Chapter 11: The Sword in the Cave

In which the Wisps make an important appearance.

Jack and Hiccup sprinted through the forest, the massive dragon behind them. The Red Death opened it's jaws and shot another jet of flame. Jack shot a bolt of ice which stopped the fire, but melted, drenching both the boys below. However, the ice also created a wall of steam which prevented the Red Death from seeing the humans below it. It snarled.

Merida and Rapunzel meanwhile were also sprinting as fast as they could. They could see the silhouette of the Red Death against the rising moon. 'COME ON!' Merida screamed as if trying to will her limbs to move faster, but her legs were getting tired.

Suddenly both girls stopped dead. A single Will-o-the-Wisp was hovering in the air in front of them. It whispered. It looked like it was beckoning. A further trail of Wisps appeared, leading deep into the woods. Merida looked at the Wisps, up at the Red Death and back to the Wisps.

She was anxious now. She knew she should go on to rescue her friends, but the Wisps were wise. The always guided you to where you needed to be.

For a full minute, Merida stood there in indecision. She gritted her teeth and then decided. She would follow the Wisps.

We will never know what fate would have occurred if Merida had decided to continue on her original path. Had she done so, this story would have a very different outcome indeed. But she didn't. She and Rapunzel followed the Wisps... deep into the forest.

The Red Death swooped low over the forest. It couldn't see it's human prey. No matter. It still had it's most formidible weapon. Flames leapt from it's jaws. The forest became a towering inferno.

Jack was panicking and Hiccup wasn't helping. 'TOOTHLESS!' he cried to the night, 'TOOTHLESS, WHERE ARE YOU?!' The Red Death turned it's head to face the boys. 'Shut up, Hiccup,' Jack hissed, 'You'll get us-' 'TOOTHLESS!' Hiccup shouted again, 'TOOTH-' 'SHUT UP!' Jack bellowed so loudly that the Red Death could now directly target them both.

Both boys stared at the dragon. 'Now you've done it,' Jack said. Hiccup stared at Jack indignantly. 'MY FAULT! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO SHOUTED SO LOUD THE RED DEATH HEARD US!' 'IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU SHOUTING FOR TOOTHLESS, I WOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO RAISE MY VOICE TO YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE!' They were forced to abandon their shouting match at this point because a sudden wall of flame flew mere inches over their heads.

Elinor and Mor'du were still at each others throats, almost literally. Teeth ripped. Claws tore. Blood flowed. Chunks of flesh littered the ground. Fur was strewn everywhere. Several teeth had been knocked out.

The Triplets stared at the writhing mass of fur and blood in terror. Fergus looked on, completely unable to help due to his immobilized leg. Pitch and Gothel watched from the tallest tower of castle DunBroch. Pitch smiled. Gothel rested her head on his shoulder. 'Soon,' Pitch said, 'Very soon.'

High above, something was wrong. It was raining blackness. It was like drops of ink were falling from the heavens. Where they hit the ground, the grass wilted. The darkness then flowed together and became a sort of cloud. It drifted through the forest like a fog. It reached the stone circle.

The stones were filled with magic; the neutral magic of nature. Nature is unbiased. It's power can be used for either good or evil. The nectar of some flowers can cure diseases bring strength, but the berries of some trees can bring illness and death.

The blackness flowed up and covered all of the stones. They shimmered a sickly yellow... and crumbled. With the energy of the stones completely drained, a figure began to form in the dust.

A base skeleton was starting to form, but suddenly the energy became insufficient and the skeleton collapsed. With the little energy it had left, the thing said

us... need... more... power

Merida and Rapunzel followed the wisps deeper and deeper into the forest. Rapunzel was gasping for breath. Even Merida was starting to get worn out. The trail of wisps didn't seem to have an end and the smoke from the forest fires was very thick. They were feeling hot, but the air was feeling cold. Anyone who knows this feeling knows what I am on about. Also, the black rain was making them very tired.

'Merida,' came Rapunzel's pathetic moan, 'Can we please stop?' 'No,' Merida said, determinately marching on. All the same, Rapunzel suddenly refused to go a step further and flopped down onto the ground 'I'm sorry Merida,' Rapunzel half-gasped, half-sobbed, 'I can't.' At this point, even Merida lost her last drop of strength and collapsed next to Rapunzel. She felt so weary.

