10 Are You the Stuff that Heroes Are Made Of

10. ARE YOU THE STUFF THAT HEROES ARE MADE OF OR ARE YOU A JELLYFISH IN A SKIRT? They had landed in a large cave chamber, with walls of ice, the air breathtakingly cold. It was lit up by Glow-worms, and Slugbulbs, and the odd blinking light of an Electricsticky. An Electricsticky is a bit like an Electricsquirm, but it clings to cave walls with a sticky substance it secretes out of its bottom. DO NOT PICK ONE

UP– they give you a terrible electric shock. Plus they're not very hygienic. It was exceptionally beautiful– somehow Hiccup had not been expecting that. The ice gleamed blue and green and yellow, winking rainbows as the Slugbulbs buzzed dozily across the cave like enormous round bumble-bees of light. Gorgeous ice stalactites dripped from the ceiling in fantastically contorted shapes.

There were numerous different tunnels leading away from the chamber, and a strange noise like a distant rumble, or could it be roaring? 'How interesting,' whispered Hiccup slowly. 'The tunnels are made of ice– they must be lava tubes– or perhaps they're the old tunnels of a Giant Burrowing Slitherfang.' 'You always get interested at really frightening moments,' moaned Fishlegs. 'What if that Giant Burrowing Slitherfang was still alive?' 'Then it would be roughly ten million years old,' said Hiccup. 'Look, the cave dragons are still hibernating. We just have to keep as quiet as we can, and search for that Fire Pit the witch was talking about. I mean, something like a Fire Pit has got to be pretty obvious, don't you think?' 'Where do we start?' whispered Fishlegs. They spent the first hour going round in circles. The tunnels were icy, and they could race down them at quite a speed on their bone skates, shooting through tunnels that looped in and out of each other like a web spun by a spider that had gone crazy. They had one slightly alarming moment when they entered a cavern that was dripping with dragons

of all shapes and sizes, over every rock and hanging from the ceiling in thick clusters, like bats. But Hiccup was right, they were all still hibernating, and the three companions backed out of the chamber without being detected.

However an hour later, they were back where they started, at the cauldron and the well, with no sign of a Fire Pit. 'OK,' whispered Hiccup, 'this is going to be harder than I thought. These tunnels go on for ever.' He checked the ticking-thing. 'We only have two hours left…' But Stormfly had shot ahead, and spotted something. 'Look!' she screeched, zooming back to them in a glorious golden swoop. She had spied something with her sharp yellow eyes. 'There seems to be a trail of some sort of chain at the edge of the corridor. Should we follow it instead of going randomly round in circles? Although that is fun.' 'I saw that!' crowed Toothless. 'I s-s-saw the chain too! You saw it first, Stormfly,' he added

hurriedly, 'because you're BRILLIANT, but I saw that t-t-too!' The chain looked like it was going somewhere… unlike themselves. It started right back at the cauldron tipped on its side, and snaked as far as they could see along the corridor ahead. 'OK,' said Hiccup, for want of anything better to do. 'Everyone draw their swords, and let's follow the chain.'