Daring Do and the Tears of the Clouds

by TheLegendaryBillCipher

Chapter 3: Ruins of the Past

Celaeno’s airship descended down towards the island in the center of the biggest island. The wind whipped at the ropes holding the balloon to the ship, and Celaeno ordered a halt to the engines.

“This is as far down as we can go,” Celaeno said to Yearling as she fastened her saddlebags. “Any lower and the wind will force us into whatever’s on the island.”

“I think I can manage it, Captain,” Yearling said with a firm nod. She noticed Elytra approach, her own saddlebags strapped around her.

“I’ll come with you, too,” she said with a smile. “Two pairs of eyes is better than one.”

Yearling frowned, turning to Celaeno. “You sure you’ll be here when I get back?”

If Celaeno was offended at the question, she didn’t show it. “We never leave anyone behind. That’s a promise.”

Yearling nodded, glancing at Elytra, and huffed. She turned to the edge of the ship and took flight with a flap of her wings. Elytra took off after her, their course heading straight for the central island’s building.

“You don’t seem very trusting,” Elytra remarked.

“Not exactly used to working with pirates,” Yearling said. Her attention turned to the ruins around the island them. “On second thought, change of plans.”

She abruptly turned right, and Elytra struggled to follow after her. Yearling touched down on an old, paved pathway that networked across the island. Elytra landed next to her, her nose in the air.

Yearling glanced at her with a frown. “Let’s examine these buildings first and see what sort of creatures lived here before we tackle that structure in the middle,” she said. “Let’s split up.”

“Very well,” Elytra said, wings buzzing as she flew through the ruins.

Yearling cautiously flapped down the opposite way, poking her head into the open doorways of the various buildings.

Most were almost completely caved in, while some still had at least partial rooves and ceilings to keep out the elements. They all had the same architecture, made from the same pale marble and with ornate columns.

In one building were rusted pots and pans over kilns and long-cold furnaces. Adjacent to that room was a great hall, full of benches and tables made of rotting wood. Silverware and clay dishes could be seen strewn about.

Across the street sat a large building with rows and rows of wooden shelves. Some had pots or boxes still sitting on them, but many had collapsed. At the bottom of some of the shelves were the tattered remains of sacks or bags.

Down the path lay another building, larger than the first two. It was full of wooden bunks, most crumbled, and all devoid of any sort of mattresses or bedding. A few blankets lay on the floor, riddled with holes.

Continuing to the building next door, she found a room full of racks and more shelves. But it was the items strewn about that intrigued her more: rusted spears, dented helmets and chest plates, some worn shields, and a handful of rusty swords.

As Yearling went, those four types of buildings were repeated in various states of ruin and decay, leading to her confusion. She met up with Elytra on the opposite end of the street. The changeling seemed disappointed.

“No gold anywhere, just junk,” she huffed.

“Ancient junk. Looks like it’s been on this island for centuries,” Yearling remarked.

“Do you know what I didn’t see, though? Skeletons,” Elytra said.

“Me either. So either it’s been so long they turned to dust… or this place was abandoned by whoever lived here. Seems like they did so in a hurry,” Yearling said.

“So, what do you think this place was? Some sort of settlement?” Elytra inquired.

Yearling shook her head. “Too utilitarian for that. We’ve got kitchens and cafeterias, storerooms, sleeping quarters, and a few armories – this wasn’t a town, this was more like a fort.” She huffed, rubbing her chin. “And something about that stuff in the armory looked familiar…”

‘We should see what lies on the centermost island,” Elytra said. “If this was a fort, maybe that was the central command post or something.”

Yearling nodded, and the two took flight for the center.

It was a two-tiered building, the upper tier being smaller than the lower tier. A small platform sat on the front of the bottom tier, with a large, imposing stone door leading inside.

Yearling reached up and gently brushed her wing over the door, cleaning away years of dust. A circle symbol sat in the middle of the door, with four symbols in each quadrant: a lightning bolt, a snowflake, a raincloud, and a tornado. Yearling pulled out her sketched map of the islands.

“They’re the same symbols as those islands around this one. That’s hardly a coincidence,” she remarked.

“Perhaps that is where we can find the keys to this door, whatever they are.” Elytra reached up with a hoof. “And maybe that denotes the order.”

Yearling squinted at each of the symbols. Sure enough, there were tally marks next to each one: one mark by the lightning bolt, two by the snowflake, three by the raincloud, and four by the tornado.

“Then let’s visit each one in order, then, and see what we can find there,” Yearling said. “Let’s regroup at the ship and head out to the lightning bolt island.”

Elytra nodded, and flew back towards the airship, unaware that their progress was being monitored by two furry, masked figures.

---

Upon hearing of the inspection of the main island, the figure on the throne gave a wicked, toothy grin.

“Good. Let them do all the work for us,” she said.

Author's Note:

Bum, bum, bum. Don't worry, it'll start looking familiar momentarily.

-The Legendary Bill Cipher