Splitter- English Version

15. Lies

He shouted. "No, no, leave her alone! Toothless!" A black shadow fell past him into the depths. He screamed deafeningly and the wind tore roughly at his clothes. A blond mop of hair hovered in the air above him. "Hiccup!" the delicate figure screamed his name helplessly. Heavy chains reached out and gripped her waist with long, rusty fingers. And in that moment, all life drained from her hyacinth-blue eyes. He screamed, but the wind drowned out his cries. He wanted to reach for her, hold her hand and cradle her in his arms, but he raced relentlessly towards the night-black ocean. He waved his arms helplessly in the air. But just before he fell victim to the mouth of the raging monster beneath him and came to rest in the nothingness below, the picture changed. He found himself on hard, rough planks, roughly tied together with brittle rope. He was thirsty, his clothes were dirty and torn. He coughed a few grains of sand into the hollow of his hand. He saw a ship in the distance. He pulled himself up and called out to the crew, but no one registered him. He looked down at himself and discovered a pair of binoculars in a holder on his belt. He loosened them and looked through them. The ship was bustling with activity. The passengers were all elegantly dressed and sang a melancholy, lullaby-like tune. A young woman, dressed in white, stepped on deck. Slowly and tactfully, she approached a small man, who was also dressed completely in white. She threw back her long blonde hair, braided into an elaborate plait, and clasped the man's hands. It stung Hiccup and now he recognized whose hands the young woman was holding. It was Viggo Grimborn's rough and coarse hands. And the woman was none other than Astrid Hofferson. She had changed sides. She had left him. Betrayed him. "No, he shouted, you mustn't trust him! He's dangerous! Astrid, you love me! He'll take everything you hold dear! Astrid, please! Come to your senses!" He gasped with grief and dismay and sank to his knees. Astrid looked at him with a smile on her lips and with a wave of her hand she ordered the men to aim the cannons. There was a hiss and the first bullet flew towards him with a bang.

He woke up and blinked.Someone was pushing back the dragon skin curtain with a flourish, causing the leather to slap against the wooden post. The dark silhouette that Hiccup's tired eyes caught sight of glowed menacingly in the morning sun. There was a flash of silver metal, which the stranger held out from his body with an outstretched arm. Hiccup's blood froze in his veins. He prayed that he was still dreaming and pulled at his bonds in panic. A biting pain reminded him that he was not asleep. He groaned through clenched teeth. The figure approached him with heavy steps. He wanted to flee. He wanted to call out to Toothless, swing himself onto his back, launch himself into the air and never turn back.But Toothless was not here. There was no one here who could have helped him. Panicked, he searched the room for objects he could use to defend himself. His gaze lingered on Viggo's favorite game of "tripple cross". How he loathed that game, how he loathed everything here. Beneath the fear that cut off his breath, hot seething rage mingled. His guts clenched into a painfully hard mass. He sucked in a sharp breath and tugged at the restraints, ready to defend himself. He barely noticed the pain spreading through his wrists. The first rays of sunlight pierced the darkness and bathed the surroundings in an oasis-like atmosphere. The light grazed the coarse face of his counterpart and Hiccup recognized it. It was Ryker. "Ryker, I..." he croaked. He was with him now, leaning menacingly over Hiccup's slender body. Hiccup feared the worst and prepared to fight back with all his might. But to his amazement, Ryker cut him loose. Hiccup, so shocked, forgot his anger and his defense strategy and was knocked hard to the ground by Ryker. Hiccup's head hit the ground hard. Biting pain crawled up his temples, making him dizzy. Ryker whirled around to face him and spat, "Do you know what's going on outside right now? Your friends, your allies, those freaks are attacking us!" Hiccup crawled out of reach. He didn't want to make the acquaintance of that dagger in his hand. If only he had taken a closer look at Viggo's setup. Now he had a chance to get out of here. He crawled toward the exit, glad that Ryker was still raging with anger. He began throwing things around in his rage, splintering chairs and the game board on which the "tripple cross" pieces stood. 

