Chapter Seventy-Eight: A long night
As soon as Hiccup opened his eyes he was wide awake.
He stumbled to his feet and searched blindly for his bags and the maps inside them.
Frantically he started searching for the 'Fire-Wall-Lands'.
He quickly found them. They were a lone group of islands between the north-coast of Kinkal and the outskirts of the Archipelago farther north.
They looked like a maze of water-paths and islands. He tried to see which nation they belonged too but there were no official colors or flags painted along them.
He then tried to find the Isle of Tomorrow.
The writing was faint and small but eventually he made it out.
It was a small oval-shaped island right in the middle of the maze.
But that was it.
"Kate, Josh, George, Hope. Get up guys." He called out for his friends, not bothering to look up if they did.
Fife minutes later, the other four had gathered around him, all grumbling with sleep still in their eyes.
"What is it?" George growled annoyed.
"What do you know about the Fire-Wall-Lands?" Hiccup asked and tapped the spot on the map.
They looked at him bewildered.
"That and the Isle of Tomorrow." Hiccup added.
"That's why you woke us at this ungodly hour? To tell you something about an old fairy-tale, are you serious?" Josh whinnied and sat down next to him.
"Fairy-tale?" Hiccup asked.
"Well there is the story, rumor, whatever, that there is a giant gold-mine on the Isle of Tomorrow. Some hundred years ago a bad seaquake tore the island apart and opened the gold-mine. But they say it's cursed because every time people set out to dig for the gold they vanish and are never seen again. And after more quakes shook the sea and killed many more they started to call it 'Devils Gate'. Soon the story of a curse made its way around and people stayed clear of that place ever since." Kate explained yawning.
"So on one lives there, supposedly?" Hiccup asked.
"Not a single living soul." George agreed. "The quakes tore all the islands apart and then people kinda found out that they'd been living in active volcanoes for eons, because said volcanoes exploded into their faces and destroyed everything. It's all waste-land now. Nothing grows there. Nothing lives there. That is common believe."
Hiccup frowned. "But you don't know for sure?"
Josh shrugged. "No one's been there for hundreds of years. If you even get to close with your boat it can happen that you disappear in the 'Glow of Hell' and never find your way out again. And die." He said.
Hiccup's frown deepened. "Glow of what?"
"The 'Glow or Hell'. It's a strange phenomenon people have experienced over the years. Sometimes travelers or high-sea-fishers drift to close towards the islands so that they enter the mist and smoke around them. Those that made it out alive speak of a strange growing orange/red light that comes from somewhere within the fog. No one is quite sure what it is. Only the dead know the answer to that question. The only things people sometimes find from those lost in the maze are parts of their boats that are swept away by the tides and end up on beaches far away." Kate explained.
"That place is a death trap even without the mist and fog and horrible things that happen in there. We don't even know if our maps are still correct." She added with a gloomy face. Hiccup raised an eyebrow questioning.
"When the seaquakes shook the islands they tore them not only apart but also activated the volcanoes. Tons of magma and lava were released in the explosions that followed the quakes. Most of it fell into the sea, cooled down and hardened. For all we know the landscape could be an entirely new one. Old water-streets could've been closed by running lava, the water-levels could be lower, new paths could've been created by the quakes elsewhere; the list goes on and on. But no one knows. It's not like we can map the place new." She explained.
"How come you know so much about that place?" Hiccup asked.
"My father was always interested in that place but never told me why." She mumbled. "He even sent out a boat once to scout the place. None of the men returned."
"Sounds like a lovely place. I mean volcanoes, lava, magma, fog that swallows and kills you, deserted and destroyed islands, probably some monsters too… what's not to like? Why are you so interested again?" Hope muttered and looked at Hiccup expectantly.
"Well the thing is…"
But he was interrupted by a new voice.
"Is everything alright? Why are you all awake?"
It was Conner.
He stood awkwardly a few feet away from them.
"Oh, sorry to wake you." Hiccup apologized.
"It's okay. I was still awake; you guys make even in sleep a lot of noise. I'm just not used to it." He flopped down next to Hope and looked at them expectantly.
"Now, what are you all talking about the 'Fire-Wall-Lands'?" he asked.
"None of your business." George growled and shot him a glare.
Hiccup glared at George and said in a more friendly tone to Conner: "No offence but it'll be best if you knew as little as possible. For your own safety."
