The Dragon Master

Chapter 12 - Introspection and Diplomacy

A/N: Hi, I'm back! :)

Astrid and Karalyn have returned to the village. Some villagers saw that they were walking together. They made questioning faces, but Astrid and Karalyn didn't seem to care about them. Two of them passed through a peaceful village. In the absence of dragons or in other words raids, Berk became a safe Viking village. Everyone lives without fear in their hearts. Every day waking up to a bright morning, every Berkian breathed in joy, talking about the things they would do that day. Everyone was laughing, joking, rejoicing over the days without dragons on Berk. They had no idea that the person behind the cessation of the raids was a former tribe member and former heir to the throne of Berk, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. A poor boy who was not accepted, had risked his life fighting the source of these raids, even though the real goal was not the safety of Berk.

Astrid and Karalyn continued walking together towards the Great Hall for lunch. Lunch is a treat for them, second only to parties like Snoggletog. The Berkians one by one entered the Great Hall to eat lunch while chatting happily with each other. Entering the Great Hall, the noise of the crowd and busy cooks began to appear. Astrid never thought that she would become a cook, she was afraid of accidentally wiping out the entire Berkian. Karalyn was about to sit down with Astrid when a voice with a Scottish accent was heard.

"Ah Karalyn, I've been looking everywhere for you," said Gobber as he limped towards them. Troublesome prosthetic legs. "I was wondering where you went. You're alive and well, I thought you were trying out those flying wings again or something."

Astrid frowned confused by Gobber's words. Flying wings? What does he mean by the dragon wings he took? Impossible. Karalyn wouldn't do that, as far as Astrid knew.

"Well, I just took a walk into the forest, getting some fresh air, you know, forgetting the smell in the workshop," said Karalyn, shrugging her shoulders casually. Gobber raised an eyebrow after hearing Karalyn's words.

"Eh? Are you mocking me lass?" Gobber asked as he placed one of his prosthetic hands on his hip. "Do I really smell that bad?"

"Not really hehe," said Karalyn, grinning. That girl then leaned towards Astrid and whispered something to her. "He hasn't bathed for 3 weeks. Gobber believes that a smelly body will repel Trolls from trying to steal his socks while they sleep."

Astrid just frowned in disgust at Gobber's strange attempt.

"The point is, I didn't try the tool and just walked with Astrid into the forest," Karalyn said casually, she sat at the dining table and started to take some processed potatoes and fish. "You act as if I will be eaten by a Troll or any monster, well no way. I'm skinny and if I get eaten by them then it'll just be a snack."

Gobber just rolled his eyes, ignoring Karalyn's sarcastic ramblings as he sat down to get the food. Astrid also acted the same way. It seemed Gobber was used to Karalyn's chatter spreading everywhere. Astrid felt that Gobber glanced at her briefly but sharply. Astrid knew that Gobber didn't like her since she had a big role in Hiccup's banishment from the tribe. Gobber seems to hate her even though it's not shown clearly.

Astrid, who was eating some mashed potatoes with smoked fish, overheard some of Karalyn's conversation with Gobber, which seemed to be discussing mechanics and Astrid didn't know anything about it.

"There should be an effective way to make a pulley that can lift things," said Karalyn while eating. "That would be more effective than lifting manually, considering that Berk has high cliffs so supplying goods would be difficult."

"That's a good idea, but we don't really know the right way to make one," Gobber said as he wiped the food stains from his mouth with his large hand. "After all, it would be detrimental and dangerous if we failed on the first try."