The Jaghun eyed the water with great intensity. Its rippling chest muscles were taut, and its broad paws were pressed firmly into the raft, as it stoutly braced itself.
“Can’t blame him at all,” Lee remarked, staring out at the dark, flowing waters. It was a sight that was understandably unnerving for any terrestrial creature, especially with the knowledge of what lurked beneath the water’s surface.
“No, I sure can’t either,” Lynn agreed at his side.
“Fang’s been here before, he should know better by now,” Gunther replied curtly, with a dismissive air.
The more that Lee stared, the more his mind began to conjure up visions of exaggerated depths and hidden leviathans. He pulled his attention away from the murky river to watch the rest of the group boarding, knowing that the sight of the river was doing him little good.
In a few moments, all of the passengers were finally settled aboard. The Unguhur raft pilots untied the pair of rafts from the anchoring rocks upon the shore. With a shove, and a few dips of the paddles to orient the rafts, the party was heading down the river.
The rafts, though rather simple in design, were sturdy, providing amply for the larger forms of the Unguhur. For the much smaller humans, they were more than adequate vessels. The rafts were easily able to accommodate all of the humans and Jaghuns, with plenty of space to spare. Ably handled by the Unguhur piloting them, the floating platforms remained amazingly steady within the waters, as they traveled along the slow currents towards the tunnel opening.
Lee’s nerves were given little respite, however, as he was quick to notice that the rafts were accompanied by their own set of waterborne escorts. A couple more gallidils were keeping pace effortlessly, swimming in the wake of the rafts.
“We don’t have any fish on this raft to give them,” Erin commented to Lee laconically, in a whisper.
“We’ll be fine,” he murmured quietly back to her, though the sight of the pursuing giants was quite unsettling. If he could have edged any further towards the center of raft, then he would have, but he was already as far in the middle of it as he could possibly go.
While Erin kept up her watch on the gallidils, Lee relaxed his guard enough to start noticing the other aspects of their travel. They passed by the teeming stalks of the underground forest to the left, as they made their way closer towards the gaping tunnel entrance.
There was not much activity within sight, but on a few occasions Lee espied a few Unguhur a short distance from shore. They invariably came to a halt in their tasks as the rafts drifted by them, standing quietly and staring at the unusual group of visitors riding upon the vessels.
They left the huge cavern with its mystical forest behind, as the rafts entered the wide tunnel that had been burrowed out by the river. The continuous passage of water had rendered the surfaces of the tunnel walls fairly smooth. The ceiling of the passage was a little low, just barely high enough for the Unguhur to stand upright.
Patches of the glowing, algae-like substance that lit the great cavern grew at periodic places within the tunnel, swathes of it clinging to the damp walls. The regularity of positioning, and the general uniformity of the size of the patches themselves, gave strong indication that they had been purposely placed and cultivated by the Unguhur, to help with their navigation of the otherwise dark tunnel.
Lee noticed that their large hosts were not extremely talkative, even amongst themselves. He looked over to the woodsman, who was cradling Skyheart and Darkmane close to him. While the two Jaghun cubs whimpered and whined, Gunther appeared to be completely at ease, though he also shared their hosts’ subdued demeanor in the sustained silence of their travel.
Deep within the rock, at the end of a prolonged stretch of river, the rafts abruptly emerged into a sprawling, gargantuan, underground lake. Like the strange forest, the sight was instantly breathtaking, only on a much greater scale.
Lee’s mouth went agape at the immensity of the cavern. He was speechless as he looked out across the waters of the huge lake. On the far shore, at the end of the enormous cavern, rose up a subterranean metropolis. Even more spectacular, the mass of edifices looked to have been carved out of the very rock of the cavern itself.
Stretching from one side of the cavern all the way to the opposite end, the semi-circular city was recessed back into the rock, rising in distinctive terraces. The glowing, algae-like substance used in the forest and tunnels was applied in great quantity within the cavern, casting a considerable amount of ambient light over the city and around the lake.
A gossamer shimmering was spread like a thin, dynamic membrane all across the rock facing of the great cavern. Its glimmering nature flowed from the undulating lake surface, reflecting the cerulean light coming from the widespread swathes of luminous growths from water to rock. The effect was at once ephemeral, and dazzling, holding Lee spellbound for many moments as he gazed upon the majestic entirety of the spectacle.
Most of the luminance within the city emitted from among the ascending terraced structures. A sprawling cascade of shadows was cast along the jagged cavern walls that bordered the city on three of its sides, as well as the rock ceiling above it.
Moving, merging, and separating, a host of lively shadows paraded across those rock surfaces, emanating from the movements of a substantial number of Unguhur, whose activity was visible all throughout the stone-carved city. A considerable number of rafts of various sizes were tethered along the far shoreline, and many others were floating out upon the surface of the expansive underground lake.
Those out upon the water were each attended by two to three Unguhur, whose purpose was immediately clear. Standing rigidly in place, as if statues, they stared intently downward, eyes fixed upon the gleaming surface of the water.
In their huge hands they gripped a type of spear that had been fashioned with a forked end. The Unguhur held the spears poised and motionless above the water, with their powerful arms drawn back, on the verge of a downward thrust. Tensed and ready, they were patiently awaiting a very specific moment.
