Chapter Fourteen:; Careful Now

Tobiah explained the plan as they prepared, filling a pair of knapsacks with supplies. Captain Dregg’s mountain of treasure did exist, literally, deep in the cave. It was a three mile hike through the caves, but the rough terrain would slow them down.

“Why so far?” Agnes asked, verging on whining.

“I told you Captain Dregg was greedy,” Tobiah said. “He was so paranoid that someone would steal his fortune, so every so often we made our way back here for a drop off. Even if someone were to snoop around, they would easily get lost or killed-”

“Killed?” Agnes was wide-eyed but Tobiah laughed.

“Not to worry,” he said. “I know these caves like the back of my hand. As long as you all stick with me you’ll be fine. And a bit richer for your troubles.”

Tobiah and Throp put out the fire, scattered the coals and ashes into the water, moved the circle of rocks and raked back the sand. Tobiah wanted the stretch of beach to look as though it hadn’t been disturbed since the last time the captain was there. The girls tidied the cave, putting lids back on crates and covering them with tarps. It wasn’t perfect - once the crates were opened the missing supplies would be obvious, but Tobiah wanted to at least attempt to cover his tracks.

He and Throp both carried knapsacks with fresh water and a bit of fruit, plus a tinderbox. Throp also carried a long length of rope coiled over his shoulder. He gave each of them a torch to carry and put out the rest. He gave one last look around and then headed deeper into the cave.

Throp never would have guessed the cave went any deeper than it appeared, but as they reached the back it narrowed into a passageway and turned off to the left. The light from their torches reflected off the rough cave walls, but just barely, enveloping them in a small oval of light. Throp found he had to keep his eyes to the ground to keep from tripping over the uneven surface. The princess discovered this too late, tripping on a rock and going forward. Tobiah caught her by the arm and jerked backward as her torch nearly singed his hair.

“Careful now,” Tobiah said, and even in the dim light Throp could see her face flush with embarrassment.

“Careful now!” said another voice behind them. They all turned, the princess nearly catching Tobiah’s hair again. Tobiah pulled his short knife from his belt sheath and Throp fumbled to retrieve the sword he carried.

“Show yourself!” Tobiah cried. There was the sound of fluttering and then he saw the gray, the flash of red tail feathers.

It was Captain Dregg’s parrot.

The parrot landed on the ground in front of them, just within their circle of light. Throp began to panic. If the bird was here, her owner must not be far behind. Tobiah must have had the same thought. Throp gripped the sword hilt more tightly, not even sure what a fight would be like inside this enclosed space.

“Message, Cleo?” Tobiah said. He kept his eyes fixed at the darkness behind the bird, as if expecting an attack at any moment.

“Rawk!” Cleo said, her screechy voice echoing a bit inside the cave passage. “Man the riggings! Abandon ship!”

“What does that mean?” Agnes asked.

“Either Dregg is on to us and this is a very elaborate trick,” Tobiah said, looking thoughtful. “Or something went wrong during the storm.” He shook his head. “There’s no way to be sure. But we should press on, quickly.”

He knelt down and extended his arm. Cleo hopped on and walked up to his shoulder. He handed his torch over to the princess, then dug in his knapsack and pulled out a long piece of twine. He tied one end around Cleo’s left leg and the other to his own wrist, giving her about three feet of leeway.

“We can’t have you flying back to the Captain and squawking on us, now can we?” he said to her. He gave her a bit of dried fruit from his sack, then took his torch back from Agnes and continued through the cavern, noticeably picking up his pace.

The cave narrowed further and for nearly an hour they had to walk in single file, Tobiah in the front and Throp in the back behind the princess. At one point the ceiling began to slant downward until they were all crouching. He could hear the princess taking slow deliberate breaths in front of him.

“Are you okay?” he whispered. “Do you need to rest?”

“No,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “I just… I suppose I didn’t expect to feel so uncomfortable in here.” She gave him a small, brave smile. “I definitely prefer being on the water.”

That makes one of us, Throp thought. He rather liked it inside the cave. The temperature was cool, but not unpleasantly so and once he got used to the uneven footing he found the cave to be the least unpleasant of all his travels so far. At the very least, nothing here was making him sick. They hit several forks in the passageway and at each one Tobiah pulled out a compass and consulted it before choosing the way. Throp thought he might have been exaggerating about how easy it would be to get lost in the cave, but now Throp felt certain that, left on his own, he would never make it back to the beach. He wondered if Nib, who was still hanging around the princess’s neck like a stole, would even be able to find his way out.

