the voice of the master traveler.
Passepout was pulled back, jerking his head back toward Volo's voice. The rest of the group had taken to their feet and were preparing to leave… Shurleen included, now attired in the traveling clothes he seemed to recall she had been wearing when they entered the portal.
But if she's over there, then who's over here? the chubby thespian thought. He turned his head back to the source of the amorous purring, but nothing was there now, not even the lingering scent of lotus blossom shampoo.
Passepout got to his feet and rejoined the group.
Oh, well, he thought to himself, at least I didn't talk to her. That would probably have been a bad thing. I think I'll stick to the path with the others from now on.
With a quick glance back at where he had been sitting, a quick thought of regret at what might have been, followed by a quick thought of terror at what really might have been, he proceeded with the others down the path.
'You know,' Passepout declared, 'I think it's probably a good idea for us to stay on the path, and not wander too far to the sides, and, above all, remember not to talk to strangers.'
'Good advice, well said,' Volo agreed, wondering what had instigated the advisory recap from the young thespian, but then quickly returning to the matters at hand.
'Onward,' he urged. 'Mad Monkey assured us that there would be a light at the end of this tunnel. We just haven't reached it yet.'
'And remember,' Passepout interrupted, once again with a warning tone, 'sometimes the darkness plays tricks on the mind. There's no telling what you might see-or at least think you see.'
Volo did a double take at his overly cautious companion, shook his head, and pressed on.
The path began to wind more, and the sights became more bizarre. They saw an ashen tapestry of what appeared to be crying mouths, hanging from a spear, frozen in mid-decay as if to have been preserved at precisely the moment before total disintegration occurred. Maniacal laughter could be heard from the shadows, though the source of the jocularity was noticeably absent.
Farther on, they came upon a rubbled site, as if an entire palace had been destroyed. The wreckage from the site seemed to have been made of bone and human flesh, both now reduced to shards and tatters.
'The bone palace of Cyric has been destroyed,' Volo whispered. There were rumors of this among the Lords of Waterdeep and the College of War Wizards, but I never thought I would ever actually see it, at least not while I was still alive.'
'Wasn't Cyric the God of Strife and Lord of the Dead?' Curtis asked. 'Who could have done this?'
'Even the mad Prince of Lies himself has powerful enemies,' Volo replied.
Much farther down the winding path, Volo halted the group.
'Listen!' he whispered urgently.
A steady murmuring of a single monotonous voice could be heard in the distance.
The truth is there.
They will understand it.
Am I not the true King of the Dead?
It must be true.
The Cyrinishad said so.
Yes.
Yes.
'Who is that?' Shurleen whispered.
'The Prince of Lies himself probably, we must avert our eyes so as to not be taken in by his trickery,' Volo instructed.
The travelers hooded their eyes with their hands, focusing only on the next step in front of them.
Only Passepout dared to look up for a fraction of a second, but common sense intervened, and he quickly rehooded his eyes. Concentrating as he walked, he vaguely remembered a glimpse of some underworld castle but couldn't really remember if it was a tower, a pyramid, or a mansion of bone, and despite the murmuring, no one seemed to be home.
Am I curious enough to look back? he thought, then quickly dismissed the idea. Even if he was as brave as Mad Monkey seemed to think, bravery alone was a silly justification for foolhardiness.
In the distance behind them, they could hear a new ream of maniacal laughter.
They pressed on down the path faster, hoping that a light would soon appear in the distance.
At last a glimmer of sunlight seemed to be emanating from a crack in the darkness in the distance.
'There,' Volo declared. 'That must be the way out.'
'Just like he promised,' Passepout agreed. 'And no harm has come to us since we stayed on the path and kept to ourselves.'
'I'll be glad when we're out of here,' Curtis confessed. 'I can't wait to feel daylight again.'
Though the crack of light was still a good distance away, their journey toward it, now that it was visible, passed quickly. Along the way, they could barely make out the gleam of lights reflected off shiny faceted surfaces. As they drew closer to the shaft of light that was their exit, the surfaces became more distinguishable, revealing that the tunnel surface that seemed to surround them was entirely composed of loose gems of indefinable value.
'Maybe we should pick up a souvenir, sort of a very valuable keepsake,' Curtis suggested. 'It's not like there are any armed guards around or anything.'
'I wouldn't do that,' Volo advised. 'I remember the story of a mortal who, like ourselves, was granted a trip through the nether realms. She was warned to eat nothing, talk to no one, and stay on the path. She stuck to the rules with one exception-she ate three pomegranate seeds. When it came time to leave, her way out was blocked by an invisible wall. No one ever heard of her again.'
'That sounds like a fairy tale,' Shurleen scoffed, 'and besides, Mad Monkey didn't say we couldn't pick something up along the way.'
'Mad Monkey didn't say a lot of things,' Volo replied, 'and I don't think he felt compelled to tell us not to steal, if you know what I mean.'
'Oh, phoo!' Shurleen complained. 'Let's just get out of here.'
The four travelers hurried to the crack of light that was the passage back to the surface world.
'Ladies before gentlemen,' Volo offered, giving a mock bow, and indicating that Shurleen could go first.
'It's about time,' she answered, about to barge through the crack.
'Wait a minute,' Passepout interrupted, blocking her way. 'I don't think letting her go first is such a good idea.' The chubby thespian had just recalled his own close encounter with a beholder on the other side of the Myth Drannor portal.
'What do you mean?' the spoiled heiress demanded.
'Who knows what is on the other side? Mad Monkey only guaranteed us safe passage. He didn't mention anything about safe arrival,' Passepout replied.
'Passepout is right,' Curtis agreed. 'Who knows what could be lurking out there? I'll go first.'
'Agreed,' said Volo, making way for Curtis to pass.
Curtis stepped forward into the light and seemed to disappear.
'All clear,' he yelled, seemingly from afar. 'Nothing here except a dark-skinned halfling, and he seems to be agreeable enough.'
'Satisfied?' Shurleen asked sarcastically.
'Next,' Volo instructed, indicating for her to pass.
Shurleen barged forward into the light but wasn't able to pass through.
'It's closed,' she screamed in a panic, backing away from the light. 'I can't get through.'
'Empty your pockets,' Volo instructed.
'Why?' She pouted.
'Just do it!' the master traveler demanded, growing very impatient.
Shurleen turned out her pockets.
