Several weeks passed after the whole 'Viggo Fiasco,' as the Dragon Riders, now including yours truly, had dubbed it. Hiccup and his friends had happily accepted my request to stay on the Edge. Well, maybe not 'happily.' Fishlegs and the twins had no issue with me, and I think Hiccup was still a little weary around me after watching me butcher those Hunters. Snotlout doesn't like me because my presence threatens his masculinity, and Astrid, while being friendly enough, doesn't fully trust me just yet. I think she's decided to give me the benefit of the doubt, but maintain a close watch.
Building a hut for me didn't take too long. It was located right next to Astrid's, just below it actually. My hut was built against a natural wall of rock, and the platform above said wall was where Astrid's was built. With Hiccup's help, I was able to construct a bunk bed, allowing for more efficient use of space in the relatively small hut. Beneath the bunk bed, I had a desk for writing and drawing, and on the other side of the room, I had a workbench for constructing arrows, sharpening my weapons, or any other projects I might want to work on. There was also a massive slab of rock for Nightshade to sleep on. Arrow tended to switch between sleeping on my legs or stomach, and sleeping on Nightshade's back.
Speaking of, it took Nightshade a bit of time to acclimate to the new environment. We'd been on the move for months, and before that, we were living at Viggo's base. This was new. She'd already tried to eat Meatlug several times. The poor Gronckle was scared shitless. It eventually settled in her mind that so long as she lived on Dragon's Edge, she must either eat only fish and eels, or hunt on another island. She goes back and forth between them. She still doesn't love Toothless. She doesn't hate him, or attack him, or hiss whenever he's in the room, but her mood sours when he's around. Just a little. The relationship between Strike Class Dragons has always been complex.
Heather had kept her promise to keep in touch via letters. It was clear that she was struggling a lot with the reality of her situation. As she said before, all that time undercover, she was just playing a part. She never actually focussed on the fact that Dagur is her brother. Now the weight of that reality is crashing down on her, coupled with the vast contradiction in his recent actions. I did the best I could to help, but being limited to letters doesn't make it easy. All I could do was offer my support, and advise her as best as I could.
We're actually going to meet up later today for a little treasure hunt that I thought might yield some interesting results.
I yawned as I got up from bed at the first sign of daylight. Normally, I wasn't a morning person, but being on the run for six months, plus having to be vigilant whilst working for Viggo has made it easier to wake up early. I pulled the fur blankets off of my body and stood up, still in nothing but my pants. Nightshade sleeping nearby made it surprisingly warm in the hut, even in winter months. Half the time, I couldn't stand sleeping with a shirt on.
I was barely aware of the footsteps heading towards my hut as I stretched.
"Seth, do you know where…" Astrid trailed off as she entered the hut, stopping as she laid eyes on me. "Whoa…" She said, her eyes wide as she stared at my bare torso.
"Morning Astrid." I said through another yawn. "What's up?" I asked.
"I didn't know you had tattoos." She said as she stared at me. "And all those scars." She was surprised.
I did indeed have a fair amount of scars and tattoos. Six tattoos and seven scars above the waist alone. A couple more below. I had a skull tattooed on my left wrist, a celtic style owl with the wings spread and a snake in its talons on my left pectoral, the words 'truly madly deeply' on my left shoulder, each word underneath the previous one, a small gecko on my right clavicle, a wolf with a raven on its back on my right bicep, an arrow along the outer side of my right arm, and a mediaeval English style Knight's dagger along the outer side of my left arm.
As for scars, I had what was clearly a bite mark from a dragon on my left side, where a Speed Stinger had managed to get its jaws on me when Viggo sent me to acquire one. He held one for quite a while before Nightshade bisected him with her own jaws. I had two arrow marks, one from when a Hunter had managed to get in a lucky shot right through my left bicep after I'd left the Hunters, and one from Ryker, in my left shoulder, when he thought he had the right to punish me for failing to bring in a Woolly Howl. Next was a slash from a sword that Viggo gave me on my back when I was still training to use a spear. He'd taken it upon himself to teach me to fight once he felt his men had nothing more to teach. The diagonal slash that just barely didn't touch my tattoo was a reminder not to turn my back on an opponent I thought was down.
