Chapter 23: A Day with Dagur
Two Years Later
Berk
May 3
Eight-year-old Hiccup, Stoick and Gobber were all eating supper in the Haddock household. Stoick sat at one side of the kitchen table while Hiccup and Gobber sat on the other side. The meal was being eaten in silence, something that Gobber instantly noticed. And from the way Hiccup and Stoick were focusing on their dinner, he seemed to be the only one who noticed it. Gobber looked from his friend to his young apprentice and it was obvious that neither seemed to have any interest in starting a conversation.
"Uh, you know, lads," he piped up. "Dinner shouldn't just be a time for chewing our cud like a bunch of old yaks. It should also be a time for conversations."
It was then that Hiccup and Stoick looked up from their plates to Gobber.
"What's there to talk about?" Hiccup asked.
"Anything," Gobber answered. "Why don't you tell your old dad about your day in the forge with me?"
"Dad doesn't wanna hear about my day," Hiccup said gloomily.
"Sure he does!" Gobber said. "All dads wanna hear about their kids' days, right, Stoick?"
"Well…" Stoick started.
"Excellent!" Gobber said excitedly. "Hiccup, tell your father everything that we did in the forge today."
Stoick sighed. "All right, son, let's hear it."
"Well…" Hiccup said slowly. "Gobber and I made some new swords, painted some shields but no clouds, stars and flowers, then we repaired some broken weapons and then Gobber told me a story…uh, but no troll stories."
"Sounds like a nice day you and Gobber had, son," Stoick replied.
"All right, Stoick, now you tell Hiccup about your day," Gobber said encouragingly.
Stoick was just about to say something when a knock on the door interrupted him.
"Hold on, boys, I'd better get that," he said.
Stoick got up from his chair and walked over to the door. He opened it to find a blonde-bearded Viking.
"This message has just arrived for you, Stoick," he said, handing the Chief a rolled-up scroll.
"Thank you," Stoick said, taking the scroll.
He waved good-bye to the departing Viking, shut the door and went back to his seat opposite side of Hiccup and Gobber.
"Who's it from, Dad?" Hiccup asked eagerly.
"I'll find out soon enough, son," Stoick said as he untied the string holding the scroll and unrolled it.
"What does it say?" Hiccup asked.
"In a minute, Hiccup," Stoick said, holding up a finger and keeping his eyes on the message.
Pushing his plate aside, Hiccup climbed up out of his seat, crawled across the table and craned his neck to peek at the scroll, trying to read the message. But all he got to see was a close-up of the annoyed look Stoick shot him as he looked up from the note.
"I said in a minute, Hiccup," he said. "And no feet on the table."
Hiccup felt as though something just latched itself at the back of his collar – Gobber's hook! The blacksmith pulled Hiccup across the table and placed him back in his chair. After a minute, Stoick finally looked up.
"It's from Oswald the Agreeable," he announced.
"The Chief of the Berserkers?" Hiccup asked.
"The one and only, laddie," Gobber said. "So what does the old peace-keeping chief say, old friend?"
"Yeah, Dad, what does it say?" Hiccup asked.
Stoick cleared his throat and read from the letter: "Dear Stoick, Next month I will be traveling to your island for our annual peace treaty signing. And this time, I'll be bringing my son, Dagur along with me. Now that he is growing up, I want him to expand his horizons and see some parts of the world outside our island. I also want him to get into the habit of making some friends and I thought that he might get along just fine with your son, Hiccup. He's always wanted a little brother and I'm sure Hiccup will make a fine brother-like figure for him. Plus, I've run clean out of nannies to look after him during my travels. See you in one month! Yours truly, Oswald the Agreeable, Chief of the Berserker Tribe."
"So old Oswald is coming next month, eh?" Gobber said.
"And he's bringing his son, Dagur too?" Hiccup asked.
"Well, isn't that wonderful, th!"
"Oh, I don't know Hiccup?" Gobber asked cheerfully. "You'll be getting yourself a new playmate next mon
," Hiccup said. "From what Chief Oswald says in the letters he sends you Dad, Dagur sounds a little…crazy."
"Well, I admit the boy was a bit rambunctious when he was a youngster," Stoick said. "But who knows? Maybe he's outgrown his mischievous stage and learned to be a behaved boy."
