Heart of a Berserker: Trust (School of Dragons)

Chapter 6

"Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know that you trust him." --Booker T. Washington

Chapter 6

The Death Song emerged from the hatchery as soon as Astrid and I arrived. She flew up high and disappeared in the distance.

"Whoa! Close call!" Astrid said. "I don't know if it's a good sign or a bad sign that the Death Song is leaving the school... did it find enough food to get him full? Uh oh... we better get inside the hatchery right away."

We darted inside the hatchery and immediately came to a halt. There was Death Song amber everywhere! And the baby dragons were in a frenzy.

"Oh no!" Astrid cried. "It stole dragon eggs! We need to get this clear of the amber right away. Can you use the solution you made with Heather to dissolve these Death Song amber pieces?"

I nodded. "Of course." I got to work dissolving the amber and freeing the baby dragons. I gently soothed them and made sure they were alright. Once they were calm, I left the hatchery with Astrid.

"We need an answer to the threat of the Death Song," she said. "Hiccup told me that the Thunderdrum might be a good response, but we need to figure that out fast and get moving on the solution."

"I'll go ask around and see if anyone has any ideas," I said.

Everyone had much to say about the problem but few offered solutions. Gobber had the best idea. He said he was continuing to work on Berk's defenses, and he had upgraded Hiccup's net shooter that had initially taken Toothless down. It was good to know he was on the job.

Gobber also told me he saw the rogue dragon rider flying towards the ship graveyard, looking like he was on a mission. I took off after him on Bolt, figuring he might need my help again.

He did appear relieved to see me once I arrived at the graveyard. "Brennda! Thank Odin you're here. I need your help."

"That's why I'm here," I said. I followed him to the deck of the same broken ship we had infiltrated last time. Today, however, a Thunderdrum paced anxiously on the deck, occasionally shooting one of the giant eels that tried to climb aboard.

"I think this dragon is Thornado, who used to be Stoick's dragon," the rogue rider said. "He seems desperate to go inside the ship, but these giant eels are attacking us. It's taking both of us to fight these eels off! We need you to explore the ship for us. Go down inside the ship and see why Thornado keeps trying to get in please."

"No problem."

"Watch your step!"

I flew onto the deck, careful to avoid the eels. Then I dismounted Bolt and made my way into the ship. It did not take me long to find the source of Thornado's problem. Three baby Thunderdrums were locked on a cage. They were not here the last time I was there. Who could have done this?

Oh well, I could worry about that later. I broke the lock with my axe and freed the dragons. The babies eagerly followed me back to the deck of the ship.

"Great work!" the rogue rider said.

Thornado gazed into my eyes and roared in gratitude.

***

The following day, I decided to check in with Heather. Except... I couldn't find her at her lab. A strange boy named Speedifist told me to search for her at Berk, so that's where I headed next.

Before I had a chance to search for my friend, the roar of the Death Song caught my attention. The sound came from Sven's farm! I immediately changed course. I found Thornado standing outside the entrance of the farm. He had followed me home the previous day after I saved his babies, and now he looked anxious to help. I mounted him and headed inside.