Someone left a review saying they wanted the sequel to ROTDR, and believe me when I say I am working on it. But unlike what some of you may believe, a good story doesn't just float around on the wind waiting to be snatched and put on paper. It takes time, a lot of time. I have written some things for the sequel, but nothing worth posting yet. I don't even have a title for it yet, but I'm open for suggestions. Let me just say this: when the time for posting it has come, you'll know, because I'll announce it where ever I can. For now, TAAOFHAW will have to do. And please, there are so many fun stories still coming, so don't give up just yet. Right now there's only one thing I can say.

Enjoy!

The Adventurous Adventures of Hiccup and Wrenlou

A Blacksmith's Apprentice, Part III

"Toothless!" Hiccup screamed running as fast as he could, "Toothless!"

There was a roar, and a blast if purple plasma shot past him. Toothless came running towards him, his wings tucked against his sides. He didn't stop but he slowed down a little, just enough to allow Hiccup to climb onto his back. Then the dragon made a tight turn, and ran back towards the exit, the boulder still following them, and showing no signs of stopping.

"Faster Toothless!" Hiccup yelled while he looked back, "it's still following us!"

Toothless sped up and spread his wings the second they left the cave. They shot into the sky, almost straight up to get clear of the boulder. When Hiccup looked back, he saw that the boulder had stopped, just outside the cave, and while he watched, it uncurled itself, revealing a stocky dragon covered in spikes.

"It's a dragon," Hiccup said surprised, "but I've never seen a dragon like that before."

They stalled in the air, looking down on the strange dragon beneath them. It roared and spread its wings, clearly intending to come and get them. Hiccup yanked the saddle, trying to get Toothless to fly away before the dragon smashed them to pieces.

"It's coming after us!"

Toothless growled a little, as if he was trying to say that he would outrun the other dragon anyway. Hiccup studied the dragon a little. It wasn't build for speed, with its large body and small wings, but it looked strong, and now that it was closer, he saw that it was also significantly bigger than Toothless.

It wasn't hard to keep a safe distance between themselves and the strange dragon, and as soon as it realized this, it seemed to get irritated. Before he really knew what was happening, Hiccup saw how the dragon curled into a boulder again, and it slammed into the ground with so much force that the shockwave threw Toothless off his wings. They had been flying too low to dodge it, but they were high enough to make quite a nasty fall. He remembered how they fell, how they hit the ground, but after that, there was only darkness.

0-0-0-0-0

He groaned a little, the pain in his head fogging his mind. The world spun when he sat up, and he had to seek support against one of the many rocks that lay around. When he opened his eyes his vision was blurry, and it took a moment before it cleared up and he could see again.

"That's going to leave a mark..." he mumbled, feeling how the right side of his face and body was chafed and bruised from the fall.

When he was finally able to stand he looked around, spotting Toothless not far away. The dragon wasn't moving, and for a moment he feared he was seriously injured, perhaps even dead, but then Toothless stirred and opened his eyes not long after.

"Toothless!" Hiccup called as he rushed to his friend, "are you okay bud?"

Toothless crooned softly and stood up, carefully testing his legs and wings to make sure nothing was broken.

"At least we know what made these craters," Hiccup said as he walked closer to the one the dragon just created, "no meteors, it was that dragon."

He looked from the craters that surrounded them to the entrance of the cave in the distance. He bent down and pulled one of the dragon's spikes from between a few rocks where it had gotten stuck when the beast impacted the ground. It was short, about the length of his hand, but it was so sharp it would cut through flesh without resistance.

"That dragon is linked to the metal somehow," he said while he put the spike in his bag with the small pieces of metal he had already found, "I know it is. It must be! So far all the metal we've found has been in these craters and in it's cave. If only we could get to it..."

Toothless growled and jumped in front of Hiccup, preventing him from going into the cave. Hiccup laughed a little and held up his hands.

"Relax bud, I'm not going in there again. But it may be a good idea to set up camp somewhere we can see the cave. Maybe we can learn something about this dragon, maybe we can figure out where it finds the metal. We still have a few days to find it, so there should be enough time. Come on, lets find us a camp site."

They scouted the area, finding that the flat they were on stretched miles in every direction. There weren't a lot of mountains anywhere near the cave, so they settled for a rock formation not too far from the cave. From it they could clearly see the area in front of the cave, as well as the cave itself.

"Alright," Hiccup said while he pulled some bread apart, "I must know how this dragon is connected to this metal, so next time it leaves its cave we follow it, okay bud?"

Toothless groaned a little and curled up. With a sigh Hiccup sat down at his, pulling the dragon's tail onto his lap to check if the prosthetic had sustained any damage.

"We were lucky," he said, "this could have been much worse. Imagine, what would we have done if you had broken a wing. Or a leg. Then we'd be in trouble."

Toothless looked up and gently licked the side of Hiccup's face. With a groan Hiccup wiped the dragon spit away, be he knew what Toothless meant.

