They hurried though the huts, everyone anxious to see what was inside the vault. Hiccup still glanced up a set of stairs as they passed. Double wood and iron doors guarded the entrance to something tucked into the cavern wall. Time had not been kind to the doors either. Hiccup could well believe if someone breathed upon them wrong the doors would collapse. Given they were linked to the main path through the village, Hiccup knew they were the doors to the Great Hall. He resisted the urge to slip through the crack, since the doors were ajar. They did not have time to explore. Onyx and his friends had been away from their riders for far too long.
[Fishlegs, Skulder, you must stay with the flock.]
Hiccup shared an amused look with Astrid before glancing over his shoulder. Meatlug stood in front of her rider, though she kept her tail in front of Skulder. She also barred their way up the stairs. It seemed Hiccup had not been the only one who wanted to explore.
"We'll have to bring them back here at some point."
Hiccup turned to Astrid and smiled. "Milady, you read my mind."
Astrid hummed. "Good," she said, a smirk playing around her lips.
A smirk Hiccup wanted to taste but knew it was not the time for such endeavors.
"I have to find some way to keep you on your toes."
Hiccup snorted. Astrid chuckled and winked at him all the while her thumb caressed his knuckles. Hiccup gently squeezed her hand. Onyx stopping in front of the door depicted in the carving kept Hiccup from placing a quick kiss to Astrid's cheek. The dragon also turning to Hiccup and tossing his head in the direction of the door, did not help matters. Hiccup heard Sharpshot and Sneaky, both back to their usual places, snort.
Hiccup gave Sneaky a half-hearted glare, noting that Astrid stared at Sharpshot with a lifted eyebrow. The two Terrors shifted slightly but did move. They did nuzzle the cheek of the one whose back they clung to. Hiccup saw Onyx and Sunburn smiling when he faced both of them again. Onyx again tossed his head towards the door. Hiccup glanced over his shoulder as the rest of the group gathered around him. His gaze found Skulder alternating between looking at the Great Hall doors and the one in front of everyone. Hiccup faced Onyx, an idea forming in his mind.
"Is that door just linked to this device or is it like the other door and linked to me?"
Onyx titled his head. [I believe it's just linked to that disc,] he said. [The vault was installed when we first built this place and at that time we did not think we would be leaving. We used it as a food storage thing then. The locking thing my rider made for it was installed when we knew we had to leave and the room switched to hold items he deemed had to be left for you. The tests and the outer door were put into place once we established the new nest.]
Hiccup nodded before he turned to Skulder and held out his hand. The man had given Hiccup the disc when they left the hut and headed for the vault. Hiccup, however, decided to return it.
"Go ahead, Skulder," Hiccup said, smiling. "Open the door."
"I..really?" Skulder asked in a small voice.
"Really," Hiccup stated, still smiling. "You earned it."
Skulder stepped forward and gently took the disc from Hiccup's palm. He stared at Hiccup for a few heartbeats before tipping his head and then moving to the door. After seemingly comparing the disc and a depression in the center of the door for several more heartbeats, Skulder finally slotted the disc into place.
A high-pitched whine filled the cavern. All the dragons, even Silent, yowled in pain. The door began spinning. Stone scrapped against stone. Hiccup released Astrid's hand so he could use his to cover his ears. He saw his human friends do the same.
"Make it stop!" Snotlout shouted.
The contrast from all noise to all silence made Hiccup a bit dizzy. He opened his eyes. An iridescent barrier stretched between Skulder and the still spinning door. Hiccup looked over his shoulder. Gyda grinned and winked.
"Handy that," Skulder said.
Hiccup turned back to his old friend in time to see the man rubbing his ears. Hiccup winced for his friend. Being right at the door probably made the sound that much worse to hear. Before he could say or do anything, the door stopped spinning. Hiccup's eyes widen. The door bore the same Night Fury symbol from the disc, except this one had blue in a line down its back. Two more smaller blue lines slit the Night Fury's nose. Hiccup spun, facing Onyx. The dragon chuckled.
