Heart of a Berserker: Hope (School of Dragons)

Chapter 4

"We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up ... discovering we have the strength to stare it down." - Eleanor Roosevelt

Chapter 4

I awoke feeling very dizzy and disoriented. The past hour seemed like a dream. I felt the gentle rocking of a boat. I was on the water. Peeling my eyes open, I saw Bolt staring down at me. I tried to piece together what happened. My head hurt. I must have hit it when I passed out from the fog. And then...

"Harald?" I said in a weak voice. When I tried to sit up, Eret was immediately by my side.

"It's just me," he said, though something seemed off.

I allowed him to help me to my feet. Now I could see we sailed away from the fog and towards the School. "Harald's not here?" I could have sworn I saw him...

"If we was, would I have let him escape?"

I frowned. "It must have been a dream." I tried to hide the disappointment in my voice. Someone had saved me though. "Did you help me out back there, Eret?"

"Who else could it have been?"

I found his evasive responses strange, but my head hurt too much to think about it. "Well, thank you. I guess I got ahead of myself out there."

Eret nodded. "From now on, whatever we do, we'll do it together, alright?"

I gave him a small smile. "Yeah, that sounds good to me." My pride was not worth endangering my life.

We returned to the School and met up with Heather, explaining everything that happened. She apologized for sending me out there and letting me get sick.

"It's probably a good idea for all of us to steer clear of that fog until we figure out a solution," she said. "Please give me whatever samples you managed to get."

I searched my bag and was relieved to find the gas canister. I handed it to Heather, who brightened upon seeing it.

"Yes! It's full! You did very well. I hope we can answer some of our questions with this fog sample. I'll get the spectrometer ready for you."

The two of us used the spectrometer to analyze the gas sample. It turned out to be made of sulfur and oxygen, otherwise known as sulfur dioxide.

"No wonder our Vikings were falling ill," Heather said. "It's a dangerous chemical that can result in difficulty breathing or even death. It usually comes out of volcanoes, but there aren't any active volcanoes this close to the School."

"Could it be a very large volcano far from the School?" Eret said.

Heather frowned. "Maybe. Anyway, we need to tell Hiccup about the discovery. Please let him know - and please come back to me when you have time. I have some exciting ideas that we can explore with the spectrometer!"

"Brennda has had enough excitement for today," Eret said. "We'll stop by tomorrow."

Heather nodded. "Thank you."

Luckily, Hiccup was still at the School. Eret and I quickly explained what we had found and asked for his opinion.

"There are a few volcanoes in the archipelago, but they're not so large that they could blanket the entire ocean with sulfur dioxide," he said. "This discovery only raises more questions! We need more information."

"We need a way to stay safe in the fog," Eret said. "Brennda passed out today."

"That will be our top priority," Hiccup. "We'll start tomorrow. Brennda, you should get some rest."