Matt jumped back as the massive black door swung out towards him.

“Hello, travelers!” A man smiled from the opening through his long white beard. The door dwarfed him even more than it had Matt. “You have journeyed far,” he said. “Come in.”

Matt’s party didn’t move. Fallyn’s eyes narrowed and she tilted her head.

“Oh, come in.” The old man motioned them inside, sleeves flopping, dark gray like the mountains behind the castle. Then the name, ‘Murl’, appeared in white above his head.

Matt raised his eyebrows and stepped across the threshold. He was greeted by a gust of cold air. The foyer was impressive, at least two stories high and lit by torches blazing behind intricate metal. The sconces stretched lacy shadows across the stone.

A large tapestry drew Matt’s attention to the far wall. Rich red, blue, and gold depicted a familiar scene with three figures. The woman on the left faced towards him, red dress and long brown hair. Then a man in a blue checkered shirt looked over his shoulder. The woman in blue looked up at the man. Matt rubbed a hand along the back of his neck; where he’d seen it before on the tip of his tongue. Val was studying a tapestry of her own to the left: a tall panel displaying a striped dress.

“Yes, yes,” Murl muttered to no one in particular. “Shush, we have guests.”

“Uh, hello, Sir.” Kurtis extended a hand to Murl.

The old man stared at the outstretched limb. “Oh right,” Murl said, then took his hand, “this custom.” He shook it once, firmly.

“Nice place you got here,” Val said, turning away from the dress. It shifted from blue to gold as Matt moved through the room.

“Yes…” Murl stroked his beard. “Well, you better follow me.”

Murl led them through a door on the wall to the right. The smooth black wood had no handle or knob, but when the old man approached it, it swung out for him. Their feet pattered softly, following Murl through the hallway; the hem of his robe whispered against the stone. Matt realized they must be walking along the front of the building, but to where he didn’t know.

Valkyrie gasped as they approached double doors on their left: rich redwood carved with a huge oak tree design, half of it displayed on each panel. Gold leaf and green gems brought the tree to life. The branches seemed to sway in the torchlight, fire reflecting in every gem. Kurtis reached up to touch it, but a clang down the hall had him jerking back his hand and stiffening his tail.

A few more steps, and Matt could see where the noise had come from. An open doorway revealed a large white kitchen, straight out of Mom’s magazines. He always knew they’d be in for weeks of reno requests, whenever she flipped through those things—followed by weeks of Dad’s grumbling. Matt had just tried to stay out of the way. Like most of those glossy photos, this kitchen was empty. A pot boiled on the stove—it smelled like soup—and a spoon swirled inside. Whoever had been stirring it had vanished in a hurry.

Murl led them past the kitchen, to where the the hallway ended in stairs, spiraling up like the core of a seashell. They climbed and climbed. No torches lit the way, but a soft white glow drifted above. It got brighter and brighter, the higher they rose. Then after three or four stories, Murl paused. A creak and a clunk, then light poured from above, almost blinding. Murl led them up into that brightness.

Squinting, Matt found himself in a round room lined with shining crystals. The trap door creaked closed when they were all inside. It was like a hundred of Fallyn’s crystal traps were trying to eat the walls, and had tripled in size and started to glow from gorging themselves on the stone. They climbed the walls and the rafters, jutting out at odd angles near the cone ceiling’s peak.

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“Welcome to my study,” Murl said with a smile. He straightened a book on the top of a stack that bobbed under his hands. Five books high, it was floating beside a wall of crystals, resting on nothing but air. “It’s really quite neat, isn’t it?”

Similar stacks of books and small knickknacks floated all around the perimeter. Matt didn’t know where to look. He nodded at Murl politely then Murl gave a smile and a wink.

A new glow joined the light from the crystals. Tingling spread down Matt’s arms. ‘810,000 XP’ floated up to the rafters. Matt’s group was Level 6.

Matt let out a relieved breath as Murl’s smile widened.

The old man stroked his beard and said, “So, let’s see it.” He held and a small wooden table rose to meet it.

“Here you go!” Val said brightly, producing the rusty object.

“May I?”

