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Greta strode ahead of him down the steps and barely paused for him to catch up before she peered through a grating to check the corridor then opened up an access.
Again, a statue slid out of the way to allow them into a corridor and she flicked something behind the statue to make it slide into place again.
‘At least you don’t look so ridiculous now,’ Greta commented as she looked up and down his new-old clothing.
Ridiculous? Jasper held back the comment that was bursting to be let out. What about her green hair? She really did push the wrong buttons for him. Normally he could ignore people with an attitude like hers but he was struggling with Greta.
‘Just keep quiet and let me do the talking,’ Greta instructed. ‘You’re here to learn how to be a scribe, nothing else.’
Jasper was intrigued. Was a scribe one of the men like the bald chap he had seen through the grating? Perhaps he would get a chance to see what was on all those shelves.
The room she led him to was not lined with shelves but it had six high wooden desks near windows that looked out towards the town. Several of them had a man standing by the table, leaning over and focusing hard on whatever was in front of him.
‘Master Veran, I have brought Jasper as I mentioned,’ Greta said to an old man who sat in the corner in a rocking chair. He seemed to be asleep and his eyes blinked open as Greta spoke.
‘Jasper?’ he queried and attempted to look like he had just been resting by leaping out of the chair to greet them. Unfortunately, one of his feet had gone to sleep and he almost tumbled over. Greta grabbed his arm and steadied the old man.
‘Yes, my cousin Jasper. I told you he was visiting from Farmoth. He wants to learn to be a scribe,’ Greta reminded him.
‘Ah, good lad. We need more scribes. Too many elves forgetting how to write things down these days,’ Master Veran said. He looked Jasper up and down and clearly wasn’t impressed by what he saw. He leaned towards Greta and attempted to whisper, but it wasn’t much quieter. ‘Farmoth, eh. Really? I do detest farming-brown. Can he even read?’
Greta nodded and Master Veran reached out a hand towards Jasper.
Greta looked horrified and Jasper realised there was some sort of handshake or ritual that she hadn’t shown him. She intentionally let go of the old man and Jasper reached out to hold him up. Jasper was too late and the old man tumbled sideways. He landed on the stone floor in a heap of multi-coloured robes and took Jasper with him.
Jasper got up quickly and both he and Greta helped the old man up. Master Veran brushed down his robes as he peered at Jasper with an expression that said he thought Jasper had tripped him. He scowled slightly and made no attempt to offer his hand again.
‘These are the scrolls our scribes are working on today,’ he explained as he walked slowly over to the nearest desk. The scribe, a middle-aged elf dressed in clothes that weren’t quite as multi-coloured as Master Veran’s, held up a parchment. It was beautifully decorated and the writing was almost as much a work of art as the images painted at the top. He hoped they wouldn’t expect anything like that from him.
‘But as a new scribe...’ Master Veran turned away from the window and pointed to the far side of the room where several deep basins were attached to the wall. ‘The first thing you learn is how to clean up the tools. When you earn your colours you will be able to assist the scribes.’
Jasper looked at the large pile of wooden writing tools stacked up next to the sinks. It didn’t look as if anyone had done the task in years. They were all coated in ink of different colours and it had dried hard and stuck many of them together.
‘You’ll need water,’ Master Veran said, turning away already and heading back to his chair.
Greta didn’t look apologetic in the slightest as she took a leather apron down from a hook next to the basins and threw it to Jasper. Then she pointed at a bucket by the door. ‘It might take a few trips to the lake.’
Jasper just blinked, hardly believing that he had to fetch water in a bucket. The bathroom had running water so why not in here too? Was she playing some sort of joke on him? She just smiled at him and he could see that she was enjoying seeing him reduced to a servant and cleaner.
He could see a handle above one of the basins and went closer to inspect it. It was a simple wooden lever with a hole in the wall below it. It didn’t really look like a tap but he couldn’t see what other function it could have above a sink. He lifted it not really expecting water to shoot out of the hole. No, no water.
‘It hasn’t worked in years and then the tap fell off.’ Greta pointed to a metal tap laying on the floor. ‘Follow the stairs at the end of the hall and you can’t miss the lake.’
She turned her back on him and went to one of the tables to resume her work. Jasper stared after her for a few seconds but she made no attempt to continue the conversation. Everyone in the room was ignoring him completely and the old man was fast asleep, snoring loudly.
He picked up the bucket, tossed the apron on the ground next to the basins, and headed for the door. Fine, if they wanted him to fetch water then he would. They hadn’t said how long he should take doing it and it gave him a chance to look around. He wondered how many flights of stairs it was to the lake he had seen from the dragon room earlier. Perhaps he had misjudged how far up he had come but it looked a long way.
His new-old boots were surprisingly comfortable as he made his way down the stairs. He had already lost count of how many levels he had gone down. Surely there would be some sign to show where the water came from?
