“And just incidentally kill thousands—maybe tens or hundreds of thousands—of us along with it. Nice people.”
Rokhaset gave a humming sound that carried the same force and tone as a sigh. “Once they were. In some ways, they are still very much like us. But without Nowë ‘s guidance . . . No matter.” The image zoomed in, showing the network of caverns that made up the longest, if not the deepest, cave system known to man, a duplicate of one of the maps we’d shown him. Suddenly, an entirely new network of caverns spread across the map, filling in areas never explored by humans, extending across most of the state and beyond into every area that had stone to support caves—and some, near as I could tell, into areas that normally shouldn’t have caves at all.
Rokhaset didn’t need to tell us where Nowë ‘s Road was. Even without his highlighting it was sharply obvious, a geometrically perfect line running from near the intersection of Flint and Mammoth’s networks directly to the west-northwest almost half the distance to the homestead. It terminated in another tangle of caverns, and then started again on the other side to end somewhere below our feet.
“As you can see,” Rokhaset said, “if you can reach Nowëmosdet, you will be able to proceed straight to the realm of the Lisharithada. Taking into account your size and what I have been able to deduce of your abilities, I here trace the path you must take to reach the Road of Nowë.”
We watched as the route started at the Historic Entrance, following the route for the now-defunct Echo River tour through the Rotunda and the Historic Tour route to River Hall before diverting to pick up the River Styx and the Echo River. Then it suddenly jagged off towards the connection to Flint Ridge, which was near the middle of Cascade Hall.
“Wait up there,” Jodi said. “Looks like the connection that leads to the Road is more over to the Flint side, Rokhaset. Why come in through Mammoth?”
“Two reasons, Jodi Goldman. Firstly, if I am not mistaken, Mammoth is more open and will permit you to make better time in all likelihood, even if you must approach over a somewhat longer route. Secondly, the approach from the Mammoth direction will make it easier for you to reach the tunnel here, which is unexplored by your people and eventually leads you to Nowëmosdet. This tunnel will be found at the very top of the chamber. While maps such as this are terribly inadequate for showing elevation, on the Flint side you would be ascending quite steeply before you even reach the level of this known passage. And then you would have a further difficult climb to reach the critical tunnel.”
“Whee. Abandoning the tour in mid-stride. That’ll liven up the tour, sure ’nuff.”
“Get ourselves banned from the cave too. Oh, well, not much we can do about that, nu? Just remember to have everything packed and move fast. It’d be embarrassing to have the whole state devastated because we were too slow and some well-meaning tourists caught us.” She studied the map. “Still, I don’t want to be a nudje, but that stretch of Nowëmosdet is like to be forty miles long. And filled with water. What, you think we’re fish? We’re not doing that in two days, that’s for sure.”
The High Spirit nodded. “I understand this completely. There is a way to give you the endurance and speed needed. But it may not be entirely safe.”
“Give us endurance and speed? How—” I broke off, staring at him. “Are y’all out of your mind? I don’t doubt the stuff works on your people, but it’s prob’ly pure poison to us! ‘Sides, y’all need it, right?”
“You are quick in grasping the idea, Clinton Slade. Yet you are not entirely correct. The elixir, made according to the ancient recipes, is said to have been the same for your people as well as my own. It is born of the power of the world that sustains us both.” He shifted his stance slightly. “It is true that the Powers have changed, so there may be some difference in effect, which is why I say there may be some risk. Yet I sincerely believe it shall produce the requisite effect, and, most importantly, surround you with the aura of one who belongs in the Earth, so that Nowëmosdet will accept you and assist you.”