56.A trader in Selardalr

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"H-Hiccup?"

A shocked utterance of the former boy's name was the well-nigh question that came out of Johann as his vessel docked upon the unknown island's shores. Even his lack of encounters with the ex-Haddock couldn't justify the surprise at his total transformation: the boy's drastically altered physique, his increased height shown in full as he stood tall from down below, or his gallant and powerful leather armor as black as night. Like his taskmasters, the moment his line of sight crossed the bow of his own ship seemed to be when all he knew was considered null and void.

Though no amount of time could change that deep shade of auburn his hair sported or those vibrant forest-green eyes. Like the natural world their hues were inspired from, that much was a constant in Hiccup's appearance. It was the only beacon of familiarity the old merchant had to cling to in a frontier of uncertainty.

"Yes. Is that you...? Johann?" Asked Hiccup with a suspicious mold of those same eyes.

The wrinkled features of old Johann faded along with the shock into a huge exclamation of excitement. "Master Hiccup, it truly is you! Y-You're honest-to-goodness alive! Oh-ho, it's such a delight to see you again, and in one non-devoured piece, no less!"

"It's... good to see you too," Hiccup said awkwardly, looking to a woman and two small children, the former of which giving Johann an inviting smile that gave his jittering heart comfort. Enough so that, after a minute's agonizing pause, he mustered enough will to stumble ever-so-cautiously off the ship. Gritting his teeth was all he could do to bear with the torturous creaking on the gangplank that reminded him of his own rapidly crumbling leg bones. With near mechanized steps, he made it down to the dock before them.

"Hello Johann, I'm Syn, Hiccup's wife." The woman held a friendly hand out.

"A wife!? Master Hiccup, you mean to tell me this beautiful creature is your wife?"

"I'll ignore the creature bit because I heard beautiful in there." Syn chuckled as Johann gave her a gentle kiss on the back of her hand.

"Please, Johann. It's not that unbelievable that I tied the knot with someone is it?"

For a man walking on thin-ice such as himself, any question such as that would have felt like a spiked arrow to the chest. And such a strike was felt at that moment. "Ah- NO! No, i-i-it's just, ah, well... I'd always been off the assumption that you would have been wed to, uh... the young miss...?"

Syn's gentle smile vanished in an instant and out came her predatory eyes in a flash of anger. "Yeah, no. Nobody here's in a mood to talk about 'the young miss.'"

Whatever flicker of comfort he might have felt before was snuffed out like a candle in a blizzard as Johann looked up to see 'nobody' included the army of men and dragons above armed with everything from crossbows to talons. The deadly poised glint of each polished weapon and radiation of ravenous heat from the growling maws of nearly every breed of dragon assembled upon the overlook seized the air in his throat and drew wrinkled lines of fear upon his features by the hundreds. His head was on the proverbial guillotine with his fate dancing madly on the razor's edge, in a mix of heat and cold where any misstep, he knew fully now, could be his last.

"Yes, eh... duly noted." Johann swallowed his fear and solidified his spine as best he could. "But, eh... while we're touching upon the subject, what's brought you all the way out here, so far from Berk?"

"After the other night, I don't think it's far enough." Hiccup muttered. He seemed to believe the act so far, much to Johann's relieved delight.

"Eh, the... other night?"

"Ah, never mind that." He shook his head. "I think the real question is, what are YOU doing here? I still remember the last time you showed me a map of your route and unless you've made some changes, I'd say you're WAY off course. What brings you to Selardalr?"

"I, well I, um... It's kind of a long story," Johann stammered.

Those same forest-green eyes of Hiccup's gave a sharp glare like spears of light breaking through foliage in the woods, each beam deadly to the touch. "I've got all the time in the world."

Johann stuttered awkwardly, twitching and wriggling his fingers while cascades of sweat came careening down. All while still giving the most earnest smile he could if only to remain as innocent-looking as possible beneath an interrogatory assembly of stares. He tried to pull something, anything, from his imaginative hat to feed Hiccup's trust, before help came from an unexpected source.

"Come on, Hiccup. Can't a man set his sights on exploration every once in a while?" Syn came from behind and asked.

