For the next twenty-four days, Hiccup and Toothless continued their work for survival.
While Vikings were busy with making semi-draconic weapons and warships, Hiccup and Toothless spent their time experimenting with many different things. The two certain dragon books provided them with plenty of knowledge to try and implement.
They had no intention to make surface humans more powerful. As such, most knowledge they used were defensive in nature. The dragon books would be extremely dangerous at the wrong claws. Since they were not staying for long, it was best to restrain themselves.
As such, half of their time were spent together with their hatchlings.
Their hatchlings had proven to be a very quick learner. What most dragons learned in few weeks; they learned them in few days. This was something they inherited from Charcoal. By the end of the week, they were already learning Psychic-Force from Charcoal.
Amber the Light Fury had been a great help on hatchling care. It was attributed to her experience as hatchling caretakers for her kins back at Hidden World. Considering how much of a pervert she could be, that was to be expected.
Whenever Hiccup and Toothless were away, Amber would take care of them.
The lockdown situation in Barbaric Archipelago was getting worse. There were riots at major nests, and dragons were trying to escape. The raids had been suspended, since the military were busy quelling unrest and enforcing border lockdown.
Dragon Island was in a complete lockdown. There was some sort of misdirection compulsion effect in Helheim's Gate that made everyone turn away. The authority had to move to different major nests because of this. Surprisingly, this did not cause any disruption in governance.
Whatever Furious was doing at Dragon Island, it must be dangerous.
"Did you see it?"
The boy was at the dragonsmith room in the smeltery, staring at something inside a small box. Toothless was in her human form, holding the box for him. They were testing large leather goggles with transparent crystal glasses.
Staring at the box, the content was covered with black rectangles and white lines. At least, that was what Hiccup see through the goggles. He could not actually see the content because the goggles prevented him from doing so. It was being visually redacted.
"I can't see it." Hiccup responded, before walking around the girl. While it showed Toothless' back, he could not see the box content at all. "… and I still can't see it. This one works fine."
Toothless closed the box. "That's the last of them." She commented, glancing at a large pile of similar goggles on the ground next to her. "I hope it's enough for everyone."
The boy took off the goggles. "It should be enough for the whole village." Hiccup remarked as he inspected the crystal glass. "... I think the grind needs to be a bit finer, but we don't have any sander that can go smoother."
"Hiccup!"
Hiccup turned around to see the entrance. Alexander Haddock was standing there, along with Stoick, Spitelout and Gobber. "Alex!"
He rushed to hug the man. Alex grunted as the boy collided with his chest. "Alright, kid! Calm down." The draconic Viking pat him on his back. "You're getting bigger now. It's like getting hugged by a bear."
The boy eventually let him go. He put the goggles into the pile. "Did my dad told you about everything?"
"Ehh… most of them." The draconic Viking pat his shoulder. There was proud look on his face. "I can't say much, but I'm proud you got yourself out from Furious. That's no easy feat!"
"I guess you're not cursed, then." Hiccup assumed, staring at his scaled arms. "You're just part dragon."
"That's just there to calm the folks, lad." Alex gave him apologetic look. "Ye can't just say you're part dragon without anyone freaking out. Why don't you tell me about your mate?"
"Oh. Uh…" The boy quickly moved to stand next to the girl. "Alex, this is Toothless. Toothless, this is Alex. He's my uncle."
The brawny girl simply smiled. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet ye too, lass." The draconic Viking gave a sharp nod. He approached and stood in front of the couple. "So… I heard you're off to hunt an ancient Night Fury."
"Furious doesn't allow anyone to leave. We're trapped in this region." Hiccup informed. "Dragon Island has been sealed off by some sort of compulsion spell. No one knows what he's doing, but I think he's planning something big."
Alex grimaced as he stroked his beard. "That's going to be a problem." He commented, before smirking. "But I brought some folks you might know! Come on in, lads!"
Entering the dragonsmith room were a certain girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, and a large burly boy with black hair and brown eyes. They were much bigger compared to two years ago, but Hiccup still recognised them. "Cami! Thuggory!"
"Hey, Hiccup!" Camicazi smirked as they approached. "You're getting a lot bigger than years ago."
Thuggory had to look up to see the brawny boy. "You are big now!" He smiled brightly. "Bigger than me! They won't hurt you anymore!"
"Well, I haven't punched anyone to death yet." Hiccup commented as he began cracking his knuckles. "This might not be my final size."
The smaller girl looked at the bigger one. "And who's this?"
The brawny boy moved to introduce her. "Camicazi, Thuggory, this is Toothless. She's my wife." He explained, surprising them. "Toothless, this is Camicazi and Thuggory. They're my friends."
"Whoa…" Thuggory breathed out. He was awed by their size and height. "You two are big."
Camicazi crossed her arms as she stared at the brawny girl. "So, how did that boy catch a girl like you?"
Toothless looked down at her. "The same way everyone does it." She answered. "How did a girl like you never caught one?"
"They keep asking me when I say no." The smaller girl offhandedly answered, smirking. "So, I kept slitting their throat."
