Ripka’s Contribution
We got off at the pier and walked along planks laid over the rocky ground until we came to a wall with a ladder leaning against it. Looking up, we could see the sky through an opening in the ceiling.
“Ripka, sorry, but could you go up and check if it’s safe?” Brother Gerald asked Ripka, who was perched on his shoulder. Ripka spread his wings and flew out of the cave.
After a while, he came back and perched on Atre’s back, and the two started communicating. According to Atre, there didn’t seem to be any living creatures nearby.
We passed this information on to the others, but just to be safe, the scouts climbed the ladder first, followed by several marines. Once it was confirmed safe, we climbed up too and exited the cave, finding ourselves in an area of hardened volcanic rock with some patches of grass growing here and there.
“There’s nothing distinctive around here. According to the map, it should be northeast, this way,” Bernard said, pulling out a compass and pointing in the direction after comparing it with the map.
We trekked over the rugged volcanic rocks until we reached a place where the rocks had collapsed. A scout climbed over the rubble and seemed to find something but quickly returned.
“There’s a hole up there, but there’s a blast of hot air coming out of it, so we couldn’t get close,” he reported.
Ripka, who had been on Brother Gerald’s shoulder, flew towards the collapsed rocks and disappeared from sight.
“Ripka!” Brother Gerald called out, but Ripka didn’t return.
“Brother Gerald, maybe Ripka went inside the hole?”
“In that hot wind?”
Ripka is a Fiamma, aligned with fire.
We discussed the possibility of his having a heat resistance skill.
“Let’s trust Ripka and wait,” I said, stopping Brother Gerald from climbing the rubble.
While I tried to calm the restless Brother Gerald, Ripka finally returned from the hole and landed on his shoulder. He had him perch on his arm.
“Ripka, you had us worried. Don’t do anything reckless,” Brother Gerald said, looking into his face.
Ripka rubbed his head against his cheek affectionately.
When I asked Atre what Ripka said, he explained, “It’s geothermal heat from underground lava.”
So even though it’s a dormant volcano, there’s a chance it could erupt again.
We explained what Ripka had seen to Miss Diana and the others.
“With such intense heat making it impossible to get close, I doubt there’s any treasure there that the pirates would stay silent about.”
“Miss, the location matches. We’ll just have to pressure the pirates until they talk,” Bernard replied.
“You’re right. Bernard, let’s end today’s investigation here and head back. It’ll be difficult to return if we stay too late,” Miss Diana decided.
Back at the Southcourt estate, we discussed everything before dinner with Grandmother.
“Hardt, you’re not hiding anything else Ripka saw, are you?”
“No, Ripka met Cherry’s companions and confirmed their safety.”
“I thought so. That must be the home of the fire fairies.”
Apparently, Ripka had to go quite deep to meet them, to a depth impossible for humans to reach.
Cherry had been caught by humans because, seeing the sky through a collapsed area, she got curious and went out, only to be unlucky and captured.
Fairies are known to be curious, so it was just bad timing. But Cherry said she got separated from her friends.
When I looked at Cherry, sitting on Grandmother’s shoulder, she quickly explained, “I went to see with a few friends. We should’ve stayed inside the cave, but I wanted to see the outside world and went out.”
“Don’t blame Cherry, Hardt. Now we know where the place is, and it’s good to know her friends are safe. When Cherry goes back, she’ll ride on Ripka to return to the old volcanic island. Gerald and Ripka, I’ll leave that to you.”
“I’m having a great time right now, so I’ll stay a bit longer. Thank you, Gerald, Hardt, for finding my friends and confirming their safety. Thank you, Ripka, for delivering the message,” Cherry said, flying over to me and Brother Gerald before returning to Grandmother’s shoulder.
“Grandmother, sooner or later the pirates will tell the navy about the fire fairies. Miss Diana or Bernard will probably want to speak to Cherry.”
“If that happens, Cherry can just say she doesn’t know the exact location. But since we were eager to visit the old volcanic island, they might have a rough idea.”
When the butler came to call us to dinner, we headed to the dining room where two brunet men with reddish hair were waiting. They seemed to be from Southcourt, but I wasn’t sure who they were.
What do you think about this chapter?
