Chapter 309

Hiccups POV:

It's been two weeks since we had begun digging through the remains of Setaka's fortress and since then we'd cleared it of any bodies with the people and beasts having their bodies burned in case there was any magic left in them that as it could cause trouble. Besides the bodies we were also able to find multiple ancient relics that were thought to be lost with some belonging to some of 'The guard of the burning falcon' tribes who were happy to have them back, even if some were damaged which was surprisingly rare among the rubble with most being in good condition. It was because of this that we were able to send a lot of artifacts that belonged to the royal palace with Cleopatra being grateful to have the items returned to where they belong. As for the other treasures we gathered, we gave them to Aaliyah to help her tribe who had lost a lot of their people in the battle against Setaka. Besides the artifacts, the rubble was collected and taken to the sun snare drum, the hottest part of the desert which even the camels try to avoid going near since it was also where the desert created the most powerful sandstorms. Once there, I used my Mystic Spade to turn them to dust and ensure the remains were scattered to the winds of the desert where they would never be able to be reassembled.

All this took four days before there was no sign of a fortress or even ruins ever being there which allowed me to move onto other things such as helping Cleopatra get things back on track for her people. This was a much harder task since I had to help reassure the people that the threat was dealt with while Toothless acted as emotional support for the queen. It wasn't all bad though since the guards had been spread thin during her absence searching for her and preparing for war while trying to keep the people calm which multiple thieves and criminals saw as an opportunity to rob the residents of Alexandria's upper ring blind. This gave me a good way to keep up my training and clean up the streets a bit, capturing numerous thieves, criminals and kidnappers while rescuing multiple people. Took another week for things to calm down enough and for most criminals to go back into hiding in the lower ring where the guards weren't as many but that didn't stop Toothless and I from capturing some of them. Once everything was back to normal, Cleopatra kept her word as a pharaoh and had me covered in gold for my services to her and all of Egypt and had it done a second time for helping clean up the numerous criminals and rescuing a lot of people.

Once that was all done, I brought my family over so we could all enjoy a little time off in Egypt which is when I learnt Chara had met Aaliyah a while back at a party when she helped her out. Aaliyah explained that she'd been sent to check up on things and make sure the pharaoh was safe while also trying to get a better understanding of what kind of guy I was. She claimed she was impressed with how I wasn't arrogant despite my status as a hero of Egypt or a shameless flirt even though I had multiple wives and turned down the multiple women who practically threw themselves at me. The thing that surprised her the most though apparently was how gentle and caring I was to my family since she'd seen nobles and heroes who treated their wives as little more than playthings and their kids simply as ways to barter into business with other noble families. Their wives were no better seeing their husbands as nothing more than big money bags and the children as little more than minor annoyances to be pushed aside. I knew these nobles well since a few of the men had tried to convince me to sell them Toothless, my travelling scorpion, join in one of their business ventures or try to hook their kids up with my own. I also know some of the women from the times they've flirted with me in order to either get me to work with their husbands or get me into their beds with them and in some cases, trying to charm Brant and Egil or getting their daughters to do it.

These simple actions that were just me being myself had earned me a lot of respect from not only her but a lot of the members of the other members of 'The guard of the burning falcon' who were sent to also get information on me and check on Cleopatra. Apparently, their people had been responsible for the exposure of multiple nobles plans to overthrow the pharaohs of the past and on occasion, assassinate threats to the people such as strong magic users or bandit leaders. In other words, they'd seen some of the worst scum Egypt has to offer so I couldn't blame them for losing faith in those who are rich and powerful since they'd only seen those who are abusive with the power they have. Besides that, she'd spent a little time with my wives claiming she felt she'd be able to give a better report to her superiors on who I was and what forces I had should they ever need to call me in to help them against any threat to Egypt. It was because of this that they'd become good friends over time and had been training with my wives and kids to enhance her own skills since my family members skills surpassed her in many ways.

A week after her training with my family began, I flew Toothless out into the desert so we could test out the enhancements to my belongings while also testing out the new items I was given, and none disappointed me. I started with my wings since they were actually a part of me and their new appearance had shocked me while blinding Toothless, literally since the sun reflected off them and into his eyes. The reason is the feathers were now at the end and long while also going from silver to gold and above them were stone sheath like squares that were colored red, dark blue, light blue and jade green in that order, above that were black feathers that looked like one while above them were gold feathers that stuck out like a collar while also now covering the sides of my torso with the tips pointing at my pecs. As for the abilities besides the shine that blinded Toothless, the feathers could still slice through stone and be launched but now they could heat up to the point they could melt metal, for a few seconds so they could do more damage. Along with that they could now on leave my body but stick to the torso and cover up my stomach and doing this, they form a thin armor around my body and when fully out, they can wrap around my body like a cloak which also acted as armor and could launch the feathers from this position as well. This suited me just fine since it meant I'd never be without armor in case someone ambushes me when I'm taking a swim, having a bath or if I'm ever stripped of my gear.