The brawny girl was interested. "How many?"
"4. You?"
"35."
Camicazi whistled upon hearing that. "They never get the message, do they?"
"You can disembowel and dump the body in front of their friends, and they wouldn't get the hint." Toothless wrapped her arms around Hiccup. There was a glint in her eyes. "He's the only I fell in love with. The feeling's mutual."
Hiccup gave a tired smile. "She almost killed me the first time we met." He remarked. "I guess it's a matter of intent."
"Really?" The smaller girl was interested. "How did you meet her?"
Others quickly paid attention. The brawny boy began the tale. "I was wandering around when I caught someone that's not supposed to be there." Hiccup told the story. "Toothless here was curious about something. I defeated and captured her, cleared some misunderstanding, before sending her out."
"The only one that ever caught me. He was very respectful about it." Toothless smiled as she reminisced that moment. "It's a love on the first sight."
Camicazi nodded with approval. She moved to stare at the brawny boy. "I like her." The smaller girl commented. "I think you're perfect with her."
"Thanks." Hiccup simply smiled. "Now, we just need to find one for you."
"Oh, it's going to be a lot more than just that." The smaller girl unfolded her arms. She was smirking. "I can tell you're a romantic kind. Someone that knows when to stand up and back down. I just need to find someone that respects me like you do."
"Ahem." Alexander Haddock moved to stand behind the two heirs. He placed his hands on their shoulders. "These two are my apprentices in deviant monster hunting."
Hiccup raised his brows. "Did you take them in after you declared me done?"
"Aye. Their parents wanted me to train them." The draconic Viking nodded. His expression was serious. "You told the Meathead merchant that you're off to kill a god."
The boy was about to respond when he heard someone entering. "[English] Now that's not something you see every day."
The group turned to see the newcomers. Spitelout, Stoick and others moved away as they allowed the newcomers inside.
The first one was an old man that looked healthy for his age. He looked like in his 50s. He had white skin and blue eyes, wearing white shirt with leather vest, belt, pants and boots.
The man also had a musket strapped on his back. The belt had leather pouches, which was where a broad brimmed hat was hung. Given overall appearance, Hiccup assumed he was an American.
The man was followed by another man. He looked like someone from British upper class, complete with black suit and bowler hat. Hiccup recognised the sabre on the hips; it was draconic. The slight silhouette implied things hidden under that suit.
The last one that entered the forge was a woman. The brownish grey outfit she wore reminded Hiccup of a British explorer, but her appearance hinted Prussian origin. She had a folded draconic bow and quiver on her back. They look like his creation.
The three newcomers carried themselves like deviant dragon hunters. Hiccup could recognise one based on their stance and appearance. The boy moved Toothless' arms off him. He looked at the draconic Viking. "You brought your friends?"
"We were headed to America when your father found us and showed the wyrmsteel sword." Alexander scratched the back of his head. "We had to make a pick since we were answering emergency there. I had to pull a favour to get someone else to deal with it."
There was an awkward silence. The newcomers were amused when the draconic Viking suddenly looked a bit lost. "They're foreigners." He realised. "They don't speak Norse."
Feeling sympathetic of his former mentor, Hiccup approached the newcomer. "[English] Hello." He greeted in their language. "[English] Welcome to Berk. My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third."
The three deviant dragon hunters were happy to hear him speak their language. The first one brightened. "[English] Finally! We got someone that speaks English." His voice sounded elongated, as if drawling the vowels. It sounded melodic. The man offered his hand. "[English] The name's Finlay Harper."
Hiccup accepted the handshake. "[English] Deviant dragon hunter?"
"[English] Yours truly." The man - now known as Finlay - gave an easy smile. "[English] Alex put a lot of words on you."
"[English] Really?"
"[English] Mmhmm. He said you're the one that made half of our draconic equipment." Finlay let go of the hand. He looked around the place. "[English] Now that I'm here, I can see he's not larking on us."
The British man approached them. "[English] Samuel Evans." He spoke with posh accent. The man offered a handshake. "[English] I've been wanting to meet you for a very long time."
Hiccup accepted the handshake. "[English] I hope I come to your expectations."
Others looked at the third newcomer. The woman simply smiled. "[English] The name's Katarina Turner." She introduced herself. "[English] I was told you're the one who made my bow."
The boy leaned to see the folded bow behind her. "[English] I remember Uncle Alex ordered one from me." He commented. "[English] It looks well taken care of."
"[English] Thank you."
There was a brief pause. Hiccup turned to face the others. "[English] Thanks for coming to help." He expressed his gratitude, before remembering something. "[English] Wait, this region is in lockdown. Did you come here with some paperwork?"
Finlay was the one to answered. "[English] We can worry about leaving later." He crossed his arms. "[English] As much as I like to talk more, a rogue greater alpha is nothing to joke about. You need to tell us everything if you want us to help."
"[English] Right." Hiccup moved and grabbed some wooden chairs from the corner. "[English] This will take a while."
