章 10: The Sand Wraith's Hidden Power
It was three days after the raid and Rune was in Gobbers forge with Hiccup as they were just about done making Rune's spyglass. The body and lenses were in place and all that was left was the paint job. Rune decided to have the metal bands holding the spyglass together to be painted gold and then decided to paint the tidal class crest on the body to tell both of theirs apart. It would've been easier if he had just written his name but he decided to go for something classy.
Hiccup stood behind him with folded arms as he watched his student hard at work. Rune had the tidal crest drawn on a piece of paper next to him, he had the spyglass under a magnifying glass with a thin paint brush with turquoise paint on it. He had a stern gaze on it making sure he didn't make any mistake in the design as he put in the final details.
"Finally" he said with a sigh of relief finally finishing the paint job.
"That looks cool" Hiccup said admiring the work he had put into his spyglass. "Looks like I might have you paint out the strike class symbol on mine so that I can keep mine up to date with the latest fashion trend" he joked.
"I'm not putting myself through that again" Rune said standing up to stretch.
"Then I guess you can take a break while the paint dries" Hiccup said.
"Really?"
"Or do you want to help me at the stables?"
"No, I'm taking that break. Sandstorm!" Rune called.
"Don't be gone too long" Hiccup told his student.
"I won't" he answered as he rushed out of the door.
Sandstorm appeared with a look of excitement on his face as he stuck out his tongue and licked his lips.
"You ready for a little flight?"
Sandstorm nodded eager to spread his wings. Rune hopped on his back and the two were off in a flash. They flew out to sea flying past the Berk statues in mere seconds, the two were heading towards the sea stacks which had become a new place of passing time as they engaged in daring maneuvers and practiced new tricks.
"Alright boy, let's try the new exit move and hope I don't fly off this time" Rune said as they approached the sea stacks with great speed.
Sandstorm snorted, agreeing with his rider.
"Here we go!!!" he yelled.
Sandstorm banked hard and fast from left to right as they weaved in between two stacks and then flew vertically through two stacks, making their bodies small enough to fit through the tight squeeze then levelled out. They spiraled down towards the water on top speed and then his dragon caught them when he spread his wings and they went on now closer to the water's surface. He flapped hard as they moved toward two joined stacks, they made two loops around the straight piece joining them together and then shot up into an ascent.
"Come on boy, you can do it" Rune encouraged his dragon as they pushed on.
They shot out of the clouds as they began making a long backward loop as they began to spin as they descended back to the sea stacks with Rune holding on for dear mercy. The spins showed no mercy as they came up on the last stack having a hole right through it. This was what they had been training for these past few days, to make a spinning backward loop that would lead them to fly through the sea stack. Sandstorm opened his wings after gaining a lot of velocity and shot through the stack.
"Yeah!!!" Rune yelled raising his arms in victory as Sandstorm also gave a victorious roar.
The two made it back to the sea stacks and landed on one to take a breather after such an intense stunt to recollect their thoughts.
"Can't believe I didn't fly off that time" Rune said to his dragon who licked his paw and scratched his head.
"And even better I didn't-"
All of a sudden Rune began to feel funny inside and knew what was about to happen. He ran to the edge of the stack and began to vomit. Sandstorm looked and made disgusted sounds when he saw his rider vomiting. Rune walked back to him after finishing up and got out a flask of water from his saddle bag to rinse his mouth.
"Don't look at me that way, you have no idea what I went through after making it through all those spins" he told his partner.
Sandstorm looked at him for a moment and then shook his head as he walked away.
"Hey, hey, hey, what's that all about"
Sandstorm paused and then turned his head to look at him and snorted.
"Sometimes I just don't understand you" Rune said shaking his head.
He sat down by the edge taking in the beautiful view, something about the waves and the ocean just clamed him down. He had Sandstorm lying behind him also looking out into the vast ocean and into the horizon. As the two enjoyed the view a roar broke through the silence and it was one they were very familiar with. The roar came from Strombreaker who flew in from behind, Sandstorm sprung to his feet faster than Rune as the dragon landed. As soon as Vyra got off her dragon, Sandstorm welcomed her with a coo as she patted him on the head.
