Ever since their trip to the sanctuary, Valka had made a point about coming back to the cave every morning for breakfast after the dragons had their feeding time. Each time, she would gather fish in a basket, and bring it back for Toothless to eat. Stormfly and Cloudjumper did their part too, regurgitating fish for Toothless every time they ate. Hiccup, who was getting further along in his recovery each day, had begun to do his part around the cave as well. He had finally took over as cook, which meant better meals for all of them, and Astrid had taken up watching over him and guarding the cave, sometimes even tidying up the cluttered little space.

Of course in this time, they got to know Valka's disorganized setup fairly well, along with one major issue.

"I can't find any food that doesn't have mold in it." Sighed Hiccup, looking down at the fuzzy blue and black lump that was probably once bread in contempt.

"What's the problem?" Asked Valka, looking at the morose teens as she walked in and slipped off her brown leather breastplate and bracers.

"We need more food." Said Hiccup. "I mean besides cod, venison and blackberries. Where did you get all this bread and cheese?"

"Well it depends." Said Valka, cringing at the moldy bread. "Sometimes I loot trapper shifts, but I haven't done that in a while because sometimes they carry a poisoned stash just for me." She sighed. "There's a huge trading port not far from here. It's a hot spot for traders and pirates. I suppose I can spare a few skins and shine up some old dragon scales to trade in exchange for food. Gronkle scales are a hot commodity for armor reinforcement, and bottle Nadder poison in small amounts makes for a good anesthetic. Oh, right! I can draw some maps too. Dragon trappers and hunters always want maps from me. They think I'm some sort of hunter myself, but I'd never sell dragon maps to anyone, especially them. I get my scales, venom, saliva, and so on humanely."

"Sounds like you have some haggling experience." Said Astrid. "I thought you said she never had contact with people."

Valka shrugged. "Well you can only raid so many soggy ship wrecks and weave so many baskets before visiting obscure trading posts begins to sound worth it. Now when do you two want to go? It's not that long of a flight away."

"Well, are you planning on making any breakfast first, Hiccup?" Asked Astrid.

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, I'll just cook some fish. We can go after. I'm sure Toothless will appreciate the flight."

"Alright." Said Valka. "Come, Astrid. Help me gather things up."

Hiccup made breakfast as Astrid helped Valka gather scales and skins and bottles in a large wicker basket with a lid. They all sat down on the cave floor and ate together, finished packing, and took off, flying out away from the sanctuary to the trading post. It was the first time since leaving Berk that Hiccup had ridden Toothless, and they were both thrilled, practicing tricks in the air, but nothing too daring, because despite everything, Hiccup's back was still healing, and Toothless was very intent to protect him. The flight only took a couple of hours, and soon they were landing in the woods next to a cluttered shanty town of a trading port. Ships of all kinds at the docks. Some Viking, others entirely different. Hiccup looked at them in awe, only able to imagine what kind of lands they might have come from.

Valka got the dragons to stay hidden under the cover of the woods. She didn't want to risk them being spotted and getting hurt. She handed Hiccup and Astrid cloaks, put one on herself, and slung one of the baskets over her shoulder. She handed Astrid the other basket, and gave Hiccup a satchel to carry.

"We don't want anyone to get too familiar with our appearances." Explained Valka, pulling the hood over her face and leading them into town.

Hiccup and Astrid followed her out of the woods, and were immediately hit with the smell of meat, incense, animal dung, and body odor. The smoky marketplace was filled with all sorts of people from all walks of life, and Valka navigated it expertly, ducking and weaving through the crowd without being noticed. Astrid and Hiccup could hardly keep up, and secretly Hiccup didn't want to. He was so engrossed in the exotic food, fine leathers, unique wares, and music, it was hard to not want to stop and look. He saw a stand that sold hand bound leather notebooks that were so beautifully crafted, and was about to go for it when Valka put her hand on his shoulder.

"It know it's all very exciting." She said. "But we have to exercise caution. Let's buy what we need first, and then I'll get us some coins and you and Astrid can treat yourselves while I pay a visit to a friend of mine."

"Friend?" Asked Astrid. "I thought you were a lonely hermit lady."

"Oh, I am for the most part. Unfortunately, you can't get everything you need without allies, especially when you're on Drago's bad side. Now come alone, we don't want to be here all day."

Hiccup continued looking more passively now as he and Astrid followed his mother around as she haggled for all sorts of different foods. Valka had a method to her shopping, going to certain merchants in a certain order, so that she would be done in no time at all and still have money left. All the merchants knew her by name, but it was clear that they knew very little about her. They all thought she was just some sort of mountain hermit woman. In fact, they were very surprised to see her being followed by a couple of disheveled teenagers, but Valka was always prepared with some vague, phony excuse for them.