[Yes, my rider used me as inspiration for the symbol. It was his sigil if you know what that means.]
Hiccup nodded. He wanted to ask if Onyx knew how Bork got a hold of a non-blue version of the same symbol, but the door began to sink. Hiccup moved to stand next to Skulder. He looked down, realizing the door was slipping into a depression set under it. Hiccup blinked, wanting to peer into the inner workings. He wanted to learn how it was made and use it back home somewhere.
Once the top of the door created its own threshold, the barrier faded. Skulder held out his hand, palm up.
"You first, my friend."
Hiccup turned to the man. "But your quest, this is part of it."
"Yes, but they said what's in there is yours, so go claim it."
Hiccup was not surprised to find Astrid at his side when he faced the door again. He reached for her hand, smiling when she gripped his. Together they entered the darkened room. Sharpshot and Sneaky moved from the clawholds on the teens' riding harnesses to the teens' shoulder. Both Terrors opened their mouths and held fire in their throats to provide light.
Hiccup gasped, hearing Astrid do the same. The room was not all that big. The dens the slept in were vast compared to this vault. Still, a few piles of gold, silver, and from the twinkling diamonds, amber, and few other stones Hiccup recognized, lay along the right wall of the room. The left wall held a rack with sword, an axe, and a hammer affixed to it.
At the back, Hiccup saw what looked to be people until he did a double take and realized it was two stands holding entire suits of armor he had never seen before. The middle of the room held the pedestal they saw in the carving. A chest, similar to the ones the tablets had been housed in, sat at the top of the pedestal. This one was smaller though.
Astrid went to reach for it, but Hiccup stopped her with a gentle tug of the hand still holding his. She stared at him and he shook his head. He leaned closer.
"It might be trapped with magic. Gyda said some mages would do that to keep people out unless they could disarm the trap."
Astrid nodded, lowering her hand. Hiccup glanced over his shoulder. The humans all gathered around the vault's entrance, but none stepped in as the room was not big enough for all of them. It would hold one other person though so Hiccup's gaze found Gyda.
"Check for traps?" he asked.
They had not covered that part in his mage training just yet so he had not idea how to find one, much less disarm it. Gyda nodded, stepping into the room and slipping between Astrid and a pile of gold ingots at Astrid's feet. Hiccup watched her close her eyes and hold a hand over the chest. She whispered a phrase in the mage tongue he had not learned yet.
Hiccup whistled and Astrid grunted as a net of lighting appeared over the chest then faded. Gyda lowered her hand and opened her eyes.
"That would have hurt," she said.
Hiccup snorted. "Let's get this down. I want to see what's in it."
All three of them eased the chest, which was heavier than it looked, onto the floor. Hiccup knelt finding no lock. He grinned. This he could do. This Gyda had taught him. He closed his eyes and slowly waved his hand in front of the chest while whispering the mage word for open. Something clicked within the chest.
"Neat trick."
Astrid's voice caused Hiccup to open his eyes. The chest lid sprang open, bobbing a bit from the force.
"Do I get to learn that?" Astrid questioned.
Gyda chuckled. "Eventually."
Hiccup grinned but reached into the chest. He frowned at finding a black cloth of some kind. He gently moved it aside. He tilted his head. A cylinder object with what looked like slots at one end that could spin and a dragon's mouth at the other lay upon more black cloth. Beside it lay two smaller objects that looked as if they came from the front of his spyglass. He heard Gyda gasp and looked up. He frowned again as he saw recognition in her eyes.
"Gyda?" he asked. "What is this thing?"
She took many heartbeats to answer.
"Something that changes everything."
Kirika: Hm, interesting theory.
Literally Nobody: I think he freaks a lot people out. Hehe, yep. They will be here. Drago will also be here. The human Onyx spoke of was Grimmel. Heh, I'm still amazed. Hiccup and Toothless are the perfect team. Have a good day/night as well. And the next chapter might be a doozy. Enjoy.