Having rejoined their fleet, Harkon and Ryker were on their way to the nearest Hunter Port to resupply and send word of what they caught. Having fulfilled just about all of his duties, he allowed himself some time on the deck, staring at the open sea as the fleet sailed through the ocean, his mind wandering. In particular, to the Dragon Rider he and his brother had encountered.
"Still thinking about the girl?" The voice of his elder brother snapped him from his thoughts. "I haven't seen you moping about a lass since you were 13." Ryker said with a teasing grin on his face.
"Funny." Harkon responded snarkily with a roll of his eyes. "I was just thinking that if there's one nearby, there will likely be others." He said, crossing his arms. "Based on the descriptions the Berserkers gave us, I'd say it's quite likely we're about to make an enemy we don't want."
"They're not the first to oppose us, and they won't be the last." Ryker scoffed. "We'll deal with them as we would with anyone else who tries to get in our way." He said with a laugh as Harkon turned to face him.
"Maybe, but not before these Dragon Riders do a great deal of damage to our operations." The younger brother said thoughtfully.
"And what makes you say that?" Ryker asked with a scoff.
"The Night Fury headed straight for us is a decent indicator." Harkon replied dryly. It took a moment for Ryker to register what he said.
"Wait, what?" He whipped his head in Harkon's direction. Suddenly, a loud whistling sound echoed through the air, and the ship shook at the sound of a blast of Dragon fire. The pitch black Dragon soared past the ship before doing a wide sweeping turn, showing two people on its back, one being the blonde Nadder rider from before, and the other being a skinny, auburn haired Viking wearing brown leather armour.
"I'm here for my Dragon!" The girl yelled with a snarl directed at them.
"A Night Fury! An actual Night Fury!" Ryker laughed in excitement as he watched the black Dragon soar. As the Night Fury made another turn, a Zippleback and a Monstrous Nightmare, each with Riders, swooped in and fired upon the lead ship. "Fire!" Ryker ordered the men manning the ballistas.
"What are they up to?" Harkon asked himself as he observed their attackers. Their attack was decently coordinated, but there seemed to be no clear goal or intention to their attack. They just kept firing. After deflecting some arrows, it seemed as if the Night Fury Rider gave orders to another Rider, this one on a Gronckle. Why someone would ride one of those fat, slow, ugly beasts, Harkon couldn't fathom. The only real use they had was producing Gronckle Iron.
Then, with a battle cry, the Gronckle Rider sweeped over the lead ship, the beast spewing up a massive pool of lava onto the deck, making Harkon huff in annoyance. Ship decks were always always annoying to repair from Dragon fire. As the Gronckle passed over the ship, several of them started firing their Dragon Root arrows, one of them landing a hit on the beast's leg.
"So that's it." Harkon whispered to himself as the Groncle seemed to lose all coordination and fell to the ship's deck, being caught in a chain. "I really think we should avoid making adversaries of these people, but I think we can use this." He said to Ryker, who nodded. With his sword drawn, Harkon approached the allegedly downed Rider, a chunky fellow wearing a brown leather tunic. He was frantic about his dragon.
"You monsters!" He spat at Harkon as he approached, making Harkon shake his head.
"Some people would argue that your scaly friend here is a monster." He said to Rider pointedly. "Take them below, to the cells." he ordered the men that were detaining the pair, who obeyed. As they brought Dragon and Rider down the stairs, Harkon reached out to one of them, putting his hand on the man's shoulder, catching his attention. "Aim the bolas at the entrance, discreetly, and fire at my signal." He ordered. The Hunter looked confused, but nodded nonetheless, following orders. "You, man the catapults and aim for the Night Fury." Harkon ordered, pointing at another Hunter.
"Yes sir!" The Hunter saluted, doing just that. With the fast flying abilities of the Night Fury, it was quite a chore to line up a decent shot.
"Fire!" Harkon barked. The Hunter manning the catapult did as ordered. Unfortunately, the Night Fury was able to dodge the boulder that was flung relatively easily, but the blonde girl was unable to hold on, and fell off of the Dragon. "Chains!" Harkon barked, thinking quickly. The Hunters obeyed, firing a chain at the plummeting girl. The chain easily wrapped around the girl's waist as she fell into the water, and without any prompting the Hunters started reeling her in.
