last Dragon Eye lens, the only one that remained hidden.

"Adoncia threw it to me when she was fighting Hiccup," Eret said quickly.

"How did she get a hold of it?"

"I don't know! She probably stole it when that Queen Lady wasn't looking! I don't know!"

Heather put it in her bag. "All right then," she growled at Eret, holding her axe where it was clearly visible, "what happened to the Defenders of the Wing? What have you done with them?"

"I haven't done anything to them!" he said nervously.

"Let me rephrase my question then: what have the hunters done to them?"

"I don't know!" Eret cried, "I haven't—"

"Then what were the hunters planning to do to them?" Heather shouted impatiently, "Stop taking my questions literally and tell me what you know!"

"Or we'll force feed you yaknog and meatballs!" Tuffnut yelled down, "or have Ruffnut kiss you! Blech!"

Ruff was delighted. Eret was horrified. "All right, all right, look, you know who Adoncia is, right? She joined up with us after last year's war, and Viggo later sent her to spy on the Defenders of the Wing. She's the one who was telling us where to find lenses and who later stole the Eye—only you lot stole it back from the men she brought it to,"

"Go on," Heather said dangerously.

"Well…after it was stolen again by that Dragon Rider—and I have no idea who that was, I swear—after that, she framed the Dragon King for the theft to get him involved—"

"Wait a minute—are you telling me this Adoncia woman is Serene?" Heather exclaimed.

"Who?"

"Serene! She's one of the Defenders! She's the one who accused Hiccup of stealing the Eye! She joined up shortly before I—" the truth dawned on Heather then. "'Serene' was just an alias, wasn't it?" She had known about Adoncia from the others and had known the Defender named Serene personally, but she had never thought they were one and the same.

"I don't know—anyhow, since Adoncia was part of the Defenders she knew when and where you'd bring the Dragon Eye. So we set up an ambush. All I know is the Defenders were to patrol the area, but Adoncia then gave them fake orders to make for one place where some of our ships would be waiting. I have no idea what the outcome was, please, don't hurt me!" he cried, for Heather was holding her axe closer to his face with every sentence he uttered.

"Are they alive?" she demanded.

"I don't know! I mean—I saw our ships returning so I'd assume they were successful—but they might have left some survivors!" he added quickly, for Heather looked furious now. It was hard to believe such a thin and lovely woman could look so intimidating, but he was a believer now.

Heather struck him in the head and turned away. For a moment Eret thought he heard her fighting back tears, but decided he had misheard.

He had not misheard. And there was bitter rage mixed in with the tears she was trying to hold back.

"I'll avenge them, Mala," she whispered, "and you too, if you've…no, don't think like that!" she shook her head as if that would get rid of the thought. "She might still be alive, so might some others too!"

Still, she promised herself she would succeed in ending this hunting organization or die trying.

Viggo shifted his weight and ordered Draccus to move to the right. "So tell me, Hiccup, why do you persist in destroying my trade? As a Viking you must surely understand the implications for trade and the importance of it. Your people would be almost helpless without trade, and yet you are bringing it to a halt!"

"Not all trade," Hiccup replied, "just the Dragon Trade,"

"A wise man would seek to use trade for their advantage and profit from it, not wipe it out," Viggo said.

"A wise man would know that profit and gain are not always good things,"

"Good is merely a matter of perspective," Viggo replied.

"Not entirely," Astrid retorted, "there are some things that everyone agrees are dishonorable and shouldn't be done. Killing, theft, adultery, treachery, cowardice…"

"Oh yes, they agree they are all bad, yet they still do them. And while we're on the subject of theft, you, Hiccup, are a serious offender. You've stolen 453 of my dragons!"

"Really? I don't keep count anymore." Hiccup smirked. "And you're the thieves, Viggo, not me. You took those 453 dragons. I rescued them, with the help of my very good friends."

"So in other words, you've been stealing what we've captured?" Dagur said. "Hey! You've been stealing what we've captured! What kind of dirty, low life does something so distasteful, taking something that's already been taken?"

"As you said, good is a matter of perspective, and from my perspective, I was in the right. You seem very well informed, by the way, Viggo. Most people would be content to say 'hundreds of dragons', not 453 exactly."

