I woke the next morning feeling unrested after a strange night filled with dreams of dragons and eggs and the roaring of the waterfall. After having breakfast and cleaning the camp up, I went once more to the edge of the crevass to have a look at the waterfall. I took my sketching pad and pastels with me. Sometimes it is an advantage to look at a thing through a painter's eyes, for you can pick out nuances of color and shape that you don't necessarily notice otherwise.

I made myself comfortable as possible on a flatish rock and sketched in the outlines of the scene before me, and as I did, the lines of Miraldis' riddle went around in my mind. Told against the backdrop of the falls, some of the lines took on another meaning and made me positive that we were in the right place. The water falling into the basin below sparkled in the morning sun......and diamonds into challis fall...

I noticed that as the water boiled over the lip of the basin far below it was separated into two smaller falls by an outcropping of harder rock.......milky depths oppose their bent...

I wondered what the river looked like above the falls, and since I was nearer the top by far, decided to take a look. I called to Miraldis and showed him what I was thinking. He agreed that it would not be a bad idea to become a little more familiar with the lay of the land, both above and below us, and we set out to explore a bit. After much huffing and puffing, because we did not want to stray too far from the immediate vicinity of the falls, we came to the top of the cliff. A short way below us, the river coming from the mountain was captured in a small deep pool. The sky was reflected, turning the water into a deep sapphire blue, and again, the forest came almost to the shores......and sapphires rest in emerald cup....

We rested and ate lunch before starting back to the camp. Miraldis was in a hurry to get on with the search, but for some reason, I did not want to start until the next day. I wanted to have a good and careful look at the falls from the distance of the sketching rock. If we were to be climbing about anywhere near the water, I wanted to have some idea where it would be safest to try. There had to be some kind of cave behind the falls, and there was no way I was going blindly into the danger of so many gallons of water falling an arm's length away without some careful planning. The whole idea of trying to do this alone was foolhardy. Certainly I could fly to the falls, as could Miraldis, but I was loath to use the magic here. Whenever I thought of changing to bird form it just felt WRONG. There was no apparent explanation, but even Miraldis had tried to fly closer and had always been distracted by something that took him away from the place he had been heading. It was all very odd......though maybe not if the wards were strong. Very old magic was strong because it was so pure and it was very much still in place.

We returned to camp and I spent the rest of the afternoon with my sketches, trying to empty my mind of any thoughts and just drawing. I would have liked to take a view from the other side of the ravine, but there was no way across without flying. Miraldis did go over and reported that he saw nothing different on that side, and no paths of any sort. He was a little cross with me and went off soon after on his own. I knew he could not understand my reluctance to get on with it, and to be honest neither did I, but I was determined to follow my instinct on this and not be in a rush.

The sketches turned out very nicely, and in the end, if nothing else, I would have some lovely pictures. I looked over the first ones again and noticed that on one, I had faintly colored in a shadow of some sort. I looked out but cound not see any indication of a darkness where I had placed it in the drawing. Was it just a trick of the light at that time? Or was that the location of the cave. There were no other pictures with the shadow, and I calculated the time when I had done that particular one and determined to try for the same vantage the next day. Miraldis would no doubt be angry that I was going to wait yet another day, but I would address that when it happened. What I could do was to go up and down the edge of the ravine and see if I could find any kind of path or safe place to get even closer to the falls. From where I was sitting there didn't look like any place that would be safe, but you never knew til you tried.

As I picked my way farther down the ravine, the final lines of the riddle ran about in my head. I wasn't at all happy with the "ravening hordes" bit nor the referrence to "Faerie blood". Faerie folk are nothing to mess about with and if they were guarding the eggs, then it was just foolhardy to even think of crossing them. I was definitely NOT interested in causing any bad feelings in that quarter. I respected the Faerie folk and knew enough about them to know that they would be the fiercest of adversaries. Should they be the principal guardians of the cave or where-ever the eggs were, I would have to rethink the whole mission. The only thing Miraldis was concerned about was getting to them in time and I wondered if he had thought at all about the wards. Perhaps being a creature of magic, he didn't need to be as cautious.

Several times on my way down the rocks I slipped and barely managed to recover. The way was steep and the footing not at all safe, and I wondered if the whole thing was worth the danger. I kept looking back toward the falls every chance I could to see if there was any indication of a path. At one point I thought there might be something and scribbled off a quick line drawing just to mark the possibility. I could look more closely when I got back to camp. The light was beginning to go, and under the tree canopy it was going faster that I was happy with.

I turned to go back, and gave a little shreek of fright as a shadow moved near a tree a short distance away. It took me a moment to recognize Jeff Walters and I was not at all happy to see him. He came toward me and the look he gave me was not friendly. The "fight or flight" feeling was strong and it took all my nerve to stand still as he came up.

" Well you certainly gave me a start." I said. "Why didn't you call out instead of just standing there?"

" You're looking for something, aren't you." he demanded. "You've been looking for something all along and I intend to find out what it is. After the questions you were asking at the lodge, I'd say you know where there is some kind of treasure."

" I have no idea what you're talking about, Jeff. I came up here to sketch and that's exactly what I've been doing. You can have a look at the book if you don't believe me."

