Fan-Fic Fridays: "On the Edge of Mystery" Chapter 16: Things are Getting Intriguing

On the Edge of Mystery

Chapter 16

Things are Getting Intriguing

          Slowly yet swiftly working our way further into the ship, we came to the captain’s quarters.  Even though wanted to work fast, we did not want to make the situation worse by rushing then bumping into something cause the leak to get bigger or cause another leak.  Fredrick is still following close behind, but is giving Riptide plenty of room to work and move around.

          The door to the captain’s quarters is gone so there is no problem there.  What is the problem is the doorway is too small for Riptide to fit through with the underwater saddle on her; it was barely enough to fit through the small hallway to get to the room here.

          So, Garth maneuvered his dragon around to face backwards.  Since my two air tanks are the two on behind Garth’s, turning Riptide around would allow me extra length on my air tube to go further into the captain’s quarters.  Easing into the room, Garth then had Riptide back up as close as she could to the doorway to give me every bit of length on the air tube.

          I started searching the room for the artifact while Garth then started checking every inch of the saddle and tanks to make sure if there is a problem we can escape with enough air in the tanks to make it to the surface.

          Already having a good idea where the artifact is located, I swam directly to that place.  Because the ship started sinking on this side and as I dropped while getting it out of the chandler, I knew the artifact would be somewhere at the back of the room.  However, the tube from my mask to the tanks stopped me from going all the way over to the wall.  To not put strain on the tube, I instead used my feet to move debris out of the way to look under things.

          A few minutes had gone by and still nothing.  Knowing I have a very limited time to search, I knew I had to find the artifact within the next couple of minutes or Garth and I would have to return to the surface.  Still a few more minutes went by and still nothing.

          Telling myself, “I’ll look in the right corner and then if I can’t find it then I will come back later.”

          Lifting up with my foot a few broken furniture pieces from the corner… there it was.  The small disc like object I found the first time I came.  But I still could not reach it with my hands as my underwater mask’s air tube is already stressed in its stretched out position; even my right foot could barely touch the disc.

          Suddenly there were muffled sounds of something hitting the water.  Listening for a few more seconds, the type of sound they made and the time between each sound being irregular followed by sounds of larger objects hitting the water, I concluded that somebody was spotted and the Berserkers are now opening fire on the “intruder”.

          Reaching with my right foot to try and get under the disk, the ship out of the blue started to shake.  Then I felt like the ship was sliding down the side of the rock reef bed it was sitting on.  I froze and nearly started to hold my breath, but remembering what Garth said about not holding my breath, I caught myself.

          Ker-sploosh… bang!

          The ship shook violently.  I looked back in the direction of Garth and he started waving frantically for me to come on.  Hesitating for a moment, I then tried for the disk again.  Trying to get my foot underneath the disc and see if I could flip it up in the water to grab it.

          Unexpectedly, something hit the ship and I felt us and the ship start to fall off the rock reef bed.  After the object hit us, it was then followed up by a… dragon blast!  The blast blew a hole in the side of the ship, completely knocking us off the rock bed, and… and the shot sliced through my mask’s air tube!

          That split second after the dragon blast busted its way through the ship, I thought, “That looks like An-,” but then my thought was cut short by my air tube breaking, the dragon shot exploding against the other side of the room, and the shockwave knocking me back.  Taking one last deep breathe, well as much as I could until I felt water touch my lips, I am now able to actual reach the disc now as the air tube was holding me back.  Problem is I now have no more air to breathe!

          The dragon blast in it of itself is a little disorienting because of the light shown off of it.  But after grabbing the disc with my left hand and putting a firm grip on it, I waved Garth to go on.  Garth had his dragon to escape and thankfully I did too.

          Swimming up behind Garth so I could get to my dragon, I almost felt like I was swimming in place as the ship sunk quickly to the bottom of the sea.  Once out of the captain’s quarters, I grabbed Fredrick’s horn snout with my right hand I motioned him to surface as fast as he could.  My lungs feel like they are bursting at the seams and I feel like I am going to pass out.  Fortunately I did not as I surfaced with Fredrick shortly after Garth and Riptide did.

          Garth asked if I am okay, I told him I am, then he said, “One of the dragon riders must have been spotted and then they had to engage the Berserkers to keep them busy while we went after the artifact.  By the way, did you get it?”

          Showing him the disc between my pointer finger and thumb of my left hand, it answered his question.

          Garth and I sat on our dragons as they swam back around to the place where we took off some of our armor.  Getting back there, we quickly put our gear back on.

