Sandbusted
Tenor was flying around the outpost, stretching his wings. He spotted Hiccup outside his house looking at something. Curiosity got the better of him and he landed on the porch.
"What are you looking at?" he asked. Hiccup suddenly blushed.
"Oh, it's nothing," he said. Tenor looked at Toothless who just shrugged. Tenor looked over Hiccup's shoulder. He was holding a rusty looking medallion with an abstract design on it.
"Where did you get that?" Tenor asked. "Looks very old."
"My dad gave it to me," Hiccup answered. "It's my betrothal gift to Astrid. It means we'll be together forever." Tenor's face dropped slightly.
"I see," he said. "I take it, this is supposed to be a surprise."
"Yes it is," said Hiccup. "So don't tell her."
"Fine," Tenor said. He turned to leave. "I won't tell her." He spread his wings and took off.
"Where are you going?" Hiccup asked. Tenor turned in the air.
"This is new territory for me," he said. "I wouldn't be much help." He flew away before Hiccup could say anymore.
He flew onward, and suddenly heard Astrid roar in frustration. He swooped down and landed on the porch. Stromfly was outside, listening to Astrid throw things around.
"Hey Tenor," she said.
"She loose her ax again?" Tenor asked.
"No, she's looking for something to give to Hiccup," said Stormfly. "As a mating gift I think."
"Oh," Tenor said. "It's probably very selfish of me to say but, I wish they were as lonely as me."
"That is selfish," said Stormfly. "I know you're lonely, but doesn't mean you have to keep others from finding their soulmate."
"Sorry," Tenor said. He hung his head.
"Maybe you can help Astrid find something," Stormfly said. "Maybe helping these two will help you feel better."
"I don't want it to hurt," Tenor said. "I find jealousy to be very painful."
"You'll be fine," said Stromfly. "You can always step out if it gets too hard for you." Tenor took a huge, deep breath.
"All right," he said. He entered the house, right as Fishlegs arrived. They saw Astrid digging frantically through her house, creating a mess. She noticed Tenor and Fishlegs standing in her doorway.
"Unless this is about Hiccup's betrothal gift, the one I haven't gotten him yet, the one where I have no idea where to start...!" Astrid said, panicking.
"You're getting him one too?" Tenor asked, pretending he hadn't discussed it with Stormfly.
"Not if I don't find something," said Astrid.
"So does that mean you two plan to make it official?" Tenor asked.
"The ceremonial betrothal gift must be exchanged six moon cycles after a couple's," said Fishlegs.
"Betrothal?" Astrid finished.
"Yes," said Fishlegs.
"Who knows Hiccup better than I do?" said Fishlegs.
"Me," said Astrid.
"Good point," said Fishlegs, talking very fast. "And we both know what a great gift giver he his."
"Yes, that's the problem," said Astrid. "Hiccup is not your ordinary Viking; he has a Night Fury, he can fly with suit made of yak hyde, he has a sword that can ignite on command, and he's going to be the next chief of Berk." She put her face in her hands.
"What about a new notebook," Tenor suggested. "He uses those."
"He has plenty of notebooks," said Astird. "He has a lot charcoal pens too."
"A new saddle," Tenor said. "Toothless will eventually grow out of that one."
"I don't know how to make a saddle," said Astrid. "And I can't sing, so your exchanging songs won't work either."
"Oh my," Tenor said. Just then Hiccup poked his head through the doorway.
"Hey guys, I just got a T-mail from Trader Johann," he said. "And it doesn't sound good."
"Yeah, they never do," said Tenor.
The riders met up in the clubhouse.
"All it said was that it was urgent and to come immediately," said Hiccup.
"And I'm guessing you sent him a big old, NO THANK YOU!" shouted Snotlout.
"Why would I do that?" asked Hiccup.
"That guy is bad luck Hiccup," said Snotlout. "Last time we got a message from old TJ, we almost got killed by a pack of wild and very angry dragons."
