No, Felessan had to admit, sounding suddenly out of his depth. I always followed the footprints, just like I did now. There were footprints. You saw them.
Jaxom didnt care to agree for that would mean he was in part to blame for their predicament.
Those other corridors we passed on the way to the hole, where do they go? he finally asked.
I dont know. Theres an awful lot of the Weyr thats empty. Ive Ive never gone any farther than the slit.
What about the others? How far in have they gone?
Gandidans always talking about how far hes gone but but I dont remember what he said.
For the Eggs sake, dont blubber.
Im not blubbering. Im just hungry!
Hungry? Thats it. Can you smell dinner? Seemed to me we could smell it an awful long ways down the corridor.
They sniffed at the air in all directions. It was musty but not with stew. Sometimes, Jaxom remembered, you could smell fresher air and find your own way back. He put out a hand to touch the wall; the smooth, cold stone was somehow comforting. In between, you couldnt feel anything though this corridor was just as dark. His chest hurt and throbbed, in a steady accompaniment to his blood.
With a sigh, he backed up against the smooth wall and, sliding down it, settled to the ground with a bump.
Jaxom?
Im all right. Im just tired.
Me, too, and with a sigh of relief, Felessan sat down, his shoulder touching Jaxoms. The contact reassured them both.
I wonder what it was like, Jaxom mused at length.
Wonder what what was like? asked Felessan in some surprise.
When the Weyrs and the Holds corridors were lighted and used.
Theyve never been used.
Nonsense. No one wastes time carving out corridors thatll lead nowhere. And Lytol said there are over five hundred weyrs in Benden and only half-used …
We have four hundred and twelve fighting dragons at Benden now.
Sure, but ten Turns ago there werent two hundred, so why so many weyrs if they werent all used once? And why are there miles and miles of halls and unused rooms in Ruatha Hold if they werent used once …
So?
I mean, where did all the people go? And how did they carve out whole mountains in the first place?
Clearly the matter had never troubled Felessan.
And did you ever notice? Some of the walls are smooth as …
Jaxom stopped, stunned by a dawning realization. Almost fearfully he turned and ran his hand down the wall behind him. It was smooth. He gulped and his chest hurt more than the throb of the scratches. Felessan … ?
What whats the matter?
This wall is smooth.
So what?
But its smooth. Its not rough!
Say what you mean. Felessan sounded almost angry.
Its smooth. Its an old wall.
So?
Were in the old part of Benden. Jaxom got to his feet, running a hand over the wall, walking a few paces.
Hey! Jaxom could hear Felessan scrambling to his feet. Dont leave me. Jaxom! I cant see you.
Jaxom stretched his hand back, touched fabric, and jerked Felessan to his side.
Now hang on. If this is an old corridor, sooner or later itll run out. Into a dead end, or into the main section. Its got to.
But how do you know youre going in the right direction?
I dont, but its better than sitting on my rump getting hungrier. With one hand on the wall, the other clinging to Felessans belt, Jaxom moved on.
They couldnt have walked more than twenty paces before Jaxoms fingers stumbled over the crack. An even crack, running perpendicular to the floor.
Hey, warn a guy! cried Felessan, who had bumped into him.
I found something.
What?
A crack up and down, evenly. Excitedly Jaxom stretched both arms out, trying to find the other side of what might even be a doorway.
At shoulder height, just beyond the second cut, he found a square plate and, in examining it, pressed. With a rumbling groan, the wall under his other hand began to slide back and light came up on the other side.