"Yeah, maybe," Hiccup said.
"Buck up, laddie," Gobber said, putting his good hand on the boy's shoulder. "Give Dagur a chance and spend some time with him while your dads spend some time together."
"Well…okay," Hiccup said.
"That's my boy," Stoick said proudly.
"Well, I'm glad we've had a nice conversation," Gobber said.
…
One Month Later
Off the Coast of Berk
June 3
Twelve-year-old Dagur stood pouting near the rails of his father's ship with his arms crossed and his chin in the air.
His father, Oswald the Agreeable approached him and said cheerfully, "Isn't this exciting, Dagur? You're off on a real, live adventure!"
"No, Dad, it's not exciting," Dagur retorted. "I can't believe you dragged me away from our island home where there's lots of things to do and placed me on some stinky old boat to travel to another island where there's probably nothing to do."
"Now, Dagur," Oswald said reasonably. "I think you'll find that there are plenty of things to do in Berk as there are back on Berserker Island."
"Like what?" Dagur asked, uninterested.
"Well…you could explore the woods and the beaches," Oswald suggested. "And you could play with Stoick's son, Hiccup. I'm sure the two of you will make the best of friends. And I think friends are just the things you need to calm your…eh…hyperactive behavior."
"I don't want any friends, Dad, I like being alone. Not to mention that the Chief's son is the only reason you made me go on this trip in the first place."
"Now, now, I think you should give Hiccup a chance. After all, I know how much you wanted a baby brother."
"Oh, yes, dearest Father," Dagur said sarcastically. "I've wanted a baby brother my whole life. When we found out that Mom was pregnant again, I begged and begged her and you to make sure it would be a boy. And when that day finally arrived, I ended up with a sissy little sister instead!"
"Now, Dagur, we've discussed this so many times. It's not for the parents to decide if their baby should be a boy or a girl. That decision is for the gods. And speaking of the gods, may Odin bless your mother's soul. She remained strong, firm and true to bring young Heather into the world before leaving it herself."
"Yeah, Odin bless Mom's soul. We miss her so," Dagur said hastily. "Well, I have to admit. It was fun having Heather around. It was fun to frighten her with my scary faces and attempt to run her over with that ornate shield you let her play with. But then you had to send her away to live with some wimpy, doting childless couple on some far, away, equally wimpy island!"
Oswald tried his best to remain patient. "Well, maybe I wouldn't had to have sent her away if you had been a little more gentle with her. And maybe you could make up for it by being a little gentle with Hiccup."
"But being gentle's so overrated," Dagur muttered.
Fortunately, the father and son didn't have to argue for long for a herald arrived at their side.
"Chief Oswald, we're nearing Berk," the herald announced. "It's just straight ahead."
"Thank Thor for that," Oswald said in relief. "All let men! Let's start picking up the pace. The sooner we arrive at Berk, the better."
"Yippie," Dagur grumbled.
….
Berk
June 3
Before long, Oswald's ship arrived at the docks of Berk. Dagur looked over the rails and saw two men and a boy standing on the dock on the other side. One man had a fiery red lion's mane of a beard and was dressed in clothes similar to what his dad was wearing.
Must be the oh-so-mighty Stoick the Vast Dad raves so much about, yay, Dagur thought unimpressed.
The man next to Stoick had a rope-like blonde mustache and a mallet attached to his left arm where a hand was supposed to be and a peg leg on his right side. The boy standing in between the men had dark auburn hair and grass-green eyes and appeared to be about a few years younger than him. Dagur figured he was the Chief's son, the one he was supposed to get to know better.
"Presenting, the Chief of the Berserker Tribe, Oswald the Agreeable!" the herald announced, gesturing to Oswald.
Looking at the herald, Oswald cleared his throat and pointed to Dagur.
"Yeah, herald, ahem, aheam," Dagur retorted.
"Oh, yes, and his son as well as our future heir to the throne, Dagur," the herald added.
"Welcome back, Oswald," Stoick said politely, shaking his father's hand. Then he turned to Dagur. "And welcome to Berk for the first time, Dagur. We are so glad you could come."
