Chapter 7
Lone Surprises
"Land ho!"
We were in our voyage only a handful of days, everyone having settled into life on the ship as best as we could. There had been a couple minor scraps between me, Camicazi, and Eustace, but nothing serious. However, the sight of land was a welcome thing to all of us.
Eustace was more than elated, as he wrongly assumed we might have been approaching a land with somewhat modern technology, something he could use to contact his home. The rest of us decided not to break it to him, instead waiting to watch the reaction that would certainly come as soon as we hit the islands.
Hiccup and Astrid came up to the deck and walked over next to me, by the railing. We looked out over the side, toward the looming islands ahead. "See anyone yet?" Astrid asked, as we were close enough to see outlines of buildings. I powered up my eyesight, but after a few moments of observation, I could only shake my head.
"Didn't really expect to," I admitted. "But I am going to go ashore with them. And I would like all the riders to fly a patrol around the perimeter of that island there." I pointed toward the jut of land behind the larger one we were approaching. We would weigh anchor near the big one, which looked more inhabited, but we didn't really know what could be on the other one either.
Astrid looked at me curiously. "Something going to happen there?" she asked. I shook my head, replying, "Not as far as I know, but I would rather not take any chances. With how empty the main town looks, I don't want any nasty surprises." Hiccup turned his eyes away from the town on the shore, and focused them on me. "Don't do anything stupid while we're busy," he said, only half joking. I smiled and turned back toward the islands.
"You realize this could be extremely dangerous, right?" Peter asked as we climbed into the boats we would take to shore. I shrugged in reply. "Eh, I helped take out a rogue dragon that could spray both fire and acid, as well as turn completely invisible to the naked eye," I drawled sarcastically. "I highly doubt there will be anything that will manage to scare me off here."
"So there are dragons even you don't like," Eustace prodded. I shot him a glare, also noting Edmund doing the same thing out of the corner of my eye. "There's no use in provoking anyone, Eustace," Reepicheep called out from the boat next to us. Eustace was about to reply, before he yelped in surprise as the boats suddenly jerked downward as they were lowered into the water.
We reached the docking point on the shore and tied up, against a set of stone steps leading from the water to a path along the town wall. I stepped off the boat gracefully and turned back to see Reepicheep holding out a paw to Eustace, who was struggling just to stand up on the rocking vessel. "Come on, jelly legs," he encouraged.
"I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself!" Eustace snapped in reply, just in time to trip over the side of the boat and fall onto the stone steps with a loud "Oooff!"
Reep sighed, and Caspian glanced at the Pevensie siblings, commenting offhandedly, "And you're sure he's related by blood?" Not that they were really paying attention to their arrogant cousin. Lucy and Susan stood close together, glancing around at the empty pathway and the buildings above. "It's so empty," Lucy said quietly. "Where is everyone?"
Reepicheep ran up to the slanting path just above us, and climbed up on the stone handhold. I followed him. "The entire place looks deserted," Peter muttered behind us, before treading slowly past me.
BBOONNNNGGGGG!
Everyone except me jolted as a loud bell in the tower high above in the town rang out, and the flock of birds that were roosting in the tower took flight. Caspian and Susan raised their bows as Peter and Edmund pulled swords out. Caspian signaled forward before looking at Reepicheep. "If we're not back by sundown, send a rescue party," he ordered, before turning and walking up the path, crossbow at the ready. The Pevensies and I followed, Eustace awkwardly walking between us.
The path wound its way gradually upward into the town, through narrow streets and past a wide, barren courtyard. All around, there was barely any sign of recent habitation. "This is seriously creeping me out," I heard Lucy whisper. Eventually, we reached the open courtyard in front of the bell tower. Eustace wandered off from us to look through a nearby window. A moment later, he backed away and nervously skittered toward us again.
"Looks like no one's home, so should we just head back?" he asked as he trotted up to us. "Liar," I muttered under my breath, knowing when someone was trying to hide something, but I didn't bother saying anything out loud. Edmund looked tiredly over at his cousin.
