Chapter 82
Hiccups POV:
It's been four weeks since I met the defenders of the wing and those weeks have been very busy with everything that's been going on. I transferred every dragon hunter on Outcast Island to the defenders of the wing ten at a time starting with the men who ran the dragon fights and the one who took away the freedom of the quakens. When I informed Mala of what they did to say she was mad would be an understatement. Throk told me he'd never seen her this mad before in his life so long story short, those men were never going to be a bother again nor would any of the other hunters I brought from Outcast Island or the ones I bring straight to the defenders of the wing in the future. It was part of our alliance that every hunter I capture I bring to the defenders for judgment even though I know what their fate was but I always waited outside the nest while the hunters faced the dragons. Along with that I'd been sharing my secrets when it comes to healing dragons with the defenders of the wing and they shared theirs with me so now I was growing my own sage fruit while also delivering small pots of Marina's saliva to help with injured dragons and people. Don't get me wrong though since I didn't tell them all my secrets like my god made weapons, my adventures and other such things since the only other person to know some of this stuff is Heather and her lips are sealed. Aside from the defenders of the wing I had also upgraded the defenses on my island for when I'm away. I built gronkle iron domes around all of my anti-ship defenses that would only open when I unlocked them all at the same time using my stone of good fortune. This meant should the hunters gain control of my base again somehow at least this way they'd never be able to use my own defenses against me.
Of course, other things have happened in the last few weeks besides me strengthening my alliance with the defenders of the wing. One of these things showed that Viggo was truly getting desperate in his battle against me as he actually put a bounty on my head worth one thousand gold pieces. This had the unfortunate results of bounty hunters coming after me when Toothless and I were out on an island gathering supplies, at first, I didn't know who they were but after I chased them off I found Toothless playing with a rolled-up piece of parchment that turned out to be a wanted poster of me. Viggo certainly picked a hell of a time to place a bounty on me since it was Berks four-hundred-year celebration. I knew my dad would be angry with me if I missed the celebration so I decided it best to tell him after the celebration since he wanted me to perform a sky parade with some of my dragons. The celebration went well except for me threatening not so silent Sven's uncles when I thought they were bounty hunters. Once the celebration was over I took my dad up to the great hall and showed him the poster and to say he was angry would be an understatement since he broke the table we were sitting at. He told me it was best I lay low for a couple of weeks and I agreed with him on that however he told me I should stay in the village for the time being where I'd be protected. Now I would've countered him by reminding him I had my own island near Berk that was hidden along with multiple other homes in foreign cities where I am viewed as a hero but he had a look in his eye that said it best not to argue so I agreed to take my old room.
At some point in the night two bounty hunters were able to capture me and get me onto their ship while I slept. Fortunately for me they weren't the sharpest axes in the armory and I was able to undo the ropes using my rotating blade as I heard a fight upstairs. I assumed it was my rescue party but it turned out to be Savage who was also after the bounty but with my skills he didn't stand chance and I left him unconscious on the bounty hunters ship while I took his since it was in better condition. I was then pulled over by Throk who was sent by Mala to help me after hearing about the bounty but before we could leave back to the edge a single man attacked us and he was skilled. When one of us attacked he'd redirect our attack at the other. When we were able to knock him out he was able to hit the both of us in the backs of our necks with a dart knocking us out. When I woke up again I was forced to walk on an island towards the rendezvous point to be handed over to Ryker. I tried to run into the forest but he swung a chain that wrapped around my neck before he pulled me back. He warned me not to try and run again but as we walked I warned him that it was a trap however he didn't listen to my warnings and just kept forcing me along.
