Author's Note:

Hello everyone and here is the next chapter of Snotlout's epic quest. Far less action this time around but I think I've bounced him between crises quite a bit so he deserves a break. Thank you for your continued support of this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

I own nothing.

Friend

Warmth was the first thing he noticed.

Second was the smell of roasting meat and from there he noticed other things, the weight of heavy furs draped over his body, the dull throbbing of his chest and the feeling of the tight bandages around his wounds and the sounds of someone softly moving about near him.

Snotlout slowly opened his eyes to be met by the sight of a rough, white, domed ceiling and after a moment he realised it was made from ice. He was wrapped in several furs which were keeping him exceptionally warm and he could feel more beneath him acting as a sort of bed. All this made it obvious that someone had found him unconscious in the snow and brought him here and he could hear them moving about to his right. Turning his head the boy saw the man who'd saved him.

He wore a light cloth shirt and heavy fur trousers, on his feet were bulky fur boots tightly tied so they wouldn't come off his feet easily. He was reasonably short for an adult but he was well muscled and had the look of a survivor, his dark hair was fairly long and tied back and since he had his back to the boy Snotlout could see what looked like shark teeth tied in it.

The man was currently focused on a small fire in front of him as he did something with it, Snotlout slowly began to sit up and gave a small gasp as he accidently disturbed his chest wounds. The man turned round and gave Snotlout a smile, "You've finally woken up."

He was quickly beside the boy and gently helped him sit up, "You've been out for roughly a day, you'd already lost a lot of blood when I found you and if you'd been left much longer you would've frozen to death. You're pretty lucky little one."

Now that the man was facing him Snotlout could see more of his features. His skin was weathered and worn but he had kind eyes and a friendly smile. Snotlout guessed he was somewhere around his Uncle Stoick's age and he had the same tough, enduring aura that his guardian did, "Who are you?"

With Snotlout sitting up properly the man sat down by his bed, "I'm Culloden the Wanderer but just Culloden will do. I've spent pretty much my whole adult life roaming the world and I'm about the only other person this far out on the Ice Wastes. I must confess I'm very surprised to find a young Viking boy so far from his tribe and with dragons as well."

Snotlout's eyes widened in hope, "You found Hookfang and the others as well!?"

Culloden nodded, "They actually found me. I'd just left this shelter after the snowstorm you must have been caught in and this panicked Monstrous Nightmare came swooping down. I thought he was going to kill me but he actually landed and began frantically showing me his saddle, I was even more surprised to find six Terrible Terrors in the saddlebags which I guess was your doing to protect them. It took some time but I realised that the Nightmare must have lost his rider during the storm and I set out to search along with them. We searched for a couple of hours until one of the Terrors picked something up and led us towards it, we arrived near where you were just in time to see you trick that bear into falling into the crevasse and reached you just after you collapsed. We brought you back here and I've been caring for your injuries since."

"Where are they?"

"The dragons are outside. The Nightmare, who I assume is Hookfang, is far too big to fit in here but his internal heat should keep him more than warm enough. The Terrors are also about out there though I'm surprised that they haven't already come in now that you're awake, they've been consistently by your side while you've been unconscious and only disappeared a couple of moments before you woke up."

Snotlout gave a relieved smile at the news the dragons were safe, "Thank you for helping us."

Culloden smiled, "There's no need to thank me little one but I would like to know why a Viking boy is all the way out here riding a dragon."

"It's a long story."

"That's perfectly fine." Culloden answered, "I've been out here by myself for several weeks so I'm more than happy to hear to voice of another person and I'm guessing that its quite the tale you have making me all the more eager to hear it. Just let me finish preparing our food and you can begin."

Culloden returned his attention to the fire and Snotlout realised that he'd been roasting some meat for them when he'd woken up, it was just about ready and soon the boy was tucking into a hot meal along with his saviour.

Fortified with hot food Snotlout told him about the illness on Berk and his search for the Glacial Bloom and everything that had happened on his journey. Culloden remained attentive throughout the narrative, only interrupting when he wanted clarification on a certain point, and when the teen had finished the man briefly held a thoughtful silence before speaking, "Well it seems that its either incredible luck or a remarkable twist of fate but I'm also searching for the same thing as you."

Snotlout was surprised "Really!? Why? Are you trying to cure an illness as well?"

Culloden shook his head, "No, nothing nearly as noble as that. I'm actually looking for the Glacial Bloom simply because I can. While I'm called 'The Wanderer' I'm actually more of an adventurer, I enjoy tackling difficult challenges and attempting what hasn't been done and when I heard about the legendary flower I had to find out if it existed. It was another challenge and a chance to find something truly remarkable."

"That's why you're all the way out here as well?" Snotlout asked, "You simply want to find out if it's real or not?"

The man smiled, "Indeed."

Snotlout shook his head in amazement, "That must take a lot of courage."

"Or a lot of foolishness." Culloden answered, "Though there are times when the two are one in the same."

Snotlout grinned, "Yeah. I've experienced times like that before. Uncle Stoick will probably tell me this quest is definitely one of them."

They both chuckled a bit then Culloden spoke again, "Well seeing as we're both searching for the same thing why don't we be courageous fools together and search for our goal. I know the location of the entrance to the Labyrinth of Lost Souls and I've even managed to find something that my help us find the right path when we're inside it. We should go together."

Snotlout smiled hopefully, "Really? You mean it?"

Culloden nodded, "Of course. You need the Glacial Bloom for your village and we'll certainly have a far better chance of finding it working together than apart. Also your injuries mean you won't be able to fly your dragon for a couple of days at least, you'll certainly not be able to walk it and you need to find the flower as fast as possible. I have a means of travel that, while not as fast as a dragon, will still get you to the labyrinth fairly quickly while being conscientious of your wounds. So what do you think?"

Snotlout grinned, "I think it's a great idea. Thank you."

There was a scurrying sound and suddenly the six Terrors appeared lugging something between them. They went straight to Snotlout and dropped their load into his lap before jumping around him chirping excitedly. The boy examined their gift and found that it was a dead, small, dog-like creature with white fur, Culloden looked at it in amazement, "I don't believe it. It seems like your Terrors knew you were waking up and went out to fetch you food, though how they managed to catch an Artic fox I have no idea."

Snotlout smiled at the little dragons, "Thanks guys."

The Terrors chirped in happiness and Pain nipped onto Snotlout's shoulder and nuzzled the boy lovingly, Snotlout laughed and scratched the dragon under the chin as Culloden took the dead fox outside to skin and prepare it properly leaving the boy with the overjoyed Terrors.

With a brand new friend and guide the quest for the Glacial Bloom was looking a lot more likely to succeed.

PS-So we now have a new ally for Snotlout but will they succeed? Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.