Chapter Twelve: One Down

The next ingredient the Riders had to search for was the firtrest tree. Hiccup knew very little about this type of tree, and often wondered if it even existed at all. Well, it must have if past vikings had written about it, but Hiccup had never seen one. Ever.

Hiccup guessed that the tree was probably very rare. Many of the items on the list of ingredients for the Inyitis cure were extremely rare or were extremely hard to get. Hiccup hoped that finding this tree would be a lot easier. The Riders were running out of time, and there was still the thought of his father stuck in the Great Hall with all of the other Inyitis patients. Hiccup shook the image out of his head and focused on what was important: finding the tree, getting the nuts, then move on to the next and hopefully last ingredient.

"Okay, gang, keep an eye out for this tree," said Hiccup. He turned to Fishlegs. Fishlegs was more of a plant expert than he was. "Fishlegs, do you know anything about this tree that could help us?"

"Well I do know it's rare," said Fishlegs. "But it still should be pretty easy to find. The leaves on a firtrest tree are bright orange and it's wood is extremely dark."

"That shouldn't be so hard to spot," Astrid said.

"Oh, but the firtrest tree has this supernatural ability to blend in with neighboring trees," Fishlegs continued. Once he said this, Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut groaned.

"So you're telling me that we have to find this tree in a mix of a bunch of other trees that look exactly the same?" said Snotlout. "That's going to take forever! We'll probably already have Inyitis by the time we find it!"

"There's one way to tell the difference between a disguised firtrest tree and a regular tree," said Fishlegs. "There's always a branch that curls inward, sort of like a swirl. If you find a tree with three branches like that, then you, my friend, have found a firtrest tree."

"Any information on where the firtrest tree might be located?" asked Hiccup.

"I remember reading somewhere that it thrives in warm areas," said Fishlegs.

"Okay, everyone, the direction we're heading in seems pretty warm," said Hiccup. "We'll land on the first island we see and keep going until we find this tree. The faster we find it, the better."

The Dragon Riders nodded and they continued to soar over the ocean in a hurry. They had no idea how things were going on Berk, but they didn't want to think the worst. They had to stay positive. For each other and for their village.

Hiccup stirred Toothless down toward a sandy beach below. The other Riders landed and didn't need to be told to spread out and try to find the firtrest tree. The island they had landed on looked like it was summertime, even though it was almost the end of February. Hiccup wished that things were bright and sunny back on Berk, but the village was in the middle of an epidemic at the edge of winter. The cold was helping the illness spread, and Hiccup couldn't help but wonder if the cure would actually work.

Of course it will work, thought Hiccup. It has to. If it didn't, it would mean that the Riders had traveled all over the arcipelago for nothing, and multiple lives would be lost. These last ingredients were the Riders last hope, and Hiccup was hoping that things would become any more difficult when they went out to search for the last ingredient.

Dragon tears. Could dragons even cry? Hiccup wondered this as he and Toothless made their way through the thick forest. The Night Fury was sniffing at multiple trees, trying to pick up a scent. Hiccup was examining branches to see if any of them matched the description Fishlegs had given. He sighed when the tree he had been looking at turned out to be just a regular old oak, and continued to follow Toothless through the woods.

Hiccup knew that he probably shouldn't get too far ahead of himself, but he couldn't help it. Once they found the nuts they needed, they would set out to find this dragon that supposedly had the ingredient that made everything work. Hiccup was still thinking about what had happened back when they were searching for the Black Vine, and knew that whatever—-or whoever—-moved the vines, probably was going to meet up with them again soon.

Toothless warbled excitedly and nudged Hiccup out of his thoughts. The young viking turned to the Night Fury and smiled.

"Did you find something, Bud?" Hiccup asked, excitement decorating the edges of his voice. Toothless nodded and motioned for Hiccup to follow him. Hiccup followed Toothless and made his way toward the direction he was going. The Night Fury suddenly skidded to a stop and turned to his rider, stepping aside so he could get a clear view.

Hiccup examined every detail on the tree that Toothless had led him to. Could it be it? He looked at the branches and found not one, not two, but three branches that were curled in a perfect swirly. Hiccup was grinning like crazy.

"You found it, Bud! Good job!" said Hiccup. Toothless smiled proudly and watched as Hiccup began to climb up the tree. Toothless pushed him up since he couldn't get a good grip with his prosthetic leg, and after some time, Hiccup managed to sit himself down on a branch and look through the many green leaves to try and search for the firtrest nuts that he and the others needed, but he didn't find any.