" Yah...right. No one travels up here alone unless they have some kind of secret to keep. It's too late tonight, but I'm not leaving and you will tell me what you are looking for and in the morning you are going to get it for me."

This was not at all the same face he had shown me earlier and I knew that there was not a lot I could do. I wasn't frightened exactly but I knew I had to be careful. I led the way back to camp and when we got there he dumped his pack at one side and looked about.

"Quite the cozy little place you have here." he sneered. "I knew you were here someplace but couldn't find it. If you aren't hunting for something why would you be so secretive with the camp. Give me that book and let me see the sketches."

And with that, he grabbed the sketch book and started through the pages. I could hardly explain that the reason he hadn't found the camp was because I was inside the boundaries of the magical wards. It wasn't the sort of thing you just mentioned to people. He finished with my sketch pad and threw it down in disgust, and then before I could do anything, he grabbed my pack and turned all my things out onto the ground. I started forward, but he motioned me back.

"Just you stay over there."he said. "You've got to have some sort of map around here someplace."

"Well I don't." I said angrily. "Who are you anyway? You aren't a ranger are you?"

He gave a short laugh."Hardly. I overheard you asking about gems in the shop, and figured when you went off by yourself you had something in mind so I followed you. It's late. Get a meal ready and in the morning we'll get on with it."

There was nothing to do but what he suggested, so I gathered up my things and stuffed them back in my pack along with the sketches, made a meal from my meager supplies and we ate in silence.

At one point he asked curiously "How come you aren't afraid of me? I could kill you you know and who would ever find your body? You've never seemed afraid from the first."

"Too used to being on my own, I guess." I said. "Besides, if you really think I am after some sort of treasure, you aren't about to do anything to me just yet and who knows, you have to sleep sometime. You can't watch me forever."

I was being foolish of course, but he was really making me angry and I had never been one to frighten easily. Also, even though all my instincts told me that magic was not to be used here, I was sure that Miraldis would let nothing bad happen to me. I wondered where the little dragon had disappeared to. I was getting used to having him go off on his own, but I would really welcome his presence in either form about now. No sooner had I thought that, than he flew across the little clearing and disappeared in the direction of the falls. It was enough. He had let me know that he was close by and that was such a comfort. The best thing now, was to get as much sleep as I could, knowing that I was not alone and the Miraldis would be on guard. With a look at Jeff that warned him not to mess about, I spread out my sleeping bag and went off to get into pajamas. Tomorrow would just have to look after itself when the time came. The last time I looked over at the fire, Jeff was sitting there staring into the flames. I smiled to myself knowing that I was going to get lots of rest and that he would probably spend a cold and sleepless night thinking that he had to keep some sort of guard.

The next morning I was rudely woken by Jeff rattling the coffee pot. He looked rumpled and sleepless and I couldn't help being extra cheerful when I came back from washing and dressing. I felt just fine, and after a quick breakfast, suggested that we tidy up the campsite and bring in some fire wood for later in the day.

"We can do that later. I want to know what you are looking for." he said. "There's some sort of treasure and you know where it is."

I decided that the best thing to do was not to lie any more than necessary and since I really didn't know exactly what I would find in the caves said "I've heard of a treasure of some kind behind a waterfall. It's supposed to be very old and I'm not sure just what it is, except that a lot of people have tried to find it and no one ever has."

"So what makes you think you can find it, then?"

"Well, I came upon some new information awhile ago and here I am. I'm pretty sure this is the right place anyway. And even if I don't find anything I have some good pictures and have had a holiday." It sounded a little flippant and I wondered if my attitude would anger him and then decided I didn't really care.

"OK then. Let's get on with it. I suppose you've scouted around some and know the way?"

"Only a little yesterday." I told him. "There's no way closer to the falls from above and I didn't find any paths lower down. There seems to be a shadow of some sort behind the falls that could be caves, so I have to assume the path is near here someplace. You can help me look for it."

He wasn't too pleased at that, but had no other choice, so we packed a few things and set off. I took a look around the camp before we left and saw Miraldis flash away through the trees. So ... I would not be alone. That was a very good thought. Now that the end of the hunt was in sight, I was feeling a little strange. I wondered if I was up to the final challenge and if my magic would hold up. I had not used it in several days and as I climbed about I went over the words and images I thought I might need. The footing was difficult and got worse as we neared the edge of the ravine and I abandoned my thoughts of magic to concentrate on not falling and looking for the best footing I could find. Jeff followed close behind and I wondered if it was to keep an eye on me.

I stopped by the rock that I had used for a seat when I was sketching and took a close look at the falls. It was about the right time for the shadow to show up, if there was a cave there, and sure enough ... we could both see a darkness behind the curtain of water. I set off again and the roar of the water made it impossible to talk, which was just fine with me. The edge of the ravine was crumbling and once I stepped on a rock that gave under foot and tumbled down the side into the water far below, bringing a small avalanche of rock and earth with it. I managed to grab onto the branches of a shrub nearby, since I had been expecting the ground to be unstable and was not as startled as I might have been. Jeff was noticeably nervous and I did not want to have to rely on him for helping me. I was thankful that heights did not frighten me for we were very close to the edge.

