When morning came over Athens, the trio started heading down to the coast. Without having proper practice, it would have been too dangerous to fly on Toothless and they had barely managed to keep the Pegasus on the large vulture's back during the first flight. It was nothing that they wanted to repeat just in case they were met with less success. This also was perfect because they needed to be on the water anyway. The team approached the docks, seeing several ships. One looked large enough to accommodate them, so Dagur pointed to it.

"Let's try that one. We'll ride with them."

"If they don't mind," Hiccup added.

Dagur sighed. "Fine, if they don't mind."

They started getting closer and saw a crowd of people. Before they got too close, Dagur glanced at his friends.

"I'm going to say that my name's Lysander when we introduce ourselves."

"Why?" Snotlout asked. "Wouldn't saying you're Ares give us a better chance of them letting us travel with them?"

"It would probably do the opposite. They'd let us on, but they'd be paranoid the whole time."

He could see that the cousins did not like this idea, but they did not argue. They reached the ship, which was tended to by many sailors. Dagur approached one and tapped his shoulder.

"Could you give us a ride?" he asked.

The man looked at the team and scratched his chin. "Quite the irregular group you have here. Where are you headed?"

"We just need to be on the sea," Snotlout admitted. "So, wherever you're going is fine."

"That sounds simple enough."

Hiccup's eyes widened. "That was easier than I expected."

The man gestured to Toothless. "You have a Pegasus. I've always wanted to see one of those. I love seeing new beasts, so since you have one, you're welcome aboard. It'll give me time to learn more about their behaviors."

He began walking up the ramp and the team followed him.

"Who are you, by the way?" he asked. "If we're going to take a voyage together, we should probably know each other's names."

"I'm Daedalus, this is Heracles, the Pegasus is Toothless, and this is Lysander."

The sailor dipped his head and went to the helm. "I'm Jason, but my friends call me Oswald sometimes, so don't get confused if you hear one of the sailors shout that name out."

He called down to his group, getting them to board the ship as well. When they were all there, he had one man hoist the mainsail. Then the ship was off, cutting through the waves.

"We're explorers," Oswald said. "Argonauts to be more specific."

"What do you explore for?" Hiccup asked.

"Anything really. I've always loved being on the sea. As long as I'm on the water, I feel free. Being on land is so restricting. Why stay there when you can go sailing? So, we travel to new places and I write about what I see. The adventures have been pretty interesting." He glanced over his shoulder at the friends. "But I'll admit that in all my travels, just needing to be out on the sea is a rare goal. Are you like me?"

"You could sort of say that," Snotlout commented.

He glanced at the others. None of them were sure how much they wanted to disclose. Oswald seemed to sense this even though he was not fazed. He shrugged slightly.

"Well, adventure is a word that presents itself in many ways. Whatever you're doing, I'm sure it's intriguing."

There was a brief silence as the waves went against the ship. Dagur watched the group working the ship. They all made sure everything was operating as it should. It was clear that they had been doing this for a while.

"Have any of you noticed monsters?" the redhead asked.

"Monsters? A few. I've fought harpies in the past. Normally, there are dangers of the sea like sirens. Beautiful voices, but they drive you mad when you listen for too long. Sometimes, we have to deal with Charybdis. Outside of that, not really." The sailor's eyes brightened excitedly and he held up a finger. "Oh, one sailor I used to know got killed by Scylla, but that's always a risk when you're out here."

Horror flashed on the cousins' faces.

"Then why would you want to stay out here so much?" Snotlout inquired. "It seems a lot easier to die than on land."

"It is," Oswald conceded. "Even still, it's so much more fascinating to me. I can't explain it. I just love to see the world. Without a Pegasus to fly on, I'm not left with too many options."

Dagur proudly looked at Hiccup. "Well, you might not have a Pegasus, but Daedalus here can invent wings."

This caused Oswald's eyes to widen. "Really?"

Hiccup nodded. "I've just made a set for myself and one wing for Toothless so far."

The man peeked around, getting a closer look at the horse. "I didn't notice that before. Impressive. Did Hephaestus help you with that?"

