Daring Do and the Serpent Citadel

by Revenant Wings

2 - The City of Snakes

Daring Do followed Dreamweaver out of the audience chamber and into the colonnade overlooking the large staircase leading down to the avenue. Here, Dreamweaver stopped and turned his pony-half towards Daring and waved a hoof over the city.

“Welcome to the city of Viboran,” the gaudily-colored lamia said proudly. “This is the ‘royal quarter’, where our main administrative buildings are located. We have the Office of Education which looks over teaching and the libraries, the Office of Theology which heads any religious ceremonies and festivals as well as specializing in history, the Office of Finance which controls the budget, the Office of the Peace composed of our guards and security, the Office of Business which regulates trading and interests in addition to import and export duties, the Office of Agriculture that looks over our farming and food supplies, and the Office of Health and Housing that manages the hospitals and residential areas. Each one is headed by a lamia, for a total of seven separate areas plus Prince Serpis.”

“So a minimum of eight lamias are here,” Daring said, mostly to herself. She turned to Dreamweaver. “Are there more?”

“Yes. It’s estimated there is one lamia to every thirty ponies besides the eight in charge.” Dreamweaver bowed fully over as he had in the audience chamber to the Prince. “I myself am in charge of the Office of Theology. We’ll stop by my office for a moment while I send a note to one of my staff to search for information on this statue you are looking for.”

“Sounds okay to me,” Daring said. “I’d be interested in learning a little more about what you do, as well. I don’t have my notebooks, though.”

“I shall be happy to go over things whenever you do have pen and paper if you’d like to write them down,” Dreamweaver said politely. Daring noted he had a much more pronounced sibilance than Prince Serpis did, adding to his already serpentine appearance. “But for now, please ride on my back; it will be much easier than attempting to follow.”

Daring wasn’t sure about that, but the lamia was big enough she was able to ride just below where his torso met his snake-like body. Straddling the orange scales with her hind legs and holding on to his shoulders with her front legs, Daring held on while Dreamweaver began to glide smoothly down the stairs. He did not have the elaborate S-shape that Daring expected; it was more muted and it felt like the scales underneath her were pushing the ground beneath him so that he moved in nearly a straight line. Daring wondered how easily he would go through more populated areas, and if other ponies often tripped over him.

Dreamweaver hummed contently to himself as they went down the stairs and took a left at the bottom, allowing Daring to look around without constantly distracting her with more information. Daring realized she may have been held in the Office of the Peace and wondered who managed that one. She also wondered why they needed an Office of Theology – most modern ponies did not have gods barring viewing Celestia and Luna as demigods of sorts. She figured Dreamweaver would explain them in time and kept quiet.

They approached a door with the sign “Office of Theology” and a painted figure similar to the statue of Quetzalcoatl that Daring was searching for. Dreamweaver opened the door and slithered in, rising up until he was coiled in a large pile with Daring being batted around by the shifting tubes of snakeskin; she soon became uncomfortable and hopped off to the side. As soon as the lamia entered, multiple ponies stood at attention and looked at him attentively.

“Relax, my friends,” Dreamweaver said soothingly. At once, every pony inside immediately calmed down and looked at the lamia with softer expressions. “Is Treasure Keeper here?”

“Yes, sir,” replied a mare close to where Dreamweaver and Daring sat. “She is attending to the books like you asked of her.”

“Of course,” Dreamweaver said understandingly. “Can somepony retrieve her for me? I would like to speak with her for a moment. Everyone else, that’s all for now.”

Another mare quickly got up and trotted out of the main room and down a corridor leading back into the Offices. Daring and Dreamweaver sat at the entrance and patiently waited.

“So, what exactly does the ‘Office of Theology’ do? Most ponies don’t exactly believe in a god,” Daring asked, breaking the silence.

