Duncan had always wondered what was on the other side of the double doors behind Headmaster Ambrose's desk. He had imagined it to be some sort of grand hall, complete with ornate statues, large floating orbs, bubbling potion bottles and cauldrons- all the typical trimmings of a magical room, but on a scale much larger than most.

It was a meeting hall.

It was a nice looking one, as far as meeting halls went, but it was a meeting hall all the same. Headmaster Ambrose, having cleared the plethora of old books blocking the doors with his staff, had opened them to reveal a long, narrow, rectangular room, with decorative columns in each of the four corners, even more books lining the walls in unorganized stacks, and a large Celestian-style conference table, chairs, and lamps in the center. On the opposite side of the room was another set of doors. Perhaps these led to the grand hall that Duncan envisioned, but he would have to leave that discovery for another day.

For now, the Thaumaturge sat at the table, the remains of his lunch on a plate in front of him, as well as a cup of surprisingly excellent Earl Grey. Taking a sip of the tea, Duncan surveyed the assembly of wizards and creatures in attendance at the emergency meeting. Merle Ambrose had taken a position at the head of the table, with Duncan beginning the row on his left, and Mavis the one on the right. Next to Duncan was Lydia Greyrose, followed by Moolinda Wu and Halston Balestrom, as well as Alahazred. The rest of the Ravenwood staff sat next to Mavis, starting with Dalia Falmea, then Cyrus Drake and Dworgyn. Next to Dworgyn was Aldous Pastfinder, then King Goldenblade (who had graciously given up what was apparently his usual seat to Mavis). Across from the king was his trusted raven envoy, Hrafn Lorespeaker. A soldier/attendant to Goldenblade stood in the corner.

The attendees had all more or less finished their meals at this point, prompting the Headmaster to stand up and tap his teacup with a spoon in order to get the attention of those present. They all turned their heads to face him. Clearing his throat, Amborse spoke.

"As you are all aware," he began, "earlier today Unicorn Way was attacked by a rather formidable army of spiders from Grizzleheim, nearly subduing myself and some of the other staff, as well as the two young wizards on either side of me, who, not long before, had been involved in the creation of an earthquake in Cyclops Lane. This was, as I have been told, due to the accidental activation of an Artifact of Death- specifically, a fragment of Lord Nightshade's cloak- by a sample of a rare reagent called aetherdust. Now, I know some of you may believe the Artifacts of Death to be little more than a legend, but today we have seen definite proof of their existence. As I had both the reagent and the fragment of cloth on me in Unicorn Way, I cannot help but think the attack is connected to the aetherdust somehow. A hostile force somewhere in the Spiral knows that we have not just the lock, but the key as well, in our possession, and it desperately wants both."

"Perhaps," interjected Balestrom, "but how would it know? An earthquake on a street dedicated to Conjuration isn't exactly sensational, yet I can think of no other way that anyone could have found out."

"It would seem as such, Halston," replied Ambrose, "but Mister Pastfinder has explained to me that seismic activity as a result of aetherdust would leave a trace, which can be easily traced if one as the proper magical tools." He regarded Aldous and smiled. "Am I right?"

Aldous nodded, returning the Headmaster's kind expression. Duncan glanced at Cyrus Drake, expecting him to show some sign of contempt. Fortunately, he saw none.

The Headmaster continued: "There is also the matter of the nature of today's attackers. They were spiders, and spiders are not known for their intelligence, or their magical acumen. I, for one, have never heard of one spider, let alone an entire army, travelling between two worlds on the Spiral, and I do not believe any of you have either." He paused as his audience briefly shook their heads in confirmation. "It is more likely than not that the spiders were under the direction of a smarter, more powerful entity, and seeing as how they came from Grizzleheim, it occurs to me that our friend Hrafn Lorespeaker may have an idea on just what that entity is." Ambrose, sitting back down, turned to face the raven, the rest of the conference members following suit.