"I am not like 'most people'. I have studied hard to hone my mind," Viggo said forcefully, "it helps with business connections to be exact. As a Chief you should know that—but of course, you are not a Chief yet—and at the rate you're going, with all the enemies you're making, you might never become one." He ordered the Traitor to move a square over. Nobody was quite certain whose side Draccus was on, but he was subject to commands from both of them. "You are making enemies, Hiccup. I am the master of the Dragon Hunters, but I am not alone. You are threatening a mighty organization, whose size, capabilities, and influence you cannot possibly know, clever as you might be."

"So did you study for fun or because it benefited business?" Hiccup asked. Most of his own research had been conducted to satisfy his own curiosity, not because he was expecting to use it later on. When he had read about Troy he certainly never expected to use the information in real life settings, he had simply found an interest in Greek stories and wanted to learn more. More importantly, he wanted to divert the subject away from himself so he would not accidently reveal too much.

"It was to benefit my business, of course, which in turn benefitted me!" Viggo said as if it was obvious, "why would I bother to study something that did not benefit me?"

"Why not?" Hiccup asked lightly. "Does everything have to be judged by how much it helps self advancement?"

"Of course! Everyone acts in their own self interests. That is the first rule of business. And I am, first and foremost, a man of business. And what I cannot understand is why you want to ruin my business,"

Hiccup gestured for Astrid to move forward a space. "Because I think your business is immoral. You kill magnificent creatures, cut them up, and sell the pieces."

"Dragon skin armor has saved many a soldier in battle," Viggo hinted, "so have weapons made from dragon bones, claws, and teeth,"

"And have killed many a person also."

"Dragon teeth and bones have been used for tools too. Hognose tells me you were a blacksmith. You surely would understand the values of tools."

"They're also sold in apothecary shops. And I know for a fact Viggo, that crushed dragon claw mixed in wine does not make limbs grow back." He gestured to his metal leg. "Your line of business is not only cruel to dragons: it leads to humans being scammed out of their money."

"And for your information, nobody on Berk uses tools made from dragons." Astrid added sharply. During the 3 centuries of war with dragons, it had been thought distasteful and dishonorable to use the remains of the enemy to build their village. The remains of dragons had been used purely for decorations on Berk.

"Can I be blamed if wicked people exist and use the same products I use for dishonest reasons?" Viggo asked with great magnanimity. "If someone comes to me and offers money in return for a bag of dragon teeth, can I be blamed for making the deal? You don't blame arrow makers when people are killed by arrows. And if they did not have dragon parts, they would use the parts of other animals to cheat people."

"That doesn't excuse selling dragon remains," Hiccup said coldly.

"My boy, you are the immoral one, not I! Consider! I give people jobs. I give them wages. Your piece on the right—the one I have just taken, bad luck—he has a wife and two children at home. When he joined us they were starving. Now they have food on the table every night, they sleep in warm beds under a firm roof, they can afford the best doctors, and his son is even getting a proper education! You may call me immoral, but to that man there and many like him, I like to think they would call me their savior. And you want to ruin his only source of income and return him to poverty."

"There are other jobs out there," Hiccup said. This argument was nothing new to him. He had debated it himself many times. "I keep telling you people, if you want to follow the sea, join a merchant's guild or be a fisherman, and if you want violence, join someone's army."

"What if they don't want either of that?" Viggo asked, "what if they like the job they have and are quite happy with things the way they are? Why should they change because you tell them to?"

Hiccup countered with a question of his own. "Suppose there was a murderer. Suppose he was a man who enjoyed watching his victims suffer. Suppose he was a man who enjoyed torturing others and who like to make death agonizingly slow as possible. Would you not agree he ought to change? Even if he was quite happy with the way things were?"

"Certainly he should change his ways or be executed—but we hunters are not murderers!" Viggo said indignantly.

"Ah, but that's the problem, Viggo. Having lived with dragons for years, I'd say you are." Hiccup's smile was icy. "You can spout the self righteous ideologies all you want, but it doesn't change what I've seen, or the fact that you've destroyed thousands of dragon families for the sake of profit. Astrid's dragon lost her mate and offspring to people like you, and she's hardly alone. So Viggo, I don't really care if your hunters don't want change, because my dragons do want change. Given how your side only faces unemployment if I have my way, and mine faces certain death if you have your way, you pardon me if I don't feel too sympathetic for your hunters." And with that Hiccup had one of Viggo's pieces taken.

