"It's a moonstone." The lens sparkling in the afternoon light. "It's cut at an odd angle that the colors shift like an opal or a quartz. But it's the milkiness and hue in the rest of it that truly sets it apart."
"Okay, and what does that tell us?" Fishlegs looked about the scattered notes on the table, making a list of materials as per the schematic of the Dragon Eye.
The scholar was focused on the array of colors dancing about the walls. Slender fingers turning it this way and that, bright eyes watching their every move. His appearance fitting his profession, slender build, and a curious glint in his eyes. He did not fit the warrior style and was thoroughly content with that. Preferring to stay as far away from the battlefield as he could.
His gaze never swayed as he answered them.
"It tells us that this lens is most likely of Roman origin. The Roman's often use this particular stone in jewelry, in devotion to their goddess Diana, believing that wearing the stone would bring them love, wealth, success, and so forth." Skaulder trailed off, jotting down a few observations on a scrap peice of parchment.
The twins were spending their time figuring out the best place to display the more prominent pieces they brought back from the Edge. They had managed to wrangle Snotlout into helping, telling him he had a keen eye for these sorts of things. And of course, Snotlouts pride would not let him see until much later that he had been tricked into doing most of the work.
Fishlegs, Eret, and Hiccup had spent their first day back on Berk rummaging through Skaulders belongings, since the scholar was gone on an expedition but was to return the following day. He was a little off-put at finding his home in such disarray, but once he heard their reasoning, he couldn't fault them.
He went to the far wall, opening a hidden alcove in the boards to produce the desired notes, claiming that they had asked him to keep it secret. They then proceeded well into the night, filling in both Skaulder of recent events and Eret of past ones until everyone was caught up.
Hiccup greatly respected the scholar. He was a wealth of worldly knowledge, but his remark didn't seem to fit with what they already knew about the subject at hand.
"But the Dragon Eye isn't Roman."
"It could be either an idea inspired by the Romans to delve information secretly, or it could have been commissioned by the Romans but never delivered, as possible theories. Though you are correct, the Dragon Eye was not crafted by the Romans." Skaulder set the lens on the table as he gathered a few scattered notes, keeping them together. "The stone is certainly Roman. Any moonstones you find this far north are traded, not native. I can't find any engravings on the stone itself, much like the other lenses. So we will have to wait until a replica is built to see if it has anything on it."
"But each lens was crafted for a specific class of dragon, that only their fire could reveal the inscriptions." Hiccup joined the others at the table, looking over the various notes of dragon classes. "With all known classes accounted for, finding a new class of dragon that would fit to this particular stone could be next to impossible."
"It could also be a joint ability between all classes, as one possibility. What with the array of colors in the stone, it could be that, with a combination of fire from all classes, its secrets could be revealed."
"Being that it's a moonstone, it could also revolve around the moon's light or even dragons that rely on moonlight." Fishlegs double-checked his list until he was certain he had everything written down. "Like Skaulder said, until we have the replica built to test it, we'll never know. The chamber where we found it left no clues as to its origin or use. We'll just have to go by trial and error."
"Indeed, Fishlegs." Skaulder took the list, scanning over its contents. "There are a small handful of merchants arriving tomorrow that may have some of these items I can barter for. But it's such an intricate design, I cannot rightfully say how long it will take to craft. Even with all your craftsman efforts combined." Taking a blank sheet, he made a copy of the list. "I must admit, that hidden alcove you designed worked almost too well, it would seem."
"All good sailors must know how to keep secrets in small spaces." Eret shrugged at the compliment. Earning subtle looks of curious disbelief.
"You designed that alcove? With the hidden locking mechanism and everything?" Hiccup was a bit surprised but equally impressed.
"I thought I'd told you I was responsible for the designing and crafting of those dragon traps Drago used. It was one of the reasons why he spared my life." Eret's smugg grin shifted to a slight grimace at the still disheveled home they were sitting in. "Although, I will admit, I had completely forgotten about the alcove until Skaulder mentioned it."
"I suppose we should help clean this up before heading back to report our findings."
"No, no." Skaulder protested as they got up from their seats. "I know this wasn't your intention, but my notes are in a meticulous order. I will take care of this and look about for any materials that can be used in the meantime. But take a copy of the list, should the defenders have anything of use you can bring back with you."