          “That dragon blast that was fired at us looked like a Razorwhip’s,” Garth stated.

          “I know,” I replied and then said before Garth could go on.  “Annabeth would never shoot at us.  Her and her dragon are just in battle, overshot, and it accidently hit the ship we were in.  If the ship was any lower, the water would have slowed the dragon blast enough that it would have just nudged the ship.  But since the ship has been in the water for a few days, then the wood on the outer side of the ship is weakened.  So it wouldn’t take much to break and cause a hole from a dragon blast.”

          Garth and I got our gear back on and remounted our dragons.  But before Garth got on, he removed the underwater saddle and set it on some of the rocks that were there; doing so would allow Riptide more maneuverability while in flight.  As Garth and I nudged our dragons up into the air, I asked Garth what was wrong with the saddle.

          “I could not really tell until when I started waving at you.  There was indeed a leak in one of your air tanks and one of my air tanks.  My design for the underwater saddle is fine, I just need to improve on the wood to be more waterproof.  The wood had been underwater and the pressure that comes with going so low in the water so long that the wood became stressed and began to separate from the inner seal in the tanks.  The outer seal is what I need to work on.”

          Flying high above the ship graveyard, we saw in the center all the Berserker ships in a circle firing at all the other dragons and riders that had come with us.

          I asked Garth, “What say we go break up the party?”

          Cazi and Angie on their Skrills along with Annabeth on Anora were keeping all the catapults busy while Meen, Hyrith, and Asvord would counter and keeping the archers and soldiers at bay with their Nadders’ spine shots.  Even with Explod laying down cover gas on his Zippleback and Elsa on Meatballs igniting it with a Gronckle’s spewing shot, the Berserkers held their ground.

          Swooping in, Garth on his Tide Glider and me on my Thunderdrum, we few shots of our own.  We finished off several of their catapults which Cazi and Angie, either knocking over or completely destroying the catapults.

          Once out of range of the archers, Cazi flew over saying, “Nice of you to join the party.  I thought you would have carried off by eels with an apple in your mouth.”

          “What?  Who me?” I laughed.  “They wouldn’t know what to do with all this,” I said gesturing to me and Fredrick.

          In the next several minutes, we all took runs at the ships to knock them out of their circle.

          “These ships just won’t budge,” declared Asvord.

          Cazi replies, “Tell me about it.  We’ve taken out most of their catapults, but it seems like they have an endless supply of arrows to match.  And because they keep firing with their arrows we can’t get close enough to finish them off.”

          Ali then flew in next to me and added her own remark, “I know I don’t know Berserkers as well as I’m sure you guys do, but because was living on my own before I came to Berk, I did run across a few Berserkers here and there.  What I’m trying to say is that something is off about these Berserkers.  They just look too much like Berserkers.”

          Annabeth then states, “How would you know so much about the looks of a Berserker?”

          “Because even in a tribe as crazy as the Berserkers, you still have inner clans that are different from all the rest,” Ali explains while Garth, Meen, my sisters, and Explod keep the ships down below occupied.  “Take yourself for example, Annabeth.”

          Annabeth then jumped some in her saddle, “Wh- Why… What’s wrong with me?”

          “Nothing, sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Ali replied.  “I was just using you as an example.  Because you are not from Berk, as I hear, change your clothing a little bit and change your hair slightly you could pass as a Berserker.”

          Annabeth started to blush, but tried to hide it, “Wha-who me?  Why would you think I would be a Berserker?”

          “Okay,” I said changing the subject to help Annabeth out.  “I think we need to figure out a way to get rid of these Berserkers.”

          “I know,” Ali stated.  “But I’ve tried everything.  We’ve tried everything.  Undyne has moved one of those ships but they just regroup and link back up.”

          “That’s it!” I exclaimed.

          “I knew it!” answered Ali.  “Okay, clue me what I just came up with?”

          “Alright,” I began.  “You said you were barely able to move one of those ships.  Well, you only had one Thunderdrum…”

          I trailed off as Ali perked up and realized what to do, “And you have another Thunderdrum, of course.  I’m not used to having more than one Thunderdrum around.”

          I then relayed a plan, “Okay, Ali.  You go to the east side of their circle and I’ll go to the westside.  On my mark, we fly in blasting with everything we got.  Cazi, Angie, you two come in from the north and south doing the same.  Garth and Annabeth, you come in and clean up, picking them off one-by-one.”

          Everyone agreed and flew into position.

          Once Garth, Meen, my sisters, and Explod finished their run, drawing the Berserkers fire, I yelled, “Now!”