"Okay Snotlout, you can stay here," said Hiccup. Snotlout refused outright.
They all headed down to the stables and saddled their dragons. Tenor decided to bring Serenity along as well. Incase of injuries or wild dragons. She was walking more and her legs were getting stronger again. Re and Aurora decided to tag along as well. As they were getting ready, Hiccup looked over at Astrid, who was tightening Stormfly's girth.
"Hey Astrid, can we talk for a moment?" Hiccup asked. Astrid had a suspicion on what he wanted to talk about.
"Ahh, let's not keep Trader Johann waiting," she said, bashfully. She quickly got on Stormfly and took off. The other riders followed suit.
As they headed for the Northern Markets, Hiccup tried to pull Toothless alongside Stormfly but Astrid kept steering her out of the way. They almost knocked Tenor out of the sky.
"Can you keep Stormfly still for a few minuets?" asked Hiccup.
"Sorry, she's fighsty today," Astrid lied. "She must be excited to see Johann, she really likes him." Stormfly squawked in confusion.
"Is that true?" Tenor asked her.
"No," said Stormfly. "Trader Johann has brought us nothing but bad luck. Every time we come to his aid, we end in trouble. Something feels wrong about him. Our riders may trust him, but I don't."
"Hmm," Tenor said. "I thought I was the only one who noticed."
"You got that vibe too?" asked Stormfly.
"Yeah," Tenor said. "I didn't say anything, because what if I was wrong."
"You think our riders should be warned?" asked Stormfly.
"No," Tenor said. "Humans need solid evidence before they'll believe anything, I mean Hiccup didn't believe Snotlout just now."
"You make a good point," said Stormfly. "We should keep our guard up anyway." Tenor nodded. "I wonder what trouble we're going to get into this time."
"Well, it's the Northern Markets," Tenor said. "There will be something."
"And you're bringing Serenity along?" said Stormfly. "She won't be safe there." Tenor glanced over to Serenity, who was mounted on Re's back, wearing the black suit, hood and mask that Queen Mala had given her to hide her identify. Stormfly looked at her as well.
"Oh, I see," she said.
"She's required to wear that whenever we go to places with a lot of humans," Tenor said. "She can only talk in dragontongue, and can never show her face."
"Will that work?" asked Stormfly.
"Aurora predicts that it will," Tenor said. "Plus it's just as dangerous to leave her on the Edge."
"Why don't you just send her home," asked Stormfly.
"We want to," Tenor said. "But then things keep happening around here that acquire her assistance."
"I see," said Stormfly. At that moment they arrived at the Northern Markets. The dragons landed in the main street and all the riders, minus Serenity, dismounted. They wandered through the market, which was strangely quieter than normal. They found Trader Johann's booth. He informed them that many of the merchants and their possessions had all vanished.
"You seem fine Johann, was anything of yours stolen?" asked Hiccup.
"Hiccup, leave it to you to find the silver lining in the darkest cloud," said Johann. Tenor narrowed his eyes at this connivance.
"Hiccup I have an idea of what happened," said Fishlegs.
"What's that Fishlegs?" asked Hiccup.
"The Curse of Tears," said Fishlegs. For some reason this made Tuffnut to start weeping very loudly. They all looked at the Twins.
"It's that word," Ruffnut explained. "Makes him open up like a water spout, ever since we were kids." Fishlegs continued.
"Anyway," he said. "If The Curse exists, many traveling merchants have fallen victims to it and vanished, never to be seen again." Hiccup considered.
"We need to split up and check the island," he said. Fishlegs turned to Astrid.
"How about you team up with me Astrid," he suggested. "What better place to find a gift for the viking who has everything."
"Good idea Fishlegs," said Astrid. Astrid, Fishlegs, the Twins, their dragons, Re, and Aurora went one way; and Hiccup, Snotlout, their dragons, Tenor, and Serenity when another way.
