12 Escape from the Isle of the Skullions

12. ESCAPE FROM THE ISLE OF THE SKULLIONS The chest was not full of stones. It was full to the brim with a gorgeous treasure. Strings of jewels, golden cups, objects more dazzlingly bright than anything the Hooligans had ever seen before. 'Is it s-s-s-safe to look n-n-n-ow?' asked Toothless, still with his eyes shut. Hiccup opened his eyes. 'I think so,' he said uncertainly. He had drawn his sword as Snotlout opened the chest, and now he peered in. 'It seems,' he said suspiciously, 'it seems to be just a box full of treasure.' 'OF COURSE it is,' said Stoick. 'What did I tell you? No BOOBY-TRAPS. You have too much imagination, my boy. Sometimes you have to leave things to the experience of your elders and betters.' Snotlout had already reached in and drawn out a truly magnificent sword, the scabbard richly decorated with dragons, skulls and the waves of an angry sea.

THAT was a sword fit for a Pirate King. It made the soft hiss of a serpent as Snotlout gently drew it out of the scabbard, and as the sunlight glinted on the still-bright, cruel blade, you could see how bitingly sharp it was, even after all these years underground. On the handle was a furious portrait of Thor the Thunderer with a tangled seaweedy beard, and across the blade was a zig-zag lightning pattern in a lighter silver. 'The Stormblade…' breathed Baggybum the Beerbelly. It was, indeed, the Stormblade, Grimbeard the Ghastly's famous sword, with which he had ruled over the entire Inner Isles in such a ruthless fashion. As Snotlout waved it gently to and fro, it seemed to give off a fierce, hungry light of its own. Gently, Stoick reached over and took it from his nephew. 'MINE, I think you'll find,'said Stoick calmly. 'The Stormblade belongs to the CHIEF of the Hairy Hooligans, and to him ALONE.' There was a crafty, greedy look in his eye as he threw aside his own sword and took hold of the Stormblade.

Toothless wrinkled his snout and sniffed. 'What's that s-s-s-s-smell?' 'What smell?' asked Hiccup. 'THAT smell,' replied Newtsbreath, making a face. Hiccup looked across at Fireworm, the greatest sniffer of them all. The normally flame-red dragon was drooping on Snotlout's shoulder, an extraordinary shade of pale green. 'Suffering scallops!' shouted Hiccup, 'The Skullions!!! SHUT THE BOX!' and he launched himself at the box lid, trying to shut it. 'The boy's gone crazy,' said Baggybum the Beerbelly, easily preventing Hiccup from shutting it by holding it open with one massive forefinger.

'Crazy with jealousy,' sneered Snotlout. 'SHUT THE BOX! SHUT THE BOX! SHUT THE BOX!' yelled Hiccup, struggling in Baggybum's arms. 'Now, now, my boy,' said Stoick, irritated, but trying to soothe his son, 'you can find some treasure NEXT time, I'm sure. We're quite safe, the Skullions can't see us or hear us…' 'But they can SMELL us!' shouted Hiccup. 'GRIMBEARD HAS BOOBY-TRAPPED THE BOX WITH A SMELL THAT WILL WAKE THE SKULLIONS!!!' 'What do you mean, smell us?' asked Stoick.

He gave an experimental sniff. Now the stench was so strong even the humans were noticing it. Fireworm had already thrown up in the heather. All the Hooligans started sniffing, and there it was, an unmistakeable reek of rotting fish and long-dead walrus… with perhaps a hint of month-old crabmeat. 'POOH,' murmured the Hooligans, their attention wandering from the treasure. 'SHUT… THE… BOX!' yelled Hiccup, purple in the face from fury at their stupidity. Light dawned on Stoick the Vast's stupid countenance. 'Ahhhhh… I see what you mean… SHUT THE BOX. Quickly, quickly!' At last he realised the urgency of the situation and shut the box, sitting on it for good measure. But it made no difference. The smell was getting stronger by the minute, an unimaginably horrid stench. If the Skullions caught just one WHIFF of that horrible smell it wouldn't take long for them to wake up and… the thought was too awful to contemplate. And then Hiccup realised that the awful scritchscratch of the sleep-sharpening had stopped… and that meant… that meant…

'R-R-R-U-U-U-U-U-U-U-U-U-N!' shouted Hiccup. At exactly the same moment Fireworm shrieked, 'D-E-S-E-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-T!' 'Let's get out of here,' said Stoick the Vast. He and Gobber the Belch carried the box together. The Hooligans didn't need the order. They were already running as fast as they could towards the beach where the boats were…