The Lost Temple of Ssis'sythyss (The Dungeoneers Book 3) by Jeffery Russell

Author:Jeffery Russell [Russell, Jeffery]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-12-20T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Ruby wasn’t sure if the dwarves’ solution was better or worse. They’d started with Leery crossing via a rope and grappling hook after she’d politely declined Gorax’s offer to throw her. This was followed by Cardamon scaling up the rock outcropping, stopping to scoop out bits of stone here and there with his hands, stonemelding to create footholds where needed. Now there was a single rope strung across, high up on their end, shoulder height on Leery’s.

Keezix sidled up to her. “Gonna need help climbing that?” she asked out of the corner of her mouth. The first couple of dwarves were clambering up the stone ladder that Cardamon had left.

“I think I can manage the climb,” Ruby said. “I’m still trying to work out what we’re doing once we get…”

She trailed off as she watched one of the packs of gear go sliding down the rope, hanging from a hook, swinging merrily as it went.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll tie ya on so there’s no way you’ll fall and if you get stuck halfway I’ll personally come down the rope after you to give ya a good push with me boots.”

“I thought you were injured.”

“I am but there’s no chance we’re getting the portergator across that. Walking wounded.” She nodded at Leery across the crevasse. “Wish I healed as fast as her. She’s already swinging around on grappling hooks. We’ll get you across safe.”

Keezix was as good as her word. Ruby managed the climb on her own, slightly to her surprise. Her muscles had multiple days of soreness already stored up and she could almost hear them creak with each movement upward. The rope had a loop on a pulley for her to hang on to and another rope from the pulley to her waist in case she lost hold.

“Ready?” Keezix asked.

“No,” Ruby sai…

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah,” she said instead, interrupting herself as Keezix shoved her off.

She felt her knuckles crack as she gripped the harness. She could hear the mud glorping below as she sailed through a warm humid cloud that smelled like one of Gammi’s soups.

She inhaled to scream again but the ride was over and Leery had her around the waist while Mungo began working to unharness her from the rope.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah,” she said in Leery’s ear.

“You’re fine,” Leery said. “Be sure and write that one down. As long as you survived it’s worth rememberin’, eh?”

Ruby wasn’t convinced but had to admit that the experience had been less fatal than expected.

It took over an hour along with several rope replacements before everything had been ferried over and another half an hour to get everyone properly loaded back up. They were in a hollow in the side of another of the great masses of scraggly black rock. Beyond it, however, she could see the green of treetops. They were passing into the jungle again. The path spiraled up and around the outcropping to a hole in the top of the stone, leading down into darkness. Steam wafted up from the depths.

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