"Nice to see you too Sandstorm" she said with a smile.
Sandstorm proceeded to Stormbreaker as the two got playing but first had a little sit down interaction.
"How did you know where to find me?" Rune asked having recalled that he hadn't told anyone about his training at the sea stacks.
"I had to track you down all the way out here" she replied.
"Is that how much I'm in demand?" he questioned cheekily.
"Don't flatter yourself. I came here for something serious" she said with her voice taking a different tone.
"What is it?"
"Sten and Eruptor have gone missing in a cave" she reported.
"That's serious"
"Yeah, apparently he went boar hunting with Thyra and chased one into a cave and hasn't come out ever since"
"Then there's no time to waste"
The two flew back to Berk without hesitation and met up with Thyra in the woods in front of the cave Sten supposedly entered and hasn't come out.
"Rune, I'm so glad you're here" Thyra said with a relieved tone as they landed.
"Okay Thyra, tell us exactly what happened" Rune said wanting to hear her own account of the story.
"So I and Sten went boar hunting and then we found what he called 'the biggest boar he had ever seen' and he went after it. I called to him trying to tell him to come back but he wouldn't listen"
Vyra and Ruen looked at each other and said, "Classic Sten" and then they allowed her continue with the narration.
"So he followed the boar into a cave on the other side of the mountain and apparently two Gronckles were fighting on top of it. One of them blasted a pile of rocks and boulders that rolled down and sealed the entrance shot before Rampage and I could get in" she narrated.
"Have you tried blasting the rocks?" he asked.
"Yes we have but they're too thick" she answered.
"Then I went and dropped my kill of at home and asked Vyra for help, that's when we found this smaller cave leading into the mountain" she said gesturing to the cave behind her.
Rune took a quick look at the cave and from it's size it was obvious why they asked for his help.
"And I guess the only reason why Sandstorm and I are here is because we are they only guys who can fit through the cave right?"
"You are correct" Vyra said.
"Oh man" Rune said rubbing his face with his hand. "You two owe us for this" he said.
"Yeah, yeah, just get going and please bring Sten back. I know you two have your differences but please do this for me" Vyra said.
There was no way he could refuse her.
"I will" he said as he and his dragon departed and walked towards the cave.
Rune and Sandstorm walked deeper and deeper until there was no more light in the cave, it was so dark that he couldn't see what was in front of him.
"Mind helping me with some light?" he asked his dragon.
Sandstorm opened his mouth and ignited a little flame that burned in his mouth and illuminated the cave to a degree. Now he could see what was in front of him.
"Thanks bud" he said rubbing the head of his dragon to show his appreciation. "I wonder where those two could be" he wondered as they walked deeper into the cave. Then he had an idea.
"STEN!!!" he yelled as his voice echoed through the mountain.
Sten sat on a rock next to Eruptor who laid there and set his body ablaze to illuminate their surroundings. They had about seven other caves surrounding them that led deeper into the mountain, but for some reason Sten always wound up back at the start no matter what he tried and was tired of expending precious energy. Eruptor then raised his head sharply and looked around after picking up the feint echo of Rune's voice.
"What is it boy?" Sten asked curious at why his dragon had reacted that way.
"Did you hear something? Is someone coming?" he questioned.
Eruptor gave a subtle nod and that gave Sten some hope after spending over an hour in the cave.
Rune followed the cave and came upon two other caves that went left and right. He had a hard time making a decision on which one to follow.
"Which one do you reckon we take?" he asked his dragon.
Sandstorm used his paw and pointed to the one on their right.
"Okay, here we go"
Thirty minutes had passed and still no sign from Rune or Sten and the girls began to worry and feared the worst had happened to them.
"This isn't good, they've been gone for too long" Vyra said sitting on top of Stormbreaker who was resting under the shade of trees.
"What if they've both been killed? What are we going to tell the village? What would Hiccup think of this? What if they think we killed them? What if they accuse us of being witches and we lured them to their death to be used for witchcraft? What if....."
"Enough Thyra, nothing has happened them. They have their dragons remember" Vyra said getting annoyed by her wild thoughts.
