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The sun still hadn’t risen when Hiccup woke up the following morning, the events of the night still clear in his mind. The two of them needed to act quickly if they were to hunt down Viggo, and that was definitely their intention. There was a single issue with this plan: how? They were still stuck on this Thor-forsaken island in the middle of the sea, at about 20 hours of flight on Toothless from Berk. Even if help was on the way, it would take them too much to find them. And they wouldn’t know where they went, so they couldn’t rely on external help.Wait. They did know where they were headed. He’d left a letter for his dad when he and Astrid had left. This happened before Astrid almost died, before the first traces of Viggo were found, so it all seemed so cloudy in his mind. What exactly had he written on that paper?We will spend a couple nights out. Fuck.And just so you know, we headed South. Well, at least he’d given them some useful information. Still, it would take the expedition at least 3 or 4 days before they decided to go look for them and find them. Which meant they were on their own. Again. Being saved was going to be plan B, but he, they, needed to think of a plan A.He slowly rose from his lying position and gently moved Astrid’s arms from around his own neck to free himself. He wasn’t doing this willingly but rather out of pure necessity. The moment he let go of her hand, he immediately felt the absence, the hot spot in his own burning cold from the lack of contact. Just as he left the tent, he bent down on his knee and kissed Astrid’s cheek."Love you," he whispered softly, even though he knew she couldn’t hear him since she was still asleep, "be back soon."As he left the tent, he was met with a black dragon, giving him a gummy smile and wagging his tail. The strong scent of salt woke him up and shook him out of that tired post-sleep state. He had a better look at the sky, and noted that dawn wasn’t too far away. This would mean Astrid would wake up soon, and that he had little time."Hey there bud, sleep well?"Toothless warbled in response, rubbing his head against Hiccup’s hand. The familiar feeling of his rough scales reminded Hiccup of the main problem at the moment: the broken tail fin.The boy scratched Toothless under his chin, and then the two of them headed for the jungle as Hiccup hoped to find something strong enough to replace Gronckle iron in the contraption. However, he wasn’t delusional enough to believe everything would be fixed so easily.They roamed the woods, passing through both familiar and unfamiliar sections of it, scanning for any kind of material that might be even remotely useful. After analysing for the thousandth time the same pair of vines, Hiccup let out a frustrated scream, Toothless immediately moving closer to him to attempt to bring comfort to his rider. He crooned softly, and Hiccup started stroking his chin absent-mindedly, his focus on something else completely. "You’re not trying to make your nightly escapes a habit, are you?"Hiccup turned, startled to see Astrid emerging from the underbrush, her brow furrowed with concern. “There you are. I was starting to wonder where you’d gone off to.”“I needed some time to think,” he said, pushing a hand through his hair. “But I still can’t find anything that’ll work for Toothless’s tail fin.”Astrid stepped closer, the muscles on her forehead relaxing as she moved closer to inspect the contraption in question. “What have you found so far?”“Just some vines and a few scraps of metal. I thought maybe I could use the wood from that old tree over there,” he gestured vaguely, “but nothing feels strong enough to replace Gronckle iron.”Astrid crossed her arms and looked him over, a thoughtful expression on her face. “What if we combine a few materials? Strength in numbers, right?”“Maybe,” Hiccup said, his voice laced with doubt. “But even if we could patch something together, I’m not sure it would hold up. Toothless needs that fin to manoeuvre in the air with me on him, and I'm not sure anything here could sustain that type of weight. But I need to get us flying again. Stormfly will soon be fine, but the two of us are stuck here until I can figure something out." He paused, weighting his next words. "I can’t let him down again.”Astrid’s gaze softened as she moved closer. “You’re not letting him down, Hiccup. You’re doing everything you can. We’ll find a solution together, just like we always do.”“Yeah, but...” He paused, anxiety gnawing at his insides at the thought of the quest in front of them. “Every second we spend here is a second Viggo has to regroup. I can’t shake the feeling that he’s already plotting something.”“We’ll get back in the air. We have to believe that,” she said firmly, though Hiccup could see the flicker of concern in her eyes. “But we can’t rush into things without a solid plan.”Hiccup sighed, grateful for her steadfast support. “You’re right. Let’s check the beach. There might be something washed up that we can use.”They made their way toward the shoreline, the salty breeze tousling Hiccup’s hair. Astird, of course, noted this, and decided to ruffle his hair casually, as if it were something normal for two people to do. Needless to say, it kept its new shape like a sculpture, not going back in its place. Hiccup looked at her and grunted, a fake expression of disapproval on his face. He was smiling inside."You do know I don't have a comb with me here on this Thor-forsaken island do you?" He joked as they got closer to the sea.
"You do know your hair is already standing up just fine on its own without your contributions?" She replied, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Hiccup was about to quip back when Toothless decided he'd had enough of the two humans arguing about Hiccup's hair and decided he would lick it back in place. After his rider had lost the argument, with a sarcastic comment on being stabbed in the back, their feet finally started touching sand rather than grass, the soft dunes bringing them into a stop just meters away from the sea.
The trio—duo, considering Toothless was chasing a butterfly—started patrolling this stretch of land, looking for any type of material that could come useful. They looked behind every bush, under every root, in all trees, leaving nothing to the case. After hours of searching, though, their efforts still hadn't amounted to anything. With the sun high in the sky, they decided to call it a break and go back to camp to check in on Stormfly as well.
While waiting for Toothless' return after he'd gone fishing, Hiccup and Astrid started talking about some of the revelations that had come up in their last few days on Berk before the start of this crazy adventure they had put themselves in.
"So, can you tell me now?" Astrid asked, trying to give him the look. "Please?"
"Tell you what?"
"Don't feign ignorance you mister. You know exactly what I'm talking about." He looked back at her with a confused expression and, seeing him completely at a loss, decided to push further. "Snotlout. What did he tell you the other day in the Great Hall."
Hiccup's eyes went wide as he finally realised what she was talking about. "Ooooooooh, that." He rubbed the back of his neck and, after deciding no harm would be done, decided to spit the truth. "He wanted dating advice." She threw him a questioning look, inviting him to continue. "Ruffnut." He said, expressing the word as a single breath.She wanted to act shocked, but then decided she couldn't. After all, it only made sense. She'd turned him down his entire life, and it only seemed natural for him to go looking elsewhere. She put on a small smile and let out a soft giggle, glancing up at Hiccup. His wary eyes were looking back at her, waiting for a reply. "What?"
"No smart comments, no quips, no nothing?" He said, a smile tugging at his own mouth. "I thought you were a lot more competitive than this." He got closer and mock punched her shoulder. "Are you just going to allow Ruffnut to steal your fanbase?"
She grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him down and pinning him to the floor. "Don't care as long as I have the biggest fan here with me."
"You're getting too cocky for your own good now m'lady." She decided his shoulder could take the brunt and started pulling his arm towards her.
"Ow, ow, ow. Astrid!" He started banging his feet against the floor, quickening the pace as she didn't release. "Fine! You win, you win." She released him and, as soon as he stood back up, decided to make something out of this. After all, Toothless still hadn't come back with lunch.
"What is it I won?" She teased, hoping he would take up on the hint.
He smiled and scooted closer, his lips lingering just a breath away from her neck, sending shivers down her back. "Winner's choice."
She turned around and kissed him softly, the two of them melting in the simple gesture. They soon separated, grinning widely. "Is more of this okay for you?"
"As I said, not up to me to choose." As he leaned in once again, though, Toothless got back and recalled the two of them to order bringing them back to Earth. They would have their entire lifetimes to get used to each other, but not the same amount of time to hunt down Viggo, if it really was him after all.
They roasted their fish and started eating over some small talk, the worries that accompanied them since the early stages of the day now out of their minds. After some time, when they were almost finished, Hiccup zoned out, staring at his half-eaten Salmon intently."Hiccup, is everything, fine?" Astrid spoke, seeing him so distant. He furrowed his brows in response, as if he were thinking about something. She was about to move closer when he jolted to his feet and went to retrieve a small dagger from the tent before starting to dissect his lunch. "Bae? What are you doing?"
Hiccup waited a moment and then, as he removed the spines from the salmon's skeleton, slowly replied. "Finding a solution to our biggest problem." Confused, she waited to see what he was on about. "Toothless is gonna be able to fly again."She inched closer and took the fish's backbone in her hand, turning it around, and then she understood. "You want to stick this." Her voice was light with optimism, the first time since they got stranded. "You want to use the bone's solidity and the flexibility of wood to make a temporary tailfin." He nodded slowly, urging her to continue speaking. "This will make the structure strong enough to support your weight and flexible enough to be able to turn even with a broken rig." Again, he moved his head, waiting for her to reach his same conclusions. "The cloth can easily be replaced with bits of tent or even some larger leaves." She then paused, finally seeing the reason why he wasn't overjoyed. "But you won't be able to control its movements with the rig."
He took the fish back into his hands and started turning it around. "Not quite. I just need to find a way so that the makeshift fin follows the movements as the intact one. We don't have to be at our maximum agility to be able to fly, we just need to get flying again. Even if we can't make sharp turns to the left, it's still better than being stuck here." He then started skinning another salmon and then took the scales in his hand. "And actually, I wasn't thinking of leaves." He stretched the skin and, seeing it didn't break, he went on. "Salmon skin is extremely durable. If I can coat it with dragon scales it should be flexible and strong enough to actually be better than cloth." He turned his attention back to her, looking straight into her eyes. "At least that's the hope."
"I hope you're right." She got closer and squeezed his hand. "Scrap that, I know you're right." She gave him a smile and he smiled back, finally sensing the release in tension that had built up in the last period. "Just one last thing, how are you planning on copying the movements from the healthy fin?"
He looked at her with huge determination in his eyes, one she only saw before a battle or before he started working on some massive project in the forge. "That, m'lady, is going to be a surprise.""Well, get to work then." She pecked his lips and then stood up. "I'll go check on Stormfly and go gather some more firewood for you to be able to create a makeshift forge, see you later." And with that, she was off, leaving Hiccup and Toothless back at the camp to start working on what could finally be their way to get off of this island. Not that it had been too bad in the last few days. The weather had treated them nicely ever since the infamous storm, and it's not like it didn't have enough raw materials for a basic lifestyle. If they weren't stranded there, she would've found this little vacation, just the two of them, more like an anticipated honeymoon than anything else.
When she got back to the tent with all new resources, it took her a while to recognize the place because Hiccup had completely revolutionised everything. The tall pine tree that had been between the tent and the beach had been cut and was now being used as a working bench. A set of rudimentary stone utensils was already littering the trunk, and a controlled fire was burning a few paces away, delimited by a circular setup of rocks. She spotted the boy in question kneeling beside the fire, the Night Fury keeping the flame alive. As she got closer, she noted how there were a few scales being warmed up on top of some salmon skin by the fire, while Hiccup was fumbling with some bone."Hey bud, would you mind giving me a quick hand?" Toothless got closer and started producing a short blue flame on top of the bone Hiccup was keeping himself occupied with, melting it. "Thanks."
"Whatcha up to?" Astrid called from a distance, getting closer
"Oh nothing, just finding a solution to the last problem." He replied, a wide grin on his face.
"So, you found out how to make the rebuilt tailfin work?"
"Even better, I'm building it." She threw him a questioning look, to which he promptly replied. "The prototype worked."
"Wait," she gave him a look that was between admiring and exasperated. "You're telling me that in the same time I went to gather some wood you found a solution and built a prototype?"
She leaned in closer, finally noticing a little bone contraption resting on the workbench. "Actually, I'm almost done with the actual thing if that's what you're interested in."
She bumped their shoulders together. "You do know you're one of a kind, do you?"
"If by that you mean that I get more things done without your pretty face distracting me then yes, that's true." She looked fake offended and punched his shoulder.
"I heard that Haddock." He gave her an amused look. "Now get back to work, as soon as I get here you start acting like Snotlout."
"And in what way?"
"Interested in flattery and not doing any work." She squeezed his hand and then took a step back to observe him as he worked. She looked at the flexing of his arms and back as he leaned over the table, at the precision in his hands when he adjusted a ligament or broke a bone in half, the look of concentration on his face as he assembled everything. The product slowly started to take shape and, as the sun was about to set, he had a finished product that hugely resembled the outline of the original tailfin."Wanna talk me through it?" She asked as he set it down for the day, never having left his side during the hours of work.
"How about I show you tomorrow?" He got closer to her. "I kinda had something planned for tonight."
She smiled, his sense of humour almost getting the upper hand. Almost. "I am sorry mister, but we've got an island to escape from. The sooner the better."
"Why, is the company not good enough?" Now it was his turn to feign ignorance, turning around so his back was towards Astrid.
She hugged his middle from behind. "I do love the company." They started rocking slowly, the embrace lingering in the air. "But I also want to leave this place."
Hiccup sighed and left her arms, headed for the work table. Toothless followed him closely behind and turned around so that his tail was resting on the tree trunk. Hiccup picked up the new contraption and started putting it on the tail, the size exactly the same as the other fin. He aligned the structure and then used a vine to attach it to the tail, the bones rattling as they fell in place. That was when she noticed how the bones there were solid, while a fish's backbone is extremely flexible.
"How did—" She started before he interrupted her.
"Get these bigger bones? I didn't." Once again, he gave her an answer that was more of a question than anything else, so he continued. "I used the spines from the salmon and melted them down. I found out that their melting temperature is lower than Toothless' controlled fire breath, so I was able to mold them into the shape I liked while also maintaining the rigidity given by actual bone rather than a backbone." She nodded, pride secretly brewing in her chest.
She got closer and noticed how some of the bones were also spreaded on the other tailfin, and a funny-looking ligament was connecting the bone to the left with the one on the right. The different ligaments were also attached to each other through pieces of wood. "Care to explain what's going on in the middle?" She asked, for once actually interested in the project he'd been working on.He got closer and rested his hand on Toothless' tail, earning a light-hearted protest. "Yeah I know you don't like to be touched here bud, but I've got some explaining to do. Please be patient for a moment." Toothless gave him something between a laugh and an insult which Astrid couldn't quite decipher, but Hiccup didn't seem offended, so it was probably some light-hearted sarcastic remark from the Night Fury. "Now, you know how I told you that I just needed for the left side to copy the right?" She nodded. "Ok. Good. So basically what I've done here is used the cartilage between the vertebrae and folded it in half so that it would damage in the middle. This way, it will always remain half-closed so, when one side moves, the other will be pushed or pulled to adjust so that the fold is always in the center. Can you show us bud?" Toothless flapped his right fin and, sure enough, the fake mimicked the exact same movements. "The sticks are there so that they fold when we try to turn upside down so that they fold and take the brunt of the centrifugal force without exerting too much pressure on the cartilage. After all, it was made to sustain a salmon's swimming, not a Night Fury's flying." He paused a moment and traced his fingers on what was acting as the cloth. "And this is made out of salmon skin to make it flexible even at high speeds, and it's coated with Toothless' scales to make it fire-resistant and better against wind."
She caressed the entire contraption and then spoke, without attempting to hide the awe in her voice. "You managed to think, plan, and make all this in an afternoon without a forge, iron tools or blueprints?"
He rubbed the back of his neck. "It's not actually that big of an achievement. I just—"
"Hiccup, I don't even know what a salmon looks on the inside, let alone make a fucking tail out of one." He said nothing and just looked back at her, his face slightly red from embarrassment. To him, it hadn't seemed like such a big deal. "Hel, I don't even know what centrifugal force would do to a healthy dragon tail. You thought of it but with a fake one." He smiled now. "Does this mean I met your expectations?"
"If you've met them?" She replied, admiration for him coming out of every syllable. "It's beyond anything I would've ever thought possible." She took his hand and squeezed it, finally realising what his speedy work meant. "Does this mean we can leave now?"
"If you're ready for it, so am I m'lady." He smiled widely.
The two of them split to gather everything. Astrid had told him earlier that day that Stormfly was now in condition to fly again so, after packing the tent and the few other supplies they had, they met again on the beach, the moon starting to rise as the sun gave out its last rays. Toothless greeted Stormfly with a rumble, and she replied with a chirp.
"Where do we head now?" Hiccup asked Astrid.
"Dunno, any ideas?" She replied. To be completely honest, all her thoughts had been on preparing to leave the island, not on where to go next.
Hiccup looked lost in thought, and then he suddenly exclaimed. "West!"
She gave him a questioning look for the umptenth time that day, and he once-again felt the need to explain. "The skrill from last night, the one who delivered the message, had come from the West and had set off in that direction as well. It would only make sense after all."
Astrid nudged Stormfly upwards and she complied. "What are we waiting for then?"
She set off, pointing towards the horizon, Hiccup and Toothless quickly catching up to her. They were finally in the sky again, finally able to move, finally able to find out what was happening all of a sudden with Viggo back in their lives. The manhunt was on.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Do you have a plan or are we just flying in a straight line until we fall over the edge of the world?" Astrid asked Hiccup after hours of flying.Hiccup glanced over at Astrid, the wind tousling her hair as she scanned the endless sea with a hawk’s gaze. Her question cut through the quiet rhythm of Toothless’ wingbeats, and he could tell by the glint in her eye that she was only half-joking.“Sort of,” he replied, trying to sound more confident than he felt. In truth, Hiccup didn’t really know where they were headed. He’d taken a bearing based on the stars the night before, hoping it would lead them closer to the Edge and the other places that were within Viggo's control, but after hours of flying, the expanse of ocean stretching before them looked just as vast—and just as empty. It was hard not to feel the doubts creeping in, each one heavier than the last. But he couldn’t let Astrid see that.Hiccup stole a glance at her, hoping she wouldn’t notice his worry. Astrid always looked so sure of herself, and he could feel the warmth of her trust in him—a trust he was afraid he didn’t deserve. He swallowed, eyes shifting back to the horizon as he fought to keep his mind focused.They’d been through a lot together, but being stranded on that island had been a test he hadn’t been prepared for. The near-death experience, no supplies, no way to fix Toothless’ tail—he’d felt helpless. He’d had to pull himself together, to keep Astrid safe, to make sure they survived. But now, out here with only the open sky and the distant calls of seabirds, he wasn’t so sure he’d succeeded. Sure, they’d escaped, but at what cost?“Just… trust me,” he muttered, hoping it sounded reassuring. He felt Toothless’ wings shift beneath him, steady and strong, a quiet reminder that he wasn’t alone in this. The only thing reminding him he wasn't alone in this. Looking back it made so much sense why Viggo would wait for him to be alone with Astrid to leave his message. But, following that same logic, he had to be alive, which he couldn't be. Or could he? There was too much he wanted to know but had no way how to unless he continued this crazy adventure into the unknown. It actually gave him a strange sense of déjà-vu, the only difference that Astrid was the only companion by his side.She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, trust goes both ways, you know. If you’re planning on taking us all the way to Helheim’s Gate, just let me know so I can brace myself.”Hiccup almost smiled at that. That was the thing about Astrid—she could be as fierce as any warrior, but she always found a way to keep him grounded. Sometimes, he wondered if she had any idea how much he relied on her. They flew in silence for a few more moments, with Hiccup lost in his own thoughts. The island had felt like a trial, but now that they were away from it, he found himself feeling… what? Nostalgic?No, that wasn’t right. But something had shifted during those days alone, something he couldn’t ignore. It was as if, for the first time, he'd realised how hard it is to actually rely only on himself. He'd always been able to lean on Toothless or the gang for support in past experiences, but not this time. When Astrid had been out of the game and Toothless couldn't fly, it was him who'd had to keep it all together. He felt a new man, but at the same time he still felt like that scared boy in the forge 10 years before, too afraid to peak behind the counter in case he saw something he shouldn't. It amazed and terrorised him at the same time how the thought of Viggo could reduce him in like this. He tried to shake off the thought.A sudden squawk snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked down, spotting a scattering of jagged rocks thrusting up from the water below.“There!” he said, pointing. “Sea stacks! We might be able to find a resting place for a while.” The sun had just let out its final rays of the day since they'd started flying late in the afternoon, and all four of them could use some sleep. Luckily, they'd kept some dried fish from yesterday and had already ate while flying. They just needed a place to lay down and enjoy a few hours of shut eye.Astrid peered over the edge of her saddle, following his gaze. “You think it’s safe?”“Safer than crashing from exhaustion,” Hiccup said, though he couldn’t help but feel a little thrill at the thought of exploring. They circled downward, and Toothless flared his wings as he glided toward the largest stack.They landed on a rocky outcrop, and Hiccup hopped off, stretching his legs with a sigh of relief. Astrid did the same, rubbing her sore shoulders as she surveyed their surroundings.“Well, at least we’re not stranded again,” she said with a smirk.Hiccup tried to laugh, but a strange feeling tugged at him. The air around the seastack felt… different. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but it was as if the place was trying to tell him something. He moved closer to the base of the jagged rocks, his eyes scanning the shadows that danced along the crevices. And then he saw a reflection with the corner of his eye. He looked back, trying to see if it was just an illusion created by the long shadows. Turning around again, he spotted two pieces of paper, held together with a ring of gronckle iron. He moved slowly towards the object, hidden in a hole under a boulder. He could feel Astrid open her mouth to ask him what he was doing, and then he could imagine her face when he knelt down to retrieve his findings. When he turned around to face her, the papers in hand, she raised her eyebrows and frowned, giving him what he now knew to be her "Please explain" face.The iron was still shining, as if it had just left the fire of a forge, but the paper itself showed the wear of time, the edges all crumpled up and the texture rough because of all the salt it had absorbed. Hiccup finally looked down to see if there were any writings. She got closer to him and moved so that she was standing beside him, both of them staring at the first of the two pages, neither of them moving to see what was inside. The dragons seemed frozen as well, Stormfly had her spine tail ready to strike, and Toothless was hunched on his back legs, scanning the surroundings with his hearing. All seemed clear, but apparently Hiccup wasn't the only one who had a strange feeling about the sea stack.“Astrid… feel this,” he whispered, tracing his finger on around the ring. There was another message engraved, so little that it was impossible to see, but not enough that a pair of sensible hands wouldn't be able to spot it.“What is it?” Astrid asked, leaning forwards and taking the ring in her hand. She tried tracing her finger where Hiccup had put his, but everything felt smooth. "Hiccup," he looked back at her, brows furrowed, "it's smooth."Before he could reply, he opened the first sheet of paper to read the message inside. He stilled, and Astrid would feel his heartbeat quicken as he continued reading. She moved once again so she could read the contents, and her face went pale.
Hiccup, I know you're smart. You're the only one who can find the next hint. A savvy businessman.
"This is it." He said after some time. "He has to be alive, there is no other rational explanation." He let the papers drop, slowly gliding to the hit the ground, the ring letting out a soft thump. "But it makes no sense." He put both hands in his hair and started scraping the back of his skull, an obvious sign of frustration. Astrid was petrified, not knowing what to say. "Are you 100% sure you couldn't feel anything on the ring?" Hiccup was now staring at her, at trace of doubt tainting his last words.
She nodded, still in complete shock. He crouched, ripped the ring out of the papers and brought back in his hand. She could hear him mutter under his breath "Made where the shadows meet the sea." He looked up and then turned around to face the rising moon. "Shadows." He knelt back down by the rock and started looking around, searching for something. She couldn't move, too confused by his actions and by the fact Viggo had known they were going to stop on the sea stack. She didn't know if she should've been impressed or scared by the capabilities of such an unpredictable man. She decided on the latter.
Hiccup lay down, his stomach resting and the ground, and started digging on the side of the boulder opposite her. She dragged her feet all the way to see what he was doing, and was shocked to find a trapdoor slowly appear beneath the dirt he was removing. Toothless also went to their side and sniffed the handle, growling loudly as if it were a threat. It didn't stop Hiccup from opening it.Inside, there was a ladder down a tiny hole, definitely too little for either of the dragons to be able to go down, and both humans would also have a hard time. Strangely enough, though, it seemed as if it were made perfectly for Hiccup, just enough room for his elbows being carved on the side of the wood beams. He looked into her eyes, asking for permission.
"No." He looked at her with pleading eyes. "No Hiccup, forget it." He didn't stop staring. "Can't it wait morning? Today's been a long—"
He jumped and landed just out of arms reached, holding onto the ladder. Toothless, tried to grab his shirt and pull him back up, but only ended up with his head stuck in the entrance. After some pulling, he managed to free it, and let out an annoyed growl that he was sure Hiccup heard. But stayed there. Astrid turned to face the Night Fury. "I guess that's my call to go after him. I'll keep an eye out." As she started climbing down to reach Hiccup, she could make out Stormfly chirp unhappily. She stopped a moment and added quickly "Don't worry girl, I'm just going to see he doesn't do anything stupid." Then she lost her grip and fell in Hiccup's arms below.
"What were you saying of me doing something stupid?" He asked with an amused look.
She blushed and stood back up. "Don't go there." He opened his mouth to speak again. "Just don't." Apparently, it was enough to shut him up, which allowed her to take in their new surroundings.
They were somewhere that looked like a cave dug into the rock. There was no light apart from a fire burning in the middle of the room, and there was a pungent smell of salt that she could only guess came from proximity to the sea. The rock walls seemed to be smooth enough to seem natural, but with a closer analysis she noticed the signs of what she guessed were pickaxes, leading her to believe that it was actually human made. Apart from that, it completely lacked any type of furniture or other decoration. It was nothing special, just an empty room. An empty room carved within a sea stack in the middle of nowhere with a note they guessed was from Viggo that was directly aimed at Hiccup. Yeah, they couldn't buy it. There had to be something more that the appearances were not showing. It couldn't just end here, there had to be something more. She just couldn't figure out where.It took them some time before they were able to move again, and when they did, it was just Hiccup who dared explore the room. Once again, Astrid was frozen in the same spot, the chaos in her mind keeping her anchored in the same place. There was no way she was going to try moving without figuring everything out first. That's why she didn't notice anything strange until Hiccup exclaimed, telling her to get closer. She complied, and, as she approached, she noticed Hiccup crouched near the opposite wall, examining something intently. His fingers traced the stone, his brow furrowed in concentration.
“Hiccup, what is it?” she asked, her voice echoing softly in the empty chamber.
He didn’t answer right away, his eyes fixed on the wall. After a moment, he looked back at her, eyes gleaming with an intensity that told her he was concentrating very hard to find a connection between something he'd noticed. “Look here. I think… I think this isn’t just a cave. There’s a passage.”
Astrid stepped closer, following his gaze to a faint crack in the rock, nearly invisible against the rough texture of the wall. It was subtle, but as she squinted, she could make out a thin seam tracing a rectangle. “A door?” she whispered, hardly believing it.
Hiccup nodded, running his hand along the stone. “It’s disguised, but look at the outline—it’s too straight, too intentional. This can't be natural.”
Before she could respond, Hiccup began pushing against the stone, feeling for a mechanism. Toothless, poking his head down from the top of the ladder, let out a low rumble, and Stormfly chirped nervously from above as if sensing the tension below.
“What could Viggo be hiding in here?” Astrid murmured, casting her gaze around the room. There was nothing but the faint light from the fire in the center of the room, casting long shadows that flickered against the walls.
Hiccup’s hand froze, and he glanced back at the fire, his eyes narrowing. “Astrid,” he said slowly, “look where the shadows hit the wall.”
She turned to where his eyes were fixed and watched as the flames cast dancing shadows against the walls. The fire’s light fell against a specific rock formation shaped vaguely like an upwards punch—a formation so familiar that it made her stomach drop. She’d seen that symbol many times before, carved into Viggo’s maps, etched into his letters, and printed on his belt.
But the shadow didn’t stop there. It continued, almost like it was being pulled, extending along the wall and leading down toward the floor, where it met the seam Hiccup had discovered. The shadow seemed to waver, stretching toward a narrow crack that led further down.
“It’s… it’s a guide,” Hiccup said, voice tinged with awe. “Viggo must’ve known we would find this—someone clever enough to follow the clues. The shadow… it points the way.” He paused a moment. "It makes so much sense with the message on the ring." He muttered, before starting to trace the small line along the wall.
Astrid shivered, glancing over her shoulder as if half-expecting Viggo to be watching them from the dark. She didn’t like the idea of being led by Viggo, even if he was doing so from Valhalla, or Helheim, or whatever kingdom he'd ended in. But Hiccup was pulling at the stone intently, following the shadow’s line to where it disappeared into the floor. His fingers found a hidden latch, and with a heave, he pulled back a small, narrow door in the floor, revealing a second passageway descending into darkness, a series of large stone steps leading the way.
