Chapter 131
Hiccups POV:
It's been two weeks since I'd arrived in this jungle and taken on what I now know to be a werehyena who turned out to be the future chief of this tribe who I now knew to be named Chike. In this short amount of time a lot has happened with me, which I am happy to say, includes learning the language of the people so I was actually able to have a conversation with the people. Besides me learning the language I'd also been learning about their culture, their weapons, foods, jungle, customs and so much more. I was because of this I was able to get an idea of the different animals that called this jungle their home, what to do if confronted by them, what to avoid in the jungle to avoid danger, what plants are safe to eat, what's poisonous and so much more.
With all the new plants, animals and dangers this jungle presented I was grateful I'd brought some of my automatons to help me with my studies. My gathering chameleons came in handy for gathering multiple seeds and samples from the various plants I'd found in the jungle and I was looking forward to running some tests on them at home while growing some of the herbs in my green house. I'd also been using my fish scout to check out some of the underwater life in the river and had to say it was beautiful to see it all through my eye but I did have a little trouble when my automaton was nearly eaten by a crocodile. Along with these I'd also been using my scouter to get a better look at the animals without fear of them attacking me for getting too close or invading their territory.
Of course, using my automatons did catch the attention of a lot of people including the tribal elders who were interested in as they put it 'these strange metal animals forged through magic of gods and hands of man'. They called me into a large hut, which is where they met with Kwame and hold their meetings wishing to ask me multiple questions about my automatons and to examine them. They were all quite impressed with them with Zane asking if he could borrow my gathering chameleon so he could harvest the liquids from some trees he uses to help make healing pastes. I was happy to lend my chameleon to him but told him I'd need to accompany him to control my chameleon and to make sure nothing happened to him or the chameleon. The time we spent together doing this was interesting for me since it was during these times he shared old tales of the people of this land and tales of the gods and spirits of the land. One of my favorite tales are the ones of a spider named Ananse who is said to be a trickster and god of knowledge and stories in some cases.
Along with these times I've also spent some of my time playing with the children who were always eager to hear what I'd done and what the places I'd been to are like. They of course also asked me about Toothless and if they could play with him, which I was happy to allow since Toothless didn't mind playing with the children. Of course, they also asked me to demonstrate some of my weapons and other god made weapons so they could see their abilities. When I did this, it caught the attention of the tribes' warrior and hunters who wanted to know what I'd done to earn the weapons and when I did tell them of the trials I went through and the beasts I faced they all wanted to test their skills against me. I accepted their challenges with the condition that I only used one of their tribes' weapons since if I used one of my god made weapons then I'd have an unfair advantage. Long story short I have yet to lose a fight but I was always humble and offered my downed opponent both a hand up and advice on how to improve their techniques, which they were all grateful for since it made them better warriors.
Sadly, my god made weapons had caught the eyes of a few of the people including the tribal elders, warriors and Kwame who wished to try wielding them. I told them it wasn't possible for them to wield them and it wasn't safe for them to even touch them without me being present. Of course, this didn't stop some of them since one of the more skilled warriors tried his hand at holding my crystal spear only to suffer the consequences for it. It goes like this; I had been practicing with my spear and stabbed the spear end into the ground outside of my tent when I went inside to get a drink of water. When I came back outside I found him trapped from his feet to his chin in crystal, my spear in his right hand and everyone staring at him in shock. When I took my spear out of his hand the crystal shattered into dust as the warrior gave me a sheepish smile but I just shook my head and told him that this is why my god made weapons were off limits. After that nobody messed with my god made weapons which I am grateful for since the last thing I wanted was any more trouble caused by people messing with forces beyond their control. Other than this I am happy to say that things have been peaceful for me but I knew things weren't going to stay this calm since they never do and Zane had tossed the bones and telling me a storm is coming so I kept my guard up.
Presently it was nightfall and I was sleeping in my bed in just my pants with Toothless lying down at the foot of it sleeping soundly as well until the sound of screams woke us up. I didn't waist time getting my armor on and ran out to see what was happening since if the screams were anything to go by it was not good. I ran out of my tent to find the roofs of the huts on fire, people running around screaming while the warriors doing battle with strange men that I couldn't see to well in this light but I could tell they were only using their hands so no weapons. Before I could rush into help though I was jumped on from the right side and pushed to the ground as a snarling sound filled my ears. I looked up at the face of my attacker only to find myself looking into the face of a leopard wearing some sort of red cloth on his head that draped over the shoulders. It snarled and tried to bite into my throat but I used my feet and legs beneath it to kick it off me. It went flying off me allowing me to get back up and see what I was going up against only to find myself looking at a creature I'd never even heard of before since it had the face, fur and feet of a leopard but the body of a well muscled man. It was also wearing a wrap around its waste made of crimson red material and a black belt, red fingerless elbow length gloves exposing their sharp claws, black arm bands with circular red stones on their upper arms and wrappings on both their hind legs and upper legs. As I looked at the one that attacked me I couldn't help but ask.
