Chapter Text
Little itsy bitsy bit of spoilers for Nine Realms, so be warned.
Okay, I can’t help myself, I found the show How to Train Your Dragon – Nine Realms and found myself liking it. It wasn’t better than Race to the Edge but the characters had some real soul to them and their dialogue was quite witty and humorous at times. The show has its drawbacks, the characters sorta stalled out in their development and they tended to make the same mistakes over and over again. The CGI wasn’t that good, but the designs and environment overall were pretty solid. So, all that taken together, I found myself really cheering for the characters and did choke up at the end. Of course I decided “Nuts to that ending, they deserve happiness and adventure with their dragons and friends” and began brainstorming. So here we are, having some fun, cutting loose writing for the pure enjoyment of it all.
A few caveats though. I do intend to power scale the Nine Realms dragons up to Race to the Edge standards, and I’m going to be time-skipping for the crew so they’re all around seventeen or eighteen. Eugene’s an exception, given he’s a couple years older than the others. So, ages will go as follows: Tom (17), Jun (17), D’Angelo (17), Alex (18), Eugene (19). Everyone’s in high school except for Eugene because of the obvious, being older than everyone part. Also, the group in Race to the Edge will be as they are in Season 2, where Dagur’s a bad guy because Dagur is the GOAT’d HTTYD baddie alongside the Dragon Hunters like Viggo and Ryker giving a nice variety to work with.
Chapter 1
Rakke Town
Things had been quite quiet here in Rakke Town for a nearly three years. The Hidden World had thus far remained hidden, exploration of the Nine Realms had continued at a, granted, somewhat slower pace seeing as the majority of the Dragon Riders had entered high school and took on the scholastic challenges that came with it. Although Eugene had been out of high school now for a year, choosing to pursue his passion, clout via vying for a spot in the fitness influencer realm. But, it was spring break now. That meant it was time for the first big trip in a long time for the dragon riders, and for the first time in very long time they’d be out camping within the Hidden World.
“You got everything you need, boyo?” Dr. Kullerson asked Tom as she walked with Tom, carrying one of his gym bags which had a few digging and geology implements to the Dragon Riders’ cave. She’d had him promise to bring back any unique crystals or other samples of geological curiosity seeing as he and the others were planning on going out further than they’d ever been before.
“Yep, got it,” Tom replied as he hauled along his own bag which had his necessaries, clothes toiletries, and a laminated copy of the Dragon Book, which he and Jun had finally gotten around to translating in full and putting into a more disposable form so the original was never potentially lost forever. Plus, he had the requisite small tent and sleeping back and rolled up pillow.
“Just making sure,” she responded.
Immediately, Thunder, the Night Light whom had become the leader of the group of dragons came bounding over like an exciting flying lizard cat, his big blue eyes oozing happiness at seeing Tom. Both he and Tom had grown since they’d been at peace, the young dragon having developed. His head had gone from a sleek and aerodynamic oval shape to being slightly more box-like, displaying the development of his musculature and the spikes along the centerline of his forehead like his larger father. The other dragons had likewise grown in size. Wu Wei was the largest of their dragons, although Plowhorn was definitely the bulkiest and the strongest. Feathers and Webmaster were each relatively larger and stronger than when they’d been found, as would be expected.
“Hey bud, ready to go?” Tom greeted his dragon who bounced around him eagerly, illiciting a happy roar, “Yeah, me too.”
“You and your friends got the essentials covered, I assume?” his mom asked as they got down to the bottom of the wooden staircase into the cave, already there was D’Angelo, who had several military spec packs with him, plus all of the dragons there waiting for their riders.
“Sure do, Dr. K,” D’Angelo replied, patting his large bags, “My dad brought us a bunch of army rations, enough for a couple of weeks actually. Plus, full survival and first aid kits.”
“Sounds like our security chief,” Olivia said as she put down her son’s bag, “So where’re the others?”
“You mean the life of the part-ay?” Eugene now piped up as he stepped down the stairs, announcing his presence just as loudly as ever, probably worse now that he was moonlighting as a fitness influencer by night.
“Yeah, there’s Eugene,” D’Angelo deadpanned as Webmaster came flapping up to see his rider, warbling in excitement as he greeted his master who was wearing his usual jeans and black leather jacket and chain.
“Hey Tom!” Jun now poked herself down with Wu Wei chittering at the appearance of their rider, and Tom couldn’t help smile and lose focus on everything else except Jun given her own beauty. Her dark hair having been allowed to grow out a bit, and like everyone else, she’d grown and matured, curves having developed in all the right places.
“Hey, Jun,” Tom waved back as she came down, dragging along a pretty hefty bag, “Here, let me help.”
“I got it, don’t worry,” Jun waved him down, knowing he’d have to come clambering back up the steps to help, and she wasn’t the same bookworm of a girl she’d been three years ago.