Now Hrafn Lorespeaker stood up, his large hood covering his face as per usual, his yellow mystic talon gleaming prominently in the light of the Celestian lamps. It was in the mysterious raven's nature to be gloomy, but the air he gave off today was particularly grim, and frightening.

"Thank you, Headmaster," he began. "Now, I would like to ask the wizards of Ravenwood who sit here before me: have any of you ever heard of Loki the Deceiver?"

The members of Ravenwood regarded each other, all wondering if any of them had, in fact, heard of such a creature, but none had. Duncan, looking at Mavis, raised an eyebrow, then said to Hrafn, "I don't think we have. Who is he?"

"Yesterday, 'was' would have been a more proper verb," replied Hrafn. "But it seems now as though Loki is not dead just yet."

"What makes you say that?" asked Mavis.

"Loki used to be the head of the Coven," the raven said. "He was very powerful, and very evil- the scourge of Grizzleheim for much of our Isolation. For forty-nine years, we did all we could to be rid of him, but nothing we tried succeeded. In the final year of the Isolation, it was the Coven itself that toppled Loki."

"Why?"

"I'm not quite sure. The most popular explanation among the ranks of the Coven today is that Loki was in league with Malistaire. They were going to set up an alliance and take over the Spiral together, after which Loki planned to betray Malistaire by bringing on the Everwinter for the entire Spiral at once. The rest of the Coven High Command disapproved; they figured it would be easier to start the Everwinter in Grizzleheim and let it expand across the Spiral rather than get involved with a wizard like Malistaire."

Again Duncan glanced at Cyrus for an indication of his thoughts, but the Myth professor remained resolute.

"The High Command voted to cut off all ties with Malistaire, maintaining Grizzleheim's isolation even for themselves," Hrafn continued. "Loki corresponded with him anyway, leading the Coven to oust him as their head and install Othin Stormfather. Loki was banished to an area in the mountains that is remote even for ravens. He was disgraced, and, I would imagine, quite angry." Hrafn paused for effect. "That's the story. I, personally, am doubtful of its veracity."

"As am I," put in Valgard. "It assumes that the Coven caused the Isolation of Grizzleheim in the first place. They are a powerful organization, but not that powerful. They simply used the Isolation to their advantage."

"Or did they?" said Duncan, speaking for the first time. "Perhaps there is more to the Isolation than we think. After all, no one knows for sure its cause."

"Well, it is more likely than not that the aetherdust was involved in the Isolation," put in Mavis. "Especially now that we know it has the power to move earth."

"But that requires an Artifact of Death to be present," said Aldous. "As far as I know, none of them are Grizzleheemian. Besides, you would need more than one to separate an entire world from the Spiral."

"Not even Loki is that capable," said Hrafn. "Or at least he wasn't fifty years ago."

"Then he must have had someone helping him," declared Duncan. He looked at Cyrus a third time, and was instantly gratified. A slight twitch in the professor's left eye, barely noticeable unless one was really looking, had become apparent to the Ice Wizard.

Fixing his gaze on Cyrus, he added, "And I think I know who."

Everybody turned to face Cyrus Drake, who was looking back at Duncan. His facial expression was one of annoyance, but Duncan could see a hint of gratitude in the grizzled Conjurerer's eyes.

"I'm afraid I'm not following," said Valgard. "Surely you're not telling me that this man is responsible for the Isolation."

"With all due respect, your highness," said Cyrus, "don't be preposterous. It's my brother Malistaire that Mister Daystone is referring to."

"Oh. Of course."

"But that makes no more sense," said Professor Falmea. "The Isolation of Grizzleheim was fifty years ago. Malistaire Drake was a wholly different man back then."

"I don't think," replied Headmaster Ambrose, "that it was Malistaire from fifty years ago who helped with the Isolation. Was it, Cyrus?"

