After the teachers had repelled the zombies, an emergency conference was gathered consisting of the teachers, the House commanders and their lieutenants.

Hiccup found himself sitting in front of the War Table with Astrid and Ragnar by his side. The War Table was completely circular, earning the nickname the roundtable.

"I appreciate everyone gathering under such short notice, but these are urgent matters," said Mimir.

"Yeah, I would classify a zombie attack as urgent," said Christina Coulson.

Christina was a black-haired senior with pale skin; she was the daughter of Hel and commander of House Loki. She had a reputation for being rather cold to everyone and was well-known for keeping to herself.

"Do we know where the zombies came from?" Guy Maverick asked.

Guy was a very muscular and handsome young man with flaming red hair, just a year above Hiccup. He was a son of Magni and Commander of House Tyr, and he was very popular among his House and really enjoyed it in his own hands dirty.

"We don't know. They do seem to have appeared out of nowhere," said Viggo.

"They literally did, I saw," said Ragnar. "We were moments away from capturing the flag when suddenly the zombie apocalypse fell upon us."

"Yes, on that note, we decided the outcome of capture of the flag?" Christina asked.

"Really? You're concerned about that and not the zombies that suddenly appeared and started killing members of your House?" Astrid questioned.

Christina glared. "I just like to know where we stand; it's no secret that everyone has held contempt for House Loki."

"I think we're getting off-topic," said Duncan quickly. "We should not only be concerned as to how the zombies appeared, but how so many of them appeared?"

"I quite agree," said Gobber. "We were lucky that we were able to push those zombies back, but we may not be lucky again. If they can appear out of anywhere in large numbers, then we are in trouble."

"I'm just wondering how many of these undead warriors have escaped from Helheim," said Old Wrinkly, their history teaching.

"Actually, we're not certain whether they were all warriors," said Mimir. "In fact, most of them didn't have a single weapon or wore armour."

"The dishonourable dead is filled with those who failed to die in glorious combat, so it's not really surprising," said Christina. "But as to how these warriors escape, I have no clue. My mother is not usually one to let so many of the subjects escape her realm."

"So you're saying that there are ways of getting out of Helheim?" Ragnar noted.

"A few have managed to sneak through the cracks, but my memory is usually quick to call finding them and bringing them back. She likes to keep her collection of undead; the only person she has ever allowed the chance to return to the mortal plane is Balder."

"What about Krogan?" Hiccup asked.

"It could be that she came to some sort of understanding with my grandfather, but don't be fooled. She knows that she can't trust her own father and knows there will be a time when he betrays her."

"That said, while she may have made a deal with Loki, she may not stop us from interfering with his plans."

"True, but we don't even know what his plans are."

"Fortunately, we have someone out there gathering information for us," said Mimir. "Young Eret has been keeping a close eye on Johann and his allies. It would seem as if they may very well be up to something in Niflheim."

"Why doesn't that surprise anyone," said Ragnar.

"But we don't know exactly what they're doing, do we?" said Guy.

"It sounds to me as if Johann is trying to gather an army for his father, and there is a particularly powerful one within Helheim," said Viggo. "The dishonourable dead that Loki is fated to sail when Ragnarok begins. Many of them have a deep hatred for the god of Asgard for casting them aside, and they would want nothing more than a chance to kill and their champions."

"Which would explain why they're after demigods," said Hiccup. "We have the largest probability of earning a seat in Valhalla."

"And they'll do whatever they can to give a dishonourable death," said Astrid. "Stabbing us in the back before we have a chance to fight or making sure we don't die with weapons in hand."

"So we know what their intent is, but that does not tell us how to stop," said Gobber.

"I'll send a message to Eret and have him styled out Nilfheim; being half frost giant and the son of the goddess of winter should give him excellent protection against the elements," said Mimir. "Meanwhile, we need to gather a team together to combat this threat."

"Not again," said Hiccup.

Mimir gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry, lad, but it looks like you and your squad are heading back out there."

"Hold up!" said Christina. "Why does House Thor get all the honours? We do have other houses that would very much like to take part in this quest."

"She does have a fair point," said Guy. "Hiccup in his squad have already had three missions in a row."

"When Ragnarok comes, we cannot leave anything to chance, and Hiccup's squad is the best we have," said Gobber strongly.

"I don't have a problem with it," said Duncan. "Besides, it's not like our squad has been idle during these grand quests. All of us have contributed, have we not?"

Guy merely shrugged, and Christina sat back down the didn't stop glaring at Hiccup.

"Now that we have that settled, we must decide who leads on this quest," said Mimir.

Hiccup rose to his feet. "I would like to volunteer Astrid to lead us this time."

Astrid looked at him stunt. "Me?"

"You've been wanting to lead a quest ever since you got here, and you're the strongest warrior that I know, so why not you?"

"Maybe because I'm not a leader like you."

"But that does not mean you're not the leader we need," said Ragnar.

"I say she deserves a chance," said Guy.

Astrid took a deep breath and rose to her feet. "All right."

"Then it's time for you to see the Norns, lass," said Mimir.

Then a secret passage behind the bookcase appeared, revealing a set of stairs that went downwards. Astrid made her way over towards the secret entrance but not before looking back at Hiccup one last time.

