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Hiccup knew it was a bad idea to bring the Dragon Eye with them. But the hunters’ attack on the Edge was only a few weeks ago and he was too paranoid to take the risk. Clearly they desperately wanted the artefact back, which could only spell bad news for dragons. Hiccup would not let that happen on his watch.
In his defence he'd been careful about it. He'd put it right at the bottom of his bag, made sure it was tightly secured to Toothless’ saddle and padded it with a blanket to ensure it wouldn't get broken. But what he hadn't accounted for was Fishlegs’ insatiable curiosity.
“Please, Hiccup, you have to let me use it!” he was begging. “What's the point in even having it if we don't get to use it when we need it?”
They were on a brand new island, one Astrid had spotted during a scouting mission a week earlier. She and Snotlout had stayed behind to guard the Edge (everyone drew the short straw sometimes), while he, Fishlegs and the twins were here to see if they could find any new dragons. It was the first time they'd done any honest-to-gods exploration since the siege, and Hiccup would find it hard to admit out loud, but he was excited. He was also quite practised at not giving in to Fishlegs’ pleading.
“No, Fishlegs,” he said, climbing down from Toothless’ saddle with his bag in tow. “Not until we're sure there are no hunters around. We don't want to be caught off guard.”
The twins had already dismounted and were completing their new ‘pre-mission stretching’ that they'd decided was essential before and after flying. Tuffnut was bent pretty much in half, while Ruffnut was lying on the ground with her leg almost vertical. They snickered to each other as his feet touched the ground, and Hiccup thought he caught the words “paranoid” and “fearless leader”. He chose to ignore them and beckoned to Toothless as he assessed where they had landed.
The vegetation here was thick, almost jungly. They'd landed high on a cliff because it seemed that the forest would be impenetrable from below and there was a natural path here that would allow them access. Toothless let out a low growl and Hiccup put a soothing hand on his flank. The forest did look a bit foreboding, but the excitement at the possibility of finding a new dragon was outweighing all of Hiccup's caution.
The thick vegetation also probably meant it was unlikely hunters would bother with a place like this. But Hiccup didn't want to take any chances.
“We don't want to be caught off guard by any potentially dangerous dragons that might be around either,” insisted Fishlegs, following Hiccup as he paced in front of the tree line.
“We'll just take it slowly and carefully,” said Hiccup.
At that moment, there was an excited shout from behind them as Tuffnut and Ruffnut, apparently finished with their stretches, started loudly bundling each other.
Fishlegs gave Hiccup a look that he immediately turned away from. He cleared his throat.
“Okay, let's get going while the light is still good.”
He entered the forest, knowing that the others wouldn't be too far behind. As soon as he was engulfed by trees, all noise seemed to stop; even the twins’ arguing faded into nothingness as eerie silence stole every sense. The forest was dark and dense, and inexplicably felt old. The path they were following seemed naturally made, though Hiccup couldn't make out any specific footprints. The canopy above them was tall and seemed to stretch on forever.
Hiccup's metal leg was the loudest thing in there, thumping against the ground with every step. Toothless walked cautiously beside him, every muscle bunched with tension.
After a minute or so, the unearthly quiet became too much and Hiccup stopped and turned around. Fishlegs and Meatlug were right behind him, and the twins and Barf and Belch a bit further away, but it was as if their footsteps were floating an inch off the ground for all Hiccup could hear them.
He met eyes with Fishlegs, who looked as if he was holding onto Meatlug for dear life.
“Do you…” Hiccup started.
Fishlegs nodded before he even finished. “There's no fauna here at all,” he said quietly, or perhaps the forest just stole most of his voice. “No birds. No insects.”
“No dragons?” asked Hiccup.
Toothless whined and nudged him.
Hiccup gave the smallest of laughs. “Except for you guys, sorry, bud.”
Something shrieked in the distance, wild and feral. All four of them turned to look in the direction it had come from, deeper into the forest.