The exhale he gave was so great it left him light-headed. "Eh, yes... exploration. Beneath the guise of a salty old codger such as myself lives a heart that beats for adventure!"

"Adventure! Cool!" Shouted the little boy at Hiccup's side with his arms out like he might fly off with all his energy. "Dad, he's an adventurer like you were! Isn't that neat?"

"Yeah, what a small world." Hiccup deadpanned again, but with a smile on his face and a ruffle of the child's hair.

"Oh, and who are these two little Vikings to be?"

"Eh, right. Johann, this is my son Alvis and my daughter Livia valka jr." With the latter came the tiniest prick with his finger onto the little infant swaddled in cloth in her mother's arms. The mention of the name was not lost on Johann, who was all too familiar with the story behind the tragic demise of Stoick's wife himself. Through him it was one that many all across the Archipelago came to know and shed tears over themselves. A fitting and noble tribute, he thought fondly looking at the child.

"Well, they are quite the happy little Norsemen, I dare say. The lass here bears a certain resemblance to you at that age."

"Sorry, but it's kinda hard seeing me at any age before 15 with a smile plastered on. Especially with you-know-who doing the parenting."

"Ah, yes..." Johann was quickly feeling that nervous heat again. "But, eh, I'm of sound belief Chief Stoick meant well. The struggle a parent faces forging bonds with their children lies at the very heart of parenthood, I'm told."

"Yeah, well, I'm of the opinion that it's important that a father spend time with their children. They should talk to them, and have dinner with them, and barge into their room all the time and scold them for every little thing and make them scrub their filthy boots spotless on Boot Day-"

"Hiccup!" Syn whisper shouted.

The chief in question suddenly realized how he had gone from a statement of opinion to a growling and bitter rant without warning. He looked familiarly sheepish at everyone present. "Yeah, uh, well... minus he-who-I'd-prefer-not-to-be-named, we're all one big happy family here!"

An awkward silence just stood there as Johann realized the matter of Berk was a field of traps waiting to be triggered and best left alone at that moment. If any one of them present were to breathe at that moment, it would have been akin to swallowing needles. Syn suddenly cleared her throat and just like that every dangerous shard of their dissipated and the cheery atmosphere, as much of one as there could be, returned. "So, how did you come to find yourself at our cozy corner of Midgard, again?"

"Did you come from an adventure!?" Alvis asked.

Johann stiffened like his gangplank before sighing. "Ah, you see-"

"Not here," Hiccup interrupted with a raised hand. "Let's continue this discussion in the Hall. I'm sure you've had a long trip from... wherever it is you came from."

"Oh-oh, yes!" Johann happily exclaimed with a clasp of his hand. "Thank you truly, I am a bit sore in the shoulders as a result of-"He gave an audible gulp at another look at the sentries above. "-varying circumstances."

The party walked off of the docks up onto the mainland of Selardalr, by passing a legion of suspicious glares along the way. Logic told the old trader the people here had every right to be defensive given the nature of their last visit by unknown peoples, but he still could not help the spine-chilling feeling that every archer-focused glare was pointed upon him directly. The feeling of crawling skin as strong as waves rocking his boat on the stormy sea was calmed by the little hand of Alvis grabbing onto him.

"I really like adventure stories. I hope you have a good one!"

"Oh, I wouldn't get too excited, lad." Old Trader Johann chuckled. "I've never had much of a gift for dramatic storytelling."

And the colossal beast wrapped his ten mighty tentacles around the whole of my ship, cracking it down splinter by splinter. It cast its hideous single eye down upon me, content that I was soon to be its prey. I dared not to stare back as he dragged me down into the depths of the bog from which he emerged...

Johann wasted no time in their reaching the Great Hall than to begin another one of his lengthy stories. His tale had Alvis's full attention, though, as opposed to the large black dragon and little green one sitting beside him both eyeing him carefully. The two were seated at a table decked with nothing less than a king's feast set atop it: roast chicken and mutton with herbs and spices, breads topped with cheese and butter, several helpings of salted fish with fruit and nuts at the side, and puddings and pies all filling the room with the warmest and most delectable of aromas. Not a single inch of the wood each plate sat upon could be seen under Selardalr's commonly plentiful bounty of meals.

