Chapter 150
Hiccups POV:
It's been three weeks since all the visiting tribes finally left Berk and in that time, I've been nothing but busy catching up on both my training and my projects. To begin with I'd upped my training to the point where I spent hours inside my training room using the mirror, lifting weights and other such things to make up for lost time. I'd also been spending some time racing my animals through the various environments to keep up my stamina and skills since I'd be darned if I got rusty after working so hard to achieve my level of skill. Of course, Blanca was there to pull me back to earth and making sure I didn't overdo it, which would result in danger to my health and possibly falling unconscious. She often kept me grounded by bringing me a cup of tea, asking me to join her for a walk, making me lay down with my head in her lap as she'd sing a gentle tune that would put me to sleep and other such things that she knew would calm me down and help me unwind a bit.
Besides that, I'd also been spending a large amount of time in the forge finally getting to work on the automatons I'd designed I'd been meaning to build. To begin with I'd built two new fish scouts since I already had the slots for them in the submersible ship since I was always planning to make more and now I could release all three of my fish scouts at once. Besides them I'd finally gotten around to building the shark automaton I'd been meaning to build for looting sunken ships of treasure. I'd named this automaton the 'loot shark' and it was powerful with its capabilities to not only loot ships but also sink a few if I wanted it to. Anyway, as the name implies this automaton takes the form of a shark that's the same size as Toothless with a thin outer and inner shell made of depths sapphire with a life stone in the center of the head between the eyes allowing it to function and me to control it and two peer stones connected to my eye allowing me to see through them.
It's able to move through the water like a regular shark but I put in a spinning blade in its fins allowing it to be able to swim faster than any other shark. The teeth on the other hand were a mix of gronkle iron and depths sapphire mixed together using fusion ore allowing me to create teeth that were strong enough to rip through metal easily. There were two rows of these teeth and I gave the shark the ability to make them stick out like a leech's teeth before having the two rows rotate rapidly in opposite directions so they could drill a large hole in the hull of ships for them to access through. The inside of the sharks' mouth had a small opening in it where the treasure is thrown in leading to a large storage hold and when the storage hold is full the opening closes. When the opening is closed slots on the top of the hold open up revealing bubble stones that release air forcing the water out through the tiny holes that open up at the bottom leaving the treasures resting in a dry storage hold and preventing any more water damage. When it surfaces however a palm sized handle jumps out of the front of the top dorsal fin allowing me to pull the top part open revealing the storage hold to so I could collect its cargo.
When I first took this automaton out for a test run in my submersible ship with Tephra and Kal using an old recently found shipwreck as the target it was proven to be a major success. Of course, I did have a few problems since I needed to surface in order to empty it out but that just lead to another project of making modifications to my submersible ship. I needed a way to both let the shark out and back in so I could unload it of its cargo that could then be placed in the storage hold. This led to me making three slots in my submersible ships storage room that were like the ones I release my fish scouts only these ones were large enough to hold my loot sharks so they could be unloaded with the only difference being the slot they rested on being kept on wheels so I could launch them easily. Now I'd created a total of three of them which now rested in the slots of my submersible ship so I could let them loose when I went on a treasure hunt or just on an underwater date with Blanca who enjoyed seeing below the waves.
Along with these automatons I'd also built the other automaton I designed for my mining operation on Dragon Island and named it the 'Mining spider'. This automaton had a large body with six spider legs, two thin arms with two pincers on the end of each one and a ball shaped head made of flexible glass with two golden rings outside of it holding the glass ball in the body. This automaton reached my waist in height with the six legs constantly bent down supporting the body but using the gears that were the joints it could lift itself up for better reach. At the base of each limb was a ball connecting them to the body and allowing the limbs to rotate to spots where it wanted it to be. The entire body was made of a mixture between gronkle iron and ruby's dragons' breath so it's both strong and can withstand the heat of the volcano.
