Myth-ion Improbable by Robert Lynn Asprin

“You must take care of your friends,” she said, her wonderful voice melting every thought I had. “Understand?” I managed to nod.

“Good,” she said, winking at me. “I will know if you succeed or fail. Good luck to you.”

With that the tent and the beautiful woman were gone. Around us a wind whipped over the plains, driving dirt and dust into my face.

“Vortex #1,” Aahz shouted over the blowing wind. “Here we go,” Tanda shouted back.

I just wish someone had warned me we were jumping dimensions.

“Pgghhhhh ugghhhhh mgggghhhh mggghhhh” was all I managed to say.

The dust blew around my head, reducing visibility to near zero. The changing demon back in the big tent on Deva had said the Vortex dimensions were dangerous and full of temptations. The only temptation I had about this place was an instant desire to go home.

“This way! Hurry!”

Tananda motioned that we should follow her. Since there was nothing to be seen but swirling dust, I figured I had nothing to lose.

It seemed that my closed-lip problem was as temporary as Tanda had promised it would be. By the time she had led us a hundred staggering paces through the storm to what looked to be an old log cabin, my lips were again free.

The old cabin that Tanda had led us to had been made of cut-together logs and had to be a hundred years old. She shoved the door open and we stomped inside. Wind blew in through at least a hundred cracks in the walls and the only things that now lived in the place was rodents.

“What was the big rush?” Aahz said, brushing dust from his clothes after shoving the door closed.