          Four dragons flying in, converging on one spot, two Skrills, two Thunderdrums… Between the blasts of the Thunderdrums literally breaking up the “party” and the “shocking” relavation of two Skrills showing the Berserkers: You just do not start a fight with anybody from the Hooligan tribe!

          The Berserker ships were then separated from the others and the soldiers scattered.

          “Alright!” yelled a voice from down below.  “We surrender.  Fly down here so we can talk about the terms.”

          As I was just about to fly down, Annabeth warned, “Careful, Jarl.  Berserkers are not known for surrendering and especially meeting to talk about the terms with their victors.”

          “Don’t worry,” I assured.  “We might learn something.  You and Cazi come with.  The rest of you stay on alert and cover us if it is a trap.  They wouldn’t dare try anything when they are outnumbered by dragons.”

          With Cazi at my left side and Annabeth at my right, we flew down to meet at, I am assuming, the flag ship of the group of ships.  We dismounted, but kept our dragons close by.

          “Well, whom do I have the pleasure of doing business with?” a man walked forward waving his arms like he was welcoming us as friends.

          I replied while crossing my arms, “Jabba the Hutt.”

          “Oh well, Jabba,” the man chuckled and began.  “My name is Hari Oldeson.  Most people just call me Harry.  What do you want in return for our surrender?”

          “Just like that?” I asked.  “No double cross, no but’s, no nothing?”

          “Who do you think I am?” Harry asked surprised.

          Annabeth spoke up, “Well for starters we could say you are Berserkers.”

          “Berserkers?” Harry said as if he had never heard the word before in his life.  “Oh, I see.  You saw the crest on the ships right?”

          Cazi then stated, “Yeah, what of it?”

          “Well I stole these ships,” he responded.  “And I assure you I am not a Berserker, nor are any of my men.”

          “You stol-,” I started.  “Why should we believe anything you just said when you just admitted to stealing ships?”

          Harry shook his head back and forth, “I can see how you would see it that way.  Tell you what, ask me anything you want to know and I’ll try to answer to the best of my ability.”
          “Well for starters,” Cazi stepped forward.  “Why did you allow your men to fire at me and my Skrill?  You nearly took my head off!”

          “Calm down, we are sorry we attacked you,” Harry put up his hands in defense.  “My men know how scarce Skrills are and when they saw your Skrill they didn’t hesitate to fire.  Fire first and ask questions later are what my men do a lot.  So now we are at that time to ask the questions.  What next?”

          “Okay,” Annabeth said.  “Why did you continue to fire upon us time and time again until our two Thunderdrums and Skrills broke up your little defense circle?”

          Harry answered, “I could say the same for you.  Why did you continue to fire?  Though I guess us having Berserker ships and using stolen Berserker armor, making the assumption we are Berserkers is too farfetched.  So for my end, I would like to apologize.  Your band of dragon riders, Jabba, are well skilled and now how to disable a group of ships without completely destroying them.”

          “Okay so you caught us on a bad day, we can’t sink every ship that attacks us,” I said taking a few steps forward.  “Anyway, why are you and your ships doing in this part of the archipelago?”

          “Scavenging wrecked and abandoned ships for loot and treasure to trade for supplies,” replied Harry.

          I then acknowledged, “So you’re scavengers?  Don’t see too many of your kind around these parts.”

          “We do mainly do business further south towards the edge of the archipelago,” Harry spoke.  “But every now and then when there are few ships to scavenge in the south, we work our way north and scavenge here.”

          “Have you found anything in these ships of value?” I questioned.

          “Occasionally we find a chest full of gold or other precious items, but not a whole lot to trade or make a profit on,” Harry answered.  “Have you?”

          I thought, “I wondered when he was going to get around to that.”  Then I said out loud, “Why actually I have… I found a group of vikings who scavenge and loot ships.  That is fine and all, but what do I have to trust that you haven’t done this to trade ships in this area?”

          “Are you accusing me of any wrongdoing?” Harry sounded seriously offended.

          “Those are your words, not mine, you said it,” I added.  “And no I wasn’t trying to say that.  There has just been increased activity in this quadrant by Berserker ships among other small crimes.”

          “Well I can tell you if I see anything, I’ll be sure to let you know… um, what was your name again?” Harry questioned.

          “Jarl.  Jarl Mollerson, viking of Berk,” I said.

          “Ah Berk,” Harry remarked.  “I’ve heard a great deal of the famed Isle of Berk.  Never been though.”