Following that is my compass that had gone through an incredible enhancement in both looks and ability with both getting enhancements that I knew would be helpful in the future. For starters, the moment I held it in my prosthetic hand, the palm of the hand pulled it in and was now a part of it with it being able to take the place of my stone of good fortune and could be brought out by having my stone just flip over to show it was on the other side. As for abilities, it could create an entire illusion of the area I'm in that was a little bigger than my hand with a lit trail to whoever or whatever I was after along with small red images of any foes in the area and their movements. Along with this, it could even show me the buildings in the area or to be more precise, their layouts and insides including secret passages and those who were in the buildings. This would be very helpful when I'm infiltrating enemy bases and wanted to take out as many foes as I could without running the risk of alerting them that I was inside or if I just wanted to gather intelligence or steal something without being seen.

Another item that would help in these would be my bandage bands which now covered both my arms and my entire torso with two bandages forming an X across my chest with the ability to seep through my armor and coat like my wings. This meant that they could now extend from my torso which would be helpful in the future when it comes to these stealth missions or doing some climbing. The way it would work is I can use the bandages on my torso to slowly lower myself down to where I wanted to be without making a sound and then silently extend my feet before pulling the bandages down. I could also use them to dangle over things and grab them before being pulled back up after I grab whatever or whoever it is I'm after and then be pulled out through the way I came in without making a single sound. What truly surprised me though was their speed since they could now be launched out so fast, they could rival a deadly nadder in speed and have a person wrapped up so fast that if they spotted me, they wouldn't even have the chance to cry out for help.

Following this was my khopesh which had grown in power and form with its new form bringing new methods to wield it that have required a lot of practice. For its form, it now had a green blade that had thick gold lining the edges with the bottom of the blade where the handle met the blade was thinner and had blue instead of green with the handle being bejeweled with sapphires at the top and bottom with rubies at the side and the pommel was a gold cats head with black patches over the eyes. Coming out of the pommel by the cat's head is a thick wire that was tight against it and would help hold the grip with the other end going into the blade of the khopesh replacing the chain that once allowed the blade to separate. As for its abilities, the first thing I learned was it could extend a lot longer than it originally could and act more like a whip than it did before with each strike being able to reduce the objects into sand while also being able to strike shadows at a distance and then spread out to other people. Along with this, the blade could now be ignited with a low flame that could turn all it burns into sand unless I was channeling a red crystal in my prosthetic in which case the flames would spread like wildfire and turn the wood into ash.

Then there are the new items I received, all of which had abilities that truly amazed me, and I knew would be helpful in either battle or in some cases, daily life with the cat statue being one that fell into this category. At first it didn't seem like much until I learnt the mouth could be opened and read the ruins inscribed on the platform the cat was set up on. These runes told me that it was meant to be a guardian messenger that would provide to those who give their blood for it to feed upon. It was during my examination that Asim came by to visit me while I was examining it and as a joke put his finger in the mouth as if he were feeding it until the mouth closed and drew blood from his finger for a few seconds. When it finally freed his finger, a black gem the size of my eye fell from the mouth, onto the floor and glowed as it let out a black fog that took the form of the cat, but palm sized that then floated over to Asim. We were surprised by this before it landed at his feet and then grew into a copy of the original but where the original had gold, this new one was bronze. After this I began to think of what the runes said about it being a messenger in front of it which floated up and went into the statues mouth before it closed and then when I turned to Asim and said his name to gain his attention, the message was pushed out of the other cat's mouth.

Following this, we wanted to do a few more tests and called my wives and Aaliyah in and had them each create their own cat; the same way Asim did through feeding the original their blood. I then tried feeding it some more messages and then learnt that I'd have to say the name of the person it was for and then the message would go to their cat and be release the message through their mouth. We soon learnt that they could also be used by the others to send messages to the others and to me which meant it would be easier to keep in contact. All this explained the messenger part of what the runes said and then came the guard part which we all learnt when Brant tried to take the message from Chara's cat.

It grew to the size of a leopard, the bronze on it melted and moved to around the neck before becoming a spiked collar with long spikes, down to the tip of the tail where it became a blade and finally to its feet where they formed razor sharp claws. In addition to all this, it was fast as a cheetah and had the strength of a lion while also being able to easily utilize the weapons that they had gained at their disposal and every time Brant or one of us was able to throw it off, it would then see us as a target and begin attacking us which is when we learnt their claws and tail blade leak a paralyzing poison that lasts three hours. It wasn't until Chara called it off did it stop attacking and then return to its statue form allowing her to take the letter that was in its mouth while I tended to the wounds the cat left. I wasn't complaining though since it meant that if someone tried to intercept any messages than they'd be in a lot of trouble, as these cats do not like strangers taking their owners messages. After this we learnt that if the owners willed it, then the statues could shrink back down to palm sized version which would make them easier to carry. As soon as we got back to the city, I'd given one to Cleopatra so she would be able to contact me if she ever needed my help such as any threat that her kingdom faced and then went on to give one to every head of 'The guard of the burning falcon' tribes so they could keep in contact with each other more easily and let me know if they need help. After that, we learnt that when a message comes in, but the owner doesn't notice, the cat will take its battle form while keeping the message in its mouth and only when the message is delivered will it return to its platform and returns to being a statue.

