As the week had passed and the midnight sun was gone, tranquility had returned to the Hunter base. "So, now that the Midnight Sun is over, what are we gonna do next?" Ann asked Viggo, who sat behind his table looking over his Maces and Talons board.
"First, we let Ryker and the others regain their rest. I know my brother. Right now, he will still be light-headed and easily agitated if I ask him to do certain things, so we will have to wait with that. For now, we just have to find some things to do ourselves." He folded his hands together in front of his mouth.
Ann sat down opposite of him and shoved the Maces and Talons board in between them. "What about a game?" She smiled and Viggo couldn't hold back a small laughter of joy. "Game on, I guess?" They placed their pieces and played for quite a while.
As the day went by, they played a few games in a marathon style. "Those were some of the most interesting and longest games I have played in a long time, baby. I'm proud of you." He smiled at her. "Still, I have the feeling you let me win that third round." Viggo grinned mischievous at her as a confirmation. "You did!" She growled at that, leaving Viggo to laugh about it. "Anyway, you might have let me win that round, but I have an excellent teacher in this game." Viggo was touched by her words. "Come here." He held her on his lap and kissed away with her. Holding hands on Ann's baby-belly made their afternoon complete.
After rest had been restored across the island, Ryker reported back to Viggo for further orders. "Finally, people can walk around here again without fighting with each other." He said when coming in. "Maybe that's because you started most of those fights with your short temper and aggressive moods." Ann grinned at him and he knew she was right.
"Anyway, we need to focus ourselves more on how we can defeat Hiccup and his Riders. I am getting sick of his attacks on our partners and the empire that I have built ever since I became chief." Viggo mocked as he held his hands folded in front of his mouth. "Wait, you built it all up to what the Hunter tribe is now all by yourself?" Ann was stunned to hear that.
Ryker cleared his throat in disagreement with what she said. "You know what I mean, Ryker." Ann felt his eyes burning on her. "In fact, I have. The Dragon Hunter tribe wasn't as widely known before my time as chief as it is now. It is due to my effort and my personal way of working that it has grown to what it is today." Viggo explained to her kindly.
"What do you mean with your way of working?" Ann asked her husband. "What he means with that, is that Viggo doesn't care if men die or not." Ryker filled in for her. "They are expendable." Viggo added to his brother's explanation.
Ann looked down and felt upset. What he just said reminded her of the same he said to Dagur a long time ago. Viggo noticed her change of mood straight away, as a good husband that he is does. "Is something wrong, my love?" He asked her. Ann didn't know well how to explain the problem she experienced to him.
"You know you can always tell me anything, right?" Viggo held her hands in his to show her his support and love. "It is something you said a long time ago... Never mind." She wanted to walk away, but Viggo held on to her hand and stopped her from leaving. "What did I say then, sweetie? Did I hurt you unintentionally again?" He asked her, hoping she would answer him with 'no'.
"You didn't and at the same time you did. You said something about game pieces as people being expendable and no one being irreplaceable? Am I replaceable too?" A tear welled up in her eye at the thought of it. "By the Gods, Ann! Of course, you are irreplaceable! Why would you think that? I love you. You know how much I love you, don't you? When did you hear me say that?" He held Ann firmly against him to comfort her. "At the game of real life Maces and Talons you played with Dagur..." She whispered as he rubbed her back.
"Ann, sweetie, please. Don't think too much of that. Dagur needed a lesson in tactics back then. You know I happily gave that to him, but that doesn't mean that everything I say also effects you. You are an exception in a lot of cases." He let go of her a bit and let her have eye-contact with him. Smiling at her, she was reassured of his words and it was sealed with a loving, but quick kiss.
"So, what are our plans now?" Ryker asked to break them up. "Right now, I have a plan in mind that will require a lot of dragon proof metal." Viggo said as he walked back behind his desk and got out a roll of paper containing a drawn design of a ship. "What's that supposed to be?" Ryker asked in a disapproving voice.
"This, big brother, is to be a new weapon I want to test out. This will be the smaller sized ship, but I intent to make it a much bigger project." Viggo told his older brother as Ann came standing by his side. "This looks intimidating. What is your goal with something this big?" She asked as she held a hand on his shoulder while leaning onto the table with her other hand.
"My goal is to capture a dragon that is unable to be defeated and use it in our war with Hiccup to destroy him and his darn Riders. The dragon will be equiped with a metal ship on its back that will have all of us safely inside while it will dive under water to escape to greater depts of the ocean." Viggo explained with confidence in his voice.
"Ryker, capture as many Gronckles as you can and deliver them to our partners; the iron macons in order to make as much Gronckle iron as they can." Viggo gave the order to his brother, who once again left with a low growl.
