High above the sky, hiding within the clouds, Rocky uses a spy glass to study an island below him. Niether flaps his wings as he looks around the island as well.
Rocky's eyes trace over the busy market in the middle of the island. He sees nearly a hundred Vikings moving about the market, trading and talking. But he notices most of them are dragon Hunters.
Rocky frowns as he lowers the spy class. "It's as we assumed."
"Dragon Hunters."
"Yeah... shoulda known." Rocky sighs as he sets the spy glass in his pouch.
He then pulls out a large pouch of coins and shakes it a little. Niether rumbles as he glances back at him.
"You're really gonna go in?"
Rocky pats Niether on the back. "It would be a shame to never use this gold, eh. And maybe we'll get lucky and there's a few good Vikings down there."
Niether shakes his head with a rumble. "Our streak of meeting good humans isn't very high."
Rocky sighs as he puts his coin pouch back into his satchel. "I know, but we could use some spices. And maybe we'll heard something interesting."
"You know this is a bad idea." Niether starts a slow descent on a empty side of the island.
"Won't be that bad, at least Sigewulf isn't around here, just his lackeys. And you know they aren't the brightest." Rocky flips up a hood, and then his eyepatch, causing his vision to split with Niether's. "Besides, you'll be watching me every move."
The dragon lands and lowers himself down so Rocky can easily slide off. The human turns to him and scratches his chin.
"I'll be fine, it's not like I'm unarmed." Rocky pats the sword on his waist. "And you can hit a small target at a mile, so I'll be fine."
"You know, when you say that, most of the time bad things happen." Neither points out with a rumble.
"You're gonna jinx me."
"You jinx yourself." Niether opens his wings and takes back to the air, flying fast towards the clouds.
Rocky rolls his eyes and walks towards the market. He sees Neither watching him closely from his point of view. The human walks through the forest, until he reaches the edge of the market.
He looks around, making sure no one is looking, and then slips into the market. He adjusts his hood to keep his face hidden. He looks around in awe, seeing all the sorts of trinkets, dried meats, seeds and other items all the vendors are selling.
"Woah..." Rocky mutters as he looks around.
He then lowers his head as some Hunters pass, but they don't even spare him a second glance. Rocky smirks as he moves about the market. He then finally comes to a stall selling spices.
He walks up and looks over a few bags of spices. As the stall owner walks over to him.
"Interested in some spices young lad?"
"Yup." Rocky notices some salt and pepper. "Oh... how much for these bags?"
The Vender hums in thought. "I'll give you them for 20 gold per bag."
"Per bag, that's... a little steep."
"Well, that's the price kid."
Suddenly a new voice speaks up. "Are you trying to scam the young boy, Erik."
Rocky glances back a man wearing a cream-colored dirty sack hat on his head, a long-sleeved shirt with deep blue white-swirled imprinted tunic and deep red sari over it, light grey cloth bracers on his arms, each bit of cloth goes between the second and third finger, a brown belt with a yellow pack and knife around his waist, multi-colored pinstriped trousers, and light brown boots.
"Mr. Johann." Erik chuckles nervously. "Of course not, you know how hard it is to get some of these spices this far south."
Trader Johann steps up to the stall and looks to Erik. "Well, Erik, if you want to have costumers come back to your stall, you can't over charge so much."
"Yes, of course." Erik smiles at Rocky. "I'll give you both for 20 gold coins."
"That's a much more fair price." Rocky smiles as he digs into his satchel, and pulls out his coin pouch.
Rocky gives the stall owner 20 gold coins, and Erik hands him the bags of salt and pepper. Rocky smiles as he puts the bags in his satchel. Then looks at Trader Johann.
"Thank you sir."
"Ah, no need to thank me young master." Johann smiles as he puts his hands behind his back. "A young Viking as yourself might not know how to haggle, and it's my duty to help them. You know, this reminds me of when I was your age-"
"As much as I like stories, I am on a sort of tight schedule." Rocky informs with a forced smile.
"Ah, my apologies, I do hope you enjoy your day now."
Rocky quickly walks off as he pats his satchel. 'I have a feeling I'd be here all day if I were to listen to him.'
Rocky continues walking through the market, using Niether's vision to avoid large groups of Hunters. He stops at a few more stalls, buying some small gold trinkets, and a few dried meats.
He continues walk around, and passes by a storage building and a large wooden board. He walks up to the board and looks over all the papers attached to it. Mainly supply requests or information about certain stalls.
But his eyes land on a paper in the middle. His brows furrow as he reads it over.
"A dragon auction here?" Rocky mutters to himself. "And it's tonight... Hmph..."
Rocky gets lost in thought, but suddenly in Niether's vision he looks to the side, and sees to grow alert. Rocky focuses on the dragons vision, and sees Julvig walking into the market, with a few Hunters at his side.
Rocky quickly takes the flyer and walks off. He quickly leaves the market, making sure he's not followed. He gets back to where Niether dropped him off, and the dragon quietly lands beside him.
Rocky flips down his eyepatch and climbs onto his back, and they take off into the sky. They get high above the clouds as Rocky looks over the flyer.
