"Aiden?"

Hiccup held the necklace tightly in his left and Astrid's hand in his other. The little boy soon clumsily climbed down the stairs with a squeal.

"Mama! Papa!" He hugged their legs at the same time with a giggle and peeked up at them.

Hiccup smiled sadly and shared a small glance with Astrid before he kneeled to him. He moved his hand up and through Aiden's red locks. It didn't take long before the boy understood something was up.

Aiden stepped back slightly, his smile fading. He hugged his dragon tighter. "M-mama?" he looked up at her frightened.

Astrid held back the tears and slowly sat down on her knees. She pulled him into her arms and hugged the little boy tightly. "Aiden..." she whispered but trailed off. She hugged him tighter.

Hiccup sighed and watched the two. When Astrid looked up at him, he nodded carefully and she pulled back. The boy's eyes went back and forth between the two. "We have to leave for a few days."

Aiden's eyes widened at that. He looked up at his parents pleadingly – his head shook violently from side to side.

Astrid smiled faintly and wiped away a tear. "It's only for three days. They will go by faster than you'll expect!"

"B-but mama..." Aiden looked up at her and then at his father. They had just reunited – they were finally a whole family, and now they were both leaving him?

"Spitelout will be here and take care of you until we come back, alright?" Hiccup smiled and slowly held out the necklace. "Until then, we want you to have this."

Aiden looked at it through his tears. He sniffed and hesitantly took it into his own small hands – his dragon now resting beneath his arm. The worry seemed to disappear for a bit while he was trying to figure out what it was.

"Here," Astrid forced a smile and put the necklace around his neck. It was pretty long for him so it reached down to his stomach. The little boy picked it up again and fiddled around with it, trying to move the pieces around. His father soon showed him how he could use it and it almost right away brightened the mood of the boy.

He carefully sat down in front of the two and started to break off the pieces clumsily and putting them together with effort.

The parents watched him quietly, taking in the sight. They knew it wasn't a dangerous mission – they would only scout for a few days and head back to plan more, but that didn't make it any easier leaving their son behind in the hands of another man.

For Astrid, it was especially tough. She had been around her little boy for the most of his life – when she wasn't she always made sure he was in view or watched by other Vikings. But now that they were leaving the island – traveling across the archipelago into foreign territory, no one would be able to assure her – them, that he was okay.

"It'll be something to keep you busy while we're away," Hiccup smiled and gently stroked his head. The boy looked up at him – the tears gone. "So make sure you don't lose it, alright? We'll play together when we get back!"

Aiden's lips stretched into a grin. He ran into his arms and hugged him tightly – the father soon returning the embrace. "I-I pwotect it...I pwotect U-Uncle and-and Uncles!" he grinned up at his parents.

Hiccup laughed at that. "We know you will," he kissed his head proudly.

Astrid gently rubbed his back and the little boy ran into her arms to hug her as well. He rubbed his head against her chest and happily. "I-I love you mama and-and papa."

Hiccup smiled at Astrid and laid her hand on his. "We love you too – more than anything else in this world."

Aiden smiled even more at that. He cuddled closer and the family stayed together – not wanting to let go at all. It wasn't until the door opened and Spitelout stepped inside that they finally pulled back. Hiccup stood up and greeted his uncle with a hesitant smile.

Spitelout wasn't known – in Hiccup's eyes at least, for raising a child, but that was beyond the picture. He was the only one they could surely trust would be able to watch over Berk and get the chiefly duties done. He was after all training together with his father as a child.

The bigger Viking patted his shoulder reassuringly. "I won't let him out of me sight, lad," he smiled and watched the mother and the child say a final goodbye. When the two parted, Astrid went up beside Hiccup and Spitelout to Aiden's side.

"Thank you," Hiccup nodded at him and smiled at Aiden. He took Astrid's hand and without another word, the two left.

Aiden ran to the door before it closed. He watched his parents sadly as they mounted their dragons.

"Come on, lad," Spitelout said and placed his hand on his shoulder. The little boy sighed sadly, clutched his dragon and the toy tighter, before finally letting go of the door and following Spitelout inside so they could eat dinner.