“Plus, it’s still weird seeing you two doting around each other,” Eugene rolled his eyes.
“Oh, and it’s a joy to us seeing you talking to ‘chat’ all the time in the ICARIS gym,” D’Angelo smirked, “Although it is nice when your chat notices I can bench more than the gym influencer.”
“Oh, very funny, and it’s fitness influencer, not gym influencer, by the way,” Eugene shot back, “Besides, I was just going for…high rep, low weight.”
“Uh-huh,” D’Angelo rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Anyway, you guys bring your stuff?” Tom asked as he helped Jun down the last steps with a hand offered and taken, the two sharing a smile and giggle between them.
“Uh yeah…plenty of snacks, plus,” Eugene dug into his own, notably-lighter bag and pulled out a plastic jug, “Pre-workout.”
“You mean I’m carrying most of the snacks,” Jun put her hands on her hips in a sassy manner.
“Where’s Alex?” D’Angelo asked.
“She’s right behind us,” Eugene pointed over his shoulder, “Got some…big old bag of something, I don’t know, seemed heavy.”
“Then why don’t we go help her out?” Tom asked as he started up the stairs.
“Yes please,” Alex said through the strain of her dragging along a pair of large sacks with smaller backpacks on top of them. That sight was enough for D’Angelo and Tom to both go up and help, although Feathers was on the job, one of the two bags lifting up into the air seemingly on its own before the green Featherhide emerged from her own invisibility.
“Alex, you sure you didn’t bring too much?” D’Angelo asked.
“I brought what I intended. Just because we’re headed out into the wild doesn’t mean we have to be uncivilized,” the nineteen-year-old replied sternly.
“So, what’d you bring?” D’Angelo asked as he slung one of the hefty bags onto his shoulder.
“Hey, careful, that’s got my mobile generators, battery, and recharging station,” Alex immediately cautioned.
“Your what?!” D’Angelo scoffed, “Alex, we’re supposed to be camping, remember? Out in the wonder of nature, just us and the Hidden World?”
“What? I need it for power for my new invention,” Alex replied as they got down to the cave floor.
“What new invention?” Jun asked curiously as Alex smirked proudly, and unzipped one of the large bags revealing what looked a lot like a skin from a Featherhide folded up like a tarp.
“Behold!” Alex pointed down, “The Artificial Featherhide Skin. I made it using scales from Feathers and the other Featherhides I’ve been harvesting. By having Wendy run a macro where she ran various electrical pulses through a set of interlinked scales, stuck together using Monstrous Nightmare gel for fire-proofing and heat resistance, I was able to map out what signals created what colors from the scales’ pigments, which I then stitched together to create a tarp which I can use to mimic any image I choose to upload into my tablet. This way, dragons and other creatures out and about have no idea we are even there.”
“Wow, that’s incredible Alex,” Dr. Kullerson said, quite impressed by it all.
“My moms and I have been working on it for quite a while,” Alex shrugged in fake modesty, “The tarp’s good for…a few months or so before the pigments degrade and you have to replace the scales.”
“So, what else did you bring?” Tom inquired as he looked at the bag.
“Movie projector and screen, three-speaker surround sound, motion-activated perimeter sensors, lights, and cameras, a signal hub and booster for them, and a few strings of light bulbs, y’know, for ambience.”
“Sweet,” Eugene nodded appreciatively.
“So, we can have movie nights together, sounds good,” Tom noted pleasantly.
“Mhmm…” D’Angelo crossed his arms over his chest, very unimpressed.
“Plus…an external hard drive for my laptop and trail cameras, I promised my moms I’d collect pictures for them,” Alex shrugged.
“And you found room to pack your own basics with all of that?” Tom asked.
“Oh, you bet I did,” Alex said proudly.
“So much for a good ole fashioned camping trip,” D’Angelo sighed, “Let’s get the dragons ready. Hopefully all the unnecessary stuff doesn’t weigh us down too bad.”
“Boy, he’s not too happy,” Tom sighed.
“He’s been looking forward to this for a long time,” Dr. Kullerson mentioned, “Kinda, I don’t know, seems a bit like cheating to take so much…technology, don’t you think?” she reminded him.
“Yeah, I guess, but it’s part of the fun of it all, we all bring something for everyone else to enjoy. Whether it’s food or drinks or entertainment. He’ll be alright,” Tom assured her.
“Well, have fun, and be safe boyo,” his mom shrugged and gave him a hug, “I’ll see you in a week.”
“See ya later, mom,” Tom smiled warmly.
“Alright, you kids take care of yourselves,” Olivia waved to the kids as she turned to return to ICARIS, and her work.