"Let go of me!" The girl snarled as she was brought up onto the deck.
"Feisty one, isn't she?" Ryker laughed. "That's your type isn't it?" He grinned in Harkon's direction.
"Remind me, which one of us brought home a prostitute of considerable size in his teens?" Harkon snarked back, making Ryker's eye twitch in annoyance. They were snapped from their banter when the blonde girl let out a roar of anger and dashed straight for Harkon with her axe. Immediately, Harkon side-stepped the attack, and swung his sword at her. She blocked the attack with her axe, but Harkon quickly transitioned into a wide sweep of his leg, knocking the girl to the ground, and making her lose her grip on her axe. Before she could get up, Harkon had the tip of his Ulfberht pressed at her throat. "Good try, but no." he told her. "Put her in the cells with her friend." He ordered the men who'd reeled her in, who grabbed her by her arms, and obeyed. She didn't stop struggling, yelling profanities at the men who held her.
"You're gonna be sorry!" She snarled at Harkon and Ryker. "You're messing with the wrong Vikings!"
"So are you." Ryker growled back.
As if prompted by Ryker's words, the door that leads below the deck suddenly blew open, and the girl's Nadder came dashing out, chirping happily at her freedom. The Gronckle Rider followed suit, on the back of his dragon.
"Stormfly!" The girl exclaimed happily, shaking the surprised Hunters off of her and dashing to her Dragon.
"Nice name for a Nadder, I must admit." Harkon commented before facing the Hunters stationed at bolas. "Fire!" he called out to them. Immediately, the two Hunters fired Bolas at the two Dragons, which wrapped around their legs, making them fall to the ground. The girl had just barely managed to mount her Dragon as this happened, and she fell off her Dragon, glaring up at Harkon as he approached, the Hunters unleashing a barrage of arrows upon the remaining Dragon Riders.
"A little tip for you." He said as he kneeled down to face the girl. "Next time you go up against professional Dragon Hunters, assume they know about anything that would make a Dragon difficult to detain, like a Gronckle's immunity to Dragon Root." He said dryly. This prompted an even angrier glare to mar the girl's face, even more so when the Zippleback and its Riders plummeted into the ocean, and they were fished out of the water by the Hunters, using large nets.
With another angry roar, the girl tried to punch Harkon in the face, but he easily caught her fist, and jammed the pommel of his sword into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Not enough to knock her unconscious, but enough to disorientate her.
"Astrid!" The Gronckle Rider yelled out in concern as Harkon pushed the girl, Astrid, into the grip of two Hunters.
"Take them back to the cells." Ryker ordered the men. "And these two as well." He said as the unconscious Zippleback and its two Riders were brought onto the deck. The men obeyed as Ryker and Harkon looked in the direction of the fleeing Night Fury, carrying the Monstrous Nightmare in its talons. It must have gotten hit. "What I could get for that Night Fury." Ryker whispered under his breath with a smirk.
Harkon chose not to comment. He was a Dragon Hunter through and through; he'd follow Ryker's orders as Viggo wished him to do, but he honestly did not approve of the situation. The Night Fury would definitely turn a massive profit, but that Dragon belonged to someone else, as did the Nadder, Gronckle, and Zippleback that were now in their cells. They were not thieves, they were Dragon Hunters, and Harkon did not like the fact that they now had Dragons that were not theirs in their custody. He felt Viggo would not approve of making the Dragon Riders their enemy if it could be avoided.
A few moments after the Dragon Riders and their Dragons were taken below deck, a Hunter approached Ryker and Harkon.
"Sirs! A ship is approaching from the west." He reported, handing them a spyglass. Harkon took it and looked due west through it. The sail on the ship he saw had a massive likeness of a Skrill painted on it, and he could see the burly, red-headed, scarred and tattooed Viking at the helm.
"It's the Berserkers." Harkon said, handing the spyglass to his brother. "Good timing, they can tell us a little more about these Riders." He said as Ryker checked through the spyglass himself.
"Agreed." Ryker said as signalled the men to allow docking to the approaching ship.
XXX
"Harkie! Good to see you again!" Dagur the Deranged greeted the young Dragon Hunter enthusiastically.
