Legends of the Dragonrealm, Vol II - By Richard A. Knaak Page 0,306

the birds, he finished in his head. There was no need to tell the others what they already knew.

Rayke had already pulled out a small glow-crystal from one of the pouches on his belt. The tiny crystal worked better than a torch when it came to producing light. Each member of the party had one. Faunon retrieved his own, and the two elves started forward. Rayke already had his sword handy, and Faunon followed suit as they stepped into the cave.

It had definitely been hollowed out by other than natural means, he saw. The walls were too smooth, the floor too flat. That was both encouraging and worrisome. It meant the tunnel system probably did go where he believed it did, but it also meant that they were more likely to run into trouble if anyone or anything was still using the cave.

There were a few tracks on the ground, mostly those of animals. The spoors were all old, so he did not fear that they would surprise a bear or young drake at some point. If they had, it would have informed him of one fact, that searching the cave was of no use. The avians would never let a wild animal take up residence in one of their active passages.

“We are heading earthward,” Rayke commented. The mouth of the cave was already an uncomfortable distance behind them.

Faunon held the glow-crystal before him and verified his companion’s words. They were heading into the earth. He suspected he had been wrong after all. The birds tended to dig upward, toward the sky they loved so, rather than down. Why would…? He smiled at his own stupidity. “This might not be the birds’ work.”

“Quel?” Rayke had evidently picked up on the notion at the same time as he had.

“They did control this domain at one time.”

“Quel, then.”

Both elves grew more relaxed. If this was indeed a Quel-made tunnel, they had little to fear from its builders. The only Quel still active were those existing in the region of the southwestern peninsula… if they had not suffered the same disaster as the birds had. For all Faunon knew, the Quel had finally passed the way of the previous masters of this world.

Again, he wondered who the new masters of the realm would be. Why could it not be the elves? Why did his people sit back and let others rule?

He knew he must have said something out loud, for Rayke turned to him and asked, “What was that?”

“Nothing.”

“We are going to be out of sight of the entrance in a moment if we keep heading down and to the left like we are doing.”

Faunon saw that it was true. He was tempted to turn back, but decided that they might as well go a little farther. A tiny feeling nagged at his mind, as if he were just sensing the fringe of something. When the elf tried to concentrate on it, however, it almost seemed to pull away to a place just beyond his ability to reach.

The tunnel, he decided, though the explanation did not suit him. It is all this earth around us. Tunnels were for dwarves, assuming any still existed, not elves. Elves enjoyed sunshine, trees, and—

“Water!” Rayke snarled, turning the word into an epithet. He had good reason to do so, Faunon thought as he, too, gazed at the sight before them.

The passage dipped farther down… but the rest of it was submerged beneath a vast pool of water as inky as a moonless, starless night. It almost looked as if someone had purposely filled the tunnel up at this point.

“That ends it, Faunon.” The other elf started to turn.

“Wait.” Faunon was all for departing as well, but he wanted to get a closer look at the pool. With the crystal before him, he stalked over to the edge and knelt. His face and form were reflected back at him, ghoulish parodies of the original. Even this close, he could see nothing beneath the surface. Faunon was tempted to drop the glow-crystal into the pool and watch its descent, but the unreasonable fear that he would disturb something best left not disturbed made him pause.

“You will not see anything! I can tell that from here. Why do you not just—”

Sleek, leathery hands rose from the pool and clawed at Faunon’s throat.

“Get back!” Rayke rushed forward, his blade extended toward the water.

Faunon lost his grip on the glow-crystal and it plummeted through the water, momentarily illuminating the world beneath. He