"Yeah"
Rampage rubbed his head on her shoulder and huffed, Thyra held his head and rubbed it as it seemed to calm her down.
"We'll give them one more hour and if they don't come out, we go tell Hiccup" Vyra decided.
More time passed and now Rune sat on a rock in the darkness as Sandstorm conserved his energy, with his head down and hope fading from his heart. Four more caves stood in front of him and he had gone through every one of them just to end up back at the beginning. He went back to the first two caves and found out that the one on the left led to a dead end.
"AAAHHH!!" he screamed in frustration.
Sandstorm cooed gently as he placed his head on Rune's lap to be stroked, it always helped console him.
"I just wish I could find another way, a way to Sten. I would hate going back to the girls empty handed and then have to rely on Hiccup to get him back. I just wanted to show them that we could do this without him" he said with a low voice as he stroked his dragon.
Sandstorm picked his head up from his lap and walked towards the four paths in front of them.
"Where are you going?" Rune asked.
Stood in front of the four of them and stamped his front paw hard on the ground and stood there silent, not moving a muscle with his eyes closed.
"What are you doing?" Rune asked curiously.
Sandstrom opened his eyes and looked at Rune and then grunted, pointing at the furthest tunnel on the right with his head.
"You think we should go there?"
Sandstorm nodded.
"But we've already been there, it's a dead end" Rune insisted.
Sandstorm rolled his eyes and ran at Rune carrying with his head and flipping him onto his back before running into the tunnel.
"What's gotten into you?" Rune asked as he balanced himself on his galloping dragon.
Then he hit his head on a rock dangling from the top of the cave.
"Owww!" he exclaimed angrily. "A little light won't hurt anyone" he said sarcastically.
Sandstorm opened his mouth and used slow burn to give them some light. They got to the end of the tunnel and Sandstorm looked around as if he was looking for something.
"I told you it was a dead end"
Sandstorm stomped his foot on the ground and focused again puzzling Rune at what he was doing. Sandstorm all of a sudden turned to the right and blasted the side of the tunnel. Rune covered his face from the dust and when it had settled, it revealed another tunnel hidden behind it.
"Whoa" he said with a surprised tone.
Sandstorm looked at him with a proud look telling his rider he was right.
"Okay, I guess I should have followed you quietly rather than complaining" said Rune admitting his wrong.
"Now let's go find those two" Rune said with excitement.
Sten was still sitting around on a rock mopping about how he had gotten himself lost when there was an explosion from one of the tunnels making he and Eruptor get up quickly.
"What was that?" he asked his dragon who shrugged.
"Let's go check it out" he said as they ran into the tunnel.
Not long after they entered they saw light approaching them and Sten was filled with happiness.
"Thank you for coming to rescue me, Rune?!" he said shocked that he was the one coming to rescue him.
He was utterly confused and his expression didn't hide it.
"Yes I know, I'm not the person you were expecting but I'm here" Rune said not giving a hoot about what he thought. It was out of curtesy
"How did you find me? How did you make it through the tunnels?" Sten questioned as Sandstorm stopped his slow burn with Eruptor lighting up the place with his flames.
"Long story, no time to explain" Rune answered.
"We can't go back the same place we came from, Eruptor would be too large to get out of the cave" Rune reasoned.
"So?" Sten said waiting for his plan.
"Mind helping us out here bud?" he asked Sandstorm.
Sandstorm rumbled as he led them back to the center of the tunnels, where Sten and Eruptor had just come from.
"Oh that's just great, you're going to get us out by leading us back to where just came from" Sten said sarcastically.
Rune gave him a dirty look telling him to shut up and then returned his focus to Sandstorm. Sandstorm stamped his foot on the ground and then lifted his head to grunt telling Rune that he had found a way out.
"Let's go" Rune commanded.
"What?! Go where?!" Sten said confused.
"Do you want to stay here in this cave for the rest of your life or do you want to get out?" Rune asked him.
"I can't believe I'm putting my life in your hands right now" Sten grumbled as he mounted Eruptor
"It's not like you have a choice" Rune said with a smirk.