Both girls were too tired to notice that wisps were starting to appear in a circle around them... at least not until a small rumble sounded beneath them. When this happened, Merida sat up. She stared at the hundreds of wisps hovering around them. 'What-' Merida began, but suddenly the ground gave way.

Both girls screamed as they fell down... down... down... and... SPLASH!

The girls hit the icy cold surface of an underground ravine. They both screamed as the icy water hit their skins. Moments later, their heads broke the surface of the water and they gulped in the chilly cavern air. Coughing, sopping wet and freezing cold, Merida pulled herself out of the water. Moments later, she helped Rapunzel out of the ravine as well.

'Well,' Merida gasped, 'I've had warmer landings.' She suddenly sat up. In a passage in the cave wall... a soft golden light was shimmering. Both girls stared at it nervously. It could be anything.

Hiccup and Jack were sprinting through the forest. The Red Death was gaining on them. Then...

'AAAAAHHHHH!' Both boys fell through a hole in the ground and into a cavernous chamber. SPLAT! They landed on several soft tubers, squashing them beneath their mass. Groaning, Jack sat up. Looking up at the hole in the ceiling, he could see the Red Death swooping overhead. It seemed enraged. It obviously thought the boys had escaped it.

As fast as they could, Hiccup and Jack ran down a side passage out of the chamber and not a moment too soon. The second Jack's hood had whipped around the corner, a blast of fire burst into the cavern from the skylight high above. A smell of roasting plant matter followed the two. Obviously, the tubers had been barbecued.

The two boys hid in an alcove as the wall of flame rushed past. The boys sighed in relief as the flames died down. They then looked back at each other... and whooped with delight.

Meanwhile, Merida and Rapunzel were still soaked to the bone. They had followed the light for half an hour now and the light still seemed to be exactly the same intensity as when they had first started following it.

All of a sudden, a blast of fire leapt across the passage ahead of them. It had missed them, but it was strong enough to dry them off. Both girls stood in silence for a moment after the flames had dissipated. 'What was that?' Rapunzel asked no one in particular. 'Only one way to find out,' Merida said and followed the passage up towards the source of the fire.

They rounded a corner and saw Jack and Hiccup walking up the passage towards them. 'Oh thank god,' Merida said and hurried forwards. SMACK! 'Where the hell have you been?' she demanded. 'We get chased by a dragon and she hits us on the head!' Jack said in incredulity. Merida sniffed angrily.

Suddenly, a golden light flared. The big four turned to it. The cave wall opened. Slowly, Jack lead the other three into the chamber beyond. The cave was vast. Stalactites and stalagmites connected the ceiling and floor. In the middle of the cave was a massive, boiling lake and at the centre was a small island. In the dead center of the island was a pillar of golden light.

Jack stepped forward. The second he did so, a voice boomed around the cavern. It made them all jump. The voice was so deep, it reverberated through their bones. It sounded what the voice of god might sound like. It said:

'Answer my riddle and your goal you will see:

it makes grown men cry and brings a rise of the heart

it is worth billions in gold, but comes to you for free

anyone can have it and it is the greatest of art

this riddle may seem long, but will give you the sword

it can make people ill, but cannot be lived without

it causes most of all harmony and yet most of all discord

So answer me now. What is this riddle about?'

'Oh dear,' Merida said, 'I cannae stand riddles.' Jack bit his lip. 'Well,' Rapunzel began hesitantly, 'I'm sure if we all work together we can answer it.' 'Can we hear the riddle again please?' Hiccup asked. The voice repeated the riddle.

'"Makes grown men cry",' Jack repeated. 'What makes grown men cry?' Merida asked, 'No idea, we'll come back to it.' '"Worth billions in gold"?' Rapunzel said. '"Comes to you for free"?' Hiccup said. 'Life?' Merida suggested. '"Anyone can have it and is the greatest form of art". That sounds about right,' Jack said.

'Hang on. "It makes people ill, but can't be lived without"?' Hiccup pointed out, 'If it was life, it wouldn't be mentioned in the riddle.' 'Yeah,' Rapunzel said, disappointed, 'We'll scrap that then.' '"Causes most of all discord"? Oil?' Jack suggested, 'But then again, it's not very harmonious.'