“Okay,” said Fishlegs slowly. “Clearly there's some fauna.”
“Sounds like something dying,” said Tuffnut, helpfully, making Hiccup jump. The twins had caught them up while they'd been talking.
“Could be a dragon,” added Ruffnut, and Hiccup once again felt the familiar tingle of the unknown in the tips of his fingers. Instinct was screaming at him to just leave – they could mark this island as dangerous on their maps, and never look back – but the potential of this being a new species of dragon, something he'd never seen before and never would again, had him gripped.
“Or perhaps,” mused Tuffnut, “it's something the dragon is killing.”
“Gruesome,” grinned Ruffnut.
Fishlegs again turned to Hiccup. “You have to let me look at the Dragon Eye, Hiccup, please. This thing could be really dangerous.”
“Yeah,” said Hiccup, his mouth dry. “Okay, good idea, Fishlegs.”
It felt wrong to be getting the Dragon Eye out from his bag somewhere that wasn't his workshop on the Edge, even more wrong to be doing it in the midst of such an oppressive silence. The forest not only sapped noise, it also sapped light. It was almost a relief when Toothless opened his mouth to shine his plasma into the lens of the Dragon Eye.
“Give me a few minutes,” said Fishlegs, retrieving a notebook from Meatlug’s saddlebag. He settled down on the floor of the forest, Toothless on one side and Meatlug on the other, moving the mechanisms of the Dragon Eye as he searched for the right information.
Normally Hiccup would be there with him, soaking up all the facts he could, even though Fishlegs could parse the dense information contained in the Eye much better than he could. But he was too on edge currently, and it felt better to keep a token lookout – he couldn't really see that far even with the extra light Toothless was providing – than to crowd Fishlegs while he was working.
Fishlegs’ mumbling to himself helped cover up the unnatural silence of the forest. Nothing else shrieked; it was almost enough to convince Hiccup that the noise hadn't been that bad. The twins were also incapable of being quiet for any length of time. Before long, they were sniggering to each other under their breath, and poking the vegetation like it was a long-suffering dragon rider they were trying to annoy. Hiccup almost felt sorry for it, though the rustling of the leaves and vines certainly beat not hearing anything.
Hiccup paced. His leg still sounded too loud whenever he took a step. And he definitely felt less secure without Toothless right by his side.
“Uh, guys,” came Ruffnut’s voice. Hiccup turned.
“I don't think the plants wanted to be friends,” said Tuffnut.
There was a snap, and Fishlegs yelped, then screamed, “No!”
Hiccup and the twins came running, Hiccup's leg clunking loudly. Fishlegs had tumbled backwards onto the ground and the Dragon Eye was half-way up a vine. Toothless and Meatlug were both growling. “What happened?” Hiccup asked.
The Eye was firmly wrapped around a vine, just out of reach of Toothless. Hiccup helped Fishlegs to his feet.
“I – I don't know,” stuttered Fishlegs. “I was just getting to the right bit when –”
A vine lashed out at them and Hiccup found himself dragged back by Fishlegs. His foot caught on something uneven on the ground and he would have fallen over backwards if Fishlegs hadn't been holding him.
“What?” gasped Hiccup when he had breath again. How were they being attacked by plants? “What were you two doing?” he demanded. When Tuffnut opened his mouth to reply, he held up a hand. “Actually, it doesn't matter, we need to get the Dragon Eye back. Can Barf and Belch reach it?”
They all turned to look at the Dragon Eye, nestled high in the vines. As they did so, though, the vines rustled again and the Dragon Eye moved.
“Toothless!” cried Hiccup, and Toothless fired at the vines. Inexplicably, the vines seemed to almost dodge the blast, which hit a nearby tree. From somewhere close by came another inhuman shriek, and the Dragon Eye kept moving deeper into the forest.
“Hiccup –” started Fishlegs.
“I know!” Hiccup launched himself onto Toothless. “Follow it!”
