Flint, handling his axe uneasily, asked, "What sort of a temple was the one near Shalost?"

"It was a cult of soul cannibals."

The group fell silent for a moment, until Tanis said, "Well, that fits in with what you and Selana overheard in Balcombe's laboratory. Let's get inside."

Crouching as if walking into a stiff wind, Nanda pressed into the cave mouth. The rest of the group followed in single file.

As Bajhi, the last of the phaethons, entered, he cast a quick glance over his shoulder. Satisfied that they were not being followed, he turned back and caught up with Flint.

If he had watched the entrance a bit longer, he might have seen two white, stone bodies, shaped like minotaurs and laced with pulsing red veins, flowing out of the rock face flanking the cave, slowly turn toward the entrance, and follow the line of intruders inside.

Nanda led the group slowly along the passage. Although it was a natural cavern, it showed signs of alteration-the walls and floor were partially smoothed and leveled. Dim illumination filtered down the tunnel from somewhere ahead, casting long shadows back toward the entrance.

The leader stepped cautiously and probed the ground ahead with his quarterstaff. Within seconds there was a telltale snap-whoosh! and Nanda collapsed to the floor. Everyone in the group froze momentarily, then Kelu and Tanis rushed to the stricken man.

Two inches of an iron dart protruded from his thigh, surrounded by a spreading red blossom. Kelu grasped it lightly between his thumb and forefinger and tried, very gently, to pull it from the wound. Immediately Nanda's neck muscles knotted up as he struggled not to cry out.

Kelu shook his head. "It is embedded in the bone, Nanda."

"And probably barbed as well," added Tanis. "We'll need magic to get this out safely. Can you walk at all?"

The white-faced leader of the phaethons nodded, muttering, "I think so." The two men helped him to his feet and then steadied him. Tasslehoff scooped up the dropped staff and handed it back. Using it as a support, Nanda was able to hobble on his own, though it was apparent to everyone that his pain was acute.

Tapping Nanda on the shoulder, Tasslehoff pointed out, "I could have spotted that. Let me go first." Seeing hesitation in Nanda's eyes, he insisted, "I'm good at this type of thing. It's sort of a hobby."

Nanda looked searchingly at Tanis. The half-elf explained, "I haven't known him much longer than you, but he does seem to be good at getting into and out of places where visitors aren't wanted. He has not steered me wrong on that score yet."

Nanda lowered his eyes and waved his hand forward.

"Go ahead," said Tanis. "Nanda will take your place between Flint and me."

Looking slightly relieved that someone else was stepping into his responsibility, Nanda slumped against his staff, taking much of the weight off his wounded leg.

Grinning from ear to ear, Tasslehoff readjusted his pouches and packs, then said, "Best decision you ever made. Watch me!" He turned and stepped lightly down the path to where Nanda had fallen. "Ready when you are, Tanis!" Then, without waiting for any go-ahead signal, he bent to his task.

Before advancing down the tunnel, the kender paused to examine the trigger mechanism of the trap that had injured Nanda. He poked at the rough stone floor with his dagger for only a few seconds before muttering, "Ah ha!" One of the larger stones shifted slightly and made an audible click as it did so. Tas studied it for a few more seconds, then scanned the opposite wall. He quickly located the dart's small hole and nodded appreciatively.

"Someone really did first-class work in here," he announced over his shoulder, but a chorus of vehement shushes from behind reminded Tas where he was.

With a good idea of what he was up against, Tasslehoff resumed his search. He moved only a few feet farther down the tunnel before pausing and holding up his hand, signaling the others to stop. He pointed to the ceiling, where cobwebs and dust created a hairy blanket clinging to the stone roof. With everyone's attention on the ceiling, he poked the end of his hoopak into a patch of moss on the floor.

Several phaethons gasped as what looked like solid ceiling fell away in a cloud of dust. A stout net, weighted with chunks of stone the size of a man's head, crashed to the floor. The dust had not settled yet when Kelu stepped forward for a closer look, but Tas stopped him by barring the tunnel with his hoopak. Seconds later, a loud clank rang through the passage as sixteen metal spikes, each a foot long and barbed along the shaft, sprang from the floor and pierced upward through the net.

Tas lowered his hoopak. "Anyone under there would have been dragged to the ground by the weight of the net, then the spikes would have finished 'em off. Devilish," pronounced Tas, sounding like a philosopher expounding to his pupils. "You fellows had better stay on your toes in case I miss something," he said, adding modestly, "as unlikely as that may be."

With alarming nonchalance, Tasslehoff picked his way through the spikes and net. Although none of them were strangers to danger, the phaethons, Nanda in particular, gawked with mixed wonder and dread at the grisly fate the kender had so easily sidestepped.

Only a few paces beyond the trap, the corridor opened into a circular room. The walls and floor were polished granite, coral pink with veins of gray. Three magical light sources blazed softly on the walls, filling the room with clean white light. As everyone else filed in, they found Tasslehoff standing in the center of the room, toying with the long tail from his topknot.

Tanis and Flint moved next to the kender, who asked, "What do you make of this?" With a sweep of his arm he indicated the entire wall of the chamber. The wall was plain and unadorned, unremarkable in all respects save one.

"There aren't any exits," observed Tanis in wonder. The wall was featureless. The only doorway was the one from which the group had just emerged.

"None that we can see, you mean," corrected Tas. "I'd bet Flint's beard that there's at least one way out of here, aside from where we entered, probably more. We just have to find them." Quickly the kender went to work

searching for concealed doors. He groped along the walls and floor and across the ceiling: poking, prodding, knocking, twisting, and pulling.

While pushing against what appeared to be solid granite, Tasslehoff suddenly tumbled through, leaving only his ankles sticking out of the wall. What had looked like blank wall shimmered and faded away to reveal an arched doorway with an open space beyond. The kender, who was as surprised as everyone else, scrambled to his feet. Flint beamed.

"That's one, but as I said there's bound to be more. Now that we know what we're looking for, let's flush out the rest."

In less than a minute, two more doorways were found. All three opened into corridors, not rooms. Two were smooth and polished, like the chamber where all the passages met. The third, to the left, was rough, like the passage they had followed from the entrance.

Nanda turned to his great-grandfather. "Hoto, do you have any idea where these passages lead?"

The elder just shook his white-maned head. "I have never been inside this place, and I am unaccustomed to being underground. My sense of direction here is quite bad."

"Mine is excellent," said the dwarf, who had grown up in the underground tunnels that riddled the foothills of the Kharolis Mountains. "Based on the location you described for that chimney, one of these two finished passages should lead there. This third one is anybody's guess."

"With no clear choice between them," said Tanis. "I say we choose this one." He indicated the corridor farthest to the right and took several steps toward it.