Val nodded, tiara scattering rainbows through the room.

Murl held the object near his face, turning it over and mumbling inaudibly. He even held it up to his ear. Then the old man set it down gently on the table. He squinted at it, walked around it, stroked his long white beard. “Hm. Hm.”

Don’t tell me this is going to be a repeat of Sister Mary, Matt thought.

Then, without warning, Murl made a sharp gesture to the left. The table—and the object—shot to the wall. Kurtis stalked towards it protectively, then Murl turned to the opposite side of the room.

“Come here, darling,” Murl cooed, beckoning with his index finger.

A glowing orb and stone pedestal, jerked out of the mess of crystals, scraping along the floor. The globe hovered, an inch above the stone, and cycled colors as it moved towards Murl.

“Show off,” he chided fondly when it stopped with a wobble at his feet.

Matt glanced nervously back at the rusty teardrop. Fallyn had joined Kurtis beside it.

“This precious gem,” Murl explained, “helps me see what’s going on in the realm.”

The orb pulsed pink when he called it precious.

“And sometimes,” Murl added, “even beyond that.” He winked. “That’s how I knew you’d be coming. It is also how I keep tabs on the gravemist. Real shame what it’s doing to the land.” He stroked his beard. “Orbi, be a dear and bring up what you showed me of the lake the other day.”

Orbi pulsed yellow and then its colors swirled into grays and white—a foggy lake.

Matt leaned in. They all moved closer to see. It was like a silent movie, filmed from above. Four figures stood on the shore and a fifth was out on the water on a horse. The pink-haired figure jumped, arms raised to the sky. Then something rushed towards her from the man on the horse.

“It’s me!” Val cried.

The lake churned into solid green.

“Well done,” Murl said, and the orb pulsed pink. “Now, show me someone who can help us understand that metal object.”

Orbi’s surface swirled into bright white, splitting with lens flares and rainbows, to reveal five figures encircling a glowing dot of an orb.

“That’s us again,” said Val.

“And me,” said Murl. “Now, Orbi, please show us someone else who can help.”

The color drained to black.

“So, now you see it too,” Murl said. “I’m not sure what it is yet. But it appears that I’m your only option.” After a few beard strokes’ pause, he instructed, “Go to your home, Orbi.”

The glowing sphere jerked back to the wall, scraping against the floor. Then with a pulling gesture from Murl, the table returned.

“So, here’s the deal,” Murl said, picking up the rusty object. He used it to punctuate his words. “Orbi showed me some ancient tradition, Givethanksing, I think it was called. I was looking forward to trying it out, eating this feast. Then you four showed up.” He raised his eyebrows for emphasis. “With the gravemist, I figure… YOLO. Orbi, dear, did I say that right?”

Nestled against the crystals, the orb pulsed yellow twice.

“Good. YOLO. If I am to study the object, I want you to help with my feast. Deal?”

“Deal,” Val replied quickly.

“Wait,” Fallyn countered. “What else can Orbi show us?”

Murl stared out at her—through her—as if he didn’t hear the question.

“You know about YOLO and Thanksgiving,” Fallyn ventured. “So, can you show us Earth?”

Murl didn’t speak or move. He didn’t even blink.

“Can you show us what happened? Can you show me my family?”

Val waved a silky hand in front of Murl’s face.

“If not, what about someone named Anika Lee? Was she transported somewhere?”

No reply.

“Are Sharkie and Karen alright?”

Nothing.

“I think you broke him,” Kurtis said.

Val waved her hand again. “Broken,” she agreed.

Matt frowned and gave Fallyn’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Hey Murl, it’s a deal,” he said.

“Wonderful!” Murl exclaimed, springing to life. “Orbi, isn’t that wonderful?” The orb pulsed pink, then Murl pulled a scroll from the left sleeve of his robe. He unfurled the paper and doled out instructions. “The first thing I’ll need is mushrooms. I want the fancy kind. You can find them at the back of a cave. I got some there a few weeks ago. Great little spot. Cute residents too. Maybe you’ll even make friends.”

He winked as ‘Gather fancy mushrooms: 0/30’ appeared and floated up to the rafters.