"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." – Thomas Jefferson

Chapter 12

"This is what I live for, my friend!" Skulder said excitedly. "I can't waste time worrying about little things like danger and death when there are ancient civilizations to explore. We should make sure the Krayfin is happy before I get distracted; I warn you, I will get distracted."

I chuckled. "No problem."

I approached a wall filled with gears. I had to get the gears moving by solving the puzzle to open the entrance to the next room. It took some work, but I eventually succeeded. The next room contained several lock boxes to solve. After that, we discovered a challenge Mala did not know about, and Skulder suggested it was added later on by someone from Berk. Solving this puzzle led me to a treasure room.

Mala looked around at everything in the room in awe. Then her gaze settled on some sort of weapon. "Heavens!" she exclaimed. "This is the Winged Spear, an ancient symbol of our connection to the Eruptodon. I must return this - and the rest of these beautiful relics - back to their rightful place on our island." She turned to me and smiled. "Our journey together end for now, but this will not be the last time we work together. These trials tested our mettle and you proved worthy. I have no doubt you will find what you seek."

"Thank you for your help," I said. "I could not have come this far without you."

"It was an honor, your majesty," Phlegma said. "Come on, lassie. We need to follow that tunnel to the next room."

I led the way down the tunnel to the next room. The Krayfin became very excited as we walked onto a catwalk. He jumped into the water surrounding us and began to swim around.

"Well, now we know what the leviathan wants," Phlegma said, "but this looks too deep for you and me! Is that the intended trial, to figure out how to lower the water level?"

"We are on the same brain wave, my dear Phlegma!" Skulder said. "We can close the valve on those pipes to stop the water! They have an outer part called a seat that makes sure there is a tight fit, then the inner part (called the body) can open or close to control the water flow. We can open or close the body by using the leveler." His words had come out rapidly in excitement, but now he stopped suddenly. "'My dear...'" Heat rose to his cheeks as he repeated his earlier words to Phlegma. "Oh! I mean. I mean no disrespect, I just... Oh dear. Brennda, please save me from the embarrassment! Go close the pipe valve. And don't look at me like that!"

I had been watching him through his stammering with a knowing smirk. "Fine, I'll save you this time." But we were so talking about this later.

I approached the valve and solved the puzzle. Like expected, this lowered the water level. I had to solve several more puzzles until we reached the bottom. Then a solved a gear puzzle on the door that opened it, leading us to a corridor with another door at the end.

"My word," Skulder said. "What a strange place! It's a dead end, but I'm sure we can figure this out. Perhaps it's a hiding clue for us to solve! Let's put our heads together." We walked around, looking for clues. Skulder stopped by a lever near the door. "Okay, I got it. I know that this lever will open the door. Here we go!"

Suddenly, the floor gave way, and we all fell through. I groaned as I sat up and rubbed my back. Then I noticed we were outside in what appeared to be a lush jungle. "Well, that was unexpected," I said.

"Is everyone okay?" Skulder said.

"Everything's fine here."

"Good. My apologies, everyone... but at least we're not locked in a cage, ha ha!"

I smirked. "Right."

"Oh! Who are you, little guy?"

I looked down to see a baby dragon approaching us. She was very colorful and almost looked like a lizard. "Hello," I greeted her. "I've never seen a dragon like you before." I bent down to touch her, and as I did, adult dragons surrounded us, growling.

"Stay calm," Phlegma said. "These dragons have a natural instinct to protect their babies, and we're too close to the nest. Back away from them, slowly."

We backed away from the dragons, but the moved closer to us. We ended up running out of there. Thankfully, they chose to give up their pursuit after awhile.

"This won't help me get over my fear of dragons!" Skulder exclaimed. "My word. I bet those snarls will haunt my dreams for weeks to come..."

"I don't think they're following us," Phlegma said. "We need to find out more about these dragons. Clearly they have adapted to this environment and can live with the smell. Let's find a way out, and, if you don't mind, let's take a closer look at that particular plant."

We examined the strange plants in front of us. Phlegam concluded they were tropical plants that loved the humid climate. This whole area was full of thick foliage. We ended up needing to use Phelgma's compass in order to find a way through it... while also avoiding the angry dragons. After what seemed like ages, we made it out.

"Good, we're out," Phlegma said. "What a tense situation! It was nearly as bad as the one time I went into battle with nothing but my armor and a sharpened mango."

"A mango?" I said.

"That's not a very interesting story; we should keep our mind focused on the current task. Our Krayfin friend looks antsy. Follow him wherever he wants to go."

We followed the Krayfin across the bridge, where there were more interesting plants to examine. I did not find much interest in them, but Phlegma loved them and Skulder seemed to enjoy her fascination. A tiny sound had us spinning around.

"Thor on a hammer!" Phlegam said. "It's the baby dragon we saw earlier. Don't touch her, Brennda. Her parents are already furious, so let's not make things worse. I think now it's the time to step back."

