Milo Pine

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****M******ilo Pine** is the son of the innkeepers at Greenglass House. He was adopted when he was a baby by Ben and Nora Pine.

Milo is friends with Addie Whitcher, the ghost of Doc Holystone's daughter, who introduced him to Odd Trails. While playing Odd Trails, Milo plays the character **Negret**, and later, **Téngfēi**.

The first time there was a thief at Greenglass House, Milo figured out that it was Mr. Vinge, along with the reasons the other guests had come to the inn. The next year, when the Waits were in his home, he found out that Mrs. Kirkegrim was Violet Cross, among other things.

## Biography

### Early life

Milo, a foundling, was adopted by Nora and Ben Pine while he was still a baby. His mother made a patchwork quilt before she knew which baby they were getting, and Milo still had it by the age of twelve. Milo lived at Greenglass House for as long as he could remember.

### *Greenglass House*

#### Arrival of guests

Milo was doing his math homework on the first day of winter vacation when the bell rang. He was very surprised, as guests never came during spring break, and unnerved and frustrated by the change when it was supposed to be his vacation. Grumbling, he went outside to help his mother start the *Whilforber Whirlwind*. The guest, De Cary Vinge, was normal but with odd quirks, which intrigued Milo. The bell then rang again, and Milo helped his father with the railcar again. The railcar's passenger, a young blue-haired woman, introduced herself as Georgie Moselle. Milo helped her with her luggage, accidentally dropping her suitcase.

The bell then rang a third time, and Milo's curiosity overcame his annoyance. There were two passengers in the *Whirlwind* this time, angry at each other's company. When the two began to shout at each other, Milo quieted them, then led them to the inn with a smile, even carrying the lady's things. Milo then heard someone coming up the steps, and the person, who appeared to have run the three hundred and ten steps while carrying a heavy backpack, introduced herself as Clem Candler. Milo then led the three guests, the man and the woman having introduced themselves as Mrs. Hereward and Dr. Gowervine, upstairs to pick guest rooms.

Milo realized he'd dropped Georgie's book outside and went to get it, finding a wallet with a map inside, and seeing a person walking, who he did not know. Georgie showed Milo the camera she was making, which she was naming "Lansdegown". Milo went to return the book, but Georgie invited him to read it, and he started the story, finding it enjoyable. Eventually, his reading was interrupted by the arrival of Mrs. Caraway and Lizzie, the inn's chef and her daughter. Milo then met a girl who seemed to be about his age, and presumed this to be Mrs. Caraway's youngest daughter, Meddy. Milo was annoyed by Meddy's questions about his adoption, and left to read *The Raconteur's Commonplace Book*.

**Milo**: We—*I live here!*

**Meddy**: You're telling me you're *happy* about this? Is this how you wanted to spend your winer vacation? Snowed in with a bunch of strangers underfoot?

**Milo**: Well, no...

— *Greenglass House*, pg. 45 |  | ”

Meddy woke him the next morning, and Milo, surprised, fell out of his chair. Meddy found the map and wallet, which had fallen out of his pocket. Milo asked for it back, but Meddy ignored him, and demanded to know everything he knew about the map. Meddy suggested that they search for the chart's meaning. Milo was angry that she'd tell him what to do about something he'd found, but Meddy pointed out that while she knew he had a problem with her, he couldn't think of a problem with her idea. This was true, and Milo asked what they'd do if he agreed. She pointed out that Milo hadn't done the obvious thing: ask the guests until he found who it belonged to. Milo could not explain why. Milo agreed to Meddy's game, then returned to bed.

#### Negret

   After eating breakfast, Milo went to sit behind the Christmas tree, and found Meddy there. Meddy then began to explain what the game was and how it worked. Milo needed a character, she said. Milo thought it sounded silly, but Meddy insisted that it wasn't, and started explaining how the game was played. Meddy got Milo to list character traits he wished he had, then suggested that he be a type of escaladeur called a blackjack. Milo asked after her character, and she assured him that she was okay with creating it later. Georgie and Mr. Pine both commented on what Milo was doing, and he learned that the game was called Odd Trails. Milo chose to name his escaladeur character Negret, after a character from *The Raconteur's Commonplace Book.*
Milo went to get the map they wanted to learn about, but when he went to his room he found it was gone. To fight off a panic attack, he asked what Meddy's character was going to be. Meddy explained how she wanted to be Sirin, an invisible scholiast, and Milo agreed. A decoy paper had been left in place of the map, and Milo realized that it had a gate watermark on it. He led Sirin (very quietly, using all his blackjack skills) to one of the house's stained glass windows where, he now realized, a similar-looking gate was hidden in the artwork. Negret recalled that Greenglass House had previously belonged to Doc Holystone, a famous smuggler.

   Negret and Sirin, upon hearing footsteps behind them, went up into the attic to avoid the other guest, who they assumed was Clem. At the last minute, however, Negret realized that Clem always walked quieter than the guest behind them, and turned around to see Dr. Gowervine sneaking into Clem's room. He relayed this to Sirin, then entered the attic, where they found all sorts of interesting things, which Sirin began to name. Sirin found a yellow robe called the Cloak of Golden Indiscernibility, a fur-lined hat dubbed the Helm of Revelations, and a pair of old blue sunglasses dubbed the Eyes of True and Aching Clarity. Negret found a pair of black slippers, a ring of keys with Chinese writing on them, and Sirin gave him Wildthorn's Crackerjack Gauntlets, for Pickers of Locks and Creepers Through Windows Needing Nimble and Foxy Fingers. Negret then found a box of Odd Trails manuals, including the one about blackjacks. Sirin discovered a piece of the watermarked paper, and Negret found glass leftover from some of the house's stained-glass windows (Sirin dubbed the Gems of Ultimate Puissance). They found a couple more things, which Negret put in a rucksack he'd found, then Sirin decided the floor woud be called "The Emporium". Negret declared he'd had fun.

Milo and Meddy hung out for the rest of the afternoon, Milo mostly reading. At dinner, Mr. Pine sat down next to Milo and checked up on him, Milo assuring him that he was okay, though not mentioning anything about how someone had roken into his room. Milo then asked Georgie how her camera, Lansdegown, was doing, prompting odd responses from Clem and Mrs. Hereward. He then suggested that the guests all tell stories, hoping he could learn why they were at Greenglass House. Mrs. Hereward told the story *Only a Fool Scoffs at Destiny*, in which a boy called Julian Roamer acquires magical items through wishing. Negret did not think this had anything to do with the house, but Sirin proved her theory that Mrs. Hereward thought the story was real, and that it was connected to the house Mrs. Pine then told a story, at Clem's request, about Greenglass House, in which Fenster Plum saw the ghosts of Doc Holystone and his son from the fire escape. Clem asked Milo what "Lansdegown" meant, seeming to think that he knew. Sirin discovered how Mrs. Hereward's bag had Greenglass House stitched on one side, and a gate on the other.

#### Finding

When Milo woke in the morning, Meddy told him that something had been stolen, and he found Mrs. Hereward, Mr. Vinge, and Georgie all yelling downstairs. Negret asked what the missing things were, and the guests told him: Mrs. Hereward's ditty bag was gone, Mr. Vinge's watch had gone missing, and Georgie's notebook was not where she'd left it. He then reconvened with Sirin behind the Christmas tree, and discussed what could have happened.

Negret went to talk with each burgled guest. He started with Georgie, who gave information on the notebook's characteristics, and resignedly revealed that the notebook had contained information about Greenglass House, and someone she had thought might be connected to it. Negret then talked to Mrs. Hereward, who told him that the bag had belonged to one of her ancestors, for whom Greenglass House was built. She'd come to Greenglass House because there was a story in her family telling that the ancestor had bought one of the relics of Julian Roamer, and she had thought it an adventure to come and search for it. Mrs. Hereward was happy with Negret's proposal to search for her bag. Clem then met Negret on the stairs, and explained her confusion about why Georgie's notebook would be stolen, as the only person that would find it valuable was Clem herself.

Negret began searching, starting with the empty guest rooms, theorizing that the thief would not hide it in their own room. While in the room, he realized something was wrong with the cake of soap, and used his keys to pop it open. The hollow soap cake revealed Mr. Vinge's watch, and they examined the inscription and decided to give it back later, so that the thief would not move the other thing. They took the watch to the Emporium to hide, and when they arrived, they found that the spiderweb they'd seen the day before was broken, and deemed that someone else had been in the Emporium. Negret was more nervous being in the attic then, but soon found Mrs. Hereward's bag underneath a pile of sailcloth which he'd noticed differences in. He then asked Sirin to fetch the watch from under the Gems of Ultimate Puissance, as he'd thought of a perfect hiding place for the things. On their way down the stairs, Negret and Sirin heard Georgie and Clem talking. They listened as Georgie made a deal with Clem to get the notebook back, and Clem commented on the smell of perfume on Georgie's clothes, prompting Negret to realize the notebook's location. He found it in the pot of the poinsettia on the third floor, where he'd smelled something unlike a poinsettia earlier. Negret and Sirin then sat on Negret's bed and discussed clues. They then, according to Negret's idea, wrapped the recovered items as presents and placed them underneath the Christmas tree, hidden in plain sight.

When Mrs. Hereward began to flip out and the guests began to argue, Milo and Meddy decided it was best to give the things back, and Meddy made sure the adults found the gifts. Negret ended up telling the guests how he'd found everything. Milo then asked Mrs. Hereward about the Chinese writing on the door of the house on her bag, and she explained that it was the original name of the house, Lansdegown, though she didn't want him to tell this to Georgie. There was a very loud noise outside, and Milo and his father, joined by Georgie, went to investigate. Mr. Pine sent Milo and Georgie to check the pavilion while he checked elsewhere. Milo was suspicious of where he was actually going, but was distracted because he noticed a man, who had finished climbing the steps and had fallen to the ground, exhausted. He helped Georgie bring the man into the house, and Milo realized that he was Chinese. The man introduced himself as Owen, and by Clem and Georgie's reactions, he realized this must be the man that connected them.

Milo then went back outside and headed for the outbuilding that contained the hidden entrance to a secret Belowground Transit station. There, he found his father, Fenster Plum, and Brandon Levi exiting the station. On the way back to the house, the power went out. Milo went inside, where he found Mrs. Hereward and Dr. Gowervine shouting loudly and Mrs. Caraway and Lizzie attempting unsuccessfully to calm them. Milo helped separate and calm the two.

Georgie volunteered to tell a story. She told of two thieves, the Otter and the Eye, who had fallen in love with the same girl and set out to steal her heart. Milo soon knew that while she was pretending it was about male thieves, she was actually speaking of Clem and Georgie, and Owen, who was apparently adopted. At the end of his story, Milo pretended to have just figured it out. Georgie went up to bed. Milo then implored Mrs. Hereward to tell Owen what she knew of his ancestry. Milo told Meddy who Fenster was. Negret then theorized that Georgie had left the map for him to find, in the hopes that he would know what it meant and lead her to it. Georgie had then stolen it back, because she couldn't have it lying around with Clem there.

Dr. Gowervine then told of Lowell Skellansen, a famous glassmaker who had supposedly crafted a stained-glass window with the secrets of Doc Holystone's death encoded in it. During the story, Negret realized why he'd been in Clem's room: to look at the stained-glass window there. Negret then theorized that Dr. Gowervine's being at the inn was somehow related to the story and Greenglass House's windows, even if they weren't Skellansen's. They decided that Dr. Gowervine was searching for the cartoon or vidimus for the window, and Negret thought perhaps Skellansen's tools would not be out of place in the house. Dr. Gowervine lied about knowing that Greenglass House had belonged to Doc Holystone.

Mr. Pine, Fenster, and Brandon brought news that the generator was sabotaged, and there was no power for the rest of the night. Milo went over the clues in his head, noting that Mr. Vinge's watch didn't quite fit in the stolen things. He then drifted off to sleep, and his father woke him. Mr. Pine suggested that Milo go up to bed, and Milo asked that his father light a lantern he'd found in the attic, and while Mr. Pine searched for lamp oil, Milo noticed some curling scratches on the lantern. He noticed that they made the shape of a flame, and recalled Julian's lantern from Mrs. Hereward's story. Milo asked his father if he could give the lamp to Mrs. Hereward. Mr. Pine lit the lantern, and the flame turned blue. In the night, Milo heard a noise upstairs, and he went to investigate. He heard a doorknob turning, but arrived too late to see anyone. He heard another doorknob turning as he was making sure there was no one in the spare room, but ran into the bed before he could find out who it was. Negret then conducted a stakeout until he felt himself falling asleep on his feet, at which point he returned to bed, without success.