The bottom of the feet along with the tips of the pincers also had grasp stone merged into their metal allowing them to get a good grip on the items and climb up steep slopes. The head itself was a mix of flexible glass, gronkle iron and ruby's dragons' breath with a single peer stone floating in the middle allowing the automaton a full view of its surroundings while the life stone that allows it to function was in the center of the chest. The inside however was mostly hollow storage compartment for the gems that the gathering spider uses to hold the gems it collects. The way it works is when the automaton grabs a gem before a slot on top of the chest opens up for the gems to be dropped into which would lead them to the storage compartment. When they're emptying out the storage hold the entire front chest would lower itself like a drawbridge as the sides of it lift up preventing the gems from falling off. The gems would then flow down the ramp and into whatever the automatons emptying them into until the storage hold is empty and before the gathering spider returns to collecting the gems. I now currently had a group of five of these automatons working to gather gems in the mines and I had to say they were doing a fine job at it but sadly it also meant I had to go there at least once a day to collect all the gems.
Besides the automatons I'd been trying to build a saddle for Aylen since although I did love to ride her bareback she had been getting faster lately making it hard to stay on. The problem was that every saddle I made for her lasted a maximum of a week and a minimum of three days before the leather was ruined by moisture she let out of her body, which lead to mold growth ruining the leather. So far, I'd gone through three perfectly good saddles in my futile attempt to make riding Aylen a little easier meaning I'd wasted a lot of time making the saddles and wasted perfectly good leather.
Other than my work things had been peaceful and for that I am grateful since I hadn't been sleeping well these past two weeks since I was constantly plagued by nightmares. Nightmares of dark beasts attacking everyone I considered my friends in the land of the feather people with my spirit guide shrieking in terror. I always tried to fight these dark beasts but whenever I struck them my blow would go right through them and they'd go on their way as if I weren't even there and forced to watch as my friends were slaughtered. It was because of this I'd often wake up in the evening drenched in sweat and breathing heavily while waking Blanca up in the process. I could tell this was affecting her as well since she's often stay up and help calm me down even when I left to get some fresh air she'd stay up in bed waiting for me to return. It was those times I couldn't help but fall even more in love with her than I already was since it was a truly kind thing to do for me. I'd tried meditating in my shrine, taking a walk through the garden, taking evening flights with Toothless and many other things but nothing ever freed my mind from the horrors I saw.
This brings us to where I am now which is sitting in the spirit cave hoping to get into contact with my spirit guide who might be able to help me. I was hoping a journey with my spirit guide might be able to help me either clear my mind or explain to me why I was having these horrific visions. I was wearing only my pants and ceremonial paints as I sat down staring into the flames of the burning fire as they danced around lighting the cave and casting shadows upon the walls. I stared at the flames glowing breathing the smoke in deeply as the form of animals took form in it before I noticed the smoke was coming down and began circling me. This was something that had never happened before whenever I went to the world of my spirit guide but I had the feeling this had something to do with my dreams so I didn't move as I closed my eyes and breathed the smoke in.
When I opened my eyes the sound of screams of terror and pain were the first things I was made aware of and it made my heart wrench. I looked around to see I was in the spirit realms forest where I first came to meet my spirit guide but now it was on fire with skulls forming out of the flames and black clouds with red lightning striking down from them covered the sky. I looked around for any form of life only to see the spirit guides lying dead on the ground with bite marks in their bodies with their blood which was the same color as silver moonlight seeping out onto the ground. I ran down the path trying to find help but as I ran I saw parts of the spirit realm being consumed by a black hole that looked as if they were big voids of nothing. When I reached the places the different villages once stood there was nothing but large black pits where they once were and it made my heart clench.
