The twelve labors of a Hiccup
2: Slaying the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra
It's been five days since we got back and things had pretty much gone back to routine where I help out Aetes in Athens and made a decent profit. The only difference was I took to wearing the lions pelt over my armor after I showed it to Aetes when some guards came to buy. They heard news about someone killing the Nemean lion and realized I was the one who killed it. News spread fast after that and the people of Alexandria started looking me in a different way. Most of the men started looking at me with more respect or suspicion but I'll take the suspicion over the looks the girls gave me any day. They were just as bad as the Mayan girls with wanting to talk to me, ask how I killed the lion, invited me over to dinner, playing the lyre for me when I was strolling in the park and more. The parents weren't any better trying to convince me to come over for dinner to discuss how incredible it was of me to succeed where so many others had failed but I could tell that they were more interested in the benefits to one of their daughters dating me. It was really getting annoying but I got used to it.
Anyway, I was now sitting down under a tree on the beach we were docked on enjoying the sunshine as it came down on my face as the tree provided some shade. I was wondering if I would be able to find any dragons in Greece since dragons were my first and foremost love. I had disgust it with some of the people but they didn't know of any dragons though they had heard stories of the beasts. One thing was for sure though and that was I wasn't going to find anything by staying to one city so I'm planning to go exploring more of Greece. I was planning to start with this city called Argos which would probably take us two days to get to if the wind was good. According to someone there is a beast that lives a few miles away from the city which resembles a dragon. I figured if I could train it then I would have not only be helping the people of Argos but be gaining a new dragon to study. I was planning to set sail tomorrow morning and from there see a bit more of Greece to experience more of the culture and more about the people. For now, though I was happy just to relax a bit and enjoy the sun light coming down on me.
three days later
We had just docked on a beach a few miles away from the city of Argos and it was in a cove so there was a low chance of us being found meaning I could relax a bit. After I had taken Scaulders harness off so he could swim freely me and Toothless went for a flight around the area. While we flew, we did a search for a place where Toothless could hide near the city while I was there in the city doing business. Eventually we found a small hidden cave near the city so Toothless could hide there while I did business or explored the city. After we found the cave we returned to the beach where Scaulder was waiting for us with some fish he was able to catch. As Toothless and Scaulder enjoyed their fish I enjoyed my own after I had roasted it over the fire of course. The sunset was lovely on the beach we were camping on. I decided to just enjoy what was left of today since chances are tomorrow is going to be rough.
Next day
I woke up in my ship as I felt the suns light coming through the cracks of my upper decks floor. I knew I had a lot of work to do today and I couldn't get it done in bed so I got up to prepare for my day. My plan for today was to go into the city and hopefully get a better feel for the city and possibly get more info on the hydra. If I'm going to at least be able to study it then I'm going to need all the information I can get. For my trip into town I packed a small bag of Drachmas along with my notebook and pencil but the rest of the stuff I felt I'd need was already on my armor.
Seven Hours later
After I had Toothless drop me off a mile away from the city so I'd be able to walk the rest of the way and not make a scene with Toothless flying around the city. It took me a ten-minute walk to get to Argos which was an amazing city but it wasn't as big as Alexandria but still great. I was hoping I'd be able to see the theatre so I could get a better understanding of their culture. As I walked through the city I took note of the different architecture of the buildings and the different places there were to visit in the city. I was able to find some guards and hoped they could at least tell me where I could find the hydra. Unfortunately, when I asked, them they wanted to know what I wanted with the hydra and I told them I wanted to study and possibly fight it they laughed in my face. It happened with everyone I spoke to about the hydra. No one believed I could study the hydra let alone take it on.
I had just left the city in an annoyed mood since I couldn't get the information I wanted from anyone I asked. I was on my way to meet with Toothless at the cave he took shelter in when I heard someone calling me from behind but no by name but by calling out.
"YOUNG MAN!"
I turned around to see an elderly man with a walking stick coming towards me as fast as he could. I decided it wasn't right to see an old man like him run at his age and he seemed to be having difficulty so I ran up to him to save him the effort. When I reached, him I recognized him as the man who told me about how killing the Nemean lion would make me a hero. I saw he was breathing a little hard so I took my canteen and offered it to him saying.
