Alright I know I'm super late with this one but I've been trying to catch up with my sprites cause I want to have a full stock to sell at AZ. As such I probably won't be able to update until after Memorial day so I'm sorry for the doubly bad news. at least its not going on hiatus right? Anyway the ball gets rolling as our heros take off in this chapter with a bit of set up to start with and some exploration to end it. BTW there is a little pole at the end so please read!=^-^=
BTW I posted armor concept art and some more dragon concept art (Nightshade and Scorch) If your interested.=^-^=
Ch. 33 - Unconventional Door
Hiccup and Astrid entered the courtyard hand in hand as they made their way over to Stormfly. She was laying on a pile of hay in the stables area by herself. As soon as she saw Astrid approach she perked her head up and let out a soft cry of happiness. "Hey girl." She let go of Hiccup's hand and placed both of hers on the face of the adulated Nadder. "We're going to be heading out soon, are you ready?" Stormfly responded by standing up and shaking a bit of the hay from herself.
"I'll take that as a yes." Hiccup smiled as he turned back to his own dragon Toothless whom followed both of them outside with Scorch on his back. "I know you two are ready." Toothless grunted in response and gave him a fierce expression.
"Hiccup!" He looked up to see King Eirikr making haste in his direction with a scroll of paper in his hand. He seemed to be a bit more dressed up with armor and a fur on his shoulders. "I've got a map with the exact location. It tends to be hard to find when you don't know where to look."
Hiccup reached out for the paper. "So how ready are we? I want to move out before the sun sets on us."
He looked over the map carefully as the king responded. "I have most of the forces whom are battle ready waiting just inside the hall. We're waiting for you and your riders to finish readying yourselves. I do hope you still plan to take point in this, given your experience."
Hiccup nodded as he handed the paper back to the king. "Don't worry, I was planning on it. Chances are, if he launches some kind of sneak attack, we'll be better equipped to take it."
"Just have your riders meet at the hall entrance and we can get moving." With that the king left toward the castle again.
"Looks like it almost time to move out Astrid."
She placed the light bag she had packed onto Stormfly's harness as led her forward. "Looks like it." She then leaned towards Hiccup and gave him a lite kiss on his cheek before continuing on towards the hall. "You should round up Balimund and the others. They're probably still goofing around." She waved as she hopped on the dragon's back and took off.
Hiccup made his way back towards the caste with the red still streaked across his face. Before he could enter the hall, however he ran into Mathias who seemed to be in a hurry with Nightshade just behind him. "Whoa! Sorry Hiccup… You in a hurry too?"
"Yeah, are you two all set? The King and his men are ready at the entrance to the hall. If you're all set meet us there."
"Sure, sounds good to me. Sorry by the way… for earlier."
Both of them had a wave of red flash over them before Nightshade spoke up. "I'm glad that you and Astrid are no longer fighting. We shall be along shortly." She then proceeded to push Mathias out of the doorway past Hiccup. He was a bit curious about what was going on, but remembered quickly what he was supposed to be doing.
Outside the king's forge Loki was preening himself whilst waiting for Balimund to come out to him. Upon seeing Hiccup approached he jerked his head up and let out a howl to let Balimund know Hiccup was here. A small explosion was heard immediately after probably due to Balimund being surprised. Two men came out coughing and covered in soot. "Oi! Damn it Loki, you scared the livin crap out of me!" He then noticed Hiccup standing just in front of the shop. "Oh Hiccup, I assume we're all ready to move out then?"
"Yeah…. What were you doing?"
Kolr stepped forward to answer that question. "He was being stubborn and then dropped the hammer when the dragon surprised him." He held a smirk on his face as he watched Balimund start to wipe the soot off of his face.
"Anyway, I'll be along as soon as I get myself cleaned up a bit." He then left and headed towards a trough of water by Loki.
"Step inside and I can help you get the new armor on." Kolr beckoned him to follow as he turned towards the forge.
As soon as Hiccup landed at the front of the hall, Astrid was the first to notice his apparel change. She wandered over on Stormfly's back and prodded him without hesitation. "Is that what Balimund did with all those dragon scales?"
Hiccup took off the helmet and gave her a sheepish smile. "Yeah…. I'm more surprised that he was able to pull it off than anything. It was only a theory to begin with." Astrid placed one had in front of her mouth as she looked him over.
