haven’t seen any other passages we could possibly have taken.”
Miko gives him a defiant look and stands his ground.
“Okay scardy pants,” James says mockingly, “I’ll try it first. If it will hold up for me it should hold up for you.”
“But what will I do if you fall and die?” Miko asks. With a wild look on his face he shouts, “I’ll be trapped here!”
Coming over to where he’s standing, shaking slightly in fear at being alone here, James tries to calm him. “Look, I won’t ever leave you like that, but someone has to go first and see if it is safe.”
Miko gives him a look that could only be called pitiful, but nods his head. “Alright,” he says in barely a whisper.
James casts a short spell and the orb floats up and hovers above and a little behind his left shoulder, following him as he moves. He walks over to the bridge and takes hold of the single rope handrail on the right, the one on the left had long since fallen off. He places his left foot gingerly on the first board as far to the edge as he can and slowly eases his weight onto it. When the board is supporting his entire weight, he turns and looks over at Miko and says, “See, it’s going to hold.” Then he takes his right foot and places it on the next board.
Slowly, he repeats the process, board by board, until he gets about mid span. Suddenly, a board breaks in two from his weight, causing him to lose his balance as his foot goes through.
“James!” Miko screams from where he’s watching.
He catches himself on the handrail and is able to prevent himself from falling. Turning slightly, he waves back to Miko letting him know he’s fine.
Once his nerves settle down and his heart stops racing, he steps over the broken board and then tests the next board before trusting it with his weight. He’s relieved when the board holds firm and then continues on as he tests each and every board until finally making it to the other side.
Once safely on the cavern floor, he hollers over to Miko, “I made it!” made it…made it…made it, his voice echoes throughout the cavern. “I’m sending the orb back so you can use it during your crossing.” crossing… crossing…crossing… Concentrating, he makes the orb float across the chasm to Miko. He has the orb settle over Miko’s left shoulder and keeps it there.
“Okay, now it’s your turn,” turn…turn…turn… he hollers over to Miko. “Just keep your feet to the edge of the boards and they will hold your weight better.” better…better…better…
He watches as Miko approaches the edge of the bridge and hesitantly sets his foot on the first board. When he realizes it will hold his weight, he moves his other foot cautiously to the next, making sure to keep his feet as far to the edge of the board as possible. Both hands clutch the handrail in a grip only fear of imminent death could produce.
Slowly, board by board he makes his way across the bridge. Upon reaching a board that doesn’t look as if it will hold his weight, he steps over it and places his foot on the following board. It’s a stretch, but he makes it with no problem.
When he’s about a third of the way across, he places his foot on a board and hears a loud cracking noise as soon as his weight settles upon it. Realizing the board is about to break, he takes his foot off the board and pauses on the bridge. The board after the one that was cracking is broken as well, only half of it remains. Now he’s faced with a gap of two boards, he looks at it wide-eyed, paralyzed with fear.
Seeing Miko stop, James hollers out to him, “Come on Miko, it’s not much further.” further…further… further…
“The next board is cracking,” he hollers over to James, “and the one after that is broken in two. I can’t make it!” it…it…it…
“Yes you can, just calm down,” James says trying to reassure him. “Put your feet on the side beneath the handrail and scoot your way down to the next board!” board…board…board…
Working up his nerve, Miko does what James advises and places one of his feet on the side, then the other. Sliding slowly, he makes his way past the board that’s cracking and then past where the next one is broken in two. When he’s close enough to the next good board, he cautiously sets a foot on it and sighs with relief when it holds his weight. Once again he slowly makes his way across the bridge, one board at a time.
It seems an agonizingly slow time, but he eventually makes it to the other side where James stretches out his hand, helping him the last few feet.
“Great job,” he says, patting Miko on the back. “I knew you could do it!”
Miko’s knees begin to shake and he all but collapses on the ground before falling over.
“I guess now would be a good time for a rest break,” James says as he opens a bag searching for food. When the bag containing the food comes up empty, he realizes they gave all their food to the families last night. “Uh, oh,” he groans.
Miko turns his head and looks at him, “What?”
“We’re out of food,” James tells him.
He wraps his arms around his legs, rests his head on his upraised knees and groans, “Great! Now we’re going to starve to death.”
Giving him a look of annoyance, James says, “You know, you’re awfully negative sometimes. We are not going to starve to death, it takes days for that to happen and we should be out of here by then or at least found something to eat.”
Miko just looks at him for a second then stretches out and lays on the ground, not saying anything.
James allows him to rest for a few minutes to calm his shaky nerves before getting him up and pressing onward.
The cavern continues past the chasm for another hundred feet until it begins to narrow and ultimately end at another passage that had been carved out of the rock. This new passage is as narrow as the previous one and the sides are wet with water that seeps through cracks in the rocks. The floor of the passage has a thin coating of algae which makes for a slippery surface.
As they follow the passage, the water that’s seeping through the cracks slowly begins to create a small flow running along one side of the passage bottom. It continues to grow until the passage abruptly comes to an end where the water flows over the edge and down toward an unseen bottom. They have come to another subterranean cavern. How big it is and how far from the bottom they are is uncertain as the orb’s light fails to illuminate the cavern in its entirety.
The drop-off before them extends almost vertically downward to an unknown depth. Standing at the opening they feel a slight breeze blowing from the cavern and into their passage. A narrow flight of steps has been carved out of the side of the cavern and descends into the darkness below.
“Wonder what’s down there?” James asks. Placing one foot onto the uppermost step, he holds the glowing orb out as far as he can. The light doesn’t illuminate very far and all they can see are the narrow steps disappearing into the darkness below.
“I don’t know,” Miko replies. “I hope we can get out of here soon.”
“I’d like that too,” James agrees. “Be careful, the steps may be slippery.” He takes another step and begins descending the steps, being careful as the water flowing from the passage cascades over the first six before moving off.
They don’t descend very far before they notice the sound of a distant waterfall coming from somewhere below. Soon after that, mist begins to float upon the air. The further they descend, the louder it becomes until when they finally reach the bottom of the steps, the sound is practically deafening. They are unable to see where the sound is originating from as the light from the orb doesn’t extend quite that far. The stairs end at a stone platform that has been carved out of the wall of the cavern.
Upon the stone platform, sitting on a wooden rack is a small boat that looks as if it could seat four people comfortably. Mounted on the wall next to the boat are two oars resting on several pegs. At the edge of the platform flows a fast moving underground river. It disappears through a wide tunnel in the wall, whose ceiling seems barely high enough to allow adequate clearance for the boat let alone any passengers.
Upstream to the left, they hear the crash of the mighty waterfall as it plummets down, forming the river somewhere out in the dark. The mist from the waterfall fills the cavern, leaving everything slightly damp.
“Looks like we ride from here,” James says as he drops his backpack on the platform and goes over to inspect the boat. He takes a second to try and figure the best way to remove it from the wooden rack without wrecking