In the morning, Milo went over the clues again. Meddy soon entered his room and delivered the present his parents had left him, to be opened on Christmas Eve. Milo updated Meddy on the evening's events, from the lantern to the noise in the night, and they hurried downstairs to find out if anything was missing. They found Fenster and Mrs. Hereward in the kitchen, baking a cake, and Brandon eventually left to work on the generator. Milo opened his present and found his dad's Odd Trails figurine. He then went upstairs and wrapped the lantern for Mrs. Hereward. Milo talked to his dad about Odd Trails then gave the lamp to a delighted Mrs. Hereward. The generator was fixed.

Mrs. Hereward told Owen how Owen's middle name, Lansdegown, was the original name of Greenglass House, the translation of "Bluecrowne" into Chinese written down phonetically. Milo gave Owen his special blackjack keys, realizing that Owen should have them, and Owen in turn gave Milo a small dragon figurine that had meant a lot to him. Dr. Gowervine ran down the stairs, announcing that he'd been robbed, and Negret and Sirin, who'd suspected him, wondered if he'd done this to throw off suspicion. Georgie gave Milo the chart back, along with a picture she'd taken with her camera, and Clem gifted Milo lockpicks in thanks.

#### The culprit

Negret and Sirin went to search the spare rooms again, but were locked in by someone. They ended up using the luggage rack to bang on the staircase, alerting Mr. Pine, who let them out. Negret realized that they must have been getting close to something the thief did not want them to find, and under the rug in Georgie's old room he found a paper declaring its bearer to be a customs agent. Mr. Pine assumed it to be Georgie, though Negret disagreed. Negret led Sirin down to the second floor, where he thought Dr. Gowervine's satchel would be hidden, since his family would not be up there much. Sirin found the satchel outside on the fire escape, and the two looked in it.

Negret returned the satchel, then looked in Mr. Vinge's book, hoping that one of the maps in it would match his chart, but none did. Mr. Vinge told Negret about seiche. Negret then, against Sirin's wishes, went out to see the garden. He saw the place where Clem theorized the gate had previously stood, and found a bench with a small grave marker inscribed on it. Negret came back inside and went over clues with Sirin, and realized who the thief was.

Milo told his parents that the thief and the customs agent were both Mr. Vinge, who'd stolen items related to Greenglass House from the other guests to learn about them, and had stolen his own watch to throw off suspicion. Mr. Vinge was from Deacon and Morvengarde, Milo realized, based on the inscription in his watch. Milo then went out sledding with his dad, and had a lot of fun. In addition, he found part of the mysterious gate, stored in the shed. Mr. Vinge told his story that night. He painted Doc Holystone as a weapons smuggler, a criminal, and a danger to society. Fenster disagreed loudly, and Meddy seemed uncharacteristically angry. Milo revealed how he'd known Mr. Vinge was a customs agent.

#### Final battle

When Mr. Vinge pulled out a gun and two strange men arrived, Milo and Meddy ran to the Emporium. Milo called Meddy out on how weird she'd been acting, and Meddy was forced to admit that she was a ghost, the ghost of Doc Holystone's daughter Addie Whitcher, Milo realized. No one but Milo had been able to see her the whole time. Meddy revealed that she'd seen Mr. Vinge kill her father. Meddy assured Milo that he could find what Mr. Vinge was seeking. Milo did, realizing that the chandelier in the dining room was made by Skellansen, and likely could lead him to Doc Holystone's final cargo.

Negret and Sirin lured a thug into the attic, and then locked him in. They then descended the fire escape to the ground floor, intending to get into the dining room unnoticed and check the contents of the chandelier. However, they were caught by a thug. Milo made a deal to give Mr. Vinge the cargo, and discovered in the chandelier, a figurine intended for Meddy, an Odd Trails character called Sirin. Mr. Vinge went to take the figurine, but Milo wouldn't let him, feeling that Meddy should have it. Mr. Vinge took out a gun, at which point Meddy appeared to him and stopped him, driving Mr. Vinge and the two customs agents out of the house.