"What are you?" It just snarled and charged at me but before it could reach me Toothless tackled it from the side. "Thanks bud." I then turned to the beasts doing battle with the warriors and setting the village on fire. "Time to kick some butt."
With that said I released my crystal spear while unfolding my eagle shield and charging into battle against these bizzare creatures. I didn't have to wait long to get locked into battle with one of them since after five steps two of them took notice of me and charged at me with their claws at the ready. I ducked beneath the blow of the first one before I swung my spears pole behind its legs tripping it and then slamming the crystal end into the ground towards its charging ally making crystals burst from the ground in front of it and slamming into it sending it flying back. I didn't stop there though since another one came charging at me armed with what looked to be curved a golden dagger raised above its head in its right hand. I held up my eagle shield as the dagger was brought down towards me and smiled when the blade not only shattered on impact while releasing a shockwave that threw the creature back. With him down I looked around and saw the warriors were so busy either fighting the leopard creatures or protecting the people the fire was spreading. I knew what to do though and dropped to the ground placing my prosthetic to the ground and summoned twenty-five of my Anubis warriors before I ordered.
"Help the people fight off the leopard creatures."
The all growled and charged into battle while I ran back into my tent and grabbed my spirit bow quiver and running back out while putting it onto my back. As soon as I stepped out I released my spirit bow as I took out a wind and water arrow and loaded them up with the heads of the arrows through the skull that lowered down. I aimed my bow upwards and let the arrows fly while smiling as I watched them merge into one glowing arrow. Seconds later it exploded with a large grey rain cloud formed right before it exploded with rain that fell down upon the village and began extinguishing the fires. I didn't get that much time to enjoy it though since another one of the leopard creatures was charging at me so I quickly took out a wind arrow and launched it right at the creature. It turned into a powerful windblast sending it flying back into one that was behind it making me smile as I readied another arrow only to see the creatures fleeing.
I smiled before I called my Anubis warriors back to me and dismissed them forcing them to return to their sand forms as I looked around at the village. I'm happy to say the damage wasn't as bad as it could've been thanks to the rain extinguishing the flames and smiled. It was then the sound of footsteps caught my attention and I turned to see the people lead by Kwame, Chike and Zane running towards me. I sighed and shook my head before I said.
"Kwame, I think we need to talk." He nodded. "I believe it best we start with what those things that attacked the village were and if they'll be back." He let out a sigh.
"I suppose you were bound to find out sooner or later but I was hoping to have a little more time." I raised an eyebrow knowing I was in for a whole new adventure in this jungle.
Morning
I lay in bed watching as the new days sun lit up the roof of my tent while my head went through the memories of what I was told last night after those leopard creatures fled. Kwame and Zane went onto explain how for fifteen years their tribe has battled against Queen Shara, the leader of those creature and queen of the jungles hidden city known as 'Heart of the leopard'. Apparently sixteen years ago she was once a member of the tribe who began using forbidden magic to gain what she desired and for this she was banished from the tribe.
In her banishment her powers grew as she created an entire city to house her and then she created the beings that attacked the tribe and what she'd named leopard men. They're the only civilians of her city and obey her every command but not out of loyalty but fear for their own lives since if they displease, disappoint or step out of line she kills them without mercy. The way she does this is by using a magic staff she possesses made of pure gold with the handle at the top forming the head of a leopard with a large spherical red gem in its mouth. What I don't understand though is why she's begun attacking the village all of a sudden since from what I've been told, she's mostly had the villagers attacked out in the jungle where her leopard men have the main advantage.
I shook my head and got out of bed turning to my jungle armor that rested on its stand with my ox flame boots and spider pack next to it. I knew I mustn't take Shara lightly since from what the elders told me she is not someone to take lightly since even before she turned to forbidden magic she was a skilled opponent. I couldn't take any chances so it best I bring my entire mystic weapon arsenal to deal with this sorceress. Thinking this reminded me of my battle with Morgan Le Fey and what I'd lost thanks to that battle with her and her dark magic. I looked down at my prosthetic and sighed knowing it's come in handy more than a few times but it would never truly replace my real arm since with it I couldn't feel anything. I missed feeling the fur of my animals and the scales of my dragons using my real right arm but I admit the reminder of what I'd lost is a great motivator for my future battles including this one. I let out another sigh knowing I couldn't change the past but I could at least help protect the future of these people by dealing with Shara. With these thoughts in mind I began my morning rituals so I could begin my journey, which would take a while since I was leaving Toothless here to defend the village should the leopard men attack again.