Hiccup and Astrid landed by the arena where the riders were packing the last provisions and supplies they needed for the scouting mission. "Everyone ready?" Hiccup asked and looked around at them. They eyed each other for a moment before Tuffnut kicked Snotlout forward.

"Hey!" Snotlout grumbled at him and threw a fist in his face in return. Tuffnut groaned and fell back at that, holding his bleeding nose.

"Woah..." He said mesmerized.

Hiccup facepalmed. "Let's not injure each other before we even leave, alright?"

"He started!" Snotlout muttered and helped the Viking up.

"What Tuffnut meant, lad," Gobber said and glared at the said Viking. He slid down from Grump's back with something behind his back. "Was that we have a gift for ye."

Hiccup looked over at him confused. His eyes fell on his friends for a moment before he slid off Toothless' back. "Alright...?"

His friends grinned at him – Fishlegs unable to contain himself. The Blacksmith pulled away the cloth and held it to him with a small smile.

In his hands was two pieces of a chest plate. It was black as the midnight sky – in fact, when Hiccup looked closer he realized;

Night Fury scales.

"Wow..." Hiccup breathed out in awe. He slowly took it in his hands and felt over every inch and every detail of the chest plate. Toothless leaned forward and sniffed it curiously. He cooed confused.

"Yer friends have worked pretty hard to put it together," Gobber smiled and patted his shoulder. Hiccup looked at his friends a bit surprised. Was that why he never reached the forge before one of them popped up?

"Where did you find...?"

"I kept them as a memory," Astrid smiled faintly and slid down from Stormfly. Hiccup looked to her as she walked up to him. "You used to keep them in a bag, remember? I didn't have the heart to throw them away. Especially not when he left too..."

Hiccup smiled at her. He pulled her close and kissed her head. "Thank you," he whispered against her temple. Astrid smiled and rested her head against his shoulder while he looked to his friends and family. "Thank you – everyone."

"Ya better not ruin it, now," Gobber chuckled and went back to Grump.

"I won't make any promises," Hiccup smiled and shook his head. He tried to figure out how to put it on, but Astrid soon helped him since she had been the one to give Hiccup's little flair on it while the others worked.

Astrid took the armor out of his hands and laid one piece of it on Toothless' saddle. She removed the fur he had put on and strapped the back part of the chest plate on. Then she placed the front piece on and strapped it on his back.

When Astrid was done, Hiccup looked down at himself with a smile. He was glad they took the time to make one since he hadn't even thought about it or had time for it himself. Everything had gone by so quickly the last few days, so he could only imagine how long they had spent making it.

Astrid smiled and patted his back. "Let's get going. The faster we can get moving, the faster we can head back home."

Hiccup nodded at that and moved to help her up on Stormfly, but Astrid slapped his hand away playfully and jumped up as if it was the easiest thing in the world. He chuckled at that. "Viggo, you can ride with me," he said to the man who was about to mount Hookfang by the help of Snotlout. The man looked at him questioningly. "I have a few things I want to ask you."

The other Vikings looked at him a bit confused but didn't pay it much mind. They already went ahead – with Snotlout in the lead, while Viggo went to the Night Fury and his rider.

Astrid made sure her axe sat tightly on her back – mostly as an excuse to stay behind a bit further to watch the two.

When Viggo was on Toothless' back, behind Hiccup, the young heir chuckled. "You might want to hold on somewhere, recruit."

Viggo looked at him a bit surprised. He immediately held onto the saddle and the two leapt into the air. Hiccup smiled as they finally started to fly again – it was something he hadn't really had the option to lately and both him and Toothless enjoyed it nonetheless.

Astrid followed shortly after and made sure Stormfly stayed close, but somewhat apart as well. It wasn't like Viggo could do anything even if he wanted – he was surrounded by dragon riders. If he did try to do something, he wouldn't get anywhere with it. But Astrid kept herself on watch just in case. It was going to be a long ride after all.

