The house was quiet when Oliver climbed out of bed. He could barely see the trees in the moonlight that shone over the mountain, and to himself, he thought, “I still have time.” He quickly tossed an old cloak over his pajamas and then set about leaving the house.
The floorboards creaked as he walked to the front door, and in the other room, he could hear his father tossing and turning in his bed. He knew his father was worried—The Emporium was the source of all magic in the lands, but it had been locked up tight and no one could cast any spells. Confident he could find a way to reopen The Emporium, Oliver stepped out of his house and into his dark village.
He crept behind dark houses and sneaked past sleeping dogs to reach the edge of the village. Beyond the wooden fence was a dark forest, with towering trees and blinking yellow eyes between trunks. Oliver wasn’t scared, though. He puffed out his chest and hopped over the fence, charging bravely into the trees.
He walked along a dirt path until it abruptly stopped at a giant tree, one as wide as a house. He walked around to its far side and saw a white stone doorway made into the wood, lining the entrance to a dark voice. Oliver stuck his hand out and reached inside. Though his fingers disappeared from view, they felt warm. He shrugged and stepped into the void, disappearing from the forest.
When Oliver opened his eyes, he was standing in a stone room lit by torches. In the corner was a wooden chest, splinted from years of disuse. He opened it cautiously and stumbled back sputtering as a black cloud erupted from the chest.
Behind him was a high-pitched chuckle. Four short green goblins stood behind him, their skin wrinkled and jagged smiles stretching their faces. “What are you doing here, Little Adventurer?”
“This is no place for a boy your age,” another goblin laughed, taking a step toward him.
“I’m trying to unlock The Emporium!” Oliver proclaimed proudly. He pulled out a wooden sword and brandished it towards the goblins.
“The Emporium is closed?” one goblin asked. He opened his fingers and tried to cast a spell, but only a small cloud of purple smoke came from his palms. His shoulders sagged.
“No, no! We can’t have this!” another goblin spoke up. He walked over to Oliver and placed his wrinkly hand on Oliver’s back. “Come on, we’re taking you to the Boss! We need to get this sorted out.”
Oliver and his gang of goblins walked through the dungeon. They passed room after room, and in each one, new goblins, spiders, and gnomes appeared. They were all ready to tousel with Oliver, but when they heard the news that The Emporium was closed, they wanted no part of it. By the time Oliver stepped into the final room of the dungeon, there were at least thirty creatures with him.
From the depths of the room stomped the Goblin King, with a club in one hand and sandwich in the other. He frowned when he saw his minions approaching with Oliver. “What are you doing, Little Adventurer? Are you taking over my dungeon?”
“The Emporium is closed! No one can cast any spells!” one goblin yelled.
The Goblin King took a bite of his sandwich thoughtfully. He didn’t like the idea of not being able to use magic either. “I’ll tell you what,” he said through bites of his sandwich, “I’ll give you something that can help on your quest.” The Goblin King reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick silver coin. He flipped it to Oliver, who could barely hit it in his hands.
“What’s this for?” Oliver asked, but there was no one left to answer him. All of the goblins, spiders, and gnomes disappeared in a cloud of black smoke, making Oliver cough. He waved away the smoke and found the door to leave.
The sun was already up when Oliver stepped out of the forest and made his way towards Unby, the sprawling city just beyond his little village. It was a place people went to talk, trade, and celebrate—if anyone could tell him about his silver coin, they would be there.
He stepped through the city gates and ended up on a wide stone street, dodging adventurers with large swords thrown across their backs, women riding horses, and dockworkers walking with giant armored penguins.
Curious, Oliver approached them. “What are you doing?”
“Preparing an expedition,” the dockworker said. He sat a wooden box on a wagon and wiped his forehead. “We’re traveling to The Wilds tomorrow to draw maps.”
“What do they do?” Oliver asked, pointing at the armored penguins. One walked up to him and bent over, looking him in the eyes.
“They’re our navigators—they’ll tell us which way to go so we can come back home.”
Oliver nodded, but the dockworker could tell something was on his mind. “What’s wrong?”
“Would you know anything about this?” Oliver asked. He pulled out his silver coin and handed it to the dockworker. The penguins surrounded him, studying the coin. A few moments later, he shrugged and handed it back. “I don’t know anything about it, but you can go to Enlad’s—maybe someone there will know.” The dockworker motioned to a small building on the edge of the street. A few people lounged around outside talking merrily.
“Thanks!” Oliver exclaimed.
“If you’re interested in mapmaking, come to Port Chean—we’ll be setting sail from there in a little while. We could use a fresh face.”
Oliver thanked the dockworker once again before the man loaded up the wagon with a few more boxes, hooked the penguins up to it, and then set off down the busy street.