“Hiccup, wait,” Astrid said, grabbing his arm before he could descend. “This could be a trap. Viggo was always three steps ahead—this might just be another one of his games.”
He turned to look at her, and for a moment, she saw the doubt flicker across his face. But then he shook his head. “I know it might be a trap, but I can’t just turn back now. This whole thing—it’s all part of whatever he's been trying to show us, to lead us to, and if we’re going to stop it. I need to know what it is he is hiding.”
Astrid bit her lip, reluctant but knowing he was right. She released his arm, and they both leaned over the narrow passage, staring into the depths. A faint glow emanated from below, the light reflecting off the water that lapped against the stone walls at the bottom. The sound of waves echoed back up to them, reverberating like a warning from the deep.
“It goes under, all the way to the sea,” Hiccup said, his voice barely a whisper. “There must be an entrance that leads out… maybe even to the open water.”
“Or to a secret cove,” Astrid suggested, feeling a thrill of excitement for the first time since they left the deserted island. She'd missed the feeling more than she thought.
He nodded, then looked up at her with a grin that was half nerves, half elation. “Only one way to find out.”
Without another word, he descended, disappearing into the dark. Astrid took a deep breath, casting one last look at the dragons above before following him down the narrow steps, her hand on the wall to keep her balance. They moved cautiously, the light from the room above fading as they reached the base of the passage.
The ground leveled out, and they found themselves in a narrow tunnel that angled downward, following the flow of water toward the sea. The air grew damp, the sound of crashing waves becoming louder with each step. Every so often, Hiccup would pause to check the walls, his fingers brushing over strange carvings—symbols and markings she couldn’t decipher but that Hiccup seemed to study intently.
They rounded a bend, and Astrid gasped as they emerged into another hidden cavern. This one, though, had a massive archway opened to the sea, framed by the dark cliffs. Moonlight spilled through, illuminating the water below with a silvery glow. The sea was calm, its gentle lapping against the rocks creating an eerie tranquility.
Hiccup stopped at the edge of the archway, staring out at the sea with a look she couldn’t quite place. She joined him, glancing back to see if there were any other clues, her gaze falling on the reflection of the firelight behind them as it continued casting shadows along the tunnel wall.
“It’s beautiful,” she said softly, glancing at him. “But… why go through all this trouble just to bring us here?”
Hiccup didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he knelt at the edge of the archway, eyes scanning the rocky ledge that jutted out toward the water. His hand brushed against something embedded in the stone, and he reached down, fingers grazing over a small iron plaque worn from years of exposure to the elements.
His face paled as he read the words, his voice trembling with a mixture of anger and disbelief. “It’s a dedication.”
Astrid frowned, moving closer to read it herself, but the letters were too faint, eroded by years of wind and salt. “Dedication? To who?”
He swallowed hard, his hand balling into a fist as he pulled back. “It’s to… us.”
Astrid felt a chill crawl down her spine as she thought about the implications of this. Viggo had known about their encounter long before his hypothetical death, long before they fought, long before they met for the first time. This place seemed too old for it to be something recent, but how could he have made this place before everything? It had to be a coincidence. But then again, there were too many references to them specifically for it to be a coincidence. “You’re saying Viggo… he saw this far ahead?”
Hiccup’s eyes were fixed on the sea, a dark intensity in his gaze she hadn’t seen before. “Not just seeing ahead, Astrid. I think he left this message… for someone to find, as a way of telling them more about us. Or maybe it was for us to understand what he was trying to achieve. It’s as if everything he did, everything he was planning—it’s all tied to us somehow.”
Astrid couldn’t believe it, yet here they were, standing in a place that seemed to have been built by Viggo with the two of them in mind. It was chilling, knowing Viggo had seen everything before it actually happened. If it really was them, that is. She didn't want to consider the possibility. Not yet.
“What do we do?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper. Hiccup turned, his jaw set with a grim determination she hadn’t seen since their hardest battles.
“We finish what he started,” he said. “We find out exactly what he was planning…” He turned around, bumped their shoulders and, with a forced joyous tone, spoke. "It wouldn't be any fun without a challenge, would it?" She attempted a smile, but couldn't keep it on her face for long.
He turned back to the dark water, where the waves lapped gently against the rocks, as if beckoning them forward into the unknown. He layed back on the ground, staring into the ceiling. SHe sat down beside him, intertwining their hands, giving her all of her support in the silent language they'd developed. Suddenly, he jerked up and took something that was resting on the arch just above the point where the waves met the steps. She threw him a quick questioning look, to which he opened his hand to reveal the traitor from piece from Maces and Talons. She was about to ask him what he thought it meant, when he said a single name, his voice trembling as he did.
“Dagur.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"This is stupid." Astrid said as she was re-braiding her hair for the thousandth time. "Why did you agree to this?""'Cause he's my brother." Hiccup replied, his usual sarcasm slipping into his voice. "How could I not?""So you're telling me that we have to go to Mala and Dagur's one-month anniversary party dressed as if we were on a deserted island?" She glared at him, and, for a moment, he stopped adjusting the fold of his shirt. It was hopeless anyway.He turned so he could see her completely and opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak, then closed it again. "You know what?" He raised his right hand and started gesturing. "Even I don't know."“This is still stupid,” Astrid muttered as she paced the length of the room, her bare feet brushing against the wooden planks. She plucked at the edges of the skirt she’d cobbled together from the remains of an old sail. Despite her best efforts, it didn’t sit quite right, and she hated the way it kept riding up at her hips. “Luckily for us they really went for the whole 'stranded' theme.”"‘Normal’ and ‘Dagur’ don’t mix.” Hiccup replied from the corner, where he was crouched over Toothless, gently brushing sand off the Night Fury’s scales. “If we tried showing up with our old outfits, he’d probably chase us off the island.”Astrid huffed, turning toward him. “You’re not taking this seriously at all, are you?”“Not even a little bit,” Hiccup admitted, glancing up at her with a grin. He stood, dusting off his hands, and gestured at his own outfit—a patched-together tunic and loose trousers held up by a belt made of twisted vines. “I mean, look at us. We’re playing dress-up for a party on Berserker Island. How am I supposed to take this seriously?”Astrid folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Well, at least I look decent. You look like you let Toothless pick out your clothes.”Toothless growled softly, tilting his head as if in mock offense. Hiccup glanced down at his tunic and frowned. “What’s wrong with this? I thought I nailed the whole ‘island chic’ thing.”“It’s lopsided,” Astrid said bluntly, striding over and grabbing the edge of his tunic. “Here, let me fix it before you embarrass both of us.”Hiccup stood still as Astrid tugged and adjusted the fabric, her fingers quick and precise. For a moment, he considered making a joke about her taking on the role of his personal tailor, but the concentration on her face stopped him. Instead, he let his gaze linger, appreciating the way her brow furrowed ever so slightly as she worked.“There,” she said finally, stepping back to inspect her handiwork. “Better. At least now you don’t look like you just rolled out of a tree.”“High praise,” Hiccup quipped, flashing her a lopsided grin. “Thanks, Astrid.”She rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide the small smile tugging at her lips. “Don’t make me regret helping you.”Before Hiccup could respond, Toothless let out a sharp chirp and padded toward the doorway. Astrid turned to see what had caught the dragon’s attention and sighed. “Guess that’s our cue to leave. Let’s get this over with.”The walk to Berserker Island's central plaza was uneventful, though Astrid spent most of it muttering under her breath about Dagur’s over-the-top antics. Hiccup, walking beside her gently swaying their united hands, couldn’t resist the occasional quip.“You know,” he said as their destination came into view, “for someone who complains about Dagur so much, you’re putting an awful lot of effort into this outfit.”Astrid glanced over her shoulder, narrowing her eyes. “Maybe I just don’t want to look like a fool in front of Mala.”“Ah, so it’s a competition thing,” Hiccup teased, leaning back slightly to avoid her swatting hand. “Got it.”When they got there, they were greeted by a pair of Berserker guards, both dressed in surprisingly formal attire that incorporated elements of Dagur’s “deserted island” theme. One of them wore a cloak adorned with seashells, while the other had a crown made of coral perched precariously on his helmet.“Welcome, brother!” Dagur’s voice boomed as he emerged from the grand hall, his arms spread wide in an exaggerated gesture of welcome. He was dressed in what could only be described as a tropical warrior’s version of formal wear—complete with a grass skirt and a necklace made of shark teeth.Astrid glanced at Hiccup, her lips twitching as she tried to suppress a laugh. “Okay,” she whispered, “maybe we don’t look so bad after all.”“See?” Hiccup replied, grinning. “Told you Dagur would outdo us.”Dagur reached them in a few long strides, pulling Hiccup into a bear hug that left the smaller Viking gasping for air. “Brother! You made it! And Astrid, sister-in-arms!” He released Hiccup and turned to her, his grin widening. “You look stunning. Truly, you’ve embraced the spirit of the island!”Astrid forced a polite smile. “Thanks, Dagur. You look… festive.”Dagur beamed, clearly taking the comment as a compliment. “Ah, Mala and I are so thrilled you could join us! Come, come! The feast is ready, and the hall is decorated to perfection.”Hiccup and Astrid exchanged a look before following Dagur up the path to the grand hall. Toothless trailed behind, his head swiveling as he took in the unusual decorations lining the path—carved wooden torches adorned with vines, flowers, and more seashells than seemed strictly necessary. The hall itself was a sight to behold. Palm fronds hung from the walls, their vibrant green contrasting with the warm glow of countless candles arranged in elaborate patterns. The tables were laden with tropical fruits, roasted fish, and steaming bowls of what looked like some kind of coconut stew. A small band of Berserker musicians played a lively tune in the corner, their instruments adorned with feathers and beads.“Wow,” Astrid said under her breath as they entered the hall. “He really went all out.”“Yeah,” Hiccup agreed, though his tone was laced with amusement. “You’ve got to hand it to him—when Dagur commits to a theme, he really commits.”Mala appeared moments later, her serene smile lighting up the room. She was dressed in a flowing gown made of woven plant fibers, the design simple yet elegant. “Hiccup, Astrid,” she said, her voice calm and welcoming. “Thank you for coming. It means so much to us.”“We wouldn’t miss it,” Hiccup replied, though his words were tinged with sarcasm. Mala either didn’t notice or chose to ignore it, her gaze shifting to Astrid.“You look lovely, Astrid,” she said warmly. “The island theme suits you.”“Thanks,” Astrid replied, her smile more genuine this time. “You look amazing, Mala.”As the evening progressed, the party turned out to be more enjoyable than Astrid had expected. The food was delicious, the music lively, and Dagur’s antics—though over-the-top—were oddly entertaining. At one point, he insisted on performing a dramatic reenactment of his and Mala’s “romantic survival journey” on the island, complete with improvised props and exaggerated gestures.Astrid shook her head, laughing softly as Dagur stumbled through his performance. “I can’t believe this is actually happening.”Hiccup, sitting beside her, leaned back in his chair with a contented smile. “Well, if nothing else, it’s a good reminder that things could always be weirder.”Astrid glanced at him, her half-frown softening into something warmer. “Yeah,” she said quietly. “I guess it is.”As the night wore on, the hall buzzed with energy. Berserkers and Defenders mingled, their laughter rising above the lively music. Astrid found herself watching the scene with a mixture of amusement and reluctant appreciation. Despite Dagur’s eccentricities—or perhaps because of them—the atmosphere was surprisingly enjoyable.“Alright, everyone!” Dagur’s voice boomed over the chatter, drawing all eyes to him. He stood on the raised platform at the end of the hall, grinning wildly. Mala stood beside him, her calm demeanor a stark contrast to his boundless enthusiasm. “It’s time for the highlight of the evening—the traditional Viking dance!”A collective cheer erupted from the crowd, and Astrid couldn’t help but smile at the infectious excitement. Dagur clapped his hands, signaling the musicians to change their tune. The lively melody shifted to something faster, the kind of music that made your feet itch to move.“Here we go,” Hiccup muttered beside her, leaning back in his chair with a resigned sigh.Astrid elbowed him lightly. “Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you’re going to sit this one out.”“I might,” he replied, his tone teasing. “Unless you’re volunteering to drag me onto the dance floor.”Astrid smirked, standing abruptly and grabbing his hand. “You know what? I think I am.”Hiccup groaned in mock protest as she pulled him to his feet, but there was a spark in his eyes. Toothless let out a curious chirp, watching them head toward the center of the hall where other couples were already forming circles.The dance began with a series of quick, coordinated steps, the pairs moving in time with the pounding drums and lively strings. Astrid fell into the rhythm easily, her movements sharp and confident. Hiccup, on the other hand, looked like he was trying to solve a particularly tricky puzzle, slightly jumping every time he put his full weight on his left foot.“You’re overthinking it,” Astrid said, laughing as he stumbled slightly. “Just follow my lead.”“Easy for you to say,” Hiccup replied, glancing down at their feet. “You’re not the one trying to keep up with a warrior who’s probably choreographed battle formations more complicated than this.”Astrid rolled her eyes, but her grin softened the gesture. “Relax, Hiccup. It’s just a dance. No one’s judging you.”Except maybe me, she thought playfully, though she kept that part to herself.Gradually, Hiccup began to find his footing. His steps grew surer, his movements less hesitant. By the time the music picked up speed, he was matching Astrid step for step, their hands clasped tightly as they spun in unison. The laughter bubbling up between them felt natural, effortless. Around them, the other dancers moved with equal enthusiasm. Dagur and Mala were at the center of it all, their contrasting styles somehow complementing each other. Dagur’s wild, exaggerated movements were tempered by Mala’s grace, and the crowd couldn’t help but cheer them on.The dance reached its climax with a final, triumphant stomp, and the hall erupted into applause. Astrid released Hiccup’s hand, breathing heavily but smiling wide. “See? That wasn’t so bad.”“I think I survived,” Hiccup replied, his hair slightly disheveled from the exertion. “But don’t expect me to volunteer for round two.”“Noted,” Astrid said, chuckling as she pushed a strand of hair out of her face. “Come on, let’s grab a drink before Dagur ropes us into something else.”As the evening continued, the music shifted to a slower, more subdued melody. The crowd thinned slightly as some guests moved to the edges of the hall, content to watch the remaining dancers sway to the softer tune.Astrid leaned against a pillar, sipping from a mug of mead and watching the scene unfold. The candlelight cast a warm glow over the room, highlighting the contentment on everyone’s faces. Even Toothless seemed relaxed, curled up near the hearth with his eyes half-closed.“You know,” Hiccup said, appearing at her side with his own mug in hand, “for all the weirdness, this turned out to be a pretty good night.”Astrid glanced at him, her lips curving into a small smile. “Yeah. I guess it did.”They stood in comfortable silence for a moment, the music filling the space between them. Then Dagur’s voice rang out once again, though this time it was softer, almost reverent. “Ladies and gentlemen, for the final dance of the evening, we have something special. A piece that represents unity, love, and all the things that bring us together.”Astrid raised an eyebrow, her smile tilting into a smirk. “Unity and love? From Dagur? Did I miss something?”Hiccup chuckled, shaking his head. “Don’t question it. Just roll with it.”The musicians began to play a slow, romantic tune, the kind that made couples instinctively move closer together. Dagur and Mala stepped onto the floor first, their movements slow and deliberate, setting the tone for the others. Astrid felt a flicker of awkwardness as the dancers paired off, the room taking on an intimate atmosphere. She turned to Hiccup, ready to suggest they sit this one out, but he was already holding out his hand.“Shall we?” he asked, his voice light but his expression sincere.Astrid hesitated for only a moment before placing her hand in his. “Alright, but if you step on my toes, you’re sleeping with Toothless tonight.”“Fair enough,” Hiccup said, grinning as he led her onto the dance floor.As they began to move, Astrid was struck by how natural it felt. There was no hesitation, no overthinking—just the two of them, swaying in time with the music, in time with each other. She could feel the warmth of Hiccup’s hand on her waist, the gentle pressure of his fingers against hers. For once, neither of them felt the need to fill the silence with words. The world around them seemed to fade, the other dancers and the flickering candles blurring into the background. All Astrid could focus on was the steady rhythm of their movements, the quiet strength in Hiccup’s gaze, and the way the music seemed to echo the unspoken connection between them.As the song drew to a close, Astrid realized she was smiling—not the forced, polite smile she’d worn earlier in the evening, but a genuine one. And for the first time that night, she found herself thinking that maybe, just maybe, Dagur’s party wasn’t such a bad idea after all.The music lingered in the air and the hall let a scent of pine after a storm, soft and persistent, pulling everyone deeper into its sway. Hiccup and Astrid continued moving in time with the melody, their steps growing smoother, more natural. Around them, the dancers began to peel away one by one, the slow tune inviting many to the edges of the hall to rest and watch.Astrid couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this at ease. Hiccup’s hand on her waist was steady, and his gaze, locked on hers, carried none of the awkwardness or hesitation she was used to seeing in him. She could feel her heart pounding, not from the effort of the dance, but from something else entirely.“You’re getting good at this,” she teased, her voice quiet but still playful.Hiccup smirked, tilting his head slightly. “What can I say? I’m a fast learner.”She chuckled softly, her laugh mingling with the faint hum of the music. They twirled once more, their steps carrying them toward the center of the hall. It wasn’t until she glanced around that Astrid realized the other dancers had all but disappeared. Only Dagur and Mala remained, their movements as synchronized as two pieces of a puzzle fitting together.“Well,” Hiccup murmured, leaning in slightly, “looks like we’re down to the final four.”Astrid raised an eyebrow. “Think Dagur will turn it into some kind of competition?”“With him?” Hiccup replied, a wry smile tugging at his lips. “Always.”As if on cue, Dagur let out a booming laugh, spinning Mala dramatically before dipping her low with a flourish. “Brother! Sister-in-arms!” he called out, his grin almost splitting his face. “Looks like it’s just us now. The elite dancers, the crème de la crème!”“Or,” Mala interjected gently, a hint of humor in her serene tone, “the ones with the most stamina.”Dagur laughed again, standing upright and pulling Mala closer. “Let's make this interesting then!”The two couples continued sliding and twirling in the center of the hall, two entire tribes silenced to awe by the coordination of the central four. Even the musicians seemed enchanted, the rhythm of the music gradually slowing over time. Dagur and Mala, after the start of the next tune, silently slipped away, leaving just the two outsiders to the dancing. The two of them barely noticed, too concentrated on each other to care. The candles flickered, their golden light casting long shadows against the walls. The music shifted, slowing further, its tones growing deeper, more intimate.For the first time, Astrid felt a flicker of nervousness. She glanced around, realizing that all eyes were on them now. The Berserkers and Defenders lining the room were silent, their expressions ranging from curious to knowing. But when her gaze returned to Hiccup, his calm smile eased the knot of tension in her chest.“Looks like it’s just you and me then.” he said softly, his voice carrying a warmth that steadied her as he repeated their usual phrase.She felt a smile tug at her lips when she replied “Always.”They resumed their dance, their movements slower now, more deliberate. The world seemed to narrow until it was only the two of them, the music, and the faint crackle of the candles. Hiccup’s hand slid from her waist to her back, pulling her just a fraction closer. Astrid didn’t resist.“You know,” he said after a long moment, his tone light but his gaze serious, “this is probably the most attention we’ve ever gotten without trying.”Astrid chuckled softly, her smile genuine. “Think we should give them something to talk about?”Hiccup blinked, momentarily caught off guard. Then, as her words sank in, his lips curved into a lopsided grin. “Well, if you insist.”Without overthinking, he leaned in, his lips brushing against hers with a gentleness that caught her off guard. The hall seemed to hold its breath. For a moment, there was nothing but the warmth of his touch and the faint hum of the music in the background. When they pulled apart, Astrid could feel the heat rising to her cheeks, but she didn’t look away. Hiccup’s green eyes searched hers, and she could see the same mix of surprise and certainty she felt reflected in his gaze.A beat of silence passed before Dagur’s voice broke through, loud and gleeful. “Ladies and gentlemen!” he bellowed, reappearing at the edge of the room with Mala in tow. “My brother is not only my best man, but clearly the best man of this party as well!”The crowd erupted into cheers and laughter, some of the Berserkers pounding their mugs against the tables in approval. Astrid groaned, burying her face in her hand, but she couldn’t hide the smile tugging at her lips.Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck, his own face redder than a sunburn. “Thanks, Dagur,” he muttered, though there was no real annoyance in his tone.Dagur clapped his hands together, his grin wider than ever. “Alright, enough mushy stuff. Mala and I have a question for you two lovebirds.”Astrid arched an eyebrow, already bracing herself. “What now?”“How about a quick snack?” Dagur asked, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather. “We’ve got leftover roast fish and some of Mala’s famous tropical stew. Just the four of us. What do you say?”Astrid exchanged a glance with Hiccup, her smile softening. Despite Dagur’s usual chaos, there was something endearing about his attempt to include them in his and Mala’s post-party plans.“Sure,” Hiccup said, his voice steady but warm. “Why not?”“Great!” Dagur exclaimed, already leading the way. “To the kitchen, my friends! Tonight, we feast as couples!”As the group began to disperse, Astrid felt Hiccup’s hand slip into hers, a quiet gesture that spoke volumes. She squeezed it gently, and they entered the kitchen. The room was a cozy, warm space lit by a few lanterns hanging from the ceiling beams. The air smelled of roasted fish, spices, and the faint tang of salt from the sea breeze drifting through the open windows. Dagur had piled the leftover feast onto the table, and as soon as everyone sat down, he tore into it with his usual unrestrained enthusiasm.“Now this is how you end a party!” he declared, his mouth half-full of fish. He reached for another piece before downing a mug of some sweet-smelling brew. “Brother, you’ve gotta admit, I outdid myself tonight.”Hiccup raised an eyebrow as he scooped a small serving of stew into a bowl. “If you mean in sheer quantity of seashells, then yes, you definitely set a record.”Astrid snickered, taking a spoonful of stew out of Hiccup's portion, ignoring his playful shove, and leaned back in her chair. “At least the food’s good.”Mala, serene as always, sat with her hands folded on the table, not touching the food. She offered Astrid a small smile. “Dagur takes great pride in his events. I’m glad you both could join us.”Hiccup glanced at Dagur, who was already working on his third helping of roasted fish, and grinned. “Yeah, it was… definitely memorable.”Astrid nudged him under the table with her knee, her smile widening. “It was fun,” she admitted, her tone softer. “More than I thought it would be.”Dagur leaned back in his chair, patting his stomach. “See? I told you! My parties are legendary. And now, my brother and my future best sister-in-law,” he gestured at Astrid with a wink, “can look back and remember this as the night everything changed.”Astrid choked slightly on her stew, shooting him a glare. “Dagur…”Hiccup chuckled nervously, his cheeks reddening. “You really don’t hold back, do you?”Dagur grinned. “Why should I? Life’s too short to tiptoe around the big stuff!” He leaned forward, his eyes glinting with mischief. “Speaking of which… when’s the big day? You know, the actual big day?”Astrid groaned, hiding her face in her hands. “You’re impossible.”Before Dagur could push further, Mala placed a gentle hand on his arm, her calm presence containing his enthusiasm. “Give them time, Dagur,” she said softly. “There’s no rush.”Dagur sighed dramatically but let it drop, turning his attention back to the definitely smaller pile of food. Astrid and Hiccup shared a glance, their expressions caught somewhere between exasperation and amusement.As the conversation drifted to lighter topics, the four of them caught up on recent events. Dagur recounted a hilarious, if slightly exaggerated, story about chasing off a group of smugglers near Berserker Island, while Mala offered small updates about her people’s latest endeavors. Hiccup and Astrid added their own anecdotes from their recent adventure of actually being stranded, earning them a comment about the fitting nature of the theme. The easy atmosphere that formed made the evening feel almost normal despite the whirlwind of the party, to the point where Hiccup and Astrid almost forgot why they were on Berserker island in the first place.Eventually, the plates were cleared, and the lanterns cast softer shadows on the walls. Dagur leaned back in his chair with a satisfied groan, his hands resting on his stomach. “Well, that was perfect. A feast fit for kings. And queens, of course.” He nodded toward Mala, who inclined her head in quiet acknowledgment.Hiccup pushed his chair back slightly, glancing at Astrid before turning to Dagur. “Thanks for inviting us, Dagur. It was… actually really nice.”Dagur beamed. “Of course it was! You’re family, Hiccup. You and Astrid are always welcome here.”“Yeah, about that…” Hiccup hesitated, his expression shifting slightly. He didn't want to talk about it, but they needed answers, and he was the next hint. “We were actually planning to come to Berserker Island anyway. There’s something we need to talk to you about.”Dagur’s grin faltered, replaced by a look of curiosity. “Oh? What kind of something?”Astrid reached over, resting a hand on Hiccup’s arm as he straightened in his seat. “We’ll explain everything tomorrow,” she said, her voice calm but firm. “It’s… important.”Dagur studied them for a moment before nodding, his usual boisterousness tempered by an uncharacteristic seriousness. “Alright, brother. Tomorrow, then.”The weight of their unspoken words hung in the air as the group sat in silence for a moment. Then Dagur, never one to let a heavy mood linger, clapped his hands together and stood up. “But for now, let’s call it a night. We’ve got a big day ahead of us, right?”Hiccup smiled faintly, standing as well. “Yeah. Thanks again, Dagur. For everything.”Dagur slung an arm around Hiccup’s shoulders, pulling him into a quick, almost-too-tight hug. “Anything for you, brother.”As they parted ways for the night, Astrid glanced at Hiccup, her expression thoughtful. “You ready for tomorrow?”Hiccup exhaled softly, his gaze steady. “Not really,” he admitted. “But we’ll handle it. Together.” As they clasped hands to head back to their apartment for the night, Hiccup couldn't help but keep his other hand occupied by aimlessly stroking Toothless' head as they walked. "I hope."