After everyone were seated, the brawny boy began telling his tale. He started with Northern Alliance faction and what they had been doing in the region. Hiccup told them about the Lycanwing attack; the first deviant incursion involving Monstrous Nightmare; the second one involving centipede deviant; and the attempted kidnapping of their hatchlings.
Hiccup explained that those things had been traced to Northern Alliance and why they were focused on them. The faction were testing him to see if he was worth kidnapping. However, given they made an attempt on his family, it was safe to say that they had shifted their focus on them.
It was why they were trying to leave.
However, Furious' response was both selfish and detrimental for everyone. The brawny boy explained who the greater alpha was and what he had done so far. While Furious did a good job investigating the situation, his response had been appalling and irrational.
The deviant dragon hunters paid attention to his story. They were silent as they listened what Furious had done. The hunters did not look happy; what Furious did was illegal under Wodensfang's authority.
The greater alpha should have been ousted weeks ago.
After the brawny boy was finished, Finlay was the first to speak. "[English] Let me get this straight." He started. "[English] You are a Haddock Night Fury, and that's why Northern Alliance is looking."
"[English] Yes." Hiccup nodded.
"[English] Personally, I don't pity the life you live in." The cowboy-like deviant hunter commented. He pulled out a metal flask from his pocket. "[English] No matter where you are, with that kind of power, you'll never have peaceful time for the rest of your life."
"[English] I've already accepted that." The brawny boy admitted. "[English] That's why we're trying to escape. We'll have a better life in Hidden World."
"[English] Even if you go somewhere else, your past will catch up on you." Finlay shrugged. He shook the flask and realised the liquid was frozen. The man continued speaking. "[English] You treat the disease, not the symptom. You have to think something different."
"[English] What am I supposed to do?"
"[English] You're a hunter." The cowboy-like deviant hunter reminded. "[English] It's your job to catch rogues and kill deviants."
Hiccup realised what he was implying. "[English] I'm not strong enough."
"[English] It takes four experienced hunters to deal with something like the Monstrous Nightmare you fight. I don't even know if I can fight a giant centipede deviant without an army." Finlay crossed his arms. There was respect in his eyes. "[English] But you did all that by yourself. I'd reckon you're strong enough."
"[English] Or lucky." Katarina commented.
They ignored her. Hiccup was hesitant. "[English] I was lucky."
"[English] You're either the luckiest kid alive, or the best hunter I've ever met." The cowboy deviant hunter commented. He leaned forward to the brawny boy. "[English] I tend to believe the latter. It's the deeds that make a man."
The brawny boy was frustrated. "[English] What was your point, anyway?"
"[English] The point is, running away is not going to make you safer." He stood from from his seat, approached the nearby lit furnace, and put his flask close to the heat source. "[English] You could defeat Furious; another would take its place. If you want to make sure, you need to take his place."
Hiccup widened his eyes. "[English] Oh, no. No, no." He shook his head. "[English] I don't want to be the greater alpha. I don't even know the first thing to be one."
"[English] Don't think you have a choice, son." Finlay turned and stared at the boy. "[English] You've carved your name on this region. No man can walk out of his own story."
After that conversation, the deviant hunters discussed their plan to defeat Furious. They searched for every avenue to bring down the greater alpha. They need every advantage they could get.
They were not betting on Sheldon construct; they did not expect Gryphon to return with an Astral Grain. Given how much exists in the world, it was best to assume that there was none.
Thankfully, Hiccup and Toothless made different inventions to help with the hunt. There were creations specifically made to fight against Furious, while others were things made to help with general deviant hunting.
"[English] -solved the first obstacle; scrambling the cognito-hazard. That's what we call the effect." Hiccup showed them the leather goggles. The deviant hunters, including Alexander Haddock, looked thoughtful as Hiccup explained everything. "[English] We call this: scrambler goggles. It visually removes the parts that can affect your mind. We made plenty for the whole village."
The four deviant dragon hunters leaned to check. The crystal glasses looked sturdy. Samuel was the most interested. "[English] How does this work?"
"[English] You just wear them." The brawny boy answered. "[English] Unless you cracked the glass, which is very hard to do, it'll keep on working."
"[English] And that cannon over there?" The British hunter pointed at the draconic cannon nearby. "[English] I can tell it's draconic."
"[English] It is draconic. It consumes raw mana and fires powerful plasma projectile." Hiccup explained. He walked to stand next to the draconic cannon. "[English] This thing was finished three weeks ago. You can punch through mountain with it."
"[English] I reckon that's enough to kill it." Finlay commented.
"[English] No." Alexander Haddock shook his head. "[English] You need something more powerful than this. A greater alpha dragon is not one to be underestimated."
"[English] Ah, well, that looks good enough for my town." The American hunter shrugged. "[English] But this ain't Mississippi."
"[English] It really isn't Mississippi." The draconic Viking grimaced. "[English] You're facing a dragon that can kill an army by just looking at them. Number doesn't matter, even with goggles. They have power of mind control. You don't have that kind of dragon in America."
Katarina glanced at Alexander. "[English] When was the last time you faced a deviant with power of mind control?"
