Pendragon - The Lost City Of Faar Part 19

We all grabbed our water sleds, gave a quick wave to Yenza, and did a giant stride into the water. A few seconds later we were all settled and floating next to each other on the surface.

"Everybody set?" asked Spader.

We were. He dove underwater and Uncle Press and I followed right behind him. We descended in V formation for several feet, then took a look around. Yenza was right. The water wasn't all that deep here. I'm guessing it was maybe sixty feet to the bottom. That isn't very deep at all and certainly no place to hide an entire city. The bottom was fairly barren. For as far as I could see there was nothing but blue-green water and a huge field of low, brown coral. No city. No nothing.

"Let's head this way," said Spader. "It's the way Pendragon lined the map up with the stars."

As we sped along with our water sleds, I saw that this area of the ocean was much less interesting than the ocean bottom around Grallion. There were no plants or kelp fields. There were no farms. There didn't even seem to be any fish. This was the Cloral equivalent of our moon. We traveled for a long way with nothing to see but more nothing. I hated to be the killjoy and say that we should give up, but I was beginning to think we were wasting our time.

I was just about to say something when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Quick movement. I looked to my right, but nothing was there. I figured it must have been an eyelash or somethinga until I saw it again. Something moved out there. I saw it a little better this time and thought it was a fish. It made me think back to the big fish that was shadowing Spader and me when we were making our escape from the raiders under Grallion. It was the same kind of thing.

Then I saw it again, and again.

"Did you see that?" I asked.

Spader slowed to a stop and we pulled up.

"What was that?" he asked.

"I saw it too," said Uncle Press.

Phew. I wasn't crazy and hallucinating. But that meant there were strange fish out there who were smart enough to be shadowing us. They were fast, too. And big. Not Moby d.i.c.k big, but at least as big as a man.

"There!" shouted Uncle Press.

We all looked to see a green shape moving off to our right. It was far enough away that we couldn't make out exactly what it was, but it was moving a little more slowly than the others so we could at least confirm that it was real.

"I say we follow, mates," said Spader.

"Hobey-ho," answered Uncle Press.

Oh, swell. I really hoped this wasn't a bad idea. We all gunned the water sleds and took off in the direction of this strange green fish. We were at full throttle, but the fish far enough ahead of us that we really couldn't get a good look at it. I felt like it was teasing us and luring us forward. But that was impossible. Fish don't lure people - people lure fish.

"Are you seeing this?" Spader asked.

We all looked ahead to see that the bottom was beginning to fall away. It was getting deeper.

"Stay near the bottom," said Uncle Press. "Don't lose that thing."

I felt the water pressure build around me. At home it wasn't smart to dive any deeper than, say, sixty feet. Going deeper caused all sorts of problems with water pressure and decompression sickness and a nasty thing called "the bends" that you got if you stayed down too deep for too long. But that wasn't a problem on Cloral. I guessed it had something to do with the rebreathing devices in the air globes that kept the right mix of gases in your system. But still, this was deeper than I had ever gone before. It was getting dark, and the bottom kept falling away. We were chasing a big, smart fish into the dark unknown and I was getting scared.

"There's a ridge up ahead," announced Spader.

About thirty yards ahead of us it looked like there was going to be a drop-off. Yenza had said this was the deepest trench on all of Cloral, and I had the feeling we were about to see it. But I was sure this was the end of the line for us. There was no way we were going to go any deeper. We didn't have lights, the water was getting cold, and who knew what was down there?

I also saw that the fish thing we were chasing reached the edge and shot down over the side. I had no plans to follow it.

"Take us to the edge," said Uncle Press. "We'll stop there."

Phew. It was official. The edge was as far as we were going. Uncle Press and I pulled up even with Spader so that the three of us were now traveling shoulder to shoulder. Whatever we were going to see over the edge, we would see it together. A few seconds later we reached the end and looked down into the abyss.

Mark, Courtney, yeah, I'll say it again. What we saw was impossible. It was a vision like I had never encountered in my life and I can't imagine I ever will again. There are unique things in every territory. Some are evil, some are beautiful, and some are just plain spectacular. What we saw fell into the spectacular category. The three of us could only hang in the water and stare in wonder.

"Hobey," said Spader dumbly. "This is a dream, right?"

"If it is," said Uncle Press with the same dumb feeling, "we're all having it."

The bottom fell off into black. We were on the edge of a trench that rivaled the Grand Canyon. As clear as the water was, we couldn't see the bottom or the far side of this trench -its expanse was breathtaking. But what we saw before us made the immense size of the trench seem inconsequential. For what we were seeing was a magical water ballet.

The water below the edge was full ofhundredsof the same green fish like the one we were just following. But now that we were closer, we saw that they weren't fish at all. They were people. At least I thought they were people. They were certainly people-shaped, but they were covered in a green skin that made them look like they were also part fish. Though they had arms and legs, these looked as much like webbed fins as they did regular old human appendages. Their faces were also covered by the same green skin. I know that sounds gross, but it wasn't.

