Hello, Everyone!
Last time in our story, Mary and her friends were still in the strangely animated inn belonging to Rory (the talking counter). They decided to walk around the block to be able to talk without fear of being overheard but it was not a fun trip - Ekoba's air pressed on them and made it hard to breathe. Mary started seeing a fairy which beckoned her to go away from the group. She thought it was sent by Gillean and almost followed it.
Almost.
Mary was sitting in a chair, reading another one of her books. Having a Pocket of Holding was such a convenience! She could now have a whole mobile library at her palm’s reach. And after that small fright with the window, she needed the familiar touch of paper under her fingers.
A tiny light appeared in the corner of her eye.
“Oh, hey,” she greeted Aurum who was rising from his bed. “It’s still early, the sun’s not up yet. You can sleep some more.”
“Nno,” he mumbled, still groggily. “Did you see it?”
“See what, the fairy?” she said. “Yes, it was weird. It’s the second one…”
“No, it wasn’t a fairy,” Aurum said. “It was a shadow, a phantom…”
He stared at the nightstand by his bed and picked up something. A ring. He held it to his eyes and opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted.
There was noise from the lower floor. A clatter, then another, a cry of surprise and agony, then silence.
Mary and Aurum looked at each other, then at Bruno, still sleeping peacefully in his bed. They rushed to wake him up.
Less than a minute later, all three of them stamped down the stairs. Mary, almost fully dressed but only with her wand in hand, Aurum, in his satin pajamas and Mosrael, and Bruno, holding his hammer but otherwise in his undershirt and pants. The dwarf seemed a lot smaller than his usual armoured self.
The tavern was dark and empty. Nothing moved, nothing gave out a sound. Mary switched to her Eldritch Sight and took in a sharp breath. Nothing was glowing anymore.
“The magic is gone!” she whispered.
There was blood on the floor next to the counter, and the clamps that were bolting Rory to the floor weren’t there. Not only that, the holes in his wooden legs were gone, too! Bruno kneeled to inspect them while Aurum followed the blood trail towards the nearby window.
He gave out a wretching sound and stepped back, shaking. The glass was broken and the night air encroached on the room, bringing the now familiar feel of despair and tension into the tavern.
A thought passed through Mary’s mind, too quick for her to pay it much attention. She didn't remember hearing the breaking of glass.
Wrapping the scarf around her nose and mouth (it didn’t help but she did it anyway), she went to Aurum and inspected the breakage. Most of the glass shards had fallen into the tavern but there were some on the street outside. There was more blood out there, too. Whoever had broken in, had something bad happen to them, and then went out the same way they had entered.
A faint trail of blood was leading out of the tavern but there was no way to see where it led from there. They’d have to go out to follow it, and in their current half-undressed state, it wasn’t much of an option.
“There’s nothing here that seems displaced or missing,” Bruno said, still behind the counter. “There’s this drawer but its lock hasn’t been picked.”
“It they weren’t looking for money, then why did they break in?” Aurum said.
“Could it be connected to this ‘insurance’ people were talking about?” Mary suggested. “Like, if Rory’d forgotten to pay it, they might have tried to, um, remove him? Or at least scare him off?”
“Yeah but that wouldn’t explain what happened to the people who did it,” Aurum said. “Why was there blood? And I heard someone scream…”
“Me too! I heard it, too!” Mary said.
“I’m thinking.” Bruno stood up and dusted off his hands. “Were they even successful? For all we know, this might have been just a failed attempt at a robbery – they came in, got beat up and ran away.”
“But why is the magic gone?” Mary insisted. “Do you think Rory is… dead?”
“Naah!” Bruno said. “Maybe that’s normal, too? Like, the spell turns off when the furniture sleeps or something? Look, let’s just go upstairs and wait until morning. I’m sure everything will clear up then.”
Mary agreed, reluctantly. Bruno and Aurum shuffled up the stairs and she followed, giving the main tavern room one final look. It was still just as worryingly non-magical as before.
With her Eldritch Sight still on, Mary, entered their room and took a quick look at their possessions. She liked the array of colorful lights their magical items gave out and used every opportunity to enjoy them.
There was something missing.
Her bag. It wasn’t glowing.
The Pocket of Holding was gone.
Oh, no! What's going on?! What happened? Where's Rory? Where's the Pocket?!
Hope to find out in the next episode
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide, the Glossary and the Map for the series. You're welcome!)
An important disclaimer: These are my notes from a D&D game turned into a narrative. All the worldbuilding and NPC encounters belong to our DM, and all the actions of the other main characters (Aurum and Bruno) belong to my co-players. My contribution to the story is only everything Mary-related (actions, reactions, inner thoughts), as well as the writing itself.