Battle For The Thundering Twister

New Discoveries

Chapter 27:New Discoveries

"Let's just not talk about this now.Hiccup,let's do what we originally planned,"I pleaded,gesturing to Castaway.Hiccup nodded grimly."Alright,so basically we're just gonna find out about Castaway,now that he's nearly an adult,"he addressed the others.He turned to Castaway."Okay,Castaway.Do what you did when you dived,"he ordered.Castaway immediately rolled up into a tight ball,his back facing out.His spines were stuck out straight.His head and legs were hidden inside the hollow that he curled around(it's like the hollow in a hollow ball).Hiccup walked around him,studying every part of his body.Fishlegs fetched the Book of Dragons and flipped to Castaway's species' section."The name of Castaway's species is called 'Thundering Twister',according to the writer of the note.And write down that the back of the head,body and tail has spines that are sharper than knives,"Hiccup rambled on,feeling the spikes on Castaway's back,"but why though?"Fishlegs scribbled the descriptions down accordingly.Hiccup tapped Castaway to make him unroll."Maybe its an attack move,just like how every dragon has its own special attack,"Fishlegs suggested.Hiccup nodded in deep thought,then he fetched a barrel,a flat rock and a flat sheet of gronckle iron.

"Castaway,time to eat,"he waved the barrel about."What?Hiccup,I'm not letting Castaway eat wood and metal for lunch,"I cut in."I just need him to open his mouth to test his jaw strength,"he answered calmly.I backed off in politeness.Castaway heard the word 'eat' and immediately opened his giant mouth.Hiccup shoved a barrel between his jaws.Castaway easily chomped it in half.Next came the rock.Castaway shook his head while trying to get it out of his jaws.After a violent attempt,he crushed it.Hiccup finally shoved the gronckle iron into Castaway's mouth.He couldn't bite through it.He could only make tiny dents in it before he gave up.I dragged it out of his mouth."Wood,pass.Rock,pass.Iron,fail,"Hiccup scribbled the information down in the Book Of Dragons.Fishlegs went around with about with a bit of string,measuring Castaway's wing span,tail,head,body and just about everything before recording it down.All the time,I comforted Castaway whenever Hiccup did something a little uncomfortable,like prying open his mouth or prodding his leg.Next,we moved on to accuracy.Hiccup tossed a piece of wood in the air."Castaway,shoot!"I pointed at it.Castaway razed the tip."Come on!"I urged.I threw up another piece of wood.This time,Castaway managed to burn off a quarter."Let's go for the bulls-eye,"I encouraged.Hiccup hurled a chunk of wood in the air.Castaway shot.I stared and smiled.He had finally reached the centre.The wood had a hole in the middle,burnt right through."Just wondering,can he possibly shoot the tail spikes from his tail?"Astrid wondered aloud."Nope.The spines grow with his body,not just on the skin.There isn't any way he can dislodge one spike from that tail,"Hiccup replied.

Then,something really bad happened.Ruffnut came barging in with a bucket of flowers."I found some really cool blue flowers to decorate the Academy!"she called,setting it down.I glanced at it.Fishlegs stared at it in alarm,then yelled,"Hiccup!It's-,""Ruff!Take it out!The flowers are Blue Oleander flowers!Poisonous to dragons,remember?!"Hiccup shouted,pushing Toothless away.Fishlegs dragged Meatlug away too.Ruffnut ran out in a hurry and I watched as she dumped the flowers in the sea to be washed away.But suddenly,Castaway suddenly collapsed.I screamed.Nevaeh rushed to my side along with Zack and Astrid.I kneeled down beside Castaway's head."Castaway!Hang in there,boy,"I whispered.Hiccup bent down."He's already sick?He hasn't even sniffed it yet and he's already sick?!"he questioned disbelievingly."Fetch Gothi!Somebody fetch Gothi!"I cried.Astrid flew off to do so.In a couple of minutes,Gothi,the village shaman and healer,had arrived.She looked gravely at Castaway and bent down to examine him.She opened his mouth,looked hard at his eyes,felt his body and felt his tongue and teeth.Then,she scratched her diagnosis into the ground."Gothi says Castaway is violently sick and we need to make a tonic to cure him.He's different from other dragons,apparently,and doesn't get better even when the Blue Oleander flowers are taken away.If you don't cure him in time,he'll die,"Fishlegs translated.Gothi produced a scrap of parchment that looked like it would fall to pieces at any moment.She held it out.I took it and read it."Is it the ingredients for the tonic?"I asked.Gothi scratched the ground again."Yes,but they're difficult to aquire.Some of the ingredients are on dangerous islands like Changewing Island,Breakneck Bog and so on,"Fishlegs continued.I stroked Castaway's head.He made a groaning,whining noise."I'll go get the ingredients,"I declared,shakily standing up."We're coming with you,"Hiccup firmly added,gesturing to his group of dragon riders."Us too,"Nevaeh and Zack stated,mounting their dragons."No,I need you guys to stay behind and take care of Castaway,"I argued."Fishlegs,stay behind and take care of him then.Snotlout too.And get Gobber to help out if he can,"Hiccup decided.Snotlout immediately protested,but a forceful glare from Hiccup shut him up.

"The rest of you,let's move now,"he continued.I smiled gratefully at him,then gazed at the list of ingredients.

INGREDIENTS FOR OLEANDER TONIC

One Nightroot plant,found on Changewing Island

Three apples' worth of apple skins,half-boiled

Half-bucketful of Scauldron venom

A couple of Fogbranch tree leaves,found on Breakneck Bog

One sea slug,sliced

Six granite-sandstone rocks,found on Dark Deep(orange-grey colored)

Two dozen rock blossoms' worth of petals

A flask of yak milk

A stalk of Eel Beans,found in the waters of Eel Island

Half-flask of Snaptrapper saliva,found on Snaptrapper Island

A firecomb with gel,found in a Fireworm Queen's nest Fireworm Island

Bucketful of glowing algae from the Flightmare's home,wherever it may be

I stared dumbly at it.More than half the ingredients were on really dangerous islands,inhabited by terrifying and monstrous dragons.I think Hiccup was also quite astounded by the locations of the ingredients,judging by the look on his face when he looked at the list.But he swallowed his shock and rolled up the list and tucked it into his satchel,saying,"No problem getting these,".Jessica and Cassie were fetched as well,and they came along willingly too.And so,we all set off,with me on Cassie's Snow Wraith Frostbite,since Cassie had the most space on her saddle.

As we flew off for Changewing Island,I looked back at the Academy."We're going to cure you boy,don't you worry about that,"I whispered,hoping Castaway already knew that.