"Yeah, Dagur, welcome to Berk," Stoick's son piped up.
"Say, hello to Stoick and Hiccup, Dagur," Oswald encouraged.
"Hello to Stoick and Hiccup, Dagur," Dagur echoed in monotone.
Oswald, Stoick and the mustached man tried to hide their laughter. As for Hiccup, he smiled politely at Dagur and held out his hand to shake it. Dagur just glared at him and swatted the boy's hand away.
"And allow me to introduce myself," the mustached man announced, also holding out his hand for a shake. "I'm Gobber, the local blacksmith and the Chief's oldest and very dearest friend."
"Pleased to meet you, Gopher," Dagur replied, also swatting Gobber's hand away.
"Uh, Gobber, Dagur," Gobber corrected, rubbing his swatted hand against his hip.
"Don't mind him," Oswald assured. "He's just a little tired out from the long trip. It's his first one you know."
And hopefully the last, Dagur thought grumpily.
"Well, I'm sure he'll perk up once he sees how wonderful Berk can be," Gobber said.
"Hopefully," Oswald said.
"Well, that's where Hiccup comes in," Stoick said. "I figured I'd take your advise from the letter you sent me last month and have your son get to know mine."
"I'm glad you've decided to take my advice, Stoick," Oswald said. "Dagur could really use a friend."
"And Hiccup could use a friend as well," Stoick said.
"But what can Dagur and I do, Dad?" Hiccup asked.
"Good question, what can we do?" Dagur said, still unhappy of being paired up with a shrimp.
"Why don't you show Dagur around the island while Chief Oswald and I spend some time in the Great Hall?" Stoick suggested.
"Uh, okay," Hiccup said. "Where would you like to go first, Dagur?"
"I dunno and I don't care," Dagur muttered.
"How about you boys start at my forge?" Gobber suggested. "You could show him all the weapons and shields that we make and repair together, Hiccup."
"Well, since it involves weapons, I'd love to start the tour at your forge, Guzzler," Dagur said, excitement creeping up to him.
"That's Gobber," Gobber corrected.
"Just be extra careful in the forge, Dagur," Oswald warned. "Don't touch anything that's hot or sharp. Just look."
"Oh, I'll look all right, dearest Father," Dagur said pretending to sound innocent.
"Good," Oswald said.
"You go along with the boys to the forge Gobber and keep an eye on them," Stoick told his friend.
"Right-o, Chief," Gobber said importantly.
"Come along, boys, my forge is just up on top," Gobber said leading Hiccup and Dagur to a wooden walkway along the cliff walls.
"You boys behave yourselves," Stoick called after them.
"We will, Dad," Hiccup called
"We'll be on our best behavior," Dagur said in a pretend reassuring tone.
….
Along the way to the forge, Hiccup had explained to Dagur how he had worked for Gobber ever since he was five. Hiccup's story was not so exciting for Dagur's ears for he had his heart set on looking and playing with some of the weapons that would be waiting for him. It wasn't long before he, Gobber and Hiccup arrived.
Gobber's forge looked like any other blacksmith forge. In the center was the hearth where a small fire was crackling away and surrounding the hearth were barrels of axes, swords and other weapons. Round, colorful shields hung on the walls and smelting cauldrons hung on metal bars. The only thing that looked out of place in Dagur's eyes was a vase of flowers standing on one of the shelves.
"I see you like flowers, Gobber," Dagur commented.
"Oh, yes, I admit that flowers are my guilty pleasure," Gobber admitted.
"Well, the blacksmith back home wouldn't dare to make his forge look pretty," Dagur said. "He likes having his forge look like a forge not a home décor shop."
"Well, I like seeing the forge look pretty with flowers," Hiccup said.
"Me too, Hiccup, but I think we should take the flowers outside so Dagur wouldn't have to look at them," Gobber said, taking the vase off the shelf.
"I have a better idea, Gulper," Dagur said. "Why don't I take the flowers outside myself?"
"Well, all right, if you insist," Gobber said, holding out the vase.
"Thank you," Dagur said politely.
But instead of walking outside, Dagur approached the hearth and readied himself to throw the flowers right into the fire.
"DAGUR, NO!" Hiccup and Gobber exclaimed at the same time.
