In this narrated excerpt from Chapter 10, Part 2 of How To Be a Pirate, the crew of Lucky 13, led by Hiccup, sails through dense fog toward the dreaded Isle of Scullions. The island is portrayed as a bleak, blood‑red landscape dotted with massive burrows and towering limpet‑shell piles, devoid of any life except the ominous skullyns whose claws are heard being sharpened in a terrifying, screeching ritual. After a long, uneasy approach, the crew lands in a wide bay of red sand. Alvin delivers a reluctant speech, apologizing for staying behind due to his strong scent, which he fears will endanger the dragons. Toothless reacts with outrage, labeling Alvin a coward, while Stoic offers sympathetic consolation. The group then divides into pairs to explore the island, with Fireworm eagerly sniffing the new terrain. The passage blends atmospheric description, character dynamics, and the looming sense of danger as the pirates prepare to investigate the mysterious island.
Chapters
Lucky 13 set off slowly from the harbor through an ominous thick fog hanging heavily over the whole of the Inner Isles. It was difficult to see more than 6 feet ahead. After 3 or 4 hours, they caught sight of the Isle of Scullions looming spookily through the mist, and Hiccup's immediate thoughts were, in no particular order: Let's go home. Turn around! Abandon ship! Don't sweat, he told himself. Scullions can smell sweat. But he could feel himself getting hotter and hotter with seasickness and fright as the island drew closer and closer. In fact, even the bravest and most chatty of the Hooligans fell silent as they sailed deeper and deeper into the waters their tribes had been forbidden to enter for hundreds and hundreds of years. For the Isle of the Scullions was a very sinister place. The black cliffs in their old pillar-like formations and the bloody bright red earth seemed to whisper the word death. All around there were crazy towers of limpet shells stacked up in piles perilously high. Like so many fantastic sculptures. Being unable to fly or swim, the Scullions were imprisoned on the island. They had long ago finished off any small mammals, reptiles, or birds that had once lived there. For years, they had had to exist on shellfish, the limpet, In particular because it was so plentiful. There was no sign of life anywhere. No rabbits, mice, or other scuttly creatures running around the hillsides. No birds calling from the cliff tops. Nor were there any signs of the Scullions either. There were, however, worryingly enormous holes dotted all over the landscape. Those must be the burrows! They were larger than any burrows Hiccup had ever seen before. Some of the holes were as big as the front door of the Great Hall. They must be somewhere down here, thought Hiccup, swallowing hard. Because there were no animals or birds and no winds on such a calm day, there was an eerie silence. Except, that is, for one terrifying sound. Hrrr! Imagine the set-your-teeth-on-edge screech of chalk scratching on a blackboard multiplied hundreds of times over. It was the sort of noise you might get if you were sharpening 1,000 knives on 1,000 stones, but it was far more excruciating than that. It sent all of Hiccup's nerve endings wincing and jangling, even as he realized the horrible rhythmic scritch-scratch was. It was the sound of skullyns sharpening the extra-long claws of theirs on the rock deep within their burrows. This was practice Hiccup knew about but had never actually heard in real life before, called sleep sharpening. Hiccup took a deep breath. Well, at least we know they're asleep, he thought. The hooligans had to row 3 quarters of the way around the island before they found a place where the boats could land safely. It was a wide open bay against— with the strange blood-red sand. Alvin stood up to make a speech. Every dragon on the boat hissed and growled warningly as he spoke. I just Wish everybody the best Viking luck, he said, smiling smoothly and easily. To my great, great sadness, I will not be able to join you on this part of the quest. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to risk my life in this glorious enterprise. But even— but even though I have washed thoroughly, I am afraid my smell is too strong to dragons that it might put the whole operation in jeopardy. I shall just stay here and look after the boats. And it was all his idea in the first place! said Toothless, outraged. In hiccups here, see, see what toothless means—an outcast and a coward. Stoic patted his friend sympathetically on the back. Very noble of you, Alvin, he whispered loudly. It was difficult not to whisper, even though the creatures had no ears to hear with. I'm sorry you have to miss out on the fun. Okay, men, find yourselves a partner. Fan out across the island, and if nobody finds anything at all, we meet back here in an hour. Fireworm was in a frenzy of excitement. As soon as they landed, she had clearly scented
