With that bit of encouragement, Kyma pulls the gray pouch out of her bag. She tugs on the drawstring gently to widen the opening and carefully opens it with her fingers. Something glints surprisingly deep inside the bag, so Kyma tips the bag over to slide it out. Not only that object, but a multitude of things pour out of the bag without a sound, despite landing on each other. Kyma frowns in confusion as she places the bag next to the small pile. The sizes don't match up. The pile of objects lying together on the blankets are far too large to fit inside the palm-sized pouch.

"It's Aos Sí magic, Kyma."

Kyma's frown of confusion deepens. "I thought the dagger was made by the Aos Sí and the pouch just belonged to the past owner?"

"That's partially true. The dagger wasn't made by itself, the pouch was made with it, along with some of its contents. The other contents have been added over the years by the owners of the dagger. Once you sort out the contents, I will show you."

"How do so many things fit in the pouch?"

The voice lets out a huff of amusement before speaking. "The magic makes the pouch big enough for everything inside. You can add more things, and the pouch will never be too small. However, to put something in the pouch, it has to fit in the opening."

Kyma's eyes light up in question. "Does that mean that I could technically put the dagger inside of the pouch?"

The voice hesitates before replying. "Yes. That would be possible. Now, instead of discussing possibilities, shall we move on to the contents of the pouch?"

Kyma nods to herself and begins to sort out the objects one by one. She quickly amassed a small pile of throwing daggers, and she frowns in confusion at them. Each small dagger has the exact same mother of pearl handle as the big dagger she had found did.

"Are these what were originally in the pouch?"

"Yes, and they will return to the pouch after use. Keep looking."

With a sigh, Kyma returns to the pile and begins to sort through it once more. In the end, the other object was a small book with a large and flat pearl set into its cover. She opens it up to see . . . nothing.

She looks down at the book with a frown. "What does this do? This is the last item, right?"

"Yes. The book will store information for you as well as inform you of new things. For instance, I can tell you that you haven't activated the book, and so will see nothing inside of it."

"How do you activate it?"

"Place your palm over the pearl at the center."

Despite her confusion, Kyma complies with the voice's order and places her hand over the pearl. There is a flash of light, and pain lances through her hand. With a hiss, Kyma pulls her hand away to examine her palm. In the spot where the pearl had made contact with her palm, her hand now looked like it was covered with a layer of pearl. She flexes her hand and pokes at the spot with her other hand, only to feel smooth skin beneath her fingertip.

"Don't worry, it is only visible to you. You may open the book now."

Kyma huffs and flips the cover of the book open, to be greeted with spidery handwriting. The first page lists details about the dagger itself, with a small portion at the bottom about the pouch. As Kyma glances over the part about the pouch, she realizes that she can summon any of the contents of the pouch to her hand if she thinks of it, instead of having to reach her hand in and rummage through the pouch. The next pages he looks at is all about the throwing daggers - their uses, the magic in them, and so much more. She turns to the next page, expecting to see information about the book.

Instead, she sees information about the merrows, divided by each Kingdom. She pulls the book closer to read, and then pulls back slightly as she sees a family tree at the beginning of the section on the Eastern Kingdom. The tree starts at the beginning of the kingdoms creation, and she traces its path all the way down to her mother. Beneath her mother's name is her own, rippling slightly in a silvery ink that stands out from the page despite being a similar color to the page itself. Kyma flips to the next page, only to be greeted by blank paper.

She closes the book and slides it back into the pouch, along with the small pile of throwing daggers. Kyma glances at the other objects briefly, to see a tiny box of fishhooks and twine, a small bottle of a mysterious substance, and a tin of some greenish paste. With a sigh, Kyma scoops the other objects back into the pouch, and after a moment of hesitation, puts the sheathed dagger inside as well. She pulls on the drawstrings to close the pouch and tucks the pouch inside her bag. 

She crosses the room to the algae lantern and pulls the curtain back over it, plunging the room into darkness. Kyma walks back to the bed and tucks her bag beneath it before sliding beneath the blankets. As she begins to fall towards sleep, the voice speaks once more.

"The symbol on your palm will flare when new information appears inside the book."

Kyma lets out a yawn, and slips the rest of the way into slumber.
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What do you think is in the bottle and the tin of green stuff? I'll admit, I haven't fully figured that out myself yet. What was your favorite thing from inside the pouch? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading, and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.