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The faint sound of waves lapping against the shore was the only noise filling the room. The candle had long since been extinguished, leaving the small guest room in near darkness. Hiccup lay on his bed, staring up at the wooden beams above him, his hands folded behind his head. Despite the quiet, his mind refused to settle. Thoughts spiraled endlessly, questions and half-complete answers tugging like a net caught on rocks.He shifted onto his side with a sigh, careful not to disturb Toothless, who snored softly in the corner. The Night Fury’s rhythmic breaths should have been comforting, but tonight, they only served as a reminder of the weight pressing on Hiccup’s chest.Tomorrow. Everything hinged on tomorrow. Well, today.The words he’d rehearsed over and over in his head now seemed insufficient. What if Dagur reacted poorly? What if they couldn’t find a solution to the problem they’d come to address? What if—Hiccup groaned softly, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes. It was useless. Sleep was not coming.Slipping out of bed as quietly as he could, he grabbed his prosthetic from where it rested against the nightstand and clicked it into place. The cool air of the room brushed against his skin as he padded toward the door, the chill further waking him up.A ride. That’s what he needed. Toothless would understand, and maybe a bit of time soaring above the island would help clear his head. He reached for the handle but froze when he heard a voice behind him.“Hiccup?” Astrid’s voice was groggy but tinged with concern. “What are you doing?”He turned to see her sitting up on the narrow bed across the room, her hair tousled from sleep and her eyes blinking against the darkness. She was wrapped in one of the thin blankets they’d been provided, and even in the dim light, he could see the lines of worry on her face.“Sorry,” Hiccup said, keeping his voice low. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”“You didn’t,” Astrid replied, though the yawn she stifled suggested otherwise. “What’s wrong?”“Nothing,” he quickly lied. Too quickly.Astrid swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, crossing the room to him in a few short strides. “Don’t give me that,” she said softly, her tone firm but gentle. “I know you, Hiccup. Something’s on your mind.”He hesitated, his gaze dropping to the floor. “I just… couldn’t sleep. Thought a ride might help.”Astrid studied him for a moment, her sharp eyes scanning his face. “You’ve been overthinking this all night, haven’t you?”He didn’t answer, but the way his shoulders sagged told her enough.“Hiccup…” She placed a hand on his arm, her touch grounding. “You can't do anything now about it, you know.”He let out a shaky breath, his voice barely above a whisper. “I know. I just… I don’t want to mess this up, Astrid. If Dagur doesn’t take this well, it could mean trouble for all of us. And it’s not just him. It’s Mala, the Berserkers… everything.”Astrid’s expression softened, and she gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “Then let me help you. You’ve been trying to handle this by yourself, but we’re a team, remember?”Hiccup managed a faint smile, the corners of his mouth twitching upward. “Yeah. We are.”She tilted her head toward his bed. “Come on. Let’s talk about it. Or sit in silence. Whatever you need.”“I thought I was the one trying to get out of bed,” he joked weakly.“And now I’m making you go back,” she replied with a smirk. “Come on, Haddock. Humor me.”Hiccup allowed her to guide him back to the bed, where he sat on the edge with a sigh. Toothless stirred in the corner, his tail flicking once before he settled again. Astrid took a seat beside him, tucking her legs beneath her.“So,” she began, “what’s the worst-case scenario you’ve come up with so far?”Hiccup snorted softly, running a hand through his hair. “Oh, I don’t know… Dagur flipping out, declaring war, Toothless and I having to make a dramatic escape… take your pick.”“Dagur flipping out wouldn't exactly be new territory,” Astrid pointed out with a small smile. “And you know that now he listens to you more than anyone else. If there’s anyone who can talk sense to him and actually have a serious conversation with him, it’s you.”“That’s a pretty big if,” Hiccup muttered, though her words did ease some of the tension in his chest.Astrid nudged him with her elbow. “Hey. You’ve faced worse. Remember when you convinced Stoick not to storm the Edge after finding out about the Dragon Hunters?”“Don’t remind me,” he said with a groan, but a tiny spark of amusement crept into his voice. “I think my dad threatened to ground me. And I was already living on an island.”“Exactly,” Astrid said, her tone light but reassuring. “You’ve got this, Hiccup. And you’re not alone. We’ll figure it out together.”For a moment, they sat in comfortable silence, the quiet sounds of the night filling the room. Hiccup felt some of the weight on his shoulders begin to lift, and he glanced at Astrid, gratitude evident in his gaze.“Thanks,” he said softly. “For always being here. For… everything.”Astrid met his eyes, her expression warm. “Always.”She shifted slightly, leaning back against the headboard. “Now, are you going to try and sleep, or am I going to have to keep you awake with more pep talks?”Hiccup hesitated, then chuckled. “I guess I could try.”“Good,” Astrid said, patting the space beside her. “Come on. You’ll sleep better if you’re not over there tossing and turning.”He blinked, caught off guard. “Are you sure?”“Do I look like I’m kidding?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.Hiccup smiled, shaking his head as he climbed fully onto the bed. They shifted to make room for each other, Astrid settling comfortably against his side.The closeness wasn't completely new, but it still turned Hiccup into a bumbling machine incapable of stringing two thoughts together. He felt his heart race for a moment before the warmth of her presence began to calm him. Astrid rested her head on his shoulder, her breathing steady.“Better?” she asked quietly.“Yeah,” Hiccup murmured. “Much better.”The night stretched on, and for the first time in hours, Hiccup felt his mind begin to quiet. Astrid’s weight against him was a steadying anchor, and as sleep finally began to creep in, he realized that maybe, just maybe, they’d be okay. The first rays of sunlight slipped through the wooden shutters, casting faint golden streaks across the room. Hiccup stirred, his eyes slowly adjusting to the warm light. For a moment, he simply lay there, happy in the quiet stillness of the morning.Then, he became acutely aware of Astrid beside him.She was nestled close, her head resting on his shoulder and her arm draped lightly across his chest. Her steady, even breaths fanned against his neck, and her warmth seeped through the thin layer of his tunic. He glanced down, watching the rise and fall of her chest as she slept soundly.Well, this is… cozy, he thought with a small smile, recalling the events of the night before. It wasn’t awkward or unsettling—it felt natural in a way that surprised him. He didn’t regret it, not for a second.Still, he knew he needed to get up without waking her. The day ahead promised conversations with Dagur and Mala, and he wanted to have time to clear his head before diving into that. He carefully shifted his arm, trying to slide out from under her without disturbing her rest.But Astrid shifted in her sleep, tightening her hold on him slightly and muttering something incomprehensible. Hiccup froze, his heart skipping a beat as he waited to see if she’d wake up. Her grip loosened a moment later, her breathing evening out once more. He exhaled slowly and then, slowly, slid his leg out from under the blanket. Just as he managed to shift halfway off the bed, a soft groan stopped him in his tracks.“Hiccup?” Astrid’s voice was low and soft, barely above a whisper. Her eyes fluttered open, blinking sleepily as she looked at him.“Morning,” he said softly, offering her an apologetic smile. “Didn’t mean to wake you.”Astrid yawned, stretching slightly before propping herself up on one elbow. “You’re terrible at sneaking out of bed,” she teased, though her tone was warm.“Clearly,” he replied, running a hand through his already-messy hair. “Sorry. I didn’t want to disturb you.”She shook her head, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “Don’t worry about it. I was going to wake up soon anyway.”They sat there for a moment, the silence comfortable as the morning light continued to filter in.“You ready to face the day?” Astrid asked, rubbing her eyes.“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Hiccup said, though the weight of the conversation with Dagur lingered at the back of his mind. “Let’s get moving.”They worked in tandem as they prepared for the day, the ease showing with their coordination as they got ready. Astrid busied herself braiding her hair while Hiccup adjusted the straps of his prosthetic leg, ensuring it was secure.“Did you sleep okay?” Astrid asked, her voice casual as she tied off the end of her braid.“Better than I expected,” Hiccup admitted, glancing at her with a small smile. “Thanks for… you know, staying with me. I think I needed that.”Astrid shrugged, though her expression softened. “Anytime. You’ve done the same for me plenty of times.”They finished dressing in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Hiccup adjusted his belt, glancing at Toothless, who was sprawled lazily in the corner, still fast asleep.“Think Toothless will forgive me for almost waking him up?” Hiccup asked, gesturing toward the dragon.Astrid chuckled. “He’ll survive. He’s a big softie when it comes to you.”Toothless let out a low groan, lifting his head to give them a sleepy, half-lidded glare before flopping back down.“See?” Astrid said, smirking.Hiccup rolled his eyes fondly and grabbed his flight jacket, throwing it over his shoulder. “Alright, let’s get going before he decides to hold a grudge.”They made their way out of the room, stepping into the crisp morning air. The village was already stirring, Berserkers moving about with their usual energy as the sun climbed higher into the sky. The scent of roasting fish and freshly baked bread wafted through the air, and the sounds of laughter and chatter echoed through the busy streets. When they reached the great hall, they found Dagur and Mala seated at the long table, deep in conversation. Dagur looked up as they approached, a wide grin spreading across his face.“There they are!” he boomed, standing to greet them. “My favorite couple of the hour. Sleep well?”Hiccup exchanged a quick glance with Astrid before nodding. “Yeah, we did. Thanks, Dagur.”“Good, good!” Dagur said, clapping Hiccup on the back. “Because we’ve got a lot to talk about today.”Mala smiled politely, gesturing for them to sit. “Join us. There’s no rush, and breakfast is freshly prepared.”Astrid raised an eyebrow as she sat beside Hiccup. “Do Berserkers ever rush anything?”Dagur laughed, his voice echoing through the hall. “Not unless it’s a battle! But you’ve got a point. Let’s eat first, then we’ll get down to business.”Hiccup took a deep breath, bracing himself for the conversations ahead. Whatever happened today, he knew he could handle it—with Astrid by his side. Luckily for them Dagur was a changed man from his 'Deranged' days. Hopefully.The table was full with an impressive buffet: steaming bowls of fish stew, plates of roasted vegetables, crusty bread fresh from the oven, and a variety of sweet jams and butter. Hiccup sat beside Astrid, grateful for the distraction of food, though he was acutely aware of Dagur’s wide grin aimed directly at him.“So, lovebirds,” Dagur began, plopping down in his chair with exaggerated enthusiasm. “How was your first official morning as Berk’s new hottest couple?”Hiccup glanced at Astrid, who simply smirked and started spooning stew into her bowl. He resisted the urge to sigh, knowing full well Dagur wouldn’t let up any time soon. “It was fine,” he replied casually, reaching for a slice of bread.“Fine?” Dagur echoed, leaning across the table with mock outrage. “Come on, Hiccup! That’s all you’ve got? You’re telling me you didn’t wake up gazing lovingly into Astrid’s eyes, swearing eternal devotion while the sun rose in the background?”Hiccup’s cheeks warmed, but he refused to give Dagur the satisfaction of seeing him squirm. “Actually, I was too busy trying to figure out how to get out of bed without waking her up. But thanks for the romantic imagery.”Astrid snorted into her stew, clearly amused.Dagur clasped a hand to his heart, feigning offense. “Astrid, how do you put up with this guy? He’s so… practical. Where’s the passion, the drama?”Astrid didn’t miss a beat. “Oh, there’s plenty of drama, trust me. He’s just good at hiding it.”Hiccup raised an eyebrow at her, a smirk tugging at his lips. “And yet, you still agreed to stick around.”Dagur slapped the table, his laughter ringing through the hall. “That’s it! You’re officially my favorite couple. Mala, back me up here—aren’t they adorable?”Mala, who had been quietly sipping tea, smiled softly. “They are well-suited for each other, Dagur. But perhaps you could let them eat in peace?”“Never!” Dagur declared dramatically, pointing a finger at Hiccup. “It’s my duty as an older brother to give him a hard time. Isn’t that right, Astrid?”Astrid shrugged, her expression light. “I mean, he does make it pretty easy sometimes.”Hiccup shot her a look of mock betrayal, though he couldn’t help but laugh. “Traitor.”Dagur leaned back in his chair, his grin practically splitting his face. “So, when did this all happen anyway? I mean, one minute, you’re all ‘Astrid’s my second-in-command,’ and the next, you’re dancing together like you’re the stars of some romantic saga.”Hiccup hesitated, his mind racing for a way to answer without inviting further teasing. Astrid looked at him expectantly, clearly leaving the response to him.He cleared his throat, sitting up straighter. “Honestly? It was Viggo.”Dagur’s eyebrows shot up. “Viggo?”“Yeah,” Hiccup said, his tone growing more serious. “After everything with the Dragon Eye and all the close calls, I realized I didn’t want to wait. Life’s unpredictable, especially for us.” He glanced at Astrid, his expression softening. “So, I took the chance.”Dagur blinked, clearly taken aback by the sincerity in Hiccup’s voice. Then, he grinned again, though it was less teasing this time. “Well, I guess I can’t argue with that. But don’t think this means I’m letting you off the hook, brother. I’ll keep you on your toes!”“I’d expect nothing less,” Hiccup replied with a faint smirk, though his cheeks still felt warm under Dagur’s gaze.Astrid nudged him gently under the table, her small smile reassuring. “You handled that pretty well.”He shrugged, lowering his voice so only she could hear. “I’m getting used to it.”“Good,” she murmured, her eyes twinkling. “Because something tells me Dagur’s not done yet.”And she was absolutely right. Dagur leaned forward again, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “Alright, new question! Who’s the bigger romantic, you or Astrid?”Hiccup groaned softly, bracing himself for another round of teasing as breakfast continued. He leaned back in his chair, a mischievous grin spreading across his face as he glanced at Astrid. “Who’s the bigger romantic? Oh, that’s easy. Astrid, hands down.”Astrid’s spoon paused mid-air, and she turned to him, eyebrows raised. “Excuse me?”He nodded, his grin widening. “Oh, absolutely. Who was it that insisted we stop to watch the sunset on that patrol a few weeks ago? And who keeps flowers in her room? I rest my case.”Astrid set her spoon down with exaggerated care, fixing him with a deadpan stare. “First of all, watching the sunset was practical—we needed to wait for the winds to die down. Second, I don’t keep flowers. That was one bouquet. From Heather.”“Sure, sure,” Hiccup said, waving her protests away. “The fact that you kept it in water for a week and even moved it to your desk means absolutely nothing, right?”Astrid folded her arms, leaning toward him with a challenging glint in her eyes. “And you’re saying that you don’t have your own stash of sketches of us together? Because I’ve seen them, Hiccup. Don’t even try to deny it.”Dagur let out a bark of laughter, clapping his hands together. “Oh, this is fantastic! I knew it—you’re both hopeless romantics. No wonder you’re perfect for each other.”Hiccup sighed dramatically but didn’t wipe the smile from his face. “Fine, you caught me. We’re equally guilty. Happy now?”Dagur smirked, leaning forward as if he were about to share a great secret. “Deliriously. But hang on—was it really Viggo that gave you the push?”Hiccup froze for just a fraction of a second, but Dagur didn’t miss it. “I mean, come on, brother,” Dagur pressed, his tone turning almost conspiratorial. “You’re telling me Viggo Grimborn, the guy who spent his days plotting against us, and you specifically, somehow made you realize you were in love? I feel like there’s more to this story.”Astrid glanced at Hiccup, her expression unreadable but curious. Hiccup chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck. “Well… it wasn’t exactly Viggo himself. It was more like—”Dagur held up a hand, silencing him. “No, no, no. Let me guess.” He squinted at Hiccup, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “Was it some grand scheme of his? Did he trap you two together in a cave with only one bed?”Astrid groaned, covering her face with one hand. “Dagur, stop.”Dagur ignored her, his grin widening. “Or wait—did he threaten to destroy Berk unless you declared your undying love for Astrid? I can picture it now!” He leapt to his feet, raising an imaginary sword. “‘Tell her, Hiccup, or your precious home will burn!’”Hiccup threw up his hands, laughing despite himself. “Alright, that’s enough! I think we’ve established you’ve missed your calling as a playwright.”Astrid and Mala smirked, while Dagur acted fake offended. He was about to resume his ramblings when Mala took his hand and pulled him down onto the bench.Dagur dropped on his seat, looking far too pleased with himself. “I’m just saying, it’s a weird thing to credit Viggo for. Unless…” His grin turned sly. “You’re just using him as an excuse so you don’t have to admit you were pining for Astrid the whole time.”Hiccup leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. His tone was still light, but there was a glint of resolve in his eyes now. “You know, Dagur, speaking of Viggo… what can you tell us about him?”The sudden shift in tone caught Dagur off guard. He blinked, his grin fading slightly as he realized Hiccup was serious. “Ah, so we’re talking business now, huh?”Hiccup nodded, his expression steady. “We didn’t come to Berserker Island just for the party, Dagur. Viggo’s still out there, and we need to know what we’re dealing with.”Astrid placed a steadying hand on Hiccup’s arm, her gaze meeting his. “And whatever you know could make all the difference.”Dagur’s expression sobered, and he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “Alright, brother. Let’s talk about Viggo.”Hiccup and Astrid exchanged a glance as Dagur leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. He took a deep breath, and for a moment, the boisterous energy he usually exuded was replaced with something quieter, almost somber.“Alright,” Dagur began, his voice low, “you’re not wrong. Viggo was always a step ahead of us, and I didn’t want to admit it before, but I know he was planning something big.”Astrid tilted her head. “What kind of big, Dagur? Are we talking about another army, a new weapon, or something else?”Dagur hesitated, his fingers tapping the edge of the table. “That’s just it—I don’t know exactly what it is. But I’ve got bits and pieces, and they’re enough to make me uneasy.”Mala, who had been quietly listening, leaned forward. Her voice was calm, deliberate. “Dagur, if you—”Dagur held up a hand, stopping her mid-sentence. “Not now, Mala. Let me say everything.” He turned his gaze back to Hiccup and Astrid. “You two deserve the whole truth, no interruptions.”Mala’s brow furrowed slightly, but she nodded and leaned back, her hands clasped in her lap.“Okay,” Dagur continued, his tone resolute, “this all started a few months after I started 'cooperating' with him." The c-word came out with a bitter taste, a reminder to Dagur that he had more than one wrong to right. "Viggo was quieter than usual—more secretive. Not just the usual ‘hide my plans from the enemy’ kind of secretive, but even his own men didn’t know what he was up to.”“That’s not surprising,” Hiccup said, his tone neutral. “Viggo’s always been the type to keep his cards close to his chest.”“True,” Dagur agreed, “but this was different. He stopped raiding, stopped expanding his territories. Instead, he started funneling resources—wood, stone, metal—all to one place. And nobody, not even his closest lackeys, could tell me where it was going.”Astrid frowned. “How do you know all this, Dagur? Are you saying you had got spies in his ranks?”Dagur smirked, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Something like that. Let’s just say I’ve got my ways.” Then smiling. "Lars number 2 was very easily corruptible."Hiccup leaned forward slightly, his gaze intent. “What did you find out, Dagur? Did you figure out where he was sending everything?”Dagur nodded, his expression growing more serious. “I tracked it to a remote seastack, very close to Helheim's Gate, no settlements for miles. It’s the kind of place you wouldn’t go to unless you had a reason. So, I went to see it for myself.”Astrid raised an eyebrow. “You went there alone?”Dagur grinned faintly. “What can I say? I like a little adventure. But yeah, I went alone. Figured it’d be easier to slip in and out unnoticed that way.” He pumped his biceps and it didn't escape to Hiccup how Mala immediately looked at his flexed muscles. "It's the Berserker way."Hiccup ignored the comment, his jaw tightening. “And? What did you find?”Dagur hesitated for a moment, as if choosing his words carefully. “Not much, at first. The area was heavily guarded, but I managed to sneak into one of the supply tents. That’s where I found these.”He reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a folded piece of parchment, sliding it across the table toward Hiccup. Astrid leaned closer as Hiccup unfolded it, revealing a rough sketch of a structure. It was an enormous arch-like frame, its base embedded in the rocky shoreline, very close to the lapping of waves.Hiccup’s brow furrowed as he studied the design. “What is this? It looks like… some kind of gate or archway.”Dagur nodded. “That’s what I thought too. At first, I figured it was just part of a new fort or maybe some elaborate trap. But the more I looked at it, the less sense it made. There’s no defensive purpose here—no walls, no towers. Just the arch, standing alone by the sea.”Astrid pointed to the base of the drawing. “What’s this? It looks like… symbols carved into the stone?”Dagur spread his hands. “Your guess is as good as mine. I couldn’t get close enough to see them in person, and the drawing doesn’t give much detail. But it’s weird, right? Viggo’s not the type to waste resources on something unless it’s got a purpose.”Hiccup traced the outline of the arch with his finger, his mind racing. “Did you find anything else? Any clues about what this is for?”Dagur shook his head. “Nothing concrete. But there were whispers among the guards—something about a ‘great work’ that would change everything. They didn’t seem to know what it meant either, but they were terrified of screwing it up.”Astrid leaned back in her chair, her expression thoughtful. “If Viggo put this much effort into it, it must have been important. But why build something like this in such a remote location? And why keep it a secret from everyone?”“That’s the big question, isn’t it?” Dagur said, his tone grim. “I wanted to stick around and gather more intel, but the place was crawling with guards. I barely made it out without getting caught.”Hiccup folded the parchment and set it aside, his mind spinning with possibilities. “Dagur, this could be bigger than anything Viggo’s done before. If we don’t figure out what he’s planning—”“I know,” Dagur interrupted, his voice firm. “That’s why I’m telling you now. I thought I could handle it on my own, but this… this is way beyond me. If anyone can figure it out, it’s you two.”Astrid glanced at Hiccup, her expression resolute. “We’ll need to see this place for ourselves. If we can figure out what Viggo’s building, we might be able to stop him before it’s too late.”Hiccup nodded, his gaze steady. “Agreed. Dagur, can you show us exactly where this is?”Dagur leaned back, crossing his arms. “Of course. I’ll draw you a map, but I’ve got to warn you—it’s not going to be easy getting in there. The place is already very difficult to find, and last time I was there they were building guard posts and turrets.”Hiccup smirked faintly. “When has that ever stopped us?”Dagur chuckled, but the tension in his shoulders didn’t entirely fade. “Just… be careful, alright? I don’t like admitting this, but if Viggo’s as smart as we think he is, he’s probably already planned for someone to come snooping around.”Mala, who had been silent for most of the conversation, finally spoke up. Her voice was calm but tinged with concern. “Whatever this project is, it’s clear Viggo believes it will give him the upper hand. You must proceed with caution.”Astrid gave her a small nod. “We will. But we can’t just sit back and do nothing while he builds… whatever this is.”Dagur drummed his fingers on the table, his usual grin nowhere to be seen. “You know, for all the times we’ve crossed paths with Viggo, I never thought he’d try something like this. It’s almost like he’s playing a different game now.”Hiccup’s jaw tightened. “Then we’ll just have to figure out the rules—and make sure he doesn’t win.”Dagur nodded, his expression grim. “Alright, then. I’ll get that map ready for you. And in the meantime, if I hear anything else, you’ll be the first to know.”As the conversation ended, a heavy silence settled over the room. The weight of Viggo’s mysterious plan hung in the air, a reminder of the challenges still ahead. But despite the uncertainty, Hiccup felt a spark of determination because, for once, the second-most unpredictable man he's ever known actually decided to side with him and Astrid in this wild chase.Dagur stood abruptly, brushing his hands together as if to shake off the heavy mood. “Alright, enough doom and gloom for now. Let me grab that map for you.”He strode over to a nearby cabinet, sorting through scrolls and parchment until he pulled out a fresh sheet. Sitting back down, he sketched the sea with surprising precision, marking the location of Viggo’s secret project with an X.“This is as close as I could get without being spotted,” Dagur said, sliding the map across the table to Hiccup. “The cliffs here are steep, but there’s a narrow path you can use to get down to the shoreline. Just… watch your step. One wrong move, and you’re dragon chow.”Hiccup took the map, studying it closely. “Thanks, Dagur. This is a big help.”Dagur waved him off with a grin, though his eyes held a flicker of genuine concern. “Hey, what are brothers for, huh?” His tone softened as he added, “Seriously, though, if you ever need backup—whether it’s information, supplies, or me charging in with my axe—just call me. I’ve got your back.”Astrid smiled faintly. “That’s good to know. We’ll keep it in mind.”Dagur nodded, his usual bravado returning. “Good. Because if anyone’s going to take down Viggo and whatever harebrained scheme he’s cooking up, it’s us. Team Dragon, am I right?”Hiccup chuckled. “Something like that.”Dagur’s grin widened, but the sincerity in his voice lingered. “Just promise me one thing—don’t get yourselves killed. The Berserker tribe isn’t ready for another party just yet.”Hiccup gave him a firm nod. “We’ll be careful.”Dagur leaned back, crossing his arms. “You’d better. I’m serious, Hiccup. If Viggo’s building something this secret, he’s not going to play fair. But neither do we.”“Neither do we,” Hiccup echoed, his voice steady with resolve, but his mind was immediately conflicted. You're more ruthless than you realize. Those words would haunt him forever, but it was no use to linger on that now. He and Astrid got up and left the hall.As they headed for the stables to get Stormfly and leave the island, Hiccup spoke. "Thanks for playing along back there.""No problem, you know I would never let you down like that." She turned around and smiled at him. "But why didn't you tell Dagur that we'd already been there?"
