The cavern slowly settled into an uneasy quiet.
Jagged sheets of glass clung to the walls and floor where the Sandbuster's breath had struck, sealing passages and fusing gold into warped, useless lumps. The air still shimmered with heat, dust drifting lazily through the beam of sunlight that cut down from the shattered ceiling.
They checked themselves over in the aftermath.
Snotlout sat on a rock, legs stretched out, gingerly poking at them. "I just want everyone to know," he announced, "that my legs almost became decorative cave art. Shiny and very tragic."
Astrid ignored him, helping Eric's guards pry glass from their shields with the blunt edge of her axe. The crystal cracked and broke away in brittle chunks, clattering to the ground.
"Shield's ruined," one of the guards muttered.
"Better ruined than fused to your arm," Astrid replied flatly.
Nearby, Fishlegs was crouched low, nose almost pressed to the ground. He picked up a fragment of the crystallized sand, turning it over in his fingers with intense fascination.
"This isn't normal glass," he murmured. "The structure's wrong. Too dense and reactive. It's like it remembers being sand."
Hiccup knelt beside him. "Is that bad?"
Fishlegs looked up slowly. "Potentially very bad."
A short distance away, Merida spotted the book tucked into Hiccup's belt. She tilted her head, curiosity flickering across her face.
"Hey," she said, nodding toward it. "Can I borrow yer paper and that wooden pen?"
"Oh—yeah, sure," Hiccup said, fumbling slightly as he handed it over.
Merida opened the book. She paused for a brief second at the sketches inside, dragon she didn't recognize, lines neat and careful but she didn't comment. She flipped past them until she reached a blank page and began writing, brow furrowed in concentration, curls falling into her face as she worked.
Meanwhile, Flynn and the Stabbington twins were pulled upright and forced to sit, backs against a stone pillar, hands still bound tightly behind them.
Flynn winced. "Okay, so great meeting everyone, really dramatic entrance, love the décor, but can we all agree this was just a misunderstanding?"
Lucian crouched in front of Flynn, his shadow falling across the man's face. "Start talking."
Flynn leaned back against the stone and let out a slow breath. His eyes drifted upward, deliberately avoiding Lucian's.
"Talking about what, exactly?" he said lightly, staring at the cracked crystal ceiling. "Because if this is about—"
BAM!
The sound of parchment slamming against stone echoed sharply through the cave.
Flynn flinched.
Lucian had yanked the map from his coat and pressed it flat against the rock between them, fingers spread over the markings like claws.
Flynn swallowed. His humor vanished. "…Right," he muttered.
He finally looked at Lucian, shoulders sagging. "Alright... Fine. " He exhaled slowly. "We were chasing rumors."
"Rumors of what?" Eric asked.
Flynn hesitated, then said, "The Treasure of Tears."
There was a sudden, dramatic sniff.
Tuffnut's shoulders hunched as his eyes instantly welled up.
"T-Tears…?" he whispered, voice wobbling. "Why would you bring that up…?"
Ruffnut whirled on Flynn. "HEY!" she snapped. "You can't just say that word!"
Tuffnut wiped at his eyes furiously. "Yeah! Some of us are emotionally fragile!"
Lucian didn't even glance at them. "Focus."
Fishlegs stiffened. "The Treasure of Tears," he repeated. "Which is part a myth"
"Yeah, well," Flynn said weakly, "so is half the stuff trying to kill us lately."
Nearby, the Stabbington twins had gone unnaturally still.
They'd watched the exchange in silence, eyes fixed on Lucian.
Then Runo spoke. "I thought you were dead."
Lucian looked at them sharply.
Runo met his gaze without flinching. "The kingdom said you died. Guess that was a lie."
Rudi shifted beside him, studying Lucian with narrowed eyes. "So did you kill David?"
The air went cold.
Lucian's eyes hardened. "I didn't."
Rudi searched his face for a long moment.
"I see," he said at last.
The twins said nothing more after that, falling silent once again.
As they spoke, Merida approached, scroll in hand. She stopped before Eric.
"I need a favor," she said. "There's more to this than treasure. Could ye spare a man to send word to DunBroch?"
Eric didn't hesitate. He gave a short nod. "You'll have it."
He turned sharply. "Guard."
One of his men stepped forward at once.
Eric took the scroll from Merida and placed it in the guard's hands. "Take this to the DunBroch ship," he ordered.
Then his voice hardened slightly.
"And find Grimsby. Tell him what happened here." He paused. "Tell him I'll need reinforcements."
The guard nodded once, crisply. "Yes, Your Highness."
Without another word, he turned and disappeared back down the tunnel, boots echoing until the sound faded into the dark.
Not long after, they emerged from the cave into the open air, the light feeling almost too bright after the darkness within. The sea wind was cold against their faces, carrying the sharp scent of salt and spray. One by one, they stopped just outside the entrance, exhaustion finally catching up with them.
Some slumped against rocks, armor clinking softly as they slid down. Others simply dropped where they stood, staring up at the sky as if confirming it was still there.
For a long moment, the only sounds were waves crashing below and uneven breathing.
Then a voice cut through the quiet.
"Lucian? Is that you?"
Every head snapped toward the sound.
Perched atop a jagged rock overlooking the shore sat a seagull, feathers ruffled by the wind, one foot tucked beneath its body. Its bright eyes darted across the group before settling squarely on Lucian, head tilting with unmistakable curiosity.
Lucian froze then his expression softened.
"Yes," he said, a small smile tugging at his lips. "It's me, Scuttle. What are you doing here?"
The seagull let out a proud squawk and flapped down, landing near Lucian with an exaggerated hop. "Oh, you know how it is," Scuttle said cheerfully. "Out lookin' for a bite. Sea's been a bit stingy lately, if you ask me."
Silence followed.
No one laughed nor moved.
Snotlout slowly leaned toward Hiccup, eyes never leaving the bird. "Hey… am I losin' my mind, or does that bird talk?"
"You're not losing your mind Snotlout, the bird really talks," Hiccup said in amazement.
"Am I dreaming?" Tuffnut's mouth hung open. "Punch me, sis."
Ruffnut didn't blink. She hauled off and smacked him across the head.
"OW!" Tuffnut nodded, satisfied. "Yep. Not dreamin'."