When we got to Ryker he revealed that I was telling the truth and instead of a bag of gold gave a bag of rocks before calling in an ambush. The guy was able to fight the hunters while I made my escape with a few hunters including Ryker giving chase. I withdrew my star sword and sliced down a few trees to slow them down and was able to collapse a few on some of the hunters bringing down their numbers. I eventually came to a clearing with multiple sheep and after channeling the red crystal I put in my arm last night in case there was trouble I ignited my star sword and sent the sheep stampeding and the hunters running. Before I could escape however the man from before tackled me to the side while also knocking my sword out of my hand. I was then able to get his mask off and recognized him as the guy who tried to buy Toothless at Viggo's dragon auction. We eventually tumbled over a nearby cliff with him dangling from my leg but I kicked him off sending him down towards the lake below. Ryker then grabbed my arm and pulled me up but before him and his hunters could do anything an all too familiar roar echoed through the area. Toothless had arrived with my dad on his back along with Siren, Furnace, Saphire, Coral, Bones, Gas and Flash and Venus, Flower, Chocolate and Sweetie. Long story short all the hunters were captured and handed over to the defenders of the wing except for Ryker. He was let go in order to deliver a message to Viggo from my dad that claimed when he attacked one of us he attacked all of us. After that we got ready to leave but Ryker tried to throw a knife at my back only for a rock to the back of the head to knock him out. I was surprised to see the guy who went over the cliff was the one who threw it before he jumped over the cliff once more but when I ran to check on him he was gone but I had the feeling we'd be seeing each other again. Ryker didn't leave the battle unharmed however since before he left I branded the back of his neck and I knew he would get the message to Viggo. I knew it arrived when the bounty was retracted and I didn't see either of them for a while after.
On another note Snotlout began demanding I teach him how to train dragons again shortly after his father completed the new storehouse on the newly dubbed storehouse island. Spitelout told Snotlout that he'd made his mark and if he didn't make his mark on the tribe then he'd be left behind eventually. He advised Snotlout to be more like me since I'm a rich world traveler, hero, dragon rider and future chief of Berk. This led him to fear that everyone would eventually leave him for being pathetic and he'd be out living on the streets. He wanted me to teach him to ride dragons so he'd be able to teach his own squadron of dragon riders to protect Berk. When I was able to get him to open up we sat down and had a talk about it and I was able to help him understand that if he wanted to be great then he had to do it by doing something he wanted and not what his dad wanted. He understood this and told me he'd find it in his own time and when he left I went to have a talk with Spitelout who ended up nursing a broken nose and wrist from his wife for giving Snotlout such bad advice.
Shortly after that I found a dragonroot plantation where they were making dragonroot arrows and knew I had to hit it but on one of my scouting missions I saw a tarp in the forest hiding something. At first, I thought it was where they were hiding the plantations crops but then I thought back to one of my disposals of some of the arrows where one of them landed in the ground and began to grow more dragonroot. From it I learnt the dragonroot grows in the sun and not in the shade like some plants meaning they were hiding something else under the tarp. I did another recon on foot with Angel and Phantom and found what was under the tarp was a trap with multiple ballistae waiting for us. After I discovered this I rolled a paralyzing bomb over to the middle of the men before it went off leaving all of the men who were handling the ballistae unable to move. It was easy to quietly drag them all away without anyone noticing them going missing before Siren cocooned them. After that we attacked their plantation destroying the building, all their dragonroot arrows and bolts and burning their crops after we found them on top of the mountains in the sun.
Recently Mala requested we investigate the Northern markets saying that there were multiple hunters in the market and if it weren't for a hooded figure who risked his life for them the last time they were here things would've gotten ugly. I knew it was worth investigating since the market had always welcomed any form of business but now the merchants acted hostile towards the defenders of the wing who've been doing business with them for years. This is why I was now walking through the Northern markets in my stealth armor with a regular cloak that covered my face instead of the changewing scale cloak while Heather walked next to me dressed as one of the defenders of the wing. The reason we were dressed like this is because the market was full of hunters who were all glaring at us and we didn't want to attract any attention so our dragons remained in the bushes. When we tried to look over some weapons the blacksmith glared at us and claimed they were spoken for before a hunter pushed us back and threatened us. Not wanting any trouble we walked away but sadly it was as we walked away Toothless fired a plasma blast behind us causing a panic in the market. I turned to Heather and said.
"We've got to get out of here before anyone sees our dragons."
She nodded as another plasma blast flew past us and blasted back some hunters as we made a run for it. We didn't stop until we reached a part of the island that was well hidden by the forest and far from the market. When we stopped we saw a hunter ship docked on a dock that was nearby. I noticed Heather was staring at the dock but before I could ask her what was wrong I heard an all too familiar laugh that I thought I'd never hear again. I looked down on the dock where I saw none other than Dagur laughing with some hunters and said.
"That's impossible!" I turned to Heather. "We all saw him-"She cut me off.
"We all know what we saw but that's Dagur."
"And from the looks of it he's working with the hunters." We removed the hoods that covered our faces before Heather took out her axe.
"I should've trusted my instincts." She turned away from me. "Dagur will always be a dirty, disgusting, lying-" I put my hand on her shoulder.
