Trust no one.  Not even yourself *laughs*  Especially in here, in the Other world...

That totally sexy girl you met the other day?? *shakes head*  Succubus.  That incredibly charming creature you met last night?? *shakes head again*  Vampyre.  That dashing young gent??? *rolls eyes* Imp.

The list is endless, from fearsome Frost Giants all the way down to dinky little Demented Demon Dwarves, all of whom are more than happy to lead you astray *sigh*

Good guides are hard to come by.

And the best, it seems, are those most removed from 'human' kind... animals, a babbling brook... or the wind *grins*

The wind can be the Best guide of all:  She never lies.  She'll tell her story to anybody or anything patient enough to sit and listen... and such stories!!!  She sings of soft scents and heavy odors, dry fluffy puffs and thick moist fogs... sometimes she sings softly, barely stirring, while at others she dances about wildly, capriciously punctuating her meanings with sharp gusts and insane howls...

The dry wind flowed gently across me, past me, flickering the flame in the lamp as she sang along, mindless and mindful...

I tasted, and sniffed, and drank deeply of her journey.

Ancient, gritty, and very Boring dust lay to the left, or so she told me, and nothing more...

In fact, it was such a vast maze of dusty nothingness that she had had enough, and was now on her way towards something that was Surely much more interesting than the nothingness back There.

And as if to emphasize her point, she flickered the flame again.

That was enough for me.  I grabbed the lamp, slung the pack over my shoulder, and headed off down wind, following the breeze.

Sure, every Troll and his brother would smell me coming Miles before I got there... *shrugs*

Nice having the wind at your back though.