When the riders had flown for a while and the evening was finally showing on the sky and their surroundings, Hiccup finally started to question the Viking and strike up a conversation. Most of the riders were trying to get some shut-eye. After all, they were going to scout, which meant that they needed everyone's eyes and awareness when they arrived.

"You're not too bad for a first-time rider," Hiccup chuckled and sat up a bit more, letting go of the saddle. He looked over his shoulder for a split second to see that the Viking was still awake.

Viggo chuckled nervously. "I might seem different than I feel on the inside." He gripped the saddle tighter.

Hiccup smiled and looked forward again. "You don't have to worry about that – if we had time, I would have helped you train a dragon yourself. It would probably be a lot better than letting someone else steer for you."

"I-I don't know about that..." Viggo said unsure with a faint smile. He looked over the view around them. "But the view surely is incredible...It's nothing like standing on top of a mountain and overlooking the world."

"I agree," Hiccup nodded and smiled. He moved his hands out. "Sometimes I wonder how it would be like to be a dragon myself. To see the world in another perspective – to travel every inch freely."

Viggo smiled at that. "It sounds amazing, indeed. But I do have to say I prefer the ground," he chuckled. "Despite everything that has happened on it."

Hiccup smiled and nodded. "Me too. Though, I have no problem changing it up every now and then," he said and petted Toothless' side. The dragon purred, and silence fell between the two.

"Did you...want to ask me something?" Viggo reminded him.

Hiccup sat up again as he remembered. He nodded. "Yeah. I hope you can tell me with full honesty though."

Viggo looked at him a bit suspicious, but chuckled. "I can't promise anything."

"Fair enough," Hiccup smiled faintly. He could feel Astrid watching them like a hawk. "Did you do anything to get banished from your home? I mean, it's pretty serious if you..."

Viggo nodded in agreement at that. "It is a pretty serious matter, and I understand why you're concerned," he chuckled. "But I can assure you that it was nothing else but my brother's lust for the throne."

"You see, a bond can be very precious – even at the point where you though it was no more," Viggo said absently, looking at the waves below them. "My brother and I were very close – we never hid anything from each other and we always did everything together."

"Sounds familiar," Hiccup smiled and looked down at Toothless who warbled in agreement. Even though they may not be brothers by blood – they sure shared a bond just like one.

"Then you must understand that at times, decisions have to be made for the better of the other?" Viggo hummed faintly up at him. Hiccup nodded and looked over his shoulder. "My brother and I came across one of those situations where nothing seemed to matter more than pride and status."

"While we were training together day and night, my brother slowly came to realize that he wouldn't stand a chance against me if we ever fought for the right to become the next chieftain," Viggo chuckled. "You see, in our tribe, we don't pass the leadership onto the rightful heir. There is always someone who challenges it and that was our destiny. We both knew."

Hiccup looked forward again as he was trying to put together the pieces. "So you brother wanted to get rid of you..."

Viggo nodded with a satisfied grin. "You're catching up," he chuckled. "It is a tradition to fight under the full moon – its said that it is the only day that can truly let out our inner warrior and hunter. Any other day and it would be invalid."

Hiccup nodded slowly at that. He looked over at Astrid and their eyes met for a short moment, but neither spoke up. He continued to listen.

"My brother knew he stood no chance," Viggo repeated. "So he decided he had to get rid of me first – there went about a rumor that another Viking was fighting for the throne. He made a deal with the men on that island, I assume, and sold me off. I wouldn't doubt that he is the chieftain, but it does make me wonder what he had to do to get them to help. They aren't exactly the right dealers to take care of that kind of a problem."

"If it was me, I would have reached out for an assassin," Viggo laughed. "But unlike my brother, I play fairly. There's no fun in it unless you do."

Hiccup chuckled at that. "Good sportsmanship, I see," he nodded and looked over his shoulder again. "Do you know what kind of a deal it could have been?"

Viggo shook his head at that. "I know very little of the tribe, but considering neither of them are assassins, I would expect that they did it for a low cost."

Hiccup nodded. "I see. Well...if it makes you feel any better, you're very welcome to stay with us and become a Berkian," he chuckled. "Its safe to say you won't be banished – unless you kill someone of course," He said a bit less casual than he wanted to.