Hiccup ran towards Dagur to try to stop him and save the flowers but Dagur shoved the sole of his boot against Hiccup's stomach, knocking him down. There was no way he was gonna let that shrimp of a kid stop him from having fun. And with that, he threw the flowers out of the vase and into the fire. Dagur howled with laughter as he watched the colorful flowers disintegrate in the flames.
"DIE, FLOWERS, DIE! HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!"
"Dagur, what have you done?!" Hiccup exclaimed, getting to his feet and clutching his gut.
"What? I'm just trying to have some fun!" Dagur guffawed.
"Don't worry, lad, we'll pick some more after he leaves," Gobber whispered to Hiccup. Then he said aloud, "Dagur, would you like to see Hiccup's workshop?"
"No, I want to watch the flowers finish burning," Dagur said.
"But the flowers have finished burning," Gobber said. "There's nothing left but ashes that used to be flowers, wood and smoke."
"So?" Dagur retorted.
"Soooo you need to stop staring at the fire," Gobber replied, grabbing Dagur by the arm and pulling him away from the hearth. "You'll hurt your eyes. Hiccup, show him your workshop but don't show him anything too weird."
"Okay, Gobber," Hiccup said, rubbing his stomach where Dagur had kicked him. "Follow me, Dagur."
"Fine but I'm not gonna like it," Dagur said.
Dagur followed Hiccup into a small room. Inside was a desk stacked with piles of parchment paper and mugs of charcoal pencils and paintbrushes. On one side of the room was a box of knives and on the other side, a red-and-black shield rested against the wall.
"Let me show you one of my latest ideas, Dagur," Hiccup offered, holding up a piece of paper.
On the paper Hiccup held up was a hand holding onto what looked like a puny mace.
"Oh, you drew a picture of a hand holding a mace, how exciting," Dagur said, pretending to look excited.
"Not just any mace, a pocket mace," Hiccup explained.
"A pocket who?"
"A pocket mace. See how small it is? Some people carry pocket knives but why not a pocket mace too? Who says a mace has to be big? Small maces can be useful too."
"Useful as in how?"
"As in stabbing an enemy's eye out or stabbing the spikes deep enough into their hands or their feet or guts."
Hiccup picked up a few more papers with drawings of some small sized weapons.
"I also came up with the ideas of pocket axes and pocket bludgeons and…" Hiccup continued.
"I think I'll stick to the pocket knives, thank you," Dagur interrupted, holding up a hand and eyeing the knives in the box next to him. "And speaking of knives, did you make these ones in the box here?"
"Most of them," Hiccup answered.
Dagur picked one up, licked his finger and ran it down the blade.
"I must admit, you did a pretty good job on these for an inventor of weird weapons like the pocket mace," Dagur said slyly.
"Uh, thanks."
Hiccup was starting to look a little nervous and Dagur was glad to see that because he was about to have a little fun with his new "friend".
"When you first made them, did you ever check to see how sharp they are?"
"Uh, just by running them along pieces of wood and if we think they aren't sharp enough, we run them along the grindstone," Hiccup answered growing more nervous much to Dagur's delight.
"Well, back home, we Berserkers don't use pieces of wood or grindstones to see how sharp our weapons are. We have a different way of making sure."
"Do I even want to know what your different way is?"
"Why I'd be happy to show you."
And with that Dagur threw the knife against the wall just inches away from Hiccup's ear.
"Ah!" Hiccup cried.
"Oh, you like it? Good. Let me show you what I can do."
He threw another one towards the top of Hiccup's head. Hiccup ducked just in time. Then the boy grabbed the red-and-black shield and held it out in front of him.
"Gobber!" Hiccup cried.
"Oh, come on Hiccup," Dagur said throwing a few more knives at the shield. "How are you ever going to know how sharp your knives are if you keep hiding from them?"
He was just about to throw another knife when he felt it slip out of his grasp. Dagur looked up to see Gobber standing beside him with the knife in his good hand and a disapproving look on his face.
"This is a blacksmith forge, Dagur, not a playground," the blacksmith said sternly.
"Yes, Goofler," Dagur said in a mock-apologetic face and tone.