"Have some water. Looks like you need some." He took the canteen out of my hand before taking a big gulp of water from it. Once he pulled the canteen away from his mouth he gave the canteen back to me as he said.
"Thank you young man. I don't suppose you remember me." I smiled at the elderly man.
"Of course, I remember you. You're the one who told me what I should do about the Nemean Lion."
"Good to know you remembered. Now what's this I hear about you asking around about theLernaean Hydra?" I looked down in disappointment.
"I wanted to find it and hopefully study it but nobody will tell me where I can find it when I ask. They just laugh in my face." He gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder.
"Don't let it get to you my boy. It's just that many warriors who are better known than you have gone up against the beast and perished."
"I've had experience with dragons before."He put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a serious look.
"My boy the hydra is not like anything you've faced before. It will not hesitate to kill you should you enter its territory and it is lethal."I nodded in understanding.
"I understand but there's nothing you can say or do that will stop me from going after it." He let out a sigh as he looked down before looking up at me with a serious look in his eyes.
"Very well but before you go up against it you should know it has nine heads, its venom is lethal to every living thing itself included, should you succeed in slaying it you should coat arrows in its blood as it is lethal even to an immortal god. You can find the beast in the swamp near lake Lerna where it rests but once you enter there is no turning back."
"Thanks, but with all I've gone through in the past the hydra should be easy." He nodded.
"I don't doubt that. May the gods watch over you."I nodded in thanks before I turned around but as soon as my back was turned I heard him say. "and may they watch over that nightfury of yours as well."
Hearing this I quickly turned around to talk to the old man about what he just said but much to my shock and confusion he was gone. Completely disappeared as if he was never here and there being no place for him to hide so he would have had to disappear into thin air. I shook my head saying to myself.
"Must be my mind playing tricks on me."
I then went to get Toothless since we had to prepare as we now had a location on the Hydra. After I found him we returned to the ship in order to rest for the fight we'd be having with the hydra. I spent the rest of my day practicing with my swords and shield while also shooting arrows at some targets I set up since if I couldn't train the hydra I would have to kill it for the people of Greece.
Three days later
Toothless and me had just arrived at lake Lerna and were ready to investigate the hydra that had lay claim to the swamps near the lake. I was wearing my regular armor with sword along with a bow and multiple arrows on my back with the pelt of the lion. I looked to Toothless and asked.
"You ready bud?"
He gave a nod a growl of approval before we began our track into the swamps. As we ventured deeper into the swamp I was wondering if this hydra could be tamed and if not would I be able to kill it. From what I've been told the hydra is vicious and very powerful but then again so was the Red Death and it fell thanks to me and Toothless. I shook my head as I figured that I'd deal with the beast when I saw it.
2 hours later
Me and Toothless were deep in the swamp now and if the dead plants were any indicator we were getting close to the hydras nest. As we made our way through the dead plants Toothless began to act a bit more aggravated and started looking around while growling. It was then I noticed we were close to a bog which was surrounded by old discarded weapons, some of which were either damaged or partly buried. Among these weapons were some skeletal remains of fallen warriors if the damaged armor that were on them was any indication as to what they were. I looked into the bog and saw bubbling in the middle which seemed to also release some sort of steam. Toothless started to growl down at the bog as if he were getting ready to fight it which meant that the hydra was down there somewhere. I picked up a rock and threw it into the bog where the bubbles were coming from but got no response so I did it again but once again got no response from the water. I kept doing it until Toothless pulled me back away from the bog which is when nine-black scaled heads with fin like ears burst out of the water roaring aggressively.