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The wind howled softly around the jagged cliffs as Hiccup and Astrid descended once more on the seastack. Stormfly had perched herself on a rock near the edge, her head tilted as she scanned the horizon. Toothless stood nearby, his tail swishing against the ground in short, sharp arcs. The noon sun bathed the scene in golden light, but neither Hiccup nor Astrid seemed to notice. Their focus was on the ladder leading down into the depths of the seastack.“You know,” Astrid said, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face, “if someone had told me we’d be coming back here this soon, I’d have made sure to pack a rope this time.”Hiccup chuckled faintly as he checked the ladder. “At least the first trip didn’t end in disaster. That’s progress, right?”Astrid gave him a look. “With us, it’s usually only a matter of time.”He smirked, shaking his head as he grabbed the first rung and began his descent. “Well, here’s to hoping we break the pattern this time.”The climb down was uneventful, the familiar creak of the ladder and the salty air reminding them of their first visit. The deeper they went, the more the sounds of the ocean above faded into a muffled background hum. When they reached the bottom, Hiccup stepped aside to let Astrid climb down. She landed softly, scanning the corridor ahead.“Still creepy,” she muttered, her voice bouncing off the narrow stone walls.“Still fascinating,” Hiccup countered, his eyes already darting to the carvings etched into the walls.Astrid rolled her eyes as they began walking. “Fascinating is one word for it. Creepy is another.”The corridor twisted and turned, every corner bringing them closer to the chamber they had discovered days before, the dim light filtering through cracks in the rock walls gave everything an otherworldly glow. Hiccup ran his hand along the wall, his fingers tracing the carvings as they went.“See these?” he said, his voice low but excited. “They look like they’re telling a story. Look at the progression—this part here could be a village, and this could be a ship…”Astrid leaned in for a closer look, her brow furrowing. “Or it could just be a really weird way to draw a fish.”Hiccup stopped, turning to her with a half-smile. “You’re not helping, you know.”“I didn’t realize I was supposed to,” she teased, brushing past him and continuing down the corridor. “Come on, Haddock. You can decipher the ancient fish drawings later.”He sighed but followed, his curiosity momentarily tempered by her practicality.The stairs leading from the chamber were just as steep and uneven as they remembered, but they navigated them carefully. The air grew cooler the further they descended, the faint scent of saltwater lingering in the stillness.When they reached the bottom, the beach opened before them, the arch standing at its center like a silent sentinel. The intricate carvings and runes that covered its surface seemed to shimmer faintly in the dim light.Hiccup approached it slowly, his eyes scanning every detail. “It’s exactly the same,” he murmured, more to himself than to Astrid.“Well, yeah,” she said, standing back and crossing her arms. “Why wouldn’t it be?”“It’s just… I don’t know,” he replied, running a hand over the edge of the arch. “I thought maybe something would change. Or maybe I missed something last time.”Astrid watched as he circled the arch, his brow furrowed in thought. He muttered under his breath, occasionally pausing to trace a carving or inspect a particular symbol.“You’re doing it again,” Astrid said after a few minutes, her voice cutting through his muttering.“Doing what?” he asked, looking up at her.“Talking to yourself,” she replied, a hint of exasperation in her tone. “I’m right here, you know. You could just say what you’re thinking out loud.”Hiccup blinked, then smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. Habit.”Astrid shook her head, stepping closer to the arch. “Alright, genius. What’s going on in that brain of yours?”He straightened, gesturing to the carvings. “Okay, so these symbols—they’re not just decorative. They’re too precise, too deliberate. I think they’re some kind of instructions or maybe even a map.”Astrid raised an eyebrow. “A map to what?”“That’s the question,” Hiccup said, his excitement growing. “Look here—this part looks like waves, right? And this could be an island or a coastline. If we could figure out what these symbols mean…”“Let me guess,” Astrid interrupted, smirking. “You think it’ll lead us to some grand Viking treasure or secret knowledge?”Hiccup grinned. “Something like that.”She sighed, placing a hand on her hip. “You know, for someone who’s always thinking about the future, you sure do get caught up in the past a lot.”“It’s not just the past,” he argued, gesturing to the arch again. “It’s all connected. Our history, our present, even our future—it’s all part of the same story. If we can understand this, we might understand more about where we come from. And maybe even where we’re going.”Astrid stared at him for a moment, her expression softening. “You really believe that, don’t you?”He nodded. “Yeah, I do.”She smiled, shaking her head. “You’re impossible, you know that?”“Impossible in a good way, I hope,” he replied, his tone light.“Don’t push your luck,” she said, though there was no real punch in her words.Hiccup turned back to the arch, his mind racing. “If only we had more time,” he muttered, half to himself. “Or more resources. Maybe Gobber could help. Or Gothi—she’s good with ancient stuff like this…”Astrid sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Hiccup.”“What?”“You’re doing it again.”He blinked, then laughed. “Sorry. Force of habit.”She rolled her eyes but couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at her lips. “Come on, let’s figure this out together.”Astrid crossed her arms, staring at the arch while Hiccup circled it like a dragon sniffing for fish. His fingers grazed the smooth stone, pausing occasionally to examine a symbol or an indentation.“Alright,” Astrid began, stepping closer. “If this thing is a map, what’s it supposed to show us? A specific place? A general direction? Something buried under this seastack?”Hiccup turned to her, his eyes bright with thought. “I’ve been thinking about that. Maps can come in different forms, right? It could be a guide to a location, or it could show us a route to follow. These carvings, though… They’re too abstract to be a straightforward map.”Astrid raised an eyebrow. “Abstract how?”“Look at this,” he said, pointing to a series of wavy lines etched near the base of the arch. “Doesn’t this remind you of the ocean?”“Yeah,” Astrid agreed, crouching to get a closer look. “But it could just as easily be a decoration.”“True,” Hiccup said, tilting his head. “But why would you go through the trouble of carving something this intricate just for decoration? Look at how precise these lines are. They follow a rhythm, like currents or tides.”Astrid stood and placed a hand on her hip. “So you think this is some kind of nautical map?”“Maybe,” Hiccup replied. “But it’s not just the waves. Look up here.” He ran his hand over a set of triangular shapes etched near the middle of the arch. “These could represent islands or mountain ranges. If the waves are the sea, then these might show landmasses.”Astrid frowned, her mind working. “Alright, let’s say you’re right. How are we supposed to read this thing? There aren’t any markings that look like letters or numbers. No scale, no compass rose. Nothing to tell us where to start.”Hiccup stepped back, rubbing his chin. “That’s the tricky part. Maybe it’s not meant to be read in the traditional sense. It could be symbolic, meant to guide us in a more… interpretive way.”Astrid shot him a skeptical look. “Interpretive? Hiccup, we’re Vikings, not fortune-tellers.”He chuckled softly. “Fair point. But think about it—what if this isn’t a map you read, but one you experience? Like a puzzle where you have to put the pieces together.”Astrid paced around the arch, her boots crunching against the gravel. “If that’s true, then the key to figuring it out has to be here. Either something in this chamber or the surrounding area.”“Exactly,” Hiccup said, nodding. “We need to think beyond what we see. If the arch is a map, then maybe the symbols correspond to the landscape around us. The waves could represent the ocean we’re standing next to, and the triangles might be the seastacks or islands nearby.”Astrid paused, her gaze narrowing as she studied the symbols. “You think it’s a map of this region?”“It’s possible,” Hiccup said. “But there’s another possibility I’ve been considering.”“Oh?”He gestured toward the arch’s upper edge. “What if this map doesn’t represent a physical place, but instead shows us something about the stars?”Astrid blinked. “The stars?”“Think about it,” he said, growing more animated. “The waves could be a metaphor for the sea of the sky, and the triangles could represent constellations or specific stars. Maybe this arch is meant to align with the heavens at a certain time of year.”Astrid tilted her head, considering the idea. “That’s… not impossible. We’ve used the stars to navigate at night for generations now. But if that’s the case, how are we supposed to test it? We’d need to wait until nightfall, and even then, there’s no guarantee we’d see anything.”Hiccup nodded, his enthusiasm tempered by the practicality of her words. “Yeah, you’re right. But if this is a celestial map, it might explain why the arch is positioned the way it is. Look at how it faces out toward the sea, with nothing obstructing the view. It’s almost like it’s inviting us to look through it.”Astrid stepped closer to the arch, her fingers brushing over the carvings. “Maybe we’re overthinking this. What if it’s just a marker, meant to point us in a general direction?”“That’s also possible,” Hiccup admitted. “But if it’s just a marker, why go to all this trouble? The craftsmanship, the symbols… It feels like there’s more to it than that.”Astrid sighed, leaning against the arch. “Alright, so we’ve got a map that might be of the sea, the land, or the stars. Any other theories while we’re at it?”Hiccup grinned, appreciating her dry humor. “Plenty. But we need to focus on what we can test right now.”“And how do you suggest we do that?” she asked.He glanced around the chamber, his eyes lingering on the top of the arch. “By getting a better perspective.”Astrid followed his gaze, her expression skeptical. “You’re not seriously thinking about climbing that thing, are you?”“Why not?” he said, already stepping toward the arch. “If we can’t make sense of it from here, maybe it’ll look different from above.”Astrid pinched the bridge of her nose. “Hiccup, that thing is ancient. What if it collapses?”“I’ll be careful,” he assured her, pulling himself up onto the base of the arch. “Besides, if it’s stood this long, it can handle me for a few minutes.”Astrid crossed her arms, watching as he began his ascent. “Famous last words,” she muttered under her breath.The climb was slow but steady, Hiccup’s hands and feet finding small footholds in the carvings. The stone was rough but sturdy, and he felt a small surge of confidence with each step.“Almost there,” he called down to Astrid, who rolled her eyes but stayed close, just in case.When he reached the top, he carefully stood, his arms outstretched for balance. The view was breathtaking. The ocean stretched out before him, its surface shimmering under the late-afternoon sun. The clouds above cast long shadows over the water, their round shapes creating intricate patterns on the water.From this vantage point, the arch seemed to frame the horizon perfectly. Hiccup’s eyes narrowed as he studied the scene, his mind racing. Could the positioning of the arch be a clue? Was it meant to guide their gaze toward something specific in the distance?The sun dipped lower, its golden rays bathing his face in warmth. For a moment, he forgot about the map, the mysteries, and the dangers that lay ahead. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and letting the sound of the waves and the feel of the sun anchor him in the present.“See anything up there?” Astrid called, her voice cutting through his thoughts.Hiccup opened his eyes, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Not yet. But I think we’re on the right track.”The arch held, miraculously solid despite its age and weathered state. Hiccup descended with measured care, each movement deliberate as he found handholds and footholds along the carved surface. Astrid hovered beneath him, arms crossed and expression tight with a mixture of exasperation and relief.“See?” Hiccup said as he finally hopped down, brushing dust from his hands. “Told you it would hold.”Astrid raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Lucky guess. Next time, don’t test your theories by dangling on top of an ancient artifact.”Hiccup smiled sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. “Fair point. But at least we have a better idea now.”“Do we?” Astrid said, tilting her head toward the arch. “Because last time I checked, all we knew was that it faces the sea and probably has something to do with the stars. Not exactly a breakthrough.”“Not yet,” Hiccup admitted. “But we’re closer. If this thing is meant to align with the stars, we’ll need to wait until nightfall to see anything.”Astrid sighed, glancing at the sinking sun. “That’s hours away. What do we do until then?”Hiccup sat on a nearby rock, patting the space beside him. “Talk? Strategize? Maybe try to figure out what Viggo could want with this thing in the first place.”Astrid joined him, sitting close enough that their shoulders brushed. She rested her arms on her knees, staring out at the horizon. “Alright, let’s start there. Why would Viggo need something like this? He’s always been obsessed with dragons, not ancient ruins.”Hiccup nodded thoughtfully. “True, but Viggo’s also a strategist. If this arch is a map or a key to something valuable, he’d want it. He could be after knowledge, treasure, or even a way to control dragons. Who knows?”Astrid frowned. “Control dragons? How would this help with that?”“I’m not sure yet,” Hiccup said, his voice tinged with frustration. “But think about it—dragons navigate by the stars. If this arch is connected to the sky, maybe it’s a tool to predict their movements or migrations.”Astrid tapped her fingers against her leg, her mind racing. “That would explain why Viggo’s interested. But what about Dagur? Do you think he’s telling the whole truth?”Hiccup hesitated, his brow furrowing. “I want to believe him. He seemed genuine, and Mala was there to keep him honest. But it’s possible he doesn’t know everything, either. Viggo’s good at keeping secrets.”“Too good,” Astrid muttered.They fell into a comfortable silence, the sound of the waves filling the space between them the rhythmic washing of water against the shore creating a soft lullaby that almost made the two of them fall asleep.“What do you think it is?” Astrid asked after a while, her voice softer.Hiccup leaned back, gazing at the arch. “I don’t know. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that every mystery has a purpose. We just have to be patient enough to find it.”Astrid smirked, nudging him lightly with her elbow. “Patient, huh? That’s not exactly your strong suit.”Hiccup arched his eyebrows, feigning offended. “Hey! I’ve been working on it.”They continued talking, their conversation drifting between theories about the arch and the occasional playful jab at each other’s stubbornness. As the sun sank lower, the sky transformed into a canvas of warm oranges and soft purples, casting a golden glow over the sea.Hiccup stood, stretching his legs. “It’s almost sunset,” he said, his voice tinged with anticipation.Astrid followed his gaze, her eyes narrowing as the sun inched toward the horizon. “And we’re supposed to wait until it’s dark. No sudden climbs this time, alright?”“Promise,” Hiccup said, raising his hands in mock surrender.They turned back to the arch, the late-afternoon light catching on its surface. The carvings seemed to glow, their intricate patterns highlighted by the shifting colors of the sky.Astrid tilted her head. “You know, it’s actually kind of beautiful. Almost makes you forget how annoying it is trying to figure it out.”Hiccup smiled, his gaze fixed on the arch. “Yeah. It’s like it’s alive, isn’t it? Like it’s trying to tell us something.”The sun continued to dip lower, its rays beginning to align with the base of the arch, casting long shadows across the beach. Hiccup watched intently, his breath catching as the light shifted.“Do you see that?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.Astrid nodded, her eyes wide. “It’s like the sun is…”“Perfectly aligned,” Hiccup finished, his heart pounding.The golden light streamed through the arch, illuminating the little cave in a radiant glow. The carvings on the arch seemed to shimmer, their edges outlined in molten gold.Hiccup stepped closer, his eyes locked on the display. “This can’t be a coincidence. The arch is facing the sea, but it’s designed to catch the sunset at just the right angle.”Astrid joined him, her expression a mix of awe and suspicion. “So what does it mean? Is it just supposed to be pretty, or is there something more?”Before Hiccup could answer, the sun dipped lower, its rays hitting the center of the arch. The light refracted, scattering across the chamber in a dazzling array of colors.Hiccup jolted as a flicker of light caught his eye. It wasn’t the sun—it was something above him, glinting like a star in the fading light.“What the—” he started, shielding his eyes as the light grew brighter.Astrid grabbed his arm. “Hiccup? What’s wrong?”“There’s something up there,” he said, squinting against the glare. “Something’s reflecting the sunlight.”Astrid followed his gaze, her eyes narrowing. “Where? I don’t see—”“There!” he said, pointing toward the top of the arch.The light flickered again, blinding him momentarily. Hiccup stumbled back, blinking rapidly as his vision adjusted.“What is it?” Astrid asked, her grip on his arm tightening.“I don’t know,” he said, his voice filled with wonder. “But whatever it is, it’s not just the sun. There’s something metallic up there.”Astrid frowned, her jaw set. “Do you think it’s part of the arch?”“Maybe,” Hiccup said, his mind racing. “Or maybe it’s something someone left behind—a clue, or a piece of the puzzle.”Astrid glanced at the sky, where the sun was now a glowing ember on the horizon. “Well, we’ve got time before it gets dark. What do we do?”Hiccup straightened, his determination returning. “We wait. Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out.”Astrid sighed, her grip relaxing. “Fine. But no more climbing until we’re sure, okay?”Hiccup grinned, his heart still pounding. “You’ve got it.”The last rays of sunlight slowly faded, and the shore slowly grew quieter, the glow of the arch lingering like a memory. Hiccup and Astrid exchanged a look, their unspoken resolve binding them together as they prepared for a long night of investigations.The silence of the chamber was broken only by the faint rustling of waves against the rocky seastack and the quiet hum of Hiccup and Astrid’s movements. After waiting for nightfall, they had set to work investigating the source of the strange flicker atop the arch.Hiccup crouched near the base, inspecting the carvings with a furrowed brow. “The light was coming from above,” he muttered, his fingers brushing against the weathered stone. “But there’s nothing reflective here…”Astrid leaned against the arch, crossing her arms. “Maybe it was a trick of the sun. Light bouncing off the sea or something.”Hiccup shook his head, climbing to his feet. “No, it was too precise for that. It had to be intentional—like someone placed something there on purpose.”“Then why don’t you climb up again and find out?” Astrid smirked, teasing him just enough to earn a glance.He gave her a sidelong look. “I thought you told me no more climbing ancient artifacts.”“I did,” she admitted, stepping closer. “But if we’re not making progress from down here, maybe we don’t have a choice.”Hiccup considered this, his eyes drifting upward to the peak of the arch. The moonlight cast faint shadows over the carvings, creating an eerie but mesmerizing effect.“Well, if you’re suggesting it…” He grinned, earning an exasperated sigh from Astrid.“Just be careful this time, alright? If it looks like it’s going to collapse, get down immediately.”With a nod, Hiccup began his climb. This time, he moved with even more caution, testing every foothold and handhold before committing his weight. The stone creaked faintly beneath him, but it held steady.Astrid kept a watchful eye on him from below. “If you fall, I’m not hauling your sorry butt back home.”“Good to know where I stand,” he called back, his voice tinged with humor.When he reached the top, Hiccup paused, squinting in the moonlight. At first, the smooth surface of the stone seemed barren, but then he spotted it—a faint gleam, like metal catching the light.“There’s something here!” he called down, excitement bubbling in his voice.“What is it?” Astrid asked, stepping closer to get a better view.Hiccup reached out, his fingers brushing against a small object embedded in the stone. It was stuck tightly, its edges worn smooth as if it had been there for years.“It’s stuck,” he muttered, gripping the object and tugging. It didn’t budge.“Need help?” Astrid asked, her tone half-joking.“No, I’ve got this,” Hiccup replied, though he wasn’t entirely sure. He shifted his weight, bracing himself as he tried again.This time, the object shifted slightly, and Hiccup felt a rush of triumph. “Almost got it…”The next tug sent him stumbling backward, nearly losing his balance. The object came free in his hand—a small, intricately carved figure.“Got it!” he exclaimed, holding it up for Astrid to see.“What is it?” she asked, craning her neck to get a better look.Hiccup carefully descended, his heart pounding with a mixture of relief and excitement. When he reached the ground, he handed the figure to Astrid.She turned it over in her hands, her brow furrowing. “It looks familiar…”Hiccup leaned closer, examining the piece. “Wait a second…” His eyes widened. “This is the chief of the Marauders, from Maces and Talons.”Astrid stared at him, her mouth opening slightly in surprise. “Are you serious?”“Dead serious.” He pointed to the intricate carvings, each detail matching the game piece from the popular board game. “Look at the crown, the axe—everything. It’s identical.”Astrid’s expression shifted from disbelief to intrigue. “Why would a piece from a board game be hidden here? It doesn’t make any sense.”Hiccup turned the figure over, his fingers tracing its base. “Maybe it’s not just a game piece. Maybe it’s part of something bigger.”As he examined it, his thumb brushed against a tiny indentation on the bottom of the figure. He paused, squinting at the faint outline of a hole.“Hold on,” he said, his voice tinged with excitement. “There’s something inside.”Astrid leaned closer, her curiosity piqued. “What do you mean?”“It’s hollow, there’s air inside.” Hiccup explained, his fingers carefully skimming around the hole. “I think there’s something hidden in it.”Astrid quickly searched through their supplies, pulling out a small knife. “Here, try with this.”Hiccup took the knife and began gently tapping at the edges of the base. The figure resisted at first, but with a bit of persistence, he managed to loosen the little iron slab.Finally, the bottom of the figure popped open, revealing a tightly folded piece of paper inside.Hiccup’s breath caught as he carefully extracted the paper, his hands trembling slightly. “This is it,” he murmured.Astrid watched him intently, her own excitement bubbling just beneath the surface. “What is it? A map? Instructions?”“I don’t know yet,” Hiccup said, unfolding the paper with painstaking care. The parchment was aged and fragile, its edges frayed and yellowed with time.As he smoothed it out, they both leaned in, their eyes scanning the faint markings etched onto the page.Hiccup stared at the faint markings on the aged paper, his voice catching in his throat. “It’s…” he began, but his words faltered as his eyes darted across the lines, taking in the unmistakable handwriting.Astrid leaned closer, her brows knitting in concern. “What?” she asked, her tone a mix of urgency and curiosity.Hiccup swallowed hard, his gaze still fixed on the paper. Finally, he looked up at her, his expression shadowed by both intrigue and unease. “It’s a letter,” he said quietly. “From Viggo.”Hiccup’s hands tightened around the delicate paper, his fingers brushing against the edges as he hesitated. He glanced at Astrid, her expectant gaze urging him on. With a deep breath, he began to read aloud, his voice steady despite the tension in the air.“To the clever minds who found this,” Hiccup began, his voice low and deliberate. “I must commend your resourcefulness. You’ve proven more adept than I anticipated.”Astrid crossed her arms, her brow furrowing as Hiccup continued.“I must admit, I am pleasantly surprised by the speed at which you connected the traitor with Dagur.” He paused, his eyes flicking to Astrid, whose expression had shifted to one of suspicion.Hiccup pressed on. “But do not celebrate too soon. Every answer brings new questions, and the truth is always more elusive than it seems.”The words hung in the air like a lingering shadow, the faint breeze in the chamber the only sound as Hiccup finished. He lowered the paper, his brow deeply furrowed.Astrid stepped closer, her arms uncrossing as she leaned in to look at the letter still in his hand. “That’s it?” she asked, her tone sharp with disbelief.Hiccup nodded slowly. “That’s all it says.”She tilted her head, her gaze locking onto his. “How could he know?”Hiccup frowned. “Know what?”Astrid gestured to the letter. “How long it took us to connect the traitor to Dagur. He said he was surprised by how fast we figured it out. But how could he know how long it took us?”The weight of her question pressed on them both, and Hiccup’s eyes widened slightly as realization dawned. He glanced back at the paper in his hand, as if the cryptic words might suddenly reveal more answers.“That’s…” Hiccup started, then hesitated, running a hand through his hair. “That’s not possible. Unless…”Astrid’s voice hardened. “Unless what, Hiccup? Unless he’s been watching us this whole time?”Her words sent a shiver down his spine. He shook his head, as if trying to dismiss the unsettling thought. “No. That doesn’t make sense. How would this paper be this old? He wouldn’t…”“Wouldn’t he?” Astrid interrupted, her voice sharp. “This is Viggo we’re talking about. The man who’s always ten steps ahead. You think he hasn’t accounted for every move we’ve made so far?”Hiccup didn’t answer right away, his mind racing as he replayed the events that had brought them here. The pieces fit too well, the timing too perfect. It was as though Viggo had been pulling the strings from the start, orchestrating every step of their journey.Astrid’s expression softened as she noticed the turmoil in his eyes. “Hey,” she said, her voice gentler now. “We’ll figure this out. We always do.”He met her gaze, a flicker of determination returning to his own. “You’re right,” he said quietly. “But this… this feels different. Like we’re walking straight into a trap.”Astrid nodded. “Maybe. But if anyone can outsmart Viggo, it’s you.”A small, reluctant smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Thanks, Astrid.”They stood in silence for a moment, the gravity of their discovery settling over them like a heavy blanket. Finally, Hiccup folded the letter carefully and tucked it into his pouch.“Whatever game he’s playing,” Hiccup said, his voice steady now, “we’re not backing down. We’ll find out what this means.” She smiled at him, her support transpiring through her every little action. “We just have to play along with him.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The wind whistled in Hiccup’s ears as Toothless soared effortlessly above the endless stretch of ocean. Astrid and Stormfly flanked them, the Nadder’s powerful wings cutting through the breeze with practiced ease. The sun was high in the sky, its warm rays reflecting off the water below, but the mood between the two riders couldn’t have been more opposite.“I’m so bored,” Astrid groaned, her voice carrying over the wind. She leaned forward on Stormfly’s saddle, resting her chin in her hand. “How is it possible to fly all day and still have nothing to do?”Hiccup turned his head slightly, an amused smirk on his face. “Flying is the adventure, Astrid. You’re supposed to enjoy the journey, not just the destination.”Astrid gave him an exaggerated eye roll. “That’s easy for you to say, Mr. Dragon Master. You’re probably planning ten different things in your head right now. I’m just counting clouds and trying not to fall asleep.”Toothless glanced back at Stormfly, his ears twitching as if to agree with Astrid’s sentiment.“Maybe you should take up cloud counting as a hobby,” Hiccup quipped, his tone playful.Astrid straightened in her saddle, narrowing her eyes at him. “Careful, Haddock. Keep teasing, and I might just leave you to your deep, philosophical thoughts while I actually do something interesting.”“Like what?” Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow. “We’re in the middle of the ocean. Unless you’re planning to go swimming with sea dragons, I think you’re stuck with me.”Astrid grinned mischievously. “Oh, I could think of a few things. Like racing you to Viggo’s base.”Hiccup let out a laugh. “Stormfly’s fast, but I don’t think you want to challenge Toothless to a race right now. He’s feeling pretty competitive today.”At the sound of his name, Toothless let out a low rumble, as if to confirm the statement.Astrid leaned forward again, patting Stormfly’s neck. “Don’t listen to him, girl. We could totally beat them if we wanted to.”Stormfly squawked in agreement, flaring her wings dramatically.“Is that a challenge?” Hiccup asked, his grin widening.Astrid shrugged, her expression coy. “Maybe it is. Or maybe I’m just trying to make this trip a little more exciting.”Hiccup shook his head, chuckling. “You’re impossible, you know that?”“Thank you,” Astrid said, smirking. “I try.”The two of them fell into a companionable silence for a few moments, the only sounds being the rhythmic flapping of wings and the rush of wind. This reminded Astrid of that first flight outside the Archipelago, how her resolve was almost broken by the boredom at the very end, and that only Hiccup's motivation had kept her and the rest of the gang flying. It still wasn’t long before she broke the quiet again though.“Okay, seriously,” she said, her voice tinged with exasperation. “How much longer until we get there?”Hiccup glanced down at the map he had tucked into a makeshift holder on Toothless’ saddle. “A few more hours, give or take.”Astrid groaned, throwing her head back dramatically. “Hours? Hiccup, I don’t think I can take hours of this.”Hiccup stifled a laugh. “What, spending time with me isn’t thrilling enough for you?”“Not when you’re in ‘mission mode,’” Astrid shot back. “You get all quiet and serious, and I’m just left here twiddling my thumbs.”“I’m not that bad,” Hiccup protested.Astrid arched an eyebrow at him. “Oh, you absolutely are.”Toothless let out a soft chirp, as if to side with Astrid.“Et tu, bud?” Hiccup muttered, shaking his head.Astrid laughed, the sound bright and genuine. “Face it, Hiccup. You might be a genius when it comes to dragons and plans, but when it comes to keeping me entertained, you’ve got some work to do.”Hiccup sighed, though the smile on his face betrayed his amusement. “Fine. What do you want me to do? Tell a story? Sing a song? Perform some kind of mid-air acrobatics?”Astrid pretended to think about it. “All of the above, preferably.”Hiccup rolled his eyes. “Right. Because that sounds safe.”“Oh, come on,” Astrid teased. “You’re supposed to be the best dragon rider in Berk. Surely you can multitask.”“I think my idea of multitasking is a little different from yours,” Hiccup said dryly.Astrid grinned, clearly enjoying herself. “Well, if you’re not going to entertain me, at least tell me what you’re thinking about. You’ve been staring off into space for the last twenty minutes.”Hiccup hesitated, his gaze drifting to the horizon. “I was just thinking about the letter.”Astrid’s teasing demeanor softened, and she straightened in her saddle. “What about it?”Hiccup sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. It’s just… the way Viggo phrased things. It felt like he was leading us somewhere, but I can’t figure out where.”Astrid nodded thoughtfully. “He’s always been good at playing mind games. But we’ll figure it out, Hiccup. We always do.”Hiccup smiled at her, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. “Thanks, Astrid. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”“Well, for starters, you’d probably be a lot more bored,” she said with a smirk.Hiccup laughed, the sound carrying over the wind. “Fair point.”They flew on for a few more minutes, although they felt more like hours to Astrid. She sat up straighter in her saddle, quickly running out of creative insults she could think of.“Alright, I’ve made up my mind,” Astrid suddenly announced, breaking the calm.Hiccup arched an eyebrow. “About what?”She gave him a mischievous grin. “We’re racing to Viggo’s base. Right now.”Hiccup laughed, caught off guard. “You’re joking, right?”“Not at all,” she said, straightening in her saddle. “I’ve had enough of this leisurely pace. Let’s see if Toothless really is the fastest dragon out here, or if you’re just bluffing.”Hiccup smirked. “Astrid, we both know how this is going to end. Stormfly’s fast, but Toothless is in a league of his own.”“Then prove it,” she challenged, her blue eyes sparkling with determination.Toothless perked up at the challenge, letting out an eager chirp. Hiccup patted his head. “You heard her, bud. What do you think?”Toothless growled playfully in response, his wings tilting slightly as if preparing for a burst of speed.