When I reached the desert the sound of cruel heartless laughter filled my ears as I watched the mountains of this world either erupt or crumble into pebbles and dust. I then saw the source of the laughter in the form of a large black silhouette of a man in the center of where the mountains once stood within a large cloud of smoke surrounded by flames. Around the smoke I also saw multiple skeletons with glowing red eyes and fangs instead of teeth that were dripping with the blood of the spirit animals. They were on all fours and ripping into the bodies of dead spirit animals as if they were animals themselves that were enjoying their own kill. It was then the silhouettes eyes landed on me and when I looked into them it was like I was staring into a bottomless pit of burning flames that was pulling me in. The creature gave a toothy grin showing off its fanged mouth as it laughed while holding up a cage that held my spirit guide who was thrashing around trying to escape the cage. The silhouette then raised its free hand forming a black bow and arrow in it as it prepared to launch the arrow at me while I just stood there frozen to the spot. When the arrow was released and fired right at me I finally found myself able to move once more and dodged to the left avoiding the arrow and used my kung fu and ninjutsu skills to grab it in mid-flight. I turned back to the demon who had already let loose another arrow that was inches from my face but before it could hit me light filled my eyes.
My eyes shot open as I looked around, covered in sweat while breathing heavily looking around for any type of threat. I slowed my breathing down as I calmed myself before I took one final deep breath to calm my nerves before I looked down and shook my head. As I did this I kept wondering what in the world was going on since I'd never seen anything like that beast before in my life but I knew it meant big trouble. I then looked to my hands and noticed something very strange and that was the arrow I caught in that world was currently sitting in my prosthetic hand. When I saw this all, I could say was.
"Why do I get the feeling I'm in for another life-threatening adventure." I sighed and shook my head. "I better let Blanca know and do some research on this arrow." With that said I stood up and made my way out of the cave.
Evening
I've been studying the arrow I came out of the spirit world with and since then all I have been able to tell is that my spirit guide had something to do with it. I tried communicating with it through the spirit cave again but when I tried all I found was darkness and the sound of animals screaming in pain as it began to feel as if I was in a furnace. It didn't help that when I showed the arrow to my dust coyotes they backed up while growling and glaring at the arrow while Aylen freaked out when I brought it near her to the point she stood up kicking her front legs at me until I backed up from her with the arrow. I knew right then and there that there was something up with this arrow and if I want answers I was going to need an expert's opinion. Judging from the arrows design it was definitely from the land of the feather people so I might be able to get some help from Spirit roamer, Thunder Dancer and Crazy Eyes. (AN: Chapter 59 and 60.). The shamen I befriended on my last trip to the land of the feather people since they might at least be able to give me an idea on what I'm dealing with. I'd already let Blanca know what happened and that I was going to have to visit some old friends who might be able to help me with what happened in the spirit world. She understood this and rubbed my cheek before she told me that she understood this and to let her know when I was leaving.
Now we were both standing at the entrance to the portal room in front of the portal door with Toothless at my side. I smiled at Blanca with my arms around her as she caressed my face as she said.
"Be careful Hiccup." She stroked her thumb over my cheek. "I don't want to lose you and not even know about it." I smiled at her.
"Don't worry Blanca I've been up against some pretty bad stuff in the past and besides" I held up my real hand with the ring. "I'll keep in contact with you through our wedding rings." She smiled.
"Just promise me you'll let me know when you've beaten this thing and when you're going to come home." I nodded.
"I'll let you know as soon as I find out what's going on with that thing and I'll sure to contact you every night before bed." I caressed her cheek. "Just so your smiling face will be the last thing I see before I go to sleep." She giggled.
"You're so sweet."
"Only for you my beloved white snake." She gave a gentle smile and leaned in to me as I leaned in towards her till our lips met in a gentle kiss that I held for a few seconds knowing it would be the last one I'd have for a while and when we parted I was tempted to restart it but knew I needed to go. "I'll do my best to take this threat down and return to you unharmed." She smiled at me.
"I know you will." She stepped back out of my arms. "Now go take out that evil being."