"Uh, Hiccup, why don't you take Dagur to the beach?" Gobber suggested. "I think you boys could use some fresh sea-salty air."
"Okay, Gobber," Hiccup murmured, poking his face out from behind the shield to see if the coast was clear.
"Good idea, Gobber," Dagur said. "Come, Hiccup. Lead the way."
Maybe hanging out with this Hiccup kid wouldn't be so bad after all.
…
By the time the two boys got to the beach, Dagur was looking from Hiccup who was admiring something to a flock of seagulls standing in a group not far from them. He was trying to decide what to do first – drown Hiccup or skewer himself a bird.
"Dagur, look what I found," Hiccup said excitedly, holding up a brightly colored conch shell.
"Why, thank you, Hiccup," Dagur said. "This conch shell is just what I need."
"It is?" Hiccup asked.
"Oh, yes. Let me have a better look at it."
"Sure."
Hiccup handed Dagur the shell and the older boy pretended to admire it. Then he dropped it and stomped on it multiple times, cracking the shell to pieces.
"Dagur, no!" Hiccup cried in horror. "You're not supposed to break it!"
"What else did you want me to do with it?" Dagur asked.
"You could've brought it home with you and put it on your table as a decoration," Hiccup said. "Or you could've given it to Trader Johann in exchange for something even better."
"That weirdo of a merchant with those even weirder stories he keeps telling? Puh-lease!"
"He's not weird!" Hiccup said defensively. "Yeah, he talks a lot but he's still nice which is what you should be learning how to be."
Dagur put on his best pretend-guilty look. "You know, Hiccup. You're absolutely right."
"I am?"
"Yes. I've been nothing but hostile to you, your father and mine and destructive to replaceable but beautiful things like Gabber's flowers and your shell. I should change my ways and learn to give and not take, love not hate. Let me make it up to you, Hiccup, please? I'll do anything to show that I intend to turn over a new leaf."
"Well, why don't we go swimming together?" Hiccup suggested. "It's a warm day for it."
Dagur tried his best to hide that sneaky glint in his eye. "That's just what I was thinking. After all, a big brother has got to teach his little brother how to swim. And I'd be glad to show you all that I know."
"Oh, I can swim okay but I'd love for you to show me what you know."
"Well, then, let's just step into the water, shall we?"
"Okay."
As Dagur started to wade through the shallow waters, he went a little further than Hiccup who stopped until the water was up to his shins.
"Why don't you come up to where I am, Hiccup?" Dagur suggested.
"I don't know, Dagur, I don't think we should swim out too far," Hiccup said uneasily.
"Not to worry, little buddy, I promise this is as far as we'll go," Dagur said "reassuringly".
Hiccup hesitated.
"Come on! Don't be such a scaredy-cat!"
Hiccup gave in and waded until he was standing in front of Dagur.
"Now what?"
"Now I'm gonna show you how to hold your breath for a long time."
"Okay, um," Hiccup said, starting to bend down a little and trying to dip his head underwater.
"No, no, no, no, no," Dagur said. "You're supposed to turn around first."
"What does turning around have anything to do with learning to hold my breath real long?"
"Trust me. It's all part of the lesson."
"Uh, okay."
Hiccup stood up and turned around.
"Good," Dagur said, pleased. "Now take a nice, deep breath and hold it."
Hiccup exhaled and held his air in.
And then…
…Dagur jumped on to Hiccup's back which made the boy fall first face into the water and Dagur kept his hands against the younger boy's back for a good five seconds until he pulled him up to the surface.
"Hey! I thought you were teaching me how to hold my breath!" Hiccup exclaimed.
"I am, really I am," Dagur said. "I'm just giving you a hand. Now take another deep breath."
Then he dipped Hiccup's face in the water again and pulled it up and did it about four more times. Every breath Hiccup took in between dipping was deeper than the last one.
Suddenly, Dagur made an unimpressed look and announced, "Bored again."
Then he let go of Hiccup and waded out of the water. Hiccup stayed behind breathing heavily and wiping his wet bangs out of his eyes.
Dagur turned his attention to the group of seagulls nearby and decided to have a little fun like he had planned to. He picked up a few pebbles from the sand and threw them one by one at the birds.
