The dragons and riders had their attention on the one Death Gripper in front of it, waiting for its move. Tensions ran high, their nerves tightened as the dragon looked at them cunningly. Right before anyone could make a move, a Death Gripper shot out from behind with a shrill, seeking to catch them unawares. Rampage reacted first, firing a blast to the chest of the dragon and blowing it back. Chaos ensued, the first Death Gripper engaged, unleashing a loud roar as it charged forward. Sandstorm hissed and charged as well, avoiding its tail as it sought to stab him and hit the dragon away with a tail swipe.
Rune went with his dragon to engage the beast as backup; Rampage didn't let the second Death Gripper get up. He was already on him and swung his head upwards, carrying the dragon into the air with his horn.
"Atta boy!" Thyra cheered, rushing over to his side to aid him in combat.
"We have to help them. We can't have anyone going down. Forde, help Thyra, Vyra and I can-"
Virgil's sentence was cut short as three more grippers entered the battle.
"Oh for Odin's sake" Virgil sighed.
One of the Death Grippers opened its mouth and sprayed acid at the trio. Virgil dove to the left as Vyra and Forde flew over to the right, dodging the life ending spray. Hothead retaliated with a plasma blast to send the dragon back. Stormbreaker and Spikethorn unleashed Beams of fire to try and force the other two to retreat.
Sten and Eruptor were cornered off by one Death Gripper and the two engaged. Eruptor caught the tail of the Gripper in his mouth and flung him into a tree. Before the Gripper could fully recover, Sten came flying in with his knee as he rammed into its head. The Death Gripper spat out a tooth and was genuinely shocked at the human. Sten had a smirk on his face while the dragon was in disbelief. That felling was short lived as a stream of acid was sent his way. He escaped it but not without some burning his clothes.
"You'll pay for that"
Rune sidestepped a thrash from the dragon's tail, and then he used the side of his axe to slam into the head of the Death Gripper. The dragon shrieked out of pain and lashed out at him, using one of its legs to hit Rune to the ground. The death gripper lunged at him only to be shoved away by an enraged Sandstorm. The death grippers were proving to be a real pain in the ass. They were tougher than he had imagined. No wonder Toothless needed lightning to get them off his tail.
Thyra swung her hammer violently at the dragon, it dodged her swings with impressive agility before wrapping its tail around her hammer's handle and tossing it into the forest. Her eyes widened with an uncomfortable realization, she had just been disarmed. The dragon jumped at her, flashing out with his raptorial like forelimbs. Thyra braced to be hit by the dragon, only for Rampage to get in the way and take the hit for her. He took it all for her as the tank of a dragon groaned loudly.
"Rampage!" Thyra yelled.
The Death Gripper moved in to deliver a devastating bite on the Rumblehorn, but his head was met by a mighty kick as Thyra flew over her dragon's side to rescue him.
"Nothing is going to happen to you okay? Just stay strong for me"
Rampage huffed loudly. That hit had taken a lot from him. Thyra Stuck her hands under her saddle and pulled out two short swords as she prepared to battle.
"I'll cut your tusks off for what you did to my baby!" she screamed before charging at the dragon with a battle cry.
Hothead and Virgil were at their wit's end keeping the Death Grippers at bay. Two more had entered the fray, and the pair found themselves trying to contain them with blasts and arrows. Hothead's shot count was already running low and Virgil's arrows were disappearing. The pair were engaged in a deadly dance of avoiding flammable acid and scorpion like tails. The intelligence of these dragons made things dicey; their predatory instincts and intelligence made every decision expertly thought out or they could find themselves at their mercy.
Spikethorn hit one of the Grippers in the side with her spikes and it helped her and Forde deal with their foe. His lack of mobility meant that the pair was in the driver's seat. Compared to his partners, he was on the defensive rather than the offensive.
On Vyra and Stormbreaker's side, The Stormcutter was struggling in the mobility department against the smaller dragon. Vyra Played defence, parrying and blocking the Grippers attacks while her dragon did all their attacking. That was the nature of their dynamic, but it was wearing them out. Everyone was getting tired and the Death Grippers were not backing off. The entire team and their dragons were pushed back together, forming a circle once more as the pack of dragons surrounded them.
"These things are too strong" Forde said pushing the mouth of a Gripper away.
"What do we do?" Virgil asked.
