146Brothers
Chapter 48: Deathsong, Part 2
By the afternoon, the Vikings had checked almost every part of the mysterious island. The humans gathered in a small clearing in the middle of the woodlands. They spent all morning looking for us (the dragons, of course) and were visibly frustrated. The level of apprehension was quite daunting: without dragons, they were stranded…, and without them, they were in danger of an ambush.
Astrid already had her battle ax out…scanning the area for potential threats. The others were…less than focused on the task at hand (the twins were bickering as always, Snotlout was busy trying to hit on Astrid, and Fishlegs continuously called out for Meatlug.) Hiccup seemed to be the calmest person (as he had always been in situations like these). The Berkian was sent into thought: he heard strange noises last night…and then Toothless and the others were gone. What could have drawn them away? It didn't seem like foul play, perhaps the dragons were simply playing tricks on the Vikings? No…not in a place unfamiliar to them. Something was wrong, but Haddock felt like the group was heading in the right direction.
And right he was.
They heard the flapping of wings in the distance: my wings, and relief soon washed over the young adults. I spotted them, I swooped in…landing across from them as the warriors gathered around me.
"WildWing!" Astrid exclaimed, "what's going on, boy…where is everyone?"
I had a look of desperation on my narrow face…I needed to tell them.
"Something's wrong…" Fishlegs stepped in.
"Very wrong" Hiccup agreed…noting the panic on my narrow, black-scaled, face.
I soon stand on my haunches. Funny thing, I now towered over them on two legs…it felt so strange because being human I wasn't used to being so large! Man…to think not too long ago I was about the size of a dog in this body! If Toothless did this, he would be a bit taller, of course, but man do I have to get used to this height!
Anyway, I pointed with my paw toward the direction we needed to go.
"Uh, what is he doing?" Snotlout raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms, "we don't have time to play charades!"
"Who says?" Ruffnut retorted.
"There's always time for messing with people!" Tuffnut added.
"I think he's trying to tell us something, guys! And it's kind of important" Fishlegs shook his head at the stupidity next to him.
I nodded aggressively to them, pointing with my head also.
"Alright, then, let's follow WildWing!" Astrid said, still brandishing the ax.
"Agreed" Hiccup finished.
I lead the way. It takes a while (since I wouldn't be able to carry everyone on my back and whatnot) and we reach the place where the mysterious dragon had been baiting dragons. It was a hill of dragon bones…tall stony walls…truly desolate place…it sent chills down their spines as it did for Toothless and me when we first saw it.
I gulped…how exactly are we going to beat this thing? I wasn't sure how…and if I were to get trapped it's game over. Still, Toothless and the others will die if we don't do anything!
I shook my head, giving a more confident bravado to the others…preparing myself for what was to come.
I lead them further in, and we end up in the same mossy gorge where I last saw my dragon brother. For the first time, the humans see the carnage: a mix of decayed dragon bones interspersed with living, trapped, dragons all around them. The latter are trapped in a strange amber-like substance…
All manner of dragons were hopelessly trapped, including the one and only Night Fury other than myself.
You could imagine the shock on Hiccup and everyone else's faces when they realized what was happening and the despair that soon overtook them, "Toothless!" Yelled Hiccup, rushing over to his best friend as we followed behind. It wouldn't be safe for long…the strange, feral, dragon could return at any moment!
We tried to help free him as the latter gave me a smile…he couldn't talk all that much for the moment…probably due to the pressure of the amber restraining him.
"Don't worry, Tooth, we'll fix this mess!" I stated, trying to bite into the hard substance or claw at it, but it's no use! The Vikings tried pulling at the substance and even with all our combined strength…Toothless could not be freed!
Sure enough, the creature responsible returns…screeching loudly in a sing-song voice. My eyes widened as my ears rose all the way up…dread filled me immediately after. My eyes slit and I feel myself drawn to the song once again; however, Toothless mustered the strength to say, "Flint, resist it!"
I shook my head violently as Hiccup and Fishlegs realized what was happening and how all the dragons got caught.
"The dragon lures the others with a song as bait…fascinating" Fishlegs said before Hiccup put his hands on his hips and the former shook his head, "ah, I mean…terrible!" Soon the chubby Berkian muttered, "Songwing…"
"What?" Astrid gave a look of confusion…withdrawing her ax from the amber after attempting to break it, but Legs said, "that's what we should name it."