I smiled to her before I opened my portal door and made my way through with Toothless at my side before making my way to the door that leads to a portal door that's close to the village where I'd find Spirit Roamer. The second I stepped out of the door however I felt as if there was something wrong in the land but I couldn't tell what it was. I signaled Toothless to keep his guard up but I could tell it wasn't needed since he could sense there was something wrong as well if how he was growling was any indication. We slowly made our way down the familiar path towards the village but as we did I kept looking around since I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched. We reached a cliff as I smiled since it gave me a perfect view of the village below, the village where I'd find Spirit Roamer who'd hopefully have the answers I was looking for concerning the spirit world. Before I could mount Toothless so was could fly down however I found myself grabbed by the arms, picked up and lifted into the air. I looked to see what had grabbed me only to see black talons with red cracks and when I looked up I saw black and red feathers of and eagle as a head that was a skull with glowing red eyeholes leaned down to look at me as it screeched. When it pulled its head away I sighed and shook my head and said.
"I should've known it was going to be one of those trips." I then released my star sword. "Time to get to work." With that said I plunged my blade into the chest of the eagle making it screech, as black mist seemed to pour out of its body like blood.
Nobodies POV:
The demon eagle that was around the size of a gronkle let out a shriek of pain as Hiccup drove the blade of his sword deeper into the body making more of that same black mist like substance to leak out. It was then after one last hard thrust into the body of the beast the eagle let out a loud shriek before its body slowly turned into that same black mist that came from its wound. Sadly, the first thing to go were the talons causing Hiccup to free fall for a few seconds but before he could get near the ground he spread out his wings allowing him to turn his fall into a glide. This glide was short lived however as Toothless who had shaken out of his shock had taken off after them shortly after Hiccup had plunged his blade into the beast's chest and was now flying below Hiccup as he glided. Hiccup smiled at Toothless and steered himself down towards him before landing in the saddle and getting his foot into the control as sheathed his wings.
Hiccup smiled down at Toothless but sadly the joy of their reunion was cut short by the sound of another screech in the distance bringing their attention to that direction. Using his eagle eye Hiccup saw six more of the eagles flying towards them but as they got closer three of them broke off and began flying towards the village. Hiccup knew this meant big trouble for the people but before he could even steer Toothless one of the eagles who were flying at him let out a screech as it flew up and held out its talons while it dived at them. Toothless quickly swerved to the side barely avoiding the sharp talons of the eagle while Hiccup pulled his star sword back into his prosthetic while releasing three of his scimitars throwing knives. He saw another one of the eagles flying at him and quickly had Toothless fly upwards dodging the coming blow as he threw all three knives at the eagle while they activated their lunar mirage ability. With its immense size and closeness, it didn't stand a chance at dodging so within seconds the knives plunged themselves into the beasts back making it screech in pain as that black mist oozed out of the open wounds.
The eagle went falling to the ground dead as its body turned into the same black mist that was oozing from its body allowing Hiccup to turn his attention to the two remaining eagles that were attacking him. One was flying right at them full speed but Hiccup saw an opportunity and quickly stood up on Toothless' saddle before Toothless bucked as he jumped when the eagle was inches from them. This allowed Hiccup to land right on the back of the beast as he released his crystal spear and quickly stabbed the spear end into the body of the beast. The eagle let out a screech as the end of the spear burst through the bottom of the eagle before Hiccup pulled it back out and jumped off the body only to land on Toothless' saddle while the eagle fell to the ground. Hiccup turned his attention to the last of the eagles that was soaring at them with its talons out and ready to strike as Hiccup readied his spear with the spear end facing the eagle. He steered Toothless down as the eagle closed in on them and held out the spears with the spear end facing up resulting in it carving open the underbelly of the eagle that went crashing down.
