"Anything is possible, with magic," Bink said. It was a cliché, a truism, but right now he had his doubts.
"Look at the shambles in there," Chester said. "That bottle must have been bounced against a wall."
"And the mirror broke, and a piece of it flew out here," Bink said uncertainly. "Right where we could find it. That's quite a coincidence, even if we can believe the possibility."
"What else can we believe?" Chester demanded.
Bink could not argue. His talent operated through seeming coincidence; it must have had a part in this. But wouldn't it have been easier to have the Magician's bottle itself float to shore here, instead of one piece of glass? "We can see them, but not hear them. Maybe if we print a message-" But they had nothing to do that with.
"If we can find the bottle, we can let them out," Chester pointed out He seemed to be feeling better, physically.
"Yes." Bink held the fragment close to his face and mouthed elaborately "Where are you?"
Humfrey spread his hands. He pointed to the bottle wall Outside it, turbulent water swirled, its phosphorescence making streaky line-patterns. The bottle was somewhere in a river, being carried along by the current-where?
"I guess that mirror isn't much use," Chester said. "Crombie could locate us-but can't get to us. We might get to the bottle-but can't find it."
"We'll have to follow the river down," Bink said. "It must start at the vortex pool here in this lake, and dribble on to wherever it goes. Yet if we follow it-"
"We delay our quest for the source of magic," Chester finished.
That made Bink pause. "The quest will have to wait," he decided. "We have to save our friends."
"I suppose so," the centaur agreed. "Even that arrogant griffin"
"Do you really dislike Crombie?"
"Well he's a scrapper, like me. Can't blame him for that, I suppose. But I'd like to try his strength, once, just for the record."
Male competition. Well, Bink understood that, for he experienced it himself at times.
But there were more important matters now. "I'm thirsty," Bink said. He walked back to the lake shore.
"Have you noticed," Chester remarked, "that there is no life in this lake? No fish, no monsters, no plants, no beach creatures "
"No life," Bink repeated. "But we're all right, so-"
"We haven't drunk from it yet. Or if we did, it was from the fresh water of the vortex, when we were on the pill."
"That's true," Bink said uncomfortably.
"I wonder whether the cork loosened in Humfrey's bottle, and he got a sample of this water, and hauled the cork back in place right after the mirror broke."
"Could be," Bink agreed. "We'd best not gamble. Well need food soon, too. We'd better check around. We can't rescue the Magician if we don't take care of ourselves."
"Right," Chester agreed. "And the first thing to do is-"
"Is to find my clothes," Bink finished.
They were farther along the shore, complete with Bink's sword, as luck would have it. But as luck would also have it, the bottle was not with them. Chester had retained his weapons and rope, so was in good shape.
They moved on through the cavern passages, leaving the suspicious river behind, their eyes acclimatizing to the dimming subterranean reaches. Bink hoped they would not encounter nickelpedes here, but was careful not to voice this wish. No sense alarming Chester. They tried to mark their way by scratching X's in the floor every so often, but Bink wasn't sure how effective this would be. Time passed, and the way was interminable-especially since they did not know where they were going.
Bink's thirst had been casual, at first, but now that he knew there was no water it became more pressing. How long could they go on, before-?
Abruptly they saw light-real light, not the mere passage glow. They hurried cautiously up to it-and discovered a magic lantern suspended from a jag of stone. Its soft effulgence was a welcome sight-but there was nothing else.
"People-or goblins?" Bink asked, nervous and hopeful.
Chester took it down and studied it. "Looks like fairy-work to me," he said. "Goblins don't really need light, and in any event this is too delicately wrought."
"Even fairies aren't necessarily friendly," Bink said, "Still, it seems a better risk than starving here alone."
They took the lamp and went on with slightly improved prospects. But nothing further developed. Apparently someone or something had lit a lamp, left it, and departed. Strange. Weary, dirty, hungry, and unpleasantly thirsty, they paused at last on a boulder. "We have to find food, or at least water," Bink said, trying to make it seem casual. "There doesn't seem to be any on this main passage, but-" He paused, listening. "Is that-?"
Chester cocked his head. "Yes, I think it is. Water dripping. You know, I haven't wanted to say anything, but my tongue has been drying up in my mouth. If we could-"
"Behind this wall, I think. Maybe if we-"
"Stand clear." The centaur faced about so that his better half addressed the wall in question. Then he kicked.
A section of the wall collapsed. Now the sound was louder: water flowing over stone. "Let me climb in there," Bink said. "If I can collect a cupful-"
"Just in case," Chester said, taking his coil of rope and looping it about Bink's waist. "We don't know what to expect in these dark chambers. If you fall in a hole, I'll haul you out"
"Yes," Bink agreed. "Let me take the magic lantern."
He scrambled into the hole. Once he got by the boulder, he found himself in a larger, irregular cavern whose floor slanted down into darkness. The sound of water was coming from that darkness.
He moved forward, careful of his footing, trailing the line behind him. The water sound became temptingly loud. Bink traced it to a crevice in the floor. He held his lantern over it. Now at last he saw the glint of a streamlet. He reached down with his fingers, and just as his shoulder nudged the crevice lip his fingers touched the water.
How could he draw any up? After a moment's thought he ripped a piece of cloth from his already tattered sleeve, and dangled that down into the water. He let it soak up what liquid it cared to, then brought it to the surface.
While he was doing this, he heard a distant singing. He stiffened with alarm. Were the lake fiends coming here? No, that seemed highly unlikely; they were water dwellers, not rock dwellers, and by the lord of the manor's own admission they knew nothing of this nether region. This had to be some creature of the caves. Perhaps the owner of the magic lantern.
By the time he brought the dripping rag to his mouth, the singing was quite close. There was the scent of fresh flowers. Bink put the dangling end of the rag in his mouth and squeezed. Cool, clear liquid dripped down. It was the best water he had ever tasted!
Then something strange happened. Bink experienced a surge of dizziness-not sickening, but wonderfully pleasant. He felt alive, vibrant, and full of the warmth of human spirit. That was good water indeed! He dipped his rag into the crevice again, soaking it for Chester. This was an inefficient way to drink, but a great deal better than nothing. While he lay there he heard the singing again. It was a nymph, of imperfect voice but sounding young and sweet and joyful. A pleasant shiver went through him.