"Are you sure we ought to be doing this?" Ryker asked his brother. "If word gets round to the witch, she'll have our heads."
"If it goes wrong, we can always claim that we're trying to fulfill the bounty," Viggo replied. "Besides, our men our loyal. They will not betray us. Is that right?"
"Yes, sir," The Hunters chorused. They shivered under Viggo's stare.
They were both grown men, with grey in their hairs. Viggo had some silver in his beard, and dark circles under his eyes. The war had not been kind to anyone.
In time, a figure slipped in on a riding dragon. He was dressed in muddy black, and landed with pain. His helmet had a feathery plume, and it was crooked. Muffled sounds came from within the helmet.
"It's all right, Hiccup." Viggo waved the flag. "You are on neutral territory here."
The boy slid off the Windwalker, who looked with concerned, doleful eyes. Two tiny dragons clung to the Fugitive's shoulders. He limped and took off his helmet. It came free with a rusty creak.
"Good Thor!" Ryker exclaimed.
Hiccup looked tired, and beaten down. He sported a black eye, and a tattoo on his forehead. That was the Slavemark, which made him an outcast and a slave. His face was also thin, and bruises decorated his face. He was muddy from head to toe, in a tattered Fire Suit.
"I don't look that bad," he said in Dragonese, before blushing and taking a deep breath.
"There's no need for that helmet," Viggo said. "This is a truce."
"Believe me, the helmet wasn't my idea," Hiccup muttered in Norse, struggling to get it off. He shot a dark look to the dragons. His voice had broken over the years, and he had grown a bit taller. But anyone who had spent a week with the boy would know that it was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third.
"Don't trust him," the older tiny dragon told him. "He could easily turn you in. Keep the helmet on."
"T-t-toothless agrees!" The other dragon said. Viggo recognized Toothless.
Viggo smiled; he had trained himself to learn Dragonese, the forbidden language. A long time ago, he had gotten a copy of a book on Dragonese thanks to Hiccup's immaculate handwriting. It was helpful in getting his men out of dangerous ambushes. He did owe the boy that. But it was the boy's fault that these ambushes were happening in the first place. Everyone knew that.
"It seems you got my message."
"You hid it in the dragon traps. Clever." Hiccup gave up on removing his helmet. "But just so you know, I've been living as a fugitive for a year. I can spring all the dragons free in your hold. And I am the best fencer in the Archipelago. So I will fight my way out if this is a trick. And I can't stay long in one place."
Viggo nodded. Being on the run from the witch would make anyone wary. The boy would have to be a fool to walk in here without an exit plan.
"It's good to see you alive," he said sincerely. "How long has it been? Three years? Four?"
"Five," Hiccup responded. His tone was calm. "It's been five years."
"That explains it," Viggo shrugged. "You've grown so much."
That was true. Hiccup wasn't tall for a Viking, and he was a runt by Viking standards, but he had grown a little. His body was still fairly skinny, if showing muscles from fencing and being on the run. But then any food would have to be foraged or stolen. Not much time to grow out in the wilderness.
"And who are your new friends?" he asked.
"This dragon is the Wodensfang, and the one I ride is Windwalker," Hiccup said slowly. "Your note mentioned that you could offer help. Help with what, I'm not exactly sure."
"Make sure that his words are precise," the Wodensfang advised. He had a perpetually worried face.
"Yes, yes." Viggo made a show of his bare hands, revealing that he was unarmed. "No matter what the witch says or what Alvin has stolen, you are still a candidate to be king."
Hiccup stiffened. He had a limp. Viggo could see it in the way he walked.
"You don't support Alvin's claim?"
"Not unless we have to," Viggo said. "The man is, how shall we say it, downright unstable. He's selfish, unnecessarily violent, and short-sighted. The man will kill everything in sight."
The other Hunters grunted in agreement. Hiccup spun to study all of their expressions.
"What are you offering?" Hiccup asked suspiciously.
"I'm offering my support for you as king." Viggo offered his hand. "The Hunters would aid you in the quest of Lost Things. We can go over the details over a meal. Your wounds also need to be dressed."
"I'm not hungry," Hiccup said, only for Toothless's stomach to growl. He glared at the little dragon.
"T-t-toothless only h-had that d-d-dried fish!" The dragon whined.
"Don't be foolish," Viggo said. "You've been without proper supplies or a decent meal in a year. If you turn down my offer, you'll be allowed to leave. I cannot guarantee if we are allies if you refuse, but you are safe for the night."