"[English] Once. That's a long time ago." The scaled-arms man answered. He crossed his arms. "[English] I tricked the bastard to try and mind control a crab. He died from brain death trying to understand crab mind."
"[English] The same tactic could work then."
"[English] Probably." Alexander frowned as he thought of the solution. "[English] If this... cognito-hazard power is something he does passively, then it doesn't matter if a crab saw his true form or not. He enters your mind from your own memory. You can't recover from that without a medical professional dragon."
"[English] ... I suppose we could do this the old-fashioned way." Finlay shrugged, before focusing on the boy. "[English] What else do you have?"
"[English] We made some utility to help with deviant hunting." Hiccup moved to the table, which had some devices and contraptions. The brawny boy grabbed a rectangular metallic thing and showed it to them. "[English] I named this; TONER."
The rectangular object was roughly the size of his palm. Given its dark colouring, it was most likely made with wyrmsteel. The bevelled corners and small hinge at the top indicated that it could be opened vertically like a small pocketbook.
Alexander carefully took the contraption and further inspected it. The TONER instrument was the most peculiar thing. It was very smooth and lightweight. While there were some tiny rectangular gaps at the metal, there was no indication on what it was for.
Hiccup moved to help him use the device. "[English] Here. Let me help."
The brawny boy flipped the contraption open, revealing its function. There was a glass, crystal-like display at the top side. The bottom side had metallic buttons with symbols and texts. Alexander recognised the symbols. "[English] This is-!"
"[English] The very first aurapex created in a very long time." Hiccup revealed. "[English] It was a long forgotten craft, before utility crystals even existed. Toothless and I modernised the method and created this."
Aurapex was an old kind of mana construct. Before the advent of utility crystals, like Storage Crystal and Relocation Stone, aurapex was the instrument for many different utility. They were primarily used by the wealthy because it was difficult to make.
In many ways, they were inferior when compared to latest utility crystals. They had shorter life cycle and decay faster than their crystal counterpart. Dragons could not pull them into their mana pool. When utility crystals were invented, aurapex quickly become obsolete.
As time went on, dragons forgot how to make them. No one bothered to learn because it was harder to make. Any existing aurapex left unused decayed and turned into dust. Countless wars destroyed libraries and archives, further erasing this knowledge.
Eventually, everyone forgot they even existed.
The aurapex technology was lost in time.
When Hiccup discovered them on the seventh volume of 'Mana: Principles, Techniques and Tools' book weeks ago, he realised it was not much different than dragonsmithing. They could be considered the precursor of dragonsmithing, since most of its technique looked similar.
Toothless was the one who saw the missing piece. Similar to crystals, aurapex was created from demand of utility. However, while crystals were part of mana study, aurapex was part of artifice. The former was mostly created using complicated spells, while latter was forged with fire and steel.
With the advent of latest wonders, it was possible to improve them.
Hiccup spent weeks bringing that technology to the current era. Utilising superior dragonsmithing techniques and Toothless' vast crystallography knowledge, they created something greater than either.
The second-generation aurapex instrument.
Instead of being inferior to crystals, the modern aurapex had similar lifecycle to fuel crystal. It addressed the inconsistency and decay; it would not turn into dust when left unused. The quality and life cycle depended on material, allowing for easier quality control.
It also ended up being much smaller, allowing for more functionality added into aurapex. Dragons could pull them directly into their mana pool; they could use them from there. Humans could use them because of its construction.
The second-generation aurapex was better and more efficient than conventional crystals.
The deviant hunters and the Vikings leaned to see. The draconic Viking pressed the button with eight arrows in radial pattern. It was the symbol of mana perversion. The display showed information about his surrounding.
Mana Deviance Sensor
Scanning area within 10m every 1 second(s)...
0.02u perverted (linger)
0.1u dracophage (linger)
12u aberrant (object)
The group were impressed to see them. "[English] I have never seen anything like this." Samuel Evans whispered. The British deviant hunter was excited. "[English] This can be useful for my research!"
"[English] The contraption runs on Amethyst Scale. How long it lasts depends on set range and use." Hiccup continued speaking, getting their attention. "[English] The furthest range is about 500 metres. At maximum, an A grade scale can last for an hour. The instrument itself can run two hours at maximum capacity."
Alexander was impressed. "[English] Sounds like alternative for crystals."
"[English] It is. Aurapex technology was lost because utility crystals are just... better in every way." The brawny boy admitted, making them pause. "[English] The second-generation aurapex is superior to crystals. The TONER instrument is a showcase of what they can do."
"[English] You discovered the original method and improved them." The draconic Viking summarised.
"[English] ... that sounds about right."
Alexander Haddock was more than impressed. Hiccup had conquered the art of dragonsmith. If it was anything to went by, second-generation aurapex was a monumental achievement since utility crystal was invented.
Regardless, they had work to do. "[English] There's more buttons here for a simple mana sensor." He remarked as he inspected the aurapex. "[English] What other things does this instrument do?"
