I Own Nothing
All Rights Reserved
Chapter 35
The Thing Takes Shape
The Dragon King spent the coming days getting organized. A major problem was finding places for dragons to stay without getting spotted. The Sanctuary could hold a handful amidst its ruins, but he had more than a handful to deal with. So any dragons he needed on the spot stayed with him, while the rest went off to find other islands, a few here, a few there, nowhere to make it look suspicious.
Beyond that, the King had to organize his human allies. On his first morning at the Sanctuary he changed his plans around and sent Fishlegs to the Bog Burglars, Snotlout to the Defenders, and Terror Mail to the Owl Guts and a few other tribes. Within a few days the replies came in. Most of them very politely declined to support him, though they also promised not to stand against him.
"Hyenas waiting for the lion to bring down the wildebeest," he muttered.
Gort of the Owl Guts, one tribe which the King had hoped most of all would join him, explained he could not come because a hunter sympathizer had gotten all their Dragons sick from blue oleander flowers. The culprit had been caught and severely punished, but the only cure for the sickness was Scauldron Venom and the Owl Guts were having trouble finding one. The Dragon King had no intention of waiting, so he removed them from his shrinking list of allies.
But help arrived from unexpected places.
At the end of the sixth day, Snotlout returned to inform him the Defenders were ready and eagerly waiting to move against Viggo. Suddenly Snotlout pointed at the sky and they saw a large flock of dragons coming towards them.
The King was astonished. "Well I'll be—!"
"What is it?"
"It's the nest from Greenland! And look! Here come the Twins!"
"Should I cheer or hide the weapons?" Snotlout asked, trying to make them both smile. Neither of them had been too cheerful these past few weeks.
As soon as they landed the Twins leapt off their Zippleback to grab Hiccup and hug him.
"It's great to see you again, Fellow Disciple of Loki!"
"Where've you been?"
"Oh, it's been terrible! You wouldn't believe what we've been through!"
"And Snotlout's back too! Most of the gang back together then!"
"Yeah! The Dragon Riders are back in action!"
Hiccup was glad to see them but his focus turned to his mother. The dialogue coming from the Twins dried up. She approached her son slowly. Their eyes met and they both saw there was little to say to the other. She grabbed him in a fierce hug and began sobbing on his shoulder. It took all of Hiccup's self-restraint not to cry too.
Astrid was still chained up. She had not picked the locks for a day now, just in case anyone came by unexpectedly, and her fears were justified when the Grimborns came in abruptly. Ryker held a bloodstained whip.
"I need a new servant." Viggo remarked idly, "You didn't even know her name, did you, Astrid? I never used it myself. Names belong only to individuals. Ah well, we needn't worry about her anymore." He squatted so he could look Astrid square in the eye. "As I said before, it doesn't matter what you hear because you'll never get to tell it to anyone—especially now. And I'm not keeping you alive because Hiccup will come for you: he'd come for me now regardless of where you are. You're only alive because it is bad business to discard things before their usefulness has expired. Ryker, bring her with us."
Ryker forcefully dragged her to a room down below, perhaps a floor above the cells. Hookfang was chained up in this room, his wings hanging from the ceiling, his legs and tail strapped to the floor, and his mouth muzzled just tightly enough so he could not breathe fire. His back and limbs had long streaks of dried blood on them; evidence of many whippings. The Dragon Eye was positioned on a marble altar in front of his mouth. He was very surprised to see Astrid pushed into the room, so surprised that his expression betrayed him and Viggo could tell they knew each other.
"Just as I thought. This beast refuses to breathe into the Dragon Eye. It needs some persuasion. So…"
Astrid was dragged over to another part of the room and chained to the wall in plain sight of Hookfang. Ryker then walked over to a strange looking device in front of her. It was a large bolt elevated on a cart, rather like a battering ram or perhaps an overlarge drill. Visible below were numerous gears and cogs, and there was a handle attached to one. The bolt had dried blood crusted about its pointy tip, and was positioned and elevated so it was level with Astrid's chest.
