You feel a cool breeze blowing across your face. You open your eyes and see the night sky above you. Thousands of stars visible in the clear night. Sitting up, you feel the ground shift beneath you.
"What the..."
You see you're sitting on a sand dune somewhere in a vast desert. You hear the sound of something thumping on the sand, getting closer.
Peering over the edge of the dune, you see a short man riding a horse approaching another rider. The other rider sits atop a black horse. He wears black and crimson red clothes, styled to be cool in the desert heat. The man also has a tall hat with a red feather pinned by a crimson jewel.
The short man hops off his horse, pulling his scarf down from his face.
"You... are late, Gazeem."
The short man bows his head. "A thousand apologies, O patient one."
"You have it then?"
Gazeem grins, holding up an item wrapped in a cloth. "I had to slit a few throats to get it."
The man on the horse reaches down but Gazeem holds it out of his reach . "Ah, ah, ah. The treasure."
"Awk!"
A parrot swoops down and swipes the item out of his hands. Gazeem clutches his hand as the parrot drops the item to the man on the horse.
The man on the horse chuckles darkly. "Don't worry my pungent friend. You'll get what's coming to you."
"What's coming to you." The parrot repeats. "Awk!"
The man on the horse holds up the item. It looks like half a scarab made of gold. The man holds up the second half and the pieces connect together. The scarab glows brightly, using its wings to speed over the sand dunes.
"Quickly!" The man shouts. "Follow the trail!"
The two take off on their horses. You feel yourself being pulled towards them. It was almost like you were riding beside them.
"Faster!"
The scarab circles around a dune, separating and landing in the sand. The ground rumbles as the sand rises. The sand shifts and forms a large lion head with the scarab pieces as its eyes. It opens its mouth, revealing steps that goes down its throat.
The men hop off their horses and approach the lion. The tugging finally stops and you hide behind a sand dune. The taller man grins at the living, breathing sand.
"At last, after all my years of searching." He grins. "The Cave of Wonders."
"Awk! Cave of Wonders!" The parrot says.
Gazeem stares in awe. "By Allah..."
The taller man grabs Gazeem by his scarf. "Remember, bring me the lamp! The rest of the treasure is yours but the lamp is mine."
The tall man shoves Gazeem, causing him to stumble. Gazeem grins as he approaches the lion.
"Awk! The lamp! Awk!" The parrot glowers at the tall man. "Jeez, where'd you pick this bozo up?"
The tall man quietly shushes the bird. Before Gazeem could take another step closer, the lion roars, sending him flying back. You flinch, the lion glares ferociously at Gazeem.
"Who disturbs my slumber?" The lion asks. His voice low and powerful.
"I-it is I. Gazeem." He gets in his knees and bows. "A humble thief."
"Know this," The lion informs. "Only one may enter here. One who's worth lies far within. A diamond in a rough."
Gazeem stands, nervously glancing back. The tall man gestures with an arm. "What are you waiting for? Go on!"
Gazeem turns back to the lion. He cautiously steps closer to the lion's mouth. The lion lets out a tired sigh. Gazeem places one foot on the step, flinching, waiting for something to happen. Gazeem opens his eyes and sighs in relief.
The lion lets out a furious roar, knocking the parrot into the sand. The lion shuts its mouth and traps Gazeem inside in the process. The lion collapses back to sand, the scarabs glow fading.
"Seek the out. The diamond in the rough."
The scarabs fall from the dune and roll down the sand. You place a hand over your heart, trying to settle your racing heartbeat. Oh my god! Did that guy just...
The parrot crawls out of the sand, coughing. "I can't believe it! I just don't believe it! We're never gonna get a hold of that stupid lamp! Just forget it. Look at this. Look at this." The parrot pulls off loose feathers. "I'm so ticked off that I'm molting!"
The parrot grabs the scarab pieces and flies to the man's shoulder. The man grabs the scarab from the bird. "Patience's, Iago. Patience's. Gazeem was obviously less than worthy."
Iago rolls his eyes and marches across the man's shoulders. "Oh, there's a big surprise! That's an incred- I think I'm gonna have a heart attack and die from that surprise! What're we gonna do? We got a big problem here, a big prob-"
The man pinches the bird's beak shut. "Yes. Only one may enter. I must find this one, this... diamond in the rough."