Next was a stab wound from a Razorwhip that Viggo had me bring to him. This creature was clever in that it pretended to still be paralysed by Nightshade's Tail Strike, and when I opened the cage to move it, it struck, stabbing me through the right side of my belly with the tip of its tail. Thankfully, it didn't hit anything vital, and it was just a flesh wound. A deep one that left a scar, but a flesh wound nonetheless. In the centre of my chest was a claw mark from a lynx that had attacked me whilst camping on a hunt. Viggo joked that he and I matched now with his claw mark on his neck. I had a nasty acid mark on my lower back from a Changewing that had escaped captivity, and finally, my right elbow had a burn scar from when a Fireworm Queen had attacked me after I took shelter in her cave during a snowstorm one winter. Thankfully, it was a long range attack, and only the tip of the flame had hit me. It could have affected my archery if it was any worse.
"Dragon Hunting isn't always a safe profession." I said wryly as I walked on over to the clothes rack I had in the corner. As I slipped my tunic on, I turned to face her. "What can I do for you?" I asked as I grabbed my hood, sliding my arms through the arm holes and proceeded to tie the neck strings.
"Hiccup ditched me." Astrid told me as she shook off her surprise. "I caught him trying to sneak away to go look for Viggo." She frowned as she crossed her arms in displeasure.
"Again?" I asked as I went for my dragon leather vest.
"Again." She confirmed as I slipped the vest on over my head and pulled my hood out from the back. "He said he'd wait for me to get Stormfly ready, but when I got back, he was gone, and Toothless' armour was left behind." She growled.
"Wasn't he the one who imparted the rule of nobody leaving the Edge alone?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, yes he was."
"Well, he's in for it when he gets back." I said with amusement as I slipped my belt on. I'd long since gotten rid of the buckle with the Dragon Hunters' crest on it.
"You can bet on it." She agreed, clearly not happy. "I was going to ask if you might know where he went. You two have spent a lot of time discussing Viggo's habits and strategies these past few weeks. I thought you might have an idea at least." She explained as I went for my boots.
"Not a clue, sorry." I said as I slipped them on. "I suppose we could try searching the nearest Hunter ports and hotspots, but that has a high probability of being a complete waste of time." I pointed out. "Besides, I'm meeting with Heather today. I don't particularly want to go gallivanting, looking for a Night Fury." I said honestly.
"You're going to see Heather?" She asked, surprised. I nodded.
"We've been keeping in touch by letters. She's gonna help me with a little investigation." I explained, slipping my forearms through my wristguards, tying them off with my other hand and my teeth.
"Why didn't you say anything before?" She asked, her tone dropping a little bit.
"She's still not feeling quite like herself yet. I don't think she's ready for everyone trying to make her feel better." I explained.
"And that isn't what you're planning on doing?" Astrid asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh absolutely, but I plan on being a fair bit subtler than you would." I rebuked, an amused smirk on my face. "Completely isolating herself isn't good, especially not after everything that happened with the Viggo fiasco." I said, allowing myself a small sigh. "I figured a little side mission might help her. Getting her focused on something practical might get her out of her funk."
"When do you plan on leaving?" She asked.
"In about half an hour." I responded. Finished with getting dressed, I went for my weapons and strapped my seax in its sheath to my leg, strapped my spear to my back, and grabbed by bow and quiver.
"Even though Hiccup doesn't want anyone to leave the Edge alone?" She raised an eyebrow.