Snadstorm took off and Eruptor followed as they went into the center tunnel as Eruptor lighted the way. They made it to the end of the tunnel and Sten was furious that they led him to a dead end.
"Now that you've brought us to a dead end, what exactly is your plan?" Sten asked furiously.
Rune raised his hand stopping him from saying anything. Sandstorm stomped once more and then raised his head looking at the roof of the tunnel.
"I bet I know what you're thinking" Rune said. "Sten, you better get back" Rune said as Sandstorm opened his mouth and prepared to fire.
"Is that your plan? Bringing down this tunnel on top of us?!"
Rune looked at him with a frown and Sten got the message, he and Eruptor backed up as Sandstorm blasted the roof of the tunnel. Just as the cloud of dust began to settle, rays of light began to fill the cave slowly. Both riders squinted their eyes with sudden change of lighting just a bit to much for their eyes to handle all at once. Both dragons came out of the hole Sandstorm had created with a powerful flap from their wings as they stood in a cave now on the other side of the mountain.
"Wow. Guess you two did know what you were doing" Sten said now that they were free.
"It's not me you should thank. It was all Sandstorm" Rune said placing his hand on his dragons head. "Guess you're getting crab for dinner"
His dragon roared with excitement.
"That's it. It's time we get Hiccup and to come help us with the search" Vyra said sitting up from her lying position.
"Agreed" Thyra said standing up from the rock she sat on.
She got on her dragon and just as the two were about to leave a familiar voice caught their attention.
"Is that how you girls would to abandon us?" Rune said from Sandstorm's back as he and Sten hovered in the air.
"Rune! Sten! How did you guys get out?!" Vyra said happy to see them back.
"That's a long story" he replied with a smile.
"This is interesting, stamping his paw on the ground and somehow found a way out including hollow points? This is mind juggling" Hiccup said as he tried to reason how Sandstorm navigated them out of the tunnels.
The two teams were gathered in the stables as they listened to Rune's rescue story.
"Could it be that the Sand Wraith's have some sort of echolocation like the Night Fury?" Fishlegs suggested.
"No. If it was echolocation he would have roared or clicked something rather than stomping their foot on the ground" Hiccup answered.
"So what could it be?" Forde also wondered.
"Well it's nothing similar to what the Sandbuster did" Astrid pitched in.
"I have a theory" Rune said.
"Okay, let's hear it" Hiccup urged.
"Well since Sand Wraiths bury themselves in sand and wait for their prey to come in too their strike range, they rely heavily on smell and hearing right?"
"Where are you going with this?" Tuffnut asked not his point.
"Well what if we're not seeing the picture?"
"Go on" said Valka.
"Well after thinking about it carefully, I think the Sand Wraith relies on vibrations to catch their prey" Rune stated and that had them hooked.
"If it was echolocation, Sandstorm would have made a sound but he stamped his foot. Well I think that when he stamps his foot on the ground, it releases vibrations into the ground that bounce of things and come back to him where an image of his surroundings are fed back to him"
"And it's not just to his feet but his entire body since he stays buried under sand because smell and hearing can only help you just enough but to give you the exact location and size of your prey, you would need something extra" Rune stated his theory.
"I think that just about answers our question" Hiccup said.
"Yeah, sensing vibrations through the ground fits the description of what he did perfectly" Forde answered.
"That would explain how Sand Wraiths know when the right prey is around so they don't come out only to reveal themselves to a predator" Valka added.
"Does that mean they could apply it in water?" Forde asked.
"I don't see why not. If they can do it in the sand they should be able to do it in water, in theory" Hiccup reasoned.
"I think so too, cuz water can also carry vibrations through them" Rune pitched in.
"Then I guess sneaking up on a Sand Wraith from the ground or water will be hard, unless they get distracted" Vyra stated.
"I have no idea what they just said" Tuffnut said.
"Nerd alert" Ruff added.
"Well that's one secret uncovered. Good job Rune" Valka praised him.
"Guess we need to add more to the Sand Wraith's portfolio" said Hiccup.
"Heat sensing with Snow Wraith's, Echolocation for the Night Fury and now sensing vibrations through the ground for Sand Wraiths. The Strike class is full of some interesting species" Astrid said.
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