“Thanks, Dr. K! I’ll take good care of these kids,” Eugene gave a tongue pop as per his usual habit, making everyone else roll their eyes.
“Alright, D’Angelo, wanna do one last essentials check?” Tom looked over to D’Angelo.
“Got it, Tom,” D’Angelo pulled out a notepad, filled with all of his prep work notes and checklists, “Alright, everyone got their fire suits?” D’Angelo rallied everyone up, now eager to do this, as he was their safety expert who’d done the majority of the prep work in terms of knowing what they needed, how much they needed, and what to do with it if it was needed.
“Check,” Alex tapped her helmet which was buckled around the strap of her backpack. Everyone else affirmed it.
“Canteens?”
“Got it covered,” Jun sounded off.
“Sweet. Tents and sleeping bags, pillows optional,” he then listed off, checking things off as he went.
“All good,” Tom acknowledged.
“And, check,” D’Angelo nodded, “Oh, first aid kits and survival kits, come and get ‘em, my dad and I assembled them ourselves,” he then unzipped a set of yellow waterproof bags for the survival kits and each first-aid kit being in a bright red fanny pack with a white cross on it.
“Uh, what’s in these things?” Eugene asked as he was handed one survival kit, noting how heavy it was.
“You know, the basics, compass, knife with a ferro rod, multitool, water filter pump, signal mirror, flare, whistle, survival blanket, paracord, fishing line and hooks, survival booklet my dad made…anything you might need in an emergency scenario. Make sure you’ve got it buckled on tight to your saddles. Although you all brought your own knives right? Never know when you might need them.”
“Sure do, although mine’s…” Tom chuckled, pointing to his sword.
“Uh huh, you’ve got a sword, we know,” Eugene deadpanned as he rolled his eyes at Tom’s sword, “Can’t believe I still haven’t gotten a sword…”
“And in case anyone needs it, I packed a saw, a hatchet, an axe, a splitting maul, and a shovel,” D’Angelo declared.
“You are…way too into this,” Eugene noted.
“And why is your dad’s survival booklet the heaviest thing in here?” Alex opened up the little paper booklet which was about an inch thick.
“That’s just the condensed version,” D’Angelo sighed, “I have the full thing in my stuff.”
“Right…carrying on?” Alex requested.
“Anyway…food, check,” D’Angelo stated, “Snacks?” he looked to Eugene and Jun who were supposed to handle that.
“Check,” Eugene gave a thumbs-up.
“Entertainment and security?” D’Angelo sighed, knowing that this was achieved, but not in the way he’d anticipated.
“Double check,” Alex proudly replied.
“Map?”
“Right here,” Jun held up a roll of paper.
“Dragon Book?”
“Check,” Tom nodded.
“Alright then, that’s the checklist, good to go,” D’Angelo checked off the last thing on the list.
“Dragon Riders, let’s pack it up, and move it out,” Tom declared.
The riders and their dragons had prepped for this trip, with them having gotten cargo nets with harnesses fitted for the dragons to carry their stuff by slinging it under them, notably their food and their emergency food, their tents, and their larger bags. Water had been planned ahead to be gathered out in the Hidden World, seeing as the place they were going was supposed to be well-endowed with it, and if they had to they could go to where they knew water could be found. It was all part of Jun’s own research, and some scouting she and Tom had been doing together from the saddle. The inspiration for this trip had come from something that had of course come from Jun’s research into mythology, specifically to a cousin of Norse mythology, Celtic mythology.
It was called Tír na nÓg, the Celtic Otherworld. It was supposedly a land of everlasting life, endless bounty, song, magic, and fantastical creatures said to be reached through a variety of means, notably through caves, and was shrouded in a fog. During their far-off scouting in the Giant Realm’s great sea they had come across a great belt of fog, which, as they drew closer, appeared to be encompassing a large island. It all matched with the legends of Tír na nÓg, albeit without the strange weirdness regarding visitors not aging while being there. But, Jun herself noted that there was often a lot of creative license and morphing of the original oral tradition over the centuries.
“Hey, Tom,” Jun came over and sat down next to him and Thunder, with Wu Wei right behind her, the twin-headed dragon gurgling towards Thunder who acknowledged them, “Got a minute?”
“For you, always,” Tom smiled as she sat down and scooted over to be up against him and put her backpack next to her, “How’s Wu and Wei?”
“We’re doing good, the only part of this trip that worries me is this last flight across the water. The dragons have had a long day, we’ve never driven them this long with this much weight,” she replied, “But I wanted to show you something,” she dug into her bag and emerged with a large hard-back book, “Check this out, I found it while searching for Hollow Earth mythologies.”
“The Dragons of the Lands Below Our Feet, by Dr. Herbert L. Crew? Where’d you find this?” Tom asked quickly, eyes widening, clearly the implications of the title were present for all to see.
