The man chuckled after they made their demands. "And what makes you think I'll talk. I'm no rat and I'll never betray my employers. Hunter's code"
"Hunter's code? Hunter's code?! I'll give you Hunter's code when I have my hammer shoved two feet up your ass!" Thyra said charging towards him.
It took the combined efforts of Sten, Forde and Virgil to stop her from killing the man.
"Ha, you can't even control your own team. It's a wonder how you control those beasts" he said with disdain.
Sandstorm didn't take his words well and began to growl at him. Rune held out his hand to tell him to calm down which he eventually did.
"I'm a loyal man, a man of my word. I'm not going to say anything and there's nothing you can do to make me budge" he said.
"It's obvious threats aren't going to work on him. We have to find a new angle" Rune muttered.
He took five steps back and had his hand on his chin, he was thinking of a way they could get the information they needed. He was going to be a hard nut to crack but they should find a way, there has to be.
"I think it's best we let Thyra do it. Among all of us, she has the skills and the knowledge to make it work" Forde advised.
"Thyra? She's pissed off already. She might end up killing the guy" he reasoned.
"I think Forde's right. I don't have any knowledge on getting info and I don't have the stomach to even try and torture him" Virgil chipped.
"I think they're right. The rest of us don't stand a chance. She does have that menacing aura around her when she's mad"
The four boys turned slowly as they stole glances at the steaming Thyra.
"Agreed" all four chorused.
Sten and Forde departed to go and inform Thyra that she would be getting her chance to deliver some pain to the man while Rune and Vrigil stood side by side hoping and praying that she doesn't kill him. Vyra walked quietly to Rune's side, her steps were quiet, each placement of her foot absorbing the sound of her weight being pressed on the wooden boards. She stood next to him and held the sleeve of his tunic and tugged on it. Rune turned his head sharply, his eyes fixing themselves on the redhead.
"Yes?"
"If you guys aren't too confident in Thyra's abilities, I'm always available"
Virgil and Rune looked at one another with raised eyebrows and confused looks before turning back to her, keeping the same expression.
"What?" she said. "I could do it too"
"Please, don't. We've picked Thyra for this and our decision remains" Rune said with an authoritative tone. He wasn't speaking to her as her partner, but as the leader of the team.
Vyra frowned her face and walked away but Rune was unfazed by her antics, what was about to happen next was much more important. Forde and Sten cautiously to Thyra, her hands were on the rails of the boat, clenching them tightly as she heaved in anger.
"T-T-Thyra…" Forde said with a cautious voice. It was as if he was tip-toeing around her, careful not to step on the wrong twig.
"Yes?!" she snapped, turning her head sharply, fury burning in her eyes. Once her eyes saw Forde, her gaze softened, the fury and rage burning within her seem to quench immediately.
"Oh, sorry about that" she said with a light chuckle.
Sten froze, what on earth had just happened?
"Well, Rune asked me to get you. He wants you to get info out of that man, just don't overdo it okay?" he said.
"No problem, I promise not to kill him"
"Then we're good"
Thyra skipped along to the man while Sten just stood there confused.
"Who's this? They've finally calmed their dog down? Not going to bite me with all that rage and fury?" the Captain pushed.
"Oh dear Odin, don't let him die before he dispenses the info we need" Rune prayed.
"I promised them not to kill you. But that doesn't mean I won't make it hurt. You will tell me what we want to know"
"Empty words. There is nothing you can do it me that will make me talk. My mind is fortified, my tongue a fortress. You will try and you will fail. You're getting nothing from me" he emphasized.
Thyra didn't bother to answer, she cracked her knuckles and rolled her right shoulder as she approached the man. The rest of her friends held their breath as they witnessed her work. Within moments, there was a loud crack on the deck of the ship, she had gotten her hands on him and there was no turning back. The Captain grimaced and groaned but remained tight lipped. Thyra continued, more cracks and screams were heard as the facial expressions of her team mates changed with every passing action.
"Oooo, I don't think that's meant to go there or bend that way"
Thyra continued, more agonizing screams rang from his mouth, the surge of pain he was feeling and no way he could get himself out of it unless he spoke. Thyra's methods got worse and worse, the pain was unbearable and his mind was breaking. The pain overwhelmed him and he finally snapped.
"I'll talk! I'll talk! Just make it stop! Make it stop!" he cried.
Thyra took two steps back from the crying man as he laid motionless on the deck. She was proud of what she had accomplished and motioned to Rune to come and ask him questions while she stood over. Rune took one deep gulp and walked forward.
"I told you, we could've done it the easy way where she didn't have to put your limbs in such unorthodox positions but you chose your path" he started. "Now if you don't want her to pick up from where she let off, I suggest you cooperate and tell us everything. She has a short temper and can step in if you aren't giving me the details. You got that?"
The Captain nodded immediately, willing to go through with whatever they were going to ask.
"Alright man. What are you doing with those Crimson Goregutters and why were their horns cut off?" he questioned.
