Invitation

The brightly lit circular room was filled with the scents of Dragon Blood Ink and Moonstone Powder. Parts were piled all over the floor; before being taken apart, they had presumably been a DVD player.

Wade gently set a green quill on the oak table. Its slender shaft stood upright on its own, waiting quietly.

Professor Murray rose from his seat and stood directly beside the table, watching with great interest.

"Squeak! Squeak!" The mouse in the cage squeaked twice, circled its food bowl twice more, then suddenly began climbing up the wire.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak..." It made anxious sounds.

The quill on the table immediately began moving by itself, writing smooth words on the paper:

Hungry.

Let me out! Let me out! Out!

It repeatedly demanded to be released, constantly clawing at the cage wires.

Professor Murray smiled faintly and tapped his wand. The mouse in the cage promptly fell asleep.

Then a breeze swept through the office. The tit on the windowsill fluttered its wings, tipped back its head, and let out a crisp call.

"Chirp! Chirp chirp chirp! Chirp!"

The quill continued writing:

It's windy up high! It's going to rain!

"Not bad."

Professor Murray smiled in satisfaction. He quieted the tit as well, then tapped the bell jar beside the pen holder.

Several pixies were confined inside the jar. Tiny wands in hand, they were lined up neatly on a branch within it, like a row of decorative lanterns.

At a light tap of his wand, the pixies all flew up. Their bright blue skin flickered, their transparent wings beat rapidly, and they made a noisy stream of chattering sounds.

The quill immediately raced across the paper, lines of text rapidly appearing:

Pull hair! Whose hair should we pull today?

Hey, white-bearded old man, do you