Following this was the crook and flail which I was able to get a real look at and see what they looked like, and I was not the least bit disappointed with their appearances or their abilities. The crook for starters had a handle that was made from smooth black lava stone and gold which made a striped pattern, and the top of the crook was made of pure gold as well, with edges being as sharp as a blade and at the bottom above the handle was the orange orb which swirled with dark orange energy like sand. As for its ability, it could summon a powerful sandstorm or twister that I could see right through and make the sand gather to form cobra heads and coils that could toss the victims around which would be easy with the strong winds. In addition to this, the head was sharp as my khopesh and could slice into metal as if it were a hot knife cutting through butter so as if it were nothing.

The flail on the other hand had an identical handle to the crop but at the top was a dark green orb that had gold at the bottom and wrapping around its back to reach the top which had a top shaped like a bulls horn with the top being lined with gold and then black stripes at the bottom going over and out away from the orb. Hanging from the end were three tassels with the top parts being gold weights followed by colored beads and ending with long golden wings that were almost half as long as the handle. As for its abilities, instead of sand, it summoned a large swarm of locusts that eat all things made from plants like wood which I tested out on an old wagon which was gone in seconds, and I didn't want to think about what they could do to crops. In addition to this, the head acted like a pickaxe and could shatter stone but if it hits wooden things like a ship's hull, the locusts are released inside and devour it from the inside and if I focus, I can control the amount the locusts eat so I could have them only attack a certain area or just eat a hole in a wall for me. When they're done eating though, then they just fly into the air and fade out of existence since they've served their purpose and no longer have a reason to exist.

I'd spent a week travelling the desert trying out these various items including the bandana that used to belong to the champion Abubakar after Toothless and I got caught in a few sandstorms and had taken to wearing it around my neck behind my blade scarf. During this time, we captured numerous bandit groups that 'The guard of the burning falcon' tribes let me know about but had yet to bring down since they were either too busy with other problems that left their forces spread thin or had no way of tracking them down. Most of them had set up camp in places where you'd have to pass by an area where there were multiple sandstorms on a daily basis which weren't strong but made it hard to track the bandits down. I was able to capture large groups of bandits, test out my new equipment, retrieve tons of stolen loot and rescue multiple hostages with some being nobles but the majority were traveling merchants or commoners who they kept around as slaves and on one occasion, food since that bandit group was made up of cannibals. That was a camp, I was all too happy to have my locusts devour and leave no trace behind since it was like something out of a nightmare with bones and corpses everywhere which is why I kept the bandana around my mouth since it kept the smell of rotting flesh out. When I got back to the palace, I am happy to say that the cannibals were immediately sentenced to death by being fed to the crocodiles since they'd fed on so many innocents while the surviving victims were given escorts back to their villages along with the other people I rescued.

A week later we returned home, not because we were all ready to bring an end to our vacation but because none of us could stand the attention we were getting from the people since all the bandits had high bounties on them and it made me a fortune while also helping my reputation grow. It was because of this people were eager to get into my good graces for numerous reasons with a lot of girls going after Brant and Egil while boys flirted nonstop with Chara which made my blood boil since they looked at her as if she were a piece of meat instead of a person. Fortunately, I never had to step in to get them to back off since Chara would often make it clear that she wasn't interested with most backing off when she flashed a kunai, but some guys didn't take too well to it claiming she should know her place or how a woman should learn to do as she's told. Obviously, these guys didn't make that mistake again, but I had to spend a lot of time talking to those boys' guardians and use my mystic Ganji waters to heal their numerous broken bones, cuts and bruises.

As soon as we got home though, I took Setaka's ankh to the volcano and placed it in the vault where I kept the various tools and weapons, I took from enemies that were way too dangerous to leave out in the world. Following that, I brought out my island's new crystal piece and place before there was a small quake followed by the sound of rushing water and after checking it out, as expected, a long river had formed in my Egyptian desert which I expected since the god who gave me the piece was the god of the Nile. After inspecting it up close, I learnt that the water was filled with crocodiles and hippos but instead of being aggressive and mean creatures I was used to, they were docile and even let me pet them as if it were nothing. I figured it was just something to help complete the look of the Egyptian desert and since it was also filled with fish, I had no complaints as I'd now be able to fish while in the desert.

The following morning at sunrise, I brought out the heart of the guardian and found a desert green heart wrapped in bandages with a golden cobra wrapped around them, ending with the head coming down over the top and raising it to show glowing green eyes and on either side of the heard were gold jackal ears. What creeped me out though wasn't the snake but the fact that the heart was actually beating in the palm of my hand which felt strange to say the least and is why I had no hesitation when it came to burying it in the sands. Once it was covered and the suns light shone upon the spot where it was buried, the sand began to shift before it piled up and took form as I watched until it solidified to reveal the guardian's true form.