"If we are entering a living quarter, it will be harder to escape," The Wodensfang advised. "Out here we have the open air. We know how to evade dragons and Hunters but we don't know how to escape them."
Hiccup considered. Viggo noticed how Hiccup cocked his hear unconsciously.
"If we have any meals, we have it out in the open," he said. "I'm not going to enter any strongholds for the moment."
Viggo nodded while the men groaned.
"Brother, with all due respect, it's not safe out here," Ryker said. "The Red Rage dragons can ambush at any time."
"I am aware; a compromise perhaps?" he suggested. "My men have not set up camp for the night. We can set up temporary barracks to conduct our business that will protect from the Red Rage."
Hiccup looked at his dragons. They had a hushed conversation. Then he looked up, masking his relief with sternness.
"I accept your terms."
#
Hiccup hadn't thought that one of his enemies would be offering him shelter. Most of them had tried to kill them on a repeat encounter. This past year, he had been doing all that he could to avoid being seen. Yet, here he was, trying not to gorge on the first proper meal he had tasted in months. Toothless kept trying to steal bites, even though he had a pile of fish. Hiccup tried to stop his dragon, because Toothless tended to swallow before he was thinking.
He didn't trust Viggo. Not wholeheartedly. The last time they had met, Viggo had conspired for the Bog Burglars and Hooligans to wipe each other out, while the Romans who were Viggo allies sentenced Fishlegs and Camicazi to death in the gladiator arena. Viggo had offered Hiccup an out, to see the world and read more books than he possibly could. Even though Hiccup knew he could never accept that offer, some days he wondered
The truth was, however, that he needed human allies. Supporters. Friends who would accept his claim as King of the Wilderwest. Fishlegs was somewhere with the Hooligans, and Camicazi, Hiccup didn't know where she was. He hoped he was okay. She had half-turned her back on him on that day. But they were still friends; at least, he and Cami hoped they still would be if they reunited.
Viggo was the closest thing to a supporter Hiccup had for the moment. And he needed some rest. The year was weighing down on him.
"We can start with an exchange of information," Viggo said. "The witch says you have the map to the Dragon Jewel?"
Hiccup finished his bowl of dried meat mixed with salty broth. Toothless jumped into the bowl and finished the remains of it. The Wodensfang deigned to take a sip of the broth while chiding Toothless for his manners.
"If I told you a year ago, I thought I did," he said. "But now I'm not sure. Besides, how do I know that you won't take the map from me and deliver it to the witch?"
"So you're saying the map is a decoy?" Viggo asked. The men around them looked confused and jumpy at the same time. They all spoke in low voices.
"Grimbeard always did have a nasty sense of humor," Hiccup replied darkly. He had memories of the Skullions that had tried to eat him alive, and the Strangulator that had nearly poisoned him.
"How about this." Viggo sat back. "I can tell you where your father is, if you show me the map. I swear on my grandfather's grave to not reveal this information to the witch. And I doubt you will betray anything to her."
Hiccup nodded. Viggo gave him a location, in a whisper.
"Of course!" Hiccup whispered back. "That makes the most sense."
"Don't forget your Quest, Hiccup," the Wodensfang chided. "You have to retrieve the last Lost Thing first and foremost."
"I haven't forgotten," Hiccup responded.
He took out the map, and started explaining why he thought it was a trick. The Prison Darkheart, in the middle of the Amber Slavelands, was where Grimbeard had claimed to draw a Mirror Maze that would lead to the Jewel.
"It's the red herring symbol that concerns me," he said, pointing to the colored fish. "Unless the meaning has changed, a red herring usually means 'a false start' or 'wrong direction'. Grimbeard would be the type to use it to say that the Jewel is not in the Slavelands."
"Besides which, hiding an entire maze in the Prison would be extremely difficult," Viggo agreed. He traced his figures over the faded lines. "But why would he go through the trouble of creating a false map, hiding it in a sword that was in a treasure trove at the bottom of the sea?"
"This is the same man that had a fake treasure chest on Skullion Island," Hiccup said. "He's a a fan of complicated schemes. If the jewel is not in the Slavelands, then it can be anywhere."
They sat in silence. The only sounds were the Wodensfang, Windwalker and Toothless sniffing the night air for danger.
"But it's the only starting point we have," Viggo said. "We may as well start there."
"We?" the Wodensfang said.
"You want to help break into a prison and find a maze that may not exist?" Hiccup asked. "Why?"
"You can't be a king without followers," Viggo said. "And you can't enter the Prison Darkheart alone. Storming a fortress like that requires men, weapons, and brains. You have a brain and a weapon, but you don't have men."
