Daring Do and the Serpent Citadel

Chapters

0 - A Night in the Woods
1 - Captured and Questioned
2 - The City of Snakes
3 - Honored Guest

0 - A Night in the Woods

The fire glowed hotly in the already humid jungle, the light flickering and casting an orange circle in the dark of night. It couldn’t have been very late from the still heated temperature, but the thick canopy overhead blocked out any sunlight even though it may have only been early evening. The fire lit up a small area cleared manually among the thick bushes and towering trees and climbing vines. A small hatchet lay to one side of a pair of brown saddlebags buckled with the sign of a compass rose. Besides the saddlebags, a kettle was sitting on a makeshift stand above the fire and a pine green sleeping bag lay out next to the fire.

The bushes parted and a yellow-beige pegasus with light purple eyes and a striped grey and black mane came out from the jungles into the clearing, her cutie mark matching those of the buckles on the saddlebags. She walked over to the fire and set down a pile of fresh logs and kindling, the green merely faded instead of fully dry.

Daring Do wiped her forehead to clear off the sweat and sat down on the sleeping bag. She poked the fire with the stick and looked up at the thick canopy overhead. She wished she could sleep within the trees, but it was easier to escape down here, and she had no idea what lay in wait in the trees above. Down on the ground also offered her the advantage of fire, both for cooking and protection; she prodded the fire with a stick to keep it burning brightly, but had no problems with letting it burn and grasping it in her mouth to fend off any wild animals out here.

The jungles of the Tenochtitlan basin were a far cry from the peaceful hills, mountains, and plains of Equestria. To the south, after the desert badlands that stretched for indeterminable miles past the southernmost pony settlement of Dodge Junction, the jungles had been a relief at first. But civilization was scarce here, and she had set out into the wilderness from the main city of Tegucigallopa* and not seen another civilization for nearly three days. Neither food nor water was a problem; a book of poisonous plants and their antidotes helped Daring avoid the dangerous ones and find the safe ones to eat, and rivers and rainfall provided abundant clean, drinkable water.

But, this was a wild land. Aside from Tegucigallopa, only two other large cities were present according to her prior research of the area. The basin was sparsely populated and secure stations were few and far between. The three main cities were all located along the same river, and while an occasional village could be spotted along the side of the river beyond that was uncharted territory even to them. A. B. Ravenhoof had been here, though. He was in Tegucigallopa and managed to send a message to Daring Do about an item he had discovered there. Daring found him packing up and preparing to leave almost as soon as Daring had arrived.

“Heh,” Daring said once they’d greeted each other and settled into the patio chairs of Ravenhoof’s hotel room. “You come down to send me on a hunt and you’re about to head out.”

“It’s not that I don’t like the place,” Ravenhoof said, wiping the sweat off his brow. “But I’m used to Equestria proper. It doesn’t have the humidity, the bugs, the lack of civility this place has.”

“Yeah, the ponies here aren’t exactly the friendliest, but that’s never deterred you before.”

“No, but I’ve come at a bad time. There’s a statue here the ponies would like as it’s a national treasure of theirs, but it’s gone lost. I’d be searching for it myself, if there wasn’t the feeling of battle in the air,” Ravenhoof continued.

“Battle, huh?” Daring Do looked out the window and to the streets below. “That would explain the rather tense atmosphere around here. My boat nearly didn’t come here because the captain was scared and shivering in his feathers.”

“And for good reason,” Ravenhoof said. “Apparently there’s another city somewhere out in the wilds west-by-southwest of here by a few days. But there have been a few conflicts with this other city; raiding parties attack every few days, there are reports of monsters out in the surrounding woods, and ponies go missing and are presumed kidnapped.”

“Monsters don’t bother me,” Daring Do replied confidently. “Heck, I’ve faced Ahuizotl three times at least if not more. But yeah, raiding and kidnapping is definitely something to be concerned about.”

“True, true,” Ravenhoof conceded. “Even so, I half wonder if I shouldn’t call this particular expedition quits until the situation settles itself. But this conflict has been going steady for ten years by now. Who knows how long until it’s over?”

Daring Do nodded. “Well, let’s see what you’ve got and we’ll go from there.”

Ravenhoof shrugged. “The Tegucigallopan ponies are in search of a statue of their former ‘god’, Quetzalcoatal. The top of the ‘god’ had the body of a pony but the wings of a parrot, while the bottom half belonged to that of a bright green and gold snake. The ‘god’ is the creator of the Tenochtitlan ponies and the world as they know it, but it ascended into the sky and awaits for a certain pony to come back, one who will call on its name to save them in the time of conflict.”

“Ah, so an item of special significance,” Daring replied.

“Indeed. There used to be ruins out to the northwest that once held an elaborate temple. It was suspected that the statue was last hidden in the temple, but because of the conflicts everyone is too scared to go out there. The jungles are dense and there’s concern about the raiding parties and kidnappings.”

Ravenhoof stood up and walked over to the bathroom. He filled a glass with water from the sink, drank it, and returned to sitting by Daring Do. “The mayor, Aguas Azules, contacted me because they knew about our searching for artifacts like that. They figured we could find it since we were separated from the conflict.”

“I mean, I’m not saying I’m not interested, but there’s a few things I can see going wrong here,” Daring said. “I’m equally at risk as they are of getting captured, first of all. Secondly, that could get worse if they assume I’m on the side of the Tegucigallopan ponies. The precise nature of the mission only makes that worse.”

“All of these occurred to me, as well,” Ravenhoof said. “But I leave it up to you as to whether or not you want to go ahead with it.”

“Is there anypony who can serve as a guide?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“And you’re not staying because you’re about to get out before things get worse.”

“Exactly. I’d be game to join you myself, but this just isn’t for me. I’m getting old, and I’m not quite sure I want to risk it.”

“What do I have to go off of?”

“There have been enough guides and maps made a decent one can be given you, including a guide to the best route to the proposed ruins where the statue would be hiding, hopefully avoiding the main conflict areas. There’s also an illustration that I can give you of the statue to help you identify it.”

Daring Do sighed. “I’ll admit I have my reservations about this. But I’m willing to do it anyways.”

