Perhaps not much, as it'd turn out. On their way back from their adventure in what was definitely still a fantasy setting, the two decided to rest at an inn for the night. The inn was quite normal for a fantasy setting, with patrons coming in from everywhere.

And not just the entrance! Portals poured out people, lights let loose laborers, windows wide open for wicked witches, and the door was… walked through by Polly and Jack.

"How can I assist you two individuals," the barkeep greeted in a strangely stilted voice without tone. Though friendly in demeanor, our two heroes were unable to see past the rather odd armor and strange tiny tubes that connected the metallic pieces to each other. The person stared out at the two companions with two eyes that brightly shone light.

“Crackers,” Polly crackled. The parrot slid a gold coin from the folds of her feathers over the counter.

“Woof, a woof,” Jack added.

“Sustenance and accommodations,” the barkeep nodded, its armor creaking and releasing a bit of sparks. It waved a hand around the dining area. “Take a seat, any seat.”

“Where?” Polly cawed. The room was full, every seat filled.

The barkeep tilted its head, its strange toneless voice creaking. “Inside at max capacity. Outside has room.”

A few more sparks, strange repetitive stuttering. “Inside, innside, full… Outside not not full but not innside, only ai-i-i-i-r. Air-r-r-r-r. Air-r-r-r.”

To the two companions’ surprise, the barkeep began to release smoke!

“Air-r-r-r. Airror, Error, Error, Err-”

“It’s on the fritz again!” A lady in an apron smacked the poor barkeep, cutting its concerning speech short. She turned to Polly and Jack, speaking. “Sorry about that. Please take a seat at any table that has room, I’ll bring the food when it’s ready.”

The two companions nodded before looking around for room again in the totally fantasy setting. Witches and warlocks, elves and dwarves, goblins and trolls, other things. They decided to settle at a table with only a single man. He wore a red hat, a crimson cloak that covered him all the way to his scarlet sleeves, vermillion boots, and cherry trousers.

“Greetings, salutations, hello!” The man greeted them as they approached him. He was eating a cinnamon roll. “You can call me Sino.”

That was when the companions saw a very familiar symbol.

“Macguffin! Macguffin!” Polly cried. On his hat was the legendary “M,” the golden arches that represented even more legendary Macguffin.

“Ah, sorry, I’m not working right now,” Sino said as he removed his hat, revealing cerise curls and locks underneath. “Besides, it’s not even breakfast time anymore.”

Jack growled. So did his stomach. He didn’t like being misled or hungry, and never both.

“I’m serious,” Sino raised his hands in appeasement. “There’s no such thing as the Macguffin. It’s a Mc—”

Jack growled again, causing Sino to hurriedly change his mind.

“A-ah, yes, indeed, of course, the Macguffin! I’d be more than glad to tell you more but first…” Sino trailed off as he reached down and into a bag by his side.

“You must defeat me in a game of utmost skill, intelligence, and guile!” He said as he slammed down a deck of cards. “Poker.”

“Squawk?” Polly said looking at her companion.

Jack shrugged. With a nudge of his nose, he poked Polly and looked back at the monotonously colored man expectantly.

Sino sighed and began to explain the rules.

— 10 minutes later —

“And here is the food,” the lady in the apron said, balancing a tray on one hand. “Crackers and fruit for the parrot, a steak for the timberwolf, and another bowl of stew for you, Mr. Nym.”

Sino, who had spent the last few minutes trying to teach a new tricky game to an olden dog and a bird, removed his hand from the bridge of his nose. “Alright, fine, okay, we’ll take a break for food. Then we can play, yes? You understand the rules now?”

Both animals shook their heads. The game was inscrutable.

“Oh come on!” Sino exclaimed. “Not even a little bit?”

Another shake of their heads.

The man took a deep breath and counted to three. “How about blackjack then? That’s simple.” Polly turned to her companion.

Jack looked down at his not quite black fur, chuffing in confusion.

Sino sighed and began to explain again.

—10 minutes more later —

“And that’s how you play,” Sino concluded. “Understand? Comprende? Got it?” He tried to eat more soup to relieve his irritation, but quickly was reminded that it had been emptied almost immediately.

Polly nodded and procured another coin from her feathers, letting it drop onto the table.

Sino moved his hand to collect it, but got a splinter from the surface as he slid his arm back. “Gah!”

“Bad wood,” Polly remarked.

“Bark,” Jack agreed.

Sino gave an unamused glare. “Let’s just play,” he said, mumbling complaints as he dealt the first cards. “I don’t get paid enough for this.”

Jack, who was now sitting in a chair, collected the cards between his paws and showed his companion.

“Hit,” she said.

And so the game began.

— 10 more, more minutes later —

The inn was beginning to become noisier, as a fight had broken out at some point across the room. Polly was forced to yell to be heard.

“Hit!”

Fwick, the slightly audible sound of a card being dealt.

“Hit!”

Fwick

“Hit!”

Fwick

“You bust,” Sino said wearily. For someone amassing a small fortune from all of Polly’s gold, he didn’t seem very happy. With a sigh, he retrieved the cards and dealt a new hand.

“Hit!”

Fwick

“Hit!”

Fwick

“Bust again…”

“Hit!”“But I just said you—”“Hit!”“Are you even paying attention!”

As it turns out, they weren’t. Jack had fallen asleep and Polly had begun to narrate the fight across the room because it was more interesting.

“Another hit!” She exclaimed.

“...” Sino glared at the two. “I give up, I’m done, this has gone on long enough.” He wiped his hand with a napkin and wrote something on it afterwards, the directions for locating the legendary Macguffin. He slid it across the table to Polly and Jack before leaving through the window.

And so, after a fierce battle of wit, persistence, and resilience at the inn, the two companions were one step closer to reaching their goal and saving the land of Britonnia from the evil wizard Berlin. What’d our heroes find next in their thrilling and definitely fantastical adventure?