The Black Sphere Chapter 4
The two dragons and their human interpreter cautiously made their way into the Lava-Lout slave encampment. Soon, the half-human/half-dragon inhabitants saw them. Oddly, they didn't seem frightened at the sight of two Night Furies. Nor were they happy to see them; they showed no reaction at all.
"They aren't even curious about us!" Rangi whispered into Hiccup's ear. "This whole situation is beyond weird."
"Lunklunk must have beaten all humanity out of them," Astrid rumbled back. "Rangi, greet them in human language."
"Uhh... good morning," he called as they drew near.
"Good morning," two or three of them replied lifelessly.
"What do you want with us?" one of the women added. She had Nadder-like scales on her upper arms and legs; they probably covered her body as well.
"We don't want anything from you," Rangi said. "We just want to learn more about you. We've never seen beings like you before."
"Count your blessings," the woman said bitterly.
After an awkward pause, Rangi introduced himself.
"I'm called Leiðtoga by the chief and the jarls," she said. "It means 'leader.' I guess they call me that because I'm not afraid to talk to the humans. You seem fearless as well. How did you tame those dragons that you're riding?"
"They aren't tame," Rangi explained. "This is Chief-night-fury of the Berk tribe, and his mate, Night-fury-mother-of-twins. They're as intelligent as you and me. I'm riding this one because it's faster, not because I'm in charge. Actually, he's in charge."
The half-humans slowly gathered around them. There was nothing threatening about them; there was just a terrible strangeness about them. The ones with dragon's heads didn't talk at all; the others spoke very little, allowing Leiðtoga to do most of the talking.
Rangi finally asked the question that Hiccup was dying to ask himself. "How did you end up like this?"
"It was the Viking chief's doing," Leiðtoga shrugged. "He caught us and used his black ball to turn us into these forms. When he wants workers, he turns a few of us into humans, and then turns us back into this –" she gestured at all the beings around them "– when he's done with us."
Grunt, growl, grunt. "My chief wants to know why you don't rebel against him. You certainly outnumber him."
"We can't," she said flatly. "Being half human and half dragon is painful, even agonizing for some of us. Half of my body hates the other half! I can't work that way, I can't fight that way, and I can't run that way. That's why he makes us human when he wants workers – it's the only way we can do any useful work."
"You could overpower him and take his sphere," Rangi suggested.
"We tried that once. He's too quick with his magic words. He turned us all back into half-dragons and left us that way for days, just to teach us a lesson. We learned our lesson, all right."
"Why not just run away?" Rangi wondered.
"Where would we go?" Leiðtoga asked sadly. "If any other Vikings saw us, they'd call us unnatural monsters! Do you think we could live with every shriek of every child at seeing our hideousness, every babe that weeps at our approach, every woman who cries out, "Dear gods, what is that thing?' " Even if we somehow found an empty place where we could live by ourselves, we'd still be stuck in these horrible bodies, unable to hunt, farm, fish, or do anything else that might be useful. We'd all freeze or die of starvation before the first winter ended. This existence is horrible, but it's better than being dead."
"Berk wouldn't treat them that way," Rangi said to Hiccup.
"If we take thralls away, Lunklunk has valid complaint against us," Hiccup said with a disgusted shake of his black head. "This system stinks, but is legal. Not much we can do."
"There has to be something!" the young man burst out. "This is just wrong! It's inhuman!"
"Yes, we noticed that, too," Leiðtoga grimaced.
"I'm sorry; that wasn't very thoughtful of me," Rangi admitted. "Hey, I've got an idea!"
Astrid made an exaggerated show of backing away in fear. Rangi protested, "No, this idea's a good one! I think. What if we wait until all the Vikings are asleep; then we kind of 'borrow' that magic ball, and –"
"Kind of borrow it?" Hiccup echoed him in Forge. "You mean steal it?"
"No, I mean just borrow it. Then we'll say the magic words and turn all these people into real people for the night, then we'll give back the magic gadget. We wouldn't be stealing anything, and we wouldn't be taking any thralls away from anybody, so you won't get in trouble with the other Vikings. But all these guys could get a good night's sleep for a change. It wouldn't be as good as setting them free, but at least we could do something for them, right?"