Conner rolled with his eyes.
"Oh cut the crap, will you? For your own safety, please. I live in a forest full of human-eating chickens and could be killed for my interest in boys. Besides, I saved your lives even though I didn't have to. I gave you food and shelter even though I didn't have to. And I told you my damn secret even though you are total strangers. Now you can tell me yours! It's the least you can do. Or I leave you to the beasts." Conner interrupted him.
George snorted. "Please, there are five of us and one of you. Plus we have four dragons on our side. Four and a quarter if you count Hiccups lap-dog with them."
Conner ignored him, folded his arms and stared at Hiccup.
Hiccup sighed. "He's right guys. We owe him. Not just for our lives."
"Then do his laundry but don't tell him." George hissed.
Hiccup looked at him annoyed.
"Since when do you care about whom we tell and whom not?" he asked.
"Since you start treating everybody as if they're your new best friend. We barely know this guy; he could be the enemy for all we know." George growled.
"For all I know everyone of you could be the enemy." Hiccup answered slightly pissed.
Then he turned back to Conner.
"Still he has a point. But I will tell you because you did the same. And I don't think you lied. You had no reason to."
Conner nodded and Hiccup started to explain to him, starting with him befriending Toothless and ending where Conner had interrupted them earlier.
"So yeah, that's the story." He finished.
Conner eyed each of them silently.
Finally he leaned forward and stared Hiccup right in the eyes. Then he muttered: "Ah shit you're actually saying the truth. Man that is some deep shit you're in."
The he looked at the map. "Still, George is right. Nothing lives on the Fire-Wall-Lands. And Josh is right about the volcanoes. The Isle of Tomorrow was once the capitol city/island of all the islands but they say it sank when the seaquakes happened."
Hiccup frowned. "You believe us?" he asked. "Well I know you're not lying." Conner mumbled.
"So why do you want to know all of this?" Hope asked Hiccup, redirecting the conversation to why they were all awake in first place.
Hiccup fought with himself.
Should he tell them? He had too, he was going to save Illiona after all and he wouldn't be able to do it alone.
Hiccup frowned again.
"I don't think you are right. The Isle or Tomorrow is still there and it is inhabited."
Now it was the others that frowned.
"How would you know? Until an hour ago you didn't know anything about that place. And now you are the expert?" George asked angrily.
And Hope said in a friendlier tone: "I think we would know if there were still people."
Hiccups head was working hard.
Then a thought struck him.
"No we wouldn't. You said yourselves that no one's been there for years. The island isn't even supposed to exist." he said slowly. "And we wouldn't know for sure because everyone who does go there is taken, vanishes."
Kate seemed to warm up to his train of thoughts.
"You mean they are taken by the people who might still live there?"
Hiccup nodded.
"But why? If it's true what is said about that place, then it's still destroyed. Why would people live there?" Josh asked.
"Isn't that obvious?" Kate asked. "No." Josh said.
"The gold. If it's really there I'm sure they wouldn't want to share it with anyone."
Whereas the others nodded in agreement Hiccup shook his head.
"No. That's not the reason. At least not the only. What good would the gold do them if they can't trade with it because they have to keep it a secret?"
"None." Conner said. "Exactly, none!" Hiccup agreed.
"So what is the real reason?" Hope asked.
The tiny wheels in Hiccups head turned fast as lightning.
"I think all those people disappeared because they saw or heard something they weren't supposed to know." "And what would that be?" George asked.
"They learned about the actual, most valuable, treasure on the island." Hiccup mumbled, more to himself than to anybody else.
"More valuable than gold? Diamonds maybe?" Josh suggested.
"No." Hiccup said, looking up. "The reason why I know the island is still there."
There was a short silence, the he said:
"Illiona."
.
.
.
.
.
He quickly explained to them how he knew Illiona, who she was and what she could do.
Once he'd finished they looked at him with huge eyes.
"Wow. You mean, whoever is keeping Illiona on the Isle of Tomorrow is responsible for all the missing people?" Kate asked.
"That's exactly what I'm saying." Hiccup said and slid with his finger over the map.
"Whoever it is took advantage of the situation and probably created the fear of that place and now he has a seer who tells his the future and lots of gold to spend. And all in a secluded area where no one bothers you. Life can be worse."
