The twelve labors of a Hiccup
3: Capture the Ceryneian hind
Hiccups POV:
We had just docked on a beach a few miles away from the town of Ceryneia which was far enough that I'd be able to come and go as I please but not so close that Scaulder would be seen. After sailing for four days to get here it felt good to be able to feel solid ground underneath my feet. I was looking forward to seeing the village since I hope it isn't as crowded as the cities so I could hopefully walk through without being swarmed by people hailing me as a hero. After I docked the ship I let Scaulder out of his harness so he could swim freely and enjoy the open ocean. I smiled as I watched him swim around and dive around in the ocean like a whale dancing in the waters. It was quite refreshing to watch him do that since he couldn't really swim out in the open like this since he couldn't do that near Alexandria without being spotted. That would have caused some major problems with the Greeks which could possibly lead to me needing to leave all of Greece to protect Scaulder but I would do anything to protect my dragons. I decided I might as well take a flight with Toothless to get a better view and feeling for the lands terrain. I walked over to Toothless and gave him a rub on the head and said.
"Alright bud let's go for a flight over the land."
He gave a growl of approval before we took off. As we flew over the land I admired the grassy planes below. I saw the village close by and decided to do a fly over tonight when we were invisible against the night sky while we could still look down on it.
1 hour later
When we landed back on the beach after flying around the area for an hour it was nightfall. We would've come back sooner but there was something that caught my eye in the forest but I'm pretty sure my eyes were just playing tricks on me. I saw something that was golden and shining in the sunlight but it was moving as fast as Toothless was flying. When we were right over it I saw it to be a deer with golden horns that was running as fast as Toothless flew. To say I was surprised by the sight would be an understatement but in my travels, I've learned to get used to the shock of seeing the unexpected. This world is truly filled with the most bizarre and interesting things which is what I truly love about travelling since I get to see and experience so much. I figured that deer was worth checking out since people in the village probably knew more about it they might be able to tell me what it was. I decided I would check the village out tomorrow while my dragons settle in to the temporary area we were going to be calling home for the trip. I looked out to the ocean as Scaulder breached the water like a whale breaching the water making small waves on the beach before I turned out to the open ocean and began to wonder what else was out there in this world for me to find. I turned away from the ocean knowing that if I kept staring my mind would once again start to wonder into territory which would keep me wondering through the night. I fed Toothless and Scaulder before grabbing some dried meat for myself and going to bed for the night.
Morning
As soon as morning came I woke up and had a quick breakfast with my dragons before I had Toothless fly me close to the town where I hoped to get some answers about what I saw in the forest yesterday. After Toothless dropped me off I told him to return to the ship and come back in three hours which would give me plenty of time to get the information I needed while checking out the town. Once he was gone I made my way into town where people were beginning to leave their houses to start their day. I decided I should make my way to the towns agora since most people would go there to do their shopping which means I might be able to ask them about the thing I saw.
When I arrived at the agora I wasn't disappointed to find it filled with carts just opening up for people so they could do their morning shopping. I saw one of the shop keepers who sold pottery trying to pick up a rather large pot but as soon as he got it off the ground he started to stumble under the weight. It reminded me of my youth when Gobber or dad put an axe in my hand and I was too weak to hold it so I ended up falling over. Seeing where this was going I ran over and grabbed the other end of the pot as I said.
"Don't worry I got the other side."
He let out a sigh before leading me to a table where we set it down before he said from behind the pot.
"Thank you kind stranger."
"Don't mention it."
He then came around the pot revealing himself to be a middle-aged man with a bald head and small brown beard. When he looked at me he gasped as his eyes widened in shock before he said.
"Are you the hero Heracles? Slayer of the Nemean lion and Lernaean Hydra." I cocked an eyebrow.
"How do you know who I am?"
"Your name is known to many as are your deeds and I could tell who you are by the pelt you wear. What does my small town of Ceryneia oh the honor of your visit?" I shrugged.