"You're young and an idealist," Viggo said quietly, and without any velvet lining in his tone. "You young people always think you can change the world. You think you'll make things better but soon things return to their natural status and you've done nothing but waste your life." He ordered another player to take a step forward. It was just what Hiccup wanted and he ordered his own piece to make the capture, only to discover that was just what Viggo wanted. Hiccup's side was now in very dire shape.

"Nice sacrifice," He commented.

"Thank you. You see, Hiccup, no one is irreplaceable. That is one of the little facts of life you should always keep in mind."

"Oh I don't know. They never replaced Alexander the Great when he died," Hiccup said lightly, "But if we follow your logic that means that you can be replaced too, Viggo."

"And that is why I make myself indispensible, so they dare not replace me. I keep details to myself, I trust no one with everything, and I ensure I succeed—by any means possible," his voice now had a steel edge to it and his eyes glinted. Astrid felt they were looking at the real Viggo Grimborn now. "And if we follow my logic it means you can be replaced too,"

Hiccup looked thoughtful. "I know I can," he said quietly, "I had a little brush with death earlier today. I know I'm only a mortal, and one day someone or something is going to beat me," He smiled, "but I'll put up a good fight."

"You're quite right, one day someone is going to beat you. I just have," Viggo looked triumphantly at Hiccup and gestured to the board. "You're captured now. I've won."

Hiccup looked at the game board and then shrugged. "Well, good thing this isn't a metaphor for real life,"

"Oh, but it is, Hiccup," Viggo said coldly. He signaled at Ryker. Ryker came forward, pulled out his large blade, and stabbed his brother Draccus in the chest.

Hiccup jumped to his feet. Astrid screamed. Dagur and Hognose laughed. The rest of the men laughed too, but it was mixed with nervousness. Viggo calmly sipped his wine. Ryker then picked up the twitching corpse of his younger brother and threw it overboard.

"The traitor always dies," Viggo remarked, "good game, Hiccup,"

"He was your brother!" Astrid shouted.

"And he plotted against me," Viggo replied unconcernedly, "now, Hiccup, I won the game, and the stakes still stand. So for the last time: give me the Dragon Eye!"

"And if I do that, will we be allowed to go?" Hiccup growled as he picked up the chest.

"Yes, yes," Viggo said impatiently. Ryker raised a blade menacingly and pointed it at Hiccup.

"We're taking it, boy. You decide if we take it from your dead hands or not."

"Good point." Hiccup said with a sigh. "All right, Viggo, here you go."

First he stuck the key in the lock, and then he brought the chest over to Grimborn, who made no effort to conceal his hungry expression. Quickly Viggo turned the key and lifted the lid. And with a loud "Bi-gowk!" Chicken leapt out and began pecking his face!

Astrid at once threw herself over the side and into the sea. Hiccup was less lucky, because Hognose lunged at him and knocked him over.

"Gotcha!" he shouted, slashing at Hiccup's arms. Hiccup at once moved his wrist so his gauntlets took the blows, but the blows were so strong one gauntlet cracked. Green Zippleback gas wafted up from it and oil spilled onto the deck.

"Ha!" Hognose laughed, "Now it's useless, just like you've always been!"

With his metal leg Hiccup kicked him right in the crotch. The man's eyes bulged, his mouth made an 'O' shape, and he doubled over.

Hiccup could think of dozens of quips to make but instead used his other gauntlet to light the escape Zippleback gas on fire. It was a pathetic explosion, but startling enough to give him time to leap over the side.

While this was happening Chicken gave Viggo a bloody nose and put some nasty scratches on Ryker's hands as he tried to pull Chicken off his younger brother.

"Why you dirty little—I'll wring yer scrawny neck and have ya fer supper!" Ryker roared. Then Hiccup set off his explosion. Ryker broke his concentration and that was all that Chicken needed. With a last peck at Ryker's exposed scalp, Chicken flapped over the railing and into the ocean, landing directly on Hiccup's head.

"Nice job, Chicken. Tuffnut would be very proud," Hiccup said "but we're not out of this yet!"

"Buck bi-gowk!"

Toothless saw and heard the splashing. "Blast 'em!"

Every dragon opened fire. And Astrid's words were proven true: being surrounded by ships meant they could not miss.

In the water Astrid grabbed Hiccup's arm and pulled him with all her might. He helped her as best as he could, but the fact was he could not swim very well.

