Okay yes I know that this chapter is super late and to top it off, it's not a very long chapter so my apologies. I do have reasons for that though which I will now explain! I did plan to post this Wednesday but when I came home from work, as it turns out the guys who were supposed to take down the trees in the back yard accidentally broke the cable for our TV and Internet so I was forced to go without for 3 days. Then come Friday, when they were suppose to come and fix it, I woke up with Vertigo. Its a form of motion sickness I do not wish on anyone, trust me. Because of that, I restricted my computer usage so I wouldn't bring on another episode. I hope that's a good enough explanation for ya'll.=^-^=

Now for the chapter, it's a bit of prep for the climax which will come in about 2 chapters... kinda depends. Hope you enjoy!=^-^=

Ch. 34 - Dark Keep

King Eirikr stood at the fore front of his army as they watched the fog descend upon them as if out of nowhere at all. It was strange to him considering the many times he had come here and nothing so unusual had happened. It's as if something was trying to delay them somehow or to stop them, but why this time? Does the Wight Death know they are coming and sent for this cover? Is it afraid of them? Or maybe it's just toying with them? Not knowing what the beast was thinking infuriated the king to no end as he took in his surroundings as best he could through the fog.

"Oi, Stoic does this look familiar to you?"

"Just what I was thinking Gobber." Stoic eyed the cover warily with Thornado at his side.

The king turned to the men. "So you know what this is then?"

Gobber nodded while he held his guard. "Aye, it's a nest of Smothering Smoke Breaths. They breathe a fog like smoke and surround themselves in it." The men set their guards upon hearing the news and a tension fell into the group.

"So we're already surrounded!?"

Gobber nodded with a serious expression. "Yes, but they're small and relatively weak dragons. They attack in large numbers to make up for it. You might want to keep a tight grip on any weapons as well because that's what they build their nests with." The sound of swords drawing rang through the large crowd of warriors but it was cut by a soft almost unnatural hum.

The King recognized too late as he saw the smoke part over their heads in the wake of the Dawn Striker. What surprised him the most was the yelling that was also coming from it which sounded more like that of a young woman than a dragon. "My lord, isn't that the dragon from this morning?" The king didn't respond to him and instead yelled out of worry. "FRIDA!"

Her father's voice did reach her even at the speed she was going. All her strength was directed on keeping hold of Sol at the time so she could do little but hold on for dear life and pray she got to where Sol wanted to go in one piece. It was strange to her when Sol motioned for her to get on her back, of course she didn't understand right away.

It seemed she was in a tremendous hurry and no matter what Frida did nothing seemed to calm her down. Once she understood that she was to get on her back Sol only gave her seconds to get a good grip before launching into the sky in her usual fashion. They cut through the smoky fog like a knife through butter until she came to abrupt halt in front of a wore stone structure.

Frida pulled herself back into a more comfortable position as she was almost falling of the dragon's back. "What is this place?" She looked over the building with its vines and cracks before she realized the area was clear of the fog. It was obviously unnerving to see an unnatural sight like that but she didn't have time to take in much of it before she heard a voice.

"I guess the old man wasn't as crazy as he sounded….." She and Sol both turned to see Snotlout on Hookfang's back. He let out a whistle as he got a good look at her. "Name's Snotlout what's yours?" He asked with a flirtatious grin. She recognized it immediately after all those many months of dealing with Sverrir's aggressive advances, but put it out of her mind for a more important question.

"Where are Hiccup and the others? Are they in there?" She pointed to the crumbling building built into the cliff. Snotlout rolled his eyes and jumped off Hookfang.

"Yeah." He waved her to follow him inside. She was followed close behind by Sol who passed them in no time and stopped just next to the mysterious pedestal. "So about that name?" Snotlout's persistence only annoyed her more as he fell back closer to her as they walked to catch up with Sol.

"If you really must know, it's Frida. My father is the King of Langaholt so tread lightly." She smiled a bit at the last part considering Snotlout seemed to stop in his tracks at the revelation. It was probably the one times she was thankful for Sverrir's constant advances considering how famous he was for eliminating his competition.

She turned to Sol and watched as she curiously looked into the bowl sitting upon the stony pedestal. "What is it?" She stood beside Sol and looked on as well until Sol nudged her out of the way. "What was that for?" She furrowed her brow as she watched Sol shake her head and once again gaze into the water.