"So?"
"So what?" Rocky looks down at his dragon, as he looks back.
"I know your thinking of a plan, so what is it?"
Rocky thinks for a moment. "I say we get Raincutter and Leafwisp to assist us with this."
"Will we have enough time to get back?" Niether turns to the side and flies off at high speeds.
"Of course."
The two speed off back towards home.
Down below, Julvig looks around the market. He points to a set of stalls.
"Well move those, and set up the stage there. We'll have the cages behind it." Julvig then points further to the side. "Then get the tent set up there, I want full security on it."
Julvig then points to the edges of the market.
"I want archer towers in the corners of the market, and patrols all around the edges."
"Sir, this is a lot more security then normal." A Hunter points out.
"Because that young dragon rider will come." Julvig crosses his arms.
"How do you know, sir?"
"That dumb kid always shows up to ruin our plans." Julvig glances at the few Hunters behind him. "Now this has to be perfect, we must catch him before he arrives. If not... all our heads are on the line."
All the Hunters gulp as Julvig glances around the market. Studying the layout as he formulates a plane.
Many hours later, moon light shines over the ocean as Niether, with Rocky on his back, fly just above the water. Raincutter and Leafwisp fly behind them.
"What's a Dragon Auction?" Raincutter asks.
"Its an event where Dragon Hunters sell off Dragons."
"Sell off dragons?" Leafwisp questions in confusion. "Why would anyone want to buy a dragon."
"Extortion, battle them, skin them." Neither lists off various reasons. "There are plenty of examples."
"...That's scary..."
"So, what's the plan?" Raincutter calls out.
Rocky looks back at the two dragons behind him. "Well, first we're gonna find where its all going down. Then we free as many dragons as we can."
"Why not all." Leafwisp calls out.
"We're going to try and shoot for all." Niether glances back. "But we know that might not happen."
"So why don't we burn everything down?" Raincutter calls out.
"Because the even will most likely be heavily guarded, and we don't want to agitate the dragons."
"This does seem more suited for just you two, why do you need us?" Leafwisp asks.
"You two are our best stealth dragons." Rocky calls out. "And besides, we're likely gonna be facing an army. If something goes wrong, it'll be nice to have some backup."
The dragons rumble as they come up to an island surrounded by docked boats. The middle of the island is light up like a candle. The dragons swoop in quietly and fly up high above the market.
Rocky pulls out his spy glass and looks over the market. Everything's been moved about, as there's now a large stage in the middle, with a massive curtain in the back. Behind the stage is a large line of cages, filled with different kinds of dragons.
But a little ways away, is a large tent, with half-a-dozen Hunters standing around it. He continues to look around and sees several towers with a couple archers on them, with a few Hunters walking around below the towers.
He then spots some lights in the forest, and spots Hunter patrol groups moving around with torches. He notes the dozens of Hunters even patrolling around the market, as buyers are moving about talking amongst themselves before the auction starts.
Rocky hums as he puts away his spy glass.
"So?" Niether rumbles as he looks up to him.
"There's is a lot..." Rocky hums in thought. "Alright." He looks back at Raincutter and Leafwisp. "Raincutter, knock out the Hunters patrolling the forests."
Raincutter lets out a chirp, and dips down towards the island.
"Leafwisp, can you take out the archers in the towers?"
Leafwisp chortles, before going invisible. Rocky then pats Niether on the back.
"Let's head down and land near the cages, you get them opened."
"What about you?"
"I'm gonna check out what they've got hidden in the tent. Has to be important if it needs that many guards."
Niether rumbles as he silently dips down towards the auction. "Just be careful. If we get spotted, it'll be hard to get out."
"Just get those cages open, and tell the dragon to wait." Rocky rubs his dragons neck. "If something happens, they could help."
"Something better not happen."
Niether lands silently on top of a tree, as a Hunter walks under it. Neither lowers his tail to the ground, and Rocky slides down it. He looks around, before crouch running towards the tent; while Niether stalks down the tree and quietly runs over to the cages.
Rocky stops behind some crates filled with swords and provisions. He peers outs as he looks towards the tent. He sees Hunters covering each of the entrances.
Rocky rubs his chin as he thinks for a moment, then his eye lands on the crate filled with swords. He silently lifts one out, and tosses it to the side. It thunks loudly against a tree.
A pair of Hunters look over, and raise their weapons. They look to each other and nod, before walking over to the noise.
Rocky rolls his aye as he shakes his head. 'Who trains these guys?'
Rocky quickly moves out from behind the crates and silently runs into the tent. he quickly looks around and sees a table filled with papers and scrolls. A few crates filled with sword made from some sort of green metal.
His eyes then large on a large cage covered in a large white sheet, it sits on top of a cart. Rocky's brows furrow as he walks over to it. He lifts up the sheet and his eye widens in shock.
Sitting inside the cage is a massive egg, large even then Rocky. Its heavily spiked, and radiates a burning heat. The egg is a dark crimson and looks rough and jagged.