“Ah, how interesting that you said ‘most’,” Dreamweaver began. “Some do here. We lamias revere the old god of Quetzalcoatl as creator of the world and guardian of all who live within it. Some ponies have expressed their curiosity and now pay their tribute to Quetzalcoatl.”

“Alright. So what does your office do?” Daring replied.

“We manage the important objects of our little religion, oversee our services and hymns, and work in tandem with the Office of Education to preserve our history. For example, we manage an art and a history museum, and share responsibility of a natural history museum,” Dreamweaver explained.

“Well, you certainly are on top of everything here, then,” Daring said, impressed at how well-oiled this society appeared. “You may be more organized than mainland Equestria. There, it’s just the Princesses in control of everything.”

“I should think so,” Dreamweaver added, puffing out his chest in pride. “But understand we are not nigh-immortal beings; in the reign of your Princesses, eight generations of lamia have come and gone before us, ascending to meet Quetzalcoatl in the afterlife. We need more complex structures to fit our smaller lifespans.”

“So how did you become head of the Office of Theology?” Daring inquired.

“I was trained as an Acolyte under the previous Master of Ceremonies, underwent studies to become the Master of Ceremonies myself, and ascended from there to be Assistant to the Head of the Office. Then when he stepped down I took over the position myself at the young age of forty-seven. I just hit fifty-three” – he turned around to face Daring with a mildly suggestive look – “can you tell?”

Daring could almost hear the fervor and passion in his voice, and yet he was so charming that she actually giggled. “I can’t say that I do,” she replied.

Dreamweaver chuckled. “But yes, those are our duties in a nutshell, as they say. I’m afraid I’ve little knowledge of other areas, but perhaps I could get someone from the Office of Education to lend you a book to take notes from.”

“Whatever you can do to help, I will be grateful,” Daring Do said politely.

A tanned unicorn mare with a light brown mane and gold eyes came into the room. Dreamweaver turned around when he heard her walk in and slithered a length over to her.

“You asked for me, sir?” said the mare.

“Yes, my dear Treasure Keeper,” Dreamweaver said kindly. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”

“Not at all,” Treasure Keeper said with a smile. “What do you need me to do?”

“I need to see if we have any information regarding a statue of Quetzalcoatl being found or located in a ruin somewhere around here. Ms. Do is looking for it and needs our help.”

“But of course!” the mare said excitedly. “It’s my pleasure.” She turned to go.

“Hold on just a second, my friend,” Dreamweaver said.

Treasure Keeper turned around and sat down attentively but did not say anything.

“I need you to do a personal favor for me. If you could…”

Dreamweaver spoke in such a low volume that Daring couldn’t hear what he said above the general noise of the office. But Daring did notice the fact that while Dreamweaver was speaking she did not blink and she did not look away. After a while, Dreamweaver backed off.

“Do you understand?”

Treasure Keeper nodded without saying a word.

“Excellent. That’s all for now. Take care; I’ll be back later this evening to check on things.”

“Of course, sir,” Treasure Keeper said as though she’d been holding it in. “Thank you, sir.” And she gaily trotted back into the depths of the building.

Dreamweaver glided back over to Daring Do, still waiting at the entrance. “She will get whatever information you need down to the letter. I have made sure of it.”

Daring wanted to ask exactly how, but thought better of it. “So, what next?”

“Off to see the rest of the city. Hop on again; there are routes available to me that will make the rest of our tour easier.” Dreamweaver said as he slithered smoothly out of the Office of Theology and went back down towards the fountain. “First we shall pass through the upper residential area, where most ponies here live, and head to the market quarter, where you shall see our fine services in action. After that, I’ll take you for a peek at – oh, hello there, Sammohan!”

Dreamweaver stopped and waved at another lamia crossing the street. This one was yet another stallion pony torso, but his snake body was a more muted brown with fierce yellow eyes. He looked agitated even as he stopped to acknowledge Dreamweaver’s presence with nothing more than a curt nod.

“You’re not normally on this side of the avenue,” Dreamweaver said kindly. “Do you have a meeting in the Office of Business?”