“Alright, fine,” Hiccup said, shaking his head but smiling. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”Astrid gave him a confident smirk. “Stormfly and I can handle ourselves. Ready?”“Ready,” Hiccup replied, tightening his grip on the saddle.“Go!” Astrid shouted, and Stormfly surged forward with a powerful beat of her wings.Toothless hesitated for a split second, giving Stormfly a slight head start, but as soon as Hiccup gave the signal, the Night Fury unleashed his speed. They shot forward like an arrow, the wind whipping past them in a deafening rush.Astrid laughed triumphantly as Stormfly held her lead for the first few seconds, but her grin faltered as she heard the familiar roar of Toothless behind her.“Come on, girl!” Astrid urged, leaning low against Stormfly’s neck.Stormfly responded with a surge of effort, but Toothless was relentless. With his natural speed and aerodynamic build, he quickly closed the gap and then overtook them, leaving Astrid and Stormfly trailing in his wake.“Unbelievable,” Astrid muttered as she watched Toothless pull farther and farther ahead. She tried not to feel offended, but her competitive spirit made it difficult.By the time she and Stormfly reached Viggo’s base, Hiccup and Toothless were already there, casually waiting for them. Toothless lay on the ground, looking smug, while Hiccup leaned back in his saddle with an infuriatingly nonchalant expression.“What took you so long?” he teased.Astrid dismounted from Stormfly, her expression a mix of irritation and amusement. “You didn’t have to show off, you know.”Hiccup shrugged, grinning. “You’re the one who wanted to race. I just gave you what you asked for.”Astrid sighed, shaking her head but unable to suppress a small smile. “Fine, you win this time. But don’t get too cocky, Haddock.”“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said, though the smirk on his face suggested otherwise.Astrid rolled her eyes and looked around the base. The sprawling camp of Viggo’s Dragon Hunters was eerily quiet, its tents and structures abandoned. The remnants of a once-organized operation were now little more than scattered supplies and empty buildings.“So,” Astrid began, crossing her arms. “What exactly are we looking for here? Why did you think this was worth coming back to?”Hiccup dismounted from Toothless, his expression growing serious. “The chief of the marauders in Maces and Talons always has his plans hidden in his base. If Viggo was playing that role—and let’s face it, he basically was—then this place is the most logical spot to start looking for answers.”Astrid nodded, her curiosity piqued. “Alright. Where do we start?”Hiccup gestured toward the largest tent near the center of the base. “That’s where Viggo kept his personal quarters. If there’s anything left behind, it’ll be in there.”They walked cautiously through the deserted camp, the only sounds being the crunch of gravel under their boots and the occasional flap of dragon wings in the distance. Toothless and Stormfly followed close behind, their heads swiveling as they kept watch for any signs of danger.The entrance to Viggo’s tent was slightly ajar, the heavy canvas flapping lightly in the breeze. Hiccup pushed it open and stepped inside, Astrid close behind. The interior was surprisingly intact, considering how long it had been abandoned. A large wooden desk dominated the center of the room, covered in scattered papers and maps. Shelves lined the walls, filled with books, scrolls, and various trinkets that seemed to reflect Viggo’s meticulous nature.Hiccup began sifting through the papers on the desk, his brow furrowed in concentration. Astrid moved to the shelves, scanning the titles of the books and occasionally pulling one out to flip through its pages.“Anything?” Astrid asked after a few minutes.“Not yet,” Hiccup replied, his voice distracted. “But there’s got to be something here. Viggo wouldn’t have left without covering his tracks.”Astrid picked up a small, intricately carved wooden box from one of the shelves. She opened it carefully, revealing a set of polished stones arranged in a pattern that resembled a map. “Hiccup, take a look at this.”He walked over and examined the box, his eyes lighting up with interest. “It’s some kind of puzzle. Maybe it’s a key to something.”Astrid handed it to him, and he set it down on the desk. “Let’s keep looking. If we can’t find anything else, we’ll come back to this.”As they continued their search, Astrid couldn’t help but admire Hiccup’s focus. His mind was always working, piecing together clues and solving problems like it was second nature. It was one of the things she loved most about him, even if it did sometimes mean he got lost in his own head.“Found something,” Hiccup said suddenly, pulling a folded piece of parchment from beneath a pile of maps.Astrid walked over, peering over his shoulder. The parchment was covered in Viggo’s neat handwriting, detailing a list of locations and corresponding dates.“It looks like a schedule,” Astrid said.“Or a ledger,” Hiccup added. “But what for?”He scanned the list, his eyes narrowing as he recognized some of the locations. “These are places where Viggo’s hunters used to operate. But the dates don’t make sense. Some of these are from after we defeated him.”Astrid frowned. “You think he had someone else running things after he disappeared?”“Maybe,” Hiccup said, his voice thoughtful. “Or maybe this is part of a larger plan he had in motion before we even knew about it.”They continued poring over the documents and artifacts in the tent, each piece adding to the puzzle but raising more questions than answers.Finally, Astrid leaned back against the desk, sighing. “I don’t know, Hiccup. It feels like we’re missing something. There has to be a bigger picture here, but I can’t see it.”Hiccup nodded, his expression grim. “Me neither. We just have to keep looking."The air inside Viggo’s tent grew heavier as the sun dipped lower on the horizon, casting long shadows across the room. Hiccup and Astrid’s search had turned up scattered notes, cryptic symbols, and that intricate wooden box, but no definitive answers. Toothless and Stormfly waited just outside, the soft thud of their shifting feet the only sound apart from the rustle of paper.Astrid leaned against the desk, arms crossed, watching as Hiccup continued meticulously sifting through the clutter. “I don’t know, Hiccup. We’ve been at this for hours. Maybe Viggo really did cover his tracks.”Hiccup didn’t look up, his fingers brushing against the edge of a leather-bound book on the desk. “He was thorough, yes, but nobody’s perfect. Viggo loves the game too much not to leave behind some kind of trail. We’re just missing it.”Astrid raised an eyebrow. “You’re saying he wants to be found?”“In a way, yeah,” Hiccup replied, pulling the book toward him and opening it carefully. “It’s all part of his ego. Viggo doesn't just want to win—he wants to prove he is smarter than everyone else. Which means he couldn’t resist leaving breadcrumbs, even if he thought no one would connect them.”Astrid sighed, stepping forward to glance over his shoulder. “Okay, so where’s this breadcrumb? Because so far, I’m seeing a whole lot of nothing.”Hiccup flipped through a few pages before his hand froze mid-motion. His eyes narrowed as he stared at an ink sketch tucked into the book. “Wait a second…”“What?” Astrid leaned closer.Hiccup carefully removed the folded paper and unfolded it on the desk. It revealed a map, crudely drawn but recognizable as a section of the archipelago. Overlaid on the map were faint markings—tiny circles scattered across the sea like constellations.“This is it,” Hiccup said, his voice brimming with excitement. “This is the key.”Astrid squinted at the map. “It looks more like a bunch of random dots.”Hiccup reached for the wooden box and opened it again, revealing the polished stones inside. “Not random. Look at the size and spacing of these holes—they match the markings on the map.”Astrid frowned, stepping closer as Hiccup laid the stones on the map. One by one, he fit them into the corresponding circles. They clicked into place with satisfying precision, forming a pattern that pointed to a specific area of the sea.“There,” Hiccup said, tapping the map. “That’s where we need to go.”Astrid tilted her head, studying the marked area. “That’s uncharted territory. We’ve never flown that far east before.”“Exactly,” Hiccup said, his tone resolute. “Which means it’s the perfect place for Viggo to hide something. Somewhere no one would think to look.”Astrid crossed her arms, her expression skeptical. “You’re sure about this?”“As sure as I’ve been about anything on this crazy journey,” Hiccup said with a small smile. “Look, we don’t have all the pieces yet, but this map is clearly pointing us somewhere important. Viggo wouldn’t go to all this trouble for nothing.”Astrid nodded slowly, her gaze lingering on the map. “Alright. But if we’re going that far out, we need to be prepared. We should head back to the Edge first, rest up, and resupply.”Hiccup hesitated, clearly eager to press on, but he knew she was right. “Yeah, you’re right. Toothless and Stormfly could use a break too.”Astrid smirked. “And maybe you could use some sleep, Mr. I-Haven’t-Rested-In-Days.”Hiccup chuckled, closing the wooden box and tucking it into his satchel. “Fine, fine. Let’s head back to the Edge. But only because I value your wisdom, oh great Astrid Hofferson.”She rolled her eyes but smiled. “You’re lucky you’re charming, Haddock.”Together, they exited the tent, the cool evening air refreshing after hours spent indoors. Toothless perked up as Hiccup approached, his tail swishing eagerly. Stormfly let out a low croon, nudging Astrid’s shoulder as she mounted.Hiccup swung into Toothless’s saddle, adjusting the straps on his satchel to keep the wooden box secure. “Alright, bud. Back to the Edge.”With a powerful beat of their wings, the dragons launched into the sky, the camp growing smaller and smaller beneath them. The fading light of the sun painted the world in shades of gold and lavender, casting a serene glow over the ocean.As they flew, Astrid glanced over at Hiccup, who seemed lost in thought. She couldn’t resist breaking the silence. “So, do you have a plan for what we’ll do if this map doesn’t lead anywhere?”Hiccup looked at her, startled out of his reverie. “You mean if it’s a dead end?”“Yeah,” she said, her tone teasing. “I mean, you’re usually right about this stuff, but even you aren’t perfect.”He smirked. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”“I’m just saying,” Astrid continued, her grin widening. “If this wild goose chase turns out to be a bust, I get to pick the next destination. Deal?”Hiccup laughed, the tension in his shoulders easing. “Deal. But I wouldn’t get your hopes up. Something tells me we’re on the right track.”Astrid shook her head, her voice light. “You’re impossible, you know that?”“I’ve heard that before,” he said with a mock-serious nod.The playful banter carried them through the long flight, the familiar silhouette of the Edge coming into view as night fell. By the time they landed, the stars were beginning to dot the sky, their light reflected in the calm waters surrounding the island.Hiccup dismounted and stretched, wincing slightly at the stiffness in his legs. “Home sweet home.”Astrid hopped off Stormfly, rolling her shoulders. “Not for long. If we’re heading out tomorrow, we should make the most of tonight.”Hiccup nodded, his thoughts already racing ahead to the journey that awaited them. But for now, he was grateful for the chance to regroup and recharge. They headed to the clubhouse, which was warm and welcoming, the soft glow of firelight casting flickering shadows on the walls as the couple prepared dinner. Astrid stirred a pot of stew over the hearth, her sleeves rolled up and her hair slightly tousled from the day’s flight. Hiccup, seated at the table, was slicing bread and setting out bowls, his expression calm but content.“You know,” Astrid said, giving the pot one last stir before ladling the stew into two bowls, “it’s nice to have a quiet moment like this. No maps, no puzzles, no imminent danger.”Hiccup chuckled, taking one of the bowls from her. “I’ll try not to take offense at you calling my puzzles a danger.”She smirked, sitting across from him. “I didn’t say they weren’t interesting. Just… exhausting sometimes.”They ate in companionable silence for a while, the warmth of the food and the crackle of the fire creating a rare moment of peace. Hiccup caught himself watching Astrid as she absentmindedly tapped her spoon against the rim of her bowl, a soft smile playing on her lips.“What?” she asked, catching his gaze.“Nothing,” he said quickly, though his own smile lingered. “Just thinking how lucky I am.”Astrid raised an eyebrow but said nothing, letting the warmth of his words settle between them.Once they’d finished eating, they cleaned up together, moving in sync as they put away the dishes and banked the fire for the night. The clubhouse felt emptier than usual, the rest of the riders on Berk and completely unaware of their little adventure.As they stepped outside into the cool night air, the sky above them was a tapestry of stars, their light reflecting off the calm waters surrounding the Edge. Astrid hugged herself against the chill, her breath visible in the crisp air.“Ready to call it a night?” she asked, glancing toward their huts.Hiccup hesitated for a moment, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. “Actually… I was thinking.”“That’s always dangerous,” she teased, though her tone was soft.He rolled his eyes but grinned. “Very funny. No, I mean—it’s getting colder, and it seems kind of wasteful to burn firewood in two huts when we could just share one.”Astrid blinked, her expression unreadable for a moment. Then she gave him a sly smile. “So, what you’re saying is that you want me to keep you warm?”Hiccup’s ears turned pink, but he kept his tone light. “Hey, I’m just thinking practically here. You don’t want me freezing, do you?”She shook her head, laughing softly. “Alright, Haddock. You win.”They walked to Hiccup’s hut together, the sound of their boots crunching on the dirt path the only noise breaking the stillness. Inside, Toothless was already curled up near the hearth, his steady breathing a reassuring presence.Astrid climbed into the bed first, her body sinking into the soft furs. She watched as Hiccup added a few logs to the fire before joining her, his movements careful as if afraid he might disturb her.She reached out, pulling him closer until his arm was draped over her waist. “You’re not going to stay up all night thinking about Viggo, are you?” she murmured, her voice drowsy.“No,” he said softly, though his gaze lingered on the map he’d tucked onto the nearby desk.She was already drifting off, her breathing slowing as she nestled against him. Hiccup stayed still, listening to the steady rhythm of her breaths and the crackle of the fire. For a moment, everything felt right—simple, even.Once he was sure Astrid was fast asleep, he slipped out of bed carefully, making sure not to wake her. He moved to the desk where he’d laid out a map he’d traced months prior from the Dragon Eye, its intricate details illuminated by the soft glow of the fire.His fingers traced the lines thoughtfully, his mind already piecing together what the next step might be. Though the challenges ahead were daunting, he felt a surge of determination.With a glance back at Astrid, peacefully asleep in his bed, he smiled softly, took a pencil in his hand, and started scribbling on the paper.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The faint light of dawn filtered through the window of Hiccup’s hut, casting golden streaks across the room. The embers in the hearth had burned low during the night, leaving only a faint warmth in the air. Toothless stirred on the floor, stretching his wings before curling back into a more comfortable position.Hiccup opened his eyes slowly, blinking against the soft light. For a moment, he felt disoriented, the weight of the previous days settling over him. But then he felt the warmth pressed against his side. Turning his head slightly, he saw Astrid still asleep, her head resting on his shoulder and her hand lightly clutching the fur blanket they shared.He smiled softly, careful not to move too much. It wasn’t often they got moments like this—peaceful, quiet, without the weight of the world pressing down on them. He let himself enjoy it for a few more seconds before reality started creeping in.They had work to do.Hiccup carefully shifted, easing himself out of the bed without disturbing Astrid. She mumbled something in her sleep and turned onto her side, clutching the blanket closer. Hiccup smiled again as he pulled on his boots and quietly moved to the hearth to stoke the fire.As he worked, Astrid stirred again, this time sitting up and rubbing her eyes. “You’re up early,” she said, her voice still husky with sleep.Hiccup glanced over his shoulder. “Could say the same about you. Morning.”Astrid stretched, her muscles protesting slightly after a night on the unfamiliar mattress and in spite of the very familiar cushion. “Morning.” She looked at him, his back to her as he added another log to the fire. “You didn’t stay up too late staring at maps, did you?”He shook his head. “Not too late. Just… long enough to piece a few things together.”She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, her feet finding the wooden floor. “And by ‘piece a few things together,’ you mean you’ve decided where we’re headed, haven’t you?”Hiccup straightened, turning to face her. “I have an idea. But first, we need to make sure we’re ready to leave the Edge.”She stood, brushing her hair back with her fingers before tying it into a quick braid. “Alright, what’s the plan?”He grinned faintly at her teasing tone. “First, we grab some supplies. We’ll need enough to last us at least a few days. Then, I’ll explain everything once we’re airborne.”Astrid rolled her eyes but smirked. “Of course. You and your big reveals...”They moved around the hut, packing essentials into their saddlebags. Hiccup gathered his tools, map, and a small pouch of coins—just in case. Astrid focused on food and medical supplies, her movements efficient and precise.“Think we’ll need this?” she asked, holding up a coil of rope.Hiccup nodded. “Can’t hurt to have it. Never know when you’ll need to scale something—or tie something—or someone—down.”She added it to the bag, giving Toothless a quick pat on the head as she passed him. “What about you, bud? You ready for another adventure?”Toothless chirped in response, his tail thumping against the floor.“Guess that’s a yes,” Astrid said with a grin.By the time they were packed and ready, the sun had fully risen, bathing the Edge in a soft glow. Hiccup stepped outside, taking a deep breath of the crisp morning air. The sea stretched out before them, calm and shimmering in the light.Astrid joined him, her saddlebags slung over one shoulder. “So, are you going to tell me where we’re going, or do I have to guess?”Hiccup looked at her, a glint of excitement in his eyes. “I’ll tell you once we’re in the air. Trust me, it’ll make more sense when you see it.”Astrid raised an eyebrow but didn’t press him further. Instead, she followed him to the stables, where Stormfly was waiting. The dragon perked up at the sight of her rider, clicking happily as Astrid approached.“Morning, girl,” Astrid said, stroking Stormfly’s neck. “Ready to fly?”Stormfly cooed, her bright blue scales catching the sunlight.Hiccup was already helping Toothless with his saddle, the Night Fury’s sleek black form a sharp contrast against the morning sky. Toothless nudged him playfully, earning a laugh from Hiccup.“Alright, bud, let’s make sure this is secure. We’ve got a long flight ahead of us.”Once both dragons were saddled and ready, Hiccup turned to Astrid. “You good to go?”She tightened Stormfly’s straps one last time before nodding. “Ready when you are.”Hiccup mounted Toothless, the dragon shifting slightly as he adjusted his prosthetic in the stirrup. Astrid followed suit, swinging onto Stormfly’s back with practiced ease.“Lead the way, Haddock,” she said, her tone light but her eyes sharp.Hiccup smiled, patting Toothless on the side. “Alright, bud. Let’s show them how it’s done.”With that, Toothless leapt into the air, his wings slicing through the sky as he climbed higher. Stormfly was right behind them, her powerful wingbeats keeping pace as they left the Edge behind.As they soared over the open water, the wind rushing past them, Astrid called out, “So? You gonna tell me now?”Hiccup glanced back at her, a grin tugging at his lips. “Not yet. Just enjoy the view for a bit.”Astrid groaned but couldn’t help smiling. “You’re impossible, you know that?”“So I’ve heard,” he replied, his tone teasing. "You seem to like that sentence quite a lot recently."The two of them flew in comfortable silence for a while, the rhythmic sound of wings filling the air. The ocean below stretched endlessly, the sunlight dancing on the waves.Finally, Hiccup glanced over his shoulder. “Alright, Astrid. You ready for this?”She perked up, leaning forward slightly. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”Hiccup pointed to a distant spot on the horizon. “There. That’s where we’re headed.”Astrid squinted, trying to make out what he was pointing at. “Looks like… more water.”Hiccup laughed. “Trust me, there’s more to it than that. It’s an area we’ve never explored before—uncharted territory. If Viggo’s map is pointing us there, it has to be important.”Astrid nodded, her curiosity piqued. “Alright. Let’s see where this takes us.”With their destination set, the two of them flew onward, the weight of their mission pressing lightly on their shoulders. As they flew over the vast expanse of ocean, the rhythmic beating of wings and the rush of the wind filled the air. The sun had risen steadily, casting its warm light across the waves that shimmered below. Toothless glided effortlessly, Hiccup adjusting his tailfin to each shift of the breeze, while Stormfly flew close beside him, her sharp movements betraying her rider’s restless energy.Astrid broke the quiet, leaning forward and resting a hand on Stormfly’s neck. “Alright, Hiccup. Spill it. What exactly are we doing here? You’ve been awfully vague about this whole thing.”Hiccup glanced over, his lips twitching into a small smile. “Vague? I thought I gave you all the details. We’re flying over water, heading to a specific point on the map. What more could you possibly need to know?”Astrid rolled her eyes, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Oh, of course. That clears everything up. Thanks, Hiccup.”He chuckled softly, patting Toothless’s side. “I just mean that it’ll make more sense when we get there. It’s hard to explain without seeing it for yourself.”“Try me,” Astrid pressed. “We’ve got time.”Hiccup sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Fine. You remember the map we found in Viggo’s tent? The one with the holes for the stones?”“Yeah, of course. That’s why we’re flying over open water instead of doing something normal, like training dragons or getting a decent meal,” she replied.“Exactly. Well, those holes correspond to a specific section of the sea,” Hiccup explained, his tone shifting to that familiar, thoughtful cadence he used when he was deep in problem-solving mode. “If we’re right, they should lead us to something important. Maybe another clue, or even the end of this puzzle.”Astrid arched an eyebrow. “And by ‘we,’ you mean you.”He shrugged. “Toothless helped.”Toothless let out a soft, almost smug chirp, and Astrid laughed. “Sure, bud. I’m sure you did all the hard work.”They flew on, the sound of the wind and the waves below filling the space between them. Astrid’s eyes scanned the horizon, her curiosity growing despite her earlier frustration. She trusted Hiccup—more than anyone—but his tendency to get lost in his own head sometimes left her feeling like she was always a step behind.“You know,” she began, her tone lighter now, “you could’ve just told me we were headed into the middle of nowhere. I would’ve packed snacks.”Hiccup let out a slightly exasperated sigh. “Noted.”Stormfly let out a low croon, and Astrid gave her a reassuring pat. “Stormfly’s wondering if there’s going to be any action involved, or if this is just another one of your brain-teaser missions.”“Tell her to be patient,” Hiccup replied. “We’ll know soon enough.”The conversation lulled again as the sun climbed higher, its rays casting long shadows across the water. Hiccup occasionally glanced down at the map he’d tucked into his side pouch, tracing the route with a finger. His expression grew more focused as the landmarks—or rather, the lack of them—matched what he expected.Astrid noticed his change in demeanor and leaned slightly toward him. “You’ve got that look again.”“What look?” he asked without turning his head.“The one where you’re about to figure something out and forget to tell the rest of us what’s going on,” she teased.Hiccup smirked but didn’t take his eyes off the map. “I think we’re close. Just a little farther.”Astrid adjusted her grip on Stormfly’s reins, trying to suppress her growing impatience. “You know, you could at least act a little more excited. This is supposed to be an adventure.”“I am excited,” Hiccup replied. “I just don’t show it the way you do.”“Oh, please,” she shot back, a grin tugging at her lips. “I’ve seen you get more animated over a new dragon species than most people do at festivals.”“That’s because dragons are incredible,” Hiccup said matter-of-factly, as if that explained everything.Astrid shook her head, but she couldn’t hide her amusement. “Fair enough.”The sea stretched endlessly before them, but Hiccup’s confidence never wavered. He adjusted Toothless’s course slightly, guiding them toward a small, rocky island that had begun to appear on the horizon. It was little more than a jagged outcrop, its sharp edges breaking through the waves like the spine of a dragon.Hiccup straightened in his saddle, his eyes narrowing as he studied the island. “There,” he said, his voice steady. “That’s our destination.”Astrid followed his gaze, her curiosity piqued. “That? Looks like a bunch of rocks to me.”“Maybe,” Hiccup admitted. “But if the map’s right, there’s more to it than meets the eye.”As they approached the island, the details became clearer. The rocks were rough and uneven, their dark surfaces slick with seawater. Small pools had formed in the crevices, and the waves crashed against the base with a rhythmic roar.Toothless circled the island once, his keen eyes scanning for a suitable landing spot. Hiccup leaned forward, guiding him toward a relatively flat section near the edge. “This’ll do,” he said, patting Toothless’s neck.Stormfly landed beside them with a graceful thud, her claws gripping the rock with ease. Astrid slid off her saddle, her boots landing with a solid clunk on the uneven surface.“So,” she said, turning to Hiccup as he dismounted. “What now?”Hiccup pulled the map from his pouch and unfolded it carefully, holding it up against the light. “Now, we figure out what these markings mean.”Astrid crossed her arms, watching him with a mix of admiration and exasperation. “You really live for this stuff, don’t you?”Hiccup looked up, a faint smile playing on his lips. “Maybe. But admit it—you’d be bored without me.”Astrid smirked. “You’re lucky you’re right.”With the island beneath their feet and the ocean stretching endlessly around them, the air felt charged with possibility. Hiccup’s eyes scanned the map one last time before he tucked it away, his voice steady as he spoke.“And we’re here.”Hiccup unrolled the map again, spreading it out carefully on a relatively flat section of the rock they were standing on. The parchment fluttered slightly in the breeze, and he pinned it down with one hand as he studied it intently. Astrid stood beside him, arms crossed, scanning the strange symbols and lines that littered the surface.“So,” she said after a moment, “where do we start?”Hiccup didn’t look up, his brow furrowed in concentration. “Good question. The markings here…” He traced a finger over a cluster of jagged lines. “They could be coordinates, but they don’t match any numbering system I’ve seen before.”Astrid peered over his shoulder, squinting at the map. “Or maybe they’re not coordinates at all. What if it’s a code?”“That’s possible,” Hiccup admitted, tapping his chin. “But if it’s a code, it’s unlike any I’ve ever encountered. And Viggo loved codes and riddles, so it wouldn’t surprise me.”Astrid crouched down to get a closer look, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “This part here,” she pointed to a series of circular symbols, “it kind of reminds me of those carvings we saw on the arch.”Hiccup’s eyes lit up, and he nodded. “You’re right. The circles… they could represent something similar to those holes. Maybe they’re a clue to where the stones fit in?”Astrid tilted her head, considering his suggestion. “Could be. But if that’s the case, why bother putting it on a map? Wouldn’t the stones already be in the right place?”“Not necessarily,” Hiccup replied, sitting back on his heels. “If Viggo left this as part of a trail, the stones might have been scattered to keep anyone else from figuring out what he was planning. This map might be the only way to piece it all together.”Astrid sighed, leaning back on her hands. “So we have a puzzle with pieces that may or may not be missing, written in a language we can’t even read. Great.”Hiccup smirked, glancing at her. “Come on, where’s your sense of adventure?”“It’s on hold until we figure out what any of this means,” she shot back, though the playful glint in her eyes betrayed her frustration.They fell into silence, each lost in thought as they pored over the map. The strange markings seemed to dance under the sunlight, taunting them with their vague meaning.“This would be so much easier if we had Fishlegs,” Hiccup muttered, almost to himself.Astrid’s head snapped up, her eyes narrowing. “Excuse me?”Hiccup froze, realizing too late this was probably gonna cost him a big bruise on his shoulder. He turned slowly, raising his hands in mock surrender. “I didn’t mean it like that.”“Oh, you didn’t?” Astrid said, her tone laced with mock offense. “So, what, I’m not good enough for your little decoding adventure?”“No, no! That’s not what I meant,” Hiccup said quickly, scrambling to explain. “It’s just… you know how Fishlegs is with this kind of thing. He’s like a walking encyclopedia of obscure knowledge. He’d probably have this figured out in ten minutes.”Astrid raised an eyebrow, her arms crossed. “And what am I, chopped yak liver?”Hiccup sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Astrid, you’re amazing, and I wouldn’t want anyone else here with me. But you have to admit, Fishlegs has a… particular set of skills.”She held his gaze for a moment before breaking into a grin. “Relax, Hiccup. I’m messing with you.”He let out a relieved laugh, shaking his head. “You’re cruel, you know that?”“Yet you put up with me, so you must like the torture,” she said, leaning over to study the map again. “But you’re not wrong. Fishlegs would probably be drooling over this thing.”They returned to their task, the light banter making the work feel less daunting. Hiccup traced the lines on the map with his finger, murmuring to himself as he tried to piece together the puzzle.“These lines here,” he said, pointing to a section near the bottom of the map. “They could represent currents, or maybe paths through the sea.”Astrid frowned, leaning closer. “But they don’t look like any currents we’ve charted. And if they’re paths, where do they lead?”“That’s the question,” Hiccup said, his voice tinged with frustration. “It’s like Viggo wanted to give us just enough to keep us guessing but not enough to actually figure it out.”Astrid smirked. “That does sound like him. He probably thought he was being clever.”“He was clever,” Hiccup admitted grudgingly. “Annoyingly so.”Astrid reached out and tapped a small symbol near the edge of the map. “What about this? It looks like a sun.”Hiccup tilted his head, studying the symbol. “Maybe it’s a marker for time? Like a specific moment when something happens.”“Like sunrise or sunset?” Astrid suggested.“Could be,” Hiccup said thoughtfully. “But if that’s the case, it doesn’t tell us where to look when the time comes.”They sat back, the weight of the mystery pressing down on them. The map was a masterpiece of misdirection, each detail offering just enough information to spark a theory but not enough to confirm it.“You know,” Astrid said after a moment, “this is starting to feel like one of those games you used to make up when we were kids.”Hiccup raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”“You’d come up with these elaborate scenarios and leave all these clues for me to follow,” she said, a hint of nostalgia in her voice. “Half the time, I didn’t know what I was supposed to be looking for, but you always acted like it was the most obvious thing in the world.”Hiccup chuckled, a fond smile tugging at his lips. “I didn’t realize I was preparing us for this kind of thing.”Astrid smirked. “Maybe you were. Too bad we didn’t bring one of those old game boards with us. Might’ve been easier than this.”Hiccup laughed, the tension easing for a moment. “If only.”They continued to examine the map, their conversation a mix of speculation and lighthearted comments. The sun climbed higher in the sky, casting shifting shadows across the rocky outcrop where they worked. Despite the lack of progress, neither of them was ready to give up.Finally, Astrid sighed and leaned back, stretching her arms over her head. “Alright, genius. What’s our next move?”Hiccup stared at the map, his mind racing with possibilities. “We keep at it,” he said firmly. “There’s an answer here. We just have to find it.”He bent over the map, tracing the lines with the tip of his finger for what felt like the hundredth time. The markings were maddeningly vague, with twists and turns that hinted at hidden meanings just out of reach. His brow furrowed as he muttered to himself, his voice a low hum of concentration.Astrid, seated nearby with her axe resting across her knees, tilted her head back to glance at the sky. The horizon was growing darker, heavy clouds billowing and stretching ominously toward their position. A chill wind began to sweep across the water, carrying with it the faint, salty tang of the sea.