Hiccup glanced at Leiðtoga, who shrugged. "It would be nice for all of us to sleep in bodies that aren't fighting against us, just once. But please don't get yourselves in trouble trying to make it happen."
"Okay," Astrid said. "What is plan for borrowing black ball?"
"Well... uhh..." Rangi looked embarrassed. "I haven't figured that part out yet. But how hard can it be? All we have to do is figure out where Lunklunk hides the ball when he isn't using it, and then sneak in while he's asleep and grab it, right?"
Astrid had no use for such sloppy planning. "Sure. Who sneaks into his house tonight to search for ball – us or you?" Rangi looked stricken and didn't answer.
Leiðtoga shook her head, then winced. "None of us knows exactly where he hides the sphere. He only brings it out when he plans to use it."
Hiccup growled and rumbled; Rangi translated. "He keeps it in his house, right?"
"No," Leiðtoga answered. "He keeps it in the tribe's treasure house. There is always a guard at the door; no one can go in or out except the chief, or someone who carries the chief's baton. Once you're inside, good luck. One of us got a glimpse of the inside of the treasure house once. He said it's a jumbled-up mess. It could take you hours to find the black sphere in the dark."
"Oh," Rangi said. "So, first we figure out how to borrow the chief's baton. Then we can work on borrowing the sphere."
"You borrow too much," Hiccup warned him. "You never repay that loan."
Then one of the other dragon-people called, "Guards are coming!"
"We disappear," Astrid said quickly. "Solve this problem not-today."
"Thank you for trying to do something for us, even if you didn't actually do anything," Leiðtoga called sadly as the Night Furies and their one rider galloped over the hill, then took flight. They flew home in silence. When they landed, they got some sleep until sunrise. As they stretched and prepared for another day, they found Full-of-surprises waiting for them.
"Mom, Dad, you need to do something about Smallest-boy," she said firmly. "He's been hiding in Vikings' houses, then jumping out and roaring at people to scare them!"
"Oh, I'll do something about him," Mother-of-twins said grimly. "Where is he?" As if on cue, they heard the roar of a small Night Fury, accompanied by the startled outcry of a human.
"There's your answer," Full-of-surprises said. "My hatchlings were awarding him some kind of points for each time he frightened someone. I've put a stop to that, but he's still doing it on his own."
"Not for long," Mother-of-twins said firmly as she stalked off toward the center of town.
"Dad, thanks again for that advice," Full-of-surprises said to Hiccup. "I don't feel like I'm getting ahead of those crazy hatchlings, but at least they're not getting ahead of me, either."
"I'm glad to hear it," her father nodded. "And if any of them give you any more trouble, I had an idea for a new kind of punishment that might actually be useful." He whispered in her ear for a few seconds.
She nodded happily. "One or two rounds of that will cure any young dragon of mischief, at least for a day or so. Good idea, Dad! You say that will be useful?"
"Yes, the Vikings will be very thankful. That's becoming an issue with the tribe – with all of the tribes, from what I've seen."
"So I can kill two birds with one firebolt? Consider it done, Dad! Is there a real problem that needs to be solved?" Hiccup was about to answer when a young Hobblegrunt walked over and joined them.
"Excuse me, Night-fury-full-of-surprises, but I've got a problem."
"What's on your mind?" Full-of-surprises asked.
The Hobblegrunt lay down and made himself comfortable. "My human and I are learning Forge so we can talk to each other. It was fun at first, but now it's not going so well. Yesterday, I tried to tell him I had a fishbone stuck in my teeth, but either I said it wrong or he heard it wrong, and he thinks I told him to go stick his head in a pig. Now he's mad at me. Can you help us understand each other?"
"Yes, I can," she answered, "but you'll be better off if you ask Night-fury-smith-flies-for-fun or Night-fury-faithful-brother for help. They're the real experts in Forge, because they invented it. Also, both of them used to be human, so they can understand your human's point of view better than I can. Why don't you see if one of them can help you?"
The Hobblegrunt looked miffed and began to turn red. "I'd feel better if the Alpha helped me."