"Heather calm down because I am not letting you do this." She turned to face me.
"Hiccup?"
"Heather this makes no sense." I gestured down to Dagur. "He willingly flew into a trap that could've cost him his life in order to save ours and why would he do that just to go back to the dragon hunters."
"He's Dagur, when does anything he do make sense?"
"It happens from time to time but if you go through with this you'll be putting both us and our dragons in trouble by exposing us." She gave out a grunt. "I want to figure this out as much as you do but without the killing part but in order to do so we need to get Dagur alone to question him." She growled and folded up her axe.
"Fine, we'll do it your way for now."
1 hour later
We were back in the market with our hoods back on and looking for Dagur before we met up in an alleyway between two stone shops. We both couldn't find him and were now discussing how he was more dangerous now that he had his own dragon. I knew we needed to find him soon but before I could say anything I heard a dragging sound along with someone asking someone else what he or she was doing. I turned to the sound found Toothless and Windshear walking to the opening on the other side of the alleyway with Toothless dragging Dagur. He threw Dagur on his hands and knees infront of us as I looked up and said.
"Thanks bud, we've got it from here." Heather growled and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Alright, out with it what are you doing here and why didn't you come back to the edge?" He just yelled.
"HELP, ROBBERY!" Heather backed up. "Please I have no money as I am just a poor vagrant living off the scraps of kind warriors like yourselves." Heather turned back to me.
"Is he serious?" She turned back to Dagur. "Are you serious?" I put a hand on her shoulder.
"Calm down Heather, he might have really lost his memory in that battle."
"Please, it's just a lame trick." She turned to Dagur. "Isn't it brother?"
"Please, please, please I don't have anything." He cupped his hands in front of his mouth. "HELP, ANYONE!" We then heard someone behind growl.
"Dragon riders." We turned to see two hunters with one in red showing his status as a commander. "Grab them and their dragons, especially the nightfury." I glared at them.
"You sure that's a good idea?" The commander readied his arrow.
"No better idea."
"Toothless, would you be so kind to give us a plasma blast?" He let it loose at the barrels resting on the cage next to the hunters making them tumble on top of them before two more attacked from behind only to be slammed into the wall by Windshears tail before we saw that Dagur had escaped in all the confusion. "We've got to get out of here before more hunters show up." She opened her mouth to reply but I cut her off. "We'll find Dagur later but for now we need to escape." She nodded before we mounted our dragons and took off.
3 hours later
We'd found Dagur waiting alone on a dock and I could tell Heather was eager to get him if her running at him with her axe before I could stop her. Soon enough she was on the dock trying to hit him but he dodged every swing as Windshear came to land behind him. He took cover behind some barrels to avoid one of her blasts that destroyed the barrels but before I could stop him Toothless ran down to join them. He fired a plasma blast destroying a crate but before he could fire another one I closed his mouth telling him to stop since it wouldn't get us any answers. Before I could do anything else three arrows flew past us and into the crate behind us. I turned to see the dragon hunter ship was getting close as three more arrows flew towards us but these ones I blocked with my eagle shield. It was then I heard a thump behind me and turned to see Windshear had tripped Dagur who was now unconscious. It was then the ship docked and three hunters began charging towards us but Toothless fired a quick plasma blast sending all three back before I mounted him and we took off with Windshear and Heather following close behind with Dagur being held by the leg by Windshears tail.
4 hours later
Dagur had regained consciousness and explained everything to us about how he didn't lose his memory and only did it to infiltrate the hunters since they had Shattermaster. That was all we needed to hear to understand why he did all this and it was all it took for us to forgive him, which surprised him but he quickly snapped out of the surprise and asked us how we were going to make it up to him. Heather didn't take kindly to this but I told her to calm down so we could find the gronles. They nodded at this before we split up to look for the ship holding the gronkles and met up on the cliff overlooking the docks before me and Toothless took off while Dagur took off with Heather and Windshear. When we met up we found that all the hunter ships only had newly made weapons. After that it was easy to figure that the hunters traded the gronkles to the iron masons for the weapons since the iron masons could use them to melt down metal and create gronkle iron.
