I’m happy to report that my sleep in Specter’s manor was nightmare-free, though I did wake up a few times with a feeling of being watched. The owl statue remained secure in the closet, so it was likely just my overactive imagination. Once I felt sufficiently rested, I stopped in the kitchen to prepare some breakfast, then wandered the mansion looking for Phoebe.
After checking half a dozen rooms with no sign of her, I felt the heavy eyes of the many bird portraits weighing me down. I thought Phoebe might have felt the same, so I resolved to investigate the Solarium and abandon the main hall with its tassels, velvet cushions, and strange, vacant-eyed statues.
I was expecting the Solarium to be filled with magical contraptions, like Glitter’s library. Instead, I discovered a lush garden with the first proper plants I’ve seen since entering the Lunar Realm. At the center of the garden was a large tree with glowing blue and green leaves.
I wandered through the paths of the garden so delighted by the plants that I momentarily forgot my search for Phoebe and my feeling of being watched.
The watcher had not forgotten me, though! For hidden among the branches of the tree, glowing the same blue-green color as the leaves was Specter.
He flew down to meet me on the garden path and nearly startled me out of my boots!
He wanted to discuss my experience with the nightmares. Specter had encountered some nightmares recently in the Lunar Realm. They were drawn to the beacon, just like the ghosts. He used his guiding abilities to make these visitors “get lost” and find their way back to their own lands. However, before they were guided out, many came into contact with the Lunar Ghosts, disturbing them with nightmarish visions. This was causing them to dim their light and turn aside from their natural journey to the metaphysical realm.
Specter was eager to help us put the spirits at ease and block the nightmares from entering this realm. He was willing to join up with our cause. He asked me to wait in his Salon while he gathered Glitter and “the moon daughter” which I must guess is Phoebe, since he flew off before I could confirm.
The door to the Salon was just off the Solarium. Compared to the open feeling of the garden, the Salon was quite cozy. The room was draped with fabrics and had a pillow corner for nesting in. In the center of the room was a table with a brocade tablecloth and a lunar crystal in the center. Still, I had trouble relaxing in the pillows because the feeling of being watched had returned. I poked around behind one or two of the fabric curtains on the walls to reveal shelves of divination tools. Several of these I recognized, thanks to some books you had provided me on magical devices.
The cheeky bird had snuck into the Salon to spy on Glitter and Specter’s conversation and been locked in once they left. When it seemed like she would be there for a while, she settled down for a nap and was woken up by my arrival.
I mentioned how I felt the portraits and statues were watching us, and Phoebe said that sometimes the Lunar Ghosts speak to Specter through the decor! Having a portrait or a statue to speak with gives the spirit a reminder of their old life and helps them answer questions about their unfinished business. Specter uses his divination tools to find the right object to represent the spirit he wants to help.
Specter returned with Glitter through a secret door in the back of the Salon! It had been hidden behind more curtains. He was surprised to find Phoebe already in the Salon. I told him she arrived after he left. I can’t tell if Specter believed us (he can be hard to read), but he didn’t dwell on it.
With all of us gathered, he reached a claw under the table and drew a set of divination cards, but it was not a design I had encountered in our realm. Specter drew four cards and placed them face up on the table. He explained that the next step in our quest was to reach the Magma Phoenix, and these cards would tell us the safest path to their home.
The cards were: The Ace of Crowns, The Aurora, The 9 of Stones, and The Lost Lamb
Glitter nodded in agreement at this interpretation, though Phoebe preened her feathers anxiously. I admit I was baffled by the interpretation but Specter has offered to tutor me on the use of this divination deck.
Phoebe admitted that she did know of a secret entrance to the Magma Phoenix’s nest, but that the entrance was through a cave on a high up mountain ridge. It would be difficult to get me up the ridge and the cave tunnel was too narrow to allow Glitter and Specter to fly.
Specter nodded thoughtfully and said he would prepare a list of provisions to assist us on the trip. Thanks to your generous assistance, we’ve been able to acquire most of them. I am simply waiting now for Specter and Glitter to procure a Lunar Sheep for me to ride. I’m very curious to see how that works out.
When next I write you, it’s my sincere hope that it will be from the home of the Magma Phoenix.
Your patient emissary,
Read the rest of Cecil's letters here: Cecil's Mailbox