If the old man’s family hasn’t unraveled the mystery in the centuries it’s been in their keeping, what hope do I have?

Knock! Knock!

“Come in!” he hollers.

The door opens and Dave walks in. “Good morning!” James says cheerfully.

“You too,” he replies. The cheerfulness that he once knew in his friend is nowhere to be found. The harshness of his recent past has subdued his spirit measurably.

“What are you doing?” he asks as he comes over to the workbench. Looking around, he takes in the sack of crystals on the floor next to him and the other things James has in his workshop. Reaching down, he picks up one of the crystals out of the sack and takes a look at it.

“Just some thinking,” James replies.

“You always did do a lot of that back home,” he says.

James considers what to tell his friend about his life here, what he’s up to and what he can do with magic. “True,” he says. “I want to show you something.”

Putting the crystal back in the sack he asks, “What?” Turning to look at James he sees him holding out his hand, palm up. Suddenly, a glowing orb appears, springing to life upon his hand. “Whoa!” Dave exclaims as he leans closer to look. “How did you do that?”

James cancels the orb and it disappears. “Remember that ad I showed you in the lunch room?”

“Yeah,” he replies.

“Remember how it said ‘Magic! Real Magic! Ever wanted to learn?’?” he asks. “Since coming here, I’ve been able to do magic. I even brought Rocky to life.”

“Rocky?” questions Dave, not entirely understanding what he’s talking about.