This Guardian stood a head taller than my dad with a posture that was stiff but still intimidating in a way that clearly said it was not to be messed with. He had silk and leather fabric used for his armor which are in the colors of a jade blue black red and white well on his shoulders are too grayish leather capes. From his gloves are with a leather coating which is embroidered with golden parts on his hand so it looked like it's made out of pure gold while going up from his wrist are in a triangular design in a V formation pattern of metal layering metal before going close to where his elbow is are these giant diamonds shape pieces of metal embroidered with lightish blue opal singing embroidering the edges and in the centre of the diamond are giant sky blue opals. Going up the rest of the arm is black leather and at the top, going over it is a scale pattern golden shirt sleeve and between the sleeves and the gauntlets themselves are these two gold and red rings which are placed on the upper part of the arm just between the elbow and the shoulder.

From his waist and Boots his boots are literally layered with golden plates which overlap each other but enough to give him much motion with his ankle but when climbing up it has a wing like pattern in a V formation going up towards his knee which then has a golden diamond kneecap connecting to the boot then once again goes with black leather before black and sky blue or jade blue wrappings which wrap around the waist of his torso down to his actual Belt line then is connected to a white cloth flap in the front of his waist with red and black leather which is held by a giant belt which has the same sort of stripe pattern as a Egyptian Royal chess armor one layer is gold well the second layer above it is gold with sky blue triangles embroidering its edges and on top of it it has a huge golden circle buckle with a opal in the middle of it which is the same colour as the ones from the glove but hanging off of it is another like golden flap as I call it is a mini skull with a crown on top of it with a red ruby which holds it connectedly to the Belt and below the skull is in the design look of a frill with red and blue stripes and beneath that is a plaque of gold in the shape of a hanging swinging blade.

Now the chest armor isis connected to the sleeves as I described by the gauntlets but besides that it's the right side has two layers of armor one being gold and one being brownish gold they are both layered after layer in the shape of like feathers climbing up and over the shoulder blade but when it comes climbing up and over the shoulder and down the chest in a V formation but crossing it from the left side is in the shape of actual wings based off of the goddess that married set and it's colours are the same but it goes the exact opposite which leads to the Brown being the first layer then gold on top of it but then over the gold there are an embroidery pattern of bluish sky or jade blue triangles on top near the neckline then gold as the second layer in the diamond pattern that another triangular pattern of Ruby but on top of it right over where the shoulder and neck bone are connected is a round circular piece which starts gold at the rim then jade blue in the second and in the middle of it a giant ruby.

Now the mask is designed with a very long Egyptian pharaoh beard but with no mouth, but a mouth plate with a skeleton feature for the eye socket and nose but on top of it is a Egyptian Crown which is gold and sky blue or Jade blue which also is the same colour on the goatee but rectangular and going pointing towards the chin, but returning to the crown itself on the edges it has blue triangles going down on the sides where it lies on the shoulders and a top of its forehead is a circle with a diamond shape ruby in the centre of it which is gold around it and blue triangles embroidery on the edges while coming out from it are two wings of brownish gold for the feathers and gold for the wing muscles then on top of the head of it all which is completely gold on top right on top of the circle piece is a snake head no king cobra signs but just a normal snakehead with yellow diamond eyes and a another diamond shape ruby on top of its forehead. (AN: Image on pinterest page.)

It struck its fist, against its chest while standing to attention and showing that it was mine to command but since there was no major fights happening, I sent the guardian to watch over the temple I used to worship the Egyptian gods and which held the entrance to where I kept the waters of creation.

Once all of this was done, we spent a few days settling back into our normal lives with the kids continuing their training, Blanca continuing to help keep an eye on the snake guardians, Astrid helping the Berk guard, Hadasa tending to the crops and plants, Chiaki looking after the little ones, Toothless handling his alpha duties while flirting with the realm furies and as for me, I'd been busy with my own things. First thing I did is visit every last one on my allies both in the archipelago and around the world to supply them each with their own messenger cat statue while also explaining what they did. They were all grateful since they now had a way to immediately contact me if there was ever trouble that they couldn't handle and needed me to come help deal with it. Once that was done, I returned to my own regular routine of Chief training under my dad, keeping up my regular training in various combat styles to avoid my skills getting rusty, flying with Toothless, spending time with my loved ones and of course, bounty hunting which I used as an opportunity to try out my new equipment.

I'd spent a lot of time out and about capturing various bandits, using my compass to get a clear view of their base to map out the location of my enemies, block off any escape routes and figure out a plan of attack. I'd also been using my crook and flail to deal with them by having the flails locusts make holes in wooden walls, bring down guard towers and more while using my crook to create sandstorms around large groups to swat them around a bit before jumping in and taking them down myself while they're disoriented. I'd also been using my bandages to sneak into more secure parts where they kept treasures that were stolen from tribes who wanted them back and only once they were secure, did I begin a full attack on the enemies since I didn't want to run the risk of the items being damaged. My wings new enhancements also helped a bit since I didn't have to fully spread them to launch the feathers, nobody saw them when I launched the from beneath my coat, catching my opponents by surprise. This was when I learnt the feathers could also curve into half circle shape which could be used to capture the limbs of my opponents and throw them back since they were launched with such force and seem to have enough wait for the edges to sink right into the ground as if hammered there, pinning the victims to it or the walls. The main thing I used most though was my khopesh with its new abilities, it was easy to disarm my foes and as I learnt, stab the tip into their shadows and then yank it into a direction which would send the owner of the shadows, flying in said direction.