I moved away from the dragon onto a set of stairs. Thankfully, she did not follow me. She may have liked me, but her parents distrusted me.

"Am I the only one who noticed that dragon lost her tail?" Skulder said. "Will she be all right?"

"It's probably a defense mechanism," I said. "I bet she can grow it back."

"Yes," Phelgma said. "That is probably the case. "While we are at it, why don't we call them 'Flame Whippers?'"

Skulder nodded. "Very good. That sounds fine." He turned his attention to the building behind us, where the leviathan waited impatiently. "Our Krayfin seems very intent on entering this building. Well, we shouldn't keep him waiting! Let's open this door and follow him through."

I tried to open the door, but it was locked. We all set to searching for the missing key. I did not find it, but I came across a messenger bag from Berk. I handed it to Phlegma to examine.

Phlegma unrolled a piece of parchment from the bag and read it out loud: "'The dragoon bloom is now safely hidden. If you need to find it, come talk to me. Berk has the key.' - Hamish II."

"Hamish must have been working with Bork to bring the 'dragon bloom,' whatever that is, here," Skulder said. "That makes sense; Hamish the Second was renowned for his labyrinths and strange puzzles. In fact, he used to love statues like this one here..." He touched the statue, and the wall moved, swinging him around to the other side.

"Skulder!" Phlegma cried. "Are you alright?"

"Let me see if I can get him back," I said. I also touched the statue, but nothing happened.

"Don't worry," Skulder said through the wall. "The only thing I bruised was my pride. There doesn't seem to be anything dangerous here. The baby leviathan is looking at me curiously... and I'm in a cage again. Wonderful. It's my lot in life. I can't help you in here, but I think I figured out where the key could be. Hamish II only sailed once beyond Berk's borders and his ship sank before it could return home. In his journals, he wrote that he crashed his ship 'north of the Dragon's Jaws.' The key must be there, at the ship graveyard!"

"Got it!" I said. "We'll go get the key and then come back and find out how to get you out of there!"

"Thank you!"

Phlegma and I returned to the bridge. I was about to ask how we were supposed to get out of there, when one of the dragons from earlier flew in front of us and roared angrily.

"Look out!" Phlegma exclaimed. She jumped in front of me just as the dragon shot a fireball, getting hit instead.

Before I could help, Bolt flew down to us, picked up up, and flew us out of the cenote. We landed near Snappy, and I scrambled to Phelgam's side. "Are you alright?" I gasped.

"We're Vikings," she said. "We're made of sterner stuff. I'm going to be fine. More importantly, you've obviously trained your dragon well. Every instinct was telling your dragon to stay out of the cenote, and Bolt ignored them to help you. You have a wonderful bond."

I looked at Bolt and smiled. "I know."

"You'll need to go to the ship graveyard by yourself. I'm going back to Berk to have Gobber and Gothi look at my injury before it festers. I'll catch up with a clean bill of health. Go!"

I nodded. "Got it." I climbed onto Bolt's back and flew to the ship graveyard.

Mulch and Bucket were there waiting for me, sent by Phlegma. We worked together to find Hamish's missing ship, but... it was completely submerged underwater. Luckily, Johann and Phelgma arrived on Johann's ship with a solution. I used a diving bell to go underwater and find the key.

"You need to get back to the cenote and make sure Skulder and the Krayfin are okay," Phlegma said. "Now, Hiccup gave me a prototype design of his for you to use." She held out a weird looking outfit.

"Is this a flight suit?" I asked. I knew Hiccup had been working on one for himself, but this looked different.

Phlegma nodded. "With that, you can glide down safely into the cenote and avoid the angry Flame Whippers. I wish I could help, but this injury is going to slow you down. Go back to the cenote on Impossible Island. Thorspeed!"

"Thank you!" I quickly shed my coat and put on the flight suit. Then it was back to Impossible Island.

Once we arrived, I had Bolt fly above the cenote. Then I glided down onto the bridge using the flight suit. Thankfully, it worked perfectly! I immediately made my way to the door. I had to solve another puzzle in conjunction with the key to open it. Once I did, I entered the room where Skulder was trapped.

"Is that the door I hear?" Skulder said. "Oh-ho-ho, I bet the key was with Hamish's shipwreck, wasn't it? That rascally devil!"

"Yep," I said. "Good call on that."

"The Flame Whipper don't seem to have calmed down any in your absence. Don't worry; I have a plan. Come to my humble cage!"

I approached the cage, and he explained his plan. Once I understood, I set off. I climbed up onto the Eruptodon statue outside and lit a fire in its mouth, scaring away the Flame Whippers. Satisfied we were now safe, I returned to the cage and freed Skulder.

"Huzzah!" he cheered. "So, the Defenders left materials to create a fire at the statue? They must have known it was a way for them to live in peace with these dragons without fighting them... I'll make sure that the fire in the statue remains lit. You can go with the Krayfin and make sure that he finds... whatever it is he's looking for. I know you can do it, Brennda!"