"He's lookin pretty good with that armor eh Astrid?" They both turned to see Mathias land a few feet away dressed in his own set of dragon scale armor, though he wasn't wearing his helmet.
"Well of course he would be more attractive. Human females always seem to be after the strongest mate." While Hiccup and Mathias reacted immediately it took Astrid a moment to fully comprehend what she had said which triggered a blush as she turned away. Mathias let out a laugh as he watched the two of them refuse to make eye contact. Nightshade, feeling a bit bad about her statement, decided to even the playing field. "That also seems to work for you if a certain someone's face had any truth to it. You know, just a few-"
She was cut off by Mathias wrapping his arms around her snout to keep it closed. "That's enough Nightshade!" He looked over to see smirks on both Astrid and Mathias gave then a sheepish expression. "Yeah….. she has no idea what she's talking about."
She clawed at his arms to get him off so that she could speak. "And here I thought we had gotten past the denial stage."
Mathias lightly knocked her on the head. "Come on sis." He begged in a quiet tone. He sighed as he turned away from the still smirking couple.
"Oi! I guess we're only missing the old man eh?" Balimund dropped down just beside Mathias wearing what seemed to be well crafted steel armor for himself and his hammer upon his back. "I bet he's around here somewhere just waitin for us to start shouting his name."
Mathias jumped on the change of subject. "I wouldn't put it past the old man. I swear he's got everything planned like a week in advance or something."
"Not quite a week lad but I do like to have a plan." Bo'mar walked out of the hall with Balrog just behind him. "I see everyone's ready to go. Well what are we waiting for?"
Hiccup took a moment to snap out of a slight daze he was in. "Oh….. right! I'll go tell King Eirikr then." Hiccup hopped off Toothless and went in search of him. Astrid stretched a bit as she waited.
"You feelin better lass?" Balimund was a bit worried about her seeing as she had barley recovered from her fight with the Skrill.
"I'm fine. Getting injured is an occupational hazard for Vikings afterall."
Balimund gave her a pleased nod as he turned back over to Mathias. "Seems to fit rather well. I'm gonna have to add this to my stock from now on. Just imagine the possibilities."
"As long as you don't go hunting the dragons down like simple game, I see no prominent issues."
Mathias was quick to rectify poor Balimund's confusion. "She just means she doesn't want you to go overboard."
Astrid's attention went from the Smithy to Hiccup as he strode back over. "It seems we're ready to go. We're going to take the lead, and Eirikr and the rest of the army are going on foot. We'll meet at the point designated on this map."
Astrid crossed her arms and raised a brow. "So it seems were the advanced party… or more precisely the group that gets hit with the ambush."
"You sound like you expected different lass."
Astrid shrunged. "Not really, but they didn't have to make it sound so-"
Hiccup interjected before this could take a turn. "Regardless, this is how I would have wanted it anyway. Let's get moving before we lose more daylight." Hiccup jumped back on Toothless and took off with the other riders falling in line behind him.
"Oi! Wait for me!" Hiccup didn't need to turn in order to know who was shouting at him. Snotlout and Hookfang were tailing them as they flew towards the vally.
"I thought you were hanging back with Gobber and my dad?"
Snotloud fell in line just behind Astrid. "Are you kidding!? Reinforcements don't get recognition. Besides, anything is better than having to ride with Gobber and listen to his weird stories." Hiccup rolled his eyes as he listen to his fellow Viking complain, a motion aptly mirrored by both Toothless and Astrid.
Frida watched from over a wall as the riders took off towards the valley. She sighed as she turned down to look at Sol who was giving her a boost. "Seems they're off now." Sol jerked her head a bit causing Frida to lose her balance. Fortunately Sol caught her bridal style as only her claw dexterity would allow. "Nice catch." She gave her a smile as she climbed out of Sol's arms. She fixed her dress and headed towards the castle.
She was stopped mid stride once she felt a tug on her dress. Upon further inspection it seemed that the Dawn Striker had a firm grasp of it with her teeth. "W-what are you doing Sol?" The dragon jerked her neck trying to pull the young girl back to the wall. "Come now. Please let go." A small tug-of-war ensued until a faint rip was heard. Frida fell forward from the sudden slack and upon propping herself up she gave Sol a disappointed expression.
"What was that about!?" She stood up while dusting herself off and then looked down at the damage caused to her dress. A small section on the side was missing but it did reveal anything above the knee.
