having a wingless dragon-kin loitering in my living room would have been amusing on any other day.
Mumbling nonsense to myself angrily, I snatched most of my favorite items of clothing, including an array of scarves, and pressed them into the bottom of the bag. I then ripped the blankets off my bed and stuffed them inside as well. Soon, I found myself wandering all over the house, discovering things that seemed very important all of a sudden. Several books fell on top of the blankets, followed by a flask of buttertap, a loaf of dry bread, a sack of copper coins, a bag of Sop-bombs, and a few more books.
I stared sadly at most of the items in my kitchen, knowing I would probably not need them and could get a new one just about anywhere I ended up. Yet I tied the teapot to the outside of the sack anyway. Who knew when I would need to boil some water?
My coat and a scarf had found their way on, and I stood in the living room awkwardly shuffling through a pile of walking sticks. Morrense and Levent stared, neither of them daring to speak for fear of the crazed look I was sure graced my face. There was so much to do, and yet so little. I eventually selected a cane that sported a spiral pattern from a grapevine that had grown around a hickory sapling. After tying that to my bag as well, I was completely ready to go. The process had taken less than an hour.
I said nothing, but walked up to Morrense and gripped his shoulders. He must have understood my silent question, as he murmured, “I’ll be fine, and I’ll take care of the house for as long as I’m able. This thing’ll blow over soon enough, so stop looking like you’re never gonna see me again, a’ight?”
I smiled weakly. “I haven’t had time to make your potion, I’m afraid, but the recipe is tacked to the wall in the kitchen.” There was so much more I wanted, and yet could not bear, to say. I turned toward the door. Someone had boarded up the window in my absence, and I was not about to complain about the use of dead wood in my house. After all, it was not really my house anymore.
The crowd outside had hardly dispersed, and they turned to stare at me as I walked past. I ignored it until I found my path blocked by a rather large someone. I glanced up to find the barkeep that I had spent nearly every afternoon with for many years looking down at me, his eyes full of emotion.