Ravenhoof shrugged. “If you do, just be careful, okay? I’d hate it if you were attacked or kidnapped out here.”

“I’ll be as careful as I can.”

Sitting by the firelight, now busy eating the small pot of kettle-cooked oats, Daring wondered – not for the first time – if she had been foolhardy in coming out this way. There had been no signs of ponies since she left Tegucigallopa, and no sign of the monsters either. But there was a vague feeling of uneasiness in this section of jungle, like everything was tense and on edge, and the night before had fallen with a feeling of being watched a little closer than Daring would have liked. She had seen nopony since leaving Tegucigallopa, but the feeling of being watched settled on her that night again, now twice in a row. The jungles around her trilled with the sound of a million insects, and not once did she hear nor smell anything out of the ordinary.

Daring ate her oats and rinsed out the kettle with some of the water from her canteen before putting it away. She put more logs and kindling on the fire to feed the flames, and laid down on her sleeping bag, her hatchet and stick close at hoof as she pulled out the book on poisonous plants to read.

The jungles grew darker and darker and the light of the fire seemed to penetrate less and less into the thick underbrush. Daring kept a swiveling ear out for any signs of danger, but she heard nothing but the ordinary sounds of the jungle around her.

A short while later, there came the sound of a gentle rain falling on the leaves around her. Daring quickly packed up the book to keep it dry and found a few large leaves and vines. She quickly constructed a sort of roof using the trees overhead, tying the large leaves to the branches with vines to create a cover, and settled back down in her dry circle. The fire kept roaring as before, and Daring settled down in her sleeping bag.

For a long time she laid inside, looking around at the jungle or at the fire, listening to the gentle hiss of rain. There was something about the way it gently pitter-pattered on the leaves and came down smoothly that she found soothing and relaxing. There was no pony out here for miles and the jungles had yet to prove themselves dangerous and she almost felt calm. She took a few deep breaths and felt the content of starting a new journey come into her again.

The rain continued around her, gradually increasing in intensity. Daring found her eyes beginning to droop as she felt relaxed and tired. She tried to keep awake, putting another log on the fire and prodding it with her stick to keep busy. Still the rain continued and still Daring found herself growing sleepy, the rain around her reminding her of cool nights and the rain from the pegasus ponies back home. Daring Do yawned and rested her head on the sleeping bag. The sudden sleepiness now felt strangely uncanny and the rain seemed to be shifting around her instead of a regular storm. Daring turned to the side of the clearing and stretched her hoof out until she knew it was outside of the clearing and held it there to check.

The hoof was dry.

But the “rain” continued.

The sound seemed to shift and swirl around her, at one point sounding like it was a few feet away from her back hooves, then over by her head, then on the opposite side of the fire, then coming back around by her hooves. Daring’s ears and eyes perked and she remained calm but alert and on-edge, trying to gauge the threat level.

The evidence mounted up: something was nearby, stalking her.

Despite the sudden shiver that went up and down her spine, Daring Do didn’t move. It was as though a heavy weight had suddenly been placed on her and despite her efforts it was tough work trying to push up. The “hiss” that sounded like rain continued shifting and swirling around her and it made Daring feel dizzy and off-kilter.

“H-Hey! Show yourself!”

It felt weird trying to shout. It was like her tongue wasn’t listening to her and her voice wasn’t more than a simple conversational volume. She felt lazy and languid and sleepy. She rolled her head on the sleeping bag and tried calling out again.

“I-If you d-d-don’t… if-if you…” Her voice was no more than a whisper, strong and confident but slowly growing weaker. She yawned and found the impulse to speak silenced by a need to simply lay down and rest.

A leaf crackled. A twig broke. The gentle hiss came nearer. Even with all these, Daring found her eyes becoming heavy and hard to keep open. She wondered if someone was putting a spell on her that made it difficult to move. Daring’s head faced the fire and her eyes fluttered. The flickering flames kept a steady watch and the warm glow only soothed her further. She had barely time to process something vaguely pony-like coming out of the bushes behind the fire before she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Author's Note

* Tegucigallopa = Tegucigalpa, a major city in Honduras in South America

1 - Captured and Questioned

Daring Do awoke on a hard surface in a cold room. She felt like she had been whacked over the head but without any of the pain; she ached all over and felt dizzy. Daring opened her eyes but everything was blurry. Her vision was filled with orange with a single blur of brown in the middle of it facing sideways. It took her a moment to realize she was still lying down on the floor and rubbed her eyes to try and clear her vision before forcing herself to get up.

She was in a small room that contained a small stone bed, a rough wooden table, and a small stool that could barely be counted as a seat. To one corner of the room was an open doorway that led to a small sort of bathroom, with a hole for a toilet and a small pump spigot for water. The brown blur she was looking at before was another wood door, but it had no handle. It didn’t take Daring Do long to realize she might have been captured and placed in prison. She searched the holding area for a way out, but found nothing except the door with no handle. She tapped against the door and found it was thick, too thick to break with her hooves. She tried pushing, pulling, and even lifting the door, but nothing moved it.

She had one object of solace: her sleeping bag and saddlebags were there with her, including the books inside of them and almost everything else. But even that was soon tainted, as she realized someone had gone through her belongings, and her hatchet, stick, and flint and steel for fires were missing. Whoever had captured her had clearly taken pains to make sure she couldn’t leave. Without the hatchet or the flint and steel, she couldn’t break down the door without risking serious injury to herself. The piping in the toilet hole was too small, and the bed might as well have been carved out of the orange stone walls. The table and the seat were themselves risky; she couldn’t use them for anything, and if she did she would risk splintering herself.

Daring silently contemplated what to do. Her story was simple enough: she was an archaeologist going to look at nearby ruins. Her equipment was standard for adventuring into the wilds, used for camping and defending oneself from wild creatures. Daring was a good fighter, but she was not trained nor had any true weaponry - the hatchet was small and flimsy and only used for cutting wood - and she could probably construct a reasonable white lie from that.

Daring heard a few sets of hoofsteps and realized they were coming closer to her holding area. She prepared herself to calmly confront her captors, only resorting to a fight if absolutely necessary.