Sol dropped the cloth from her teeth a seemed to say something in Dragonese, but with neither Mathias nor Hiccup around, she had no idea what she was trying to say. Sol turned and headed towards the wall while turning back to her every few steps. "Did you want to show me something else?" Sol simply lowered her head and placed her fore claws on the ground waiting for her.
Hiccup struggled a bit with the map as he tried to pinpoint their heading. The wind seemed to be picking up the further into the valley they went. "So we do know where we're going right Hiccup?" Mathias asked as he looked over the wooded terrain below.
"Yeah. From what I can tell, it's just a little ways further and then it should be at the base of a cliff."
Snotlout laughed. "Sounds easy enough to find." He then flow lower as he and Hookfang took to scanning the tree line.
"Rather simple isn't he?"
"That'd be my guess. He apparently picked a fight with Loki the other day, got his butt kicked too."
Hiccup let out a chuckle as he entered the conversation. "He's not so much simple as he is thick. He's not one to learn very quickly most of the time."
"As much as I hate sticking up for him, he does have his moments."
Hiccup raised his brow and crossed his arms. "Like what?"
"He showed me a trick with Hookfang before we left. He was trying to get him to listen and so he twisted his horns. Seems like it got the Nightmare's attention and he seemed really happy about it despite what you might think."
"Oh! Yeah, Nightshade loves it when I do that!" Mathias added in. "She says it releases tension or something."
"Stress, don't forget the stress."
Mathias softly glared at her in distaste. "What about me is stressful?"
Nightshade chuckled. "Do you want the whole list or just a few of the big ones?" Both Astrid and Hiccup shared a laugh as watched the displeasure spread across the young traders face. "Relax Mathias, as your big sister it is basically part of the job. If I never got worried or stressed out by you then I don't think I would be doing my job right."
"Found it!" They all turned their glances down to Snotlout who was pointing towards a small structure just at the base of a worn cliff.
Hiccup raised his brow in surprise. "Good work Snotlout. Alright everyone, let's land!" As they took their gradual decent a fog started to build in the almost twilight glow. Several of the riders looked on rather warily as they continued their decent.
"Where you suppose this bit of fog came from Hiccup?"
Hiccup didn't respond mostly due to the fact that he had no idea, but the closer they got to the ground the thicker it got. "Be careful lad or things might get messy." Bo'mar warned in a lighter tone than he needed.
"Where are you guys!?" Now the fog was so thick, no one could make out the other.
"Snotlout!? Where are you?"
"I'm by the building on the ground!" Hiccup turned to try and make out any of the other riders. Even Astrid who was right beside him seemed to disappear in this unnatural blanket of fog. "Everyone hold your positions for a minute! We don't want to accidentally run into each other!"
"Nor do we want to crash into the ground!" Mathias added in.
"Hey Snotlout! Get Hookfang to flame up so we can find you!" After a few moments of waiting a bright orange glow could be seen from the ground. Hiccup took the lead and headed down first. "Alright everyone, just head for the light, but keep a look out for each other!" As soon as Hiccup landed Toothless started to walk further in the direction of the orange glow.
Is seemed once they got close enough that the fog seemed to uncover them like some sort of veil. "Whoa!" Snotlout was taken aback by the sudden appearance of Hiccup through the gazed around in curiosity as the ancient structure and the small surrounding area seemed completely fog free.
"What's going on here?" Astrid inquired as she stepped into the fog free zone.
Hiccup hopped off Toothless to inspect the fog barrier further. "It's seems to just….. end right here for some reason." He stuck his arm through and quickly lost sight of it. Mathias and Nightshade were the next to step through with the barrier surprising them both.
"This fog is definitely unnatural."
"You're telling me." Mathias responded as he mimicked Hiccup's test and lost sight of his arm in the fog.
Both Balimund and Bo'mar entered last at about the same time. "This place was creepy enough when it made sense…." The smithy looked around the fog free zone with a wary gaze.
Hiccup pulled his arm back out. "It's like there's something stopping it from coming any further." Nightshade turned her gaze to the young Viking. "It is no doubt due to the power of this place. I bet anything that this fog is meant to hide it from unwanted visitors."
"Makes sense." Hiccup then turned to the entrance of the crumbling structure before them. It seemed ancient in ways he couldn't quite comprehend with cracks in all areas and vines growing even through the roof. As he stepped inside with Toothless at his heels it seemed far bigger on the inside then the size should allow and it was covered in worn inscriptions and ancient illustrations. "This place is amazing."
