7A/N: I've wanted to do this for awhile. I don't know if anyone else has done this so if you have, I didn't steal it, I swear! The idea I got from this video, /watch?v=2C1rI95HRvo~ Which you should find cause it's beautiful. Anyway! This is an El Dorado, Httyd, and RotG crossover. It will mainly follow the El Dorado movie plot with obvious changes made to fit the characters.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Dreamworks studios and Cressida Cowell for the series that inspired the movie.
Of Dragons and Gold
"You're not one of them..."
"Today, the countries will know the strength of the Vikings!" A thick hand lifted a silver goblet into the air. Loud hollers and calls responded to the cry. A vast man sat upon a black dragon, the size of the man dwarfing the creature below him. His russet hair was braided at the beard and held into a bun behind his head, a horned helmet holding everything in place. His armor was a little behind in the times, still based around leather and chainmail more than the metal of the age yet one could see he relied more on strength than defense. The people around him were equally thick regardless of gender, each looking to be built for battle. Rifles were hoisted into the air, loud booms sounding as they were fired.
The Night Fury below the Viking started at the noise, giving a roar as it reared backwards, stumbling into the fountain behind it. The man upon the dragon grunted as the liquid spilled onto his armor at the sharp movement.
"Toothless! Behave yourself," the man growled out, sounding more like a dragon than even those that were situated within the crowd. With a huff, he threw the goblet behind him. The cup slammed into the wall behind, sending the remaining water splashing onto a wanted poster hung onto the bricks.
"Haha! Double snakes!" Groans came behind the happy crow, echoing in the tightly packed alleyway.
Away from the cheering crowds preparing to watch the departing ships for the new world, another group of people were hidden away in the interlocking alleyways of the city. Two males were situated in the middle of the clearing created by the bodies. One looked young, perhaps in his middle teens with fluffy brown hair brushing close to his green eyes. He was dressed in a warm fur vest and green long-sleeved shirt, the tattered ends wrapped tight with leather bands at the wrists and waist. Lighter brown pants were tucked into fur boots. His companion couldn't be seen very well, hidden beneath a dark blue cloak, a thick belt around his throat kept it in place. His pants were much like the other's in color with leather strips wrapping the material close to his calves. He was strangely barefoot.
"Well! Thank you for all your bad luck~" The cloaked male chirped cheerfully, bouncing forward to start grabbing at the pile of golden coins in front of them. The brown-haired male grinned at him, picking up the bone pieces he had thrown before.
"Wait a minute!" The two males flicked their gazes upwards toward the bald man approaching them. "One more round." The cloaked male gave a snorting laugh.
"I don't know if you've been keeping track, but you're all broke! You got nothing to bet!" The man glanced at the men beside him.
"Oh yeah? Well I got dis." He drew a yellow parchment out of his pocket and snapped it open. On it was a number of black designs, depicting a map of sorts. The brown-haired male frowned before edging forward and snatching it from the man's hold.
"Jack… look at this!" The second male frowned and hopped over to his side, peering over his shoulder.
"What is it, Hiccup?"
"It's a map!" Jack frowned faintly at the excitement beginning to seep into his eyes. "If this is a true map… it looks like it could be of the new world."
"The one everyone's been talking about colonizing or whatever?"
"Yes! But… this seems to be a map to the legendary golden city… El Dorado, see it here? Every country that has ships is looking for it." Hiccup suddenly frowned, glancing at the lingering pile of coins Jack had yet to collect. "We have enough to last us for a few weeks though… we shouldn't risk it."
"Where's your sense of adventure, Hiccup?" Jack questioned with a sharp grin. "Luck's on our side!"
"If I believed in adventure and luck, Jack, I wouldn't have figured out a way to rig this game," Hiccup deadpanned at him. Jack's grin only seemed to widen at this.
"And if you didn't have a shred of curiosity about this, you would have let go of the map." The brunette blinked but before he could reply, the paper was ripped from his grasp.
"Well…?" Hiccup glanced at Jack and sighed at his pleading eyes.
"Alright… one more time." Hiccup knelt before them, beginning to gather his bone pieces.