"You mean like you've done a dozen times since that rule was implemented? Or like he just did?" I rebuked, getting a narrow glare from her. "I know what you're getting at, and you know how I feel about passive-aggression." I reminded her, getting a scoff in response. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to come along. Heather might find the presence of more than one of us a little overwhelming." I said honestly. She was not happy with my answer.
"She's my friend too, and I've known her longer than you have." She told me.
"Correction, you met her before I did." I responded. "She and I have been in regular contact for over a year. I guarantee you, I've interacted with her more than you have. I know her better than you." I dismissed her claim.
"I could just follow you." She responded, crossing her arms.
"You can try, but you'll never catch me." I said with a smirk, making her narrow her eyes.
"She is not gonna be happy when we get back." I laughed as Nightshade and I flew through the air. Nights herself let out a little warble of laughter in response. Astrid had, indeed, tried to follow us on our way to meet Heather, but as I expected, losing her wasn't all that hard. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't hard. Stormfly was most definitely a prime specimen of Nadder, but she was still just a Nadder. Nightshade was her superior in every conceivable way. Speed, strength, intelligence, manoeuvrability, firepower, the works. There was no way she could keep up with Nightshade if we really wanted to lose her, which we did.
Before meeting up with Heather at our agreed upon rendezvous point, there was something I needed to get. Thankfully, I knew just where to get it from. Or rather, whom.
As the loud horn resounded through the air, I smiled, knowing we'd arrived. Pushing down softly on Nightshade's neck, she got the message and descended, seeing the ship we were looking for in the middle of the ocean, where the sound of the horn was coming from. Pulling up slightly, Nightshade extended her wings out full and and angled herself upwards, descending not unlike a bird would towards the ship, reaching out with her legs and grabbing hold of the very tip of the mast, tucking her wings in as she balanced herself out. As she knows to do, she brought the tip of her tail over her head, much like a scorpion, and allowed me to grip her stinger. She then pulled me off of her back and gently set me down on the deck of the ship.
I just love the rapport she and I have built over the years.
"Master Seth!' Trader Johann greeted me enthusiastically as he approached me. And he spoke English too. It was nice having another Saxon around every so often in a world of Vikings. "Wonderful to see you again. And Miss Nightshade too, of course." He smiled at the beast perched on his mast, getting nothing but a hiss in return. "Spicy as ever I see!" He gave a boisterous laugh.
"Good to see you as well Johann." I greeted with a nod, taking my mask off. "You're looking well."
"Why indeed I am, Master Seth!" He responded with a wide grin. "Why, I just departed from Bog Burglar Island, where I endured a rather distressing spree of articles mysteriously vanishing from my stores, but the matter was ultimately settled between myself, their chieftess and a rather…" he trailed off with a sly smirk. "... aggressive apology from one of the natives." He gave a light chuckle.
"After which more articles went missing, yes?" I asked with an amused snort, raising my eyebrow.
"Perhaps." He looked away.
"And that's why I won't go anywhere near those Bog Burglars." I shook my head.
"Again." He added, turning the tables on me.
"Yes, again." I conceded with a laugh. "Alright, as amusing as it would be to trade tales of dalliances with thieves, I do have to meet with Heather in an hour." I told him.
"Ah yes, your mysterious treasure hunt!" He declared in remembrance. "You're in luck! After much correspondence between my many contacts, and calling in more than a few favours I might add, I have, as promised, found two such locations that meet the minimum requirements you put forth in your request." He said, his speech as articulate as ever, as he produced two scrolls, bound together and sealed with a Dragon Hunter's emblem. "Unfortunately, I must admit that only one of them seems to have even the slightest hint of what you've described." He told me as he handed them over.
"Its more than enough Johann, thank you." I said, pocketing the scrolls. "Now, as promised." I pulled a vial from my satchel. "One vial of Deathgripper venom." I said, handing the vial over. "Just please remember your promise." I told him sternly.