Hiccup and Syn, meanwhile, stood away from the inviting aura of meal and banter shared at their spot. Syn cradled little Livia in her arms while Hiccup stood arms folded, tapping his foot. Both were waiting for word from a small troop they had sent to investigate Johann's ship; though not entirely proud of themselves for their secrecy, the pressures of a worried populace forced Hiccup's hand.

"Well, we're back." Sven called over to them, entering the room with an angered Raoul, a nonchalant Arne holding his hands behind his head, and each of their dragons following him.

"They say you never really know a man until you investigate the contents of his ship." Arne joked.

"What's the word?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, good news, no Hooligan stowaways ready to jump us and kill all our dragons onboard. But he might wanna look into the expiration date of some of those fish barrels he's got. Yeesh!" He plugged his nose and waved away the air.

"That's the kind of smelly cargo I'm good with him having."

"Easy for you to say, you didn't get a whiff of it!" Sven agreed.

"Now are you convinced?" Syn said placing her hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "He's just your run-of-the-mill, non-spying merchant who just happened to sail into our territory. You know it's really not doing you any good getting all jumpy over wayward ships like this."

"You know what's so amazing?" Hiccup asked as he turned to her. "Everyone on this island is bared to the teeth suspecting a possible enemy attack, but you aren't. Now what do you think that says about you?"

"It says: 'welcome to Greenland, Mrs. Sanity!'"

"Oh, gods..." Hiccup rubbed his forehead.

"Not exactly the moniker I'd use for you." Raoul muttered trading annoyed glances with Red beside him.

"Excuse me! The reason I am not suspicious is because I prefer to see the good in new people and give them a chance, which happens to be the reason a certain rider and his Night Fury aren't pushing up daisies right now." Syn gave Hiccup a good poke in the chest, though he hardly felt it through his leather armor. "You don't see me getting all paranoid and slapping the enemy label on everything that moves."

"And would it kill you to give it a shot!?"

"Can we save the comedic banter I've grown to love so much between you two for another time?" Hiccup was rubbing his temples strongly with his fingers. At this point he was ready for an ice block the size of a sheep. "Look, the fact that his ship was... relatively clean doesn't convince me."

"So what will convince you?" Syn asked, getting slightly annoyed.

Her beginning glare was not lost on Hiccup and he sighed as he put his hands behind his back. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, your dad told me during chief training. That and you had a point... best to give people a chance. We let him stay for now, but keep our eyes peeled. With all that's been happening on Berk, you never know."

"You sure about this?" Sven asked.

"Hey, I don't wanna be the nutso chief sinking a humble ship if he really is here by accident. Gotta try to be good to people as well as dragons."

"His honorable chief-ness has spoken," Arne quipped .

The other three left immediately atop their dragons out the antique wood doors with crashing booms of wind. Sprinkles of dirt carried on the cloudy shockwaves left behind slammed into the couple's faces like catapult-launched boulders. Syn had to tend to Livia who was disturbed from her nap while Hiccup walked over to the table now warmed with laughter and merriment as opposed to the food only barely touched by Fafnir nibbling down in place of the two humans now barely seated.

"... And to my surprise, the walking parrot turns out to be a man! Imagine!" Johann rambled on. "The little fellow's beard was more feather than fur! Ah, my boy, I gave the royals of Ringebu a show dueling on the mast above with not but a sausage the length of-!" The ill-fortified merchant startled and fell over himself hearing a clearing of the throat behind him, turning and looking up to see Hiccup staring down upon him. "M-Master Hiccup. Done with your, eh... duties, so soon?"

"Yeah, a chief's duty... never, never really ends, Johann," said Hiccup offering a hand. Johann graciously accepted and took the chance to dust his ragged clothes free of dirt. "So you never did tell us how you got here."

It wasn't the barely lit flames burning alongside daylight that made Johann sweat again. It wasn't enough for the Hooligans to send him to this death trap in the first place, but to not even give him a proper cover story. Luckily, his story-telling muscles had been given exercise through his time with Alvis. He rubbed the wrinkles from his clothes and cleared his own throat before speaking again. "Well, I was out on the water running late on my usual route as the result of running into some rather unkind marauders around-"

"Geh," Hiccup raised his hand. "The short version, please."