Hiccup gave a half-shrug. He sensed there was a catch behind all the logic in Viggo's words. There was something unctuous in the tone.
"But what is your incentive to help me?" he asked. "The witch will consider it high treason and endanger the Hunters. Why would you want to support an outcast for king?"
"She won't be able to charge anyone with treason if Alvin fails the coronation," Viggo pointed out. "And as I said before, the man is unstable. He wants to wipe out humans and dragons alike. You may be able to save both. You've done the impossible before, in the arena. All you would need to do is favor the Hunters when you become king. Make us your army, your forgers, and your bodyguards. We would offer our loyalty and protection in exchange for your favor."
Hiccup reached into his bowl and stroked Toothless. The heat from the dragon's body warmed his fingers, and his thoughts. Memories came back, of Viggo playing both sides of the Bog Burglars and Vikings for profit, while selling captured dragons to the Romans. He recalled the man wanting a copy of his book, and testing his languages. Viggo had wanted Hiccup by his side, to travel and to nurture.
"It's not just that, isn't it?" he asked, calmly. "You want a king that you can control."
"So you say," Viggo responded just as calmly. "It is favorable to aid a candidate for king who does not seek bloodshed, and one who can grow, to make mistakes and learn from them. Your talents as an intellectual would not go to waste if you are using those brains to rule a kingdom."
It all sounded so sincere. But Hiccup knew better. He remembered the Roman fortress. And he could not agree to an implicit agreement to become someone for Viggo to control. Nor could he
Before he could voice a response, something rustled in the trees. The dragons all stood upright. So did the Hunters. Viggo and Hiccup got to their feet abruptly, Hiccup grabbing the map and folding it in a practiced rapid manner.
"Were you followed?" Viggo asked abruptly.
"No," Hiccup whispered. He had taken off his helmet for the meal, but his dragons were already putting it on; normally he would have protested, but instinct told him having it off was a bad idea. He held onto the visor to keep it from jamming.
"But I might have been tracked," he realized with horror.
The roar that followed made their bones rattle. Arrows flew from the trees' shadows. The Hunters moved, but they were not the target. They were all aimed at the boy.
"RUN!" Hiccup shouted. He dove to dodge the onslaught of arrows and pushed Viggo out of the way. "You retreat! They're not after you!"
Viggo stumbled backward, to avoid the onslaught. The Hunters covered their faces with helmets, while Hiccup slipped and slid towards the Windwalker. The shoulder dragons mounted their human.
"I'll have to consider your offer later!" he shouted. "I'll lure them away-" Â
The Windwalker lurched to avoid an arrow. Â Hiccup's visor fell down, cutting off his last few words. As the Windwalker lifted him to the safety of the trees, the Warrior followed. Hiccup recognized the dragon and let out a curse that the helmet muffled.
"Mother! Stop! It's me, Hiccup!" he tried to say. Nothing but grunts.
The White Shadow dragon swooped, and the Warrior pounced. Â Hiccup's voice cracked as he gave a muffled squeak. He tried to shout at his mother, but nothing escaped the jammed visor. The ground flew away from him, as did the Windwalker.
Oh Thor. Oh Thor.
#
The Hunters moved to retreat. Viggo would have wanted to go after the Warrior and her quarry, but the Hunters had no riding dragons, and to break the evening silence would mean their death. They quickly wrapped up their camp and moved to their ships on the rivers.
"I know that dragon," Ryker said. "That's Valhallarama of the White Arms, Hiccup's mother. He's doomed, and we may be."
"She won't betray us to the witch," Viggo said, his hair shaken. "And surely she wouldn't kill her son. No mother would." Â
"Even so, we should retreat," Ryker said. "The dragons can't reach us in the Roman lands, or beyond. Neither can the witch."
"I think you're right." Viggo nodded. His shoulders drooped in disappointment.
"You tried your best, brother." Ryker offered a shoulder in consolation. "I wish he had said yes. But this is not a world where we can afford nobility or the right decision."
"I wasn't doing it for the nobility," Viggo snapped. "I meant every word that I told the boy. He would have been a perfect pawn to manipulate, to get an equilibrium between dragons and humans. Alvin doesn't promise that equilibrium."
"Then we have to hope the boy will do it without our help," Ryker said. "I'm disappointed too. The boy was our last chance to get our old life back."
A shiver of agreement went through the Hunters. They started to pack up and to make the long, discreet journey far from this land. The Hunters would survive this bout. Viggo only hoped that the rest of the Archipelago would.Â
