Hiccup exited the portal and found himself in a volcanic fire pit. As far as the eye could see, there were active volcanoes spewing lava to no end. The entire sky was completely shielded by a cloud of ash and, even after arriving for a few seconds, immediately began to sweat.

"Not exactly a vacation spot as it?" said Astrid.

"No kidding, but this is the realm of fire. We shouldn't expect anything less," said Hiccup.

"Shall we find that all before we're completely cooked?" Fishlegs asked.

"But which way do we go?" Astrid asked.

"We should be close to Surt's Palace, but sin has this is the first time ever stepping foot in Muspellheim. I can't say for certain how far we are from it," said Hiccup.

"Well, we're not going to find it standing around here; I suggest that we keep moving as I don't think we're to last very long if we don't get a move on."

No one disagreed, and so they began to walk, taking the easiest path they could find, though the definition of easy seemed a foreign concept in Muspellheim. Every single have had steep gradients and no proper footholds, plus they had to avoid the old drop of lava that sprung out of the mini volcanoes across the path.

"Jurtag said that we need to find a special ore, but does anyone know what it is?" Fishlegs asked.

"No clue, but the Fire Giants may have a place to forward weapons at Surt's Palace. I suspect that we might find the ore there," Hiccup assumed.

"Don't take this long way, but I wish we had a better idea of what we're looking for," said Astrid.

"I know pretty much all of the different types of materials. I might very well be able to identify them if we can locate them," said Fishlegs.

"There could also be a list inside the forge, provided they have one," Hiccup added.

"Given the fact that the Fire Giants want Ragnarok to happen more than any other race, I think it is a fair bet that they're making weapons," said Astrid.

"And I imagine this speeding up the junction with Ragnarok tragically around the corner."

"Okay, so assuming that we do find Surt's Palace and assuming they have a forge hurry plan on getting inside?" Fishlegs asked.

"We won't know until we actually see the place, but I am guessing we can hardly walk up the front door and knock," said Astrid.

Hiccup had never seen Surt, but he had encountered a few Fire Giants before; in fact, two of them tried to kill him during PE class. There was also a strong possibility that Surt was much stronger than his minions, a prospect that did not fill Hiccup with confidence.

"Yeah, we should try to avoid a fight," Hiccup agreed.

"I don't suppose your rune magic will help us?" Fishlegs asked somewhat, hopefully.

Hiccup would like to give Fishlegs a reassuring answer, but he'd already taxed himself performing two spells, spells he hadn't cast until now. He was still learning how to use rune magic, but he was fairly certain that he would only be able to cast one more spell would most likely cause him to pass out.

"I think I've only got one spell left in me, and we're going to need that if we want to make a quick getaway," Hiccup explained.

"Oh," said Fishlegs looking disappointed.

They kept on climbing for about 10 minutes, and they were getting exhausted. It wasn't just the climb that was exhausting them. It was also the heat, it had to be at least 40 degrees, and they had already used up all the water they had on.

"I'm not sure how much more this week and take," said Fishlegs as he wiped the sweat off his brow. "We were already drunk up all our water."

"Even if we hadn't, it would probably have evaporated by this point," said Hiccup.

"This still no sign of Surt's Palace."

"Actually, I think I've just found it," said Astrid, who was standing over click that looked into a ravine.

"You don't sound enthusiastic," Hiccup noted.

"There's a good reason for that."

Hiccup and Fishlegs soon joined and looked down into the ravine.

Hiccup could understand why Astrid was not enthusiastic; Surt's Palace wasn't exactly what it called inviting. Believe it or not, it was actually carved into an active volcano, and lava poured over the entrance like a veil of lava. There were two towers with roofs on fire, and sharp spikes ran across the battlements, and who wasn't mistaken? Sticking on the spikes were skulls that looked as if they belonged to humans, elves and dwarfs alike.

"Looks like they don't get many visitors," said Hiccup trying to keep the mood cheerful.

Astrid gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, I'm sure the wall of lava and skulls on spikes deter any salesman from knocking on their front door."

Fishlegs just whimpered at the site of the Palace. "I don't see what's so funny about it. In case you forgot, we're trying to get inside that place."

"Oh, we haven't forgotten, but we're not exactly sure how to get in," said Hiccup.

"Especially with all those guards," Astrid pointed.

Hiccup took a closer look and saw that she was correct; there were a number of Fire Giants and demons patrolling what appeared to be the courtyard. Getting in unnoticed seemed like an impossibility.

"Okay, we can't charge in, and I don't see a way of sneaking in," said Hiccup.

"Then you're saying it's hopeless," said Fishlegs.

"No, but we will really need to think outside the box on this one."

"I don't suppose we can find a secret passage or something?" Astrid asked.

"There could be one, but I don't think we have enough time," said Hiccup. "We've already used at our water supply."

"So what do we do?" Fishlegs asked.

Hiccup thought hard, but this time it was completely out of ideas. Then suddenly, the volcano erupted, causing ash and smoke to fall over the courtyard, and that gave Hiccup an idea.

"I think that volcano just gave us a chance to sneak in," said Hiccup.

Astrid looked at him. "You want to use the ash and smoke to hirhide us?"

"It would provide the perfect cover."

"And suffocate us!" Fishlegs pointed out.

"Not unless Astrid and I use our powers to create an air bubble."

"But can the two of you maintain that bubble long enough for us to get the Palace?" Fishlegs asked.

"I don't know to be honest, but it will going to do it. Now would be a good time."

Fishlegs looked at Astrid. "Astrid, this plan is completely crazy."

"So crazy they won't expect it, and it's the only option we have."