Daring heard the clunking of wood on the other side of the door and heard the grating of wood against stone. The door slid to the side and revealed two dark grey unicorns dressed in jade green armor with two yellow dots on their chest plate that looked like eyespots. One was rotating a crankshaft that seemed to be unlocked by a large wooden peg, while the other had a leather belt with buckle in his magic. Daring noticed that their pupils looked slightly dilated.

“We are to take you to our Prince,” one of the guards said, the one holding the buckle.

Daring remembered her manners, especially considering that these ponies looked well equipped should a fight break out. “Alright….sure,” she said, started making her way towards the guard at the door.

The guard placed a hoof out and gently bumped Daring back into the room. “You are a pegasus, and deemed a security risk. You must be restrained before leaving.”

Daring quite nearly fought against it, but let out nothing more than a growl. “Alright. Get it over with,” she grumbled. She had no choice but to go along with it. Besides, she knew how to take care of herself without her wings.

The guard holding the leather belt stepped forwards; the one holding the crankshaft took his place and Daring could now see him holding a spear at his side. The guard at the crankshaft manned the door while the one took the belt with buckle and wrapped it around Daring’s midsection, making sure that both wings were wrapped in the belt before firmly buckling it around Daring’s back.

The guard finished and stepped back. “You are comfortable?”

Daring tried opening her wings. The leather was supple but firm, bending and flexing but immovable and unbreakable. It was buckled so it didn’t feel like her wings were pressing against her, but she couldn’t spread them out and slip through or fly away. “No…” she said, wishing they would just let her go.

“Let me restate: you are not hurt by this?”

Daring Do was caught off-guard. The unicorn immediately dodged the answer, found the loophole, and fixed his question so that Daring couldn’t weasel out of the belt. “No,” she said again.

The guard nodded. “Follow me.”

The guard turned around and walked out of the room. Daring noticed he held the buckle in his magic; Daring felt nothing but he could easily jerk her back if she tried to run away. He stopped outside the room and they waited while the guard manning the crankshaft released the peg. The door automatically shut with a noticeable bang and Daring realized the crankshaft merely held the heavy door in place.

Daring was led down the hall and around the corner, then halfway down that hallway before taking a left and coming into a lobby area. More guards sat here, and the guard with the wooden peg went off to the side and went to another guard with black armor.

“The prisoner in cell 28 is being taken to the Prince,” the jade-armored guard said officially.

“Very good,” the black-armored guard said. “Carry on; he does not like to be kept waiting.”

Daring was led outside and into another hallway that looked like a sort of large avenue, with gardens placed in the center every few yards and a fountain at an intersection. Doors on either side numbered with gold paint and official signs – Daring passed two buildings labeled “Office of the Treasury” and “Office of Education and Theology”. Lanterns and oil lamps burned brightly to provide light and gave the whole building an orange glow.

“So… you guys ever get out much?” Daring Do asked.

The guard whacked Daring’s underside with the spear. “No questions.”

“Ow…” Daring winced but spoke no further.

The guard led Daring down the avenue and took a left once they came to the fountain. The avenue continued for a short while before coming to a large set of stairs that rose to a massive colonnade that stretched almost as long as the avenue that Daring had just walked down, looking out over the area that Daring was now walking through.

Daring’s archeological instincts went into overdrive. She wanted to know as much as she could about this place; how it looked like an entire city district was inside a single building, how long it took to carve it from the stone and construct the place, how big was it, how long it had been there, how had nopony ever talked about it before.

She got her first inkling of the last question the closer she got to the colonnade.

Daring ascended the steps with the guard in the lead. Above the colonnade was an elaborate carving with pictures and designs Daring could not see. She squinted her eyes to try and get a better look, but in her focus she tripped over something and fell down on the floor.

“Oof!” She hit her head and her jaw and felt somewhat rattled by the fall, but quickly got to her feet. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see yoOOH MY CELESTIA…”

She had tripped over a massive snake tail; the coil half as thick as her foreleg was tall. The tail was long and warm orange with darker purple spots like a garishly-colored rock python, and yet it belonged to something whose torso looked like a pony, with a stallion’s head and hooves. It had an orange coat and a purple mane that reached to and rested on its shoulders and slitted but friendly-looking sky blue eyes.

“I apologize, Mister Dreamweaver, sir,” the guard said, saluting. Daring was frozen with surprise and did not move.

The pony/snake-thing laughed pleasantly. “That’s quite alright, Verdant Shield,” it said, the mildest hint of a sibilance in its calm voice. “I’m afraid I wasn’t watching where I was going either. You are excused.”

The guard stopped saluting and bowed. “Thank you, sir. Is the Prince in his audience chambers?”

“Yes, he is. I believe he is waiting for you. Now, if you excuse me, I have some business to attend to, though he did want me to visit you at the station in about an hour or so.”

“Of course. It is an honor.” The guard bowed again. “Should I let the Captain know?”

“I should think so.”

The pony-snake thing turned to Daring Do with a slight smile and an interested look as though he just noticed she was standing there. Daring attempted to speak, to ask him exactly what he was, but nothing more came out than a squeak.

“Going to speak to the Prince?” the pony-snake thing said. “Don’t worry; he’s rather a pleasant individual. You should be fine.”

Then he turned around and slithered away in a vague S-shape. This only left Daring even more shocked as she watched his length of tail just keep coming and coming and coming out from the doorway under the colonnade. She guessed his tail alone might have been twenty-five or even thirty feet, certainly enough to coil around her three or four times without blinking an eye and still have some left over.

Daring was brought back by the guard tugging at the buckle. “Come on,” he said impatiently. “The Prince is waiting.”

“…what the heck was that?”

“No questions!” The guard whacked Daring on the underside again.

“Geez… you don’t have to hit so hard…” Daring muttered, but she followed without further complaint.

The guard led Daring through the colonnade and through a set of double doors into a large hallway with elaborate carvings on both sides, and a rather large throne at the opposite end. Daring passed by numerous columns and walked on an extravagant carpet of green and gold towards the other end of the hall as she and the guard approached the throne.

