Howdy fellas! I'm back with another update! I'll try to update every Friday, so far that's been going great!
Enjoy!
The Adventurous Adventures of Hiccup and Wrenlou
A Storm Blows Through It, Part X
"Alright!" Ezra called out to the group in front of him, "our only goal is to find Hiccup. If you see, or hear, any sign of this dragon, turn around and run. I know that's not what we usually do, but this is different. I don't want any more of you to end up in the hospital, so be careful. Please. Stay together, stay sharp, stay alert. Together we can do this! Let's go!"
Ezra turned around and started walking towards the door to the shelter. But just as he reached out to open it, he froze. Faster than lightning he turned back around, pointing his sword at a man right behind him.
"What did you say?" he asked menacingly.
The man gulped. "Nothing sir!"
"No..." Ezra said, stepping down the steps, "you did say something. I'm not sure I heard it correctly. Say it again."
"I was wondering why we should risk our lives for some brat, sir" the man said, adding the sir quickly.
"Some brat?" Ezra asked, lowering his sword, "some brat? That "brat" has more balls than all of you combined! He went in there, probably to find that dragon, and with that the cure. All you've been doing is cower in the corner! Even now you hide from this beast! Hiccup is the one that found out what this dragon is, Hiccup is the one that discovered the storm! Tell me, Bruce, where would we be without this "brat"? We'd be washed away, many of us would be dead. Hiccup saved us, and now he's single handedly doing it again, or trying to. We took this boy into our midst, we cannot abandon him when he needs us! Now, if there are any among you that will not help me find him, by all means, leave. I won't stop you."
The crowd was dead silent, all eyes on Bruce, the man who had spoken up. No one moved, until Bruce straightened his back and turned around. Ezra watched him go with a dark look on his face, and he turned to the other people before sheeting his sword.
"Any one else?" he asked.
"No sir," an elder woman spoke, "we're here to help you find the boy. Whatever the cost."
"Alright," Ezra said while he opened the door, finding the torches in the hallway already lit, "seems like Hiccup has lit the torches on his path. Come on, let's follow them and see where we end up."
He stepped into the tunnel, his hand on his sword. Hiccups small footprints were still visible on the ground, the watery trail leading into the hall. The flickering light of the torches created eerie shadows on the wall, and he felt like the dragon was all around him. They made it to the dining room without a sign of the little beast, and with no sign of Hiccup. He sighed, leaning on the table, then he turned to his group.
"Let's split up," he said, "makes groups of four."
"Is that wise?" a man asked, "shouldn't we stay together?"
"It would be better to stay together, yes," Ezra said, "but these tunnels are narrow. And if we're all in one place, we make it easier for the dragon to pick us off one by one. If we take multiple tunnels at once, we increase the chances of finding Hiccup, while we make it harder for the dragon to take us all out."
"Right..." the man mumbled, "you're right."
"Very well then," Ezra said, "groups of four, each take a direction. Be careful people!"
They were about to split up, when an angry hiss froze them dead in their tracks. Immediately they drew their weapons, ready to attack the dragon when it came for them. The hissing grew louder and louder, until a deafening shriek filled the room.
"Go!" Ezra shouted, "back to the door!"
In an instant, they were running. The hallway suddenly seemed to be five miles long, never ending while they ran to the door, the angry dragon hot on their heels. Every moment they expected to drop down into a coma, but they made it out, stumbling and gasping for breath. There was one last shriek, then they heard the dragon run away from the door.
"That went well I see," Bruce said coldly, and Ezra looked up with fire in his eyes.
"You," he said, stabbing a finger at the man, "you will stand guard, right here, at this door. And if you move before we found Hiccup, or before he comes out himself, I'll have you thrown in jail. Understand?"
Bruce stared back defiantly, but he was no match for Ezra's death stare. He shrugged a little.
"Fine," he mumbled, "you're the boss."
"That's what I thought," Ezra said while he turned to the rest of his group, "any one injured?"
They shook their heads, and he breathed a sigh of relief. At least there would be no more in the hospital. The healers had their hands full as it was.
"You're on your own Hiccup," he mumbled softly, "and I hope you know what you're doing. I really do."
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"Okay..." Hiccup whispered as he looked at the long dark hallway in front of him, "I can do this... think of Wrenlou... and the others... I can do this..."
He took a step, half expecting to feel shard claws slash his leg, but nothing happened. He looked back to the small stream of light that came in through the door. He took a deep breath, gripped his torch tighter, and continued walking.