"Take that, feathers! You too, beak-face! What's the matter, webbed-feet? Scared of a few little rocks?"
As the older boy threw the pebbles, the seagulls began to scatter away in fright. Hiccup raced to Dagur and pulled at his arm.
"Stop it, Dagur! You're scaring them!"
"That's the whole point, Hickster!" Dagur laughed, pulling his arm out of Hiccup's grasp. "Why don't you join me?"
"No, I like birds!" Hiccup shouted angrily. "You lied to me, Dagur! You said you were gonna become nice but you tried to drown me and now you're hurting birds and I like birds!"
"What for? We eat birds all the time – chickens, geese, ducks – you name it."
"Dad and I took care of an injured bird once before we set him free. Plus they can fly.
"You like birds because they can fly?" Dagur burst into laughter.
"I think they're lucky that they can fly because they're able to go high up into the sky and wherever else they want and I've always wanted to know what it's like to fly."
"Well, too bad you'll never know what it's like to fly 'cause humans aren't meant to fly so there," Dagur taunted.
Hiccup glared at Dagur.
"Well, come on. Aren't you gonna finish showing me around your island or not? I want to find some more excitement."
"Fine," Hiccup muttered. "Follow me."
Dagur followed Hiccup out of the beach. He couldn't wait to see where the younger boy would lead him next so he could wreak even more havoc.
…
After leaving the beach, Hiccup showed Dagur around the forest.
Dagur held out his arms and exhaled deeply. "Ah, don't you just love the woods, Hiccup? The trees, the flowers, the fresh air, the thorn bushes that stab people's eyes out, the ticks that suck out people's blood until they're all shriveled up like raisins. Ha ha ha ha ha."
"Uh, yeah, Dagur," Hiccup said. "Hey, uh, why don't I show you a meadow full of flowers that my mom loved so much?"
"Actually I've got a better idea, Hiccup," Dagur said. He pointed to a path that lead straight up a tall hill. "Let's go up that hill there."
He started to walk up towards the hill when Hiccup blocked his way.
"Dagur, no!" Hiccup cried.
Dagur groaned. "Now what?"
"We can't go up there! That path leads to where Mildew lives."
"Maybe you're afraid of the whitish stuff that get on plants but I'm not."
"I'm not talking about the mildew on plants! I'm talking about Mildew the old man!"
"What?"
"Mildew is a retired Viking who lives up the cliffs away from the village," Hiccup explained. "And he's really mean. So mean in fact that the villagers sent him to live in the cliffs a long, long time ago."
"Well that seems rude of the villagers," Dagur said. "Sending a fellow Viking to live up in the mountains."
"He doesn't mind," Hiccup shrugged. "He likes his privacy anyway. And he hardly ever comes down to the village…unless he's got a complaint of the day as Gobber calls it. Once in a while my dad comes to his place to check up on him and he's taken me with him a few times. And each time we've seen him, he's always rude to us."
Dagur pretended to ponder. "Hmmm…gosh, he must be terribly lonely. Living all by himself so far away from the village and his only visitors being you and your dad."
"He doesn't live all by himself," Hiccup said. "He's got a sheep named Fungus to keep him company."
"Maybe," Dagur said, still pretending to be thoughtful. "But still, an old man shouldn't have to spend the rest of his remaining years alone, should he?"
"I guess not," Hiccup said.
"I'm glad you think not. I say we pay this poor, lonely Mildew a visit, don't you?"
Now Hiccup was pondering. "Well…I suppose a really short visit wouldn't be so bad. But just for ten minutes."
"Ten minutes it is then," Dagur said and proceeded to climb the hill again. "Come on, Hiccup. We don't wanna keep Mildew waiting do we?"
Hiccup hurried to catch up with Dagur as the two of them climbed up the tall hills that led all the way up a cliff base overlooking the ocean.
On the top of this cliff base was an old Viking house. It resembled most of the houses down in the village. But while the village houses looked more cozy and welcoming, this particular house looked foreboding and unwelcoming. A dragon's head was carved at the top of the house and there were even some wood posts resembling dragon claws on either side of it. To Dagur, this house looked like the kind of place he'd love to live in but he could tell that Hiccup wanted to be in any other house but this one.