“Hiccup,” she said, her tone laced with mild concern, “you might want to take a break and look around.”“Uh-huh,” he murmured distractedly, eyes glued to the parchment. He tilted it slightly to catch the fading sunlight, as though a shift in angle would suddenly reveal the secrets he he so desperately searched.Astrid narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m serious, Hiccup. A storm’s rolling in.”“Just give me a few more minutes,” he replied, brushing her off with a wave of his hand. “I think I’m onto something here.”Astrid sighed and stood, her boots scuffing against the rock as she walked to the edge of their perch. She squinted at the horizon, the wind tugging at her braid and making the fabric of her tunic ripple. The storm clouds were creeping closer, their edges tinged with an ominous greenish hue.“Hiccup,” she tried again, her voice more insistent this time, “it’s not safe to stay here. That storm’s coming in fast, and we’re pretty exposed out on this rock.”“I just need a little more time,” he said, his voice carrying a note of irritation now. “This map—it’s starting to make sense. I can feel it.”Astrid crossed her arms, her patience wearing thin. “And what good will it do if we get caught in a storm and lose the map—or worse?”Hiccup finally glanced up, his expression exasperated. “Astrid, I understand the risks, but I'm so close! If I could just—”A sudden gust of wind tore through the air, nearly knocking the map from his hands. Hiccup scrambled to pin it down, his heart racing. Astrid shot him a pointed look, arching an eyebrow.“Close, huh?” she said dryly, her gaze deadly.He let out a frustrated sigh, smoothing the creased edges of the parchment. “Alright, fine. I get it. But we don’t have much time, Astrid. This map… It’s the key to everything. If we leave now, we might miss something crucial.”Astrid stepped closer, her blue eyes locking onto his. “And if we stay, we could get stranded—or worse. Hiccup, I trust you, but you have to trust me on this. That storm isn’t waiting for anyone.”For a moment, he hesitated, torn between his determination to decode the map and the growing urgency in Astrid’s voice. Another sharp gust of wind made the decision for him, the map fluttering wildly in his grasp. He sighed deeply, his shoulders sagging.“Alright,” he conceded, carefully rolling the map and tucking it into a leather pouch. “But we’re coming back here as soon as the storm passes. Deal?”“Deal,” Astrid said with a small, relieved smile.Just as they started to gather their things, the first fat drops of rain splattered against the rock. The wind picked up, howling like a wild dragon, and the sea below churned angrily, its waves crashing against the base of their rocky perch.“We need to move, now,” Astrid said, her voice rising above the roar of the wind. She grabbed her axe and slung it over her shoulder, glancing at Hiccup to make sure he was following.He nodded, securing the pouch with the map to his belt before hurrying to her side. “Stormfly’s waiting. Let’s go.”They picked their way carefully across the uneven surface of the rock, the wind threatening to throw them off balance with every step. Astrid led the way, her movements steady and sure despite the worsening conditions. Hiccup followed close behind, clutching his satchel tightly to his side.By the time they reached Stormfly, the rain was coming down in sheets, drenching them to the bone. Astrid climbed onto the dragon’s saddle with practiced ease, and Hiccup hopped on Toothless back just as the first lightning flashed through the sky.“Alright, girl,” Astrid said, patting Stormfly’s neck. “Let’s get out of here.”The dragon let out a sharp cry and spread her wings, launching into the stormy sky. The wind buffeted them from all sides, making the flight unsteady and nerve-wracking. Hiccup tightened his grip on the leather straps by Toothless' neck, his knuckles white, his nerves completely on edge due to the fact they were carrying huge amounts of iron.“Are you sure she can handle this?” he shouted over the wind.Astrid glanced back at him, her expression calm despite the chaos around them. “Stormfly’s tougher than she looks. Just hold on.”The flight back to the Edge was grueling, the storm showing no mercy as it lashed at them with wind and rain. Lightning illuminated the sky in jagged bursts, and thunder rumbled ominously in the distance.Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the familiar silhouette of the Edge came into view. Astrid guided Stormfly toward the stables, landing with a thud that sent water splashing in all directions, Hiccup following closeby.They dismounted quickly, rushing into the relative safety of the clubhouse. Hiccup peeled off his soaked jacket, wringing it out as he caught his breath.“Well,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “that was fun.”Astrid shot him a look, her wet hair plastered to her face. “Next time, maybe listen to me before we’re in the middle of a storm.”He raised his hands in surrender. “Lesson learned.”They stood there for a moment, the sound of the storm raging outside filling the silence. Despite the chaos, there was a shared sense of relief between them. They were safe, the map was intact, and they would live to fight another day. Ironic for them to survive battles worthy of Sagas and then die because of a little rain.Hiccup glanced at Astrid, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Thanks for getting us out of there.”She shrugged, brushing a strand of wet hair from her face. “Someone has to keep you out of trouble. You're just like a kid who never wants to go home.”He chuckled, the tension finally easing from his shoulders. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”Astrid smirked, her eyes sparkling despite the storm outside. “You’d probably still be out there arguing with the wind.”“Fair point,” he admitted, shaking his head.The storm howled outside the clubhouse as Hiccup sat at the table, unfurling the map once more. The edges were slightly crinkled from their harrowing escape, but the markings were intact, still teasing him with their secrets. He ran a hand through his damp hair, sighing as he stared at the cryptic symbols.Astrid leaned against the table, her arms crossed as she watched him. Her hair was still wet, droplets occasionally falling onto the wooden floor. “Alright, genius,” she said, her tone teasing but curious. “What do you think these markings mean? You’ve been obsessing over them since we found the map.”Hiccup didn’t look up immediately, his gaze fixed on the paper. “It’s… complicated,” he said slowly, tracing one of the lines with his finger. “But if I’m right, they’re pointing to something far beyond anything we’ve ever explored. Farther than Wingmaiden's island, farther than any Viking has ever dared to go.”Astrid tilted her head, intrigued. “Farther than the the Wingmaidens? That’s pretty far, Hiccup. How can you be so sure?”He finally glanced up at her, a spark of excitement lighting his eyes despite his exhaustion. “There’s a story,” he began, his voice taking on that familiar tone he used when he was about to explain something big. “A legend, really. I’ve heard bits and pieces of it from traders, sailors… even Gobber mentioned it once when I was a kid. They talk about a land far to the east, past the endless sea, where the stars change, and the winds carry strange scents. A place so far that it’s almost mythical.”Astrid raised an eyebrow. “You’re saying that’s what this map is pointing to? A mythical land?”Hiccup shrugged, a small smile tugging at his lips. “I’m not saying it’s real, but the markings… they match some of the descriptions I’ve heard. Look at this.” He tapped a section of the map with a flourish. “These curved lines—they could represent waves, but not like the ones we know. They’re drawn in a way that suggests motion, something vast and unending. And here…” He pointed to a cluster of small symbols. “These could be stars, maybe constellations. If they’re not the ones we recognize, they might be from another part of the world.”Astrid leaned closer, studying the map with him. “So you think this map is guiding us to this… strange land? Why would Viggo have something like this?”Hiccup’s smile faded slightly as he considered her question. “That’s what’s bothering me,” he admitted. “Viggo was always calculating, always a step ahead. If he went to the trouble of hiding this map and drawing all those symbols on the arch and that rock in the middle of nowhere, then whatever it leads to must be important—important enough for him to keep it out of everyone else’s hands.”Astrid frowned, tapping her fingers on the table. “But why send us on this wild goose chase? Why not just use it himself?”Hiccup shook his head. “I don’t know. But if this map does lead to that land, it could mean answers—or danger. Either way, I think we have to follow it.”Astrid stared at him for a moment before smirking. “You know, you have a knack for dragging me into the craziest adventures, Hiccup.”He grinned, a boyish excitement in his expression. “At least I'm not boring... right?”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The sky was still streaked with deep blues and purples when Hiccup and Astrid took off from the Edge, their dragons gliding effortlessly through the crisp morning air. Below them, the vast ocean stretched endlessly, its dark waves barely touched by the first light of dawn. Stormfly flew steadily beside Toothless, her wings beating in time as they headed east, the rhythm steady and sure.The salty sea breeze brushed against their faces as they soared onward. They had packed light, knowing little about what lay ahead. Hiccup’s hand rested on the satchel strapped securely to his side, where he had tucked away the map and the mysterious artifact they had discovered. The weight of it was both reassuring and unsettling. The unknown was a double-edged sword—thrilling yet laced with uncertainty.They flew for hours as the sun rose behind them, casting golden light across the water. At first, the warmth was welcome, but as time passed and the horizon remained unchanged, a sense of unease settled between them. There was no sign of land, no shift in the endless sea. Just water in every direction. The dragons, however, remained focused, as if they sensed something ahead.“This is starting to feel like a wild chase with no end,” Astrid called over the wind, shifting slightly in her saddle. Her voice, usually filled with determination, carried a thread of frustration.Hiccup exhaled. “I know. But the map—”“—the map is vague,” Astrid cut in. “I still don’t get why Viggo had it or why he wanted us to find it.”Hiccup frowned, adjusting his grip on Toothless' reins. “Neither do I. But we can’t turn back now.”Just then, Toothless let out a low, curious rumble. His ears perked forward, and his wings angled slightly to the left. Hiccup followed his dragon’s gaze and narrowed his eyes at the horizon. A thin, dark line had appeared, barely visible against the morning sky.“Land,” he breathed.Astrid twisted in her saddle, her eyes sharpening. “Finally.”They surged forward, the dark line growing more distinct as they neared. Soon, towering cliffs covered in dense evergreen trees came into view. But this wasn’t just an island—it was a vast, sprawling mainland, stretching farther than they could see. The air shifted, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth instead of salt and sea spray.They flew over the thick forest, the scent of pine replacing the salty air. The trees were packed tightly together, forming a nearly unbroken canopy below. Streams and lakes dotted the landscape, weaving through the endless greenery. It was wild, untouched by any Viking settlement. The sheer size of it made Hiccup’s stomach tighten. They truly were somewhere no Viking had set foot before.Astrid studied the ground below. “I don’t see any villages. No roads, no signs of life. Just trees.”Hiccup nodded. “Just like the map suggested—a land no Viking has ever explored.”They continued flying, the morning sun giving way to afternoon, then to dusk, and eventually, to the darkness of night. Guided only by the stars, they pressed on. The terrain beneath them became more rugged, with towering hills and deep valleys. A thick mist settled over the landscape, curling through the trees like creeping tendrils. It grew denser as they ventured deeper, clinging to the ground like a living thing.The eerie atmosphere was impossible to ignore. Even Toothless, usually unshaken by new places, let out a quiet, uncertain growl as he dipped lower.By the time dawn arrived, exhaustion was creeping in. Neither of them had rested, and their dragons were slowing from the long flight. The endless forest and fog were draining, leaving them both on edge. The sense of being watched was constant, though they saw no signs of life.“We need to stop,” Astrid finally said, her tone firm. “Just for a little while.”Hiccup scanned the ground below. A small lake shimmered through the mist, its dark waters motionless. The fog curled over its surface, thick and ghostly, its tendrils twisting unnaturally as though disturbed by something unseen.“That should work,” he agreed, guiding Toothless into a descent. Stormfly followed closely, and soon, both dragons landed on the damp, mossy earth near the lake’s edge. The ground felt soft beneath their boots as they dismounted, stretching their sore muscles. The dampness clung to their clothes, making the cool air feel even sharper against their skin.Astrid rolled her shoulders. “Finally.”Hiccup ran his hand down Toothless’ neck, feeling the tension in his dragon’s muscles. “You okay, bud?”Toothless let out a low, tired warble, his ears twitching, eyes darting around the mist-laden trees.Astrid wandered toward the lake, gazing into the swirling mist rolling across the water’s surface. The fog wrapped around them, clinging to their clothes and creeping between the trees. The whole area felt unnaturally quiet, as if the forest itself was watching them. Even the usual sounds of nature—chirping birds, rustling leaves—were absent.“I don’t like this,” she muttered, gripping her axe. “It’s too still.”Hiccup stepped beside her, scanning the treetops. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”A sudden snap of a twig made them both spin around, weapons half-raised—but it was just Stormfly shifting her weight, breaking a fallen branch beneath her claws. Even so, the adrenaline rush took a moment to fade.Astrid sighed, shaking her head. “Okay, maybe I’m just paranoid.”Hiccup smirked. “That makes two of us.”They set up a small camp near the lake, gathering dry wood to start a fire. The flames flickered against the thick mist, casting long, dancing shadows on the trees. Despite the warmth, the air still felt damp and cold, settling deep in their clothes.As they ate, Hiccup spread out the map, tracing the markings with his finger. “We need to figure out where to go from here.”Astrid glanced from him to the dark trees beyond the firelight. “And we need to figure out what’s waiting for us when we do.”Hiccup nodded. “Agreed.”The forest pressed in around them, its presence impossible to ignore. They curled up close to the fire, using their dragons for warmth, but their sleep was restless. The fog-shrouded forest seemed to breathe around them, and the night stretched on, long and unsettling. Every sound was amplified, every shadow seemed to shift. There was something strange about this place, something neither of them could yet explain—but they would find out soon enough.First, though, they needed to sleep. The two of them curled around each other for body heat, their dragons shielding them from the outer world.The fire had long since died down, leaving only faint embers glowing in the cold, damp air. The thick fog still clung to the ground, curling around the base of the trees like creeping tendrils. It was eerily silent, save for the occasional rustle of the wind through the dense forest canopy. And that was even worse than complete silence.Hiccup stirred first, shifting slightly against Toothless' side, his body aching from the awkward sleeping position. His mind was fogged with exhaustion, and for a brief moment, he wasn’t sure where he was. Then it all came back—the endless flight eastward, the unsettling forest, the lake shrouded in mist. He groggily rubbed his eyes, his head heavy with fatigue.Astrid was still curled up beside Stormfly, her arms tucked close to her chest, her breathing slow and steady. But as if sensing Hiccup’s movements, she stirred, letting out a groggy groan.“How long did we even sleep?” she mumbled, blinking blearily at the dim, mist-covered morning. The light filtering through the trees was still pale, suggesting the sun had barely risen.Hiccup sat up, stretching out his stiff limbs. “Not long. Maybe two, three hours at most.”Astrid sighed, running a hand through her tousled hair. “Feels like I didn’t sleep at all.” She sat up slowly, rolling her shoulders with a wince. “We should stop here for a while. It was already far enough, and we’re dead on our feet.”Hiccup shook his head, already pulling the map from his satchel. “No. We keep going.”Astrid gave him a tired, unimpressed look. “Hiccup, we’re exhausted, and the dragons aren’t exactly well-rested either. We need a proper break.”Hiccup met her gaze, his expression firm. “We’ve come too far to stop now. We don’t know how much farther we have to go, but we have to keep moving. We can rest when we know what’s out there.”Astrid exhaled sharply, rubbing her temples. “You’re seriously pushing us to our limits, you know that?”Hiccup managed a half-smile. “I do. But trust me, we’re close to something.”Astrid studied him for a long moment, then sighed in resignation. “Fine. But if we collapse midair, I’m blaming you.”Hiccup grinned. “Fair enough.”They gathered their belongings quickly, shaking off the drowsiness as best they could. The dragons, though tired, seemed willing to press on. Stormfly stretched her wings, while Toothless let out a low yawn before rising to his feet.Moments later, they were airborne again, soaring through the mist-heavy sky. The forest stretched endlessly beneath them, a sea of green and gray, with no clear path forward. They flew eastward, guided only by instinct and the markings on the map.The hours dragged on, their exhaustion making every moment feel heavier. The sky remained an endless pale blue, with the sun still low in the sky. Hiccup felt his eyelids drooping a few times, but he forced himself to stay focused. Astrid, too, seemed to be fighting off fatigue, her grip tight on Stormfly’s reins.Then, just as doubt began creeping in, Hiccup spotted something in the distance.“There,” he said, pointing ahead.Astrid followed his gaze and frowned. Against the endless forest, a collection of strange wooden structures was emerging from the mist. They were unlike any Viking houses—taller, with sloping roofs and intricate carvings, clustered together in an organized manner. But there was no evident sign of life, as if the place were completely abandoned.Astrid’s eyes widened. “That’s… not Viking.”Hiccup nodded, his pulse quickening. “No, the style is not.”They exchanged glances before urging their dragons forward, the mysterious settlement growing larger with every passing second.As they neared, more details came into focus. The wood of the buildings was dark, weathered by time, yet the structures themselves looked well-maintained. The rooftops had sweeping curves unlike anything they had ever seen before, and intricate carvings adorned the beams and doorways. It was clear that whoever had built this place had an entirely different architectural style from the Vikings.They circled above the settlement cautiously. There were no people moving about—no smoke rising from chimneys, no livestock, no signs of daily life. It was as if the entire place had been abandoned, yet it wasn’t in ruins. Everything was intact, just eerily still.Hiccup swallowed hard. “I don’t like this.”Astrid adjusted her grip on Stormfly’s reins. “Neither do I. It’s too… quiet.”Hiccup glanced at her. “We should land. Get a closer look.”Astrid hesitated for only a moment before nodding. “Alright. But we stay together.”They guided their dragons downward, landing just outside the settlement on a narrow dirt path leading between the buildings. The air was thick with the scent of damp wood and earth, and the mist curled around the structures like ghostly fingers.Hiccup swung off Toothless, landing lightly on the ground. He rested a hand on his dragon’s neck for reassurance, then took a cautious step forward. Astrid followed, her axe already in hand, eyes scanning their surroundings for any movement.The silence was unnerving. Even the usual sounds of the forest—birds, rustling leaves, distant animal calls—were absent here. It was as if the settlement existed in its own isolated world, untouched by time.They stepped closer to the nearest building. The doorway was slightly ajar, revealing a dim interior. Hiccup reached out and gently pushed it open, the old wood creaking softly.Inside, the room was almost exactly as it must have been when it was last inhabited. Wooden furniture sat neatly in place, dust gathering on the surfaces. There were tools, blankets, and even a few scattered belongings—everything seemed as if the people who lived here had simply vanished without a trace.Astrid ran her fingers over the carvings on the walls. “This place isn’t abandoned in the way we thought. It’s like… someone could walk back in at any moment.”Hiccup nodded, his brow furrowed. “Yeah. And that’s what worries me.”They stepped back outside, their unease growing with each passing moment. The entire settlement stretched beyond what they could see through the mist, more buildings waiting, more unanswered questions looming over them.Astrid looked at Hiccup. “What now?”Hiccup took a deep breath. “We keep looking. We need to find out who built this place—and what happened to them.”The village loomed before them, shrouded in mist and silence. Hiccup and Astrid exchanged a cautious glance before urging their dragons lower, their approach slow and deliberate. As they descended, the details of the strange settlement became clearer—wooden structures with high-sloping roofs, intricate carvings on the beams, and signs of wear that suggested age, though not necessarily abandonment. Still, there was something about the place that felt... empty.They landed just outside the village’s perimeter, the ground beneath them damp from the ever-present fog. Stormfly clicked her beak, shifting uneasily, while Toothless sniffed the air, his ears flicking back.“Doesn’t feel right,” Astrid murmured, her hand already resting on the hilt of her axe.Hiccup dismounted, eyes scanning their surroundings. “It’s too quiet.”“No signs of people, either.” Astrid ran a hand along the wooden frame of one of the nearest buildings. The carvings were worn but still elegant—strange patterns, symbols unlike any Viking runes she had ever seen.“Come on,” Hiccup said, motioning for her to follow. “Let’s take a look around.”They moved carefully through the settlement, stepping lightly, their eyes darting between doorways and windows, half-expecting someone—or something—to emerge. But the houses were lifeless. A few still had wooden doors attached, though most hung open, swaying slightly in the wind. Inside, they found little—broken furniture, rotting beams, the remains of a once-thriving place now reduced to a ghost town.Astrid sighed, crossing her arms. “If Viggo had any connection to this place, he didn’t leave anything behind. It looks like no one’s lived here for years.”Hiccup wasn’t so sure. Something about this village felt too deliberate—like it had been meant to be found. “There has to be something,” he muttered, running a hand along the wall of one of the buildings. “Viggo wouldn’t have led us here for no reason.”Astrid frowned but didn’t argue. Instead, they pressed on, checking every structure that seemed remotely intact. They found remnants of tools, bits of broken pottery, and in one building, what looked like a forge, a fireless fireplace that looked like it had long gone cold.It wasn’t until they reached what might have been a central gathering hall that they found something of interest.The room was nearly bare, save for a few broken wooden tables and shelves. Dust covered the surfaces, and the air smelled of damp wood and decay. Hiccup stepped inside, his boots making soft creaks against the old floorboards.“Check this out,” Astrid called from one corner of the room. She was kneeling beside an overturned crate, dusting off a pile of old, crumbling scrolls and parchments.Hiccup joined her, kneeling to get a closer look. Most of the writings were too faded to decipher, but among the scraps, something caught his eye—a large, folded map. The paper was old but remarkably well-preserved, as if it had been carefully tucked away from the elements.He carefully unfolded it, his breath catching as his eyes landed on the bold, dark letters written across the top.“Vinland,” he read aloud.Astrid peered over his shoulder. “Vinland? Never heard of it.”Hiccup frowned. “I have… barely. Some old stories about lands far to the East. My dad mentioned it once, but I always thought it was just a myth.”Astrid studied the map. It showed a vast landmass, unlike anything they had seen before. The coastline was jagged, unfamiliar, and dotted with strange markings. Some areas were labeled with more writing, though much of it was too faded to read.“You think Viggo was looking for this place?” she asked.Hiccup ran his fingers along the map’s surface, deep in thought. “I don’t know. But if this was here, maybe someone else was looking for it too.”Astrid glanced around the room again, her expression wary. “Still, nothing here screams ‘Viggo.’ No traps, no cryptic messages, no obsessive dragon notes. If he was here, he didn’t leave much behind.”Hiccup folded the map carefully, tucking it into his satchel. “We’ll take it. Just in case.”Astrid gave him a look. “Because we definitely needed another mystery to solve.”Hiccup smirked. “What’s an adventure without a few surprises?”She rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. With one last look around, they made their way back outside. The mist was beginning to lift slightly, revealing more of the village, but the eerie stillness remained.As they retraced their steps back to the dragons, Astrid glanced once more at the buildings around them. “Something about this place just doesn’t sit right with me. It’s like it was left in a hurry.”Hiccup nodded slowly, considering her words. “Or like something happened here that made people leave.”A shiver ran down Astrid’s spine. She was about to reply when Toothless let out a low, warning growl. Stormfly shifted uneasily beside him, her sharp eyes scanning the misty treetops beyond the village.Hiccup and Astrid both froze. The hair on the back of Hiccup’s neck stood on end. “What is it, bud?” he whispered.A rustling sound echoed through the trees, soft at first, then growing louder. The mist swirled unnaturally as something moved beyond their line of sight. It wasn’t the wind.Astrid slowly reached for her axe. “I thought you said this place was abandoned.”“I thought it was,” Hiccup murmured, his pulse quickening.Then, out of the mist, came voices.They were faint at first, but undeniably human. Not whispers, not shouts, but somewhere in between, a low murmur of many people speaking at once. The words were indistinct, the tone unreadable. Hiccup turned slowly, scanning the thick fog, his heart pounding in his chest.Astrid took a step closer to him. “We need to go. Now.”But Hiccup didn’t move. There was something about the voices—they didn’t sound hostile, but neither did they sound friendly. They sounded... ancient, as if they belonged to the very bones of the village itself.Toothless took a step forward, ears twitching, sniffing the air again. Then, without warning, he let out a sharp, questioning chirp.The voices stopped.Silence fell over the village once more, heavier than before.Astrid grabbed Hiccup’s arm. “Hiccup, I swear—”A shadow moved in the mist. And then another.They were not alone.The mist curled around the trees like silent sentinels as Hiccup and Astrid turned to face the figures emerging from the fog. At first, they could make out only shadows—tall, cloaked figures moving cautiously through the underbrush. Then, as the veil of mist lifted slightly, faces became visible. Weathered, dark-eyed, and adorned with markings unfamiliar to either of them, the newcomers studied the two Vikings with unreadable expressions.Hiccup raised a cautious hand, signaling non-aggression. Toothless and Stormfly remained still, though the dragons’ tension was palpable. The strangers held their ground, gripping long wooden spears and bows, their gazes sharp and calculating.Astrid shifted closer to Hiccup. “Well, this is cozy,” she muttered under her breath. “What now?”Hiccup swallowed, forcing a calm expression onto his face. “We try to talk.”One of the men—a tall figure with a thick fur-lined cloak and a carved wooden staff—stepped forward. His piercing eyes fixed on Hiccup, and when he spoke, his voice carried the weight of authority. But the words were incomprehensible.Hiccup frowned. He recognized the cadence as something entirely unfamiliar. Not Norse. Not anything remotely Viking. He exchanged a glance with Astrid, who gave him a small shake of the head. She didn’t understand either.The leader spoke again, this time gesturing toward them with an open palm, then to the village behind him. The men around him stood in a semi-circle, gripping their weapons but not raising them. It was clear they were being assessed.“Okay,” Hiccup said slowly, stepping forward a little. “I don’t know what you’re saying, but we’re not here to fight.”The man’s brow furrowed. He turned to one of his companions and spoke quickly, the words rolling off his tongue in a sharp, clipped manner. Another man, younger but just as imposing, stepped forward and gestured at Hiccup and Astrid’s weapons.Astrid tensed. “They want us to disarm.”Hiccup hesitated. “That’s… not happening.” He raised both hands and patted the air in a universal gesture of peace. “We’re travelers. We don’t want trouble.”The leader narrowed his eyes. Hiccup sighed and turned to Astrid. “We need another approach.”Astrid exhaled sharply and motioned with her hands, attempting crude gestures. First, she pointed at herself and Hiccup, then made a flying motion with her arms, then pointed to the village. Finally, she mimed looking around, hoping they would understand they were simply exploring.The leader and his people watched, exchanging murmured words among themselves. Then he spoke again, slowly, deliberately.Hiccup shook his head, frustrated. “We need some kind of common ground.” He turned to Astrid. “Maybe maps? Writing?”She shrugged. “Worth a shot.”Hiccup reached into his satchel, careful to move slowly, and pulled out the map they had found in the village. He unfolded it and pointed at the bold lettering that read “Vinland.” He tapped it twice, then pointed to himself and Astrid.The effect was immediate. The leader’s expression darkened, and the men behind him murmured in hushed tones. Some stiffened their grip on their weapons.Hiccup’s stomach twisted. “Okay, that was either a good idea or a terrible one.”The leader took a slow step forward and pointed at the map. Then, with a firm voice, he said a single word: “Vinland.”Hiccup’s eyes widened. It was the first time they had understood something.“Yes,” he said eagerly, nodding. “Vinland. This place?” He gestured around them. “Is this Vinland?”The leader did not respond immediately. Instead, he turned and spoke to his people. A heated discussion broke out, voices rising and falling in sharp, rhythmic tones. Whatever they were saying, it was clear that opinions were divided.Astrid shifted uneasily. “I don’t like this.”“I don’t either,” Hiccup admitted. “But we need to do something before this turns south.”After a moment, the leader turned back to them and gestured between the two Vikings. He spoke again, this time pointing at Hiccup directly.Hiccup took a slow breath. “Alright,” he murmured. “I think we need to show some trust.”He stepped forward, extending his hand in what he hoped was a universal sign of goodwill. The leader watched him closely, his dark eyes unreadable. The tension in the air thickened.Then, just as their hands were about to meet, a sudden movement erupted from the crowd. In an instant, archers raised their bows, arrows nocked and aimed directly at Astrid, Toothless, and Stormfly. At the same time, a shadow moved behind Hiccup. Before he could react, a strong arm wrapped around his chest, yanking him backward. The cold press of a blade settled against his throat.Astrid’s reaction was immediate. “Hiccup!”She reached for her axe, but the leader barked an order in his own tongue. The archers tightened their grips on their bows, and Stormfly let out a warning hiss, her spines flaring. Toothless growled low, his body tensing to pounce.Hiccup stilled, his heart pounding. The blade at his neck didn’t cut, but the message was clear—one wrong move and things would escalate.“I’m okay,” he said quickly, forcing his voice to stay calm. “Astrid, don’t move.”Astrid glared at the men holding their weapons. “This is how they say hello?”The leader stepped closer, studying Hiccup with sharp intensity. He spoke, his voice slower this time, measured. It wasn’t a threat—not exactly. It was a demand.Hiccup swallowed. “I really wish I knew what he was saying.”Astrid’s grip on her axe tightened. “They’re not going to hurt you, right?”Hiccup hesitated. “I… don’t know.”The man holding the knife to his throat said something in a low, warning tone. The leader raised a hand, silencing him. Then, for the first time, he switched to a single word that Hiccup could actually understand:“Norse.”Hiccup’s eyes widened. “Wait. You know Norse?”The leader’s face remained impassive, but there was a flicker of recognition in his eyes. He gestured sharply, and the man behind Hiccup loosened his grip slightly—though the knife remained uncomfortably close.Astrid caught on. “So they know about us?”