Chapter 3

Room of knowledge

Crossing back into the library, Jenni was happy to see that it
was void of one large Sasquatch. The scientific side of her brain wanted her to hunt down the being, to study him, to gather as much information as she could about his biological makeup, and background. The survival side of her brain, the side that had been scared to death by him, screamed for her to run as far from the massive hair ball as she could. As illy led Jenni past the over!flowing bookshelves of the library. Jenni slowed her pace, and eyed the books on the shelves closely. Strange silver and gold hieroglyphics glittered as light reflected off the spines" causing her to wonder if there was a gnome equivalent of a C.S. ewis, loyd Ale#ander or J. $. %owling tucked away in the many volumes. &r were they all 'ust a mi#ture of cookbooks on how to prepare human. (This way,) *orathi called, as he rushed past Jenni and his wife. +e pushed aside a section of shelving, revealing yet another hidden doorway. Jenni stepped into what looked like an average school room. There were maps and drawings, that looked as if they

had been crafted by young hands, pinned to the outer walls 'ust above deep shelves that housed hundreds of wooden bo#es. The room was almost too normal and made her question the other world theory again. ),ound it,) the Sasquatch called, as he pulled a book from its place on the shelving. )-uess . will see you all later at the meeting) he added as he strolled across the room, twisting sideways as he e#ited through the bookcase door where Jenni was still standing. (/hat meeting01 Jenni asked. (The council wants to meet you. /e haven2t had a human here in ages,1 *orathi e#plained. (3ut first,1 he continued, (this is the classroom where we once educated and trained the young 'umpers for the council.) )And that) he said pointing to the large room where Jenni had awoken not so long ago, (that is the council library" filled with all of the information . have gathered on the various streams over the last three hundred years or so.1 (&nly three hundred,1 Jenni mocked, (but you look so young. ARTWORK

illy gave a soft laugh as she waved Jenni over to a cluttered table, near the center of the room. 4ipette2s, flasks, beakers,

and an array of test tubes positioned in various holders crowded one half of the table. A ma5e of copper and glass tubing dominated the other half, winding its way from round bottom flasks filled with various liquids to other samples ready to be cooked down. (.t doesn2t look like much . know, but my last lab was destroyed in an e#plosion after a few items were mi#ed incorrectly,) She said, shooting a playful glare towards her husband who merely shrugged sheepishly. (Thanks to the skilled work of our black smith and glass blowers, . have everything . need to whip up a potion or two that can take care of any ailment.1 (So let me get this straight01 Jenni started as she rubbed her temples. (.2m in a strange new world, far from earth, in the company of a -nome librarian, his wife the -nome teacher slash medicine woman, and their friend the Sasquatch01 Jenni questioned with a disbelieving shake of her head. (Actually . would be the teacher61 a creaky voice clamored from behind a large desk that sat at the front of the room. ( illy is the most qualified scientist you will find in this stream, and the most e#perienced multi!being medical technician anywhere. 7nfortunately .8m afraid her e#perience with humans is very limited, so it2s been mostly trial and error for your treatment. As for *orathi, well he holds a lot of titles here in this stream.1 As Jenni focused her attention on the desk, a wrinkled old man, with long white hair and beard rose

from behind a large pile of books and papers. +is tiny round glasses reflected the light of the room as it passed through the mass of hair that covered the upper part of his face. +e reminded Jenni of +obo, the old sheep dog that roamed the campus of a former school she had attended. (-ood day 4rofessor Aakil,1 *orathi said with a respectful bow. (4lease forgive the intrusion, . didn2t reali5e you were already in your classroom,1 he added. (7nderstandable,1 Aakil dismissed, keeping his eyes on Jenni. (.t seems you2re having a hard time believing that you2re no longer in the stream of the humans,1 Aakil critici5ed, (and that you can2t remember how you made the 'ump to get here.1 +e rocked back on his heels, giving Jenni a long measured look. (.2m sure this is all very confusing for you,1 he sympathi5ed, tucking his hands inside the sleeves of his long grey robe like an ancient wi5ard. A%T/&%$ (. can still recall my first 'ump.1 Aakil began, a far off look in his eye. (.t was into the stream of the fairies, a wonderful race of beings. They had such a magnificently designed stream, great for e#ploring.1 +e paused for a moment, thinking about the wonder of his first 'ourney. (. knew what . was in for of course,1 he

