The Underground River

"If the dragon is skilled with magic, then could these portals be his doing?" Stacy wondered.

"Perhaps, but I can't see why he should want to create such things. Also, my feeling is that they must be somehow linked to the depopulation of your worlf, Stacy, yet surely that would be beyond even the dragon's power?"

As they were talking, they had crossed the cavern and now began to walk down the passage on its far side. And "down" was the operative word, for it was descending steeply.

"If we want to get out, wouldn't a tunnel heading up be a better bet?" Stacy asked.

"It would. But we don't have any choice, since we have no other way we can go."

Then they heard the sound of running water, which gradually got louder. Soon they saw that an underground river some ten yards wide crossed their path. The dark water faintly reflected the seemingly ever-present phosphorescent glow of the rock walls. Their own tunnel resumed on the far side, but now going upwards. There was no path beside the river that would allow them to follow it, whether upstream or down.

"Are you a good swimmer?" Astra asked Stacy. "We can't tell how deep the water is, but it will probably be too deep to wade across. The current seems quite strong, and to be swept away by it would mean almost certain death. The water is likely to be bitterly cold, too."

1. "Yes, I'm a good swimmer," Stacy assured her, though she had a nagging doubt in her mind at to whether she was quite good enough.
2. "No, I can't swim," Stacy said. She wondered if Astra would leave her behind, seemingly with no alternative way out of that section of the cave system.

Add New Option

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree