Sorry for not updating last week, there were some personal issues I had to deal with first. Those are fixed now, hopefully, and I can get back to writing. I'll try to update more, maybe twice a week, but no promises.

Enjoy!

The Adventurous Adventures of Hiccup and Wrenlou

A Blacksmith's Apprentice, Part IV

"Where's Hiccup? Has any of you seen Hiccup?" Wrenlou asked, but the riders he had been talking with shook their heads.

"I haven't seen him in a while..." he mumbled and he turned to look around the plaza, "I wonder where he is..."

He sighed as he called for Snowflake, the dragon sauntering towards him with a fish in her mouth. She swallowed it while she looked at him, then gestured to her back.

"I'm sorry girl," Wrenlou said while he rubbed her nose, "I know we haven't gone flying the past few days, but I've been so busy with that first test. I just finished it. And now I can't find Hiccup, or Toothless... you haven't seen them, have you?"

Snowflake yawned and wondered off again. Wrenlou looked around the plaza again, and then the smoke rising from the forge's chimney caught his eye. He frowned and mentally kicked himself for not looking in the obvious place first. Hiccup had gone to the blacksmith to become his apprentice, where could he be besides the forge?

But as he approached the forge, he heard only Mendo, the blacksmith, singing loudly while hammering a piece of metal. And when he stepped into the small structure, Hiccup was nowhere to be seen. He crossed his arms and waited for the man to notice him, knowing it was pointless to try and shout over the banging of the hammer. When the smith had put the metal back into the fire, it was a sword Wrenlou realized, Mendo noticed him when he turned to put the hammer down.

"Wrenlou!" he said cheerful, wiping his hands on his apron, "what can I do for you?"

"Where's Hiccup?" Wrenlou asked, "I haven't seen him in days. I know he went to you. What did you make him do?"

"The first test of course!" Mendo said, but then his face grew serious, "Wrenlou, I can't tell you where he is. I know you would go after him and he has to do this alone."

"Where is he?" Wrenlou asked again, a dark tone in his voice, "tell me where he is!"

Mendo sighed and stepped closer. Even though Wrenlou was tall, the smith still towered over him.

"I honestly can't tell you that," he said softly, "he has a week to complete the first test. He has been gone for four days. If he's not back in three, I will tell you where he is, I will take you there. But right now, I can't. It's one of the rules of the guild."

"Is he in danger?" Wrenlou asked.

"To be honest I don't know," Mendo said as he turned back to the fire, "he could be. But he's clever. He'll manage to get out of it. Three days Wrenlou, if he's not back in three days we'll go find him, okay?"

"Do I have a choice?" Wrenlou asked.

"None at all," the smith answered and he pulled the glowing piece of metal from the fire, "so I suggest you go back to your own tests, and let me worry about Hiccup."

"Fine," Wrenlou said, "but you can't expect me not to worry! He's my best friend, okay? And if he gets hurt, I'll know where to find you."

before the smith could answer, Wrenlou had left the forge. He went back to the plaza, not sure what to do. He had finished his first test and Naomi, his would-be master, had given him a few days before the next. He had hoped to catch up with Hiccup, maybe fly together, explore the island some, but now Hiccup was nowhere to be found. He rubbed his wrist, still sore from writing three days on end, and decided to go find Snowflake again. It was time he took her on a well deserved flight around the island. And maybe, just maybe, they would be able to figure out where Hiccup went.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"I have to leave tomorrow," Hiccup said and he glanced at the boulder dragon, "I have to go back."

The dragon didn't react to his words, didn't even move, and Hiccup sighed.

"I need that metal," he said softly, "I have to have it. Without it... well, without it I have to find another path, another thing to do. And to be honest, smithing is the only thing I'm good at. You can help me. You know where to find that metal, don't you?"

The dragon groaned but still didn't move. Hiccup sighed. He had been trying to get the dragon to show him the metal for a few days now, but time was running out fast. He only had a day left, and so far all he had in his bag were little splinters and small nuggets, nowhere near enough to be a sizable chunk as the smith had put it, not even if he melted everything together.

"Please..." he said softly, "I need it..."

This time the dragon looked up, but made no other movement. It looked at him with it's yellow eyes, almost without emotion, and Hiccup looked down.

"You're lonely..." he said, "I know what that's like... being lonely. I was lonely too, until I met Toothless. I didn't have friends, nobody liked me. Toothless was my first friend. And since I left home, I've made many more. Wrenlou, Dale, Broghan... they must be so worried... you know, I was sent here, by the blacksmith, to find this metal." He held up the small nugget he had been toying with. "And I did find it. Sort of. But you know where the rest is don't you. You know where to find it. Please, help me. If I don't have it... I... I don't know if I can face them again. You see, the people in my old life all called me useless. If I fail now, I prove them right. I want to prove them wrong..."

The dragon was motionless, just looking at him, and Hiccup felt like the animal was looking straight through him.

"What if I promise to come back?" he said, "what if I promise to come back at least once a year? I'll even take Wrenlou."

The dragon tilted his head to the side, as if he was considering the offer. Then she stood up, stretched her stocky body and spread her wings. Hiccup jumped up, grabbing his bag.