The Eye was moving impossibly fast, falling from vine to vine, branch to branch, each time being caught and twisted up into the foliage. Hiccup had the horrible feeling that they were being led somewhere, that the Eye itself was being used as bait, but what else could they do? Even as they chased it, the unnatural quiet of the forest pressed in around them, broken only by Toothless’ growling and the twins’ yelling that was just as quickly gobbled up by the trees.
Hiccup knew he was right when they turned a corner and in front of them was a tree stump, with seven or eight sawn-off ends that all seemed to lead into a central base. With uncanny precision, the vines lowered the Dragon Eye towards the stump and, before Hiccup could reach it, dropped it into the biggest hole. Hiccup's heart sank as the Eye disappeared from sight.
Toothless whined when Hiccup dismounted and approached the stump. There was something distinctly unsettling about it. The sawn-off branches had been cut so precisely and cleanly they might have been done by a Timberjack wing – it certainly hadn't been achieved by any Viking tool that Hiccup knew of. And the rustling of the vines, which Hiccup hadn't even been aware of, now stilled completely. The only thing Hiccup could hear was his own heavy breaths.
The stillness was broken as Fishlegs and the twins crashed into the clearing. Barf and Belch stopped so suddenly that the twins both went tumbling off them, while Fishlegs leapt off Meatlug while she was still moving and grabbed Hiccup's arm.
“Don't go near it, Hiccup,” he said urgently.
“I wasn't going to,” Hiccup heard himself say, though they both knew that was a lie. Toothless came up behind Hiccup and nudged his shoulder, trilling softly.
“Woah, what was that?” said Tuffnut, scuttling past Hiccup and Fishlegs to peer at the stump. “And what's this?”
“Tuff!” said Fishlegs.
Ruffnut followed her brother. “Looks like something we would make.”
“Nobody touch it!” shouted Fishlegs, his voice high and urgent. For once, the twins stopped what they were doing and listened.
“I – I think I know what it is,” said Fishlegs, releasing Hiccup's arm and opening his notebook. “Before it took – I – I think it's a Deathsnapper.”
“Sick name,” smirked Ruffnut.
“Full marks whoever named that one,” added Tuff.
“Related to both a Deathgripper, which I've not heard of, and a Snaptrapper,” Fishlegs explained, eyes fixed on his notes. “The dragon grows long tendrils that, over time, can interact with plant life and ‘bring it to life’. Like the Snaptrapper, though, it tends to lure its prey towards it in some way and then it has a venomous stinger. That must be the bit that's similar to a Deathgripper.”
“So the dragon itself is inside the stump?” asked Hiccup, edging towards it while Fishlegs wasn't looking.
“Most likely. I didn't get to the end of the entry before it stole it, but I don't think we should get any closer!” Fishlegs’ voice rose in volume as he presumably looked up and saw where Hiccup was, peering into one of the cut-off branches.
“Bud,” said Hiccup, gesturing towards the stump, and Toothless immediately understood and lit his plasma so that Hiccup could see further down. Unfortunately the branch curved as it went towards the centre, so there was no sign of the Dragon Eye or the Deathsnapper.
“We can't leave here without the Dragon Eye,” said Hiccup firmly, turning back towards Fishlegs. “Tuff!” he shouted a second later, seeing that Tuffnut had reached up to put his arm inside one of the branches.
“What?” asked Tuff, all wide-eyed. “I thought you wanted to do dragon research. Don't you wanna know what happens if you get bit?”
“The Dragon Eye had that information,” said Fishlegs, stomping forward and trying to place himself bodily between the twins and the stump. “I just didn't have enough time to read it properly.”
Hiccup circled the stump, with Toothless stuck to his side, thinking hard. The last thing he wanted to do was put his hand inside a damp old tree stump, even without the knowledge that a venomous dragon had lured them here with that express aim. He looked up, towards where the vines had dropped the Eye in.
