Ningan manages to control his fall and lands into an impressive crouch. The first thing that confronts him is a shroud of purple fog which chokes the floorboards beneath his feet. Coughing and spluttering, he gets to his feet just in time to answer the Gossip Stone's call.
"Ningan..." the Hyrule King's voice sounds fuzzy with static. "The fog...see before you...created to banish spirits...block communication from beyond...I cannot talk to you...long...good luck...not listen to...voices in your head..."
The soft blue light of the Gossip Stone fades to black. Ningan pockets the useless device and assesses the situation. No guidance, even less vision than before, and to top it all, an unknown predator on his tail.
He extracts the map from his satchel. Horned heads appear all over the parchment, apparently guarding every room. The skull at the bottom of the map shows him standing on the first floor, but there is a basement below him, where Ricco undoubtedly hides in the dungeon.
Ningan steps forward into the bleak mist, waving his lantern about. For a moment, the fog clears, only to resettle beyond the lantern's light. He spots a door and ventures through it.
The room beyond is an open octagonal space; an arena filled with the deathly fog. Ningan gently closes the door and waits patiently for the clattering of metal armour. When the silence surprises him, he takes a few steps forward. As he edges further into the hall, the shadowy frames of paintings loom over him on every wall.
Ningan circles the hall completely, guided by the light of his lantern. He is surrounded by art pieces depicting various scenes. This is an art gallery. There are no more doors. Can he assume, therefore, that the paintings themselves are the portals to each room?
Ningan lifts the lantern to the closest one and inspects: it is an illustration of what appears to be a golden archway, guarded by two tall figures holding war hammers. Phantoms, perhaps? There is only one way to find out.