After that it was a simple matter of following the iron masons back to their island, which brings us to where we are now. Me and Heather flying over their camp as our dragons blasted hunters in order to help our 'brother' who had charged in to save his dragon with no plan. When we got closer I saw he was using an axe to fight a commander with an axe and had just been knocked down. I jumped off Toothless landing a flying kick on one of the hunters making him fall headfirst into an anvil but I ignored him and ran to Dagur who was about to have an axe dropped on him. I unfolded my eagle shield and brought it in front of me as I kneeled down and slid across the ground before stopping right in front of Dagur as the axe fell. When the axe struck my shield, it got the expected result of the axe shattering into pieces as a shockwave sent the hunter flying back into a tree where he fell unconscious. I looked back at Dagur who looked from me to my shield and asked.
"Where did you get that shield?"
"I'll tell you later but for now free your dragon so we can get out of here." He nodded before using the sword to break the chain holding Shattermaster while I mounted Toothless and blasted a hole in the top of the cage the gronkles were in and led them to a nearby sea stack where we all landed before Dagur said.
"Alright Hiccup before you start yelling."
"I'm not going to yell!"
"You're not?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I had such a great speech planned." Heather replied.
"You were trying to save your dragon, we all would have done the same." I continued with.
"We all have done the same." I frowned as some memories flashed through my mind. "Heck I've gone up against a man turned demon that crawled out of a pit of darkness and battled an insane witch bent on enslaving humanity to save my dragon." They both stared at me for a moment before Dagur said.
"I'm sorry but what?" I shrugged.
"Let's just say when I visit new lands for the first time I rarely get to just sit back and relax the first couple of day." Heather replied.
"Okay Hiccup I know you told me about some of the things you've gotten but when we get back to the edge you are telling me and Dagur everything."
"Alright Heather just promise me you'll keep all your questions till the end." It was then I saw something behind Heather. "It's the rest of Viggo's fleet." They turned around to see the ships. "We've got to go now since we won't be able to escape and keep all these gronkles in formation if they spot us." Dagur stepped forward.
"They won't spot you because they'll be too busy chasing me." He walked forward. "I'll lead them away while you two get the gronkles out of here." Heather walked up.
"Dagur you can't!"
"I promise you sister I'll come back to you and reveal everything and that's a Berserker promise which can't be broken." She nodded but before he could mount Shattermaster I stepped forward.
"Dagur wait!" He turned to me.
"I'll be fine Hiccup, trust me."
"I do trust you but before you go I have something that might help you out against them." I removed my belt holding the explosives. "These balls are powerful explosives with the blue ones releasing a paralyzing mist, the red ones causing large fires and the black ones causing large explosions." I handed them over to Dagur. "A little something to give the hunters if they begin causing trouble." He looked down at the bombs then up to me and smiled. "Good luck out there brother." If it was possible his smile got even wider before he mounted Shattermaster and took off leading the ships away from us while we lead the gronkles away.
1 week
It's been a week since we saw Dagur and haven't seen him since and I admit we were worried but right now we had other things to worry about. I have to admit though that since that day not a lot has happened besides Heather asking me to hold off on the stories until Dagur got back and me needing to explain to Mala about what's been happening at the Northern markets. She accepted this fact and claimed she needed to find a new place for her people to barter for weapons which is when I told her that I could supply her people with all the weapons they would need. She and Throk gave me a list of the weapons of weapons they needed and I was all too happy to deliver them along with a small group of hunters. They were grateful for the weapons and tried to pay me for them but I told them I didn't care about money but how this would help us in fighting Viggo and his hunters. She told me I was a truly noble warrior and would always have the defenders of the wing at my service should the need ever arise but I just told her that they do more than enough for me helping me get rid of the hunters I capture. Speaking of the hunters we've been attacking multiple ships and capturing multiple hunters and really putting a dent in Viggo's operations and using my golden falcons I knew he wasn't happy about it. I just hoped he didn't pull any stunts like he did when he placed the bounty on my head but I think he might have done something since we'd received a terror mail from my dad calling me back to Berk for some emergency. This brings us to where I am now and that's walking to the town center to meet my dad for a meeting. I knew something was wrong by the way everyone was acting since they were all acting as if some of them hadn't eaten for days. It reminded me of Madain Saleh before I took down that demon posing as Aamin and like the city I didn't like what I saw. It was then I saw my dad directing some men around but they looked ready to pass out. I walked up to him and said.
"Hey dad what's going on?" He turned to me and smiled.
"It's good to have you back on Berk during this time."
"What's happening?"
"We're running low on provisions Hiccup and as you can see it's been rough on everyone."
"How is Berk running low on provisions?"