Sitting at either side of the throne were three guards in jade armor decked out in emeralds and sapphires and rubies around the collars, with a pair of golden eyespots on either side of their helmets. The throne was gilded and had a rather large, soft-looking deep red pillow on it and more jewels embedded into the gold, and looked rather like a large couch with a raised end; Daring thought it looked remarkably like a therapist’s couch, but rather more luxurious. It sat on a raised platform with four steps leading up to it and was clearly meant to dominate the room so that whoever sat on it could see whatever they wanted.

Reclining on the raised-end of throne was yet another snake-pony thing. This one had a green pony body with a faded pink mane and slitted lavender eyes, with a small golden crown atop his head. The snake body, coiled up on the pillow, had a rather plain pale green underbelly but the top was covered in iridescent black scales that flickered and shimmered in all the colors of the rainbow whenever it shifted. And if Daring had been surprised by the size of the other pony-snake thing, this one topped that; his coils not only lay upon the throne, but were draped over it, coiled around it, and the tail even curled back around towards his head, so that Daring had no idea how large he was.

“Prince Serpis!” the guard said as they approached the throne. “I have brought the prisoner we captured last night!”

At least it hadn’t been that long. Daring quite nearly sighed with relief, but realized that, with Ravenhoof gone from Tegucigallopa, no one knew where she was nor how long she was or would be gone. Even so, there was the sense of relief that she hadn’t been knocked out for days.

The snake-pony thing, who had been looking at his guards, lazily brought them around to face the guard and Daring Do. “Excellent,” he said, his voice deeper but slightly rougher than the other one Daring had seen outside the colonnade. “You may return to your post; you are no longer needed.”

The guard left Daring, who felt him release the magic from the buckle on the belt, and heard him walk away. But Daring was left staring and gaping at the giant snake-pony thing and didn’t even try to follow him out. She was caught somewhere between surprise at the fact such a thing existed, fear at the size and seeming strength of the creature, and fascination at the iridescent black scales.

I need to apologize for Ravenhoof for scoffing at the idea of ‘monsters’, Daring Do thought as she gazed upon the “prince”.

The snake-pony thing looked down at Daring and chuckled. “Ah-ha-ha, so the small one is rightly in awe of me and who I am. Tell me, little pony, do you know who I am?”

Daring realized the question required a response, and gave the best one she could. “Well, I heard you referred to as a ‘prince’. But I didn’t know there was a prince out here, much less one such as yourself.”

The snake-pony thing laughed again. “You are correct: I am a prince. My name is Prince Serpis, and I am the ruler of the fine city of Viboran. We are but a small city, though more and more travel here every day. We shall soon be as large as the pony cities themselves, and perhaps in time become prominent among the Tenochtitlan basin.”

“Huh,” Daring said. “I’ve never heard of Viboran anywhere.”

The snake-pony thing smiled confidently. “That’s because we are but a new city in these wild lands. I merely came into power twelve years ago, a strong and powerful and steady leader for this fledgling city. And my kind can live one hundred and fifty years or more, twice as long as you ponies, so that means such leadership is plentiful and always at hoof. In time, we shall become strong like you, perhaps stronger since we are native to these lands.”

“So, what exactly are you? I’ve travelled around quite a bit, but I’ve never seen anything like the likes of you,” Daring asked, trying to hide the wonder in her voice.

Prince Serpis smiled and flipped his mane proudly. “I should think not. But to answer your question: I am a lamia, containing the brain and smarts of a pony, but the body and physical prowess and grace of a snake. There are also a few special powers that I have that normal ponies such as yourself do not have.”

“And what would those be?”

“Suffice it to say you will learn about them in time. But first, I need to ask you a few questions. I believe you owe them to me.”

Prince Serpis rose from his throne and began to slither down the steps until his massive body was close to Daring’s. His coils were definitely as thick as her foreleg was tall, and his length was absolutely massive with some of the coils still resting on the throne as his head and tail came towards her.

“Stay still, little pony,” Prince Serpis said somewhat venomously. “I’d rather not hurt you when we’re just getting to know one another.”

Daring already wasn’t moving very far, but she stayed completely still as the iridescent black tail slithered over to her and began to wrap itself around her midsection. In three wraps her whole body except her back legs and head were completely bound in a soft and smooth but extremely powerful grip. Daring already couldn’t fly with the belt around her waist, but now she felt like she was on a very exacting leash and certainly wasn’t going anywhere fast.

Prince Serpis, satisfied with his work, pulled Daring back over to the throne, though set her down on the step below him than bringing her up to his level. Prince Serpis himself took his pony body back to his throne, doing a graceful flip while simultaneously recoiling himself up on the pillow before reclining back to his former position. He used a single hoof and motioned for a guard to bring over a torch, setting it on a special platform behind the throne.

“You’re tense,” he said to Daring Do.

She was, that much was true. But it was worse after he mentioned it. There was something in the voice that Daring did not like one bit. It was the feel of being much too calm, like a predator that had spotted his prey and had it cornered. Daring found herself wiggling to try and ease out of the coils, but Prince Serpis held her tightly and she couldn’t move or relax his grip on her. It wasn’t strangulation, but it felt uncomfortable all the same.

Prince Serpis pulled a little more of his tail around Daring and grabbed her head so that she wasn’t wiggling as much as before and focused it in his direction. He smiled, looking like he rather enjoyed seeing Daring, now grimacing and kicking slightly, in his coils. He shifted his coils around.

“Relaxsss, little pony, and tell me your name.”

Daring stopped wiggling. She remembered her attempts to get out, cleared her throat as best as she could – it felt like it was dry – and started speaking. “I’m Daring Do. I’m an archaeologist.”

“Good. That wasn’t so hard, wassss it?” Prince Serpis shifted his coils again, making rainbows of iridescence race along their curving length. “If you just relaxsss, this whole thing will go so much easier, you agree?”

The lamia’s voice was still full of authority, but it no longer sounded predatory to Daring. Now it was simply filled with an almost infectious calm. “O-Of course,” Daring replied.

“I knew you’d ssssee things in time.” The iridescent black scales shifted again, further dazzling Daring with their shifting beauty. “Just watch my scalessss and relaxsss… watch the lightssss flicker and fill them with color. And while you relaxsss, tell me, what were you doing in these junglessss, Daring Do?”

The scales… with every shifting movement, the scales suddenly erupted in color. Daring had never seen anything like it. She stopped trying to move around entirely, her eyes trained on the scales. “I… I was searching for a statue.”

“Who for?”

Daring nearly told him, but remembered the conflicts Ravenhoof told her about. Ponies disappearing, getting captured, raids on Tegucigallopa… “I-I… I don’t…”

“Relaxsss, Daring Do,” the Prince commanded, barely raising his voice. “Watch the shifting scalessss… Let yourself relaxssss as you watch the dancing huessss, let yourself become entranced by the vibrant colorssss…”

Daring’s body felt like it was going limp in the grip of the lamia. It frightened her but she couldn’t act on it. The lamia’s hiss sent shivers down her spine and the colors on the constantly moving coils made her feel dizzy, watching them race along the twisting and twirling scales made her feel… relaxed. Her eyes drooped a little.

“Good... very good… focussss on the colorssss, and tell me: who wanted that statue?”

I shouldn’t tell him, Daring thought. I shouldn’t tell him… “A… Aguas Azules…”

Prince Serpis’ eyes narrowed and he bared his teeth, but Daring hardly noticed, too focused on the scales. “And why did Aguas Azules want this statue?”

Daring didn’t notice his eyes, but she did hear the venomous feel return to the lamia’s voice and felt the coils tighten around her, causing her eyes to pop open in surprise. She opened her mouth but froze in fear, even though the angered voice told her to speak, even though the dancing colors told her to relax, and even though the gracefully shifting scales reassured and calmed her.

“Relaxsss, Ms. Do, and tell me…” The edge was off of Prince Serpis’ voice, but Daring could still hear it hidden away. “Listen to my voice, keep your eyessss on the mesmerizing colorssss…”

She couldn’t hold out and fight against it. “It… it was the statue of Quetzalcoatl. They… they wanted it… as a historical treasure.”

Prince Serpis’ eyes widened and he grew another confident smile on his face. “Excellent. Thank you for your information. Now… I want you to remember thissss: whenever we sssspeak, you will listen and listen closely to whatever I ssssay. Your mind will focussss on me, and not a word will escape your earssss. Do you understand?”

The Prince’s voice seemed to slither into her ear and wrap firmly around her mind. The shifting scales and dancing colors told her all was well with this, the relaxed grip on her body told her she no longer had to be afraid, to accept this. It was difficult to hold back a yawn. “Y-Yes… I understand.”

“Very good.”

Slowly, excruciatingly, Daring Do was lowered onto the floor at the base of the pedestal and Prince Serpis unwrapped his coils from around her. She felt dizzy and tired, but as soon as the last coil left her, the urge to sleep left her and she merely felt worn out. She lay on the floor for a long while, breathing deeply and trying to regain her energy.

“Take the belt off from her wings,” Prince Serpis commanded.

One of the guards immediately stepped forwards and unbuckled the belt that bound Daring’s wings to her sides. Daring immediately stretched them out and gave a few preliminary flaps, but didn’t even have the energy to fly away. She did manage to stand at her feet, shake her head to clear it, and looked attentively at the Prince.

“I apologize for my behavior,” Prince Serpis said, smiling and bowing shortly but graciously at Daring Do. “You must understand situations are a little tense here.”

“That’s quite alright,” Daring said as she stood up. “I… I understand being suspicious when an unfamiliar face comes around.”

“Let me assure you our fair city is far kinder normally, and we are usually accepting of newcomers here. But tensions outside have risen, and so my questioning was necessary.”

“Ah, yes. That was… that was unlike any questioning I’ve ever had before. Do you mind me asking what that was? What happened to me, that is?”

“Not at all! I simply placed you into a mild trance to make sure you told the truth and were not a spy.”

“Impressive,” Daring Do said. “I’ve never known of a pony able to do that before, particularly as skillfully as you did.”

“That is one of the lamia’s special powers,” Prince Serpis said proudly. “All lamias can do it, though their methods may vary.”

“Well, you’ll have to remind me to come back at some point,” Daring Do said, trying to sound conversational. “Color me intrigued.”

“Well, why not relax and spend a few days here?” Prince Serpis waved a hoof. “Your request and your journey were benign enough. Stay with us for a while and learn about us. I shall enlist the help of my archivist help you search for this statue. Perhaps, as descendants of the natives, we may have more information for you.”

Daring managed to chuckle. Perhaps the Prince was suspicious of visitors, and rightly so given the strange looks would attract quite a few visitors (and not all of them friendly). But now, other than giving off the feeling of being somewhat haughty, he seemed okay. “Alright. If you’re okay with it, I shall.”

“But of course.” At that time, Daring heard the double doors of the audience chamber open up behind her. “Ah, Dreamweaver, perfect timing. I need you to do a favor for me.”

Daring turned around and saw the orange-and-purple-scaled lamia from earlier slither quickly and gracefully up next to her. He rose up on his scales a little bit, and then did an elaborate bow so that nearly his whole pony torso was bent over. “I am at your service, My Prince.”

“I’m afraid I must reschedule our meeting, perhaps for later tonight. For now, I have a new request for you.” He waved to Daring. “This is Daring Do. She is an archaeologist in search of a statue of Quetzalcoatl. I need you, if you have room, to take her to your house and shelter her for a few days.”

“Of course, my Prince,” the lamia said, bowing as before.

“Ms. Do,” Prince Serpis said. Once he was sure he had Daring’s full attention, he spoke again. “You must understand that, while I do want to help you, you staying here for a few days is also a matter of security. We occasionally experience raids from Tegucigallopa, where you came from, and it is feared they will attack soon. But remain calm; our citadel is a veritable stronghold and you shall come to no harm here.”

“Of course.” Daring quickly realized she would have to be on her best behavior; she still remembered the Prince’s more seething and tense moments and did not want to experience them again. “I do not wish to disturb or inconvenience you.”

“Nonsense! Your presence here is welcomed. Now, go with Dreamweaver, and he shall acquaint you with our fine people.”