huffed. (3ut, still, the event was overwhelming. . was standing in a world so foreign from my own, and yet, on the same planet where . had lived my whole life.1 (The same planet01 Jenni asked. (There2s only one fit for life, as far as we know,1 Aakil nodded, as he stepped behind his desk. (.f . understand your encounter with %ogan correctly, then you2re the kind of student who thinks seeing is believing.1 +e paused and gave a long thick rope that hung from the ceiling a hearty tug. This caused the heavy curtains that covered the outer wall to open, revealing a set of large windows. 3right sunlight flooded the room, causing everyone in the group to shield their eyes. After a moment of lingering head pain brought on by the bright sunlight, Jenni steeped to the windows edge and ga5ed out over the landscape in ama5ement. arge trees filled both sides of a wide river that ran directly towards her. The waves of the crystal blue water reflected the sunlight in flashes of bright light that danced on the blue leaves and colorful flowers that filled the trees2 canopies. ooking past the trees Jenni found the grass to of he rivers bank to be a lighter shade of blue as well. (.t2s so blue,1 she said she pulled her attention back to take in all as much of the outside world as possible. (yes, our levels of Chlorophyll are lower then in your stream, so the grasses and leaves of our trees and plants do not reflect in green as yours do.1 Aakil replied as *orathi

and illy stepped up behind her" the e#citement of shared knowledge and discovery bringing wide smiles to there faces. 4ressing her face against the glass Jenni followed the river down and was surprised to find it disappeared into a tangle of large roots directly below her, that worked their way out from under the wide tree trunk that ran up to the edge of the window. (/e2re in a tree01 Jenni commented, as she tried to wrap her mind around what she was seeing. (The largest -rabler tree in the land,1 *orathi stated with pride. &2 my gosh,1 Jenni said as she 'umped back startled by the group of bird like creatures that 5oomed up and all but collided with the window. (/hat are they01 she asked as the group attached themselves to the outside of the window, by the suction cup toes of their four feet.

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Jenni2s classification of bird was only because the creatures were covered in feathers" the fact that they actually had wings

wasn8t apparent until Aakil clapped his hands. The loud noise startled the small group, causing a few of them to fly off" their four hummingbird!like wings beating rapidly as 5ipped off into the safety of the nearby trees. (Tagger Swipes,1 Aakil informed, as the remaining group of birds cocked their heads to the side. They peered into the window with their large human!looking eyes" that eerily locked onto Jenni, causing a shiver to run down her spine. (/hat do they want01 Jenni questioned as she swayed from side to side, unnerved by the eyes that followed her. (Taggers,1 Aakil answered as he pulled a small book from the pile on his desk. (Taggers are tiny insects that are only found in the stream of the fairies which, as you can probably guess is also where Tagger Swipes are originally found as well. The Swipes hunt down the Taggers and lap them up with the aid of their long sticky tongues.1 +e added opening the book to a page that held a drawing of one of the birds with its tongue shot out several inches towards a flower that had a small bug perched on one of its petals. ARTWORK (/hat are they doing here01 Jenni asked, looking back to the large window happy to see most of the creatures had lost interest in her. She was equally creeped out that they now had

their tiny mouths pressed against the glass, licking it with their slimy tongues. (They came over on a shipment of food from the fairy stream.1 Aakil grumbled. (9ow they feed on our small insects and, as you can see, spend their free time cleaning my windows.1 +e stepped over and gave the glass a hardy tap. The remaining Tagger Swipes were sent off in a flurry of flapping wings, )*ay . ask you a somewhat personal question0) Aakil asked, after a long moment of silence. )Sure.) Jenni said apprehensively as she turned to find the gnome professor staring at her intently. )/e have been trying to place your look since you were found in the orchard. :our high cheekbones reminded us of the Americans we have interacted with, but your olive skin and dark hair, along with your slightly slanted eyes give you a more Asian look0) )*y mother is from China, my father is an American. They met in collage in the States, fell in love and got married.) )/ell you are quite beautiful dear,) illy said, ).2m sure your looks have all the boys chasing after you.1 3lushing slightly, Jenni thanked illy for her kind words, as the group stood silently staring out the window once again.