• • •
The climb was difficult, and almost impossible; it seemed that with ever step they ascended, another step was added to the top of the cliff. But the riders succeeded in reaching their destination. Tuffnut lugged himself onto the flat surface and heaved in exhaustion. "That..was...not fun," he heaved between breaths.
Fishlegs was the last to make it up. He rolled over onto his back and responded tiredly, "you...have no..idea."
Once Hiccup caught his breath, he walked away from the cliffside. His eyes widened as he looked ahead. "You guys aren't gonna believe this," he called to the others, not ripping his gaze from the sight before him.
Tuff forced himself to his feet and trudged over to see what was so unbelievable. He found that the riders had, in fact, climbed to the top of some sort of rock wall. Beyond the cliff, the land dipped back down to ground level. And inside of what looked to be a giant bowl of stone, was paradise.
Beautiful, rich, greenery covered the ground below. It was a jungle unlike anything the riders had ever seen before. Trees with thick trunks and twisting branches, plants with leaves bigger than people, flowers with colors and designs more intricate than dragon scales. Tuff couldn't even seen the ground below underneath the thick foliage. And in the center of it all was a pond of crystal clear water, the moon reflecting in it in a perfect circle. "Oh my Thor..." Tuff muttered, a smiled growing slowly on his face, "so worth getting bitten by a stick!"
"What? What is it?" Snotlout questioned, excitedly pushing past Tuff and Hiccup. His eyes went wide in shock. "Woah, forget Dragon's Edge," he stated with a grin, "I'm staying here!"
"Guys, look," Astrid shouted from a bit further away. The three boys turned toward her. Through the dimly lit night, they could see her pointing down at what looked to be a set of stone stairs.
"People live here?" Ruffnut asked.
"Uh, could you blame them? Look at this place," Snotlout exclaimed, rushing over to the stairs with a boyish laugh of excitement.
But Hiccup frowned. "Snotlout, wait!" He shouted, "I think we should be careful about this."
"Of course," Snotlout agreed, "I'll carefully pick out a spot for my new hut."
Hiccup facepalmed. He then looked to Tuffnut and asked suggestively, "little help, Tuff?" When the twin only blinked in confusion, Hiccup led him in, "if something looks too good..."
Immediately Tuff smiled brightly and finished with confidence, "it probably sucks!" He then folded his hands and smile sweetly at Hiccup. "You do listen."
"Really? You're quoting Tuffnut?" Fishlegs asked with an eyebrow raised.
Hiccup only smiled in amusement. "It seemed to fit," he explained with a shrug.
"And I can't say I don't agree," Astrid piped in. Crossing her arms, she looked over the edge to the jungle below, "this place just feels..off."
"But can we go down the stairs?" Snotlout pleaded impatiently.
Hiccup sighed and gave in, "yes, but be cautious. This is obviously some new kind of territory. We just need to find our dragons and get out of here."
The six then began to descend down the stairs that went along the inside of the stone wall. As they went, Ruff kicked at the vines that had grown over the stone. "Man, if people live here, they must never use these stairs," she realized.
"I wouldn't either," Tuff agreed with raised eyebrows, "I hate stairs."
"Maybe it's abandoned," Astrid suggested as they reached the level of the treetops.
Fishlegs reached out and touched one of the thick tree leaves carefully. "Why would someone abandon this place? It seems rich in life," he wondered.
"Maybe they were forced out by an invasive dragon species," Hiccup suggested, hoping he was wrong.
"Ugh, why is it getting darker?" Tuffnut complained.
The group was nearing the bottom as Snotlout responded, "because the trees are shading the moon, mutton-head."
Just as they reached the ground, however, light flooded their surroundings. "Hey, who turned the sun on?" Tuffnut asked in irritation n as he squinted in the sudden light.
But the other riders weren't as casual. Looking up, the sun was, in fact, directly above. It was as if, like Tuff said, someone flipped it on with a swit h. "What in Thor's name..?" Hiccup asked no one in particular.
"Since when does the sun rise so fast?" Ruffnut asked; even she was unsettled by the odd event.
"Um, it doesn't," Fishlegs responded in a shakey voice. He then looked around, "I must be dreaming; this is a nightmare. You guys aren't really here, I just need to wake myself up."
Before Fishlegs could pinch himself, Astrid held his arm from doing so. She gave him a sympathetic yet wary look, speaking as calmly as possible, "Fishlegs, you're not dreaming. This is real." She let him go and looked up, "I don't know how...but this is real."
"Why are you all so worried?" Snotlout wondered, "the sun is up, let's just go."
The group of six hesitantly began to move, but Tuff stopped. Staring behind them, he questioned, "uh..weren't there, you know..stairs, back there?"
Hiccup turned around, his heart racing in fear and adrenaline. The stone stairs were gone.
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