Bond of Two Lands

18. At All Costs

An entire day was vowed to get Toothless healthy again. The wound was cleansed with fresh water and bandage was made out of the remains of Meatlug's blanket. Groups of three at a time was sent out to look for food on the nearby islands, since the storage only was going to last for another meal. Stoik used the time to let Skullcrusher rest. He also told the others that he'd prepared Berk for war in case such a thing was coming (he hadn't been sure about how much attention the letter would get) and that the Auxiliary riders guarded the coast lines. Then he told the tale of the infamous letter.
"So Hiccup's marrying a dragon-hater?" Snotlout summed up, cracking a little. "Hilarious."
"Not hilarious, Snotlout!" Stoik thundered.
"Sorry, Chief."
"Can nothing be done?" Fishlegs asked, concern in his blue eyes.
The Chief sighed and sat down on a boulder. "Our only hope is that Fergus disagrees with the proposal. Which means that we either have a revived alliance through marriage... or a war."
"Seems old H is losing out anyway." Tuffnut pointed out. He seemed surprisingly calm with the fact. "Wouldn't want to be Astrid, though. Do you know what they do to spares around here?"
Gobber made a nonsense-gesture. "That's all rubbish, Tuffnut. Auld rumors. Just as the ones we used to keep about the Berserkers, remember?"
"This isn't getting us anywhere!" Stoik said. "I must go to Dun Broch, any other solution is impossible. I must speak to Fergus. Hopefully he will keep our close connections in mind."
"Ay, Chief!"
"Alone, Gobber. I must go alone."
"But ya can't go by dragon, Stoik, and we have no boats. Ya'll need oarsmen."
"If I'm gonna row", Ruffnut said, clearly putting lots of seriousness in her words. "I'm gonna demand an explanation. Like, why a wedding proposal was necessary in the first place?"
The dragons moaned in their corner of the glade, as if they too wondered about that very question. Barf and Belch, though, looked as confused as usual.
"The ways are different down here." Stoik stroked his beard. "I wasn't sure about how they would greet my son - I thank the Gods that he's probably cleverer than to have arrived on dragon back - but one thing I do know is that Fergus always waits one week before sentencing someone he've found guilty. One week and no more. I reckoned the only way of slowing things down was through a deal breaker."
"This sounds more like a deal maker to me", Tuffnut said.
Some more discussions followed, but ultimately Stoik decided that they were to leave immediately. The plan was to fly closer to the castle sheltered by the darkness and look for abandoned boats on the way (that occurred more often than believed; scemers and smugglers sometimes left them behind). Toothless was after all not too badly hurt to fly.
They flew for many hours straight. It wouldn't have taken so long unless they'd gone in circles as they now did. Round and round the little islands they went. The teenagers, who were new to the south, were struck by how similar the surroundings here was to those at home. Actually, they were only different in that these ones were greener and had more trees rather than mountains.
"You'll wait here", Stoik announced to the group. "The castle lies just on the other side of that bay. We simply haven't got the time to look for anymore boats. I am going, and I am going alone."
"Stoik, wait", Gobber said.
"Yes, Stoik, wait!" Tuffnut agreed. He gestured at the hidden cave which the Chief had showed them. The same Chief gave him an eye that made him realize his mistake. "Sorry. I meant: Chief, wait! And by the way, C, I'm totally not staying here tonight. It's too drafty for my soft baby-skin."
"Yer soft...? Are ya a Viking or a Fishbone, lad?"
"Good question, Gobber", Ruffnut grinned.
Stoik sighed deeply for the seventh time that day. His Rumblehorn tiredly scuffed his arm, but he hadn't time to think about the companion. Right now he had to concentrate solely on his son. "I'm leaving now, Gobber. Make sure that no one sees any of you or the dragons. Hopefully, I'll be back with better news soon." And he left them in the darkness by foot.
The remaining Vikings stood in the dawn of the cave with uneasy hearts, each unable to let the others know about his or her anxiety. The night around them was silent as a lurking Changewing. Any moment something unknown could discover their hiding place.
"Well, we'll better make ourselves at home." Fishlegs carefully said. "Meatlug, let's pick a sleeping spo... what in the name of Almighty Odin?!"
The chubbiest among them had been ran over by nothing less than an extremely tense Stormfly. The Deadly Nadder rushed around them like a chicken on the hunt for seeds, but took the time to give each of them a proper snuggle on the way.
"Okay, I didn't expect that", Snotlout said.
"Shh, girl", Fishlegs said, stroking Stromfly's neck. "What is up with you? Guys, she seems all nervous. You don't think anythings happened to...?"
"Astrid?" Gobber shouted. The stone walls made an echo out of his words. "Astrid Hofferson, are ya here?"
The twins and Snotlout took a round in the duskiest corners to make sure. "It's empty."
"Where is she, then? Astrid would never leave Stormfly like this unless..."
"Unless it was for her own good", Fishlegs finished. "Which means that Astrid probably left her here so that the Dun Broch-people wouldn't hurt her! Which means that Astrid's probably there as well!"
"Didn't we assume that like, days ago?" Tuff said.
Snotlout snorted and nodded at the black dragon. "What about Toothless, then? Would Hiccup bring him there?"
No one seemed to have an answer to that equation. The blacksmith sensed the thick atmosphere and linked away to the opening of the cave. He glanced over the calm waters in the bay. "Let's pray to Odin that he didn't."