“Can you show us your model, Master Yuen?,” asked Seera. “Maybe there's another way out that we can't see from right here.”

She sent her talent out to check on anyone getting close to where they watched the city. She didn't want to be discovered while they were trying to figure out what to do. None of them had expected a city in a moutain from the way everyone had shifted gears.

“Of course,” said the Wu Chi. He spread out the paper. A partial picture of the city appeared on the paper. The only visible outlets seemed connected to the glowing river flowing through the place. One of the outlets was the flow of water from above dropping down in the city. The other was an exit from the wall that dropped into a pool outside the metroplis.

“What's this in the center?,” asked Seera. She pointed to a small indentation the map had picked up but it was on the cut off line.

“I don't have an idea,” said Master Yuen. “Maybe it's an entrance to what's below the city.”

Seera put her finger on the indicated hole gently. She didn't want to tear the paper. She let her talent loose to find an answer. She nodded when it reported back to her.

“This is where the monsters are coming from,” said Seera.

“Are you sure?,” asked Master Yuen. “I thought they were natural like the fish we saw in the river above us.”

“The monsters might be natural, but they are coming out of this hole and heading up through the central shaft to the surface,” said Seera. “I might have to go in and look around to see if there's an explanation. The rest of you can head back to the surface. I don't know what Emil will want to do with a whole city of people living under him.”

“I don't think you should go in alone,” said Everett.

Mister Shanahan watched the city. He had a scope he had bought just in case he might need it. He held it to his eye.

“Mister Shanahan?,” asked Seera.

“You won't be able to get in unless you're lucky,” said Mister Shanahan. “Bunch of frogs on moles patrolling. You won't be able to get by all of them without raising an alarm.”

“What are you talking about?,” asked Everett.

Mister Shanahan handed over the scope. He pointed at the city wall. Everett put the scope to his eye. He gasped.

“They do look like frogs riding moles,” said Everett. “They have spears and swords from the look of it.”

“May I use that?,” asked Master Yuen.

Everett handed him the scope. The Wu Chi put the scope to his eye. His model expanded to take in the new information he gleaned from seeming to be closer. Little markers dropped in to represent the patrols working their way along the top of the wall. A gap still existed in what he knew, but it wasn't as big as it had been.

“I think the Eye is right,” said Master Yuen. He lowered the scope. “I can't quite grasp the feel, but that indentation is some kind of door. I can feel that much.”

“Does anyone have any ideas?,” asked Seera.

“I can go up to the surface on my own and notify Emil,” said Everett. “I don't know what he will do. He might come down here in person, or gather the others to raid the place, or consult with the other Wu Chi to see what they want to do with what we have found. The rest of you would have to remain out of sight, or go back the way we came down to avoid any trouble before Emil does anything.”

“If he does anything,” said Seera. “He might write this off and seal us in, and let that be the end of things.”

“Never happen,” said Mister Shanahan. He took the scope back and went back to watching the city.

“Why?,” asked Seera.

“He has a whole lot of enemy combatants and civilians living directly under his own stronghold with no guarantee that he can confine them down here unless he collapses the mesa somehow,” said Mister Shanahan. “He is more likely to put everyone to the sword first so he doesn't have to worry about it. He might come down and have a talk about the monsters, but who knows what will happen if he does that.”

“They'll try to kill him for setting foot in their territory,” said Seera.

“That would be declaring war on Emil,” said Everett. He watched the city. “A lot of them would be hurt before they even came close to stopping him if he did rampage down here.”

“If they had anything to stop him at all,” said Seera. “I think it would be good to get our two factions together.”

“I know you don't like Emil, but I don't think that's a good idea at all,” said Everett. “I think it would be better to back away from this before we run into more trouble.”

“I agree with Master Spider,” said the first assistant. “Our duty is to map the cavern and find out if there is a way to stop the monsters from attacking our hex. We have done both as well as we can. We should retreat and come back when we have a plan to deal with this.”

“What about you?,” asked Seera. She nodded at the second assistant.

“The six of us might be able to get inside the city and look around with the use of our combined talents, but I feel that only the Spider, or Shanahan have a chance of actually leaving under their own power if things go wrong,” said the second assistant. “We simply do not know enough about these people and what they can do. We do not even know if they can stop either of our factions from attacking with what we have seen so far.”

“And the loss of life on both sides would be bad for the surface,” said Master Yuen. “The other surface factions would try to move in to sieze what they could from whomever was left after the fighting was done.”

“All right,” said Seera. “We'll climb out of here and let Emil know what we found. After that, the job is done for Mister Shanahan and me. We'll be able to go back to our lives without worrying about any of this.”

“We could maybe use the shaft to climb out of here, but if we are seen, they might be able to pick us off from the towers on the wall,” said Everett. “It depends on how strong their arms are.”

“Problem,” said Mister Shanahan. He placed the scope in its holder and took aim with his rifle.

A winged shape emerged from the center of the city. Seera didn't need her talent to know it was taking flight from the indentation she had picked up on the model. It seemed smaller than the others they had seen. It roared as it circled the city, following the wall.

“It can't see us, can it?,” asked the first assistant. He reached for the paper folded in its holder.

Master Yuen hastily packed his own kit away. Making models didn't seem that effective against giant lizards.

“You were right,” said Seera, pulling on Mister Shanahan's arm. “We should have got the LAWs despite the weight.”

Mister Shanahan waved her off. He backed up slowly, keeping his rifle on target. There was a small chance that the thing hadn't seen them. Everything depended on how sharp its vision was, and if it was attracted to movement.

“It might be small enough to come into the tunnel after us,” said Mister Shanahan. “I'll try to hold it off so the rest of you can start up. If you have to run, do it. I'll catch up when I can.”

“Never leave anyone behind?,” said Seera.

“I retired,” said Mister Shanahan. “Besides I can sprint faster for longer than any of you. Don't worry about me. Just get the Wu Chi back topside so the job is really done.”

Seera nodded. She knew he was the one best suited for fighting a rearguard action, and there was no telling how strong and durable he really was with both the Horse and the Fist.

“I'm leading,” said Seera. “Everybody, follow me. Let's see if we can go up faster than we did coming down.”

“We just have to make it to the two doors,” said Everett. “We can climb up from there.”

Seera nodded. The bypass they had punched out would let them use the central shaft so Everett could pull Master Yuen to the surface faster than following the tunnels.

The roar of the dragon filled the tunnel behind them.