"[English] It can do a lot of things. TONER is short for multi-purpose, short-range, sensor, scanner." Hiccup further explained. "[English] It's basically several utility crystals combined into one instrument. It's designed to be carried on a hunt."
"Hmm..." Alexander hummed. He noticed something on the result. "[English] It says there's an aberrant object somewhere."
The brawny boy blinked. He grabbed the small wooden box from the table. "[English] It must be detecting this." Hiccup explained. "[English] Aberrant is the term we use for diluted mana originating from eldritch things. Not quite like Furious, but enough to have cognito-hazard effect. We used this to test the scrambler goggles."
The draconic Viking began playing with the buttons. It switched to different sensors, including temperature, light intensity and some others. "[English] This is very useful for a hunt." Alexander closed the contraption. "[English] But we're facing a rogue greater alpha, not a deviant."
"[English] No, no. It's useful!" Katarina Turner interrupted. The Prussian-American deviant huntress looked excited. "[English] If it can sense mana like dragons, it can detect spell traps. Most hunters fell because of traps!"
Alexander returned the contraption to Hiccup. "[English] I guess that's one example." He commented. "[English] Do you have anything else? Preferably something that can hurt."
"[English] We've been refurbishing some equipment from Hamish's bunker." Hiccup explained as he led them to another section of the room, which had a large contraption and a small archery range. "[English] There's not much that's left, so we use everything we can."
The contraption was a ballista, but it looked more like an oversized crossbow reinforced with iron. It was the length of two Vikings and width of one, but the height was much shorter – about a metre tall, not including the mount. There was even front handle to help carrying.
Underneath the ballista body was some sort of mechanism made of metal, which was connected to the rear section.
The mechanism itself was interesting. The rear section had two handles to grip, and a thin metal strip close to the thumb spot. It had a sighting device like crossbow. The lower section was thin, with a wooden leather handle, and a rail in the middle.
It was the most peculiar ballista they had ever seen.
Alexander raised his brows. "[English] What is that?"
Toothless was the one to answer. "[English] It's a repeating ballista." She moved close to the contraption. "[English] It can fire 175 ballista arrows per minute."
Katarina was interested. "[English] What kind of projectile does it shoot?"
"[English] It shoots crystal-powered, dracophage-infused exploding bolts." The mother dragon turned human answered. She grabbed a large ballista arrow from the ground and showed it to them. "[English] One is enough to stop deviants on their tracks."
The ballista arrow was about 5-foot long, and it looked more like an iron stake than an arrow. Toothless clicked something at the rear; large arrowhead and fin-shaped fletching sprung from the shaft. They were slightly translucent, as if made with supernatural means.
Toothless continued speaking. "[English] We're still figuring out how they actually work. We know it's designed to be mounted on a dragon." She explained, before clicking the rear once more. The translucent parts disappeared. "[English] The arrow is locked in place, so you can fire them from any direction."
"[English] Well I'll be darned." Finlay moved and grabbed the ballista arrow. Inspecting it, he noticed something. "[English] Dragon technology. You don't see that every day."
"[English] That's the training arrow." Toothless moved to grab another ballista arrow. However, it was only the shaft, and it had woad blue paint around the front and back. "[English] This is the real arrow. You can take off the front and back; you use this one for a fight."
The draconic Viking grabbed the coloured shaft. "[English] And all this was from the bunker?"
"[English] We refurbished everything, including the arrows. Yes."
"[English] I never really understand how dragon steel works." The American hunter commented as he returned the arrow. "[English] It's good against deviants. But is it lethal to normal dragons?"
"[English] Kind of." The brawny girl answered, making them pause. "[English] It explodes on impact. The explosion would break the casing and send shrapnel everywhere. It wouldn't kill normal dragon, but dracophage causes dragon seal effect. If it hits and enter their body, they can't use their fire for a while."
"[English] I suppose that's the right name for it." Finlay nodded approvingly. "[English] Lethal to deviants, but not enough against the normal ones. Just enough to discourage 'em."
Alex returned the arrow shaft to Hiccup. "[English] How many do we have?"
"[English] Enough to arm a small navy fleet." The boy answered. He placed the arrow shaft away. "[English] Some Vikings tried them outside yesterday. It took them just few minutes to learn how to fire and load them."
Alex moved to check out the ballista itself. "[English] Let's see how this works then." He grabbed the handles and aimed them at the front. It was facing thick wooden logs at the front. "[English] How do I use them?"
Toothless began moving his grip and posture. "[English] This is how you hold them. This is how you aim, and to fire, pull this lever for safety, charging handle to arm, and press the trigger with your thumb." She instructed, before grabbing a long metal box from the corner. It had a handle and a thin open part that exposed the ballista arrow. "[English] You load them by sliding this into the railing."
When she slid them in, there was an audible click. "[English] It locks them in place. You unlock them by pushing this and pulling the box." Toothless gave her instruction. "[English] This one has 10 training arrows. Pull the handle and let go."
Alex did as he was told. He grabbed, pulled all the way back and let go the handle. The moment he released it, the bowstring was reeled back, and an arrow appeared from the bottom. "[English] Do I just fire now?"