They clinked brightly as they hit part of the stone floor. Hiccup was glad that Ryker preferred to destroy things rather than direct his destructive rage at him. He inched toward freedom, inch by inch, when there was a sudden silence behind him. Hiccup froze. Fear crept up inside him, cutting off his air. Ryker leapt towards him, bent over his slender body and shouted, "Where are you going?" He raised his hands protectively in front of his face, the cut ropes still dangling from them. Ryker grabbed them and pulled him to his knees. He groaned in pain. His face was now bent close to Hiccup's so he could smell his foul sweet breath. "Tell me, hissed Ryker, did you order them to attack us?" Hiccup shook his head slowly. "I don't believe you!" Barked Ryker. Hiccup screwed up his face as fine droplets of spittle flecked him. He shook him vigorously so that his head was thrown forward and backwards. For a moment, the image flickered before his inner eye. He felt hot and cold at the same time. "We have to do something about you freaks. And the only thing that would make the most sense is an upgrade. Improving our security system, and what's the best way to do that? By simply teasing the recipe for the Groncke iron out of you." He hissed more to himself between clenched teeth. He pulled on the ropes and dragged him across the dusty ground. The strain on his battered hands was now so great that he was shaking with pain all over. Ryker stopped in front of an eyelet in the wall, to which heavy dark chains were attached. He pushed him in front of the eyelet, grabbed the open chain rings and fastened them to his ankles and wrists. He stood behind his back and cut the cord that held Hiccup's shirt together at the back. Hiccup's flawless white skin was revealed. His vertebrae and fine muscles were visible beneath it. He grabbed him by the mop of hair and pulled his head back so that he could now look into Ryker's dark eyes, wide with anger. Hiccup squirmed under his grip, the roots of his hair pulling under the force.  "I'll ask you one more time, boy. What's the recipe for the Groncke Iron?" Ryker repeated in a sharp tone, pushing him back. Hiccuping, "I don't know," he said quietly and intermittently. "I'll ask you one more time, boy. What's the recipe for the Groncke Iron?" Ryker repeated in a sharp tone, pushing him back. "I don't know," he said quietly and intermittently. Ryker laughed and continued in a menacing, choked voice: "Well, you wouldn't have it any other way, dragonrider scum!" He bared his teeth, turned and reached for something hanging on the wall beside him. Hiccup recognized it. It was a whip. He narrowed his eyes in rigid anticipation of what was coming. The whip cut the air and the pain he felt on his back surpassed anything he had ever had to endure before. His skin burned like fire. He stifled a scream and audibly expelled the air from his lungs. He knew that wasn't all. Not a second too soon and the whip cracked again, striking his back and leaving painful, red, gaping welts. And a third time it whizzed down and licked his emaciated body. Hiccup struggled against the restraints to keep from falling over and exposing less protected parts of his body. Now he was screaming. With each successive blow, he cried out to give space to the pain that was cutting off his air. Ryker, laughing gleefully behind him, asked, "Have you had enough?" And swung the whip again. "Three pieces of sandstone!" Hiccup screamed, writhing in unspeakable pain. Warm blood ran down his back. His eyes watered and he gasped. He tried to concentrate on his breathing and just breathe the pain away. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. Very simple. Breathe in, breathe out.

He heard Ryker say, "Good boy," as the whip cracked against his back again and again. His eyes were closed, caught in the dilemma of preserving his life or betraying what was dear to him. "What next?" Ryker asked. Hicks remained silent. "What next?" Ryker asked with a hiss, pressing his thumb into the wounds on his back. He cried out. "Three pieces of limestone!" he gasped. "Bravo." Ryker said appreciatively. "And the last ingredient?" Ryker refrained from inflicting pain on him. Hiccup, who was fighting for consciousness, said wanly, "Two pieces of iron ore and gronckellava." "That wasn't so hard, was it?" Ryker asked with a throaty laugh. Hiccup remained silent, trying not to lose consciousness. He didn't want to give Ryker the satisfaction of collapsing in front of him for good. He longed for the indifferent and painless blackness. He longed to simply leave all this pain, the cold, this hatred behind him. He wished to finally forget everything. Never to mourn or regret again. Never to run away again. He could put it all behind him if he just gave up now. Then he could get back on Toothless's back, glide through the skies and dive through the seas. He could discover new lands without anyone seeking his life. They would be reunited. Completely. Happy. He heard Ryker leave the cabin and huddled to comfort himself. He imagined he heard Toothless' deep purr, thought he saw his shadow in his mind's eyes as he finally slipped into the deserved blackness. 

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The true Gronckel iron recipe is:

3 limestone2 sandstone1 iron ore