"Remarkable, is it not? It's quite simple. There are 7 positions, and if I turn the handle to the left, this bolt will advance one position. If I turn it right, it will retreat one position. So, dragon, each time you refuse to breathe into the Dragon Eye, Ryker will turn the handle. After one refusal too many, the bolt will begin piercing Astrid's chest. Believe me, it's a very slow way to die." As a hunter carefully loosened Hookfang's muzzle, Viggo sat down at a desk and produced a piece of parchment and a quill. "Now, shall we see what wonders the Dragon Eye has for us, or shall we see what color Astrid's blood is? It is your decision, Nightmare."
"I've got to submit to this," Hookfang rasped.
"Don't worry about it," Astrid replied. "He won't have this information for long."
"Gag her and turn the wheel one position." Viggo ordered.
Hookfang roared in agony but began breathing into the Dragon Eye.
"Remarkable, isn't it?" said Viggo, "others believe they can withstand all sorts of pain, yet seeing just the hint of it inflicted upon someone else makes them give in at once. It's rather pathetic, but, I must confess, it is often useful for business."
"One day, Viggo, someone's going to ram those words down your throat," Astrid growled in spite of the gag in her mouth.
"Tighten that and turn the wheel again."
Night had fallen over the Sanctuary again. The Dragon King was sitting in a dark part of the ruins, so that he was barely visible. Valka was sitting opposite him, almost equally invisible. As she sharpened her staff he looked up at the sky.
"I sent most of the nest on, as you suggested,"
"Thanks. We can't support that many dragons here anymore."
"Let's just hope Viggo doesn't hear about this yet."
"Actually I almost hope he does," The King replied laconically. He looked up at the sky again, "Do you think the Gods really are up there?"
Valka paused in her work. "I don't know,"
He picked up a rock and began fiddling with it. "Well, when I die I'm going to have a few words with them about all this. Just when things were starting to improve for us, this happens. Hmm. Perhaps Dad's already asked them. Well, then when it's my turn they should have their answers ready." He threw on his mask so Valka could not see his face, but he could not entirely hide the emotion in his voice. "I'd also like to know what makes people like Viggo do such horrible things. Drago, I could understand a bit—I know he grew up in a land constantly at war and it hardened him to the point beyond caring for anyone but himself, but with Viggo…I just don't know. Was it greed? Isolation? Pride? Some combination of these? Was he born this way or did it happen gradually? What was it that made him so pitiless that he would wipe out an entire island because they threatened his business?"
"I don't know."
"What makes people do such things, mom? I've been wondering about this my whole life. What is it that makes them turn blind eyes on the suffering of others? Just look at what kind of impact he's had on me! To say nothing of what he's done to Berk and Dad and Astrid and everyone else, but consider this: I had a real hard time convincing Dad to give up his thoughts of revenge, and now here I am out for revenge against Viggo! Talk about hypocrisy!" He paused. "Of course, it's not just because he hurt me personally. I can't exactly sit around and do nothing, can I?"
"No, I suppose not. So what's happened to Toothless? Is his absence part of your plan or something?"
The King shook his head. "You know how Astrid believes in codes and rules that apply to certain positions? How leaders are always bound by oaths? We met someone who has failed his oath, so to speak." He then briefly explained what happened on the Isle of Night. Valka's astonishment can well be imagined.
"The Night Furies have been in hiding all this time? And you left Toothless down there?"
"Do you think I wanted to? I've never been less happy flying on a dragon. I feel like I've lost my left arm or something." He slumped back in his seat. "So yes, the Night Furies have been hiding. Hiding and nothing else," He scowled, "I know you don't like me getting involved, mom, but I think failing in an attempt to improve things is better than not doing anything at all."
"I agree."
He was surprised. "You do?"
"Yes, because I realized something after meeting you. Something I used to convince the Bewilderbeast to help me—"
"Was that easy?"
She had to think a moment. "In some ways. The opposition was pretty weak because most of their arguments were purely selfish ones."