"No, we haven't met him."

"Hmm, Athena then? Heracles looks like a warrior. I'm sure she'd also enjoy sending a Pegasus into battle."

"We just met, but we didn't know her before," Snotlout said.

"It's pretty amazing that you're doing all this without any divine intervention."

"I wouldn't go that far," Hiccup commented. "Ares has been helping us."

Suddenly, Oswald laughed. It made the cousins frown.

"What's so funny?" Snotlout asked.

The man slowly stopped his laughter. "Wait, you're being serious?"

"Yeah, he's been helping us."

"Odd. I just assumed you were joking. The rest of the Argonauts and I aren't really a fan of his." Oswald lowered his voice and leaned over. "It's most likely risky to talk this way, but I've always thought that he was a crazy brute. You wouldn't catch me in one of his temples. I rarely even say his name in case that catches his attention." He stood straight up again. "If he's helping you, fine, but be careful. Immortals like him, they're unreliable. The one constant in war is that there's suffering. Destruction too. I can't stand it personally. It might help you to remember that."

Hiccup and Snotlout struggled to keep from frowning. Even Toothless seemed upset with the sailor, but he never noticed. He just looked back at the seas. Hiccup stepped forward and Dagur put a hand on his shoulder. Turning, the inventor saw him shaking his head. Hiccup reluctantly stopped and the group went off to the side of the ship.

"Is that why you're Lysander right now?" Snotlout asked.

"Yeah," Dagur said, nodding.

"We could've told him how wrong he was," Hiccup commented.

"He would've thought you were lying."

"We still could have tried," Snotlout insisted. "He should learn that he can't just start insulting immortals whenever he feels like it."

Dagur let out a fast laugh and leaned on the balcony of the vessel. As he looked out, the cousins thought his eyes seemed sad.

"I don't care," he said lightly. "It's been this way for so long. You don't deal in wars and expect to be anybody's favorite."

The cousins were not satisfied by that, but there was little else for them to do. Dagur started to peer down at the water.

"I think this is my stop."

Snotlout's eyes widened. "Here? I know Poseidon is the sea king, but he doesn't have a normal entrance to his palace or anything?"

"Nope."

"So, you're just going to jump—"

Snotlout stopped talking when the immortal leapt off the side of the ship.

"I'll take that as a 'yes,'" he said, sighing.

"Good thing no one noticed," Hiccup mentioned, glancing around nervously.

The Argonauts were still too busy with their work around the ship. None of them saw the redhead go overboard. Soon enough, he was completely out of sight. Immortals did not need to breathe. Dagur had also always been a strong swimmer. Even if water was not part of his domain, it was a skill he cultivated. He swam down further in the sea, watching as the light faded. It became dark and the deeper he got, the more the colors changed. Still, he had further to go. The war god swam until he saw a large building. It was a grand palace—nearly one to match that on Mount Olympus. He swam over, seeing bottom feeders by the entrance.

"I need to talk to Poseidon," he stated.

They did not seem to like this new guest, but they also were not in a position to stop him. Dagur swam past the marine life, entering the palace. Once he did, he was brought into a large air bubble. He felt heavy stepping out of the water. The immortal left soggy footsteps behind him on his way to the throne room. When he got there, he was met with a snarl. A large god with a dark beard was seated.

"Why are you here?" he questioned. "You're getting my floor wet."

"You live in the sea. It's a miracle that it wasn't wet when I showed up."

The other immortal's eyes narrowed. "How'd you even get in?"

"You don't have great security," Dagur commented. "Catfish aren't the scariest fish in the sea."

"I don't normally need security. Few individuals can reach my palace. Even fewer are stupid enough to try."

"Hey, I've always liked being rare."

Dagur grinned and Poseidon glared at him. The smile faded as his expression became slightly more serious.

"I did come here for a reason, though, Al."

"Don't call me that."

"Fine, Poseidon." He said the name dramatically. "Have you heard anything about the mortals I've been around?"

