Once in a Nightlight

Chapter 13

They set off for their adventure and left the island they had rested on for an hour or so. By the time they had left the rain had died down and the fog lightened so it was easier to see around them. The Northerners had awoken from their slumber and padded around their little claimed islands with their families and went to the shoreline for their breakfast, but they were not bothered by their presence so they continued on towards the peak they needed to reach to get to the Cave of Wonders, to find the crystals they badly needed to repair the pillar, or the Hidden World would fall into darkness. Toothless remained at the back so the two others could lead him to where they had to go, being the first time he's had to mission out for the crystals.

"You said you only know the way to the Cave of Wonders, but forgot the way after that? So do we have to find our way by ourselves?" He asked suddenly, the question pondering his mind.

"Yes. But I have excellent smelling, so hopefully I can scent our way because the cave that contains the crystals have a strong smell of acid." Wildfang commented confidently as they made their way to the peak in front of them. The tall pillar of rock was lanky to one side and covered in birds perched in their nests, little dragons settled around as well. There was a gaping black hole at the top where it descended into pitch darkness inside it. Thunderhorn lead them upwards and landed on the lip of the cave and peered down into it.

"Seems rather steep, we have to watch our way and stick together so we don't lose each other." Thunderhorn mentioned to his friends who had perched beside him and glared down into the gloomy darkness in front of them.

"Alright, who's going first?" Toothless asked and glanced to his friends with a flick of his ear.

"I will, see as I know most of the way." Wildfang said and strutted forward without hesitation into the shadowy cave. Thunderhorn gestured for Toothless to follow him first so he padded forward, Thunderhorn trailing behind him to watch the rear and most importantly so they didn't lose the Alpha.

The cave around them was dingy and damp, the sour smell of mold and earthy texture made Toothless scrunch up his nose in desperate attempt to block out the scents but it was impossible. Around them water dripped from the ceilings and water ran from the slimy walls, an eerie howl of wind going over their heads as they plodded on down the darkness. Toothless found it impossible to see but there was nothing he could do about it in this moment in time, so he kept close to Wildfang ahead of him so he didn't get lost in the never-ending blackness. They were all quiet in silence making their way down to the Cave of Wonders where they would find their way to the crystals, if Wildfang's instincts were as good as he said they were, but Toothless wanted to focus on getting the crystals and getting back out before the Hidden World fell into shadiness and they didn't lay starving. 

"Are we almost there?" Toothless whispered very quietly to his friend ahead so he didn't startle any of them, glancing around. His vision began to hurt from not being able to see a thing for so long, his mind going hazy.

"Almost." Wildfang murmured back gently and bent his head back to the ground to sniff the way. "Yes, over here." He picked up the pace and Toothless had to rush with Thunderhorn jogging behind them so they didn't lose one another, stopping at the mouth of a cave where cold air blew in their faces.

"Here it is." Wildfang mumbled to them and entered the cave. It suddenly came to life at their presence and little crystals along the walls began to light up all sorts of colours like blue and purple and green and yellow. The cave was soon illuminated with these beautiful colours as they stood in front of the cave full of wonders. There were two tunnels in front of them that sloped down into another set of total black where it was again impossible to see, crystals pulsating along the ridges of the arches that claimed to be the entrances.