Daring Do nodded and turned around, following the orange-and-purple lamia out of the audience chamber. A few days in this place wouldn’t be too bad. She would find out as much information as she could, go on her way, obtain the statue of Quetzalcoatl, and be home in a few days.

The question would be of how much to tell Aguas Azules and Ravenhoof when she returned.

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.

3 - Honored Guest

The house that Dreamweaver led Daring to was a long two-story building somewhere between the residential and royal quarter. It was plain, so much so that it looked like it might have been a public services building, with a large colonnade similar to the Prince’s own quarters and rather elaborate stone carvings all along the side. It also appeared to be directly open to the public, with no gates or security blocking the entrance.

“You’re pretty confident that others won’t waltz right in,” Daring said, almost bemused.

“I am open,” Dreamweaver said matter-of-factly. “They know what to expect of me. Few enter unless they have business, though I am always open to – shall we say – interruptions.”

They entered into a lobby that was tiled with marble with well-worn paths, areas that Dreamweaver might have frequently travelled. They were immediately met by a tan unicorn stallion in a tuxedo, who looked at Dreamweaver expectantly.

“Shall we be having you for dinner this evening?” The pony asked.

“Yes, Beck-and-Call. I need you to arrange dinner for myself and the lady. Eggplant lasagna, though I will also have a side of chicken, and two green salads with vinaigrette. Can you have that ready in an hour?”

“Of course, sir! Anything else?”

“Have you received a pair of saddlebags from the Captain of the Guard yet?”

“They came in while you were out. I placed them in the guest room like you suggested.”

“Excellent. Thank you.”

The stallion bowed and headed off a door to the left, while Dreamweaver ascended the lobby steps and took a right, carrying Daring down a small hallway towards a door and opened it. Inside was a small room similar to the cell she had been in earlier that morning or afternoon. This one was much more luxurious, though, with a full bed with mattress, a proper bathroom with a small shower, a small closet containing more blankets, and a small table on which her saddlebags were sitting. There were also windows looking out at the quiet street below, though the irony of moving from one cell to another didn’t escape Daring’s notice.

“Here is where you shall be staying while you are here,” Dreamweaver said as Daring hopped off his back. “I would show you around more, but I expect you shall want to make sure everything is in order and wash up before dinner.”

Daring nodded. “Thank you very much for your hospitality,” she said with a veiled sarcasm.

If Dreamweaver noticed Daring’s biting tone, he didn’t show it. “Very well. I shall inform you when it’s ready. Otherwise, you may find me in my room, in the other wing.” He bowed gracefully, then left.

As soon as he was gone, Daring immediately went into her pack and began laying everything out on the bed, organizing by item. Once again, her hatchet was missing and so was her flint and steel. However, the stick had been returned. They must have thought it large enough for a walking stick and allowed her to keep it. She had no use of it right now, but she could whittle it into a spear if she wanted, Daring thought. A new item had gone missing in place of the stick, though: the drawing of the statue of Quetzalcoatl. That was no big deal to Daring, in part because she didn’t exactly need the drawing if she was in a place that revered the deity. But it set off a signal in her mind, of something not quite right. Like they didn’t want her to find it...

But, Daring pushed the thought out of her mind. Dreamweaver had been very accommodating and even conscripted his own archivist to help her search. Perhaps it would all be alright and she would be on her way shortly.

She decided to get in the shower. It was humid and, while cool inside the main town, she needed to get the grit and oil out of her coat and feathers. A cool shower would be nice, she thought. Towels and washcloths and soaps were already there waiting for her. Some looked barely used, while the mane soap looked almost new, as well as a brush to make washing easier. Daring adjusted the shower water, picked out a towel and washcloth, and hopped in with the brush.

Daring took her time, going over herself with both the washcloth and the brush. The water was cold and bracing but well worth it, and she wondered if there was a local river that filtered in. The water was also well-filtered, suggesting complicated or updated filtration systems, and Daring commended inwardly whoever was in charge of public works.

By the time she was done, Daring found herself mildly tired from the afternoon. It hadn’t felt busy, per se, but it seemed longer than usual. She attributed it to the insanity that she had been subjected to, having seen so much of a place likely few ponies knew existed until that afternoon. She ended up lying down on the bed, grateful for the soft, comfortable mattress and blankets, and dozed quietly.

She was woken up only a few minutes later by a knocking at the door of the guest bedroom. She got up, made sure her clothes and things were straightened out, and opened the door to find not Dreamweaver but his butler. Daring remembered his name as Beck-and-Call.

“Master Dreamweaver requests your presence in the dining room,” he said formally.

Not wanting to disappoint her host, Daring Do followed the butler down the hallway, down the steps, and off to one of the rooms adjacent to the lobby. Inside was a large table that could have seated twelve, but only had four chairs, covered in a fine white cloth and prepared for three with fine ceramic plates with green snake designs and silver goblets. Dreamweaver sat at the head of the table in front of one setting, looking like he combed his mane back a bit, and the remaining place setting was in the chair next to him. The other place setting was across from where Daring expected she was to sit.

“Ah, Daring!” Dreamweaver said genially as the pegasus approached. “I hope I haven’t disturbed you.”

“I am a guest in your home, Mister Dreamweaver,” Daring replied similarly. “You have done quite a bit for me; it would be impolite to disgrace your table.”

Dreamweaver smiled. “Well, I hope my table doesn’t disgrace your palette,” he said as Daring got into her spot. “And, I’m afraid we must have a visitor this evening. Prince Serpis is coming over, as he wishes to talk with the both of us.”

The butler-pony coughed. “Should I wait for Prince Serpis to arrive before serving?”

“No, go ahead and bring out the first course,” Dreamweaver said. “I expect him to arrive soon.”

The butler-pony bowed and headed off towards another entrance. He was not gone for long, however, and soon returned with two bowls of a fine green salad with lettuce, carrots, red cabbage, and cherry tomatoes tossed in a sweet balsamic vinaigrette. It tasted wonderful, and paired excellently with the smooth light, sweet wine that came out shortly afterwards.

“As good as many fine restaurants I’ve been to,” Daring said as a compliment to the salad.