"Nearly all of the Olympians know now. What about them?"

"I just wasn't sure if you knew anybody who might not like them. Eurymedon seemed to really be looking forward to their deaths."

Poseidon got quiet, then shook his head. "I can't think of anyone who'd waste their time with those two besides you. Do you have any guesses?"

Dagur shrugged. "Not really. I'm just asking around."

"What an efficient plan," the larger god snarked. "Do you know if they had any connection to Eurymedon before you got involved?"

"I didn't think to ask."

"That's not surprising."

"I guess they might have met him before. It's weird, though. This other guy, a human king this time, had one of the orbs that I'm not used to mortals having. Then Eurymedon vanished another day."

"Maybe he was moving faster than you realized."

"Yeah, I guess he could have."

Poseidon leaned back in his seat, irritated. "It's nice to know that you put so much thought into all of this before coming to me."

"It doesn't look like you were that busy. What do you have to do all day? Pet guppies?"

The sea king's eyes blazed and his right hand gripped the armrest of the throne tightly. Some of it broke in his grip. Dagur noticed this, but he pretended not to.

"This domain doesn't represent all my skills. There's more that I can do. More than you could ever imagine." He started to calm down, hand relaxing. "Tell the cousins that they should stop what they're doing if they don't want to get themselves hurt. Otherwise, there's no more advice I can give you."

Dagur watched his expression closely, then stepped back. "Fair enough." He turned to start leaving. "See you around, Al."

"That's 'Poseidon' to you, Ares!"

Dagur chuckled at how much he had annoyed the other immortal. He returned to the water and started swimming back to the ship. The cousins looked intrigued when they saw him.

"How'd it go?" Hiccup asked.

"He's in on it," Dagur answered, wringing out his braid.

"How do you know?" Snotlout inquired.

"He's always been a power-hungry immortal. When I pushed him today, he nearly yelled that he was bitter about just having power over the sea and wanted to stir up some trouble."

Hiccup's eyes widened. "I couldn't imagine thinking that power over the sea wasn't enough."

"Poseidon's reedy. Somehow, he's friends with Zeus, but I don't trust him. He'd turn us all mortal and kill us if he got the chance. Then he'd have Mount Olympus for himself."

"I wonder how he'd get more power from this," the boy wondered, brows furrowed.

The friends got quiet, all trying to come up with this answer. None of them could.

"Do you think he knows you suspect him?" Snotlout asked.

"No," Dagur said, shaking his head. "He thinks I'm an idiot. An annoying idiot, but still not anyone he'd view as a threat." He began to laugh. "Every once in a while, I stop by just to irritate him. I'd hate to lose my reputation. It helps in times like this when I can get information since he'd never expect me to think more about what he said."

"I guess that's a good thing about being underestimated," Hiccup commented.

"The best part."

"So, what now?" Snotlout asked. "It's not like we can just put cloths in the sea and dry it up to remove his power."

"No, but this is definitely where Toothless can come in handy," Dagur revealed.

The Pegasus was thinking the same thing. He went forward, nudging Hiccup with his head. The boy started to realize what they meant.

"If Poseidon's against us, then sea travel could be dangerous," he said.

"Exactly. So, what better to have than a flying horse?"

Snotlout looked excited. "Alright. That works for me. I've always thought sailing was too slow anyway. The next time Jason stops, we can get off and start practicing with Toothless's new wing."

The team stayed with the sailors until they reached a smaller island. Lowering the anchor, the Argonauts disembarked to rest and get some fresh supplies.

"Thanks for letting us join you," Hiccup said. "We're going to be heading off now."

Before they could go, Oswald went over to Toothless.

"Would you all mind if I sketched him really quickly?" he asked.

"That's fine," Hiccup said.

"Great!"

The man brought out a journal and began to draw.

"You know," he commented, starting by drawing the head, "I've heard about an inventor who made some glasses for a gorgon and a couple warriors who defended Ephyra from giants. Those people wouldn't happen to be you, would they?"

Smiles crossed the cousins' faces.

"Yeah," Snotlout said. "We've been trying to help out."