"You want to come over here and…guard the door?" he asked. Eustace seemed to perk up a bit. "Ah, yes, good idea cousin!" he exclaimed a little too enthusiastically to be believable. As I sauntered over, Caspian gave Eustace a knife, which suddenly reminded me to check my swords: all four present and accounted for. Then, the rest of them began to head for the tower's door.
"I'm going to check around back," I said, and headed slowly around the corner as Caspian, Peter, Lucy, Edmund, and Susan stepped into the doorway and inside the tower. Turning up my hearing, I could barely catch the five's voices inside through the thick stone walls. As I slunk around the edge of the building, I noted how large it was, and upon reaching the other end, I found an interesting clue: a piece of smooth cloth. I bent down, picking it up. "Hmm, matches what I remember of their clothes," I mused, turning it over and examining it.
Movement! I jerked upward and looked toward the houses lining up next to me. Sliding up to the nearest wall, I strengthened my eyes and peered around into the gloom. No one was there, but I could hear skittering footsteps somewhere. I silently skirted the street to its end, looking down the side alley.
BONG! BONG! BONGBONGBONGBONGBONG! "YYAAAAHHH!"
I spun around, catching the sound of the bells ringing and the echoes of fighting drifting out of the bell tower. Striding back down the street, I made my way back toward the main door. "Sometimes I really hate being right," I muttered, drawing my first sword.
"AAAAAHHHH!"
An ear-splitting scream punctured the sound of battle, and I immediately recognized who it was. The next voice confirmed it. "Unless you want to hear this one scream like a little girl again," a nasally, overconfident man spoke, "I suggest you put down your weapons." The sound of the tower door closing was followed by Eustace squealing, "Lemme go!"
"Now!" the bandit yelled, as I skirted around the side of the tower and raced toward the front door. "You will be sorry you fools!" I heard Caspian reply as swords clanged to the ground inside. "Do you know who I am? I am your king!"
That was quickly followed by someone being slapped. "You're going to pay for that!" Edmund growled. Meanwhile, I slowed as I reached to front door, raising my sword up in front of me, as another, even more egotistic voice called out, "Actually, someone else is going to pay. For all of you."
I smirked. "Afraid not, airhead," I muttered, and aimed the tip of my sword at the seam between the doors. Focusing for a moment, I felt energy build up inside me, and I sent a stream of electricity crackling down the sword, causing it to glow red hot, and the bolt exploded off the tip and hit the seam, crackling and sending the doors blowing open in a flash, a roiling cloud of smoke, and a loud BANG!
As Hawken headed around the side of the building, Caspian led the others inside the tower. No torches were lit, and the only light was that which filtered through the small windows in the tower walls. The tower was mostly empty, the only thing inside being a small table, with a large open book resting on it.
"This is giving me a bad feeling," Lucy said quietly. The others nodded, but still advanced toward the book. Upon reaching it, they peered at the scrolling lists of names inside, with numbers corresponding to each one. "This looks like a monetary record," Peter said. "But who are all these people, and why have some of them been crossed out?"
"Maybe it's a tax record of some sort," Susan offered. Caspian however, shook his head. "No, this is a slave trader's book. These are people who have been sold." There was silence for a moment, before Lucy replied. "So that's where everyone has gone," she muttered. "They've been sold as-"
Suddenly, she was cut off as the bells above them began to clang and ring, and the yells of numerous men rang out above them. All five pulled out their weapons, Caspian and Susan aiming their bows upward and firing at the men who came sliding down the bell pulls. A couple arrows found their mark as the slavers screamed and fell off, hitting the ground hard. The rest landed easily, however, and pulled out weapons of their own. They launched themselves at the newcomers, blades flashing. Edmund and Peter parried the blows and sent a number of men to the floor, some of them never to get back up, and the others soon became busy themselves as they fought off the marauders.
"AAAHHH!"
The scream echoed through the tower, causing everyone to stop, and turn toward the door. There, stood another bandit, holding Eustace by the arm and holding the knife Caspian had given him to the boy's throat. "Unless you want to hear this one scream like a little girl again," he warned, closing the doors behind him, "I suggest you put down your weapons." "Lemme go!" Eustace squealed, before the man brought the knife up tighter and yelled, "Now!"