Viggo laughed and shook his head. "A haven is all I could ask for. Thank you, brother," he patted his shoulder.

Hiccup smiled and nodded at him.

"Now that couldn't possibly be the only thing you wanted to talk about?" Viggo chuckled and pulled back. He eyed him expectantly.

Hiccup grimaced. "I do want to know more, but I don't think I'll get anything else out of you than the other's have. Unless..." he grinned playfully. "You want me to ask the all too famous question again?"

Viggo laughed and held his hands up. "Please spare me. I have no more to give."

"Very well-

"Will you two please be quiet?" Snotlout groaned. "I'm trying to sleep," he murmured and rolled over on Hookfang. The dragon grumbled and flipped upside down. "Uaah-HOOKFANG!" He yelled as he fell towards the water. The dragon kept flying.

Toothless cooed happily while the other dragons just kept flying.

Valka sighed and steered Cloudjumper down towards the water where Snotlout had just resurfaced. She helped him up on his back. "You don't seem to have much of a bond with the dragons," she laughed faintly and handed him her blanket.

Snotlout took it a bit grumpy and wrapped it around himself. "I just wanted some shut eye."

Valka smiled and shook her head. "You can sleep here. I'll make sure your friend doesn't fly off."

Snotlout looked up at her with a small smile and fell on his butt. He settled on his back and soon curled himself up again to sleep.

Valka shook her head with a laugh and Cloudjumper flew back up to the others. The time passed again with silence filling the air – that was until, of course, Snotlout finally settled into his dreamland and began his never ending snore that woke up everyone.

"Will someone please shut him up?" Ruffnut groaned and pulled her helmet further over her eyes.

Gobber snorted and looked around as he woke up. He groaned at the sound and covered his ears. "Even Stoick doesn't snore that loud!" The chief glared at him. "I mean...eh," he trailed off nervously.

Valka shrugged her shoulders with a laugh. "He's not wrong," she giggled as the tired chief glared her way too.

Fishlegs murmured a bit in his sleep – not even Snotlout being able to wake him. The Viking and his dragon swayed a bit awake every now and then, but for the most part flew in their sleep.

Hiccup shook his head and rubbed his eyes. He had gotten pretty used to it since Snotlout insisted on sleeping in their room at the ship. Viggo didn't seem to mind too much either.

But Astrid had enough after a few snores. She threw fish in his face that immediately woke him up.

Snotlout sat up and looked around panicked. "What-where, are we being attacked?" he looked around and reached for his bludgin, but instead found a foot.

Valka crossed her arms.

"Eh-heh," Snotlout laughed awkwardly and slowly let go. He didn't want the chief to decapitate him after all.

"Wow, did I just see a flying fish?" Tuffnut laughed and looked around, his eyes wide open. "Do they really exist?"

"I think I just saw one too," Ruffnut realized and looked at her brother. The two grinned.

"We shall call it fish fly-

"Fly fish-"

The twins grumbled at each other and crossed their arms. "Fly fish sounds better," Ruffnut argued.

"But Fishfly is more original!" Tuffnut yelled back.

"Do you even know what original means?" Ruffnut raised an eyebrow.

"Do you?" Astrid asked unamused. Ruffnut lifted her finger, but soon lowered it again in defeat. Astrid rolled her eyes and looked over at Snotlout. "There's no one attacking you."

"Then why did you wake me up?" Snotlout grumbled and settled back in his previous sleeping position. He fixed his helmet. "I guess I will just go back to sleep then-

"No!" The Vikings yelled together and the Viking immediately sat up with his hands in defeat.

Fishlegs shrieked awake, almost falling off Meatlug. "Hey..." he whimpered.

"Alright, alright!" Snotlout grumbled and looked around.

Hiccup looked down at Toothless as he swayed faintly. "Hey, buddy," he laid his hands on his head. The dragon growled. "We should find a place to land. The dragons are getting tired," he said as he looked around at the other's.

Toothless shook his hands off and Hiccup looked down at him confused. The Night Fury beat his wings a bit harder and slowly his scales started to glow a bright blue.