"So, what can I do?" Ann asked as her husband went quiet for the next few minutes, looking over his plans again. "I would like to ask of you, my beautiful blossom, to collect as many resources as you can that the Gronckles will need to make their special kind of iron." Viggo looked up and took her hands in his, pulling her closer to have an intimate kiss with her again. "Come." He winked at her as he let go and sat down on the side of their bed.
Ann giggled as he would never change in his love for her. "You really want to ask a lot of me if you want to have me for yourself." She said as Viggo placed kisses in her neck. "Hmm, maybe. It's the way you interpret it, my love. But right now, I just want to feel you around me." He said as he laid her down on the bed and got her into the mood to get naughty.
As they laid in bed after the thing they just did once again, Ann laid in Viggo's arms gently running her finger over his chest. "That was amazing." She whispered as she had her breathing calmed down and enjoyed being there with him. "You are the amazing one, my love." Viggo smiled widely as he pulled her closer to him and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"So, I will go to get what you need me to do. Just..." Ann started, but stopped as she had to find the words for it. "But what, my love?" Viggo asked her. "What materials do I have to find to make dragon proof metal? I know what materials Gronckle iron needs, but what is added to make the dragon proof metal?" She asked as she played with her index finger through Viggo's chest hair.
"The extra ingredients for dragon proof metal is a mineral called malachite. It is recogizable by its green color, that makes it impossible for dragons to bite through it. It is also responsible for its typical green color. The ingredient that makes it fire proof of any kind is a powdery substance called hafnium carbide. It is most certainly rare, but I have a few locations where it is guaranteed you will find it there." Viggo explained as he took her hand in his and kissed it gently.
They closed their eyes for a while and woke up replenished with new found energy. They got back in their clothing and took a look at a map. "Now, the mining areas you want to check out are here and here." Viggo showed her. "My men there do know how much you will need for this porject. If you tell them I sent you, they should grand you with everything they have mined already." Viggo further explained the situation.
"Why should I tell them you sent me? I thought it is well-known through the entire tribe that we are married?" Ann put her questionmarks at his explanation. "It is, mostly. Not all posts have been informed yet." Viggo told her. "Why not?" Ann was stunned to hear that from him.
"I have not been able to contact each post yet, but with this particular post I have done that on purpose. The reason for that is to protect anyone from getting their hands on the materials. They are rare and a lot of people will tell a lie to have a chance of getting them, making a lot of money if they manage to sell it." Viggo said and it made sense actually.
"So what will make them believe that I am your wife?" Ann had to know how she would be trusted with the valueble materials. Viggo wrote something down on a piece of paper, making it authentic with his signature. "Give them this and they will know. If not, send a message to Ryker to join up with you." He instructed her. They said their goodbyes with a kiss as Ann would go back out to the seas to get what her husband needs for his plan. She hoped with all her heart that it would work this time.
She soon arrived at the mines that Viggo had pointed out on the maps. "Halt! Who are you?" A Hunter wtih a crossbow approached her. "I am Ann Grimborn, wife of Viggo Grimborn. I am here to collect the malachite that is to be mined here and bring it to the iron macons at the western islands." Ann said as static as she could to represent Viggo, but the Hunter did not buy it.
"You are just a profiteer, just like all others. Now leave." He aimed his crossbow at her and seemed to not hesitate to shoot her if he had to. Ann had to watch her steps now. "I am not like 'all those other'. I can show you. This is a note from my husband." She handed the note over and the Hunter took it, reading it through.
His eyes then widened in realization when he saw Viggo's signature. "Ma'am, I'm sorry. I did not know Viggo was married. Since when are you..." "A few months now. Now, why not show me the resources I came for and I'll have them transported to the western islands?" Ann demanded to see the collected ingredients and move on.
"The thing is, ma'am, we have not been able to find that much over the last days. Resources are slowly dying out on this island. It may be a few more days until we have enough to make the order Viggo has given us. Please, why won't you stay with us while we finish mining?" The Hunter offered her. "I appreciate your offer, but there are also a few other places I have to visit to collect the other ingredients..." Ann turned around and wanted to walk back to her ship, when the Hunter called her back.
"Do you mean you still need to pick up the hafnium? It has been shipped to us, in fact it arrived yesterday!" He called out and Ann stopped in her tracks, looking back at the Hunter. "Can you show me to confirm it?" She sounded a little harsh, but the man didn't mind. Viggo could be worse. "Please, follow me, ma'am." He said and led the way.
He showed her the cargo of hafnium when they arrived. For a metal that is so rare, there was quite the amount of it. "Very well. I accept your offer. How many days do you think it will take you to collect the required amount Viggo has given you?" She asked. "Give us a week. That should be more than enough time. I don't even think it will take that long." The Hunter answered.