They all looked around the market, looking for anything helpful. Serenity stayed in Tenor's saddle, so she didn't have to walk. She didn't say a word and kept her face covered.
"Okay, if this curse is real," said Hiccup. "Then where did it start? Who's curse is it? Are you even listening to me Snotlout?" He turned around to see Snotlout holding Hiccup's betrothal gift. "Where did you get that?"
"From your saddlebag," said Snotlout, sneering. "You should be more careful."
"Will you give me that?" Hiccup demanded. He tried snatching it, but Snotlout dodged him.
"You know what this needs?" he said.
"To be out of your grubby hands," said Hiccup.
"No, a chain," said Snotlout. "Then Astrid can wear the stupid thing. Other than that it's just an anchor for a very tiny boat." He turned to face Hiccup, when a man ran passed and grabbed the medallion. Hiccup glared at Snotlout.
"I'm guessing you want that back," Snotlout said. They immediately ran after the man. Tenor spread his wings and took off, following the man from above.
They chased the thief all through out the market. But soon they lost sight of him. Hiccup scanned the area franticly. Just then Tenor hovered over him.
"I see where he's going," he said. "Come up here we can get him faster." Hiccup and Snotlout got on their dragons and took off. They sped after the thief who ran into the woods. Hiccup steered Toothless below the trees, where they could keep the thief in their sight. Unfortunately Toothless couldn't turn as quickly at the thief. Soon they saw the thief run into a clearing that led to a beach. Toothless thrust his wings back and sped up. The dragons sped into the clearing only to find, nothing. The dragons landed and all the riders dismounted, Serenity included. They looked around, but all the say was one set of footprints that stopped at the edge of the beach. Serenity limped over to a rock and sat down. Hiccup spotted what looked glass shards on the sand.
"I've never seen anything like this," he said. Suddenly Snotlout felt something strong and thick wrap around his body and yank him into the ground. Hiccup quickly grabbed him, but was pulled down too. Acting quickly both Toothless and Tenor grabbed each of Hiccup's legs. But Toothless had grabbed Hiccup's leg, and it popped off leaving him back on the surface with Serenity and Hookfang. Tenor was dragged underground with Hiccup and Snotlout.
Toothless sat on the sand, stunned, with Hiccup's metal leg clamped in his jaws. Hookfang roared and tried digging through the sand.
"What do we do now?" he asked. Toothless tired to calm down.
"We should go get the others," he said. Toothless let Serenity mount him and they hurried back to the market.
Tenor hit the bottom of a large underground cave, hard on his back. He felt his right wing pop out of its socket, he hissed in pain and rolled onto his front. He then got to his feet and tried to move his wing, but every attempt was met with agonizing pain. He looked around the cave. It was filled with treasure, and human bones. The creature that had pulled them under was nowhere in sight. He spotted Hiccup and Snotlout passed out on the floor. He went up and revived them. Snotlout saw the treasure, and went insane. Hiccup sat up.
"Where are we?" he asked.
"Who cares!" exclaimed Snotlout. "Look around you." He looked around at all the items scattered around the cave. Tenor helped Hiccup get to his remaining foot. Hiccup accidentally leaned on Tenor's injured wing.
"Owowowow!" Tenor howled. Hiccup instantly let go.
"Oh sorry Tenor," he said. "What happened to your wing?"
"Dislocated," Tenor said. "Unfortunately I can't fly you guys out, sorry."
"It's okay," Hiccup said. "We can find another way out." They looked to see Snotlout digging through the treasure. But then he spotted the human bones, and it snapped him back to reality.
"What is with these bones?" he snapped. "They're ruining my treasure pleasures." He got winey.
"Snotlout it's not your treasure," said Hiccup, leaning on Tenor's uninjured wing. "And from the looks of things, having it didn't help these guys much. We need to find a way out of here, or all the treasure in the world won't help us. Now first thing's first, I need to find something to replace my leg." He started glancing around.