"Eustace!" Edmund growled angrily, as he and the others dropped their swords helplessly. As the bandits moved forward to start binding their captives, Caspian glared angrily at them. "You will be sorry you fools! Do you know who I am? I am your king!"
Naturally, the slave traders didn't care. As they put them into shackles, one of them reached out and smacked Edmund across the face. He grimaced, and glared at the man, growling, "You're going to pay for that!"
"Actually," a new voice sneered, as a very ornately dressed man stepped out of the shadows, "Someone else is going to pay. For all of you." He began to snicker as Caspian and the others struggled against their captors, and they began to be dragged toward the doors.
That is, until the air around the doors began to crackle, and the seam between them lit up blindingly, the doors exploding inward in a cloud of smoke and electric sparks. Everyone in the tower stood stock still as the smoke cleared, revealing another young teen with a glowing hot sword crackling with lightning, and a pair of cocky, glittering red eyes and slit pupils.
"What on earth?!" someone sputtered inside, and as the smoke cleared and the people I was facing became visible, I reabsorbed the residual electricity coursing over my blade, vaguely watching the blue bands of light run up my arms and dramatically circling my eyes before fading completely. I stepped forward and aimed my still-glowing sword at the man holding Eustace still by the neck.
"Release him and drop the knife," I growled, now absorbing the heat and cooling the sword, the glow dulling to reveal the shining metal. The man looked down at the sword warily, then back up to me. "And who are you, little magician?" he sneered. My eyes shifted again, perfectly matching the shape as well as color of a Shadow Dragon for a moment, before fading back to the dull red slits they were before.
"Magician or sorcerer I am not," I hissed, the draconic edge leaking into my voice, "but one way or another, I am the one who will see you put down that boy one way or another."
The man drew his own sword, while still holding the knife to make sure Eustace didn't try to run off, and aimed it at me. "I see we've got a daydreamer here," he scoffed. "Because only in your dreams am I going to let him go." I shrugged in response. "Very well, your choice."
Not bothering to look behind me, I silently extended the split Zippleback tail, grabbing the doors while everyone was focused on my sword and eyes, and slammed them shut again. Retracting the tail back before anyone would notice, I took satisfaction in watching everyone jump at the sound, before spinning to the side and swiping my sword down onto the bandit's, forcing it from his hand before he could react, and giving Eustace an opening which he wisely took, scrambling away and up against the wall. Meanwhile, more of the slave traders walked forward to surround me. I simply smirked and drew a second sword.
"Hawken, what are you doing?" I heard Caspian yell. "You'll get yourself killed!" "I agree," the apparent leader said, stepping to where I could see him. He was dressed in gaudy robes, and wearing a number of ornate necklaces and other shiny objects. "Drop the swords and we will spare you an extra beating," he ordered. Every man drew a sword, and I just smiled wider, further irritating them. "Oh, good luck with that," I quipped. "You're too slow to even touch me!"
Laughing in a taunting fashion, I launched myself upward and over the circle of men, back-flipping and spinning as I landed to face them. From behind me again rose the bifurcated Zippleback tail, and with each tip I grabbed my final two swords, and whipped them out with a loud SCHWWAANNNNGG! as they left their scabbards.
"Ready when you are," I chuckled. The immediate response, naturally, was "Kill it!" Immediately they all rushed at me, swords outstretched. I spun and leaped again, slashing my swords in four different directions at once, striking weapons, blunting heads, and shearing off swaths of fabric. I twirled the ends of my tail, the swords whistling as they spun and whipped outward, forcing the bandits back. Meanwhile, both hands were busy with one on one combat with two of the men. I turned on a dime, broadsiding a group of them with my tail and the swords, and put them out of action as they slammed either into the columns of the tower or the stone floor.
Coordination to separately control four limbs in battle is something only a dragon can really pull off well, and time seemed to slow down for me as the swords spun around me in a blinding blur. Time and again they clashed with metal and robes, and I was vaguely aware at one point of others joining the battle with me. As I leapt upward once again, I spread out a pair of Timberjack wings, gliding down and slamming them outward, flattening the bandits around me against the nearest wall. Not long after that, the last of them was brought down with an arrow from behind me. I turned to see Susan unlocked and holding her bow, and Peter sheathing his sword, while Caspian held the leader to the wall with his sword.
