“We don't have to look around for tunnels inside the hex,” said Wyndham. She sent her talent winging out. She didn't get a read from the Wu Chi hex. The Shaper hex was out of her range. She would have to go there, or try to track something from Grandview's hex.

She walked out of the meeting room. She looked down in the abyss between the two hexes. She sent her talent down to look for her. It didn't give her a clear picture of a tunnel down in the mist below.

They could climb down to close the range so she could get a clearer picture of things.

“What are you thinking?,” asked Master Yuen. He stood beside her, looking down. Mister Shanahan stood on the other side, keeping her from falling into the canyon.

“I'm thinking that we don't have to fight our way down to the bottom of the shaft,” said Wyndham. “How far have you climbed down the outside of a hex?”

“Not very far,” said Master Yuen. “I don't know of anyone who has.”

“I need to go down and see what I can find,” said Wyndham. “I didn't feel anything under the Wu Chi hex, or the Shaper hex. Grandview's hex might be the only one with an underground city.”

“So you are going to try to confirm this?,” asked Master Yuen.

“But it's going to be from the outside,” said Wyndham. “I don't want to chase around in the dark when I can just look at things from the outside.”

“I suppose that would be a good approach since we know what the inside looks like already,” said the Wu Chi.

“I might have to go inside to map a location to bring back to you,” said Wyndham.

Shanahan looked down over the edge. He shook his head.

“Not enough rope,” he said. “We'll have to free climb down with a rope holding us together.”

“The risk will be a bit more than what we have already done,” said Wyndham.

“The only risk is that I'll shake the smug look off Grandview's face in the next few minutes,” said Shanahan.

“I don't know how far we'll have to go,” said Wyndham. “I'm hoping to discover a hidden access into the city.”

“They might be able to get out to hunt,” said Shanahan. He pulled off his bag and pulled out the coil of rope. He had rolled it up once they were clear of the shaft. He cut off a length and put the rest back. “Unless they have some kind of mushroom farm down there in the dark.”

“I'm hoping they are relatively contained in their city,” said Wyndham. “No one has been to the bottom of the hexes to see what the ground is like.”

Shanahan tied her to him with sure motions. He looked out over the edge. He saw a spot where they could rest in the distance. That might be close enough for her talent to kick in.

“I think I need to go to the bathroom,” said Wyndham.

“You can go when we reach our checkpoint,” said Shanahan. He handed her a canteen and a handful of chocolate bars. “The faster we get this done, the faster we'll be able to go back to New York.”

“I could use the rest,” said Wyndham.

“I'll be doing all the work,” said Shanahan. He started down the rough trail, watching it narrow as he descended.

Wyndham descended after him. She used her talent for places to step, and to check anything coming up from below. The last thing she wanted was to fall off the face of the hex.

“I left my rifle behind,” she said as they kept walking down the stone wall of the mesa.

“I hope somebody doesn't shoot themselves,” said Shanahan. “We'll be down to a good target depth in no time. Then we can check everything with your talent.”

“Why are we rushing this?,” asked Wyndham.

“Because we'll be able to move faster on our own, and I don't trust the experience of the others,” said Shanahan. “They might screw something up and leave us hanging in the wind.”

Wyndham nodded. A group in case of trouble would be fine, but how many would work together, and how many would flee if they got the chance.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

If they did get into trouble, hopefully the factions would figure some way to get them back to the top without too many problems. Emil might be able to use the Door to come down and drag them back up instantly.

He also might leave them to their own devices out of consideration to the others.

The next few hours passed in a blur to Wyndham. Her talent didn't pick up any tunnels below them as they descended. She did spot a door in the hex face on the other side of the gap. She asked for a stop as she considered everything her talent could bring her.

“It looks like we have a secondary exit,” she finally decided. “They don't have to come to the top of the hex. They can come out of the hex from over there and descend to wherever they want to go.”