Meddy introduced herself to the other guests. Milo found that there was another thing in the chandelier, a cartoon for a window about Doc Holystone, and Meddy decided that this should be given to Dr. Gowervine. The guests all began to go. Clem and Owen thanked Milo, and Clem promised to send a book on lockpicking to him. Mrs. Hereward then arrived, and presented Milo with what she'd been knitting: a scarf and a pair of mittens, which were dark green dotted with white snowflakes. Dr. Gowervine left too. Georgie departed by way of the BTS, having somehow, as the Eye, found out about it. She gave him *The Raconteur's Commonplace Book* to keep. Meddy left too, so Milo could have his family Christmas, and he hoped she'd return soon. Mrs. Pine assured him that it was okay to think about his birth family and want to know them too, and Milo went to bed happily.

### *Ghosts of Greenglass House*

#### Problems

**Milo**: *Me?* What are you talking about?

**Meddy**: Are you kidding? Milo... you look miserable. You're wound tighter than a spring.

— *Ghosts of Greenglass House*, pg. 131 |  | ”

Milo sat in Greenglass House's living room on the first day of winter vacation, feeling cranky, about the frost but really about something different. Emmett Syebuck, their only guest, asked to stay longer, much to Milo's annoyance. Milo contemplated how upset he was, angry that he felt that way and couldn't become Negret, who wouldn't. Milo opened up to his father about his difficulties in social studies class with Mr. Chancelor, who had humiliated him again, drawing attention to Milo's lack of knowledge of Mandarin Chinese, and Mr. Pine was sympathetic. The bell then rang, the one for the Belowground Transit station, and Milo and Mr. Pine went out to see who was there. Brandon had arrived, bringing Clem and Georgie. Milo was delighted to see them (though he'd hoped he'd see his friend Meddy, who he missed), but it became clear that something had gone wrong. Milo supplied information about Emmett and helped them out, but Clem and Georgie did not tell him what was wrong. After dinner, Clem and Georgie explained about their heist for part of Violet Cross's haul that had gone very wrong.

Clem began to teach Milo lockpicking, and Milo was delighted at how this related to Negret. Milo then went to bed. When he woke, he wondered how Violet Cross's derrotero could work. Milo went downstairs, and his mother sent him to tell Emmett that it was time for breakfast. Emmett asked him whether Georgie was single, which Milo declined to answer.

Milo heard some jingling outside and realized that the Waits were coming to Greenglass House, and Milo invited them inside. The Waits came in and introduced themselves: Barbara Kirkegrim, Sylvester Alforn, Lucky Julnissen, Nicholas Larven, Rob Gandreider, Peter Hakelbarend, and Marzana. The Waits got settled in and began to socialize, and explained the traditions of the Waits. Rob began to clean the chimney. Milo showed Mrs. Kirkegrim and Marzana to an upstairs bathroom, but then they were both hit on the head, though they said they didn't know what had happened. Milo went downstairs to get an ice pack, and found the living room full of ash from Rob, badly cleaning the chimney. Milo helped his mother deal with the event and speculated about what was going on.

Milo suggested that the guests tell stories, like they had done the previous year, hoping to figure something out. However, none of the available guests could think of something to say, and after Mr. Larven fell unconscious from the punch, Milo nearly had a meltdown, escaping outside to calm himself. While outside, Milo ran into the ghost of Doc Holystone. He talked to the ghost about concerns he had and the derrotero, then returned inside and conversed with Lucky about the Liberty of Gammerbund, where the Waits were from. Milo went to bed. He saw the Sirin figurine by his bedside, and began to cry. Eventually Milo decided to stop waiting for Negret and Sirin, got together his adventuring things and put them in his rucksack, then left his bedroom. There in the hallway stood Meddy.

#### Odd Trails

Milo yanked Meddy into his room and told her how much he'd missed her. Milo then filled Meddy in on all that had happened, including the guests, Doc Holystone, and his problems finding Negret. Meddy suggested that he needed a character other than Negret, and deemed it was time for a trip to the Emporium to find the Odd Trails manuals.