"I'm sure you would," she said kindly, "but I can't be everywhere at once and I can't do everything for everyone. Right now, I have to talk to Chief-night-fury about a problem that involves both us and the Vikings. You'll get your answers faster if you turn to one of the other Night Furies."
The Hobblegrunt swiftly turned yellow. "Hey, that's it! Chief-night-fury, you used to be the Alpha, and you used to be human. Can you help me?"
"Are you trying to sneak around what your Alpha told you to do?" Hiccup said with a hint of an edge in his voice. "She gave you some very good advice, and she's doing exactly what a good Alpha has to do – she is delegating some of the work. If I helped you, then I'd be undermining her authority. Do you want me to do that?"
"Yeah!" the Hobblegrunt exclaimed.
"No!" Full-of-surprises cut in. "One of the other Night Furies can help you." She looked straight into the other dragon's eyes and said, in measured tones, "Go ask one of them for help."
"All right," the Hobblegrunt said, and walked away.
Full-of-surprises shook her head. "I hate using my Alpha authority that way. I feel like I'm pushing the other dragons around. I don't want to be a bully."
"But if the other dragons won't do it the easy way, then they don't leave you with many choices," Hiccup answered. "At least you have that authority; I never did. I had to talk the other dragons into obeying, or let your mother smack them around until they saw reason. And you aren't abusing your authority, so don't feel bad about that. You're using it the way it was meant to be used – to keep order and get all the dragons moving in the right direction."
"I guess so," she admitted. "I'd like it better if they just did the smart thing, without being pressured."
"If we all did the smart thing, then our nest wouldn't need an Alpha," Hiccup smiled. "But, like me, you're in charge of an island full of stubborn beings who wouldn't know the smart thing if it bit them in the haunches, and wouldn't willingly do it if their lives depended on it. That's why they need chiefs and Alphas. Don't feel bad just because they're making you do your job."
"I guess you're right," she said.
"Of course I"m right! I'm your father," he grinned.
"Don't start trying to take authority over me, dad," she grinned back. "I can give Alpha orders to you, too!"
"I'd like to see you try," he said archly. She was about to answer when they heard Smallest-boy jump out and start to roar again. His roar instantly turned into a yelp of terror.
"What was that about?" Full-of-surprises wondered.
"If I know your mother – and I do – she just gave your little brother a taste of his own medicine," Hiccup answered with a smile. "She probably disguised her footfalls so she sounded like a biped. Smallest-boy heard her coming and thought he was about to scare one of the Vikings, but when he jumped out and roared, he found himself face-to-face with his mother instead."
Full-of-surprises had to giggle. "So, instead of him scaring someone, she scared him! I love it!"
Hiccup nodded. "And she is now giving him a quiet but strongly-worded talk on the error of his ways. That kind of discipline is even better than a tail-smack. Now he'll never be sure if he's about to scare a human, or if he's about to get in trouble with his mother again. I think she just put an end to his jumping-out-and-scaring-people days."
"That's good news," she nodded. "The bad news is that he'll have to come up with some new kind of mischief instead, and the new kind might be worse than the old kind."
"We'll take our victories wherever we can get them," Hiccup said. "Speaking of which, I've got a problem that kind of involves dragons, and I'm out of ideas. Maybe you've got an idea that might help." He described the dragon-people on Lava-Lout Island.
"Wow, Dad. How do you keep getting into all these impossible situations?"
"If I thought my life would get easier when I gave up being the dragon Alpha, I must have been dreaming," he nodded.
"Well, I don't have any ideas," she admitted, "but if I think of something, you'll be the first to know. I feel bad for those people, even though I've never been human. Hey, why don't you ask my partner or Faithful-brother? They used to be human, just like you, and they're really smart when they put their heads together. Maybe they'll think of something."
"Maybe they will," Hiccup nodded. "Unlike that Hobblegrunt, I'll take your suggestion with no complaints. First, I'll check in with your mother to see if she's got Smallest-boy under control; then I'll look for the smith twins. Whichever one wound up helping that Hobblegrunt, he should be done by then." He padded toward the center of town. His guess about Astrid and Smallest-boy turned out to be completely accurate, and she was feeling good about actually improving their son's behavior. Finding Faithful-brother was fairly easy; finding Smith-flies-for-fun was not, because he was (surprise!) flying for fun. The two of them waited near the forge for about half an hour until the other twin returned to land. Chief-night-fury described the situation to them.
