Having taken the last bite of your dinner, you gently lift the plate and head to the kitchen sink. You usually stay at your aunt’s house during school nights, as your parents are too busy to take care of you. But you’ve been here for four hours now and found no sign of your aunt or her roommate. Their dog, Simple, has followed you the entire time, looking more than a little worried. You walked him, fed him, did your homework, fixed your own dinner, ate, and have now finished cleaning up.

Normally you’d find a note in the kitchen if something was wrong. But searching high and low revealed nothing.

You have no idea what most of that means, but you do recognize The Crystal Empire. Such a place is far to the north and out of your reach. Even if you went by train, you have no money. Train tickets cost money, after all.