"And I suppose Cloudjumper led it?"
"No, he did not." she said sharply, "Cloudjumper used to be as bold a dragon as any I've ever known. How many dragons do you know have the courage to climb into a house during a raid and not flee the moment a mother comes in to defend her infant? And he was willing to take on the Red Death himself, at one time, but the Bewilderbeast wouldn't let him. It's just…after Drago nearly killed him he changed. I guess you could say nearly dying made him appreciate the gift of life and less inclined to risk throwing that gift away. But when I spoke with the nest he was on my side. He knew what I had realized: we'd left that fight, but Drago had still worked on his plans for conquest regardless. If anything, our absence made it easier for him. Hiding in ice caves helped nobody but us, and it was high time we tried to do something besides ignoring the problems with the world."
"I wish I could have turned you loose on those Night Furies, though I doubt they'd have listened. Agaruba and Menomen would have told Salistus you were lying and he'd have believed them." He groaned. "I went there to ease the pressure on us and made things worse instead. How did all of this happen? I return to these parts to bring peace and co-existence between humans and dragons, and look how well that's turned out! I get dragged into a little treasure hunt because I want to be helpful and next thing I know Berk is overrun and we're going to war again! I returned to save the Archipelago, not leave it worse than I found it!"
"Your father sometimes thought that way about Berk," Valka said quietly, "Oh yes he did. He wanted to make Berk greater than it ever was. He wanted to surpass Hamish the First in every possible way. I imagine most Chiefs do, but for him it was an obsession at times. He thought ending the wars with dragons would be the way to do it. Unfortunately, ending the wars with dragons proved harder and costlier than he thought and there were times, especially after raids or returning from yet another failed expedition to find the nest, where he would shut himself up in his room at night and pray to every God he knew, asking why this was happening and what he was supposed to do about it."
"So we just exchanged one problem for another?" The King said glumly.
"That's how it goes, Hiccup." Valka sighed. "Once I bonded with Cloudjumper I had to learn all kinds of skills to survive. Once I learned to talk with them I learned about the Red Death and was at a loss of what to do about her. After I learned she was dead Drago Bludvist moved into the picture. And in the end we decided to remove ourselves from the equation."
"And I dragged you back into it. And possibly you all might die like Dad in the coming fight. Viggo's not gonna show us any mercy if we lose."
"We know the risks, Hiccup. We all do. But we're not going to lose."
"I certainly hope not, but what makes you so confident? You haven't even heard my plans yet! And don't say you have confidence in me just because you're my mother."
"We're going to win because we have a strength Viggo doesn't have. Look at it this way: would anyone be coming to help you if they didn't have confidence in your abilities, or because they didn't care about you personally? I mean, sure a few tribes went to help Viggo, but that was out of fear and greed, not loyalty. When Viggo was ruined, who stood by him besides his brother? Eret? Eret was bullied into helping him and turned on him once he had the chance. Hognose? Hognose only stuck around because of his own interests, not Viggo's. Dgaur? I don't know what he's thinking, but I'll wager family loyalty means more to him than any loyalty to Viggo. But from the moment Berk fell, loads of people and dragons have been waiting to join you as soon as you gave the word, not because they expect something in return, but because they want to help you and want to do the right thing. I imagine they don't believe you're the cause of all of this."
"Who said I was?"
"You have. Maybe not directly, but I can tell you're blaming yourself for it. Just like you blamed yourself for what happened with Drago."
The King looked away for a while, staring at the skies. "Who told you about that?"
"Everyone who knows you well has mentioned it to me at some point."
"Did Dad?"
"Of course he did!"
"Guess he paid more attention to me than I thought," Hiccup mumbled bitterly, more to himself than his mother, "Oh Dad, why? Just when we were mending bridges for real, I went off exploring and left you to die!"
"It's not your fault," Valka assured him gently, "this was Viggo's fault and we'll pay him back, and get Toothless and Astrid and Gobber and all the others back soon, don't worry!"
