The Quest of Fear

It was during a short intermission between classes that Hiccup was looking at the bulletin board of available quests. He ignored the looks the other students threw him as his eyes flicked around the board. Eventually one in particular caught his eyes. The villagers of a village to the west were reporting strange sighting of some kind of...creature. Some kind of dark skeletal horse that only came out at night.

The villagers were scared. The children were having nightmare. Nightmares so bad they literally could not fall asleep. Hiccup pursed his lips before glancing at Toothless perched on his shoulder.

"What do you think bud? Want to give these guys a hand?" he asked. The dragon warbled at him before nodding with a huff. He smiled before giving him a scratch under the chin. With that decided he raised his speculum up before holding it before the bulletin board.

"Hey Hiccup!"

"Gah!" Hiccup yelped in surprise as he flinched. He looked to his left to see Rapunzel bouncing up to him with a smile while Merida slowly followed behind with a blank face. She always seemed displeased to see him.

"What you doing Hiccup?" Rapunzel asked chipperly.

Hiccup smiled at her. "Just about to take a quest," Hiccup explained as he gestured to the bulletin board, specifically the flyer of the quest he was about to accept.

"Oh?" Rapunzel asked curiously. She looked to the board and flyer. "Oh my. Those poor children," Rapunzel said with worry.

"What it is?" Merida asked as she stepped up to take a look herself.

"Yeah. I'm going to check it out. See if I can't figure out what's going on," he explained.

"Sure you can handle it E-rank?" Merida asked condescendingly. "This quest calls for at least a B-rank," Merida pointed out.

"Well yeah but-"

"Oooh. We'll come with you," Rapunzel volunteered.

"You don't really need to."

"But we're friends. And it'll be safer if we go together," Rapunzel insisted.

"But-"

"We're going lad. And you can nae stop us," Merida said with an air of finality.

Hiccup sighed. He'd much rather have gone alone. But Rapunzel's smile and Merida stubbornness made him cave.

"Ok," he said in defeat. "Just hold your Speculum up to the flyer," he said. They did as told. They watched as their mirrors glowed. Suddenly the writing on the flyer simply floated off the page before splitting into three sections and being absorbed by their mirrors.

"A notice will be sent to our teachers that will excuse us from class while we're on our quest. But we should try to finish as soon as possible so we don't miss a lot of school work. We should all go pack some stuff and meet at the headmaster's office. Got it?"

They both nodded before heading off. They grabbed extra clothes, blankets, and whatever money they still had from their previous travels before heading to the headmaster's office. When they got there they found Hiccup waiting outside the door.

"Ready?" he asked. They nodded. "Alright. Let's go." With that he led them to the front of the school.

"So how are we going to get there Hiccup?" Rapunzel asked.

Hiccup smiled "I'm glad you asked Rapunzel." With that he pulled out some kind of glass orb from his pocket. "This magic orb will let us travel to our destination and back instantly," he revealed. They gasped in amazement as Hiccup brought the orb to his mouth, whispered something to it, and then threw it before him.

The girls yelped as with a flash of light a magic swirling circle of white light emerged before them. Hiccup glanced back at them with a grin before motioning with his head for them to follow. They obliged, stepping through the portal after him and emerging at the outskirt of the village. The girls were amazed. They must had just gone through several day's worth of travel in a mere instant.

The light vanished behind them as the portal vanished, leaving only the orb floating in mid air. Hiccup held his hand out, letting it fly into his hand. He pocketed it before leading the way to the village. As they entered they were eyes by the villagers warily. They offered them smiles and waves as they were brought before the village leader. They presented their Speculums, proof of their status as Knights. Student Knights.

They were welcomes and even offered lodging free of charge. They tried to refuse, but the villagers insisted on it as their means of paying them for their troubles. They reluctantly agreed and after setting down their things they began asking the villagers about the dark horse. The villagers shuddered and shivered at the memory of the thing. They said that it had yellow eyes and a body as black as night.

They were shown the children who'd been afflicted with nightmares. They looked awful, with dark circles under their eyes. Many of them just stumbled and trudged about.

"Maybe I can do something," Rapunzel chimed in. The villagers arched brows at her as she went to every child. She placed her hands on either side of her head and closed her eyes. Light emitted from her palms, the child stiffened before his body went slack in her arms. The villagers rushed over in worry, only to find him sound asleep.

"I used some of my magic to rejuvenate and relax his body. At least now he can get a little sleep," she said with a shrug. One by one she repeated the process, making all the children fall instantly asleep for some well needed rest. When she was done Rapunzel leaned against a wall, slightly tired from using her magic so frequently in such a short time. Merida came over to give her a hand.

"I'm going to explore the area a little. See if I can't find a clue," Hiccup said aloud.

"Oh. We'll come too," Rapunzel chimed in as she forced herself to stand. Hiccup didn't argue as the villagers led them to the edge of the village, a spot where they'd seen the black horse. Merida inspected the ground, coming upon a set of hoofprints in the soil.

"Big hoofprints," Hiccup noted as he took a glance at them.

"Aye. And yet they aren't that deep," Merida said curiously. She looked up, glancing into the trees. "Shall we take a look? See if we can't find our black beastie?"

