for you.'
'Mystia and Mandy?' he queried. He knew Storm had six sisters but couldn't recall the names Mandy and Mystia being among them.
Storm elaborated, removing any doubt of the females' identities, 'My horse Mystia and my donkey Mandy will more than keep you warm.'
'But the barn?'
'Yes!'
'What about the smell?' he insisted as she ushered him out the door.
'Don't worry,' she replied, 'they'll get used to it.'
With that she closed the door and turned her attentions back to the master traveler, who had been conspicuously silent during this exchange.
Volo had fallen asleep, at the fireside, his head on his pack, his cloak as his blanket, and a smile on his lips.
He's probably already solved his immediate problem. The loss of his magics won't stop the master traveler.
Storm carried herself off to bed, vowing that she would be up in plenty of time to fix them a true innkeeper's breakfast.
After all, tomorrow they would be back on the road.
Chapter 8
In addition to Mystia and Mandy, the barn was also the home of other creatures, many noisy and nocturnal. Specifically, Storm never mentioned to Passepout about Roget the rooster, who decided to introduce himself to the ill-slept thespian with the dawn's early light.
Less than thrilled to be awakened by fowl crowing, Passepout stretched, brushed himself off, and headed back to the house. Well, at least there's breakfast, he thought as he tried to remove the kinks that had set into his joints during the chill of the past night.
The door had been unbolted from the night before, and a fresh fire raged in the hearth. Volo seemed to have been up for hours, despite his rested condition, his disposition was bright and sunny. In front of him were various charts and maps, plus the parchment that had been given to him when the thespian received the bag of jewels.
'Oh, you're already up, good Passepout,' he said sunnily. 'I was just about to call you. Storm had mentioned that you desired accommodations other than her guest room.'
'Something like that,' the thespian grumbled, wondering if his master had slumbered in the bower that Passepout had assumed was to be for himself.
'I don't even remember you leaving. I must have fallen asleep in midconversation, or something. But the hearth kept me warm, and the crackling of the flames serenaded me the way my mother used to, and now I feel well-rested and ready to go.'
'Great,' the thespian replied, less than enthusiastically.
'I've been studying the parchment that Khelben gave me.'
'Where's breakfast?'
'Storm's fixing it. It should be ready momentarily. Now look at the parchment,' Volo ordered. 'Notice how the vague outlines of the lands that we've passed through have become clearer as the red dots that represent the discarded gems become more numerous.'
'Great,' Passepout replied. 'A map whose detail of a place is only usable once we've left there.'
Volo ignored the remark. 'Notice the zigzag route we followed from Suzail to here. Up to Myth Drannor, over to Shadowdale…'
'I was there. Remember?' the thespian interrupted, loud enough to be heard over the rumblings of his stomach.
'Quite. Now if I remember correctly, we weren't told not to double back…'
'But…'
'Shush!' Volo continued as before. 'We were told never to 'set foot' on the same land more than once. See, here is the dot for Elminster's tower, and when we leave here another dot should appear right around here.'
'So you mean we could have returned to the Old Skull Inn last night,' said Passepout growing more and more impatient.
'So the trick is to never set foot on the same general area once we've left there. This does not rule out other methods of transportation.'
'But you can't control the gates…'
'I was referring to conventional methods of transportation.'
'I don't understand.'
'Until now I had only considered land-bound routes, but examining my other maps, other options seem to be open to us.'
'Liker
'Sea. Air.'
'But…' Passepout sputtered, even more afraid of the implications that were being made.
Storm set down a large tray of buns, jams, and meats, at the hearthside. 'I see what you mean,' she interjected. 'So what you really want to do is get to the open sea as soon as possible so as to minimize your risk of doubling back.'
'Well, actually I was figuring on heading to the Moonsea, and from there down the River Lis, and farther south to the Sea of Fallen Stars.'
'Not a bad plan,' Storm replied, 'but you have to watch out for the Zhents. If you venture too close to Zhentil Keep, your journey might stop there-for good.'
'Zhents!' Passepout coughed, spitting out crumbs from his too-full cheeks.
'I am aware of the dangers, but such is the life of a traveler.'
'But not of a thespian,' the bond servant protested. 'Why can't we…'
'There are things that can be done to minimize the risks,' answered Storm before the question was even formed. 'Through the Harper network I have contacts all over Faerun, even in the Moonsea region. In fact, I have a delivery that must be made to a certain Harper in that region. Here's an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.'
'I wish you hadn't said 'kill,' ' Passepout replied, as the conversation lulled to allow for a fuller enjoyment of the meal at hand.
After the morning meal, Storm escorted the two travelers back to the barn in which Passepout had passed the night. She indicated two horses.
These are lightning steeds,' she said. 'They are the fastest mounts in all Faerun. Marks lent them to two fellow agents who had escaped from Zhentil Keep, and they need to be returned to him. He'll be able to help you book passage on some trade ship heading in the right direction.'
'Perfect.' Volo replied.
'Great,' said Passepout unenthusiastically.
'That's all I need, another sanctimonious Harper bending my ear.'
'You won't have to worry about that with Marks. He's mute.'
Storm outfitted both travelers with a full stock of provisions for the journey, and also a magical sack that could be used to render the pouch of necromancer's gems invisible to all eyes save Passepout's and Volo's. She then turned to Volo.
'I wish you well on your journey,' she said honestly, 'and should you ever pass this way again, be sure to stop by. There will always be a warm place for you to rest near my hearth.'