“Amazon. But I just started reading it last night. It did take a while to show up with us being way out here and all that. But while I was waiting for the book I looked the guy up and apparently he was a proponent of the Hollow Earth Theory way back in 1888. Apparently, he said that he entered a deep rift in Greenland looking for a lost Viking treasure and found it full of strange and amazing beasts and immense worlds all right below our feet. Dr. Crew wrote it like an expedition journal, I haven’t gotten all the way through it, but it’s all sounding very familiar.”
“So, you think this Dr. Crew visited the Hidden World?” Tom asked curiously.
“I think so, too much of what he’s said matches up to what we’ve seen, specifically with some of the realms and the dragons. But the book summary says that he found something else,” Jun revealed excitedly.
“Something else? Like what?” Tom asked, fairly predictably of course.
“Vikings! Real life Vikings. He said that while he was sailing across an underground sea he was caught up in a storm and shipwrecked on a large island. While he was there, he found a cave, and when he entered it he emerged into a new world, where Vikings sailed upon great oceans and did battle with the dragons. He said he spent a year there before returning, only to have his claims laughed at and he was thrown out of the Royal Society. The foreword says that he returned to Greenland and vowed to only come back with proof of his claims. But his expedition members said that when he ventured into that same rift, an earthquake collapsed it on him, and he was lost forever. Like I said, I haven’t gotten there in the book yet, don’t want to spoil anything. Still, wouldn’t that be great to find another realm with Vikings down here?”
“Puh-lease, Vikings, down here?” Eugene blew a raspberry to display his dismissal to the idea, “If there were Vikings in the Hidden World don’t you think we would have come across them by now?”
“I hate to agree with selfie boy over there, but he has a point,” Alex acknowledged.
“I know,” Jun noted to them, “But you have to admit, there’s a lot here that we wouldn’t have expected to see outside of mythology. And who knows, maybe one day we’ll be able to prove Dr. Crew was right, and help restore his reputation. The man did die trying to prove he wasn’t lying to his colleagues. I think that’s worth respecting,” Jun stated firmly.
“She’s right, could you imagine knowing that you’re telling the truth but everyone you know casts you aside in disgrace? That’s…not cool,” D’Angelo mentioned.
“Yeah, I think so too. And, the idea of coming across people down here, Vikings nonetheless, that would be pretty neat,” Tom suggested, “And if we run into trouble, we just turn around and come back and find somewhere else to camp and enjoy our little vacation. We do ride dragons after all.”
“True enough,” D’Angelo pointed that out as a slight breeze came across and the Dragon Riders all took notice of it growing in strength, right on schedule.
“There’s our tail wind,” Tom stood up, “Let’s get going, riders.”
“Finally,” Eugene sighed, the riders having been waiting for the daily change in the winds that would help them get a bit more speed and updraft for their dragons to make better time for a lot less work.
It was what they’d been waiting a few hours for while their dragons rested and they got some snacks before making the big flight to their destination island. It was estimated to be the better part of a few hours worth of riding with the tailwind, which was right about at the edge of what the dragons could handle with their heavy loads. The group quickly reattached their loads to the dragons, and took off, feeling the breeze of the strengthening winds behind them, pushing them forward towards the island. Although, in a surprise twist, the winds only seemed to get stronger, and stronger, building to a high howl.
“Wow! We’re making really good time!” Tom called out to Jun, having to yell just to be heard.
“I’ve never seen these winds this strong before!” Jun responded in a similar yell.
“Probably because that has something to do with it?!” Alex interjected and pointed behind them, the black billowing clouds of a horrendous typhoon building and rolling towards the riders like an unstoppable shroud.
“Oh that’s not good!” D’Angelo cried out, “Tom, we gotta book it, if we get caught in that storm, we’re in real trouble!”
“I know, make for the island! We might be able to beat the storm! We’ll get there and find some cover and wait out the storm!” Tom called back as they could feel the temperature starting to drop as the wind built up even more.
Thunder roared in worry as they pushed themselves as hard as the dragons would go. They too sensed the coming torment behind them. The island was in sight, just ahead of them. They could see the trees billowing and blowing in the gloom as the great dark clouds began to slowly catch them. But, something was strange, the wind was uniformly directional, headed right at the island, and then, as they came within reach of the island, the wind seemed to only get stronger, and stronger. It all seemed direct, and was acting almost like it wasn’t pushing the dragons and their riders, but rather, like it was pulling them in. Harsh rain now began to swirl and pelt them and their dragons, soon soaking all of them within mere minutes as, despite their attempts, the storm had caught them. Lightning flashed frequently, thunder clapped like shockwaves that rocked the teens to their core.