They went up to the Emporium. Meddy found the manual she wanted, and Milo decided to combine the characters solitaire and ecstatic. At Meddy's suggestion, Milo searched the Emporium for an object that could have meaning for his character, discovering a red lacquered box with a crane on it. Milo wanted a Chinese name for his character, and chose "Téngfēi", which meant 'flying'. Meddy showed off the things she had found, the Tome of Unutterable Algorithms, Ring of Wildest Abandon, and Eglantine's Patent Blackthorn Wishing Stick. Milo held up the red box, Slywhisker's Crimson Casket of Relics, and the things in it, the Ocher Pages of Invisible Wards, the Ever-Sharp Inscriber of Rose-Colored Destinies, and the Flask of Winds and Voids. Meddy gave the Ring of Wildest Abandon to Milo, and expressed her approval of his chosen character name.

They went downstairs to Georgie's and Clem's rooms. Sirin shared the things Doc Holystone had said about Gilawfer and Violet Cross, and Téngfēi suggested that they look at the haul again to see if they could find the derrotero. Georgie explained that someone had stolen the entire haul, and the two reviewed clues in Milo's room. Meddy couldn't leave Greenglass House, so Milo went to talk to the ghost of Doc Holystone. On their way back, they saw a light on in the living room, and thought someone was stashing the things from the cache in the living room. However, it was Sylvester, cleaning away the ash from the chimney cleaning, so Téngfēi helped him, and also found evidence that Mr. Larven's punch had been poisoned.

On his way upstairs, Téngfēi heard a creak from upstairs, and found Georgie searching the other guests' rooms. Téngfēi later realized that the only places Clem and Georgie wouldn't search would be their own rooms, and began to search, sharing his theory with the two thieves. With Sirin's help, Téngfēi found the spherical chalkboard, deck of smuggler cards, and whalebone fan in Georgie's room, then, overcome with exhaustion, went to sleep. In the morning, he read an Odd Trails manual to learn about his Odd Trails character, then went downstairs and, along with Meddy, watched the guests for clues.

Téngfēi talked to Lucky and Marzana about how becoming a Wait worked, and recovered after accidentally offending Lucky. He learned more about hobby horses, practices and signup, and which Waits had gone caroling before. Téngfēi found Georgie and Clem sneaking around and rebuked them. Owen then showed up, and Milo showed him upstairs to talk to Clem. Téngfēi talked to Marzana, showing her the ship chandelier. Some of the guests then volunteered to tell stories.

#### Uncovering secrets

Téngfēi and Sirin went over clues. Sirin suggested that it was Lucky, explaining all the ways it worked, how Lucky could have done everything. Téngfēi wasn't sure, which he suggested was because some things were unsolved. Owen then arrived and interrupted them, and Milo told him all about his troubles at school with Mr. Chancelor. Owen, himself a Chinese adoptee, gave Milo advice, and also provided a letter from Liao Bluecrowne proving Milo was right about Liao, and invited Milo to keep it. Milo was so happy he began to cry.

Dr. Gowervine called on the phone, saying that Emmett wasn't what he said he was, but was cut off before he could finish. Téngfēi confronted Emmett, pretending that he knew already, and proceeding even when Emmett called his bluff. Téngfēi learned that Emmett was a customs agent, but realized that Emmett meant well. Téngfēi relayed this information to Clem, Georgie, Sirin, and his parents. Téngfēi then informed Mr. Larven that the punch had been poisoned, seeming unfazed when Mr. Larven didn't really believe him.

Mr. Hakelbarend told a story about Whit Gammerbund, the boy for whom the Liberty was named, and how he had sought asylum in the Liberty of Gammerbund. After the story, Téngfēi realized that Marzana was Mr. Hakelbarend's daughter, and confronted her with this information. Téngfēi and Sirin theorized that Mr. Hakelbarend was a wanted man. Lucky began her tale. Téngfēi noticed that Mr. Larven and Mrs. Kirkegrim were watching Georgie and Clem. Lucky told a tale of how she had, as a young girl, one day when playing hide and seek, found a hobby horse skull. Lucia had helped the skull find the Waits, then gone caroling with it. At the end of the story, Téngfēi was certain that Lucky was not the thief.

Sirin and Téngfēi went upstairs to go over clues, Téngfēi preparing to tell his story. He realized that Mrs. Kirkegrim and Mr. Larven were the culprits, and he and Sirin saw how the clues fell into place. Téngfēi and Sirin then recruited the Pines, the Caraways, Clem, Georgie, and Owen to watch the reactions of the guests as he told a story about Violet Cross. He then went downstairs and recounted how Violet Cross had secretly distributed maps through a kite kit called the Orienteer, and listened to others' contributions. When he finished, Marzana insisted that the Orienteer was a paper airplane set, not a kite kit, and after not believing her at first, Téngfēi listened to her and accepted her version.