"Rest assured Master Seth, I shan't allow any undesirables to get their hands on this vial of liquid gold." He reassured me. "I know of several healers and shamans who can make a potent anesthetic with this ever so dangerous substance. I shall endeavour to ensure it is put to good and ethical use."
"I appreciate that, thank you." I gave a grateful bow of the head. Nightshade's venom is not something I part with easily. Even Viggo had to be extra persuasive when he wanted some.
"Of course, Master Seth. I'm nothing if not loyal to my favorite customers." He puffed out his chest.
"You say that to everyone." I roll my eyes. "And don't deny it." I stopped him before he could protest. "I've been there when you stop at Viggo's island. You always begin with that line." I chuckled as I snapped my fingers, prompting Nightshade to bring her tail to my hand and lift me up onto her back.
"Fair enough Master Seth." The trader gave a hearty chuckle. "Safe flight, my friend." He bid me.
"And fair winds to you." I responded with a nod. "Let's go, Nights." I say as I pull my hood up and don my mask. With an acknowledging hiss, we were off.
"You're late." I said with a sigh as Windshear finally joined Nights and I atop a sea stack. Heather slid off of her, looking decidedly dejected, and somewhat sleep deprived, but no less sharp and diligent than usual.
"Look, I know you mean well, but I'm really-"
"Uh-uh." I stopped her, holding up my hand. "You've said multiple times you're not interested in social interaction right now, so we won't do that." I told her, pulling out the scrolls. "Instead, work." I said, handing them over to her. "That sound good?" I asked.
"It… does." She admitted, a small amount of light returning to her eyes. She knew what I was doing, I could see it as she unravelled the first scroll. "What are we looking for?" She asked, seeing the map that Johann had retrieved for me.
"Alright, so I've been thinking for a while now that the Dragon Eye was a rather unique artifact." I told her as I stepped over to the edge of the sea stack, pointing to the foggy cloud not too far in the distance. "Dragon Hunters have been studying and documenting the many ways to trap and kill dragons for centuries. It seems a little overkill to create something as elaborate as the Dragon Eye just to store information, when a book would do the trick just as well." I explained.
"You think it has some other purpose?" She asked.
"I do. And even if I'm wrong, who's to say there aren't other tools out there created to store dragon knowledge?" I asked. "So, with that in mind, I asked Johann to find any ship graveyards that contain a surplus of Dragon Hunter ships, even if they don't come from Viggo's tribe." Pointed on the map, the area Johann had circled, which happened to be inside the fog bank we were facing. "This graveyard has a lot of Dragon Hunter ships, but none of them are booby trapped like the Reaper was."
"Makes sense. If they want to hide something like the Dragon Eye, they'd want it protected." Heather speculated. "It's still worth looking though." She noted.
"My thoughts exactly." I walked over to Nightshade and mounted up. "So, interested?" I asked.
"I am." She actually gave a small smile as she mounted Windshear. I could tell she knew what I was doing, but I didn't care, so long as it worked.
With that, we took off.
As expected, there wasn't much to be found in this graveyard. Johann was right. We searched and perused through every Dragon Hunter ship we could find, and even some that weren't Dragon Hunter affiliated, and found nothing but empty cages, or cages full of bones. There was even an English Galley, surprisingly enough. It would have been nice if I could find the name, but there was no hint of it. It may very well have been a historically notorious ship that I set foot on, and I would never know. Anyway, we didn't find anything more than some old cages and weapons decayed beyond use, so after a couple of hours, we moved on to the second ship graveyard.
This one had a lot more Hunter ships, from varying Dragon Hunter tribes, including the Grimborn tribe. We searched many of them, not having any more luck than before, but that was to be expected. It was more for the sake of covering all bases that we searched them. Eventually, we set our sites on the real prize. Heather and I glided on our dragons, just meters over the ocean as he we searched for the one ship that might actually have something.