Two days later
It's been two days since I'd left the village to find the city 'Heart of the leopard' and in my travels I've encountered many of the jungles natives but I just had to ignite my prosthetic or flare my wings and they'd mostly keep their distance. Since I'd been mostly traveling by riding my kappa shell I'd say I've been making good time and with the blades cutting through pretty much any vegetation I've had little trouble. Along with this it's ability to form a platform that carries me across valleys has come in handy three times so far but there were times when my spider pack was what helped me overcome obstacles such as climbing some of the jungle's steep cliffs. Of course my tent also came in handy when night time fell on the jungle since there were some pretty mean predators that hunt at night and I don't want to spend my night fighting them off so with my tent I could rest in comfort knowing they couldn't get to me.
Now I was standing on top of a mountain looking up at a large city surrounded by large walls that were shorter than the buildings inside but still tall nonetheless. I had arrived two hours ago and sent out my scouter in order to do a little recon on the city and although it was beautiful I could tell it was also dangerous. Mostly because it was crawling with leopard men who were mostly patrolling the city and from what my scouter showed me there were too many for me to take on alone. For this reason, I knew it was best for me to use stealth and do my best to stay out of sight since I'd more than likely be overrun and killed or captured. It was this reason I was glad for my ninja's who've been training me in stealth so I knew how to get around the city and maybe find out why she had the village attacked. With these thoughts in mind I began making my way towards the city ready for a fight.
1 hour later
It's been an hour since I entered this city and so far, I hadn't run into any trouble thanks to my stealth training allowing me to avoid the leopard men most of the time. There were times however when I needed to use my phasing ability to sink into a wall or building in order to avoid being spotted. Sadly, I had yet to find Shara to confront her about the attack but I had the feeling I was getting closer to where she was. Now I was on the roof of a building that looked important and looking through a window opening down into a room that looked to be a throne room. There was long carpet with a leopard pattern going across the room leading to a throne with red cushions on it and designed to look like the mouth of a jaguar with the upper jaw a good ten feet above it while up against either the left or right wall were three large pots in front of red stone support beams that held burning torches while red drapes decorated the walls.
It was then as I finished examining the room I heard a snarl behind me and turned around just in time to be greeted by a leopard man tackling me through the window leading to a thirty-foot drop. Thinking fast I turned us so my back was facing the wall and kicked the leopard man in the stomach throwing it off and pushing me back towards the wall as I readied my ice claws. I quickly stabbed them into the wall allowing me to slow my decent to the ground but sadly making a scraping sound as I fell. When I hit the ground, I turned to find multiple leopard men rushing into the room and knew things were about to get ugly for me and sighed before collapsing my claws as I turned my prosthetic into its dragon claw form and said.
"If you guys are looking for a fight then you've found the right guy." They just snarled and charged at him.
Nobodies POV:
Hiccup charged at the nearest leopard man who immediately pounced at him with its clawed hands held out but Hiccup dropped to the ground sliding beneath it. This allowed Hiccup to avoid the blow while sending the leopard slamming head first into the wall before Hiccup stood back up in front of another leopard man that swung its right claw down at Hiccup. Hiccup used his prosthetic to grab the leopard man's wrist mid swing before he slid his foot against the leopard man's feet allowing him to pick up the leopard man before throwing him into one that was charging at him from behind. Hiccup smirked as they went tumbling back before he ducked another blow from one and used his prosthetic to deliver a strong punch into the beasts' gut making it stumble back in pain before falling to the ground.
As Hiccup smiled at the downed beast another eight leopard men came charging at him in an attempt to overwhelm him but before they could reach him Hiccup activated his ox flame boots speed mode. He then smirked at them before he ran at them with such speed that he was a blur and delivered a solid punch to each of their faces using his prosthetic and stopped after he passed the last one. He turned back to face them and smiled as he watched them each fall to the ground unconscious because of his hard punch. His happiness was short lived however since it was then more of the leopard men came charging into the room all ready for a fight. Hiccup sighed and knew it was time to bring out weapons and released his Shadow sickle. He took the blade at the bottom off the handle off with the chain connecting them before he wrapped the blade around his wrist tightening it and said.
"Alright kitties, playtime's over!"
