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The fall came as such a shock, that even Astrid did an uncharacteristic thing, and shrieked. Right away, Ska'i could feel the constant chill in the air, dropping to an even more bone-freezing cold. Falling was short-lived, but everyone remained clinging to each other. The chute sloped downward, plopping them out into a widened little cavern. As it progressed they slowed, all startled cries coming to a stop with a gentle bump at a wall, made entirely of ice. Only then, did they let go of each other.
"Um. What is this?" Ruffnut demanded, jutting her chin a bit at the frozen obstacle.
"Duh, sis. It's an ice wall."
As they bickered their typical banter, Fishlegs was already examining the ice slab.
"This is ridiculous," Snotlout snapped, and he made to go back up the way they'd come. Naturally, the tunnel made him slide down. Desperate, he took off his helmet, attempting to pierce through like a pickaxe. But once he drew it out to pierce through again, a steady stream of water began to shoot through. Yells to plug it up immediately followed, but before Snotlout could pull the genius move and shove his finger in the hole, Ska'i pointed with a shout, "Wait!"
Everyone watched the temperature take effect, as it began to freeze the hole shut
"Well, thank Odin it's that cold, to not fill up the space and drown us," Astrid was grateful.
"But how are we underwater?" Snotlout could not comprehend it.
"Um, hello. We were just on a shipwreck," Tuff explained.
"And this tunnel happens to be here, because . . . ?"
"I don't know, this is the first time I've been on this island!"
"More like beneath the island," Ska'i added.
"I knew that topography map looked funny," Hiccup realized.
"Hey, what's this?"
The group turned to look at the portcullis Tuff was pointing at. Fishlegs immediately walked over to further examine it.
Hiccup commented, "That looks like it could take the weight of about 1,000 pounds."
"You may be exactly right, Hiccup. At least enough to trigger that trapdoor."
"Well, that's just great. How are we going to get out of here?"
"Uh, guys? Ska'i found something else!"
She had crouched down near the bottom left of the ice, her brow furrowed, lightly tracing a long nail along some words engraved deep in the ice.
"What's it read, Ska'i?" Tuff asked softly.
Once you begin
the only way out is further in
And the only way through
is clear as the ice that's in front of you.
No one said anything for a minute. Then the silence was broken by Snotlot scoffing, "What the hel is that supposed to mean?"
"Hello, it's a riddle," Ruffnut held out a hand in a no-duh gesture.
"Well, I still want to get out of here!" He whined. "And we have dragons! So why don't we figure out a way to -."
"No, Snotlout," Hiccup was firm. "Don't you see? 'The only way out is further in.' The only way we're going to get out of this place is to keep going."
"Okay, I know that doesn't make any sense!"
"Snotlout, are you serious?" Astrid snarled at him. "This is the way to the Fire Stone."
" '. . . Is clear as the ice that's in front of you,' " Fishlegs repeated the riddle, lost in thought. "It's through the ice. 'The only way through," is through the ice!"
"Great, genius. But that ice is much too thick for any of us to break through! It's got to be what, five feet thick? Maybe if we had our dragons -."
"Snotlout. Enough," Hiccup snarled. "There's no way the dragons can get through that trapdoor. Even if they did find a way, it would only flood us out. Then where would we be?"
Ska'i was busy, blocking everything going on around her. Like Fishlegs, she was studying the ice wall, rather than the edges, before the next curve of the wall started. There was something strange about it. It didn't appear as if nature made it, no, much more as if it were man-made. Wait . . . . And it was so obvious, she couldn't believe none of them was able to figure it out, before. She tentatively stuck her hand out to touch what should have been the wall. But no, it seemed to go right through it! Or, no, upon a closer look, next to it. What, how was that possible? She waved her hand with great dramatics to the left of the wall when it clicked. It was a type of trick wall.
She turned to tell the gang, but Tuff had been watching, "Guys? Ska'i already solved it."
Snotlout heaved a huge, daunting sigh.
"Well, here we go," Astrid encouraged.
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