Hiccup, Remus, and Toothless followed the pair of dragon riders to a small snow-covered island where a Roman ship was docked. Remus tapped Hiccup on the shoulder and gestured his head to the opposite side of the island. Hiccup nodded and maneuvered Toothless around to the back. Quietly, the two men slid off of the dragon and hid behind a large mound of snow. "What's going on?" Hiccup asked quietly. "If they're following regulation, then they're meeting up with an escort to take the the rest of the way. Which would mean, we have a way in." Remus whispered. He began to slip around the mound. "Wait, where are you going?" Hiccup yelled at his loudest whisper. He turned to Toothless. "Stay." He commanded, and then went after Remus.
Remus was hiding behind an ice rock when Hiccup caught up with him. Hiccup could hear faint voices from the other side. Remus gestured for him to look around the side and Hiccup obeyed. "You see the small groups," Remus said as he pointed to the Romans on the other side. "Each is composed of a rider, an archer and a dragon. If we can get the uniforms and armor from a group then we can pass right through the security." Hiccup nodded, that sounded like a plan. A few of the voices started to get louder. Remus grabbed onto Hiccup and pulled him behind the ice. "I'll get the men, you get the dragon." He commanded. Hiccup nodded again and prepared himself.
"I'm just saying, there should be more stuff to do then just fish. I mean fishing isn't bad, but not something I want to do every day."
"Well there's always the coliseum."
"You know I'm not one for blood."
"Why'd you join the Legion, again?"
The two Romans followed their dragon around the corner, fishing poles in hand. As soon as it was in reach, Hiccup lunged at the dragon and scratched the sweet spot below its neck, knocking it out instantly. "What the..." The Legionnaire was cut off by Remus, who got the two Romans with a nerve attack. Hiccup looked at him amazed, he had never seen anything like that before. "How are my chances now?" Remus asked. "Pretty high." Hiccup responded. They dragged the three unconscious bodies back to where Toothless was waiting and began to change.
"What the...how do you..."
"No you're arm goes through there."
"Toothless, stop rattling the armor."
"How's this?"
"Your pants are on backwards."
"Your shirt is on backwards."
The three stepped out from their hiding place. Hiccup looked down at the armored Toothless. "Does he really need to where that?" He asked. "Do you want him to be recognized?" Remus replied. The three stumbled over to where the other Romans were preparing to take off. One of the men they passed gestured to Toothless. "I've never seen a dragon like that before, what is it?" The man asked. "He's...a...a...he's...a..." Hiccup stuttered. "He's a Black-scaled Longwing." Remus interrupted, saving their skins. The Roman nodded and then pointed to Toothless' prosthetic. "What's that?" He asked. "Oh, we took him from one of the vikings with that already on him. You know what they say: if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Remus replied, nervously laughing from under his helmet. The Roman was about to ask another question when the order was given to "mount up." Hiccup became extremely nervous as the two other escorts moved to the sides of the Stormcutters. "Calm down." Remus whispered. "Just fly directly behind them, pretend like you know what you're doing. For the girl, remember?" Hiccup nodded. For Astrid.
After an hour of flying, the convoy came into visible range of the island. Remus leaned into Hiccup's ear. "Welcome to Neptune's Reach," he said. Hiccup just gawked at the magnificence of the island and the craftsmanship of the wooden portion. They passed over a few fishing boats and a small fleet of ships as they approached the island. A few of the Legionnaire's on the ships waved at the passing dragons, a couple even yelled out cheers. Hiccup was amazed at how easily the soldiers trusted and worked with the dragons. He was so distracted by the men, he almost missed when the rest of the group turned. Luckily, Remus smacked over the back o the head.
The convoy circled around to the rock half of the island. It was completely covered in holes and caves that dragons were flying in and out of. Some with riders, some without. The escort slowed as they approached a large hole in the island. Long enough for 10 Nightmares, but only tall enough for one. As they prepared to land, loud horns were blown from either side of the entrance. The group dismounted and sent their dragons off to the stables, except for Toothless, who didn't know what he was doing. Hiccup looked worriedly at Remus, who gestured his head to where the other dragons were going. Hiccup relayed his message to Toothless through hand signals, but Toothless only gave him a confused look. A few of the other Romans began to look at the dragon suspiciously, triggering his logic, and he quickly ran off to catch up with the rest of the escort.
As Hiccup watched Toothless leave, First came up to the new arrivals. "Everything went as planned?" He asked the black-clothed Legionnaires. The one carrying the Dragonstone pulled the pouch out of his pocket. "Absolutely, sir." He responded. First held out his hand and the man emptied the pouch onto it. Hiccup watched a pure black stone drop out of the bag. It was round and smooth like one from a river bed, but had a slight magic white hew around it and a spiraling white serpent was engraved on one side. First analyzed the stone for a brief moment and then turned back to the black-clothed soldiers. "You have done your duty, you are free to go." He commanded. The two men bowed and then stepped away. First turned to the escort, including Hiccup and Remus. "The rest of you, follow."
They swerved through the caves until they reached a large steel door, large enough for a Typhoomerang. As far as Hiccup could see, there was no keyhole or door handle, all he he saw was what seemed to be a right hand imprint next to a large circle. Remus leaned down to Hiccup. "Watch this!" He whispered, and Hiccup observed with great interest. First grabbed a metal gauntlet that he wore on his right hand and carefully slid it off, revealing a tight, brown glove with several metal dots in seemingly random places. He stepped forward and placed his gloved hand on the imprint. Hiccup heard several metal clicks as the pieces inside the door shifted, and then the metal circle flipped upward, revealing a keyhole. First removed his other gauntlet revealing another glove. This one had a thin metal line running up the wrist and a small compartment on the back. He took his right pointer finger, which had a metal dot on the end, and ran it up the line on his wrist. When he finished, the compartment flipped open, revealing a key.
Loud dragon roars came out of the room as First opened the door. He walked in, and the floor made metal clangs with every step. The group waited outside, apparently forbidden from entering the room. Hiccup had a straight view inside though, and he could see several display s, but he couldn't tell what they were. He watched as First walked over to an empty pedestal in the middle of the room and placed the Dragonstone on it. Then, First walked back, locked the door, and then locked up the key. "Stand guard," he said as he began to slide his gauntlets back on, "This is now the most important room on Neptune's Reach." The other guards quickly moved to spots alongside the door, leaving Remus and Hiccup. First pointed at them as they scrambled to get into what seemed to be the right spots. "Not you two," he ordered, "You are coming with me." Hiccup gulped in fear. We've been discovered.