Chapter 3
Barbara noticed quickly that the air inside the tomb was cooler. That, along with the lack of any significant air movement once they moved further away from the dragon’s mouth opening, confirmed that the way they had just come in was most likely the only way in. Hopefully, that meant that she had beaten Clavell here.
Of course, the fact that the tomb had a light source gave her pause. Either opening the door triggered something which lit the torches, which was not out of the realm of possibility, or else someone else had been through here recently.
“Penny for your thought,” said Demond, lingering a bit too near for Barbara’s taste.
“Thoughts cost a penny, huh? How much would it cost to shut you up?” she replied.
“Oo, you’re a feisty one,” he said, smiling approvingly. “I like that in a woman.”
“And you’re busy running your mouth rather than watching and listening for possible threats,” she replied. “I despise that in an agent.”
He took the hint and dropped the conversation.
They came to an apparent dead end. Babs set to work inspecting the surface of what was apparently a bare wall.
“So, what exactly are you loo—“ began DeCourte. A glare from Barbara caused him to lapse back into his silence.
Her fingers traced along the surface noticing every line, crack, bump, and crevice. Finally, she found what she was searching for. A line that was a touch too straight and which completed a circuit. Pushing there, she stepped back and admired her own handiwork as the wall slid away revealing the path continuing on the other side and leading to a staircase.
As they continued along, they came to an open and rather unfinished area.
“Seems their construction budget ran a bit shy of the mark, eh?” asked Demond, huffing a bit from all the hiking they’d done to get to this point.
“If the rest of your body ran as much as your mouth does,” Babs responded, “you might be in better shape. And with that, she started forward.
Demond followed and they both stopped short as they came to a chasm that spanned the open area and had only a thin bridge of rock and soil spanning it.
“That looks a touch precarious,” offered Demond.
“If you’re scared, you can always turn back,” offered Babs.
“No, no,” he replied. “I was just thinking I’d better go first to ensure that it is stable and won’t collapse on us.”
“Ah, so much for chivalry and ‘ladies first’ then?” she retorted.
“
Safety first,” he replied with a nod. “This is my chance to be your gallant knight in shining armor and repay your kindness in getting the door for me so many WHOA!" and at that moment, the ground began crumbling beneath his feet.
“Jump for it!” Barbara called to him, even as half of the bridge fell completely away.
Jumping forward, Demond managed to reach the other side…and Babs was stranded on the opposite end.
“You could just wait there,” Demond called playfully, “and you’ll have a great view of me leaving with the Fist.”
“If I had a head start like that,” replied Babs, analyzing her surroundings and options, “I wouldn’t waste it taunting my more skillful opponent.” She then began searching her side of the cliff even as DeCourte headed off in search of the Fist.
Surely that bridge was not the only route. Given its historical context, it seemed like an obvious ploy set up to collapse when an armored adversary would have attempted to cross it. Scanning the surface between the ledges, she noticed a rise to one side.
Therefore, she should be able to find an opening to an alternate route along that wall…*click* and the wall moved away to reveal a small room with nothing more than a dive pool.
With a resigned sigh, Babs began donning her diving gear while grumbling, “I hate diving.”
Plunging into the pool, she found that it went straight down like an ordinary well. However, upon further inspection, she found a spot within the rock walls of the pool that seemed to be a crack. With a bit of wriggling, she was able to get through it and into the aquatic tunnel it revealed.
Now swimming through an enclosed space, one thought kept running through Agent Pleasant-Mithrilen's head: "I hate diving."