They now approached the wave-swept shores, they saw the breakers smashing the cliff faces of the island. The trees were large, mighty and strong. But they were blowing and bending in winds that seemed like they’d rip them from the ground any minute now. Leaves, sticks, and small rocks blew up into their faces and past them, towards the island, heading almost right down. Their gear was only making it all worse, dragging the tired dragons down towards the ground, and their destination, somewhere on the darkened windswept island.
“Tom!” Jun screamed in alarm as the dragons were slowly starting to be pulled downwards by the wind, their vision strained by squinting to protect themselves.
“Something’s pulling us in!” Tom called back, “Come on bud! Fight it!” he urged Thunder on.
Thunder’s roared as he strained to come about, trying to keep from getting pulled in. But everyone else’s dragons weren’t as strong a flier as Thunder, and almost all of them were carrying a heavier load slung below them. Plowhorn was the first to be tossed down towards the ground, weighed down by the rations attached to her and D’Angelo. Then, it was Wu Wei’s turn, and Tom saw the two-headed dragon and Jun separate in the heavy winds, and began plummeting towards the ground.
“Jun!” Tom yelled at the sight of his girlfriend falling towards the ground.
“Kullerson!” Eugene cried out as he and Webmaster were likewise yanked by the winds towards the ground with their own cargo yanking the two down.
Tom and Thunder came about as Alex was likewise pulled down. The Night Light beating his wings with mighty effort to catch the plummeting girl before she met with the permanent embrace of terra firma. With wind and wing, Tom and Thunder soon found themselves within reach of Jun, who saw Tom coming and reached out, fighting to stabilize as Tom saw what it was that was drawing them in, the massive open maw of a cave, a cave carved in the shape of a great dragon’s open mouth which was the source of the wind suction pulling them all into it. But Tom only had eyes for Jun, their hands reaching out for one another, until finally fingers connected, and their hands grasped tightly.
But they’d now entered the giant cave, and were surrounded by the crashing of winds being sucked into the open carved dragon’s mouth. The torment of air, rain, and debris was too much, and every rider and every dragon was tossed like leaves in the wind. Tom’s grip on Thunder was finally broken and he his dragon were finally separated, and all of them were thrown into the cave. The teens awaited their crash with the stone of the cave, but it never came, they were practically floating, held aloft as if by the hands of the winds around them along with their dragons. And then, behind them, the open cave mouth, seemed to shut behind them as though the great carving of a dragon’s mouth were alive. The entire group was plunged into darkness. Slowly however a dim glow began to emerge. It was coming from crystal formations whose glow was accompanied by a flow of glowing dust that spiraled along the walls, forming what could only be described as a vortex on the smooth circular walls of the cave. The effect was familiar, one that they knew all too well. It could only be Dragonsite, blue Dragonsite. It was almost…calming, as calm as the wind itself, which now ceased its chaotic torrents and the rain and debris vanished. Quickly, everyone’s dragons flew to collect their riders, now stable enough to control themselves.
“Everyone alright?!” Tom called out to his friends.
“We’re okay!” Jun waved over where she was settling uneasily back onto Wu Wei.
“What the heck was that?” D’Angelo now asked the obvious.
“Whatever it was, we’re still not out of it,” Alex pointed out.
“Yeah, no kidding, I think we all just noticed the fact we were sucked into a giant cave by a storm!” Eugene declared, “And that cave just closed behind us!”
“Calm down,” Tom waved him down, “You feel that?” he held his hand out, “We’re still moving with the wind, although it isn’t as strong.”
“It’s taking us somewhere,” Alex noted as they closed formation, surrounded by nothing but darkness and by the mesmerizing seemingly magical particles of the blue Dragonsite, “Probably a sudden drop in air pressure sucked us into a tunnel to another realm, it must be equalizing.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Tom agreed, “Jun, did you read anything about this in Dr. Crews’s journal?”
“I told you, I haven’t even finished reading through the intro,” Jun replied, “But something like this makes sense. The summary I read online said a storm shipwrecked him on the island and he found a cave into the realm where he found the Vikings. This must be that cave to that other realm!”
“Well, wherever we’re going, I see daylight above us,” D’Angelo pointed out, seeing the tunnel’s glow starting to dissipate, and form something more akin to a normal cave.
“Yeah, and it’s getting colder,” Eugene noted as they felt a chilly breeze pass over them.
Rather than continuing to dive downwards, they were all able to see the cave began to climb upwards again. And daylight was streaming in, but so was something else, and they heard it and felt it before they really saw it. Another shaking of an earthquake, and the sound of rushing water. Below them, a flow of salt water was roaring past them, and was climbing its way up.
“Hurry! The cave is flooding!” Tom called out as the dragons all booked it for the entrance, dodging hanging stalactites and jutting stalagmites before they blasted their way out into a cold crisp day.
“Whoa!” Jun said as she and Wu Wei now settled into a hover, looking around at what was around them.