"Oh, a leg you say," said Snotlout mischievously. "I've got just the thing." He pushed Hiccup down and grabbed a skeleton leg. He tied it to Hiccup's stump. Hiccup saw it and gave Snotlout a funny look.
"Trust me, he won't miss it," said Snotlout. Hiccup got up and put weight on the leg, and it held. Though Hiccup found it disrespectful, and creepy, he decided that now was not the time to be picky.
"I guess I can live with that," he said. He looked at Tenor. "We should find something to support that wing." He began looking around the cave. Among the treasure and bones were what appeared to be splashes of solid glass.
"This stuff is everywhere," said Hiccup.
"Yeah, no kidding," said Snotlout pointing at the ceiling. Hiccup and Tenor looked up to see holes patched up with more glass. Tenor went to shoot a plasma blast at the biggest hole, but realized he was out.
"It thought you couldnt' run out of shots," said Snotlout.
"I'm half Night Fury," Tenor said. "And they do run out of shots. I may have more shots than Toothless does, but I can still run out."
Meanwhile, the rest of the riders and Draconians continued to help Astrid find a gift for Hiccup. She was having no luck.
"Let's face it Fishlegs," she said. "There is nothing I can get Hiccup Haddock that he already has, doesn't want, or doesn't need."
"You know when Aurora and I got, as you humans say it, betrothed," Re said. "I couldn't think of anything to get her either. She's the daughter of our god, and she has so many rare antiques."
"What did she get you?" asked Astrid. Re reached into a hidden pocket in his breast plate and pulled out a smooth black stone the size of Tiny Terror's skull, with a hear-shaped sapphire embedded into the center.
"She knows I love volcanoes," Re said. "So she found this hunk of dried lava, and had it smoothed down and polished. I carry it with me everywhere I go, and there's a space for it on my throne." Astrid looked at it.
"It's beautiful," she said. "So what did you end up giving her." Re put the lava stone back in his pocket.
"I gave her, me," he said. "I promised her I'd be there for her whenever she needed me." Aurora smiled and nuzzled his shoulder. Just then Toothless and Hookfang landed beside them. Aurora looked her mate with soft, silver eyes.
"You know you did give me something," she said. Re gave a sad sigh.
"Yeah I did," he said. "But then I lost it, to the ocean." Aurora nibbled him behind his horns.
"I'm still very happy I got to keep it," she said. "And now I have another on to look after." Astrid ran up to them.
"Guys, Hiccup and Snotlout have disappeared," she said. "We have to go find them." Re and Aurora nodded. Serenity got off Toothless and got on Aurora. They set off to where the two dragons had last seen their riders.
Back in the tunnel, Hiccup and Snotlout were trying to climb the wall towards the hole. Tenor had tried to climb the wall as well, but his claws couldn't grip the smooth walls. Suddenly the two riders fell back to the ground. Snotlout landed on some glass and broke it.
"Ow," he hissed. "If you break this stuff it's really sharp."
"So don't break it," said Hiccup.
"Little late for that," said Snotlout. They both got to their feet. Suddenly they heard someone approaching. Tenor went into a defensive crouch. Hiccup picked up two crossbows and handed one to Snotlout. Tenor ran into the shadows where the intruder wouldn't see him. Suddenly the thief came around the corner with his ax raised.
"You!?" said Hiccup.
"You!?" said the thief. Both he and Snotlout raised their weapons to strike.
"Put those down," Hiccup said. "If we have any chance of getting out of here, we have to work together." Both Snotlout and the thief lowered their weapons. Tenor came out of hiding and circled the thief, growling menacingly.
"Don't kill him Tenor," Hiccup said.
"Oh, I won't kill him," Tenor said. "Just scare him a little." He gnashed his black teeth in the thief's face. Then he spotted the rusty medallion in the thief's belt. "And I'll take this off him." He snatched the medallion and clutched it in his talons. Hiccup seemed relieved.