"Well you see I wanted to do a bit more exploring of Greece and wanted to get away from the hassle and bustle of the big city so I came here. Anyway, I came to this village hoping to find some answers on something I saw while checking out the forest. It looked like a deer but it was way faster than anything I have ever seen and it had golden antlers. Probably just my mind playing tricks on me, right?" He looked at me with his mouth gaping open while, his eyes widened to the point I thought they'd pop out of his skull. He then closed his mouth and grabbed onto my shoulders.
"My friend I think you saw the Hind of Ceryneia. The pet of the goddess Diana and she is the Goddess of the hunt and the moon. My friend it is amazing you saw the hind as not many have been able to spot it as it is said to be so fast that it can outrun a flying arrow launched by the finest archer."
After hearing this my interest had been peeked so I asked what else he could tell me about the hind. We ended up talking for an hour and by the time we were done I knew I had to find the hind so I could study it a bit since it's not every day you get the chance to study a creature that's considered to be the pet of a goddess. I spent the remainder of my time exploring the town to see if they had anything that might be of interest to me and picking up more information on the hind like where it normally roams and what people do know about it.
2 hours later
When Toothless came to pick me up I mounted him before we took off for the ship as I said.
"Bud we've got work to do when we get back to the ship."
He gave a warble in response before we began our flight back to the ship where I could begin mapping out the areas in which the hind had been spotted. This would make tracking it down far easier for me which is why while I was in the agora I bought a map of the areas it was seen in. I spent most of my day in my room going over the maps of the different areas memorizing the locations people said they saw the hind. Fortunately for me and Toothless all the areas weren't close to any human occupied places so there wasn't that big a chance of us being spotted. By the time, I was done an hour had passed leaving me plenty of time to go looking for the hind and hopefully get the chance to properly study it. As soon as I had everything mapped out I was ready to start my search for the hind and hopefully get a better look at it. I left my bedroom to find Toothless who was out on the beach rolling around in the sand and enjoying the sunshine coming down on him while Scaulder played in the ocean. I walked up to Toothless and smiled at his playful attitude as he rolled around in the sand but when he saw me he stopped and crooned at me. I smiled at him before I gave his head a rub before I said.
"Well bud I've got the locations on where people have seen the hind which means we've got the places we might find it." He just gave a croon before I mounted him and we took off.
4 hours later
We had been flying over the different areas where people believe they saw the hind but we came up with nothing. We were now flying over a forest looking for the small shine of the hinds golden antlers through the cracks in the roof of the forest. I was beginning to think we should head back to the ship and try the last place people said we could find it. The mountain Artemisius which would take four hours to get to but night was coming so it would be beast to get back to the ship and call it a night before getting a fresh start in the morning. I spent the evening enjoying a quiet evening by my ship and enjoying the stars remembering that I had to find an astrologist who could teach me the constellations since it sounded like a good way to navigate on the ocean and the subject just sounds interesting to me.
Morning
The second the suns light hit my face through the cracks of my ships upper deck I knew it was time to have breakfast and head out to the mountain Artemisius. As we flew over the land I made sure to avoid any public roads or campsites as usual since the last thing we needed was people running and screaming in terror spreading fear through the land. After flying for an hour the mountain finally came into view so we went a little lower so I could get a better look at the land and see if I could spot that small shine of gold from the hinds antlers.
Four hours later
Artemisius had just come into sight and I was pretty happy since me and Toothless have been in the air nonstop since we finished breakfast. I admit I always loved flying above the clouds and looking at the land below but I was focused on one thing and that was finding the hind. We flew for ten more minutes before we were directly over the mountain and at that point I figured we should land so we could take a break before we went on our search for the hind. I saw a river we could get a drink from and I think they call the river Ladon. We landed down in a small clearing by the river, which was big enough for us to land in and take off out of. After we landed Toothless started drinking from the river while I took a canteen out of his saddlebag to have a drink myself.
It was at that moment when the edge of the canteens opening that I heard what sounded like a cry of pain from an animal. I decided to investigate but first I grabbed some bandages and rubbing medicine should the animal be injured. As I left I noticed Toothless was about to follow which could mean trouble for the possibly injured animal if it saw Toothless and got scared into attempting to run which may result in it being put in even more pain. I turned to Toothless and said.