"Did you get the—"

"Already taken care of!" she tried to smile but water kept splashing in her face. "One vial of Changewing acid is burning holes in their ship as we speak,"

"Excellent. It's a bit hard to shoot at swimmers when your ship is sinking," he laughed, only to get a mouthful of sea water.

After three shots Meatlug looked at Toothless anxiously. "I'm not doing much damage!"

"Me neither!" Windshear growled. "I've hit that hull three times in the same spot already!"

Toothless thought a minute. He knew there were cages that were considered 'dragon-proof'; perhaps the hunters had built ships that way too? It was possible. But he reckoned cloth could not be built that way.

"Target the sails!" he shouted.

"So they can't sail away from us?" Hookfang exclaimed.

"Target the upper parts and the rigging! Make the burning sails fall onto the decks!"

The humans were not being idle either. After talking with Eret, Heather had stumbled upon the ships armory and they were now firing crossbows at any enemy who showed his head.

"Man, just give me enough arrows and I'll defend this ship until Raganarök—and all just for you, Heather," Snotlout said with a wink. Heather scowled at him.

Down below decks, Eret was still tied up and Ruffnut was still sitting next to him. "It sounds awesome, isn't it? All that destructive firepower! And it's even more awesomener when you see it!"

"I'm sure it is," Eret said, "I can see why Drago wanted an army of dragons,"

"Meh, what did he know?" Ruff said with a dismissive wave. "Old Drago Dudfist. He wasn't a match for us Disciples of Loki! And just wait, soon we'll take you back to Berk and you'll become a dragon rider and learn the proper way to be cool and we'll get married and find all those things the Dragon Eye's supposed to show—"

"Where is the Dragon Eye, anyway?"

"Over in Heather's bag," Ruff replied without thinking. The issue on her mind right now was why he had not reacted when she suggested marriage.

At that moment one hunter ship fired a catapult. It struck their ship in the side and threw everyone backwards. An axe dropped near Eret and nearly cut his foot off.

Quickly he turned around and began rubbing his bonds along the blade. Ruffnut had no idea, as she had rushed to the stairs and was looking out to see how the fight was going. "Hey, could you guys tone it down a bit out there? I'm trying to flirt!"

At that moment Eret grabbed her and threw her to the ground. He charged up the stairs as fast as he could go. Getting on deck he spotted Heather's bag and dove for it. Heather spun around and fired her crossbow, but the bolt only grazed his leg.

"Get him!" She shrieked. Snotlout darted for the hunter but Eret was like a charging bull, even with the leg wound. He slammed his fist into Snotlout's face and then, without any hesitation, leapt over the side of the ship and into the ocean.

"Kill him!" Heather roared at the dragons, "KILL HIM!"

Stormfly flung tail spines and would have hit Eret except the water resistance ruined their accuracy. Toothless leapt onto the side and aimed, but a projectile came straight for his head, and he only survived by moving. The hunter ships were increasing their fire, and now superior numbers was paying off. It turned out these hunters were well prepared for fires on ships, for they seemed to be having no trouble putting out the fires the dragons started.

"Um sir, the ship's leaking!"

"So it is," Viggo said with remarkable calmness. "Can it be fixed?"

"We're trying sir,"

"You might want to try harder," Viggo hinted icily. The hunter bowed and ran off. Dagur came over.

"Viggo, can't you stop like this listing? It's ruining my aim! I can't batter them to pulps with my lovely big boulders if the ship is tilting!"

"I share your concern, but do not worry, Dagur," Viggo replied, "Soon it will either be fixed or we'll board a ship that isn't sinking,"

"Wait a minute—we're sinking? We're sinking! Sinking! Augh! This is the end! The Doomflower has bloomed at last! Doom is in Bloom! Doom is in Bloom! We're all gonna—"

"Dagur!" Viggo shouted.

"Sorry, lost control of my mind for a second there. It's been known to happen."

"I hadn't noticed." Viggo said scornfully, "Now go back to your catapult and let me worry about the ship."

"Right. Oh—Viggo, you do realize that if we sink their ship we sink the Eye with them, right?"

"I'm impressed, Dagur. You actually said something sensible. But it is all under control." He believed the Riders would try to escape by flying, and they would then be caught with the nets. And if the Riders let the Eye go to the bottom of the sea, he would find a way to fish it up somehow. Movement caught his eye. "What is that?" he yelled, pointing to the water.

Ryker turned. "That looks like Eret! Where'd he come from?"