Hiccup smiled as he watched the last of the beasts go down but his smile quickly vanished when he noticed the other three remaining eagles were getting closer to the village. Knowing he couldn't let them reach the village he steered Toothless towards them while releasing his spirit bow and taking out an arrow that began to glow as soon as he took aim despite it originally being an ice arrow. The arrow flew through the air before impaling itself into the back of the eagle that was in the middle making it let out a screech as light began to exit through holes in its body before it exploded into that same black mist the others turned into. Hiccup didn't know what was happening with his arrows but he wasn't complaining as he loaded up another one and took aim at another eagle and let it fly. The eagle on his right was hit in the back of the head before light burst from its mouth followed by the rest of its body before it burst into black mist. Hiccup then took out another arrow and aimed it at the final eagle that the village had took notice of resulting in the majority to run for cover while others readied their weapons. He watched as the men launched their arrows at the eagle only for them to sink into its body like arrows did with Hiccups grootslang coat and didn't seem to bother it in the least. Hiccup didn't wait to find out as he let the final arrow fly and watched as it planted itself into the back of the eagle's wing as it swooped down with its talons out and pointed at the people who were still out.
The eagle burst into black mist as it reached the ground before Hiccup was able to take a breath of relief as he steered Toothless down towards the outside of the village walls. As he flew in many of the village men came running out to greet him including Iron Bear who smiled at Hiccup while everyone stepped aside to allow him to the front of the group. Before Iron Bear could speak with Hiccup about what just happened with those eagles a loud bone-chilling howl behind them made everyone turn to see what was happening. The sight that greeted them was not something that was pleasant to see as walking out of the woods and towards the village was a large pack of wolves the size of bears with black fur that had red streaks in it and each had six eyes all glowing red. Hiccup turned to Iron Bear and the others as he said.
"Get back into the village." He readied an arrow "and get everyone back into the village and get ready for a fight." I turned back to the approaching wolves. "I'll buy you as much time as I can and if they get past me either kill them or hold them back as long as you can until I can get there." They all nodded and made their way back into the village while he turned to Toothless who stood ready to fight at his side. "Toothless, you go help defend the village." He crooned in concern making Hiccup smile. "Don't worry bud, I'll be fine with my weapons but I don't think they will so go and protect them."
He growled and nodded as Hiccup turned his arm into its dragon claw form and got ready for a fight against the approaching beasts and knew things weren't going to be easy and just hoped his weapons would be as effective against them as they were on the eagles. Hiccup didn't get the chance to pray though as one of the wolves ran ahead of the others but as it closed in he let the arrow fly an nailed the wolf right between the eyes. The wolves body collapsed and went sliding across the ground as light burst from parts of the body before it turned to mist. Hiccup didn't get the chance to enjoy this short victory however as three more wolves charging at him and readied another arrow aiming for the one in the center. He let the arrow fly landing it in the wolf's chest making the body fall to the ground as he charged at them while the other two continued their charge. When he got close enough he dropped to the ground sliding while pulling his bow back into his arm and releasing the legs of his spider pack as he slid between the two wolves. The legs stuck out against the bodies of the wolves cutting into their bodies and making the wolves fall to the ground tumbling as black mist flowed out of their bodies that began to turn into the same mist as the eagles and the other wolves.
Hiccup quickly stood up and looked at the remaining wolves that were charging out of the woods while he released his lighting axe and eagle shield but kept his spider packs legs out. Seeing the wolves coming at him he charged at them with his axe raised and ready to strike the wolves down with his axe. The first strike didn't have to wait long as one wolf immediately pounced at him but Hiccup sidestepped and watched as the wolf landed next to him before bringing his axe down on its head. The blade of the axe imbedded itself into the head of the beast that immediately oozed that same blood like black mist from the wound. Hiccup pulled the axe free as the body turned to the same black mist and turned around swinging his axe into the side of another wolf's head killing it on impact. Hiccup then turned his attention to another charging wolf and threw his axe at an angle that would make it spin as it flew and smiled as it slammed into the head of the wolf killing it. His joy was short lived though as a wolf pounced at him from the left but he held his eagle shield ready against the chest of the wolf holding it back while it snapped its jaw at him. Hiccup held out his right hand summon his axe back to him as he used the top legs of his spiderpack to slam into the middle eyes of the wolf killing it.