“A fine compliment to both my chef and our local college,” Dreamweaver said proudly. “He is well-versed in many types of cuisine, and we are able to have ponies from all over display their talents to our students.”

“I should check it out,” Daring said. “See what the library is like, what the professors are like, that sort of thing.”

“Have you a college degree, Ms. Do?” Dreamweaver asked.

“I have a Masters in Archaeology and a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing from Canterlot University,” Daring said with almost equal pride. “It’s one of the most prestigious colleges in Equestria, located in the capital itself.”

“You have certainly traveled long and far to come here,” Dreamweaver said. “Tell me again, what brought you to Viboran?”

“The Statue of Quetzalcoatl,” Daring Do said. “The item your secretary is searching for, remember? A museum commissioned me to retrieve a copy from some ruins to the north. But I think you all captured me and brought me here before I could do so.”

“Ah, yes, must have been one of our scouting patrols. The whole city’s on edge due to our conflict with Tegucigallopan. But I believe you surmised that from Prince Serpis’ interrogation. I assure you he means well.”

At that moment there came a knock on the door. Dreamweaver patted his lips with his napkin. “Beck-and-Call!” he ordered. “Go see the door. If that’s Prince Serpis, escort him in here.”

“Yes, sir,” Daring heard the pony call back from somewhere within the house.

There was something in the butler-pony’s voice that Daring didn’t quite catch before, but it came out when Dreamweaver asked him to open the door. Unfortunately for Daring, it was also something she couldn’t quite make out what it was besides sounding, ultimately, different.

She didn’t have time to contemplate it, though. Prince Serpis was escorted into the dining room and took the appropriate position. The butler-unicorn filled his own glass of wine and he sipped it before even saying a word.

“Thank you for having me at such short notice, Dreamweaver,” Prince Serpis said smoothly. “And hello again, Ms. Do.”

Daring bowed politely.

“It is no trouble, my Prince,” Dreamweaver said. “It is nearly time for the main course.”

Prince Serpis brought his whole length in and coiled it up, though left a fair length of his tail available to twitch and move whenever he wanted it. He sipped at the wine and looked at the two of them. “So how was your tour of the city? Are you beginning to see the fine delights of Viboran?”

The last question was directed at Daring. She had her ears perked up towards him and heard every word, though occasionally her eyes would flick down towards the rainbow trails racing along his iridescent black scales. “I’m afraid I didn’t see anything specific this time. But Dreamweaver did take me through all the districts and showed me all the major landmarks.”

“I suppose it has been a long day,” Prince Serpis said. “Though I am surprised. I thought ponies like yourself would have had better stamina.”

“I have seen a lot and have much to process,” Daring fired back, not liking the hint of condescension in the Prince’s tone. “I’ll probably spend some time writing in a journal this evening after dinner.”

Prince Serpis nodded gracefully. “We shall see,” he said in a tone that Daring didn’t like.

But Daring Do quickly forgot about the Prince’s tone soon afterwards when the salad plates were cleared away and out was brought a fine and cheesy eggplant lasagna – with two sides of chicken for Dreamweaver and Prince Serpis. Ignoring the two lamias with their chicken, Daring found the lasagna quite to her liking, and after a while even found Prince Serpis enjoyable.

“I once had a guard named Valiant Heart,” Prince Serpis was saying at one point. “A mercenary in his former life, I believe. He was the easiest to train, already accustomed to orders. I enlisted him for a time, but when his time was up, he said it was the best service he’d ever had.”

“What happened to him?” Daring asked, interested.

“He stayed on as one of the guard, actually,” Prince Serpis replied. “Best Head of House I’ve ever had. Pays well, good living, listens to every command I give him and obeys without fail, and he’s happy about doing it. That’s how one ought to behave.”

“Well, it does seem like many of your citizens are very happy to be here,” Daring agreed. “I think I shall enjoy spending at least a few days here.”

“That is part of the good news I have for you,” Prince Serpis said, shifting and stretching his scales out luxuriously. “I have reviewed your case over with my close advisors, and my decision is you are free to walk out at any time. To be quick, you have been deemed no threat. However, we will sssstill help you with finding the ssssstatue of Quetzalcoatl if you sssso dessssire.”

Daring felt relieved at the notion of being able to walk freely out of the city and internally thanked Prince Serpis for doing so. But as soon as the Prince began talking about helping her find the statue of Quetzalcoatl – and she watched the fascinating rainbow trails shimmering on his scales again – she realized she couldn’t leave so soon. She still had a mission, and she made her decision immediately.

“I think I will stay.” There was a certain sense of finality to the statement she did not mean, so she quickly added “For the time being, anyways.”

“Excellent!” Prince Serpis clapped his hooves excitedly, smoothly moving his tail around just off to the side of Daring’s vision. “I am pleased with your decision. Conssssider thissss a momentary resssst from your travelssss, a vacation of sortssss.”

Daring followed the shimmering tail almost exactly despite being focused on listening to the iridescent lamia. “Of course,” she said, struggling to suppress a yawn. “I... I’d be delighted to.”

Prince Serpis nodded knowingly and stopped his shifting. “And Dreamweaver shall give his full hospitality.”

“Of course, my Prince,” Dreamweaver said, giving a gracious nod in the other lamia’s direction.

Daring nodded herself. “So,” she said, struggling to continue to pay attention. “What was the other piece of news? You said me being free to go was the first one.”

“Oh, just that you were welcomed in our city for as long as you please,” Prince Serpis said. He took the final bite of his chicken, chewing it slowly to savor it. “Go around, take notes, hear the testimonies of both lamia and pony. You’ll soon find that many in Viboran are quite happy here and that our rules are as fair and just as your own.”

“I shall enjoy that.” Despite her gradual coming back to awareness again, Daring found herself yawning. “Excuse me, sirs. It’s been quite the day. Dreamweaver, you said you would take me on a tour of the house?”

Dreamweaver gave an affirmative nod.

“Well, I think I would like that tour and then will spend a bit of time writing in my journal. If you don’t mind,” Daring added politely.

Dreamweaver nodded again, then turned to Prince Serpis. “I hope this doesn’t bother you, my Prince.”