After a few days of collecting all the necessary, Ann made her way to the location Viggo had told her to drop off all the ingredients for the Dragon proof metal. There, she ran into her brother. "Hey! You are already done with gathering enough Gronckles?" She asked as she walked up to him and gave him a hug.
"Well, I managed to round up some Gronckles, but I hope you had more luck than I had." Ryker mumbled and complained. "How come?" Ann crossed her arms. "Argh, we came across some strange guy. I didn't see the man's face, but his voice sounded familiar. We captured his green Gronckle and brought it here, leaving that guy to rot in the ocean." Ryker told his little sister.
"A green Gronckle, you say? Quite the unique color. Bet you just wanted to kill it and skin it?" Ann frowned at her brother in her typical 'I know you' face. "When do I now want to kill and skin a dragon?" Ryker kept on complaining, while Ann just had to laugh about him.
"What do you say about going home, sis?" Ryker gave her the choice. Ann looked back to the working area behind them. "Hmm, why don't you go back to the ship already? I would like to take a look around and see the making of all that metal." She said. "Fine with me! I can use a nap anyway. Has been quite a few days that I did not get much rest." Ryker stretched out and walked back to the village.
Ann wandered around the working place more as the night fell and the torched were lit. "Looks good. It's really making progress." Ann said as she was with a guard. "Yes, ma'am. We are doing our best to get the required materials done as soon as possible." He chuckled as Ann suddenly heard something coming from behind them. "I'm coming, baby! Hold on!"
Ann recognized the voice straight away. "Dagur!" She turned around and wanted to run towards him, giving him what he deserved after he fled from Viggo's command. "Ma'am, wait! Let us handle this." He said and ran towards the commotion.
Ann followed, but remained hidden. "Stay back! I only want my dragon and I'll leave in peace." Dagur yelled out as he took a quick look at his green Gronckle, that waggled his tail quickly as it realized its rider was there to get him. The men that were guarding the Gronckles were ready to get Dagur. "Think you mean pieces." A Hunter said while he drew his sword.
Out of nowhere, a plasma blast was fired and knocked over a few other Hunters that were behind him. Dagur laughed as crazy as he always does and went in for the charge. As Dagur went full Berserker mode, the Night Fury and Razorwhip gave him back-up, knocking every Hunter in the area to the ground.
Dagur knocked out the two Hunters that were in front of him pretty easily when he charged in. "That feels so good, reminds me of my youth!" Dagur told himself and turned back to his dragon, but a Hunter came running up to him again. The green dragon tucked on its chain, causing it to launch the Hunter backwards into the water.
"Shattermaster!" Dagur greeted his dragon with open arms and a big hug after he threw his weapons to the side. He took a look at the chains to get them lose, but a Hunter tried to stop him. "You are not going anywhere, with or without that dragon." The Hunter held his two-bladed axe up. "Then you'll have to kill me." Dagur was ready to do the same as well. "Oh, that's a given." The Hunter promised to kill Dagur if he could.
the Hunter raised his axe above the head and charged at Dagur. Dagur dodged the attack and the axe dug its way into the wooden planks. However, the Hunter quickly anticipated to the dodge and kicked Dagur in the side, making him fall to the ground.
On the ground, Dagur quickly grabbed a sword that was in range, but the Hunter was too fast and kicked Dagur down again. With Dagur on the ground, the Hunter had every chance to kill him. Raising the axe above the head again, the Hunter was going to strike him this time and end his life, but...
A tail beat the axe out of his hands! Looking up, the Hunter stood eye to eye with the Razorwhip. The dragon gave him one more whack with the tail and sent the Hunter flying through the sky, pinning him high up in a tree with some spines.
Ann watched the whole scene hiding behind a few barrels, trying to stay quiet and not be busted. It took her a while before she found the opportunity to get away from it. Only after the Riders had left, it was Ryker who was calling out for her. "Ann! Ann, where are you?" He looked around everywhere for her after he heard the commotion. "Ann, come out! Wherever you are, it is safe now."
Ann quickly got out of her hiding place and ran up to him. "There you are." Ryker breathed out of relief when she crashed into his arms. "I was afraid something might have happened to you again." He held her close. "I'm fine, but I've been trapped there for some time already. The Riders have freed all the Gronckles and got away." Ann told him while she held on to him.
"Don't worry. I am taking you back to Viggo immediately and send out the rest of our fleet to look for them and get those Gronckles back. We still need those beasts to finish the production of that dragon-proof metal." Ryker promised her as he brought her back to the ship.