"I'm gonna climb higher, Bud!" Hiccup said down to his dragon. Toothless crooned, a bit of worry hinted in his trill.

"Don't worry, Toothless. I'll be fine!" said Hiccup reassuringly. Toothless sat down and watched as Hiccup made his way higher into the tree. There were times where Toothless thought he would fall, but Hiccup managed to climb up to the top.

Hiccup let out a puff of air. Climbing to the top with just one good leg was a lot of work. He looked at the view that laid ahead of him and allowed a smile to crawl onto his face. The view was beautiful, and the very sight of the greenery and sun made Hiccup almost forget what was going on back on Berk, and made him remember the flights that either he, his friends, or even just him and his father would take together.

Hiccup climbed out of his short, blissful moment and returned to his original taks: finding the nuts. He looked through the leaves and found small, roundish shapes hiding in the leaves. Hiccup smiled and picked a handful. He looked down to Toothless from the branch he was sitting on.

"I got them!" shouted Hiccup from above. Toothless stood on his hind legs and gave him a gummy grin, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, but Hiccup could tell from the Fury's green eyes that he was silently begging him to come down now.

Hiccup laughed. 'Okay, okay, I'm coming!" Toothless shook his tail and Hiccup began to climb down. He had made it to the branch under the one he had been previously sitting on when he suddenly felt very dizzy. Hiccup almost let go of the nuts, and nearly lost his grip on the tree trunk. Toothless screeched in alarm.

"I'm...I'm fine!" said Hiccup. "Just...just a little dizzy."

Toothless paced around the tree anxiously as Hiccup pressed his forehead against the bark of the tree. He took in a deep breath and began to climb down again when the world stopped spinning. He eventually made it to the bottom and Toothless looked at him, worry reflected in his green eyes.

Hiccup gave him a lopsided smile. "Hey, I'm fine, alright? Now let's get these nuts back to the others."

Toothless nodded, but still kept an eye on the young viking as they walked back toward the beach. The other Riders hadn't dragon called, which probably meant that Hiccup was the only one who had found the nuts. Or the others had found some too and were just too excited that they found the ingredient and forgot to let the others know.

Hiccup shook his head as another wave of vertigo hit him, and he actually had to lean against a tree and close his eyes. Toothless warbled and nudged his Rider's hand. Something was wrong.

"I'm...I'm fine, Bud," said Hiccup.

Toothless gave him a look that said, You really expect me to believe that?

"Really, I am," said Hiccup.

Toothless shook his head in a way that reminded Hiccup of the way his father would shake his when he proposed an insane, but successful, idea. Hiccup patted Toothless on the head.

"Come on, Bud. Whatever's wrong, it'll probably pass," Hiccup said. Toothless still didn't look convinced.

Dragon and Rider made their way toward the beach and arrived right when the others showed up.

"Hey, did you find anything?" asked Astrid.

Hiccup nodded. "Yep." he held out the nuts for the other Riders to see.

"That's all?" asked Snotlout.

"Well, I didn't want to take all of them," said Hiccup. He brought a hand up to his forehead. Astrid's blue eyes immediately began to reflect concern.

"Hiccup, are you okay? You don't look too well," she said.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Hiccup almost automatically.

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "You know, you have a habit of saying you're fine when you're actually not."

"Is he sick? Oh gods, he's sick!" shrieked Snotlout. "Germs! Inyitis germs EVERYWHERE!"

"Snotlout, I don't have Inyitis!" said Hiccup, but his voice was unsure. Another wave of dizziness hit him, and Hiccup could feel unconsciousness luring him in.

"No, no, Hiccup, stay with me," said Astrid. She grasped his hand. 'You're gonna be alright."

"Am I?" asked Hiccup.

Astrid nodded, trying to keep her tears in check. "Mhm."

"Uh, guys?" said Tuffnut.

"Not now, Tuff," said Astrid.

Ruffnut bit her lip. "Astrid, you might wanna…"

"What is so important that you have to interrupt me right now?" Astrid snapped her head in the twins direction.

"Oh, we were just gonna say that Fishlegs looks like he was about to pass out," said Ruffnut.

Astrid blinked in surprise and saw Fishlegs leaning against a tree.

"I suddenly don't feel too good," said Fishlegs.

"AH! AHH! GERMS! Both of you STAY BACK!" shouted Snotlout. He hid behind Hookfang and the Monstrous Nightmare rolled his eyes at his rider's immature behavior.

Astrid turned too Hiccup, but right when her eyes met his, he passed out.


Author's Note: Yeah...um...CLIFFHANGER! XD

Until the next chapter!

-BeyondTheMoon1203