[$20] Tempered Flames: Chapter 5 (Beta Copy) (Patreon)

“Astrid??” Hiccup asked, tightening his hand on hers and moving to the side. “Hey, are you-”

And then he could smell it. As they drew closer to the obscured wall, the odor grew more and more powerful, until they were wrapped in the wretched scent of noxious fumes and burning flame. He recognized the sickly smell of acid spit melting through cloth and through wood. The night sky was now obscured by burning black smoke above the layer of gray.

It wasn’t a natural barrier at all. It was an attack, or maybe…

Hiccup flashed back to the island far to the east. To the emptied dragons’ nest, and the massive skeleton at the bottom.

The young man began to move without thought, standing up higher and receiving a face full of smog. It was like a blow to his chest, the heat of fire swelling inside him and cutting off his air. He came down in a crouch on the beam, retching heavily.

“Hiccup!” Astrid rose to a crouch on the beam, pointing in the direction the undersea horde had been moving.

He saw one of the dragons break through the surface, saw it move into deep shadow, heard the beat of its massive wings.

Hiccup half-tumbled, half-leapt. He hit the center mast and slid down on the ropes. “Wake up!” he called to the others. “Wake up!!” 

His words were punctuated by a roar on the wind. It was the Thunderdrum.

Dark, moonlit smoke suddenly flared, and a great orange bloom cast a long shadow. They could see the wings of the solid dragon flapping up and down as the fire blasted from its mouth, slamming into the immense outline of a much larger ship. Hiccup immediately began to classify it. Not a fishing vessel, there were mountings for siege weapons that dropping off it’s side. 

It was a warship, and it was being destroyed.

They were far enough away that they could only see the now blazing outline through the darkened gloom. The sail had already been melted away, and the ship appeared to have been hulled towards the back as the front was now listing up toward the air. The glow held as several other shapes zoomed up from the water below, spitting much smaller blasts into the burning frame. The doomed ship began to capsize.

The others had each awoken, but none of them had the power to say anything. They watched, each frozen stiff, unable to move. The Thunderdrum span about in the air, its swollen belly puffing up before it released another hideous sonic scream, powerful enough to cast splinters all the way over to their boat from hundreds of yards away.

“Are there… people? On that thing?” Tuffnut asked.

“Not anymore,” his sister replied. 

Astrid landed beside Hiccup on the beam and then leapt down to the boat bellow, hurrying for her axe. 

“Fishlegs!” she called, “turn the boat!” 

The blonde boy didn’t move. His mouth bounced in an inaudible stutter. 

Snotlout went for the rudder. “Drop the sail!” he called.

Astrid was about to move for the ropes but Hiccup fell in front, blocking her path. “Absolutely not!” he held his arms wide. 

Another fire blast was flung, smacking the opposing ship. Astrid was looking at him with surprised, wild eyes. “Hiccup? Move! We don’t have time! It could be killing them!”

“And it’ll kill us too if we don’t get out of here, now! That’s a Thunderdrum, Astrid! It’s twice as big as this boat! We don’t have anything that could counter it. Snotlout, point us directly south, follow the current. Any break in the flow will just draw their attention.”

“You’re going to abandon that ship?!”

“Look at it, Astrid!”

She did, and he felt the pain in her large blue eyes as she watched the shadow sinking beneath the waves. 

“You saw what is under the waves here,” he said tersely. “That ship might have attacked first or could have invaded their territory. Astrid, we might even be near an undersea nest. There’s no telling how many others are beneath the water, and most of them spit acid that will melt through our hull. They’re agitated, anything we do could set them off. We have to get out, now.”

Fishlegs found his voice. “Hey, uhhh, guys?” he said from near the railing. “There’s something coming this way!”

Hiccup turned, his hand automatically going to the hilt of his sword. Then he saw the wood drifting closer, moving into view, and recognized the small lifeboat even as the warship vanished beneath the waves.

There was someone inside. They wore a long black cloak. A single oar switched between left and right, pushing them away from the attack.

“Hey!!” Astrid called, waving her hands. “Hey, we see you!”

The figure twisted, saw them, and then began working faster, directing towards their boat.

Hiccup hurried past Astrid to Snotlout. “Give me your axe!”

“Uhhh… what?”

Hiccup rolled his eyes and took the axe from Snotlout’s hand. The bigger teen let him, watching as Hiccup began hurriedly tying rope around the shaft and the flats of the blade. “How well can you throw this thing?”

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“Come on, hurry!” Astrid called again. The lifeboat was getting closer, only about fifty yards out, but it was moving too slow. Even with the sails up, the longboat moved faster in the current than the tiny ship could, and the strain of switching sides was obviously getting to the survivor. 

Tuffnut came to her side. “Maybe you should… uhhh.”

“Keep quiet!” Ruffnut hissed. “Do you want those things to hear you?!”