It was an incredibly graceful sight. They were all twisting and swimming and diving and generally looking as if they were having a great time. It was like watching an amazing aquarium with scores of twirling fish dancing in the water.

Several lights shone up on them from somewhere below. These beams swept back and forth as the fish-people swam in and out of their light. I was totally mesmerized. I felt as if I could watch them forever. It was just plain beautiful.

But then three of these fish-people left the larger group and swam over toward us.

"Uh-oh," I said. "Time to get scared."

"Don't move," commanded Uncle Press.

I didn't, but instantly switched from rapture into near-panic mode. What did these fis.h.i.+es want with us?

Each of the fish-people swam gently up to one of us and motioned for us to follow. Whoa, these things really could think. Maybe they were more "people" than "fish" after all.

"What do we do?" I asked nervously.

"I say we follow," said Uncle Press, already swimming forward.

Gulp. I didn't have time to argue. Spader and I followed. I had no idea what these creatures wanted. Did they expect us to join in their dance? Would it be some kind of insult if we didn't?

I then saw that we weren't joining the main group. These guides were actually leading us deeper into the trench. I had a moment of panic, but Uncle Press said in a calm voice, "It's okay. Just go slow."

Then, below us, something caught my eye. It was the wall of the trench. I first heard a small rumble, and then I saw a crack of light beginning to appear out of the rock face.

"What is that?" asked Spader, his voice cracking with tension. Good. I wasn't the only one who was chicken.

The crack of light grew larger and larger and we soon saw that it was actually some kind of rock door that was opening up. Then, as if on cue, all of the dancing fish-people gathered together like, well, like a school of fish, and all swam togetherintothe light! They dove as a group, sped down, and disappeared into the rock wall.

Our three guides were still with us. They motioned for us to follow, and then they, too, dove down toward the light.

The three of us stayed where we were. Even Uncle Press seemed a little reluctant.

"What do you think?" I asked.

Uncle Press looked down at the three guides who had stopped again and were gently motioning for us to follow. He then looked up to us and said, "I think the Lost City of Faara isn't lost anymore."

CLORAL.

If I had only one sentence to describe what it was like to be a Traveler, it would be this: "Just when you think you've seen it alla you haven't."

As if fluming from one bizarre territory to another wasn't enough, within each of these territories I kept finding new and different places that had my head swimming - no Cloral a.n.a.logy intended. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised. It would be the same thing for a first-time Traveler coming to Second Earth. To go from a city like Chicago to the rainforests of South America to a tundra village in Siberia would be just as rattling. Still, what we found under the ocean of Cloral went way beyond my imagination.

As strange and exciting as it was for me, it must have been a hundred times more bizarre for Spader. To him the Lost City of Faar was a fable. Could you imagine walking through the forest and finding a hut where seven dwarves lived with a beautiful princess? Or stumbling upon Noah's Ark? Or finding the Garden of Eden? Every culture has its myths and legends. I can't imagine what it would be like to discover that one of them was true. But that is exactly what Spader experienced when we swam through the rocky entrance to the Lost City of Faar.

I wasn't totally convinced it was a good idea to follow these fish-people into the opening in the wall of rock. So far they hadn't done anything but frolick, like playful sea lions. But still, they could have been luring us to our deaths. Did these strange creatures feed on excited divers who followed them without a question, convinced they were about to discover the truth behind a myth, only to be served up like reverse-sus.h.i.+? As always, my mind went to the worst possible outcome.

What changed my thinking was something I saw just below the opening. It was partially hidden by a tangle of seaweed, but there was no missing it because it was about five feet across. It was an ancient carving. Some of the detail had been eroded away by time, but there was no mistaking the strange, interlocking letters. Spader saw it too and smiled at me. It was the symbol his father had left for him. It was the symbol of Faar. We were in the right place.

With a glance and a nod to each other to show we were all prepared to go to the next step, the three of us swam together, shoulder to shoulder, into the light that blasted from the large opening.

We found ourselves in an underwater tunnel that was big enough to drive a car through, if you happened to have a car that could drive underwater. We pa.s.sed by the big lights that were s.h.i.+ning out into the open sea. Once past them, my eyes adjusted to the dark and I saw that the tunnel led far back into the rock. Every few feet were small marker-lights that showed the way. That was a relief because I wasn't so sure I would have had the guts to swim into a pitch-dark tunnel. I then heard a loud, sc.r.a.ping sound that made me quickly look back. The rock door was shutting behind us. A loudcrunchtold us the door was locked into place and we were closed in. Gulp. We had to go forward whether we liked it or not.

"Everybody cool?" asked Uncle Press.

"I guess," was my shaky answer.

Spader just floated there with wide eyes.

"Spader, you okay?" Uncle Press asked.

"Just a little nervous," he answered.

Good. I'm glad he said it first. Truth be told, nervous didn't quite cover it for me. My heart was thumping so hard I was surprised the others didn't hear it. Then something touched my shoulder.

"Ahhh!" I screamed, and spun around.

It was one of the fish-people. Man, those guys were quiet. Like snakes. That's why I hate snakes - too quiet. Did I tell you that?