He then charged at them ready to fight to his dying breath but what he didn't know was that the entire ruckus had caught the attention of the one other human being in the city. Queen Shara was a woman with long platinum blond hair that reached below her shoulder blades and blue eyes with slit pupils that resembled those of cats giving her a look of beauty. To add to her beauty was her chosen attire of a black fur bikini top with maroon lining the top along with leopard teeth on the bottom and a matching sarong that showed off her legs. She also wore a black cape connected to her top via large ruby wrapped in gold, wore two golden curved earrings with golden bracelets and anklets, a black necklace lined with gold and two black armbands with a ruby in each and in her hand was her staff and the source of her power. (AN: Picture queen La from the adventures of Tarzan and the same goes for the leopard men since that's where I got the idea.) Presently she was walking onto the balcony overlooking the throne room after hearing the ruckus, which awoke her from her slumber. As she walked she growled out.
"All I ask for is a single moment of" She looked down at the throne and saw Hiccup. "peace!"
She watched as he held up the chains and tightening them right before one of her leopard men brought his claws down on Hiccup only to strike the chains. Hiccup then wrapped the chains around the beasts' arm getting a good grip as Hiccup slammed his back into it before he pulled the leopard man over his head and threw it into another one that was coming at him. They both went tumbling back while Hiccup began swinging his sickle around before slamming it down into the shadow of another leopard man nailing it in the right arms shadow. The sickle immediately sunk into the shadow on contact. The leopard tried pulling its arm back but couldn't feeling as if a chain wrapped around it confusing the leopard until Hiccup pulled the chain back and began swinging it around. Doing this he also dragged the leopard man with the chain into seven other leopard men before Hiccup pulled his sickle out of the shadow and back to himself. He caught it in the palm of his prosthetic hand while the leopard man went sliding right into the wall. Hiccup smiled at his downed enemies while Shara purred as she said.
"Hmmm impressive!"
Hiccup pulled the knife and chains back into the handle before collapsing it and putting it back into his arm while unleashing his ice claws. He readied himself for the next round as the leopard charged at him as he charged at them meeting them halfway before launching multiple icicles at them. The leopard men jumped to the sides in order to avoid the flying pieces of ice as he ran at them as four leopard men quickly recovered and ran to meet him. Hiccup dropped to the ground into a slide as they charged before he slid between the first two and stabbed into them. The leopard men immediately stopped moving as a thin layer of ice covered their bodies imprisoning them while Hiccup stood back up while delivering a swift and cold punch to another leopard man sending him to the ground as he froze. It was then a rope wrapped around his prosthetic arm and Hiccup turned to see the remaining leopard man on the end snarling at him. Hiccup just smiled at the leopard man before he made the barbs on his arm burst out cutting the rope and freeing his arm before he collapsed the ice claw on the prosthetic and held a fist pointing at the leopard man and then launching it right at the leopard man nailing it right in the stomach as it went flying towards the wall. The leopard man slammed into wall growling in pain before Hiccup quickly pulled it back into place as he looked around for his next opponent. It was then six more leopard men came rushing in through the door as he sighed and shook his head wondering if these guys would ever end but before they could reach him a puff of green smoke rose out of the floor between him and the leopard men. When the smoke cleared Shara was standing there, as Hiccup held up his claws ready for a fight but she paid him no attention and turned to the leopard men as she said.
"Stand down my pets, this is no way to treat a guest." She then turned back to Hiccup. "My apologies for my pets attacking you but they are so difficult to control." She then bowed. "I am Shara, queen of this city and ruler of the leopard men." She then smiled, as she looked Hiccup up and down. "And you are?" Hiccup never let his guard down.
"The names Hiccup Haddock and your leopard men are the reason I'm here in the first place."
"Oh, and why is that exactly?"
"I've been staying in a small village a few days away from here and three days ago I was woken up by the sound of a fight outside and came out to find the huts on fire, people running away in fear and the village warriors doing battle with your leopard men."
"I'm sorry to hear that, I have no idea why they'd attack that village."
"Really because from what I've been told you were once one of them before you were banished and since your banishment your leopard men and their people have battled each other at every chance they get."
"I'm sorry to hear that Hiccup, these leopard men have a lot of pent up aggression but I'm sure we could discuss some sort of compromise between me and the village if you could arrange a meeting." To say Hiccup didn't trust Shara's offer would be an understatement but he knew it was the only chance he had to find out what she wanted from the village so he nodded.
"I'll see what I can do to arrange this meeting but I highly doubt they'll be all too eager to go through with it."