"I know..." he said with a sigh, "it could have been a lot better too."

After he had made sure the prosthetic was in perfect working condition, he took his sketchbook from the saddle bag.

"Lets see..." he mumbled, chewing at the end of his pencil, "it has to be a Boulder class dragon... related to Gronckles perhaps. The build certainly seems similar, large bodies and small wings...but this one is a lot bigger and meaner than a Gronckle, don't you think Toothless?"

Toothless' ear twitched, and that was the only movement from the dragon. Hiccup smiled and turned to an empty page, where he tried to sketch the dragon as best as he could, both the curled up boulder form, and the uncurled state. He had to leave a few things less detailed, or even completely black, simply because he didn't quite remember how it had been. When he finished the sketch he closed the notebook, looking at the cave entrance. There was no sign of the dragon, nothing moved in the barren landscape. He could still hear the volcano in the distance, but it was miles away.

The sun set, painting the sky with red and orange once again, and no sign of the dragon. The stars came out, the moon came out, and still no sign of the dragon. Hiccup sighed and rubbed his eyes. He was tired, very tired, and his head hurt, along with everything else. It was nearing midnight and he was about to give up and sleep, when he spotted movement at the cave. He sat up, staring in the dark. It was hard to see in the faint light of the moon, but the dragon had definitely come out again.

"It's out..." he said almost surprised, "Toothless, wake up bud. We have to follow it."

Toothless groaned, but slowly uncurled. The dragon yawned, then stood up and stretched his legs. Hiccup watched him with his arms crossed and when Toothless was finally done stretching, he quickly mounted the dragon and they took to the sky. Following the other dragon was easy, since it was slow and chunky. They followed it all the way back to the volcano, where it landed at the edge of the molten lava stream.

"What's he doing..." Hiccup mumbled, "eating the lava? Or the rocks at the edge of the lava... I prefer a warm meal too..."

Toothless crooned a little and Hiccup steered closer. They landed on a rock protrusion above the other dragon, giving them the perfect vantage point. That's when Hiccup discovered that the dragon wasn't eating the lava, but the rocks at the edge. It also went for a specific type of rock, large round boulders that lay strewn around.

"It only eats those round rocks..." Hiccup mumbled while he pulled out his notebook. Using the light from the lava he drew the rocks, and finished the details on the dragon he had missed earlier. "I wonder why..."

The dragon flew up and landed a little further, searching for the same kind of rocks. Hiccup watched it for a few hours, following the dragon whenever it moved to a different spot. He was immensely intrigued by the new dragon he had just discovered. When it flew up and headed back to it's cave, the sun was already rising, just a thin line above the horizon.

"I need to collect those rocks," Hiccup said, "at least a few, or bits and pieces. That may help us get back into that cave."

Toothless protested, but Hiccup had already slid down from their latest perch. He found that the rocks themselves were far too big for him to take, so he settled for some of the smaller pieces the dragon had left behind after his late night snack. He stuffed his bag with as many pieces as he could find.

"Sure is hot..." he mumbled while he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He looked at the lava stream not too far away. It was creeping forward, not flowing as he would have thought. As careful as he could he took a few steps closer to the immense river of molten rock. It bubbled a little, not like water bubbled when it boiled, but with large bubbles that took a long time to pop.

"Come on bud," Hiccup said and he turned away from the lava, "we're out of here."

He gratefully breathed in the fresh air as soon as they were in the sky. The cool air from the night hadn't completely disappeared yet, and it felt like heaven on his sweaty skin. They reached their campsite in just a few minutes, and as soon as they landed he let the bag slip from his shoulder.

"I could really use a bath right now," he said half joking, looking at his hands.

They were black from volcanic ash and dust. He knew his face had to be just as black. He pulled his tunic off and used that to clean his face as best he could.

"Remind me to never get that close to a volcano again, will you bud?"

Toothless crooned and curled up, resting his head on his paws. Hiccup smiled a little and took his position again, watching the entrance of the cave. He sighed as he petted Toothless head, leaning back against his side.

"We'll wait till it's dark," he said, more to himself than to Toothless, "then we'll go into the cave as soon as that dragon leaves. That will give us some time to explore the tunnels, don't you think bud?"

Toothless crooned softly, but didn't move. Hiccup looked down at the dragon and smiled.

"I guess some sleep isn't a bad idea," he said, "I'm pretty tired too."

He nestled against Toothless' side and closed his eyes. It didn't take long before he fell asleep, but the sun rising in the sky, shining down on them almost merciless, prevented him from sleeping much, and he was awake just a few hours later, just as the sun reached it's peak. He spend the rest of the day scouting the area around the cave, making sure he didn't come to close. When the night finally fell and the dragon left, he woke Toothless.

"Showtime bud," he said softly, "come on."

As silent as a ghost they slipped down and quickly made their way over to the cave entrance.

"Keep your eyes open bud," Hiccup said softly, "we don't know what we'll find. And let me know if you smell something, okay?"

