Author's notes – Brankel! Good to hear from you again :). I'm glad you're enjoying the story :). In most of my POV stories, I took the opportunity to have the characters explore some really cool location somewhere on planet Earth (like Norway in Powerless, Greece in Lost and Found in Greece and The Impossible Boy, the South China Sea in Omega or even a scene over Antarctica in Identity). So I'm continuing the trend here, with the Rangers exploring not a cool place above ground, but a fantastic location about a kilometer below it. Enjoy chapter three! :)
Chapter Three
The air was cool and still as Trini and I followed the tunnel away from the hillside and ever deeper under the mountain. As far ahead as we could see, the tunnel stayed about two metres tall and just as wide, providing ample room for Trini and I. We could've walked side-by-side if we'd dared, but by this point we were firmly in Ranger mode. The trip was silent, save for our steps on the pebbles beneath our shoes, and the sounds of equipment jangling in our backpacks.
The natural light ran out after the first hard turn, but our flashlights had enough charge to last for hours. We stopped for a minute to clip extra lights onto our packs before continuing. While the tunnel swung sharply left or right several times, there were no intersections or alternate paths, so the route was easy enough to follow. But while never outrightly steep, the passage always angled downhill. After following the tunnel for half an hour, I was certain Trini and I were deep underground, a fact our scanners quickly confirmed.
"No excitement yet," Trini said, playing her torch along the rocky ceiling. "Thankfully."
"Even so," I said, gazing around at the tunnel walls, "my inner geologist is doing handstands at the moment. This is a fascinating exploration of a subterranean environment I doubt many people have seen."
Trini glanced to me with a smile as we continued exploring the passage. "This whole mountain range is remnants of a shield volcano that was active, what, twenty million years ago?" she asked.
"Thereabouts," I replied. "From the look of it, I'd say the rock is mostly basalt with a bit of trachyte thrown in as well."
"Do you think we'll find any crystals?"
"Negative," I replied. "Quartz is rarely found in trachyte. Tridymite is not uncommon, although from what I recall it's usually in such small quantities we'd need a microscope to see any. Opals are a distinct possibility, as well as…" but I caught myself. "Sorry. I'm monologuing again, aren't I?"
Trini laughed. "It's fine," she said. "Opals you say? Kim sure picked the wrong mission to be off-world for." We continued on in silence for another few minutes, then Trini spoke again. "The cave's kind of beautiful in its own way," she said softly. "Do you think the tunnel was here originally?"
"Possibly," I said. "But the passage would've been much narrower." I shined my torch ahead to a sharp left turn, and nodded to the jagged edges of the tunnel wall. "Going by how sharp those rocks are, the tunnel must've been artificially widened or enlarged. And unless I'm mistaken, quite recently. How's our air looking?"
Trini checked the scanner in her pocket, and her face fell. "Curiouser and curiouser," she said. "The oxygen levels are well within safe parameters. It looks like the air down here is almost as fresh as it was back on the surface."
I shined the torch on my watch. "We've been walking for almost an hour now," I said. "That is odd." I stopped to check my own scanner to confirm Trini's readings, but she was right. I slid the scanner into my pocket, about to reply when I froze.
"Billy?" Trini asked. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"Do you hear that?" I asked. The faintest noise was coming from somewhere up ahead. Trini held still to concentrate, and I realised what I was listening to. "That's…"
"…running water!" Trini said. "C'mon!"
The two of us ran on ahead. But in our haste, we'd gotten about underground acoustics, and it was only after sprinting for another few minutes that I realised the water was much further away than it sounded. We slowed to a jog before continuing, and after another few minutes, the tunnel opened out ahead of us. The sound echoing back through the passage was almost deafening. With our torches held high, Trini and I stepped out of the tunnel into an enormous natural cavern. We gazed around in wonder. The cavern roof was high above our heads and covered by pointed stalactites. A two-storey house could've easily fit in the cave with room to spare. In the centre of the cavern was a fast-flowing underground river. As we got closer to investigate, I saw that the river emerged from a rocky outcrop at one end of the cave, and flowed into a narrow tunnel at the other.
"Be careful, it's slippery," Trini warned as we approached.
I reached into my backpack for a thin metal device as Trini explored the river bank. Kneeling by the river's edge, I dipped the device into the water for a few seconds before retrieving it to check the readings. The current was surprisingly strong. "Look at that," I murmured. "That's pure fresh water. This river could've been here for a million years." But looking again, I saw dark shapes swimming in the water and pulled back sharply. Fish. Even here. I shivered involuntarily and stood up.