"To be honest, I think you've over-thinking," Faithful-brother decided. "Just grab the magical sphere, use it to make the dragon-people's life better, and keep it so Chief Lunklunk can't change them back."
"And then Chief Lunklunk will bring me up before the chiefs and the Law-Speaker, and charge me with stealing his magical gadget," Hiccup went on.
"Chief Lunklunk won't do anything of the kind!" Smith-flies-for-fun corrected him. "Don't you remember how disgusted the average Viking is at the idea of magic, especially if a man does it? Do you think Lunklunk is going to admit to that in front of all the chiefs? They wouldn't condemn you for stealing the black gadget; they'd condemn him for having such a thing in the first place."
"They're right," Astrid nodded. "You can do whatever you please with that black sphere, and Lunklunk won't dare say a word about it to anyone."
"He could go to war against us," Hiccup thought out loud. "A gadget that powerful might be worth a war to him."
"His tribe and our tribe have a peace treaty, signed in front of multiple witnesses," Smith-flies-for-fun thought out loud. "If he breaks that treaty, the other chiefs will want to know the reason why. So will the Law-Speaker."
"It will be a big deal to them," Faithful-brother went on, "because if he breaks his treaty with us, then his treaties with one of them might be next. Those treaties are the only thing that's keeping all the tribes from constant warfare. Chief Lunklunk could destabilize the entire Archipelago by fighting us. No one will believe a word he says after he breaks our treaty."
"And as soon as he does that," Astrid continued, "that will be the end of his trade deals with the other tribes. No one will dare send a ship into his harbor, for fear that he'll sieze it or sink it. No one will trust him to keep any of his other agreements, either. As far as the other chiefs are concerned, the Lava-Louts will be no better than the Outcasts."
"And that will be the end of Chief Lunklunk," Hiccup finished. "His tribe desperately needs trade to survive on that desolate island. If he gets their trade cut off, the tribe will find a new chief before the sun goes down. So you're right – I can do what I please with his black sphere, and he won't dare tell anyone about it. So... how do I get my claws on the black sphere?"
"Just take it," Astrid suggested.
"You know that he keeps it in a treasure house, right?" Faithful-brother nodded. "Find the treasure house, blast the door, send in Rangi with a lantern to find the black ball, and away you go!"
"What about the guard?" Hiccup asked.
"On the day when you can't take care of one human guard," Astrid said decisively, "it's time for you to retire and let our children catch your fish for you!"
"Yeah, you're right about that," Hiccup said. "Thank you for the ideas, all of you. It's settled. I'll get Rangi, and we'll do this tonight."
"I'm coming with you, just in case something goes wrong," Astrid said firmly.
Hiccup knew better than to argue with her when she took that tone, and having her along as a backup had been very helpful on many occasions in the past. But before he could put his plan into practice, he had to deal with one more issue. Full-of-surprises brought her twins to him; she was looking triumphant, while the twins looked scared to death.
"I caught them and Ruffnut and Tuffnut, trying to play a prank on each other," she announced. "Actually, I think it was more like a duel. The humans were trying to throw water from buckets on my twins so they couldn't make fire, and my twins were trying to shoot out the bottoms of the buckets. I stopped them before any of them succeeded. I'd like to try your idea for that new kind of punishment."
"Deal!" Hiccup nodded. "Where are Ruff and Tuff? They need to be part of this, too." He soon rounded them up, and brought Rangi along to translate.
"The chief's decision," Rangi told the twins, "is that you're going to spend the rest of the day on Breakneck Bog, hunting for bog-iron."
"Breakneck Bog is cool," Ruff said, "but hunting for iron all day sounds really boring."
"Really, really boring!" Tuff added.
"That's the idea," Rangi told them. "If it was fun, then the chief wouldn't give the job to you as punishment. But the tribe needs the iron, and you're going to provide it. You've shown that you like to play with buckets, so the chief expects one full bucket of bog-iron nuggets from each of you before the sun goes down."