"No traders have come in weeks and there's been no sign of Johan either."
"But do you have any idea why?" He shook his head.
"We sent scouting boats to the Straits of Balder."
"It's probably just some rogue scauldrens then since that area is a hotbed for them."
"I hope so but I was wondering if you could go check it out and possibly help calm the scauldrens enough to let the traders through and possibly give us some supplies from your island if the provisions on storehouse island run low."
"I'll be happy to dad but I'm going to need some time to gather up a team to check out the problem." He nodded.
"That's acceptable but hurry since there are a lot of people on Berk suffering because of this."
"I know dad." With that done I stood up and went to gather a team.
4 hours later
For my team to check out the Straits of Balder I obviously had Toothless and my scauldrens along with Opal, Dune, Coral, Sonic and of course Heather with Windshear with me wearing my regular armor. It was then the Straits of Balder came into view but the strange thing was that the waters were unusually empty and calm. I expected there to be multiple scauldrens splashing through the water like the last time I was here but they all seemed to be gone. I then noticed a single scauldren in the water but it looked like it was trying to swim from something. Before I could thing about it any longer however I noticed bubbles coming from behind it as a horrible odor suddenly appeared. I turned to Heather and asked.
"You smell something?"
"Yeah but I'm not sure what it is." I rubbed my chin.
"This actually reminds me of-"My eyes widened in realization. "EVERYONE CLEAR THE AREA AND GET OUT OF THE WATER!" It was then a whirlpool began to form.
"What is that?"
"NO TIME TO EXPLAIN, WE NEED TO MOVE!" I then noticed the scauldren was being pulled in.
"HICCUP THE SCAULDREN!"
"I SEE IT!" I then remembered what to do and removed an explosive arrow from my prosthetic and readied my spirit bow before firing it into the mouth of the whirlpool making a large explosion putting an end to the whirlpool.
"What was that?" I turned to Heather.
"A very powerful and aggressive tidal class dragon known as the submaripper." I rubbed my chin in thought. "This makes no sense since they prefer deeper open water and are very reclusive."
"Then why is it here?"
"I don't know since this is my first time dealing with one but I do know we now have a very aggressive and territorial dragon on our hands." We then flew back to Berk to strategize a plan.
5 hours later
Things on Berk had gotten worse with people starving in the streets since Berk relied on the provisions the traders provided us with. My dad didn't take word of the submaripper that well and immediately asked if I was capable of moving it to somewhere away from the trade routes to which I replied with a positive. I had Heather stay behind to help transfer provisions from my islands storehouse to Berk since I had enough to keep Berks hungry villagers satisfied for a good long time but I knew that those provisions would eventually run out. It was for these reasons I was now flying with Toothless, Coral, Marina and Zap and Ray with my Merrow cap and calming flute to relocate the submaripper. When we arrived at the sight I was quick to put the cap on so I'd be able to breath under the water and play my flute to keep the submaripper calm enough for us to lead it away. We then dived into the water while doing our best to do the least disturbance to the water. We eventually got close to the submaripper who took notice of us and was not happy to see us near it if it opening its mouth and beginning to suck us in was any indication. If it weren't for Toothless blasting the nearby underwater sea stack so it fell in front of the submaripper we'd be dead. As we flew up though I noticed dragon proof chains wrapped around its leg and then it all made sense. The submaripper didn't wonder here the dragon hunters chained it here, as a message telling me to back off or Berk would suffer. I needed to tell my father about this new revelation so I signaled my dragons to break the surface so we could report back to Berk.
6 hours later
I was back at the location of the submaripper with the same team of dragons I had last time and wearing the same armor but this time I had a canteen of changewing acid on my belt to melt the chains off. I would've used my star sword but the last thing I wanted to do is scare the submaripper into attacking us. This time when we dived I had my Merrow cap on and was playing my flute as we dived in and didn't stop until we were right in front of the submaripper who was looking down at us calmly. When I stopped playing I slowly swam up to its nose and gave a gentle pat as I said.
"It's okay, we're here to set you free but you have to stay calm."