"They got us boxed in" added Thyra.
"Our dragons are tired and so are we. We've been fighting for our lives" Sten said panting. "We need a way out"
"What do you say Rune?" Vyra asked him.
His mind was blank. He could only think about fighting his current enemy and keeping both himself and Sandstorm alive. He was soaked in sweat, his knees had grown weak, his grip weakened and he was panting. He looked around and the others, human and dragon, felt the same way. This was the end for them.
"I got nothing guys. It was an honor to fight alongside you all"
His words were not encouraging at all. They were all expecting him to encourage them, to lift their spirits and give them the energy to push on, but he accepted his fate. The circle tightened, males and females squeezed between dragons, tired bodies and heavy breaths looked to go down fighting in the face of the inevitable.
The Death Grippers moved closer, their smelly mouths causing Forde's stomach to turn as Saliva flew onto Virgil's face after a roar. From behind the circle of grippers another one emerged with a death cry, leaping over his brothers and bearing down towards the riders. As the dragon descended down on them, jaw opened, tusks retracted, fangs bared; it seemed like they were about to claim their first victim.
But then things turned. Another fast moving body hit the dragon out of the sky and into the ground. The death Gripper rolled on the floor before he finally stopped with a man's boot placed on his body. He wielded a crossbow in his hand, shooting the knocked out Death Gripper with a dart. Rune's head turned sharply, fear and shock gripped him when he saw the person.
He was a tall, slender, middle-aged man with receding gray hair, pale skin, light blue eyes and a sharp chin. He wore leather armor reminiscent of night fury skin, black fingerless gloves, brown pants, grayish-brown boots, and a hooded jacket. He walked away from the dragon with an unmatched swagger that made Rune take a step back. Two more Death Grippers emerged from the forest as they stood on either sides of him. They all had collars on them with vials on top of them filled with purple liquid.
The attention of the Death Grippers switched from the riders and to the man as he appeared.
"I must thank you kids. You have made my job ten times easier" he said.
He raised his crossbow again as the wild Death Grippers riled up. Within a moment's notice, he had fired three more darts, hitting the dragons on their softer underbellies and necks. Three out of the seven dropped to the ground motionless, causing the others to panic.
"Who is this guy?" Sten asked.
There were no answers as their aggressors were dealt with quickly. The man placed two fingers in his mouth as he whistled. From behind the riders, an airship carried by Death Grippers began to move towards their position. By now you might have guessed it.
"Who are you?" Thyra asked.
The man looked up, taking his time to look into each of their eyes as a grin grew on his face.
"I am Grimmel the Grisly. A famed dragon hunter around these parts of the world. And you're supposed to be what?"
"We are dragon riders" Vyra answered confidently.
"Dragon riders?" the man scuffed. "You're just a bunch of children in a world you do not understand. Go home to the caves you crawled out from and let men do the work hmm?" he said, ending his statement with a fake smile.
The wild Grippers took to the hills as the airship approached, leaving the group and Grimmel alone.
"What are you going to do with those dragons?" Virgil asked.
"Sell them, kill, them and make them one of my workers. You don't have to be the brightest in the room to have figured that out" He said sarcastically as the airship began to lower.
Their grips around their weapons slowly tightened when he said those words. Despite how fatigued they were, they were not about to allow him take off with those dragons to do Odin knows what.
"I know that look" Grimmel said as he attached one of his collars to the first Death gripper he took out. "Don't get any funny ideas" he warned.
"The fact that you are still standing is mercy from me. Consider it payment for helping me lure out these intelligent creatures. I could've waited until you and your dragons laid lifeless on the ground before coming to claim them, but I didn't"
Two chains lowered themselves his harnesses to restrain the dragons.
"If you are smart, which I want to believe you are. Leave now or I would have my Death grippers finish the job" He said as the two on ground snarled at them.
"Rune?" Vyra asked.
The team needed his input. Do they go, or do they fight? He remembered what happened in the final movie. Leaving this man alive would be a mistake, considering all that he had done and what he was going to do. He spun his axe in his hand and took a step forward, his gaze fixated on the man in front of him.
"I guess we fight" Virgil said, taking an arrow and placing it on his bow.
"Rune!" Sten yelled. "This isn't wise. We are worn out, tired, exhausted. Picking a fight with him isn't the right call" Sten tried to advice.