The axe slammed into Hiccups hand before he saw a wolf run past him and towards the village but Hiccup threw his axe at it nailing it in the neck. Another wolf ran past him but before it could get to the village he released his snake whip and threw it at the wolf making the leather wrap around its neck. He dug his heels into the ground holding the wolf back and pulled the whip back with the fangs on it tearing open the wolf's neck killing it and preventing it from reaching the village. Hiccup then turned to the remaining wolves and saw there were still three left making him smile as he pulled his whip back into his prosthetic and replaced it with his African earth club.
The wolves charged at him as he slammed his club into the ground making a large boulder burst from the ground and strike it towards the wolves. The boulder ended up striking the one on the right killing it on impact before the wolf in the middle charged right at him but after folding up his eagle shield and swung the club with both hands sending the wolf flying until it turned into black mist in midflight. He turned to the last wolf that ran straight past Hiccup before he could react and made a dash for the village as Hiccup growled and collapsed his African club and pulled it back into his prosthetic. He then felt his shadow sickle pushed into his prosthetic before he chased after the wolf that was closing in on the village while pulling the blade and chain into his real hand. He quickly let go of the sickles handle and began spinning it by the chain aiming it for the wolfs shadow and smiled as it landed in the shadow of the tail and sunk in instantly. Hiccup dug his heels into the ground stopping the wolf when it was only three feet from the village walls before he began draining the shadow into the sickle making the wolf growl in pain as its body slowly turned to stone. When the wolfs body had completely turned to stone he pulled the sickle back to himself and smiled as the body crumbled into dust leaving no more of the beasts for Hiccup to fight.
He let out a sigh of relief, as he looked around one more time for any more threats with the use of the eye of the dragon but saw none. Hiccup took a moment to enjoy this short moment of victory but he knew things were far from over since things were never that easy when it came to dealing with the supernatural. For now though he could just enjoy this short victory and do a bit more research on the arrow he brought with him and hopefully get some answers about those beasts. With these thoughts in mind he made his way towards the village to speak with Iron Bear and Spirit Roamer.
Hiccups POV:
I walked towards the village wondering what in the world those things that attacked me were but I had the feeling that Spirit Roamer might have the answer. I walked through the gates and was greeted by the cheers of the people who quickly ran up to me but Toothless ran ahead of them and quickly nuzzled my chest as I laughed and rubbed his head. Before I could speak to him Iron Bear walked up to me and said.
"Soaring Eagle, many moons have past since you last left your mark on this land during our time of need and once again you have come to our aid during these times of darkness."
"Darkness is exactly what brought me here Chief Iron Bear." He raised an eyebrow. "For the past few nights I've been plagued by nightmares, hoping my spirit guide could help me so I went into the spirit world hoping for it to guide me to the answer to what these nightmares meant."
"And it lead you here?" I shook my head.
"No, the place looked like a nightmare with the sound of screams of terror and pain and the forest was on fire with the smoke creating a black cloud that was letting loose red lightning." I could see the fear in his eyes. "I looked around the spirit realm but all the spirit animals were slaughtered and when I got to the desert I found a creature that I believe to be the one responsible."
"What did you find?"
"Some sort of dark demon feeding on the spirits and it had my spirit guide in a cage and it fired an arrow at me but I caught it." He nodded. "When I came out of the spirit world I still had the arrow in my grip which brought me back here since I was hoping to talk to Spirit Roamer and some of the other shaman about it but now I'd like to know more about those creatures that attacked the village." It was then Spirit Roamer walked out of the crowd with a grim look on his face.
"My friend we have much to discuss as a dark cloud has formed over the spirit world and it has already begun to seep into our world." I could tell he knew more but didn't want to scare anybody.
"Perhaps we should discuss this in private." They nodded before Toothless and I were lead into the village so we could talk and I could figure out what was going on.
AN: Hey all we're back in America but it won't be for long since this threat doesn't leave much to write about I'm afraid but that doesn't make it any more dangerous than the other threats he's faced. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and shall remember to review since I do enjoy reading the reviews. Till next time enjoy your day and stay safe during these troubled times and remember to review.
