No one knew where Fen and Bel might be, or even if they were alive or dead.
Dem quickly got out the Map. It showed very little outside the one path they needed to follow, and nothing of the course of the underground river beyond their current location.
“There’s probably another beach not far along, and next time, they’ll be ready to swim,” Dem said with all the hope in his heart.
“And maybe their new path will cross our path, and we’ll be together again!” Tir added.
Tik and Jin nodded, but remained silent.
“Okay, countdown,” Dem announced. “Dried mushrooms that get wet start molding in half a day, and are poisonous in about one day.”
“Or less,” Jin pointed out with a dark expression on her face.
Tik nodded, and everyone opened their soggy mushroom bags and started eating like it was their last meal.
They knew, from the Map, that their little beach sat on the edge of a large cavern. When they finally climbed to the top of the sandy slope and held glow-stones high, they were amazed to discover massive stalagmites, ten or fifteen feet across, that soared high above them, often connecting to thick stalactites above. All four travelers nearly fell over with dizziness as they struggled to glimpse the cavern ceiling, somewhere beyond the reach of their
NEBADOR Book Ten:Stories from Sonmatia 56
lights.
“Wow . . .” Tir breathed.
“I didn’t know they got this big!” Dem declared.
Jin felt overwhelmed and frowned.
Tik just smiled.
The walls of the huge cavern also quickly receded from view, both to their right and left, and the far wall was nowhere to be seen among the giant cave formations.
After looking in every possible direction, Dem focused on the right-hand wall of the cavern. “That wall’s closest to the river. Maybe we’ll find another beach, and there will be Fen and Bel, eating mushrooms.”
The others nodded, then forced themselves to take another bite of soggy fungus.
The journey through the great cavern, as close to the right-hand wall as they could go, turned out to be difficult and slow. Sometimes thick stalagmites almost formed impenetrable fences. In other places, stone draperies forced the travelers to go around, or belly-crawl underneath. In between those obstacles, slippery flowstones — where the cave formations had just spread out on the floor or a gentle slope — made walking and climbing dangerous.
After several hours of painfully-slow progress, they came to a small sandy area, but had seen no sign of the underground river, nor any tunnel that might lead to it.
Tir flopped onto the sand. “I am so tired! I am going to sleep a little. You can go on without me, or you can carry me. Good ni . . .”
Dem smiled. In a pinch, he could carry little Jin, but not his sister. Before giving in to sleep, he climbed to the top of the next rise and looked ahead. Tik silently joined him. Neither could see or hear any hint of the river that had carried away their friends.
They returned to the sandy place and joined the girls in dreamland.