It has been said that the capital of Prance is one of the most romantic places on earth. It is home to the Eyefoal tower, the great Louvre art museum and some of the finest foods on the planet.
But for Daring Do, none of these were the reason why she came to Prance. She was not there to see the sights or to taste the exquisite and expensive food. Rather she was there on business. In particular, it involved her as a treasure hunter who has gone into dark jungles, burning deserts and freezing mountains that have driven her to the city of love.
Daring Do was looking for something that to do it, she has to break the law. So what was she looking for that risked her being under arrest in a foreign country? A few weeks before, she received an anonymous tip that deep beneath Paris in the catacombs, it is said that during the Second World Party, Prench soldiers had gathered some of Prance’s greatest works of art and went down to the catacombs to hide them. The only problem was, they were never seen again, nor were the thirty paintings they brought down.
But what made it even more challenging, was that the catacombs themselves are huge. Nopony knew neither exactly when they were made nor how many there are, but it is estimated that there are nearly four hundred miles of tunnels that stretched out beneath like a drunken spider’s web. They have been used in the past by ponies about three hundred years ago when a plague broke out and the residents had run out of room to bury their dead. Thereby making the catacombs floor to ceiling with endless amounts of bones.
But this underground city of the dead is so vast, the Prench government closed large sections off to the public so that no one could get lost. They tried to seal off as many entrances as they could into the underground, but for Daring Do, she had an ace card.
That came in the form of a resident who would easily blend in with the crowd. That is if one knew where to look. In the early morning hours where the bakeries were baking bread since before sunrise, there sitting in a chair was a unicorn stallion in green.
“Monsieur Crawl Space, isn't it?” Daring asked the stallion who looked up from his newspaper.
“Madame Do? Ah, good morning to you, here sit down; the bread is especially good this morning.”
She did so, “So Crawl Space, you’re the one who’s going to help me get into the catacombs?”
“Of course, and I know why too. Do you want to search for those missing paintings that vanished after WP2, yes? That, and you need an interpreter from Prance to Equestrian correct?”
“That’s right, I never had the time to learn it since I’m busy gathering artifacts.”
“Hum, shame Madame. But I suppose that’s understandable.” He put his newspaper down on the table. “But now then, down to business. Where in Paris are you expecting to start your search?”
“I've dug up a few clues,” Daring said taking out her notes. “Just the night before Prance was invaded and the Trotzies came marching here, orders were given out as a last minute effort to hide some of the most priceless works of art underground in the city. Six soldiers were carrying paintings from Van Go and Monet to hide. So where did they go? I found a diary in my research from a little girl who grew up here when the Germanes came in that the night before, she saw six soldiers going under a bridge near a place called Pont Saint-Michel.”
“Pont Saint-Michel? That would make sense since it’s not too far from the Louvre.”
“But the thing is, even when they invaded, they were still able to find priceless works of art all over Paris, that is, except for these. These paintings were never seen again.”
“Neither were those soldiers.”
Daring nodded. “So, being my guide, what would we need going down there?”
“Talking from personal experience, the first thing we’re going to need is some light and plenty of it. There is no electricity down there Madame, and without light, getting lost is a guarantee that you would not come back alive. The next is fresh water since we don’t know how long we’re expected to be down there; and some food too.”
Daring nodded, she remembered her mistakes from the last time she went exploring a cave in the deserts of the badlands.
“Of course, and we’ll need something to find our way out I suppose? Good thing I brought this.” Daring Do reached into her saddlebags and brought up the ball of golden twine.
“I think we’re going to need much more than that.” He remarked.
“This thing is enchanted. You can pull on it all you want and it’ll never run out. Now the question is, can we get into the same place that those guys went into, that bridge near Pont Saint-Michel?”
“I know it, it’s been bared off to the public. However Madame Do, I know that there’s always a way in if one knew where to look. Eat now, and I shall take you there.”
After eating some breakfast and getting their things together, Daring Do followed Crawl Space down the streets and into a particular alleyway with a colthole cover in the middle. Crawl took out a crowbar and lifted the lid up and out to reveal the sewer.
“After you Madame,” Crawl said. Daring recoiled a little from the stench from below, but nevertheless, she climbed the ladder downward. The odor was strong, turning on her flashlight she could have sworn that she saw a few rats and mice scurry about. She looked up where Crawl Space was putting the colthole cover back, shutting them off from all light.
“Follow me Madame, and be very careful, it’s very easy getting lost down here.”