"But it takes two hands to hunt for bog-iron!" Ruff protested. "What if we can't work fast enough to find that much iron and still drag the buckets around?"
"That's not your worry," Rangi smiled. "These young Night Furies are going to spend the day with you, dragging your buckets around so you'll have two free hands." Hiccup translated that for the Night Fury twins.
"Dragging buckets for humans all day?" one of them burst out. "That's the most boring thing I've ever heard of!"
"Then you'd better do a good job of it," Full-of-surprises warned them, "or you'll do it again tomorrow!" The chief and the Alpha gave a few more dire warnings to each set of twins about how long they'd be on bog-iron duty if they didn't get the job done today. Then they sent the unwilling foursome off toward Breakneck Bog. The twins rode Barf and Belch and carried the buckets with them, with the small Night Furies just behind and above them.
"Do you think it will work?" Full-of-surprises asked her father.
"I'd give better than a fifty-fifty chance that they'll get it done," Hiccup nodded. "If they don't, then they'll do it again tomorrow, and I'll guarantee that they'll learn their lesson from that."
"Will this solve the tribe's iron problem?" Rangi asked.
"Those two not solve problem," Hiccup answered in Forge. "But they lazy. They find easiest way to get iron. Then we make them tell others about easiest way. We send people to Breakneck Bog every day on dragons. They find much iron, doing things easy way. Then, problem solved. Maybe we have enough extra iron to trade to other tribes. They all want iron. They pay us plenty. For once, our Vikings get through winter with all food they need, not be hungry."
"I like it," Full-of-surprises said approvingly.
"It sounds like a plan," Rangi agreed. "So, what's our plan for tonight?"
Hiccup's plan for acquiring the black sphere was every bit as simple as the smith twins had suggested. First, they had to find the Lava-Louts' treasure house. That wasn't hard; there was only one building in the village that had a guard outside the door at night. Hiccup and Astrid landed a few hundred feet away and let Rangi dismount.
Now they had to get the guard away from the gate. That was the easiest part of the mission. Hiccup just crept up behind the treasure house, growled a few times, then jumped out with a snarl. The guard screamed in terror and ran for his life before this unknown black monster could get him.
"If he only knew he was running away from a Hiccup," the Night Fury chuckled to himself. Rangi joined him and held out his oil lantern; Hiccup lit it with a puff of his blowtorch-breath. "Stand aside," he ordered.
"Before you blast the door open and wake up the whole village," Rangi cut in, "maybe I should see if it's locked?" He pushed the door, which swung open easily. He stepped in, shone his dim lantern all around, then stooped and picked up an ornate embroidered cloth bag.
"Here it is!" he crowed. "Right in front of everything."
"You remember special words?" Hiccup asked.
"Unfortunately, yes," Rangi said with distaste.
"You not want to help dragon-people?"
"Help them? Yes. Perform seidr? Not so much. But I'll do what I have to do." They all walked silently toward the dragon-people's encampment.
Astrid stopped after a moment. "I smell Terrible Terrors! I think I'm going to have a word with that orange one who's in league with the Lava-Louts."
"Do you think you can talk him into getting free meals from our fish trays instead of hunting down our humans?" Hiccup wondered.
"Either that, or I'll scare him off this island so he never comes back," she said firmly. "Either one works for me." She turned right; Chief-night-fury and Rangi went left and wound up among the huts of the dragon people.
"Hey, everyone!" Rangi called. "Wake up! Come out here! I want to make you all human for the night." The thralls didn't have torches or lanterns, so it took them a few minutes to find their way in the darkness. Not all of them responded, but enough of them gathered around Rangi to make the night's work worthwhile.
He held up his lantern so he could see the semi-people all around him. He didn't want to forget this sight, unpleasant though it was. Chief-night-fury watched as he pulled out the black sphere, held it aloft, and hopped from one foot to the other while he recited the strange words that Chief Lunklunk had used. The moment he finished, there was a series of bright flashes of light, and all of the dragon-people turned into full humans.
And so did the Night Fury.