"Uh... I sailed right into a storm that blew me completely off route! It's taken several hungry days just to get back on track. And the next thing I know, I'm here." By no means was he skilled in subterfuge, but at the very least his smile gave effort in making his tale somewhat convincing.

"Let me get this straight – you were blown off course by a storm and just ended up sailing in our direction." A skeptical eyebrow rose above his right eye.

"That is correct, sir. T-t-the, um... around the area of the Berserker Isle, I believe."

Hiccup stared hard and hummed to himself. "Johann, when was the last time you were at Berk?"

"Uh, about three weeks ago, just before I got all turned around," He lied right on the spot.

"So then, you probably haven't seen Stoick?"

"N-No, no. Mind you, I have made many visits to Berk in recent time, but my last was, about a month ago as I recall. Business as usual, offering whatever can be spared from my stocks and wares to give aid."

"...Berk really had a number done on it, huh?" The tiniest, barely visible inkling of pity could be seen in Hiccup's eyes at that moment.

"Oh, yes. Tis a wonder anything on that barren soil, man or manmade, still has strength to stand on."

"And you... really are lost."

"A literal ship without a map."

Leadership instincts dull and unrefined, Hiccup was on the spot looking for answers in a labyrinth of doubt guided by the hint of deceit. His inner voice of common sense, or as his wife would put it, his rapidly increasing stress-induced paranoia reasoned the circumstances were simply too convenient, especially with this play of emotions just now. He grimaced in seeing nothing but a hammering stare from his wife in favor of Johann's innocence as he turned to her. A look to his own son offered a cheerful variant, being blissfully ignorant and seeing Johann as merely a great source of entertainment.

With fingers through his tangled mess of hair, Hiccup turned to Toothless, the one being whose protection-driven judgment he trusted as much as his wife's or his own. The black dragon had risen from slumber to see the rolling bogs of indecision rolling off his rider's slumped shoulders. He could not give Hiccup the clear-cut answer he wanted, knowing how much of a double-edged sword trust in general could be. All he could give in silent communication was the simple advice.

"Do what you think is right."

Hiccup sighed with his most formal chiefly stance of hands behind his back. "Well, Johann, until we can get you a map of the area, I suppose it's... alright for you to stay here."

Johann breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh a great many thanks, Master Hiccup! Your generosity and good graces, especially in sparing my life, are most appreciated!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Hiccup muttered, suddenly more doubtful than ever.

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The serenity of the new Selardalr morning with crisp rays of light and air gracing the dew-wet grasslands found fissures running through. Each syllable uttered from the mouth of old Johann as he walked alongside the chieftain couple on a tour of the island created another crack upon the clear surface of restful peace within them. Veins could be traced on the foreheads of the two ailing adults, while the Night Fury beside them had his ear plates slammed down upon his head to block the sound out.

Johann's innocence was still up in the air as far as Hiccup was concerned, but his rambling tendencies pushed that matter aside in the forefront of their minds. From the moment they had stepped out on their stroll around the island to the current point, the merchant's mouth exploded in an onslaught of dramatic prose and storytelling that could not be halted. Each unbelievable and ridiculous tale quickly led to another more so than the last; even so early on, the increasingly annoyed Syn and Hiccup already wanted nothing more than to take a long and in their opinion, well-deserved nap.

"And some prankish rogue had put the butter in his sock, the smell gave our hiding spot away in the whiff of a nose! Course he managed to get some use when he swung it and it knocked some poor fool's teeth out!" Johann laughed. "Which of course reminds me of the time when I was locked in a bitter duel with a former mercenary turned chef-"

Toothless groaned, and Hiccup's palm hit his forehead. "Hey, Johann, why don't you tell us a story of when someone ELSE told YOU a story?" Syn asked with dripping sarcasm.

"Shouldn't've done that..." muttered Hiccup.

"Too late..." Toothless moaned.

Just as the young chief had dreaded, Johann indeed went into a dreary tale of some distant relative's account, the details of which were completely lost in metal-grating mental noise and head-pulsing fatigue. Hiccup dragged his calloused hand over his face and Syn wished for nothing more than to slam her head into a log, while Toothless was ready to roar . The three let out tired and frustrated growls, impatience dragging their thoughts down darker roads.