“No.” The other lamia’s voice was much deeper and sounded almost like he was growling. “I wanted a meeting with you.”

“Oh! Well, I never!” Dreamweaver replied, sounding mildly shocked. “You never have anything to do with Theology. Why, you might even be the only lamia in the city who doesn’t attend services.”

“They are not mandatory. There is no law refraining my attendance. But I must ask you to schedule your services more appropriately in the future.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

Daring noticed Dreamweaver seemed to have a constant sway in his upper body, like he constantly needed to be moving. It slightly disoriented her, still riding on his back just behind his head, but she was still able to follow the conversation easily. The other lamia, however, stood quite still, and glared almost like he wanted to pounce on the more gaudily-colored lamia.

“Half my workers were gone Tuesday afternoon,” the brown lamia said. “Precisely at the same time when Prince Serpis wanted an inventory check. I did not get it in on time.”

“Well, a friendly reminder from one department to another: I am willing to make accommodations, but I need advance notice.”

“Couldn’t have happened. I got the order two days before. Your office times and etiquette say you require three.”

“I’m afraid I’m not the one to blame, then. If that was an order from Prince Serpis, then you may need to speak with him.”

“It was for your upcoming festival.” The lamia came over and poked Dreamweaver firmly with a hoof, causing the orange lamia to pause in his shifting and causing Daring to flare her wings in surprise at how close the lamia was. “I’m only the head of the Department of Agriculture, but that doesn’t mean you need to shunt me out of your negotiations.”

Dreamweaver opened his mouth to reply, but said nothing.

The other lamia looked at Daring but kept facing Dreamweaver. “…I thought we agreed you were at capacity.”

Daring was about to argue she had no idea what that meant, but Dreamweaver spoke up.

“Nonsense! You haven’t even heard the explanation yet; she is merely with us a few days before searching for a statue of Quetzalcoatl in the...” Dreamweaver trailed off.

“Don’t taint her.” The lamia turned around and began sliding away, taking his rather bulky form with him. “Who knows what happened to the last one that you had hold of.”

“Uh… what did he mean by you were at capacity?” Daring asked when the brown lamia was out of sight.

“Oh, Prince Serpis put out an edict that each lamia is to take under their wing fifty-six ponies and ‘manage’ them. You know, making sure they’re doing good at work, keeping up-to-date on their health, and making sure their records are clean. I take care of fifty-six; I assume he thought you were a new citizen.”

“No harm in that, I suppose. But… why fifty-six?”

“Evaluations once every other month. But, all my evaluations are done, so I am clear for the next few days. And take no offense by Sammohan; he’s alright beneath the surface, if a little strange.”

Daring was not satisfied with Dreamweaver's explanation. It seemed like only a partial answer; evaluations back in her college days could be 120 students every few months over the course of a few days. She wanted to ask, but Dreamweaver was already moving on, so she kept it in the back of her mind for later.

---

They went down the path and took a left where a staircase led down from the royal quarter.

“I will ignore the residential section,” Dreamweaver said, “though let it be known it contains recreational areas for our citizens as well as housing areas. Perhaps you can explore it on your own.”

“Fair enough,” said Daring Do. “It will be interesting to immerse myself in your culture personally.”

“Indeed. But now I ask that you hold on tight to my neck; we’re going to start climbing soon.”

“I could just fly,” Daring said, spreading her wings proudly. “It would be much easier.”

Dreamweaver stopped and turned around. He put a hoof on Daring’s shoulder and looked Daring right in the eye. “Relaxsss and trusssst me, Daring” he said, “and let yourself ssssimply sssstay grounded for me, pleasssse. It would not do to anger Prince Serpissss...”

His voice was so soothing and silky that Daring immediately listened with rapt attention. As he spoke, Daring saw the kindly smile on his face and the soft glow of his own eyes as he looked deep into her own. And he was right; Prince Serpis was not one to be crossed, so if he didn’t want Daring to fly and Dreamweaver wanted to make sure she stayed in his good graces, she would do so.