"Nah, this time," the man reached into his coat pocket and fished out yellowed bones. "We'll use mine." Jack felt Hiccup stiffen beside him and nudged his shoulder, giving him a reassuring nod. Hiccup only glared at him in response, stuffing his own pieces away to take the ones offered.
"Ok, Hiccup… you can do this. Your next couple meals and bedding relies on this… no pressure…" He muttered under his breath, shaking the pieces within his fists. Behind him, the women giggled at something Jack did and he forced himself not to roll his eyes. Everything depended on this one throw but that's ok! You just keep flirting with the women nearly six years older than you! Sighing Hiccup closed his eyes and sent up a silent prayer to Loki for one last trick before releasing the pieces from his hold.
They hit the ground with a clatter, rolling away from him. A finger bone stopped with a black streak through it and the opposite one continued on its path, ignoring the breathless stares around it. It paused before halting, revealing another dark stripe across it. Hiccup let out his breath in a strangled laugh.
"Ha… double snakes!" The bald man shuddered before dropping to his knees with a wide eyed stare. Jack cackled as he leapt forward, stuffing the map in his cloak before starting to gather the coins. He started backwards, ramming his shoulder rather harshly into Hiccup's. The male gave a grunt and jerked backwards at the blow, the bone pieces flying from his vest. They rolled to a stop in front of the bald man and gained his attention. He frowned before slamming his fist down. They hopped into the air before tilting back upwards to reveal the double snakes. He did this twice more with the same results.
"You!" He rose to his feet, anger coloring his face red as he pointed furiously at the wide-eyed teens. "Your bones are fakes!" Hiccup gulped beside Jack, quickly starting to turn around.
"Time to go!" Jack heartily agreed and began to dash forward only to give a choked gag as his hood was grasped, jerked roughly backwards. It fell from his head and he gasped for air as he was suddenly released, a chorus of horrified cries sounding around him. He winced and rubbed at his white hair, bright blue eyes darting around at the terrified faces. Hiccup stared at him as well though his gaze was full of fear for him, not of him.
"Jokul Frosti… the cursed son of winter…!" The bald man whispered, glancing at his hand that had grabbed the teen as if the plague was spreading across the skin. Jack's shoulders lifted towards him as he inched backwards, trying to hide from the horror and fury filled air around him.
"Jack, let's go!" One of the women screamed as Hiccup latched onto Jack's wrist and started to drag him out of the alleyway, the people quickly scrambling out of their way. The white-haired male grit his teeth and quickly flipped his hood back up as they continued on, the calls of 'Warriors!' sounding behind them. Soon the warriors, or guards, would be upon them and all for a stupid map! They continued to run only pushing themselves harder as heavy footfalls started to gather behind them.
"Hiccup, here!" The brunette let out a squeak of pain as Jack suddenly shifted directions, nearly yanking the boy's arm out of the socket as he dragged them towards a wooden wall. Squeezing through a crack at the bottom, Jack clawed his way out, spinning to help Hiccup join him. They quickly sat back against the wall as shadows passed.
"Where'd they go?"
"They couldn't have gotten far, tear the streets apart! We can't have curses following the voyage!" Jack's teeth once again ground against each other at the words and he avoided Hiccup's apologetic gaze as the voices faded away. Hiccup peered out of the crack and gave a light sigh before rising, Jack doing the same.
"Well. That was too close for comfort." Jack opened his mouth to reply only to freeze at a growl behind his shoulder. Turning around, the teens were assaulted with the face of a Monstrous Nightmare, smoke curling out of its nostrils.
"Dammit all to Hel…" Jack muttered, shoulders slumping as Hiccup trembled beside him. "Ok, Hiccup. You… reach out to pet it…" Hiccup stared at him with round eyes but slowly turned to do as instructed. "While I… RUN!" The brunette jumped at Jack's yell, quickly diving out of the way to avoid the jaws that snapped at his face. With a yelp, he got to his feet and darted after the white haired male.
