The door pushed in a few inches. An elderly man repositioned himself against it to use his weight to slide it a bit further. A woman of similar years stood beyond him, studying the few potted plants in the courtyard as he worked. He repeated this twice more, opening it far enough that he and his wife could step inside. The process was then reversed, a slow but steady method to move the heavy door back. With no rush, the husband approached Eustace and gave their names quietly. This then became a back and forth exchange between the aged men with steadily increasing volume to eventually communicate that they were Mr. and Mrs. Browning. Eustace, his pointed ears red, nodded once he understood and hastily had the enchanted pen mark their names. As soon as the pen halted he kindly designated for them to continue into the room.
Mr. Browning took a slow look around with straining eyes. He pointed in a general direction where no one sat, having only noted the lack of movement rather than any particular difference in the seating. Mrs. Browning didn’t notice, she was busy digging through her shoulder bag, finding everything except what she was looking for. In her right hand, she clutched a small bauble; a glass paperweight bought at a curio shop that she intended to gift to her sister. Her right elbow pinned a writ of identity that was the reason the pair had needed to travel into the new capital. Still, she dug farther into the bag hanging on her arm between the two recent acquisitions. Mr. Browning waited patiently with mild concern at the momentary hold-up. He looked back at the greeter and smiled with slightly raised eyebrows to which the half-elf let slip a muted chuckle. Finally, Mrs. Browning let out a quiet huff of success, seizing a small paper from within her bag. She turned to her husband, handing over her delicate gift and writ before rearranging her grip on the bag. Once she was ready, she reclaimed them to tuck safely back inside. Only the small paper remained out. Mr. Browning held his hand forward towards the open tables to let his wife lead and choose what she thought best. The two made it only to the first table before Mrs. Browning stopped to marvel at the enchanted candles in the center of each table. Mr. Browning nodded, his expression showing brief interest before prompting his wife to continue on to their own table before he would take the time to look around. Since Mrs. Browning was spending more time looking at the scenery, Mr. Browning chose the nearest empty table. He circled around the table and pulled out the seat for his wife in an effort to convince her to sit before continuing to sightsee.
With all of the proper etiquette of royalty, Mrs. Browning accepted the seat with poise. She carefully placed the small slip of paper recovered from her purse on the table, its claimed discount readable from the direction she believed a server would stand. Her delicate aged hands folded on the table, pinning the edge of the voucher as to not let it be lost to any stirring of air. She patiently waited for Mr. Browning to take his seat across from her. Once he had joined her at the table they both began to look around at the quaint hideaway they had found among the intimidating city.
The room was homey and welcoming, even with all of its enchantments. The Brownings had never seen magic that wasn’t functional, and this room held multiple items that were for all intents and purposes novelty magic. Now that they were no longer standing out in the room they both took a closer look at the blue flickering candle in the table’s center. It was a common white wax candle, but in place of a wick, there was a single rune carved in the top from which the small blue flame protruded and danced. It was small and simple but to people who had little understanding of it, it was fascinating. A broom shuffled on its own accord, tracing the path they had just walked. Filled dishes seemed to come out of thin air in front of people seated at other tables. Suddenly, both of them realized that glasses of water had appeared on their own table. They both smiled at the mystery and Mrs. Browning took a sip if only to support the entertainment of the event.
The Barkeeper appeared before she finished and her eyes went wide as she dropped the glass in surprise. The Barkeeper only tilted his head and the glass halted at once before striking the table, then lowered, with its remaining water, back to the proper place. The couple gave polite “oohs,” watched him with interest.
“Welcome to The Crowded Shelf. Is there any additional food or drink to which you would enjoy?” he asked.
The two looked at each other with consideration of what they might request. Mr. Browning then realized that a menu had appeared in front of his wife, so he pointed to it to have her look. She motioned at him, and he looked down to find another menu beneath his arm. He gave a quick smile and took up the stiff page, bringing it closer to make out the fine text. The Barkeeper seemed to think a moment and nodded. The words then lit and enlarged making it much easier to manage. The couple smiled at the improvement. After several moments of decision making and discussion, they selected their meals. The Barkeeper was gone as suddenly as he had arrived and both smiled at each other at the display.
Then the plates arrived. Mr. Browning had been holding the table edge to help balance while he looked around again. The plate had appeared off-center to avoid his fingers. He was glad such fancy delivery didn’t drop the plates on top of his hands if they were in the way. Across the table, Mrs. Browning was studying her plate of food as well. Both Brownings unwrapped their utensils and cut into their food. They took their first bites and found that the food was as satisfying as the pleasant venue. Both were finding it enjoyable enough to plan to return here next time they came to the city, even if they didn’t find another discount voucher.