10 The worst day of Hiccup’s life so far

10. THE WORST DAY OF HICCUP'S LIFE SO FAR At dawn on the day of the Quest, Hiccup got dressed very reluctantly indeed. He buckled on the sword his father had given him, hoping that it wouldn't get in the way too much. He slung a spade in a sling across his back, where he normally might have carried a bow-and-arrow. He was so nervous he couldn't eat his porridge. He finally managed to drag Toothless out of bed and set off towards Hooligan Harbour, where everybody was meeting. Toothless sat on his shoulder, angrily rubbing sleep out of his eyes with one wing. 'Toothless don't W-W-WANT to go on Quest,' he complained. 'Is s-s-stupid. Is s-s-silly. Is d-ddangerous.' Hiccup could not have agreed with him more, but all he said was, 'You're going to be all right. YOU'VE got wings. Any Skullions attack you, and you just fly away.' 'Yes, but T-t-t-toothless don't like the sight of

b-b-blood…' whined Toothless. 'You get torn to pieces and Toothless feel s-s-sick…' 'We all have our problems,' snapped Hiccup crossly. Fishlegs was already at the Harbour, looking furious. His dragon, Horrorcow, sat at his feet, chewing quietly. All the other boys were milling about, their dragons fighting each other or flapping over their heads. Everybody was thoroughly over-excited despite the very real prospect of being eaten alive.

'Who do you reckon would win if a Skullion was to fight a Bloody Crocoraptor in one-to-one combat?' chatted Wartihog. 'Oh, the Skullion would win EVERY TIME,' replied Clueless. 'No question. My father says the Skullion is one of the most vicious creatures on the planet. It'd just whip out that famous extra-long claw and swipe… it'd be Goodnight Crocoraptor…' 'Ah,' said Wartihog craftily, 'but what if the Skullion had one paw tied behind its back, who would win then?' 'Idiots,' fumed Fishlegs. 'Idiots!! I'm surrounded by people with seaweed for brains.'

Other than the boys, there were about fifty adult pirates in the Skullion landing party, all of Stoick's biggest and finest Warriors. Alvin was cracking jokes, giving out hearty handshakes and patting everybody on the back. Stoick the Vast was delighted to be setting off on a military operation and marched about yelling orders. 'RIGHT, everybody. Once we've landed we split up into groups of two. We fan out across the island, and we get our dragons to sniff for the treasure. Notice you have all been supplied with a whistle– Gobber, could you demonstrate?' Gobber blew a sharp blast on the whistle. 'Once you hear that noise you will realise that somebody has found the treasure. Make your way towards the sound as quickly as possible so we can all help to carry it back to the ship. REMEMBER, the dragons will be sleeping during the day and it does not matter how much noise you make because the Skullion is stone deaf. However, do try not to

step on one and don't forget that their sense of smell is very acute indeed. So once you land on the island, THERE WILL BE ABSOLUTELY NO FARTING WHATSOEVER. Is that understood?' The Warriors nodded solemnly. 'Righto, then,' said Stoick. 'Death or Glory.' 'DEATH OR GLORY!' yelled everybody. And the Grimbeard's Treasure-Seeking Skullion Landing Party climbed aboard the good ship Lucky Thirteen to set sail for the Isle of the Skullions. Dogsbreath the Duhbrain 'accidentally' bumped into Hiccup as they climbed in and knocked him on to the floor of the boat, where Snotlout trod on him. 'Clumsy me,' grinned Snotlout, swinging the Flashcut in a nonchalant fashion. 'Good luck, Useless.'

Lucky Thirteen set off slowly from the harbour through an ominous thick fog hanging heavily over the whole of the Inner Isles. It was difficult to see more than six feet ahead.