Rune's mouth had just opened to speak when Vyra barged in with words of her own.
"Keep quiet Sten. You're just scared that Rune is going to get even more fame by taking this guy down. If you're tired and worn out, then sit this fight out. It's not like your presence will be missed"
Grimmel began to chuckle, the fight between them had become amusing. "Are these the people who are supposed to stop me? You can't even agree among yourselves" he said as he continued to chuckle.
"Dealing with you children will be as easy as taking milk from a baby" he said as he finished placing the second harness on the downed Death gripper.
"We're not kids" Rune said with a serious tone. "And we will stop you"
Grimmel smirked. What empty confidence.
"Then please. Show me" he said as he whistled.
His Death Grippers engaged, rushing towards the group as Vyra and Sten were still locked in their argument. Another fight broke out as they engaged his dragon henchmen. They were more intelligent than the wild ones with expert coordination. The three that engaged were proving difficult for the six of them to handle. They were ruthless and relentless, there were no gaps between their attacks for the riders to try and sort something out. The other two dragons who he had just recently collared rose from the ground slowly, adjusting to their own venom flowing through their bloodstream.
"Go get them" he whispered.
The two charged right into the action. Grimmel smiled, his job was done. He signaled to the dragons carrying the airship to lift off. As the dragons got lifted from the ground, he held on to the chain, watching the riders struggle against his Grippers.
"Rune, we have to fall back. We can't win this" Thyra said.
The last person he would expect to talk him out of a fight was Thyra. She was a battle beast, it was what she lived for, and she wanted out of this.
"Thyra is right, let's leave while we can" Sten supported.
"Rune! He's getting away" Vyra pointed out. "Now's out chance"
Rune weighed his options. This could be his only chance to stop Grimmel and prevent him from going after Toothless. Vyra grabbed his hand and tugged at him, it was now or never. Rune began to move with Vyra, they were going to break through the line of Grippers and chase Grimmel. He hadn't made it far when he felt a hand hold his and stop him from moving. It was Sten. His grip was firm and it held rune in place.
"Why can't you see this? If there is even a brain in that big head of yours, use it. You can't win this. Vyra has been feeding your head and now it's put you in this situation. Let's get out of here, please" he pleaded.
"Let go of me. You no idea what's at stake right now and keep Vyra's name out of your mouth"
Rune stared into Sten's eyes, there was no warmth behind them as there usually was. He pulled his hand away from his grip as Sten was left frozen. The two were totally oblivious to the Death gripper approaching from the side. By the time they caught whiff of him, it was already too late. His tail lunged forward to stab one of them, but his attack was stopped by a dragon. Eruptor sacrificed himself and took the hit on their behalf. He collapsed to the ground, struggling to draw breath.
"Eruptor!" Sten cried, rushing to see if he was okay.
He didn't respond to him, he was knocked out.
"Rune, help me" He said, with tears rolling down his eyes.
Rune looked down on him as he knelt by the side of his downed dragon, and walked away. Sten couldn't believe what he was seeing. This wasn't real, it wasn't Rune. He would never do that.
Rune broke through the line of Grippers with help from Sandstorm, Vyra and her dragon. The two were chasing down Grimmel in his airship. The man stood on his chains and was genuinely surprised by their determination. It was admirable, but futile.
"You should have listened to your friends" Grimmel said as they approached.
"You'll go no further!" Rune declared.
"Oh, so unwise"
The two were high above the trees and within shooting distance of Grimmel and his airship. Rune closed in on Sandstorm, his dragon opening its jaws as he was ready to fire. The edge of Grimmel's lip curled as he saw him about to attack.
"Do it now Rune!" Vyra said.
Grimmel quickly drew his crossbow from his back and fired it, hitting Sandstorm in the on the soft underside of his chest and taking him out immediately. Sandstorm lost power and began to fall. Rune tapped him multiple times be he was not responsive.
"Rune!"
Vyra flew down to save both man and dragon as they spiraled to the ground. Grimmel whistled again, calling back the rest of his death Grippers as they left the scene. Stormbreaker managed to reach them but they were too close to the trees for her to pull up. Both riders and their dragons crashed into the trees, breaking through multiple branches before hitting the cold ground below. A valuable lesson had been learned today, and the effects of it were about to be felt in full force.