The host has the answer to the problem of the pilgrim
Come closer, he says, I am going to tell you a story
The pilgrim saw much mayhem
Should he trust the words the man say?
As they were escaping Mr. Wolfie, the brothers ran fast until they were exhausted of so much action, in the dark, they saw an abandoned fountain in the mall and entered it, both trying to hide and also trying to understand what was going on.
"What that man wanted with us Greg? I shouldn't have trusted him! But he was so kind towards us... how could I know? He tried to sting you something! God knows what would have happened to us, Greg", trying to calm himself, Wirt was repeating in his head and out loud their last moves, Greg was even more shocked and confused than him, hugging his arm and keeping his eyes close.
"Do you think he's gonna follow us, Wirt?"
"I hope not, I don't think so, Greg, he fainted, and we managed to run away, what should we do now?"
"I'm done with this place Wirt, I want to go home!" Said Gregory. He was usually an adventurous boy, even in bad situations, but being betrayed by Mr. Wolfie in that way left him with not much patience to that huge mall of a fiction world, filled with rude animals and scientist maniacs.
"We will be home soon, Greg... I hope so, Minos told us to keep going forward, we can't rest here for long, we should keep on going".
Both brothers were still exhausted, but energized by the trauma, they found a stock of energy that was promising. Walking fast through the cold, darker and darker hallway filled with closed stores and no animal in sight.
After walking a while more, they find out that the hallway splits in two, one that goes on the right, other that goes on the left.
"What way should we go? Wasn't counting with this". Said a very concerned Wirt, putting his hands on his hair, trying to decide the better path
"I think I can hear a noise from the left side... can you hear it, Wirt?" Said Gregory, that also was concerned, but with his ears open to what could be a way out.
"I think I can hear too... not too clearly, but there is definitely something going on... but wait, does it means more danger? Should we go the right way because it's quieter?"
"I guess we'll have to rely on luck on that one..."
"We kind of did that last time Greg, we got in serious danger"
"I know, but there is nothing better for us now... I miss Mr. Funderburker..."
Wirt knew this was correct, none of the ways looked too promising, and even if he wanted to be careful, maybe finding other life again could mean better chances of getting out, they then decided to go left, and left they went. At the beginning nothing seemed to have changed, but as they walk by, the stores started to appear less abandoned, more lights functioning were found as well, they even found glass ceilings and they found out the sun existed, still no life to be found but as they walk by the place looked more pleasant and attractive. Still no sign of a living being, but the place looked more and more inhabited as they advanced in it, until they found a golden glass door, and when they got close to it, the door opened, revealing a world of luxury so unlike the brownstone house of Mr. Wolfie.
There were animals there, dozens of them, but before they could talk to any, they took a moment to absorb the whole new enviroment around them. Looked very similar to the room they reached through the mirror, but it looked even more shiny and filled with life, there was a reception there where they could read the name of the place "Hotel Linzs".
"Hotel Linzs? Why does this name sound so familiar?"
And the answer came as they observe the place, Minos Belis was right there in front of the reception, on his lobby boy job. This meant two things: They could find a familiar face and a familar place after so long, but this also could mean they were next to their starting point, so taking the left side was a mistake, as they walked in a huge circle in the end, but before any of them could say a word, Minos came to them wanting to know what was going on.
"Boys? You are back, Gentlemen, nice to see you both again! But how come? That place of the mansion is a place I've never been before..."
"I don't have a good idea either, Minos" Said Wirt, frustrated and also surprised, out of breath for so many emotions at the same time.
"So, would you gentlemen like a tour of the hotel? Our place is quite big, so you both are in for some adventure!"
"I don't think I can handle much more adventure at this moment, Minos, but thank you, glad to see a familiar face again"
"I see! I have news for you both, who apparently came at the right moment. Mr. Synklisi is staying at the hotel! He heard the news about you both, he appeared to be concerned, as I could hear, and want to talk to you both if he can. Of course he wasn't counting with you both coming around so suddenly to the hotel, but..."
"Why does Mr. Siniski stays at the hotel if this is his mansion?"
"It is his mansion, but he likes to support us! He is a frequent guest! Well, anyway, would you gentlemen be interested in visiting Mr. Synklisi and hearing what he has to say?"