Trini pointed her torch at the rocky wall opposite. "Check it out," she said.
A hole in the rock about the same size as the tunnel we'd been following was facing us. "There's no other way out of the cavern," I said. "That's our path."
"There's some rocks up here," Trini said. "I think we can cross safely."
We picked our way across the stream, holding each other's hands for balance. Safely reaching the other side, we were about to continue when the ground suddenly shook.
"Uh oh," I said.
An angry roar echoed through the cavern as an enormous cave troll charged out of the shadows, swinging its giant fists towards us. The beast was seven feet tall and almost as round, a towering behemoth of muscle and animal rage. Its face was twisted in a terrifying snarl, revealing jagged white fangs and yellow eyes beneath two fearsome horns. We raised our torches defensively and backed away as the troll closed in. But with the cave wall behind us and the troll in front of us, we had nowhere to go.
"We can't morph!" I said quickly. "It'll give us away!"
"What do we do?" Trini asked.
The troll lurched forward with its arms outstretched, but I raised my torch and it backed away.
"Either we retreat or go for a swim," I said, and glanced to the stream. "Neither option sounds appealing."
The creature leaned forward again and Trini shone the torch in its face. The troll roared and covered its eyes. Wait a second. Stepping forward, I looked closely at the creature's face. Of course. That's why it hadn't attacked us yet!
"The light!" I said.
"What do you mean?" Trini asked.
"The creature lives in an environment that's totally devoid of natural light," I said quickly. "It's a natural weakness. Look!" I shone my torch in the creature's eyes and the troll backed away warily. Taking a step forward, I raised the torch again, and the troll retreated even further.
"Get the…"
"On it!" Trini replied. Grabbing the spare torch out of my backpack, she switched it on and threw it to me. I shone the light straight for the creature's eyes and it howled in pain. Even as the troll stumbled back, Trini reached for her own spare torch. Switching it on, the entire cave lit up. We could see a large hollow in the cave wall the troll had emerged from minutes ago. Keeping the torches aimed for the creature's eyes, we advanced on the troll, forcing the beast back with every step. Finally, holding up an arm to protect its face from the light, the troll moaned mournfully and lumbered back into the cave, soon disappearing from view.
We switched the torches off to conserve the batteries and headed back for the tunnel.
"Well there's your excitement," I joked.
"You're not wrong," Trini breathed. "Let's get out of here before it comes back."
We stepped into the tunnel and headed away from the underground river. The tunnel remained level, sloping very gradually down. After a few minutes of walking in silence, Trini turned to me. "Do you suppose the troll was like a guard dog?" she asked. "Protecting a secret entrance to the Troll King's realm?"
"Let's just hope nobody heard him barking," I said. Looking ahead, the tunnel seemed to widen into a larger cave again. But there was an odd shadow at the cave entrance, even when I pointed the torch away from it.
I motioned for Trini to come to a stop beside me. "Turn off the torches for a second," I said. Trini shut her torch off then switched off the lights clipped to her belt. I held still, expecting total darkness, but there was an eerie green glow flickering out of the cave ahead.
"What's that?" Trini asked.
"I have an idea," I said. "C'mon," and we jogged into the cave.
This cavern was long and narrow, with another crudely cut tunnel facing us a short distance away. But the cave was lit up with a soft green glow, and I turned to the walls and saw I'd guessed right. The rocky walls were lined with fungi and mushrooms, glowing brightly in the darkness. There seemed to be several different species along the walls and across the ceiling. Trini stepped forward in wonder.
"Bioluminescent fungus," she murmured.
"They usually grow in the rainforest," I said, "but these species must've adapted to live underground. They bring light to the Troll King's realm as well as keep the air clean. They're probably hyper-evolved to soak up carbon dioxide. How extraordinary."
"Let's save the batteries and keep the torches off."
"Good idea," I said. We stowed the torches back into our packs and continued, guided by the eerie green light. It wasn't as bright as our torches, but there was more than enough light to get by. Immediately ahead of us, the tunnel opened out again after only a few metres.
"I wonder where this leads," Trini said.
Reaching the entrance, I stepped through and let out a low whistle as Trini joined me. "I'd say this is where the trail ends," I said.
We'd emerged in a small cave, roughly the size of the central chamber of the Command Centre. The walls were jagged natural rock, but the ceiling high above us had been carved and sculpted. The cave was lit up thanks to the fungi growing around the walls. Across the room stood two gigantic stone doors that seemed to be sealed from the outside. On my immediate right was a stand of weapons, all decorated with precious gems. Beside Trini was a pile of what I initially thought were loose rocks, but I quickly saw they were uncut gemstones, piled together in a heap. There were similar piles of jewels on all sides.