"Will you hold on to that Tenor?" he asked. Tenor flipped the medallion over each of his bear-sized claws, back and forth.
"You can count on me," he said. He tucked the medallion into his breast plate. "Dragons are professional treasure protecters."
Up on top the others were examining the patch of sand where Hiccup and Snotlout were last seen. Unfortunately neither rider were anywhere in sight. Astrid noticed that both Toothless and Hookfang were scratching franticly at the ground, as though they were trying to dig through the sand. Astrid went over to Toothless and put an arm around his neck.
"What is it Toothless?" she asked, but Toothless only crooned nervously. Astrid looked over at Re. "Why are they pawing at the ground." Re shrugged.
"All they're saying is that their riders just vanished before their eyes," he said. "Like the ground had eaten them."
"I don't understand," said Astrid. "What do you mean the ground had eaten them?"
"Uh, Astrid," said Fishlegs. They all looked to see him holding up Hiccup's metal leg. But before Astrid could grab it, Tuffnut snatched it. He saw Astrid glaring him.
"What?" he asked. "Hiccup wilded it to me. He said if anything happened to him, it should be trusted to one Tuffnut Thorston." Astrid fumed and snatched the metal leg out of Tuff's hands. Tuffnut tried to snatch it back.
"Oh, you want it?" Astrid snarled. "Say you want it. Go on say it. Or should I say; tears, tears, tears," This made Tuffnut drop to the ground and sob. Re and Aurora exchanged a glance. Aurora, who had Serenity on her back, went up behind Astrid and Serenity snatched the metal leg out of her hands.
"Show a little sensitivity Astrid," Aurora said. Astrid shook herself as Ruffnut knelt down beside Tuffnut.
"I'm sorry Tuffnut," said Astrid. "I don't know what came over me."
"How about we look at our new map?" Ruffnut suggested to Tuffnut, who nodded with his thumb in his mouth.
"What map?" asked Fishlegs. Ruffnut pulled out a map that one of the merchants had shown them while they had been investigating the market. The merchant had said the map lead to a hidden treasure, known as the Treasure of Tears.
"You bought that?" asked Astrid.
"Not like we had a choice," said Ruffnut. "It has our two favorite words outside of, well, words. Treasure, and you know." Astrid took the map and unrolled it.
"Well, I don't know what else to do," she said. "Might as well give this a try."
Down below; Hiccup, Snotlout, Tenor, and the thief explored every inch of the cave. Unfortunately they found no way out.
"Well, nothing but dead ends," said Hiccup. "Looks like we're not getting out of here anytime soon."
"Just great," said Snotlout. "I'm finally rich and I don't get to live to enjoy my vast fortune. Thanks to Amis the Lamest here."
"What!?" said Amis. "If you hadn't chased me we wouldn't be down here."
"Well if you hadn't stolen from me we wouldn't have chased you," said Hiccup. Tenor rolled his eyes.
"So I guess that makes us even," said Amis, folding his arms.
"No, that makes us in no way even!" Hiccup shouted.
"Oh, will you guys shut up?" Tenor said, irritated. Just then a dragon bigger than Tenor burst through the walls, snarling. It looked like a giant Tiny Terror. When he saw the humans he roared and shot heated glass at them, making them all scatter. Ignoring the pain in his wing, Tenor tackled the bigger dragon, being careful not bite him with his poisonous teeth. The bigger dragon shot more heated glass at Tenor, but he dodged them. The large dragon pounced on Tenor, but missed, and almost hit Snotlout. Snotlout jumped out of the way, and landed on a pile of items. He nudged a crossbow which fired an arrow through one of the glass-covered holes in the ceiling. Sunlight streamed though the hole, and hit the bigger dragon right on the back. He roared in pain and dived though another wall. Tenor got to his feet, supporting his injured wing. The three humans regrouped.