With that agreed, they quickly made their way down into the ravine, thankfully, the ash cloud was pretty large, so it hadn't disappeared yet. The moment they reached the ash cloud, both he and Astrid used their power over wind and clouds to create an air bubble.

Hiccup had only learned that he was able to manipulate the movement clouds recently. It was no surprise as his mother sewed clouds together, and she was also known as the goddess of the sky, so he had a bit of control over the wind. However, his powers paled compared to that of Astrid, who was creating a miniature tornado around them.

Sadly the clouds were so thick that they couldn't see the Fire Giants and Demons, but Hiccup continued using his foresight to guide them. When he saw that they would collide with either a Fire Giant or Demon, he would have them turn direction. They also have to be extremely quiet so that none of the guards could hear.

He also silently prayed that the cloud of dust wouldn't dispel right in the middle of the courtyard where they would be seen. Thankfully that prayer was answered as they managed to cross the courtyard without incident and found themselves at the front gate of the Palace.

"Let's get inside and hike quickly," said Hiccup.

They quickly rushed inside and found the closet to hide in.

"Well, we needed inside," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, now we need to find the forge," said Astrid.

"In a Palace that is no doubt filled with giants and Demons," Fishlegs added.

"Hey, we knew it would be easy," Hiccup pointed out.

"So, do we have any ideas where the forge would be located?" Astrid asked.

"I imagine in the lower chambers deeper into the volcano," said Hiccup.

"But you can't be sure," said Fishlegs.

"Well, this is my first time in the King of the Fire Giant's Palace. However, the deeper they get, the better the access to the rare materials they can get their hands plus they would use the lava to keep the forge hot."

"Sounds a good place as any to start," said Astrid.

"We were going to have to be extremely careful. We don't have the luxury of using the ash cloud to hide our approach," Fishlegs pointed out.

"Why foresight will be able to warn us if we came across and wanted company," Hiccup assured him.

"But doesn't using your foresight constantly wear you out?" Fishlegs asked.

"Trust me, it's not as bad as it used to be. Plus, it's not like they have a choice in the matter."

On that note, it began to follow him through the Palace, which surprisingly was even worse inside than out. Surt's decor sent shivers down Hiccup's spine; the walls were made completely out of molten rock and painted with ash that made you feel you were descending into hell. If that wasn't bad enough, Surt also had stuffed corpses of a number of monsters decorations and mounted on trophies with the heads of humans, elves and dwarves, all of them in mid-scream.


Hiccup navigated them through the powers using his foresight as an early warning system. Every time he saw the guard approaching around the corner, he immediately signalled to the others so they could quickly hit until they passed.

They will most certainly getting deeper into the Palace as well as lower. Still, there was no sign of any forge, and Hiccup was finding it difficult to breathe. All of them were starting to get dehydrated, and he was certain that if a fight broke out, they would lose. Of course, if they kept on walking, it would finally pass out and no doubt get captured either way.

"We've been walking for who knows how long, and we still haven't found anything," said Fishlegs.

"Then we just have to keep looking," said Hiccup.

"Hiccup, I do keep going as much as you do, but we're just wandering aimlessly. If it hadn't been for your foresight, we would have been caught a long time ago, but you can't keep it up forever."

Hiccup knew he was right; using foresight constantly was beginning to tire him. Which was bad considering that they were their escape case something went wrong. However, if they fail to get what they came for, then there would be no way to stop Ragnarok.

"Hey, I think I heard something," said Astrid.

They all stopped and listened, and Hiccup heard the unmistakable sound of hammers to steel.

"Sounds like we're close," said Hiccup.

They continued to follow the sound and descended into a chamber. Hiccup looked around the corner and hid his eyes laid on a forge. It was possibly the biggest forge he had ever seen, and he could see a Fire Giant hard at work as he began creating a sword.

Hiccup had to admit the setup was rather impressive, using the steady flow of lava to keep the forge lit. Plus, there was a giant pile of ore in the far corner of the room, and it looked as if it was stacked depending on its type.

"You think the ore we need is over there?" Astrid asked, following his gaze.

"Seems like the first place to check," said Hiccup.

"What about the blacksmith?" Fishlegs asked.

"He looks rather busy, so long as we don't make any noise, we should be fine," said Hiccup.

They very carefully made their way over to the stacks of ore, and there were a lot of them. Hiccup could only recognise some of them. There was copper, iron and obsidian, but he couldn't tell which one they needed.

"It would be helpful for you to find what we were looking for," said Astrid as if reading his mind.

"People are looking for something that can only be found here in Muspellheim," Fishlegs theorises as he began to examine the ore. "I'm going to have to go through all of this ore until I can find it."

"Then Astrid and I should keep an eye on our blacksmith friend," Hiccup suggested.

"Just tell us the moment you find it," said Astrid.

"Don't worry, I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to," Fishlegs promised.

Hiccup and Astrid looked at the blacksmith, thankfully, were more preoccupied with his work and noticed them. Though Hiccup had no idea when he would need to acquire new ore, his only hope was that it was in any time soon.

"I think I found it," said Fishlegs.

"I was fast," said Astrid as they joined him.

"To be honest, I thought it would take me longer myself," said Fishlegs as he held out some ore that resembled molten slag.

"That's it?" said Hiccup.

"It was the only ore that I didn't recognise, and there was plenty of it. I believe the Fire Giant call it Archnite, and while it is a common material here, it doesn't exist in any other of the other realms."

"Good, then let's get out of here," said Astrid.

"Leaving so soon," said a voice behind them. "I wouldn't dream of it."

They slowly turned and saw the most fearsome Fire Giant they had ever witnessed looking down at them. He had devil-like ones that were shaped like a crown, his eyes were pitch black, and his skin resembled molten lava. It didn't take them long to realise they were face-to-face with a Fire Giant King Surt.