"Wonderful. The world needs more heroes like you."

When the sailor was done with his drawing, he closed his journal and smiled.

"Good luck out there."

"Thanks!" the cousins responded.

They left the ship, going deep into the land. Their goal was to stay far away from the trees in case anything went wrong. When they found a nice spot, Toothless stopped and looked back at Hiccup. The horse seemed so tall that it was difficult getting on the saddle. Automatically, Dagur picked Hiccup up. It happened a little faster than the inventor could process. The next thing he knew, he was on the horse.

"Oh, thanks."

Dagur grinned and Snotlout's eyes were wide with eagerness. Hiccup put his prosthetic in the part of the saddle which would help the wing move. Taking a breath, he patted the Pegasus's head.

"Okay, Bud," he said, "let's give this another try."

Toothless flapped his wings, now with Hiccup's aid. His hooves left the ground and he started to pull himself and the inventor into the air. A gentle breeze blew Hiccup's hair and he grinned.

"It's working!" he cheered.

He adjusted the wing slightly, helping Toothless start to turn to the left.

"Let's try sharper turns," he suggested.

The horse was already one step ahead, preparing to do just that. He let out a small warble, suggesting that Hiccup hold on. The boy did, holding onto his flowing mane as the horse flew faster. It was nothing like flying with the wax wings. This was exhilarating in a way that was incomparable. The way the Pegasus flew around the island was amazing. It caught the attention of the Argonauts who cheered in response to the sight. Pride flashed in Toothless's eyes and he flew faster before going directly above the island with a calm soar. Hiccup sighed peacefully.

"I could get used to this," he admitted.

Toothless could as well. He almost felt like he was flying faster with his new friend's help. The team stayed on the island for a few more days, just to be sure that the wing was working as it should. On the last day, as they were eating some roasted goat, Snotlout looked up at the sky.

"Toothless is really cool," he said, causing the Pegasus to look proud, "but I wonder if I should have my own flying thingy. We all might need to split up for a mission, so I wouldn't be able to ride on his back or Dagur's feathery one."

"That's a good point," Hiccup admitted. "I could make you some wings."

"No offense, but I'd rather be able to talk to whatever's flying me around. It looks like you and Toothless are becoming really close."

The Pegasus and inventor could not deny that. Even at that moment, Hiccup was sitting with his back resting against the horse's side and Toothless's head was resting on him.

"It really is a lot more special this way," Hiccup conceded. He started to look thoughtful. "What kind of animal did you want to find?"

"That's the thing, I don't know. I'm guessing we won't be able to find another Pegasus around here anytime soon, but I'd rather not get one of those harpies Jason was fighting."

"Ooh!" Dagur exclaimed, standing up.

"What?" the cousins asked.

"I know what you could have."

Snotlout stood up as well, excited. "What is it?"

"Well, the real issue is 'where is it,' but I think I remember where I last saw some." He grinned widely. "Are you all ready for another trip?"

In response, Toothless got up and the cousins leapt onto his back. They had another mission. Next stop: Snotlout's new flying friend.

Lysander is actually the name of a skilled Spartan naval commander. This part isn't even mythical. He was apparently so good that he got the Athenians to surrender, ending the Peloponnesian War. Now, for the mythological side of things, Jason of the Argonauts was the heir to Iolcos. Interestingly, he married a sorceress by the name of Medea. He is mostly known for his quest for the Golden Fleece. At one point, he went to the isle of Lemnos. The women there had neglected to worship Aphrodite, so the goddess cursed them to smell so badly that their husbands went to find concubines in Thrace. The Argonauts, evidently being touch-starved sailors, didn't care and sired the "Minyae" with the ladies here. Heracles was really grossed out by this and made them leave. So, he did meet Jason, but it's under very different circumstances. Jason also opposed Zeus by stopping harpies who were supposed to steal food from a king who was becoming emaciated. After some other battles, Jason finally found that fleece when he arrived in Colchis and after tending to a field with fire-breathing oxen and fighting a sleepless dragon.