"And you as well, Dagur. In fact, I can hardly contain my excitement." Harkon responded dryly, not allowing his annoyance at Dagur's nickname to show.
"I know!" Dagur said cheerfully. "Now, tell me, is what Ryker told me true? You captured the Dragon Riders?" He asked gleefully, a sadistic gleam in his eyes.
"Half of them." Harkon corrected. "The Night Fury and the Nightmare got away, but we have the Gronckle, Nadder, and Zippleback in the cells below, as well as their Riders." He informed the Berserker Chief, who seemed a little down at the knowledge that the Night Fury wasn't captured.
"Well that's disappointing. No Hiccup." Dagur sighed.
"Relax Brother." A new voice piped in. "Hiccup is sure to return for his friends sooner, rather than later." Heather, Dagur's younger sister told me as she approached the two. She was about the same age as Harkon, maybe a little younger, and her own Dragon, a Razorwhip named Windshear, followed behind her.
"Heather." Harkon nodded his head in greeting. The girl responded in kind.
"So, when are we going to interrogate the Dragon Riders, hm?" Dagur asked excitedly.
"First, we want them to stew a little bit. Tensions are high right now, let them calm down for a bit." Harkon told them, making Dagur's shoulders slump.
"Boring!" He huffed, crossing his arms.
"This is their ship Dagur, it's only fair we do things their way." Heather told her brother, who just huffed in response as they all went below deck. As they opened the door to pass through the passage containing the cells, they saw the Hunters shoving the Dragon Riders into the cells.
"Where are our Dragons, what did you do to them?" Astrid demanded of Ryker, who was among the Hunters.
"If I were you, I'd be more concerned with yourself." he told her darkly. It was right at this moment that Heather and Harkon walked past, getting Astrid's attention.
"Heather?" Astrid asked in surprise as Heather looked at her.
"Surprise!" Dagur popped into their sightline dramatically. "Oh, do you know my sister?" he asked, pointing at the girl in question as she smirked. "Oh, wait a minute, of course you do!" Dagur laughed. "You were all pals and little buddy-buddies!" He giggled happily.
"Hey, family is family." Heather said with a smirk, putting a hand on her hip.
"I can't believe this Heather…" Astrid muttered, her eyes wide in shock and betrayal.
"I know it's not Dragon's Edge, but it'll have to do." Heather responded as the Hunters closed the cell doors, locking the Riders inside. "Enjoy your new home Astrid." Heather said, approaching the cell door, still smirking. "You're gonna be here for a while." she said, following Harkon as he walked on off, ignoring the glare Astrid gave her.
XXX
Several hours later, it was well past sundown, and night had fallen. Ryker had ensured that there would be guards on duty all through the night, and Harkon had convinced him to allow for rotating shifts, which would allow the active guards to be well rested for their duties. He'd also managed to convince Ryker to allow him to do the first questioning of the Dragon Riders. He didn't think jumping straight into the hard interrogation was a good idea, so he planned on at least trying to have a civil conversation and preventing further conflict.
After a few moments of waiting in his chambers, he heard a knock on his door.
"Enter." He called out. The door opened, and Heather led Astrid into the room.
"Thank you Heather." He said to the girl as he sat at his desk. Heather nodded as she led Astrid to the chair on the other side of the desk and forced her to sit down. As the Hunters outside closed the door, Heather walked over to Harkon's side of the desk and stood behind Harkon, silently staring at Astrid, who glared right.
"Welcome, Astrid Hofferson." Harkon greeted the girl. "My name is Harkon, First Officer of this fleet." Astrid didn't respond, simply glaring. "First, allow me to apologise for this messy situation we've found ourselves in." He told her, prompting a raised eyebrow from the girl. "I'm not usually one to needlessly make enemies when I don't have to. Had I known the Nadder was yours when we first encountered one another, I would have left well enough alone. Ryker, on the other hand, is not so selective." He explained.
"Somehow, I don't believe you." Astrid finally spoke. "If that were true, why not allow us to escape when we were about to? Or let Stormfly escape when we attacked?" She asked.
