A/N: My apologies for delaying this chapter. I started working full-time a few weeks ago, and the new job cut massively into my time for writing. Also, I recently read The Hunger Games trilogy for the first time and my imagination has been rather occupied with the varying adventures of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. There might be a future fanfic in this. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter; things are moving . . .

Chapter 4: Discovery

The morning dawned cold and foggy, a chill mist rising off some unseen body of water to shroud the icy city in a blanket of grey. Hiccup rubbed his hands together to wake up his circulation, blowing on the tips of his fingers in a vain attempt to warm them. He and Toothless were up early, waking at the first sign of cold, blue light penetrating through the murky dark. They tiptoed quietly out through the doors, weaving their way between the prone sleepers on the fur-covered floor and ducking under the low lintel. Hiccup straightened, casting a glance over his shoulder to check for disturbances.

When he turned, it was with a jolt of surprise. Astrid stood in front of him, hands on hips and Stormfly peering over her head with one slitted yellow eye.

"And where do you think you're sneaking off to?" she asked, her voice low.

"Just exploring," he replied.

"Not alone, I hope."

"Not now. Coming with us, milady?"

"It's about time you asked."

They glided over the city together, hugging the surface and letting the dragons set their own pace. It was quiet, but here and there movement stirred in the dark streets as people rose and went about their work. Directly behind them, the sun was beginning to rise from the east like a great blurry disk of pale, hard light.

Hiccup scanned the ground below him, letting his curiosity lead him. Toothless was relaxed, sniffing and warbling from time to time like a giant cat. But Astrid was agitated; Hiccup could see it in her posture, the tilt of her head, the way she glanced over at him frequently, as if waiting for him to speak.

Eventually, prompted by her fidgeting, he broke the silence.

"This place is amazing," he said. "But if there were dragons here before, where have they gone now?"

"I think there's a bigger problem actually, Hiccup," Astrid replied, keeping Stormfly parallel with Toothless so she could speak softly. "These people: how can they possibly live? There are no animals here, nowhere to hunt or graze, no way to raise crops. Come on, they have to melt their water just to drink it. And, come to think of it, how do they keep the fires lit without wood? It's impossible, and I think there's a lot that Igdir's not telling us."

"We can't expect him to share all of his secrets with us just because our dragons haven't attacked anybody. That would be like us showing complete strangers how to train dragons. Nobody would do that. Well, maybe the twins would, but they're supposed to know better."

"And speaking of the twins, do you really trust them not to let Dragon's Edge burn down?"

"Snotlout will look after it."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Well that just fills me up with confidence."

"And you're a bucket of sunshine this morning. Igdir hasn't given us any reason to doubt his story; not yet, at least."

"There's more to it, Hiccup," Astrid protested. "This place, and that story, there's something not right about it. And you said it yourself, if there were dragons here before, where are they now? Igdir's story raises too many questions."

"What is this, Doubt-fest?" He gestured with a hand, trying to argue a point. "These people aren't like us, we know that, but that doesn't make them hostile. We fought the dragons for generations, simply because we didn't understand them. Let's not do the same here."

She looked at him very seriously. "I just think we should be cautious," she said quietly.

The sun had risen fully, turning the grey of the fog to white and forcing them to fly lower to keep their bearings. The streets beneath them were empty and eerily quiet. Drifted snow filled corners and obscured landmarks in clumps of lumpy white; under the snow, the ice bore the telltale marks of constant wind and motion. Here and there, great crevasses had opened in the surface, penetrating to unimaginable depths, while between them the ice rose in jagged peaks and pillars forced upward by pressure. A chill wind clawed through clothing to bite at exposed skin. Toothless and Stormfly flew onward, though both became increasingly agitated, sensing danger long before their riders.

Crack! The sound broke through the silence with a jolt, followed by the crunching grind of ice against ice. Hiccup urged Toothless forward to investigate, when suddenly the glacier dropped away beneath them to reveal a vast bay of grey, choppy water filled with giant mountains of broken ice that battled for room in the crowded outlet. Above the water, the glacier ended abruptly in a series of wide, jagged cliffs that grinned with the snaggle-toothed horror of grim destruction. Even as they watched, another huge chunk broke off the cliff-face with a wrenching tear and tumbled into the bay with an almighty splash that set the surrounding icebergs bobbing and bouncing against each other.

Astrid shuddered involuntarily; the sight was both grim and awe-inspiring, a battle of the elements fearsome to behold. Hiccup was not oblivious to it, but he was already thinking through the implications, calculating risks and potential outcomes as he circled above the great battlefield of ice and water.

"Well, at least we know that part of Igdir's story was true," he called to Astrid over his shoulder. She responded with an inscrutable look, somewhere between fear and annoyance; he wasn't entirely sure which.

"It's moving, and it's moving quickly," he continued. "How long did we fly over the city before we met Igdir and his people?"

Astrid frowned, thinking. "A day, maybe? And we saw a few people before we landed, but not enough to make up a decent building force; if Igdir's hall is or used to be the center of the city, then the ice is moving much faster than his people can work. And we haven't been in the air that long."

"Not more than an hour, I reckon," Hiccup concurred.

Astrid shifted in the saddle. "Hiccup, we haven't seen enough people to populate this city, let alone build it."

"Igdir said they've been here a long time."

"And I said we shouldn't trust Igdir. And I'm still saying it."

The sky rumbled above them, and dragons and riders looked upward. The sky had darkened since sunrise, clouds gathering to hide the sun. Toothless and Stormfly drifted closer together as the wind picked up, fluttering their wingtips. Lightning flashed in the distance and Toothless tensed.

"It's okay, bud," Hiccup calmed him, patting his head gently. "It's just a little storm, that's all."

