Sporting your new hat you follow Linus the Arch Wizard into his mist, into the garden behind his tower. It is full of different plants and flowers of different kinds, with one slight caveat. Pretty much all of the plants and flowers are dead.
— “So, this is… was my garden. This was my garden until a couple of unwanted ghosts moved in nextdoor. Well I say moved in - they used to be my neighbours but then they died and turned into really impolite ghosts. Now that I think of it, they were impolite while being alive as well… Damn musicians…” Linus mutters, while looking at his withered garden.
— “So… About that spell.” you quietly ask.
— “Yeah! Why did you portal us into your garden? It is literally right behind your tower.” dAnkan interjects.
— “Oh yeah. Right. Well, heroes. You see, the spell requires some… Ghost magic. Therefore I need you to get some for me. From these ghosts harassing me and my garden.” Linus bends down to pick something up from the ground and shows it to you. “Just look at my poor flower.”
There is nothing in his hand. You and dAnkan look at each other, then back to his hand, and at each other again. Unsure who should tell the wizard he has gone mad.
— “There’s nothing in your hand.” dAnkan then exclaims. Linus looks down at his hand then at you, then back at his hand, then once more at you, then back at his hand and then finally he looks at you with a sort of embarrassed look as if he’s remembered something important.
— “Ah, pardon me. I forgot your non-wizard-eyes aren’t attuned to see things like this, this is a magical flower you see or in this case don’t. A dead magical flower.” he says, and then pulls out a black sheet of paper and puts it behind a now visible, beautiful and withered, flower in his hand. “It’s all a matter of perspective.”
— “Yeah yeah. Nice flower and all but what about that spell?!” dAnkan asks, sounding somewhat bothered.
— “Oh yeah. You need to find some spectres. There ought to be some around here. As I said, they like music, so if you listen closely you might find them.”
Finally locating the ghosts you lead Linus, the Arch Mage, over to them. He looks at them with a menacing smile and yells some magic words. You see how the ghosts start to fade away into nothingness, chanting their final song in sorrow. With the garden now being quiet, the wizard turns to you.
— “Thank you for the help. I’ll be off to my tower now.” Linus says, opening his mist portal but only managing to put on foot through before you grab ahold of him.
— “Hold on buddy! You said this would help with our spell!” you exclaim, with dAnkan providing a “Yeah!” in support. The wizard stops in his tracks and turns his head to you.
— “Yeah… That is what I am headed to do. Just need to configure my wand a bit more, need a new colorscheme.” he says. “We will sort out the spell in the morning, ciao!” he continues, and almost runs into his portal. The portal closes behind him leaving you and dAnkan alone in the withered garden.
— “Well. I guess the only thing now is to wait.” you say to dAnkan.
— “Good thing I brought eggnog.” dAnkan says and pulls out a casket much larger than his backpack, from his backpack. You sit there watching the stars, drinking eggnog, and reminisce about old adventures all the time till the morning after.