Spread out in front of the creepy house was a field heavy with young cabbages. In the middle of the field, a tall, thin man with a gaunt, cranky face and a scraggly gray mustache was pouring water from a bucket onto some of the cabbages. A sheep with white wool and a black head and ears stood by his side.
"Hi, Mildew!" Hiccup called as he and Dagur began to approach.
The man paused from watering and looked up, surprised at first then he stared suspiciously at the two boys.
"Oh, it's you, Hiccup," he said unhappily. "What are you doing here? Or even better, what does your father want from me this time?"
"Uh, this is my new friend, Dagur," Hiccup said, gesturing to Dagur.
"At your service, Mildew," Dagur said proudly, bowing before the old Viking. "My father, Oswald the Agreeable of the Berserker Tribe and I have traveled far from our island home for our annual peace treaty signing."
Mildew scoffed. "Annual peace treaty signing, indeed. This tribe and yours should've remained enemies."
"And I most certainly agree," Dagur replied.
"So what does this annual peace treaty signing have to do with you boys coming up to my property uninvited," Mildew asked suspiciously.
"Well, you see, I told Dagur all about you and he wanted to pay you a visit," Hiccup explained.
"Well, I don't want any visitors," snapped Mildew. "Why don't you two rascals go pay one of those goody two-shoes down at the village a visit?"
"Now, now, Mildew," Dagur said reasonably. "You shouldn't speak that way to two boys who were kind enough to pay you a visit. Especially since you live up here all alone with a sheep as your only company."
He gestured to the black-headed sheep who bleated in response.
"I like my privacy and I prefer Fungus' company over the company of those do-gooder Vikings down there," Mildew retorted.
"I told you so," Hiccup whispered to Dagur.
"Wouldn't you give up your privacy for ten minutes and allow two boys who came all the way up here to see a poor, lonely old man to be in your company?" Dagur pleaded and doing his best to make his eyes look big and innocent like a puppy begging for scraps.
"I did gently but firmly warn Dagur ten minutes only," Hiccup added.
Mildew sighed exasperatedly. "Fine. But ten minutes only. Then be on your way."
"Perfect," Dagur said happily. "Why don't Hiccup and I spend our limited ten minutes here helping you out tending to these delicious-looking cabbages?"
"I think not," Mildew snarled.
"You mean to say that you're going to water all these cabbages all by yourself? Without any help?" Dagur pointed out. "It takes too long for one person to water an entire field."
"He has a point, Mildew," Hiccup said.
Mildew sighed in an annoyed sort of way once again. "Fine. Grab those two buckets by my house but water the cabbages on this row so I can keep an eye on you."
Hiccup and Dagur obediently grabbed the two buckets of water by the house and poured them over the cabbages in the row that Mildew was watering. As he watered, Dagur looked over at Fungus.
"I must say that Fungus is a fine-looking sheep, Mildew," Dagur said.
Mildew grunted in response.
"But you know, his wool could use a little trimming," Dagur said.
"I'll decide when I think Fungus needs a trimming," Mildew snapped.
"Well, maybe you should make the choice of trimming him today," Dagur insisted. "My dad likes to make sure that our sheep back home have their wool trimmed at least once a month."
"Ehhh," Mildew muttered.
"Why don't you let me do it?" Dagur offered. "Dad taught me how to shear sheep. I've done it lots of times. And it's a good thing I always keep an extra pair of scissors in my pocket."
Mildew pondered for a moment and said, "Fine. But don't shear him too much."
"Not to worry old man. I'm always careful of how much wool I cut off."
Dagur approached Fungus with a pretend friendly look on his face as he reached into his pocket where he kept a knife.
"Now don't worry, Fungus," Dagur said kindly, slowly pulling out the knife. "This won't hurt a bit."
"That's not a pair of scissors!" Hiccup cried out, pointing. "That's a knife! Dagur, no!"
But it was too late. With a wild cry, Dagur raised the knife and began to chase after the now-panicked sheep.
"DAGUR!" Hiccup shouted chasing after Dagur and Fungus.
Now Mildew was chasing after the boys and his precious sheep. "FUNGUS!"
…
Stoick and Oswald were just standing outside the entrance to the Great Hall when they heard some distant noises.