All of this brings us to now, with me walking through a small village to pick up some information on my latest job involving an old sword that belonged to the tribe's founder which has been stolen from them and being held for ransom since it means a lot to the people. My job is to retrieve the sword and bring it back undamaged which is the first priority and bringing the thieves to justice isn't necessary but it is something the tribe will appreciate. Now I was making my way to meet with the chief of the tribe at their Great Hall which was similar to Berks with it being a large wooden building. Inside though, the walls were covered in the heads of great beasts such as bears, eagles, wild boars and multiple pelts of animals that could be found in the forest that the village rested on the edge of. This forest was filled with various types of animals which is why it was the source of the villages food and wealth since they could get the meat from the animals while selling the pelts to other tribes. There was a lot of money in this business, especially when winter was coming up since people needed the meat for food since they couldn't hunt in the cold and the pelts to make blankets to keep them warm when the fires go out.

I looked around at the various people going about their business with some tanning hides outside their homes, some carrying fresh kills into their homes, people preparing the freshly skinned meat and more. It wasn't surprising that things were so busy since winter was only a month away so it was understandable that they'd be busy preparing for it while also using it to make some money by selling their extra stuff. Honestly though, it was busier than the last time I was here for one of my bounty hunting jobs and that was years ago when I was still mourning the loss of Hadasa when I thought I'd lost her to the demon Arbutus since they didn't really have that many crooks targeting them. I sighed while looking down and shaking my head and decided to focus since those who do try to attack this village are taken down by the hunters so those who were successful were skilled or had someone on the inside so I shouldn't let my guard down since I may be watched by the was behind the theft. I knew I was just being paranoid but it didn't hurt to keep my guard up and walked up to one of the guards up at the front of the Great Halls door and said.

"I'm here to see the chief about the missing sword." He nodded.

"He's waiting for you at the back of the hall."

I nodded and made my way in and found the hall wasn't too filled with just a few people sitting at the tables enjoying their meals or talking about some things. I made my way past them and made my way towards the end where a man with a small blond moustache, hair tied in a small braid, wearing a bear skin cape with the top half of the head resting on his left shoulder and a helmet with a bear head was at the front and a brown tunic was sat down with a few other men. Behind them was a large statue of their first chief with his hands clasped together which is where his sword was meant to be but now it'd been taken. I turned to the chief and said.

"Good day chief Frode, I'm here for the job about retrieving your tribe's ancestral sword." He smiled at me and stood up while letting out a chuckle.

"It's good to see you again Hiccup and after hearing how much your reputation as a bounty hunter and hero has grown since the last time you were here; I know that our tribe's ancestral sword will be back in its rightful place while the thieves are cooling their heels in the dungeon by the end of the week."

"We'll see but I'm going to need to know a bit more about these guys before I do anything." Frode nodded.

"Well, I can't tell you much, just where they told us to meet their contact who'd be by to collect the gold, fur and food." I smiled.

"That's all I need to know." He smiled and told me the information before I left to begin my latest hunt.

Nobodies POV:

As soon as Hiccup left the hall, chief Frode sighed in sadness and looked down while rubbing his head to soothe the guilt he felt boil up inside him as a bald man with a brown moustache, wearing a grey tunic with brown apron, walked up and asked.

"You didn't tell him did ya chief?"

"I just didn't know how I could tell him about this since I doubt, he even remembers the last time he was here and besides, our main focus right now should be getting our tribes ancestral sword back."

"You can't avoid telling him chief, he has a right to know."

"I know but how do you tell someone about something this big and when he finds out he's going to want to know why we didn't get in contact with him sooner and if he gets mad then chances are I'm not walking out of the great hall alive." Another man with long black hair tied back in a braid with no shirt but brown leather bracers walked up.

"From what I've been told the man only fights in self-defense and the defense of others so at worst chances are you'll get a glare." The other man then said.

"That's not such a good thing, from what I've been told a glare from him can turn a man into stone." The two just rolled their eyes as chief Frode said.

"With the stories I've heard, it's hard to tell if that's true or not." He then sighed. "But he does have a right to know so when he comes back, I'll tell him what I should have told him the moment I saw him." They nodded. "And if I even look like I'm going to hesitate than I want you both to kick me in the shins." They both nodded with big smiled on their faces.