"I think I see it." Heather pointed in the distance. Following her line of sight, I saw a large ship, one of the largest in the graveyard. It was tipped forward, half of it's bow under the water, and the three massive masts had broken off, falling forwards, which was probably what weighed down the bow under the water. Thankfully, the rear of the ship was largely intact, with no signs of damage aside from the wear of time. The serpentine insignia on the side of the hull showed it was exactly what we were looking for.
"The Leviathan." I said under my breath, the ship's name.
"How are we gonna get inside?" Heather asked as we approached.
"Very carefully." I said, snapping my fingers. Nightshade hissed in displeasure, not liking the look of the semi-submerged ship, but she complied nonetheless. "Don't worry girl." I gave a reassuring pat as I gripped her stinger and she proceeded to gently place me on the ship's deck. I quickly pulled my seax out from it's sheath and embedded it in the wood, giving me a good foundation. "See? All good." I told her, using the seax to support my weight. The ship's angle was steep enough that I would need the extra support, but not so steep that I would slide down the second I let go. "You should be good Heather." I nodded up at her. "Just make sure you're aware of how you shift your weight." I noted.
"Are you saying I'm fat?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Heather, if I was saying you were fat, you wouldn't need to ask that question." I gave her a grin. She rolled her eyes as she nudged Windshear closer to the ship.
"Windshear, single spine shot." She told her dragon, who proceeded to throw a single spine at the ship, about a meter away from me. After that, they mimicked mine and Nightshade's actions, Windshear using her tail, which was a lot more prehensile than Nightshade's, to place Heather onto the deck, and immediately grabbed ahold of the spine. "Never thought to use her tail like that." She said as we slowly made our way closer to the hatch leading to below the deck.
"It comes in handy." I admitted. "Nights, go find a place to perch." I told my dragon, who was still hovering over us.
"You too Windshear." Heather called out. Both dragons voiced their displeasure with hisses and grumbles.
"Just go, would you?" I asked tiredly. Nightshade's responding hiss was a bit more agitated. "Hey! Don't give me that shit!" I snapped back at her. She gave me one more hiss before flapping over to the nearest stable ship, with Windshear most reluctantly going after her.
"Alright, let's do this." I say as I open the hatch. Immediately, a crossbow bolt darted out of the hatch. Had we been standing on the deck being level, the bolt would have shot straight up and right through my jaw. "Suddenly feeling a bit more comfortable with this angle." I said with a deep sigh, letting my heart calm down. I'd gotten quite the fright there.
"No kidding." Heather peaked inside.
"Ladies first?" I asked, getting a blank look from her. "I suppose not." I sighed again and climbed into the hatch. With my back leaning against the ladder, I was facing straight towards the rear of the ship, through the corridors. To be on the safe side, I took my spear off my back and prodded at the ground at the base of the ladder. Sure enough, a bear trap snapped closed around the blade. "Why am I not surprised?" I asked, freeing my spear as I climbed off of the ladder, embedding my seax into the floor, returning to the support position.
"Is it safe?" Heather asked.
"Should be." I responded. "Stick to the side of the corridor." I said as she climbed in. After a few minutes, she was on the other side of the corridor, the spine from Windshear supporting her, and ready to climb upwards. "Tread slowly. Where there's one trap, there's usually more." I said, she nodded in agreement and we slowly made our way up the corridor.
Getting through the door was a tricky endeavour, as it was closed, locked, and a push. Heather was able to break the lock with her axe, and I tried to use my spear to push the door open. I succeeded, but that only triggered another trap. A vial of changewing acid fell to the ground where we would have been standing had we walked through the door normally, melting through the ground. I was starting to greatly appreciate the angle at which the ship has partially sunk. Still didn't help the door situation, but I was able to unscrew the hinges with Heather's help, and the door fell down towards the ladder.
"This time, ladies first." I said blankly, getting a scoff from Heather.
"And here I thought Saxons took care of their women." She jibed.
