The Strength of the Princess (HTTYD)

Dagur the Deranged

Chapter 6: Dagur the Deranged

Six months passed without a hitch. Eira gradually came to enjoy life on Berk with the little routine she had established. The weekly meetings with the dragon riders were her favorite part. Otherwise, she enjoyed the island with Swiftwings or Snotlout. Occasionally, news arrived from Torvald, and she sent the ship back with the message that everything on Berk was peaceful.

Then, one cool autumn afternoon, Hiccup called all the dragon riders to the academy for an emergency meeting. Apparently, Johann the trader had recently arrived to tell about a prison break at a neighboring island.

"All we got from Johann before he passed out was this," Hiccup said as he paced in front of a large map of the Archipelago plastered on the academy walls, "Dagur escaped from Outcast Island by commandeering his ships." He pointed to the map. "He threw Johann overboard about here."

Hiccup had once told Eira all about the dragon riders' adventures with Dagur the Deranged. While the story ended well, she could not help but feel a sense of tragedy. It was certainly interesting news that he had escaped. Of course, he sought revenge against Hiccup for locking him up, so they had to recapture him.

"Master Hiccup," said Johann, popping up beside the boy.

Hiccup turned to him in surprise. "Johann, you're awake."

"And feeling much better, thank you for asking. More importantly, I have more than a strong suspicion of where our nefarious foe may be heading." He pointed to the far-left area on the map.

Hiccup frowned. "Outside the Archipelago?"

"No! Just inside the fog bank on our outer group of islands." Johann gestured towards the map again.

Hiccup glanced at the map in worry. "We've never been out that far."

Johann hesitated before continuing. "When Dagur commandeered my precious ship, he also came into possession of a very important map... one that leads to a graveyard of ships hidden in that fog bank."

Eira suspected Johann had personally reasons for wanting them to go after Dagur. It turned out she was right. Johann happened to store all his treasures and wares in that fog bank. That explained why Dagur would target it. So, the plan was to intercept him before he could stock up on supplies. Easy enough. Her new friends had all stopped him once before, right?

The seven dragon riders climbed onto their dragons and took to the skies. This was just like they had practice, except it was real. Eira could not help but feel excited as she flew with Swiftwings over the ocean. They were finally doing something real and important. This was her chance to show off everything she had learned!

Night had fallen by the time the group reached the graveyard of ships. Hiccup told them to split up and search for Dagur. Eira flew off with Snotlout since he was still technically her partner. She hid her unease at the spookiness of the setting as she focused on her mission.

After several minutes, the gang gathered together on a single ship to discuss their findings. No one had caught sight of Dagur or anyone else for that matter. Waiting around did not appear to be a good option.

"Here's the plan," Hiccup said after a brief discussion. "We search the ship, gather Johann's treasure and take it back to Berk. But keep your eyes open for Dagur. He could show up anytime."

Suddenly, a loud hissing filled the air.

"What is that?" Astrid said.

"Has Dagur's voice changed?" said Tuffnut.

Hiccup looked over the side of the boat and gasped. "Eels! Everybody get to your dragons before they get spooked and take off!"

Eira spun around to face Swiftwings, but the Windwalker had already flown away. And so had every other dragon except for Toothless. Those must be some pretty nasty eels! Her heart jolted when she felt movement on the boat. The heads of two giant eels appeared on the far side of the ship.