Wandering Spark - Part 17

The cave was stretched as a tunnel, then spread out in breadth, and then splited. It spread out tens of tentacles, narrow, sometimes impenetrable. Some of the grottoes were bright - sunlight penetrated through the water. Others were semi-dark, and in two or three out there were in complete darkness that it was necessary to rely entirely on the serpanters.

"Do they see in the dark?"

"They know the way."

Varan was riding on Zhurbina. She was submissive, as a piece of wood. On a command "forward" she hurried forward. At the command "stop" immediately stopped. At the command "dive" immersed without hesitation.

"That's because she worked in the mines." After all, there are even more cunning corridors, there must be seeped into the cracks. And Kruchina - she was swimming in the open sea, she does not like caves. Well, her character, of course is also pathetic.

"Have you been to the mines?"

"Hello! I actually grew up there... You know, there are such air pockets where a person can live even during the season. It's dark, cold, but there's enough air, and food, and water, if it's licked from stalactites. One person was left there, so he stole the iron bars and then sold them, secretly. He was caught and wanted to judge, but he ran away and hid in the mines. There are such labyrinths - you can search for a fugitive for a hundred years, but you will not find... Well, they thought the season would come, he would get himself out. But he did not get out - he was afraid. Maybe he's lost his way. Already another offseason he came out - alive, just some kind of crazy. And the lord didn’t judge him - he punished himself... Imagine, above you, stone and water, whole pools of water... And you sit in the dark and don’t even make a fire so that it doesn’t waste your air. Above there is the season, and you live Shuu’s guts ... He, by the way, was telling about Shuu ever since. Maybe he saw her. Or maybe he just went mad. What do you think?"

"I think a living person must not see Shuu."

"I think so as well... But don’t think that it's bad in mines. The mines are really fun. Everything is ringing, the wheels are spinning, the water is pumped out, the serpenters are swimming back and forth... There is light from the crystals. The walls glitter like in a palace, like from drops or gems. It is good to sing songs there. Everyone is singing. There, a tiny girl can sing a song – and you’ll hear the choir of different voices and echoes which are singing along. Come to us in the offseason."

"I have my own work to do."

"They visit me in the autumn when bidding starts. In autumn, almost no one works, only sell and buy... Look, there will be a deep tunnel, and behind it the grotto-chamber. Guests are usually treated with shells. Krucha, forward!"

Kruchina screwed into the water, she went almost vertically down. Varan could see her rushing under the water, wrapped in a white flame - millions of tiny bubbles. He barely had time to grab the air, as Zhurbina dived right after.

A large jellyfish touched Varan's face. The water has darkened; the serpenter for a long time squeezed through the dense darkness so that Varan unpleasantly stabbed in his chest. At last a light flashed ahead, a surface gleamed with a rainbow-colored skin, and Zhurbina, arching her neck regally broke it. She brought down streams and waterfalls from her skin, glanced at Varan with an indulgent contempt: are you alright, land man?

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Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16

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To be continued...

Thank you for reading!