“Or they’ve dealt with Vikings before,” Hiccup murmured, still keeping still. “Which isn’t necessarily a good thing.”The leader stared at him for a long moment, then spoke again, carefully enunciating a single phrase:“Why… are… you… here?”Hiccup exhaled slowly, his mind racing. This was their one chance. They had to get this right.“We’re looking for answers,” he said carefully. “And we don’t want to fight.”The leader studied him, unreadable as ever.Then, after what felt like an eternity, he gave a single nod.But the archers did not lower their bows.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Time seemed to freeze as the archers loosed their arrows. Hiccup’s instincts took over, and he dropped to the ground just in time, feeling the rush of air as the deadly projectiles sliced through the space he had occupied a moment before. Toothless reacted instantly, flaring his wing and sweeping it across in a protective arc, deflecting arrows meant for Astrid and Stormfly. The sharp impacts of wood and steel against the dragon’s thick scales echoed in the clearing, but there was no time to register relief.Then the chaos erupted like an avalanche.Astrid turned, ready to leap onto Stormfly and launch into the sky, but before she could mount, a powerful kick slammed into the back of her knees. She gasped as she collapsed onto the dirt, her axe slipping from her grip for a split second. That was all that the enemy needed. As Stormfly turned to see her rider, thick, weighted nets flew through the air, ensnaring both her and Toothless. The Nadder let out a screech of frustration, flapping her wings in a desperate attempt to free herself, but the nets were reinforced with heavy stones and thick rope, dragging her down. Toothless roared and writhed against the trap, his claws digging into the ground, but his own weight made the nets tighten further. Hiccup’s heart pounded in his chest as he heard Toothless’ muffled growls of struggle.Astrid rolled to the side, her hand grasping at the handle of her axe just as a soldier lunged at her with an unfamiliar, curved blade. With barely enough time to react, she raised the flat of her weapon to block the incoming strike. The impact rattled through her arms, the sheer force of it sending a jolt of pain through her muscles. She gritted her teeth, her legs scrambling for purchase in the dirt as she pushed back against the attack. The soldier, clad in leather and fur unlike any Viking armor she had ever seen, growled something in a language she didn’t understand, his dark eyes gleaming with intent. Astrid didn’t need to understand his words to know exactly what he meant to do.Meanwhile, Hiccup found himself locked in a fight of his own. The chief of the opposing force, a towering warrior with braided hair and a deep scar across his jaw, stepped forward. His sword, a heavy and well-worn weapon, gleamed in the dim light. Hiccup barely had time to register the movement before the first strike came. He dodged, the blade slicing through the air just inches from his face. The chief did not hesitate, stepping forward with a second, more controlled thrust. Hiccup barely managed to parry with his own dagger, the force of the impact sending a numbing tremor through his fingers. He staggered back, breathless, but the fight was far from over.Arrows remained trained on him at all times. The chief’s personal guard stood firm, bows drawn, their eyes watching Hiccup’s every move. If he got too close, if he made the wrong move, they would release their arrows without hesitation. He was effectively trapped, forced to fight at arm’s length with no hope of reinforcements. And he couldn’t use Inferno, that would definitely end all chances of peace.Astrid, still engaged in her own battle, took advantage of the brief moment of reprieve to twist her axe, breaking the enemy’s balance. She lashed out with a kick, catching her opponent in the stomach and sending him stumbling back. She tried to make a break for Stormfly, to cut her free, but two more warriors advanced on her, forcing her back into the fight.Hiccup saw it all happening in flashes—Astrid fighting like a whirlwind, Toothless snarling against the nets, the relentless force of the chief pressing him further into a corner. He knew they couldn’t hold out like this forever. They had to turn the tide, and fast.Summoning all his strength, Hiccup feinted left before lunging forward, twisting his dagger towards the chief’s arm in an attempt to disarm him. The older warrior anticipated the move, sidestepping and delivering a brutal punch to Hiccup’s gut. The blow sent him sprawling to the ground, gasping for air.Above them, the sky darkened, storm clouds rolling in like an omen. The air smelled of damp earth and impending rain.Astrid, gritting her teeth, swung her axe in a wide arc, forcing her attackers back momentarily. She turned toward Hiccup, eyes filled with urgency. “We need a plan!” she shouted, barely dodging another strike.Hiccup coughed, forcing himself to his feet. His mind raced. They had trained for situations like this—against Vikings, against hunters—but this was different. Their opponents were disciplined, prepared, and unfamiliar. Their usual tactics wouldn’t work here.He looked at Toothless, still struggling in the net, and then at Stormfly, her sharp spines pinned beneath heavy ropes. They needed to get the dragons free. That was their best chance.“Astrid! The ropes—Stormfly’s spines!” Hiccup called out, ducking under another swing from the chief. He caught the flicker of understanding in her eyes.Using all her strength, Astrid turned and leapt toward her dragon. She barely managed to avoid an outstretched hand grabbing for her shoulder. Sliding into place beside Stormfly, she reached for the Nadder’s tail spines—sharp as daggers. Wrapping her fingers around one, she wrenched it free, ignoring the sting of the point against her palm.The chief saw the movement and barked an order in his native tongue. The archers readjusted their aim, but it was too late. Astrid sliced through the ropes binding Stormfly’s wings with a single stroke. The dragon screeched as she surged to her feet, shaking the remains of the net from her body.Toothless let out a triumphant growl, his eyes blazing as Stormfly turned and snapped through the ropes trapping him as well. The archers hesitated, thrown off by the sudden shift in the battle. A single moment was enough to seal their fate.Hiccup threw himself to the ground, rolling away just as the chief’s sword came down. Before the warriors could react, Toothless was at Hiccup’s side, shielding him with his wings. Astrid vaulted onto Stormfly’s back, reaching out for Hiccup.“Now, Hiccup!” she yelled.Without hesitation, he jumped on Toothless and, with one foot still dangling from the side, adjusted his foot in pedal and opened the back fin. Arrows whizzed past them as they took off, the warriors below shouting in frustration.But the couple didn’t fly away, instead hovering in the sky above.The battle had reached a temporary standstill. The warriors held their ground, their arrows nocked but not yet loosed, their swords and staffs raised but momentarily still. Hiccup and Astrid stood in the clearing, breathing heavily, their dragons now free but tense, wings half-spread in anticipation of another attack. The chief, the tallest and largest figure, regarded them with narrowed eyes, his warriors awaiting his command. If the situation hadn’t been so dire, Hiccup would’ve definitely joked about his resemblance with Stoick.For a moment, there was only the whining sound of the wind through the trees and the distant calls of unseen creatures in the thick forest beyond the village. Hiccup looked down on the village’s warriors, his hands raised in a gesture of peace. He had no intention of letting the fight continue if there was a chance to talk their way out of it.“You spoke Norse before,” Hiccup said carefully, making sure to keep his voice even. “Why did you attack us?”The chief remained silent, his expression unreadable. His grip on his sword did not loosen, nor did the warriors lower their weapons. Hiccup exchanged a glance with Astrid, who was flying by his side, her axe still in her grasp but held low, not in a stance of attack. The air was heavy with tension, as if the entire village itself was waiting to see what would happen next.“We’re not here to fight,” Hiccup continued. “We didn’t come here to steal or to cause harm. We just want to understand. We found this village, and we were curious. We thought we could learn from each other.”The chief tilted his head slightly, his gaze unreadable. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke. “Who are you?” His Norse was rough, the words carrying an accent that Hiccup could not place, but the meaning was clear enough.“I am Hiccup Haddock,” Hiccup answered. “This is Astrid Hofferson. We come from far west, beyond the seas.” He hesitated for a moment before adding, “We are dragon riders.”A murmur spread through the gathered warriors, some exchanging wary glances, others gripping their weapons more tightly. The chief’s gaze flicked briefly to Toothless and Stormfly, then back to Hiccup and Astrid. If he was impressed or alarmed, he did not show it.“Why are you here?” the chief asked again, his tone flat.Hiccup considered his answer carefully. He could have told the whole truth—that they had followed strange markings on a map, that they were searching for answers—but he sensed that revealing too much might not be wise. “We are explorers,” he said instead. “seeking knowledge of the lands beyond our own.”The chief remained silent for a long moment, then he finally spoke, his voice calm but firm. “For the laws of my land, all non-authorized visitors must pay.”Hiccup frowned. “Pay?”The chief nodded. “You came uninvited. Those who come without permission must give something in return. That is our law.”Hiccup glanced at Astrid, then back at the chief. “How would we be able to pay?”The chief’s expression did not change. “You are now prisoners. Your fate will be decided.”Astrid tightened her grip on her axe. “That doesn’t seem very fair,” she muttered.Hiccup exhaled slowly, thinking quickly. They couldn’t afford to be taken prisoner, but they also couldn’t fight an entire village. They needed a way to settle this that wouldn’t put them at a complete disadvantage. His mind raced through the stories he had heard, the traditions of different cultures. The idea of trial by combat was common in many societies, including his own. It was risky, but it might be their best shot at fairness.“What if we fight for our freedom?” he said.The chief raised an eyebrow. “You mean war?”“No,” Hiccup corrected. “A duel. One on one. Equal terms. If we win, we go free. And more than that—we get to ask you some things. If we lose, we submit to your laws.”The chief’s eyes narrowed slightly as he considered this. His warriors murmured amongst themselves, some seeming intrigued, others skeptical. Finally, the chief let out a short breath, something almost resembling a chuckle.“You propose a bold challenge,” he said. “And if you lose?”Hiccup swallowed but held his ground. “Then we’ll abide by your rules, whatever they are.”The chief studied him for a long moment, then slowly nodded. “Very well. A duel it shall be.”Before Hiccup could say anything else, Astrid landed. “I’ll fight.”Hiccup landed next to her and turned sharply. “No.”She gave him a look that was both determined and exasperated. “Hiccup, I have more experience in combat. You know I have a better chance.”Hiccup shook his head. “I got us into this.”“Hiccup—”“I chose not to rest,” he said firmly, cutting her off. “I got us into this. I’ll get us out of here.”Astrid’s jaw tightened. She didn’t like it. He could see the conflict in her eyes, the part of her that wanted to argue, to insist that she should be the one to fight. He knew she was the better warrior—she had spent years training, sparring, pushing herself to be the best fighter she could be. In a fair fight, she would have had the upper hand. But this wasn’t about skill alone.He had made the decision to keep flying, to push on instead of turning back. He had insisted they keep going, even when she had suggested otherwise. If anyone was going to fight for their freedom, it had to be him.Finally, after a long, tense moment, she exhaled and gave a curt nod. “Fine,” she muttered. “But you better not lose.”Hiccup offered a small, lopsided smile. “I don’t plan to.”The chief turned, giving an order to his warriors. The village stirred with anticipation as preparations for the duel began. One of the warriors stepped forward, gesturing for Hiccup to follow, while others started forming a rough circle around what would soon be the battleground. Hiccup squared his shoulders and took a deep breath, steeling himself for what was to come. There was no turning back now.Hiccup stepped into the center of the clearing, his boots pressing lightly against the hardened earth. The gathered warriors formed a rough circle around him, their expressions a mixture of skepticism and curiosity. The sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows over the village as the chief took his place opposite him. The man was built like a bear, broad shoulders and thick arms rippling with strength. His fur-lined cloak was pushed back to reveal the worn leather armor underneath, his weapons glinting in the fading light.The chief lifted his chin, surveying Hiccup with a measured glare before speaking in his rough Norse. “The rules are simple,” he said, his voice carrying over the murmuring of the onlookers. “Each fighter is allowed two weapons. The duel ends when one man is no longer able to fight.”He gave Hiccup a moment to consider before continuing, “You are free to yield, though if you do, you will be considered defeated and must submit to our laws.”Hiccup nodded, his expression calm, though his heart was pounding in his chest. He reached for his belt, feeling the familiar weight of his dagger, and then grasped the cool handle of Inferno. The moment he lifted it, a wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd. The dragon patterned handle, though with blade still retracted, already drew attention with its unfamiliar design.The chief let out a low chuckle, shaking his head in amusement. “What do you plan to do with a metal handle?” he asked, his tone dripping with mockery. “Beat me with it?”Hiccup smirked, tilting his head slightly. “You’ll see soon enough.”He didn’t bother explaining. Let them underestimate him. Let them think he was just some scrawny foreigner with a useless weapon. He had faced far worse odds before. What mattered now was keeping his composure and waiting for the right moment.Before the chief could respond, movement at the edge of the circle caught his attention. Astrid and Stormfly stepped forward, their presence commanding. Toothless padded into the ring beside Hiccup, his piercing green eyes locked onto the chief, nostrils flaring. The warriors exchanged uneasy glances. It was one thing to face a single man in combat—it was another to have dragons and an armed warrior watching over him.The chief narrowed his eyes. “What is this?” he demanded. “They have no place in this fight.”Hiccup arched an eyebrow. “You have your men standing in a circle around me,” he pointed out casually. “Why shouldn’t I have my own guard?”For a moment, there was silence. Then the chief grunted, his lips pressing into a firm line. He did not object further, though his grip tightened around the hilt of his sword.Hiccup took a deep breath, rolling his shoulders to shake off the last of his tension. He let his fingers tighten around Inferno’s hilt, feeling the grooves he had carved into the grip to fit his hand perfectly. The blade had never failed him before, although, ironically, this was the model with Viggo’s modifications.The wind shifted, rustling the surrounding trees. It was quiet, unbearably so, the weight of the moment pressing down on everyone in the clearing. The gathered warriors watched with bated breath. Astrid kept her stance firm, her eyes darting between Hiccup and the chief, mentally calculating every possible outcome. Toothless shifted slightly, his muscles tensed beneath his sleek black scales, ready to move in an instant if things went south.Then, without another word, the chief lunged forward, his heavy boots pounding against the ground. His blade flashed in the dim light as he aimed a strike toward Hiccup’s side. Hiccup barely had time to react—his instincts screamed at him to move, and he twisted his body to the left, narrowly avoiding the slash. The force of the chief’s swing sent a gust of wind against Hiccup’s arm, but he had evaded the strike by mere inches.In the same instant, Hiccup flicked his wrist, and Inferno ignited, its fiery edge bursting to life. Gasps echoed through the crowd as the unnatural flame crackled along the blade. The chief’s eyes widened for a split second before he adjusted his stance, stepping back to reassess his opponent. This was no ordinary weapon, and it was clear that Hiccup was not as defenseless as he had initially thought.A slow smirk curled on Hiccup’s lips. “Still think it’s just a metal handle?” he asked.The chief’s expression darkened, his grip tightening around his sword. “Interesting trick. Let’s see if you can actually fight.”With that, he surged forward again.The duel began in a blur of motion, steel flashing under the dim, misty light. Hiccup barely had time to parry the first strike before the chief came at him again, faster and heavier than he had anticipated. The man fought with brutal efficiency, his broadsword cutting through the air with enough force to break bone. Hiccup dodged, sidestepped, and twisted away, feeling the wind of each missed blow rushing past him.The chief swung low, aiming for Hiccup’s legs, but Hiccup leapt back, planting his prosthetic foot against the ground just in time. He countered with a sharp thrust of Inferno, forcing the chief to retreat a step. They circled each other, the warriors around them watching in silence, the tension thick in the air.Sweat clung to Hiccup’s brow, his breaths coming short and quick. He wasn’t as strong as his opponent—he never was—but strength wasn’t everything. He had agility, quick thinking, and a weapon unlike any this man had ever seen.The chief lunged again, this time feinting left before slicing toward Hiccup’s right shoulder. Hiccup twisted just in time, Inferno clashing against the broadsword with a burst of sparks. The chief’s sheer force sent Hiccup stumbling back. He barely recovered before another strike came, and then another.He was faster, but the chief was relentless.Hiccup gritted his teeth, adjusting his stance. He had to find an opening. He had to create one. He let the chief press him, let him think he was weakening, all while waiting for the perfect moment.And then it came.The chief overextended, just slightly, as he aimed a devastating downward blow. Hiccup sidestepped, rolling under the strike. As he came up, he twisted Inferno in his grip and slashed low—not at the chief’s body, but at his thick fur cloak.The flames of Inferno licked hungrily at the material, catching instantly. A bright orange flare erupted from the fabric, the scent of burning fur filling the air. The chief snarled, trying to pat out the flames, but the fire spread, climbing up his shoulder and onto his arm.For the first time, the battle shifted in Hiccup’s favor.The chief’s expression contorted in rage as he bellowed, swinging wildly. Hiccup dodged, but he was on the defensive again. The fire licked higher, creeping toward the chief’s neck, but it didn’t slow him down. If anything, it made him more dangerous.Pain, fury, and desperation fueled his attacks. Hiccup felt the force behind every strike. His prosthetic leg skidded on the dirt as he parried blow after blow. His muscles screamed with effort.Then, suddenly, the chief caught him off guard. A heavy boot slammed into Hiccup’s chest, sending him sprawling onto his back. Before he could react, the chief was on top of him, his sword ready to slit Hiccup’s throat.The flames had crawled up his face now, burning into his flesh, distorting his features into something monstrous. The fire reflected in his eyes, pure, unbridled rage consuming them.Hiccup’s mind raced. He had seconds—no, less than that.He slammed his metal foot into the chief’s knee with all his strength. The impact was brutal. With a sickening crack, the chief’s leg buckled, and he roared in agony, stumbling backward.Hiccup didn’t waste the opportunity.He surged up, tackling the chief to the ground. Before the man could recover, Inferno’s flaming blade was pressed against his throat. The fire illuminated the chief’s face, the pain, the anger, the understanding.The chief let out a rasping breath, chuckling despite the agony. “At least I died to defend my people’s honor from a gifted man.”Hiccup’s grip tightened on his blade, but before he could act, the chief spoke again, voice hoarse but strong:“The explorers from afar have proven their worth.”Then, the fire consumed him entirely.Hiccup hadn’t wanted things to end this way. He’d only wanted to defeat him, to bring him to surrender, to admit he and Astrid where free to go. He definitely didn’t want to have his hands kill a human being.The chief’s body burned away in seconds, the flames turning flesh, bone, and armor to ash. His scream was short, choked out by the fire devouring his throat. The sound of cracking, blistering skin was drowned out by the roaring flames, which leaped higher, feeding on the last remnants of his existence. His form crumbled, blackened bones dissolving into nothing. And then, as if the wind itself had been waiting, a sudden gust swept through the clearing, lifting the ashes into the sky. They scattered, vanishing into the misty air, leaving nothing behind.Silence fell over the warriors.Hiccup exhaled, stepping back. His heart pounded, his hands shook, his head spinning and thoughts confused, but he had won.He turned, ready to call for Toothless, ready to leave this place and the memories of it behind—And then pain exploded around his throat.A thick arm wrapped around his neck, yanking him back. His vision blurred, his lungs screamed for air. He struggled, but the grip was too strong.Just before darkness took him, he caught one last glimpse of Astrid, her axe swinging as she fought against the guards.Then everything went black.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Darkness.It clung to him, thick and suffocating. It was a weight, an abyss, an endless expanse of nothingness stretching beyond time. His thoughts were slow, sluggish, slipping like water through his fingers. Was he alive? Was he dreaming? He wasn’t sure. His body floated somewhere between awareness and oblivion, his limbs bound by the crushing void, his heartbeat a distant, sluggish drum.Then—Light.A dull glow pressed against his closed eyelids, flickering like a candle caught in the wind. Not firelight. Something softer. Warmer. A lantern, maybe. A distant torch. The air was thick, warm, almost stifling. His fingers twitched against something rough—wood? A cot? The scratchy fibers of a thin blanket rasped against his skin. Pain pulsed beneath it all, a slow, rhythmic ache thrumming through his body. His ribs, his shoulder, his skull—everything hurt, everything was wrong.A voice.Muffled, blurred, like words spoken through water. It rose and fell in waves, dipping in and out of his fractured awareness. He tried to move, but his body remained foreign, unresponsive, dead weight sinking into the bed. His eyelids felt impossibly heavy, leaden, refusing to obey him. He was drowning again, slipping away before he could grasp a single thread of understanding.—Cold.It bit into his skin like a thousand needles, sharp and unforgiving. He gasped, his lungs shuddering, but the air was thin, too thin, a breath of ice that seared down his throat. The warmth from before was gone, stripped away and replaced with raw, merciless cold.Something hard pressed against his back. Stone. Rough and unyielding. His mind churned, sluggish, thick with confusion. His limbs refused to move, heavy and drained. The world blurred in a haze of muted darkness, but shapes swam at the edges of his vision—shadows, lines, something solid, something unnatural.Bars.Thick. Rusted. A door?A cell.The realization slithered through the fog of his mind, slow and unwelcome. The room was small, suffocating, the air damp and stagnant. A single slit in the wall let in a sliver of moonlight, casting thin, ghostly lines against the stone. He turned his head—or maybe he didn’t. He wasn’t sure. Everything was too heavy, too distant. A dull, empty space lay where his prosthetic should have been. Stolen. Gone.His stomach clenched. His mind raced, grasping for clarity, for memories, for something solid to hold on to. Where was Toothless? Where was Astrid?He tried to call out. His throat rasped, dry and useless, barely more than a whisper against the silence. Nothing answered him. No voices, no movement. Only the cold, pressing deeper into his skin, curling around his bones, dragging him back into the dark.—Snow.A crunch beneath him, distant but sharp. The weight of his own body was unbearable, pressing him down, suffocating. He couldn’t move. Couldn’t fight. Couldn’t breathe.Hands. Fingers gripping his arms, dragging him forward. Boots thudding against the ice. His face pressed against something frozen, the sting biting deep, frost clinging to his lashes. He cracked his eyes open, but the world was a smear of white and blue, a blurred expanse of indistinct motion.Voices.Sharp. Barked orders. Harsh syllables tumbling over one another, too quick to understand. The grip on his arms tightened, his body hauled forward, but his limbs remained useless, drained of all strength. He was weightless. No—he was empty.The sky stretched above him, vast and endless. A swirl of pale clouds. A smattering of stars. The wind howled, lashing against his skin, but he barely felt it anymore. His consciousness wavered, tilting, shifting. He was slipping again, fading before he could fight back.—Floating.Suspended in the void, weightless, untethered. His mind drifted, half-formed thoughts unraveling before they could take shape. The cold still clung to him, gnawed at him, whispered in his ear. But beneath it, something else stirred.A sound.Faint. Distant. A heartbeat?No—Toothless.A deep, familiar rumble, a sound that reached through the abyss, calling for him. The warmth of it flickered through his chest, a tiny ember against the ice. He had to wake up. He had to move.His fingers twitched. Barely. A tremor of motion, fleeting and weak.The voices returned, louder now, edged with urgency. Hands grabbed at him, rough and insistent. Then, suddenly—Weightlessness. Lifted. Carried. The wind tore at him, colder, sharper. He couldn’t tell where he was, what was happening, where they were taking him. His mind screamed at him to fight, to wake up, to do something—But the darkness surged up again, swallowing him whole.And then—Nothing once again.—Consciousness came slowly, dragging him up from the depths of darkness like a heavy tide receding. At first, it was only sensations—heat against his skin, the distant crackling of fire, the rough texture of stone beneath his fingertips. His body ached, a deep, gnawing pain settling into his bones, but the cold that had clung to him before was gone. Instead, there was warmth, almost too much of it.Hiccup groaned softly as his eyelids fluttered, reluctant to open. The brightness was overwhelming, a golden glow bleeding through his lashes, making him wince. His senses sharpened bit by bit, piecing the world together in fragments—the scent of burning wood, the faint flicker of shadows dancing across the walls, the steady rhythm of his own breathing. He wasn’t outside anymore. The biting wind had vanished, replaced by a heat that was both comforting and suffocating.Slowly, painfully, he forced his eyes open.He was in a cave.Or at least, that was what it seemed like at first. Jagged rock walls enclosed him on all sides, their surfaces glistening faintly with moisture. Stalagmites jutted from the floor in the far corners, and the uneven ground was littered with loose stones and patches of moss. But something felt… off. The light was wrong. Too bright. Too flickering. His eyes darted around until they landed on the source—a firepit, burning strong in the center of the space.Not daylight. Just firelight.Relief flooded him, but only for a moment. As awareness sharpened, so did the pain. His shoulder throbbed, the wound pulsing with every shallow breath he took. His head felt thick and heavy, as if it had been stuffed with wool. He shifted slightly, and a sharp sting shot through his body, forcing him to bite back a groan.A voice cut through the haze. “Hiccup?”He turned his head, slower than he wanted to, and met a pair of concerned blue eyes. Astrid. She was kneeling beside him, her face lined with exhaustion, dirt smudged across her cheek. Despite everything, he could see the relief in her expression, the tension in her shoulders loosening just a fraction.“You’re awake,” she breathed, as if she hadn’t quite believed it until now.Hiccup tried to speak, but his throat was dry, his voice barely more than a croak. “What… happened?”Astrid hesitated for only a second before she sighed, shifting to sit beside him. “You won the duel,” she said, glancing down as if the memory still unsettled her. “Fair and square. And then… they attacked.”Hiccup’s brows furrowed. Flashes of memory fought their way to the surface—the chief’s body turning to ash, the wind carrying it away, the feeling of victory turning to something else entirely. Then—Pain.He remembered the hands around his throat, the sensation of falling, of slipping into nothingness. His fingers twitched involuntarily at the memory.Astrid continued. “They must’ve planned it from the start. As soon as you turned your back, they grabbed you. Toothless and I had to fight our way through to get to you, but they kept moving you, passing you from one group to another. We followed, waiting for an opening, and when we got close enough… we struck.”There was a fierce edge to her voice, but it was laced with worry. Hiccup could picture it too clearly—Astrid and Toothless cutting through the enemy ranks, Stormfly diving in to break their formation. He knew how she fought. He could imagine her determination, her refusal to back down even against impossible odds.He swallowed, his throat still raw. “And now… we’re here?”Astrid nodded. “We needed a place to hide. We couldn’t risk going back to the village, not when they were looking for us. This cave is far enough from their main routes that we should be safe for now.” She exhaled, rubbing a hand over her face. “But I don’t know for how long.”Hiccup let the information sink in, his mind working sluggishly through the details. They were on the run. His body was barely holding together, and they had no way of knowing if their enemies were still searching for them.“Where’s Toothless?” he asked after a moment, his voice quieter now.A shadow shifted near the fire, and a familiar pair of green eyes gleamed in the flickering light. Toothless was curled up nearby, his tail draped over his body, his wings tucked close. He rumbled softly at the sound of Hiccup’s voice, lifting his head slightly but not moving from his spot.“He wouldn’t leave your side,” Astrid said, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Even after we got here, he kept nudging you, trying to wake you up. We’ve all had this same scare four years ago—”Hiccup felt a swell of warmth in his chest, stronger than the fire’s heat. He reached out weakly, and Toothless responded immediately, pressing his nose against Hiccup’s palm with a quiet, reassuring hum.Astrid watched the interaction for a moment before her expression turned serious again. “We need to figure out our next move.”Hiccup nodded slightly, though exhaustion was still weighing him down. He wasn’t sure how much strength he had left in him, but one thing was certain—they couldn’t stay here forever.As if reading his thoughts, Astrid gently placed a hand on his arm. “Rest for now,” she said softly. “We’ll think of something.”Hiccup wanted to argue, to insist that they start planning now, but his body betrayed him. The fire’s warmth, the steady presence of Toothless and Astrid—it was enough to pull him back toward the edges of sleep.His eyelids drooped, but his mind lingered on everything Astrid had said. The attack, the escape, the uncertainty of what came next. But he wasn’t alone. Content with that thought, he lay back down to rest some more.The sleep was short lived though, as he woke up with the fire emitting a crack louder than the previous, suddenly showing a slightly sharper shadow on the cavern’s walls. The fire crackled softly, casting flickering shadows against the stone walls. Hiccup shifted slightly, testing his limbs, his body still sluggish with exhaustion. The pain was everywhere, dull and persistent, but he could think clearly now. The worst had passed. Or so he thought.A sudden, shuddering breath broke through the stillness.Hiccup turned his head, watching as Astrid sat with her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Her shoulders were tense, her normally sharp and confident expression crumbling under something far heavier. She was staring into the fire, but she wasn’t really seeing it.“Astrid?” His voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper.She didn’t answer at first. Her lips pressed together, her fingers gripping her arms so tightly her knuckles turned white. Then, with a shaky exhale, she finally spoke.