Astrid had been gone for about five minutes until she returned looking rather seldom. It was hard to tell what was going through her mind after her meeting with the Norns.

"Well, what did they say, lass?" Mimir asked.

"I had visions of this large gate that resides within Niflheim, and it appeared to be slightly open," said Astrid as she sat back down.

"The Gates of Helheim," said Christina. "Now it all makes sense."

"It does?" Duncan frowned.

"The Gates of Helheim are the main entrance and exit of my mother's realm," Christina explained. "If they have been opened, then there's nothing stopping the undead other than Garm, my mother's guard dog."

"I didn't see a dog guarding the place," said Astrid.

"Then, by all likelihood, he's at my mother's side; either she is helping Loki to make it easier for the undead to escape, or she is keeping him closer so that no one attempts to free him."

"I'm betting it's the latter," said Mimir.

"Did you see anything else?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid nodded. "Yes, I think I saw the realm of the dwarfs and Norns told me that I would find something there to eat me on my journey."

"Nidavellir, yes, I'm certain you will find something there to help," said Gobber. "It's no secret of the dwarfs of the greatest blacksmiths in all the nine realms. Though getting their cooperation is not easy."

"We'll just have to hope that it's in their own self-interest," said Mimir.

"Anything else?" Ragnar pushed.

"There did appear to be some sort of battle at the base of the Gates, though that's not surprising," said Astrid.

"Well, it looks like you have a long, complicated journey, and I'm under the assumption that you'll be taking your squad," Mimir assumed.

"That's right, but we'll also need Jill," said Astrid.

"Jill?" Hiccup frowned. "Why? She only started today; she's nowhere near ready on a quest like this."

"Trust me, we'll need her," said Astrid.

Hiccup sighed. "If you're sure, but I don't like it."

"Neither do I, but since when have we ever played it safe?"

"Point taken."

"Then I suggest that you go inform your squad and Miss Johnson," Mimir suggested.

"We'll do so right away," said Hiccup.

"Good luck, we'll need it," said Christina.

They soon returned back to the dorm, where they began to explain everything to the others.

"So we're heading to Nidavellir," said Snotlout looking uneasy. "Do we have to?"

"That according to the vision I received from the Norns, and everyone knows that you can't ignore something like that," said Astrid.

"Okay, but surely you don't need all of us," said Snotlout with a pleading look.

"Snotlout, is there a particular reason you don't want to go home?" Hiccup asked.

"I just don't like it there."

"Well, that's too bad because clearly, we need something there to close Helheim's gates," said Astrid.

"Personally, I can't wait to go to the realm of the dwarfs," said Fishlegs excitedly. "They are the finest craftsmen in all of the realms and have the ability to make practically anything out of impossible ingredients."

"But on that note, what exactly are we looking for?" Tuffnut asked.

"I don't know; I suppose we'll have to ask around," Astrid assumed.

"So we're making this up as we go along as usual," said Ruffnut.

"Nice to know things haven't changed," said Tuffnut.

"But why do you want Jill to join us?" Heather asked curiously.

"Look, I can't explain it, but she is crucial to our success," said Astrid.

"Just don't think she's ready; she's only had one day of training."

"That's what I said, but it appears that we need her," said Hiccup.

"You guys just have to trust me on this," said Astrid.

"We do trust you, Astrid; we just don't see why," said Fishlegs.

"Hey, I am standing right here," Jill pointed out.

Jill was standing there with her arms crossed. She had been silent for quite some time, and strangely she didn't seem nervous.

"Sorry, Jill, we didn't mean to ignore you," said Hiccup apologetically. "Regardless of Astrid's vision, the choice to come is yours. If you don't think you're up for it, just say so."

"Oh, I'm coming, and there's nothing you can say that will change my mind," she said stubbornly.

"In that case, we had all better get packed; we'll leave tomorrow morning," said Hiccup.

Everyone nodded and went to their respective bunks to get prepared, but Ragnar suddenly pulled Hiccup towards him.

"Okay, so your dreams about Loki and later that day, there was a zombie attack on the very same day that we got a new student, who also happens to be taking part in our quest."

Hiccup knew what he was getting at. "Yeah, not exactly a coincidence, is it?"

"Coincidences do happen, but not all in one day."

"You think she was placed here by Loki?"

"To be honest, I don't know, but we both know things never go well. Try to prevent a prophecy, especially a death prophecy."

Hiccup nodded, there had been a long history of people trying to prevent prophecies from coming true, and in most cases, it had the opposite result. It was well known that his mother Frigg had received a prophecy of the death of her son Balder and so made him invincible from all harm. Unfortunately, she had forgotten to make him invulnerable to mistletoe, and so Loki used that very item to kill him.

"Just keep an eye on her, but Astrid is leading this mission, so it will be her choice on what to do with her."

"You got it, but I am just hoping they were being paranoid."

"When Loki is involved, there is no way to know it's only been deceptive or truthful," said Hiccup. "He could be very well hoping that our paranoia would cause us to do something with Jill, and if Astrid is right, she may very well have an important part to play in this mission."

"So we keep our eyes and ears open and do what we believe is right."

"I think that's all we can do."