"So that's why you can talk to dragons," Peter commented almost nonchalantly as he looked around, then back at me, "you are one." I chuckled and smiled. "Eh, only partly, but yeah."
"AAAARRRGGHHH!"
From the shadows burst one last bandit, sword held high and aiming for Caspian. I whipped my tail down again and grabbed a fallen dagger by its hilt, whipping it up and flinging it toward the man, catching him through the clothes on his shoulder and throwing him back, pinning him against a nearby column. Bending down and finding a set of keys on one of the men, I tossed them to Caspian, then grabbed the shackles now lying on the floor and began to bind the thieves.
"So what did they want you for?" I asked somewhat nonchalantly. "They're slave traders," Susan quipped back in disapproval. "I remember fighting men like them once, back when we were the Narnian rulers." I nodded out of habit, before looking around at some of the bandits we'd chained up. Most of them were unconscious or worse, and the one I was chaining up now I could see had a deep sword wound. Knowing he was still alive, but not for much longer in that state, I placed my hand over the gash and focused for a minute, whispering out of habit, "Heal." A slight glow appeared beneath my palm, and then disappeared as the man gasped in a deep breath, but remained unconscious.
"What was that?" Peter asked incredulously. "He was as good as dead! And now you're a healer as well as a dragon boy?" I shrugged. "Well, if a person dies, they can't really learn a lesson now can they?" I replied, not bothering to look up as I repeated the action on another still-breathing bandit. "Nor can they be humiliated by their actions. Plus, the healing thing kind of goes along with the whole turn-into-a-dragon thing."
A rustling noise reached my ears, which swiveled backward as far as any human's could. Turning, I spotted Eustace standing up slowly against the wall he'd cowered by, looking rather shell-shocked. "No reason to hide anymore," I called out. He jumped in surprise and looked at me suspiciously.
"What. In the world. Are you?!" he exclaimed. "A human," I drawled. He shook his head. "No, no you aren't," he snapped back. "A normal person doesn't suddenly sprout tails and wings and fight like a martial arts prodigy!" I chuckled and shrugged as I turned to look directly at the boy. "Okay, so I'm not 'normal,' as you put it. Happy?" I stood up and flared my wings again for effect. Eustace jumped back again, this time comically hitting the wall, in response.
"I entered this world and was granted a gift," I explained. "It's one that has helped me save lives many times before." Looking down at the men on the floor, I said, "Come to think of it now, I just saved your sorry, skinny butt as well. A little appreciation for that ought to be in order."
Eustace just glared at me. "Some gift," he spat as I returned to cuffing the bandits. "You'd think having a gift would mean you'd at least be able to become some sort of decent creature." "Eustace, that's enough!" Lucy snapped. I turned and gave the boy a long, hard glare anyway though.
"Watch your tongue lad," I growled warningly. "Keep that mouth up and it will get you into a heap of trouble."
Once all the slavers were chained up properly, we chained them to the wall and stepped outside again. "Whoever is here that is still loyal to Narnia, you are free to come out!" Caspian called. "The slave traders have been dealt with!" We had already gained an audience of peeping eyes, I could see, but slowly, a single door opened and the head of a young man peered out.
"Who are you then?" he queried cautiously. Caspian smiled and opened his arms warmly. "I am Caspian, your king, and these are my friends."
Silence ensued for a moment, before all around us doors began to open up and people at first slowly, then more numerously, stepped out, and bowed in respect to Caspian, as a slow applause began to build. One citizen, and older woman, approached the young king.
"I beg your pardon, my king, but our friend Lord Bern is in the prison," she said. "We do not have the keys to release him, will you free him?" Caspian's eyes widened with recognition of the name. "Of course!" he exclaimed. "Lead the way!"
The woman led us through the growing, now boisterous crowd, growing faster as other people formerly held prisoner in the buildings around us were brought out and set free, and down through the heart of the city. We reached the front of a small building with a heavy wooden door, and opened it. Inside the walls were lined with numerous barred doors, each leading into prison cells. In one sat an aged, ragged looking man.