Téngfēi and Sirin found two more of the stolen items, the reflecting circle and the locks, leaving only the bump keys, and Clem told the Waits that things had been stolen. Emmett attempted to detain the Waits, but Mrs. Kirkegrim left. Téngfēi realized that she knew she could get the keys, and after discovering them outside hidden in burnt bread, he decided that Mrs. Kirkegrim was Cantlebone and the keys were the derrotero. On his way back inside, Téngfēi ran into the ghost of Doc Holystone, as well as Mrs. Kirkegrim, who informed him, to his dismay, that it was not Doc Holystone but Toby Gilawfer in disguise. Mr. Vinge arrived too, and the two men demanded Milo hand over the keys, drawing guns.

The hobby horse then arrived, and Milo realized he'd accidentally called it. The hobby horse herded Mr. Vinge and Gilawfer away, and the real ghost of Doc Holystone showed up. Milo and Mrs. Kirkegrim returned to the house, and Milo told the guests everything that had happened, including how Mrs. Krikegrim was Cantlebone. Téngfēi and Sirin reconvened at Téngfēi's request, and he realized that Mrs. Kirkegrim was not only Cantlebone, but also Violet Cross and Marzana's mother. He revealed this to the guests, who were astonished. Meddy also revealed herself, so that Marzana could meet her.

Mrs. Kirkegrim offered explanations to the guests and showed Clem and Georgie how to work the things in the haul. The Waits eventually left, Mrs. Kirkegrim deciding to leave everything but the keys with Clem and Georgie, taking the keys as a keepsake for Marzana. Milo later realized that they were the derrotero, adjustable to adapt to the movable inlets of the Skidwrack. Milo then theorized, based on an Odd Trails exploit, that a relic and reliquary could help get Meddy out of Greenglass House. He put together a relic and reliquary using the Sirin figurine and the Flask of Winds and Voids, then led Meddy successfully across the lawn to Doc Holystone, to her delight. Mr. and Mrs. Pine expressed how proud they were of Milo, and it began to snow.

### *The Thief Knot*

Marzana asked Emmett if he'd heard from the Pines, and he answered that he hadn't seen them since January, at Clem and Owen's wedding. Marzana later wanted to know how to contact Brandon Levi, so she called Greenglass House and asked to talk to Milo, but he was at camp, and Mrs. Pine took Marzana's number to tell Milo to call her.

Milo later called back. Marzana, recalling that Milo was not very social either, got right to the point and explained that she needed to know how to contact Brandon, explaining that she did not want to involve her adults, and needed an adventure. Milo understood, and suggested two ways Marzana could contact Brandon, including from a Belowground station. Marzana mentioned that a girl was kidnapped, then gave her address at Milo's request. Milo wished her good luck, then went to go back to his meatloaf.

Milo sent a note with a vial and a figure inclosed in it. Marzana did not understand, even after reading Milo's directions about what to do with the vial and how he was sending someone. She told her parents that the figure was probably the character Milo wanted to use in a game of Odd Trails. Marzana left for school, and found Meddy outside on the porch, and realized what Milo had meant. Meddy explained how Milo had found out how to use a reliquary. Meddy had been at camp with Milo, but then Milo had sent her. Milo had found Meddy her shirt, she said, and Marzana wondered how Milo had not given away Meddy's presence.

When the Thief Knot learned about the different Belowground Transit stations, Meddy commented on how she wished Milo could be there. Marzana recalled various things Milo had said. Marzana later told her parents that she'd called Milo about the Belowground. They later found Brandon, who asked after Milo, and she told how she had called him.

## Physical appearance

Milo looks distinctly Chinese, a fact that differentiates him from his parents and makes it clear that he is adopted. He is taller than Meddy, and upon Meddy's return she comments that he looks slightly different than he did the year before. When playing the escaladeur Negret, Milo wears black slippers to help him move more quietly, carries a rucksack, and sometimes wears a pair of brown leather gloves.