"Now? Really? Can't this wait?" Hiccup snapped at his friend; I had to agree with him on that…
"Deathwing sounds more appropriate, and cooler" Tuff chimed in before his sister added, "nah, Deathsong is better because I thought of it!"
Hiccup scoffed, "actually, that's not a bad name…" the brown-haired Viking admitted. I lightly slapped his head with the tip of my wing to get Hiccup to focus on the task at hand!
That Songwing…Deathsong…Deathwing…whatever, had left…leaving with a defenseless dragon in its clutches. I thought to myself about what to do. I write on the dirt with a claw: writing in Norse.
Find the others
I pointed at the runes for Hiccup to see. Astrid moved in to read also and both humans decided to follow my advice.
The clock is ticking, they don't have much time after all!
"Let's do it before they come back!" She placed her signature ax on her back and called for the others. Hiccup and I stayed with Toothless to try and find a weakness in the trap he's in.
The others, meanwhile, went looking for their dragons with Snotlout looking for Hookfang, Stormfly, and Spitfire. Unfortunately, we all heard the beast return sooner than expected, but this time it focused its attention on the group trying to rescue their trapped dragons!
Ultimately, Fishlegs is imprisoned by the wild dragon who swooped down on him. Hiccup and I had no choice…the others needed help. Unfortunately, the twins and Snotlout suffered the same fate soon afterward!
"Run…run for cover!" Tooth desperately yelled at us. I pulled away…seeing our enemy flying in to finish the job! I release a purple blast intended for the yellow-blue dragon and it narrowly misses; however, it spooks them just enough for us to escape!
I managed to put Hiccup on my back…making a dash to safety. Astrid happened to be in my path, and I grabbed her with a free arm, "h-hey!?"
I took both of them to a small crevice not too far away. It's just big enough to fit the three of us. I let go of Astrid as Hiccup dismounts…trying to come up with a solution.
"This is bad…really bad!" Astrid panted…considering her options and so did Hiccup. Our foe swirled inconclusively outside…waiting for one of us to crack under the pressure.
I, amidst the panic among us, heard the "song" of the "Deathsong." I blinked dazedly before I felt succumbed to it…moving out of cover. The two Vikings behind me realized too late what I had done.
"Wild!?" Both exclaimed…reaching their hands out. The wild beast flew down to catch me. Next thing I knew I heard Astrid's rapidly approaching footsteps, and her voice snapped me out of my trance. I quickly jumped out of the way to safety…I narrowly missed the amber-like substance, but the same could not be said for Hofferson.
Some of the sticky…robust residue ended up on one of her legs and now she could not move. Hiccup ran up to her…again trying to break the trap, but even with such a small amount on her leg it stood in place.
"Great…just great…" said Astrid after giving up her struggle.
I had to grab Hiccup and pull him away to safety before we could be trapped next. It was just him and me now…
I barely made it out with the Berkian…descending deeper into the gorge with our foe following closely behind. One wrong move will probably spell doom for us.
As a million thoughts ran through my head…the world around me suddenly paused! I am frozen in place, but I can still move my head around. To my right, I can see an all too familiar face, who is levitating. It's been a while since we were face to face…and I had a lot of things to say to him…but for now:
"Do you require assistance, Flint?" Dith inquired.
I shook my head in response, giving a deep scowl, "…no, I got this!" I shouted in my teen voice.
He shrugged, "suit yourself."
I growled at him shortly after, "You and I gotta talk when it's safe enough…so don't go too far!"
"My dear human…I am always close by" he suddenly vanished like a ghost and time began to come back…slowly at first and then suddenly: time resumed normally.
I shake my head as the chase with the Deathsong continued, damn it, Dith…why do you torment me!?
I landed in what I can guess was a safe spot. Though it was safe from the Deathsong for the time being…it wasn't a safe place for something else that ended up confronting Hiccup and me.
I had landed across a feral purple Thunderdrum (who is NOT happy to see us!)
"Oh, come on!" I roared in frustration.
Haddock knew what was coming, so he pulled out his signature shield while still on my back and held it firmly against his body to deflect the supersonic yell! I felt disoriented by the attack and soon I am tackled by the Drum as Hiccup is thrown off!
