While no one bothered to draw closer to the wizard, all focused their attention on him. Pharaun grinned in delight, pleased as ever by the at-tention. He knotted his fists behind his back as iflecturing to novices at Sorcere, and began.
"When we are ready, I will lead us along a path that skirts the Fringe - the borders of the Plane of Shadow. We will travel quite swiftly, and minor inconveniences such as icy mountains, hungry monsters, and thick-headed humans won't trouble us in the least. I expect a walk of ten to twelve hours to reach Mantol-Derith, provided that I do not become lost and lead you all into some grisly demise in an uncivilized plane far from Faerun."
"You fail to reassure me, Pharaun," Ryld sighed.
"Oh, I haven't ever gotten myself lost in the Shadow Deep, nor do I know of a wizard who has. Of course, one would simply never hear from such an unfortunate fellow again, so perhaps a mishap in shadow walking might explain the disappearance of a young mage I knew - "
"Get to the point," Quenthel snapped.
"Oh, fine. There are two important things to remember, then, for those of you challenged by the effort. First, while we need fear no diffi-culties in this world while we walk, we gain no special protection from the hazards of the Plane of Shadow. There are things in that place that will object to our passage if they happen upon us - I encountered one such creature the last time I traveled this way, and it was very nearly the last of my marvelous adventures.
"Second, and most importantly, donotlose sight of me. Stay close by and follow me diligently. If you lose contact with me while we traverse the Plane of Shadow, you will likelywander its gloomybarrens for all eternity - or until something terrible devours you, which will probably happen rather soon. My attention must remain on maintaining the spell and navigating the Fringe, so don't make it easy for me to misplace you, unless of course I don't like you, in which case please feel free to amble the Shadow Deep at will."
"Will the lamias be able to follow us?" Ryld asked, his eye still on the passage leading back to the ruins above.
"No, not unless they have a wizard as learned and charming as I, and he knows a spell that permits one to track shadow walkers, which I do not." Pharaun smiled. "You will be able to shake the dust of the surface from your boots, friend Ryld. Concern yourself no more with the perils of this place, and save your worry for what we might meet on the Fringe." The wizard glanced around, and nodded to himself. "All right, then. Take each other's hands - there's a good fellow, Jeggred, you can get everybody at once, can't you? - and be still while I cast the spell."
Pharaun raised his hands and muttered a series of arcane syllables, working his spell.
Halisstra stood between Danifae and Valas, their hands linked. The great subterranean gallery grew somehowdarker, if such a thing could be possible in an unlit room underground. Drow could see quite well even in the darkest places, but it seemed to Halisstra as if some kind of murk hung in the air. At first glance, it seemed that Pharaun had succeeded in little more than conjuring a gloom around the party, but as she studied her surroundings more closely, she realized that she was indeed no longer upon Faerun. A preternatural chill gnawed at her exposed skin, radiating from the cold dust beneath her feet. The high, rune-carved columns that lined the space were twisted caricatures that loomed bizarrely out over the chamber's open floor.
"Strange," she murmured. "I expected something . . . different."
"This is the way of the shadow, dear lady," Pharaun said. His voice seemed flat and distant, despite the fact he stood no more than six feet from her. "This plane has no substance of its own. It is made up of echoes from our own world, and other, stranger places. We stand in the shadow of the ruins above, but they are not the same ruins we recently traversed. The lamias and their minions do not exist here. Now, remember, stay close, and do not lose sight of me."
The wizard set off along the passage leading back to the surface. Halis-stra blinked in surprise. He took only one small step as he turned