Fire in our veins

Smile full of lies

Skrill belonged to a group of dragons incredibly difficult to train. These dragons were quite stubborn by nature, which didn't make training easy. Hiccup and Fishlegs offered to help, it was obvious that they wanted to study Skrill as thoroughly as possible, and they weren't particularly secretive about it. In the end, Eira's friendly nature, and a few buckets of eels, persuaded the dragon to cooperate. As Stormripper got used to Eira's presence on her back, the riders faced a new challenge. Eira needed a saddle. If this were a normal dragon, there would be no problem at all. However, Skrill drew power from lightning, which could very easily injure Eira. So she asked both her brother and Gobber for help. The older man had several ideas, but none of them met the most important requirements.

Plain tanned leather didn't protect against lightning, and neither did the other materials that dragon saddles were usually made of. Stormripper was also the first tame Skrill, before that no one had even dreamed of getting close to such a dangerous dragon, let alone flying on it. As such, Eira decided to try something new. Northen Markets offered many unusual and often exotic items. After several days of thinking about a new saddle, Eira decided to look for a suitable material there. However, she couldn't fly there on a dragon.

Northen Markets were a dangerous place. Many people who came there didn't have good intentions. It was a well-known fact that the island was a black market and therefore teeming with dragon hunters. That was why Eira decided to go there by boat. She took with her some gold coins, a cloak with a wide hood and an empty bag, which she threw over her shoulder. The trip from Berk to the island was surprisingly fast and pleasant, given the favourable conditions. The weather was nice, the sky was free of clouds and a warm wind tightened the sails.

Mooring the boat, she put a hood over her hair, which she had fixed in a simple braid. There were many people walking between the stalls, which made it easier for Eira to remain unnoticed. She finally found a place that offered a variety of fabrics. She immediately ignored the more delicate ones, the saddle had to be durable. She also discarded dragon skin, she had no intention of giving the dragon hunter even a broken coin. She couldn't think of anything until she noticed a man putting his hand into a bucket of live electric eels. On his hand was a gauntlet of strange looking leather. Eira looked at it curiously. The man wasn't very nice, but at least she found out what his glove was made of.

It turned out that well-tanned eel skin protected against paralysis. This was excellent information for Eira. She was about to head back to her boat when she noticed a group of dragon hunters ahead. Refusing to be noticed, she turned and headed in the opposite direction. After a while, the smell of herbs and exotic spices hit her. She stopped in awe. Countless sacks filled with dried and fresh herbs, glass bottles and beakers filled with infusions and ointments. Everything a healer needed in one place.

Forgetting about the hunters for a moment, Eira began looking at what the merchants were offering with a smile on her face. On one of the tables, she noticed fresh flowers of purple oleander. She was about to reach for them when a male voice stopped her.

- I wouldn't touch it with my hand if I were you. Oleanders look beautiful, but they are incredibly poisonous. - Eira turned towards the voice. Just behind her stood a tall brunet. He was quite pale, accentuated by a dark beard and three thin scars on his neck.

- If these flowers were blue, you would be right. But as you can see for yourself, these are purple. - She lifted one of the flowers between her fingers. - See? Completely harmless, to humans of course, I wouldn't want to be a dragon near that table.

- How do you know oleanders are poisonous to dragons? - the man came closer.

- I don't start conversations with strangers out of habit, especially in a place like this. - she turned her attention back to the flowers.