Milo approached the desk where a very tired-looking Batty sat slumped across a desk, hair disheveled and glasses crooked. She only glanced at him, wholly uninterested.

“Um, hi..” Milo gave a curt wave and leaned into her view. “I was wondering if Greg had any books from the library on him?”

“Why?” Batty moaned. “I just want to be left alone.”

“Ugh, well, Greg is sorta missing.”

“Oh.. well, he has no books on him, but his nephew does. Seems to be at his stall in the Market.”

Milo took his turn groaning in displeasure; the Market, for all it’s worth, was a headache to navigate. Milo thanked the woman and slipped back out of the library. Since he didn’t have a beskers crook to the Fair Market, he manipulated the jump to land him in the Market. What he just did made him nervous since he was still very new to unguided plane jumping.

The worst thing about the Fair Market is that it is not a traditional open-air market; it’s an entire planet, overcrowded with pedestrians, tourists, and sketchy businessmen. Milo both loved and hated the place, it smelled awful and the variety of creatures and people with different magic coalesced into a magical cacophony that made you want to retch. The part Milo loved was how alone he felt walking through the crowds; everyone kept to themselves, and the shopkeeper only bothered the people looking for their business. It was highly speculated that ancient fae enchanted the whole planet to get you where you needed to be, not necessarily where you wanted to go.

Milo stood before Greg’s tent; the front was open, and he could see the light warp from behind the threshold. When he entered, he saw one person who could only have been related to Greg. In fact, the resemblance was uncanny as this man was only a couple inches shorter than Greg, and instead of a beard, he had a short scruff.

“I didn’t know Greg had a nephew,” Milo said matter of factly to announce his presence.

The man turned from the stack of notes he was looking through before, looking Milo in the eye with a mischievous smile.

“And I thought you’d be taller, eh Milo?”

“Compared to who?” Milo intoned quizzically.

“Names Tyson, call me Ty, eh bud?”

“Kay Tyson. Whatcha doing here, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Tea.” Tyson grinned maniacally and turned back to the papers. “That old bugger won’t spill the beans on where he gets it from.”

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“So you’re looking for clues to find his tea supplier, which might lead to where he’s at since he’s been missing?”

“Whaddya talking bout?”

“Greg hasn’t been seen for around a week.”

“Well, that’s serious business,” Tyson turned to Milo,” s’pose the secret sauce can wait. Codger left a note, said he was meeting a business partner.”

“well… shit.” he scratched his head. “What the hell does that mean?”

“Dunno,” Tyson shrugged, then smiled, “could probably find out.”

The big man jumped, spun around, and swept the counter with his arm. He pulled a bag up and started rummaging through it with a fervor; when he was finished, he began putting little metal scraps together into a doohickey. He pulled tools out and engraved some nonsense Milo didn’t understand and, in a couple minutes, held aloft his finished product.

“Ya know how the Market is enchanted? The whole thing makes traveling all wonky, gettin’ ya places you “need” but not exactly “want” to be.” Tyson gestured to his creation triumphantly, “An that’ll hijack that enchantment and get us where we want to go.”

“And we want to be where his “partner” is assuming he’s operating out of the Market.”

“Yup,” Tyson pocketed his device and collected his stuff,” just stay close.”

The two left Greg’s freshly secured tent and set off to navigate the crowd. The Market had a sort of flow to it due to the massive enchantment. The stalls acted like river banks as the crowds rose and fell in waves of density. If Milo and Tyson rode waves, Tyson’s device was the guiding sail.

It felt like they were walking for hours until they came to a frighteningly disturbing sight. The stalls were nearly empty, and the crowds were all but gone save a handful of travelers. This part of the Market was one of the oldest. For once, Milo was content with the company, even though it was Tyson whom he had just met.

“Ya see that cupboard over there?” Tyson pointed, “That’s it.”

They approached the cupboard. It was dusty and hidden behind a dustier stall. The cabinet was about 6 ft by 2 ft, freestanding with a single door.

“You want to open it?” Milo asked innocently.

“Nah-really.”

Milo opened the door. Its interior was huge; they saw an enormous entrance hall as it opened up. Milo glanced at Tyson’s wide-eyed and excited expression before entering the portal.