Everett anchored his web line on a wall of the cavern near where they had entered the room they were in. He worked his way along the walls until he reached the tunnel where the river flowed out of the chamber into other parts of the underground. He checked that there was enough room for him to use the roof of the tunnel to reach the next big area on the other side.

He knew Seera wanted to go first, but there was no point as long as he was already there. He entered the tunnel and made his way along across the top of the tunnel. He felt the voracious fish moving under him, but none jumped out of the water to try to bite him as he moved along.

He reached the end of the tunnel and climbed out to a wide open expanse. The glow from the water revealed the inside of a dome. He saw several shapes that resembled lizards fishing in the water below him. The water descended into a crack in the floor of the natural dome.

He pulled the line tight for the others to use to get to where he was before he anchored it to the wall next to where he used the wall as a chair. He needed to get one of the others to stand guard while they ferried everyone through the tunnel and into this bigger space.

He hoped the lizards didn't have inner flames to throw around as he got the others to this side of the tunnel. He didn't want to head for the entrance and report his group had been fried by fishing monsters.

On the other hand, the look on Emil's face might be worth it.

Everett made sure his anchor would hold before making his way back down the tunnel to where the others waited. He was confident he could get the others across with no problem as long as none of them touched the water.

The fish would attack their feet, and he didn't know how well the others' footwear would defend them from the biting.

He emerged from the tunnel and swung over to where the group waited for him. Seera didn't look happy, her companion even less so. He put on a smile to delay any verbal sparring they might engage in about his taking things into his own hands.

“There is a big area on the other side of the tunnel,” he said. “I saw some lizards fishing, but nothing else that might be a threat.”

“Did they see you?,” asked Seera.

“I don't know,” said Everett. “I was on the wall, and they were below me. The water enters another tunnel and leaves through that.”

“All right,” said Seera. “I have to go over and set up a spot where we can defend ourselves in case the lizards aren't friendly. Then we'll bring over the Wu Chi, then Mister Shanahan. Anything else we need to know?”

“I didn't see anything but those fish in the water,” said Everett. “That doesn't mean there isn't something below the surface that didn't notice me, but will notice you. I suggest being ready to pull along the line as fast as possible.”

“All right,” said Seera. “Let's get this done as fast as possible before I start thinking about abandoning the job.”

Everett helped her grab the web line he had set up. He nodded as she pulled her way along with sure motions of her arms and legs. He followed as soon as she had entered the tunnel. Once she was ready on the other side, he would come back for the others.

The Spider nodded when he came out of the tunnel and saw Seera had taken up a position with a nest of rocks as cover. The lizards seemed more intent on their fishing than on anybody being close enough to watch them. Everett headed back through the tunnel to get the rest moving through the confined space to the area ahead of them.

The rest of the transfers went as smoothly as expected. Master Yuen complained the most, but his assistants promised his bag would be sent across with no problem. He got them with Seera before getting Shanahan. Seera's friend crossed the line faster than anyone else, and Everett didn't think it was just because of the Horse and Fist sharing space in his thin body.

Everett took up a position at the back of the group. Seera and Shanahan were supposed to do the fighting for the Wu Chi. He was glad to let them do it.

His powers were better for getting around in his opinion. Fighting could be done if he was desperate enough. He would rather let someone better capable for that to do it so he could escape during the chaos. It didn't matter how cowardly that looked to others.

If he was cornered, his spirit gave him enough to hurt anybody who thought he was an easy target. The Fist was stronger than he ever hoped to be, but that didn't mean he was a weakling.

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“The lizards look harmless,” said Seera. She pointed at spots on the wall. “They seem to have dens in the walls. They feel too small for us. I'm going to find a spot we can use to get to our goal other than the river.”

“What do you mean other than the river?,” said Master Yuen.

“The only two natural exits from this room is the tunnel we just used from the other room, and the opening the river is flowing into,” said Seera. “We could probably rig some way to ride the current through that tunnel, but we would still have to deal with the fish trying to eat us while we swam along.”

“Maybe we could dam the river,” said the first assistant. He pointed at the tunnel. “That might give us the room to move without worrying about the fish.”