After he took a deep breath he lit a torch, and then entered the cave with Toothless close behind him. The dragon stayed close to him, his keen eyes piercing the darkness and seeing things Hiccup couldn't. Hiccup stayed calm as long as the dragon stayed calm, but the deeper he went into the cave, the faster his heart was beating. After all, he didn't know if there were any more boulder dragons in these tunnels.

"What do you think?" he asked Toothless when he found a hunk of metal about the size of his fist, "are we in the right place? Come on, let's keep going."

They slipped into a side that quickly ran into a dead end, but he found a few more pieces of metal. He also found some pieces of the rock the dragon had been eating the night before, and he stuck those in the bag as well.

They explored the tunnels for what seemed to be hours, checking side tunnels and small chambers. He never found more than small bits and pieces of the metal, but his back was starting to get heavy when he walked into the largest chamber they had seen so far. It looked like it was the one the dragon lived in, with a large hollow in the middle probably where the dragon slept. There was only one other opening, opposite of the one they had come from, and he slowly walked around the hollow towards the opening. Toothless whined a little, looking from him to the exit and back.

"I know bud," Hiccup said softly, "just this room, then we can leave, okay?"

Toothless whined again, but followed him towards the opening in the rock. Hiccup smiled a little and crossed the few yards that separated him from the room. But the moment he stepped into the room, he froze. What he saw wasn't at all what he had expected. He had expected to find more of the metal, maybe a pile of eggs, but what he hadn't expected to find was a small skeleton. Well, small... it was about the size of Toothless, maybe a little smaller, and it was resting on a flat rock that almost looked like a shrine of sorts.

"Oh my gods..." he whispered and he stepped a little closer, "that looks like the dragon but... smaller... Toothless, do you think this is her child?"

He turned around and stared straight into the eyes of the big boulder dragon. Before he could say anything, it roared furiously, causing him to stumble back a little.

"L... look," he stammered, "I don't mean to harm you... okay? I just..."

The dragon roared again, flaring it's wings and Hiccup dove past it into the bigger room. It turned around with amazing speed, staying in the room as if it was protecting it's child.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," Hiccup said again, his voice shaking ever so slightly, "I didn't know... I'm sorry..."

Instead of coming after him, the dragon turned back to the small room. It looked almost sad, the way it gently checked the skeleton that lay there.

"It was your baby, wasn't it," Hiccup said softly.

The dragon growled a little, but it no longer sounded threatening. Hiccup took a deep breath and walked back into the room and around the dragon to face it. He held out one hand with the palm up, the other like he had done with Toothless the first time.

"I'm not here to hurt you," he said softly, "I swear I'm not here to hurt you."

The dragon looked at him, it's eyes no longer filled with anger. They were now filled with sadness and loneliness.

"I can be your friend," Hiccup said and he dug around in his bag until he found a piece of rock, "do you want me to be your friend?"

He stood still as he offered the rock to the dragon. It looked at him, but didn't move.

"You've been lonely," Hiccup said, more sure of himself, "I know what it's like to be lonely." He sighed and sat down, putting the rock down in front of him. "Where I come from... nobody liked me very much. In fact, Toothless was the first real friend I had. Until I found Dragoncity... it was just me and him. But I found a family there. I'm sure there's a family out there for you."

The dragon curled it's tongue around the rock and pulled it into it's mouth. Hiccup smiled widely and pulled another piece from his bag. He kept taking about a lot of things, until the dragon was completely calm.

"What should I call you?" he asked himself, "and what kind of dragon are you? You look like a Gronckle, but if I look at that..." he looked at the skeleton, "it's not quite the same. And I've never known Gronckles to curl into boulders... maybe that's what I'll call you, Boulder."

He looked at the dragon in front of him. It had lost it's menacing look, as much as it could being covered in spikes and sharp edges. He reached out, slowly to not spook it, and rubbed it's nose a little.

"You were just protecting yourself weren't you," he said softly, "you thought I came here to hurt you. Well, all I want is this."

He pulled the metal from his bag, holding a few of the chunks up for the dragon to see.

"I need this you see," he continued, "it's for a test. If I don't get enough, and I think enough means a lot, I failed it, and that means my future is... well, ruined. I know this has something to do with you, can you help me?"

Boulder looked at him, then looked at his hands and the metal in them. Then it stood up and walked into the larger room, to the hollow in the centre. Hiccup scrambled to his feet and followed the dragon, watching his every move. Boulder slipped into the hollow and nestled into it, fitting perfectly in the round shape. Hiccup sighed, and turned to Toothless.

"Come on bud, I don't think we'll find the answer here."

Toothless got up and stretched, keeping a close eye on the dragon. Hiccup put all the metal back into his bag and climbed onto Toothless' back. He took one last look at the dragon, then left the cave.

"Well, we made some progress, right?" he said, not entirely convinced, "we'll try again tomorrow. Right now, why don't we let her rest."