Astrid looked at the other woman, scowling. “So much for extinct, right?”

Ruffnut glared at her. “I don’t have some stupid death wish, okay? What if they’re chasing her?”

“Her?” Astrid looked back out. “How can you tell tha-” she began before shaking her head. It wasn’t important. “Never mind that. Dragons are stupid, they’re not gon-”

Hiccup hit the side of the ship waist first, nearly draping himself overboard and looking down into the depths. “Ooof course! Wonderful!!” he moaned, looking back up at the figure. “Stop rowing!! They’re following your movement!”

Astrid cautiously looked over the side.

What had been chillingly beautiful only minutes before now was enough to cause her to freeze stiff. Below the washing waves, deep in the dark sea, the luminescent glow of dozens of dragons skated beneath the surface, moving in from the fog, directly behind the lifeboat.

The girl inside lifted the oar just as a small dragon, about the size of a torso, broke through the waves and snapped at the fat end. She spun defensively, twirling the wooden shaft and smacking the little dragon on the head with an audible thunk.

The movement caused her hood to fall down. She was maybe thirty yards now. Astrid could see her smoke-stained skin and ashy black hair. She was breathing raggedly, the boat swaying beneath her feet as she sank back onto her seat.

“Make sure you don’t hit her, please.” Hiccup said.

Snotlout hissed uncomfortably. “I’ll be honest? I can’t promise that.”

“Well, uhh, at least try not to.”

“Again, just being honest, I can’t promise that either. I do better when I’m not aiming.”

“Ohhh man, alright, uhhh, Tuffnut? How good are… never mind, that’s a stupid question. Okay just throw it!”

Snotlout took a step back, hefting his large hand axe over his shoulder before whipping it outward. Steel glinted as it spun through the air, carrying the chord with it. The girl let out a yelp, ducking her hands over her head and diving off of her bench. The axe embedded perfectly where she had been sitting just a moment before.

“Nice!” Snotlout praised himself. His chest puffed outward considerably, looking over to Astrid and Ruffnut before flexing. “Impressed?” he asked, winking.

“Huh?” Ruffnut yawned. “Oh, do it again, I wasn’t looking.”

Astrid growled, moving past the other girl and grabbing the rope from behind Snotlout. Her hand found Hiccup’s as he snagged it up and they looked at each other for a moment before both taking the rope and beginning to pull.

Tuffnut came up behind and then Snotlout with him, and together the four of them began to drag the other boat inward. 

Fishlegs was near the front of the ship when he stuttered to them. “G-g-g-guys? Uhh… I think it sees us.” 

Astrid looked to the bow as the massive, dragon, the Thunderdrum as Hiccup had named it, pass through the smog. As blue as the ocean, the dragon was covered from nose to tip with hideous spines. Its wingspan stretched so large that the tips were obscured on both ends, and the bloated body that she had seen in the shadow turned out to be almost entirely a gigantic mouth filled with dozens of bony sharp teeth. The mouth opened and closed almost experimentally, and Astrid was uncomfortably aware that it could likely swallow each of them whole in one gulp.

The dragon floated impossibly in the air, swirling the smoke around its body. The teens had stopped pulling, watching the beady yellow eyes peering at them.

“Does it see us?” someone whispered.

Hiccup answered, “Yes.”

“Why isn’t it attacking?”

“Because we haven’t attacked it.”

Very slowly, it glided forward. They could feel the wind of its wings pushing them down toward the deck. Astrid could see when the dragon saw the girl in the ship. She was close enough now that they could hear her panicked gasp as the dragon opened its mouth and hissed a grating, reptilian growl.

Astrid began searching for her axe. She wouldn’t let the creature kill someone right in front of her, not without trying! 

She would have never made it. Before they could pull the girl another inch, the dragon was rearing its head back, orange glow forming in the pit of its belly.

Just then, the ship suddenly rocked as something slammed into the mast. A terrific scream pierced through the night. Astrid spun around, looking up into the black smoke that covered the top of their ship, just in time to see a white plasma ball erupt and slam into the dragon’s flank. The Thunderdrum puffed out an air of smog, the impact rocking it to the side.

“No,” Hiccup whispered, true fear in his eyes as their ship swayed again. “No, no, no!” The Thunderdrum was spinning up into the air, creating another gust and blowing the hot air down upon them.

“Was that scream, was that a…?” Fishlegs began. He was quieted as the ship rocked and another piercing call came again, followed by an explosion of light flashing overhead.

“It’s another dragon… they’re fighting…”

Hiccup began tugging at the rope. His face was deathly white, as if he were about to throw up. The Thunderdrum roared in response, sending a cascade of fire into the open air, but it was further away now. 

“It’s leading him away,” Astrid whispered, trying to watch the unseen battle.

Hiccup said nothing. He was the only one pulling.