"Pull him on board and he'll tell us," Viggo replied. "And tell our people to increase their fire."

Tuffnut looked at a rope that ran over the side of the ship and saw it was being tugged on. He looked over the broken railing and saw Chicken sitting on someone's head. He grabbed his poultry friend and slammed his fist into the person below, thinking it was a hunter. He heard a loud shout and some scuffling on the side of the ship.

"TUFFNUT, I AM SO GONNA KILL YOU FOR THAT!" Astrid roared. She climbed her way onto the ship and pulled a half conscious Hiccup with her. "WHAT THE HEL WERE YOU THINKING, YOU STUPID MUTTONHEAD? YOU NEARLY BRAINED HICCUP!"

"I thought he was a hunter! What's Hiccup doing sneaking up on us like that?" Tuffnut shouted back, displaying more nerve than was wise. Astrid would have thrown him into the mast but instead she set Hiccup down and rushed over to find the others.

"Heather, report!"

"We're holding out but—!" Heather said.

At that moment a projectile hit the mast, splitting it in half. The upper part fell onto the deck and tumbled over the side into the ocean.

"Correction, we're doomed!" Fishlegs cried.

Toothless was over with Hiccup, who was still in a daze. "Whoa…what happened?"

"Hiccup, we're running out of shots again and the ships falling apart. We're dead if we stay here. Let's take 'em from the air!"

"My heads full of that right now," he replied with a loony smile.

Toothless vowed if Astrid did not kill Tuff for this, he would. And since Hiccup was clearly too incoherent to make the decision, Toothless made it for him. "Everyone, get your riders on you! We'll attack from the sky!"

Viggo was having trouble talking to Eret and looking at the ship he was attacking. "At last, they're taking off," he whispered, "take off and you're all mine!" Thankfully his men seemed to have stopped the leak, for the ship's list was not getting any worse.

And then a ferocious roar was heard, so powerful everyone threw their hands over their ears to no avail, and an enraged Thunderdrum burst onto the ocean surface.

"This day just keeps getting better, doesn't it?" Hiccup asked with a stupid smile.

Toothless grabbed him in his jaws, tossed him into the air, and moved so Hiccup landed on his back. It was a trick they had done before, but this time Hiccup landed less than gracefully.

The Thunderdrum did not care about who was fighting who. It had been patrolling its territory, saw the intruders, and furiously charged into action. It blasted the hunter ships with powerful sound waves and slashed at them with its spiked tail.

"Bring it in!" Viggo shouted, "Bring it in!" That would mean two prizes today if nothing else. Unfortunately, the Thunderdrum's attack had given the Dragon Riders the opening they needed to fly away. They were now hovering well out of range of the nets.

"Let's go in for an attack!" Heather shouted.

"Why bother?" Snotlout asked, "That Thunderdrum's doing the job for us!"

"Then let's give him some help," Stormfly said, "C'mon, Toothless, turn us loose on them!"

"What do you need my permission for? Blast them!"

Some hunter ships were trying to bring down the Thunderdrum. Others were trying to get away. "Stand and fight!" Viggo roared. Then he saw the Riders diving on one of his ships and he repeated his orders. "Take them down!"

Eret grabbed his arm. "Viggo, we're all gonna die if we keep this up! We've gotta get out of here now!"

"What treason are you shouting now, Eret?" Viggo shouted. Then he saw what Eret was holding and his eyes widened.

"I've got what we came for, Viggo," Eret smiled, "I've got the Dragon Eye."

Viggo slowly took it and looked it over. A triumphant smile burst onto his face. It was quickly stifled by his usual calmness. "Ryker, give the order to pull out. But if possible, would you please get rid of those Riders for me? That's a good brother—unlike the former one,"

But there appeared to be no need to obey the orders. The Thunderdrum let out another roar and it was one roar too many for the dragons. The sound hurt their ears so much it disoriented them. They all fell scattered and dazed into the ocean and their humans went with them. The Thunderdrum made for the ships but this time the hunters were ready. Arrow after arrow they fired at it, and each arrow had been coated in dragon root. It took nearly half a dozen shots, but the wild dragon at last collapsed into the sea, fast asleep. It was not easy hauling it in, for the creature as a big and heavy as a whale and the ships were all damaged, but Viggo felt very pleased. He had the Eye, two caught dragons, and his foes were either dead or about to be. It had been a good day.