The Great Beyond

Chapter 65: Sins of the Past (Hiccup)

This one's going to be really short, but it's hopefully a good way to send off this section, and conclude the theme of coping with loss. And, after that, there's just one section left, and we're done!

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The tingling in my arm slowly began to fade as I sat up, allowing the blood to flow back into it. Reign, Fishlegs, Dagur, and I all began to pack ourselves up the moment we woke up, desperate to get back to Berserker Island and talk to Heather. Unfortunately, the journey from Vanaheim was longer and more exhausting than we had initially imagined, forcing us to land on a large sea stack and rest for the night. None of us had really slept all that much, but we at least felt a bit refreshed as the sun started to rise.

While we were heading back to Berserker Island, Fishlegs had started looking through Oswald's papers, curious about what he'd discovered on Vanaheim. However, instead, we'd gotten distracted by a drawing of a Dragon Eye lens buried amongst the information. We didn't quite know what it meant yet, but figuring it out paled in comparison to making sure Heather knew what had happened to her father.

Reign and Dagur weren't as eager to talk to their sister, however—something made evident when we finally reached Berserker Island and were locking our dragons up in the stables for the time being. Dagur and Heather had yet to figure out why the dragons got so restless on their home island, but it was better for their own comfort to keep them in the stables.

"Dagur, you okay?" Reign asked, leaning against the bars of one of the pens.

"Huh? Me?" He looked up at his sister, as though he'd just realized she was there. "Sure. Fine. Never been better. I mean, how often do you get to tell your little sister that the father she's been maniacally looking for is dead? I'm just peachy."

Reign sighed and set a hand on her brother's shoulder, trying to offer him some sort of reassurance before the two of them had to deliver the fatal blow.

"There is something to be said for closure." The siblings shot Fishlegs identical glares. "Or, maybe not."

"Chief!" Everyone turned to see a Berserker guard coming in to the stables. Dagur's worry and bitterness momentarily melted away into a smirk.

"I love it when they call me that," he mused. "Ah. Never gets old."

"So good to have you back," the guard greeted, his voice completely deadpan.

"And good to be back," Dagur nodded, returning the pleasantry. "Where's Heather? My sister and I have news for her."

"You didn't hear? She left with Trader Johann for the Northern Markets." I heard Reign growl beside me at the mention of Johann's name. Her tolerance for that man had severely decreased lately, ever since his oil mission had caused us to leave the Edge right before it was attacked. "Apparently he found a man who says Oswald is alive."

The four of us whipped around to face each other, eyes wide. Whether any members of that party realized it or not, they were flying right into a trap, and if we didn't find her, it could prove fatal for her. Whatever they wanted, it definitely wasn't going to be just some casual talk.

We quickly jumped on our dragons and headed straight for the Northern Markets, pushing our dragons to fly perhaps a bit too fast. But we needed to reach Heather before someone else got their hands on her and her lens.

"Hiccup, Johann and Heather are walking— "

"Into a trap," I finished. "I know."