“ | This is Berk. An island well north of the middle of nowhere. Its remoteness means we rarely rub shoulders with the world at large. Which suits us most of the time. The older I get, the more I wonder about that horizon, and what's beyond it. Adventure, danger, new challenges and, of course, the totally and utterly... Unexpected? | ” |
— Hiccup's opening narration |
"The Stowaway" is the fourth volume of the Dragons: Riders of Berk Comics published by Titan Comics on March 3, 2015.
Overview[]
- The Dragons Training Academy gets a new student–a handsome, brave young man named Hroar! It seems that Hroar has stowed away on one of Berk’s ships to visit Berk and check out the dragons. And as Hroar becomes more and more popular by impressing Hiccup’s friends (especially Astrid), Hiccup grows increasingly suspicious of him.
Plot[]
Chapter 1[]
As Hiccup and Toothless soar above the village of Berk, the boy contemplates about the unknown of the horizon. As he prepares to shoot Fishlegs with a sling, he is ambushed by all the Dragon Riders who shoot him at once. While the twins wonder how many points they scored, Astrid and Snotlout call out Hiccup for not paying attention to the game.
The Dragon Riders then return to the Academy, Hiccup apologies to Toothless for letting him get shot earlier. As Astrid and Snotlout continue with their playful teasing, Toothless shakes off the paint, staining everyone. Hiccup then admits that he deserves it, but Snotlout says that the other riders didn't. As they all leave the Academy, Astrid asks Hiccup how he got distracted. He then replies that he feels like he's missing a world of possibilities. As they go trough the village, Hiccup asks the other riders if they feel the same way, they all disagree. As Hiccup tries to change the subject, Snotlout points out that something is happening at the docks.
There, everyone is talking irritatingly as Stoick arrives and asks what happened. Jorgen says that, while he had a skirmish with some Outcasts, his problem is a man he found on his ship. The man introduces himself as Hroar from Knaff and says that he heard much about Berk and decided to come and see it. Stoick tries to consult with Gobber, but the old man states that he admires the newcomer's spirit. Stoick asks Hroar what he wants to see on Berk, to which the boy replies excitedly that he wants to see dragons. The Dragon Riders also arrive at the scene, exchanging their opinions about Hroar.
Chapter 2[]
Later that day, at the Haddock House, Stoick tells Hiccup that Hroar is their guest until they can send him back to Knaff. As Hiccup welcomes the newcomer, Hroar becomes more interested in Toothless, saying that all the hard times he had on the journey were worth seeing a Night Fury up close. He then makes strange gestures with his hands and says words in another language, making Toothless agitated. Hiccup immediately calms the dragon and Hroar apologies, stating that it was his fault. Stoick then leaves, warning Hiccup to keep Toothless from harming their guest. Hiccup then asks Hroar what he did to Toothless and he replies that he said a lullaby from Knaff. Hroar then asks Hiccup to meet the other Dragon Riders. The boy agrees reluctantly.
Hiccup takes Hroar to the academy where he presents him to the other riders. Ruffnut asks Hroar if they really are famous, to which he says that everyone knows that they trained dragons. Fishlegs then asks him if his visit is the only reason he left Knaff, to which Hroar replies that he left because he considered his island boring. All the riders, minus Hiccup and Astrid, begin showing off their dragons in front of Hroar. Hiccup then whispers to Astrid that he feels something is off about the newcomer. She replies, suspecting that he doesn't like Hroar because he did what Hiccup only dreamed of. She then starts a conversation with Hroar, inviting him for a flight with Stormfly. Hiccup stays behind, wondering what was worse: the fact that Astrid told him that or the fact that she was possibly right.
The next day, Hiccup wakes up in his bed, only to find out that Hroar wasn't there. He then hears noises outside and when he looks through the window, he sees Stormfly fighting a wild Thunderdrum. Gobber screams at Hiccup for help, threatening to hurt the dragons if he doesn't come. However, he is forced to leave the fight as Stormfly sends her spikes in his direction. Hiccup quickly arrives and asks what happened. He then takes fish and chicken equally in his hands and steps between the two dragons. Seeing the food, they stop fighting and get close to Hiccup. The boy feeds them at the same time, calming them down. After eating, the dragons leave in different directions.
Hroar approaches Hiccup, congratulating him for what he did. Surprised to see him there, Hiccup asks Hroar if he knew why the dragons were fighting. He then explains that while he was outside, the fight broke off out of a sudden, but that he doesn't know why. Astrid suddenly arrives, telling Hiccup that Hookfang is out of control. While Hiccup tries to joke about it, Astrid tells that is something unusual and that she needs his help. Hiccup goes after her, wondering why it happens right at that moment.
At the academy, Snotlout yells at his dragon to stop but to no avail. Fortunately, Hiccup comes with fireproof gloves and calms down Hookfang in a few seconds. Snotlout then admits that he was going to do that too. Hiccup asks him what made Hookfang so mad and Snotlout replies that he doesn't know. Hiccup then thinks for a second and Astrid asks him what was wrong. However, before Hiccup could say something, a loud noise is heard, hinting more trouble.
Chapter 3[]
All the Dragon Riders head to the village, where they find Toothless fighting a group of Terrible Terrors. Snotlout mockingly says to Hiccup that Hookfang wasn't the only dragon out of control. As the boy approaches the fighting dragons, Toothless rises on his back legs and spins, throwing the Terrors away from him, one of which hits Hiccup. The other riders come and help him get up and ask if he is okay. He states that he's fine and that he noticed how Toothless was acting weird since Hroar appeared. However, the other riders completely disagree with him, thinking that it couldn't be true.