Finally the passageway widened until they were in a wide cavern. The princess looked visibly relieved but Throp found the huge cavern more unnerving than the confined passageway. In the passageway he could see the walls and the ceiling in his torchlight. The only pitch darkness was directly behind him and he didn’t have to look at it. But here their light barely reached the edges of the cavern, making it hard form him to tell just how large it was and making him feel as though something horrible could creep up on him at any moment. He raised his torch above him and saw clusters of stalagmites hanging from the ceiling. It certainly seemed less safe in here.

“Careful now!” Cleo said, her voice echoing throughout the cave. Tobiah gave her an annoyed look, then stopped and turned to the rest of them.

“Cleo’s not wrong, actually,” he said. “This part is a bit tricky.” He waved his torch in front of him, as if looking for something. Throp stepped forward and did the same. Directly in front of them the ground slanted downward, giving way to darkness that Throp’s torch light couldn’t penetrate.

“What now?” Tobiah stepped back and forth, waving his torch.

“Ah,” he said. “Right here.” Throp saw a thin ridge criss-crossing along the chasm. Tobiah adjusted his pack across his shoulder then stepped out onto the ridge.

“If you three could just follow me,” he said. “Step very carefully. It’s a nasty fall from up here and I know that from experience.”

They walked behind him, slowly, keeping their torches near their feet so they could be sure not to trip. Throp tried not to look beyond the ridge, where the ground slanted sharply and then disappeared.

It turned out to be only ten feet or so of ridge before they were back on completely solid ground. Tobiah leapt from the ridge and onto the ground, turning on his heel and giving a little mock bow. He reached out a hand to Agnes and helped her navigate the last bit of the ridge, then did the same for the princess. Throp felt relieved to be on solid ground again.

“Well done, all,” Tobiah said. “That was the most difficult bit, I’d say. It should be smooth sailing from here. Another hour and we’ll be where we need to.”

Throp didn’t know what happened next, whether Agnes tripped or the edge of the chasm gave way, but he heard a tiny squeak and a thud as she hit the sloped ground. He reached out instinctively, as did the princess, but Agnes was already gone, her scream starting out loud and getting quieter as she fell further. They looked over the edge and could see the tiniest dot of light from her torch, although Throp couldn’t see her.

“Agnes!” the princess cried. “Agnes!”

“Help!” Agnes cried. She sounded terrified and Throp just hoped she wasn’t hurt.

Tobiah was already shedding his knapsack. He pulled a single canteen from it and shoved it into his waistband. He took the compass from his pocket and pressed it into Throp’s hand.

“North at the next fork, West at the one after that,” he said.

“What?” the princess said. “You can’t leave us.”

“We won’t be able to get back up this way,” Tobiah said. “But I know a way around, it’ll be quicker and easier if you just meet us there.”

“But the rope,” the princess said. “We can pull her back up.”

“Not long enough,” Tobiah said, not even looking at her. “When you reach the third fork do not go any farther. Wait for us, do you understand?” Throp nodded and Tobiah took the coil of rope from around Throp’s shoulders and put it around his own. He untied Cleo’s string from his wrist and handed it to Throp, jerking Cleo off his shoulder. She flapped her wings in annoyance and landed on Throp’s forearm.

“You’ll have to wait a bit,” he said. “But you do have to wait. We’ll be along as soon as we can.”

And then he was gone. He dug his feet into the ground, sliding downward nearly on his back. It was easier to see now, as they watched his torch get smaller and smaller, that it wasn’t a straight drop into the chasm, but a long, steep hill that looked difficult to get down without injury and impossible to get back up.

“Help me!” Agnes cried again. They watched the dim blob of light move around toward the other blob of light and the two appeared to converge. The it bobbed around for a moment before stopping.

“She’s okay!” Tobiah called up, barely audible. “Go on, we’ll meet you as quickly as we can!”

They watched as the lights slowly moved to the left, then disappeared.

Throp and the princess looked at each other.

“What else can we do?” she asked, shrugging. Throp sighed and shook his head, wishing that just once things could be easy. At least Agnes was okay, and that was the important thing. Throp picked up the second knapsack and slung it over his shoulder.

“I can carry it,” she said. Throp shook his head.

“It’s no trouble,” he said. She looked slightly dejected, so Throp gave her the compass instead. It wasn’t just to make her feel useful. They would probably be better off if she lead the way.

He tied Cleo’s string to his wrist and urged her up to his shoulder. Her talons dug into his skin.

With one last look down into the chasm, they turned and made their way alone.