Trini turned to me. "Are we in…?"
"The Troll King's treasury?" I finished. "It certainly looks like it."
"But this is too small to be the full amount," Trini said. "I mean, I wasn't expecting the treasury of Erebor, but there'd have to be more than just this."
"Possibly this is the king's private chamber?" I suggested.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Trini asked. "That tunnel wasn't built for an invasion…"
"…but for a bank robbery," I said. As we started exploring the room, I glanced back to the Yellow Ranger. "But what could've been taken? It doesn't look like anything here has been disturbed recently."
"Let's have a look around, but quietly," Trini said.
I smiled. "Being discovered in the Troll King's private treasure chamber would not look good for us, no."
As Trini searched the piles of treasure, I pulled a camera free from my backpack and scanned the room, capturing digital images to upload into the Command Centre's databanks when we returned. Suddenly Trini raised her voice.
"Billy!" she called. "Look at this!"
I stowed the camera away and crossed the room to where Trini was standing. A rocky mantle had been carved into the wall between two towering stone columns. The mantle was bare except for a divot in the centre where something large had rested. Trini glanced at the layer of dust over the rocky shelf, then ran a finger over the space beside the indent, revealing no specks of dust at all.
"Something was here," she said. "Something large, and not too long ago."
"That has to be what was stolen," I said. "It's the only thing out of place in this whole room."
Suddenly, voices outside echoed into the chamber, and the doors shook slightly as they were unlocked. My eyes flew wide, and I glanced around the room to the stone column on the nearest side of the rocky shelf. With no other options, I grabbed Trini and pulled her close into the shadows behind the column. Pressed together against the wall, we held our breaths and kept completely still.
The enormous stone doors swung open, and we heard two pairs of footsteps stomp into the room. The footfalls were heavy and loud, and I could only guess at the size of their owners. I couldn't see around the column and couldn't risk moving, but I caught a glimpse of two large figures. I glanced to Trini and saw the same look on her face. Two is okay. With the element of surprise, we can deal with two opponents. That's not so bad.
Which is when two more pairs of footsteps arrived.
"Anything?" asked one voice.
"What's it look like?" grunted a second. "Told the King the thieves aren't likely to try again, are they? He's in a right rage though. Normally I don't even patrol this side of the city."
"But you heard the gatekeeper troll," came a third voice. "What was he roaring at?"
"Probably his own bloody reflection in the river, the halfwit," the second voice replied. "There's nobody here. The treasury's as empty as it was before." Trini and I didn't move as the footsteps stomped back out of the room. There was a thud as the doors shut, then the click of an ancient lock. We let out relieved sighs.
"They're gone," Trini said. We stepped away from each other and looked around just in case. But we were alone.
"That was a close call," I said.
"Should we keep moving?" Trini asked.
I nodded, then with a smile, I leaned in and kissed Trini on the cheek.
"Billy! We're on a mission," Trini said. "Keep it professional!"
"I haven't forgotten," I replied. "My affection doesn't wane just because the world needs saving. If anything, I find the opposite is true."
Trini laughed lightly. "C'mon Blue Ranger. Focus."
"I believe we got what we needed," I said. "And the guards confirmed it. Somebody broke into the Troll King's treasury and stole whatever was on that mantle. I don't think we're going to learn much else down here."
"And we don't know how long it is between patrols," Trini added. "We should get back to the surface."
"Agreed," I said. We glanced around the room to make sure we hadn't left anything incriminating, but as I turned back to the tunnel entrance, I froze.
"You've got that look," Trini said softly. "What are you thinking?"
I pointed to the cave entrance. "The passage we followed down here is a reasonable size for us, but for any other creature?" I began. "The trolls and ogres in the Troll King's service are all quite large, and that tunnel would've been hopelessly impractical for any of them to use."
Trini regarded the passage. "I see what you mean," she said. "The tunnel was dug quickly by human-sized trespassers who would've had no concept of fear or claustrophobia, not to get this far underground."
"Exactly," I said. "They were methodical and precise."
Trini's face fell as she realised what I was saying. "Like machines."
"And that doesn't make me feel confident about this one bit," I added.
"Then we need to get back to Zordon as soon as possible," Trini said.
Pulling our torches free in case we ran into the troll on the way out, we took a breath, climbed back into the tunnel and left the Troll King's treasury behind us.
To be continued.