"I suppose this may be a good idea, we are looking for as much help as we can" Wirt thought Mr. Synklisi could assist them escaping the place, he was the owner of the mansion, he must be aware of how it works. Mr. Synklisi was notified of the appearance of the brothers after a bit. Gregory and Wirt were sitting in a couch when invited to go upstairs with Minos, they entered a quite luxurious and old fashioned elevator, and got to the 4th floor, and after that were leaded to the suit number 407, that was the place Mr. Synklisi was staying. The man was sitting on a coffee table with a cushion above it when they arrived, and as soon as Wirt and Gregory got in the room, Mr. Synklisi ordered the lobby boy to leave The door was closed, soon Mr. Synklisi started talking. He was a tall and thin man, with an odd face, but he appeared to be good.
"Months ago the same thing happened, I heard of humans wandering around my mansion, they just wanted to go home. The whole idea sounded crazy to me, but I heard of it again and again on the following weeks, until I heard they were completely lost in the maze that is this place. I don't want this to happen again, it has happened this time, times before, and I'm done with it, whenever someone comes here and I hear of it, I shall try to help them as I can, My name is Robaldo Synklisi, and I'm suppose you are Wirt, and Gregory?"
"Yes, sir..." Said Wirt, paying careful attention to the man. Gregory was by his side, sitting in the bed, still not tired, but not wanting to wander around.
"So, I'm here to help, but first, tell me everything, how did you get here? What happened in the between?"
Wirt started telling him the story, even before they reached the hall of mirrors, the city beyond the mirrors, the mall, Mr. Wolfie, and then reaching him. Gregory would add some parts as Wirt was talking, Mr. Synklisi got specially interested in Mr. Wolfie. After they stopped, Robaldo looked at them and started talking again.
"Wolfgang Schuman? You found that man? He is very dangerous, you were in grand risk."
"He mentioned you used to support his work, what happened?"
"I say Wolfgang is one of the resons I stopped for so long caring for people lost at my mansion, took me a long time to change my mind on my decisions. You see, he was a brilliant man who said he was lost, could not find his way home. I told him he could look around out of the manor, but as I got to know him, I offered him a room in my main mansion so he could study and work, and so he did, but on what, I later discovered, was something really brutal. Wolfgang was frustrated with his life before and even his life now, he was quite a particular human with different tastes and habits, and wanted desperately to bond with someone, he turned to science on how to do so, he studied the behavior of the brain and the mind, and finally came in with a highly controversial procedure, the one I suspect he tried to do on the gentlemen, he would open the skull of the individual, would literally brainwash it, merging his interests in the soul of the being, try picturing someone pushing a book inside your brain, literally, that was basically the procedure. I was appaled when I heard of it and canceled my partnership with him, also expelling him from the room. I guess he found someplace else to be on this mansion, that rat. You were in grave danger with him. But now, you have a chance of escaping and returning to whenever you came from."
Both Wirt and Gregory were shocked on hearing the tale of Mr. Wolfie, but Wirt was more curious in learning how to escape.
"How are we going to escape?"
"First you must get out of the mansion, and luckily there is a shortcut here on this room for doing so. Otherwise it would be much more difficult leaving. The point is, after leaving, you will find yourself on a maze of plants, one that is hard, but don't worry, it's beatable, after that, I heard there is someone not far away that works with baloons,baloons you see, is the best way of getting out, through the wind. After that, you should be at home. I am not sure if you will succeed though, never experienced anything of this before, BUT, there is a chance."
"I'm so relieved" Said Wirt after a long while.
"So what are we waiting for?" Said Gregory, but the poor thing was so tired he couldn't handle anymore, was struggling to keep his eyes opened.
"You both are very tired and it was an exhausting experience. You should stay for the night. I will order food and refreshments for the both, and you should stay on the vague room of this appartment, if the gentlemen don't trust me, you can keep the key and lock the door until tomorrow when the time of rest comes. You are safe now,"
"But how can we for sure trust you?" Said Wirt, worried even if the man sounded reasonable "Mr. Wolfie said the same thing after all, we were safe"
"Well, I wouldn't stop sponsoring Mr. Wolfie if I was like him, would I? Eat, rest, and you shall be on your way tomorrow, young man."
So Wirt and Gregory were sitting next to each other in the bed of the man who was so tall they were wondering how he would fit there. The way out was not as close, but it was now a very concrete possibility.
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