Hiccup's POV
The plan failed. We had failed.
The wingbeats of the dragons echoed in the chamber, emphasising the silence. I glanced at the others, but they didn't meet my eyes.
How did I not see this coming? Of course Ryker would leave! Of course he had another base, or some sort of back-up plan! How could I loose Swiftstrike, Freya, Ryker and the Dragon Eye?
Toothless cooed slightly, noticing my frustration.
Calmly, Stoick approached from my side. "Son, it's over. We need to go back and regroup, come up with another plan."
I didn't move, didn't acknowledge his words.
He sighed. "This isn't over yet. I will write to the other chiefs and alert them of this threat. But we need to go back to Berk."
I looked up, making eye contact. Stoick's gaze was weary, tired, but strong and fighting. If he could manage, so could I. Nodding, I gave the order. The Wing Maidens left without a word.
I grimaced, looking around. Several unconscious guards were scattered around on the ground.
Perhaps they could work to our advantage.
Catching on to my thinking, Astrid directed Stormfly to pick up two Hunters.
Hopefully, it wasn't too late.
*
Hundreds of thousands of Vikings and dragons marching in silence. Fire raining down from the sky.
Screaming. Running. Falling.
"No!" I shouted, jumping upright. Tootheless leapt up, nuzzling me. I breathed heavily.
"No..." I whispered, slowly orientating myself. Closing my eyes, I ran my hands through my hair.
I had barely slept. As I headed out, I noticed the shift in atmosphere. A fog of fear rested over Berk. News of the mission's failure spread quickly, causing every citizen to loose trust in everyone. Previously faithful merchants were suddenly enemies. Any goods coming in were checked in excruciating detail for danger. Fishermen dared not to venture past the bays. With the hypnosis, a conflict at sea would be disastrous.
It had only been a few days since we failed. There had been no trace of the Dragon Hunters, yet more and more ships were going missing.
There had also been no sign of Gustav. Rumours traveling around the island suggest that he fled with Fanghook, but that didn't make sense, with Fanghook's worsening condition. Maybe he had taken a trip to try to calm this instinct? I wanted to look for them, but we didn't had the time or the people to search. The the riders were sent on scouting missions, focusing on finding what Ryker was planning.
I paused by a tree in the market centre. Someone had tied a sign with a list of suspicious people: vikings that were no longer trusted to not be under the control of Ryker.
Most names I had never heard of, such as Boggarth Nikjorg and Ingrid and Sigfrid Hrafknell. Several merchants and fishermen were also on the list. Freya's name was also present, unsurprisingly. I should've expected it, but somehow Gustav's name being on the list shook me.
Continuing to walk, I passed several stalls and headed towards the coast. The afternoon sun warmed my back, heavenly smells from the market teasing my nostrils. But I couldn't relax.
Toothless and several other dragons had noticed the change of atmosphere too. Instead of careless, free rides over the nearby sea, we would only venture over secure villages and safe woodland. Crooning, he licked my arm.
"You know that doesn't wash out," I murmured, voice void of any humour.
His concerned acid-green eyes searched my face for the source if my discontent.
I forced a smile. "It's okay, bud. It's not me you should be worried for."
I knew that Stoick had sent terror mails to the Beserkers, Defenders of the Wing and Outcasts to warn them of the hypnosis. But being aware would not be enough; little by little, one man at a time, the entire Archipelago could be at Ryker's control. My lips thinned. I couldn't let that happen. But there was no way we could attack without any more information.
"Hiccup!"
A large, round man approached, snapping me out of my thoughts. He wore rusty chainmail and had an unruly red beard. With every step towards me there was a clanking sound of metal weapons.
Forcing a smile, I responded, "Hello. I do not think we have met before. Who are y-"
"Just call me Red, my dear boy. All meh friends do!" He smiled, revealing large, yellow teeth.
Politely grinning back, I wondered whether I should leave Red. I had intended to walk to the prison to try and get more information out of the guards.
"It's horrible, aye lad?" Red continued, not noticing or choosing to ignore my lack of enthusiasm. "All these vanishings a-going on."
I nodded. "I couldn't agree more. No-one can trust each other at this point."
Stepping closer, he rested his arm on the handle if his axe. "I can't stand it. Ruining me business. People won't accept what I tell 'em."
"Yeah, I know what you mean."
"But y'know, I can't really get over the fact that they disappeared."
"The Dragon Hunters, you mean?"
Taking a step closer, Red modded. "You would think with an ever increasing army, sailing in secret would be impossible."
"Well, he's also using submarines and advanced sea vessels-"
Red cut me off, "Aye, but we did know where he was before." His tone darkened and Toothless swished his tail, wary.
He took a step closer and I took one back.
"We coulda got 'im," he growled, hand tightening on his axe, "but no."