The second they laid eyes on me they shot towards me tying to bite me a few I dodged while blocking the others with my shield. I kept dodging trying to calm it while Toothless was doing his best to dodge their strikes as well. After another ten minutes of dodging and blocking I realized I couldn't train this dragon since it was incredibly aggressive and was impossible to train due to it being from what I can tell it was completely mad so I knew it had to be put down so I took my sword out to kill it. When the next head struck, I cut it off but much to my surprise it didn't put up much of a struggle when it came off. It was like cutting into tough vines in the Mayan jungle. The neck I severed the head from lay motionless for a few moments before much to my shock it rose back up and two more heads grew back. I cut off four more heads only to get the same results leaving me now dealing with a fourteen-headed hydra to deal with. Toothless was still trying to dodge all the heads as was I before I sliced of another head as Toothless let out a plasma blast at it. It ended up hitting the neck where the head used to be scorching it. Much to my surprise two heads didn't grow back from the scorched stump. This gave me an idea but unfortunately Toothless had a six-shot limit so I'd need to improvise. I had Toothless light a small bonfire on some fallen trees while I covered him. Once the fire was lit I dropped my shield and grabbed a large branch that's top was lit. I then cut off another head which snapped at me then held the flame of the branch against the stump scorching it like the other stump and as I hoped two heads didn't grow back. After that the hydra came out of the water fully revealing a large black scaled body with a grey underbelly and spines on the back and twin tails like a zippleback. Me and Toothless kept it up with me cutting the heads off with Toothless blasting four more of the stumps before reaching his shot limit leaving nine more heads for me to deal with. I kept slicing the heads and scorching the stumps leaving the heads unable to grow back. When the final head was cut off the body fell lifelessly to the ground. I let out a sigh of both relief and exhaustion since the hydra was dead.
As I stood there catching my breath I heard footsteps in the distance so I told Toothless to hide because if it were warriors they might suspect he's a hydras hatchling. He took cover in some bushes as a group of ten armored men came towards the bog all armored and armed with swords and spears. I recognized them as guards from Argos by their armor but as soon as they saw me and the dead hydra they stopped in their tracks. When they saw, it they turned to me and the leader of this group approached me and said.
"You've killed the Lernaean Hydra! This is amazing! What is your name warrior?" I kept my guard up in fear they might try to kill me and take credit for killing the hydra.
"It's Heracles." As soon as I said that they all raised their weapons.
"HAIL HERACLES! HAIL HERACLES! HAIL HERACLES!"
They did his for five more minutes before saying that I needed to return with them to Argos to inform the people that the Lernaean Hydra had been slain and to celebrate their new hero. I agreed with them but asked them for a few moments of privacy to just enjoy my moment of victory. They left after that saying they'd be back in ten minutes. As soon as they were gone I told Toothless to return to the ship and I'd meet him there when I could. After he left I walked up to the hydras body and made a small cut in its side letting blood flow out onto the ground before I began drenching my arrows in it. I also filled up five jugs I had with it so I'd be able to make more of these arrows if I needed to. When I was done, I had thirty arrows with hydras blood covering them. These were definitely going to come in handy if I ever face a beast like the red death again. After that the guards returned and escorted me to Argos where a huge celebration was held in my honor for slaying the hydra and I was celebrated as a hero. I was showered with many thanks and the rulers of the city gave me a large bag full of gold drachmas before having me join the celebration till nightfall before I was able to return to the ship. When I did I made sure Toothless and Scaulder understood to stay away from my arrows. They both understood before I turned in for the night since we'd be returning to Alexandria tomorrow.
Four days later
We had arrived back at the cove yesterday and to say I was glad to be back was an understatement. I was looking forward to a day's rest on dry land where I wasn't constantly asked about how I killed the hydra, asked on a date by a young woman or asked by the woman's father to go out with his daughter claiming what an honor it would be for his daughter. I just wanted some peace and quiet to enjoy my day without being asked how I killed one of the most fearsome beasts in Greek history. To be honest I would have gladly taken to being ignored like I used to be back on Berk over all the attention I was getting here. Unfortunately for me word in Greece travels fast and far so when I returned to the city I was once again swarmed by crowds who knew about me slaying the hydra. They all wanted me to tell them how they did it which was annoying since I couldn't get a moments peace in the city. One thing was for sure I needed some time off from the city and some time to relax away from people. It was then I decided to take a trip to the small village of Ceryneia. It's away from all the big crowds and they have a large forest like on Berk to hide Toothless in and it would feel a bit more like home. It would four days of sailing but it would be worth it to get away from it all while still in Greece since there was more I wanted to see.
AN: Hey I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and per request I have posted a list of the labors in the order in which they will be done. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and be kind with the reviews.
the Nemean lion
the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra
the Ceryneian hind
the Erymanthian boar
the Augean stables in a single day.
the Stymphalian birds
the Cretan bull
the Mares of Diomedes
the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons
the cattle of the monster Geryon
the apples of the Hesperides
and bring back Cerberus