The ripples fill your vision and you feel the pulling sensation. You close your eyes and feel yourself falling back on to your bed.
You groggily rub your eyes, slowly sitting up. Why was I dreaming of a desert?
You get out of bed and get ready for the day. You step into the hallway to be greeted by Grim and three of the ghosts.
"Hey, Y/N." One of them waved to you. "Why so bleary-eyed?"
"You look like you've seen a ghost." The ghost chuckles.
You shrug your shoulders. "I just had a weird dream. That's all."
One of the ghosts tilts their head. "Today's the last day of the fall semester. Look sharp and don't bungle the landing."
"Oh yeah, tomorrow's the first day of the winter holiday." The ghost perks up. "Have you two decided what you'll be doing?"
"Huh?" Grim scratches his head. "What's a win-ter holly-day?"
"It's when school lets out for the season." A ghost informs. "Most students go home to celebrate the new year with their family. They have fancy dinners, too."
Grim gets excited hearing this. "Wait, there's food?"
You laugh and shake your head. "Oh, typical Grim."
The ghost nods. "And plenty of it. Roast turkey, pie, a ham as big as your head, you name it... Not that us ghosts can eat, of course."
"Some of us ghosts head home to the netherworld to spend holidays with the family too, y'know."
The third ghost chuckles. "Yeah, and some of 'em never come back!"
"Spendin' time with the family while gettin' your grub on sounds nice..." Grim sighs.
"What's your family like, Grim?" You ask.
"My family?" Grim tilts his head at the question. "I don't remember 'em. I remember wakin' up hungry and alone. It was real cold. I was waitin' out there for someone to come get me for ages. What happened after that again? It's all so foggy..." Grim looks to you with a smile, folding his arms. "But hey, I'm a forward-facin' kinda guy anyway! The future's way cooler than the past! Especially 'cause I'm gonna be a rich and powerful sorcerer!"
A ghost wipes away a tear. "Awww, poor little Grimmy had it rough!"
"How'd you like to spend the holidays sitting around the fireplace with us?" A ghost asks.
You smile. "That would be great! Thanks, you guys!"
"Myah!" Grim rubs his paws together. "If there's good food to be had, consider me ready for some holiday cheer!"
It's close to the end of the last class before the break starts. Everyone is anxiously waiting for Crewel to signal the end of class.
"Listen up, whelps." Crewel slaps the pointer against his hand. "Your holiday vacation starts tomorrow. I'm sure all of you are foaming at the mouth to get back home. But every year, there's always some foolish pup who forgets about his homework and spends the whole break goofing off. Just remember that I have a severe punishment in store for any such slackers out there. Are we clear? You have permission to use the Dark Mirror to return home for the holidays. Report to your dorm mirror once you've packed your things!"
The students all murmur to one another in excitement. Ace lets out a groan, leaning his head against your shoulder. "Finally. A break from this cramped dorm life!"
Deuce stares wide eyed at the stack of papers on his desk. "Good grief. Night Raven College doesn't kid around with holiday homework. Look at all this."
Ace sits back up. "Speaking of going home, I guess you haven't found a way back yet, Y/N?"
You nod sadly. "Yeah. Crowley hasn't found a way home yet."
Deuce puts a supportive hand to your shoulder. "Will you two be spending the holidays in your dorm?"
"Yup." Grim nods. "We've made plans to have ourselves a feast with the ghosts!"
"Oh, right." Ace smiles. "There're plenty of ghosts on campus to keep you company, so it won't be just the two of you."
Deuce puts a hand to his chin in thought. "But when school lets out, don't the cafeteria and school store shut down too?"
Grim's eyes widen. "Mrow! I didn't even think about that. Where'm I supposed to get the food for my feast?"
You run a hand through your hair. "I'd really rather not go hungry over winter break. Hopefully the headmage's planned for this... I hope."
"Sounds like you'd better check in with the headmage soon." Deuce suggests.
"You need Crowley's permission to use the Dark Mirror, so my guess is he's probably there right now." Ace stands up, slinging your bag across his shoulder. "Let's find out."