Shanahan scanned the walls on their side, then across the gap. He pointed at the mist below. Anchors held something down there in the mist.

“It could be a bridge,” said Wyndham. “We'll have to check. It could mean they don't have to tunnel down to the base. They could cross over here and hunt and farm under the Wu Chi.”

“The city could be their weapons works,” said Shanahan.

Wyndham considered the idea. It made sense if they were growing the dragons for attacking the surface. A fort around their primary attack method would stop all but the most powerful of the factions.

“We're going to have to check this,” said Wyndham.

“It might take us right to their dragon farm,” said Shanahan.

“Naturally we're going to be cautious, and try not to attract attention,” said Wyndham. “Do you think you can get us to the bridge?”

“Are there any guards?,” Shanahan asked.

“I don't sense any,” said Wyndham. “There should be something to stop people from using this door, right?”

“Depends on what they know about the surface people can do,” said Shanahan. “They might have their own super powers to use as their defense against external enemies like us.”

“Let's go before we're trapped between hunting parties,” said Wyndham. “They might be gathering ingredients for their next dragon.”

Shanahan picked her up over his shoulder. He took careful aim at the bridge hidden in the mists below. He jumped from the wall and landed on a wooden plank. It felt a lot springier than normal wood. He raced to the cave in the wall and put Wyndham down inside.

“I'm glad we didn't go through the boards,” said Wyndham. “Let's try not to do anything like that again.”

Shanahan handed her his rifle with the light. He started down the tunnel first. He waited for his eyes to adjust before he was confident in his steps.

Wyndham let her talent guide her. Turning on a light would attract the wrong kind of attention in her opinion. And they didn't want to engage if they didn't have to. They wanted a quiet look around and a slow climb back up to where the factions waited.

“Light ahead,” whispered Mister Shanahan. “I don't know where we are in relation to what we saw earlier.”

“I think we're under the city,” said Wyndham. “I don't sense any people.”

Shanahan said nothing. He turned on his body light to get a better look at things. He saw a large amount of ruptured sacs hanging from the ceiling. He unlocked the light from the equipment vest. He shone it around.

“This is a lot of dragons,” said Wyndham. “I count at least ten of these sacs.”

“At least five more next to the walls,” said Shanahan. He pointed his light at the pile of stalks and sacs ripped down from the ceiling.

Wyndham sent her talent out. She shook her head. She turned and fled from the birthing room.

Shanahan followed, trusting his spirit to pick the right place to step as he followed her bouncing light back toward the entrance they used.

“Those fifteen dragons are headed to the top of the hex,” said Wyndham. “They'll probably cut their way out as fast as they can. We have to get up there to warn the factions.”

“We'll never make it,” said Shanahan. “They can fly twice as fast as we can climb.”

“You can get up there without me,” said Wyndham. “The Horse and Fist should carry you up to the top so you can sound the warning. Right now, they are fighting their way through the frogs, then they have to cut through the rock you brought down. There might be time.”

“I'll have to leave you behind,” said Shanahan.

“I'll climb up after you,” said Wyndham. “Just leave me the rope. When everything is over, come get me. If I can't make it, I'll use the key to go to New York, and come back when everything is safe.”

“I think you should use the key now,” said Shanahan. “Get something big to bring back.”

“What about you?,” said Wyndham.

“I'll be fine,” said Shanahan. He slung the rifle across his back. “Use the key. Don't screw this up. Give me a few hours. Come back up at the meeting area.”

“There are fifteen of them,” said Wyndham.

“They should have brought more friends,” said Shanahan. “I'll be waiting for you.”

“All right,” said Wyndham. “The key is in your bag.”

Shanahan handed her his bag. He climbed to the bridge's rail. He ran along until he was close enough to jump to the far wall. He started moving up the wall faster than he had climbed down.

Wyndham pulled the spire that was the door between worlds from the equipment bag. She concentrated on the green spiral. She stepped inside and vanished from the battlefield.