It was quite a sight emerging above them straight upwards towards the sky with a snow-capped ring of cliffs with sloping forested hills leading down towards the middle of an open and calm bay with a sandy shoreline with surrounding patches of wetlands and tidal flats around the mostly circular body of water which sat in the middle of this ring of an island that surrounded and sheltered it. But below them, they saw the cave entrance that they’d emerged from was not being consumed by rising water, but rather it was just like the dragon carving entrance they’d been sucked in through, it was closing but that wasn’t even the worst part. The cave itself was sinking into the water.
“Tom!” D’Angelo called their attention to the distressing sight.
“We gotta try and go back!” Eugene ushered Webmaster who went to dive for the sinking dragon’s head cave opening.
“It’s too late!” Jun said loudly as she flew in on Wu Wei cut them off, “It’s gone.”
“Nice going Kullerson, now we’re stuck here!” Eugene threw his arms up in disgust.
“Oh yeah, like it was Tom who created a freakish force of nature that drew us into this new realm he’s never been to before now and sank a whole cave network into the sea,” Alex deadpanned.
“Sorry, force of habit,” Eugene rubbed the back of his head apologetically as Webmaster then roared and whined in protest, wanting to vacate the area, quickly, “Hey! Webs, what’s wrong buddy?”
“He’s acting skittish,” Tom noted.
“All of the dragons are acting strange,” D’Angelo agreed, noticing that every dragon was looking down at the water nervously, they sensed something.
“Well, if the dragons don’t like it, let’s not go around taking the chance,” Tom replied.
“Let’s get on dry ground, the dragons have just about had it,” D’Angelo suggested, “Fighting that storm’s taken a lot out of them,” he patted Plowhorn affectionately on the head who grumbled in reply, “And we need to assess our situation.”
“D’Angelo’s right, doesn’t look like nightfall is that far away. Let’s find some shelter and set up camp,” Jun suggested as they all took one last look at the vanishing form of the cave into the waters below, a sinking feeling in their guts as they nervously looked around before Tom led the way towards the more habitable-looking forests of the larger circular ring of a landmass sheltering this isolated bay.
Flying overhead below a thick layer of clouds, they could look down and see that this was a place of fair abundance, with large trees sheltered from the wind by the tall cliffs that ringed the area. An inlet entering the sheltered harbor was cut from the rock with sheer cliffs dropping down into it with gnarly jagged rocks around the base of the twin cliffs. The hills that sloped into the middle of the bay were filled with trees like white-barked Birch, tall pines, and broad leafy oak and small meadows with green grasses with babbling streams and small ponds in the middle of them. It was absolutely pristine, with no sign of anything in terms of civilization, Viking or otherwise, at first. And, there were dragons. The riders were able to identify several species, such as Gronkles, snacking up high on the rocky slopes, Terrible Terrors moving around the treetops, Deadly Nadders hanging out along the shorelines, a single Monstrous Nightmares flying off in the distance minding its own business, and a few Zipplebacks in the water fishing for food. There were other dragons that they had not seen before, like some Gronkle-looking ones that were longer and flatter, in shape and large brown ones that grazed in the grassy meadows, unusual for a dragon. There were And of course, there were goats on the rocky slopes, deer and wild boar within the forest, and sheep, lots and lots of sheep roaming around the meadows grazing calmly. The group almost lost track of what they were looking for, a suitable shelter.
“Hey! Check that out!” Eugene pointed down towards a unique feature they were flying towards while circling near the strait into the harbor.
“Yeah, I see it,” Tom replied as he caught sight of what Eugene was pointing out, “Let’s take a look bud,” he urged Thunder downwards.
It what was in fact a pair of hanging valleys with a low waterfall fed from an open cave mouth in the cliff in the middle plateau down into a lake which flowed downwards into the harbor through the forest. Around this upper lake were numerous trees, mainly drooping leafy willows, thick shade-giving oaks, elms, and maple, tall white-barked birch and aspen, dense pines, and lots of bushes around the water which, as they got closer, was just had a slight steam coming off of it, like a hot spring but not as hot. The lake was a bit smaller than a hockey ring, was quite clear, but had a lot of various reeds around its shore. The area around the cave was mostly lush grass, with a downhill stream coming from the cave entrance to the lake. Frogs were heard croaking around the area as they grew near. Above this lake on the dark cliffside were more smaller cave openings inside of the covered alcove worn into the side of the rock with the smaller openings up high and having a flat ledge over the larger opening down low. There were piles upon piles of darkly-colored rocks of just about every size and shape both near the cliffside and along the steep slopes. Most tempting of off was that, given the fact that the temperature was already starting to drop into the forties, the dragons and their riders were quite surprised at the fact that this little area was comparatively warm as they landed upon the lush green grass in the clearing near the water.
