"Fooruman," I addressed the wizard, "where did you get that marshmallow?"
The archmage paused, briefly staring into space as though lost in thought. He propped the canoe paddle up against the side of the wall and pushed lightly, sliding the canoe in my general direction. It gradually deaccelerated as it approached me, coming to almost a complete stop at my feet. The old man, his head still tilted downwards as if a great burden weighed upon his mind, focused his eyes up at mine. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but paused, his brow twitching subtly as though rethinking what he was about to say. He raised a crooked hand, beckoning me to lean closer. I obliged. He put his mouth to my ear, and whispered a single word: "Destiny."
He paused after this. His head turned up towards mine, and his hand pulled mine closer. "But now," he continued, his other hand releasing the paddle and resting upon mine. His voice was calm, yet serious, as he slipped something into my palm. "But now," he repeated, "it is your destiny."
I looked at the marshmallow. It was kind of sticky, and had bits of melted plastic on it. "Oh... okay. Thanks."
"Let's go NORTH," Uberbob suggested. Everyone obliged.
As we walked, I moved over towards Fawriel and the Mythslayer.
"Hey," I said, "you guys are probably the most important people with us right now, so keeping you alive is a priority. I handed a bag of generic-brand chips to both of them.
"Er," Fawriel said, a bit nervously, "I still have food. Save this for Leetzan."
The Mythslayer kept his. "About time you used me for something besides trap-testing." He pulled the bag open and ate one. "Mm. Generic."
The room the hallway led to was something new, at least. The walls and ceiling were again dome shaped, and had no visible exits other than the way we came in. The floor, however, glowed a brilliant white, illuminating the entire room. At the center stood a single crystaline pyramid, about six inches tall. Uberbob approached it. "This looks important. We should probably take it and run."
Leetzan lingered back towards the doorway. "It l0oks like a trap," she said.
Araches nodded with agreement. "Nobody leaves a shiny, valuable thing in the middle of a room unless it's a death trap."
I wasn't sure what it meant, but it did look dangerous. The sparkle of something else, however, caught my eye. I walked towards the corner of the room and looked down. Jammed in the corner lay a single, delicate fragment of crystal, not even one quarter an inch in width, perfectly round, and pointed on both sides like a toothpick.
Inventory
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