1 day later

Hiccups POV:

It's been a day since I got the information on where the bandits were waiting for their ransom and since then, I've come up with a plan and had made the preparations. The meeting spot for the trade is the middle a small piece of land that was half the size of old Berks Great Halls insides with nothing more than a rocky surrounding and waiting there would be someone from the tribe with crates filled with supplies and gold. This was something I used to my advantage and prepared crates filled with rocks that I was using my golden spider to appear as furs, meat and gold. The only acceptations were what was on top if the foes decided to feel the stuff which were actual furs and meat so they would still be fooled, and it was all out of my personal stores so there wasn't anything to worry about for the tribe and I had also placed a jewelwig in each crate to help deal with some of the men.

Earlier today, I'd used my mystic chisel and hammer to create a statue of an old man, who brought a small sailboat filled with the crates to help make it seem like he was the one the tribe sent to deliver the ransom. The reason is if this went as I believed it would, the ones sent to collect the ransom didn't have the sword and intended to take the ransom anyway claiming it was a good start and demand even more from them but as soon as both ships set sail, using my water armor, I'd swim to their ship and latch onto the bottom, allowing them to take me right to their base. From there, I'd use my ninja skills to infiltrate and my map to retrieve the sword and once the sword is in my spiderpack, I'll deal with the bandits within since I wouldn't have to worry the sword being damaged.

The first part had gone as expected with them meeting with my old man statue and as expected the bandits examined the items at the top and then claimed they weren't good enough quality and demanded more for the return of the sword. They still took everything though while my statue took off on the ship with nothing and I the bandits sailed off, not knowing that I was holding onto the bottom of their ship with a jewelwig attached to the side to help me check things out. It took three hours before the ship finally docked on a small plot of land that had a tower like fortress in the middle and a wide stone path surrounding it, lined with ballistae while surrounding the land was sharp rocks sticking out of the water. I knew if I was going to find the sword, I was going to need to have to have my jewelwigs check this place out a bit first since from what I can see from the jewelwig on the side of the ship, it was a big fortress so the moment they took the cargo in, I had my jewelwigs scatter and given me an idea of the place.

After an hour they'd finished and I had to say that it was an impressive base with multiple floors including one that served as the barracks, one that served as an armory, one for supplies, commanders' quarters and above it all was one tall room with multiple railings and steps leading up to them, with open windows with ballistae and rocks for fighting enemies invading. The base floor though was filled with tables, barrels of alcohol lining one wall, a table with food against the other, a large fire pit in the middle and a throne on a platform at the back where the leader of these bandits was sat down. The guy had a messy black beard, a bald top with the hair on his sides braided into a tight braid at the back, an eye patch over his right eye with a nasty scar coming from beneath it, a stone bludgeon for his right hand and his torso was covered by a sleeveless tunic with a scale patterned tunic with shark head shaped pauldrons on his shoulders.

Now though, everyone with the exception of the guards had gone to bed for the evening and the only ones awake were those patrolling outside or manning the ballistae, but everyone else was either sleeping or relaxing somewhere goofing off. This brings us to now with me making my way to the commanders' quarters since their leader was still down in the main room enjoying a drink with some of his men. The commanders' quarters were through a door in the men's barracks and down a hallway which suited me just fine since I was able to take out a lot of the men who had retired for the night. All it took was a few moments of smoking my dragon pipe to fill the room with my knockout gas and just like that, all the men in the room were down for the count and it wouldn't set off any alarms since it just looked as if they were asleep and not unconscious.

Presently though, I was in the commanders' quarters and smiling down at the old, rusted sword in my hand since it was the very sword I'd come looking for. I looked around at the commander's quarters and saw multiple treasures laying around, a bookshelf full of books and scrolls against one wall, a portrait on the wall and a bed against the back wall. I smiled and took off my spiderpack before placing it on the ground and let the mouth expand and then began dropping the books, maps and other valuables into it since there was no use in leaving them here since I intended to raid the place once I capture the bandits and sell the extra stuff, anyway. Once the last of the stuff was placed inside, I put my spiderpack back on and began walking towards the door so I could begin gathering up the bandits along with their equipment.

As soon as I opened the door though, I saw a man standing at the entrance to the hall with his back to me and yelling at the men to wake up since it was their shift along with muttering of others from around the room. I knew that it meant the men had come to get some rest and switch the guard but since I'd dealt with the ones in bed using my knockout gas, they weren't going to get up any time soon and it wouldn't take the ones who had arrived to realize something was up. Using the eye of the dragon, I saw the others were too focused on their unconscious friends, I held out my arms and sent out my bandage bands, wrapping the guys entire upper torso up in three seconds, pinning his arms to his sides, blindfolding and gagging him all at once. A second later I pulled my bands back, quickly dragging the bandit back while extending my shadow beneath him and smiled as the tendrils pulled him in while unravelling my bandages as he sank in.