“I—” she started, then stopped, biting down on the word. Her jaw clenched, her breath shallow. “I can’t—”Hiccup’s brow furrowed. He pushed himself up onto one elbow, ignoring the way his body protested. “Astrid,” he tried again, softer this time. “What’s wrong?”Her head snapped toward him, and for a moment, her blue eyes flashed with frustration—anger, even—but then he saw the deeper emotion behind it. Not anger. Fear.“When they took you,” she began, voice trembling despite her best efforts, “when I saw them dragging you away—” She inhaled sharply, her fingers curling into fists. “I thought—”She broke off, pressing a hand to her forehead as though physically trying to hold herself together. A humorless laugh escaped her lips, choked and bitter. “It was just like before. Just like with the Red Death.”Hiccup stiffened.“I saw your body, limp and lifeless,” Astrid continued, each word sounding like it hurt to say. “I saw Toothless fighting to get to you. I saw you—falling. I saw it all over again.” She clenched her jaw, blinking rapidly, like she was forcing back tears through sheer willpower. “And then when we got you back—when you wouldn’t wake up, and Toothless just kept nudging you, whining, looking at me like I was supposed to fix it—I—”Her breath hitched, and she turned away, shoulders shaking slightly. Her hands gripped her knees, knuckles whitening as she exhaled sharply through her nose. “It felt like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.”Hiccup swallowed hard. He had known Astrid for years—seen her at her fiercest, her bravest, her most determined. He had never seen her like this. Never seen her so raw, so open. He wanted to say something, anything, to take that pain away, but for the first time, he felt at a loss for words.She let out a breath, her voice steadier but still strained. “I know you’re okay now,” she muttered, almost like she was trying to convince herself. “I know it. But that—seeing you like that again—I don’t think I could’ve handled losing you this time.”She cut herself off with a frustrated growl and buried her face in her hands for a second before dragging them down her face. “Gods, I hate this. I hate feeling this way. I hate not knowing what to do.”Hiccup didn’t think—he just moved. Ignoring the soreness in his limbs, he pushed himself up, reaching out to her. “Hey,” he murmured, his fingers barely brushing her arm before his entire body was suddenly alight with pain.White-hot agony shot through his right knee.He barely had time to register what was happening before his leg buckled beneath him, and with a sharp gasp, he crashed back to the ground.“Hiccup!” Astrid’s distress vanished instantly, replaced by alarm as she lunged toward him.He groaned, his vision momentarily blacking out from the sheer intensity of the pain. “Ow,” he gritted out through clenched teeth.“Are you okay?” Astrid was already helping him sit up, her hands firm but careful.Hiccup squeezed his eyes shut, inhaling through his nose. “Yeah,” he rasped. “Yeah, just—” He exhaled in a sharp puff, shaking his head. “Turns out my right leg hates me just as much as my left one.”Astrid blinked, caught between concern and disbelief. “You’re kidding.”Hiccup forced out a weak, wry chuckle. “Great. Now I’ve got no good legs left.”There was a beat of silence, then Astrid sighed, shaking her head. “You are impossible.” But her lips twitched, ever so slightly.He grinned faintly despite the pain. “You wouldn’t want me any other way.”Astrid exhaled again, this time with less tension. She gave him a look—one that said she wasn’t quite done worrying yet—but at least the storm in her eyes had calmed, just a little.She hesitated for a moment before finally sitting beside him, her shoulder brushing his. They sat there in silence, the fire crackling between them, the weight of everything still lingering but no longer suffocating.Hiccup knew the past still haunted her. It would take time for the memories to fade, if they ever truly did. But now they needed to assess the damage to his knee. It throbbed terribly, a deep and insistent ache that pulsed in time with his heartbeat. He exhaled sharply, bracing himself as he pushed himself upright, his left leg instinctively taking most of his weight. Every movement sent fresh waves of pain through him, but he grit his teeth and forced himself to focus.Astrid watched him with a sharp, assessing gaze, arms crossed over her chest. Her earlier emotional breakdown had given way to a steely determination, one that Hiccup recognized well. It was the same look she always got before diving headfirst into a fight. This time, though, the battle was against his own body.“Alright, we need to figure out just how bad that knee is,” Astrid said, kneeling beside him. Her voice was firm but laced with concern.Hiccup grimaced. “Pretty bad, if I had to guess.”She ignored his attempt at humor, shifting closer to get a better look. Carefully, she reached for his knee, hesitating for only a second before pressing her fingers against the swollen joint.Hiccup sucked in a sharp breath. “Okay. Yeah. That hurts.”Astrid rolled her eyes. “Yeah, no kidding. Let’s see how much you can move it.”Hiccup hesitated. “Can we just assume the answer is ‘not a lot’ and move on?”“No,” Astrid said flatly. “Come on. Try bending it.”He sighed heavily, bracing himself. Slowly, he tried to lift his leg. Pain flared instantly, sharp and unrelenting, and he barely bit back a pained groan. He made it halfway before his muscles locked up, refusing to go any further.Astrid frowned. “Okay. Not great, but not the worst. Can you put any weight on it?”Hiccup wasn’t sure he wanted to try, but he knew Astrid wouldn’t let him off that easily. Gritting his teeth, he placed a tentative foot against the ground and pressed down lightly. Agony shot up his leg like a lightning strike, and he immediately jerked back, sucking in a breath through clenched teeth.“That would be a no,” he ground out.Astrid chewed her lip, thinking. “It’s definitely not broken. If it were, you wouldn’t be able to move it at all. But there’s some serious bruising, maybe even a sprain. You’re lucky it isn’t worse.”Hiccup let out a dry chuckle. “Oh yeah. Real lucky.”Astrid shot him a look. “This is what happens when you let yourself get strangled after nearly being set on fire.”Hiccup rolled his eyes. “Noted.”She sighed and sat back on her heels. “It’ll heal eventually, but you’re not walking on it properly for a while. Maybe weeks.”Hiccup groaned, letting his head fall back against the stone wall. “Great. Just great.”“At least it’s not permanent,” Astrid pointed out, nudging his good leg with her knuckles.He gave her a sidelong glance. “Yeah. I think I’ve reached my limit on permanent injuries.”Astrid’s expression softened slightly, but only for a second before she moved on. “Alright, let me see your arm now.”Hiccup instinctively curled his left arm closer to his side, but Astrid wasn’t having it. She grabbed his wrist carefully but firmly, pulling his arm into the firelight. The padding on his shoulder had been torn, exposing a nasty bruise spreading across his upper arm. It was an angry mix of purple and red, but compared to his knee, it was nothing.“I can still move it fine,” Hiccup said before she could ask.Astrid lifted an eyebrow. “Then move it.”Hiccup sighed but did as she asked, rotating his arm in slow circles. There was some soreness, but it wasn’t unbearable.Astrid nodded in satisfaction. “Yeah, this will heal faster. A few days, maybe a week, and you should be fine. The knee, though… that’s going to take more time.”Hiccup exhaled. “So what you’re saying is, I’m going to be useless for a while.”Astrid crossed her arms. “No, I’m saying you’re going to have to be careful. You need to rest if you want it to heal properly.”Hiccup slumped against the wall. “Resting isn’t exactly my strong suit.”Astrid smirked. “Oh, I know. That’s why I’m going to make sure you do.”Hiccup gave her an exaggerated groan. “Great. A personal nurse. Just what I always wanted.”Astrid snorted. “You’re lucky I don’t just tie you down.”Hiccup huffed a laugh, shaking his head. Despite the pain, despite the frustration of knowing he’d be stuck recovering for a while, he felt oddly at ease. Maybe it was the warmth of the fire. Maybe it was Astrid’s presence, the way she could be so brutally practical yet so undeniably caring at the same time.“Fine,” he conceded, shifting carefully to get comfortable. “I’ll take it easy.”Astrid leaned back, satisfied. “Good. Because if you don’t, I’m knocking you out myself.”Hiccup smirked. “Terrifying as always, Milady.”Astrid rolled her eyes but didn’t argue.After a beat, she asked, “Do you think you can still ride on Toothless though? We might need to leave this place with little time to prepare.”Hiccup hesitated, considering. His knee was a mess, but riding was different from walking. Finally, he shot Astrid an amused expression and replied, “Luckily, m’lady, my good leg is still in one piece.”Astrid chuckled, shaking her head. “Then let’s hope we won’t need to test that theory just yet.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Hiccup shifted uncomfortably against the stone wall of the cave, gritting his teeth as a sharp pulse of pain flared from his knee. His entire body ached, but the knee was the worst—throbbing with every beat of his heart, a deep, insistent pain that refused to be ignored. His arm wasn’t much better, stiff and sore from the wound the chief had left him. But it was the knee that made him feel truly vulnerable. He had experienced pain before, but being unable to move properly—especially in a situation as dangerous as this—was suffocating.Astrid sat a few feet away, tending to her axe with slow, deliberate movements. Every few seconds, though, she would flick her gaze toward him, watching him closely. She wasn’t just looking at him—she was assessing him, calculating how much he could handle and how much he was stubbornly hiding.“You need to rest,” she finally said, breaking the tense silence.Hiccup exhaled sharply, leaning his head back against the cold stone. “I think I’ve done nothing but rest.”Astrid gave him a look. “That’s not resting. That’s lying there pretending you’re not in pain.”Hiccup huffed a dry laugh. “Pretty sure those are the same thing.”Astrid wasn’t amused. She set her axe down and scooted closer, her blue eyes sharp and unwavering. “You’re not walking on that knee for a while, Hiccup. You need to let it heal. If you push it, you’ll just make it worse.”Hiccup clenched his jaw. He knew she was right, but that didn’t make it any easier to accept. They were still deep in unfamiliar territory, hiding in a cave after barely escaping with their lives. Staying in one place felt like waiting for disaster to find them.“How long do you think we can stay here?” he asked, changing the subject.Astrid exhaled, leaning back on her hands. “Depends. If they’re still looking for us, we should assume we only have a day, maybe two at most. But if they think we’re dead, we might have a little longer.”Hiccup frowned. “That’s a big ‘if.’”She nodded. “Yeah. But right now, we don’t have many options.”He hated that she was right. Again. If they left too soon, he might slow them down enough to get caught. But if they stayed too long, they risked being discovered anyway. The balance was precarious, and it made Hiccup restless.Toothless shifted from his spot near the mouth of the cave, his ears twitching at some distant sound. His green eyes remained fixed on the outside world, his body tense, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. He had been like this since they arrived, never fully relaxing, never letting his guard down.Stormfly, curled up beside Astrid, was a bit calmer, though her tail flicked now and then, revealing her awareness of the situation. Her sharp eyes watched Toothless, as if taking cues from his vigilance.“They know we’re not safe yet,” Astrid murmured, following Hiccup’s gaze to the dragons.Hiccup nodded. “Toothless has barely slept.”“Neither have you,” Astrid pointed out.Hiccup sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. “Yeah, well, kind of hard to sleep when everything hurts.”Astrid scooted a little closer, her expression softening—just slightly. “If we’re going to make it out of here, you need to let yourself recover. I know you don’t like being still, but right now, you don’t have a choice.”Hiccup looked at her, taking in the determination in her eyes. She wasn’t just saying this because she was worried—she was saying it because it was the truth. And as much as he hated it, he knew she was right.He let out a slow breath. “Fine. I’ll rest. But just for a little while.”Astrid smirked. “Yeah, we’ll see about that.”He didn’t have the energy to argue. With Toothless standing guard and Astrid keeping a close eye on him, he let himself sink back against the cave wall, allowing the fire’s warmth to seep into his sore muscles. His knee still throbbed, his arm still ached, but for now, he was safe. And for now, that had to be enough.But as the minutes stretched into an hour, Hiccup found himself growing more restless. He knew Astrid was right—his injuries needed time to heal—but every instinct in him screamed that they had to move, had to find a way out before their luck ran out. He shifted, trying to find a comfortable position, but the moment he moved his leg, pain flared sharply again.Astrid narrowed her eyes. “What part of ‘rest’ do you not understand?”Hiccup sighed. “The part where it’s supposed to be easy.”Astrid rolled her eyes but didn’t push further. Instead, she reached into her pack and pulled out a small piece of cloth, folding it into a makeshift pillow before placing it behind his head. He was about to protest, but the look she gave him made him think better of it.As the night stretched on, Toothless and Stormfly remained vigilant, their occasional movements the only real sound in the cave besides the crackling fire. Hiccup let his eyes drift closed, though sleep didn’t come easily. Every noise outside sent his heart racing, every slight shift in the shadows had him gripping the fabric of his tunic.Astrid noticed. She always noticed. “They’re not going to find us tonight,” she said quietly.Hiccup exhaled slowly. “You don’t know that.”“No, but I do know that worrying about it won’t change anything.”Hiccup let out a dry chuckle. “That’s a very un-Astrid-like statement.”Astrid smirked. “Maybe I’m just getting tired of letting you do all the thinking.”He rolled his eyes but couldn’t stop the small smile tugging at his lips. Despite everything—the pain, the uncertainty, the constant threat looming over them—Astrid was still Astrid. Steady, stubborn, and impossible to argue with.He let out a slow breath, trying to ease the tension in his body. Maybe she was right. Maybe, just for tonight, he could let go of the worry, just for a little while.He settled down with Toothless as his cushion and with Astrid curling into his side, definitely for the body heat. Or at least that was the excuse.However, Hiccup barely felt himself slipping in and out of sleep, the exhaustion gnawing at him even as his body refused to truly rest. The flickering fire cast long shadows against the walls of the cave, its crackling the only sound breaking the tense quiet. Toothless and Stormfly remained near the entrance, their sharp eyes watching the darkness beyond, listening for any movement that could spell danger.Astrid had dozed off next to him, though Hiccup knew it was a light, uneasy sleep—ready to be broken at the slightest sound. He had just begun to drift when a low, warning growl from Toothless yanked him back to full awareness. His heart immediately started pounding, every nerve in his body on edge.Stormfly’s frill snapped up, her entire body tensing, and Astrid was awake in an instant. She met Hiccup’s eyes, her body already shifting into a defensive position, hand instinctively reaching for her axe.Footsteps. Distant, but approaching.Hiccup struggled to push himself up, but a sharp pain lanced through his knee, sending a wave of dizziness through his already battered body. He grit his teeth and forced himself to stay quiet. This wasn’t the time to be reckless.Astrid crept toward the cave entrance, pressing herself against the rough stone wall. She barely breathed as she peered out into the night. The fire had been built in a small recess, shielded enough that its glow wouldn’t be immediately visible, but if the search party got too close, the heat or flicker of light might give them away.A tense silence stretched between them before Astrid turned back, her expression grim. “There’s at least four of them. Maybe more.”Hiccup felt a cold weight settle in his stomach. He had hoped they’d have more time, that maybe their escape had thrown the enemy off their trail. But it was clear now that they had only been given a brief respite. He clenched his jaw, mind racing for a solution. Running wasn’t an option. He could barely stand, let alone move fast enough to escape pursuit. And fighting with only Astrid and their dragons against a full scouting party was just as dangerous.Toothless let out a quiet, rumbling growl, his ears twitching. He was getting restless, prepared to defend them at any second. Hiccup reached out a hand, pressing it lightly against the dragon’s scales, trying to calm him. They couldn’t risk attacking first. Not yet.Astrid glanced back at Hiccup, her fingers tightening around her axe handle. “We can’t stay here.”“I know,” Hiccup said, swallowing the frustration in his voice. “But we can’t run either.”The footsteps grew louder. Branches snapped under boots, the faint jingle of metal armor reaching their ears. They were close. Too close.Hiccup forced himself to think, to push past the haze of pain clouding his mind. If they were found, there was no guarantee they could fight their way out. But if they stayed still, banking on the cave’s shadows to keep them hidden, there was a chance the scouting party would pass by. A slim chance, but still a chance.Astrid crouched next to him, her expression tight. “We need a plan. Now.”“Stay quiet,” Hiccup whispered. “If they don’t see us, we wait them out.”Astrid frowned but nodded. She shifted so that she and Stormfly were positioned behind a rock outcropping, ready to spring into action if necessary. Hiccup stayed pressed against the wall, gripping Toothless’s saddle straps tightly, feeling the dragon’s muscles twitch beneath his hand.Then, voices.A harsh, guttural language filled the air. Hiccup couldn’t make out the words, but the tone was clear. Orders. Commands. The group was organized, methodical in their search.Boots scraped against stone. Someone was moving closer.Hiccup held his breath, willing himself to be invisible. The fire’s glow barely reached the mouth of the cave, but the warmth of it might be noticeable if they got too close.The footsteps stopped.For a terrifying moment, all Hiccup could hear was his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. He could see the shadow of a figure standing just outside the cave, the faint glint of a blade catching the moonlight.A single step forward.Hiccup tensed, preparing for the worst.Then, another voice called out from further away. A gruff, irritated bark of an order.The figure hesitated, then turned away, their silhouette shrinking as they moved back toward the others. More words were exchanged, and then—slowly, agonizingly—the sound of footsteps faded.Hiccup exhaled shakily, his entire body numb from the tension. He met Astrid’s eyes, barely daring to believe they had just avoided discovery. She didn’t speak, just gave him a small nod, her grip on her axe loosening slightly.They waited, silent and unmoving, until they could no longer hear anything but the wind outside.Only then did Astrid finally release a slow breath. “That was too close.”Hiccup nodded, rubbing a hand over his face. His muscles felt like they had turned to stone from holding so still, and his knee throbbed viciously in protest of the prolonged strain.Toothless let out a quiet, questioning warble, nudging Hiccup’s side. Hiccup gave him a reassuring pat. “We’re okay, bud.”Astrid ran a hand through her hair, exhaling sharply. “We can’t stay here any longer. They’ll be back.”Hiccup swallowed. She was right. They had gotten lucky this time, but next time, they might not be so fortunate.He struggled to push himself upright, biting back the sharp wave of pain that shot through his leg. “Then we move. Now.”Astrid hesitated, concern flickering in her eyes as she saw the way he wavered on his feet. “Hiccup, you—”“I’ll manage,” he cut her off before she could argue. “We don’t have a choice.”She sighed but didn’t press the issue further. Instead, she turned to Stormfly, quickly securing her saddle. “We’ll need to stick to the cliffs, stay out of sight as much as possible.”Hiccup nodded, tightening his grip on Toothless’s saddle. His entire body felt like it was screaming at him to stop, to rest, but he couldn’t afford that luxury. Not yet.With one final glance at the cave that had provided them shelter—however brief—he climbed onto Toothless’s back with Astrid mounting Stormfly beside him.“We head east,” Astrid decided. “Put as much distance between us and them as possible.”Hiccup took a deep breath and nodded. “Let’s go.”With powerful beats of their wings, the dragons took off into the night, their dark forms blending into the shadows as they disappeared into the sky, the wind picking up as they increased their speed.Toothless and Stormfly soared through the night, cutting through the cold air with powerful, steady wingbeats. The landscape beneath them blurred into darkened shapes, indistinct and unfamiliar. Hiccup’s grip on Toothless’s saddle was firm, but exhaustion was beginning to weigh heavily on his limbs. Astrid flew just beside him on Stormfly, her posture rigid, her gaze fixed ahead.They had been flying east at the very start but, even after hours of flying, they still hadn’t turned back towards home. Hiccup finally decided to speak up, his voice hoarse from exhaustion. “Astrid—why east?”She glanced at him briefly, her braid whipping around her face in the wind. “Because if that chief still spoke Norse, then it means whatever Viggo had on that map must be farther than there. Probably deeper into the unknown.”Hiccup frowned, absorbing the logic. “So, you’re thinking… if that tribe still held onto our language, then they must be on the westernmost edge of whatever this region is?”“Exactly,” Astrid nodded. “Which means whatever Viggo was after has to be further east. If we go that way, we might find something he was looking for—or at least a safe place to land.”Hiccup let out a long breath, feeling the tightness in his chest ease slightly. It was a solid plan, at least as much as anything could be in their current state. “Alright,” he said. “East it is.”They flew in silence after that, the only sounds being the rhythmic beats of dragon wings and the occasional gust of wind. Toothless and Stormfly moved with practiced efficiency, adjusting their flight paths instinctively to stay together. Below them, the terrain grew increasingly barren, snow-dusted cliffs and stretches of icy plains stretching for miles in every direction. The temperature dropped steadily, a biting chill creeping into Hiccup’s fingers as he gripped the saddle.As time passed, the exhaustion set in deeper. They established a system—taking turns resting while the other kept watch. Toothless carried both Hiccup and Astrid when it was her turn to sleep, while Stormfly, ever reliable, carried what little supplies they had managed to escape with. The shifts were short; none of them were in any condition to sleep deeply. But it was something.Hiccup forced himself to rest when Astrid insisted, but he knew she saw through him—knew he wasn’t truly letting go, wasn’t actually resting. His body was too tense, his mind too wired. He was too aware of every aching throb in his leg, the sting in his shoulder, and the heavy weight of exhaustion pressing down on him. Every time he closed his eyes, he could still see the chaos of their escape, the fire, the battle, the uncertainty of what lay ahead.Hours blurred together, the endless stretch of trees and rock offering little indication of how far they had traveled. It wasn’t until the landscape beneath them changed again that Hiccup realized just how long they had been flying. The land gave way to endless white, an expanse of frozen ocean stretching far beyond what the eye could see. Ice floes floated like shattered glass across the water, jagged edges glinting in the weak morning light. The sheer vastness of it sent a strange chill through Hiccup’s chest—another reminder of just how far they had gone.Astrid adjusted her grip on Stormfly’s saddle, glancing over at him. “Looks like we’ve found the ocean again.”Hiccup nodded. “Frozen, this time.”They hovered for a moment, surveying the landscape below. The ice looked solid in some places, fractured in others. Navigating it wouldn’t be easy—not on foot, at least—but flying over it wouldn’t be a problem.Or, at least, it wouldn’t have been if Hiccup’s body hadn’t finally had enough.Pain lanced through his knee like a red-hot brand, sharper and deeper than before, and for the first time since the duel, he couldn’t push past it. His breath hitched sharply, his hands tightening around the saddle straps as his vision momentarily blurred.Toothless let out a low, concerned warble, twisting his head slightly to glance at him.Astrid immediately caught the change in his posture. “Hiccup?”He tried to wave her off. “I just—” A deep, throbbing pulse in his leg cut off his words, and he clenched his jaw. “Okay, no. I really need to land.”Astrid gave him a long, scrutinizing look, then let out a half-snort, half-laugh. “Knew it. I knew deep down that you were faking not being in pain.” Despite her teasing tone, there was genuine concern in her eyes.Hiccup attempted a weak smirk. “Not faking. Just… strategically ignoring.”She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, ignoring it isn’t working anymore, is it?”He sighed, relenting. “Not in the slightest.”Astrid turned Stormfly in a slow arc, scanning the landscape below for a place to land. It wasn’t long before she spotted a relatively stable section of ice—thicker and more solid than the scattered flows further out. “There,” she pointed. “Looks good as a place as any.”Toothless followed Stormfly’s lead, descending smoothly until his claws skidded across the ice with practiced ease. Stormfly landed nearby, her talons clicking against the frozen surface. The moment they touched down, Hiccup barely had the strength to slide off Toothless’s saddle. The impact of his feet hitting the ice sent another jolt of pain through his knee, and he stumbled, catching himself against Toothless’s side with a sharp hiss.Astrid was off Stormfly in an instant, stepping toward him before he could protest. “Alright, sit,” she ordered, her hands already moving to help him.Hiccup grimaced but did as she said, easing himself down onto the ice with a sigh. Toothless immediately curled protectively around him, his warm breath puffing against Hiccup’s hair.Astrid knelt beside him, brow furrowed. “Let me see.”He hesitated for a fraction of a second before nodding, shifting his leg enough for her to inspect the damage. The knee was visibly swollen beneath the wrappings, the bruising dark and ugly even under the layers of fabric. The moment she pressed gently against the joint, a fresh wave of pain shot through him.“Yeah,” Astrid muttered. “That’s not great.”Hiccup exhaled through his teeth. “Tell me something I don’t know.”Astrid shot him a dry look but didn’t argue. Instead, she reached for their supplies, pulling out the small bundle of medicinal herbs they had left. “This isn’t much, but it’ll help for now.”Hiccup leaned back against Toothless, letting his head rest against the dragon’s scales. He was too tired to argue, too tired to do anything but let Astrid work. He felt her carefully unwrap his knee, heard the faint rustle of fabric as she crushed some of the herbs between her fingers, releasing their scent into the cold air.The sting came first—sharp and biting—but it was followed by a dull, numbing relief that made him sigh. Astrid worked quickly, rewrapping the joint with steady hands.When she finished, she sat back on her heels, eyeing him critically. “That’s about the best I can do right now.”Hiccup gave her a tired smile. “Good enough for me.”Astrid shook her head, exasperated but fond. “I’m sorry, I wish I could do more.”“You already did enough,” He huffed a small laugh. “You’re still here.”She playfully punched his shoulder and rolled her eyes, though a small smile was forming on her face. She stood, brushing snow from her leggings. “We’ll rest here for a little while. You’re not going anywhere until that leg stops screaming at you.”Hiccup didn’t argue. He knew she was right. He let himself sink into the moment—into the quiet, the cold air, the warmth of Toothless beside him. For the first time in what felt like forever, he let himself just breathe.The cold was biting, but the makeshift camp they had formed on the ice was stable enough for the moment. Hiccup shifted against Toothless’s warm side, his injured leg stretched in front of him, still throbbing but manageable. Astrid sat nearby, idly adjusting Stormfly’s saddle straps as they both caught their breath from the long flight. Their supplies were dwindling, their exhaustion mounting, but finally, they had a moment to think.Hiccup reached into the small satchel strapped to Toothless’s saddle, fingers grazing the rough edges of parchment. He pulled out the two maps—the one they had recovered from the village and the smaller, more abstract one they had found wedged under the piece of Maces and Talons on the seastack. He spread them out on a relatively flat piece of ice, smoothing out the creases as Astrid leaned in beside him.“What are you doing?” Astrid asked, watching as he scanned the maps with narrowed eyes.“Looking for connections,” Hiccup murmured. “We’ve been running on guesses so far. But what if we’re missing something obvious?”Astrid scooted closer, peering at the maps. The one from the village was more detailed, filled with ridges, landmarks, and markings of settlements. The seastack map, by contrast, was cruder, with a series of jagged lines and spirals, resembling a cryptic riddle more than a geographic guide.“I still don’t get that one,” Astrid admitted, tapping the older map. “It barely looks like a map.”“Maybe that’s because it isn’t meant to be one on its own.” Hiccup frowned, shifting the parchment slightly. He compared the shapes carefully, eyes darting between the two sets of markings. Something wasn’t clicking yet.Toothless, who had been resting beside them, suddenly let out a huff and stretched, his wing shifting forward and knocking one of the maps loose. The wind caught the edge of the parchment, flipping it over so that it slid partially beneath the other.Hiccup’s brow furrowed. “Wait.”He quickly reached out and adjusted the placement, aligning the eastern edge of the newer map with the western portion of the seastack map. A slow realization crept over his face. “Astrid… look at this.”She leaned in again, eyes scanning the overlapping sections. At first, it seemed like a coincidence—their lines were similar, but not identical. But then Hiccup adjusted them slightly more, tilting the maps so that the edges aligned at an angle instead of straight on.Astrid’s eyes widened. “They connect.”A jagged ridge on the first map perfectly continued onto the second, forming a single landmass when combined. The seastack map wasn’t random scribbles—it was a missing portion of the larger picture, but only if you knew how to position it.Hiccup ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. “This isn’t just a map leading somewhere. This is part of something bigger.”Astrid nodded, her expression shifting into something more thoughtful. “And whatever Viggo was after… it’s beyond this point.”Hiccup traced the map with his fingers, eyes scanning for clues. The new combined landmass stretched far beyond the edges of what was familiar. It led into the unknown, into uncharted territory. He could feel his pulse quickening. Whatever was out there, it was something no one had reached before—not even Viggo, not even the chief who had spoken Norse.A gust of wind swept across the ice, rustling the maps slightly. Toothless huffed, nudging Hiccup’s shoulder impatiently, as if waiting for him to make a decision.Astrid tilted her head, studying Hiccup’s expression. “So… what do we do?”Hiccup was silent for a long moment, staring at the maps, then at the vast frozen ocean stretching ahead of them. His mind raced, piecing together everything they had been through. They had barely escaped the village, braved a dangerous storm, and managed to find these maps against all odds. Was this their next step? Or was it another wild chase?His thoughts drifted back to everything his father had taught him, everything he had learned since becoming chief. This was a risk, and risks came with costs. But standing still, doing nothing, meant letting someone else make the discoveries—someone like Viggo, or worse.Hiccup’s fingers tightened around the parchment. “We don’t know how far this goes, but we do know one thing: this is the reason they came after us.”Astrid nodded slowly. “And if they think it’s worth all this trouble…”“Then it must be important.” Hiccup exhaled, determination setting into his features. “I need to know.”Astrid smirked. “You always do.”He glanced at her, smiling faintly, but there was still tension in his shoulders. “We’ll have to move carefully. We don’t know what’s out there. We don’t even know if this place is reachable.”Toothless let out a low, eager growl, his tail twitching. He wanted to fly. He wanted to move forward. And deep down, so did Hiccup.Astrid’s smirk softened, her eyes searching his. “So?”Hiccup finally met her gaze, his expression unreadable but resolute. “Do you wanna go home,” he asked, voice steady, “or are we gonna try to find where this is going?”