Seera nodded at the suggestion. Mister Shanahan had to be strong enough to dam the flow of water so they could descend through the river channel. What would happen on the other side of the dam? She didn't have a good answer for that question.

“If we can dam the water,” said Everett. “I can lower us until we hit the bottom of the shaft. Then we can move on from there.”

Everett felt that his web would hold all of them with no problem. Shanahan should be able to provide an anchor for them. Then he could drop down behind them. The only problem that he saw was where would the water go once a dam was in place. They didn't want to cause a flood to fill up the caverns they had already transversed to get to where they were now.

He wondered if the backlog would be enough to start dropping water down the big shaft near the entrance. Would they be setting an obstacle in front of where they were that they didn't need to have?

“Master Yuen,” said Seera. “Could we see your map of what we have traveled so far?”

Everett didn't know how that would help, but said nothing. He noted that Shanahan had a spot where he could watch the lizard dens. He didn't seem to care which way they traveled.

Everett wondered what could make a man fight anything anywhere without worrying about dying in the process. He admitted that he always looked out for an escape route if he thought he needed one.

Emil had a certain amount of his loyalty, but he wasn't going to risk his life if he could avoid it. He would leave that for Morehull and Conchshell.

Master Yuen pulled out his banner. He laid it on the floor. The paper shaped itself into a model of the ground they had covered so far. Everett hadn't thought they had traveled far, but it looked like they had had covered a lot of ground without realizing it.

“This is where we are,” said Yuen. He pointed at one part that looked like a dome down on the edge of the model. “This is as much of the tunnel as I can feel right now.”

Seera circled the model without touching it. She paused at one spot. She examined the nearby topography. Everett couldn't tell what she was looking for from where he stood.

“Thank you, Master Yuen,” said Seera. “I think we can take a few minutes to rest while I think about which direction we should go from here.”

“What do you think she was looking for?,” Everett asked the smaller Shanahan. The man shrugged back in reply.

The Spider frowned. He wanted an answer, but he knew this man had killed two of his fellow weapons. He didn't want to contest him unless it was life or death.

Shanahan pulled a candy bar from his ration bag. He broke it in half and gave the other half to Everett. Everett took it and examined it, holding it between his thumb and index finger.

“Should be okay unless you're allergic,” said Shanahan. He ate his half slowly.

“Allergic?,” asked Everett.

“Some people get sick if they eat chocolate, or milk,” said Shanahan. “I don't know if you people do, so just taste it first. If you're allergic, that will be enough to let us know.”

“I can drink milk,” said Everett. He took a bite. He liked the taste. He could see killing someone for one of these. “This is good.”

“We brought a bag in case we needed something other than rations,” said Shanahan. “You want some of it?”

“Could I get some when we stop for the night?,” said Everett. “I think we're going to be working hard the next few hours.”

Shanahan nodded.

“I think I have a plan,” said Seera. “We're going to dig out of here and into another tunnel. Everett, you're going to have to run lines for us. We are looking at some danger so we want to be fast about this.”

“How much danger?,” asked Master Yuen.

“I don't know,” said Seera. She frowned at the group. “I would like to say this will be a snap, and we'll be able to continue with no problems. I hope that's true. I just want you all to be ready to move quickly in case there is trouble.”

She doesn't have to worry about me, thought Everett. I'm ready to move out of here right now.

“Mister Shanahan, could you come with me?,” said Seera. She waved at him to follow her. “I'll show you where I need you to punch the tunnel. I need the rest of you to watch out for the lizards in case they decide to come at us while we're working.”

Shanahan slung his rifle so it would be out of the way as he walked behind her to a blank wall. Everett kept one eye on what his fellow weapons were doing and one eye on the lizard den entrances. He should web the holes up, but decided he didn't want to stir the fishers up more than he had to when the group was trying to leave the room without killing the monsters.

Emil would have probably set fire to the beasts as a matter of expediency. Why worry about a possible enemy when you can just get rid of him, her, or it?

Shanahan pushed on the wall. The stone crumbled under the pressure he was exerting. It fell out of the way. Cool air wafted into the chamber.

“Let's go, Everett,” Seera said. She waved at the Spider to come over to the new door.