Olympus: It's Not Just a Game

Chapter 33

Mr. Avery grunted. "I know this tunnel has to go into the city!" he exclaimed. But the data that scrolled down his screen was emphatic: this was a solid slab, not some movable panel. There was no way through it. "Go back," he commanded Noah. "Maybe we missed something."

Meanwhile, Nancy and Wheeler were trying to decide what to do next. "I can't see any way to get out to those gates," she confessed. The streets were swarming with Athenians. A centaur would be hard to hide. "Dad!" she called out. "We're stuck. Any ideas?"

Mr. Avery told Noah to hang on, and came over to examine Nancy's monitor. "I assume you checked for other exits," he said.

"Naturally," Nancy replied. "And it isn't going to be easy to get out, at least not by daylight. There are the big gates out front, but they're plastered with guards. There's a back entrance, but it's crawling. I tried to see if maybe I could get out over the rooftops somehow, but that wouldn't work for Wheeler. And all that leaves is the dungeon, which doesn't do us any good."

"The dungeon," Mr. Avery mused. Then he checked their coordinates. "Noah's tunnel comes right under you!"

"Noah's what?"

Now Mr. Avery was excited. "Go back to that dungeon," he urged. "I'll bet there's a secret exit."

Nancy was skeptical, but obedient. "Giddyap, Simon. Maybe we have to go down to get out." They quickly retraced their steps through the palace, and came to the massive dungeon doors. An iron padlock held them shut. "Think you can handle that?" asked Nancy. The centaur reached out and wrenched the iron hasp right out of the oaken doors. "I'm impressed!" Nancy applauded. "Let's go."

The entrance to the dungeons was large enough, but it quickly became apparent that Wheeler would not be able to fit through the tunnels. They stood in a stone chamber, but the only way forward was a low crawl over cobblestones that led down and inward. Nancy eyed it cautiously. "I guess I go alone from here," she muttered. "Wait for me."

She crawled along the cobbled passage, lit by the dim light from the antechamber. She bumped up against something in the darkness, and almost screamed, but whatever it was seemed harmless enough. It was a basket of some sort. She peered ahead into blackness, and decided to go back. She took the wicker basket with her.

Wheeler was relieved to see her emerge so quickly. "What's that?" he asked, examining her find. "Is it some kind of a cage? Where did you find it?"

"It was lying in the passageway. What do you suppose it's for?" she asked.

Wheeler thought it looked about the right size for holding rats, but didn't think that would be wise to tell Nancy. "I don't know," he answered honestly.

Nancy was getting nervous. "It's too dark for me to go further. I can't see a thing in there!"

"I saw some lamps in the corridors, back there," the centaur answered. "Want me to get one?"

"Not really," said Nancy. "I was hoping to get out of this. But I suppose so, if you must." Wheeler trotted out into the halls and rapidly returned with a serviceable lamp. He had ripped it right out of the marble walls. "So much for that excuse," Nancy complained, and crawled back down the passage.

She crept past the point where she had found the cage, but now the ceiling began to rise. There was something else, too: music. A high, sweet warbling sound came from somewhere down the corridor. She was able to stand up, although a bit awkwardly, and she cautiously moved forward.