"Toothless!" he yelled, "Toothless come on!"

The Night Fury bounced towards him and Hiccup jumped onto his back. They quickly followed the boulder dragon, not wanting to lose it. This may be his only chance at finding the metal.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Mendo sighed as he watched the sky. The light of Hiccup's last day was fading fast, and there was still no sign of the boy.

"If you don't hurry up Hiccup, I'm going to have to fail you," he mumbled softly, "I'd hate to do that."

He sat down in front of the forge, keeping a watchful eye on the skies above. He was worried, although he would never admit that, but he was worried that something had happened to his would-be apprentice. If Hiccup had gotten hurt, or worse, it would be on him. Just when he was about to give up hope, a dark shape shot down from the sky, barely visible in the fading light, and landed on the plaza in front of the forge. Hiccup hopped off Toothless' back, waving at him. Mendo waved back, relieved to see the boy, but anxious to see if he had succeeded in his mission. He stood up and walked closer.

"My gods, Hiccup," he gasped when he saw the boy's dirty face and clothes, "what happened to you?"

"Oh, you know," Hiccup said almost casually while he was untying his bag from the saddle, "just an active volcano and a homicidal dragon, that's all. A little warning would have been nice."

"Yeah..." Mendo said while he scratched the back of his head, "sorry about that... I couldn't tell you about that... I would have if I could."

"It's fine," Hiccup said, finally untangling his bag from the straps holding it in place, "but I am going to get a bath of you don't mind."

"Did you get it?" the smith asked no longer able to contain his curiousity, "did you find the metal?"

"It was a tricky one, I'll give you that," Hiccup said with a faint smile while he hauled his bag into the forge, "but I believe this is what you're looking for?"

He set the back onto the table and undid the clasps. He carefully lifted the large chunk of metal out of the bag, leaving the little bits and pieces he had found inside. The smith gasped as he set the chunk on the table, rounding it to the other side.

"Hiccup, this is amazing!" he said, "where did you find a chunk this big!"

Hiccup shrugged a little, but he couldn't hide his pride. He has been able to persuade the dragon to show him where the metal came from, and he had been able to take this much home.

"You must tell me all about it," Mendo said, "tomorrow. Right now, I am proud to announce that you passed the first test. With flying colours I might add. This much metal... it's truly amazing."

Hiccup smiled widely, feeling how his cheeks turned a little red. "What happens now?" he asked.

"Now?" Mendo said, "now, you go take a bath, eat something and then rest. This will be kept safe here, and tomorrow you will come back and I'll tell you all about the second test. Oh... and you might want to find Wrenlou. He was worried about you."

"Okay," Hiccup said and he watched how Mendo moved the chunk of metal from the table to a secure cabinet. Just as he turned to leave, Mendo's voice stopped him.

"Hiccup? I am going to need that map back," the smith said, pulling the box the map had been in out of the cabinet.

Hiccup turned back and pulled the map from his pocket. He gently placed it back in the box and watched how the smith locked it up again, in the same cabinet where his metal chunk was not residing.

"Get cleaned up," the smith said, "eat and rest. And then I'll see you again tomorrow."

"Yes sir," Hiccup said, and he turned around.

The feeling he had was almost indescribable, a mixture between pride, joy and a great feeling of success. He had shown them he wasn't a failure. He had succeeded. He had passed his first test. Following the smith's advice, he went to find Wrenlou. As it turned out, he didn't have to look very far.

"Hiccup! Where on earth have you been!"

He turned around to find Wrenlou running towards him. He stopped in front of him, crossing his arms.

"You look terrible," he commented, "what happened to you."

"Long story," Hiccup said, trying to rub some of the dirt from his arm, "I need a bath..."

"Yes you do..." Wrenlou nodded in agreement, "come on, I'll join you. I can use on myself."

Hiccup nodded and they quietly walked to the bath house. He didn't see the occasional glance Wrenlou cast in his direction, but just before they entered the bath house, Wrenlou stopped him.

"So tell me," he said, "did you pass the test and what the hell happened."

"How about I tell you inside," Hiccup said, "I also want to hear about yours."

"Fair enough," Wrenlou said.

It wasn't long before they had changed into the swimming shorts and plunged into the water, and Hiccup was scrubbing the dirt from his skin. Wrenlou was watching him, leaning on the edge of the small pool.

"Those are bruises," he pointed out, seeing the dark blue marks on Hiccup's skin, "and scrapes. What happened?"

"Mendo sent me to an active volcano to find some metal," Hiccup said, "but he didn't mention that there was also a dragon living there. I believe it to be a boulder class dragon, but it doesn't breath fire or anything. It does this thing where it curls up in the middle of flight, and slams into the ground. The resulting shockwave knocks everything in range out of the sky. Toothless and I didn't know that, so we were knocked out. I don't think I broke anything, just scrapes and bruises."

"Hmm..." Wrenlou said, not seeming entirely convinced.

"We're okay, really," Hiccup said, "Toothless' saddle is a little scratched up, but he's fine. He's got a tougher hide than I do. I should get the saddle off him later... so he can run around a little."

