The Star of Morcyth_ Book Five of the Morcyth Saga - Brian S. Pratt [170]
“Hahahaha,” Miko breaks into uncontrollable laughter as James begins wiping his face clean with his arm.
“Well that didn’t accomplish anything,” he says, giving Miko an irritated look. No wall opened or anything.
Jiron moves to where the breeze is coming through and takes hold of the fissure and tries to pull and then push it open. “Maybe it wasn’t so much that you had to do it but rather to indicate where the door is.” Try as he might he can’t budge it.
“We’re missing something,” he says as he comes over and joins Jiron in attempting to open the door, if door it be.
From where Qyrll is standing, he hears him mumble, “Seven to nine, six to four.” Suddenly, the Parvati lets out with a laugh.
“What’s so funny?” asks Fifer.
“We’re thinking about this wrong,” he says. “It’s not seven to nine, it’s seven, two, nine. The four remaining blocks are supposed to go into the middle areas.”
“Worth a try,” says James. He moves over to where the four remaining cubes lay and picks them up. He puts two in the top center recess first, then the last two into the bottom. As soon as the last cube is placed within, each recess sinks down a quarter of an inch and a click can be heard coming from the wall with the fissure.
Turning back around to face the fissure, Jiron takes hold and pulls hard. On hinges groaning from centuries of accumulated rust, the fissure swings opens and reveals another narrow passage.
“Yes!” exclaims James in jubilation and he moves to enter. As he passes Qyrll he says, “Smart thinking.”
The Parvati simply nods in acknowledgement as James passes.
“So the Star is down here?” Dave asks, looking into the dark opening.
“I would think so,” replies James. “All the sections of the prophecy have been utilized, but you never know.” Taking the lead, James moves into the passage, the orb lighting the way.
The passage leads further into the mountain for another hundred feet or so before opening onto another underground cavern. This one here is reminiscent of the ones they found when working their way beneath the Merchant’s Pass. Stalactites and stalagmites, as well as the continuous dripping of water creates an eerie atmosphere. The shadows cast by the orb as James moves through gives an otherworldly feel to the place.
“Just like the Shasta Caverns,” whispers Dave.
James grins at the memory of when Dave’s family had taken him on their trip north that one year and they stopped at the Caverns. “It is a little,” he agrees.
A flow of water runs along the bottom of the cavern. It enters from a hole in the wall on one side and continues to follow the length of the cavern. Though not very deep, James can see how this little stream could have carved out this cavern over the course of a millennium.
The antagonism between Dave and Jiron seems to have been subdued with the discovery of this secret area. They are more interested in what it may hold than the enmity they hold for each other.
They follow the stream through the cavern. The cavern not being very wide, the orb is able to illuminate both sides as they make their way through. So far there has been no other way to go but forward.
After another couple hundred feet of following the stream, the floor of the cavern becomes less smooth and more broken. The sound of the water increases as it flows over the uneven surface.
As they continue through the cavern, the streambed begins sinking further into the floor of the cavern from where the water has eroded the stone away. Finally, they reach the other side of the cavern. A large jagged opening, encompassing part of the cavern wall and floor allows the water to flow from the room. The sound of the water falling over a precipice can be heard coming from somewhere on the other side.
Back a ways from the opening where the water is escaping, a section of the wall has been smoothed. An arched door sits within it. No handle or any other discernable