As Lee looked on, one of them abruptly lashed out with blinding speed and force, driving the two-pronged shaft down into the water. When the Unguhur retracted the spear, a splashing form had been skewered upon its far end. The Unguhur strained with both arms as it brought the flopping, thrashing body of a large fish aboard the raft.
The fish was of a different kind than the type that had been fed earlier to the gallidils. It had a flatter head shape, provided with a lower jaw that jutted out noticeably farther than the upper. Its back and underside fins were set further back along its body. Like the other type of fish that Lee had witnessed, this fish was also very light in its coloration, its pale hue shaded by the light blue ambience radiating from the growths dotting the cavern’s rock surfaces.
Though the raft was very large, the throes of the fish, and movements of the Unguhur, as it pulled the catch towards the center, caused the raft to rock significantly, sending up splashes at the edges.
Several of the Unguhur engaged in fishing, whether distracted, or having already secured a catch, paused to look up at the newcomers on the incoming rafts. They hesitated for a moment, and Lee could see a few of them getting the attention of their companions. None of them appeared to be alarmed, as they silently regarded the visitors to their subterranean domain. A few finally turned their attentions back towards the task of fishing, while the gazes of others still lingered.
Several more gallidils could be seen resting out of the water, their ample bulks pulled up on the bank in small clusters at a few points along the far shoreline. Still others were traversing the surface of the lake, their extensive masses drifting gracefully through the dark waters. The latter showed little reaction to the two rafts, though a couple of the creatures altered their courses to avoid any chance of colliding with the watercrafts.
Once they were deeper into the cavern, Eranthus’ raft took the lead, edging a little ahead of the second. The Unguhur upon it paddled with strong vig
or for the midpoint of the great crescent that formed the far shoreline.
One Unguhur on each raft then shifted to the longer poles as they drew closer, having reached much shallower waters. The Unguhur used the poles to aid in their final approach, as they deftly positioned the rafts, and brought them towards an area on the shoreline where several large anchorage-rocks were set down by the water’s edge.
A few Unguhur, of the type wearing only the hide-kilts, hurried to the edge of the shoreline to help the arrivals secure the rafts and disembark. The Jaghuns bounded nimbly onto the shore as soon as the rafts had come to a halt, appearing more than pleased to find a solid rock surface underneath their paws. Gunther set Darkmane down, as Skyheart leaped to the solid ground behind him. The woodsman strode away several paces from the rafts, and waited quietly for Lee and the others to join him.
Lee hardly saw the woodsman, as his eyes were wide with an abundance of sheer wonder, as were those of his companions. They all stood dumbfounded, captivated and drinking in the sight of the astonishing underground city from up close.
The great terraces now towered far over them, with evenly demarcated sections running down to the left and right. The sections, to Lee’s best guess, were likely groups of individual dwellings. Each section contained a series of four units, stacked upwards and positioned back within the terraced arrangement. The terrace-sections ran all the way to the ends of the crescent, where the lakeshore culminated in the cavern’s walls.
It was a colossal mass of edifices that could provide for a large number of the huge Unguhur, at least a thousand or more. Lee could not begin to fathom how much effort had gone into the undertaking required to fashion the subterranean city.
Not far ahead from where they were standing was the base of a very broad set of stone-carved steps. The steps led far upwards, towards a massive and unique structure, which exhibited a smooth, curving outer facing. Whatever the rounded-faced structure was, it was set at the center of the entire metropolis, with everything else in the balance of the city’s design.
A couple of the lance-bearing Unguhur wearing the tunics stood attentively to each side of the stone steps at their base. Though they had undoubtedly observed the arrival of the human and Jaghun newcomers, the expressionless Unguhur warriors made no move to come forward from their positions.
Another set of rafts was disembarking just a short distance from where Lee’s group had landed. Several of the warrior-Unguhur were busy offloading the bounty of a recent hunt. Erin wrinkled her nose in distaste, as Lynn openly gawked at the unusual contents of the rafts.
Lee found the quarry of the hunters to be fascinating, giving him some more clues to the nature of the underground world that he and his companions now found themselves within. The evidence indicated a world as strange as it was daunting, and not one to be approached with a trivial attitude.
Great woven baskets rested idly on the shore, containing the forms of several huge crayfish. The great crayfish were, on average, longer than the distance from Lee’s elbow to his fingertips. Lee did not want to imagine the pain that their sizable pincers could inflict.
A warrior lugged the bodies of two substantial eels to the shore, dragging the ends of their over ten foot long bodies to scrape along the stony surface. The bodies of the eels were greater around in circumference than Lee’s upper leg, and the sight of them and the crayfish served to bestow a greater understanding upon Lee regarding the underground water’s formidable denizens.
Two other warriors picked up a long pole, along which were strung the bodies of several very large bats, a couple of which had wingspans of well over two feet. One bearing up each end, the warriors conveyed the pole high off the ground as they moved away from the shore, heading down its edge to the right.
