"Hmm...maybes it's because spell slots is a thing from your world? They must be different from mana! Twillies wonders if you have mana as well...drinking a mana potion doesn't feel like very much if you's already filled up on mana."

"That makes sense! I wonder how you could even tell."

"Well, Twillies supposes you'd have to find somethings to do with your mana? If bards doesn't use mana for anythings, then maybes you needs to try learning a different class and see if it works!" 

"That makes sense! Maybe I'll talk about it to someone in Falconreach."

If there's time before bed. Or he could do it after going to the sneevil fort.

Around a gentle curve in the road, a new vista opens up. 

Sitting on a tree-stump by the side of the road is a blue moglin with a tattered grey cloak and a skull-headed staff. When he sees Elan and Twilly, he puts one paw to his mouth in an exaggerated shushing gesture. 

"Shhhh! Careful, hero!" he stage-whispers. His voice is just as high-pitched and squeaky as Twilly's, yet somehow manages to sound condescending. "You wouldn't want to wake this hungry, giant, man-eating bear." 

A little way beyond him, there is indeed a sleeping bear lying in the grass. It looks rather large.

Elan stops and looks at the big ol' bear.

"Thanks!" he whispers to the moglin. "I might have missed him."

Is the bear actually blocking the path? Maybe Elan can just be… really careful about not making a lot of noise.

Sure, the bear isn't even on the road, there's plenty of space to go around it.

They can be very very careful and quiet...

...until, right when they come level with the bear, the blue moglin opens his mouth.

"HEY BEAR! WAKE UP! LUNCH TIME!" 

He scampers away into the bushes, cackling, as the bear begins to stir.

"Zorbak, you meanie!" 

Elan jumps when Zorbak yells. When he realizes what he said, he's already scurried off.

"Huh, do you know him?"

Wait that might not be the most important thing right now.

Well, there is the rather more pressing problem of a big angry bear right in his face saying, "GRRRR!" 

What would he like to do about that?

He thinks that with bears you're supposed to… put your arms up and look big? And maybe make noise.

"Sorry for waking you up!" is what comes out of Elan's mouth, even though it was literally Zorbak.

The bear sniffs at him a bit, but seems more interested in Twilly. 

Twilly is hiding behind Elan's legs and trembling like a leaf.

"Aaaaa don't eat me don't eat me Twillies not tasty!!" he whimpers when the bear's big head gets too close. 

...yeah, the bear thinks this little squeaking creature seems like food. Can it get past Elan to grab Twilly? 

Oh no!

… can Elan distract it with some of the moglinberries. He's pretty sure that bears eat berries.

Oh? What's this? Tasty berries that aren't trying to run away? 

The bear gobbles up the berries and then snuffles at Elan's hands looking for more. 

Elan really doesn't want to run out of berries before they even get to Falconreach! But he also really doesn't wanna get Twilly hurt.

He remembers he's a spellcaster.

How about another handful of berries, and then once those are eaten, an illusion of a pretty butterfly in his hand?

The bear is uninterested in pretty butterflies. It is very interested in food, and starts nosing at Elan's pockets and bag looking for more. 

nooooooo :(

Elan very nobly sacrifices the rest of his berries.

"All done, see?"

Once it's eaten up the entirety of Elan's share of the moglinberries, the bear seems satisfied enough to wander off and leave them in peace. 

"Whew! That was scary! I thought it was going to eat me for sure." 

"Yeah. Do you think that guy wanted it to eat you?"

… They should probably get going, instead of standing around in the same place.

Twilly obligingly starts walking along the road again, although he's sticking closer to Elan than before the bear. 

"Zorbak is a meanie but I doesn't think he'd want it to eat me for realsies, only scare me a littles..." 

"Okay… I was thinking that if it didn't wanna leave you alone I might pick you up and toss you as far as I could."