"[English] Yes. Push the trigger."
The draconic Viking pushed the trigger.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Clack! Clack! Clack!
A volley of arrows went shooting out from the repeating ballista, impaling the wooden logs. Roughly three seconds later, it finally stopped firing. They looked up to see the target. It was riddled with ballista arrows.
Toothless nodded in approval. "[English] It's easy to move the repeating ballista." She added. "[English] The legs and limbs can fold, and the arrows can stay there. There's a powerful spring and lock that keep them in place."
"[English] Well, I'll be darned." Finlay was impressed. "[English] We could use one of these."
Alexander simply hummed. He was interested in that weapon. "[English] The biggest threat when fighting rogues and deviant alphas are the minions." He commented. "[English] This would solve half the battle for us."
"[English] There's more at the back if we need them." Hiccup added.
"[English] We'll think about that later." The draconic Viking dismissed. He turned to face his deviant hunter friends and crossed his arms. "[English] We're going for briefing this afternoon. Hiccup's a dragonsmith, so load up."
Before they could respond, Alexander had started walking out from the place. "Stoick, come with me."
"Aye."
The rest simply stared when the two Vikings left the forge. Finlay focused back to the boy. "[English] I suppose you have .525 inches dracophage munition?" He requested. "[English] Or anything that fits in a Hall rifle?"
Hiccup pulled out his journal and pen. He wrote the order. "[English] No, but I can make them." The boy answered. "[English] I have something special if you're willing to change the barrel."
The American hunter began unstrapping his rifle. "[English] Let's see what you got then."
Katarina approached as well. "[English] Do you have arrow heads?"
"[English] Yes." The boy glanced at her bow. "[English] I have utility ones."
"[English] Do you have explosives?" Samuel piped in. "[English] I would like to see your assortments."
Hiccup smiled at that. He closed the book. "[English] Sure."
Later that day, after Hiccup provided them with equipment, he brought them to the cove. They introduced them to their hatchlings, along with Amber the Light Fury. It took most of them some time to get used with friendly dragon.
The surprise came when Hiccup and Toothless turned back to their true form: dragons. The newcomers reacted well with their transformation. The newcomer Vikings, however, were in shock. While they were already told, seeing them was a whole different matter.
"No point on hiding it then."
Alexander was at the forest cove, along with the others. Toothless, Charcoal, Amber and the hatchlings were at the centre. The two adult Night Furies were not wearing their outfits.
Thuggory and Camicazi were there as well, accompanied by Stoick the Vast. They were still processing the fact that their long time friend was a dragon all along.
The newcomers simply waited. Finlay was counting bullets in his pouch; Samuel inspecting the Night Furies; and Katarina was drawing them in her own journal.
Charcoal heard what the draconic Viking said. "Everyone knows by this point." He muttered. "I just don't want to freak them out."
"I can see where you're coming from." Alexander replied. He understood what was said. "But if you hide it, everyone will get suspicious."
"I'm just not comfortable." The father dragon admitted. He shifted his wings when the British hunter began poking them. "[English] Sorry. I don't get admirers."
"[English] Sorry? I'm the one supposed to say that!" Samuel was outraged, before focusing on something else. "[English] But I must ask. Have you been shot with a blunderbuss before? The scar on your scales indicates scattered pellet shot all around your underside."
"[English] I've never encountered blunderbuss before, or any gunpowder weapon for that matter." Charcoal gave him a strange look. "[English] The scars I have comes from battles. The ones you're pointing at comes from molten glass."
"[English] Molten glass?!" The British hunter widened his eyes. He looked excited. "[English] What is the tale behind them?"
The father dragon paused at that question. It was best to avoid the topic of Dragon Rebellion. "[English] Don't fly at sea level when it's raining lava." Charcoal decided. "[English] When lava drops into the sea water, they turn into glass and explode."
"[English] Ah, I see." The British hunter sagely nodded. "[English] What were you hunting that caused this... rain of lava?"
"[English] ... it was from an erupting volcano." The adult male Night Fury answered. "[English] In literal sense. There's no deviant hunting involved."
"[English] I see." Samuel nodded in understanding. He noted Charcoal's discomfort. "[English] Most dragons proudly show their battle scars. You don't seem to like them."
"[English] Well, I look like a scratching post!" The father dragon remarked irritably. The scars were reminders of his Dragon Rebellion participation. "[English] How do you understand me, anyway? Did my uncle taught you how to do it?"
"[English] Oh, he doesn't have anything to do with this. I can understand you just fine." Samuel replied with a bright smile. "[English] I think it is time for us to bring our other friends."
Charcoal stared as the British hunter pulled out some sort of thing made of bone- no, whistle made of whalebone. "[English] Other friends?"
Samuel took a deep breath, before blowing into the whistle.
FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
It was high pitched whistle. While the sound was barely audible for humans, it was incredibly loud for dragons. They winced when the whistle was sounded. Thankfully, it only lasted for a second.
After that, they waited. Charcoal perked up when he heard dragons flying into the cove.
