"I'd totally go down there, if I could be invisible," suggests Leosin. "Hooflepoof, can I borrow your Cloak of Invisibility?"

"Um, no," says Hooflepoof, but Elfo jumps in to suggest that he has an Invisibility spell; who wants to go? Barry and Bilbo volunteer, so Elfo makes them and Leosin invisible. Hoofepoof dons his Cloak of Invisibility, and they head down once again toward the tunnel. Hooflepoof leads the way, and by this time he has little difficulty picking the lock, as he's done it so many times by now. When they reach the tunnel, they notice an additional boot print, among the many three-toed prints in the mud, and they suspect that a booted human must have passed this way not so long ago. Nobody thinks to compare it to the soles of Hooflepoof's boots.

Meanwhile, the rest of the adventurers head up to the balcony to keep an eye on what is happening in the Carnath Roadhouse, but right now there isn't anything happening. After a few minutes Bog Luck crosses the floor on some errand, notices them up on the balcony, and greets them with a hearty hello.

"Hi Bog," says Elbolin, "do you go by Bog, or Bog Luck?"

"Eh, you c'n call me whatever you want, but I may not answer. What're you guys doing?"

"Oh, nothing," says Elbolin. "Just relaxing."

Bog looks at them suspiciously and goes about his business.

Hooflepoof, Barry, Bilbo and Leosin arrive at the end of the tunnel. They examine the ceiling above the stairs; there is no door knob or keyhole. It looks just like a plank of wood. After a few minutes of standing around, Hooflpoof pushes up on the plank, and it falls away easily, spilling dim, grayish light into the tunnel. They step out into the forest.

They find themselves in a dense thicket. The plank that they pushed up from over the tunnel is planted on the top side with sticks and brush, so that in place, it would be extremely difficult to see. The woods around them are murky and wet, with a pervading darkness even in the light of day, and a constant draconic murmuring in the trees. They can make out a muddly trail heading off in the northeast direction, well trodden with the same three-toed footprints that they found in the tunnel.

"I've heard of this place," says Leosin. "I think it's the Mere of Dead Men. Does anybody here know Draconic?"

"I do," says Barry. "Be quiet a sec, I'll translate."

Everybody stops and listens to the ghostly murmering. Barry whispers phrases as he's able to pick them out, things like "turn back", "stay away", and "you won't come back alive".

"Charming" says Leosin icily. "I wouldn't want to be here at night alone. Well, let's see where this trail leads."

They put the cover halfway over the entrance to the tunnel, and start working their way along the trail, which is mushy and muddy, sometimes completely covered with shallow, swampy water. On those stretches, they notice blaze marks cut into the trees to mark the trail. They travel for about an hour. They start to notice their spell invisibility beginning to wear off, but they continue. Leosin doesn't seem to be even thinking about turning around.

Suddenly the ground beneath their feet gives way. Bilbo and Leosin, in the lead, and are quickly mired in quicksand. Hooflepoof and Barry hear the mud gurgling and manage to stop before they get caught in it, and Hooflepoof quickly jumps to Bilbo's aid.