"Hey, hang on there!" Charon warned as the boat rocked back and forth. Thankfully, the guy had some sense, and settled down after a moment. Mouthy took a page out of his book and sat tight, too.

"What do you mean, refunds?" the skeleton cackled. "Prince Charming here was the one who paid up. As far as I'm concerned, you two clowns are just along for the right. And if there's anything I don't like, it's an obnoxious clown."

And speak of the devil -- there was Stinky. The ferryman leaned to the side as he observed him a moment. "Well, whaddyaknow," he remarked with a small snort. "You've got luck on your side tonight. I'm impressed."

With that, he dipped the paddle back into the water and began to row toward the dock as if nothing had happened. "You'd better hope you didn't spend it all up just now, though," he added in his own gravelly voice as an afterthought.