Kervel was a rather cold country. Natural phenomena associated with snow were not uncommon, especially in the Tonror range, a string of mountains that spared no one, with its relentless cold and steep peaks.

One day, while traveling nearby, the children were plunged into a powerful blizzard. The wind was pushing the ship so hard that it was almost impossible to steer it through the air. They feared they would end up losing control and crashing. However, in the distance they saw something that none of them expected; a small building in the middle of the mountains. Surprised, but desperate, they headed there. They quickly parked their ship at the lodge and headed for the building, together so as not to be blown away by the force of the wind. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that the building was an inn, although at that moment they had little interest in wondering what an inn was doing in such an isolated place. They pushed open the door, entered and, with effort, closed it behind their backs. Then they finally caught their breath.

—So much snow!— bellowed Erica.

—I can't feel my fingers— pointed Liliana.

—Come on... let's have a hot drink— suggested Arturo.

—Eeehehehehehehehek...— shrieked Papel, shivering from the cold.

Then they turned around and found a beautiful inn. It was small, with claustrophobic corridors and wooden floors, with a handful of armchairs placed next to a lit fireplace and a counter full of doll ornaments and colorful, smiling toys. It was very cozy, however, behind the counter, in front of the other toys, there was something contrasting everything else; it was a doll almost two meters tall, dressed in an elegant suit, but with a horrible long monster face, without eyes and with two rows of teeth above and below. The doll remained motionless, but something told them that, for some reason, it wouldn't stay that way for long.

Still freezing, the children entered the fireplace to warm up. The cold abandoned them little by little. After a couple of minutes they felt much better, almost at the same time their stomachs began to protest that it was time to eat. Then they turned to the counter, but the dummy was still there, while the receptionist was nowhere to be seen.

—Is there no one here?— Erica wondered.

She raised the volume of her voice to make herself heard throughout the hotel.

—Hello? Is anyone there?

—There's no need to shout, young lady— a guttural voice said, as if slitting her soul with every word he said.

The three of them turned to the source of the voice: the doll. Stupefied, they stared at him, but he did not speak. Erica narrowed her eyes, approached him with long strides and leaned with her hands on the counter towards him at a very personal distance.

—Did you say something?— she asked.

But he did not answer. Then Arturo approached from the other side, though not as close as Erica.

—An inn in the middle of nowhere, with no one to attend it. It's quite strange.

—What do you think it is?— Liliana asked, also approaching.

—Isn't it obvious?— asked Erica— It's a haunted house. Surely someone died here in a foolish way and now there's a ghost haunting the house and killing everyone who enters.

Arturo folded his arms in thought.

—But that's in books and movies. What I find most similar in real life are the munimas and shakmas.

—Ah?!— jumped Liliana— Are you a munima, Mr. Monster?

The three children stared at him in silence. For a moment it seemed to them that he would never speak again, as if he had shut down.

—That's right— he finally said.

—Oh!— exclaimed the three of them, startled.

—And this humble inn is my shakma. I hope you will be comfortable. I am Hun'ngortemmel, but you may call me Hun.

The children looked at each other, not sure what to think.

—And are you going to try to devour our souls or something?— Arturo asked.

—That depends. We'll play a game, one neither of you can refuse. The winners get the right to leave whenever they want, the losers will be devoured by me. If any of you try to leave the game or attack me, you will automatically lose. The game started when you crossed the entrance door.

After that, Hun pointed to the same door they had passed through. The children looked at it, then Erica sighed loudly.

—So what? If I lose the game, how are you going to "devour my soul"?

—I'll stick it in my mouth, chew it with my mouth open and swallow it.

—That's not what I meant!

—Erica, wait— Liliana asked— I think we should take this guy's word for it. Brontes is feeling nervous.

This caught the attention of her friends.

—What does he say?— asked Erica.

—He says that this man can really devour souls. I think... we should do as he asks.

This made them reconsider for a moment. It was one thing for this stranger to say so, but if Liliana asked them to, they weren't just going to dismiss her opinion.

—All right, I'll play whatever you want, you dead bastard— Erica agreed.

Arturo nodded.

—Ah, I'm so glad— he admitted, his voice throaty— I was already running out of room for my toys.

To show them what he meant, he reached out a hand to stroke the cheek of a little doll by the counter. Then the children took a better look at the hundreds of different toys behind. They all had happy faces.

—It can't be!— gasped Arturo.

—What's going on?— asked Liliana.

—Where did you get all those toys from?— questioned the mage.

The monster looked at him with his eyeless face for several seconds in silence, as if trying to guess what he was thinking.

—These? I make them myself. I carve them out of wood, paint them, put the souls of my victims in them, dress them up... and that's it, a new toy.

Liliana covered her mouth with one hand, while Erica frowned and prepared to fight.

—That's horrible!— accused Liliana.

—What a pity. I was hoping you three would like my toys.

He turned around to the back of the counter, where a hidden door opened. At the same time, the access to the reception desk was unlocked.

—Please come with me— he asked— The game will have place over there.

Hun moved forward and got lost in the darkness behind the secret passage. The children, attentive, followed him one by one. They descended several meters of narrow stairs until they came to a large, dark room. The only lighted place was the entrance, where they and Hun stood.

—This is where we’re gonna play?— asked Erica.

—That's right, I will choose the game, because I know what can be done here— said the specter— you will choose who will face me. There will be three games, everyone must face me once, but you can choose among yourselves who will play what. Now prepare yourselves, for the first entertainment of the night is coming.