"Did you guys see that?" said Snotlout, still clutching the crossbow.
"It's the sunlight," said Hiccup. "He can't be in direct sunlight."
"That must be why he patches holes in the roof," said Amis.
"Yeah, nice going Snotlout," Snotlout bragged, shouldering the crossbow.
"And I kept him off you guys," Tenor said, also feeling unappreciated.
"Shut up you two," said Amis. Both Snotlout and Tenor exchanged scowls. Snotlout slumped against Tenor's good wing.
"That was a very impressive shot," Tenor said..
"And good job fighting that thing with an injured wing," said Snotlout, giving Tenor a friendly punch on the shoulder.
Outside Astrid and the others were following the map though the woods. Re and Aurora followed quietly. Toothless stayed beside Astrid, he kept wining out of worry. Then Astrid spotted land mark that matched the one on the map. She hurried towards it.
Hiccup heard the sound of a dragon coming through the hole in the roof.
"Do you hear that?" he asked. Tenor twitched his ears. Hiccup ran towards the hole. "Guys lift me up, if some one's out there we need to make sure they see us." Both Amis and Snotlout got on Tenor's back, and boosted Hiccup towards the hole.
Astrid found the hole, not knowing what it was. Both she and Toothless looked at it, expecting to find Hiccup.
"Is there something in there?" asked Fishlegs.
"Is anyone out there?" asked Snotlout. Both Hiccup and Astrid looked at the hole, having no idea they were looking right at each other.
"No," said Astrid.
"No," said Hiccup.
"Looks like we weren't the only ones fooled by this map," said Astrid.
While Snotlout and Amis rummaged through the items, and Tenor kept a lookout for the other dragon, Hiccup just stood there looking up at the hole.
"You know just looking at that thing won't suddenly help us get out of here," said Snotlout.
"You have a better idea for when that sand busting thing comes back?" asked Hiccup, annoyed.
"Sandbuster," said Snotlout. "It's a good name."
"I'll second that," Tenor said.
"Oh, you couldn't have been sucked down with your dragons could you?" said Amis bitterly. "Could have flown right out of here."
"Why do you even talk?" asked Snotlout.
"It's how I work though things," said Amis. "I'm going to die down here, with freedom just beyond that hole."
"The hole, yes," said Hiccup, looking at it. "That's our way out." Amis laughed humorlessly.
"And how do you plan on getting to it?" he asked.
"Yeah the idiot does have a point, we can't even get to it," Snotlout muttered.
"Then we'll bring it to us," said Hiccup. "You guys stack up all this stuff, make a tower good and sturdy."
"It'll never hold, and it'll never work," said Amis.
"Oh, just do it," said Hiccup.
"What are you going to do?" asked Snotlout.
"I'm going to make a cage for the Sandbuster," said Hiccup. "Tenor, you keep watching for it." Tenor nodded. Everyone got right to work.
Outside, Astrid was sitting on the edge of the cliff studying the map. The Twins and the dragons were moseying about. Fishlegs approached Astrid.
"He's out there Astrid," he said softly. "And we'll get him back. Meatlug and I won't rest until we do." Astrid gave him a small smile, without taking her eyes off the map. She did a double take and jumped to her feet.
"Fishlegs look," she said, showing him the map. "This helmet looks like that mountain peak." She pointed to a picture of a helmet, then pointed to a distant mountain that had a similar shape. "And these axes line up too." She pointed to two crossed axes that marked the spot where a pair of crossed pine trees were. She followed the map and both landscapes. Her finger ended up pointing to a patch of sand in the distance. "Come on we're going to get Hiccup." She rant towards Toothless.
Down in the cave Snotlout and Amis finished stacking all the boxes and other items into a tall tower. Hiccup was finishing up his trap for the Sandbuster.
"I thought you were making a cage," said Snotlout.
"I am indeed," said Hiccup.