"Worth a look," Hiccup said with a shrug. They glanced to Rapunzel. She nodded in agreement.

Rapunzel came to Merida side, and with a golden flash she assumed her bow form. They looked to Hiccup as Toothless crawled down from Hiccup's shoulder and onto his extended arm. The girls watched curiously, having never seen Toothless change before. They stared as Toothless' wings unfurled and began to grow and expand, blocking them from view. Then they suddenly vanished, shirking and receding and leaving behind a round, silvery, and shimmering shield with Toothless' visage adorned on the front.

"Ready?" Hiccup asked as he glanced over to them. He paused as he found Merida's face blank. "What?"

"You are useless," Merida stated bluntly.

Merida! That's rude! Rapunzel chastised in her mind.

"It's a shield. It's not even a weapon!" Merida said in her own defense.

"Hey. Don't knock the shield. I didn't say anything about you using a bow! No offense Rapunzel," Hiccup said back.

"What are you going to do with a shield? Defend yourself till they die from exhaustion?"

"Maybe."

Merida rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just stay behind us E-rank," Merida said with a snort as she took the lead.

They began to trek through the forest, Merida in the lead and keeping her sharp eyes out for signs of danger. Merida followed the broken twigs and footprints. An unknown amount of minutes passed as they tried to locate the black horse, until eventually they came upon a cliff face. And at the bottom they could make out a cave.

"They said it only comes out at night. Maybe this is where it hides?" Hiccup suggested. With a hum Merida gave a nod as she led the way inside the cave. Hiccup covered the rear, making sure nothing came in to try and ambush them. The cave wasn't that deep, and from the dust and cobwebs it looked as if nothing had inhabited the cave in years. They searched all over, but they found nothing of significance.

"Hmm. I didn't spy any more tracks. Where could it have gone?" Merida wondered aloud.

"Maybe we missed something," Hiccup said with a shrug. He glanced down at the ground for any signs of hoofprints or tracks, before noting something curious. He kneeled down, grabbing a fistful of dirt and letting it sift through his fingers. "Weird. Black sand," Hiccup said curiously. He didn't know what to make of it.

Merida, I need a break. Healing all those kids really wore me out. I don't think I can maintain my form for much longer, Rapunzel suddenly said into her partner's mind.

"C'mon Hiccup. Rapunzel needs a break. Let's head back to the village," Merida told Hiccup. Hiccup stood up after dusting his hands off and nodded at her. With that they left the cave.

Back in the cave it was dead silent. Nothing moved. Nothing but the dirt floor. Grains of black sand began to shake before shifting, rolling and converging at the center of the floor.

Back at the village the sun was beginning to set. The Knights were getting in a good meal, filling their stomachs and allowing Rapunzel and Toothless to regain their strength.

As they spoke they began to discuss their plans for the night.

"I guess we stand on guard. Take shifts?" Hiccup offered.

"Sounds good. You should probably go first," Merida stated.

"Why's that? Not that I mind."

"Rapunzel is going to need as much rest as she can get. She's much weaker at night. If we need to fight something we'll need her at her strongest. Seeing as you're kind of useless in battle with only a shield," Merida stated bluntly once again.

Toothless growled at her in offense.

"I know bud. She is rude," Hiccup said in agreement with Toothless. Merida ignored his comment as they continued to eat. "Alright. I'll take first watch."

With their meal concluded they all went to wash up for the night. The girls were led to the bath so they could go first. Hiccup let them as he settled in his room, getting in a quick nap since he'd have to stay up for the first part of the night. He got in about half an hour's worth before the sounds of chatter from the room next to his, the girl's room, woke him. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he stood and walked out into the hall. He grabbed at the girl's door and pushed it open.

"Hey guys. The sun's starting to set so why don't you guys-OH THOR!" Hiccup suddenly yelped as he threw his arm over his eyes. "I'm so sorry!"

"Just get out!" Merida cried.

"Yeah I'm out," Hiccup said as he backed out of the room and shut the door with a red face.

Merida and Rapunzel's faces were red as they had their arms crossed over their chests in embarrassment. They weren't naked. But they still didn't want to be seen in their underwear.

Hiccup tapped on the wall from his room. "Guys? Can you hear me? I'm sorry," Hiccup said through the wall. "Sorry...sorry...sorry...sorry...so sorry," Hiccup kept muttering.

"It's ok Hiccup," Rapunzel assured him. "It was an accident. No harm done."

"Like hell! Next time I see you E-rank ah'm going to punch you in your face!" Merida snarled at him.

"Fair enough," Hiccup called back. "Goodnight."

As the girls got ready for bed Merida was still angry. Rapunzel tried to calm her down, and succeeded with limited success before they both went to bed. As the night went on and the sun went down Hiccup grabbed a lantern and Toothless changed to hsi shield form. Hiccup began to patrol the streets of the village for, making his way to every part of the village for any sign of the black horse.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the village a black figure moved through the woods. One minute it was there, then it was gone. Then it'd reappear in another spot, gradually moving closer and closer to the village. It stopped at the very edge. Pausing at it sensed the sleeping children, having dreams, sleeping soundly. Completely unaware of what lurked in the shadows outside their village.

It also sense some new people. Young ones at that.

It was time to feast.

Time to harvest their fear.

new chap