Numbering Graves

Ch.7- Winter in a Volcano

It was faster than anything she had ridden before, better than any roller coaster. Now she knew what Aeron meant he said he was suited for high speeds. A wave of energy seemed to come off him before he ran -no, more like launched- down the tunnel, weaving through the uneven passage at incredible speeds. Hitting bumps, speeding up on curves. It was both the most exciting yet the singularly most terrifying experience she ever had.

When they finally stopped with a jolt, Myra spun off. She walked a few steps with her bags before falling to the ground, laughing. Aeron snickered loudly as a pale Simon, very slowly, made his way off the trolley, one hand covering his mouth. Other people who had seen their abrupt stop joined the laughter, while some just rolled their eyes and went on their way.

"That was awesome!" Laughed Myra.

"That was unnecessary." Wheezed Simon.

Myra, her laughter ebbing away, closed her eyes and smiled. Aeron had seemed so serious, like a lone samurai type. But now he was laughing and smiling, and just seemed more human. Simon gently nudged Myra's shoulder with his foot, still looking a bit worse-for-wear. "Come on, My. We need to get going."

Reluctantly, Myra picked up her things and stood up. Without a word, Simon began walking away. Myra quickly turned to Aeron and waved. He winked and waved back before walking back into the tunnel.

Myra quickly caught up with Simon. "Where's he even going?"

"Out the top."

"Out the top of where?"

Simon looked down at Myra. "I sometimes forget you're not used to this." He stopped and jerked his head to the right. "The city of Sootram is built around a volcano. Half out, half in."

Her eyes grew wide and she looked over the direction Simon pointed. There she could clearly see out a window to a beautiful town below. She walked over to the glass, pressing her face against it to look down at the scenery. And indeed, she could see below her the dark, uneven, rounded edges caused by long-since passed eruption. At the base she could just barely make out what looked like a neighborhood- fences and shingles and houses. The combination made her smile. "Why?" she asked. "Why not just build it all on the outside?"

"Remember me saying I was once part of an army?" Simon said, walking over.

"Yes."

"Well Dyaus' army wasn't the only one. Many rulers and royalty opposed him, and created armies of their own. It was a long, nasty war, with far too many innocent deaths. Land was gained and lost, and two entire kingdoms were wiped out in a matter of months." He gestured out the window. "This place was one of the few places refugees could go and have no doubts they would be protected: a secret city run by the people, hidden inside a volcano. But after the war, people found they had nowhere to go, but no desire to keep living in the dark. So families moved outside, still near the volcano for safety, but enough outside that the secret city was revealed. And soon it became clear that this city was the only one strong enough to lead and had people strong enough to lead it. This is now the capital of Ecrya, all thanks to Elvira suggesting to hide in a volcano..." His voice trailed off at the last sentence, so that Myra could just barely make out what he was saying.

They began walking again down the long room. There had been a question that Myra had been dying to ask, and she didn't want to pry, but every Simon or someone would say the name "Elvira" it caught her attention. At first she thought it was some sort of goddess due to be way they were using it, but Simon had just referred to her like she was a real person. It didn't help that Elvira was her middle name. And so as causally as she could muster while being in a volcano, Myra nudged Simon as they walked. "I've been meaning to ask, where did my middle name come from?"