Johann had caught the growls and his smile and speech faded immediately. "Uh... o-of course, a good adventurer keeps a few tales saved in his pocket for another day. It has just crossed my mind that I have not heard a word from either of you."

"Can't imagine how..." Hiccup drawled.

He turned to Hiccup. "Why not indulge this old seafarer in a daring tale of your own? Such as, how in the world did you end up here, Master Hiccup?" As far as the old Johann was concerned, it was a step into more dangerous territory, but the curiosity was all but killing him.

Hiccup gave him a slight glance back, and with a blink a small spark was ignited. The young dragon rider found an opportunity of his own. "You wanna know?"

"Yes."

"You REALLY wanna know?"

"...Yes?"

"I'm not gonna lie, it's a real head-turner." Toothless gave a cocked eye at him.

"Way to torture the guy. And here I thought you were a nice Viking, if there was such a thing."

"I NEED to know!"

A knowing grin appeared on his face as he gave a shrug. "Well, if you NEED to know. Eight years ago, I managed to down a Night Fury, and instead of killing him and satisfying a certain someone for only so long... I let him go."

"Eh..." Johann paused. "Just let him go... just like that?"

Hiccup reached down and stroked Toothless's head giving a chuckle as the dragon leaned in for his touch of affection. "Yeah, think I'm ready for a loony man's sendoff, don't you? Fine by me, I mean I still got a best friend out of it-"

"Oh yeah, I definitely married a crazy man," Syn joked .

"I've been stuck with him longer than you have." Toothless draconically chuckled. "If anyone should be complaining, it's me."

"Haha, very funny, my little daydreamer. Anyway, hanging out with a dragon, you start to learn a few things. And what I learned bumped me to the top of Dragon Training where I got the 'honor' to kill the Monstrous Nightmare..." The next still, in many ways, was difficult for him to recount. "I couldn't do it. So I saddled up Toothless and we left Berk and never looked back."

"...Well," Johann muttered, amazed. "I must say, that's quite an accomplishment, Master Hiccup, turning all Vikingdom on its head in training a dragon like that. Perhaps the good people of Berk underestimated you."

"I got some words to describe those people, but 'good' is definitely not one of them," Syn said bitterly, stroking Hiccup's hair and gritting her own teeth down. "Hiccup does nothing but help – he helped me, he helped our son, he helped our tribe, and then they come along expecting that same help after sneaking in and, abducting him!"

"We ended up on Selardalr, and I guess... I ended up getting attached to this place," Hiccup continued. "I picked up the pieces and started a new life, settling dragons in and starting a family with Syn and Alvis and little Livia."

"It does appear to be a lovely place to live..."

"I know. Just look at all this! How can anyone think that all of this needs to be torn down and destroyed?"  Syn Asked .

Johann took heed to her words and gazed out at the calmness of the island in its entire splendor. Compared to the progressive gloomy ruin on Berk, this place was one of true wonder, a sanctuary that seemed almost hidden from the rest of the world. The way the dragons flew so freely in the sky above, the way the sky and the land itself seemed to sparkle like jewels, and the cherry faces on every man and woman that passed by. On Selardalr there was no sadness, no fear or despair to be thrust into the faces of the war-torn in what tomorrow would bring; here there was only peace, from the gentle wind that blew through every swaying blade of grass to the soft sun beaming down.

There was no doubt as to why, when the old merchant turned back to see the adoptive son of Hiccup with his Terror hovering above him and two massively winged dragons nudging his sides. The way all three gave him sniffs from their snouts pressed into him and little doting licks that tickled the child until he was pink in the face. Humans and dragons had a home together here, and they had happiness together in turn.

"This place is what we have to show to all the naysayers, the tradition-lovers!" Hiccup said bitterly. "Tradition says this shouldn't be possible, and yet here we are."

"Dragons and people together, I can't see how anyone could come to loathe such a magnificent place," Johann mused. "And yet there are those who nonetheless hate it so. Men like... well, like your father, they have their reasons for holding onto their longstanding grudges."