"Oh, yes. I found them all by themselves so I took them in." She would say, patting Hiccup on the back just a little too hard and making him wince. "They can sure be troublemakers. You know, kids these days." And then they'd be on their way. Some rugged looking types would try to get her attention on occasion, but she would simply ignore them or tell them off. They wore dragon skins, and Valka specifically did not trade with any sort of dragon hunter.

For coins, they went to a surprisingly familiar source; a befuddled trader Johann, who looked shocked upon seeing Hiccup and Astrid.

"Master Hiccup! Goodness, I thought you hadn't made it, and miss Astrid. What are you doing here? Why, this is unfolding into an exciting course of events indeed. It reminds me or this time when–"

"Hello Johann." Said Valka.

The Trader stopped mid-sentence, and smiled awkwardly at Valka. "Oh, Valka. So good to see you, and might I say you look in excellent health as always. I promise, I haven't told a soul about you still. I might be a storyteller, but secrets are as valuable of merchandise as physical wares, and this one can't be bought. Might I say I'm relieved that Hiccup has found you. Of all people, you're the best qualified to care for him."

Valka smirked. "I'm glad to hear it. Now I just need to exchange some things for some coins. As usual, I have an exotic item to help your lips continue to be sealed." She took out a jar. "Some seashocker teeth, just for you."

Johann looked at them in amazement. "These will do perfectly. Of course, without them I still know better than to cross you. I don't want my ship to end up like the dragon trappers' forts." He went through what she had to offer, and handed her the coins to pay for it.

"So trader Johann knew about you this whole time?" Asked Hiccup as Valka handed him the coins.

She sighed. "Yes. It's such a pain to keep him quiet, but the last thing I want is a Berkian battalion storming the sanctuary. Now you two go treat yourselves, and get yourselves some food. Once you're done, meet me in that shop over there."

She motioned to a rustic little shop, painted red and covered with unfamiliar symbols.

"Alright." Said Hiccup, and he and Astrid ventured off in search of what they wanted to buy.

Valka thanked Johann and walked into the small shop, getting engulfed by steam and smoke upon entering. It was dim in there, and smelled like wet wood and heavy foreign incense. Shelves on the walls held all manner of odd objects, and behind the counter, smoking a pipe carved to look like a dragon, was one of Valka's best informants. Her name was Kai, and though she appeared to be a simple tattoo artist and herbalist, she was a rather infamous foreign pirate, known for her sticky and slippery ways of dealing with things.

The small framed woman smirked upon seeing Valka. Her maple skin glistened in the poor lighting, and her almond shaped brown eyes looked sinister yet inviting. Her black hair was tied in a bun, and her clothing was tailored in such a way as to show off the intricate tattoos on her arms and neck. It was all her work, and she was extremely talented.

"Well, well, if it isn't my favorite vigilante." Said Kai. "Come for the latest update on Drago?"

"Yes, and I have excellent compensation for you this time." Said Valka. She handed Kai a pouch containing night fury scales and a small vile of saliva. "The saliva has very effective healing properties."

Kai's cool and collected façade was instantly shattered, and she gasped in excitement. "Where did you get these?! Are these . . . are these REAL night fury scales?"

Though Kai was very good at manipulating and getting people under her thumb, she wasn't the pillaging type of pirate. No, she was a bit of a night fury enthusiast. She painted them, and admired them. She had spent years just searching for one with the hope of getting a good look at it.

"Yes." Said Valka. "I actually know one now."

Kai looked at her with wide eyes. "What do I have to do to get you to introduce me?"

"Oh well you'll have to talk to my son about that one."

"Your son huh? I thought was he was off learning to be the next chief of Berk."

"Oh no. My predictions were mistaken. He's rather small, a bean pole of a boy really. He couldn't lift an axe, so he made himself this net launching contraption, single handedly shot down a night fury with it, and realized that he couldn't kill the poor thing, so he cut him loose instead. He came back to observe him, and found out that the dragon was wounded, so he befriended him, build him a new tail, and learned to ride him. Of course, when the village found out, they exiled him, so now the two have been with me, recovering from the whole situation."

"Sounds like your son is very smart indeed. I can't wait to meet him. As for you, you wouldn't have happened to kill any trappers lately, have you?'

Valka sighed. "It was an accident. Why?"

"Well Drago has quiet the bounty on your head, dead or alive, Valka. Here, let me make you some tea while I go over the details."