The Improbable Adventures of Scar and Potbelly: Ice Terraces of Crystal Crag Read Online Free PDF Page A

extinguish it. They were plunged into darkness.
    “Quietly now.”
    Scar followed with a hand resting on a sword hilt.
    They hugged the side of the passageway as they continued ahead. The light remained stationary and they soon saw that it was a torch set into a sconce in the wall at a junction where another passage nearly as large as theirs, led off to the right. It didn’t look as if anyone was around.
    “Someone must have been here,” Scar said.
    “It doesn’t matter,” Old Man said.
    Moving into the light, he crept to the side passage, peered down it, then waved them forward. They crossed into the lit area, across the mouth of the other passage, then hurried into the shadows beyond. Not until they were deep in the darkness and the light was but a small glimmer in the distance did he relight the torch.
    Patches of a green, slimy growth covered the walls in this area. Scar slipped on a section that had grown upon the shelf where they walked and stumbled slightly. His hand reached for the wall to keep himself from falling but Old Man grabbed his wrist before he could. A grip firmer than his age would warrant helped Scar to regain his balance.
    “Do not touch the walls,” he warned.
    “Why?” Potbelly asked.
    His gaze flicked to the slime patches, then back to the pair of pit fighters. “Just don’t,” he again said. “It would be bad.”
    “Poison?” mouthed Potbelly to Scar.
    Scar shrugged, then nodded. “Likely.”
    After passing two more medium sized inflows, they reached where their tunnel split three ways; straight, angled to the left, or angled to the right. All three were half the size of the one in which they had been traveling. The centermost was the larger, but Old Man indicated the right hand tunnel which was the smallest. Its ceiling was so low that they would have to walk hunched over to pass through.
    “This way will lead to what some call the Smuggler’s Way,” he explained. “It’s runs straight through the length of the town. We won’t meet anyone there.” Turning into it, he led them on.
    After following for a few minutes, Scar asked, “How do you know we won’t meet anyone?”
    Old Man continued walking in silence.
    Scar glanced to Potbelly, then quickened his pace and laid a hand on Old Man’s shoulder to stop him. “How do you know?”
    The old man said over his shoulder, “It’s been abandoned.” Making to continue, he couldn’t for Scar held on tight.
    “Who would abandon a sewer?” Potbelly asked.
    “Yes,” Scar continued, “what does that mean, ‘ it’s been abandoned ?’”
    “Smuggler’s Way is an old name,” he explained. “Those who prefer the shadows have found better means to transfer their wares than through there.”
    When his two companions didn’t look convinced, he added, “The smell of the sewer often gave them away.”
    Scar searched his eyes but could find no hint of deception.
    Potbelly nodded. “That would make sense.”
    “Castin has grown and they are able to get lost in the crowds and alleys now.”
    Scar let go.
    Old Man bobbed his head. “It won’t be much farther once we reach Smuggler’s Way.” He then proceeded to lead them down the short, narrow tunnel.
    A little trickle of water flowed along the depression worn in the center; it was easy to avoid by walking to one side or the other. When the tunnel ended at a larger one running left and right, Old Man announced, “Smuggler’s Way.”
     
     
     
     
-3-
     
     
     
    Smuggler’s Way proved to be a much larger channel than any of the previous. Wide ledges ran along a central trough containing water of a most unpleasant nature. It moved slowly if it moved at all and the odor in the tunnel was nearly unbearable.
    “I can see why they abandoned it,” Potbelly said. His eyes had started watering.
    “Gah,” gasped Scar. “This is worse than your what’s-left-in-the-cupboard stew.”
    Potbelly swatted at him but Scar dodged the blow.
    “Yes,” Old Man agreed, “most