"Don't cages involve bars, locks, and walls?" asked Snotlout.
"Trust me this will work," said Hiccup. "Is that tower finished."
"Yes it is," Snotlout said.
"Did you make sure it was sturdy?" asked Hiccup. Snotlout nodded. Hiccup started climbing up the tower, which wobbled. The Sandbuster burst into the cave roaring. Before Tenor could fight it again, Hiccup leaped onto a catapult he'd made. A rock was launched at the holes. He jumped onto the other catapults, trapping the Sandbuster in a cage of sunlight.
"Impressive," said Tenor.
"And now for our escape," said Hiccup. The three humans climbed up the tower. Tenor kept watching the Sandbuster while he waited for his turn. However, the Sandbuster blocked the holes with heated glass. He was now able to pounce on the tower, toppling it. Tenor tackled the Sandbuster. Hiccup's medallion fell out of Tenor's pocket and landed between the Sandbuster's legs, who looked down at it.
"Hey don't you touch that it is a gift," said Hiccup.
"Oh, I'm sure he really cares about that," said Snotlout. The humans scattered as Tenor continued to fight the Sandbuster. Snotlout grabbed a sword and tired fighting with it, but found it way too big and heavy. Tenor eventually managed to pin the Sandbuster down, just as the air filled with a Night Furies whistle. A plasma blast shot though the glass, and the other riders and dragons came charging in. Toothless, with Astrid on his back, helped Tenor fight the Sandbuster. The wild dragon eventually gave up and burst through the wall. Hiccup, Snotlout, Amis, and Tenor were flown outside. Tenor grabbed the medallion on his way out.
When they landed back at the market, they all took a moment to catch their breath. Hiccup turned to Tenor.
"Thanks for your help in there," he said. "I'm sorry your wing's hurt."
"It's fine," Tenor said. He then handed Hiccup the medallion.
"Why what happened to your wing?" asked Aurora.
"I dislocated it," Tenor said. "It really hurts."
"Lay down I'll fix it," Re said. Tenor obeyed, though nervously, with his injured wing spread out on the ground. Re grabbed the wing and Tenor's shoulder. With a few quick movements, Re popped Tenor's wing back into its socket. Tenor roared in pain and tensed. After a few moment the pain subsided and Tenor could move his wing again.
"Thanks Re," he said, folding both his wings.
Hiccup turned to Astrid.
"Hey Astrid," he began, but Astrid tried to leave.
"Uh, I need to to check on Stormfly," she said awkwardly. Hiccup grabbed her arm.
"No, you don't," he said, as she faced him again. "You need to stand there and take this in." He pulled out the medallion, which he'd put on a leather string making it a pendant. "This was my father's betrothal gift to my mother." He put it around her neck. "He gave it to me, to give to you. Astrid you're apart of our family now, you always have. And I hope you'll always will bet." Astrid didn't smile, she just looked uncomfortable.
"Thing is Hiccup, I didn't get you a gift," she said sadly.
"But you did," Hiccup assured her. "Astrid, you being with me, right here, right now. Is the only gift I need." He threw his arms around her, and hugged her tight. Astrid remembered Re saying he'd promised Aurora he'd always be there for her when she need him. Astrid felt compelled to do the same for Hiccup. She hugged him back happily. They separated after a few moments and turned to the sound of Snotlout swinging about the heavy sword he'd brought up from the cave. He gave it one powerful swing and it slipped out of his hands. Hiccup pulled Astrid out of the way moments before it stabbed the ground where she was standing. They both looked at it, recognizing it.
"I thought I knew that sword," Hiccup said. "It's not just any old sword, it's..."
"Viggo's," said Astrid with a sense of foreboding. "But if Viggo's sword is here."
"Who brought it here?" Hiccup asked darkly.
While they thought this over, the riders mounted their dragons and took off, taking Viggo's sword with them. They headed back to the Edge.