In the midst of our battle, we both heard the screech from the Deathsong/Deathwing. The purple reptile across from me immediately ceased…
Hiccup felt dread wash over him just as we were confronted by the yellow-blue beast above us. The Thunderdrum rushed for the other exotic dragon and the two began a fight on the ground! I decided to take this opportunity to try and get the human to safety, but he was adamant.
"What are you doing?! Come on!" I warbled in my unintelligible language. Hiccup released some bolas from his shield, which ultimately ensnared the Deathsong!
I sighed, running up to join up with the Viking. The purple dragon looked toward us (mainly me) with a look of confusion.
"Let's go, we shouldn't stay any longer!" I told Horrendous but he just ignored me, and so too did the Thunderdrum. I remembered Toothless telling me a long time ago about Stoick's Thunderdrum…they are hard of hearing, so this one could definitely not pick up on what I just said. I had to use my big boy voice…heh.
"Come on!" I blasted out as the Thunderdrum nodded. Hiccup had to plug his ears at my loud roar, but at least now we're all on the same page! We quitted the gorge…and flew to safety.
I guess the wild dragon flying next to me figured we were on its side…anyone would be after seeing what the Deathsong is capable of.
We landed not too far from the others…back in the sparse woods. Hiccup and I paced back and forth…wondering what we could do to fix everything.
"This isn't good…all our friends are back there, trapped in sticky cocoons! There's got to be a way to save them! Did you even hear me!?" I yelled at the Thunderdrum.
The boy looked over to us…studying the scene, and that's when an idea came to him. The Thunderdrum probably is NOT affected by the Deathsong's call, which explains why it's one of the only dragons on the island not affected!
He voiced his inner thoughts to us, and I relayed it back to the purple lizard beside me…who seemed more than willing to aid us.
I wrote in the dirt for the Berkian: How do we free, friends?
I had written in broken Norse as the human thought to himself. I pondered on the integrity of the amber holding the others…could sound be the solution? Maybe…the sound alone made by a Thunderdrum could kill a human (according to the Book of Dragons anyway.)
We had to put our hypothesis into action…but we knew this would be our last opportunity.
And so, we quitted the forested interior and returned to everyone: where we tried to free them again. The third member in our party took the role of sentry as Hiccup figured out how to save the others.
A comment from Fishlegs regarding how strong the amber gets when it's cooled gave Haddock the idea to try and ignite the cocoons with a green substance Snotlout brought (not sure what it is, and it doesn't matter!)
Once the Deathsong came back, our trap was set. I was the bait, and they couldn't resist trapping a young Night Fury. Sure enough, I felt the same pull…and I fell into a trance once again; however, just then: Hiccup came in with the Thunderdrum…swooping in and knocking our foe out of balance!
Once I snapped out of my trance, I flew towards them…tackling the mythic dragon in mid-air! Hiccup flew down and ignited the green sludge…igniting the amber entrapping the Vikings and Dragons. The theory proved correct: the cocoons weakened, and the group finally broke free!
Toothless bursts out and looks up at me fighting the dragon above. His rage could not be contained…
Once Haddock saw his best friend had been freed, he jumped down from the Thunderdrum and joined him. They took the skies to help me.
Then, Hiccup made a discovery: the reason the Thunderdrum had been hesitant to leave the island for safety was because of a young variant that was also trapped in amber: it's offspring?
The lead Viking soon instructed the others to help them before finally joining my side to help. Needless to say, that Toothless would NOT give this Deathsong another chance to subdue us again. It wouldn't just be him, however: the purple Thunderdrum joined us in unleashing fire upon the outnumbered dragon.
We led them into an extensive cave system and one thing led to another which led to the Deathsong getting trapped (thanks to the Thunderdrum!)
So, that was it…we came out victorious against all odds…was there ever any doubt…kinda?
Speaking of the wild purple dragon, their adolescent counterpart had been freed and they reunited. We all soon landed…with Toothless walking up to me, putting a wing on my back as I smiled back to him, "never doubted you for a second, brother" he said to me with a proud smirk.
I chirped happily back in relief.
Soon, it became apparent to us all that this island would definitely NOT be suitable for us…boy, is that an understatement…understatement of the millennium, in fact!
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Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed this recent update!
This will be the last chapter for 2024, I hope you all enjoyed The Year of the Dragon as I have! I will see you all next year: in 2025!