"Excuse me Lady Frida, but you have to stand on the other side." Snotlout's ridged tone was most uncharacteristic of him, though Frida wouldn't know herself. She thought it was rather funny as she made her way to the opposing side of the pedestal.

"Here?" She looked over and didn't get a response before they both disappeared into the hidden doorway.

Snotlout sighed in relief as he turned to see a grinning Hookfang. "What's that look for!?" The dragon laughed as he turned back around to exit the building. "Damn dragon….."

"We're surrounded but they're not attacking?" The King looked around warily, an action that was mimicked by most of the men. "Doesn't look like it, though they should have by now." Stoic turned to his dragon. "I'm going to take Thornado up to see if I can't get a better view of our situation." As he hopped on the Thunderdrum a roar was heard from the sky.

Everyone looked up to see the silhouette of a dragon jump down to the ground in front of their party. "Sire, a dragon!"

The king narrowed his eyes at the form before them. "I can see that…" It made its way forward slowly as the tension builded in the air.

Brandr was the first to aim his blade. "Stay back you devil!"

The King had a feeling about this dragon and so he cut off his Jarl as he began to charge. "Wait….." Now the dragon was recognizable through the fog as it thinned before them.

"Is that…..?"

A smirk found its way upon the king's lips. "I believe it is." It was a Tempest that had made its way through the fog, easily pushing through the smoky cover as he went. It eyed them curiously as it fanned some more of the fog out of the area. Once it stopped the King was first to fall under its scrutinizing gaze. His eyes slowly drifted across the crowd as if inspecting it thoroughly before turning away from them. He tridged back the way he came a few steps before turning his head back to face them. A low growl was heard before he turned and continued forward.

"What's that about?"

Eirikr stroked his beard a bit. "I believe he wants us to follow him. I do believe this may be one of the one's who we met after the assault on Fhjol hall." Some of the men in the crowd began to mutter amongst themselves about the idea of following a dragon but the king was quick to subdue it. "SILENCE! We will trust this dragon. I have a good feeling about this." With that he moved forward in the footsteps of the Tempest before him. Though the men were hesitant, they followed after their king loyally.

Upon reaching their intended destination Eirikr let out a laugh and turned to the men. "See here? Now don't you all feel foolish?" He then turned back to the dragon which was faced with Snotlout who was once again on Hookfang's back.

He glared down the dragon before he noticed the large army behind it. "Uh…."

Stoic stepped forward from behind the king. "Where's Hiccup and everyone else?"

He gestured behind himself. "They disappeared in the magic water." He got several wild stares from that statement, but what else could he say? It was the truth whether he understood it or not.

A low grumble fell over the men after a minute or so which was apparent to Snotlout as disbelief. "And we're supposed to believe that load of garbage?" One man spoke up with a distasteful glare.

Snotlout shrugged and sighed as he jumped off Hookfang who followed him inside. He gestured for them to follow. As soon as they made a move the Tempest turned sharply towards them and they all fell under its scrutinizing gaze once again.

It was shorter lived that the previous one as the dragon slowly lowered its head in front of Eirikr. The King furrowed his brow at the gesture causing the dragon to grunt in response. "I think it wants you to touch him."

The King turned back to Gobber who was looking on in interest. "What makes you say that?"

He pointed his hook at the dragon. "That's how Hiccup tamed dragons. Its showing a sign of trust by doin that." He turned his head back to the dragon and gazed into its sapphire eyes. They didn't waver at all under his gaze as it waited patiently for his token to be accepted. After a small internal squabble with himself he decided to accept and placed his right hand on the dragon's snout. The Tempest's eyes widened a moment before he stepped back and continued into the old structure.

The King followed close behind while all but Stoic and Gobber gave a few moments hesitance. Just like Hiccup, it seemed the King's first interest was held by the mural in the back of the room. He gazed at it sternly before he was tugged away by a sudden grunt from a dragon. The Tempest was standing on one side of the stone pedestal while Snotlout and Hookfang stood beside him.

"It's over here." Several of the men looked on from afar in confusion as Snoutlout pointed to the very ordinary looking bowl of water. "Yeah I know its weird okay!?" He stood over on the other side and motioned for Hookfang to stand where the other dragon was. "Look, let me show you so you'll stop looking at me like that."

Of course his frustration only grew as Hookfang didn't make any attempt to move at all. After a short glaring contest Snotlout sighed. "Could you work with me here?" The Nightmare rolled its eyes and finally complied with his request, taking the now unoccupied position across from Snotlout. "Okay just look in like this and-" In an instant he was gone without a trance an event that was followed by the dropping of many bearded jaws.