Cyrus, clearing his throat, turned to face the Headmaster. "You are quite right," he said. "Malistaire fifty years ago was a very docile person- about as docile as a Master of Death can be, at any rate. All the same, the Isolation would have never occurred were it not for the Malistaire that Mister Daystone and Miss Rubyeyes were acquainted with."

"And how is that?" asked Ambrose, though it was clear he already knew.

Cyrus gave a sigh, then, sitting up straight, replied, "Time crystals. For a short time, just after Sylvia's death and before leaving Ravenwood, Malistaire had been experimenting with time crystals. Amazingly, and rather sadly, he had discovered a cure for his wife's condition days after she had died. Hoping to go back in time and administer the cure, he began what seemed like a vain attempt to replicate the crystal structure responsible for the legendary time-traveling abilities of the Masters of Dragonspyre. But he was unsuccessful, and therefore turned to the Krokonomicon as a solution instead. I'm sure we can all fill in what happened after that."

"But if he eventually got the time crystals working," said Mavis, "why did he continue his pursuit of the Krokonomicon? Why not just go back and cure his wife like he had originally planned?"

"You'll remember, Miss Rubyeyes," said Cyrus, "that Malistaire was not exactly the most level-headed person following Sylvia's death. He abandoned his experiments with the time crystals partially out of necessity- one day, after yet another unsuccessful attempt to go back, he exploded into a fit of rage and destroyed both the cure he had created and its recipe. I'll never forget the sheer horror in his eyes when he calmed down and realized what he'd done. That day was a memory more solemn than even Sylvia's death." Duncan, somewhat to his surprise, noticed Cyrus' eyes were becoming misty.

Professor Balestrom, on the other hand, was starting to become rather excited. As he suddenly leaped out of his chair and began pacing the room, it became obvious that the final piece of the puzzle was occurring to him. He strode up and down, mumbling to himself, then said more clearly: "So Malistaire eventually does figure out how to replicate the time crystals, then goes back fifty years and helps Loki and the rest of the Coven to isolate Grizzleheim. Because he has altered the timeline, nobody knows this but him- not even Loki. But why? Why does he isolate Grizzleheim? What does it matter to him?" The Diviner began mumbling to himself again, then, a few minutes later, jumped into the air excitedly.

"That's it!" he shouted. He faced Ambrose. "Headmaster," he asked, speaking quickly, "how long after Duncan and Mavis were enrolled in Ravenwood did the reappearance of Grizzleheim first become known to you?

The Headmaster considered for a second, then replied, "Two months. Why?"

"Duncan," Balestrom continued, "can you remember what you were up to at that time?"

"Hmmm." Duncan though back, trying to pinpoint a specific event that he could use for reference.

"If I'm not mistaken," he said a moment later, "Mavis and I had just learned that the Sarcophagus of the Souls had been sent to Marleybone, with the Krokonomicon inside. We were preparing to leave Krokotopia when we heard of Grizzleheim's reappearance." He turned to Mavis, who nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, I remember!" added Ambrose. "I had initially wanted the two of you to check on things in Grizzleheim, but ultimately decided it that could wait. It was better that you continue your quest for the Krokonomicon."

"There you have it!" exclaimed Balestrom. "Malistaire's hope was that Duncan and Mavis would be distracted in Grizzleheim…."

"Allowing him to recruit the O'Leary's and recover the Krokonomicon in peace," Mavis finished excitedly, "without having to worry about having us on his back."

"Exactly!" Balestrom beamed brightly.

"Um, I suppose that's all something we'd want to keep secret, right?" put in Duncan.

There was a general murmur of agreement, accompanied by much nodding of heads.

"There goes my book," said Duncan wryly, eliciting a chuckle from Mavis.

"This has been a most enlightening meeting so far," said Cyrus. "We have deduced not only that my brother caused the Isolation of Grizzleheim, but that in doing so he taught the leader of the Coven at the time the art of world-moving by way aetherdust and the Artifacts of Death. Malistaire obviously had all four Artifacts in his possession. He must have changed their appearance and given them to his minions for safekeeping."