"Eh...Hiccup?" Fishlegs squeaked.

"I can see, Fishlegs," Hiccup said a bit harsh and laid his hand on his scales. "Buddy, talk to me."

"That's the same that happened when we were closing in on the island!" Snotlout exclaimed. He quickly got back on Hookfang's back and looked over the horizon.

"We must be getting close then," Hiccup nodded and led Toothless to the front. The dragon gave a hesitant growl, but soon complied. He took out his spyglass and searched the sea.

The Vikings looked around them as well, but everything was still pitch black. The only thing they could see was the reflection of the stars below them.

"Alright, stay together!" Stoick called out and moved closer to the other dragons. He looked around as well.

Toothless growled and his scales slowly started to glow more and more. Hiccup held onto the saddle tighter – Viggo mirroring him, and finally let the dragon take control.

The Night Fury slowly lowered them closer and closer to the ocean and continued to glide just above the surface. As they flew further, a dark silhouette covered the view in front of them. Hiccup swallowed thickly as he realized how close they were. He held onto the saddle tighter and the dragon led them above the forest.

"Son," Stoick flew up beside him. "We should land. Toothless is too obvious."

The dragon growled in response, but Hiccup agreed. He looked over at Viggo. "Where is the cave?"

Viggo looked around below them for a moment before he pointed in a direction. "Head down there," he said and Hiccup steered the dragon down right away – the others hot on their tail.

Toothless soon landed outside the cave and carefully moved inside. He sniffed the way and growled.

"Alright, it's clear," Hiccup said and waved the other's inside. Hiccup slid off and lead Toothless all the way in while the other dragon's shielded the opening with their wings and created enough fire for them to see.

Astrid slid off Stormfly and jogged up to Hiccup while the others started to prepare a campfire. "Are you okay?" She asked worried. Viggo went over to the working Vikings to lend a hand.

Hiccup nodded and started to undo the saddle. "I need to get him covered," he said and laid it aside. Astrid nodded and helped him drape the blanket over the Night Fury. Toothless cooed and watched the two.

Before Hiccup could put the saddle back on, Astrid stopped him. "I don't think he can come with us."

Hiccup looked at her as if she was crazy. They were depending on him to lead them around the island safely. "What do you mean? We need him-

"We're here to scout, Hiccup," Astrid shook her head and rested her hand on Toothless' head. The dragon cooed and rubbed against her. "He'll give us away if he hasn't already."

Hiccup sighed and looked at him.

"The blanket will only cover up so much," Astrid said and took his hand reassuringly. "We'll all leave the dragons here."

"What?!" Snotlout yelled as he heard, but everyone hushed him. He clasped a hand over his mouth and glared their way as if they were insane.

"We'll have a better chance at hiding ourselves and Toothless, if they stay behind," Astrid explained and moved the blanket faintly away from the dragon's eyes. "We're only here to scout – not to fight. The dragons will come if we do get in danger."

Valka looked at them unsure. She looked at her husband and laid her hand on his as he thought.

Eventually, the chief nodded. "I agree," he said and Snotlout groaned in defeat.

"And no one listens," Snotlout murmured. "You didn't see what we saw-

"What did you exactly see?" Astrid hissed faintly at him which shut him up almost right away. "From what we heard, you barely had any competition. We can take them ourselves."

"You don't understand," Snotlout argued. "We don't know what this island is which gives us all the more reason to stay put with our dragons!"

Fishlegs slowly raised his hand. "F-for the first time, I actually agree with Snotlout."

"Look," Hiccup shook his head and stopped them from talking. "Astrid is right. We're not here to do anything else but scout. You all have your dragon calls, right? The ones we practiced?"

"Eh..." The twins looked at him puzzled.

Hiccup facepalmed. "Never mind..."

"Just call their names," Astrid said and laid her hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "The dragons need to rest either way."

Hiccup nodded and absently took her hand in his. "We should start scouting, maybe split up in two groups and see what we can find."

"Last time I checked, splitting up wasn't a good option," Snotlout murmured.

