Besieged. Doomed. Death-bound. The riders had been stripped of control over their fate, and Viggo's words made that reality clearer than ever. Despite this, Hiccup grasped onto the one thing they could control with the desperation of clinging to a cliff in a storm. He chuckled, and his next words were bursting with hysteria. "If we're going to die either way, taking the Grimborn ancestral treasure with us is absolutely worth dying the 'hard' way! Right, Kiara?"
Catching on in a heartbeat, she grinned and nodded eagerly. "Yup. Guess we'll die, but so will your unholy quest," Kiara taunted.
A muscle in Viggo's jaw tightened, just enough to notice in the torchlight. It appears he hadn't accounted for them unleashing unhinged optimism.
"Oh, Hiccup," she continued jovially, "think of all the dragons they won't be enslaving without the Dragon-Eye's knowledge!"
"Or how they'll never reach the greatest."
"Oh, yes. King of dragons, who?"
At the mention of the final treasure the dragon-eye was meant to lead to, the hunters stirred and exchanged glances amongst themselves. Ryker came forwards with clenched fists and a vicious sneer. Hiccup shifted the sword to touch the Dragon-eye and Ryker halted in his tracks. At that moment, the riders knew what they held against Viggo meant something. Their confidence grew.
"Such a shame," Kiara said, blinking innocently at Viggo. "Weren't you just two lenses away from him?"
"Oh well," Hiccup sighed. "It's not like the King of dragons could have gotten you and all your men a lifetime's worth of fortune." Though Viggo's face didn't betray anything, Hiccup took a moment to appreciate the spike of distress among the common hunters: worried murmurs rippled through the crowd and uncertain glances were exchanged. Satisfied, he rolled his shoulders and tightened his grip on Inferno.
"Do that," Ryker growled, "and I will skin you alive."
Toothless and Whiplash snarled.
The riders were speechless for a moment. Ryker's words chilled them to the bone.
Recovering, Hiccup plastered a lopsided grin on his face. "I've lost a leg, Ryker," he said, shrugging. "How much worse can it be?"
"Yup, still worth it," Kiara piped up, though her voice was frightfully high. She eagerly held up the dragon eye to be destroyed.
"Here's to saving the King," said Hiccup. He took a sharp breath and with it everything he was feeling flashed across his face: terror, loss and grim determination. He brought down the flaming sword.
"Stop," Viggo spoke.
Hiccup jerked to a stop as Inferno made contact. Taught silence froze the air itself, suffocating everyone on the cliff. Everyone's eyes fixed on the object between Kiara's trembling fingers. A tendril of smoke rose from where the sword pressed against the Eye, carving into its ornate surface. Hiccup lifted it an inch, revealing a singed scar, but an otherwise unharmed treasure. Hearts pounding, the riders shared a look of shock before facing Viggo.
"Do you accept our terms then?" Hiccup asked.
Viggo breathed out ruggedly, expressing his aggravation for the first time. "In exchange for the Dragon-eye," he said, "you may leave with one dragon only."
"NO," Kiara refused, rage sparking in her eyes. "That's not fair."
"Give them both," said Hiccup. "That's the deal."
"I understand that Kiara is somewhat new to this world but Hiccup, at least you should know how a trade works," Viggo said. "Let me clear it up for you: one item, one dragon. Not to mention that this single dragon gives you passage to freedom from, well..." He gestured to his flushed, glowering brother, who was twitching with the urge to strangle the pair. "Death by him."
"Fine," Hiccup addressed Viggo through gritted teeth. He had an uncharacteristic urge to smack the pleased look off the hunter's face.
"Care to pick a dragon?" Viggo asked.
Hiccup frowned. Toothless was the obvious strategic choice but... He glanced at Kiara. She met his gaze with a pleading look. He knew what Viggo was doing: trying to distract them with an internal conflict and create an opening for a hunter to sprint up to them. Would it work? Could he trust Kiara to keep her cool?
"Hiccup, don't," Kiara said. "I got us into this and I can get everyone out, even if I have to give it all up." At Hiccup's confused look, she expanded. "We can..." She hesitated, then lowered her voice, "we can trade for two." Two dragons; two items. She meant to put the crystal up for offer. He shook his head, alarmed. Who knows how Viggo would react to knowing she had that on her? He'd probably use it to twist things in his favour and get everything he wants.
"No," Hiccup said. Any explanation would risk Viggo catching on, but no explanation could spur Kiara into taking things into her own hands. He had to take a leap of faith. He gave her a pained look and turned to Viggo. "We'll take Toothless."
"No no no no," Kiara mumbled, panicking. Hiccup noticed her eyes focus into the middle distance as she frantically called on Robbie.
"They won't kill her," he said quickly. She looked at him and he gave her a single, subtle shake of his head. Not yet. "Let's take this one step at a time," he stressed each syllable. Not breaking eye contact, she breathed out and dipped her head a fraction. She trusted him.