Skaulder all but pushed them from his home, eager to reorganize his recorded thoughts. Leaving the three young men a little baffled at the suddenness of their dismissal. But they decided it was best to just let him be.
"If you two don't mind staying here, giving Skaulder a hand where needed, I would appreciate it. There's no point in all of us going just for this update." Hiccup checked the buckles and straps of the saddle, waking Toothess from his comfortable nap in the afternoon sun.
"I know you're now the Chief and everything, Hiccup, but I'm coming with you. It's been gnawing away at me, not knowing if Millie is alright or not. I need to be there to see for myself." Meatlug nuzzled her rider, sensing his unease since the moment they left the defenders three days ago. "Plus, I can help you look for some of the items on the list."
"It's alright, Fishlegs. I get it." Hiccup gave his old friend a comforting pat on the shoulder. "But I trust that she's doing just fine. She's in good hands."
The two were all set to take off when Ruffnut called their attention, or at least to one in particular.
"Hey, Eret. Where would this fit best in our house?" She stood before a rather large and obscure wood carving that held a variety of weapons. Something of hers they picked up off the Edge on their way back to Berk. "Outside by the front door or inside by the main fireplace?" She thought a moment before answering her own question. "No, you're right, we'll put it on the roof so everyone can see it."
Tuffnut gagged at his sister's actions while Snotlout fought to regain her attention. Mentioning his already built home where she could proudly place anything she wanted. But it all went unanswered.
Eret paled, nearly spurring the dragon as he lept into the saddle. Hiccup stifled his laughter, watching this intimidating warrior turn into a frightened child, all at the sound of a young woman less than half his size. A panicked look in his eyes as he addressed the young chief.
"If she's staying here, then I'm coming with you." He took off haphazardly, with the others close behind.
Hiccup couldn't contain himself, letting out a bark of laughter when Eret shook, trying to rid himself of the uneasy feeling crawling about his skin.
"Eret, Son of Eret! Afraid of a woman!" Hiccup crowed, much to Eret's annoyance.
"She is no ordinary woman. I'm not even sure she's human."
"She is something else." Fishlegs sighed defeatedly. Ever since Ruffnut first laid eyes upon the trapper, nothing he did could regain her attention.
"I am sorry, Fishlegs. I have tried to dissuade her, but nothing seems to work. If anything, she just sinks her claws in further."
"That's Ruffnut for you. When she has her mind set on something, she doesn't let go easily." Fishlegs mind was drawn back to that day they were unofficially married.
"If ever." Hiccup quipped. The only comfort he could give was that, knowing Ruffnut, she would eventually let go once she lost interest. But she could be painfully persistent.
"If I could turn her attention to you, I would. I swear to you I have no interest in taking her from you." Fishlegs already knew that. Everyone seemed to know that, except for Ruffnut. But he accepted Eret's words anyway.
"Do you have any interests?" Hiccup glanced at Eret curiously.
"At the moment, no. I am content at where I am in life and the friends I have made."
Hiccup studied his face, seeing nothing to suggest otherwise, but there was a subtle feeling in his gut that there might be something the trapper was not telling them.
"If you say so, chief-ling."
Eret bristled, his eyes hardening as he turned to look at Hiccup.
"Wait, is it true?" Hiccup asked, Eret turning away from him. "I thought she was just being cheeky."
"Who was?"
"Millie." Erets brows furrowed as Hiccup continued. "After we retrieved the lens, she referred to you as a chief-ling after I explained to her what type of bird you were calling her. I thought she was just teasing to get back at you, I had no idea it was true."
"I'm not sure how she would know unless she's from my home." Eret was rigid, not prepared to divulge this information, but now left with no choice. "Even if she was from one of the farms, which is on the far boarders, she would've at least known the name of my father. Who is still the reigning chief last I heard, although we rarely went that far out. And, as we share a name, it would make sense how she could make the guess. But it would still leave so many questions unanswered, but there's no other way she could know unless she was there."
