Defenders of Central City, Book 1: Journey to Icestorm Island

Chapter 10 An Ancient Civilization

"I don't believe it." Skulder said. "All this time, the answers were hidden in plain sight." Shannon climbed on Nightshade. "What are we waiting for? Lets go!" Shannon cried. "I think I should stay here and keep an eye on the telescope." Hiccup said, patting the telescope. "I'm definitely coming." Skulder said, as he started to climb onto Nightshades back. "Woah, what do you think you are doing?" Shannon questioned, crossing her arms. "I-I-I w-was, I-I don't, I..." Shannon laughed. "I'm just messing with you, climb aboard." Skulder chuckled and climbed on behind Shannon they flew into the ice caves right at the Viking statue. This was definitely it.

Shannon didn't even stop. Nightshade just shot a fire ball that melted the ice barrier and flew into the tunnel. And what they saw was incredible. It was an ancient civilization. An abandoned village if you want to be specific. It was incredible. Nightshade landed. The two Vikings unmounted her, starring at their surroundings in awe. They slowly walked around the city in dumb disbelief. They couldn't believe that they had found. There were partly destroyed buildings, there were statues, and there was a ship with a sail that looked vaguely familiar to Shannon.

"The Reaper." Shannon muttered, grimly. "I beg your pardon?" Skulder asked her. "The Reaper is a dragon hunter ship. It is the most boobytrapped vessel I've ever came across in my entire life." Shannon explained. "And that ship has the exact same sails as the Reaper's." They continued to explored the ruined village, constantly trading information. "Solving the mysteries of the past is what archaeologists do. I have so many questions. What were the ancient Vikings like? Where did they go? Why did they leave?" Skulder trailed off. "There are so many mysteries to uncover, Skulder. Its what I live for. And something tells me, we've only scratched the surface of questions that need to be answered," Skulder nodded. "Indeed. I'm glad we're doing this together, Shannon. Honestly, I've gotten a bit lonely over the years." Skulder looked at the ground.

"Hey." Shannon murmured, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. "Your not alone anymore. I'm here for you, I promise." Skulder smiled, awkwardly. "Thank you, Shannon. That means a lot." The spend a couple more hours exploring the ruins when they finally decided to leave. "No way! You found an ancient city in those caves?!" Hiccup exclaimed when Shannon filled him in later that day. "Yeah, it's incredible. You've got to come see it." Shannon remarked. "Oh, that reminds me. I visited Arctic and he looked a little restless. He really likes you, Shannon. Would you mind keeping an eye on him?" He asked. "Of course not. He might just need a walk about." Shannon walked off. She found Arctic sitting in the nest they had made for him a week or so ago. He had grown quite a bit since Shannon first met him. He was now as tall as her waist. "Hey, buddy." Shannon murmured, getting down on her knees.

Shannon recognized that look in his eyes, it was clear that he wanted to go somewhere. "Wherever you want to go, I will follow." She whispered to him. The little dragon stood up, stretched, and walked off. Shannon followed after him. He headed into the ice caves. There was an urgency in the way he ran. Like he was chasing something. "Arctic! Where're you going?!" She called after him. Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks. Shannon caught up with him and stopped to. "Oh wow." She gasped. There was a nest, a small dragon nest. Not just any dragon nest, a Groncicle nest. Shannon couldn't believe her eyes. Arctic looked at the other Groncicles, then looked at Shannon. "Its okay, Arctic. Go. You belong with them." Shannon said, kindly. The little dragon walked over to her and rubbed against her legs. Then he walked slowly over to the other dragons. One of the Groncicles licked him. Shannon smiled. Arctic had found his family.