No luck

After a break, we started back the way we had come. It had seemed such a long time to get to where the tunnel was blocked – yet so quick getting back to where we had fallen through.

“Perhaps if we just called up,” Eomar suggested. “They will eventually start to search for us.”

“We could,” Gimlitin said. “But they will not know which tunnel we were in in the first place. And yelling may cause more to give way.”

“Let’s try going the other way in the tunnel, I suggested. If we don’t find a way up, we can always return here and see if we can signal safely.”

We set off.

All was well for about 20 minutes.

Then the tunnel branched.

Gimlitin looked down one branch, then the others. Then back down the first.

Then he began to grumble.

“What did you say,” Eomar asked.

“It’s not like good, solid rock,” Gimlitin growled. “If this was rock, I’d get a sense of which way to go.

I went over to the all and with my walking stick etched an arrow in it pointing back to the way we had come.

Gimlitin grunted in an approving way.

“This way,” he said, and led us into one of the branches.

We walked for at least an hour. There was no end in sight.

Suddenly, the floor began to give way under one of the dwarves.

Gimlitin grabbed him and pulled him back at the last moment. We hurriedly retreated as more of the floor gave way.

When it finally stopped, we peered ahead into the tunnel.

The hole was too large to cross. I edged close to it and looked down.

It disappeared into the depths.

“I guess we try the other branch,” I said, trying to sound cheerful.

No one smiled.

We headed back the way we had come.