'Water?' Hiccup said. 'It can't be lived without causes a lot of discord with people fighting over it.' 'I don't think it makes people cry though.'

Merida snapped and began shouting things at random. 'Time? Air? Light? Plants? Love? Laughter?' 'Wait,' Hiccup said, 'What did you say?' 'Laughter?' Merida said. 'No before that,' Hiccup said. 'Love?' Merida said. Everyone paused at this.

'"Makes grown men cry and brings a rise of the heart".' 'Rise of the heart probably means increase in pulse so yes,' Rapunzel said. '"Worth billions in gold, but comes to you for free." Yep that sounds right,' Jack said. He was starting to get excited. '"Anyone can have it and is the greatest form of art,"' Merida repeated. 'I don't know about anyone, but that sounds about right.'

'It made me feel ill when I first saw Astrid,' Hiccup said. 'And I suppose it really can't be lived without,' Rapunzel said. 'It causes harmony by bringing people together, but causes discord by causing people to fight over someone,' Jack finished. 'It all fits!' Merida said.

'LOVE!' they all cried. There was silence which stretched on for a whole minute. Rapunzel was starting to feel nervous. What if it was wrong?

'Your answer is right. You may pass by tonight.'

All of a sudden, a pathway of stepping-stones rose out of the lake and bobbed on the surface. Slowly, Jack began to lead them over the wet stepping-stone bridge. At one point, there was a yelp as Hiccup slipped and his foot slipped into the water. 'YOUCH!' Hiccup screamed, hopping on the spot, clutching his foot.

After a quarter of an hour, the four finally managed to cross over the path and landed on the island in the center of the lake. Hiccup crouched down and examined his scolded foot. Rapunzel wrapped her hair around it and sang 'Flower gleam and glow.' Merida was the first to step toward the column of light. The light faded.

There was a sword. It was the most beautiful sword Merida had ever seen. The handle was made of ebony and was sparkling. Looking closer, you could see that the handle was bound with gold. In the middle of the handle, made of silver was the symbol of Caduceus. But the really beautiful part was the blade. It was covered with ancient symbols which were also inlade with gold, but the actual blade was made of a massive, flawless diamond.

Merida reached out and pulled the sword out of the ground. It glowed. The handle molded itself to Merida's hand. She felt a tingling. 'Nice sword,' Jack said, walking up to her. Merida lifted said sword up. Hiccup and Rapunzel came up to have a look as well. Suddenly, Jack, Hiccup and Rapunzel found themselves attached to the sword as well. The sword pointed itself up and all four were tugged through the ceiling.

Merida, Jack, Hiccup and Rapunzel sat up. They were back in the castle courtyard. Elinor was kneeling down wheezing and coughing. Fergus was limping heavily, using his sword as a walking stick. The triplets were gathered around them, looking worried. 'What happened?' Merida asked sitting up. Fergus limped over to them. 'All ah remember was a bright flash of light and suddenly Mor'du was runnin' away and that dragon had gone.'

After half an hour, everyone was sitting in the main hall. A feast had been served so everyone could regather their strength. Jack took a swing of mead in an attempt to drown his depression. Hiccup was ripping meat of a chicken leg with his teeth though he didn't seem to be interested. Rapunzel wasn't even eating at all. Merida was still examining the sword.

An image was appearing in the blade. It was a small village built high on the edge of a mountain. 'What's that?' Jack asked, leaning over Merida's shoulder. 'I have nae idea,' she responded. The blade suddenly morphed into a key. Hiccup and Rapunzel leant closer to have a look. The key pointed up to the nearest wall. A door began to form in the wall.

Looking around, Rapunzel saw that no one else seemed to have noticed. A keyhole formed in the door. 'Well,' Hiccup said, 'Shall we?' 'I dunno,' Jack said, 'I for one am still hungry.' 'Same here,' Rapunzel said, 'What is for next course?' 'Haggis,' Merida said. It seemed that none of the other three knew what haggis was.

'It's a sheep stomach,' Merida said.

I can safely say that within the minute, the big four had passed through the door.