"What is this." Rocky tugs on cage door, and finds it unlocked.
He slightly opens the door and puts a hand on the egg, but quickly pulls it away. He hisses in pain as the surface of the egg is extremely hot. He waves his throbbing hand as he looks at the egg.
"How am I gonna get you outta here?"
Suddenly he hears a familiar voice approach the tent.
"Any sign of them." Julvig voice comes from outside the tent.
"No sir, maybe they aren't coming." A Hunter says.
Rocky panics and enters the cage as he lowers the sheet back down. He shuts the door and huddles at the edge of the cage, trying to not get burned by the egg.
"Keep an eye out, don't take any chances." Julvig orders, as he enters the tent.
Julvig looks around, eyes narrowing. He glances at the cage covered in a sheet, before he keeps looking around. He then looks at the Hunter behind him.
"Get the egg out first."
"Why sir, shouldn't we save it for last?" The Hunter questions him.
"I want it gone and sold as soon as possible. If the kid isn't here yet, it'll be better to sell it before he does."
The Hunter nods as he walks over and starts to drag the cart out. Rocky's heart drops as he gets dragged outside.
Up above the sky, Niether watches the auction from high up. Raincutter flies up beside him, as Leafwisp suddenly appears.
"So, where's Rocky?" Leafwisp calls out.
"I managed to get all the caged unlocked and convinced everyone to stay calm for the time being." Niether starts. "But Rocky didn't leave the tent he went in before I finished, and the Hunters started move more around the cages, I had to come up here."
"Well, we need to find him before everything goes down."
"Welcome everyone!" Julvig greets loudly from the stage, making all the dragons look down.
The cart with the hidden cage is dragged on stage. Suddenly Niether's vision splits, and he sees that Rocky's in a cage covered in a large sheet, and there's a massive egg inside.
Niether looks over to the cage on the cage and he sighs. "I might've found where Rocky is."
The two other dragons look to him, and he motions his head down to the stage.
Julvig continues his speech. "I want to start this auction off with a very special buy. A one of a kind item! Something that will make you a King!"
The audience grows excited and curious as Julvig motions to the hidden item behind him.
"An egg from a dragon taken out by those of Berk!" Julvig motions to the Hunters beside the cage.
The Hunters and grab the sheet, and pull it off. Everyone in the crowd gasps in shock, and point. Julvig smirks and looks back at the cage, only for his smirk to fall.
Rocky stands in the cage and waves to him. Julvig's face turns pale, before he turns red in anger.
"Seize him!" Julvig yells at the top of his lungs.
The two Hunters beside the cage go to open it up, but a loud low pitched rumbling fills the air. Before a plasma bolt strikes the stage next to the Hunters. A bit if lighting streaks off the impact site, and shocks the Hunters.
Julvig looks up and spots Niether dive bombing down towards them. He then looks towards the archer towers, only to find them empty. His face burns with anger as he grabs his Viking helmet off his head, and throws it on the ground.
Raincutter swoops down and grabs onto the cage, and takes off into the sky with it. Rocky yelps as he gets thrown about the cage, but the egg managed to be still.
Niether swoops above the crowd and takes off back into the sky. Julvig yells up at Rocky.
"You won't get away with this, Young Rider!" Julvig yells. "You'll meet your end, soon!"
All the dragons that were in the cages, suddenly fly out and fly away. Julvig's eye twitches as all his merchandise flies away.
Rocky clings to the edge of the cage. Niether flies up beside him as the three dragons soar away from the island.
"You good?"
Rocky gives a thumbs up. "Yeah, I'm fine. But..." He looks at the egg. "I just wonder what kind of dragon this is."
"Yeah, that egg is rather... big."
Leafwisp flies beside Niether. "Maybe Grandma Drips will know. She practically knows everything."
"Yeah, let's head straight back, it'll be near morning by the time we get back."
The group flies off, as Rocky stays in the cage.
Several hours later, Julvig is standing in front of Sigewulf on the Vanquisher. Several Hunters stand behind Julvig as the Captain is tense and nervous.
"So... you're saying he made off with the egg, and all the dragons?" Sigewulf stands with his back to Julvig.
"Y-Yes, sir." Julvig gulps as he tugs on his shirt. "I tried my best to stop them sir, but he's smart."
"Yes, I know." Sigewulf sighs as he glances back at him. "Remember what I told you if you lost that egg?"
"You would throw me off the ship and feed me to the dragon..." Julvig mutters quietly.
Sigewulf smirks as he raises a hand and snaps his fingers. The two Hunters behind Julvig grab him by the arms and start dragging him away.
"SIR!" Julvig cries out. "NO! Please! NOOOOO!"
Sigewulf looks out to the front of the ship, watching the water bubble as a low roar shakes the ship. He smirks as he turns around and walks towards his captain quarters.
"It's almost time, the fortress is nearly complete." Sigewulf mutters to himself. "And with that the spear head into Dragon Isles, we won't be stopped."
Sigewulf chuckles darkly as he enters his quarters, and slams the door shut.
7-16-2026
3057 words