"You have the smoke grenades?" Trask asked.
"I was getting to them." Tanu pulled out small glass bulbs full of purple fluid. "This liquid turns to smoke when exposed to air. The vapors will smell nasty to us but much worse to creatures with more highly developed olfactory senses. Like dragons, for example. The fumes should basically blind their noses. Trask and I will take charge of these grenades."
"Call back Mendigo," Trask prompted Seth.
"Mendigo!" Seth cried. "Return to us!"
"I can turn two of us into giants," Tanu said, holding up a pair of crystal vials. "I vote for Trask and Dougan, our two most tested fighters. Any objections?"
"Makes sense to me," Gavin agreed.
Trask nodded and accepted a vial. Dougan claimed the other. "Let's get ready to move out," Trask said. He picked up his heavy crossbow and a large oval shield that covered more than half of his body.
"Mendigo, take the big sword," Seth ordered as the man-sized puppet joined them.
Mendgio picked it up, staggering for a moment before balancing the preposterous weapon against his wooden shoulder. Tanu pulled on a heavy shirt of overlapping metal rings and strapped on a sword. Dougan seized his battle-ax. Gavin and Mara each lifted a spear. Seth buckled a sword around his waist and claimed a crossbow. He handed Kendra a sizable knife in a sheath.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" Kendra asked, pulling the knife out.
"Stab," Seth suggested.
Kendra sheathed the knife and opened the knapsack. "We're going in," she called down.
"Good luck," Warren responded from below, his voice hoarse.
"If we see a dragon, let me try to talk first," Gavin advised. "I may be able to negotiate or trick it. If nothing else, I should be able to calm it."
"You'll get your chance to talk," Trask said. "Meanwhile, I'll be aiming."
As they marched towatd the entrance and the stone dragons, Seth drew his sword. The weight felt comforting in his hand. He envisioned himself slashing a dragon across the snout.
Walking beside him, Kendra leaned over. "We should stay close in case of dragons."
"Right." He had almost let himself forget how Nafia had muddled his mind. He supposed he could cling to Kendra with one hand and wield the sword with the other.
They passed between the granite dragons and into the shadow of the high, arched roof. Several dragonflies flitted through the air. Nothing decorated the ground or the walls but the natural stone and dirt of the ravine. Trask led the way, crossbow held ready. Next came Gavin and Tanu. Mendigo strolled beside Kendra and Seth. Dougan and Mata had the reat.
Up ahead, the ravine curved. Just prior to the curve, the ground fell away almost vertically for roughly thirty feet. The precipice stretched from one wall of the ravine to the other.
"Rope," Trask said.
Gavin disappeared into the knapsack.
Edging forward, Seth peered over the brink. The smooth slope was not quite ninety degrees, but it might have been eighty.
Gavin emerged from the knapsack with a sturdy length of knotted rope. Dougan fastened one end around a tall boulder and tossed the coil off the edge. The rope reached the base of the slope with several feet to spare.
Slinging his crossbow over his shoulder, Trask picked up the rope. "If you lean away from the wall," he instructed Seth and Kendra in a low voice, "you can walk down. Or if you prefer, you can descend from knot to knot with your hands and feet."
Leaning away from the precipice, trusting the rope, Trask began walking backward. Keeping his body perpendicular to the slope, step by step, hand over hand, he walked confidently to the ground. Gavin hurried down next in similar fashion, followed by Tanu.
Copying their technique, Seth grabbed the rope and leaned out over the drop. Part of him wanted to embrace the rope and descend knot to knot, but once he started walking backwards, he could feel how his grip on the rope kept his feet planted against the slope, and realized that this way was superior.
When Seth reached the bottom, he glanced over at Gavin, eying the silver chain around his neck. It would be a shame to let such a remarkable object go to waste.
Seth pulled Gavin aside. "Level with me. Are you interested in my sister?"
"I'm not sute this is the t-t-time to get into that," Gavin responded, eyes straying to the top of the steep slope.
Seth fingered his own silver collar. "Seems like the pet-feet time."
"Since when are you a matchmaker?"
"I'm just curious."
Gavin flushed a little. "If you must know, yes, I am very interested in Kendra. I can't wait to see where our relationship goes."
"I thought so," Seth replied smugly. "For the record, I think she likes you, too."
Growing tedder, Gavin statted distancing himself. "She'll come down any minute. We can talk more later."
Seth looked up, waiting for Kendra. Mendigo descended one-handed, clutching the enotmous sword in the other, releasing and grabbing the rope at such a pace that he was practically running backwards. Mara came down next with the knapsack. While Dougan worked his way down, Kendra emerged from the knapsack.
"You cheated," Seth whispered.
"Dragons and hydras are stressful enough," she replied. "I think somebody has a crush on you," Seth mentioned casually.
Kendra's eyes widened. "You didn't say anything to him?"
Seth shrugged. "He didn't get strangled. I think he's got it bad."
Kendra grabbed Seth's arm tightly. Was there a flicker of excitement in her gaze? It took her a moment to find words. "Don't talk to boys about me. Ever. For any reason."
"I was just trying to ease your stress."
Her grip tightened more. "I sort of appreciate the intention, but it does not make me less stressed."
"You should just kiss him and get it over with."
Kendra released him in disgust. Seth suppressed a laugh.
As they came around the first significant bend in the ravine, the daylight from the entrance grew dim. Glowing white stones set in the walls and distant ceiling provided sufficient illumination to see, although the uneven radiance left the cavernous room cloaked in pockets of shadow.
Ahead of them, a lake covered the floor of the ravine, the light from the luminous stones reflecting off the dark, glassy surface. Shaped like a trapezoid, the far side of the lake was much narrower than the near side. Just beyond the lake, the ravine tapered to a tall, narrow passage not unlike the Sidestep Cleft. A ledge running for hundreds of yards along the left wall of the ravine provided the only route around the lake.