Three warriors labored with the massive coils of a great constrictor. Its immense bulk and length made Lee shudder, as he realized with certainty that the giant serpent was large enough to swallow a human being. It was a creature that was not limited to either water or land, and Lee could only hope that the Unguhur hunters had rid the giant snakes from the immediate vicinity of the metropolis.
The last warrior among the rafts of the hunting party carried another carcass ashore, a creature that had a bulbous, rounded shape. Its long, thin legs were all folded and pulled in tightly against its lifeless body.
“A great cave spider. A delicacy among the Unguhur, and one that your friend probably would not appreciate,” Gunther commented to Lee, nodding towards Erin with the hint of a smirk on his face.
Lee chuckled in detached amusement, as Erin proceeded to confirm Gunther’s words. Having taken notice of the great spider, Erin had blanched instantly. Though he found some humor in the reaction, he did not find the idea of a great cave spider altogether appealing.
“All that is down here? In these caves?” Lee asked Gunther, as the implications of the hunters’ quarry continued to dawn upon him.
“It is an enormous cave system, and this hunting party has likely been out for quite some time. It is a dangerous undertaking for them, but the Unguhur do not want to eat fish constantly,” Gunther stated, another grin escaping him, as he eyed Erin’s continuing discomfort. “And, like all of us, they like to test themselves, though I admit that they do indeed choose difficult tests.”
“Nothing I would like to test myself with, anytime soon, or even remotely encounter,” Lee said, glancing back to the forty foot length of the serpent, and the massive head at one end.
“I cannot say I disagree,” Gunther replied, also looking upon the substantial creature.
Most ironically, Lee and his companions seemed to be every bit as exotic to the Unguhur as the warriors’ underworld catch was to the newcomers. Lee caught the successful hunters more than once stealing curious glances towards his own party.
Though they continued in their labors, there was no mistaking that the hunters were deeply intrigued by the sight of humans. Lee surmised that it was Eranthus’s presence, as an Unguhur of great authority, that prevented them from giving in further to their curiosity.
Lee then noticed that Eranthus had sent forth the two warriors that had escorted them from the cavern-forest, towards the metropolis. The two creatures headed briskly in the direction of the central flight of steps. The two lance-bearing sentries made no move to hinder them, as they drew up to the base of the climb.
The two Unguhur then ascended the steps with quick, fluid strides that looked effortless to Lee’s eye. The warriors finally reached some manner of stone platform or landing at the end of the long staircase, disappearing from view as they proceeded towards the massive circular structure looming at the summit.
“Welcome to Oranim, the great city of the Unguhur,” Gunther informed Lee and the others. “There are other underground forests, such as the one that you have seen, but this is the only city for this population of Unguhur. From what I have been able to tell, several hundred live here, perhaps as many as a thousand.”
“This is … amazing!” Ryan stated, looking thunderstruck as his eyes panned along the sights of the stone metropolis.
“How often have you been here?” Lee asked the woodsman.
“In the forest that you just beheld … many times. To Oranim, only a few times,” Gunther replied. “Wood is highly valued here, far under the ground. I have brought the Unguhur many select batches, over the years … cut and prepared, as I have thinned the area around my dwelling.
“I do not often go beyond that underground forest, though. Eranthus has taken me into Oranim out of kindness and gratitude for our trade and ongoing friendship.”
Gunther paused, regarding Lee with a serious countenance that was reflected in the tone of his voice as he continued.
“Believe me, you have been given a special gift … to set your eyes upon Oranim. It is a sight that very few human eyes have ever gotten to behold. No human who was not a welcome guest of the Unguhur has done so … that I can assure you. Consider it good fortune that you have been best
owed with this chance, even if the reason that drove us down here has nothing to do with good fortune.”
Lee took the words to heart. Looking at the formidable creatures populating the city, he had no doubt that Gunther spoke accurately. He found it inconceivable that a human could reach Oranim without the blessing of the brawny, giant race of beings.
“I still hope I don’t have too much more of this good fortune,” Erin quipped with sarcasm, though her eyes continued to scan the myriad sights around them.
The spectrum of the Unguhur society was in full evidence around them, ranging from smaller offspring on up to very elderly ones of their kind. Lee realized in moments that he had only seen males of the species as of yet, as a group of basket-bearing females passed close by them.
Like the others, the females regarded the newcomers with unabashed curiosity, slowing down to observe Lee and his companions as they talked quietly amongst themselves. Not unlike humans, the females of the Unguhur race exhibited a wider hip structure, and on average were smaller in size and narrower in shoulder than the males. Their faces were a little more slender and rounded than those of their stout male counterparts, taking on a more kindly natural mien.
They wore a lighter hide garment that wrapped around their bodies, covering them down to the knees. Pins made of carved bone held the hide garments in place, and colorful fibers had been worked into the surface of the hide to form sinuous, swirling patterns that flowed from top to bottom.
An energetic commotion soon developed as a small number of young Unguhur emerged from the city. They approached steadily closer to the landing party, talking excitedly among themselves. The shortest one among the cluster of youth was at least a couple of inches taller than Lee, and most were already taller than Gunther.
The young Unguhur were a mixture of males and females, judging by the hide-kilts on the males, and the long, wrap-around garments on the females that mimicked the fashion of the adults of their kind.
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