Once he was fully taken in, I checked out how many men there was and saw that in addition to there being fifteen of them, they'd began to realize something was wrong with their friends. I sighed wanting to get this done fast without alerting the others, so I brought out my golden arrow and walked down to the entrance before letting it fly around, taking all the men down in seconds. When that was done I spread out my shadow across the room and pulled them all in while pulling my golden arrow back into my prosthetic and then heading up to deal with the men who were handling the ballistae on the upper floors. I climbed up the ladder leading to the upper floor and through the trap door before I found myself in a tower like part of the fortress with multiple catwalks holding ballistae pointing outside that were being manned by bandits. I knew that with this many foes it was better to avoid being noticed or I'd have a full fight on my hands which I did not want so I needed to handle this silently and deal with these guys one by one.

Knowing this I had my shadow coat stick to my body and wrap around it to avoid any flapping which might alert the men and walked up to the edge of one of the catwalks before releasing my bandage bands which wrapped around the support pole and pulled myself up. I silently made my way up behind one of the men at a ballista before delivering a hard strike to the back of his neck, knocking him out cold, and caught his body as it fell to avoid it making any noise. I allowed my shadow to silently pull him in before looking at my next target on the other side of the room and pulled out my blow pipe, loading it with a white dart, shooting it at him and smiled when it hit the back of his neck. He froze up before I extended my shadow beneath him and pulled him in before walking past the ballistae and silently climbing up to the next catwalk and doing the same to the man who was controlling the ballistae on that one.

Things continued like this for a while with me dealing with the men one by one and doing my best to avoid being spotted by any of the men with the closest time being when one guy turned down to look at the bandit I took out, but I quickly stood the guy up and hid behind him making him seem like he was still conscious. Other than that, there were no issues and as soon as I was done with all the men, I gathered up their ballistae and put them in my spiderpack, I headed up to the roof, dealing with the guards who were there by sampling extending my shadow across the roof and pulling them in. I looked down to get a look at the position of the guards down below and my eyes widened when I saw they were all rushing in and checked on the inside of the building through the eyes of my jewelwigs and saw that they'd realized those on the upper floors were gone along with their weapons. This made me sigh knowing that my plan for dealing with them quietly to bring down their numbers to had just gone up in flames but catching them by surprise was still an option.

I went back inside and used my wings to glide down to the bottom floor faster and made my way out, walking down to the main floor where all the bandits had gathered. I silently made my way into the room and stuck to the walls, looking down at the men from the balcony that overlooked the entire room before an idea formed in my head. I used my bandage bands to silently grapple onto one of the ceilings supports and pull me up to it before releasing my spiderpacks legs, stabbing them into the roof and slowly crawl across the roof until I was in the middle of the ceiling. Their leader was yelling how the men upstairs had disappeared with their ballistae, how his room had been looted and he wanted to know what had happened to the men and his treasures. I smiled knowing now was the time to strike and brought out my dark metal lantern, pulling all light into it and leaving the room in near complete darkness, catching the men by surprise right before I dropped down between some of the men. As soon as I landed, the leader cried out.

"QUIET!" Everyone went silent as he looked around. "THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A TRICK TO MAKE US PANIC SO DON'T FALL FOR IT AND FIND THE ONE WHO'S DOING THIS SINCE HE MUST BE HERE SOMEWHERE SO START LOOKING!" I chuckled gaining the attention of those who were near me.

"You won't need to look far." All eyes turned to me. "I'm done hiding." I then delivered a swift kick to the nearest guy, sending him flying back and into two other men and as soon as they hit the ground, the others shook out of their shock before their leader yelled out.

"GET HIM YOU IDIOTS!" The men charged and I smirked since it'd been a while since I last had a good real fight like this, and I was going to enjoy it.

10 minutes later

I was still surrounded by men but now they were unconscious, tied up with my bola, pinned to the wall, groaning in pain or being pulled in by my shadow wolves except for the leader of the bandits. He was currently being pinned to the ground by Toothless who was glaring down at him while I kneeled next to him as he glared up at me, but I had questions that I wanted the answers to. I looked at him and said.

"Alright, I'm going to ask you some questions and I would recommend you tell me nothing but the truth since if you lie, I will know and I will make you regret it." Toothless growled in his face and he just glared back but I could see a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Brunt the bludgeon isn't afraid of you."

I raised an eyebrow while thinking back to things I'd heard at the local bars I hanged out at where my bounty hunting jobs were and thought if I'd heard that name before. It was then I snapped my fingers remembering how he was a wanted pirate who'd gone missing for months and was presumed dead since few who went after him didn't come back. From those who did come back, everyone knew he had a small army under his command and was a master strategist when it came to attacking foes. Furthermore, he had a fierce reputation for bludgeoning his victims till their heads were nothing, but a small puddle of goo filled with shattered pieces of skull. He'd then drag the bodies behind his ship creating a trail of blood in the water that would draw in sharks and fish that would eat the bodies, causing more blood to flow out scaring a lot of sailors and causing a lot of fear across the sea. I shook my head to get out of my thoughts before looking down at him and said.

"Let's start with how your men got into the village and stole their sword." He spat at me, but I kept a straight face and signaled Toothless who let out a growl and although I could tell Brunt was scared, he was not going to show it.

"If you think your beast is going to get me to talk than you're stupider than I thought." I smirked.

