After breakfast, I turned off the music. My family was all smiles and full bellies. I looked around the table, seeing and hearing everyone engaged in conversation with each other, laughing and telling tales.

It was a joy that I never knew I needed until that moment. I turned off all the radios on my phone to conserve the battery as much as possible, and shut it down, slipping it into a pocket.

“So, tell me something, Ivor. What is that item you unrolled that you retrieved the device from?” asked Blainaut.

“Hrmm? Oh, that. That’s called a kilt. It is patterned from a traditional garment worn in certain parts of my world. I’ve not worn it since I got here, as I’ve been tramping through the woods, mostly, and I’ve lost so much weight that it won’t fit anymore,” I said with a shrug.

Blainaut rose and went to inspect the kilt. “This is a garment? It’s a flat piece of fabric. I fail to understand,” he said with confusion.

“Let me show you how it is worn,” I said as I got up. I walked over to the bench, and wrapped it around me, fastening the snaps and buckles. Hilariously, the damned thing was easily eight inches too large, and it fell right off.

“Well, I would show you how it’s worn, but I’m far too small, now. Anyway, it sits at the natural waist, and that’s pretty much it. It’s comfortable, helps to keep me cool, has plenty of legroom, and doesn’t bind or wear thin, unlike pants,” I said, undoing the snaps and buckles.

“Maybe you could wear it if you make it like the clothes you gave us, Mr. Ivor,” piped Ahte-ukum.

Blainaut nodded, saying, “The child has a point, friend. If you wanted to wear it, you could make it like their clothes or the rings.”

“Huh. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that. Couldn’t hurt, right?” I said with a smile. I held the kilt, and murmured the spell “Fit the wearer, Automatic size.” and watched the kilt vibrate with power. I draped it around my waist, and redid the snaps and buckles. With a smile, I realized that the kilt hugged my waist perfectly and stayed exactly where it was supposed to. “Awesome. I can wear my kilt again. Thank you for the suggestion, Ahte-ukum. That was pretty smart of you,” I said as I removed it.

I rolled it up and stuffed it back in the bag. I had no need to wear it right now, as I was fully dressed. I put my phone and its accessories in the bag as well. Those memories should probably stay put.

“So, what now, everyone? I know I’m too sore from yesterday to go practice, so I’ll be in the city all day. Probably for the next couple days, too,” I said.

“Well, I have interviews to conduct. Most notably with Lerk-min and Kris-nah. What of you, Thaddeus?” Blainaut said.

“Ah was going to see more of the carvin’s in the religious sector today. They’re pretty neat,” the young man replied.

“Kids, would you like to tour the religious sector?” Talah-ma’at asked, receiving a resounding seal of approval from the boys.

“I’ll join you, Talah-ma’at. If that’s okay?” Elizabet said with a soft giggle.

“Would you? I’d appreciate the help,” she said gratefully.

“Um, Mr. Blainaut? If…if you n-need a guide to the c-crafting hall, I can take you,” Liss-ran offered, obviously nervous.

“Oh, that would be amazing, Liss-ran. I would be in your debt, my lady,” Blainaut said with a flowery bow. Liss-ran giggled and found that her plate was suddenly rather interesting.

“Well, I suppose, as I need to spend the time letting my body heal, I will stay here in my workshop, working on my new bag and whatever else I may need. I wonder…” I trailed off, lost in thought and ideas.

“Ivor, sweetheart? We’re going to get going. You be safe, and please don’t overwork yourself. I know how you get when you have that look,” Elizabet said, wrapping her arms around me.

Startled from my reverie, I only just noticed that everyone had the plates and remnants gathered up, and were watching me with indulgent smiles. “Sorry, everyone. I got lost in thought again. I will see you all later, okay?” I said to the group.

I hugged Elizabet closely and she murmured in my ear, “I can think of some things to do with that device of yours. Keep it handy, yeah?” she gave me an evil grin and a wink, and I felt the familiar flush of arousal creep up once more. I nodded and she gave me a kiss before she left.

I walked over, and moved the stone in my sign to the “Open” slot and smiled. Alone now, with nothing but tables and projects, I sat down in front of my bag and began to work on stamping the leather with some designs.

I had chosen a dragon motif for this bag, as I wished to honor the Lizardfolk in some way. I traced out a sinewy draconic form that wound its way across the bag, looping every so often. I stylized the opening to be a representation of a dragon’s head and mouth, carving in eyes and nostrils, allowing the drawstrings to represent a beard. Overall, it had the general impression of an Oriental style dragon from Earth.

Over the next few hours, I had finished the embossing and stamping to a degree that I felt was proper. I added a few extra touches here and there, some general flourishes to the design, and packed in as much detail as I possibly could.