"Okay, okay. We got contracted to get the horns of Crimson Goregutters by one of the warlords, Chaghatai Khan"
"Warlords?" Rune asked.
"The warlords are the highest ranking personnel among dragon trappers. They employ small crews into their fleet to do their bidding, to continue from where Drago stopped" the Captain explained.
"What is he using the horns for?" Thyra questioned. Her voice giving off her rapidly depleting sense of patience.
"I-I-I don't really know. My job is to deliver the horns and the dragons. B-But there are rumors, that it's being used for medicine and sold off to the highest bidder. Like trophies"
"How dare they!" Thyra exclaimed as she stomped her foot onto the deck. The force of her foot went right through the wooden board beneath the area of her foot. "They cut off their horns for medicine or sold off like trophies? Nah. We have to take them down Rune. Those poor dragons are going through the worst time of their lives" She said, her emotions running wild.
"Don't worry Thyra, we will. I can promise you that" Rune said with assuring words.
"Crimson Goregutters are some of the rarest dragons in the world. Where on Earth are you getting this many of them?" Forde asked.
"It took us time, picking them up one by one from different islands. It took months but then we found it. An island home to an abundance of them; we set up camp there and began capturing them"
"Where is this island located?" asked Sten.
"In island protected by fog southwest of here. If you check my cabin, you can see the map there"
"I got the map" Virgil said, rushing to his cabin.
"How many men are there? Any fortifications?" asked Rune.
"About thirty to forty men. No fortifications. Our camp is unknown to many so there not many fortifications"
"I've got the map. It is as he says it is" Virgil called out waving the map.
"You have held your end of the bargain, I will hold mine"
Rune looked at Thyra and motioned his head towards the Captain. She nodded and approached the man urging him to stay still as she repositioned everything she had taken out of place back to where its meant to be. Short screams of pain and relief mixed together were let out as the man had his limbs in normal positions again. Vyra was tasked with taking the captain to Outcast Island to be locked up as the rest of the group regrouped back on the Edge.
"Selling dragon horns. Who would've thought" Virgil said, placing his legs on the table in the clubhouse.
"The world is a horrible place on its own, add dragons in the mix and things get crazy" said Sten.
Rune couldn't help but relate their situation to that of poachers in Africa, hunting elephants and rhinos for their ivory. What a crazy coincidence.
"Whatever the case may be, we're putting them out of business for good and send a message to those warlords that they won't get away with their schemes" Rune said, his voice strong and adamant.
"I suggest we take enough gear. The captain could be lying about the men and the fortifications" Thyra pointed out.
"True, but I doubt he would try it; considering the position you put him in" Forde said shyly.
"You mean, positions. Hehehe" Sten said cheekily.
His antics earned him a rather strong tap to the head from lady in focus.
"And with the fog, they could have the element of surprise. The men might be on to us with one shipment not coming in" added Virgil.
"Let's just stay on our toes and prepare for anything. We should be prepared for any scenario we face" Rune said, his voice grounding the team from imagining wild scenarios.
Beating wings and a roar from close range alerted the team that Vyra had returned. Stormbreaker landed on the deck of the clubhouse as Vyra slid down her wing to the floor.
"Alvin sends his regards" she said as she walked in, full of confidence.
"You seem to be in a rather good mood" Thyra commented.
"Why wouldn't I be? Praises were heaped upon our heads for the work we've done. Stories have travelled far and wide about our group. It was nice to get some recognition after all" she said grinning. "At least someone appreciated my effort" she said, her eyes glancing at Rune briefly.
"Well, now that you're here, we can finally get a move on. The trappers are stationed on the island and this isn't something that can wait, we have to fly out as quickly as possible. Considering how far the island is, it may take more than a day of travel so we might have to make a stop along the way" Rune stated as he spread out the map on the table for all to see.
"What islands do you have in mind?" Forde asked.
"Store house and Dragonvine island are definitely off the list. Dealing with Singetails and dragonvine is not on my checklist this week" Rune said.
"That leaves The Rookery and Scauldron island" Sten said.
"Do we really want to take our chances with the Scauldron of all dragons?" Vyra asked.
They all looked at one another and agreed on where to lay their heads.
"The Rookery it is" Rune said as he began folding the map.
"Ideally we should land on Berk. It is close enough for the landing" Thyra voiced.
"But then landing, explaining why we're back in a matter of days and possibly having the whole gang up in our business doesn't sound ideal to me. It's our problem, we can deal with it ourselves" Sten said.
"Yes, we are living legends after all. We can handle this on our own" Vyra chipped in.
"Come on guys, we don't have time to waste. We leave in five" Rune said as he began walking out.
NO one needed extra motivation to get going, they all left the clubhouse with great haste. They packed all the gear and weapons that they needed, as well as camping equipment before taking to the skies in the cool of the evening. They were going to fly all the way to the Rookery and based on Forde's calculations, they should arrive by the evening of the next day. They would use that time to rest, unwind and sleep before taking on the trappers the very next day. That was the plan.