I'm Leaving Forever (a HTTYD Runaway Fanfic ~ Book 1)

31 - The First Trial: Part 1

It had probably been several hours since the Riders were thrown into their cells, meaning that it was most likely around afternoon. Honestly, no one really knew. There may have been one or two windows around the room they were in, but the light that seeped through hadn't changed in amount or intensity ever since they first arrived, and no one could peak through outside to see what was going on anyway, so they merely deduced what was going on from their own inference. No one needed to say anything to know that everyone had arrived at the same conclusion. In fact, not many words were exchanged between anyone at all. In everyone's defence however, yesterday they had set off on a rescue mission that took hours to complete, then immediately become prisoners of a tribe no one even knew existed except from a strangely trustworthy trapper they managed to pick up along the way, and now, they were probably going to have to fight to the death or something like that to prove their innocence in the very near future. So, it was safe to say that everyone was more focused on resting up rather than stressing over things they could do nothing about. That was until a very loud click and thud erupted from the entrance to the room, startling everyone and even waking up a few from their slumber, plunging them into a brief but immediate panic .

"Alright, get up," one guard ordered as a few others drew out their keys and unlocked the doors to each of the Riders' cells, "you will now be escorted to the trial grounds," No one looked at each other, but they didn't need to to know what was going on in each other's minds. The trial grounds. Due to Dagur and Heather, all of them were now conscious of the fact that there would be some sort of test to prove their innocence. No one was caught off guard when the guards said they would take them away from their cells, but that didn't mean they didn't have have questions. The first one being what would they have to do in these trials? Was it a simple task to complete, or was it a fight to the death? Another being what did they do to Hiccup, Zilpah and their dragons? Are they all still alive? Or were they already killed? Would they have to beg for their lives to be saved? The Riders only knew such a small amount compared to the information they needed. It just amplified the helpless feeling that was festering within everyone.

In a few moments, the Riders were brought out into the open. Groans rumbled amongst them with comments of annoyance at the sudden light intensity their eyes weren't accustomed to yet. However, it wasn't like the guards cared, so they simply had to keep walking with burning eyes until they finished adjusting. The day was still cloudy, but it was significantly less so than when the Riders has first landed here. Patches of sky blue and yellow were exposed in between the gaps left by clouds that seemed to hide themselves in the shadow of the one section that was highlighted gold. They were on a trail of dirt, much paled in colouration compared to everything else. It was obscured amongst mounds of earth, hills and the few clusters of trees here and there, and they were all cast into the shadow of the mountain looming only a few meters away from them. Not once had any of the four guards uttered a single word to the Riders, or to each other. They just walked with the group, one guard to the left, right, front and back of them - an efficient way of shutting down any attempt of escape - and the Riders would receive a jab from the side of a sword or the handle of an axe if they weren't keeping up the pace.

It was a silent walk to their destination, even when they came out from a landscape dominated by green, brown and dark grey. After their trek through the valley , they ended up on a large white beach, a stark contrast to the navy blue seas just beyond it. However, that wasn't what caught their attention. All of the riders were fixated on a large structure just off to the left. It almost seemed to resembled an enclosed dome and it connected to the side of the mountain. What it was for, none of the Riders knew. All they could do was continue on in awe by the sight.

Eventually, the group left the pale sand of the beach behind them and they briefly slowed their pace in wait of one of the guards pulling out a bundle of keys and using one of them to unlock the dense iron door. Once it fully swung open with a small creak, the Riders' arrival was greeted by a dim corridor that seemed to start by following the circular path of the perimeter of the building that was heading away from the base of the mountain. At this point, Snotlout wasn't too sure about everyone else, but personally, he was getting sick of dim corridors. He's seen enough already to know to be guarded - not that him and everyone else wasn't already. The levels of light didn't improve the whole time the Riders were inside the building. Some were wondering how it could be this dark inside a building that was out in broad daylight, but all anyone could really come up with was that the stone used to construct this thing was what made it so dark. Regardless of minor questions like that, the group then found themselves in front of a door that for once, wasn't locked. One of the guards pushed it open to reveal quite a spacious room with much more better lighting than the corridor provided by large torches positioned high up on the walls.