I sat back, and examined my construction. It seemed to be as solid as I could possibly make it. The final step was mounting it to my modified ALICE frame, and Fusing it all together once I had the fit just right. I reached into my Bag and pulled out my pack, then removed it from the frame. I attached the new leather bag to it, and experimentally put it on.

Walking around my workshop with it, I found some minor issues with the fit, and set about correcting them. A few cuts and stitches later, and my new bag fit neatly on the frame, and felt right when I wore it. All that was left to do now was to properly Fuse it together, and then cast the Demiplane spell on it.

Idly, I wondered if I could cast the spell right now, given my current health and physical state. I decided to wait until Elizabet returned, just in case it was too much for me. I placed my ALICE pack back into the Bag, and took the new pack off.

I reached into my Bag and removed Loki’s daggers. I inspected them, trying to find the best way to store them on my person, yet still remain as accessible as possible. I quickly cut and put together a simple belt to act as a harness, and attached one of the daggers to it. It wasn’t perfect, but it would suffice for now.

After testing several different locations for the dagger, I settled on simply securing the sheath to my belt at an angle, and used that. Tried and true was that for a reason, I suppose. I attached the daggers to my current belt. I then examined the new belt that I’d made and decided it was good enough to use as a belt, and so I finished the tooling and was about to stain the leather when I heard the door open.

“Ivor? We’re back from the Religious sector. Are you done in here?” Elizabet asked as she opened the door.

I looked up from the belt and smiled at her. “Yeah, I’m almost done. Let me finish the stain on this belt, and we can go,” I replied.

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She walked in and nodded at me, watching me work. In a few more minutes, I had finished the staining, and left it there on the workbench. I picked up my new pack and showed her its features.

“...and here is padding to keep it comfortable on long journeys. I’ve used this frame for years, and never once had trouble with it.” I concluded.

“That is most impressive. Just this frame alone would be worth a great deal to travelers. So, have you completed the spells on it?” she asked.

“No. I’ve not even Fused it together. I wanted to wait for you or Talah-ma’at to be here in case something went wrong, or I used too much energy and passed out and hit my head or something,” I replied.

She smiled broadly at me. “It seems you can use your head for more than a battering ram. Good. I’m glad you’re learning to be more conscious of your limitations and abilities,” she said as she looked me over, poking and prodding at my belly and arms. “I’d say you should be okay if you cast the spell. Just for safety’s sake, wait here and I’ll get some water or fruit, okay?” she suggested and I nodded.

She left and I sat down at the dinner table with the new bag. Idly, I wondered if it would be red like the previous one, or if I could influence the color or pattern in any way. I reached into my Bag and pulled out a bundle of the dried bear meat, and kept it ready.

As I sat there pondering, Elizabet returned with a crock of water for me. She poured a cup of water, and sat it down in front of me, and nodded.

I first Fused the inside seams, melding the seam to the bag. Next I centered the bag on the frame, then Fused them together. I repeated this process on the hardware as well. Once I had finished that process to my satisfaction, I set the bag down on the table.

Looking up at Elizabet, I asked, “Are you ready? I think I’ll be fine, but I just don’t know.”

She nodded, and I affixed an image in my head for the design, and stuck my face into the opening of the bag and said “Demiplane of Holding.” and felt an immediate, heavy draw on my reserves as the world lurched to the side. My stomach growled loudly, but I seemed to be okay.

The bag vibrated gently, then began to glow with a soft, blue light. The leather and metal began to warp and twist, seemingly alive, then settled back into their previous state. We both watched, transfixed, as the bag began to change colors, shifting from the drab brown of the natural color of the leather, into a vibrant array of reds, greens, golds, and blues, the design I had stamped brightening in places, fading in others. Colors spiraled up from the bottom of the bag, settling into their respective places as the stamped grasses, trees, clouds and skies took form, as if it were a photo. We watched in awe as the dragon was filled in last, seeming to undulate around the bag, its scales multiplying and filling in with color, becoming a blue and gold masterpiece of art. As the magic reached the top, where the head and face were inlaid, we saw the same colors intensify as the spell ran its course. The eyes, in particular, looked vibrant and alive, sparkling with intelligence and mirth. With a final burst of light, the spell concluded, and a puff of smoke erupted from the opening to the bag.

Breathlessly, Elizabet said, “Wow. If I hadn’t seen that with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it. It almost looked alive, Ivor. Do you know if it works?”

I sat there, shaky from the spell, and attempted to compose myself enough to answer. “I think sho… Itsh pwobabwy okayyy…” I slurred.