The King did not hear her, "How does anyone live up to the standards others hold them to?"
"A few years from now Stoick will be telling all the other spirits how you were a greater Chief than he could ever hope to be."
"And I suppose anyone who disagrees will get punched? Oh, but of course that's Astrid's specialty. And so help me, she is not joining our fathers anytime soon." He spoke coldly now and clenched the rock as if to crush it into powder.
"Touching back on something you said earlier: you do have a plan, right?"
The King's inclined his head slightly. "Yes. The meeting's in two nights."
Ingrid could not quite believe what was happening. A man had come in and asked for the Red Unicorn to be shut up for the night. The Innkeeper, her father, had been furious at first but when the man had revealed a bag with more gold than they made in two months how could he refuse? And once the deal was made, cloaked and hooded people began to trickle into the tavern in small groups and sit down silently. There must have been over a score of them, and the number seemed to be increasing.
The tavern keepers were asked to go to their rooms and not listen at the doors. To further pacify her father, he was allowed to take any valuables he desired with him.
"We're here to talk, not steal," one man told him flatly. Ingrid decided to join her father. As soon as they were inside and the door was shut they both pressed their ears against the door.
"I know you're there, I can hear your breathing," a woman on the other side said loudly. Sheepishly the tavern keeper retreated. Ingrid, however, softened her breath as much as she could and stayed as still as possible.
In the common room, the Dragon King had arrived. When the last person entered he shut and bolted the door. The windows were drawn and closed up, and sentries were placed in strategic spots.
"I think you all know why we're here," the King said at length. Everyone nodded. "Now, before I go into details, I want to be sure of one thing. This is going to be highly dangerous, possibly fatal for many of us, maybe even all of us. If there's anyone here who has second thoughts about taking part, this is your final chance to back out, and you should leave right now. I won't judge anyone who does. But I want only determined volunteers for this."
Nobody moved a muscle.
"Thank you. Then let's cut to the chase." He pulled maps and sheets of parchment from his pocket and spread them out on a table in the center of the room, "We're going to take back what Viggo's taken from Berk and we're going to end his threat once and for all. We know he's captured our people and dragons and is shipping them off to wherever there's need for cheap labor or dragon parts. Thanks to Heather, we also know Viggo keeps records of his business deals somewhere in his fortress of Grimmige Festung. Thanks to my wife Astrid, we know Viggo's got an island full of gold to finance these ventures. And thanks to Thuggory and Fishlegs, we know that after the conquest of Berk, a lot of tribes are either laying low or joining with Viggo, to be on the winning side. This means Viggo has a large army, the money to keep them loyal, hostages to use against us, and the information we need to save Berk. And we're going to solve all of these problems at the same time."
He paced around like a General issuing orders to his officers. "This operation is going to be done in 5 parts, and most are going to take place simultaneously. The first part is to deal with this army, preferably away from Grimmige Festung. We will lure them out with our own forces and draw them into battle."
"What if Viggo doesn't take the bait?" the Defender Throk asked.
"He'll have to. If an army rises up to threaten him, he has to strike it down or he looks like a coward and loses power and authority. Those tribes he now commands won't stay loyal to the losing side, and he knows it." He paused, "So, the first part of the plan is to get this army away from Grimmige Festung—and if they refuse to play along, I have a backup plan. Now, the second part of the plan involves Viggo's vault. That vault has to go. So even if all our other plans fail, we'll still have dealt him a parting black eye."
"How much money is in that vault?" someone asked.
"I don't know, but since Viggo was able to build a steam powered ship made of iron for Drago Bludvist, and has continued to endure despite huge losses of income, his fortune must be considerable."
"May I say something?" Fishlegs interrupted. Hiccup nodded, and he said "If Viggo's wealth is as great as you're suggesting, do you really think we have enough time and dragons to empty it?"
"We're not going to empty it. Oh sure, we're filling a few sacks for ourselves, but most of the gold and silver and whatever he's got in there is staying put—in a sense." He declined to elaborate further and pressed on.
