They were empty.
'Let me see your hands,' Volo demanded.
'Why?' she protested, hiding her palms.
Faster than a pickpocket at the Westgate fair, Volo grabbed her wrist and turned her hand over, revealing the palm of her hand.
A red ruby seemed to be stuck to it.
'It won't come off,' she protested. 'I picked it up back at the ruined castle, and it sort of got stuck to my hand. Now it won't come off.'
'Maybe there is some truth to that fairy tale,' Volo remarked.
The gravity of her situation dawned on her.
'No,' she cried. 'I can't stay here. What about Dragon Claw? What about Cyric? You can't just leave me here.'
Volo was troubled. Though she was no picnic in the Dales, and a regular pain in the South, he knew he couldn't just leave her behind in the netherworld. He also noticed that since Curtis had passed into the light, the portal had indeed become smaller, and was shrinking as he watched.
'Let me try again?' she pleaded.
'It won't work,' Volo replied, frantically fingering his beard.
'Wait!' Passepout exclaimed. 'I have an idea!'
The chubby thespian looked into his pouch, smiled, and pulled out one of the necromancer's gems that had just turned red.
'Let's see if the guards of this portal, or whatever is holding her back, will take a substitute,' Passepout said, lobbing the necromancer's gem back the way they came.
The gem bounced twice, and then proceeded to roll away from them.
'Now try,' Passepout instructed.
'Hurry!' Volo urged.
Shurleen rushed forward and passed to the other side.
'Good thinking,' Volo complimented, 'now quickly, the portal is closing.'
The two travelers rushed forward into the light, the portal closing behind them.
When their eyes had adjusted to the new infusion of sunlight, they noticed that they were standing on a sandy mountainside. The heat was oppressive, and the terrain was rocky.
Blinking his eyes, and then squinting until he could see clearly, Volo noticed the halfling that Curtis had been talking about, who had now been joined by a man of normal height.
'Look boss,' the halfling told the man, who was apparently his master. 'The planes… they are visitors from the planes.'
The man strode forward, and said, 'My friends, welcome to Maztica.'
Chapter 18
'Maztica,' Volo repeated.
'Yeah,' Curtis interjected, 'that's what the man said.'
'Somehow I didn't think we were in Kara-Tur anymore,' Passepout added.
'Maztica?' Shurleen repeated the place's name, though this time as a question. 'Where is Maztica?'
'It's on the whole other side of the world,' Volo explained. 'It's on the other side of the Trackless
Sea, farther than fabled Evermeet. It was colonized a few years ago by conquerors and settlers from the Empire of the Sands and the island kingdom of Lantan.'
'I see you have heard of our fair land,' the man who welcomed them replied in impeccable Common.
'And you are originally from Faerun, the Empire of the Sands, I would guess,' Volo continued. 'A former soldier, I would say, though apparently one who hasn't seen much action or physical work in the last year or so.'
'You are a most excellent master of the powers of observation,' the man replied. 'What is your name?'
'I am Volothamp Geddarm, master traveler of all Toril,' Volo announced proudly.
'I have heard of you,' the man replied, 'and your guides, but surely you are not writing one on the continent of Maztica.'
Volo chose his worlds carefully.
'No, not at the present time, though I'm sure I will get around to it one of these days. At the present time, I and my friends are engaged on a world tour, you might say,' Volo explained. 'We sort of made a wrong turn in Kara-Tur, passed through a portal, and came out here.'
'Uh-hum.' Shurleen cleared her throat.
'Oh, I'm sorry,' Volo apologized. 'This is the lovely Shurleen Laduce Bleth.'
'Charmed, I'm sure,' Shurleen said to the handsome gentleman, offering him her hand.
He graciously accepted and kissed it. 'The pleasure is mine,' the man replied.
'And this is my good friend, Passepout,' Volo continued.
'The thespian,' Passepout clarified, 'son of the famed thespians Catinflas and Idle.'
'Honored,' the man replied, giving the thespian a firm handshake.
'And our traveling companion, and jack of all trades, Curtis,' Volo concluded the introductions.
'Curtis,' the man repeated, with a faint nod of his head to the young beachcomber.
'And you are…?' Curtis inquired, a trace of insolence in his voice.
'I am Rurk,' the man replied. 'The, urn, governor of Phantasia. That is what we call this settlement.'
'What settlement?' Curtis asked. 'All I see is the edge of a desert and a rocky ridge.'
'True, true,' Rurk replied, 'but beyond that ridge lies Phantasia, a land worthy of your wildest dreams. Come. You shall be my guests. Herve, run ahead, and tell the servants to ready the guest quarters.'
'Yes, boss,' the halfling replied, scurrying ahead through a pass in the rocky ridge.
'Herve is my right-hand halfling, you might say,' Rurk explained. 'Part interpreter, part manager, he helps me keep things running smoothly and minimizes the troubles with the natives.'
'He is a native?' Volo asked.
'Well, yes and no,' Rurk explained. 'He is a native of Maztica, but from the lands north of here, where I first landed when I came here. He was hired at our camp to take care of certain menial duties and took quickly to the Common tongue. I hired him as my interpreter, and when duty called for me to come south, well, obviously he came along.'
'I see,' Volo replied. 'What was the purpose of your mission, coming south, I mean?'
'Questions, questions,' Rurk replied, shaking his head in dismissal. 'There is plenty of time for questions later. Even the loveliest desert flower will wilt if left in the sun too long, and I have no desire to subject Miss Bleth to such a risk. Follow me. It is only a short walk to my humble dwelling, where shade and refreshments await. We can continue our getting to know each other a little better later.' Rurk then brushed off some seemingly imaginary trail dust from his perfectly tailored doublet of light, gauzy material, and offered his arm to Shurleen, saying, 'Miss Bleth, if you will do me the honor.'
'Charmed, I am sure,' she replied, accepting his arm and falling into step beside him as he set off along the path that Herve had taken a few moments ago.
Volo looked to the others, and inquired, 'Shall we?'
'Charmed, I'm sure,' Curtis replied in a tone meant to mock Shurleen.
'You know, I can't put my finger on it, but there's something about that guy that I don't like,' Passepout offered.
'I know,' Volo replied, 'but right now he's the only game in town.'
The three fell into step and followed the route Rurk had taken.