“Of course,” Daring agreed, not noticing that her voice had grown soft and dreamy. “I... I promise you I won’t fly while I’m here.”

“Very good. That’s all for now.” Dreamweaver’s voice became proud again. “Now, let us continue onwards! Hold on.”

Daring did as he asked, still slightly relishing in his voice though it had lost the almost supernal soothing quality of before. “I didn’t know there was more of this city up in the air.”

“It’s not so much the city is up in the air as the pathways are.” They approached a large ribbed column that appeared to have some parts of it worn down in winding circles going up and down. “It is much easier for me to slither over these than to be on the ground among the ponies.”

“That makes sense, though I’d wonder what happens if one of you isn’t a good climber.”

“Those ones are typically much smaller than I.” Dreamweaver wrapped himself once, then twice around the column before using his snake body to slowly crawl and grasp the column as they ascended.

“Well, if I can’t fly, I’ll at least get an aerial view,” Daring joked.

Dreamweaver laughed good-naturedly. “I suppose you shall,” he agreed.

Dreamweaver wound around the column and ascended until they were nearly thirty feet above the ground. Above the main streets there was a large network of thick logs that must have been cut from the trees of the surrounding jungles. There was a large lattice plan and Dreamweaver began to slither across the lattice, using the logs to grip.

“And now, if you look down, welcome to the market quarter,” Dreamweaver mention.

Daring looked down and gasped. Below her were hundreds of ponies walking along fine streets decorated with flowers and bushes. The market quarter was arranged with a large central square where a large fountain was in place and surrounded by a bunch of tents with ponies selling various wares. Lamias wound in-between the ponies and travelled up and down more columns to the lattices; some buildings almost four-stories tall had entrances on the ground for the ponies and entrances in the lattice for lamias.

Dreamweaver began pointing out the various landmarks to Daring. Aside from the central square, one major avenue led off in each of the four cardinal directions. The one going south led to the royal quarter where the major city offices and Prince Serpis’ audience hall was located. To the west and east led to small housing sections that each looked as big as Ponyville’s main section by themselves. Towards the north was a large gate opened by a crankshaft like the prison doors, but was kept open. The door to the outside... Daring focused on Dreamweaver as they continued passing overhead.

The streets around contained all manner of businesses from restaurants to doctors to groceries and even a bank. Daring was also sure she saw a sign for a theater advertising music and plays, and there was a stage where a lamia appeared to be doing some sort of exotic dance for a group of attentive ponies. Music filled the air and the ponies seemed to be doing their normal business like any other town, only that the town was still inside a building.

“The layout of this place is amazing!” Daring Do said in awe. “To have so many residences and shops inside this one main structure makes it nice and secure, as well as protect from the heat and humidity of the main jungle from the relative darkness.”

“Indeed,” Dreamweaver said. “The only problem with it being dark is that we lamias need sunlight to stay warm-bodied. There are actually sunning parlors around for lamias to spend time under hoof-made bright lights.”

Daring brought a hoof down and stroked Dreamweaver’s scales. “You seem rather cool.”

“Yes, I’ll probably be due for one after dinner. I’m afraid we kept you in that cell far too long. But no worries; some food and a rest and you should be right as rain.”

Daring noticed her stomach grumble. “Eh-he-he… both of those do sound nice.”

“In time. But first, there’s one more area.”

Dreamweaver slowly wound down another column until they had gently touched on ground level again. They had alighted down next to a guard outpost, and Dreamweaver asked the guard for another belt.

“I’m afraid I must do this as a precaution,” Dreamweaver said. “We are going outside, but I can’t have you use your wings.”

“I promise I wouldn’t fly away,” Daring said. “But, if that’s what you want, I’ll do it.”

“I promise I’ll be gentler with it.”

