The Other-worldly Protector

Chapter 22: Unexpected Visitors

"Don't believe it..." Kiara said. She was staring in disbelief at the two ships after she landed in a hiding spot on a rocky area near the beach. "Those are VIKING ships! VIKING!" She started pacing about as Whiplash watched her, confused. "Why didn't you tell me? WHY? Y-you didn't tell me that I...not only travelled to a different dimension, but a different TIME!"

"I don't get what's wrong..."

"How the hell. am I supposed to charge my phone? In a civilisation? That hasn't discovered ELECTRICITY!"

Whiplash gave her a 'really?' look and scoffed. "Priorities."

"Oh, gimme a break, girl," she said, slumping to the ground. "This is a big reveal, no huge revelation! I'm... in the iron age..."

"Oh, brother..." The dragon rolled her eyes and stalked away from her dramatically complicated rider to spy on the ships. She peeked her head out from between a jagged rock and some pine trees and narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the ships —the first human ships to ever dock at this island.

"A pair of binoculars would've been helpful right now," Kiara said, popping up beside Whiplash and startling her.

"So, you've recovered from your BIG reveal?" she asked sarcastically.

"Yeah..." Kiara mumbled, her attention now directed towards the unexpected visitors.

The two large ships were made from fine wood, but their stem and stern posts were heavily armoured with metal plating and spikes. The boats had three huge sails with an orange emblem. The emblem was a dragon with two swords stabbed through it.

Kiara gasped. "Those are... They..."

"Yes," Whiplash confirmed, "But it only gets worse." Whiplash growled, stalking closer for a better view and Kiara followed. Their eyes raked the beach. There were large box-shaped metal cages littered on the beach, some, to their horror, already occupied by dragons. Lots of burly Vikings with helmets and weapons were rushing about, setting up more cages, dragging nets or doing other jobs.

One muscular man stood out from the rest, the only one without a helmet. The man wore greyish green clothes that looked like dragon skin, a shoulder plate on his right shoulder and a similar guard on each forearm. He had a shaved head, a thin black moustache and a line of thick hair that split his broad chin. Yelling commands that Kiara couldn't make out from that distance, he marched with an air of ruthless authority, clearly their leader.

Whiplash spread her ears, going into hyper-hearing mode to clearly hear the conversations. Kiara used her mind-link to hear what Whiplash hears, a skill she was now an expert in. Her mind immediately filled with the wailing of a dragon. It was a monstrous nightmare trying to make a distress call, and failing as his roars came out faint and slurred.

"What've they done to him?" Kiara whispered this so that her dragon's ears wouldn't hurt while they're extra sensitive.

"I don't know," she replied as they continued to listen to the wailing amongst the bustle of the invaders.

"Shut up, stupid beast!" one of the Vikings yelled and struck the cage with his mallet, then laughed as the weakened dragon cringed from the ringing bang. His arm was immediately twisted into a lock and he was slammed against the nightmare's cage and held there.

"Your job," the leader growled in a gruff accented voice as he tightened his grip, "is to load them up and make space for more."

"Yes, Ryker! Right away, Ryker," the man squeaked.