"Um, Hiccup, that's not little." Astrid pointed to the bank of clouds gathering overhead. Grey darkened to black, heavy billows of cloud tumbling over each other in the rush to crash on the glacier with the unstoppable force of a cyclone.

"You're right; we should head back. Toothless?"

The dragon whuffed and shot back the way they had come, Stormfly following close behind.

"Hiccup, Astrid, where have you been? Meatlug and I have been looking everywhere for you."

"It was not wise for you to wander, my friends, even on the backs of dragons. The surface is not safe."

Hiccup and Astrid dismounted quickly, scanning the crowd of faces that surrounded them. Fishlegs was there, and Meatlug, concern written on their features. Towering above them was Igdir, his blonde hair waving in the heavy wind that blew around them. Already, flakes of snow clumped together to drift into the sunken streets.

"A storm comes," Igdir continued. "We must retreat to shelter."

"Yes, and perhaps you wouldn't mind answering a few questions. Like, what are you playing at and how do you expect your people to go on surviving when this glacier ends only a hundred furlongs away?"

Fishlegs squeaked, but Igdir's face hardened. "I cannot speak of these things here. We shall withdraw. Bento, see to our guests' needs."

He retreated into the hall, herding his grandchildren before him. People moved hurriedly through the square, shifting blocks of ice to cover openings in preparation for the coming storm. Fishlegs hurried forward, Meatlug waddling behind him.

"Hiccup," he said urgently, "you'll never guess what Meatlug and I found."

"A new kind of rock for Meatlug to eat?" Hiccup guessed absently, scanning the streets.

"As if," Fishlegs responded sarcastically. "While Meatlug and I were looking all over this place, trying to find you guys, we happened upon something I don't think Igdir wanted us to see."

"What makes you say that?" Astrid asked, looking very pointedly at Hiccup. Stormfly chirped as if in agreement.

"Because he made sure we went back indoors immediately after we found it and wouldn't let us back out again until you came back. Meatlug wasn't exactly happy about being cooped up inside again."

"Permit me, lord Hiccup," a small voice spoke up. It was Bento, the tow-headed, spindly boy they had met the night before. He was some years younger than Hiccup and his friends, but already much taller than everybody except Fishlegs. "Chief Igdir wishes you to join him in his shelter."

"Bento," Hiccup replied, turning to look up at their guide, "how long have you lived here? I mean, in this part of the city."

"All my life," the boy replied. "My family lives under Chief Igdir's protection and in his household."

"And have you ever seen a dragon before? I mean, before yesterday?"

Bento shook his head.

"Hiccup," Astrid chimed in, her voice urgent, "we need to get to shelter, and fast." She was right; already the snow had thickened, and the light was fading rapidly as the storm moved in.

Fishlegs clambered on Meatlug's back. "It's okay, girl," he said, shushing her worried grunts. Meatlug really didn't care for snow. "Can we please get moving, Hiccup? I don't think we're gonna' get another chance to show you what we found. The snow will cover it if we don't leave now."

"Lord Hiccup," Bento persisted, "you must come inside. No one is permitted on the surface during a storm."

Hiccup paused to think, snowflakes melting in his hair and accumulating on his leather armor. Then he climbed on Toothless's back, motioning Astrid to do the same with Stormfly. "Lead the way, Fishlegs," he said, "but be quick about it."

"Right you are. Come on, Meatlug!"

"Please, lord Hiccup," Bento begged, gesturing with his hands, "you'll freeze out here and I'll be in trouble if I return alone."

"Come with us, then." Hiccup held out a hand, smiling though the light was dim. Bento hemmed and hawed for several moments, glancing back and forth from the beckoning door of the hall and Hiccup's outstretched hand. Finally, he grasped the hand and climbed up on Toothless, sitting down stiffly. Hiccup leaned forward, expectant. "Let's go, bud," he said quietly, and they rose into the air, following Fishlegs down a narrow alley carved in the ice. Stormfly fluttered behind them.

The wind picked up behind them and howled through the hollowed ice like an enraged warlord screaming out his defiance. Meatlug buzzed onward, oblivious to the shrieking wind, in what Hiccup judged to be an easterly direction. The light continued to fade, though it was only late morning and the day should have been brightening. Snow drifted down between the walls of ice to coat every surface under a shrouding veil. Hiccup could feel Bento looking fearfully over his shoulder at every turn in the narrow street, as if to ward off the repercussions of his disobedience before they could catch him.

"How far are we going, Fishlegs?" Hiccup called ahead after some time.

"It's just up ahead," Fishlegs replied.

The small group of dragons and riders took a sharp turn and immediately fanned out into a wider formation as the space broadened abruptly. Bento gasped when he saw the floor beneath them; it had dropped away into a wide and shallow bowl, where the snow drifted and slid down the sides to pool at the bottom. The walls were smoothed to the unnatural bluish sheen of compacted ice, but the space was open to the sky.

With a collective gasp, the riders looked up to gaze on the black clouds that had obscured the sun behind their angry furrows. But the dragons followed Meatlug, who had changed direction to drop down into the snow at the bottom of the bowl. The moment she landed, Fishlegs leaped off and began digging in the drifting white.

"Help me, guys!" he called from his work, and Hiccup and Astrid scrambled to join him. Using their frozen hands and, eventually, the wide sweep of Toothless's tail, they cleared the snow away and looked down at something they had all hoped to never see again.

It was the slitted eye of a massive dragon, frozen into the ice in an attitude of aggressive hostility, as if the beast had been struggling to escape the ice even as it encased him. Hiccup knelt down to examine it more closely, suddenly heedless of his companions.

Bento had hung back, but upon seeing his guests huddled in the center of the bowl, he stepped forward, curious as to what they had found. When his gaze fell upon the frozen dragon, he choked back a startled cry and fainted dead away, overcome with fear.