Morail leaped down from the back of the truck and embraced one of the armed and armored Diamond Dogs! Daring Do could easily follow her barking now.
“Matriarch Moonstone! It is so good to see you! Did you get Amber’s dispatches about this expedition?”
The Matriarch replied, “I did. Besides this little war problem, we have some real trouble in Shaft 73. We were following a pegmatite seam that was loaded with first rate emeralds. It has either petered out or we somehow lost it.
“Could you find the time to take a look? Your skill at following gem drifts is legendary.”
Morail nodded in full understanding of what was important. To Diamond Dogs. She turned to Daring Do and requested, “Can we spare the time to look over this problem for the Matriarch? It will give us a lot of good will with the Drift.”
Daring Do smiled. “I do understand that the Drift has priorities that are different from us on the surface. If it won’t hold us up for more than a few days, I can’t see how it will be a problem.”
The Matriarch’s relief was obvious. Her response was generous. “We will see to the repair of your truck, Doctor Do. We will replace your ammunition and restore your supplies of explosives and detonators too. Anything else that you need to further your expedition’s aims, just let us know. If we can do it, we will.”
In spite of the many places that Daring Do had been to, seeing the inside of a Diamond Dog Drift was a new experience for her. It was obvious that Morail was right at home. She was utterly relaxed and barking jokes and light banter with the others around her.
They had hitched Diamond Dogs to pull the truck into the drift. Matriarch Moonstone explained, “Engines like yours can be really noisy inside our tunnels. We will see to it that your truck gets to the proper exit as soon as it is repaired.
“It would be a good idea to get out any personal things that you will need for the next few days. We can easily provide you with food appropriate to zebra and antelope kinds. We do quite a lot of trade with the surface and often entertain trade delegations.”
Daring Do and Withers promptly gathered packs with notes, note taking supplies and clothes. Daring Do had no expectation of needing it but packed along her beloved 13mm Spiderly revolver and a box of ammunition. She was mildly surprised to see Matriarch Moonstone nodding with approval.
Morail and the Diamond Dogs were leading the way, deeper into the Spinel Drift. Daring Do was half expecting a place of darkness or torch lighted gloom. It was nothing of the sort.
Clear light shone like the daylight above them, illuminating the whole underground complex. The source was panes like large magic net mirrors. Looking into one showed blue sky and some clouds drifting by.
Fascinated, Daring Do asked Matriarch Moonstone, “Is that really the sky overhead that you are transmitting down here for light?”
She nodded agreeably, “Yes. As soon as we found out about the magic net sending images, we adapted it to lighting. We use it for a lot besides communications. I am sure that Supreme Matriarch Amber would appreciate your not mentioning this in your book on this expedition.”
Daring Do thought that over for only a moment. “I shall run the manuscripts past her to be sure that they remain both accurate and preserve anything that you wish kept secret.”
Matriarch Moonstone paused in deep thought for a bit and offered, “If you wish, you may accompany our party to Shaft 73 and watch Morail at her real work. Depending on how that idiotic business with the Oathbreaker Downitall plays out, some of what you see may have to be kept secret. That will be Supreme Matriarch Amber’s call and since you have already agreed to her approval of the manuscript, I can see no reason to keep you from it.”
The party set out deeper into the drift. Everywhere that she looked, Daring Do saw walls and pillars that had been exquisitely finished, the stone’s natural colors and forms lovingly enhanced. No compromise with strength had been tolerated. Besides the unexpected light, she was surprised at how quiet so many Diamond Dogs could be.
Soon they passed out of the residential and industrial areas and into tunnels that were rough hewn from the native stone. There was none of the careful decoration of the other areas. Rails laid along the floor allowed carts full of stone to be removed or empty carts to return to the various work faces of the extensive mine.
Matriarch Moonstone stopped, gesturing at an area of shaft wall that had a deep cut into its side. “See, Morail? This whole fine seam of pegmatite just seems to peter out.”
Morail held out a hoof for a mirror that was shining a good beam of light. She put her head into the cut and shined the light around some. She backtracked up the tunnel to where the seam appeared to start out over a meter thick. She wriggled into the starting area of the whitish pegmatite. Using a small one hoofed pick, she dug into the several faces of the stone around her.
Backing out, she put a fairly large broken emerald into the Matriarch’s hooves. All smiles, she announced, “No use following the seam further down shaft from where it ended. However, if you dig DOWN along this fault,” she pointed with an educated hoof, “you should encounter the other half of the seam where it was split by the fault. I would guess, about two to three meters down should do it. You will be following it back that way.”
She paused and looked around at the collection of diamond dogs before asking, “Would you like me to help with setting charges?”
All smiles, Matriarch Moonstone wagged her heavy tail as she replied, “You have had a long shift and more exciting than it needed to be. Now that we know how to proceed, our miners can take care of it.
“I will show you all to a trade delegation mess hall, where you can dine at your leisure on the best that we have to offer. Then we will show you to sleeping rooms. You have earned it.”