Get out while you can

You take another swig of water - real water - and start to think. First of all you might not be pregnant. If you're really lucky, that is. Second, Corin is usually out for hours this time of day, hunting for dinner. Third, and best of all, you've accompanied him a few times so you know enough of the maze to know where it ends. There's one part where the walls change, the stone is rough hewn instead of finished and there are no more rooms.

It takes only minutes to get dressed and cross the maze. As you move you keep drinking more water in little sips. You realize how little you've done over the last few weeks. Really you've spent most of your time rutting like an animal. When you reach the 'edge' of the maze you start to tread carefully. This is one of Corin's favorite hunting grounds. You manage to slip down one of the rough cut tunnels without being seen or followed, so at least your escape hasn't failed at the first hurdle.

Soon you are walking through proper caverns, cut by the natural flow of water. By torchlight you can see a few critters scuttling back into the shadows. You can also hear running water, which gives you some hope. There must be an underground river nearby. It makes sense - most cities need a lot of water, so why not build your city near or above a stream? It would certainly make sieges difficult.

Walking around the next bend you see the river itself. Wide and slow moving, this must have slowly carved out all these caverns from the stone. There's a narrow, but solid looking stone bridge ahead spanning the river. You can't even make out details of the far side, but the bridge seems to be coated in thick, heavy spiderwebs.

A little further down is a dock, or what's left of one. Solidly built stone pilings support rotted beams and a few planks. The dock itself is useless, but it does draw your eye. Dragged up out of the water, looking like it was left here only yesterday, is a long barge. It seems the ancient inhabitants of Xerasm used this river for travel as well. Approaching the boat you see that the wood has been brushed with a clear substance - some kind of varnish. It seems they knew something about protecting wood from the damp conditions of these caverns, too.