Stoick the Vast reached his hand into his belt. He pulled Hiccup's crystal from it and waved it in front of his face like a toy.
He tried to grab it, but Stoick pulled it away from his hand. "Do you have any idea what this is, son?" he asked.
"Of course, I do. It's a crystal."
Hiccup's response was worth a nice face palm. Stoick slapped his hand to his face. "Hiccup, please. You're smarter than that."
Hiccup looked slightly offended. He slouched his shoulders and sighed.
"Oh, yes!" Tuffnut said. He and Ruffnut hurried to him. Tuffnut rubbed his fist on his head. "Hiccup can finally join our club–the Thorstonton Idiots."
"Oh boy," Hiccup mumbled.
"This crystal belongs to the Light Dragon," Stoick explained. "He lost it long ago after a heated confrontation with the Berkians."
Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Uh, not to be Mr. Goody Two Shoes here, but who is the Light Dragon?"
Next to him, Fishlegs chuckled. "'Mr. Goody Two Shoes.' I'm going to have to remember that when I write my next poem."
Snotlout was not a fan of poetry. He gave Fishlegs a disgusted look.
Gobber broke the awkward silence. "Well, let's quit dilly daggling. The Chamber of Mystery is waiting." He smelled building tension between Snotlout, Fishlegs, Stoick, Astrid, and Hiccup.
The Chamber of Mystery was at the back of the Chamber of Emptiness, behind a few more stone doors. Two skeletons holding swords and shields guarded it. Spiders crawled out of their eye sockets.
Startled, Snotlout jumped behind Fishlegs and grabbed his shoulders. He wasn't very brave.
Ruins that looked like an old castle were beyond the doors. The area was massive–a perfect recipe for flying. Snotlout's fear vanished the second he saw it. "Whoa! Sick!" he announced.
The castle's architecture was incredible. Hiccup, his friends, and his father jogged down a flight of stairs to reach the main room. Their eyes carefully studied the enormous pillars.
"Da-Dad, what is this place?" Hiccup stuttered.
Stoick laughed heartily. He placed his hands on his hips. "This, my son, is where Berk first started."
Just being in a room so vast and mighty, Hookfang, Meatlug, Stormfly, and Barf and Belch wanted to fly. Each dragon opened their wings and lifted into the sky. They playfully roared at one another as they twirled in circles and raced one another.
Toothless plopped down on his butt. He upsettingly watched his friends.
Hiccup noticed his distress. Chuckling, he asked, "Do you want me to take you for a quick flight, Toothless?"
Just at the word "flight," Toothless perked up. He ran in circles around Hiccup, smiling his toothless grin, and flapped his back spikes.
Hiccup laughed. "All right, bud." He placed his left foot in his dragon's left stirrup and hoisted himself up on his neck.
Toothless opened his enormous black wings. Hiccup's friends and father moved out of the way.
The dragon shot into the sky after his dragon friends. His takeoff was so powerful that Hiccup fell onto his head.
"Whoa, boy. You sure are excited."
Toothless joined his dragon friends. Like them, he twirled and danced on the air currents. Hiccup grew a little bit dizzy. Yet, he enjoyed feeling the wind on his cheeks. It helped get his mind off the Light Dragon.
Down below, the rest of the Vikings scattered so they could explore a little bit.
Astrid found a staircase at the back of the room which led to a magnificent fountain. The fountain's water glowed blue. In the center of it was a statue that depicted a huge, bipedal dragon who had two sets of wings. Astrid couldn't help but to feel like he looked familiar.
Hiccup and Toothless soon joined her. Toothless landed and folded his wings.
Hiccup popped up in his saddle. "What is it, Astrid?" he wanted to know.
Astrid honestly looked a little bit nervous, which was very rare for her. She brought her hands to her heart and asked, "That dragon, Hiccup. Doesn't he look familiar?" She pointed at the statue.
Hiccup glanced at it. "Oh yeah." He took his feet out of his saddle's stirrups and swung his right leg behind him. His booted foot touched the gray floor. He and Astrid came within reach of the fountain.
They examined the dragon up down: his graceful posture and the waterfalls that flowed over his wings. The blue glow of the water shimmered in Hiccup and Astrid's eyes. Both teens had a warm, fuzzy feeling at the pits of their stomachs. Just being near the statue, they felt safe and secure. They even took a second to look each other in the eyes.
Unfortunately, Fishlegs interrupted the romantic moment. He rushed onto the scene and hurried to his friends, saying, "Hiccup! Astrid! I've been thoroughly studying these pillars, and I've come to a very reasonable conclusion. This chamber has to be at least five-hundred years old." Fishlegs always got excited when he talked about history.
Both Astrid and Hiccup blushed. They turned their heads away from one another.
It wasn't long until Stormfly plopped down next to Astrid. The Tracker class dragon rubbed her nose up against her arm. She looked like a horse trying to relive itself of an itch.
The rest of the Vikings and dragons soon made it to the fountain too.
Tuffnut smiled jokingly at Hiccup. He lifted his hand, calling, "Hey, table boy. Come over here and shine my shoes."
"Table boy?" Hiccup glared at him. He remembered the time when Ruffnut and Tuffnut declared themselves the one true rulers of Dragon's Edge. They gave Hiccup the fun job of the stable boy, which–surprisingly–was not fun at all.
Tuffnut chuckled. "Of course. After all, Ruffnut and I have decided to name this place Thorstonton II!"
