Captain Fury: Pirate of Berk

21: Chasing Shadows

Chasing shadows

"We have to get the Captain back!"

"Well, duh! But we don't know where he is!"

"Scratch that, sis! We don't even have a ship to chase 'em down!"

"Yeah, we can hardly rescue him from a Berserker galley in a rowing boat!"

"I don't know..."

"Er...yeah! How would you fit a cannon on a rowing boat?"

"Point taken!"

"Will you keep it down!" Fishlegs hissed at the twins. He sometimes thought the Captain was a little stern with them but now, having to try to rein them in on his own, he realised Fury had been-if anything-a little too patient with the insane pair. They both scowled at him but spoke quieter, even though the tavern they were currently in was half-empty and no one was paying them a scrap of attention. Mulch and Bucket were sitting at the table as well-and the big man was almost in tears.

"But I so liked him," he murmured. Mulch patted his back comfortingly.

"Captain's tough," he assured the simple man. "He'll be fine." Fishlegs cast him a warning glance: no one could say that. He had caught Fury's face as he had been dragged off by the cruel-looking guards of the Governor of Berserk: the man looked terrified. He knew exactly what Dagur would do to him and it would be excruciating. Fishlegs knew Fury-Hiccup-was a brave man, surviving a series of horrific trials that would have ended most men he knew and the thought he could be so scared at the prospect of the galleys made the husky first mate worried. After all, Dagur had sworn vengeance on the Captain for rejecting his sister and Dagur wasn't know as the Deranged for nothing.

"We need the ship," the First Mate decided. The twins huffed and glared at him.

"Dude-we've been saying that for the last ten minutes," Tuff groaned.

"She's moored in the main harbour as a prize," Sven One added, sitting down with a pitcher of ale. He swiftly topped up everyone's mugs. "For that Jorgensen bastard. The Shipping guy."

"The one who the Captain ruined," Fishlegs murmured.

"The one who ruined him," Ruff put in. They stared at her. "What? I was paying attention!"

"So when we steal the ship, we hack off the guy who caught the Captain and harmed him in the first place?" Tuff clarified. Fish rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Tuff," he sighed.

"I'm in," the male twin said. "All we need is a plan."

"The Captain was our plans man," Ruff sighed.

"So what we have to do is what the Captain would have done," Fishlegs encouraged her. There was a long silence and even more furrowed brows.

"Something stupid?" Tuff asked hopefully.

"More like something crazy," Ruff suggested.

"Something bold," Mulch added.

"And completely unexpected," Sven added.

"Maybe we can just walk up and claim to be sent to repair the sails...and then just steal her?" Tuff suggested. Fishlegs frowned.

"C'mon-you aren't even trying..." he protested. "I mean they'd see through that straight away..."

"Um, not actually, dude," Tuff pointed out. "The Captain has done it hundreds of times. All you need is confidence and conviction, is what he says..." Fishlegs stared at him and forced his memory back-to the most daring and unexpected raids. And all of them were carried out with total bare-faced cheek and utter confidence.