It was quiet for a time. Each processing this new information in their own way. Hiccup knew well enough the pressures of being the heir, of being in line for a powerful position you never wanted. But Eret was a natural leader and seemed to thrive under the circumstances. It didn't make sense why he wouldn't want people to know his true lineage.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Hiccup asked slowly, his curiosity getting the better of him.
Eret heaved a deep sigh, slumping back in the saddle.
"When I was a boy, there was a dragon raid where I had managed to bring one down just outside of the woods bordering the village. It was a remarkable beast, one I'd never seen before. But it matched perfectly to the stories my grandfather told. A rare dragon that my people hadn't seen in well over an age. And I brought it down." Eret could see it all replaying before his minds eye.
"I just stared at it. This incredible creature trapped under a net. I'd killed dragons before, but this was one that could change my life. And I was torn. I was good at what I did, but there was always room for improvement, in my fathers eyes. To kill this creature would grant me an honor that none could surpass, and I could finally be the son my father would be proud of. It would be what anyone else would have done. But I didn't."
"My reason for sparing it varied from yours. See, we'd been crippled by several successive raids from a neighboring clan, leaving us with little gold, little stores, and very poor defenses. If I could keep this dragon alive and trade it off, we could hopefully barter enough to resupply what we'd lost and reinforce our defenses. To me, putting the people first was more important than being the subject of my father's pride. He did not see it quite like I did. I still went through with it, finding the highest bidder and almost doubling what we'd lost. At seeing my accomplishments, he told me I made a decent decision. The closest thing to him admitting he was wrong and giving an apology."
"My mother tried to convince him I had the makings of a chief, my father firmly disagreed, saying I wasn't ready. So I gathered a crew and set sail at eighteen, all to prove myself to him. Problem was, he was right. I wasn't ready, and I still don't believe I am. There is so much left to do, and I don't intend on going back until I've got it sorted."
"What kind of dragon was it?" Eret couldn't help the smile tugging at his lips at Fishlegs one tracked curiosity.
"I don't think we ever had a name for it. My grandfather called it a Scruffy Monger, but it doesn't seem to fit." Fishlegs had taken out his journal, waiting for details to compare. "If anything, it was similar to a Wholly Howler, as you call them. A dense mane of sorts around a thick neck. Two sets of wings, with four legs. From what I could guess, it was still fairly young, but already as big as a full grown Nightmare. And the noise it made was bone chilling, like some kind of chittering."
Fishlegs was writing down all he could, drawing rough sketches and circling the one Eret confirmed looked the most like it. Their destination coming on the horizon.
"It was strange though," Eret continued, "all the stories of these dragons had them as vicious, man eaters. Relentless and cunning, hunting us down just for the sport of it. But it just lay there. Almost peaceful. Watching me calmly as I paced before it, trying to think of what to do with it."
"It's almost ironic, isn't it."
The wind carried with it the noise of the island, most particularly a rather harsh and demanding barking of orders that could only come from one certain Berserker king.
Upon closer inspection, the island was a flurry of activity, with Dagur in the center of it all, forcing one defender to ground as he cursed at them.
"Then get on your belly and crawl! Leave no stone unturned, and I mean that literally." He gave a swift kick, and the defender went sprawling face first into the dirt. Scuttling away when Sleuther unfurled his three tails with a low hiss. The defender ducked behind the trio when they landed, hoping to get out of Dagur's line of sight. Heather was pouring over the map, listening to a scout whisper in her ear, also hoping to stay out of range from their king.
"What's going on? What happened?" Hiccup scrambling off his saddle, stopping Dagur from strangling a defender to death
"She's gone." Heather said. Adding another mark to map.
"Who?" Hiccup stood between Dagur and the choking soldier. Doing his best to de-escelate the situation.
"Millie. Since this morning. We can't find her anywhere. I'm sure one of these defenders saw something, but no one will talk. Yet." Dagur ground out.
"She can't have gotten far."
"That's what we thought, but there's been no trace." Heather huffed.
Stormfly came crashing through the brush, eager and excited as she spotted her target. Erets commands fell of deaf ears as the Nadder sprang upon him, knocking him to the ground. Nuzzling him and squaking proudly, sitting atop him as she had found what she'd been looking for. Astrid was breathless as she followed out of the brush. Although happy to see that her dragon was no longer running ahead of her, Eret was not who she had sent the dragon out to find.
