Defying The Rules

Confrontation and Research

Thalos was about to say something, but his father beat him to it. "Where in Valhalla were you!? I thought a dragon had flown off with you and made you its next meal!" It was quite clear the man wasn't happy.

Thalos scratched the back of his neck. "I was looking for one of Sven's sheep." He said.

"It took you all night to find one sheep? How would chasing a single sheep get you covered in sand? What were you doing all night? Did you even find the sheep?"

"Well.." Thalos paused and thought a moment. He decided it wasn't a good idea to tell about the dragon. His father would only get more aggrivated with him for running away in the manner he did. "I was trying to fed off a dragon that was looking to get it. It was by the shore, and I fell in the sand and water a few times."

"And this took you all night? Did you bring the sheep back to Silent Sven?" Thalos's father asked, still giving him a condescending look.

Thalos licked his lips and looked at his dad. "No.. the dragon ate it.." He said in a disappointed tone.

"So, let me get this straight... You went out last night to get a runaway sheep. You fought a dragon to save the sheep, covered yourself with sand in the process, and couldn't even save the sheep?" The man paused and looked at his son's back, where his weapon should be. "Where is your axe!? Thalos, tell me you didn't loose it! That axe was passed down from my grandfather!"

"Yeah..." Thalos flinched when his dad raised his voice. He had forgotten about the axe. "It must have fallen off.." he tried pathetically.

"It fell off? An axe doesn't just fall off. Go back and get it!"

Thalos's heart sank. What!? It was left in the cavern! He couldn't go back there! "But-"

"Go, Thalos! Bring back that axe! I will not have my son loose an axe that as been passed down for three generations! Don't come back until you have it!"

"You don't-"

"Go!"

Thalos bit his tongue and left the hut. He was going to get killed! He didn't know anything about the dragon. He didn't stand a chance! He ran his fingers through his black hair. His blue eyes were full of worry. What in the name of Thor was he supposed to do!?

Then the thought hit him. What about the Book of Dragons? That's got to have information he could use in there. He could learn all he needed to to live.

He started making his way to the Great Hall. Last he knew, the Bork the Bold's Book of Dragons was in there. He walked into the building, not even bothering to attempt to get more sand off of him. He had kind of accepted that the sand wasn't coming off. Sand stayed with you everywhere. It never left.

He walked over to where it was usually kept, and sure enough, it was there. He opened it up. "Thor, how am I supposed to find it in here? The book is massive!" He thought to himself. He decided to just get into it and start flipping through the pages.

He looked through the book for a good ten minutes or so, looking for the one that looked like his dragon. Unfortunately, he didn't find it. So, thinking he just missed it, he flipped through it again. Still nothing. "Are you kidding me?" He groaned, closing the book. "Tell me it isn't an undiscovered species." He sighed and looked around. Maybe Fishlegs would know? He's the Book of Dragons expert.

Thalos left the Great Hall and went to Fishleg's hut. He knocked on the door and waited. "Hello Mrs. Ingerman." He said to Fishlegs's mother, who opened the door.

"Thalos, what a surprise. I assume you are looking for Fishlegs?" The large woman asked.

Thalos nodded. "Yes, I am."

"Fishlegs!" She called across the hut. "Thalos is here to see you! Get over here!"

A few seconds later, Fishlegs was at the door. He was surprised Thalos was here. He and Thalos didn't really talk much. They weren't enemies, but they didn't know each other well enough to be friends. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I was hoping you could help me with something dragon related." Thalos replied.

The chunky, blonde-haired Viking's face lit up. "Really!? What do you need help with?"

"Is there any dragon that is.. I don't know.. light blue that lives in crystal caverns?"

Fishlegs tilted his head and thought a moment. "No, I don't think so. But, there is a dragon called the Screaming Death that-"

"No, not that." Thalos cut him off. The last thing he needed was to get stuck in one of Fishlegs's dragon lessons. "Are you sure there isn't a dragon that fits my description? It shoots lasers from its mouth."

"Oh, I'm sure. I have read the Book of Dragons like seven times."

"Alright. Thanks Fish." Thalos said, walking away from the hut. The large boy curled his nose at the nickname, but shrugged it off and walked back inside his hut.

Thalos ran his hand through his hair and groaned. So, he stumbled upon a stinking undiscovered species. Really? Why him!? His father wasn't going to let him come back without his axe, and it was in the den of a massive, unknown dragon! He had to get it back. The least he could do to increase his chances is bring the dragon food. It didn't hurt him when it had eaten the sheep.

Thalos made his way to the Market where the butcher sold his meat. He looked for the biggest one he had. "Thor, that's expensive.." he mumbled. He had brought a few coins with him, planning on getting meat anyway. He decided to get a large strip of bore. It was painful, as it took a lot of his money, but it was better than him dying.

He convinced Gobber to let him barrow a sword and started his way BACK to the cavern. Yeah, BACK. He was going back, because his materialistic father wanted that axe back. It took him a while to get to the shore since he was carrying the bore meat and a sword, but he eventually made it.

Once he got there, he set the stuff down. He was, again, lucky that the meat didn't attract any dragons. He was very lucky. He started making a raft out of fallen logs and vines. He had been around Hiccup enough to know how to make a crude flotation device. This would be much better than him swimming there and back.

It took him a good hour or so to actually build the raft. He wasn't convinced it was sturdy, but it was the best he could come up with. It was better than nothing, right? He just wanted to get in and out as fast as possible.

He got into the water and led it near the cavern. He put the bore and sword on the raft before he got on himself. He directed the raft through the water with his hands. How had this cavern not been explored or something? There was no way the cavern itself was undiscovered. It was massive and completely visible. He shook his head and kept his sword close by him.

He floated through the cavern, his blue eyes constantly looking around. The temperature very slowly started to rise, so he knew he was getting somewhat close. The Viking's heart rate had already been increasing.

Ten to fifteen minutes passed, and Thalos's raft came up to the land. Thalos got off the raft, secured it, and started walking. "Thor, just let me get out of here alive and unharmed." He said to himself.