Hiccup turned to Viggo and spoke. "Okay. Let's do this as a neat and tidy trade, meaning one where you don't shoot us down the moment we take off. Tell your men to get rid of their weapons." This caused a stir. "In exchange," Hiccup raised his voice over the disgruntled crowd, "we will keep the muzzle on Toothless and you will keep whatever unburnt flesh you have left." The hunters quietened as Hiccup looked around, glaring at them. He returned his glare to Viggo. "You have my word if I have yours."
"I won't have my men shed their protection."
"Dragon root projectiles aren't self-defence. They need to go. Far away."
With a half-smile, Viggo nodded once. "Very well. Unload your crossbows," he commanded, "and you, collect and take them away." His army obeyed without hesitation. "Now for a contingency of my own." He directed a scruffy-bearded hunter to the captured dragons. The hunter walked past Toothless and stood beside Whiplash, then unsheathed his sword in a great arc.
Kiara stiffened.
"At the first sign of an attempted rescue, which, knowing the pair of you, I have no doubt there will be, Garf will slash the dragon's wings," Viggo informed them.
Kiara pinned a sharp glare on Viggo. "I hope one day you gain the clarity to see the monster that you are," she growled, "only to realise there's no crawling out of the skin you've made for yourself." When he didn't reply, she couldn't tell if it was because he was stunned, amused or affronted. Not caring, she snapped at Ryker next. "I have no such hope for you, by the way."
Ryker's accent thickened with anger as he replied, "I know exactly what I am."
"A big bald stain?"
He snarled.
Hiccup pressed the sword down. "Easy," he warned, unsure of whether he was addressing Ryker or Kiara. "Let's, er, stand close, behave, and make sure any slashing doesn't happen," he told Kiara. With a faint knowing smile, she passed on those words telepathically.
Aware that the monstrous nightmare gel powering his sword would soon run out, Hiccup urged on the trade. "Give us Toothless first."
Untied, except for a muzzle and a collar with chain leads, Toothless was lead to the riders by burly hunters. "There— that's close enough," Hiccup said when they were about to enter the wide circle of hunters. "Release him."
Only after receiving a nod from Viggo, did they let go of the leads. Toothless bounded to them and started protectively circling whilst growling at the hunters.
"Okay bud, let's give them the Dragon-Eye," Hiccup said, while his hand signal said something slightly different.
With a whip of his tail, Toothless sent it flying out of Kiara's hands and at Ryker. It whacked the top of his head, making him stagger, and continued flying towards the cliff edge.
Viggo shouted at Garf to "cut those wings!" as he ran after the Eye. With the distraction, Toothless snapped his wings open, knocking back hunters as they reached for their swords, and launched up with the riders. Garf brought down his sword but something wrapped around his arms and threw him aside, conveniently into Ryker. Robbie revealed himself with a wide spray of acid. Toothless snatched up Whiplash by her restraints and they all swept off the cliff.
"Hell yeah!" Kiara whooped. Her celebration was cut short as she caught sight of a boulder hurtling at them. "Oh, crap." It hit Toothless on his wing, but he managed to twist to lessen the impact. Like ambush predators, boats were nestled in the dark foggy ocean and Whiplash's weight was dragging them towards becoming their next meal. "Of course, he planned for this," Hiccup grumbled, frantically trying to undo Toothless's muzzle while Robbie worked on Whiplash's binds. They were too big a target. And slow.
"Look out!" Kiara yelled as she grabbed Hiccup's sword as sliced through a bola. She stopped it from wrapping around them, but part of it hit Robbie. "That's gonna bruise," he moaned. Simultaneously, Toothless was almost hit by another boulder and was forced to drop Whiplash to dodge it. Robbie caught her with great effort but quickly sank with her weight. As they dropped into the range of arrows, so too did their chances of survival. They'd never make it through the boats.
"Retreat!" Hiccup yelled.
"Back to the cliff?" Kiara exclaimed, glancing back to see Viggo and his hunters reloading their crossbows.
"To destroy the cliff!"
Kiara grinned. "I'm so on board!"
As they swivelled around, Hiccup tore off the muzzle and Whiplash fell free from her ties and swooped upward. "We'll combine our blasts," Kiara said and jumped off, landing on Whiplash's back. She sliced off the muzzle with her pocket knife. "Ready to let it rip?" she asked. Whiplash chuckled, excited. The wind whistled as the two fastest dragons approached like missiles. "NOW!" the riders yelled in sync. Instead of engaging their captors directly, the dragons blasted the cliff-face. Their combined shot lit the night, shredded the air and rocked the cliff. The force sent them flying back but that just gave them a better view of the destruction: large slabs of land sliding stepwise into the inviting sea. With the hunters entirely occupied with fleeing from the newly-spawned natural disaster, the three dragons flew over them, across the island, and far, far away.
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A/N:
Hello hello again!
It pains me to unpublish the temporary post but sadly I did title it as temporary. I really liked all your comments on it too :'( ... maybe I'll repost it after I finish, retitled as "honourary post" lol. Also, I did a few minor edits on chapter 84. If anyone spots them I would be awed.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter and predictions are always incredibly fun too ;)
Take care!
-Tan