"And here I thought Vikings were warriors." I shot back. We shared a small laugh, but it quickly died when we saw the new room we were in. The walls were lined with dragon cages, and what made it worse; they weren't empty. All of them had dragon bones in them.
"This is awful…" Heather whispered. We'd seen a couple of dragon bones in the cages on the other ships, but they were just a few here and there. This ship's entire cargo hold was full; each cage had a dragon's skeleton, but that wasn't even the worst part.
"Hey heather, does this one look familiar to you?" I asked, gesturing to the cage beside me. I ducked down so Heather could see.
"Yeah, actually." She frowned in thought. "It sort of looks like…" She trailed off.
"Nightshade? Yeah." I agreed. "The pincers, tail with the stinger, the plating on the spine, the tusks…" I listed, shaking my head. "This is a Deathgripper skeleton." I said grimmly. "Whoever captained this ship was very good at what he did. Even Viggo and Ryker couldn't easily wrangle a Deathgripper until I came along." I shook my head. "What's in that one?" I asked, gesturing to the cage beside her.
"Uh, I don't know." She responded. "Three tails with stingers, claws like a crab, and a really big jaw." She listed.
"A Triple Stryke." I frowned. "Bear with me for a moment." I said, climbing up to the next cage, Heather following suit. "Large skull with small eyes, short and thin tail, rounded body… This one's a Snow Wraith." I observed the next skeleton.
"I think this one's a Skrill." Heather piped up. "Snout like a crocodile's, the long spines, and the crown of spikes." She shook her head. "Definitely a Skrill."
"This guy wasn't just a Hunter. He was specialised." I said as Heather and I shared a horrified look.
"He preyed on Strike Class dragons." Heather practically whispered. I nodded morosely in response.
Strike Class dragons were very rarely hunted, even by Viggo and his people. Mainly because they were so difficult to find, let alone trap or kill. That was different with Nightshade around, but that's besides the point. Strike Class dragons usually don't have anything to offer a Hunter other than their innate value as rare specimens. Take a Skrill, for example. Other than the ability to deflect lightning, its hide wasn't any thicker or stronger than a Zippleback's. The only thing that made it valuable was that it was attached to a rare and powerful dragon. It was for this reason that I felt morally dubious about hunting them for Viggo, but he asked for it little enough that I was willing to compromise. This was a whole other level though. To go out of one's way to exclusively hunt Strike Class dragons was a result of nothing more than greed and sadism. Disgusting.
"Let's keep going." I said as I continued to climb. Heather hastily agreed. Passing each cage, we could see the skeletons were indeed all Strike Class dragons. More Snow Wraiths, another Skrill, another Triple Stryke, a Woolly Howl, and some dragon I didn't recognise that had incredibly large wings compared to its small body. The skull reminded me somewhat of a Slithersong. On the bright side, we didn't trigger any more traps before reaching the innately decorated door which no doubt led to the Captain's Cabin. "I almost don't want to see what's in here." I said with a sigh as I began working on the hinges with my spear.
"We came all this way, we can't turn back now." She said, breaking the handle off.
"Yeah, I know. I just wasn't prepared for this." I gestured around before finally unhooking the final hinge. "Let's go." I said, climbing through the door opening. If we were un prepared for what was in these cages, we certainly weren't prepared for what we found in the cabin. "What in the fuck?" I whispered in English as I saw the display before me.
Hiccup said he found the Dragon Eye on a desk, with the Captain of the Reaper's skeletal hand resting on it. This was completely different. There was no desk, no chair, and no skeleton. Well, not a human skeleton anyway. Mounted on the wall, each bone bolted to to it to keep in its prone position, was a dragon's skeleton, put on display. Evidently, the Captain was most proud of this kill, and it was obvious why.
"Is that…?" Heather's voice trailed off, thick with awe and horror.
"I think so." I gave a nod. "Flat head, the wing span matches, and the spine is smooth."
"You're sure it's not a Sand Wraith?" She asked.
