Chapter 3

Oskar had sometimes tried to imagine what death was like. This was definitely not it. It was cold, wet and utterly devoid of light. And he hurt all over. Wait a minute! Cold, dark, painful... He was in the underworld! He had never truly believed in all theblather about the afterlife and such. All the misdeed he had everdone came pouring back into his mind. What was he going todo? If this was how he was to spend eternity...Something had his arms bound up as well. He tried to move,but he could not break loose. Something was crawling over him.He felt its cold tongue on his face. He thrashed and twisted,trying to break free. It was on him! He tried to scream, but nosound would come."Oskar... Oskar..." It whispered his name like some wicked wraith. He tried to turn his head, to shake loose from its coldkiss. "Oskar.. Wake up. You're safe..."He would not believe its lies. He thrashed and a groanescaped his lips."Open your eyes. You're all right. I'm here with you." Ared-orange glow filled his field of vision. The beast stoppedlicking his face, and the air around him grew warmer. The beast was trying a new tactic. "Come back to me. Wake up. Openyour eyes." The voice was feminine, almost appealling. He felt alight pressure on his chest. It was touching him, but the touch was not so disconcerting this time. Perhaps he would open hiseyes and see what torture eternity held in store for him. He hadto find out sooner or later.Opening his eyes was no mean feat. It was like loading heavy sacks onto a wagon, but with significant effort, he partedthe lids enough to see smoky light shining on a rough stoneceiling. Someone was leaning over him. Someone familiar..."Thank the gods you're awake. I don't know how long you've been unconscious, but it seems like days. I tried to keepyou warm, but everything got so wet when we fell. I..." The person kept talking, but Oskar was not listening.He was trying to remember.Falling... falling... falling.

He remembered falling, but not from where, or how ithad happened. What did he remember?He recalled the golorak coming after them. Thechamber with the seastone coffins. The battle with the serpent.He had raised his staff and tried to do... whatever it was he haddone back in Thandryll. And then nothing...He opened his eyes wider and tried to sit up, but a waveof nausea swept over him and he fell back. He groaned againand wished that he could have been dead after all. Living wasnot worth this."Once I was finally convinced you weren't going to die,I explored a little bit. Felt my way around, really. I didn't wantto use what few firesticks we had. I found bits of wood andsuch, and I was able to make a fire. It isn't much, but it gives alittle light and warmth. I had to use some of your parchment,Oskar, but I made certain it had no writing on it."He finally realized who was speaking."Khalyndryn?" he croaked. "Where are we. Where arethe others?" His mind no longer moved like cold molasses, andthoughts were coursing through his mind. Where were Shanis,Hierm, Larris and Allyn? Had they survived the battle with theserpent? They had heard the bellows of more than one golorak. Were any lurking nearby?"I don't know," she said, though the did not indicate which question she was answering. "Do you remember thefight?" He nodded. "Shanis took the stone sword off of thestatue in the center of the room, and something happened. Itlooke dlike the statue turned into a real sword, and she startedfighting the serpent with it. But when she took the sword, thestatue sank from sight, and the floor started sloping downtoward the hole where the statue had been. You fainted, orsomething, and I tried to hold on to you. But we fell."Khalyndryn had tried to save him? He remembered alittle bit more now. He was holding out his staff, trying to calldown the lightning again, but when Shanis touched the sword, ablinding flash of agony burst in his mind. Somehow the swordhad done it to him."I have no idea what happened to the others," shecontinued, her voice tempered by sadness. "I hope they arealive, but I do not know. We fell into deep water and were

carried a long way. I don't know how I found you, but wedrifted together, and I was able to keep your head above water. You float on your back quite well, by the way.""Thanks," he grumbled, trying again to sit up andmanaging to prop up on an elbow. "So, where are we now?""The water became shallow and I was abe to drag youonto this ledge. Our packs held up very well, being oilcloth andall. Our spare cloaks were dry, as were our food and firesticks. Ionly wish we had more. We left so many of our belongings upon the mountain above Murantha. I found one other pack. Ithink it is Allyn's. That gave us a little more food and a sparecloak. At the mention of food Oskar's stomach roared. "Canyou spare a little for me?""I think so," Khalyndryn said. "I haven't had anappetite. I did manage to warm some water. No tea,unfortunately, but warm water seems to take th chill off a bit."Oskar ate a small piece of cheese and a hard crust of stale bread, washing it down with a cup of hot water. He stillfelt worse than he'd ever felt in his life, but he was alive, andhopefully so were his friends."What do we do now?" He was surprised to hearhimself asking Khalyndryn such a question, but he was not inany condition to give make a decision on his own."This ledge continues as we move downstream. Isuppose we should go in that direction." She sighed and lookedaway into the darkness. "Hopefully we'll find a way out." Shedidn't say what would happen if they did not find an escapebefore their food ran out.For a fleeting moment Oskar imagined wandering alonein this abysmal darkness, buried beneath earth and stone, farfrom sun and sky. He shuddered."I hope you aren't taking a chill," Khalyndryn said,misunderstanding the reason for his trembling. "I know it's coldand damp down here, but I did the best I could for you..."He placed his finger on her lips, quieting her."Thank you, Khalyndryn, for taking care of me." Hersmile warmed his spirit, if not his body. She had never beenstrong or independent, but she had certainly been self-reliant