When they reached the end of the river, Ssani said to Nicnac, "Just keep walking up to that house. Moron lives there. He will help you." "Why aren't you coming with me?" "I can not leave the river" and he started moving away.

     Nicnac started walking up to the house when he got there he knocked on the door. A little man no more then 3ft. answered the door. "Yes, what can I do for you?" "My names Nicnac, Ssani said you could help me." "Oh yes. Come in, come in. Sit down and make yourself at home. Can I get you anything? Tea perhaps?" "No thankyou." He sat down on a long couch. "So you are here to fight Taltos. Has Llissa told you all about him?" "She told me somethings. She gave me this amulet though" and he picked it up and showed it to Moron. The amulet started turning red and Moron's eyes opened wide and then he screamed "AHHHHHH..." and a big blinding light and he was gone. Nicnac had no idea what happened to him or why the amulet did that. The room then started turning red and the walls started shaking. Nicnac fell off the couch and onto the floor with a thud. The door burst open and standing there was Ssani, laughing. "So, you got rid of Moron. Well he's dead you know." "Where did he go?" "To the neverlands. Anyhow, I mistook your intelligence. You are smarter than I thought. That don't matter though, Taltos will reward me for bringing you to him" and he reached forward and grabbed Nicnac. He took Nicnac to the boat and tied him up and started rowing down the river.

     They stopped at the bottom of the mountain and there Ssani took Nicnac out of the boat and started bringing him towards the mountain. "Where we going?" asked Nicnac. "You will find out soon enough, now shut up." They continued on towards the mountain until they reached a bed of sand. While Ssani was figuring out how to get across the sand, Nicnac tried to get out of one rope but it was to tight. Then he remembered what Llissa had said about the amulet, "It will help you when you are in danger" and looked down at the amulet around his neck. He then wondered why Ssani didn't take it from him or if he even knew about it. He sat down and tried to pick the necklace up with his chin and after a few tries he got it. The wind started picking up and the sand started moving. Ssani backed away and when he realized what was happening he turned around and was about to take the amulet from Nicnac when he was lifted hight into the air and throwing onto the sand. "HELP ME...AHHH..." and he was sucked under the sand. The wind then died down. Nicnac went over towards a tree and started rubbing his hands on it hoping that it would help loosing the rope but it was no use. Then a flash of light came from behind him and he turned around to see what it was. "Llissa! You're alive!" "Yes I am. Don't you remember what I said? No one dies here without Taltos' permission. Now turn around so I can help you with those ropes" and he did so. "Where are we?" asked Nicnac. "We are at the mountain of fire. You must travel through it and onto the other side to get to Taltos." "Are you coming too?" "I can only go with you through the mountain but that is as far as I can go. Now we must be going" and they started walking towards the mountain.

     When they got to the base of the mountain, Llissa said some words and a cave opened. "Now you will go through by yourself for I must stay here and keep a watch out for Zzev. Just follow the path. Good luck." Nicnac decided not to argue with her and proceeded into the cave. It didn't take long for him to reach the other side of the mountain. He was outside now and the sky was all blood red. The grass was black. At first he thought he was back where he started but it seemed different somehow. Not more than a couple of feet in front of him was another cave which he entered. Nicnac looked in first and said to himself, "It's pretty dark. I wonder if there's a light in the bag Maybri gave me" and he took it off his back and looked inside. He pulled out a long torch and then he looked for something to light it with. He pulled something that looked like a lighter but wasn't a lighter. It then started turning hot and Nicnac dropped it and as it hit the ground a little flame started. He put the torch on it until it was lit and the stepped on the flame to put it out. He then started walking into the cave.

     Hourse had passed before he stopped at a wall. He decided to take a rest. He put his head against the wall and it turned into a mirror. He got up startled. As he looked through the mirror, he could see his room. He saw himself walking around and some how he knew he could not go through until his otherself left. He knew he would be there awhile and decided to take a little nap.