Heir and Pride

Chapter Forty

Hiccup frowned at the Berserker sails and watched the four ships crashed hard into the moorings, the metal reinforcement on the prows designed to bite into a beach or a dock. He could see many armed men aboard now and he shook his head. This didn't make any sense.

Hiccup knew the Berserkers well, for they were allies of the Hooligans and their Chief attended for annual treaty signings. The Berserkers, despite their name and reputation, hadn't been to war for fifty years and were under the rule of the jovial Oswald the Agreeable, the most un-Beserkerlike Chief in their history. He was in fact a cheerily oblivious man who failed to notice his son, Dagur, was a raging psychopath and sadist. Hiccup, of course, knew this all too well because it had fallen to him to welcome and entertain the older boy while the Chiefs signed the Treaty. Dagur was four years older than Hiccup, powerfully built and skilled in weapons and he delighted in tormenting his host. Hiccup had been beaten up, molested, almost drowned, marooned on a boat in the harbour, chased into the forest, used for knife target practice...and every time, he had managed to stop the other boy ruining the Treaty. But at the cost of pain, scars and nightmares that his father had never noticed and wouldn't have cared about in any case.

As part of his Chief Training-when he had still been the Heir-Hiccup had learned about the complex web of alliances, blood ties, blood feuds and Treaties that tangled all the way across the Archipelago and beyond. He knew that the Berserkers had no ties to the Peaceable Isles-and certainly no reason to be here, on remote Snori. He narrowed his eyes as men began to pour off the ships. No legal reason anyway...

"BERSERKERS! RUN!"

The cry rang up from the docks and Hiccup raced back to the forge. He had no idea why the Berserkers were attacking: maybe it was a rogue commander...or perhaps Dagur was out to exert himself and have a little fun behind his father's back. Either way, the poor defenceless people of Snori would pay the price. Hiccup accelerated and slammed the shutters down, finding a sword he had hidden at the back and a shield he had been prototyping-with a concealed grapple and crossbow. He knew he couldn't risk being taken by the Berserkers-Dagur would recognise him and if he did, he may kill him, ransom him or...worse...just hand him over the his father. He dragged his cap up, hauled on his vest and cloak and doused the forge, then slid out the back, his sword in his hand and the shield strapped across his back. Every sense was straining and he pressed his skinny body against the side of the building. He needed to find Astrid.

The shouts were coming nearer and he could hear something familiar: screams. There were battle cries and the zing of sword and axes along with other sounds that indicated they were being used. Hiccup sneaked a quick look round the corner and saw Leifur running towards the attackers, shouting for them to stop. With a sigh, Hiccup raced towards him, slamming him sideways and behind a shop.

"What are you doing?" the Chief hissed, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. Hiccup sighed.

"Keep back!" he said shortly. Leifur threw the skinny boy back and his face was definitely hostile.

"Are you in league with them?" he demanded. Hiccup shook his head urgently.

"No. No!" he said vehemently. "But I know them-and they will kill you."

"If I can just talk to them..."

"They won't listen. They never listen," Hiccup told him rapidly. "Get your family and your people and run!"

"But they'll plunder the village..!"

"And you'll still be alive!" Hiccup sighed. "You go out there and they'll kill you and still plunder the village. Get your family and go." He sighed. "I'll try to distract them!" Leifur stared at him in shock.