My dragons all let out croons of confirmation and bowed their heads to confirm this and the submaripper just kept staring at me with narrowed eyes. I signaled Toothless to return to the surface in case of trouble as I slowly swam down to its front leg and used the changewing acid to melt the chains to break it free. The submaripper raised and moved its leg a few times before turning to me and bowing its head. I smiled and swam to the other front leg and repeated the process freeing both front legs. Before the submaripper could do anything though I held my hands up signaling it to stop until I freed its back legs and tail. It lowered its head again as I got to work on melting the other chain. When I reached the tail I saw boulders begin to come down from the surface, which was making the submaripper nervous so I took out my flute and began playing a calming tune, which succeeded in calming the submaripper down but I knew it meant I had to work faster especially when Toothless swam down which was a clear sign there was trouble. I swam to the tail and was quick to pour the acid on the chain officially freeing the submaripper. I swam to the front of the submaripper and said.
"You're free!"
Before I could react the submaripper rammed into me as it began swimming to breach the surface. I held onto its head the best I could with my dragons following after. When we breached the surface the submaripper lay on the top of the water with me on top of his head giving me a good view of the hunters' ship and using my eagle eye I could easily see both Viggo and Ryker. It was then my dragons breached the surface all of them glaring at the hunters' ship. Before I could give the order to attack however the front of the ship opened up releasing a small boat with both Ryker and Viggo on it. I wanted to order my dragons to attack but before I could I saw that two sea shockers that were chained up were pulling the boat meaning I couldn't attack them without hurting the sea shockers. Sadly, I signaled my dragons to stand down before saying.
"We'll get them another time since we can't beat them without hurting the seashockers." They all growled and nodded before I turned to the hunters' ship and smiled. "Their ship and the hunters aboard it though is all yours." They all growled in joy before charging towards the ship while I looked down at the submaripper and gave it a pat on the head. "Thanks for bringing me back to the surface big guy." It just silently growled in reply. "Well you're free now so please don't sink any more ships wherever you end up nesting." I just shook its head forward a bit making me slide off into the water in front of his face before he nuzzled me while letting out a gentle growl. "Do you want to come with me?" He growled and nodded as I smiled. "We'll have to give you a name." I rubbed my chin before my mind flashed to all the sunken ships that surrounded him down below. "How's about Shipsbane since you've brought down so many ships." The submaripper nodded and growled. "Well then welcome to the team Shipsbane and we'll get you settled into your new home as soon as we get back." He growled as I turned around to see the hunters ship sinking and my dragons all with at least one hunter. "Let's go home." We all then took off with the hunters either struggling or begging me to let them go.
5 weeks later
It's been three weeks since I trained Shipsbane and in that time not that much has happened other than the trade routes were reopened and Shipsbane took to nesting in an isolated part of Glacia's nest where the other dragons mostly leave him alone. As for the hunters who were captured, they were handed over to the defenders of the wing to be dealt with and Mala was all too happy to hear about Shipsbane being set free. Other than that, a major once a year event known as the Midnight Sun where there was nothing but constant sunlight for two weeks. It was during this time that there was no end to work since nobody was able to fall asleep and I was one of these people. I used it as a chance to search the islands around Berk for any hunters who might be monitoring Berk in some way. I did this after sending Heather back to the edge to clean Windshear since the lack of sleep was getting to her and making her dizzy.
For this reason, it was just a simple scouting mission with Toothless but it was on this mission Toothless heard something that lead us to a beach. On this beach we found a bunch of dragon hunter equipment that was badly damaged and tossed everywhere showing they were attacked. We found a dragon that was around Toothless' size nearby that was lying on its side and seemed to be injured but when we approached it three more jumped out of the bushes only for Toothless to plasma blast them as the one I was looking over rolled over to show it wasn't hurt. They then ran off into the forest before we gave chase to make sure they were really all right. They ended up attacking us and chasing us into a small valley with a cove at the end full of bones, damaged weapons, armor and dragon hunter helmets showing who they were. From the looks of the stuff it was the hunters who were being hunted for a change and we had just become the latest prey. Fortunately, the opening above us was large enough to let us fly out but sadly the dragons were waiting for us with a much larger one that was able to carry the ten smaller ones under its wings making them a very powerful force to deal with. They were able to shoot us down before we were able to escape into a hidden cave, which I discovered was a hunter base where they observed Berk until those dragons came along. I decided if I was able to train the dragons then I'd be able to do some major damage to Viggo and his hunters but I first needed to get rid of the little ones so I could handle the big one and I knew exactly what to do. I opened a portal door and went back to my island before I brought both Siren and my spirit arrows in their quiver for setting up some traps on the island to trap the shadow wings as I had called them while the large one was the alpha shadow.