Three dragons landed near the foreigners. The father dragon stared as the newcomers approached their companions. Charcoal could not believe it.
They were actual, skies-forbid, dragon riders.
Finlay Harper was petting the frills on his dragon companion. The dragon itself looked like a quadruped, silver Monstrous Nightmare with frills and short horns. The large dragon was enjoying the attention. He shifted his chest, adjusting the saddle he wore. "[English] Did you have fun?"
"[English] I sure did." Finlay nodded, before introducing them. "[English] Everyone, this is Arda. He's my friend and partner for my hunts."
Samuel Evans pushed his own dragon friend. It was a large, steel-coloured male dragon. The quadruped dragon looked somewhat different compared to the first one; he did not have frills. Instead, there were two pair of horns on his head. The saddle he wore was also bigger.
"[English] I present you, Lightflake!" The British hunter joyfully introduced. "[English] He is my partner, my companion, and my best friend. The most handsome dragon in London!"
"[English] Samuel, please. That joke is getting old." The steel dragon, Lightflake, blushed at the praise. "[English] I am the only dragon allowed to live in London."
"[English] And the only dragon to ever be knighted by King William the Fourth himself." Samuel boasted as he patted his companion. "[English] The deviant yokes never saw us coming!"
The last dragon and their companion, Katarina Turner, approached the Night Furies. Charcoal could only stare at the most peculiar dragon he had ever seen.
The dragon looked like a combination of a wolf and a hawk. The quadruped dragon had thick, chocolate fur with dark grey parts on around his eyes, wings and tail. The wings looked like hawk wings; the paws had talons instead of claws; the tail looked a bit like a lion with feathers at the end.
However, it was not the most interesting part.
Unlike others, where only a saddle strapped on their neck, the wolf-hawk dragon had other assortments of things, such as wooden chest plate and arm pads. He had a pair of braided hair with red cloths holding them together. There was even tooth- human tooth necklace around his neck.
Toothless could only stare as well. "[English] I... don't think I've ever seen your species before."
The wolf-hawk dragon bowed his head. "[English] My name is Catwalk. I am a Heopard." He introduced himself. "[English] Pleased to meet you."
The mother dragon could not help but ask. "[English] Where are you from?"
"[English] I was born and raised in America." Catwalk answered. He understood the confusion. "[English] My species is native in America. North America."
Katarina decided to speak. "[English] We grew up together in the wilds." She explained. "[English] Catwalk is my brother of all but blood."
"[English] Before I forget." Arda the silver dragon chimed in, getting their attention. "[English] We left Kadaris in charge of the camp."
Charcoal was surprised. "[English] You have another dragon?"
"[English] Kadaris is not a dragon." Finlay was the one who answered. "[English] He's my squire. A good one at that."
"[English] Okay! It's time for briefing!"
Everyone turned their attention to Alexander Haddock. The man had Stoick standing next to him. They looked like they just finished a conversation. "[English] Finlay, Samuel, Katarina, Thuggory, Camicazi, let's move somewhere private." He began. "[English] The rest of you; stay here."
"[English] Alright then." Finlay shrugged. "[English] Lead the way."
The humans moved to a different spot at the cove. The dragons simply watched when they began talking amongst themselves. They could not hear what was being talked about. It seemed private.
Eventually, Arda decided to speak. "There goes our partners."
Charcoal was surprised. "You can speak Norse."
"We call them Standard Dragonese. It's the spoken language for most surface dragons." The silver dragon nonchalantly responded. "It's a shame our partners never learned them."
"I never knew it's a common language for surface dragons." The father dragon admitted. "Then again, I don't know how things are outside this region."
"That's surprising. It was your ancestor's greatest achievement." Catwalk the wolf-hawk dragon expressed. The Heopard was confused by the lack of awareness. "Hiccup the Second pioneered trade between Hidden World and surface dragons."
Charcoal paused at that. He never heard anything about it. "He did this 700 years ago?"
"Yes. In early 1100s, he implemented postal service for major nests across the surface world." Catwalk lectured the history. "He created the framework for surface dragon messengers. It established trade and knowledge exchange between Hidden World and surface dragons."
"I was told that it was immigrating dragons that introduced them to surface world." Toothless chimed in. She was confused to hear that. "That's what they taught us at school in Hidden World."
"Well, historical records of American dragons says otherwise." The Heopard insisted. "The first and last Arch Alpha of North America was a Night Fury. His name was Oaktail. He reigned for over 400 years. It was said that Hiccup the Second worked with him to make this happen."
The mother dragon widened her eyes. "That was my uncle."
That surprised everyone. Amber was the one to speak. "Your uncle?"
"Yeah. My father told me he was killed in Hidden World about 300 years ago." Toothless explained. "He never told me he was an arch alpha."
That surprised the newcomer. Lightflake decided to ask. "You're Wodensfang's kid?"
"I am."
"How can you not know this?" the steel dragon expressed his confusion. "All dragons know this."
"Most American dragons know this." The Heopard corrected him. "There are only few hundreds of us."
