Life on the Edge

2.11 A Time to Skrill

The destruction on Outcast Island is more than obvious as the Riders look around at the smoldering and smoking remains.

Ruffnut shakes her head as she and Tuffnut inspect a burnt catapult. "Woah. I don't like it."

"Weird. I don't see any arrows or spears," Hiccup says, turning in a slow circle to take it all in.

"No boulders from catapults," Fishlegs adds.

Hiccup frowns as he looks around again. "This really doesn't seem like a Dragon Hunter attack."

"Well, whoever did this meant business," Astrid points out.

Fishlegs gestures vaguely around them. "And where did everybody go?"

"They must have evacuated."

"What could possible scare the Outcasts off their own island?"

"Mutton famine," Tuffnut says seriously.

"Bed bugs?" Ruffnut suggests. "Once those things show up you can never get rid of 'em."

"It definitely wasn't bugs," Ragnar murmurs. He crouches down beside what might have been a small building of some sort and runs his fingers through the ashes. "Everything's burnt but not from fire."

Hiccup walks over to his side. "What do you mean, Rags?" he asks, offering him a hand up.

Ragnar takes it with a frown. "I mean that fire didn't do this." He thinks for a second then nods in apparent decision. "I had a vision last night."

"Again?" Snotlout groans as the others join them. "Gods, it's like you have one every other day."

Astrid takes the liberty of punching him in the shoulder. "Shut up, Snotlout," she snaps, smiling at Ragnar when he nods at her in thanks.

"I'm just saying," Snotlout mutters. "His vision thingies are helpful, but they also usually mean something not fun is coming."

Hiccup waves him off with his free hand as he gives Ragnar a concerned look. "You Saw something last night?" he asks. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Ragnar shrugs. "You were already asleep."

"Already a- Ragnar, did you go back downstairs to keep working?" Hiccup demands.

"Just to finish what I was already doing," he assures him. "Anyway," he adds, speaking quickly to move on from that particular subject, "it wasn't exactly clear, but I Saw a lot of lightning."

Hiccup starts to say something else before he pauses and turns to look at a nearby boulder. "Lightning, huh?"

Ragnar follows his site line and nods. "Yeah. I still can't explain everything I Saw, but, well..."

"These scorch marks," he says in understanding. He glances back at the others. "Do these look familiar to anyone else?"

It takes a second before Fishlegs catches up to their thought process.

He swallows nervously. "Do you think it could be...?"

Ragnar tightens his grip on Hiccup's hand. "Please tell me you remember which island we used."

Luckily, he does and it's not long before they reach the snowy island in question. Their luck runs out, however, when they check the deep crevasse that became the Skrill's prison.

"Yup. The Skrill is gone," Snotlout says, scowling down at the empty hole.

"That's a good title for a song," Tuffnut tells him. "I'm gonna work on that when we get home."