"Like I said, I am only the First Officer, not the Captain of this fleet." Harkon responded. "And just between us, I don't always agree with Ryker's decisions." He added. Astrid's scoff implied she didn't believe him, which was understandable. "Still, if we had gone with either of those options, the air between our two parties would have remained rather unclear, and probably would have led to further conflict. This way, we have an opportunity to talk things out, and prevent the situation from getting worse." He said as he grabbed the pot on his desk and filled a mug with a piping hot liquid. "Tea?" He offered. The look on Astrid's face was a clear no.
"Just cut to the chase already. What do you want?" The Rider demanded.
"Very well then." Harkon responded. "Heather and Dagur tell me that the two of you are in possession of a particular artefact, one that is used for storing a surplus of Dragon Knowledge." He explained.
"The Dragon Eye." Astrid said, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Harkon.
"Dragon Eye." He repeated. "A fitting name. Centuries back, it was known as the Plasma Torch, but I like yours better." he said with an amused smile. "You see, the Dragon Eye has belonged to my tribe for centuries. We've been looking for it for decades. We'd like you to return it." He told her.
"You really expect us to just hand over a tool that will allow you to hunt down and kill hundreds, if not thousands of Dragons?" Astrid asked incredulously.
"I fail to see what the issue is." Harkon responded. "We're perfectly content to allow you to keep your Dragons and continue your exploration of the world beyond your borders, so long as you don't interfere with our operations." he told her.
"And what's to stop you from coming after us, even if we do give you the Dragon Eye?" Astrid demanded.
"Astrid, we're not warlords or conquerors trying to rule the world." Harkon said with a sigh. "We are simply businessmen, and fighting is bad for business." He told her.
"And where do Dagur and Heather fall in this equation?" Astrid asked.
"Dagur has merely purchased our services by way of alliance. What he does after the transaction is none of our business." Harkon waved her off.
"And you expect us to back off of you while you supply our enemy with weapons and armaments to kill us with?" Astrid asked snidely.
"You don't really expect us to turn away a paying customer, do you?" Harkon raised an eyebrow.
"Here's what I expect." Astrid sneered as she stood up, leaning on the desk as she stared right into Harkon's eyes. "I expect you to turn on us at the first moment it becomes convenient for you. I expect Dagur to make use of what you're selling him to kill us and our Dragons. And I expect you to keep sailing these seas, capturing and killing Dragons for profit, which is something we will not allow to continue." She growled. "We protect the Dragons, as they protect us, and if you think the Dragon Riders will ever sit back let you do as you please to them, you've got another thing coming." She slammed her fist down on the desk with a snarl. In response, Harkon only let out a sigh.
"Astrid, I'd hoped we could have a civil conversation, but it seems that's not possible." He said, almost sounding regretful. "Heather, if you would please?" He asked of the girl, who thus far had remained silent. In response, Heather took her axe, and with a yell, swung it down on the desk, burying the blade just a fraction of a centimetre away from Astrid's hands, prompting a startled yelp from the girl as she fell back. Pulling her axe out of the desk, Heather approached Astrid, pulled her up, and forced her back into the chair, her axe's blade at Astrid's neck. "Let's try this again." Harkon said, his tone becoming slightly darker and more serious.
XXX
Harkon spent the entire night interrogating Astrid, refusing to let her sleep. He questioned her on the location of the Dragon Eye, what they'd learnt from it so far, and their Dragons. What kind of Dragons they rode, how many they had in their arsenal, their battle tactics, and so on. Astrid spent most of the time evading and deflecting the questions, and when she seemed to be falling asleep, he made sure she wouldn't be able to, usually by having Heather slap her awake or splashing cold water on her head.
All in all, whilst hardly torturous, it was not a pleasant night for Astrid.
"So you spent all night talking to the lass, and got absolutely nothing to show for it?" Ryker asked, giving his brother the stink eye as the two of them stood in his chambers with Heather and Dagur present.
"Not completely. We've confirmed that they do indeed have the Dragon Eye, as they call it, and we know where it is thanks to Dagur." Harkon said thoughtfully. "What we don't know is if it's safe to go grab it."
"There weren't any other Riders besides the six of them the last time I was on the Edge." Heather chimed in.
"Yeah, but there were, when I attacked last week." Dagur responded.