"Oh, they've always been so stuck in their ways but don't worry, I'm sure you could convince them." He nodded. "First however how's about I give you a tour of my city since it's the least I can do for the trouble my leopard men caused and I'm sure you could use a rest from your long journey here." Hiccup saw this as an opportunity to get an idea of what some buildings were used for and hopefully find out what Shara was up to.
"I suppose a few nights of rest won't hurt and I am curious about this city." She smiled.
"Wonderful!" She then turned around and began making her way towards the door stopping only to turn her head. "Come along then, we're burning daylight."
Hiccup nodded and followed her not noticing how she was putting a good swing into her hips to try and attract his attention. The reason she is doing this is the same reason she sent her leopard men to attack the village and that reason is she desired a king to rule alongside her. She sent her leopard men to the village with the order to bring back the strongest warrior they could find so she could make him her king and should he turn her down she'd just need to take some time to convince him. Sadly, when her leopard men returned they were empty handed claiming there was a superior warrior who chased them off which she assumed was an excuse but it didn't save them from her wrath. Now however she knew what they said was true from the show of strength and skill Hiccup performed when fighting her leopard men moments ago. From this performance she knew Hiccup would be an ideal mate for her and the perfect king but knew that if he was friends with those of her former tribe he'd take more than a bit of convincing but she had the time with him staying here in the city.
Nightfall
Hiccups POV:
Today can be described in one word and that word is exhausting but not physically but mentally considering the amount of strength I had to use to restrain myself from yelling my head off. Shara has given me a full tour of the city true and this tour did answer a few questions I had about the city but in order to get these answers I had to put up with Shara's none stop flirting and telling me what a wonderful place the city is to live. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was trying to make the city sound like an appealing home in order to make me join her easier. It was so annoying and if that wasn't bad enough I couldn't get a moment alone thanks to the leopard men constantly watching my every move.
This is why I am happy to say I am currently sitting down in a bedroom I was allowed to stay in for the duration of my stay here in Heart of the leopard. The room was on the top floor ten floors up, circular in shape, has a fire pit in the left wall with it taking the form of a leopard head, a bed against the wall to the right of the fire pit, the bed was facing a large open window looking out onto the city and in the wall opposite to the bed was the entrance which took the form of a doorway using a red drape as the door. Right now, I was sitting down on my bed with my eyes closed as I focused on using my Scouter to see what it was seeing since right now it was flying after Shara who seemed rather agitated. I could understand where her agitation was coming from though since I'd seen that same kind from multiple girls who tried flirting with me only for me to shoot them down by showing no response. I'm not surprised she was in this mood after what happened when she dropped me off here in the building she tried to get a kiss but I backed away and gave her a quick goodnight before walking into the building.
It was then I saw her walk into the same building where the throne room was and had my scouter fly in after her and follow her down the long hall at a distance. I watched through my scouter's eyes as she burst into a room with a large fire pit in the center, a single leopard man standing by the door framed by a leopard head. I watched as she growled stomping around the room in agitation before she said.
"Hiccup must be mine!" The leopard man let out a snarl. "I know, he doesn't seem interested but it's only the first day." The leopard man growled again. "I suppose you're right with him being friends with that accursed village and there's no doubt the elders have warned him of my battles with their people." She snorted. "At least he believes I want peace between us and the village so that's something." She giggled. "As if I'd ever want peace with those blind fools who fail to understand true power." She then sighed. "At least him thinking I do keeps him here and I can stall him with my request claiming I want to think over some conditions." She then smiled. "The only conditions I want to discuss with them are the conditions of their surrender." I felt my blood boil at this since by the sounds of this she wanted to hurt the people of the tribe. "They'll make fine slaves working themselves to death building monuments in both my honor and Hiccups honor once he stands by me as my king." I rolled my eyes knowing that would never happen but she caught my attention when she begun rubbing the jewel in the head of her staff. "Of course, if he continues to turn down my affection then I'll have to turn to the magic option." The jewel began glowing. "After all a little hypnosis to make him more receptive to my charms wouldn't hurt." She then turned back to the leopard man who growled and snarled. "You're right I should've done that to begin with but I was hoping my charm would be enough." She shrugged. "Oh well I'll just have to begin using it tomorrow slowly feeding my magic into him and by the end of the day he'll be nothing more than my love-sick king eager to make me happy and of course provide me with an heir."
