Heart of a Berserker: Faith (School of Dragons)

Chapter 26

"Only in quiet waters do things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world." – Hans Margolius

Chapter 26

As soon as I returned to New Berk, Tuffnut hounded me about solving the Hobgobbler problem (which he caused). "You gotta do things in the right way if you want to see progress," he said. "You can't expect to climb a mountain without the right tools, right? I'll teach you what you need to know to lead these Hobgobblers. Allow me to be your sherpa."

"If you're so smart, why don't you just get rid of them?" I said.

Tuff shook his head. "You wouldn't learn anything then, would you? Follow my instructions to the letter, and you will have the strength and spiritual attunement to lead the Hobgobblers. First! These dragons left scales all around New Berk. Find them and grab them!"

I decided it would be easier to listen to him than argue. So, I wandered around and picked up a bunch of Hobgobbler scales. Then I returned to Tuff and dropped them. "There are your scales."

"Excellent! Extra points on your collection form. Use those quads! Use them! Be a shame if we don't put your nice pile of scales to good use. Put it in Gobber's waiting hands!"

I picked up the scales and walked over to Gobber. Thankfully, he seemed to have calmed down. "There ya are!" he said. "Tuffnut told me you'd be coming. This better work to get all those cursed dragons out of here..."

"I agree," I muttered.

"The way I see it, the faster you jump through Tuffnut's hoops, the faster you'll be done with his silliness. He's waiting for you by the waterfalls. Stand in front of him!"

He did have a point. I wandered to the waterfall and found Tuffnut. I stood in front of him and raised my eyebrows in expectation.

Tuff grinned at me. "Well done, my very young apprentice. Second! Embrace the calm of the Hobgobbler. She has seen it all. Done it all. The world could burn and the only thing we'd see in her eyes is the reflection of the blazes. Sit there and channel the spirit of the Hobgobbler."

I sat near the waterfall and stared at a Hobgobbler. I did not see the point in this, but I had to humor Tuff. Thankfully, he seemed appeased after several minutes of silence.

"PERFECTION!" Tuff exclaimed. "That was intense! I need a break. Talk to Skulder by the Hidden World cave, okay?"

I could have used a break too, but I did not argue. I wandered over to the cave entrance and found Skulder. "Hey, Tuff sent me."

"What am I, the backup plan?" Skulder said. He sighed. "It's my lot in life." He turned to a group of Hobgobbler gathered before him. "These Hobgobblers have been waiting for their chance to shine. They're eager to have your presence with them! Well, I think they're eager."

"They're rather expressionless, aren't there?" I glanced at the white Hobgobbler. "Especially Harald Junior here."

Skulder stared at me. "I'm not even going to ask. Now, from what I've heard, Tuffnut has put you through your paces with a series of exercises. However, no exercise can replace face to face time with the dragons themselves. Will you find the gathering of Hobgobblers and touch them, one by one?"

I did as he asked. None of the dragons seemed very affected, but they did not run away either.

"Well done!" Skulder said. "Please, go back to Tuffnut and let him know you've aced my challenge."

I jogged to the place I last saw Tuffnut. "Hey, I win."

Tuff frowned. "You don't seem very tired. Aww... I was hoping Skulder would wear you out with some hard manual labor!"