He advanced slowly, cautiously, lighting the torches on the wall as he advanced. He carefully turned the corners, but there had been no sign of the dragon so far. He made it to the dining hall without so much as a sound. There he stopped for a moment, looking at the several different tunnels that led away from the room.
"Right..." he mumbled, "that leads to the sleeping quarters... that leads to the infirmary... that's the library... so it would be either one of those I think..."
He stared at the two dark tunnels, one on his right, one on his left. Both looked menacing and positively uninviting. He couldn't see in them, all he saw was darkness, but he already knew that even though the dragon was grey, it was a master in hiding in the shadows.
"Left...? or right..." he mumbled, looking from one tunnel to the other, "I guess it doesn't matter... either one is dangerous..."
After a few more moments of hesitation, he decided to go left. There was no particular reason why he chose to go that way other than that the tunnel looked a little less dark and threatening in his eyes. He gripped his torch, made sure the light wouldn't go out any time soon, and stepped forward. He was even more careful than before, passing side tunnels quickly. He never saw any sign of the dragon, but he did stumble upon something else.
"Eggs?" he said, hardly believing what he saw.
He looked around the room, the nest in the center. He saw the bones that practically covered the floor, along with some torn shreds of clothes, but no sign of the riders or the dragon. Cautiously he moved closer to the nest, and the three shining grey eggs that were in it, and that's when he understood.
"That's why you were attacking us," he said softly, "you were just protecting your babies. To you, we're the intruders, the invaders. You probably thought we came here to steal your eggs, didn't you..."
He didn't expect an answer, but he got one. An angry hiss from behind him had him frozen dead in his tracks. When he turned around slowly, he saw the small dragon only inches away from him, it's eyes narrowed and it's tail raised above it's head. He swallowed hard, and stepped away from the nest.
"N..nice dragon," he said, his voice trembling slightly, "you don't want to hurt me... I would never dream of hurting your babies..."
The dragon shrieked, and Hiccup flinched, dropping the torch. The dragon kept advancing, swishing her tail back and forth, the three claws on the end glistening in the flickering light of the fire.
"Please," Hiccup said softly, reaching out towards the dragon, "I just came here to help my friend... and all the others that you attacked... I just want them to wake up..."
He tripped over something and landed on the ground. The dragons shrieked again and with a speed that surprised Hiccup she ran towards her nest and curled around the eggs, making sure they were okay. Then she turned back to Hiccup, her tail taking it's menacing position once again. Hiccup gasped as the dragon came towards him again, and he kept crawling back until he hit the wall. Now he saw what he had tripped over. Wrenlou's bow.
"That's why you attacked them..." he whispered, "they found your nest, didn't they? And you just protected your babies..."
The dragon growled, but lost something of her menacing stance. She tilted her head, looking more like a confused puppy than like an angry mother.
"Look," Hiccup said, reaching out once again, "I didn't come here to hurt your babies, okay? I just came here for the antidote of your venom. I just want to help my friends..."
As soon as his hand came in contact with the dragon's nose, she snapped at him, her tail slashing his arm at the same time. He yelped and pulled his hand back. Not only were there teethmarks in his hand, there were also three cuts on his wrist.
"I just wanted to help my friend..." he said, tears forming in his eyes, from pain and shock, "I just... I just wanted to help... I never w...wanted to... to hurt your babies..."
He cradled his arm against his chest, tears slipping down his cheeks. He knew that he would fall unconscious soon, he already felt the effects of the venom in his blood. His vision was becoming blurry, like he was looking through a fogged up window. His head was spinning, and he felt how the claws of darkness were pulling on him from all sides. He tried to fight the darkness, be he knew he was losing. So he pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his good arm around his knees. The dragon growled as she backed away, and he looked at her pleadingly.
"I just wanted to help my friend..." he mumbled, before the darkness finally engulfed him and pulled him under.
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Hello again! And welcome back to Queen Aurora's weekly riddle game! First, an announcement. I haven't heard anything from last weeks winner, MysteryWriter5775, so if you would please send me a message? Thank you!
Then, to this weeks riddle... the correct answer was a Windmill, and the winner is... *drumroll*... Crazyforxqueen! Congratulations! Send me a message, and I'll send you something back...
Lastly, the new riddle. New riddles, new chances! Here you go!
I can be swallowed, but I can swallow you too. What am I?
Good luck everyone!