Chương 15: Our First Raid
Evening fell on Berk as torches began to be lit up, Rune was still tinkering around the forge ironing out some wrinkles in his design. Hiccup saw the light in the forge still on and knew what his student was up too.
"How did your testing go?" the chief asked.
"Fine, very fine. I'm just working out a couple hitches in my design for better efficiency" Rune answered not taking his eyes off the Z.E.P he was working on.
That's when Hiccup noticed his burnt hair and smoke covered face.
"I'm guessing they blew your expectations away"
"Something like that"
Hiccup looked around seeing seven Z.E.Ps lined up and then some drawings on how he could line them up in one of Hiccup's shields to be fired.
"Looks like you've been busy making more plans for these things"
"Yeah. I thought they could be loaded up in one of your shield designs, although a couple things would be altered but it could still work"
"Interesting. Just let me know when you're ready to start working on the shield, I could lend you an old one"
"Thanks Hiccup, that would be perfect" he thanked.
Just then Astrid came storming in looking furious.
"What's wrong Astrid?" Hiccup asked seeing her sour mood.
"Well your apprentice has kept the scout team waiting for a whole hour" she said angrily.
Then Rune remembered that he was supposed to be on duty today and slammed his palm on his face.
"Sorry Astrid. I was so caught up working that I forgot I was supposed to go on patrol today" he apologized springing up to his feet.
"Well you better hurry, the others might not be as forgiving as me" she replied.
"I'm on my way" Rune said rushing out.
He whistled with his fingers as Sandstorm came running out from the back to his call. Sandstorm picked up his rider reading the situation and the two took to the skies but not in the direction Astrid intended.
"I can't go meet the others like this. I need to freshen up" he said. "Let's take a quick detour bud" he said pulling left for his dragon to bank.
Rune flew home quickly and rushed up the stairs quickly before his parents could say anything. Then he came flying back down the stairs with a change of clothing and the vest his parents gifted him which left them confused. The two then flew straight to the arena to be greeted with frowns from everyone.
"Sorry guys, I forgot I was on duty today" he said.
They turned their attention to Astrid who was assigning them their flight routes. In the arena, Vyra, Gustav, Snotlout, Valka, Forde and Spitelout were all present.
"Okay team, here are the areas we need to cover. More and more ships are getting closer to us each day so stay sharp, they could be anywhere" she started.
"Gustav, Snotlout, you guys head west. Vyra, Rune, you'll head east. Spitelout and Forde will cover the south side leaving the north to Valka and I. Copy?"
"Loud and clear" Snotlout answered.
The riders mounted their dragons and headed to their designated areas. Sandstorm and Strombreaker ascended decently until they were just a couple meters below the clouds.
"Guess what" Rune said with excitement
"What?"
"I finally finished my inventions today"
"Really? That's great!" she said with a joyous tone.
"Well I'm still working out a couple kinks but its ninety percent ready"
"I guess that's what took your time today"
"Yep, if not for Astrid I would've completely forgotten about my schedule today" he said. "So how was your day?"
"Pretty good. Sten got himself into a bit of situation when he got caught in the middle of two Sanfflefangs fighting"
"That sounds intense"
"It is"
"How is he?"
"A bit shaken with some bruises and cuts but he has Eruptor to thank for getting him out of there, he could've been smoked"
"Yeah. And I know I can count on you too, right bud?" Rune asked his dragon.
Sandstorm purred as his rider placed his head on his.
"Basically. We hit the arena and did a little practice and that's about it"
"Okay"
The ride went quite for a minute or two before Rune broke the silence.
"So uh, do you consider this a date or?" Rune said with a shaky voice.
"I don't know cuz we already know each other pretty well so I don't know" she also said shyly.
"Hmmm" he hummed. "Alright, in the meantime lets keep our eyes peeled. Don't want any ship sneaking past us do we"
"No we don't"
The riders continued their flight on the lookout for any ship carrying precious cargo. It took a while but the riders finally got a look at five ships heading north, probably to the den of the dragon hunters to sell them. Rune used his spyglass to get a closer look to get a rough head count of the men they had and how many dragons they had above deck as they hovered feet away from the clouds.
"Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty. I count twenty above deck" Rune reported.
"If we were under different circumstances maybe you and I would've engaged" Vyra said already imagining how she would take some people out.
"Maybe, but that's too risky for both us and our dragons" Rune said keeping his Spyglass back in his saddle bag. "We should get going and report back to Astrid. We need to stop this shipment as soon as possible"
Vyra nodded and the two headed back to Berk to report their findings.
"That's where we found them" Rune pointed out on a map. "They should be anywhere between the Ship Graveyard and Screaming Death Island" he added.
"Great work guys" Hiccup praised.
"We need to get Fishlegs and the twins, there's no time to waste" Astrid said in haste.
"I don't think they'll be necessary" Valka said confusing her.
"Why not?" she asked.
"Remember, you aren't the only team trained to stop dragon trappers anymore" she pointed out.
"So?" she said still not getting the point.
"What Valka's trying to say is that you don't need to go every raid, the others can take care of it" Eret interpreted.
"It would also give them a chance to practice all they've learnt" Hiccup added. "So, are you guys finally ready for your first raid?" he turned to Rune, Forde and Vyra.
"Yes"
Wings flapped in the air as five dragons rode out east from Berk in a V formation with Rune in front, Sten and Vyra to his right and left as Thyra and Forde stayed behind them. Rune's team had assembled for their first raid but it took longer than expected. Thyra and Sten weren't exactly easy to wake up and it took even longer for them to get ready.