"Where'd he go!?" Gobber was scratching his head as he stepped over to the newly empty space. Eirikr reached it first and as he gazed over the water hoping to make sense of the situation, another face appeared and his eyes fell dark.

When Hiccup opened his eyes, he wasn't entirely sure he was awake at first. The dark of his surroundings was almost unreal, and far darker than any cave or subterranean dwelling he had ever seen. He felt around in the dark a bit and found the ground to be smooth and a bit damp. "Where am I?" His voice echoed slightly through the area, making the size of the room apparent.

He fumbled a bit for his blade and struck it on the ground causing it to spark and instantly catch fire. He waved the flaming sword around the area and realized he was indeed inside a cavern of some kind though the walls were far too finished looking to be natural. Next his gaze fell on the forms of his friends one by one as they were all sprawled out in the area.

His first stop was to the side of Astrid who was the obvious first choice. He kneeled down beside her and stabbed the sword into the ground a bit so he could wake her. It didn't take much before she began to stir and slowly opened her eyes. "Astrid, wake up."

She sat up a bit sleepily as she began to take in her surroundings. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure but I just woke up here. Everyone else is here too." He slowly helped her to her feet and grabbed his sword again. "Help me wake the others up." She complied and ran over to Balimund who was the closest and Hiccup found his way to Mathias. Bo'mar seemed to awaken on his own just as Hiccup had and joined the group of Hiccup and Mathias as Astrid struggled to wake up the stubborn smithy.

"Where are we Hiccup?"

He raised his sword a bit higher so he could see. "I'm not entirely sure but there's no way this is a natural cave. It's more like an old stone building or something." Hiccup moved over to one of the walls which depicted a faded dragon painting. "There also seems to be proof of someone living here…. Or something like that."

Mathias looked over to the picture. It was one of the few still obvious on the walls that they could see. Now that they looked them over, it seemed there were several at one time, but were worn away probably from the water that dripped down from high cracks. Astrid had now woken Balimund up and was making her way over. "Finally woke him eh?" Bo'mar gave her a grin. "A surprising feat I know." He gave a laugh as he turned back to the wall.

"What did you guys find?"

Hiccup didn't turn to her as he responded being far too interested in the picture. "We're not too sure actually."

Before anything else could be said, yelling could be heard above them. Mathias stepped away from the wall and looked up at the darkened ceiling, if there was one, it was far too dark to tell. "I think it's….." He didn't have time to think too much before he found himself on the ground with a thud. Now very thankful he was wearing a helmet, he shifted it around so he could once again see only to realize he had someone on top of him.

With a blush not too evident in the dark room she pulled herself up and off of him. "I-I'm sorry about that."

Mathias sat up in a slight daze. "Frida?"

Hiccup drew the flame closer. "Looks like it."

Astrid raised a brow. "Did you follow us in here?"

She dusted herself off as she stood up. "Well not initially, but Sol was getting antsy about something and wanted me to get on her back. Before I even had time to think she took off." She pulled around her dress. "She wouldn't take no for an answer either."

Mathias was now standing and beginning to straighten out his armor. "Well, at least she didn't go berserk this time."

Astrid yanked out what seemed to be an old torch from the wall. "Hey Hiccup, how about lighting this one up?"

Upon a close inspection of it he noticed it was too damp to light up normally. "It's got too much water on it for that. I'll need to get some of the Nightmare Gell." He got a few confused looks. "Come on Astrid, you saw me get some just the other day. It's the gell that seeps off a Nightmare's scales allowing it to flame up. How else could I keep my sword lit up without any tender?"

"Oh yeah, the stuff you got off of Hookfang."

"Yeah." Hiccup then began to look about the room with his smirk steady falling to a frown. His expression slowly grew frantic as he travel full circle of the cylindrical chamber they were in.

"What's wrong Hiccup?" Astrid asked as her worry began to build.

He turned back to them with worry and anxiety. "Where are the dragons?"

As I had said before it was a bit short, but my regular schedule should now be back, so you won't be kept waiting for the next one as long as ya'll respond. It seems the dragons are MIA at the moment. What do ya'll think happened to them? It's gotta make you wonder right? Also the room they ere in seems curious no? Anyway please review! Hopefully I won't have anymore Vertigo for a while too cause that's hours of nauseating torture for me. =^-^=