"You better stay behind bud. If it's an injured animal you might spook it into making its possible injuries worse."
He nodded and lay down before I continued to where the source of the cries. I arrived at another clearing by the river, which was slightly larger than the one, Toothless and me landed in but there was only one thing in the clearing that I could focus on and that was the very thing we had been looking for. The Ceryneian hind was on the ground close the river crying in pain and when I got closer I saw the reason was it had gotten its right back leg trapped in an old hunting trap, which resembled an old dragon trap called a snapper. The hind was crying out in pain and agony as it tried to pull its leg out only for the trap to hold tight onto the leg and possibly sing the teeth of the trap deeper.
I made my way over to it in order to help them but the second it laid eyes on me it tried to pull its leg out harder possibly making its wound worse. I saw it was scared so I held my hands up to show I had no weapon as I said in a voice that was barely above a whisper.
"Easy there boy. I just want to help you out of the trap. I don't want to hurt you in any way."
It seemed to calm down slightly at this but looked ready to impale me on its horns should it need to. I gave it a gentle smile to show I meant no harm as I reached the trap I looked up and said.
"This is going to hurt but remember it's for the best." The hind just kept staring at me before I quickly pulled the trap open and away from the leg as the hind wailed in pain and pulled its leg towards its body. After that I pulled out the medicine. "This is going to help but it is going to burn but it'll help the wound heal without infection."
The hind just looked at me before I applied the medicine as the hind tried to pull away as it wailed in pain but I held onto its leg tightly with one hand while holding its antlers away with the other. Once the medicine was done being applied the hide seem to calm down enough for me to wrap the bandages around the leg. When I was done the hind pulled its leg away from me and slowly stood up looking at me. I smiled at it before it walked up to me and began to nuzzle my cheek. I chuckled and just rubbed its head as I said.
"Easy there boy. You're welcome." After I said that it pulled away from me and quickly raised its head.
It was as the hind pulled away from me I pulled my head away and it's a good thing I did because if I hadn't then I would've been hit in the head by the arrow that just flew by my head. I saw the arrow hit the tree that was behind us. I turned to where the arrow had come from and saw nothing but the forest. As I looked around I heard a woman's voice.
"You should not have tried to kill my hind mortal then you might have lived." Then another arrow came at me, which I was barely able to dodge before it hit the tree behind me. Fearing the next arrow might hit meI held my hands up.
"I wasn't trying to kill it. I wanted to study it at a distance but I found it with its leg in an old hunting trap and hurt. I was just helping it by tending to its wounds from the trap." I felt the person glaring at me.
"You expect me to believe that? I know how you foreigners work. You find something from foreign lands that catches your eye and you have to have it no matter who it belongs to or how sacred it is." I held up my hands.
"I'm not like that. It's true I like to collect things from foreign lands but I never take anything sacred or without consent." I just heard a growl but before another arrow could be released the hind limped in front of me as if it were trying to protect me from the shot. When it was right in front of me the voice said.
"It seems you were right mortal. I wrongly accused you and for that I apologize."
"It happens but may I ask who you are and why you care so much about the hind?" I just heard a giggle.
"You'll know soon enough Heracles but for now I'll take the hind back with me to tend to his wounds myself. I am impressed by you though and your skills with animals."
I turned to look at the hind but to my surprise it was gone. To say I was confused would be an understatement but I figured it best to leave before more arrows come my way. I went to Toothless and figured it best not to tell him about arrows being fired at me before we took off since he'd probably try to find who did it. As we flew back to the ship I kept wondering who shot those arrows at me and what did they mean by 'you'll know soon enough' and why did they keep calling me mortal. I shook my head figuring I'd deal with it when we got back to the ship and back in the cove where we established our little base.
AN: Hiccup will be training with the Spartans for a bit after he completes the labors, he will be defending Berk from Alvin when he returns to Berk, he will get a girlfriend later on and someone which will most likely be Gobber or Stoick will see his place soon after he returns. Sorry for the late update by the way. My computer crashed so I lost the chapter but I was able to back up my other chapters before it did so they're fine. Till next time and enjoy the holidays.
