Falling Short
The adventurer accommodation had a dozen bedrooms, with three bathrooms shared between them. Jason found the bathrooms strange in their familiarity, tiled surfaces and magical plumbing. Jason was fresh out of the shower, with a towel around his waist. He was standing over a basin, looking into the wall mirror as he washed cream off his face.
“Stash!” Humphrey’s voice yelled from the hall outside. It was followed by the door handle turning, and the bathroom door opened from the other side by some kind of chimp-like creature. It then turned into a bird that flew up and perched atop Jason’s head, chirping triumphantly at its reflection in the mirror.
“Sorry,” Humphrey said from the door.
“No worries,” Jason said. “Just so long as the bird he turns into is a small one.”
“Wha