"Which would explain why all the Artifacts formerly belonged to some evil wizard or creature," interjected Aldous.

"Indeed," said Cyrus. He continued: "The leader of the Coven during the Isolation, Loki the Deceiver, was deposed in the Isolation's final year. As a result, he has been defunct since Grizzleheim's reappearance."

"Or so it seemed," Balestrom added. He picked up where Cyrus had left off. "Loki is inherently evil. And he wants revenge. This is a dangerous combination. What's more, he no longer has an interest in causing the Everwinter. That is apparently to blasé for him. He knows about aetherdust, and he likely knows the locations of the Artifacts. In the time since his deposition, he has been busy, stockpiling aetherdust in Grizzleheim, and assembling armies across the Spiral. Where Loki is himself is unclear, but that doesn't matter. What is clear is that he will stop at nothing to get his hands on the Artifacts, as indicated by the attack today. And if he does, he will use them to ensure the destruction of the Spiral. Our next course of action, therefore, is obvious. We already have one Artifact- Lord Nightshade's cloak. We need to retrieve the other three before Loki does." He turned to Ambrose. "Would you agree, Headmaster?"

Ambrose nodded, then looked at Duncan and Mavis in turn. "Can you two be ready to leave tomorrow morning? We must act quickly."

"Of course," replied Duncan. "One thing concerns me though. What if Loki already has the other three Artifacts?"

"Unlikely," said Aldous. "The items which are the Artifacts are associated with figures of infamous repute, such as Lord Nightshade. If they disappeared, it would cause enough a stir that we'd know about it."

"Very good," commented Headmaster Ambrose. "So tell us, then, what and where are the other Artifacts?"

Aldous smiled at the chance to share his knowledge in front of so many powerful and influential people. "They aren't exactly difficult to find, if you know where to look," he began. "I must say, I'm surprised that Loki is only now figuring out their locations for himself. At any rate, you must remember that each of the Artifacts recently belonged to one of Malistaire's minions. That may make your job easier or harder."

He paused to collect his thoughts, then continued: "My guess is that you'll want to get the Jade Oni's Spirit Ring first, as it's likely the simplest to recover."

"Of course," said Mavis. "The warriors of Mooshu keep the Oni's spirit contained in a special obelisk. They use it as a means of practicing their magical skill."

Aldous nodded. "Second," he continued, "is Meowiarty's Necromantic Cane."

"Which Scotland Yard probably has in their possession," said Duncan.

"The third," finished Aldous, "is Malistaire's scepter itself. It is with him, in his tomb, though I imagine you'll have to get though a few Undead to reach him."
"Nothing we haven't done before," smiled Mavis.

The rest of the meeting was spent discussing the details of the expedition, emergency plans, and what not. Half an hour later, Headmaster Ambrose bid good-bye to his guests, and good luck to Duncan and Mavis, as they all filed out his front door.

Outside, in the Commons, most of the attendees made straight for Ravenwood or Olde Town, but Duncan pulled Mavis aside, and they began strolling around the lake.

"I'm afraid old Aldous doesn't know the Marleybonians very well," Duncan told his friend quietly. "The O'Leary's stole Meowiarty's cane, and most of his other possessions, from the Scotland Yard vault, just last week. It was the greatest criminal feat since the Big Ben siege, but the Yard has done an exceptional job of keeping it quiet. All the same, we have yet to track them down. I figured it best not to tell the professors."

"Lovely," Mavis remarked sarcastically. "By the way, you're not the only one who left some parts out. The Jade Oni has been growing in power. We don't know how or why, but he's becoming increasingly difficult to contain."

"Could Loki have agents working for him in the Emperor's government?"

"Possibly. I hope not."

Duncan sighed. "Is nothing ever easy?"

Mavis smiled mischievously. "No, but that's what makes it fun."