"Now, Part 3 is to get the hostages to safety. For that, we're going to need a diversion inside the fortress itself. We'll insert people to distract the inhabitants, including Viggo, while another group moves in for the rescue. Part 4, and this is perhaps the most essential Part, is to get those ledgers Viggo has."
"I'll steal 'em!"
"Sorry, Cami, but I need you for something else—but don't worry, you'll enjoy it."
"So how are we going to get these ledgers then?"
"By using picklocks, acids, and a little stealth and wits."
"And if Viggo finds out what is happening?" Queen Mala asked.
"So much the better. In fact, I'm expecting it. In that case, we'll let him show us where these are kept and snatch them at the last minute, like he tried to do to us on that volcano."
Eret looked doubtful. "You really think he'd unwittingly show you where he keeps those?"
"When your home is being robbed, you naturally go to check on the most valuable possessions first. For Viggo, it will be his ledgers—and the Dragon Eye. We just have to make certain we're present if that happens. And if it doesn't happen—well, we have other means at our disposal and I'll tear his room to pieces if I have to."
"What happens next?" A Defender asked.
"Once we get the ledgers and once the hostages are safe, we are going destroy Grimmige Festung."
Several people snorted. The Twins cheered. Heather spoke up in alarm. "Hiccup, you haven't seen that place. It's huge! And it's made of marble, and you know marble can withstand dragon fire!"
"Who said we'd be using dragon fire against it? Dragons can do more than breathe fire, you know."
"Yeah! We'll blow it up!" Tuffnut yelled.
"Break it up!"
"Crumple it up!"
"You can't crumple up marble, dummy!"
"You can after I'm through with it!"
Hiccup raised a hand for silence. "All I'm saying is, I highly doubt that place has ever been tested for what I'm going to throw at it." He paused again. "I know I'm being vague and speaking in hints, but it will be safer if everyone only knows the general idea and not the details. Just in case."
"So what's Part 5?" Valka asked.
"That part can and should be done at once," the King said. "Ryker Grimborn is Viggo's right hand man. If something happens to Viggo, he'll take over, like as not. And while he's not as smart, he's still got the wits to cause us trouble, and he's too useful to Viggo for us to ignore. So I want him out of the way." He turned to the group, "Now I don't care if that means killing him, locking him up somewhere, cutting a leg off, or whatever else anyone can think of, I just want it so he can't give Viggo any more assistance. It doesn't have to be extreme, just effective—and it's better if Viggo doesn't know it even happened. Volunteers?"
"I'll do it," Heather said darkly, "I can take care of it."
The King nodded. "All right. But remember, what you do to him is up to you."
"Don't worry about that."
The King nodded and began giving out assignments. "Valka, you're going to be in charge of the diversionary army." He wanted a human on that assignment who could speak Dragonese, and the dragons would trust Valka more than anyone else. "Heather, once you're done with Ryker you'll fly to Barren Island. Fishlegs, you're going to be in charge of that operation. I'll work out the details with everyone individually. Queen Mala, you and your people will be rescuing the hostages. The Thorsten Twins, Eret, Camicazi and Bertha are going to join you."
"What about the rest of my tribe?" Bertha demanded.
"They're going to be the distraction. I'm gambling that the only Bog Burglars the Hunters know by sight are you and Cami. And like I said, I'll be discussing assignment details with the individuals whom they concern."
"What am I going to do?" Thuggory asked loudly.
"You're going to be part of the distraction—in disguise."
Camicazi groaned with disappointment.
"And who's going to handle Part 4?" Snotlout asked.
"I am."
"What about the dragons?" asked Camicazi.
"A handful will be used at the Fortress, but most are going with Valka."
The King spent several more hours filling them in one by one on the details of his plans. It was a lot of ground to cover, though in some respects he allowed them leeway, as he told the Bog Burglars, "So I don't care about what you do for a distraction, as long as it distracts them. Do a comic routine, do a striptease, perform a Greek tragedy or celebrate a Catholic Mass, I don't care. Just keep them—and by them I mostly mean Viggo—from paying any attention to what's going on in the rest of their fortress while the hostages are escaping."
