Between the meandering course of their path and the growing number of branches apparent in it, Lamont began to despair of his ability to find his way back to the cavern should the need arise.
Scrambling to catch up with their hosts, the two men reached the level floor at the base of the ramp in silence. Lamont swayed on his feet as he stood up, surprised at the extent to which the ground gave way under his weight. He had gotten used to the almost metallic hardness of the mountain rock, but the beam of his lamp revealed that the floor of the pit appeared to be covered with another substance, pale orange in color and something like rubbery cork.
“Come on,” Francis urged him. A few paces away, the captain was standing near the threshold of an entrance into the side of the pit, leading deeper under the cave floor. It was about four feet high and its outline was irregular, but seemingly not random; there was a symmetry to the doorway’s shape, and the borders of it appeared to be carved or molded into an intricate woven pattern. One of the creatures waited in the opening for them, its end section lifted up so that Lamont could see the subtle movements of its complex underside. It was making a quiet, rhythmic ticking sound.
“You sure about this, mate?” Lamont asked, tugging at his collar.
“How could I be?” Carter countered. There was no apparent hesitation as he followed the creature into the tunnel.
The only way to move through the corridor was nearly doubled-over, with their necks craned uncomfortably to follow the scuttling movements of their guides. The only alternative would have been to crawl on his hands and knees, which Lamont was definitely not willing to do. Glancing awkwardly behind him, he saw that a gate, hinged at the top, was being lowered by an unknown mechanism between the tunnel and the pit.
They followed their guides as much by sound as by sight, and Lamont suspected that the clocklike ticking of the creature leading them was a sound made purely for their benefit. The tunnel sloped very gradually downward and followed a winding path that prevented the men from ever seeing more than two yards ahead in the bobbing beams of their lamps. After following for several minutes, however, Lamont began to notice changes in the architecture of the tunnel. It was becoming wider and a little taller, so that they were hunching but not bending over entirely. The smooth walls of the tunnel were becoming accented by something like architectural flourishes, organically emerging columns and vaulted doorways bordered with vine-like motifs. Between the meandering course of their path and the growing number of branches apparent in it, Lamont began to despair of his ability to find his way back to the cavern should the need arise.
The dread that was settling over him was interrupted by a quiet exclamation from Carter, who had turned a corner several paces ahead. “What is it?” Lamont asked pensively. A few more steps rendered the question rhetorical. Lamont came to a stop beside the captain, and they both stood in awed silence as their eyes roved in one direction, then another.
“Civilization,” Carter whispered.
Next: What Are We Doing Here?