The group arrived on the other side of the doorway. A jaunty tune was now fully audible. A low rumble of conversation hummed slightly below the music.

A familiar layout of packed tables, two rows of four, hosting various races and aged patrons. To the north of the rows of tables, a bar with five stools before it and a Dwarfish woman with stark red hair entertaining her patrons. The bard and his group playing in the right corner opposite the bar.

A warm, bright fire pit shone and crackled in front of them. With its stone-crafted base, the fire pit created warmth and comfort for the various gathered around it. The burgundy-clothed armchairs surrounding the fire pit responsible for the latter. The chairs were mostly filled, containing all varieties of patrons engaged in drink and conversion.

The dwarf women retrieved plates from tables, returning behind the bar and vanishing behind a familiar stone wall heading from the end of the bar to the rear doors. Something they had yet to notice the last time they were faced with this room layout was a small centred wooden stair leading to a platform to their left. They glanced upward, past the velvet rope at the top. Several pairs of red fabric sofas were visible, with a single metal brazier on the south side of each pair.

“Have… have we been here before?” Zoz said from the rear of the group.

He backed up slightly to view the scene outside the door. Greeted by the quiet night atmosphere of Dalyn, he entered back inside.

“We’re still in Dalyn… weird, maybe this door is a portal?”

“Time for ale!” Khalid commented and excitedly moved off toward the bar.

“Everything is the same, extraordinary,” Bella said, following Khalid towards the bar with Zoz in tow.

Khalid arrived at the bar as the dwarf emerged from a door behind the bar. Khalid caught a brief look into the environment beyond the swinging door to see a muscular half-orc with spiked orange hair wearing tattered brown clothing. He seemed busy in a room filled with cooked and cooking food over stone pits with fire inside. Various combinations of meat and vegetation were arranged on multiple wooden plates awaiting the dwarven woman to distribute to patrons.

“A large ale please,” Khalid spoke up as the dwarf came before him.

“Comin right up, darling,” the dwarf replied.

“Is this an interdimensional realm?” Bella questioned as she arrived with Zoz behind Khalid. The dwarf turned, grabbed a large tankard and began to fill it from a sizeable cask.

“I don’t believe so. Just a nice place to grab a drink, some food and some shut-eye,” The dwarf replied.

“Then how are we in the same building as in Vetur?” Bella pressed

“Oh, that’s simple enough. My family also owns that tavern; my sister runs that location, and I run this one.” She answered. The dwarf finished pouring the ale and placed it before Khalid.

“What’s that section over there?” Bella asked, extending a finger to the velvet rope at the top of the stair blocking access to the platformed area.

“That’s a quiet area for those preparing for rest near their rooms,” she said

“One more, Mirla,” a human to their right looked up, holding his mug.

“Comin right up,” she said, grabbing his mug and turning to fill it with a different cask from Khalid’s.

“Are you looking for a room?” Mirla questioned, filling the mug and returning it to the human.

“We are for the three of us,” Bella said

“Alright,” Mirla Said, grabbing a sizeable old-looking book from beneath the bar counter and opening it to a page somewhere in the middle filled with scribbles unreadable to Bella.

“A three-bedded room, morning meal with all you can drink will cost you one Gold, four silver.”

Reaching to her side into a pouch filled with coins, she withdrew two Gold coins and handed them to Mirla. “I may come looking for some information, too,” Bella said

“Very kind of ya,” Mirla replied.

Placing the gold below the counter, Mirla withdrew three small glowing orbs.

“Here’s your room keys. You said you stayed at our Vetur location, so you know how to use them?” Mirla questioned.

“We were just there for a meal, not a night’s rest, so no, we don’t,” Bella replied

“Easy enough to use ’em, hold ’em up to the door, and it’ll open for you. You’re in room five. If you lose your key, let us know immediately so we can disable the enchantment and get you a new set.”

“Fascinating,” Bella said, inspecting the orb.

Mirla placed her ledger back below the bar. “If you need anything else, let me know,” Mirla said as she returned to the kitchen. She emerged with her arms filled with plates and distributed the meals among the patrons.

Bella handed out the room orbs to Khalid and Zoz.

“I’m going to drink for a bit, then maybe go explore the town,” Khalid said, taking his orb.

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She handed Zoz his orb, pocketed the third one, and began toward the roped-off platform.

“Zoz, I’m having trouble with a few of these formulas..” She said matter-of-factly.

“Oh, lemme grab a drink, and I can give you some assistance,” Zoz replied

“Grab me one too, preferably liquor or wine,” Bella said

Zoz turned back to Mirla and was greeted by her awaiting his order.

“Can I get, umm, something spicy and strong?” Zoz asked

“You ever tried Dragons Snot?” Mirla replied

“No, but that sounds disgusting,” Zoz said

“Sounds gross, tastes great, and if you don’t like it, you’ve already paid for all your drinks, so you can just order something else,” Mirla replied

“Alright, ill take two,” Zoz said

“Make it three.” Khalid chimed in

“Three Dragons Snot’s coming up,” Mirla said, reaching under the bar and pulling out three red-scaled steins with wings flanking the handles and a crafted dragon’s head for the lid. She began pouring various liquids inside of each stein. Satisfied with her work, she placed the steins on the counter. Placing her hand over the first, she snapped her finger, and a tiny mote of fire dropped from her hand into the mix. Moving to the other two, she repeated the actions quickly and then closed the lids. Smoke began to emerge from the dragon’s snout on each stein then small bubbles of thick liquid began to drip and bubble out. Pulling the horn just above the handle, the bubbling liquid ceased.

