Life with the Night Furies Chapter 07

It was time to "persuade" the Lava-Lout tribe that joining a war against Berk would be a bad move. They scorned bribes and laughed at threats, so Chief Night Fury was compelled to take more direct action against them. The most difficult part of his plan was coming up with a way for Berk's dragons to strike at their enemies while concealing the fact that they were involved.

"The simplest solution would be a midnight strike by all the Night Furies against the ships in their harbor," Hiccup explained to his family and friends. "That would also be the safest way. But the sound of our dives, and the telltale marks of our firebolts, would make it obvious that the attack was done by Night Furies, and the Lava-Louts aren't idiots. They'd probably guess that we came from Berk. That would only harden their resolve to fight us, and they'd tell all the other tribes how we attacked them without a reason."

"It sounds like the strike has to be done by dragons that can't be traced to Berk," Full-of-surprises thought out loud.

"I don't think there are any such dragons," New-beginning countered her. "Just about every species is represented on Berk, and if they aren't here, the other Vikings probably think they're here. You're flying into a dead-end cave, Chief Night Fury."

"Maybe, and maybe not," the chief said. "My idea was to use dragons that live on every Viking island, so they can't possibly be traced back to here."

"There's no such thing!" Guana protested. "The Vikings have killed every dragon they ever found, except for the ones in remote nests, and... Toothless, have you thought of something I've forgotten?"

Toothless couldn't hide his smile. "I think Hiccup is planning to use Terrible Terrors."

Hiccup matched his friend's smile. "You know me too well, my friend."

"The little guys?" Lady-night-fury nodded slowly. "Okay, you're right about them living on every Viking island; they're so small and numerous that the Vikings can't get them all, and they're so ornery that most Vikings won't even try. But they aren't so good at following orders, unless those orders are extremely simple. What's your plan, Hiccup? Are you going to fly to the Lava-Louts' island, find some local Terrors, and persuade them to do what you say?"

"No," Hiccup replied. "That would take too long, and there's no guarantee that they'd listen to me. My plan is to use our own Terrors. They've already agreed to support us; I don't have to talk them into anything."

"But Terrible Terrors can't fly all the way from here to Lava-Lout Island and back!" That was Smith-files-for-fun. "No, wait, I'm sure you already knew that."

"And I'm sure he has a plan to get around it, too," Faithful-brother chimed in.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Hiccup grinned. "I am going to invent the aircraft carrier."

o

A week and a half later, eight Night Furies took wing and set a course for Lava-Lout Island. Chief Night Fury led the way, with Mother-of-twins right beside him. Bang, Six, and Full-of-surprises flew in a wedge just behind them, and Toothless, Faithful-brother, and Smith-flies-for-fun formed a second wedge behind them. Each Night Fury carried eight Terrible Terrors on his or her back. Some of the little dragons were napping; others were enjoying the wind in their faces. They didn't understand about diplomacy or how Vikings maneuvered for power within the Thing. All they knew was that they had been given permission to flame some human stuff, for the first time in several years, and they were as excited as a child at Snoggletog.

It took the Night Furies over four hours to fly from Berk to their destination; no Terrible Terror could have managed the flight without help, never mind the return flight. As the dark, threatening-looking island came into view over the horizon, Hiccup called over his shoulder, "Everybody, wake up your passengers! Target in sight!"

The Terrors shook off their torpor and stretched their wings. Several of them asked, "Are we there yet?"

"Yes, we're there," Toothless reassured them. "No, don't take off yet! Wait until we're closer to the harbor."

When they were about half a mile offshore, the Night Furies shifted their formation to a circle, with the chief in the middle. "Okay, troops, this is the part where you make a big difference in how safe your nest is," he told the much smaller dragons. "Remember, flame anything that's floating, and don't flame anything that isn't floating! When you've used up your shot limit, or when there's nothing left floating in the harbor, fly back out here. We'll be waiting for you, and we'll take you home. Any questions?" There were none. "Okay, go have some fun!" The Terrors instinctively formed themselves into a tightly-packed formation and charged pell-mell at the Lava-Lout harbor.

It took only a few minutes for the first fires to break out, and they swiftly spread. More fires appeared, giving the Terrors even more light to see by. Lights began to appear in the village as the night watchman tried to wake his fellow Lava-Louts. But there was nothing the humans could do. The little dragons were too small and too elusive to aim at. The harbor was soon ablaze from end to end as the Terrible Terrors showed how they had earned their name.

As they waited for their tiny friends to return, Hiccup slid over next to Toothless. "Overfly the harbor, very quietly, and make sure they didn't miss anything," he said. "The Terrors mean well, but you know how easily distracted they are. If they miss just one ship, it could mean the difference between success and failure for my whole plan."