## Personality and traits

Unexpected change upsets Milo, and he is very set on routine. Milo likes to have his own space, and was thus upset when the guests arrived and someone broke into his room. Milo is very introverted. When there are too many people around, he often sits on the isolated loveseat or crawls behind the Christmas tree. Milo wonders a lot about his birth parents, of whom he, being a foundling, feels guilty about because he feels he is being unfair to his adoptive parents. Milo is very passionate about adoption; correcting people when they use the wrong terms for birth parents and wanting Owen to know about his heritage.

Milo is very kind; when things were stolen, for instance, he used his skills to recover them and return them. He convinced Mrs. Hereward to tell Owen about Owen's ancestry, and then gifted Owen his keys, even though they were special to his character Negret. Milo was very nice to the guests in the inn, even though he did not want them there.

Milo is very observant and smart; he detects the tiniest differences in places that allow him to find disturbances and stolen items. He notices small details, and found the gate in the windows in Greenglass House's stairwell. Milo is very smart; he figured out nearly all of the secrets of the guests that came to Greenglass House.

## Relationships

### Ben Pine

Ben Pine is Milo's adopted father. The two seem to understand each other very well, and Milo is more inclined to talk to his dad than to his mom. They play Odd Trails together, Mr. Pine having gifted Milo the figurine he used in his youth. Milo has a very high opinion of his father and loves to spend time with him.

### Nora Pine

Though Milo often feels more inclined to talk to his dad, Mrs. Pine often understands what Milo is feeling. She clearly loves Milo very much, and assures him that it is okay to think about his birth parents. Milo will sometimes comfort his mother, and helps his mother out.

### Meddy

When Meddy first arrived to the inn, Milo was annoyed by her. He felt that she was invading his space, and Meddy asked questions that he felt were personal. Overtime, however, they became friends. Meddy introduced Milo to Odd Trails, which he gradually began to enjoy. She helped him become the character Negret and together they began to investigate the guests. Milo began to enjoy his time with Meddy and trust her.

**Milo**: I think so. I hope so.

**Nora Pine**: Is she the reason you had such a good time these past few days even though it wasn't what you were hoping vacation would be? ...Then I hope so too.

— *Greenglass House*, pg. 371 |  | ”

When Mr. Vinge threatened violence, Milo and Meddy fled to the Emporium. Milo recalled how odd she'd been acting, and she revealed that she was actually the ghost of Addie Whitcher, Doc Holystone's daughter. She explained how she hadn't wanted to tell him because she thought it might upset him. Milo continued to call her Meddy, at her request, and later rescued the Sirin figurine from Mr. Vinge for her. Meddy eventually left. Milo assured her that she could stay, and found he was actually okay with that, but she felt that she owed him a Christmas with his family. Milo hoped to see her again soon.

The next year, Meddy still had not returned. Milo missed Meddy very much, even crying because of this. Meddy eventually showed up again, by choice, and helped him with his troubles. Again, they played Odd Trails and figured out clues about the guests. Meddy could not get to the ghost of Doc Holystone, though she wanted to. Milo eventually figured it out, getting Meddy to him by way of a reliquary, much to Meddy's delight.

Meddy presumably stayed through the summer, if not longer, traveling with her friend by way of the reliquary. Meddy went to camp with Milo, but when Marzana needed help, Milo sent Meddy's reliquary to her and Meddy helped out.

### Marzana Hakelbarend

Marzana and Milo both are antisocial, and seem to bond over this. On multiple occasions Milo made comments about her that he didn't mean, then pulled them back, embarrassed, because he hadn't meant that, and Marzana understood. Milo was apprehensive about sitting next to Marzana, as he was a boy and she was a girl, but Meddy made him. They managed conversation, and Milo showed Marzana some of the house's windows. Milo listened to Marzana when she corrected him about the Orienteer, and Marzana in turn taught him about the orientation of maps. Milo figured out who Marzana's parents were, and seemed to understand her giving him clues without meaning to. When Marzana needed help, Milo was the first she thought of calling, and he helped her despite being at camp, sending Meddy to Marzana.

## Trivia

* The name "Milo" is a variant of "Miles" and means "merciful".
* "Pine" is presumably a reference to the pine trees around Greenglass House.

## Gallery

**Take a look at our **gallery for Milo Pine****.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.thebump.com/b/milo-baby-name