"Hiccup is right," Stoick nodded at his son. "Gobber, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and I will go search for the tribe. The others will see if they can figure out why Toothless is acting like this."

Valka looked at her son who shared a small glance at her. She nodded. "We should be careful though. There might be some guards around in the forest."

Stoick nodded. "We'll meet back here once we figure out something, but not sooner than dawn. If anything happens, call your dragons and send out a distress signal."

The Vikings nodded at that and formed their groups. They brought with them their saddle bags and Gobber made most of them were equipped with Hiccup's spyglasses.

Hiccup gently rubbed Toothless' head. The Night Fury cooed sadly and rubbed against him. "I know buddy. I don't want to leave you either," he sighed, but smiled to assure his friend. "We'll be back soon. If something happens, come get us," he said and laid his head against his. "But only if its serious."

Toothless cooed and moved his head against his. He licked his cheek and Hiccup laughed. "Hey, stop!" He pushed him away playfully and the dragon laughed. He wiped it away and got up.

"You might need this, son," Stoick nodded at him and held out a sword he had brought with. Hiccup slowly took it, wincing at its weight. He smiled awkwardly while Stoick went to his scouts and headed out already.

"No way, I'll be able to carry this," Hiccup murmured and finally let go of it when his father was out of sight. He put it up against the cave and Toothless gave a worried coo.

"You coming, dear?" Valka asked as she noticed he hadn't moved.

Hiccup nodded and jogged to the entrance. "Sorry," He chuckled and fixed his bag at his side. He followed Snotlout and Viggo together with her and Astrid – they were the only ones who knew even the slightest about the islands structure after all.

"So, what is our objective?" Astrid asked and looked at Hiccup.

"We'll have to search the island and see if we can learn anything, but our focus should be on finding whatever prison we were in," Hiccup said and glanced over at Viggo for a moment. Then his eyes fell on his mother who nodded. "And why Toothless keeps reacting."

Astrid nodded understandingly. "Alright," she slowly took his hand in his. Hiccup looked at her and she returned a serious glare. "But we're only here to scout."

Hiccup chuckled faintly at that. "I know, mi'lady. I know," he smiled and kissed her head playfully which made her punch his shoulder.

Hiccup grinned and kept walking without striking up anymore conversation. They didn't know if there were guards hiding in the woods, so giving out too much noise wouldn't be a clever choice.

While they walked, Hiccup couldn't help but replay his conversation with Viggo. His backstory seemed harsh, but trustworthy, yet something wasn't adding up. How did they even escape from the prison? How did he have time to put him in the cave and then get caught.

He jogged up beside the Viking after some time and laid his hand on his. Everyone stopped walking and Viggo turned to him confused. "Is there any way you can lead us into the prison?" Hiccup asked seriously.

Viggo stared him down questionably. "It's quite far off – we barely made it out of there."

"Hiccup," Astrid warned, but Hiccup stopped her.

"Show us," Hiccup said seriously, and the Viking nodded hesitantly. They changed direction and started to make their way up a hill. It led to a path that was lined up on the side of the mountain.

The Vikings couldn't help but admire the path – it really represented the nature more than it did the humans that lived on the island. Alike other tribes, the paths in the woods and on the mountains were mainly made from the steps of the humans, but unlike other tribes, there were untouched obstacles – splits in the path, that wasn't connected through a manmade bridge.

The nature was mainly untouched and the further up they got, the more they realized – it was a sacred place. Statues became present the higher up the mountain they went and it became clearer as they closed in on them that they were supposed to be monuments.

Hiccup carefully lit a torch for Snotlout who held it up to for them. "Wow..." Snotlout whispered as he got a better look at the statues. He walked closer to it and held the torch up.

"Looks like fallen warriors," Astrid murmured as she took a better look at it.

Hiccup stepped closer as well. He slowly shook his head. "I don't think so," He said and looked around them.

Valka stepped up to the stones, but almost tripped over something. She looked down at it confused. "Hiccup?" She motioned for him to come over.

"Is something wrong?" Her son jogged over to her, fearing she had hurt herself. He kneeled beside her and Snotlout soon followed with the torch. It looked like a carved rock.