She then let out a chuckle while I smiled and knew I was right not to tell her of my abilities such as my immunity to mind control and I also never told her about my prosthetics abilities or the weapons it contained. As for her leopard men I could tell they'd be a problem but my Anubis warriors along with my ninja would be more than a match for them and besides that I could tell none of them liked Shara but because of her power couldn't do anything about it. For now, though I just needed to bide my time and come up with a plan on how to get my hands on her staff to destroy it since that is the key to bringing an end to this entire city and the threat that she poses. With this in mind I lay back in bed and went to sleep as I allowed my thoughts to focus on my plans for tomorrow.
Evening the next day
Today had to be one of the most mentally difficult days of my life since today not only had I been forced to deal with Shara's constant flirting again but this time I also had to deal with her pretty much shoving the jewel of her staff in my face. It wasn't that hard to tell she was using it to try and hypnotize me but the defenses I have against any form of mind control kept the light shining from the jewel from doing anything other than annoying me. I don't think Shara noticed though if how she seemed so calm was anything to go by but I wasn't going to let my guard down because of it since that could lead to defeat.
Presently I was standing in the throne room in front looking up at Shara who was lounging on her throne with a leopard man on either side fanning her, along with ten other leopard men standing guard against both the left and right wall meaning a total of twenty-two leopard men in total in the room. I knew I could handle the leopard men easily enough with my god made weapons and with my Anubis warriors they'd be down in seconds but for now I needed to get closer to Shara to get her staff. She smiled down at me as I approached the throne before stopping a few feet away from her as I said.
"You wanted to see me Shara?" She smiled at me.
"I just wanted to hear your opinion on my city after you've had a full day to enjoy it."
"I have to say it truly is an incredible piece of architecture."
"And what would you to staying here with me as my king."
"I'd have to say no since I prefer my own island and to be honest you're not my type since I'm not into women who think they can play me for a fool and try to hypnotize me into helping her destroy my friends." I saw her eyes widen. "One of the gifts from the gods you didn't know about is an immunity to mind control unless the power of the magic is on par with the gods." I smiled at the look of shock on her face. "They also gave me a few mystic weapons so why do so why don't you surrender now and save us all a lot of time." She growled and stood up before smiling.
"Hiccup do you honestly think you could defeat me and all my leopard men alone." The leopard men began advancing towards me as Shara stood up. "Just make things easy Hiccup," She walked towards me as she swung her hips. "You'll be happy as my king and helping me rule these lands." She stopped when she was three feet away from me. "We can do great things together so why don't you just drop the weapon and we can discuss our future together." I smirked.
"I'd prefer discussing your surrender since I do have a few surprises up my sleeve." I kneeled to the ground as I pressed my prosthetic hand down while transforming my prosthetic into its dragon claw form and then summoned thirty of my Anubis warriors forming them around me as I smiled at the sight of Shara backing up. "You're not the only one with an army Shara so what do you say we see how your cats do against my dogs."
As soon as I said that my Anubis warriors charged at the leopard men who charged at them and the battle began between the leopards and the jackals. I smiled before I turned to Shara who was glaring at me now in anger before she pointed her staff at me and let out two green beams at me. Before it could touch me though I raised my left hand while unfolding my eagle shield blocking the beam and reflecting it towards the roof of the room. I smirked at the shocked look on her face as I folded up my shield and said.
"Nice try but the gods magic is far superior to yours." I released my crystal spear and held it at the ready. "So, you want to go a few rounds or you going to give up now."
She just growled and charged at me with her staff raised as I readied my spear for battle and ran at her ready for a fight. She swung her staff down at me but I held up the staff of my spear with both hands blocking her blow before I slipped to the side making her swing her staff to the ground. When her staff was on the ground I quickly stepped behind her and quickly swung the pole of my staff down at the back of her legs sweeping them right from under her. She fell back but held her hands out and flipped back onto her feet glaring at me before firing another beam from her staff at me. I dropped to the floor to dodge the beam since I didn't want to know what it would do to me if I was hit by it. She growled at me before she said.
"You'll never defeat me Hiccup Haddock." I smirked at her.
"I don't know about that, I've made taking on psychopathic mystics a hobby." I jumped out of the way of another one of her blasts.
"We could've been great together Hiccup but like that fool Chike you scorned me and shall face the consequences." Hearing this I realized something.
"Did you have anything to do with Chike becoming a werehyena?" She smirked.
"I inflicted that curse on him when he turned his back on me all those years ago but I won't be so kind to you." She let loose another blast at me but I ducked out of the way so the blast hit the wall.
"You'll find I'm not so easy to beat Shara."