"Do you hear that, Oswald?" Stoick asked.
"I do, Stoick," Oswald replied.
The two Chiefs listened carefully. Although the noises were far away, they could still make out what they were. The noises they were hearing were a sheep bleating and two boys and an elderly man shouting. Oswald and Stoick looked at each other in alarm.
"The boys!" they cried out at the same time.
And off they went towards the direction of the sounds of the sheep and boys.
…
After a round of running, wrestling, struggling and chasing, Hiccup and Dagur were standing with their hands on their knees and panting heavily. Fungus was now tucked under the arm of Mildew who was angrily looking from the boys to his now-messy cabbage field. The buckets of water had been knocked over, footprints and hoofprints were scattered all over the ground and some of the cabbages had been stepped on from the chase.
"Now see what you boys have done!" Mildew shouted. "You wait until both your fathers see this!" Then he smiled wickedly. "Oh, good. Here they come now."
Sure enough, Hiccup and Dagur could hear the sounds of hurried footprints coming and Stoick and Oswald came into view. The two boys looked at each other with dreaded expressions.
"Hiccup!" Stoick cried.
"Dagur!" Oswald cried.
"What's going on?! What happened here?!" Stoick demanded looking around at the mess laid out before them.
"It's your two boys that's done it Stoick and whatever-your-name is," Mildew said accusingly, pointing at Hiccup and Dagur.
At that moment, Hiccup and Dagur began to talk at the same time.
"It's not my fault, Dad! Dagur said he wanted to pay Mildew a visit because he thought he was lonely!"
"I just wanted to pay the poor, lonely, old man a visit for ten minutes, that's all, Dad!"
"I did tell Dagur we would only see him for ten minutes but then he attacked Fungus with a knife and I tried to stop him but he kept pushing me out of the way!"
"Then I thought Fungus needed a little shearing and I tried to trim just a little bit of wool but Hiccup kept interfering…!"
The boys were talking so loudly that nobody could tell who was saying what. Finally, Stoick held up both his hands and shouted, "That's enough, you two!"
"But, Dad, it's all his fault!" Hiccup and Dagur shouted, pointing at each other. Then they glared at each other. "No, it's not. It's yours!"
"It doesn't matter whose fault it is," Oswald said firmly. "The both of you are responsible for your mistakes."
"Indeed," Stoick said, also firmly. "And you're going to make up for your mistakes by helping Mildew clean up this mess you have made."
"I most certainly agree with Stoick here," Oswald said. "Now both of you, get to work."
Dagur and Hiccup shared another death glare before they set off to work. Dagur did the task of smoothing out the trampled ground and filling in the deep footprints and hoofprints while Hiccup cleaned up the trampled cabbages. The fathers kept watch on their boys while Mildew went into his house to as he put it, "comfort Fungus and help him forget this traumatic experience".
…
Berk
June 4
By the next morning, the peace treaty between the Berkians and the Berserkers had been signed and Oswald and Dagur had headed back for Berserker Island. And Hiccup was happy to be working at the forge with Gobber again. Although Gobber saw him as an oddball like everyone else in the village, at least he didn't attempt to drown him or throw knives at him or blame him for something that wasn't his fault.
Gobber pressed a heavy hammer attached to his left stumpy arm against a big bellows in front of the hearth. "Sorry you had to deal with Dagur yesterday, son. Although you should've known better than to let him pay Mildew a visit."
"I guess Dad told you that one, huh?" Hiccup said gloomily, running a rag against the silvery blade of an axe.
"Oh, yeah," Gobber replied.
"I learned that the hard way. Never let Dagur pay visits to lonely but grouchy old men. Especially lonely, grouchy old men like Mildew."
"So much for hoping that Dagur outgrew his crazy stage, huh?"
"He's so crazy he makes Snotlout look like a gentleman," Hiccup said.
Gobber laughed loudly. "He certainly does."
"And Dad says that when Dagur and Oswald come back, I have to be with him again to make sure he doesn't wreck any more havoc."
"Well, who knows?" Gobber said, trying to lift his young asssitant's spirits up. "Maybe next year, he'll finally have outgrown his crazy stage."
"Don't bet on it," Hiccup muttered.