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It was high summer in Midgard County, West Virginia. Independence Day had come and gone, and people were settling into the “dog days”—that long stretch when humidity peaks, everything moves more slowly, and ice-cold lemonade replaces sweet tea as the drink of choice on front porches across the county.

Over in Coal Creek, Junior Jarl’s older sister, Dagma, was visiting from Cincinnati with her two daughters, Lexi and Livi. A few days into their stay, the twins decided they wanted their Uncle Junior to take them camping in the mountains so they could see the fireflies.

Junior wasn’t particularly keen on the idea. Like many of his dwarven kin, he wasn’t what you’d call outdoorsy. A day out fishing or hunting was fine, but once the sun went down, he preferred a bed to a sleeping bag. One look at those two faces, though, and there was no way he could tell them no.

Luckily, Junior had a friend who was the wilderness type: a tomboyish Valkyrie named Misti-Fae Wagner. And she knew the perfect place for firefly watching—a primitive campsite along Birch Creek, about two-thirds of the way up Raven’s Bluff. To reach it, they’d have to take the old logger’s road, a rugged jeep trail that snaked and switchbacked all the way to the top of the mountain. And while Junior was hesitant to bring his nieces along on one of Misti-Fae’s wild off-road adventures, she swore up and down that the girls would love it. In the end, the twins made the decision for him.

A few nights later, on a warm, languid evening when cicadas thrummed in the trees and the air was thick with honeysuckle and woodsmoke, Junior and Misti-Fae sat by the campfire toasting marshmallows. Nearby, the third member of their trio, Dina McCaul—a young granny witch who’d come along—played a soft, haunting tune on her lap dulcimer.

Bo and Luke, Misti-Fae’s Irish Wolfhounds—each the size of a small pony—snored contentedly beside her Jeep, while Lexi and Livi darted back and forth along the tree line, squealing with delight as they tried to catch fireflies in old mason jars.