"Ah, welcome..." says the mysterious being sitting upon the throne. "You have, perhaps, come seeking knowledge? Hm. You should, of course, know that there is little other wealth to be gotten here."

You see a smile beneath the hood of his voluminous black robe. "As you can see, I'm making some changes around here. I've decided that a priority change is in order. My first project will be to gather information on the Land Flanaess, rather unlike the old palace's design, which focused on the visual confections known as 'video games.'"

As he notices your attention drifting about, the hooded man decides to stop his narrative and allows you to go about the palace as you like.