"I am no table boy," Hiccup fought. He puffed out his cheeks and glanced at Stoick. "Dad, tell them how stupid they're being."
Stoick leaned to him and took his shoulders, saying, "Um, welcome to my world, son." He grabbed his son's hand and set the crystal down in his palm. Stoick pushed Hiccup's fingers over it. Winking, he returned to his normal height.
Hiccup had no idea what the sign was supposed to mean.
Gobber banged his wooden leg against the floor's rocks to grab everybody's attention. He was standing in front of the statue. "It's story time!" he announced.
"Ooh! Yes, yes!" Fishlegs and Meatlug immediately plopped down in front of the blacksmith. Meatlug shook her little tail, and Fishlegs clapped his hands together like a child.
The other Riders sighed. Nevertheless, they joined their friend. Hiccup and Astrid stayed close to one other. Likewise, their dragons remained by their sides. Hookfang, Snotlout's dragon, settled down on a couple rows of stairs. His Rider tossed himself over his neck. Ruff, Tuff, and Barf and Belch also got comfortable. Gobber and Stoick were the only ones who remained standing. The chief and blacksmith stood on either side of the fountain's statue.
Hiccup tried to relax like the rest of his friends, but he gasped when he heard the Light Dragon's voice in his head.
"My boy, the portal to our world is just through the fountain."
No! Hiccup was not going to give in to his tormenting. He refused.
Toothless nervously glanced at him, but Hiccup cracked a feeble smile. "I'm okay," he said. Deep down, though, he was far from okay. Yet, he had to keep up his scheme in order to save a trip to Gothi.
Hiccup reached his hand up to his bruised temple. It shimmered under his fingertips. He fought the urge to get up and find the portal the Light Dragon mentioned. He found that fingering the crystal helped keep him sane. He hoped he could get through story time with no issues.
Gobber started the tale. He stretched both his arms out to his sides. It looked like he was trying to hug the chamber. "As the chief said, this chamber is where Berk first began. Five-hundred years ago–when dragons and Vikings were still sworn enemies–our ancestors retreated underground and built this chamber. As the years progressed, they learned how to fight against the dragons. However, there was one dragon in particular, Naga, who proved to be a great challenge."
Stoick picked up from there. He combed his beard out with his fingers while he told the next part of the legend. "Naga was a dragon like none other. He hailed from an ancient island called Telemik. It was a place said to be home of all the Dragon Classes."
"Whoa." Fishlegs's jaw dropped. He recalled the Dragon Classes in his head: Strike, Mystery, Sharp, Tracker, Boulder, Stoker, and Tidal.
"But nay." Stoick shook his head. "Our ancestors learned of the island's secrets. They tried to destroy it. They believed that would scare the dragons away."
Hiccup and his friends listened intently. Well, Hiccup was having a very difficult time doing so. "Please get out of my head," he whispered.
"Not until you come with me," Naga replied.
"During the confrontation, Naga lost the crystals of his body," Gobber explained. "Without them, he relied on the Sun in order to stay alive. Rumor has it he is the greatest threat known to Vikings. He has the power to plunge all of life and the world into eternal darkness."
"Eternal darkness?" Astrid leaped to her feet. That was what her instincts told her to do.
Ruffnut grinned. "Whoa, a dragon that can take away the Sun? That is epic."
Tuffnut smirked at Hiccup. "I'd love to see Hiccup tame a beast like that."
"Not funny, Tuff. Not funny," Hiccup responded. He closed his eyes and shook his head.
"Yes," Naga said, "together, we will bring light back to Telemik."
Stoick noticed Hiccup's uneasiness, but he continued the story. "Legend has it that when Naga is weakest, two heroes will rise and find his missing crystals. Together, they will construct the Crystal Crown and return it to the dragon. Then and only then will our world be saved from the darkness." He cupped his hands together and scooped out some water from the fountain. Stoick stared at his reflection in it.
"Oh, I am totally in," Fishlegs said. He cuddled close to Meatlug. "Meatlug and I love a good scavenger hunt."
"But why are Hiccup and I the Two Heroes?" Astrid asked her chief.
Tuffnut rolled his eyes. He tipped his head at Astrid. "Like I said earlier, little lady… You and Hiccup are meant for each other."
"Ugh, Tuffnut!" Astrid embarrassingly spoke. "No, you're not dumb. You're just stupid."
Tuffnut was not offended. He just kept on smiling. "'Stupidity' is my middle name."
Where Snotlout was, he propped his head up on Hookfang's back. "So, if I do some quick, horrible thinking now–the dragon can take away the Sun. Then that means Berk will be doomed to eternal winter?"
Gobber pointed at him. "Exactly."
"Well then, peace out, bros." Snotlout gave his friends a thumbs up. "I'm out of here. Hookfang and I are going to find someplace warm."
Hiccup rose to his feet. He glared at Snotlout, saying, "We're not abandoning Berk, Snotlout. We'll find the crystals and put this whole mess behind us. We've already got one." He held up the first crystal. He cringed when a cold presence passed through his brain. With each passing second, the Chamber of Mystery grew even more mysterious.
"But beware," Stoick said before the teens could get too excited. He moved towards Hiccup. "This is a very dangerous dragon we're dealing with. Not only does he torture his victims physically…" Here, Stoick leaned in to Hiccup. "He also tortures them psychologically."