Hello, Everyone!
Mary’s home visit continues. After all her adventures and perils, she went to her family and even brought her friends. She was ready to start coming out of her shell… but then, in our latest episode, Aurum mysteriously disappeared. All she and Bruno had was a note saying that he’d gone on a secret mission and he was going to come back in three months.
So, Mary had to prepare for three months at home. Which, as much as she loved her house and family, wasn’t the greatest thing in the world.
For Mary, the days in Frinkeltong became an endless string of loneliness and boredom. She could tell how much time had passed by simply looking at the length of her hair. It kept on growing supernaturally fast and soon she had to cut off the braids Asya had fashioned for her back in Belfast.
In order to make at least something out of her time alone, Mary found a distraction in the books she’d taken from Sylvanas’ lab.
During the next months she spent countless hours reading “Fundamentals of Alchemy" and experimenting with different ingredients and combinations. She destroyed several tablecloths, had a few chemical burns, started and promptly put out a small fire and at one point turned green for half a week. But, finally, she had managed to learn how to make a couple of potions that were going to be really useful… if she ever went on a journey again.
She wrote to Paulina at least two times a week and got some replies. The dwarf girl was in Pamagos and had an adventuring party of her own. Mary had secretly hoped that her friend was going to join her and Bruno (and Aurum, if he ever came back) but she had to give up on that.
She wrote to Gillean, too. The last page of her Book of Shadows had turned into some sort of messaging board where she’d ask him how he was and tell him things about herself. Each time he answered was like a small celebration, even though it was a rarity.
Every day, after Bruno came back from work and before the fiesta, they’d sit together and talk. Every day, she’d make him send a message to Aurum, hoping for an answer. Only once did they receive one. It was a couple of weeks after his disappearance.
“I’m flying!” the bard had said.
“What does that mean?” Mary wondered. “Is it a cry for help? A code for danger?”
“He’s probably high,” Bruno said. “You worry too much.”
She did worry. But she was getting angry, too. Why did he leave? Why didn’t he answer their messages? And why did it have to hurt her so much?!
One of the days, Mary went to the closest of Ioun’s temples. She was toying with the idea of sending a letter to Aurum and following the Bearer who went to deliver it. She knew that they had some kind of enchantment that enabled them to find people, even when they hadn’t left an address. That’s how they’d found Bruno by the walls of Myth Adofhaer, and that’s how they had found her in Belfast.
However, while she was checking out the prices and asking questions, another missing person came to her mind. What if she tried this to locate Dorina Dwendel? She wrote her a message and gave it to the Bearers. They said it was going to be difficult to find a person without having at least a broad area specified, but at least it was worth a try.
She didn’t send a letter to Aurum. She was too angry with him to do that.
It was nearing the end of the three months Aurum had said he'd be away for. The messages Mary made Bruno send their bard were full of “When are you coming back?” and “Are you on your way yet?” but there was still no reply.
Bruno, meanwhile, had become quite the toy maker. One day at dinner he brought a present for Leefie – a miniature tram which he’d been working on for a while. The tram was almost the same as the ones traversing Frinkeltong. It moved by itself when you wound up the spring, and had a set of rails you could build yourself in different configurations. The toy’s doors were made to open and close freely, so you could even put stuff inside.
Leefie was beside himself with excitement! He completely forgave Bruno for being 'odd'--something he'd been saying ever since he saw the combination of the dwarf's white hair and young face--and immediately started filling the tram with his other toys. He even went to show it to the other kids. They surrounded him, praising his new cool thing and wanting to play along. Suddenly, he was the center of attention and the most popular kid in the block. Nobody dared ridicule him because of his human sister for fear of not being included in the game.
Very soon, orders for other toys rained in and Bruno became very popular. The gnome community liked him because he wasn’t too tall and he was working just as hard as they did.
Unlike Mary, he took part in the evening festivities almost every day. He’d found a group of quieter and more subdued gnomes and would spent the party hours with them, playing cards and drinking ale on one of their porches.
Mary was happy that he’d found a place for himself, but at the same time she felt a little bit jealous for the friends he’d made. Her evenings were still spent either in her room or the library. Mr. Pruste, the gnome librarian, was already used to leaving her the keys and going to party with the rest of the city. She was a trustworthy bookworm.
Soo, Bruno found some new friends, eh? Is that jealousy we find in Mary’s heart?
Anyway. Have you been stuck at home when you could be traveling and having adventures? What am I talking about?! We all lived through 2020 and 2021 XD Hope Mary goes on with her travels soon! For her own good!
See you next time when we’re going to have a really special episode <3
Hope to see you then!
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide and the Glossary for the series. You're welcome!)