The red bubble is supposed to take away your sword (or items for item bubble) until you hit a blue bubble. In build 1266, there seems to be no effect.
[1266] Red and blue bubbles don't work
Would it happen to be a default template issue? Do you have any whisp rings? Or is the permanent jinx effect broken?
I can confirm this. The definition's correct — they show the permanent jinx effect in ZQuest. It's just plain broken, apparently.
OK, fixed.