We were able to lure the shadow wings on the ground out of hiding before they were either cocooned by Siren or either wrapped in roots by my forest arrows or incased in ice by my ice arrows. Once they were captured we moved them all into the dragon hunters base till I dealt with the alpha shadow since I knew if I could train him the shadow wings would easily follow. After I captured the six on the ground we only had to deal with the alpha and the four that remained on its wings. Toothless blasted two of them off when his plasma blast hit their exploding lava blasts while Siren got the other two with a single amber blast cocooning them both. This left the alpha shadow alone but we were able to use his size against him by dive bombing towards the water in a lake as Toothless fired his plasma blasts making steam and covering the ground. Using his echolocation, he was able to pull up in time but the alpha shadow wasn't so lucky and ended up breaking a wing. Knowing I couldn't leave him like this I was able to use one of my forest arrows to form a splint out of roots for his wing. We stayed on the island for three days earning the alpha shadows trust as I took care of his wing nearly constantly playing my calming flute to keep him relaxed along with the shadow wings who were freed by the two shadow wings that Toothless blasted off his wing and later recovered from the blast. When the wing was fully healed they knew I was friend and I was able to train them before taking them back to my island where they took to nesting on the upper levels of Glacia's nest after I named the Alpha Shadow Bellows because he always lets out that bellowing roar to summon the shadow wings while the lead shadow wing took the name Longshot because of his shots being long and accurate. The other shadow wings were happy to go nameless but with them and Bellowshelping attack the hunter's ships we were able to get the attacks done much faster with far less chances of casualties on our end.
Presently today we had the chance to hit a major blow to Viggo when Dagur made his reappearance on the edge. We sat down and all enjoyed some lunch as he went over what he'd learnt after he got away from the hunters and thanked me for the bombs since they did some real damage to the ships and the men aboard. I told him he was welcome before asking him what he'd learnt before much to both my shock and joy he told me he'd found the location of Viggo's gold. We wasted no time in heading to the island to get it all for ourselves while crippling Viggo in the process. It was Heather, Dagur and me along with our dragons with nobody else since I didn't want to put my other dragons at risk since it might've been a trap. Viggo has used sneaky traps like this before but I hoped it wasn't on since I truly wanted to cripple Viggo by taking away his funding. On the island we immediately stumbled upon what looked to be the remains of an ancient civilization but not a hint of gold. We found some wagon tracks and followed them to an empty shed made of dragon proof metal but Dagur used Shattermaster's new move called Shatter Scatter where he spun himself in the air towards something before stopping and just flying down with his tail facing forward as his stomach faced the sky, to break open the door which it did. The shed was empty but we decided it best to check the rest of the island for any clues or hunters to interrogate. Toothless and I ended up stumbling onto some hunters who had shovels and pick-axes for construction but they spotted us and when we gave chase they tricked us into a net trap capturing us. I could've sliced the net open and set us free at the time but I knew that there were too many hunters including Ryker who still held a grudge for the brand on the back of his neck if him rubbing it as he glared down at me was any indication. Toothless and I were separated with me being brought to Viggo's chambers where he began gloating and as he put it savoring victory but when he did so he gave away the location of his gold.
This brings us to where I am now which is in Viggo's chambers, my arms shackled as I listened to what was happening outside as Heather and Dagur began their rescue attempts. Viggo told me that he'd arranged some kind of added protection which has gotten me a front row seat to the death of Heather and Dagur along with their dragons. It was then the ship we were on gave another shake that was stronger than the others and sent Ryker stumbling into the wall with me following into his chest. This gave me the opportunity to make a run for it but as I ran toward the door I had to duck out of the way of the blade Ryker threw at me. As I ran I released my rotating blade and cut through the metal shackles around my hand and broke through them both just as I made it to the top of the stairs.
As I exited below deck I ducked under the axe swing of a hunter and got behind him before pushing him down the stairs into Ryker. I ran up to the upper levels of the deck ducking under the swing of a hunter's sword before using my prosthetic to punch him in the gut and then running behind his kneeling form and pushing him down onto the lower deck landing on another hunter. I then looked across the ship and saw we were right next to the ship where they had Toothless but it was still too far away to jump. I knew I could use my crystal spear in my prosthetic but that would give away the surprise of one of my ultimate weapons and I knew I couldn't use my dragon fly two since I wasn't high enough. It was then I noticed one of the ropes next to me and knew if it was cut it'd pull me up and this brought a smile to my face. Sadly, the smile didn't last long as Ryker charged at me but when he swung his sword he cut the rope as I was holding it. This sent me flying upwards but before I reached the top of the sails I let go and released my dragon fly two and began gliding as I looked down at Ryker and yelled.
