Henna giggled softly when the Froggila pulled the whole pie out of his mouth, and started tucking it back in again in smaller pieces. She'd thought it funny when he'd first gobbled the thing down in a single bite, but the thought that he'd just stored it there all this time was even more hilarious. She suddenly heard a strange sound and looked up, but all around her was blackness. She was alone in the room. The sound came again, and the witch realized it was her own belly rumbling. The sight of food had apparently awakened her sleeping body. That made her think about the time she’d spent with the glass this time. The shutters were closed, and curtains covered the windows, so it was impossible to tell the time. How long had she been sitting here in the floor, staring into the glass? Minutes? Hours? …Days? She rarely remembered much of what she’d seen in the glass. There had been the tower, and the Froggila, and then the pie, but she couldn’t remember what had come before that. Her belly rumbled again, audibly. She’d have to go downstairs to get some food. And she’d have to be more careful with the glass in the future. Use it more infrequently. She felt her gaze being drawn towards it again, that single faint light in the darkness, and had to shake her head to break the trance. She needed a break.

“I need a break” she said out loud and then carefully wrapped the glass in the stained sheepskin she kept it in, and tucked it away in a pouch on her belt. 

Her bones popped when she got up, and she got slightly light-headed by standing. She was stale as hard bread, rigid as a corpse, and her legs hurt from all the sitting on the wooden floor. She took a few stumbling steps, had to pause to regain her balance, and then went out the door and into the hall. 

The light and sound hit her like a sledgehammer.

It was business time in Giulias House of Leisure. The saloon was filled with people of all kinds, and they were all drinking, bellowing, singing and dancing. All the candles had been lit, giving the place a warm sheen but also making it hot and damp as fuck. A patron and her whore rushed past towards a room further down the balcony, giggling and bumbling about as they went. Henna dodged them by pressing herself against the wall and gave them the evil eye, which they completely ignored. Coming down the stairs from the second level, Henna got a good glimpse of the place. It was packed, bursting at the seams. And in the middle of it all was an unexpected sight. A young elf by the look of her, although they all looked young to Henna, stood in the entrance looking lost. She was completely soaked and was shivering slightly. On a complete whim, Henna decided to approach her. She went up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.

“Hello” she said, looking concerned, “Are you sure you’re in the right place?”