"Yeah, the spine is a giveaway. The spikes on Arrow's spine are bone, Toothless' are flesh. They'd be visible on a Sand Wraith skeleton." I narrowed my eyes. "Even if that weren't the case, look at the tail. The tail fins match." I sighed deeply. "This is a Night Fury."
It was definitely younger than Toothless when it died, about 80% of his size. The entire skeleton was draped across the wall opposite the door, each bone placed perfectly in the right spot to successfully reconstruct the Night Fury skeleton.
"I think there's something inside its ribcage." Heather noted, pulling me from my thoughts.
"Let's get a closer look." I said, and we did just that, climbing up towards the skeleton. "Is that a shield?" I asked. On the wall, right in the centre, there was a round, ornately decorated metal shield, and the skeleton's torso was draped over it; a literal rib cage. "Why would someone put a skeleton over a shield?" I asked.
"Protection?" Heather suggested.
"Maybe, but the look at the ribs, we could easily just-" I pulled gently on one of the ribs, and pulled back like a lever at the spine. However, right as I did so, a hissing sound could be heard. I immediately let go, and the rib fell back into place, the hissing sound ceasing. "That smell." I inhaled slightly through my nose.
"Zippleback gas." Heather deduced, and I agreed. "So it is protection." She said, pulling on one of the other ribs, letting go as soon as we heard the hissing sound again. "The wrong rib might just ignite it." She guessed.
"Or maybe it'll ignite on its own once the containers are empty." I added, looking at the skeleton thoughtfully. "They wouldn't do this without some kind of unlocking mechanism though." I carefully scanned over the skeleton. "Hm…" I narrowed my eyes as something caught my eye.
"You see something?" Heather asked.
"I think I found the cause of death." I gestured to one of the ribs, where a small nick was visible. "It's the only damaged bone on the entire skeleton." I gave it a gentle tug. No gas. I pulled a bit more, and a clicking sound was heard. "Whoa!" I backed away as all of the ribs opened of their own accord, giving full access to the shield.
"Awful as this whole thing is, I can't deny it's a clever design." Heather admitted as I reached for the shield.
"Me neither." I reluctantly agreed, gently pulling the shield off its mount. "Alright, what say we get out of here first, and then we take a look at this thing?" I suggested, placing the shield on my back.
"Agreed." Heather nodded. Right as she spoke, another clicking sound was heard, and the mount that the shield was on sank into the wall, pulled in by gears and springs by the sound of it. "What the…?" Heather trailed off as a gelatinous substance started oozing from the hole where the mount was moments.
"Nightmare gel!" I hissed in fright. Immediately, we both pulled our supports out from the ground and rolled the doorway, stopping at either side right as the Nightmare gel ignited. Fire engulfed the Night Fury skeleton, and it was only spreading as more Nightmare gel seeped out of the hole. "Time to go!" We were just about to jump through the doorway when a large number of spikes emerged from the floor across the corridor. "Fuck!" I cursed.
"The bars!" Heather called out as the ship started to creak in response to the growing fire. I nodded and sheathed my seax, and she discarded the spine from windshear. We used the bars of the cages to climb over the spikes, which were slowly being covered by flaming Nightmare gel as the puddle of the stuff started to run down the corridor. "Faster!" She urged me as the gel started catching up. Gravity, thou art a heartless bitch.
"Roll!" I yelled as we made it to the other side of the corridor. She jumped through the doorway, rolling down towards the ladder, and I followed suit. Crossbow bolts shot over us from the walls as we went, but they were shot at chest level, so none of them hit us. "Go! Go!" I urged her. "Don't argue with me, just go!" I yelled as the pool of gel got closer and closer. Heather's face twisted in displeasure, but she complied, climbing up the ladder as fast as she could. I was just barely able to get up on the ladder before my feet were encased by the gel pool.
