Battle For The Thundering Twister

Smoke and Metal

Chapter 31:Smoke and Metal

P.S.I do not own Smothering Smokebreaths,Breakneck Bog,etc.Belongs to Dreamworks Dragons.

The sun was setting as we headed for Breakneck Bog.The skies turned pink and the yellow sun sank beneath the horizon.I wished the sun would stay above the horizon forever,just to provide light and warmth until this nightmare was over.But all good things come to an end,as they say.The sky turned from pink to purple and then to a dark blackish-blue.The stars appeared behind the clouds and the moon rose up from opposite the sun."From the way we're headed,we should see Breakneck Bog in a couple of minutes,"Hiccup announced,poring over a map he produced out of nowhere."And,just for your information,Breakneck Bog is full of these tiny Mystery Class dragons called Smothering Smokebreaths.They always travel as a pack and are almost always hidden by a thick fog they produce.They will do anything to get their claws on metal because they use it to build their nests,so don't flash anything metallic or shiny if you can.Their fire is hot enough to weld metal together so be careful if you start getting shot by Smokebreaths.And one more important thing:they are extremely territorial,"he rambled on and on until Tuffnut almost fell off Belch when he dozed off.

After a minute,we swooped down to Breakneck Bog.It was dark and misty."We need Fogbranch leaves,and Fogbranches are very conveniently located in Smokebreath nests,"Hiccup said sarcastically."What's so great about that?Has Hiccup gone mad?"Ruffnut asked the rest of us.I could see Hiccup rolling his eyes.He nodded to Astrid and Zack."Stormfly,Deathroar,track!"they cried simultaneously.Their Nadders tilted their heads curiously,then understood before raising their heads and sniffing the air.A couple of moments later,Deathroar began heading towards a rocky plateau.We followed him.Deathroar trampled through a small forest and came out of the other side and stopped.Hiccup walked over and got out his spy-glass before taking a good look around."Over there!I'm sure I saw a flash of sparks in that cave!"he pointed to a cave opening hidden cleverly by two bushes growing together closely.

We silenced our dragons and slowly edged towards the cave."How are we going to get in without the Smokebreaths seeing us?"Hiccup asked everyone.I shrugged and tried to think."I have an idea.A couple of us can draw the Smokebreaths out while the rest go get the Fogbranch leaves.Then,after you get it,fly out as fast as you can.The people drawing the Smokebreaths out can just throw whatever they used to distract the Smokebreaths,"Cassie offered."Great idea,Cassie!Who has scrap metal with them?"Hiccup questioned.I searched in my saddlebag and drew out my rusty iron dagger.It still shone a little in the pale moonlight.Cassie offered to stay behind with Jessica.I handed them my dagger."Reflect as much moonlight off it as possible and make as much noise as possible,"I instructed.Cassie nodded and got on Frostbite.Jessica mounted Mayhem.

The rest of us stood beside the cave opening.Hiccup shot Cassie a thumbs-up.She nodded and began waving the dagger about."Hey,Smokebreaths!I got some metal,and it's real shiny!"she sang.Jessica whistled a piercing whistle.A moment later,a giant cloud of fog emerged from the cave.They went straight for the sisters.Cassie and Jessica took off,the Smokebreaths right on their tails.Hiccup slipped into the cave.We followed behind.The cave was pitch black and it was impossible to see anything."Toothless,mind giving us some light?"Hiccup patted his dragon's head.Toothless opened his mouth and held his plasma blast there.Stormfly and Deathroar opened their mouths and let their magnesium blast fire lie in their mouths too,creating some light for everyone to see clearly."Alright,Fogbranches are usually found in dark corners.They glow silver in dim light.The leaves are either dark grey or black,"Hiccup told everyone.We set about hunting for the Fogbranch.

However,metal plastered every inch of the enormous cave.On the ceiling,on the walls,on the ground and even on rocks."There's no way we are gonna find the Logbranch or whatever it's called,"Tuffnut declared."It's Fogbranch,and yes,we're going to find it if we put our minds to it,"Nevaeh insisted,aimlessly kicking the metal-covered ground with her foot.We hunted for any signs of uncovered ground but to no avail."Hm,I hate to admit it,but I think we have a zero percent chance of finding the Fogbranch here,"Hiccup sighed after a few minutes."Let's head out and find another Smokebreath cave,"he decided.Everyone began moving out.But something inside my head told me to keep searching."Hiccup,I'll stay behind and search some more.If there was a Fogbranch here and we just weren't looking hard enough,I'd feel pretty dumb,"I pointed out.Hiccup pondered for a second.Then,he broke a branch off a nearby tree and made Toothless light it on fire."Stay safe and good luck,"he patted my shoulder,handing me the torch.I thanked him and began my search again.