A Whole New World

Chapter 5

Jim had his armor on, ready for anything in this unexpected meeting. He shook hands with Hiccup, and the two stood for a long moment, two leaders sizing each other up, and seeming to cautiously approve of what they saw. The two sat down in a circle with their respective groups, all unsure of the opposite party.

"Is there any danger to my world from Gunmar? I know you need shelter, but I'm worried about the risk a door between worlds poses. If this troll is as evil as you say, who knows what he could do here." Jim frowned, seeing Hiccup's logic but attempting to find a solution. "I close the portal whenever I go through them, so nobody can open them from another side- except Blinky, who also has one of the stones, although his doesn't need my amulet. They need to be here, at least for a little while: there's nowhere safe left in Arcadia."

Dagur, who had been relatively quiet, suddenly spoke up. "Is Arcadia a kingdom?" Jim shook his head, almost laughing. "Nah, it's just a city. But it is part of the United States, which is a country." The vikings blinked. "A what?" Snotlout interjected. Jim tried explaining, but it was clear that their two worlds operated very differently in terms of political systems.

Jim pulled Blinky off to the side and whispered, "I think we should show them Arcadia." Blinky gaped at Jim, but his student didn't appear to have a head injury. "Have you gone mad? They would stick out almost as much as I do!" Jim nodded, but kept arguing, "Yes, but we have clothes they can borrow. The point is that I can show them that we're telling the truth." Blinky wasn't happy, but he knew that Jim was right. "Do it from here then, I don't want them walking through the camp and scaring anyone who might be awake right now."

The vikings watched with huge eyes as the portal bloomed to life before them. Blinky went through first, waving back from the other side of the colorful swirl. Then Jim ushered the dragon riders through. Just as the portal was about to close, Hiccup looked back, reminding the dragons to stay put until the return of their riders. He was uneasy leaving Toothless, but a dragon would stand out far too much in the dragonless world he was entering.