Chapter 26

  Dwarven Way - Link

  Link realized that, since he was tied to Max, he was saved from being knocked off like the gorilla. Max had made a very unusual noise for a non-talking elephant, and Link wanted to distract them. The only thing he could do was to talk, so he was left with insulting the gorillas. What made the insult so perfect was that it was actually true: the gorillas did smell worse after getting wet.

  Link couldn't blame Max for gasping at the cavern they were in. The sight around them was impressive. This was a Dwarven hall, but more than that. As they had moved on from his confrontation with Ash, the tunnel they went up curved. And it seemed to Link that it was circular, and it went around across itself, each full turn taking them above the tunnel below. There were openings in the wall when they came back around to where the waterfall fell into the canyon below.

  Link could see that this circular ramp behind the waterfall must have been built to give access from the canyon below in the Lower Plains to the eastern side of the Three Rivers on the Upper Plains.

  It confused Link because the Forest of Animals wasn't on this side of the Three Rivers. Every legend he remembered said that the dwarves were part of the Forest Council. However, whatever the reason for it, there was this pathway here in a place not connected to their Allies.

  The murals continued from the cavern at the base up the path. The murals that he could see were of dwarves doing work. He saw images of what appeared to be the very path they were on, the Bridge of Hope, the council hall in the Forest of Animals, and other buildings he didn't recognize. What Link guessed from the murals was that the dwarves loved building. Link wished that there was a torch so he could see all that was carved into the wall. The only light came from the openings that went out under the waterfall.

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  Link was amazed that there seemed to be no sand in this place. Considering the storm and the sand that had been around the cave they were at just the day before, Link would have expected that this whole area would have at least some here. Yet, there wasn't any in the cavern they first entered or on this circular ramp.

  As Link considered these things, he caught a whiff of something. It wasn't water, it was green. Green like the forest. Now, Link was certain they were heading to the Upper Plains.

  Link had two mysteries. Who was it that Conquest had hinted about answering to? And why were they guerrillas hiding on the eastern side of the Three Rivers? No one crossed the Three Rivers. The few that had tried to cross it had ended up going over the waterfalls into the Lower Plains. And other than Max, no one had returned alive from that fall. Link concluded that the gorillas' base of operations definitely was on the eastern side of the Three Rivers on the Upper Plains. He just hoped that the rivers were as uncrossable as everyone claimed.

  As they went higher, Link didn't just look at the murals; every time they came to the openings facing the river, he tried to look out through the waterfall. He hoped that he would see some sign of Jezreel. Since their capture, Link had not seen any sign of the Osprey. Link was concerned that perhaps something fatal had befallen his comrade. He really wished he could talk to Max and tell him about the Osprey. Yes, Jezreel had not liked Max. She was not happy that the Link had decided to recruit him without her permission. But there had been times on their trip when Jezreel had gone out of her way to protect him. She had helped him several times. He knew that even her carrying him down the Bridge of Hope was to help him, even if she complained about it. So now he had to wonder, did this person that he had just begun to know and grudgingly respect meet a terrible end at the hands of Conquest?

  His original hope, as he had told Max, that she was okay, was beginning to wane. He had not seen any sign of her, nor of any bird, he realized, since they had entered the desert. Link's one remaining hope was that when they got to the Upper Plains, maybe Jezreel would spot them and find some way to get them help.

  Considering how long it took to cross the plains, he knew help would be a long time coming. Even if the bird could lift him and fly off with him, there'd be no way to rescue Max. Link was not about to leave Max alone to face whatever crazy plan these gorillas had.