“You've got your thinking face on,” observed Fishlegs.
“I'm wondering…” said Hiccup, mind whirring. “If we distract the dragon by attacking its vines – you said those are part of its body? If we attack those, Meatlug could hover above the stump so you could see where the Dragon Eye is, then you can tell me where to put my hand. I'll reach in and get it while the dragon is distracted.”
“I don't know, Hiccup,” said Fishlegs doubtfully.
“Oh! Oh! Dibs on being the distraction!” crowed Tuffnut.
“What?” Ruffnut shoved him. “I wanted to do that part!”
“You can both be the distraction,” said Hiccup. Toothless whined and Hiccup patted him reassuringly. “I know, bud, I don't want to put my hand in there either. But we have to get it back. If we leave to get help, it'll be gone by the time we come back.”
He turned back to Fishlegs. “Can you and Meatlug go up and see if you can spot it?”
Fishlegs still looked doubtful, but he didn't seem to have any other ideas. While Hiccup instructed Ruff and Tuff, he flew Meatlug up above the stump to the central branch where the Eye had disappeared initially. It was wider and straighter than any of the others, so Hiccup hoped the Eye would still be visible. Luckily, the vines in the canopy above them made no reaction to their flight.
“It's kind of dark,” called Fishlegs, peering down off Meatlug's back. “I think it's – yes! Yes, I can see it!”
Relief washed through Hiccup. Maybe his plan would work.
“Great job!” he said. “Stay there and make sure it doesn't move when the twins start agitating the dragon.”
“Agitating is what we do best!” Ruffnut high-fived Tuffnut from the back of Barf and Belch. The dragon trilled in what might have been an imitation of the Thorston cackle, just as eager as their riders to cause chaos.
“It's closest to the branch on your left, Hiccup,” instructed Fishlegs.
Hiccup got into position, heart thumping. If this didn't work, they were either going to lose the Dragon Eye entirely or he was going to be stung by unknown dragon venom. Perhaps both. But there was no going back now. (If the Eye had stayed in his bag like he'd wanted, they wouldn't be in this mess.) He took a deep breath to dispel the thought, then gestured to the twins.
Chaos reigned in the forest almost instantly. Barf and Belch lit the vegetation on fire with gusto, while Ruff and Tuff screamed bloody murder from their backs. The vines reacted with equal violence, coming to life immediately. As Hiccup had hoped, they seemed to be more interested in backing away from the fire and attacking Barf and Belch than coming anywhere near himself, Toothless and the stump. Hopefully that meant all of the dragon’s focus was on being attacked, rather than its carefully placed bait.
Fishlegs hovered anxiously above, and shouted something that Hiccup couldn’t hear. Hiccup tentatively put his left hand at the entrance to the cut-off branch that Fishlegs had indicated, and looked up to Fishlegs for approval. Fishlegs gave a thumbs up, the other hand clinging tightly to Meatlug’s saddle. Hiccup could relate. He was sure there was a slight tremor in his hand as he lowered it into the stump.
Toothless cooed encouragingly, though he was tense, and Hiccup knew he was ready to pull him back immediately if anything suspicious happened.
To his surprise, the inside of the tree wasn’t damp and slimy, but rather dry and smooth. Going as quickly as he dared and as slowly as he could bear, Hiccup manoevered his arm down into the branch, round the curve of the branch towards the middle where, he prayed to any god that would listen, the Dragon Eye would be sitting unprotected. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if his hand touched the Deathsnapper before he reached the Dragon Eye.
Fishlegs shouted something inaudible again, so Hiccup glanced up at him. Fishlegs made a gesture to the right. Hiccup took a few breaths, then moved his shaking fingers in that direction. The inside of the stump seemed to have a layer of moss, grass and twigs at its base – a nest of some kind.
Hiccup was distantly aware that the majority of the trees surrounding the stump were now, at least to some degree, on fire. A bead of sweat, whether from the heat or from the tension, rolled down his temple. He swallowed shallowly, still unable to feel the Dragon Eye.