"Oaktail was poisoned by the Spanish in 1560s to get rid of dragons around the continent." The wolf-hawk dragon told what he knew. "He ordered full return for all dragons to Hidden World after that. Not everyone followed, but majority did."
"That was at the height of Americas colonisation." Charcoal realised. He did not know what to think. "Why didn't he fight back?"
"We don't know. We have no records of any given reason." Catwalk admitted. He sat on his hindlegs. "While most decided to return, very few remained. My ancestors remained in Americas to fight back."
Charcoal darkened his expression. He understood that the whole thing was at the height of colonisation. It became apparent that colonisation was a threat to dragon settlements. The story was just another proof of that.
Toothless was confused. From what she knew, Oaktail was the older brother of her father. He was incredibly ancient. She had heard tales about his exploits from her family; he was the most cunning of them all. It was most likely that he foresighted his death by poison ahead of time.
Or humans discovered a way to circumvent that.
"You sure know a lot about our history than we are." The father dragon pointed out. "I didn't even know my own history."
"My partner and I are archaeologists." Catwalk puffed his chest. He was proud of his own knowledge. "We specialise in uncovering ancient surface dragon structures and histories."
Charcoal was interested. "Do you know any history about Barbaric Archipelago?"
"Barbaric Archipelago was once considered the archipelago of secrets. Pirates and empires like to bury their treasure in this region for safekeeping." The wolf-hawk dragon answered. He looked deep in thought. "That's how Wilderwest Empire came to be. When it fell, Arch Alpha Wodensfang forbids anyone from getting resources and precious metals out from the region."
"Why?"
Toothless was the one who answered. "To prevent European colonisation."
Catwalk smiled at that. "I see that knowledge matches with mine." He expressed. "The Hidden World censorship revolving surface dragons is biased to keep the balance. Arbitrators made sure this region is not worth colonising for. Not that the climate isn't a deterrent already..."
"I wonder why." The silver dragon was sarcastic.
"European colonisation could further fuel Dragon Rebellion." Charcoal chimed in, getting their attention. "The death of Hiccup the Second was the catalyst that restarted the war in Barbaric Archipelago 700 years ago. Fanatics came out to the surface; over half of the region's human population were slaughtered overnight. Imagine that happening in Europe."
"Wait." Amber approached them. She stared at the quadruped silver dragon with strange expression. "You're Arda. Professor Arda from Lomia layer?"
The silver dragon brightened. "Ah. I'm surprised anyone recognised me here." He commented. "Yes. I'm a research professor. I haven't been in Hidden World for a long time."
Toothless glanced at her. "You know him?"
"He's sort of famous in mana research community. I heard about him while studying in Lomia." Amber the Light Fury explained. "He published a lot of dissertation about deviants and anomalies. I didn't know he moved to the surface."
"I don't plan to return anytime soon." Arda the silver dragon elaborated. "The surface has plethora of things to research. You can never get bored here."
They were about to talk more when they heard the humans returning. They did not look happy at all. The Night Fury hatchlings, who had been paying attention, moved to climb and hide under Toothless' wings.
Upon arriving, Alexander focused on the father dragon. "Charcoal, do you have anyone outside Barbaric Archipelago?"
"Only Gryphon. She's in Greater Archipelago."
"I want you to bring her back for the fight." The draconic Viking explained. "Make sure she brings as much Nature Shard as she can. We're going to need them for the draconic cannon."
Charcoal thought that was a sound plan. He mentally focused to the silver jet dragon connected to his mind. "Gryphon, are you there?"
There was a brief pause, before Gryphon responded. "... yes dad?"
"I need you to grab as much Nature Shard as you can. Trade the Amethyst Crystals with Merciless for them." The father dragon answered. He mentally showed her the relevant memories. "Can you do that?"
"Yes! I will help!" The Valstrax responded, before expressing excitement. "Dad, I got two Astral Grain!"
Charcoal was shocked. "Really?"
"Yup! Uncle Aymar came to me and gave me two." Gryphon eagerly answered. "He said don't pull them into mana pool if I don't want to explode."
"Good work, Gryphon. Thank you for your help." The father dragon expressed his gratitude. Then, he focused on the draconic Viking. "Gryphon has the Astral Grain."
Alexander widened his eyes. "Then we need to escort her." he decided, before turning to face the others. "[English] Change of plan. We got the Astral Grain. We need to escort them."
Finlay crossed his arms. "[English] Are you going to stay back?"
"[English] I need to help the Vikings prepare the fleet; they need to know how to support us. Charcoal and Toothless have to get the weapons ready." The draconic Viking explained his reasoning. "[English] You three are the only free ones with dragons."
"[English] That's fair." The cowboy deviant hunter relented. "[English] We'll wait at the border then. Who are we looking for, exactly?"
"[English] You'll be looking for a Valstrax named Gryphon at the border."
"[English] We better start then." Finlay hopped onto his silver dragon companion. "[English] Let's go, folks! Let's get this over with."
Samuel and Katarina mounted onto their dragon companions. After they secured themselves, the foreign dragons took off into the air. They circled around the cove for a moment, before flying off into the distance.