"Astrid does claim that there are more Riders on the Edge, and Dagur's attack does seem to support that." Harkon wondered out loud. "A secondary team, maybe?" He suggested.
"All I know is that we're not going to get any answers talking to them." Ryker sent a look in Harkon's direction. "Now, we do this my way." He said with a hard scowl, leaving the room.
"This is not going to end well." Harkon said with a sigh.
"Really, what makes you say that?" Dagur asked. "If you ask me, we should have done this from the start." He humphed with his nose in the air.
"Thank you for the oh so valuable feedback, Dagur." Harkon rolled his eyes as he followed his brother out the room.
XXX
Ultimately, Harkon ended up going with Heather to escort the Dragon Riders to the second cell room, where the dragons were being kept. Per Ryker's orders, he now had Hunters force-feeding the Gronckle the minerals required to make Gronckle Iron, jabbing the Nadder with spears to provoke the firing of spines, and the Zippleback being waxed and fed, in order to increase the value of its pelt. Harkon held his tongue, but he didn't approve. Harvesting a Dragon's abilities or materials was one thing, but torturing them was something he did not like. But, he followed orders. He always did.
He and Heather approached the cell containing the Dragon Riders, with several guards accompanying them.
"Ryker wants to see you." Heather told the Dragon Riders as one of the guards opened the cell.
"Me?" The Gronckle Rider pointed to himself with a squeak. Fishlegs, he recalled Heather saying was his name.
"All of you." Harkon said, making way for the Riders. "Move it." He ordered them, unsheathing his sword, ready to use it if they tried anything.
Most reluctantly, the Dragon Riders obeyed, Astrid making sure to bump Heather with her shoulder, an expression of disdain. They made their way to the other side of the room, where the door to the second cell room was. Ryker was waiting for them, as was Dagur.
"I am Ryker." He introduced himself. "This is my ship, and you are my prisoners. Your Dragons are now my Dragons." He said menacingly.
"And how they get treated is entirely up to you!" Dagur added gleefully as Ryker led them to the next room, where their Dragons were.
The first Dragon they came across was the Gronckle. It was chained down, and a Hunter was shovelling rocks into its mouth. With a tug of a very carefully placed chain, the Gronckle forcibly regurgitated the consumed rocks as lava, which would harden into steel.
"Meatlug!" Fishlegs exclaimed in concern as he saw the state of his dragon. He tried to go to her aid as more rocks were shoved into her maw, but Ryker prevented it.
"This Gronckle has been very helpful." Ryker said with a smirk.
"Her name is Meatlug!" Fishlegs snapped back.
"I don't care." Ryker waved him off. "I only care that IT makes me metal. All day, all night." He said as the Gronckle hurled melted metal into a cauldron. After that, they all continued through to the next cell. The next Dragon seen was the Nadder, Stormfly. Two Hunters with shields and spears were jabbing at her through the bars, and when the Nadder responded with spines, they used the shields to catch said spines. "Perfect." Ryker commented as he saw the Nadder spines embedded in the shields. "Razor sharp tips for our spears and ballistas." He said as the Dragon shot a single spine at him, one that he easily caught.
"You can't do that to her!" Astrid snarled at him. Ryker responded by pointing the spine right at her face.
"Oh, I can. And I will." He shot back, eliciting a growl from Astrid.
"We wouldn't be doing this to her if you'd been a little more civil during our talk last night." Harkon commented offhandedly, only serving to anger Astrid further.
"Oh, what torture are Barf and Belch enduring?" One of the twins asked, likely the girl one, Ruffnut, given the feminine tone of voice. Harkon had to raise his eyebrows at the unusual choice of name for the Zippleback. Why would they name their Dragon Barf and/or Belch?
"I can't look!" The male twin, Tuffnut, cried out, covering his eyes. "Mainly because… My hands are over my eyes." Apparently he felt the need to explain that. Then, a second later, he peeked through the crack between his fingers, and apparently he liked what he saw. "Now this is more like it." He grinned. "Someone recognises quality." he said proudly as he watched two Hunters tend to his Dragon, one rubbing it down with grease, with the left head seemed to enjoy, and the other feeding the right head.
"He likes the fish." One of the Hunters commented.
