Brian Pratt - The unsuspecting mage

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 it.

Motioning for Miko to help him, he takes one end of the boat while Miko takes the other and together they gently lift it off the rack, setting it slowly upon the platform.

Miko leans close to James so he’ll be able to be heard over the thunder of the falls and asks, “Think it’ll float?”

“I sure hope so,” he replies. “I really don’t fancy getting in the water and swimming through that tunnel.”

“What do we do if it sinks?” Miko asks worriedly.

“Stay afloat and swim as best we can, I guess,” James says. “But the wood looks sound, even if it has been down here for a long time.” He whacks the side of the boat with his hand, showing Miko that it still has some strength and durability left in it.

Miko looks dubious, but holds his tongue.

James removes the two oars from the wall and places them inside the boat. Then he grabs his backpack and places it inside as well.

Miko follows suit and places his bags inside and then they slowly work the boat over to the edge of the platform. The end of the platform gently slopes downward until it is only a few inches from the top of the flowing water. James eases the boat into the water, all the while maintaining a firm hold to keep it from being pulled out onto the water and through the tunnel. He signals with a jerk of his head for Miko to get in.

Miko shouts “Don’t let go!” and climbs into the boat, sitting down in the rear of the two bench seats.

James concentrates on the glowing orb and it floats over and takes position at the stern of the boat. He looks at Miko and hollers, “Now, when I get in we’ll each take an oar, and use them to keep us away from the walls and anything else that may pop up in front of us.” James waits until Miko gives him a nod, indicating that he understands and then pushes the boat out and jumps in yelling, “Stay down and watch your head!”

The boat moves out from the platform a little as James settles into the front seat and takes an oar. Then the current grabs hold of them and shoots them toward the tunnel, picking up speed rapidly. They begin going faster and faster until they pass from the cavern and into the tunnel. The ceiling is only about six inches from the tops of their heads. James places the oar back into the bottom of the boat as he quickly realizes that if he were to use it against the sides of the tunnel, at the speed they are going, it would be ripped out of his hands.

They both scrunch down as far as they can and hold on for dear life. Luckily the current is keeping them a comfortable distance from the sides of the tunnel, so they have little worry about hitting it. The walls of the tunnel rush past in a blur and James can hear faint sounds coming from Miko but he’s not sure if he’s crying or laughing.

James is scared to death and loving every minute of it. This sure beats the hell out of any log ride I’ve ever been on! Letting out a cry of enjoyment, he grips the sides tightly and rides on. Rushing headlong into the unknown, the possibility of being killed at any moment, is an exhilarating rush for him.

From up ahead they begin to hear a change in the sound of the water, it’s getting slightly louder and the tunnel seems to be growing narrower, causing the boat to increase in speed. Fortunately the tunnel is still sufficiently wide to accommodate the boat. Then all of a sudden the ceiling of the tunnel opens up and the river suddenly goes over a steep, ten foot drop.

At the speed they are going, the boat flies out over the waterfall, becoming airborne. A scream of terror comes from the back of the boat as they sail through the air, but James dares not look back to see if Miko’s okay, for fear of falling out. Unable to contain his excitement, he lets out a scream of his own, “Yeeeeee Haaaaaa!”

Wham!

The boat slams against the surface of the water, almost knocking them out of the boat. James tries to regain his breath after it had been knocked out of him from when they hit the water. The boat slowly begins reducing speed as it floats upon the placid water. He looks around and realizes that they are upon an underground lake.