"THANKS FOR THE HELP!"
He just watched and growled as I glided over to the next ship while doing my best to maneuver myself out of the way of the arrows that were fired at me. I came in landing a flying kick in the face of one of the hunters knocking him into another before they both fell over the rails and into the water. I ran down towards the lower deck but as I descended the stairs I released my star sword to fight any hunters I ran into and to break the lock on the cell they most likely had Toothless in. When I reached the lower deck, a hunter charged at me with his sword raised but I blocked it with my own sword before kneeing him in his most sensitive part which he quickly grabbed as he fell to his knees. I found Toothless in the last cell at the back being guarded by one hunter but before he could do anything I took out two of my scimitars throwing knives with my real arm and threw them at him sending him flying into the back wall where he was pinned. I ran to the cage and smiled at Toothless who looked at me and gave a happy growl as I sliced off the hinges and said.
"Let's get out of here bud!"
He just growled as I mounted him and we took off blasting through the door in time to see Windshear use her tail to fling Shattermaster in his shatter scatter form at one of the ships which I now saw were dragon proof. When they saw me however I signaled them that we needed to get out of here which they were all too happy to do. Once we were far enough from the ships I turned to them and said.
"Thanks for the save guys." They smiled at me as Heather replied.
"It was our pleasure Hiccup but it's a shame we couldn't find Viggo's gold." I smiled at them.
"Actually, I know where it is now." Dagur replied.
"You do but how brother?"
"I'll tell you when we get back to the island where we were told Viggo's gold is."
"But it's not there."
"Oh yes, it is but we need to uncover it." They nodded before we flew back to the supposed ruins of the old civilization and when we arrived Heather asked.
"So, how'd you figure out where the gold is."
"It was a few things starting with the wagon tracks leading to the storehouse not making sense, then the hunters had shovels and pick axes like they were building something but it was Viggo who gave it away when he pointed to the map of the island over his desk." I turned to Toothless. "Hit it bud!" He plasma blasted the ruins revealing gold underneath the rock. "There weren't any Viking ruins on the map meaning these were fakes hiding the gold in plain sight." They stared at the now uncovered gold before Dagur smiled.
"Pretty smart but who'd build their buildings out of gold."
"The residents of El Dorado." They looked at me confused.
"El Dorwhato?"
"I'll tell you guys about the city while we harvest Viggo's gold." They nodded.
Sunset
All of Viggo's gold was turned into large chunks that were all loaded onto two separate wagons and into our saddle bags. Once we got all the gold I turned to Heather who was rubbing her shoulder and looking down. I knew her long enough to know she wanted to tell me something but was afraid to say it. I looked at her and said.
"Alright Heather let it out." She looked at me confused. "Heather, I know when you're afraid to tell me something so it's best to just say it." She sighed.
"Hiccup me and Dagur have been talking and well we think it's our chance to rebuild the Berserker tribe together and maybe find our dad." I could tell where this was going.
"You're leaving, aren't you?"
"Yes, Hiccup but it's not because of you it's just- "I held up my hand to silence her as I smiled and shrugged.
"I get it Heather, blood is thicker than water and I wish both you and Dagur luck in rebuilding your tribe." She smiled at me and hugged me.
"Thanks Hiccup, for everything." She let go of me.
"It was my pleasure but there are a few things I want to say to the both of you before we part ways." Dagur walked up.
"What is it?"
"First of all, if you guys ever need help come and find me." They smiled and nodded. "Second of all before we part ways come back with me to the edge for the night so we can all get a proper rest from today's events." Heather answered.
"That sounds good and besides you never did tell us about that supposed man turned demon or the witch." Dagur then said.
"And I want to hear more about this city of gold." I nodded.
"Let's get back to the edge then and I can tell you guys all about it over dinner." And with that we were off.
AN: Well that brings an end to this chapter and I hope you enjoyed it but I'd appreciate it if you actually reviewed since the last chapter only got six reviews out of the 358 favs my story has. Seriously I'm beginning to feel those favs were only made out of pity so I'd appreciate some more reviews but please keep them kind. In the next chapter we'll be seeing 'Project Shell fire' in action. Till next time have a nice day.