I nodded. "Alright. Stay safe."

I entered the next room with the Krayfin. I found myself in a maze, and I had to solve more puzzles as I made my way through it. I even had to make a breathing mask to get through an underwater room. And then we arrived at our destination.

A giant flower sat in the middle of the room, and from the Krayfin's expression, it was what he was after all along. I looked around the room and noticed painted tapestries along the walls. They depicted a Krayfin eating the fruit from the flower and growing large. Curious, I found a piece of fruit and handed it to the Krayfin. The little dragon excitedly devoured the fruit.

I smiled at him. "You're welcome." He seemed intent to stay here, but I had to find a way out. The smell was absolutely horrible...

Escaping the building proved to be another challenge. After everything else, though, it was just another puzzle to me. I even had the help of the baby Flame Whipper who liked to follow me. Upon exiting the building, I saw no sight of Skulder, so I assumed he had been rescued by Phlegma upon her return. Figuring she was back at the School, I signaled to Bolt to fly down, and we took off.

Sure enough, Phlegma was waiting for me by her greenhouse. I told her everything that transpired and thanked her for helping me help the Krayfin.

"I can't believe that was what was at the hearth of Impossible Island," Phlegma said once I finished. "I must go there and see this beautiful flower by myself. And... it seems this Flame Whipper stowed away on your journey back."

Startled, I looked down to see the baby Flame Whipper looking up at me curiously. "Oh, hello there."

"Valka asked to talk to you whenever you returned from Impossible Island. I'll look after this little one while you see her at Berk."

"Thanks." I found Valka at her hut and quickly filled her in on what happened.

"I finished reading all the hidden Luminous Krayfin entries in the Bork Papers," Valka said. "It seems that the dragon bloom helps accelerate the growth of our Krayfin and helps him grow into a powerful leviathan!"

"That's fascinating! I'm glad I could be a part of it."

Valka smiled. "Trust me. The story of Brennda and the Krayfin is far from over. You helped him when his need was the greatest, and I know your paths will cross again when the time is right."

"Agreed." Not least of all because I still had not found out why Harald was so interested in the egg in the first place. How much did he know and why did he let us have it? That guy was a puzzle in and of himself, but with everything that happened that day, I was much more confident in my ability to solve it.

I ended the day by finding everyone who helped me out and thanking them. Skulder went on in excitement about our adventures. Then I found a place for the baby Flame Whipper at the School. I hoped she would be fine. Finally, I had to call it a night and get some rest.

The next morning, I set out to check on the Flame Whipper. I found her at the School near Fighlegs. I gave the Vikings a nod in greeting.

"Hi!" Fishlegs said. "I've been keeping an eye on the Flame Whipper (and of course, writing down my observations!). She's very interesting, but she has very clammy skin. I wonder if she has any natural defense mechanisms..."

"You think this twerp is interesting?" Snotlout said as he stalked over to us. "I think she'd look more interesting upside down-"

"Wait, no!" I said.

But it was too late. The Flame Whipper released her tail and dropped to the ground. Then she scurried away. Meanwhile, Snotlout appeared paralyzed.

"Wow!" Fishlegs said. "This is a defense mechanism called autotomy. The Flame Whipper has 'fracture planes' between the vertebrae in her tail that allows her to 'drop' her tail when she is threatened. The tail will wiggle, attract predators and give the Flame Whipper time to run away... and the tail is poisonous. Don't worry; these dragons and lizards can grow their tail back. I guess we should try to help Snotlout. Can you lead the Flame Whipper to Heather?"

"I'll give it a try," I said. "But I think it serves him right." I gave Snotlout a distasteful look before finding the Flame Whipper and herding her over to Heather. I explained the situation to her and asked for her help.

"Hey there, little lady!" Heather said to the dragon. "Paralyzing poison, detachable tail, and a nasty fireball... you have a deadly arsenal, don't you?" She then assured me we could create a solution to neutralize the poison.

First, we gathered the necessary ingredients to make the solution. Then I gathered a sample of the Flame Whipper's poison. With this, we were able to create an antidote. The Flame Whipper followed me as I took the solution to Snotlout.

"Keep that demon away from me!" Snotlout said as soon as he took the antidote. "My body is tingling and I can't feel my toes. Are my toes still there? My glorious Snotlout sausage toes..."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. And it's your fault for antagonizing her."

"Well, the perfect silence couldn't last forever," Fishlegs said. "Brennda,thank you for helping out."

I nodded. "No problem." I bent down to examine the Flame Whipper. "You come with me, and we can get some basic training in." I needed to make sure no one else was affected by this unusual dragon. She seemed happy enough to follow me to a secluded area. I was confident everything would turn out just fine.

A/N: The next chapter will wrap up this expansion!