"Lord Bern?" Caspian asked slowly. The man looked up, flicking his eyes over Caspian, before sighing and looking dejectedly at the floor. "Lord once," he muttered sadly, "but I am no longer deserving of that title. Look where I sit now." Caspian walked forward to the door. "I am king Caspian, sir, and I am here to free you and restore you to that title," he said. The man looked up, slow recognition crawling into his eyes.
"C-Caspian?" he stuttered. "Is it really you?" Said man nodded, replying, "Yes, it is." "Oh, I am so sorry," Lord Bern cried as Caspian found the right key and opened the door, and fell to his knees. "I failed you here!" Caspian rushed to him and picked him up. "No my friend, you have done nothing wrong here," he reassured. "We saw the people who you were forced under, and have dealt with that problem."
Lord Bern sighed and stood up straight, looking Caspian in the eyes. "No, no, I doubt you have solved all our problems," he said. "The slave traders were only part of it."
At that very moment, a rumbling noise accompanied by the shrill cries of frightened people came echoing in from beyond the window of the cell. "What is that?" Edmund asked behind us. "The other source of our problems," Bern replied. We looked at each other, and rushed to the window, peering out.
Down below, was another dock far below the prison. Nearly to the shore was a wagon full of people, and at the dock sat a boat half full already with others, bound by their hands and unable to run. As we watched, the wagon reached the docks, and more of the slave traders, those who were obviously not in the bell tower, began dragging the people in the wagon onto the boat. Screams of terror sounded.
"Oh no," I whispered, backing toward the exit. "What?" Caspian and Peter asked together. "I think I know what they're doing," I replied, voice rising. "I need to get down there now!" I whipped around and bolted out the door, rounding the corner in the direction of the dock. As I ran, I flared out a pair of mist-colored wings, dropping to all fours as the rest of me transformed as well. I leapt into the air, thrusting my wings downward as I screamed out, ::Thorn! Toothless! I need your help now!:: and shot toward the harbor.
But, I was already too late. The slave traders had already shoved the boat out onto the water, and that was the cue for the nightmare to awaken. The sky darkened with unnatural low clouds as the boat was caught in a current and raced toward the narrow channel between islands. As I passed over the town and above the harbor, I watched in horror as from out of the ocean bubbled a scene almost right from the movie: a seething, whispering, living greenish mist, but within I could see figures, something within reaching out for the boat. It raced toward them faster than I did.
I glanced up for a split second to spot Thorn, Toothless, and their riders racing toward me from the island beyond, and toward the mist, but they were even further than I was, and the mist wrapped tendrils around the boat, screams of terror echoing from within.
NNOOOO!" I roared, diving down as the boat vanished from sight and the mist began to retreat, firing a vaporous stream of flames at the cloud. If anything, that attack only seemed to alert whatever it was to my presence there, as the apparition-like hands within reached out for me, and the whispering voices seemed to call my name in anger. I dodged the grasping cloud, and it soon faded back into nothing.
The sky began to clear into a blazing sunset again, and the other dragons and Vikings finally reached me. ::What on earth was that?:: Toothless gasped, panting. ::It felt… evil.::
::It was,:: I growled back. ::Whatever it was, that was pure evil. Demons, I could feel it. But I…I don't know why they're here. Come on.:: We dove down toward the docks below. I flared my wings, dropping to the ground and transforming back, keeping the wings and tail and pulling out my main sword, pointing it toward the thieves before us.
"I'm in a really bad mood, so I suggest you surrender now, peacefully, or you'll be unconscious before you can say the word dragon," I hissed at the momentarily dumfounded slavers. Toothless and Thorn landed behind me, baring their own teeth in a snarl and their riders jumping off and bringing their own weapons to bear.
"What kind of sorcery is this?" one of the slavers exclaimed. "None at all, that's probably what the mist was," I replied lowly, leveling my sword at him and stepping forward. "But I am a very ticked off new friend of Narnia."
The mention of that name was all it took. All the men dove for us, daggers and curved blades flashing out. I raised my sword up, and quickly drove it down into the dirt, sending a bolt of electricity flowing down and arcing across the ground. Raising one hand up, I sent the flow of lighting curling up off the ground in waves and into a crackling wall of electricity, sparking each time someone ran into it trying to stab one of us.