I stopped again to have another look toward the falls and to see if there was any way to get closer to the water. A little way above, there seemed to be a promising jut of the ledge and as I made my way toward it, could see that a part of the bank edged out slightly, and that a jumble of rock and debris had collected giving the semblance of a short bridge. I wondered how solid it would be if I climbed there, and cautiously edged out. There did seem to be a way... not a path exactly, more of a suggestion of a way to go, and I stepped back to have a bit of a rest before going on. It was interesting to note that Jeff was in no hurry to follow right on my heels; no doubt waiting to see if I fell before venturing out himself. I tied myself to a solidly rooted tree, and again edged out onto the fallen rocks.

There were some rocks there that could be climbed. They were wet with the spray from the falls, and I motioned Jeff to untie me from the tree. I could see that if I was careful, I could climb close enough to the falls to actually reach out and touch the cascade of water. The rope came down beside me and I coiled it around my waist, and waited while Jeff managed to clamber down to join me. He had to leave his rope hanging, since there was no one to untie it from the tree for him. I pointed to the way I wanted to try and he nodded agreement. At this point, the sheet of water coming over the lip above was almost transparent, and we could clearly see that there was a space behind the fall. How deep it was, we had no way of knowing and whether we would be able to get behind the water without being washed down was any one's guess. The force of the water passing so close to us threw up waves of mist and its own wind and we were both soaked and cold. It was as dangerous to stay in one place as it was to go on, and so I started to climb again trying to get to a vantage point slightly above the apparent cave. The rope around my waist made movement difficult and I was tempted to remove it, but on second thought was loath to leave it behind. I had no idea what sort of things we would find if we did manage to get behind the falls, and no doubt a rope would be most useful.

It was a tough climb. The rocks were slippery and I had no idea where I was going, just that it felt right to keep going up. My whole being was focused on finding good footing and I had to stop often to catch my breath. During one breather, I rested my cheek against the rock and looked towards the falls thundering mere feet from me. The water falling so close made me a little dizzy, and I clung to the rock, really afraid for the first time since we had left the camp earlier. I became conscious of a sort of shrilling noise and realized that I had been hearing it for some time without it really registering. I was surprised that I could hear anything over the roar of the water. I glanced back at Jeff and wondered if he could hear it too, but he didn't seem to be listening to anything odd. He was clinging to a rock a little below and when he saw me look back motioned me to go on. I ignored him. I wanted to rest a bit longer and my hands were freezing, so I tucked them into my arm pits in an attempt to warm them up.

I was wedged into a bit of a crack and felt a little secure for the moment, so I took the time to look around. I was about level with the darkness that indicated a possible cave and could see that indeed there was an opening there, and that there was a ledge behind the falls that, though wet, seemed relatively secure if I could get to it. Not possible from where I was, but if I climbed just a bit farther up, I just might be able to jump onto it and end up behind the fall of water. One slip and I would be washed down into the basin; of that there was no doubt. A small stone bounced off the rock next to me, startling me and looking down I saw Jeff picking up another. Had he meant to hit me or just get my attention? I was in a much better position than he was, being wedged in, and I decided to give him the benefit and assume that he just meant me to get on with it. I made motions to tell him that there was something behind the falls and that I was going up farther and he waved his hand in a "go on" motion.

A few feet later, I could see that the ledge would be wide enough and that if I jumped and rolled inward, I would probably be safe. It was a bit of a leap of faith and I hesitated. I couldn't afford any mistakes now, but neither could I afford to just stay where I was. There was a narrow opening between the cascading water and the edge of the cave, where the force of the falls was noticeably less. This was probably the only place I could reasonably expect to access the cave and I took a few minutes to see what the way out would be like. There was no way I was going to jump in if I couldn't get out again. It would be possible to jump back, but I would have to have something to grab when I landed on the rock again. Going in I could roll away from the water, but coming back out I would be jumping to a small space and then having to stop dead on slippery rocks, with the wind of the falls dragging at me. I was not a good thought, and I wondered if I could maybe rig up a piece of the rope to catch onto. If I tied one end to a bit of the rock on the outside and then brought the other end with me behind the falls and tied it there, it would make a sort of hand rail maybe. At any rate, it was the best idea I could think of, and proceeded to tie the free end off. By this time,Jeff was close behind me and I sreamed at him trying to make him hear over the roaring what I had planned. To give him some credit, he understood the need and nodded.

Then there was nothing left but to go for it. I stood with my back braced against the rock and mentally went over my next movements. I wondered briefly where Miraldis was during all this, and then concentrated on my jump. I would have to jump and try to throw myself to my left as I landed and roll away from the falls. It wasn't a far way to jump, but I would be landing on a wet and uncertain footing. I couldn't tell if the rock ledge was slanted toward the falls, but had to assume that it might be, since water had been crashing onto it for many years. Also, I had absolutely no idea whether there would be much room once I got in there. There was that shrill noise in my head as well, that was making it hard to concentrate, and I wondered again what it could be. It was now or not at all and with that I took a deep breath, marked out the place I was trying for and jumped.