They continued on as they had been for a while, stopping to rest and eat occasionally. According to their chonometers, they had been in the caves for nearly a full day.
They had heard the noise for almost 20 minutes before they realized it. At first it seemed almost like white noise, but as the sound grew it almost seemed like a rushing wind.
Thinking they were nearing an exit, they quickened thier pace, heading toward it. It grew louder as they approached, and eventually, between the lack of air movement and the downward angle they were traveling, they reaized it wasn't an exit, but an underground river which they were approaching.
The river was located in a large cavern in which every surface was wet and dripping with condensation. The tunnel they were following opened up onto a ledge which was ten meters above the river itself. The far side of the river was a sandy shore, but a quick survey showed no easy way down.
"Looks like another dead end," Trychon said, turning to head back the way they had come.
"Wait," Raezyr said, grabbing Trychon's arm and pointing his torch toward a small opening on the up river side of the sandy beach. "If we can get over there, that tunnel may follow the river back to where the it goes underground."
"It also may not go anywhere, and we may find ourselves trapped over there. Besides, I don't even know if we can fit in there. It looks pretty small," Trychon replied.
"Maybe, but look at the beach. It should just be smooth sand, but it looks as if it's been disturbed. I'm guessing some animal followed that tunnel down here. If they got in on that side, then there has to be a way out over there," Raezyr said, pulling the grapling hook and cable from his belt. He shook it out and coiled it in one hand, then began spinning the hook.
He spun it a few times, and then let it fly across the cavern. Using the Force to guide the trajectory, it caught in a crack between some rocks. "Grab on to me, and we'll swing over."
Raezyr looped the cable in a small mechanism on his belt as Trychon wrapped his arms around Raezyr's shoulders. "This is a bad idea, Raez."
"Hey... Trust me," Raezyr chuckled, then they swung out into thin air. They swung out and across, nearly hitting the wall on the other side of the cavern. Raezyr let them dangle like a pedulum for a few moments before flipping a switch on the mechanism on his belt, which slowly played out the cable, and they safely landed on the soft sand on the other side of the river.
Trychon let go and began looking around the small beach as Raezyr began putting the cable and hook away. He had just finished when Trychon called him over to see what he had found at the edge of the river.
"I've got good news and bad news, Raez."
"Give me the good news first," Raezyr said as he walked to where Trychon was crouching down.
"You were right, a surface animal has been down here."
"Then what's the bad news?"
"Look for yourself."
Raezyr bent down and pointed his torch at the intact footprint in the damp sand. The vornskr track he saw was twice as large as any they had previously seen.
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