"I'm on it," Toothless nodded, and vanished into the night. Five minutes later, the Terrors began streaming back into the Night Fury formation, each looking for the black dragon they'd ridden to this battle. The ones who rode Toothless didn't find him, and began to get distressed. "Ride on me or my mate until Toothless gets back," the chief told them. They obeyed happily; some of them roosted on his face, which made it hard for him to see where he was going. He couldn't hold his position in the formation. Rather than let him fly off half-blind, the other Night Furies kept station behind him, so wherever he went, that was where the formation went. Toothless returned about fifteen minutes later, recovered his own passengers, and they headed for home.

As the sun began to rise, all the Terrors were sound asleep. Hiccup glided back until he was next to Toothless. "Was it worthwhile, sending you to check up on the Terrors' work? Did they miss any ships?"

"Yes, it was very worthwhile," Toothless answered. "The instructions you gave were simple enough for the Terrors to follow, but not quite enough to get the job done. The Terrors did great, mind you; they did exactly what you told them to do. They flamed everything that was floating and ignored anything that wasn't afloat. But there were three good-sized ships drawn up on land that they paid no attention to. I had to take those out myself."

"Not with Night Fury firebolts, I hope?" Hiccup asked nervously.

"No, I landed and blowtorched them," Toothless said. "No one saw me, of course. The job is done; the Thing is a week away, and the Lava-Louts have no ships left and no time to build more. I guess their chief won't be going."

"Unless he can find a friendly dragon to ride," Hiccup retorted with a smile.

o

"It's time, my love."

"I'm still very nervous about this," Astrid said, trying not to cause a fuss.

"I know. I am, too," Hiccup reassured her. "But we've talked about this. There's no way out of it. I'm a Viking chief – well, I'm a chief over the Vikings, so that means I have to go to the Thing each year. No exceptions are allowed."

"Unless all your ships get burned and sunk by dragons!" Full-of-surprises added mischievously.

"Well, yes, but what are the chances of that ever happening?" he answered with a grin. "Besides, I'm a Night Fury. When I want to go somewhere, I fly there. I don't need no stinkin' barges!" He turned to Smith-flies-for-fun. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess," he answered with a draconic shrug. "I still don't know why you picked me for this trip, instead of one of the more experienced Night Furies."

"A trip like this is how you become an experienced Night Fury," he explained. "I'm bringing Full-of-surprises because she's just as good at thinking as she is at fighting; I may need that flexibility. I'm bringing you so you can spend some time with her, and so you can get some of that experience that you think you need. And also because you're the expert on dragon-forged swords. If we have to make more so we can buy off some more Viking chiefs, you're the best one to tell me how long it will take."

Then he turned to Rangi. "Are you ready?"

"I think so," the young man nodded. "I mean, I think yes."

"Then pack your stuff on other dragon's back, ride me, we go." Rangi loaded his tent, food, and weapons (just in case) onto Agnarr's back, strapped everything in place, and climbed onto Hiccup's back. That was when Spitelout approached them, accompanied by Snotlout, Phlegma, and Mildew.

"You've told us what the other tribes are planning against us," Spitelout began. "We Vikings don't know what you plan to do about it, but remember to take care of the humans of Berk, not just your dragons."

I CARE FOR MY WHOLE TRIBE

"I sure hope so, Hiccup." Spitelout was one of the few Vikings who refused to call the chief by his new name. "Some of us can't fly away if things go wrong."

IF THINGS GO WRONG, WE CAN
TURN ALL OF YOU INTO NIGHT
FURIES SO YOU WILL BE SAFE

"Yahh! No way!" All four humans backed off, hands held up in front of themselves as though warding off an unseen evil. "Forget about that, Hiccup! We'd rather die!"

I'LL TRY TO KEEP THAT WISH
FROM COMING TRUE

The chief grinned and rubbed noses with Astrid once more; then the three dragons leaped, flapped, and headed for the sky.

It was the Visithug tribe's turn to host the Thing this year. Some of the other chiefs had already arrived and set up their tents when the three Night Furies made landfall. "This is our big entrance," Chief Night Fury said over his shoulder to the others. "We know they won't welcome us with open arms. If we can avoid open hostilities until after sunset, we'll be doing well."

"And if open hostilities break out after sunset?" Full-of-surprises asked.

"Anyone who tries to fight a Night Fury in the dark deserves what he gets," Hiccup answered with a slight touch of viciousness. Full-of-surprises nodded in satisfaction. She took her father's words as permission to get as violent as she wanted, as long as somebody else started it.

They came in low, hoping to avoid being seen until they were ready to land. But someone happened to be looking in the right direction, and a dozen Vikings quickly converged on their intended landing spot by the shore. Some of them were already drawing their weapons. "Change in plan!" Hiccup shouted. "Fly across the encampment and land in that empty space next to the bright-green tent." They pulled up sharply, made a quick swerve in case someone threw something at them (no one did), and landed in a long, narrow clear space that was probably destined to become an archery range for the chiefs. Some of the Vikings who had seen them approaching ran across the encampment, and others joined them. As Rangi dismounted, he found himself facing at least twenty brawny, well-armed Viking warriors whose intentions were unknown, and probably hostile.

"Hold your weapons!" Rangi shouted, hoping his voice didn't break.