"What about the dragons? They haven't picked up anything?" Hiccup cautiously made his way over to the map to look for himself once he was sure no defender was within reach of the Berserker.
"I tried getting Stormfly to track her, but she's been off." It was a struggle, but Astrid managed to get Stormfly off of Eret. "All tracking dragons are off. Their nests were tampered with. The hay was dusted with something that's messing with their senses. She hasn't been able to track anything." Astrid handed Erets furs back to him, as that's what she'd been using to track Millie with since she was last seen resting on them. "It's gotten better, but it could take a few more days to fully leave her system."
"What happened, exactly."
"She was fully conscious the day before." Heather leaned against the table. "She was moving about on her own but still resting most of the time. She would wake up throughout the night to relieve herself, as I heard her do just that early this morning. I swore I saw her come back and lay down again, but she was gone when the sun rose and we haven't seen her since."
"It had to have been one of our own." Dagur paced evenly, glaring down anyone who happened to make eye contact with him. "There are several other items missing, mostly my things taken from my home, as well as one of our ships. But apparently, no one saw anything." He raised his voice near the end, seeing the soldiers tremble told him they heard him loud and clear. But still, no one came forward.
Fishlegs began pacing, fretting over all the possible outcomes. And even with Heather's words of comfort, they did little to dissuade the thoughts of horrible outcomes that now swam about his mind.
Eret held out the furs before Skullcrusher. The dragon huffing and grunting heavily. Astrid watched his moves, not wanting to discourage the attempt.
"It's been half a day." Astrid took a step towards the two, the Dragon sniffing his rider, then the furs again. "Are you sure there'd be anything left for Skullcrusher to pick up? She was so small. I can't imagine she'd leave a strong enough scent."
"I say this only to you," he said softly, "I may not know as much about these dragons are you lot do, but I've learned well enough to never underestimate them."
The Rumblehorn grunted, snorting heavily he turned his nose to the ground, sniffing about their feet before his head shot up, his eyes focused as he reared onto his hind legs. The dragon took three long, deep breaths, letting loose a gutteral cry before he got back onto all fours, bristling at Eret.
"He's got her." Eret called out. The others hardly had time to process what he said before he had climbed atop the saddle, the dragon taking it as his que to take off.
They scrambled to follow suit, with Astrid being right behind him. Hiccup and Heather didn't take long to catch up. Fishegs was left behind, his mind so focused on other things he didn't even notice they had left. Dagur stayed behind as well to ensure no one tried anything if his back was turned.
"How do you know he's tracking her? He could have picked up any of our scents." Heather called out from behind, still a little unsure if he could be trusted.
"If that were true, he would have stayed on the island." Astrid assured. "He would have done what Stormfly did and just run in circles."
"Only, he'd leave less bruises." Eret grumbled.
They raced over the waters, passing small clusters of sea-stacks and random sandbars with ruined ships. An island coming into view, with several boats dotting about, going to and from the busy port. It was a struggle to bring the dragons to a stop at realizing what waters they were treading so eagerly. And so they hovered, staring at a familiar chunk of land that left a sinking feeling in their guts.
"Auction Island." Astrid cursed.
"This is not good." Hiccups mind was now a wirlpool of distressing thoughts. Finding Millie here would be like finding a needle in a haystack. If she was even still here.
"Do you even know what you're doing? Our dragons can't go anywhere near that island without being shot down." Heather hissed.
"We'll just have to go on foot and see for ourselves." Eret studied the port, each boat that was there and which ones were familiar to him. "It shouldn't be too difficult. I've dealt with most of the traders here."
"Oh, that's very comforting, trapper." Heather all but spit at him.
"It means, even if she's not here, someone knows where she went."
"And how do you propose we get such valuable information?"
Eret scanned about the horizon, searching for any far-off ships that were leaving with a good haul.
"Everyone has a price." He muttered.
"Let's head back to the Isle of the Defenders." Hiccup did his best to keep his voice steady when his mind was not. "The sooner we get back and on a boat, the sooner we can figure out a plan."
It wasn't a comforting feeling, turning their back on a friend in need. But they could do more harm if they charged in as they were. And so they turned about, heading back to the defenders, hoping they weren't too late.