Heart of Atlantis

Atlantis was always quiet in its illusion of night. Despite the fact that it was miles and miles under sea level, the dome did a decent job at mimicking the real day-night cycle. But some things failed to change with the digital skies- the temperature never dipped away from its humid stickiness, and there was no fresh breeze to whisk away the stench of a musky, muddy jungle.

Under the cover of darkness, figures made their way through a half-broken entrance on one side of the gate. The mimicked moonlight revealed it to be a pair of styracosaurus, one feathered and one spiked. The spiked one, larger and a hue of orange and pink, went forward first. The smaller one followed- yellow, dotted in black and white. 

Together, the two crept through the compound as quietly as they could. No guards seemed to be out, and the courtyard was lit well in the bright moonlight. Distant sound in one of the other buildings revealed the location of the Atlanteans- having a party, it seemed. Fools. The two herbivores made their way to one of the larger, more central ruins. Hyperion nudged his beak against a small, worn down pair of double doors. Made for human use, only the oviraptors could efficiently use them. Normally, they were locked from the outside- but they had an inside man (or, well, not a man).

The sound of a lock being picked was quiet in the night, but Solstice and Hyperion still stiffened. The door slowly creaked open, revealing Ignis, red and black feathers practically glowing and illuminated by the burning branch he held. Thanks to his cargo, the tapejara was in no position to talk (something the other two were thankful for). As quietly as possible, the two slipped inside- wincing at every bump and hiss of the door as they squeezed their way through.

Once on the other side, Solstice turned to Ignis. “Well?” He murmured lowly, still alert for any potential danger. “Did you scout ahead? Did you find the treasure? Are there any guards?” Ignis gave Solstice an unamused look, before carefully grabbing the branch in a claw. Hyperion eyed it nervously- human lighting had run out long ago, and the halls here had very small, rare windows. The fire was a dangerous weapon, but also their best advantage. Those down here lacked it- it was far too risky with the foliage around. But it let them creep through the darkest corridors without fear.

“Who do you think I am, an idiot?” Ignis snarked back. “The treasury is down that way. No one bothers to stand outside it at night- it is far too dark for any Atlantean to make their way down here. Of course.” He spun the fire around in a way that made Hyperion growl. “We don’t have that issue.” Ignis grinned.

“Lets hurry, then. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave before anyone notices the glowing fire.” Hyperion growled, nudging Solstice ahead. Ignis stuck the branch back in his mouth with a cackle before taking off into the air and guiding them down the long hallways. The styracosaurus almost had to trot to keep up with him- the sound being much louder than the other two would prefer, but they had little chance to comment. 

It took several minutes of wandering and backtracking before they managed to find their goal- Hyperion was starting to mutter unkind words under his breath by the time the tapejara settled in front of a large, unlocked doorway. The tapejara gave the duo a look that conveyed his smugness- Solstice scoffed and pushed his way past, taking the first steps into the vault.

The room was large and circular, with a large window on the roof casting light into the room. The glitter of moonlight mockery caught the shimmer of gold- all sorts of trinkets sprawled across the floor and carefully settled onto large, sturdy shelves. “Here we are.” Solstice grinned. “A room fit for a king.”

Hyperion dutifully stayed near the doorway, observing from a distance as the other two poked around. The room wasn't merely full of gold coins like some kind of human novel- instead, it was packed full of all kinds of other treasures. Gemstones, bags of rare and exotic seeds, potted plants, stacks of armor lain against the wall. Letting curiosity overwhelm him, Hyperion made his way over to a pile of some kind of gauntlets. Clearly made from metal with a dark red cape, it was easily large enough to fit most of the creatures found down here. Armor like this was clearly made by humans- why would they make armor for those down here and not him?

While Hyperion puzzled over the mystery of the armor, Solstice and Ignis explored the rest of the room. The yellow herbivore nudged at a pile of human jewelry with his horn- some broke under the light touch, and he snorted. “Too weak.” He huffed. “Not fit for a king. Is there anything useful here?” There had to be- the Atlanteans had been careful to keep the building well guarded - at least during the day. It had taken Ignis weeks to find a way around their careful security, and it had come on the night of a great feast. Many warriors were partying or resting from the wild festivities, leaving few to guard the building. So what was so important here?

Meanwhile, Ignis was poking around at the bags of seeds and the plants around the treasury. He scowled, resisting the urge to light them on fire- they had to find what they wanted first, after all. Ignis carefully hooked the branch onto what once may have been some kind of light holder, letting it burn out of chaos’s way. Further and further he crawled into the back of the room where more and more plants lay. Frustrated, he raised his claws to bat at them, only to pause as a familiar human structure suddenly was revealed from the foliage. Ignis quickly jumped up, landing in the open structure. A grin split his beak. “I think I found what we came for.”

Hyperion and Solstice made their way over, both of them suddenly stopping. There, in the still working incubator, lay eggs. Solstice stepped forward, carefully nudging at a few of the eggs with his horn. They were warm- full of life. Somehow, this human technology had survived- and it was keeping their future safe. “Hyperion. Ignis.” Solstice spoke coldly. “Grab what you can.” The Atlanteans had hid their eggs in the second most well guarded building, in an effort to protect them. Ah well. Finders, keepers.