“This must be a hot spring, feel how warm it is?” D’Angelo got down off of Plowhorn.
“Still kinda chilly,” Eugene noted as he got off Webmaster.
“We probably don’t have time to set up the tents, let’s check out the cave, it might be warmer,” Tom suggested as he and Thunder began to walk towards the main cave entrance which had a stone path leading into the entrance that was easily wide enough for them and the dragons to even fly through with the water flowing out at a healthy rate to the left.
He walked in, and looked inside the dark cave, barely lit from the outside seeing as the trees were so dense and tall as to make it hard to get light inside. Once standing within, they noticed that it was big, almost bigger than the Dragon Club’s lair back home. There was a central open space all around them which had a channel cut into the bottom of it where the warm water was flowing from a bubbling stone pond against the wall. There were balcony-like structures leading into other smaller caves that they could see had their own access to the outside through the entrance of the waning daylight. It was indeed much warmer, the warm water that was flowing along the wall afterand the heat of the ground below making it notably tolerable by trapping the warmth within.
“Alright, not too bad,” Tom looked around, “Seems like a good place to make camp. Let’s get the dragons unsaddled and get the gear inside.”
“Finally, I’m exhausted,” Eugene agreed as the group started doing this, working to get their stuff which had gone mostly unmolested by the immense forces they’d endured.
Eugene was less than helpful, but it didn’t take them long before they got their tents, supplies, sleeping bags, backpacks, and other miscellaneous stuff under the cover of the big cave.
“Well, that’s that,” Alex sighed as she sat down on her tent bag.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,”
“Of course we’re not,” Alex groaned as she stood back up.
“No kidding Gonzo,” Eugene rolled his eyes.
“We’ve taken care of two of our survival priorities, shelter and water, now every good survival expert says we need to get some firewood before it gets dark. There’s plenty of it out there, shouldn’t take too long,” D’Angelo informed them as he put on a head lamp.
“If we’re concerned about light, I do have my handy dandy hydroelectric generators and lights…” Alex said smugly.
“It would help to get that set up,” Tom suggested.
“Yeah…having some light would be a good idea,” D’Angelo agreed.
“I’ll help Gonzo!” Eugene piped up immediately, getting deadpan looks from Tom, Jun, and D’Angelo, “What? She’ll need an extra pair of hands.”
“You’re just scared of the dark, aren’t you?” Jun crossed her arms over her chest.
“Phh, scared, me? Nah, I’m just making use of my more nuisance skillset,” Eugene laughed off the accusation.
“You had to have me help you change the batteries on a flashlight once,” Alex arched an eyebrow at him.
“The battery placement wasn’t clearly marked and you know it,” Eugene protested immediately.
“C’mon guys, let’s get to work,” Tom put on his own head lamp as he, Jun, and D’Angelo stepped back outside and started off towards the woods.
Now that they were here, the sounds of the frogs was gentle, and the grass was covered in the flickering of fireflies now that it was getting dark enough to see them. It was a pretty sight, calm, and isolated, pure and untouched nature. Each of them began to scan around the area, and started their efforts by gathering the easy stuff, fallen sticks, large branches, and fallen logs. All three had their dragons with them, and the dragons too sensed what was needed and were intelligent enough to start pulling their weight, grabbing larger items of firewood and carrying them with them back towards the cave.
“Seems like enough to get us through the night, doesn’t it?” Tom asked as they gathered back up, all three carrying a heaping pile of firewood alongside their dragons.
“My dad taught me a saying, Tom,” D’Angelo replied as he walked over with a similar load of firewood as Plowhorn deposited a whole dead tree she’d snapped off, “When you think you have enough firewood, go back and gather five times as much.”
“Even this much?” Tom asked as he saw that the pile that they had now was going to be sizeable seeing as the dragons had been helping.
“I am not going to question my dad, the decorated Army Ranger, and graduate of every wilderness survival school the military has,” D’Angelo held up a finger proudly.
“Fair enough,” Tom chuckled in response as the two turned back around to take another walk for some more firewood as they noticed Jun standing behind them, looking over her shoulder.
“Taking in the sights?” Tom walked up to her, offering to take her firewood to deposit it inside the cave where they could see Alex working on installing her generators while giving Eugene the easy job, unpacking the cords and setting up the lights. They were almost done by the looks of things.
“Yeah, it’s so…I don’t know,” Jun said as she and Tom both deposited the firewood back inside the cave and walked out as Jun returned to looking skyward towards the thick clouds as night had set in, but there was an indiscernible glow up there, her brow furrowed in concern, “Don’t get me wrong, Tom, this place just feels magical, it really does. But, something…something’s just off.”
“Like what?” Tom asked.
“Like…” she murmured and then her eyes widened, “Like the stars.”