"Hey, rub me down with some of the grease, will ya?" Ruffnut requested of the Hunter as she leaned against the cell door with a grin. "I'm feeling dry." Before anyone could ascertain whether or not she was serious, Astrid yanked her away, clearly annoyed.
"This hide will fetch top prices in the Northern Markets." Ryker commented, pleased as he observed the Zippleback being taken care of.
"Of course it will." Tuffnut agreed. "It's soft, supple, and look at the colour." he said with a proud smile. Then he seemed to process what Ryker had said. "Wait, what?" He asked, looking at Ryker.
"Oooh, Zippleback boots." Dagur giggled. "I've always wanted a pair."
"The fat will make an excellent polish for metal and leather as well." Harkon chimed in. "And the bones make great arrowheads." He added, eliciting a look of horror from the twins.
"This is the fate that awaits all your Dragons." Ryker said as he took the small container of grease from the Hunter rubbing down the Zippleback. "Of course, they could get better treatment." He offered, holding out the container, which seemed to be practically empty at this point.
"Don't leave us hanging, how!?" Ruffnut demanded. In response, Ryker threw down the container with barely concealed anger.
"Start giving me some real answers!" He demanded. "What do you know of the Dragon Eye, and how many Riders are guarding your base?!" He shouted. The Dragon Riders refused to budge. "Very well." He said, turning to the Hunters in the cage with the Zippleback. "Keep fattening this one up, more to sell." He ordered, prompting a salute from the Hunters.
"No! Please don't hurt our Dragon! I'll do anything!" Ruffnut begged as she hugged the legs of one of the guards.
"Ruff! Stop! Thorstons don't beg for anything!" Tuffnut snapped at his sister. Then he stopped to think. "Except for food. Or money. Or housing." He added. "Or anything we really need." He said thoughtfully. "You know what, this isn't a good argument." He decided.
"I can see who has the brains in this little ragtag team of yours." Harkon commented dryly in Astrid's direction. Astrid didn't respond.
"If you want to save your dragon, tell me what I want to know!" Ryker snarled at the snivelling twin, who looked up at him with a glare.
"No! Not happening!" She said as she straightened out her helmet and clothes. "Sorry guys, lost my head for a second there." She said to her fellow Dragon Riders, making Harkon release a light chuckle.
"Something you and your Dragon will likely have in common soon." He quipped.
"Get them out of my sight!" Ryker ordered the Hunters, who obeyed, pushing the Dragon Riders into pace and back to their cell.
XXX
It didn't take long for the Dragon Riders to attempt an escape. Thankfully, one of the twins was stupid enough to trip one of their alarms. Immediately, Heather, Harkon, and a number of Hunters went to subdue them. The Hunters caught the twins, Heather subdued Astrid, and Harkon was easily able to convince Fishlegs to surrender with a single brandishing of his sword. For a Viking of his size, he was surprisingly cowardly. As he and Heather brought their prisoners to the deck, they handed them off to the Hunters, joining Dagur and Ryker in looking down at them from the upper deck.
"Did I, or did I not warn you about them? They never quit." Dagur told Ryker with a frown. "Annoying!" He sighed with a growl in his throat.
"I'm inclined to agree with him, Brother." Harkon said to Ryker before turning his attention to Dagur. "What would you suggest?" He asked.
"Ah, Harkie, I knew I liked you!" Dagur grinned widely at the young Hunter. "Send a message! Throw one overboard." He giggled excitedly. "It'll be so fun!"
Harkon shook his head. "Knowing Viggo, he'll want to question them about the Dragon Eye. Killing them isn't the best idea." he responded, making Dagur pout.
"Why not put them to work?" Heather suggested.
"I'd prefer to go overboard!" Tuffnut raised his hand, getting a nod from his sister.
"A valid plan." Harkon nodded thoughtfully. "Keep them separated, so they can't plot anymore escapes."
"And make them serve you, like their Dragons do." Heather added with a smirk.
"I like that idea!" Ryker grinned, turning to his brother. "Put them to work, but the next one who tries to escape goes over the side." He ordered, getting a nod from Harkon.
