Chapter 4: Deep Water, Part 1

First they helped Ada up, in spite of her protests. She was still winded, would no doubt have bruises all over her back in a few hours, but she glared at them the more they tried to help.

"Put up with it," Tiger said. "You help us, we help you. That's just how it works."

Gus looped an arm under her shoulders. He was sure she was still glaring as she leaned against his shoulder, but he didn't have to see it.

"Left or right?" Tiger asked.

"I think the important thing is we all go together," Gus said. He raised his eyebrows, and Tiger nodded. In all likelihood they were thinking the same thing.

Tiger put a hand on Ada's back, just below Gus's arm, and steered them all in one direction. He chose left. Once they were five steps into the tunnel something slammed down behind them and dust flew through the air. They all turned – a great boulder had fallen into place to stop them retracing their path. Dirt filled in around it slowly.

"I should not be surprised," Gus said.

Still, their quest required them to go forward. The tunnel beyond them had a steep incline, the edges of it as far as they could see slightly wet.

"I would like some water to wash off some of this blood," Gus said.

It was still all the way up his arms, though some had rubbed off on Ada's clothing as he helped her up.

From above, a sudden heavy splash of water. He stood blinking a moment, confused.

Ada looked up above them. "Thanks. Helpful. Now we're still bloody but also damp."

*

Further down the tunnel widened up, got wetter and wetter. First the walls were damp with only a little water running down the sides, and then the cave widened and got wetter, and the sides became a pond. Small fish swam through, dark and difficult to see, and further on birds floated along. There were black swans and other birds Gus didn't know how to identify, all minding their own business, not interested in the group of three adventurers walking down the path beside them.

Eventually the drip, drip, drip sound of the water leaking down the walls was replaced by the gentle splashes of animals moving through a larger body of water, and the area went from smelling a bit damp to smelling like a riverbank.

And then even further down the animals beside them weren’t just birds or fish but strange small creatures, tiny aquatic monsters adapted to their strange environment, with gills and wings and hands and feet. They watched the trio as they walked past, unwilling to stop to sight-see.

When the cave widened enough that it was no longer a narrow tunnel surrounded by narrow ponds and instead became a wide open area surrounded by lakes, and vegetation started to climb the dark walls, and strange things flit about in the flickering light of their lantern, the trio sat to eat and think about their journey.

Tiger, who had packed dry breads and a variety of cheeses, as well as plates and cutlery, made sure they were all settled in their impromptu picnic before he let anyone speak.

"Do we have a real plan?" Ada asked.

"Yes. We go down until we find a dark stone," Gus said.

"That's a very vague plan," she said.

Tiger paused in the process of cutting slices of cheese to look at them, eyebrows raised. "We have no map of the inside of this place, and all tales tell that the walls move and the structure changes as the lord of the world below wills. No person has returned above with clear stories of what lives here. What plans could we have?"

"Something a bit more useful than making it up as we go along," she said.

But they didn't have that and had no way of getting it, so the conversation died.

The quiet remained between them even after each had finished their small portion of food. Gus looked around at the unfamiliar world around him, the strange animals and dark birds. The water moved, or perhaps something moved underneath it, silent and mysterious.

"Why did you take this job?" Ada asked, her voice quiet.

"I didn't have much choice," Gus said. "Once... but that time is gone, Lord Henry is too powerful with no one to counterbalance him. I would be a fool to refuse him."

"I came down to help you," Tiger said. "And I'll help you again when we go back up."

"Is that all you'll do?" Gus asked. He watched Tiger carefully wrapping things up, taking care of them and their health once again. Always taking care of people and never taking care of himself.

Tiger smiled, but the smile died away fast enough. "Well, I'd like to settle down with a nice woman, and maybe become a farmer out on the edge of the township, but finding the right person is hard. Every attractive woman I meet tries to kill me."

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"Not all of them. You just have bad taste," Ada said.

Tiger looked up, affronted. "I do not. It's just bad luck."

"Why don't you ever try things with Mary Louise? She's a gentle person. She could be right for you," Gus said.

Tiger looked away. "She's lovely. And she's 40 years old and looks it, whereas I am 359 years old. If she's lucky she has another 40 years. How long do I have? Will I live as long as you, brother, and keep watching people I love die like this? Or will I die fighting a beast for money next week? Either way, I couldn't ask her to accept that. And she's never shown any interest."

Gus put a hand to Tiger's shoulder. "You'll find someone that's right for you. I have faith in that."

Tiger patted Gus's hand. "And then I'll find a way to still take care of you, even with a wife and army of children. That's my dream."

Ada scoffed. "Just find any woman. It can't be that hard. People settle down all the time without this fuss."

The ground rumbled again as they stood up.

"I didn't expect the tremors," Gus said.

It was quick and then gone. Water splashed about, but the animals on both sides paid no attention to them.

But even when the sound of shaking was over, there was a rhythmic wet sound in the distance. And then it came closer and resolved into the sound of wet feet running. They turned behind to watch where the sound came from.

There was the faint image of a figure, human-shaped. And then it became more clear, a woman draped in layers of a ragged outfit, not looking where she was going. She would run into them if she wasn't careful.

Tiger gripped his sword. But Gus put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

"Rose," he said.

The woman stopped at the sound of his voice and looked at them. Her face was harsh, like tragedy was making it slowly sink in on itself, and grey in the dim light. No longer the diffused glow of immortality on her face.

"Augustus," she said, in her soft voice.

And then she tripped on nothing, and he caught her.

His dear friend Rose. When he'd last seen her she'd glowed with power. Now it was like a light source within her had been snapped out, leaving darkness under the eyes and turning the ends of her hair into straw. But still, it was a relief to see her, a relief to be sure she was alive.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"I'm here to..." she trailed off, eyes darting left and right. "I'm here to get revenge on the one who did this. Or... No, it's revenge, it's definitely revenge."

"Is that person down here?" he asked.

"The one who makes the portals lives down here. He's the only one who can get out! I watched him kill my brother," she said.

"So he is dead," Tiger said. "We suspected, but at least now we know for sure. That explains why Henry's power rose so much."

Gus looked at Ada to see her reaction. Her lips thinned out like she'd bitten something sour, but she didn't speak. That was good. The last time they'd spoken of Leaf Ada had not been complimentary, sharing her opinion that if he was dead it was no big loss to the world. But she was quiet when Rose was there, and for that he was thankful.

"My brother... my brother would have held him back," Rose said. "But I have to find the one who did this."

"You should come with us. We also have a mission down here," Gus said.

"It's not revenge, but you might find some along the way," Ada said.

Rose looked around them, pulled back from Gus's arms and stood up straight. Then she smoothed out her hair and clothes and nodded. "I would like that. It has been unpleasant to be alone."

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