She let out another blast at me but I once again dodged the blast and knew that I needed to get her staff from her if I wanted to end this. Sadly, she had a tight grip on it so I was going to need her to loosen her grip but with her fighting like this I knew I'd need to surprise her somehow. I looked down at my spears crystal end and felt like slapping myself for not realizing that I once again had my answer in the palm of my hand. I ducked beneath another one of her beams before standing back up and slamming the crystal end of my spear into the ground facing her and watched as the crystals burst from the ground towards Shara. She gasped and dived out of the way of the crystals unintentionally letting go of her staff that slid three feet away from her grasp. She crawled towards it but before she could reach it I released my threads and swung them down towards the staff while moving my hand to manipulate the threads so they wrapped around the staff before I yanked it back towards me.
The staff went flying through the air and landed right in my hand but I didn't wait for even a second before I slammed the head with the jewel into the ground shattering the large jewel into pieces making green smoke rise out of it. I smiled at the shattered remains before the roaring of leopards caught my attention as I turned to see the leopard men slowly transform into normal leopards who let out a roars or growls as they looked at my Anubis warriors. I then turned to Shara whose body was turning to dust as she turned to me and said.
"I'll be back Haddock and when I do you'll pay for what you've done."
Her body then turned to nothing but dust on the ground as I stared at it but sadly I didn't get much time to think about itsince the building begun crumbling around me. I immediately activated my ox flame boots speed mode as I collapsed my crystal spear and tossing Shara's staff to the side before running out the door with the leopards and my Anubis warriors following. When I was outside I watched as the building collapsed in on itself burying both Shara's staff and remains. As this happened the city soon followed by falling into ruins till it was nothing more than ruins, which I had to say, was a shame since it was impressive. I knew that I should at least salvage what I could from these ruins since I wouldn't mind a souvenir from this adventure and the gold treasures from the city treasury would look good in my vault since it would be a shame to let such treasures collect dust under rubble. As I looked out upon the city I knew excavation was going to take some time but it fortunately I had my Anubis warriors to help moving the rubble and all night to do so since it wasn't safe to travel the jungle at night. I looked out at the city and watched as the leopards fleeing from it now free of Shara's control so I couldn't blame them for wanting to get away from this place. I however was going to stick around and get to work on excavating.
Nine days later
It's been nine days since I took down Shara and for me those days have been nothing but busy for me with all that's been going on. After Shara's defeat I summoned the rest of my Anubis warriors and my ninja to do a sweep city to make sure there were no more surprises Shara might have left behind. I am happy to say there were none but what she did leave behind was a whole lot of treasure and golden artifacts in the treasury. Fortunately, my spider pack was able to hold it all along with a single one of the leopard men uniforms as a trophy but I intend to empty it all out into my ship's storage hold when I get the chance to make unloading it easier when I reach my island easier. Digging it all up took two days of excavation but it was worth it since the gold items I found weren't only valuable but beautiful pieces of work. I would've dug up Shara's staff as well but that was something I felt was a lot better off buried under the rubble then in my home where a demon once broke in and stole the most powerful weapons I'd ever wielded. (AN: Chapter 110 if you're wondering what I'm talking about.)
When all the treasure was dug up along with the trophy from this adventure I made my way back to the village which took another two days of constant traveling. My arrival back into the village was met with a face full of slobber from Toothless and a lot of questions from the villagers including Kwame and Zane. When I told them all how I defeated Shara by breaking her staff and how her leopard men are free from her control and her city in ruins they all rejoiced and celebrated. The people danced and feasted with the men giving me slaps on the back telling me how incredible what I'd done was or saying that their people owed me a great deal of gratitude for what I'd done. The women on the other hand were a little gentler with their show of gratitude since instead of slapping my back they bowed their heads as they thanked me and, in some cases, kissed my cheek. Of course, some of them flirted with me but I am happy to say they were nowhere near as annoying as Shara since they were a little subtler with their flirting and at least gave me my space.
Presently I was sitting down in Zane's hut across from him on a grass mat with Zane sitting across from me. Zane's hut was the kind of thing you'd expect from a mystic with masks, rattles, beads and dried herbs hanging on the wall with a grass bed at the back. The reason I was sitting here with Zane was since I'd gotten back from my battle with Shara I'd felt like some sort of force telling me that my business in this land wasn't over yet but to complete it I'd need to leave the jungle. I came to Zane hoping to ask if he could help me with this feeling to which he replied he'd need to throw the bones to tell me what it means. He'd just thrown the bones and was now examining them letting out a hum and nod as he looked them over before he let out a sigh and nodded his head. I took this as a sign that he understood what the bones were saying and was proven right when he looked up at me and said.
"Hiccup, you came to me hoping for answers about this feeling you have that is pulling you away from the jungle and after throwing the bones I have the answers you seek." I nodded. "Your business in the jungle is over but this land is still in need of you."