Oliver pushed through the door to England’s and stepped inside. Jolly music and jovial laughter poured from the room. Oliver found a table of young people, only a few years older than him. They looked bored. “Hi there,” Oliver started.
“Are you having trouble with spells too?” a young girl spoke up. She raised her hand and tried to cast a spell, but all she managed to make was a small cloud of purple smoke.
“We found out why The Emporium is closed,” a boy explained. “Someone didn’t like magic, so they locked it up.”
“Who would do that?” Oliver gasped.
“Some say a bully’s dad is an evil wizard, so he got his dad to lock it up and throw away the key so none of us could use magic. I’ve heard the key is a silver coin.”
“Do you mean a coin like this?” Oliver held up his coin. The older kids’ eyes lit up, and one snatched it from him.
“This is it exactly!” He exclaimed. “You’ve got to get this back to The Emporium!”
“How do I get there?” Oliver asked.
The kids all thought for a moment, and then one lit up with an idea. “Go to Port Chean! You can get the dockworkers to take you to the island The Emporium is on.”
The sand was squishy and uneven beneath Oliver’s feet. He stepped from the dirt path onto the beach and worked his way down to the shore. Many people in similar uniforms marched back and forth, hooking up floating wooden platforms stacked with boxes to the harnesses attached to gigantic, person-sized penguins. When the dockworker spotted Oliver approaching, he finished hooking a platform up to a penguin and walked over.
“Little Adventurer! You took me up on my offer.”
“Not exactly,” Oliver smiled. “I found out what the coin is for.”
“Oh?” The dockworker smiled. “How can we help?”
“I need to get to The Emporium.”
“All the way out there, huh?” The dockworker motioned to the open ocean. In the distance was the hint of a castle, sitting on an island far out into the sea. “I didn’t think it was open.”
“It will be once I’m done with it,” Oliver grinned. He held up his coin.
The dockworker understood. “Do you need a ride?”
“Sure do!”
The dockworker looked around. All of their platforms were either full of boxes or full of expeditioners waiting to set sail. “Come on, let’s go!” one of them yelled.
“In a minute!” the dockworker yelled back. He motioned to one last penguin who wasn’t hooked up to anything. He guided Oliver towards it. “This little guy was going to be our navigator, but we can spare him if you want to take a ride.”
“Really?!” Oliver’s eyes went wide and his mouth curled into a gaping smile.
“Of course. He can take you to the island. Just let him know when you’re done, and he’ll bring you back.”
“Thank you!” Oliver grinned.
The salty water splashed on Oliver as the penguin swam atop the water. He held on tight to the leather harness and was amazed when he managed to not sink below the surf. The castle grew closer quickly, and within a few minutes, they were at the rocky shore. “Stay here,” Oliver commanded. The penguin nodded its head and plopped down on the shore with its orange feet in the edge of the water.
Oliver walked up the rocks until he eventually found the entrance to the castle. Its wooden door stretched high above him, and in its center was a small, round, silver circle, just the right size for his coin. Oliver pulled out his coin and put it in the center of the circle—and it worked! The door creaked as it opened, allowing Oliver just enough room to step inside.
Shelves upon shelves stretching higher than the sky greeted Oliver as he walked down grassy aisles. In the far walls of The Emporium, he could see many large caves with cauldrons and materials for potion-making, but all were empty. It looked like no one had been here in months.
“Hello?” Oliver called out, making his way through the castle. In the distance, he could see a cave with torches flickering inside. He stepped inside and found an old man stirring a potion inside a cauldron. In the corner was a small dragon lying on a pile of silver coins. It flicked its ears as Oliver stepped inside, making him nervous.
“Little Adventurer, how did you get in here?” the old man asked.
“With a silver coin.”
The dragon and the old man perked up at the mention of the coin. The small dragon slid off its pile of coins and trotted over to Oliver. “Where did you find it?” The dragon asked in a hissing voice.
“The Goblin King gave it to me,” Oliver shrugged.
The old man and the dragon looked at each other for a long while. “That’s where it was?” the old man laughed. “So he’s the reason we couldn’t open!”
“What do you mean?” Oliver asked.
“The Goblin King’s son got upset because he couldn’t cast spells, so the Goblin King took the most precious item we have—the Opening silver coin! Without it, we can’t open The Emporium!”
“But thanks to you, we can open our doors once again!” The dragon smiled.
Oliver made his way back to the shore and told the penguin it was time to go home. The penguin quickly swam back to Port Chean, and Oliver made his way back home. All the children in his village were casting fantastical spells—one was making clouds, another was creating glitter dragons, while another was making trees walk.
Oliver threw open the doors to his home and saw his father already getting his shoes on. “Come on, Little Adventurer, we have a little adventure to go on,” he said.