The screams and roars got further and further away, but didn’t truly vanish until a large splash echoed through the night. Somebody had won. The lifeboat knocked into the side of theirs and Hiccup leaned over the railing, offering the girl a hand.

She clamped onto it and he pulled her upward.

Astrid forced her attention back to the situation. She leaned over and grabbed the woman’s waist, helping her onto the ship. She sank down with her onto the deck as the black-haired woman sputtered an anguished cough. 

“Hey? Are you okay?” she asked. “What happened?”

“Astrid, get away from her.”

The girl’s face was covered in ash and she was about to turn and tell whoever it was off, until she realized that it was Hiccup who’d talked. His hand was resting on the hilt of his new sword.

Unquestioningly, she took two steps away and really looked at the woman.

She had dim, grass green eyes, and a long face with a small nose. Her body was thin, almost angular, beneath her dark black cloak. Astrid realized after a moment what the cloak was made out of.

The others were completely silent. The twins looked over the edge of the boat, down at the swirling mix of dragons below.

“Did anyone else make it off the ship?” Hiccup asked.

The survivor shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Well, I doubt it. Unless the rest of them also had clothes made of dragon skin. What were you doing here?”

The girl shook her head. “F-fishing, we were just-”

“You’re lying.”

Her voice caught, and she sat back. Leaned on the bulkhead and stared up into the smoke-filled sky. “Sorry. Second nature, I guess. Thank you for saving my life.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Hiccup…” Astrid broke in.

The girl made a small noise, leaning backward. “Hiccup, huh?” she groaned, leaning forward before pushing her hair back from her blasted face. “My name’s Heather.”

“Heather the Fisherwoman?” he prompted.

She snorted, shaking her head. “It was Heather the Dragon Hunter. Until those Sliquifiers showed up, and the Thunderdrum torched what was left of the ship.”

“A dragon hunter?” Snotlout asked. “What, that’s like, a profession?”

“A dying one, yeah.” Heather shook her head. “Do you guys have any water?”

“I’ll get it!” Fishlegs offered, hurrying off.

“How can there be Dragon Hunters without any dragons?” Ruffnut asked.

Tuffnut shoved his sister. “What do you think those are? Mice?”

“Dragons don’t live underwater, idiot!”

“Unfortunately,” Heather spoke up, “more than a couple do. My tribe tracked a nest to here. We thought we might be able to lure out a dragon called The Purple Death so we could kill it.”

“Woah, cool name.”

“Sounds… deadly.”

“We couldn’t even wake it up, though. We were totally unprepared for how many dragons there are here.”

“Are there any other ships in the area?” Hiccup asked.

“No, just us. Which, I guess, means just me.”

Astrid felt bad for the girl. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen someone covered head to toe in cinders after having everything burned down. Heck, she’d been that girl before. “You know, we’re actually on our way to be trained by a famous Dragon Slayer. Adoramus?”

Heather watched her before shaking her head. “Never heard of him.”

“We should probably keep it that way.”

“Hiccup,” Astrid sighed. “Don’t be so defensive. I think it’s pretty obvious that we’re on the same side.” Fishlegs returned with the cup of water and Astrid took it before offering it to Heather. “Would you like to come along?”

“Uhh…” she cradled the drink. “Well, I don’t suppose you might make a detour? My island is to the north-east of he-”

“No,” Hiccup replied flatly. 

“I figured…” Heather winced. “I don’t really have a choice then, do I?”

“Unless you want to take a chance back on the lifeboat?”

Astrid aimed a soft kick at him.

“Ahh, alright alright. Fine. But stow that cloak. If any dragon sees it, they’ll attack you on sight.”

“That’s what the cloak’s for,” Heather replied. “It protects from dragon fire, and even claws.”

“Sure, and that’ll help the wooden ship you’re on a whole lot. Take it off.”

“That’s fair,” she relented, unclasping the dragon skin from her neck.

As it fell away, several daggers and knives were revealed that had been strapped to her waist. The cloak had done its job, leaving almost her entire body unscathed from the attacks. “Woaaah,” the others replied.

“Have you ever killed your own dragon?”

“What’s it like? How much do they bleed?”

“Did you skin it, or did you have someone else do it?”

Heather laughed awkwardly, stepping back from the onslaught of questions. Astrid was as interested as the rest, but Hiccup caught her eye as he stepped away from the conversation and moved toward the bow of the ship.

She watched him go, listening to Heather’s responses without really hearing. 

He was shaking his head before looking over the edge of the ship at the glimmering lights below. Without really thinking about it, Astrid found herself doing the same, watching the dragons swirling around. A bitter taste developed in her mouth, though she couldn’t figure out why. It wasn’t the normal discomfort, nor did she feel the same anticipation for battle that she did when she trained.

The dragons swam along in the wake of their ship, watching them but not attacking, until they passed out of the fog and sailed on through the night.