The fish-guy motioned for us to follow and swam into the tunnel. The three of us had no choice but to follow. We swam close together. It felt safer that way. The tunnel was pretty long and not all that interesting. It gave my mind time to wander and I started to think about what this lost city was going to be like. I wondered if it was completely underwater. That would be weird, like living in one of those fish tanks that people decorated with little castles and sunken s.h.i.+ps.

So far the fish-people hadn't tried to communicate with us other than with hand signals. I wondered if that meant they couldn't speak. I hoped that a Traveler's ability to understand all languages included sign language.

These questions, and a whole bunch more I hadn't thought of yet, would soon be answered, for I saw that the tunnel was growing brighter.

A few moments later the water level began to drop. We were soon able to raise our heads above the water line. The farther we traveled, the lower the water got. We went from swimming underwater, to swimming on the surface, to walking along the bottom. That answered my first question. Faar may have been underwater, but it was dry. That was cool. I didn't like the idea of hanging out in a fish tank.

The water got low enough so we felt comfortable taking off our air globes. We were now standing in the tunnel with only a few inches of water lapping at our feet. I looked forward and saw that the tunnel was about to make a right turn. The bright light that came from around the bend up ahead told me that we were soon going to see the Lost City of Faar.

We took off our fins and our spearguns, placing them in a safe pile along with our water sleds.

The fish-man we had been following then walked back to us. Yes, I said walked. On two legs. I had a brief memory ofThe Creature from the Black Lagoon,that goofy old black-and-white horror movie. But if this guy wanted to do us any harm, he would have done it back in the water so I wasn't scared. Much. He reached up to his head and began to peel away the green layer of skin that covered his whole body. It made a wet, sucking sound as he tugged on it. For a second I thought I would puke. If this were some kind of snakelike skin-shedding ritual, I'd rather not have to see it, thank you very much.

But after a few seconds I realized what was really happening. As the light green layer of skin came off, it revealed a guy who was very much human. The green stuff wasn't skin after all; it was some kind of fish suit. It reminded me of those tight suits that speed skaters wore in the Olympics. It was absolutely formfitting. But unlike speed skaters, this suit also gave the swimmer webbed feet and hands. Once the suit was pulled off, I saw that the guy's hands were normal too. No webs, no scales. Underneath the fish suit he wore a blue, also formfitting, suit that went from his neck to almost his knees. It wasn't all that different from the clothes we had on ourselves.

As it turned out, there was nothing unusual about the guy at all. He was short, not much over five feet. But he looked strong. Not a lot of fat on those bones. I couldn't tell for sure how old he was, but I'd guess he was around thirty, in Second Earth years. He was also completely bald. Michael Jordan bald. That wasn't all that weird, but something about his face wasn't quite right. I couldn't figure it out at first, but then it struck me: He didn't have eyebrows. You never think about eyebrows until somebody doesn't have them. It's kind of freaky-looking. Not horrible, just freaky. Adding to the freaky quotient was the fact that his eyes were the lightest color blue I had ever seen. I actually had to look close to see that there was any color in them at all. His skin was also very white, which didn't surprise me since he lived underwater.

In all, he was a fairly normal-looking guy, with a few strange characteristics. But nothing that would give me nightmares or anything. Things were looking up.

The guy finished pulling off his suit - it was all in one piece - and walked up to us. "My name is Kalaloo," he said with a warm smile.

"Are we ina?" Spader asked, a little dumbfounded.

"Faar?" the guy said. "Yes. This is Faar."

We all exchanged quick glances that said, "We made it!"

Uncle Press said, "My name is - "

"Press, yes, I know," said Kalaloo. "And you're Pendragon," he said to me. "And you're Spader. You look like your father."

Whoa! Underwater-guy knew who we were?

"You knew my father?" Spader asked in wonder.

"I was sorry to hear of his death," the guy said with sympathy. "He was a friend."

"Time out," I said. "How do you know us?"

"Spader's father told us there would be others. We have been expecting you for some time, and watching you as well."

"I knew it!" I blurted out. "I saw one of you under Grallion when we were escaping from the raiders!"

"Yes, that was me," he answered. "I wanted to make sure nothing happened to you. I almost failed when you were being pulled into the engine of their s.h.i.+p."

"That was you?" I said in shock.

He smiled and nodded. "It was very close."

"Well, uh, thanks," I said.

"Thanks" didn't cover it.

The guy had saved my life. My head was spinning. It felt like we were three steps behind, again.

"How do you breathe underwater?" I asked. "You don't have gills or anything, do you?"

Kalaloo let out a warm laugh and said, "No, but sometimes I wish we did."

He lifted up the green suit and showed us that built into the fabric was a small, s.h.i.+ny silver mouthpiece.

"This pulls oxygen from the water; it's very efficient."

This looked like a smaller version of the harmonica thing on the back of the air globes.

"I was hoping that Osa would be with you," Kalaloo said. "Will she be joining us soon?"

I looked to Uncle Press, who answered the tough question.