“Not at all,” Prince Serpis said, kindly though with a hint of something sinister that Daring couldn’t put a hoof on. “Good night, Daring Do. Dreamweaver, once you are done, I would like to speak with you again.”

“Of course,” Dreamweaver said with a bow.

Dreamweaver showed Daring Do around the house, but it was a trip Daring only vaguely remembered. Besides the kitchen where they ate, Daring could later only recall a small personal library, a lounge and tea room, and Dreamweaver’s own room down the hall from hers.

“I’m afraid my conversation with the Prince will likely be private,” Dreamweaver said as he dropped her off at her guest bedroom. “But it shouldn’t take more than ten minutes. After that, I am available for the rest of the night should you need me.”

“Thank you, though I think I won’t need anything until tomorrow,” Daring replied. “At least, I don’t think I should.”

Dreamweaver shrugged. “No big deal; I just hope you are comfortable. Goodnight. Rest well.”

“Goodnight.”

Dreamweaver bowed politely and left with a smile.

The food felt heavy to Daring and she yawned, grateful to be alone. Being tired was one thing, but there was something about being in the presence of the two serpent-ponies that clouded her mind somewhat. She hoped that her stay wouldn’t last long, and that she could find the statue and be on her way.

Finally alone, Daring did a few stretches and quiet exercises. She felt stiff from spending most of the day on Dreamweaver’s back and was glad to finally have some free movement. She did some crunches and push-ups and wing push-ups and even tried to do a few pull-ups using the doorframe.

She managed to find small ways to work herself out for nearly fifteen minutes. By then the sleepiness had mostly worn off and she felt better than before. A quick wash of her face and she went to work on the journal, documenting as much as she could of the day’s events.

She managed a serviceable summary in eight pages and felt quite pleased with herself. She managed to get some of Viboran’s structure, layout, hierarchy, and history into the summary. At the bottom, she wrote a few questions she decided she would try and answer tomorrow.

First was to learn about the religion of Quetzalcoatl. Second was to look at pony-lamia relations from other ponies’ perspectives. Third was to see what lamia thoughts towards ponies as a whole were. And finally, Daring decided to see what was the general opinion of Prince Serpis. Something about him made it seem to Daring like there was more to him that met the eye.

Of course, it would not have been polite to mention this. Daring realized it was dangerous even to have the questions written down in the journal, the open journal that either of them could read if they wanted to while she was out. She quickly scribbled the questions on another sheet of paper, tore it out, and placed it in the jacket she continuously kept on her. The questions in the notebook were then scribbled out and hopefully not a trace of them remained in the journal.

When she was done, Daring decided she wanted nothing more to do with Dreamweaver until the morning. She turned down the lights and crawled into bed, hoping she could answer her questions tomorrow.

Daring Do could not figure out why she was awake.

It was strange. Daring went from a peaceful sleep to wide awake in seconds. The room was still dark and Daring could only see dark outlines of shapes in the nearly black space that told her that her eyes weren’t closed.

It was late. Daring didn’t need a clock to tell her that. The streets were quiet and only a small breeze blew through from inside the sheltered city. Far out and down the street, streetlights of oil lamps flickered gently but there was hardly even a guard wandering around. The room looked quite normal in the darkness and Daring was quite sure everything was okay.

But Daring never woke up without a reason. Her body was quite nearly trained to wake up at even the slightest hint of danger. And so she squinted and looked around the room.

And then, in one corner, she saw it. The lump of blackness had no distinct shape, but it definitely looked off and like it hadn’t been there before.

The lump soon came into a beam of moonlight and revealed itself to be a creature with ghostly white, slitted eyes. Daring’s entire body tensed, and she slowly rolled over to put herself in a position to pounce if necessary.

The eyes seemed to glow in the darkness, and soon there came a few colored rings from within the very center; blue, purple, and gold. There came a faint hissing noise, a sound that soothed Daring, that told her everything was okay, and told her to sleep.

But in her heightened state, Daring was having none of this. Despite the soothing tone, Daring reacted quickly and launched herself at the creature. The hissing was immediately cut off for something more primal and Daring found herself wrapped by something cold and squishy, trying to loop around her and restrain her.

But Daring was small and swift, and quickly slipped out of the wrappings. Daring leapt for the wall, only to ricochet off it and tackle the creature. Another almost primal scream and a yowl met Daring’s ear and she did it again. This time the Daring hit true and she and the intruder went flying across the room. The creature tried to wrap around her again, but couldn’t; the tumbling seemed to knock it off-center.

Now with a firm grasp of where the creature was located, Daring pulled back a hoof and punched. She felt a good, hardy smack under her hooves and a hiss. She pulled back again, but the creature had regained itself and put a limb under her. Before Daring could punch again, the creature threw her across the room.

Daring flapped her wings to try and slow down, but it wasn’t enough. She smacked her head into the wall and collapsed on the floor, dazed. There was a shuffling out of the room and by the time Daring had come to, the creature that assaulted her – well, really she assaulted it, but it intruded her space – was gone.

There came a frantic slithering down the hall a few moments later. The door opened and the light was turned on and Dreamweaver was suddenly standing in the door.

“What happened!?” he asked.

Daring shook her head. “Someone came in… tried to attack me. They’re gone now, though.”

Dreamweaver quickly slid over to her and helped her sit upright. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

“Threw me against the wall before I could really get them, but I think I’ll be fine.”

Dreamweaver nodded. “Well, I suppose. But if you feel any pain, you should come see me. It could be something bad.”

“I’ve… I’ve had worse.” Daring chuckled. “Life of an adventurer, you know? Dangerous stuff happens all the time; I’m used to it by now.”

The bright orange and purple lamia shrugged. “Well, if you’re sure, I guess I’ll let you go back to bed. Goodnight.”

Daring nodded, and climbed back into bed as Dreamweaver turned off the lights.

Daring slept fine for the rest of the night, but it took her a while to actually fall back asleep and she felt uneasy for a long time afterwards. Something about the situation last night bugged her, and it wasn’t the intruder coming into her room and attacking her at night.

Despite having not taken part in combat, Dreamweaver had a red ring around his eye.