"But how will my people get in there to begin with?" Bertha asked.
"With a little help and luck, Viggo is going to welcome them to his home as entertainment for the evening to celebrate his success."
"What success?" Queen Mala asked.
The King told them.
"I see. And will Dagur be able to play his part?"
The King swallowed. The real question was did he trust Dagur or not. "Yes." He said at last. "Yes, I think he will."
Since they were on the subject of people they were uncertain of, Bertha and Mala looked at Eret suspiciously. "Are you sure about him?"
"If he turns treacherous, do what you please. But he knows the interior of that place better than anyone present except Heather, and Heather won't be there. It'll help us save time this way."
Mala still made a mental note to ask Heather for a map of the Fortress.
"Hey, I'm thirsty," Snotlout said loudly, "Is there anything to drink here?"
The King, rather annoyed, pointed to the back room, "Just make sure you pay for it. We aren't thieves here,"
"Hah! And you're plotting to steal stuff from Viggo!"
Eret took the opportunity to speak. "Personally, I don't believe this'll work."
"Duly noted, but unless you've got a better idea it's what we're going with," the King replied coolly.
"Look, please believe me when I say I'm on your side now—and because I am, I've got to warn you, Viggo isn't a fool—this whole scheme of yours relies too much on chance, it's just—well, it'll be incredibly difficult if not impossible!" He was frustrated the King showed no signs of heeding his warnings.
The King just folded his arms and looked Eret square in the eye. "Try learning to run with a metal leg sometime."
He turned to his mother and started explaining what he wanted while Eret walked away dejectedly. Unlike Eret, Valka was impressed by the plan outlined for her, except for one thing.
"Is this going to come down to a fight?"
"Most likely, knowing Mogadon and Scolder," her son said grimly.
"Doesn't this go against everything we've been trying to promote?"
"Everybody's been telling me to 'show how powerful we are'. They've asked for it, so they're going to get it."
Valka nodded reluctantly. "All right."
"Still…give them chances to turn back…and try to keep the casualties low."
"I will. Well, I must say, this is quite a scheme. And it'll work."
"Yeah." He said quickly and dismissively.
"It'll work, Hiccup, it'll—"
"Eret doesn't think it will because he only knows what I need him to know. If he knew everything he might have more confidence. Or maybe not. Either way, I promise you, mom, I am not suffering from a lack of self-assurance right now,"
"You're father would be proud of you," she said softly.
The King took a deep breath. "Maybe."
"He would!" She put an arm on his shoulder. "And I'm proud of you."
He smiled shyly and turned a little red. Then the moment passed. "Well, let's not congratulate ourselves until we've succeeded." He paused. "Will someone bring the innkeeper and his daughter down here please?"
Two Defenders went to the room, opened the door, and brought Ingrid and her Father down to the King. "I suppose you two heard everything?"
"Not at all!" the Innkeeper cried. "I don't know what you're going to do to Grimmage Festung and Barren Island and I want no part of it!"
"Nope, he didn't hear a thing." Tuffnut muttered to Ruffnut, who looked at him in annoyance. She was focusing on Eret.
"But I do!" his daughter cried, "Can I come with you?"
"Ingrid!"
The King eyed her skeptically. "You sure? There's no turning back once you're committed to this."
"I'm sure."
"Now just a minute!" her father shouted, "Ingrid isn't going anywhere! I hear you people talking about plans about fights and thefts and we want nothing to do with them! I don't think you've even got the slightest idea of what you're fighting for!"
There was a murmur and a few people exchanged uncertain glances. The King raised his eyebrows and turned to face the congregation.