"The Hel was that, Jack!?" Hiccup screeched at him, fear lacing his voice. The dragon behind them gave a tremendous roar before a burst of heat alerted them to the fact it had lit itself on fire. Its claws clicked against the stone as it ran after them. Jack didn't answer Hiccup and instead took a turn only to come to a sliding stop, the brunette slamming into his back and nearly sending him face-first into the ground.
"Those two!" The older male cursed as the warriors started their way and quickly dashed into another pathway, Hiccup close on his heels. He heard the startled shouts as the Monstrous Nightmare met the warriors first and gave a faint grin, grateful now for pissing the thing off. The two weaved in and out of the hidden passages, quickly ascending stairs onto the rooftops and hopping across. He could hear the brunette behind him panting with effort and inwardly grimaced. They were forced to a stop at the final home overlooking the ocean and Jack quickly scanned the area.
"Barrels!" He pointed down to the liquid filled caskets, shooting the male a grin. "Betcha we can make it!"
"Yeah… and I betcha we can die!" Hiccup snapped at him, narrowing his eyes at the height. The two flicked their gazes behind them as squeaking roars gathered into a crescendo. Terrible Terrors. They were some of the smallest dragons but absolutely ferocious when they hunted in packs. Reason why the warriors used them when criminals escaped. Hiccup shuddered as if he could already imagine the tiny teeth tearing into his flesh.
"Better to die by choice than as dragon food; let's go!" Hiccup didn't even have time to combat that as Jack grabbed his arm and yanked him over the edge. The two plummeted downwards and for the first time today, luck seemed to be on their side, and they crashed into the barrels, sending whatever liquid they had been holding spraying upwards. "Told ya we could make it," came Jack's breathless boast. Hiccup just groaned and both grabbed a lid and let it seal them in.
A net came up around the barrels and hoisted them into air, turning to drop onto the wooden deck of a ship as burly men heaved them into place. They were tilted over and rolled down the planks, the teens inside giving gargled cries at the rough treatment. Thrown back upwards, the barrels were all set in the corner of the ship. Two plugs were shoved out of the barrels, water rushing out as the teens gasped for breath.
"O-ok… Not my best plan but… all we gotta do is push these lids off. So, on the count of three," Jack instructed. "One… two…" At the moment that 'three' was said, a chest was slammed down on top of the barrels, quickly cutting of their escape. As they continued to push and heave at the lids, the anchors of the fleet were drawn up and the ships began to float towards sea, crowds waving them farewell, everyone unaware of the stowaways that had unwittingly made it aboard one of the most important voyages in the city.
A/N: And chapter one is complete~! Ok, now for Saph's corner of logic!
The Vikings here are situated in the Netherlands, therefor they are in some ways representing the Dutch colonies that went to the Americas (though it is believed there were Norse expeditions to North America). In this version, you can imagine that the Vikings conquered quite a bit of land and kept it. Yes, they do have dragons. That's a major part of the story of How to Train Your Dragon and I intend to keep it that way. Besides, it explains part of their lack of armor modernization and the like. Why get with the times when you have dragon power? Ain't nobody gonna compare to that… That and I couldn't see them in shiny metal armor with fencing swords like the movie…
Jokul Frosti is not really in Norse mythology that I could find. However, there are stories of a giant named Fornjót who had three children in command of wind, fire, and of the seas. The god of the wind then had a son named Frosti in one instance but named Jokul in another saga, both meaning frost or ice. But in this story, this son is unknown and Jokul Frosti was combined as a name for the spirit of winter, a curse to farmers' crops and considered to be a warning of death if encountered. As such, winter brings about death you know? They believe Jack is this cursed spirit. Vikings were a rather superstitious lot.
The bone game… I totally made up. Maybe it exists but I didn't think they'd be using dice. Each bone has a different rune on it and what you want to win is double whatever you bet. They bet they could get double snakes. Another would bet they could get double… ah, let's say axes. Whoever gets their double image, wins. It's all about luck. Or cheating.
We'll learn more about Hiccup and Jack's situation more in the next chapter. I hope all this made sense though if you have any questions, feel free to ask~! It's probably far, far off a correct timeline for the 1500s but… whatever. Long note…
Until we meet again~
- Zehava