“So what?” Tom looked up at the break in the clouds and saw the scattering of pale blue stars dotted against the night sky, “They’re just stars.”
“Tom, there’s no stars in the Hidden Realm because there’s no sky,” Jun said earnestly as she now figured out what they were seeing.
“And…and no moon either,” Tom now gasped as the clouds parted again to reveal the unmistakable form of the crescent moon, bathing them in its pale light.
“We’re above ground,” Jun said quickly, now realizing the implications, “Us, our dragons, and those wild dragons.”
“But, we’re not trapped in this realm anymore, Jun, we’re going to be okay,” Tom said with relief in his voice.
“We need to tell the others,” Jun nodded in agreement.
The two doubled back around and made their way back into the cave, where Alex had dipped her three generators down into the flowing water. Each one was a long Archimedes Screw inside a hollow half-cylinder with a metal frame. She was hammering in her last metal stakes into each corner of this last of her three turbines one up top on a small waterfall in the far corner of the cave. She’d already assembled them all, an easy process, hooking each one to its associated gearbox and then to the generator, hooking all three together. Almost immediately the blue-colored screws almost immediately began spinning, lighting up its control switch a dull green. Alex had plugged this in with a heavy duty waterproof plug and strung this cord to her mobile charging station, a pole with a table on it and a ring of plugs.
“Alright, Eugene, hit it,” Alex flipped a thumbs-up to Eugene.
The young man then plugged in the extension cord to the string of outdoor string light bulbs, a hundred of them all strung along the lower walls. Also plugged in was the projector and its accompanying white screen which turned on, and the surround sound speakers kicked on as it powered up.
“Now this is camping in style,” Eugene said happily, “Oh, hey Jun Bug,” he noticed Tom and Jun walking in.
“Guys, we might have a problem, but it is kinda also a solution to our other cave collapsing and leaving us trapped problem,” Tom explained.
“Uh…care to be more specific?” Alex asked as she walked over.
“We’re not underground, not anymore. The moon, the stars, they’re out. We can see them, we’re not actually trapped in some other realm.”
“What? How can that be possible? We must have been miles below-ground,” Alex asked incredulously.
“Stars and moon, Alex, hard to mistake them. Plus, all those other animals, we’ve never seen those in the Hidden World,” Jun shot back confidently.
“So, if you’re right…” Eugene replied, “That means we can get internet! Score!” he held up a high-five to Alex who cocked an eyebrow at him.
“No, not score. If we’re on the surface Eugene, so are all of those dragons, and now their entrance back into the Hidden World is cut off. This is bad, guys, really bad,” Alex corrected him.
“Meh, I’m gonna go try and get a signal and update my Instagram,” Eugene shrugged indifferently.
“Hey…guys…” D’Angelo’s voice called out, as he entered the cave again, dropping off the wood, “I thought we were getting firewood?”
“Big discovery kinda got in the way, D,” Tom turned around, “Didn’t you notice what was above us? The sky, we’re not underground anymore.”
“Uh…” D’Angelo perked up as he noticed the light had illuminated something behind them that had been mostly hidden by darkness before, “That’s not the only discovery, look.”
He pointed behind them along the wall leading up to the second level of caves. Everyone turned to see a very distinct shape, a staircase carved right into the steep slope of rock leading up to the second level. It was a clearly man-made structure.
“Whoa…how did we not see this?” Tom said as he was the first to reach the stairs, and was able to see it was clearly chiseled by hand.
“Hey, don’t look at me,” Eugene held his hands up, “I was busy.”
“We all were,” D’Angelo acknowledged as they all started up, and found themselves up in the open second cave area,
Here, they could see that there were a few carved out cubbies in the stone walls where the remnants of old candles sat surrounded by cobwebs and dust from what could have been decades of no one being around. The teens followed these signs of human presence until they saw it, a sat of stones stacked neatly to form a wall in the opening to another cave chamber. In the center of this stone was a rectangular door made of wood with a simple door handle. Tom was the first to reach out to open it, but Jun’s hand came down on his gently.
“Wait, Tom, remember when I said that Dr. Crews had gone back down to find proof of his claim and was trapped in the Hidden World and never seen again? What if…what if he survived the collapse, and came back…here?”
“Hold on, are you saying there could be…Dr. Crews in there?” Tom asked hesitantly, recoiling from it, the thought of a dead body inside that chamber making him nervous.
“I don’t know,” Jun sighed, “But there’s only one thing we can do now that we’re here, isn’t there?”
“Jun’s right. If…he’s in there. He deserves better than to be left in a cave,” D’Angelo explained calmly, “We should be ready to do the right thing.”
“You’re right,” Tom said quietly, and looked back up towards the door, and reached out and pulled the handle and opened it, knowing what they might find.