realised that nobody was taking notice of him any more. He was glad to have a moment just for himself.
Magnus has completely lost track of time. A s he was thinking and trying to remember were exactly he came from, a large plate emerged right under his nose with even larger contents and a big teapot with a cup next to it. Not only one, but three huge juicy steaks were a real feast for his eyes and an even greater feast for his taste buds and stomach! He didn't even notice when a long metallic key from his pre-paid room appeared on the table. There was a small ticket hanging on its head, including the date of expiration and a seal stamp, but Magnus didn't pay any attention to that at the moment and he slipped the key carelessly into his pocket. Seconds later, there were so many candles around his plate on the table that he'd have a hard time counting them. It all happened as though by magick; the bartender and the waiters were bustling around him like servants around a king. He smiled contently as he was slowly waving his hands above the warm candle flames. He took off his wet leather coat and hung it on the back of his chair. The c omforting warmth was spreading all around him and he could finally dig into the royal feast with the utmost pleasure.
The later the hour, the more cheer in the tavern. Magnus became suddenly aware that the guests were singing and dancing merrily and were coming closer to his little “sanctuary” than he considered tolerable. He felt as though they were disturbing his hard-earned piece of heaven.
In that moment, a breeze sneaked around him that was so chilly it made the hair on his neck stand up. Even though there were a bunch of people around him, nobody else had noticed that something wasn't right.
Magnus sat upright in his chair, feeling slightly alarmed. The guests, dancing and whirling around him in cheer and free of mind were driving him crazy.
Shortly, a moment came when enough was enough. Magnus decided to leave to his room where he could finally find some peace. He groped under the table to grab his backpack, but he didn't find anything.
Suddenly it struck him. His backpack was gone!
He leaped to his feet so suddenly his chair rumbled to the floor, making a deafening racket in his vicinity. Several people cast him a brief glance.
Magnus felt his heart drumming wildly against his chest. He crouched down to peek under the table, but there was nothing; then he looked around with his eyes popped open, but his head spun from all the music and whirling around him.
His sight finally sharpened when he spotted a man whose face was covered in a green hood. There was a short moment in which Magnus gazed at the hooded man and the stranger gazed straight back at him, when Magnus noticed a leather backpack which the man was holding discreetly under his cloak. He suddenly realised he had found his backpack! By the time he put this all together in his head, the thief slipped out through the back door of the tavern and he was gone.
Magnus knew he had to act quickly. But that didn't mean he would act wisely. He grabbed his coat with his shaking hands which cast quite a large amount of burning candles to the floor. This drew more than enough attention to him.
The music stopped playing. Within seconds, Magnus found himself in a circle of shocked guests who watched him trampling down the burning candles on the wooden floor.
When Magnus felt their glances on him, he left the candles be, making a few steps backwards to the back door of the inn. “I... excuse me, I gotta go now...” he stuttered and as he turned around, he almost fell sprawled on the floor as he stumbled over his own shoes. He tossed his coat over his shoulder and bolted out.
“ Don't be a fool, stay inside!” people called after Magnus as he disappeared into the darkness, but there was nothing they could say that would make him stop.
One of the guests shook his head in disbelief, “That boy ain't comin' back