"Why do we have to get up so early, can't we do it in the morning?" Sten questioned with a yawn and sleepy eyes.
"No, we need to maintain an element of surprise so this is the perfect time" Rune answered.
"Just one more hour of sleep, that's all I ask for" Thyra pleaded.
"Sorry, Thyra but it's now or never" Vyra answered.
"Isn't this exciting, our first raid together, as a team" Forde said full of excitement.
"It is, my heart's beating so loud right now" Vyra said also sharing her nervousness and joy.
"Let's keep it simple guys and just do what we've been taught. Nothing more, nothing less" Rune said keeping it as calm as possible.
"Talk about nerves of steel" Thyra whispered not to Rune's hearing.
In truth, he was as nervous as anyone, maybe even more than everyone but for some reason he hid his fright so that the team could be confident in themselves and be calm. The team approached the ships a couple miles from the Ship Graveyard and it was time for them to go in.
"What's the plan?" Thyra asked as the team had stopped mid air above the clouds to plan their assault.
"I think we should go with an all out assault" Sten said slamming his fist into his palm.
"No, I think using one of our formations would be a better plan" Vyra countered.
"Perhaps maybe a stealth approach would be better" Forde added.
"All out assault" Sten insisted with Eruptor setting himself ablaze for a second showing that he agreed with his rider.
"Formation" Vyra said again as the two locked eyes.
"Guys!" Rune said with a commanding tone as it ended their little squabble. "Calm down"
"We still have the cover of darkness and fog to our advantage so let's use it while we still can. Going all out would blow our chances and using a formation would make us easier to spot so stealth is our best option"
His words settled it.
"So what do we do?" asked Thyra.
"We go in fast and low and spring onto the decks which would catch them off guard. There are five ships so each of us with our dragons should be able to take one" he explained.
"Sweet" Forde said as he brought out his double headed axe.
"Are we good with the plan?" he asked.
"Yeah" Sten answered.
"Alright riders, it's go time!" Rune said with his voice giving them some excitement.
The others immediately began to dive to get a run up to the ships leaving just Rune and his dragon.
"Alright Sandstorm, just like we practiced" Rune told his dragon.
Sandstorm gave a little excited roar.
"Let's go!" Rune exclaimed as his dragon went into a dive with a little smirk on his face.
The Sand Wraith accelerated fast as he began to close the gap with the others, they ultimately caught up and overtook them and then began their approach on the ships flying feet above the water so that they couldn't be visible from the deck. Sandstorm shot onto the deck of one spooking the trappers on guard as Rune got of his saddle holding his axe tightly.
"What the..... Dragon Riders!!!!" one cried alerting the rest.
"Well, there goes our stealth mission" Vyra said as Stormbreaker landed atop one and announced herself with a roar.
"We're under attack!" yelled another.
"Let's go" Rune said as he and his dragon ploughed forward.
Eruptor blasted the main mast of a boat causing it to land on the captain's quarters, covering Sten and taking out some men in the process.
"At a boy Eruptor" Sten praised as he broke the lock on a cage.
Spikethorn used her spikes to pin some men to the wall and then pushed a trapper into a cage for Forde to lock him in. Forde then blocked the sword of a man then kicked him in the gut as his dragon used her tail and hit him into the sea.
Rampage ran through five men knocking them down as Thyra battled with another, she jumped over his swinging axe aimed then landed on her feet to kick him in the chest sending him overboard. She used her hammer to take out two men in one swing then broke the lock on a fellow Rumblehorn.
"You don't need to be scared. It's going to be fine" she assured the dragon as it placed it's horn on her chest.
Stormbreaker swung her tail hitting arrows away then sent two blasts at the trappers that dared to take her down. Vyra used the hilt of her sword to knock a trapper out with a hit to the head, then blocked a mace swing and kicked the man back from Stormbreaker to throw him overboard with her horns.
"Good girl" Vyra praised as she freed the next dragon.
Sandstorm knocked a man to the side then another as Rune leaped over him to deliver a flying kick to the next trapper sending him stumbling backwards into the path of two more. Sandstorm then used his wing to block an arrow shot at him then growled back in the direction of his aggressor. He let out a blast and the scream of a man followed as Rune battled his way through to the next cage.
Sandstorm blasted four men back with a powerful blast as Rune freed a Zippleback from its incassoration. A man came running towards him with a cry and he casually swung the door of the cage into his face knocking him out. He then turned around to see a man pointing a sword at him.
"Give up rider" he said.
"If you say so" he said lifting up his arms.
Sandstorm ran in from the side and pushed him overboard.
"I owe you one"
"Alright guys, we got em all. Let's go!" Rune announced.
"How about we leave these guys with a little something to remember us by" Rune said with a mischievous smile as he held out two Z.E.Ps.
Sandstorm snorted in agreement.
"Okay, boy, let's go" Rune said hopping onto his dragon.
He got out another one and let both of them go after activating them.
"What is this?" a hunter wondered looking at the metal ball spraying gas.
In less than no time they exploded.
"OOOOHHHHHH YEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!" Rune yelled as his dragon accompanied it with a long call as they performed an ascending spiral.
"Do you see them?" Hiccup asked a bit worried.
It was day now and the riders still hadn't returned.
"It's okay son, they'll be back. I'm sure their fine" Valka assured him.
"Over there, a bunch of dragons approaching!" Tuffnut cried as he pointed to the sky.
The bunch of dragons coming were Rune, his team and the dragons they rescued.
"Thank Thor" Hiccup said releived.
Sandstorm gave a nice long howl announcing their arrival to the rest of Berk with the new comers.
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