"What it that?!" I suddenly heard from behind me. I turned to see Reepicheep and some of the guards from the boat racing up the streets from the southern harbor where we'd docked. "Nice to see you here to help finally!" I yelled over the crackling electric wall. Turning back to the deadly masterpiece, I sent another wave of energy down the sword, causing a controlled overload and an explosion of light. The nearest bandits were thrown into their allies, temporarily blinded. The wall faded away, and Hiccup and Astrid raced forward, Toothless and Thorn diving in from above, all four delivering blows to the enemies. Behind them came Caspian, the Pevensies, and some of the now-armed villagers.
The battle was short, and ended with most of the slavers knocked out or rendered otherwise unable to fight. I glanced at Hiccup, who was sheathing his sword. "Finally getting some real backbone in one-on-one fights, huh?" I teased. He shrugged. "You can thank Astrid and yourself for that," he replied, before turning to Astrid. As he did so, though, I caught sight of a long, shallow cut down his left arm. "Oh, Hiccup? Find me on the ship after this so we can take care of that cut," I said, gesturing to it. He looked down, and nodded.
By now all the town citizens had appeared, most of them racing up to Caspian to figure out what to do with the marauders and the rest of the town. Lord Bern was nowhere in sight, however. I glanced down as Reepicheep came walking up beside me, a knowing look on his face. I knew what he was going to say.
"So you only talk to dragons, eh?" he said rhetorically. I shrugged. "I never said only. So I'm different from everyone else, what about it?" Reepicheep shook his head. "Oh, nothing, nothing, but, um, I get the feeling Eustace is probably not very fond of it." I snorted. "What else is new?"
Reep readied a reply, before I heard my name being called. I turned to see Caspian walking toward me. "Hawken, might you have any idea what that fog, or whatever it was, might have been?" he asked. "You seem to know more than you let on, and the citizens here are very concerned about their missing friends." I shrugged in reply. "Unfortunately, I have no more real answers than you do," I said. "But, if it's anything like what I've watched back home, and chances are it's at least similar, I have a feeling we just watched evil in a physical form." He nodded warily, the statement doing nothing to calm his nerves.
"Anything else you might be able to tell us?" he asked hopefully. "The villagers say many of their family members have been sent off to it, and they're looking for any piece of hope." I shrugged dejectedly. "Look, in the movie I saw they were found at the end, but not everything happens the same, and it's often only been a similar parallel. Nothing I know is concrete if it hasn't happened already. But, if there is an answer, we may find it further to the west."
We all began to head back toward the harbor we had docked at, and on the way we found many, many helping hands, willing to find supplies or help with repairs for us. Whatever it was that had taken the one boat, it apparently had been around for some time, and everyone wanted to help us so that we could possibly find answers.
"Caspian, my lord!" came a voice behind us suddenly. We all turned to see Lord Bern heading for us, with a heavily salt-encrusted sword in his hands. "Before you leave," he called, presenting it to Caspian, "take this as a gift from us."
Peer stepped out from the group to look at the weapon. "This looks familiar," he mused. Bern nodded. "It probably is. This sword is over 300 years old, one of the seven swords that was gifted to the kings and queens at Cair Paravel, as a symbol of protection." He nodded to the coast of the island, further to the north. "I've kept it safe in a cave over the years, and who knows, it may help you find the secrets you will be searching for." Peter took the sword as Caspian handed it to him, and nodded. "Thank you," he said, while in the background we heard Eustace scoff at what he saw as a ridiculous ritual.
For the next five minutes however, I stayed silent, chills running up and down my spine. A lot of this was certainly far too familiar, very similar to the movie from home, but something was different. We were in for a wild ride, I knew, and this was just the start, but there was something under the surface too, something I could feel was waiting, just waiting, for one of us to slip up.
A/N-So, the first major action in the book, hopefully it's not as terrible as the author thinks it sounds :)
The plot is going to be rather similar, but as mentioned above, there's far more just below the surface. Things start now that will not be easily undone.
As always, read, review, and let me know what you think!