He shook his head up at Fishlegs, who just pointed down at the stump frantically. Hoping that it meant ‘keep going’ rather than ‘abort mission’, Hiccup stretched as far as his arm would go. His shoulder was flush against the entrance to the branch, digging into the joint, but he could barely feel it. Toothless’ warm body was pressed against his, giving him courage.
After what felt like an age of scrabbling around, fingers only scraping through dirt, Hiccup’s fingers finally caught the edge of something metal. He could have sobbed in relief, but forced himself to grasp the Eye slowly and carefully, rather than grabbing at it and potentially pushing it out of reach. Only when his fingers were all tightly wrapped around it and he began to withdraw his hand, slowly, did he start to feel like maybe this was going to work.
He looked up at Fishlegs, who was coughing from the smoke. But he’d seen Hiccup grab the Eye and gave him a quick thumbs up before coming down to land. Hiccup returned all of his attention to bringing the Dragon Eye up out of the branch, aware that its awkward shape might lead to him dropping it if he wasn’t careful. His fingers were so tightly around it that they were trembling and painful.
Toothless was butting his head into Hiccup’s back, trying to urge him to hurry. Hiccup would normally reassure him with quiet platitudes, but he couldn’t do anything other than picture the Eye in the passage of the branch, maneuvering it carefully up, up, up, slowly towards the entrance.
He could see it – triumph started to kindle in his chest – when suddenly a sharp burst of pain erupted in the back of his hand. Unable to stop it, Hiccup let out a scream, but his grip was so tight by this point that he managed not to drop the Eye. Abandoning all caution, Hiccup yanked his hand out of the branch, tumbling backwards as Toothless also pulled him back by his armour.
Hiccup immediately dropped the Dragon Eye to the forest floor and cradled his injured hand to his chest. There was an acid-green stain on the back of his hand. The pinprick of pain there was so intense that it was the only thing he could focus on. He was dimly aware of Toothless’ panicked screeching and the crackling of flames around them, even as the pain flared and forced his eyes closed and another scream out of his mouth.
“Hiccup!” someone shouted. They tried to move his injured hand and Hiccup roughly pulled away as agony seared up his whole arm like lightning through his blood. More voices joined in.
“Come on, we’ve got to go!”
“Get him on Toothless –”
“ – stupid vines –”
Someone lifted him off the ground and Hiccup sobbed in pain and terror and why couldn’t he breathe –
He was placed on something warm that smelled of familiarity and safety, and Hiccup’s breaths came easier. Someone pressed behind him and that was also good and safe. “Go!” they yelled in his ear, then air was rushing past them as they flew away. The whole time, Hiccup clutched his wrist, teeth clenched hard, riding each wave of excruciating pain as it crashed over him. He wanted to rip his hand off and throw it away, though at the same time vague recollections of rehabilitations and prosthetics and the pang of loss sent nausea straight to his stomach. Thankfully, at that moment they burst into fresh air and brightness and came to a halt, so Hiccup rolled over to the side and vomited onto the grass.
“Hiccup!” someone shouted again.
“Fishy, do something!”
“I – I can’t – I need the Dragon Eye –”
The Dragon Eye. That stuck in Hiccup’s unravelling mind. He clutched at whoever was nearest to him, and his right hand closed around an arm. “The – Eye –” he managed.
“We’ve got it, Hiccup!” someone said, on the verge of tears. “You got it back!”
Relief flooded his chest even as the pain in his hand spiked again. He groaned, and his head rolled back.
“Get him comfortable! Toothless, help me out with the Eye. If we can find out if there's a way to counter the venom –”
Hiccup's hearing dissolved into a low roaring noise. Someone was holding his uninjured hand, rubbing his palm soothingly, while someone else was putting something under his head. Hiccup let himself fall into the painlessness of unconsciousness, knowing that if there was a cure, his friends would find it.