XXX
Harkon had ensured that the Dragon Riders would not be able to coordinate with each other. Ruffnut would help in priming her Dragon for slaughter, a fitting punishment as she was the one who stole the key which led to their escape attempt. Astrid would be swabbing the deck, where Harkon could keep an eye on her, knowing she was easily the most dangerous of the Dragon Riders, with Tuffnut doing the same on the other side of the deck. Fishlegs was sorting the rocks that they were feeding his Gronckle.
It didn't take long for the remaining Dragon Riders to show up.
"Dragons! Off the starboard bow! With Riders!" One of the Hunters called out as he saw two Dragons approaching.
"It's Hiccup and Snot-hat." Dagur remarked as they drew closer.
"Battle Stations! Standby catapults, and archers at the ready!" Ryker barked at his men, who all obeyed. Harkon himself readied his bow as well. "Wait till they're in range!" He added, looking up at the approaching Dragons. They showed no signs of stopping. In fact, they dove straight for the ship.
"Look at that!" Dagur laughed. "A suicide run! I didn't think he had it in him!"
"The fool!" Ryker grinned.
"Hiccup is no fool. What is he up to?" Heather asked out loud. Harkon shared her scepticism. From what he'd been told, that wasn't like Hiccup at all.
"I'll be sure to ask him once we've knocked him out of the sky." Ryker never lost his grin. "Fire at will!" He ordered.
All archers, Harkon included, did just that, launching a bevy of Dragon Root arrows as the Riders flew overhead, with minimal manoeuvring. It wasn't hard for Harkon, or any of the Hunters really, to land a hit.
"They're hit! They're hit!" Dagur exclaimed excitedly.
"So why aren't they going down?" Harkon asked, pulling out his spyglass. He followed the Dragons by sight, and finally got a good look at them. "That explains that." He said as he tossed the spyglass to Dagur, who, confused, looked through the glass himself.
"Armour? They're wearing some kind of Dragon armour!" He yelled in frustration.
"Screaming Death scales! Thickest scales of any Dragon!" Harkon called out to Ryker, who sneered up at the Riders.
At that point, they all dodged fire from the two Dragons overhead, and Astrid and Tuffnut took that opportunity to knock down a few of the guards with their mops. As more of the guards were taken out by the Dragons, Harkon, Ryker, Dagur, and Heather all brandished their weapons.
Ryker and Dagur tried to down the Dragons overhead with bows and bolas, whilst Heather went for Astrid, and Harkon went for Tuffnut.
The twin was surprisingly nimble with the mop as a weapon. He dodged all of Harkon's attacks, and very nearly hit him with the mop several times. Harkon had to up his game and slash hard and fast with his Ulfberht. He managed to slice the mop in two when Tuffnut used it to block an attack, and spin into a wide slash. Tuffnut managed to backstep the attack in time, but Harkon's attack managed to slice off one of the Twin's dreadlocks. This enraged Tuffnut.
"NOBODY! MESSES! WITH THE DO!" He howled as his attacks with the halved mop suddenly became a lot more deadly and precise. Harkon was able to dodge most of them, in spite of his surprise, but he tripped over a loose arrow, and wasn't able to dodge the hard blow to his head that Tuffnut delivered, almost knocking the young Hunter out.
Harkon saw dark spots in his vision as Tuffnut took off below. He wasn't sure how much time passed as he dizzily tried to regain his composure, he became aware of more Dragons flying about, coming from the ship he was on.
"I told you you were messing with the wrong Vikings!" He heard Astrid shout at him from above. Then, he became vaguely aware of a large green cloud, his head just barely clear enough to register that it was Zippleback gas. Before he could say anything, the gas ignited, and he fell to the ground again. Over the next few seconds, the ship's rocking slowed, and his vision cleared. He felt himself being helped up by Heather.
"You alright there?" The girls asked as Harkon shook the stars from his head.
"Took a blow to the head, but I'll be OK, thanks." he told her, getting a nod in response.
"I may have underestimated these Dragon Riders." He heard Ryker comment.
"So, what's next?" Heather asked.
"We report back to Viggo." Harkon answered, sheathing his sword at his hip.
"And tell him what, exactly?" Dagur asked, gesturing to the flames decorating the ship they were on, as well as the others.
"That we're one step closer to the Dragon Eye." Ryker answered with a smirk.