"Windshear!" Heather called out at the top of her lungs as she exited the compartment, holding on to the edge of the hatch for dear life. As I joined her on the deck, I brought my fingers to my mouth and let out a loud whistle. Nightshade's shrill cry echoed through the fog as she soared towards us.
"Grab hold!" I told Heather as Nightshade hovered over us. The flames were beginning to climb out of the hatch right as we each grabbed one of her legs. As Nightshade pulled away from the ship, we could see the rear of the ship was entirely engulfed in fire, and it was only spreading. Nightshade flew over to the nearest ship, dropping us onto the deck. "Well, that one was one of my closer calls." I said wryly as Nightshade landed next to me. "Whoa!" I steadied myself as Nightshade pressed her head against my chest rather roughly, checking me for injuries. "I'm fine, girl." I promised her, placing my hand on her forehead. Suddenly, I felt something collide with my bicep. "OW! Why would you do that!?" I demanded of Heather as she glared at me, her hands on her hips.
"I'm not some damsel in distress, Seth. I didn't need you to stay behind longer so I don't get a little burnt." She scowled at me.
"Well pardon me for caring." I snapped back, rubbing my arm where she hit me. Nightshade hissed at her in displeasure. "Calm down Nights." I said with a sigh. And then, just as sudden as the punch, I felt Heather grab me by my vest, and something warm pressed on my cheek for a split second before she pulled back.
"That's for caring." She said with a light flush, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.
"No problem." I mumbled, not quite sure what to say. Nightshade hissed at her again, a bit more viciously, but stopped when I pushed her back. "Down girl." I ordered her. She just gave Heather the stink eye as Winbdshear landed next to her rider, nuzzling her chest.
"So, what exactly is the deal with the shield?" Heather asked.
"Let's find out." I said quickly, grateful for the shift in subject as I pulled the shield off my back. I lay it on the ground and knelt before it, Heather doing so on the opposite side.
It was very different from your typical Viking shield. It was about the same shape and size as Hiccup's, but the face was split into seven segments, each one containing a round piece of glass embedded in the centre. The segments were made of a copper-like metal, but the lack of scratching or wear suggested it was something else. The rim was made of Gronckle iron, and it seemed loose. I gave the rim an experimental tug, and was surprised when it spun. Not only that, the glass circles spun with it, going underneath the metal surface until they reappeared in the next segment.
"By Odin…" Heather whispered as we shared a look. "Is that a ruby?" She asked, looking at the top segment. Sure enough, there was a red gem underneath the glass circle in the middle of the top segment.
"I think so." I responded, flipping the shield over. "There's more." I said. At the back of the shield, there was a ring, with seven gems embedded along its length. This ring could also spin, lining up the gems with the glass circles, but only the circle on the top segment could be seen from both sides, the rest couldn't be seen from the bottom of the shield. "Holy crap, I think I know how this thing works." I said, standing up, with the shield. "Pick a gem." I told Heather, showing her the back of the shield.
"Uh, emerald?" She said, confused. I spun the ring until the emerald was at the top.
"Nights, give me a low burn." I told the Deathstorm, who warbled questioningly, but complied nonetheless. Opening her mouth, she let a small white fire burn inside her maw, and I held the shield up to it. The light from her fire shone through the emerald, and then through the glass, projecting onto the deck. "I knew it." I whispered, seeing the images displayed from the glass, the lens.
"Oh my Thor!" Heather gasped as I spun the gem ring, making the images change. Maps, dragons, historical records, all in a strange language I'd never seen.
I was right.
"This changes everything." I whispered.
So, I always wondered if the Dragon Eye was truly unique. I mean, there's no way someone would be able to build something like that on their first try, so there would probably be other versions, older models and prototypes and whatnot. I mean, how many times has Hiccup taken Toothless' tailfin apart and put it back together?
I figure, in the centuries since it was constructed, someone would have heard of the Dragon Eye and tried to make something similar. I wanted to include it.