Mathias and Nightshade shuffled in next and both gaped in wonder at it. "There're are many places like this in my homeland. They depict history and lore."
Hiccup homed in to one at the very back which depicted the crest of Langaholt. As he got closer he realized it was a bit different as it showed a large creature being crushed under the roots of the ash tree. He took special interest in the creature's eyes as they were black with white pupils. "This has to be him." He turned to see the rest of them shuffling in and pointed to the illustration. "This has to be the Wight Death."
Mathias rubbed his chin as he got a better look. "What makes you say that?"
Hiccup turned back to it with a grim expression. "It has the same eyes."
"What's this?" Astrid had taken an interest in the pedestal at the center of the room.
Hiccup, who was distracted by the image, passed right by it on his way over."What is it?"
She dusted off a slanted flat surface just in front of her. "Reflect not the face of man alone…..?" She turned to Hiccup. "Does that make any sense to you?"
As Hiccup neared the pedestal he noticed the bowl in the center. It seemed, against all odds, to be filled with water. "Maybe it has something to do with this water?" Both he and Astrid looked into the bowl but only their reflections stared back.
Mathias and Nightshade then looked it over. "Hmmmm…. Well it does say man's face won't do it by itself."
Nightshade then took a spot opposite to Astrid and dusted off the slanted slab in front of her. "By Artemis!"
"What's wrong Nightshade!?" Mathias looked over the inscription in curiosity.
"It's….. Dragonese! It's the written form of Dragonese!"
"Whoa whoa whoa…. It has a written form?"
Nightshade knocked him upside the head in agitation. "Of course it does, though its use is very scarce and writing it is reserved to a select few."
"So what does it say Nightshade?" Hiccup inquired while Mathias rubbed his head.
She eyed the text a moment as to fully understand what is was saying. "Reflect not Dragon's face alone."
Astrid raised her brow. "That sounds a lot like this one only it's written in runic script."
Hiccup took a moment to think before it hit him. "Maybe it means that both a dragon and a human have to look into that bowl then? Why else would it have it written in the two different languages?"
"Whatever you say lad, none of this makes any sense to me." Balimund proclaimed as he watched in curiosity.
Mathias took his spot where Astrid was once standing and looked on with her into the water before them. They saw the water ripple and without any warning they both vanished. "What the!"
"Oi! Where'd the lad go!?"
Hiccup jerked his head over the bowl. "I don't know… this is…."
"Crazy?" Hiccup turned to Astrid as she stared in awe of the pedestal.
"Yeah, pretty much." He then signaled to Toothless. "Come on bud." Both Hiccup and Toothless looked into the water and Just like Mathias and Nightshade before them, they vanished without warning. Astrid jumped up to plate next after positioning Stormfly on the other side.
Balimund was next to approach the bowl. "What's the matter lad? You getting cold feet?" Bo'mar's tease didn't seem to get the normal angry rise out of the smithy.
"Well no, but I don't care for magic anything, let alone magic water!"
Bo'mar laughed at the man. "What may appear to be water to you is actually a door. It just requires a special key is all, now get going."
Snotlout entered just as Balimund disappeared and let out a yelp. "What just happened!?" He looked around at the empty building. "And where is everyone!?"
"They went through the door." He gestured to the pedestal.
"Door…. Right, and weren't we supposed to wait for the others?"
Bo'mar gestured Balrog over to the opposing side of the bowl. "They won't prove to be much help when they get here I'm afraid. Only two more shall enter this gate before it's full. You need to stick around until they get here so you can tell them how to open it." Bo'mar stood in position to show him. "Just have the rider stand here and the dragon stand there, then all you have to do is look into the water at the same time and-" He was cut off when he disappeared leaving a rather speechless Snotlout.
And there we go, it looks like the riders have taken the plunge and entered the enemies lair! Odin only knows what's in store for them on the other side and given that there are a limited number of slots who gets to go? Well one of them is for you to decide my wonderful readers! =^-^=
Just leave a review with the name of who you'd want to see become a dragon rider! (Please no OCs)=^-^=
Also! I'm holding a contest on my dA page for the best original dragon pic! The rules are displayed on my page, so anyone with a dA and is interested should just follow the link on my profile page. The winner gets their dragon in the story!=^-^=