          “You should come over some time,” I returned.  “I’m sure Stoick the Vast, Chief of the Hooligan Tribe, would love to have a chat with you.”

          “I’m sure we would both have quite the stories to tell,” Harry replied.  “But alas, we should be heading on our way.”

          “Oh ahem-hem,” Cazi faked coughed.  “We are the ones who are in charge here you are the ones who are surrendering.”

          “I thought we cleared that up,” Harry said.  “I thought it was all a grave mistake that I assure won’t happen again.”

          Unfolding my arms I then stared down Harry, “Why should I believe anything you say?”

          “In your place, I wouldn’t believe me,” Harry drew his sword with his right hand.

          His sword was in a sheath over his right shoulder.  Our dragons as well as Cazi, Annabeth, and I jumped into a defense stance when Harry drew his sword.  It looked like he was going to strike at me, but at the last second turned his sword in his hand and then offered me his weapon.

          “What’s this?” I asked, rather relieved.

          “A token of my sincerity in the matter,” Harry declared.  “Since this little battle is seemingly all me and my men’s fault, I give you a gift of my own weapon as a gesture good will.”

          “Thank you,” I said, did not really know what else to say.

          “Well, we should be on our way now,” Harry then ordered his men to ready the ships for sailing back to their base.  “We will need to resupply and get new ships after our little encounter.”

          I then mounted Fredrick and motioned the girls to mount their dragons, “I hope our next encounter will be more pleasurable.”

          I nudged Fredrick into the air as Cazi and Annabeth followed.

          Harry then called back, “I’m sure it will, real soon.  I am looking forward to it.”

          Letting Harry and his men go was tough but it seemed like the right thing to do.  I have a sinking feeling I will regret that.

          “What was that for?” asked Cazi as all of us regrouped on a nearby wrecked ship.  “I thought we were the ones taking over his ships?”

          “We were,” I said.  “But I didn’t want him snooping around anymore than he already was and plus he can’t really attack anything as we basically disabled all of his weapons on his ships.”

          “But why let him go in the first place?” Cazi still asked.

          “Because,” I said.  “I found this.”

          I showed them the artifact I found and retold what had happened.

          Annabeth then came over on her dragon, “Oh, I’m so sorry Jarl, that was me.  I was on Anora and trying to fire at a ship coming into their little circle thing.  I had Anora positioned poorly and she over shot.  I hoped that her shot didn’t do too much damage.  I’m sorry, Jarl.”

          “Annabeth, look it is alright,” I guaranteed.  “Actually if Anora hadn’t over shot I wouldn’t be holding our prize right now.  I’m fine, Annabeth, really I am.”

          Hyrith suggested, “Since we got what we came for, why don’t we head back to Berk.”

          Explod answered, “Capital idea, my good man.  Shall we go forth wit to return to our place of dwelling?”

          Meen snickered, “Is it just me or is it just anybody that rides a Zippleback will tend to act weird and crazy at times.”

          Angie then added, “Well the guy does have ‘Explod’ for a name, so it has to come out sometime.”

          Everyone started to fly back to Berk, except Annabeth and I.

          “Jarl?” Annabeth pulled me aside.  “They know.”

          “About you being a Berserker?” I concluded.  “Nonsense, what gives you that idea?  Just because Ali said you would look like a Berserker with only a change of wardrobe and hair style doesn’t mean they are on to you.”

          “I know,” replied Annabeth.

          “What is it?” I questioned.  “There’s something else.”

          “Well,” Annabeth seemed a little put off.  “I feel like I’m starting to be the outsider now, not fitting in.  I caused a near death experience for you.”

          “Near death experience?  I count that off as a job related accident.  I mean it is a hazard that vikings run into everyday,” I stated.

          Giving a sigh, Annabeth said, “Yes I know.  I just… having a family and then not having a family for a long time and then now having you as a family… I don’t know.  Just knowing I am a Berserker and I’m keeping that from them, something just doesn’t feel right.”

          Then giving Annabeth I hug, I then answered, “It’s okay, Annabeth.  You are just having trouble dealing with your past as deal with present and the future.  Everything will be alright, we’ll do this together.”

          We then mounted our dragons and then caught up to the rest of the group to return home.

          On my mind now are worry, concern, and intrigue.  Worry and concern for Annabeth figuring out who she is and intrigue at that Hari Oldeson character.  Something just does not fit with that man.  Plus, now that I have this disc with the gem for a center, I am also excited to see if it has a connection with the Dragon Eye as the carvings look exactly like those on the Dragon Eye.