"But what else can I do, what does this land need from me?" He shook his head.
"These are questions I cannot give you the answers to but I can tell you where to go in order to get the answers." I nodded.
"Just tell me where I'm needed and I'll go." He pointed down at his bones and pointed at the tip of a horn belonging to an antelope resting at the front of one of Toothless' scales that I gave him as it points to a small but sharp tooth of some kind.
"Hiccup, the horn of the bongo antelope rests on the scale of your nightfury showing that you must travel from the jungle." He then pointed at the tooth. "It points to the tooth of the lion, the king of predators in the African savannah."
"What does it mean though?"
"It means you must leave the green jungle and travel to the golden savannah for it is there where your journey to rid our land of the darkness that has plagued it shall continue." I nodded.
"Is there anything I should know about these lands."
"The one thing you need to know is that the savannah is not like the jungle but I can offer you this one bit of help."
"I'll leave tomorrow at dawn since it'll give me time to prepare for the journey." He nodded.
"I wish you good luck on this journey Hiccup but be warned that the savannah may possess a unique beauty of its own but it also possesses a great deal of its own dangers both natural and mystical." I smirked.
"Well that just makes my job more interesting." He chuckled.
"Never lose that confidence my young friend but remember don't let your guard down." I nodded before I left the hut.
Nightfall
Word of me leaving tomorrow spread fast and Kwame all but demanded a farewell party be done in my honor since I not only cured his eldest son of a curse that was causing so much pain for the tribe but also brought an end to one of their greatest enemies. The evening has been pretty entertaining with multiple people dancing around a bonfire in the center of the village, the food was delicious and the culture was interesting. For the celebration I didn't wear my armor but just my pants since Kwame wanted me to partake in some ceremony tonight. This brings us to now with me sitting down in front of Kwame who stood in front of me and held out his hands as he said.
"TONIGHT, WE HONOR ONE OF THE GREATEST HEROES WHO HAS EVER GRACED OUR TRIBE WITH HIS PRESENCE BY HELPING US SO MUCH AND ASKED FOR SO LITTLE IN RETURN!" Everyone raised their hands and cheered until Kwame signaled them to be silent as he looked down at me. "HICCUP FOR YOUR BRAVE DEEDS WE WELCOME YOU AS AN HONORARY MEMBER OF OUR TRIBE!" He gestured for one of the tribe's women forward holding a woven grass tray and held it to Zane who picked up a beaded necklace with a few teeth I recognized as leopard with a small long dark wood mask in the center of it. "THIS NECKLACE IS A SYMBOL BETWEEN AFRICAN TRIBES AND WILL BE RECOGNIZED BY THOSE OF THE OTHER VILLAGES!" He placed it on around my neck. "THIS NECKLACE SHALL SHOW THE PEOPLE OF THE SAVANNAH THAT YOU ARE A FRIEND TO THE PEOPLE!" I nodded. "HICCUP HADDOCK KNOW THAT YOU SHALL ALWAYS BE WELCOME IN OUR VILLAGE BY OUR TRIBE!" I once again nodded as another woman walked forward holding a wrapped package but considering how long it was it wasn't hard to figure out what it was before Kwame took it and unwrapped it to reveal an African club known as a knobkierie that was made of dark wood, reached my waist in height while the ball at the top was the size of my dads' fist. "I CARVED THIS KNOBKIERIE MYSELF FROM THE WOOD OF OUR STRONGEST TREE AND HOPE IT SHALL SERVE HIM WELL IN BATTLE FOR WHEN HE STRIKES WITH IT THE SPIRIT OF THE LAND AND OUR TRIBE SHALL STRIKE WITH HIM!" He handed it to me while everyone cheered while I felt the smooth wood in my hand as he smiled. "NOW BACK TO THE CELEBRATION!" Everyone cheered at this before they stood up and we all got back to enjoying our night.
AN: Hey all I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and for those of you wondering I am doing a whole lot better now than how I was doing when I posted the last chapter. By the way I thank you all for the ideas but I'm going to need to make something clear to everyone, Hiccup is not going to Wukanda nor is he getting Vibranium so although I may take some ideas from the black panther movie there is no Wukanda or vibranium involved in this fanfic so I'm sorry. Also, no armor since he's got all the armor he needs in his prosthetic arm and will be getting a new suit in a later adventure but that's a story for another time. Anyway, I have a weapon gift for him but still short of some so if you have any ideas PM me and we'll talk. Till the next chapter stay safe and have a nice day.
