The rising sun dispelled the mist and shone a great city situated at the estuary where the river was inflowing into a sea. Granite and marble edifices, magnificent palaces and imposing mansions occupied the horizon.
"Ariadna, the main city of this continent," Jim went out onto the deck together with Iven, "the trade centre with many portals."
"We have to visit the human world," Lynette made a decision, "to find any hint about the El Dorado location."
"Really, their computers are not bad, as well as television," Iven agreed, "though, they use those excellent things mainly for filth."
"Last year I bought a laptop to watch only good films," Lynette remarked.
The city was approaching. Ships of different sizes standing along wharfs, two or three frigates under full sail far away at sea, ferry boats plying between the banks.
After the mooring at a fixed gangboard, a sturdy construction of dark wood at one of the piers, Lynette and Andreas left the yacht. Green and lilac suits of Elves, florid attires of men, hauberks of Dwarfs, multifarious crowds in the cobbled streets and squares paved with granite slabs. Green standards with stylized golden trefoils at flag-posts, steel-clad guardians on patrol.
"Dryads!" Lynette exclaimed seeing three pretty young women resembling one another like sisters. Pallid skin but merry eyes, curly hair. White summer frocks were adorned with blue and violet wild flowers.
"Oh! Hello, Lynette!" one Dryad chattered joyfully, "why didn't you come yesterday? We had weaved a new dress for you!"
"Hello, Martina! Certainly I will buy it, but later," Lynette assured calmly, "trolls appeared in this world."
"Ah!" the girls gaped in frightened astonishment, "we have to warn other Dryads and Elves, our relative folk!"
"Elves already know! Go home, but avoid the eastern castle way!" Lynette recommended.
"Don't worry, here we have our own portal. See you!" the Dryads flitted away in hurry, nearly running, and disappeared among the multicoloured crowds.
Lynette and Andreas turned to an arcade flanked with small shops, booths of merchants, tables laden with goods. Clothes and footwear, carpets and utensils, baskets with fruit, many purchasers, a sale in full swing.
"Going to the human dimension? wish to exchange currency?" some sly Dwarf emerged from the throng, smiling ingratiatingly, his luxurious hauberk sparkled with rubies on the collar. He gave Andreas three greenish banknotes for a small round piece of silver and evidently became glad of the deal.
"You will need cloaks, it is rather cold at the other side," one more tradesman offered, dark coats hanging on a clothes-tree behind him, and he wore a garment of the same kind himself.
"Anyhow, we can hide our swords under them," Andreas took out another silver coin to pay, "people get nervous at the sight of weapon there."
Walking away from the shops and booths they threw their new dark-blue cloaks, loose and quite long outer clothing, over their shoulders.
"How do you earn a living?" she resumed to bate her curiosity.
"Travelling merchants eagerly hire Grey Knights as guardians," he replied, "and I get employed from time to time."
"As for me, I embroider tapestries, my granny taught me that fine skill."
They came up to a comparatively not very large bluish-white marble building at the arcade end. A broad staircase, thick high pillars supporting the moulded pediment above the open entrance.
A shady hall was dimly lit with an opalescent flare in the space under a high archway in the opposite wall, a slow whirl of soft light smoothly twinkling and flickering, not dazzling at all. Panoplied imperturbable guardsmen were standing still along the blue incrusted walls.
"Would you make a voluntary donation to the Ariadna municipality?" one knight inquired politely. A small lacquered table had a bronze tray with a mass of copper coins on it, Lynette and Andreas added some money to the heap, entered the archway and plunged into the portal hand in hand.
The shining flooded the air around them, they could see each other but neither walls nor floor slabs of that corridor. Within a few steps they found themselves in one more hall which looked like a vast grey basement. No decorations, no visible guard, observation video cameras in the corners and above an artless but neat stony staircase leading up to the exit. The lock clicked, the metal door got open in front of them, and they came out into an early evening street of another city.
Endless torrents of growling automobiles, gigantic houses drowning in a smog, a dingy sunset in the dirty sky. Puffs of dust and exhaust fumes made Lynette cough.
"We have to find an internet-cafe," Andreas also winced at the poisoned atmosphere.
"And quickly get away from here," she pulled her pink kerchief out of a pocket and tried to breathe through the fabric.
Two large black cars hurtled together, others had no time to stop and clashed against them grinding with crushed metal and scattering small glass bits of shattered windscreens. A jam blocked the traffic at once. Furious drivers started hooting and bawling arrogantly, immaculate expensive costumes and neckties but rude conceited physiognomies.
"Over there!" in a minute Andreas noticed wide brightly lit windows of a cafe. They came in and sat down to one computer in a row of tables, flat displays, chairs. Lynette hid her kerchief and began to type at the keyboard.
"El Dorado… Night clubs, gambling, shops," she commented the information on the screen, "they give this name to vulgar things."
"Let's look for legends," Andreas pressed some buttons, the display flickered, "they are much more trustworthy than any official system of notions."
"Yes, I see," Lynette examined the appearing text, "legends about Elves, Dwarfs, fairy lands… A-ha! That's it! They consider it to be abundant in gold, but unrealizable to discover."
"Maybe, Elves turned off the portal in time," Andreas surmised, "and greedy fellows could not get there."
"As that portal is closed," Lynette concluded, "there's no reason for us to stay here any longer."
Andreas left a banknote on the keyboard when standing up. A young sleek waiter, a clean white shirt and black perfectly creased trousers, picked the pay up nimbly.
They went out of the cafe and walked along the grey asphalt pavement of the dismal street. Flashy advertisements could hardly embellish the joyless bleak twilight.
Gripping at lapels of black jackets, jerking and tearing, two drunk battered men were awkwardly fighting under a red neon sign of a bar, their five or six brutal mates watching the scuffle with a guffaw.
Screams and rattling, shrill squealing music, shouts of scandals, howling of police sirens. Glum malevolent countenances, unfeeling indifferent people, fussing crowds seemed to take everything for granted. Darkness was falling quickly.
"Help me, please! I'm cold," a beggar, a middle-aged unshaven man trying to muffle himself up in a colourless threadbare suit, gave them a look of appeal, "I can recognize your kind hearts, help me!"
Lynette and Andreas took their cloaks off, gave them to the miserable man without any recompense and kept on walking.
"Thank you! Now I will not freeze to death at night!" the beggar brightened up and cried after them: "I wish you good luck, wherever you may roam!"
A short time later they reached the building with the secret basement. The door got shut as they came in, the lock clicked, and they went downstairs. Andreas put the two remaining banknotes onto the tray resembling the one at the other side but had paper money on it.
