"I feel bad for Starflight." I say to Fatespeaker as I ride on her neck as we fly high above the rivers of fire on the black lands below. "It sounds to me like he has a bunch of fake friends." I tell her as I see Starflight flying just a little above us. I looked down at the others who had preferred to stay in Fatespeaker's claws, I was the only one fine with riding on her neck.

"What do you mean?"

"Fake friends are people who pretend to be friends with you, but don't actually, just using you for their own gain. It sounds like when Starflight was brought here, his friends kind of just assumed he betrayed them and ran off."

"That's awful..." she whispered to me, but she noticed Starflight leaning his ear closer to listen to what we were talking about.

"So what do you know about this place?" I ask her, changing the subject.

"Not much, just that this used to be where Nightwings would go to school before it was abandoned, and that everyone had to go and move to the ones further inland when that part of the island sank. I wonder what it would have been like to see it when it wasn't abandoned, my visions tell me it was beautiful and shiny."

"Sorry to say this, but it really doesn't seem so shiny anymore." I said as I pointed to the dark grey mass on the ground, it looked like it may have been a mighty structure, once, now it was a dark and ruined place. As we landed, the smell of sulfur got stronger as running alongside was a waterfall of fire descending into the orange ocean below. "How quaint." I murmured as I slid off of Fatespeaker's scales. "Thanks for taking care of us, I'm in your debt, Fatespeaker." I said as me and Fatespeaker put our foreheads together.

"Don't worry, I'll come back for you." She said as she nuzzled into me further.

"Thank you, thanks for everything, Fatespeaker. I really hope this isn't the last we see each other."

"Yeah, me too, it was nice having a real friend." She sighed with a faint frown on her face. She started to pull her head back but stopped when I spoke up.

"Keep good care of Starflight, okay?" I said with a wink.

She blushed. "Of course River, I'll see you tomorrow. And don't worry. I had a vision where you guys are going to find lots of treasure!"

I chuckled. "I hope your vision is right, bye Fatespeaker! Bye Starflight!"

Both of them waved their goodbyes before both of them flew into the distance and disappeared into the clouds.

I looked back to my group, all looking at me before we all turned to look at the massive ruins ahead.

"It seems most of the building is completely submerged in lava, there's a big chance the library went with it." Pebble muttered aloud.

"There's still a chance now, come on, let's go." I said as I took the lead and motioned for them all to follow.

I heard a series of mutters and grumbles behind me but it wasn't long after where I heard the sound of more footsteps following me.

***

It's dark, how are we supposed to see anything?" Palm asked as we walked into the tunnel leading deeper into the building, although it wasn't pitch dark, there was barely any light except the few cracks in the wall letting the lava's light shine through.

"I got that covered." Pebble said as he suddenly stretched his hand out to one of the cracks.

"Pebbles-" I protested but lava was already squeezing through the cracks and floating towards his hand.

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"Relax, I got this." His breath was hitched and he was panting, but I didn't see any trace of blood leaking from yet as he then shot the lava out to the side of one of the walls, illuminating the rest of the dark hallway.

"Thank you." Toucan said as he started walking again but I glared back at Pebble.

"That was too risky, Pebble, we need to limit the use of your power, we still don't know how it works but it clearly is dangerous, to you as well." I say sternly as I put a hand on his shoulder.

He shook my hand off before grunting. "Let's not lag behind the others." Was all he said before moving forward again.

I sighed angrily before following him as we descended deeper into the hallway, before eventually finding a large set of dragon-sized doors to a room, it was labelled, 'Library.'

"You guys can read that too, right?" Palm asked everyone.

"If this was a dragon school, yet the language is human, what can it mean?" Toucan thought aloud.

"It means we're getting close." I say as I start to flatten myself against the floor so I can sneak under the giant doors.

"Wait, we don't know what's under there." Palm said.

"That's the point though, we need to find out." Pebble responded as he gave me a nod.

I quickly slid myself under before quickly standing up and aiming my crossbow. I took a quick scan, the room must have been gigantic, maybe as big as the entire village of Sunset's Watch. There were large pillar-like rows, each of them containing tens or hundreds of untouched scrolls. At the corners of the ceilings though were cobwebs, and what seemed to be staring back at me was eight pitch-black beady eyes staring back at me in the shadows.

"Wolf Arachni." I whispered back to the others while aiming my crossbow at it.

"Don't hurt it." Palm spoke up as she slid under the door and stood next to me.

"But-"

"Calm down, I got this." Palm said as she walked in front of me and grabbed her flute from before, and started playing a tune.

The tune was high and low and beautiful yet ugly.

The spider slowly approached, the large creature not making a sound as each of its hairy legs made contact with the floor, it was a large one about twelve feet tall, but the eyes were glued to Palm.

I opened my mouth to say something but I wouldn't dare draw that thing's attention to me on purpose, but I did shiver as I looked at it, the creature was almost pitch black with only two streaks of bright orange to match the lava outside.

It lets out a small chitter as it responds to the flute before bending it's head to palm and letting her pet it. Palm then turned back to me and motioned for me to come.

I shook my head.

"Come on."

"No."

"River-"

"That right there is a giant spider, no way am I-"

"I will tell it to go and-"

"Fine, I'm on my way." I sigh as I take hesitant steps closer to the creature before Palm grabs me and puts my hand to the giant spider's head.

My eyes were wide and I may have been silent but internally I was screaming.

'I can still hear you, y'know?" palm chuckled.

I internally screamed louder.

She eventually lightly pushed the spider back before playing something else on her flute.

The spider left and started to go to one of the giant torches on the wall, before there was a sudden loud pop, and a foul smell, but the torch was lit.

"What just happened?" I asked Palm.

"I always thought insects like these were just myths but... wow..."

"What is it?"

"It's a Firespitter Arachni."

"They can breathe fire?"

"It's a little more complicated than that." She explained as more spiders crawled out from the shadows, and more torches were lit.

"Are the gonna-"

"No, guys, it's safe to go through now!" She called to the rest before they slid themselves under the doors.

"This isn't creepy at all." Pebble muttered sarcastically as one of the spiders came up to us with a torch in it's large fangs.

"Hasn't she done this before with the snakes?" Toucan asked as if this was an everyday commodity.

"Well yeah, but this is different." Pebble claimed.

"Is it? Is it really?

"Well-well... I mean-" Pebble stutters before we all follow the spider. He sighs but shivers like me as we follow the giant eight-legged creature.

"They won't attack us, right?" I ask.

"Palm's have a special way with animals." Toucan explains with a smirk as she walks while leaning on her shoulder.

"I thought you could only read their minds?"

"That is my ability, but after learning how different animals react to different sounds with my flute..." She trailed off.

"So you can communicate with them." Pebble thought aloud.

"Yeah, and now..." One of the spiders came down after pulling out a large dragon scroll with 'The History of Pyrrhia' labeled on it, before placing it ahead of us. "It's gonna be a lot easier reading those scrolls.

***

I had gone back and waited for Fatespeaker to return, the occasional grumbling of the lava-spewing mountains which I had read are called volcanoes didn't exactly comfort me, especially when I learned that they could spit lava everywhere and erupt. It was quiet, there was no one around, even the spiders had left me alone, there was no sound coming from anyone else, leaving me to my thoughts. It was loud, the waves of fire churning and hissing as it rolled across the rocks on the coast, and the occasional rumbling coming from the rocks above as the ruin sunk deeper into the ocean of fire. I just waited, but Fatespeaker never came. We were stranded here, so the only way now was forward.