“Three Dragon Snot’s, enjoy,” she said

“Ah, neat! we drink it from the nose like real snot.” Khalid said, grabbing his drink and turning the horn, beginning to chug it.

Upon finishing and slamming down the stein, he exclaimed, “That’s spicy! I’ll have another”

“Comming right up,” Mirla replied

Zoz grabbing his two from the counter with Khalid’s assistance, made his way back to Bella.

“Once we sit down, ill show you how it works,” Zoz said, handing one of the drinks to Bella.

The two continued up the stairs and past the velvet rope.

Upon the both of them passing the rope, they noticed the music become dull background noise. The sound audible now was the crackling fire and light conversation.

“This place is quite unique,” Bella said, glancing back.

The room now before them was a very different environment than behind them.

The floor was an arrangement of patterned darker redwood, completely unmarred. Four sitting stations were placed around the room. Three were twin-facing red fabric four-seater sofas with a single tall metal open-top brazier, a single log burned within, centred off to the side. A fluffy animal pelt spanned the length of the couches on the floor between them, with a simple wooden low table on the hide. The fourth sitting station was a similar arrangement with a single sofa, its back to the bar. All stations seemed occupied except for the southmost one.

“Guess that’s our’s,” Zoz said

Bella sat facing the bar, and Zoz occupied the sofa opposite her. Bella withdrew her tome and opened it to a page with various scrawlings scattered and filled on the left page. The right page was a much more orderly writing system but with multiple gaps in the writing.

“You see, I’m unable to figure out the arcane elemental anchoring symbols for these aspects of the casting,” Bella said.

“Yea, this one’s gonna be tricky for sure the others you’ve figured out already are earth-based, but these, as earth-based, you’d end up with….” Zoz said. Their conversation continued into the night to Bella determined for a resolution to her formula.

Khalid finished his second Dragon Snot, followed by various other drinks. Khalid slapped the bar, stood up, and declared, “Mirla, I’ll be back. I’m goin sploring.”

Khalid turned and departed out the front door.

The cool night air and star-filled skies gave the small village serenity. With the silent night ahead, the barely audible music from inside behind him, he began walking east throughout the town. All window lights were now extinguished save for the tavern he had just emerged from. He continued down the path. After five or so minutes, the way before him began to wind to the left and incline. Visually trailing the path ahead of him, it wound upwards to the left and right. He could see two distinct platforms of land—a larger one as the base and a smaller yet quite large platform central to the base. Following the winding path up to the top platform, he reached the top after about fifteen minutes. Cresting the top of the platform, a large ruin came into view. Various collapsed walls and what looked like it had been a second floor at one point had also collapsed. Ascending the collapsed ceiling to what was the second floor, several rotting wood walls and furniture were all that remained, anything of value long since looted. Moving down to scout the ground floor, he also found nothing but burned and rotting furniture severely damaged and weather-worn, with the once fine cloth now tattered and stained.

Scouring the whole area, he eventually found a small hatch in the ground with scuffed foot marks in the dust-layered stone. Reaching down, he pulled on the iron ring attached to the hatch with all his strength. The hatch would not budge. An audible click sounded from under it. Khalid dashed for cover behind one of the collapsed stone walls peering from behind to see what would emerge, hoping his all-black attire would conceal him sufficiently. As the latch opened, a black fur-lined humanoid head rose from within, a light illuminating it from beneath. As the figure climbed out, the fur continued down his body. The figure, fully withdrawn from the hatch, closed it below him and began to depart toward the declining hill.

After two steps forward, the figure came to an abrupt stop and began to sniff at the air. As the unknown inhaled and sniffed the air, it shifted its gaze to land on Khalid. There was a tense pause. Then the figure continued his stride down the hill and returned his gaze forward. Khalid peered out, watching as the figure began to descend and followed from a safe distance. As stealthily as he could, he followed the figure down the hill. The figure carried itself with a precise gate, never shifting its gaze from directly in front of it. Fifteen minutes had passed, and upon reaching the bottom of the hill, the figure continued to the second building on the right. It stopped only briefly in front of it, then turned and entered. Approaching the door from his safe distance, Khalid came upon a sign hung from the closed door.

“The Sleeping Giant,” Khalid whispered under his breath.

He reached for the door handle to follow the figure in. As a split in the door at eye level opened up.

“Members only after dark,” The voice said. Then shut the slit closed.

“Ok, I’ll come back tomorrow?” Khalid replied.

Moments passed, and no answer came. Looking up, Khalid could see the moons. The two bluer moons were on the lower half of the white.

I should probably get back, it’s getting late, and I want another Dragon Snot.

Making his way down the western path toward the Trilton, he noticed the light that had been illuminating previously had since dimmed. Arriving at the front door partially open, he pushed his way inside the door, closing it behind him. Inside, the interior was now quiet, and the tables were empty. He made his way up the stairs and past the velvet rope.

The fire in the tall braziers was now smouldering embers.

I didn’t get the room…Guess I’ll try them all, he thought, pulling out his orb key.

Starting with the northern room, he pressed it to the door and waited. A moment passed, and nothing happened. Moving to the northwestern room, then the western room, then the southwestern room. Pressing the orb to this final door, a small click sounded. He opened the door, went inside, and began to wait silently on top of his bed for the morning.