"Who are you," a really big man with a long black beard demanded, "and what are those... things?"

The three "things" closed ranks, with Hiccup in the middle. Rangi took a deep breath. When he had accepted the chance to be the chief's translator, he hadn't envisioned anything like this! "I am Rangi son of Gunnarr, official representative of Chief Night Fury of Berk."

"Chief Night Fury?" queried a slightly smaller man with red hair. "What kind of a name is that? And what happened to Chief Stoick?" Others began muttering, "He'd better show up." "He was never late before." "His tribe owes my tribe money."

Rangi removed his helmet with its short horns (which were actually shed teeth from a young Nadder). "Stoick is no longer the chief of Berk. He died in battle against Drago Bludvist, and is now battling every day with Valhalla's finest."

The Vikings all took off their helmets for a second or two. "May he never rest in peace," some of them blessed him quietly. Then they restored their helmets to stare at the young man with the three black monsters just behind him. "So where's Chief Night Fury?" the black-haired man snarled. "And you still haven't told me what those animals are."

"Sir, you should choose your words more carefully," Rangi said, trying to sound respectful when he didn't feel that way. "The rest of you, brace yourselves. The middlemost of those 'animals,' as you call them, is Chief Night Fury, formerly Hiccup, the son of Stoick."

Silence for a moment.

Uproarious laughter.

"Can I teach them a lesson, Dad?" Full-of-surprises pleaded. "Don't let them laugh at you like that!"

"Let them laugh, for now," Chief Night Fury said tightly. "I'm kind of used to it. When the Law-Speaker calls the names of all the chiefs to get this Thing started, they'll stop laughing really fast."

"Fine, kid," the black-haired man said patronizingly. "If you don't want to tell us what's going on with you, we don't care. Just stay out of our way, and keep your pet monsters out of our way. We've got some serious work to do here." He turned away.

"I'm not ready to let him off the hook that easily," the red-haired man argued. "You asked him a simple question, and he lied to you instead of answering. Where I come from, that's called disrespecting the chief, and it calls for a good beating. Do you want to do it, or shall I do it for you?"

"I can handle my own beatings, thank you very much," the bigger man said, turning back to face Rangi. "Where's your father, boy? I'll ask him to give you the beating while I watch. If he doesn't do a good enough job, I'll step in and make it right."

Rangi quailed and took two steps back... but the Night Furies took a step forward and Hiccup nudged him from behind with his nose. "Show respect but take no insult," the chief growled.

"Sir, with respect, I think you're biting off more than you can chew," the young, suddenly-emboldened youth said. It's a lot easier to be brave when you've got three Night Furies at your back.

"Is that so?" the man snapped. "Well, it's past time for you to learn how to respect your elders, boy! Here comes Lesson Number One!" He balled up his fist...

...and was suddenly flattened by a pouncing black dragon. Full-of-surprises pinned his chest to the ground with one huge forepaw, put her toothy face right down into his, and growled deep down in her throat. She waited for a count of three, then looked down, and sure enough, there was a wet stain spreading across his pants. She chuckled.

That was the other Vikings' cue to reach for their weapons. Chief and Smith-flies-for-fun gave them the nastiest snarls they could manage; the Vikings suddenly pretended they were reaching for anything else except a weapon. Full-of-surprises let her victim get up again; he quickly backed away toward the dubious protection of the other Vikings, who were standing as though rooted to the ground.

Rangi looked unconcerned. "You know what they say about messing with a chief's daughter? It's true; you just saw her in action. I haven't lied to anyone about anything, and my friends don't like it when I get falsely accused."

"Are you saying that those... those things can understand what we're saying?" the red-haired one quavered.

"I'm saying that this one is Chief Night Fury, the chief of the island of Berk. That one is his daughter, and that one... by Viking law, I guess he's the chief's son-in-law. And all three of them can understand every word you're saying. So say nice things, okay?"

His words electrified the small crowd. "Night Fury?" "That's a Night Fury?" "None of us has ever even seen one, and this boy brought a whole family of them!" "Then it's true, what the Berserkers are saying about Berk and the dragons!" "Leave the kid alone! I ain't messin' with no Night Furies." The part about one of them being the chief continued to go right over their heads.

Rangi rubbed his hands on his pants. "And now, gentlemen, if you don't mind, I have to find a spot to put up my tent." He strolled away from the future archery range, with the three black dragons following close behind him in single file. Everyone stepped aside and gave them plenty of room to pass through. He returned to the open space by the shore where they'd originally planned to land. "Is this good?" he asked the chief.

"Yes, is good. Is big enough for tent and three dragons. Dragons can find fish without flying over humans."

"Okay." Rangi removed his gear from Smith-flies-for-fun's back and set up his tent, then made a fire pit, gathered some wood for a fire, and stepped aside as Full-of-surprises lit it for him. She stayed with him while the other two flew out to sea and returned with some fish, which he cooked over the fire and shared with his dragon friends. Not one of the other Vikings came anywhere near him.