"Yeah, well you tell me what the point is in holding on now."

Johann paused, the words caught on his tongue. "... Can you not try to understand your father's pain?"

"Oh sure, it always has to be about him, right?" Hiccup seethed. "Poor Stoick, our illustrious and loving chief. Poor Stoick, how he suffers sacrificing for the good of Berk!"

"And suffer he does, just as he's suffering now."

"Yeah well, based on these results, I think it's safe to say he didn't have the good of Berk in mind." Syn added. "Especially when he made the addle-brained decision to make that loudmouth Snotlout chief."

"And for that, all of Berk suffers, and pardon my bluntness for saying so, Master Hiccup, b-but... you are partly responsible for that as well."

Hiccup blinked in utter outrage. "Excuse me?"

"Berk's condition is... your responsibility since your departure was what led to the coronation of that ruffian Snotlout, and the Hooligan Tribe's downfall in turn." Johann reluctantly put in. Attacking Hiccup's sympathies was a low blow and not entirely in line with his instructions, but he felt as though Berk might have supported him in the endeavor regardless. "As I understand from your story, you just up and left, and the people assumed you to have died."

"They only wish they were that lucky."

"They certainly didn't think of it as luck, or rather, good luck. A-All I am saying is that, in all fairness, they should be given some kind of recompense."

"... And the sneak shows his true colors..." Growled Toothless as he bowed down into a predatory stance.

"Like going back and being their chief!? Sailing over and bowing down with my dragon's head on a pike and targets painted on the other' backs, begging for their love? Is that what I should do, Johann?"

"Hiccup, calm down!"  Syn whispered to her husband .

"You know full well that's what they want, don't you? You know because-"

Johann did his best to avert staring directly into Hiccup's reawakened rage, brought out by his own careless slip off the tongue. He had inadvertently revealed his loyalties through his poor attempt at mind games and now he had lost the slim favor he had gained with Selardalr's new chief. He wanted nothing more than to turn away and run from the reality reflected in Hiccup's angered finger, when his eye caught a glimpse of something else.

"-Hiccup, he didn't mean anything. It was probably just-"He heard Syn, probably the only one left on his side, speak.

"Just what? I mean seriously, the guy couldn't be more obvious if you tied a sign to his back!"

"Look, I know the council being on your back is getting to you but-"

"Round 2, Syn. That's what the sign says, round 2!" shouted Hiccup gesturing wildly. "They came too close the first time, they got me for sure with 'World's Best Actor' over here!" But as Hiccup stared directly at Johann, he noticed the trader's eyes were focused elsewhere. "Eh, what are you looking at?"

"Um... that?"

The three followed the direction of his figure to spot a shadowy dragon figure hiding in the woods. Its shape was unlike that of any other beast ever seen on the island, massive in size with fins and frills all over its body. For a moment it remained completely motionless before it vanished into the distance obscured by the many trees. Syn and Johann remained, stunned, but Hiccup and Toothless registered the shape almost immediately.

"That's... that dragon!"

"Payback time for the swim!" Toothless bolted immediately. Like his own shots he was gone in an instant following the shape. Hiccup was ready to follow until Syn's hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks.

"Hiccup, what's going on? It's a dragon, not exactly an eye-catcher around here."

"That's not just any dragon! That's the dragon, t-the one from this morning!" Hiccup pulled away from her quickly and looked for Toothless ahead.

"Wait, that one with the mystery rider?" She cocked her head.

"Yes, and more than likely he's there too. I can't afford to lose him this time!"

"W-Well, what are we waiting for? Mystery and intrigue call to us, so let us answer!" Johann piped in and raced with dragon-level speed after Toothless into the forest. Hiccup's glare from behind could have shot the man down in an instant, but both he and Syn retained their words as they followed in suit.

The mystery rider, still of spirit and at home in darkness and obscurity, even now beneath the shade of the wind-swayed trees. From origins unknown and with a dragon unlike any ever before seen or recorded in the Book of Dragons. What secrets they might uncover stirred up the adventurer in each and every one of them, carrying them towards him ever faster. At the very least for Hiccup, the road to answers this time was a straight one.

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~~TO BE CONTINUED~~