***
In the chasm below the bridge, much farther down from where they had first fallen in--though it was impossible to tell exactly how far--Caldrek, Shennen, Taris, Saranna, and Darius dragged themselves out of the water and lay dripping on the riverbank. In the utter darkness of the chasm, they were forced to call out each other's names. Only Furlus failed to answer the call. Taris pulled a Birlote torch from his pack, and the crimson light revealed the swiftly flowing river, from which pointed rocks protruded.
As they watched in tense silence, a thick hand suddenly reached up out of the water and grabbed one of the rocks. Then another hand came up, and Furlus Goblincrusher pulled himself above the surface, gasping for breath. He hung there, in the middle of the river, his chest heaving beneath his plate mail.
"Don't just gawk at me," he muttered to the others. "Help me out. I can't fight the current anymore. This armor is too heavy."
"Can you remove your armor?" said Taris.
Furlus shook his head. "Not while I'm hanging from this rock."
Suddenly, a big shape drifted past in the torchlight. It was an old Cave Troll. Oddly enough, it was almost in a standing position, as if something were weighing down its feet. It bobbed along down the river, its round eyes gazing at them, and disappeared into the dark.
"Did you see that?" said Saranna. "It looked like a Troll!"
No one answered. They just shrugged and shook their heads.
"Was that a Cave Troll that just floated past?" Saranna asked again, her eyes wide in disbelief. "Or am I seeing things?"
Shennen readied his rope. "Tie this around yourself, if you can, Furlus, and we will pull you onto the bank."
"If I let go of this rock," said Furlus, "I'll sink like lead."
"I guess I can swim out and tie it around you," said Taris. "If I must..."
"I'd rather drown," said Furlus.
"I can do it," said Saranna.
"Hurry now!" said Furlus. "I'm losing my grip."
Shennen handed Saranna one end of the rope, and she dove into the river a bit upstream from where Furlus was. The current pulled her along, but she managed to fight her way over to the struggling Dwarf.
"If you weren't so thick in the belly," mocked Taris, "she might actually be able to get that rope around your waist."
Furlus was clinging to the rock with his last bit of strength, but he managed to grunt out a response. "When I get...to shore...watch out...sorcerer!"
"It's done," said Saranna. "You can pull us in."
Shennen, Caldrek, and Taris tugged on the rope. "You can let go now," said Taris, "unless you want us to try to pull that rock along with you."
Furlus let his hands slip from the rock, while Saranna held onto him and the rope. The others dragged them up onto land. Furlus lay coughing and hacking. Then he sat up, his beard dripping, still panting from his exertion.
"Let us hope the Squires returned to Dremlock," sputtered Furlus.
"I doubt they did," said Taris, shaking his head.
Furlus looked surprised. "What makes you say that? Do you actually think they would try to continue on without us?"
"Perhaps," said Taris. "They might try to find us, believing we need their help. And that Vorden fellow... Well, let's just say that I understand his nature."
"They would be fools to try to cross that bridge," said Saranna, wringing out her hair, "after what happened to us."
"Could Squires possess such courage?" said Caldrek.
"Why not?" said Shennen. "When we were young, Caldrek, we might easily have tried it. When it comes down to it, age has less to do with courage than people might think, my friend."
"I think Taris has a good point, for once," said Furlus. "Look at what those Squires have done already--sneaking down to visit the Divine Essence."
"Where Vorden goes," said Taris, "trouble shall follow."