A Runaways Resolve, A Dragon Master's Legacy

Into the Great Beyond

It's been about 2 months since I last saw berk, and I honestly couldn't feel better. No longer having the constant harassment of the villagers be it for negative or positive reasons, not having to deal with dragon attacks every couple nights. Not having any rules tying me down. I just feel free. I got into a good routine and discussed with Johann for him to visit the island once a week or so and I would exchange the ores and some of the items I made with them for some medicinal plants or just the medicines themselves, furs, tools and pretty much anything I could possibly need as long as I could provide an equal value in products. This in itself wasn't too hard thanks to the volcano holding some durable metals and the help of the dragon's fire which was allowing me to forge much faster than I used to as they were able to heat the metals much more efficiently. I made everything from swords and axes to even cutlery all out of the metals I could find. Though I had an ace up my sleeve thanks to a discovery I made when I chose to experiment on the gronckles lava, I made several different metals and glass but none were as good as the one I got from the combination of limestone, sandstone and iron ore. It took a while to get the amounts correct but I eventually figured it out. The Gronckle Iron as I am calling it is much lighter than the iron and steel weapons I have been using and even the volcanic metals I have and yet it is also able to cut right through them without damage. I plan on showing some of these items to Johann soon and seeing what he thinks of them but in the meantime I have one more thing I have been working on. Due to how light Gronckle Iron is and the properties of a very odd glass like rock I found here which according to a book Johann gave me is called obsidian I decided to try and make some armour. Supposedly if fused to a metal it becomes twice as resistant to cracks and fractures so I have been experimenting on fusing it to Gronckle Iron to make a sword and some armour but so far I haven't been able to get the amount right more than once which would normally be enough had that one time not been the result of me knocking some into a fresh batch of Gronckle Iron so for now it's just a slab of metal I use to test weapons on and prove it's resilience which between me hitting it with Gronckle Iron swords and axes and having Toothless shoot it with plasma blasts it has proven it's worth though until I get more and make a weapon I can't compare the two properly.

At the same time I have been doing this I worked on making myself an actual bed instead of just sleeping on a mat on the floor. Though not all of my time has been so relaxed. Around 2 weeks ago a ship from I think it was the Berserker tribe docked on my island leading me to covering the entrance with some of the bushes and vines nearby but they only stayed for 2 days and I was able to use the hatch in the ceiling to leave whenever I needed to. It was a nerve wracking experience having to be cautious on my own island for fear of being discovered here or more accurately the fear of what would follow if I was. Johann had informed me that my Dad decided to send search parties out for me but that wasn't all that surprising, after all when has he ever listened to me or even acknowledged what I have asked of him. Luckily since then I have not seen a single ship other than Johann and he has promised to keep my home a secret for me to which I will be eternally grateful.

As I finished writing in my journal I heard a horn blow signalling Johann's arrival. "Hey bud, can you grab the Gronckle Iron sword from my room!" I shouted through to my dragon who was starting to make his way over to me whilst I grabbed a couple more of the more common items I made and put them in a basket including an extra sword that I planned to use to demonstrate the Gronckle Iron's capabilities though I plan to keep it's construction method a secret at least for now as it would risk Gronckles being hunted down to produce the metal. As I put the last item into the basket and strapped the extra sword to my side, Toothless returned with the Gronckle Iron sword and we quickly took off to meet Johann at the beach. "Ahh Master Hiccup, good to see you" the jumpy trader spoke up as Toothless and I landed on the beach "Johann, always a pleasure, I have a new batch of items ready as usual." I replied as I unhooked the basket and brought it over to him. "And I have the books you requested, this one's for medicines and this one is on metallurgy, I believe both will be of great help to you in your future endeavours." "Yes thank you Johann, though this time I have another item to show to you, I believe you will find it very valuable." I said as I took the Gronckle Iron sword off my side and passed it to Johann to hold. "Well it is very well made Master Hiccup but it is surely too light to be of any use" he stated as he put the sword back down though it wasn't an unexpected response. "That's what I thought at first but then I chose to just hit it with one of my other swords and well this happened." as I said that I brought down the demonstration sword on it just for the Gronckle Iron blade to remain unscratched whilst the other sword had a chip in the blade. Johann just stood and watched in amazement at the result as I proceeded to pick up the Gronckle Iron sword and put the demonstrator in its place. I then brought down the blade and went right through the other sword. "See, it might be light but it is exceptionally strong." I said as I put it on Toothless's saddle for now and then collected the shattered sword. It might be destroyed but I can always reforge it. "I must say you do amaze me Master Hiccup, what do you call this new metal and what would you want for it?" He asked as he gestured towards his ship. "I call it Gronckle Iron as I stumbled upon it when I was following a Gronckle around" I said of course lying about the real method, "And in regards to what I want for it, for now think of this one as a gift, like me you aren't exactly bulky like most vikings, no offence, but if someone tried to rob you or something this should be more than enough to make up the difference." I stated as I passed him the sword again "Though I will slowly start replacing the items I already give you with these so be prepared in the future." I finished. "Thank you Master Hiccup, I am sure I will be able to find you some items that would be worth this magnificent metal. In the meantime I have some information for you which I am certain you would like to know. Berk seems to be preparing a large voyage in this direction, apparently they have been asking the other tribes for any information on Night Fury sightings, it seems that the Berserkers had apparently seen something they believe to be one, on this very island." he said and I immediately knew I had to leave. "And here I thought I got away with it. 2 weeks ago a small Berserker ship docked here, I thought I managed to avoid them but I guess they must have spotted me. Thank you Johann, you might just have saved the life of me and Toothless, though I guess now I need somewhere else to go. I won't be able to stay here if Berk is launching a proper scouting fleet, do you have any ideas where I could go?" I responded, as I looked at Johann with somewhat pleading eyes. "I have one idea Master Hiccup but it would make it harder for us to remain in contact for a small while as I won't be going that way for about a week or 2, outside the archipelago, if you go directly north east of here you will find a storm bank, fly through it and you will be outside the archipelago. If you keep going that way you will find an island that is uninhabited from what I know. I learnt of it when I.." Johann was probably going to recite one of his many tales which I must admit I had grown to be interested in when I cut him off "Thank you Johann, but if what you say is true I need to get to work packing up and evacuating the island with the dragons I brought here because I will have only 2 days to get packed and out of here before the Berkians get here" I said as I picked up the items he bought me and put them in the saddle bag alongside the broken sword. "I understand Master Hiccup, but before you go, here something to help you, it's a map to the island, use it so you can get there safely, but I shall now be on my way, I have a couple villages to go to and then I shall make haste to see you on the island." he replied before turning around and undocking his ship and as he did so I took my leave as well taking Toothless back to the cave to begin packing,