"But how do they do it? How do they take the people? How do they secure the place so big?" Hope asked doubtfully.
"That's what we have to find out if we want to rescue Illiona successfully." Hiccup answered.
Silence followed those words.
Josh was the first to recover.
"Rescue her? Why?"
Hiccup explained his last conversation with Illiona and what she had confessed.
Kate pursed her lips.
"That can only end in a disaster. She said it herself; she condemned others already to death."
"This is different. I mean she warned me. That is our advantage."
"But she won't tell you who is keeping her or what to expect." Josh argued. Hope nodded agreeing. "We have no idea what to expect there. We'd be exposed to anything."
"We still have to try it. I promised her I would."
"What good do you do her dead? Besides Hiccup, we already have one rescue mission to do. Let's safe the world first and then your friend." Kate reminded him.
He shook his head harder.
"I cannot leave her there. She's in danger."
"We're all in danger." Conner said silently.
"We need her!"
"What for?" George asked.
Hiccup tried to find the right words but he just couldn't find the right words.
"It's hard to explain." He answered lamely.
"We understand that she's your friend but going helter-skelter into a dangerous place unknown to mankind is not the brightest idea." Josh said friendly.
"Sometimes you have to make tough decisions. But that is what it means to be a real leader. We have already one deadline. And if the world ends it won't matter if she's with us or not." George growled.
Hiccup looked at him coolly.
"You mean the live of one compared to that of millions."
It wasn't a question.
George shrugged. "Pretty much." He said.
Hiccup shook his head. "And what if she is important? What if she is the key to saving the world? What if she is a seer for a reason? What if…"
"Hiccup stop. Lying to yourself won't make it better." Kate interrupted him softly.
Hiccup felt the familiar heat of anger rising into his head.
"NO! It is true! She IS important! And I will go and save her. And even if she's not important to this quest the at least she is to me because she is my friend. She is a little scared girl blessed with a dangerous ability that people will kill for and because no one deserves to be held captive against their will." He hissed and jumped to his feet.
"Stay behind if you want, go ahead if you want. But I will go and safe her. I don't leave my friends behind. I don't break my promises."
He turned around to pack his things but Kate stopped him.
She sighed loudly. "Alright alright, you got me, now I feel bad. And because you will get killed if you go alone, I will come with you. And because I promised to stay with you and I don't break my promises either."
He smiled at her. Josh groaned.
"This is a stupid idea." He said. "So nothing new?" Hiccup asked jokingly though it fell on deaf ears.
"No Hic, this time I mean it. This is dangerous, really dangerous. Something stinks. But I won't stay here if my two best friends are risking their stupid lives."
"So you're in?" "Yes."
Hope shook her head too.
"I knew that there would be stupid and dangerous things to come if I joined you so I guess it's my own fault but I will come too."
George rolled with his eyes. "If they are going that probably means I'm going too."
"You don't have too. We'd be all very happy if you finally decided to stay behind." Josh said sweetly. George ignored him and nodded. "So I'm in too. You'll need someone who knows how to fight." They ignored that last bit.
"I want to come too!" Conner suddenly said.
They looked at him as if he'd grown a second head.
"No offence but this is not an amusement trip." Josh said.
Conner rolled with his eyes.
"You don't say?" he asked sarcastically.
"Why would you want to come with us? This is nothing I will be looking forward too!" George said.
"Great, then we can switch places. You can stay here and show your amazing fighting skills against the Revatoren and I will go with the others freeing that poor girl."
"That poor girl has killed others before. You sure you want to go?" George shot back.
Conner turned to face Hiccup.
"It's not like I don't know danger. I have nothing to look forward if I stay here. Only death. One day I will not be fast enough and one of the beasts will get me. I don't want to die here alone when I can help you save the world. I know it's your call but I can help."
Hiccup considered his words for a moment.
"We have not enough dragons for all of us and sharing will tire them out quickly. We'll need a ship. Preferably without a captain that wants to kill us. Think you can help us?"
Conner grinned. "Even better. I can get a ship just for us."
"Atta boy." Hope grinned.
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AN: So yeah, things are a bit slow now. I'm so not in the mood for writing but that probably will return, once the school starts again. As always, tell me what you think, apologize for mistakes and as always HTTYD is not mine. The story however is, as are most of the characters.
Love, Kate