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The next day was clear, and the blue sky was a welcome sight to Lazarus and his fellow travelers.
They quickly packed up their supplies and started off on their travels up the river. As usual, Shannol was at the rear of the boat with Smaagol. The short man didn't speak to them, also as usual.
Lazarus stood with the Alphas at the front of the vessel. They stared at the large tall sculptures on either side of the waterway ravine.
"How did they create such sculptures?" Grace asked. She looked at the stone knights with wonder.
"Who knows?" Royce said, " but what I want to know is are those sculptures warnings."
Cindy shaded her eyes from the sun. "There is something written at the base of the feet."
It was a symbol Lazarus couldn't recognize, a flowing script and design. "Shannol, what are those symbols?" he yelled.
Shannol walked to the front of the boat. "It means; This is the land of the dead. Tread carefully."
"Great," Royce said. "I can fight almost anything, but undead creatures?"
Lazarus said, "You knew we were traveling through the Caves of the dead. We will be fine."
He touched the small figurine of the Dark Knight in his breast pocket. Lazarus sure hoped it would help them. It was ominous seeing the large sculptures at the mouth of the water ravine.
The shadows of the mountains overcome them. The temperature suddenly dropped. It was freezing.
"Let's get the coats," Cindy said.
Royce just stood there. "I don't need the coats."
Royce changed into a large Alpha Grog, and looked like a huge canine wolf. Lazarus was used to his countenance as a Grog, but he knew it made the girls nervous. Lazarus shrugged on a coat. It fit him correctly. The coats were long and lined with fur. They were exquisitely tailored. The trappers really knew how to make a garment.
The wind buffeted them when they entered the ravine. Lazarus glanced at the sides of the large sculptures as they sailed past them. The wind sent the boat at a furious pace into the smaller river. The water path was winding like a snake, and Smaagol steered them through. Water spray hit them where they stood. They all held onto the rails.
"Yikes!" shouted Grace.
"Hey, move away from the edge of the boat," Shannol said.
They moved back into the middle of the vessel where there were places to sit and ropes to hold on to. Lazarus had seen this before, and now knew why the ropes were there.
"Hey," he said, "I hope your friend Smaagol knows how to pilot his boat."
"Stay right there. It might get rougher from here."
The boat suddenly veered downward, and Lazarus grabbed on to a rough rope. Cindy held on to him and wrapped the ropes around her waist. Royce was back to his human form and he looked nervous as they were jostled in their seats.
Then the boat suddenly ceased shaking and moved into a large crystal lake.
The boat slid toward a darker area. The high walls of the cliffs towered over them and then Lazarus noticed the cliffs were covered with giant bats. The creatures were asleep.
He didn't want to speak for fear the bats would awake. "Shannol, we need to get out of here," he whispered.
He pointed upwards, and the elf nodded. Her eyes scanned around. The wind died and the boat barely moved in the slow current. Lazarus looked at the far end of the lake. The water pathway forked into two directions. Shannol was showing Smaagol the map, and the little man steered the boat toward the right. The vessel was moving painfully slow.
Lazarus said telepathically to Cindy, "Can you create a small gust of wind?"
Cindy nodded and placed her hand upward toward the air. A strong gale started, and the boat's sails furled with the wind. They were propelled toward the right water passageway. Lazarus scanned upwards. The large bats still slept on their cliff. A few stirred but didn't look down.
He didn't want to fight these creatures. There were easily hundreds, even thousands of bats. They covered the cliff, every inch of it, creating a canopy of black leathery skins, moving every so often like a giant beast. If the bats all awoke and attacked at once, they would be trampled.
The boat made it toward the water pathway without incident and after several minutes they left behind the canyon with the large bats. Lazarus, as well as the others, sighed in relief. If it was dark he believed the large bats would awake, and hoped they would soon be far away from there.
Cindy said, "Do you know how much further to the caves?"
Shannol was still back in the rear of the ship with Smaagol. She was not looking at them. She was looking forward at something else.
"Lazarus?" Cindy urged.
He looked forward. Before them was a small cove in the middle with a stretch of beach, but that was not the reason they all stared. At the very edge of the small beach was a large cave with a large, round oak door. The shape of the cave resembled a large mouth with sharp teeth. It was eerie looking. The lake flowed around the cove.
Smaagol spoke. "Master Lazarus, we are here. We will dock on the beachhead."
"Thank you."
With a screech, the boat docked on shore.