A unicorn guard returned with the belt and Dreamweaver took it from him. He gently wrapped it under Daring’s belly and around her wings; it was as firm as the first but the lamia gave her more breathing room than the guards did.

“Does that hurt at all?”

Daring moved her wings around a bit. She still couldn’t move them much but the belt didn’t feel overly tight. “Not at all. Much better than those prison guards.”

With the belt fastened around Daring’s wings, they headed for the large open gate.

“I’m sorry for the way we treated you earlier,” Dreamweaver said. “The guards usually aren’t so rough and normally we’re not so suspicious of visitors.”

“Well, I wouldn’t blame you for that,” Daring Do replied. “That’s more a fault of whoever is in charge of keeping the peace around here.”

“That would be the Office of the Peace,” Dreamweaver commented. “I’ll have a talk with Strongjaw, the lamia in charge of that office and remind him not to use excessive force next time.”

“You seem to have quite the connections,” Daring said as they passed under a large stone archway and through the open iron gates. “A lot more than just part of a single office.”

“The lamias in charge are all close with one another and work together if they wish to implement new policies. I am very familiar with all of them.”

They passed out from a small checkpoint building and into the evening sunlight. The sky had turned orange like the building and the air was humid but becoming cooler. Daring and Dreamweaver had passed into a firm dirt pathway with farms on either side, containing ponies working in fields or working in refineries for flour and wheat.

There looked to be another small town further along the path, and around the farms stood a high wall four stories high, patrolled by ponies and lamias. Another large gate stood at the far end of the town Daring saw, but this one appeared to be closed.

“This is our agricultural quarter,” Dreamweaver said. “Ponies and lamias work on the farms and some even live out here. Everything else can be inside the building, but we have yet to find a way to plant large arboretums inside the stone walls of our main town.”

“I like this area,” Daring said. “I like the open sky and the cool air. I’m a pegasus; I’m used to flying around in places like this. Though I must say it looks like drawings I’ve seen of other temples in the area.”

“There used to be many ruins out here in the Tenochtitlan basin,” Dreamweaver said. “And there were scattered settlements all over. But many of the settlements condensed into this one, finding it large and perfect for multiple ponies. This used to be the major shrine to Quetzalcoatl, which is why it is so large; there are only twenty-five hundred ponies and lamias here now, but this used to serve as many as twenty-thousand ponies coming here on pilgrimage, and there are suspicions of more livable areas underneath the royal quarter.”

“I’m assuming many structural magic spells have been used to keep this place in otherwise pristine condition.”

“That is true,” Dreamweaver said. “We have a troop of unicorns who come out here and cast their magic for at least an hour every month. It is a draining process and they usually have no jobs for the rest of the day.”

They had now approached the town. Daring found the residents to be more subtly happy here though it had a quieter atmosphere than the main town. Structured in much the same way, Dreamweaver slithered through and greeted ponies as they passed while showing Daring the town square.

Daring noticed most of the ponies here, while still deferential, tended to avoid Dreamweaver whenever possible, or if forced to interact avoided looking at him as much as possible. They did the same with most of the other lamias that wound their way through the smaller square, except for one or two. One was a smaller green lamia who sat near a fire and seemed to be telling a story. The one coiled up and listening to the tale was Sammohan, the lamia who had spoken irritably with Dreamweaver earlier, in which the ponies seemed to treat him with true respect.

The behavior seemed odd compared to the main town, but Daring did not mention it. This was something that would require further investigation. And not right now; lack of food and the long day was beginning to make Daring tired. She found herself yawning.

“Feeling tired?” Dreamweaver asked sympathetically.

“And hungry.” Daring patted her stomach, once again rumbling.

Dreamweaver chuckled. “Of course. I’ll take you back to my home and I’ll get my butler to make you a nice dinner and show you to your room. I will have to do something at the office rather quickly, but I won’t be too long.”

And so Dreamweaver gently swayed around and slithered back towards the main city of Viboran.