"Not for the lack of trying," I rushed, looking for a way out without causing a panic.
In one fluid movement, Red unsheathed his axe and lunged. Leaping to the side, I grabbed Inferno and whistled to Toothless.
"Stop this now!"
Citizens nearby gasped.
"We coulda stopped him!" Red cried, thrusting towards me. I rolled, aimed to cut his axe and missed. "But now look! Meh own daughter is now at the hands of that monster," he spat, "just for sailing over!"
Children screamed and ran to their parents. Families hurried away, whilst stronger men approached.
"And that's not all! Look 'ere!" Red aimed for my arm. I countered, sweat dripping down my face.
Toothless snarled, firing. He leapt back, swung his axe and spat at the floor.
"You coulda stopped this!"
My eyes widened as others ran to help. Toothless roared again, a warning, but Red took no notice.
"It's your fault they have 'er!" he screeched, misery drowning out the threat of his cry.
I ignored his words. "If you do not stop now we will be forced to imprison you."
Red barked out a laugh. "I can join meh daughter then."
Several soldiers were now closing in around him. Like a cornered animal, he yelled, swinging his axe randomly. A soldier grabbed his arm. He bit his hand and kicked back, hitting a Berkian. I leapt forwards. Toothless fired, blasting him back. I charged.
Red focused on me, snarling. He threw his axe for my head. Toothless fired it out of the air. Unfazed, he reached for a sword. A soldier attempted a headlock, missed and fell. Red slashed desperately at the air near him, keeping the few remaining men at bay. Scowling, I lunged forwards, slicing the handle with Inferno.
The sword clattered on the ground. The fight vanished from his eyes.
"She's gone," Red whispered, as a soldier picked him up. "Gone."
He was dragged away.
Panting, I looked around. The area seemed exactly the same, but a heavy blanket of unease rested on the path. Wiping my brow, I continued towards the prison as if nothing was out of place.
*
Nearby, birds chirped peacefully, contrasting to how I felt. A part of me wondered if Red was right. I did have an opportunity to prevent this, after all, but I failed. I couldn't stop him. The rest of me believed I couldn't have done better, but I struggled to focus on it. The harsh words seemed so much louder.
As if aware of my inner conflict, Toothless sneezed, attracting my attention. I smiled, stroking his snout. Tilting his head to the side, he sat, purring. I enjoyed the moment, but all too quickly it was over. I steeled myself. We had to keep going, try again with the guards. Previous I interrogations had failed - but perhaps this would be the one.
Perhaps Astrid and Gobber had made some progress.
As I approached the prison entrance, I could hear shouts. I quickened my pace. This was not a good sign.
"Listen to me, you no-good Dragon Hunter scum! I will not repeat myself anymore," Astrid spat, her axe embedded into the floor. "You are very lucky to be here! We have saved you from Ryker - the least you can do is give us information!"
The guards held blank faces. The larger one straightened himself. Looking Astrid in the eye, he raised his chin and said, "Not as a prisoner."
Gobber cracked his knuckles. "Well you certainly ain't a Berkian. And currently, we could send yeh back to him."
Almost instantly, the colour drained from his face. His brown eyes were wide with fear. Beside him, the smaller Dragon Hunter shrunk on himself.
"You wouldn't." His voice wasn't as steady now.
"Oh we would," Astrid sung. "We would an see will. Unless-"
I chimed in, "Unless you tell us Ryker's motives, location and information on the hypnosis."
As if only just noticing my presence, the four turned towards me. I continued.
"Then you will be granted your freedom."
Considering my offer, the guards turned to each other. Unimpressed, Astrid glared at me. Shaking her head, she leant against the wall.
"All right, we'll talk," the smaller one murmured.
"Good. And leave nothing out," Gobber added.
Standing, the large Dragon Hunter began. "Ryker doesn't care bout none of us. He uses hypnosis so we will work without pay or complaint."
"He doesn't tell us much, either," the other Hunter added. Astrid raised an eyebrow.
"But we'll tell you as much as we know."
A small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.
"Ryker wants to take control of the Archipelago. Maybe even further than its waters, simply by hypnotising its leaders," one shared.
Gobber began to scribble on some parchment.
"He's using slaves and confusion to try to make us all eager for submission. Whether by following him or one of the leaders he hypnotised-"
Astrid cut in, "Just to be clear, how do we know you aren't hypnotized?"
As if surprised by the question, one answered, "We were knocked unconscious though. Didn't that... wasn't that clear?"
I made sure to remember that the hypnosis could be removed with a significant blow to the head.
"Keep going," I ordered, ignoring Astrid's glare.
"Oh yeah. To put it simply, he's got two goals that we're aware of: control the Archipeleago and kill his sister."
***
Eeek! What will Hiccup do next?
Where's Gustav?
What will happen to Freya?
Feel free to comment your ideas!