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beating him as I do of getting Thornrack to let us escape. Less, probably." He
glanced 262 down at Mudge. "Remember the bouncer at Madame Lorsha's in
Timswitty? This one makes him look like a cub."
Mudge's whiskers twitched. "That don't sound none too promisin', mate."
"It isn't." He paused. Something had been troubling him since he'd
reentered the cell, but he'd been too busy telling of his meeting with Markus
to focus on it. Now he did, and it gave him a start. "Hey, I think I can feel
a-"
Three pairs of furry paws slapped over his mouth and most of the rest of
his face, muffling him completely. Memaw stepped close, put her fingers to her
lips. Jon-Tom nodded slowly and the paws were withdrawn.
Taking his hand in her paw, she quietly drew him toward the darkest
corner of the cell. The rest of the otters moved aside to let them through.
There was a small twist and bend in the far corner where the cell curved
around to follow the contours of the outer wall- It was there that Jon-Tom saw
the source of the thing thai had bothered him since he'd rejoined his
companions.
A steady breeze.
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It rose from a section of floor where the paving had been removed. The
hole was rapidly being enlarged by the otters' best diggers. A pile of cracked
and broken rock was stacked neatly against the far wall. Memaw pointed at it.
"Rotten, from age and the dampness. Quoriy smelled the air coming in and
we traced it back here to the floor. We managed to break the old stones away."
She leaned forward and whispered anxiously. "How is it coming, my
friends?"
Knorckle looked up at them. His face was smeared with wet dirt and
pulverized rock. "There's somethin' THE MOMENT or TUE MAGICIAN 263 else down
'ere, all right, mum. It ain't solid and it ain't water."
"Don't smell none too good," opined Mudge. He'd moved up to stand nex?
to Jon-Tom, who reflected on the fact that the otter's shifts in mood were as
fast as his tingere. "But 'tis air. Where's she comin' from?"
He leaned'over and tried to see into the hole. Flying paws and dirt made
it difficult.
"Maybe a way out," murmured Memaw, hardly daring to hope.
Selryndi had walked over to watch. The squirrel drew his tattered cloak
tightly around him, sniffed.
"Can't be. This is the lowest level of the Quorumate."
"Not necessarily, my friends." Those who weren't digging turned to look
at Opiode, whose expression for the First time reflected his nickname- That in
itself gave Jon-Tom cause to hope- "There are.,.
stories." His wise, shining eyes roved over the ancient masonry. "The
Quorumate Complex is the largest structure in Quasequa, and the oldest. It is
said that as it was built, the Lake of Sorrowful Pearls rose around it, so
that the dungeon we are now imprisoned in once stood above the water line.
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"It is, therefore, not inconceivable that there could be still older
levels farther below."
The digging crews worked in relays while the rest kept a careful watch
on the stairway. Their energy and determination was wondrous to behold, except
when someone got in someone else's way. Then Memaw would have to step in and
break up the fight. These were always brief and harmless, but they cost
precious minutes. There was no telling when the turnkey or Thornrack might
return and decide to make a cursory inspection of their cell.
Jon-Tom didn't much care what lay below the broken, sodden stones.
Anything would be better than having to face Markus's bodyguard in combat.
264 "She's wide enough now." Frangel wiped his paws on his shorts.
"Who's first down the bung-'ole?"
"I'll go," said Memaw. Sasswise pushed her aside.
"No you don't, mum. Beauty before brains."
"That's what 1 said, my dear," countered Memaw, shoving back.
While the two of them argued, Ftutzasarangelik (but you can call him
Flutz) jumped between them and disappeared through the gap in the floor. The
soft thump of his landing was heard clearly by those waiting anxiously above.
"It's not too bad," he whispered up at them. "I'm in some kind of
tunnel. There's a little water runnin' along the bottom, and I can 'ear it
drippin' down the wails in a couple o' places, but she seems solid enough."
"How big is it?" Memaw called to him.
"Not very. Old drainage tunnel, I thinks. I *ave to bend to clear the
ceiling."
Jon-Tom went cold. He'd always been a little claustrophobic and had
trouble enough in local buildings with low ceilings. If Flutz had to bend,
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that meant he'd have to go on hands and knees, or crab-walk. This through a
narrow tunnel full of water, below the level of the lake beyond, toward an
unknown destination.
And the tunnel might get smaller as they went, closing in around them
tighter and tighter, pressing against his sides as well as his legs until...
A hand nudged him. "Hey, mate, are you all right?" There was genuine
concern on Mudge's face.
"You look a mite green."
Jon-Tom took several long, measured breaths. "I'm okay. Let's go."
Quorly followed Flutz, then Sasswise, then Frangel.
Selryndi was next in line and pulled up short, eyeing the dark hole
uneasily.
THE MOMENT OF THK MAGICIAN 26,5 "Let's not be hasty. We don't know
what's down there."
"But we do know what. is up here," said Opiode, stepping around him. The
salamander's tail twitched as he spoke. "Slow starvation and continued
humiliation, or worse."
"Easy for you to say, wizard. You are as much at home underwater as a
fish." He gestured at the otters. "To a certain extent, so are these
industrious visitors. But the rest of us are strictly dry-land airbreathers.
What if the water should rise to the ceiling?"
"What if the sun should fail to rise tomorrow?"
said Opiode. "Remain here if you wish, and give our apologies to Markus
the Ineluctable. The rest of us have an appointment with freedom." He turned
and plunged through the opening, displaying an agility that belied his age.
Old Trendavi followed him, the pangolin's scales barely clearing the gap. The
rest of the Quorum followed until only Selryndi remained.
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Jon-Tom dropped through the hole and looked up at him. "I'm as much of a
drylander as you are, Selryndi. If I can stand it, so can you."
The squirrel stood staring down at the tall young human. Then he
muttered something under his breath, tucked his tail up against his back, and
jumped.
The rest of the otters brought up the rear. They took care to replace
the floor as best they could. Any delay in discovering the hole would help to
confuse pursuersOnce the gap had been reseated, it was pitch-black inside the
tunnel. Jon-Tom found he could still walk so long as he kept bent double. It
hurt his back, but it was better than trying to crawl through the shallow,
cold water that ran along the bottom of the tunnel.
[, Still, he kept knocking his head against the ceiling, 280 which
fortunately had been worn smooth over the years.
It was anything but a pleasant hike- He kept bumping into furry bodies
ahead and others stumbled into him from behind. Their only link and only
guides were touch, smell, and anxious whispers.
They walked for what seemed like miles in the darkness before Frangel's
voice echoed down the tunnel. "There's a branching up 'ere. Which way?"
"From which direction does the air flow most strongly?" Memaw inquired.
"From the left, mum, but the ceiling there is a bit lower." Jon-Tom
cursed softly.
"Ignore it, mate," said Mudge from just in front of him. "You can 'andle
it."
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