Ashely took a bite and grinned. “It’s a bit tough, but I’ve had worse.”
I took a bite and nodded my head. “I’ll do a better job next time.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself, you were distracted.” She squeezed my hand in reassurance.
“Thanks,” I squeezed back.
“Do you want to see the ruins today?” She asked with excitement in her voice.
“I’d like that very much,” I confirmed between bites. “Will you show me the way after breakfast?”
Ashley nodded her head with a smile as she chewed. It wasn’t long before we’d finished our lackluster breakfast and she was showing me the trail of moss that she’d laid down when she went exploring.
She took a few twists and turns that I’d never taken before, which led us to an exit into the forest that was wholly new to me.
The exit was covered in vines blocking my vision, but once I pushed them to the side, the view before me took my breath away.
Statues of the goddess had been carved into thetrees lining the path to a clearing. The priestess used to carve small figurines of the goddess out of wood for us children. I still had mine in my cave back home. These not only resembled what she’d given us, but they were almost exactly the same.
Ashley squeezed my hand and I was grateful to have her with me. I did not know what to make of this place, but having her here brought me comfort.
We continued on down the path into the ever present rain to a set of crumbling houses made of stone. They were constructed in a similar fashion to some of the houses in the valley, but these were more rustic, as if the builders were unskilled at their craft.
“You’re people came here three hundred years ago right? Do you think this could have been their first village?” Ashley asked, and she had a good point.
“It could be, but I’m not sure why none of our stories include this place. I thought we’d always lived in the valley.”
“Maybe it was too dangerous to live here. Maybe they didn’t want anyone to come back thinking it was a safe place to be,” she suggested.
“Maybe,” I agreed as we continued down the path.
We passed more houses, a large structure that looked like a dining hall with a place for a large cookfire, some gardens with vegetable plants that were still thriving, and an area that looked like a place for children to play.
I let my fingers linger on the climbing towerthat had been worn smooth from the small feet that had walked up the stairs over and over again.
This was a beautiful place to live. Whatever drove them away must have been something horrible. Maybe my brother shifters and I could defeat whatever creature lurks in this area and take this place back again.
“What’s that?” Ashley pointed at something shiny that sat at the very end of the trail. A rain cloud must have shifted in the sky, because suddenly I was being blinded by the reflection of the sunlight off this very strange, very shiny material.
“It’s...metal. What’s metal doing here?” she asked as she tugged me along while I held my hand over my eyes.
Metal was the word the humans gave for the material that made up their ship. I’d never seen it, but Drovo described it as a smooth dead material that did not call to him.
Thankfully, the clouds returned and I was able to take a good look at the small metal building that we were approaching.
I watched Ashley as she took in the sight of it. It was large, larger than any of the buildings here and it had rounded edges. Vines and plants had started to grow all around the object, giving away its age, along with some brown spots that Ashley called rust.
She ran her fingers along the metal as she inspected the outside of the dwelling. She circled the space around it and gasped as she made her way tothe back. I quickly joined her, ready to fight anything that she may have encountered, but she was not being attacked. She was pointing at an oddly shaped part of the building that stuck out of the side. The metal here was somehow even shinier.
“This is an engine. Well no, not an engine, it’s the, oh what’s the word? Exhaust! Exhaust pipes! Wait,” she ran back to the front and I followed her.
“This is a ship.”
“A ship?” I asked. “Like the one you came here on?”
“Yes! But this looks much older.”
What was a ship doing here? My people did not come to this place on a ship. We came here through a miracle of the goddess. This is the story that had been passed down to us from generation to generation.