“Gods. That took a lot out of you, didn’t it?” she said as she hurriedly sat down beside me, pulling me into her embrace. I nestled into her chest, spent. She gently held the cup to my lips while I drank greedily, then tore a strip of the meat into bite sized chunks and lovingly fed me until I was more in control. At least enough to feed myself.

“Thank you, love. I doubt I would have been able to take care of myself if I were alone. See? I’m learning. It just took me nearly dying to get the lesson drilled into my thick skull. I think I’m okay enough to test this,” I said, still shaky.

She hugged me tightly, then let me go. I reached into the small bag and pulled out one of the pelts. If anything were to not fit, it would be this. I slowly introduced it into the new Pack, and it slipped in without issue. Nodding to myself, I reached in and pulled it back out. Everything seemed in order.

“Well. That seems to work pretty well. Let me test one more thing,” I said. I put the pelt back in, closed the top, and whispered “Lock”, then handed it to Elizabet. “Try to open it,” I said.

She shrugged and attempted to lift the top, but it wouldn’t budge. Furthermore, as she tried, the eyes of the bag turned to look at her, glowering. The bag emitted a low warning growl, and she gasped, dropping it.

“What was that?” she asked in horror.

“I have no idea. As far as I’m aware, the Pack isn’t sentient. It can’t be. Can it?” I mused. I picked it up, and Unlocked it.

“Hey, Pack! Are you sentient?” I asked it. There was no reply, and the eyes didn’t move. I poked the dragon all over its leather body, trying to elicit some sort of response, but there was nothing. I opened the top completely and peered inside, seeing nothing but a blank void. I let the top flop down and shrugged.

“I have no idea what that was. Perhaps a side effect of the magic? I visualized the colors the bag took, as well as the details. Maybe since I had a dragon in my head, the magic gave it a personality? I don’t know. I’m treading new ground here with my magic. I doubt it’s alive, but the bag may take on new qualities depending on what else is done to it. Let’s go ahead and transfer the stuff from the other Bag,” I said.

Elizabet nodded and picked up the Bag, and was about to simply put it inside the Pack, when I screeched in terror and yanked the bag out of her hands.

“Hey! What did you do that for?! That hurt, Ivor!” she said angrily.

I panted, shaking. “Elizabet, you don’t know this, but you nearly killed all of us. This whole city, and all her people would have been gone. Dead,” I said, watching her face pale.

“Wh-what? I… how?” she asked.

“The inside of the Bag is an extradimensional space. That means that it doesn’t exist within our reality. It doesn’t follow the same set of rules as our universe does. In the game I used to play, where I got this idea from, if you put a Bag of Holding” -I lifted the smaller red Bag- “into another Bag of Holding” -I lifted the Pack- “you destroy both and create a portal to an entirely different plane of existence that would likely snuff out all life for at least a full league in all directions. Please don’t ever do that again. I’m sorry for hurting you, but I’d rather a little pain than a lot of death,” I explained.

She looked at me, deathly pale, and nodded. “So the game you played had a lot of rules, then?” she asked shakily.

“Yeah. It was created to be as realistic as it could be, being fantasy and all. The creators spent a lot of time crafting out rules and lore for nearly everything. And then, we players made even more rules and lore. I don’t know for certain if that is what would happen, but I certainly don’t want to find out. Let’s take out the breakables, and then I’ll show you how to empty it quickly,” I said. She nodded, and I removed the crock containing my breakfast, and a few of the random bits of crystal I had tucked inside.

“Okay. If the rules are the same, all I have to do is turn the bag inside out, and everything just spews out from it into this room. Let’s get into the corner, and I’ll open it,” I said, moving to the corner on shaky legs.

Elizabet followed me, getting behind me. Slowly, I inverted the Bag, and everything I’d stuffed into it for the past three months burst forth, scattering all over my workshop. I put the bag to rights again, picked up a random stick and fed it into the Bag. It still worked, so I cinched it shut, and we began to stuff everything, including my bow, into the new Pack.

An hour later, we had finished, and the Pack was no heavier than before, nor was it bulkier. Neither of us had felt any resistance, so we figured it was at least twice as roomy inside.

“Well, that’s done. I’m hungry, and I’m pretty sure you are too. Let’s get a bit of food, and head home,” Elizabet said.

I nodded and went around the workshop, capping all the lights, then moved the stone from the “Open” spot to the “Closed” spot, and handed her the Bag. “You keep this. I think you’ll get more use from this than you think,” I said as I shouldered the Pack.

She smiled and draped the strap over her shoulder, adjusting it until she had it nestled comfortably between her breasts. “There. That feels right. Let’s go,” she said as she took my hand in hers. Together, we walked out of my workshop and headed to the Great Hall to get a bite to eat.