Hun raised his arms to the front. A specific space was illuminated and revealed a long, smooth machine with a disk and two handles on the board. When the children saw it, they wondered what kind of sadistic and cruel game could be played with it, until they realized it was an air disk table.

—Air discs?— Erica wondered.

—Air discs!— cried Hun, before walking over to the table and standing to one side— Choose the one who will represent you, humans!

The children looked at each other, still puzzled. It looked like a simple air table, but being a munima within their shakma, surely Hun would play it in some sadistic way, like each point would make them lose a finger or something. Erica and Arturo thought about offering themselves, however Liliana beat them to it and marched over to the air table.

—Liliana!— exclaimed the other two.

—It’s better if I go first— she indicated— I'm the one who can best defend myself against him, so take the opportunity to watch him and come up with a strategy.

This surprised his friends, but they did not dare to say anything. Erica and Arturo watched her stand on the other side of the table and hold the handle.

—Are you sure? You think you're safe from me because you're an anchor?— Hun mocked her.

Liliana did not answer, for she did not know what answer to use. Hun had no eyes, his expressions were minimal and the tones of his voice were strange; she had no way to read him, she didn't know what was going through his mind. It made her tense, as if she were blindfolded. But she believed in her friends, they could beat him at his own game.

—If there is anyone who must fall, it’s me— she thought.

"He’ll have to go over me first" Brontes reminded her.

—Hihi. Thank you. I'm counting on you.

—Ready?— asked Hun.

The wraith turned on the machine, waited a few moments for the air pressure to be sufficient and then deposited the disk on the surface. The hundreds of jets of air emerging from it made the disk levitate by millimeters. Finally Hun gently gripped his handle and gave it a little whack.

—I don't think I can beat him— said Liliana to herself— But I still have to give it my best shot, don't I, Brontes?

"Now you're talking!"

Hopeful, Liliana saw the puck approaching. She hit it from the side, a little faster than Hun had hit it. The puck bounced off, hit a wall and continued on its way to the other side. Then, when it was within Hun's reach, it slammed into the other wall at the last moment, past his defense and into the slot on his side.

"0 - 1" showed the scoreboard.

Liliana stared at it, surprised. Then at Hun, who didn't move since the puck passed by his arm.

—What was that, did he let me win?— the little girl wondered.

—Liliana scored?— wondered her friends.

—Hun must be planning something— commented Arturo.

—Yes, I think so too— said Erica.

However, Liliana had her doubts.

—Why would he let me score?— she wondered.

Hun cleared his throat, took the disk out of the drawer and put it back on the table.

—Let's continue— he asked.

Once again he sent the puck towards Liliana's side with a blow, this time faster, but the girl blocked it without major problems. The disc returned to Hun at full speed. Hun immediately prepared to receive it from the side, but in doing so left the slot on his side completely exposed. The puck went straight through and scored another point for Liliana.

"0 - 2" showed the scoreboard.

—Can't it be that... —Liliana asked herself.

—Let's continue!— yelled Hun.

He quickly put the puck back and threw it, this time so fast that Liliana could barely block it. That way it came back slower towards Hun and he managed to respond for the first time. However, the girl did not let him take her by surprise and answered harder. The puck hit the wall on one side, Hun prepared for the rebound with the other wall, but then the puck went through his groove.

"0 - 3" showed the scoreboard.

—It can't be!— shouted Liliana.

—It can't be...— muttered Erica and Arturo.

Hun leaned over the table, frustrated.

—Hun...— called Liliana— Could it be that... you're super bad at this game?

With that, Hun took a step back and shielded his face with one arm, as if Liliana might jump up at any moment to bite his nose.

—No... nonsense! —he cried— It's just a... a... a... strategy! Yes, definitely! I'm not bad at my own game, I swear!

Liliana put a hand to her head, dumbfounded.

—I... it's okay. Let's continue.

—I'll prove to you that I can win!

—All right, all right! Let's try once again.

—Yes!

Hun left the disk on the table again, but once more, it passed through its slot, and then again, and again, and again. In a few minutes Liliana won the whole game.

—No way! Are you the champion of this in your world?!— Hun guessed.

—Not at all. In fact, I'm very bad— she admitted— I think it's the first time I've won in this game.

Hun was dumbfounded, so stupefied that he was paralyzed for moments. Liliana took the opportunity to return to her friends and high five them.

—Very good, Lili!— Arturo congratulated her.

—You crushed him!— celebrated Erica.

—Thank you, but it was nothing... really.

However, a loud throat clearing from Hun cut off their victory.

—Don't forget that you have two more games left! Maybe she got the right to leave with her soul, but I assure you I'll win the next ones!

With a clap, another spotlight illuminated the next section of the room; this time there was a table with two chairs on either side and a box on top.

—What is it?— asked Erica.

—Aha! Why should I tell you?— the specter scolded them— You knew what the air table was all about, you will have to choose someone for this game without explanation.

Erica raised a threatening fist.

—You cheating bastard!

However, Arturo calmed her down by raising an arm.

—I'll go— he assured her.

—Ah? Are you sure, boy? Perhaps your friend would be better suited to....

—I'll go— he reaffirmed, interrupting him.

—Huh?

—If it's something that needs to be done sitting down, you probably need to use your head. If it's about using your head, I'm the one to go— he explained— So I'll go.

—All right, Arturo. Give him what he deserves!— Erica encouraged him.