"You seem to not understand something." I began readying my prosthetics black smog and had it swarm my forearm. "My dragon isn't the most terrifying thing about me." I grabbed him by the neck and let the smog surround him, filling him with fear as his worst nightmares were thrown into his face for a few seconds before I pulled the smog back. "Now how's about you answer my questions."

I smiled as he began answering my questions the second, they were asked and from this I learnt he had someone on the inside, how he had no intention of returning the sword and learnt a few other things. What caught my attention the most though was the reason he'd disappeared is because some bandit leader sent one of their top men to recruit him and his men to serve under their command. When he refused, he was kidnapped and locked up somewhere for months, stuck in a small room with no way out, no light and nobody to talk to other than the other prisoners through the wall. The other prisoners were also big-time bandit leaders who'd been captured when they refused to serve this mysterious but powerful figure. Apparently, he was missing for two months before he was let out and when he did, he was given a front row seat to what happens to those who disrespect the leader. The one who had come to him with the offer handcuffed one of the lords' arms behind his back, put a bag over his head before placing him in a chest, closing it and then dumping it overboard and watching it sink as the guy inside screamed for help.

After that, nobody turned down the offer and just did as they were told, receiving orders from messengers and never meeting their leader face to face, not even knowing who they were besides the name they go by being 'The Leviathan'. I knew from my research that the actual leviathan was not a sea beast to mess with which implies they wanted to send a message to others that they were not to be messed with. This just made me more curious to know who these guys were since besides that; Brunt was only able to tell me that they also had a taste for ancient tribal artifacts and had ordered Brunt to get her the sword and he figured he should also ransom it a bit to get a little extra for all his hard work and he figured he and his men could use the extra stuff for the coming winters. I sighed and ran hand through my hair knowing that this leviathan guy was going to be a headache in the future but for now, I needed to get these guys and the sword back to Chief Frode. With that done, I pulled him into my shadow and then brought out my spiderpack before bringing out some of my serving automatons and began gathering everything up into it.

Morning

It's been hours since I captured Brunt and his men and since then I've looted their entire base of everything of value, finding treasures, supplies and so much more. When I get home, I knew I was going to be busy all over the house since I'd need to organize all the items with books and scrolls going to my library, art pieces going to my art gallery, weapons to the smothering smoke breaths or armory, supplies into storage and of course, treasures into the vault. It was going to take a while to deal with though since there were a lot, but I wasn't complaining since with the winters coming, it wouldn't hurt to have a couple of extra supplies for not only my tribe but also for Berks allies. After I'd looted the entire base of everything it was worth, I used my locust flail to destroy the entire base by having the locusts devour the wooden supports and main walls causing the entire building and bridges to come down. Once that was done, I brought my ship out and loaded them all up into the cells since it would surprise a lot of people if I just brought them all out of my shadow. As for my trophy from this battle, after I branded the back of Brunts neck, I took his bludgeon prosthetic and put it in my spiderpack so I could put it in the trophy room later. On the way back though, I took Brunt into my shadows crystal room where I did a proper interrogation of him and found out who the traitor was along with a bit more on this Leviathan person but although I was able to know who the traitor was, the Leviathan remained a mystery.

Now, I was back in the village run by chief Frode and in their great hall while Brunt and his men were taken to their dungeon cells and the traitor was captured and put into the dungeon until he could receive a trial. Chief Frode was sitting across from me with an uneasy look on his face while the local blacksmith and top fisherman were sitting on either side of him giving him a look that clearly promised pain for some reason. I honestly did not understand why since I'd returned the sword, dropped off the bandits and he'd paid me meaning our business was done but he'd asked me to stay for a few more minutes since he needed to tell me something. It was easy to tell he was nervous about something and had been quivering for the last three minutes while mumbling like an idiot instead of telling me what he wanted. I sighed and shook my head and said.

"Chief Frode, if you have another job for me than just tell me and we can discuss the price." He shook his head.

"No, it's not a job exactly but it is something you need to know."

"Then please tell me since I have things to do back home." I could tell he was nervous and by the sound of two feet kicking something and the wince the chief gave, it was easy to tell that the two at his sides were running out of patience and wanted to get it over with.

"Well lad, there's something I've been needing to tell you and well I've been nervous and wanted to honor the wishes of an old friend who is no longer with us, but I think it's time you knew." I nodded and waited for him to tell me what this big secret was.

AN: And a cliffhanger even though it's been a while but, in my defense, I was on vacation and suffering a bit of writer's block but I'm back. Sadly, even with the help of my friend 'Red dragon Emperor', the next chapter will be a while since we're working out something for the next chapter and with both of us being busy, it's taking time and could be a while before my next post so sorry but please be patient. Also for those of you who are having trouble picturing the gifts, images will be on pinterest page soon.

Also, to 'God of the Challenge' I'm not going to quit my job over one rough week since I think it's safe to say all of us in the working world get those from time to time and besides that, jobs are scarce here in South Africa so if I quit, finding one could take months and finding one where they're willing to put up with my anger issues would take even longer.