Later that day, Hiccup and Toothless return home for lunch, only to find out that his father, Gobber and Hroar already started eating, while the latter told them a story. As soon as the boy enters, Stoick asks about the problems with the dragons earlier that day. However, before Hiccup could answer, his father tells him to resolve the problem and to find Hroar a dragon. Hiccup is shocked to hear it but Stoick explains to him that it was Hroar's idea to offer the people of Knaff the ability to train dragons. Hiccup agrees and leaves with Hroar.
The two go to a beach where they encounter Torch, the Typhoomerang. The other riders come too, as Hiccup introduces Hroar to the dragon and gives him some details about the species. Eager to get in the saddle, Hroar hops on the top of Torch, but the dragon throws him in the air and into the ocean. Hiccup is amused by the situation and tell him to try again. However, Torch throws Hroar in the air again. The twins mock him for his failures and Hiccup gets annoyed by them. Still, Hroar trues again and succeeds this time. While the riders are amazed by his talents, Hiccup starts to be concerned about the situation.
Later at night, Hiccup searches for information about Knaff in a bookshelf. As he does so, he wonders how Hroar had stayed hidden the whole time inside the ship. Without him noticing, Hroar watched him from the shadows.
The next day, Hiccup goes to the docks and asks Jorgen about the Outcast attack. While the captain states that nothing bad happened and that the Outcasts didn't steal anything, Hiccup asks him if the attack could have been a distraction. Jorgen agrees and Hiccup tells him that, while the Outcast didn't steal anything, they may have wanted to give them something. Jorgen does not understand and returns to his work while Hiccup runs away, listening to Mildew, who was trying to convince people that dragons are still wild beasts.
In a short time, Hiccup arrives at the academy and asks the others where is Hroar. Fishlegs tells him that he went with Astrid to Dragon Island. Hiccup is shocked to hear it and tells them to get in the saddle as Hroar is not who he pretends to be.
Meanwhile, Astrid and Hroar arrive at Dragon Island. The girl tells him that they should return, as Berk doesn't accept anyone to go there. However, Hroar lands against Astrid's word and tells her that they are not doing anything bad. He then tells her that they are both adventurers and that no one should tell them what to do. Astrid begs Hroar to leave, telling him that it was not a safe place. He agrees with her and continues to walk.
At the same time, the other riders fly at full speed towards Dragon Island. Snotlout begins to doubt Hiccup about his opinion on Hroar, but the boy explains to him how the intruder must have boarded Berk's ship during the Outcast attack. Upon hearing this, Snotlout realizes that Hroar is actually an Outcast.
Chapter 4[]
On Dragon Island, Hroar begins saying the same strange words and doing the hand gestures that unsettled Toothless when he arrived. Stormfly and Torch start being agitated and Astrid tells Hroar to stop, asking him what is he doing. He responds, telling her that he doesn't know exactly what it is but that it always angered dragons, regardless the species and training. As he speaks, dozens of wild dragons emerge from a cave, including Changewings, Snaptrappers, Whispering Deaths and Skrills. Hroar then jumps on Torch and takes flight, leading the dragons directly to Berk.
As the other dragon riders approach, Hiccup tells them to distract the dragons while he goes after Hroar, telling them not to hurt the animals. While Astrid is trying to retake control of Stormfly, Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins find themselves in the middle of the dragons. Fishlegs manages to get a Whispering Death and a Changewing to fight themselves. Snotlout makes a few dragons chase him, then orders Hookfang to blast a Timberjack. The dragon, angered, unleashes a river of fire, burning all the dragons, except Hookfang, who escaped just in time. The twins create a huge explosion, making more dragons retreat. Meanwhile, Hiccup catches up to Hroar and tells him that he shouldn't have trusted him from the beginning. Hroar, however, is calm and asks Hiccup to team up with him, saying that he has potential and that he shouldn't waste it. Hiccup responds by creating a lot of smoke and going underneath him. He reminds Hroar that dragons are not weapons and loosens his saddle. Hroar falls from Torch and begs Hiccup for help, but Astrid catches him instead, telling him that she would rather drop him. Hiccup then takes Torch with him, assuring the dragon that it was not his fault. All the wild dragons go back to normal and return to their island. On the way to Berk, Astrid drops Hroar in a barrel of fish, as a revenge for what he did earlier. Snotlout then asks what is going to happen to him, to which Hiccup replies that they will give him back to the Outcasts, and tells the riders to go home.
The next day, Hiccup and Toothless again soar above the village, avoiding the other riders' paint. As they continue their game, he realizes that all the adventure he dreamt of is right there on his island.
Characters[]
- Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
- Astrid Hofferson
- Snotlout Jorgenson
- Fishlegs Ingerman
- Tuffnut Thorston
- Ruffnut Thorston
- Stoick the Vast
- Gobber the Belch
- Jorgen
Dragons[]
- Toothless
- Hookfang
- Stormfly
- Meatlug
- Barf and Belch
- Torch
- Thunderdrum
- Terrible Terror
- Timberjack
- Skrill
- Changewing
- Snaptrapper
- Whispering Death
Villains[]
Locations[]
Trivia[]
- The way Hiccup acts around Hroar is similar to how Astrid acted with Heather and Toothless with Torch. Coincidentally, Hroar rode Torch for a brief time.
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