The Lost Library of Cormanthy - Mel Odom [123]
*****
Baylee felt the pull of a trip cord before he saw it. "Get down!" he roared over the creak of a spring loosing. A huge stone block pulled free of the nearby wall and slammed against the wall on the other side of the trail. It burst into a shower of rock, leaving only the thick pole that it had been tied to.
Pushing himself to his feet, the ranger regained his lantern from the ground and took stock of the situation behind him. Cordyan was next in line, shaken but still grimly in control of the watch unit.
The trail continued to wind down deeper into the earth. At times it picked up even older tunnels than the ones they had traveled through from the well, telling Baylee that Glitterwing's library had been laid where much of the work had already been done.
From the tailings he'd found in several of the areas, he now knew the system of underground caverns had been a mining operation for metals. In a few places, he'd even found iron railings where mine carts had been. A few of the mine carts were even in the corners of some caverns.
Another quake hit the caverns, this one stronger even than the last.
"This is not a natural occurrence," Civva Cthulad said. "Someone is causing this."
"Or something," one of the Waterdhavian Watch members muttered further back in the line.
"How much farther?" Cordyan asked Baylee.
The ranger shrugged as he turned a corner ahead. "We're more than halfway according to the map, that's all I can say. Distances are not recorded." Sweat poured down him. The gnomish workman's leather armor
was hot in the underground environment. He tightened the cinches on his gloves.
As he rounded the next corner on the narrow trail, a feeling of vertigo assailed him. Ahead, the land suddenly sheared away, racing down to a black emptiness so far below Baylee really doubted there might be a bottom at all. The trail continued against one wall, barely three feet wide.
"Tighten up your men," the ranger said to Cordyan, "and get me some rope."
"What are you going to do?" the watch officer asked. She reached into the backpack of the nearest man and took out a coil of rope.
"I'm going to run a line to the other side," Baylee answered, taking the rope she offered. "If another quake hits while we're scattered across the middle of that, I don't want to risk losing any of the men."
"You didn't even want them along," Cordyan said.
"Yes, and this is one of the reasons why," Baylee said. "I could have come alone or with Cthulad and mapped these areas, then set up a proper expedition. I didn't get to do that, but I'm not going to allow those men's lives to be thrown away."
"You make this sound like I had a choice in the matter," Cordyan said. "Don't you think anyone else can feel as deeply driven to do their duty as you obviously feel you are to do yours?"
"That's not the point at all."
"That's exactly the point as I see it."
Baylee blew out his breath and finished tying the extra rope around his waist. "This is hardly the place for such a discussion."
Xuxa telepathically agreed, then chirped in angry frustration. Now is not the time to get caught up in other thinking, the azmyth bat counseled.
Tell her that, Baylee said.
I believe I just told you both.
The ranger ignored the retort and started out on the narrow trail. He kept his long sword unsheathed in his hand. He guessed the distance to be something over forty feet.
At the other end, he selected a stone that appeared strong enough to take the weight if any of the Watch members fell over the side. He cupped his hands and shouted back at Cordyan. "Have the men tie on, then start them across. Ten feet apart."
The watch lieutenant was staring at her sword. In the dimness, even across the distance, Baylee saw a circular glow in the sword hilt.
The ranger sensed rather than heard the movement behind him. But he was too late to do more than avoid the bulk of the blow. He saw the grinning drow face, followed by two others as they filled the open mouth of the next cavern. Knocked off-balance, Baylee fell over the side into the