"What is this?" She whispered. Hiccup and Valka shared eye-contact before the two immediately started to dig it up. Astrid helped while Snotlout held the torch.

"What are you searching for?" Viggo watched them cautiously. Hiccup stayed silent and kept digging together with them. When they had dug out a big hole around the stone, it became clearer to them that it was a buried statue.

Snotlout carefully handed Hiccup the torch and he held it closer. From the head peeking up and the hand reaching out from the ground, they could see a statue of a man in despair. When Hiccup looked back up at the statue above the ground, he soon realized that the man was reaching out for it.

His grip tightened on the torch and he found himself glaring up at it. "It's a statue of a God."

Astrid's eyebrows furrowed. She stepped over to him, brushing off her hands. The statue suddenly seemed to change the atmosphere – it became clearer that it represented a much darker connection than they had previously thought.

"Do you think...?" Snotlout murmured.

"Slaves..." Astrid whispered and looked at the buried statues again. She took Hiccup's hand worriedly. Was this the fate he was supposed to face?

Hiccup seemed to think the same as her and it didn't take long before he turned to Viggo. "Were there anyone else down in the prison?"

Viggo looked at him puzzled. "Yes...there were a few slaves. You and I shared the same cell."

Hiccup's grip tightened around her hand. He looked back up towards the path that was soon taking an end – and without hesitation he started to walk.

"Hiccup," Astrid shook her head and stopped him. "We're not here to-

"There are slaves suffering down there," Hiccup hissed faintly and looked at her. "We have to find a way to help them."

Astrid swallowed thickly. She looked at Valka who hesitantly followed him. Their hands slowly pulled away the further Hiccup walked, and Astrid found herself frozen in her spot. She knew Hiccup wouldn't be able to let it go – she knew that he wanted to go deeper than they would be able to.

But she also knew she had no other choice but to follow.

Astrid and Snotlout eyed each other carefully before finally following the heir. Viggo led them up towards the end of the mountain, and the closer they got, the foggier it became.

"Eh, last time I checked, fog didn't move like that!" Snotlout whisper yelled and pointed at the fog that was moving like visible waves at their feet – as if it had its own, lively soul.

Hiccup slowly kneeled to it and let the fog dance around his fingertips. There was suddenly a gush of wind that erupted in front of him and blew out the torch right away. He stepped closer to find out where it came from, but Viggo pulled him back.

Viggo shook his head and picked up a pebble. He held it up for them to see and then threw it a few steps in front of them.

Seconds passed, and they stood there for what felt like an eternity – but there was no sound in return. The stone hadn't hit anything which could only mean – they had reached the very top.

Snotlout gulped. "That doesn't sound very promising."

Hiccup eyed the area in front of them, but they couldn't see anything. The fog kept growing and clouding their sight. It didn't help that it was pitch black either.

"There's no way we can find the opening now," Viggo shook his head. "Not without falling to our deaths."

Hiccup clenched his fist and threw the torch in front of him. He held up his hand to stop the other's from talking and then listened carefully.

Plop.

Hiccup's eyes narrowed.

"Okay, that went a lot quicker," Snotlout laughed faintly. "Maybe it's not that far down."

"Snotlout...that wasn't the torch," Astrid said quietly. The Viking's eyes widened, and he finally realized how far down it was. As a reaction, he stepped back and away from what suddenly felt like the edge to his death.

"It sounded like it landed in water," Valka murmured as she tried to get a look through the fog. She held her hand out and felt through it. At least it hadn't been steaming hot which made it clear earlier that they weren't walking up a volcano.

Hiccup bit his lip tightly and shook his head. "We can't search it tonight," he admitted, although he hated himself for it. He wanted to down there straight away – search for the slaves – set them free. But it would be impossible.

Astrid gently rested her hand on his shoulder. She smiled sadly. "We'll come back tomorrow, alright? We'll inform the others and hear what they have found out. Surely the mist will have calmed down by morning."

Hiccup nodded hesitantly and took a step back. "Alright," he sighed and shook his head. "Let's head back."