"Do you want me to check them?" Wrenlou said, "the scrapes?"

Hiccup shrugged and Wrenlou moved over. "So tell me," he said while he started to clean the dirt of Hiccup's back and shoulders, revealing more scrapes and bruises, "what happened next? Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Oh yes!" Hiccup said, "I sure did! I had been finding these little splinters and small nuggets in the craters the dragon makes when it hits the ground, so that was the first clue I got. That was what led me to believe that it had to be connected to the dragon. That was after I found out there was a dragon that is. Anyway, I found the dragon and I managed to train it a little."

"Of course you did," Wrenlou mumbled, "there's a few nasty cuts here on your shoulder. I think there may be a few pieces of debris in there. I'll try to get them out. Don't stop talking!"

"As I said I managed to train the dragon a little, after I had been following it around the island for a while," Hiccup said, talking fast now, "but I was getting nowhere with making it show me where the metal came from, and honestly I was getting a little scared that I would never find it, but then I followed it to the lava stream, and I had followed it there many times before, that's where it eats you see, but this time it didn't go for the rocks it usually eats, it actually ate the lava! It didn't even flinch! And you know how hot that stuff is! Anyway, after that it goes back to it's cave, and naturally we follow it again. At first nothing happens, but after a few hours or so it gets up, and it's like it's choking. You know, when a cat has a hairball stuck or something? Like that. Before I can do anything however, help or something, it just... OW! What did you just do?"

"Sorry," Wrenlou said, "this was in your shoulder."

Hiccup turned around a little, to see Wrenlou holding a small silver splinter. "That's a piece of the metal," he said, "I found a bunch of those. That was in my shoulder?"

Wrenlou nodded. "I also found a few small bits of rock. You didn't clean them, did you."

He sounded a little accusing, and Hiccup shook his head. "I didn't think that would be necessary, he said, "it's just scrapes."

"Always clean wounds," Wrenlou said, "no matter how small. An infection doesn't need a large wound to settle into your body. Now come on, continue! You were just getting to the good part!"

"Right..." Hiccup mumbled, "where was I... Oh! Right. So I thought the dragon was choking, but then it spits out a chunk of metal! Just like that! Glowing red hot, steaming a little. I had been looking for it for days and there it was, at my feet."

"So the dragon makes the metal?" Wrenlou asked, "can I see your arm?"

"I don't think it makes the metal," Hiccup said while he held out his arm for Wrenlou to check, "I think it's in the rocks it eats. But because it can't digest the metal, it's a rock eater after all, it just secrets the small amounts in the rock through it's skin. That's the splinters and nuggets I found. I think there's a much larger concentration present in the lava, which explains why it coughed the large chunk up rather then sweating it out."

"Sounds like an interesting dragon," Wrenlou said, "but I take it you passed?"

"Yes!" Hiccup said, splashing water at Wrenlou in his excitement, "I did! And I've never felt this good about something before!"

"You should be proud," Wrenlou said smiling, "are there any more scrapes beside the ones on your cheek there?"

"My leg and side," Hiccup said, "but what about you? What was your first test and did you pass?"

"Did you know," Wrenlou started as he inspected Hiccup's cheek, "that there are about a thousand different kinds of herbs, roots, berries and leaves with healing benefits?"

"A thousand?" Hiccup said, "that's a lot."

"I know," Wrenlou said, "I had to write them all down."

"Al thousand!?" Hiccup practically shouted, "that's... that's impossible! What if you get any wrong? Were you allowed to get some wrong?"

Wrenlou nodded. "I could get twenty wrong."

"Just twenty?" Hiccup asked, "that's not a lot..."

"I know, but normally it's only ten," Wrenlou said and he moved a way from Hiccup's cheek, "but that's for people who already have experience, who've already been an apprentice. They gave me a little more room because I didn't."

"Did you pass it?" Hiccup asked watching how Wrenlou checked the scrapes on his leg, "how many did you get wrong?"

"16," Wrenlou said proudly, "so yes, I passed. Took me three days to write everything down, but I did it."

Hiccup smiled widely. "We both passed... that's awesome."

"It sure is," Wrenlou said, "next test tomorrow... are you nervous?"

"Yes," Hiccup admitted, "but I'm also excited. You?"

"Me too," Wrenlou nodded and he climbed out of the pool, "I wonder what they have planned next."

"As long as it doesn't involve volcanoes or boulder dragons, I'm good," Hiccup said while he grabbed a towel, "I've seen enough of that for now."

"Come on," Wrenlou said, "we should celebrate with a good meal. I happen to know that the others passed too. Broghan had it hard, he told me."

"Oh yeah?" Hiccup chuckled as they walked back to change into their own clothes again, "you're going to have to tell me all about that."

Wrenlou nodded. "And you will have to tell me more about that boulder dragon of yours. Because a dragon that can knock a Night Fury out of the sky without even touching it, that sounds awesome."

"It was," Hiccup said, "I have sketches. I'll show you. And I'll take you there too. Just... don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Promise," Wrenlou said, "now let's eat. I'm hungry."