"You all know why I'm doing this. That man murdered my father and imprisoned my wife and captured my tribe, so I'm getting my tribe and family back. As for why you all are doing this, well, I suppose everybody has their own reasons. But I would strike at Viggo now even if he hadn't attacked Berk. You know why? It's not just because he kills dragons and sells them. It's because he's reached the point where he won't stop himself for anything. It's now either his way or extermination. And I know sometimes that's what powerful people have to do. I myself have used similar threats before. But who benefits from doing things 'his way'? Nobody but him. Oh sure, he'll let his supporters stay alive, but only as long as it's profitable to him. When I came to that gathering of Chiefs, so long ago, and basically ordered you to accept dragons or else, who benefited? Everyone who accepted dragons for what they truly were! I gave you a promise and hope of peace, prosperity, friendship, and security! I gave you friends who helped lighten your labors, helped ensure your survival, and made life much more interesting!"
"Yeah, it's never dull with winged fire breathing reptiles around," Fishlegs said, prompting some laughter.
"Very true. But if Viggo had his way, we'd all be his employees, slaving away for as long as he pleased for a few grains a day, more like living carcasses than actual people. He only wants us around because we're a means to an end, and that end is wealth and power for him and him alone. He'd root out the sun if it stood in the way of his profits. That kind of selfishness and arrogance sickens me and, so help me, I am going to stand against it, as any decent human being should! We are standing against him because we believe we deserve to be treated better than he would have! We've stood in the way of his profits, but he wants to stand in the way of our lives! Are we free to choose our own destinies, or should we submit meekly to one man's greed? That is why we are going to fight against Viggo, and because we've got to prove to him, the rest of the world, and to ourselves, that we are not going to be walked over by some man of business because we don't want his business any longer!"
He slammed his hand on a table as he finished. Nobody spoke for a moment. Then the whole room burst into applause. He quickly waved a hand for silence.
"Save the clapping for if we win. Now, Sir, do you object to your daughter taking part in a cause like this?"
"Such a thing is not for a woman," he replied stiffly.
"I just don't understand why countries put down women so much! So Ingrid, do you object to taking part in a cause like this?"
"Oh no!" she cried eagerly.
"All right. I'll find a way to fit you into my plans." And with that he moved onto other matters with other people, leaving Ingrid looking a little crestfallen. Camicazi noticed and went over to her.
"Did you hope he was going to take you under his wing or something?"
"Well…"
"Oh I know what you're thinking about. Forget it, sister. He's already married, and his wife has a well earned reputation for a violent temper."
Much later, after nearly everyone else had gone, Ingrid was in her room busily preparing to leave. Snotlout had volunteered to help, which naturally meant he was trying to flirt with her. While Ingrid was not the loveliest woman in the world, since Astrid was off the market and Heather and Camicazi were not present, he decided she was pretty enough.
"—and just wait until you see me on Hookfang, my dear. There's nothing in the world that can stop us!"
"Oh really?" she asked skeptically.
"Yes really. And it's an amazing thing, but I've found your type of skin shade looks so 'hot' when it's contrasting with the flames of a Monstrous Nightmare!"
Ingrid frowned at the rotten attempt to sound romantic. "Are all the Dragon King's friends like you?"
"Oh not in the least," Snotlout bragged, "Nobody comes even close to comparing with me, in fact, I—" He suddenly stopped what he was doing. "I don't feel so good," His face was growing pale and he put a hand to his stomach. "I'll be right…" he ran from the room and she heard him vomit.
"Are you alright?" she yelled, rushing to his side. He was shaking. She laughed. "Had a bit too much to drink, huh?"
"Just…water…" he whimpered. "Ulg! My stomach—hurts, it hurts. Where's the—where's the privy?"
"Outside. Here, I'll—"
But then she put the facts together. Water and an upset stomach. She screamed and leapt away from him. Snotlout screamed too, but in pain as he threw up again.
"HELP!" Ingrid yelled, "SOMEONE GET A DOCTOR!"
"HICCUP!" Snotlout shrieked, doubling over, "HICCUP?"
Camicazi was the first to reach them. "What's going on?"
"WHERE'S HICCUP?"
"He just left—what's going on?"
Ingrid looked terrified. "Cholera!"