A young elven boy came dashing down past him and nodded a greeting as they made eye contact. Jasper recognised him as the boy who had been cleaning the tables this morning when he looked through the dining hall grating. He looked to be no more than seven or eight years old yet he carried a bucket twice the size of the one Jasper held. His dark-beige clothing was worn and very stained and the boy’s expression said that he was in a big hurry. Jasper realised that his own old clothes weren’t so bad after all.
‘Kitchen water has stopped again!’ the boy yelled as if it explained everything.
Jasper picked up his pace and kept the boy in sight. If the boy was going for water then Jasper was following him. Only one floor down the boy turned off and ran along the corridor. A quick look told Jasper that there was no sign to indicate that this was the place to get water. The steps continued down but looked to be getting narrower and darker.
There were no rooms off this corridor and it was much wider. The boy was already well ahead and vanishing into the gloom of the distantly spaced lamps on the walls. There were puddles here and there on the slightly uneven cobbled floor and the cold air smelled damp.
A rumbling sound echoed up the corridor, or was it a tunnel? The roof was much higher than the upper floors. As he walked, the corridor definitely became a tunnel and the rumbling sound became a rushing one. Yes, there was water up ahead.
As he turned a corner the tunnel opened up into a massive cavern. A cavern inside a tower? Jasper took a few seconds to accept that a huge cavern could actually exist inside a building, but there it was right in front of him. It was at least several floors high and a long way across to the far side. Not more than two dozen steps ahead was the source of the rushing sound. Water. A huge lake filled most of the cavern and spilled out a large opening in the wall. Jasper assumed the rushing sound was echoing up from where the water tumbled down the side of the cliff on its way to the larger lake below. The floor had changed from cobbles to smoothed rock. It looked as if the tower had been built around an underground river.
‘Which water feed are you looking for?’ The young boy dipped his bucket in the lake and began staggering across the cavern.
‘Let me carry that for you,’ Jasper offered and hurried over to take the bucket. Even he struggled to carry it and he looked at the boy with respect.
‘Thanks!’ he exclaimed as if it were the first kindness he had ever been shown.
‘Where are you going with it?’ Jasper asked, hoping the boy wasn’t going to say too many flights up.
‘Just over to the kitchen feed. Something must be blocking the flow and the basin has run dry,’ the boy replied and pointed over to where a large hole had been hollowed in the rock. There were a dozen similar holes spread across this part of the rock floor and Jasper thought they would be dangerous if you weren’t looking where you were going. ‘I need to fill the basin first then look for the blockage.’
Jasper wondered how a hole in the rock could be called a kitchen feed but he knew he was supposed to be trying to blend in so he said nothing. He poured the water into the hole and then fetched another bucketful. The boy followed with Jasper’s smaller bucket and soon the large hole was half-full.
‘That’ll get it going for now,’ the boy said with a relieved grin. ‘I’m Tomas.’
Jasper looked at the outstretched hand. It wasn’t offered in the way of a normal handshake. Tomas’ flat palm was facing up and he looked quizzically at Jasper. Did he do a low-five type slap or just put his on top?
‘I’m Jasper... from Farmoth,’ Jasper said a little lamely.
‘Farmoth,’ the boy grinned. ‘Ah that explains it. I thought those were farming colours you’re wearing. I guess you don’t greet strangers too often. We do this...’
Tomas took hold of Jasper’s hand and held it out in the same manner, but not touching his own. Jasper wondered how this was a greeting and his confusion must have shown on his face.
‘It’s to show that we’re not about to hurl fire balls or any other sort of magic at each other. Well, that’s what it used to mean but there’s so little magic about now that it’s just become another habit that most people forgot the meaning of.’
Jasper just nodded.
‘Stand back,’ Tomas said, pulling Jasper away from the basin they had just half-filled with water. ‘I guess you’re not used to water charms either.’
Both of Jasper’s eyebrows rose and he decided the dumb farm boy character was perfect for him and he would use it to his full advantage.
‘Umm... no. We carry our water,’ he lied smoothly.
‘Watch, it’s quite fascinating the first time you see it,’ Tomas said and pointed to the water where it was beginning to bubble and swirl. Then a thin, twisted stream of it shot upwards, making Jasper step back in surprise. He watched it head up to the roof of the cavern and vanish into another hole.
‘That’s the kitchen feed,’ Tomas explained. ‘Each one of these basins feeds a different part of the tower. Now I need to find the blockage. Cook was furious when the water stopped.’
Tomas headed past the kitchen feed and Jasper followed. He noticed that there was a small channel leading into the base of the next basin, which was empty, and again for the one after that. The water was obviously intended to be diverted from the lake somehow to fill the basins.
‘It looks like they’re all affected. No doubt others will be down here soon when theirs run out too.’ Tomas was poking at the small feed-holes in the basins as if putting his finger in there was somehow going to suddenly make everything work again.
Jasper stepped back and looked at the basins from a distance. They appeared to be in a slight semi-circle that arched around to the edge of the lake. He drew a line with his finger and noted where it touched the lake then walked over and lay down on the ground with his head over the edge of the water.
‘What are you doing?’ Tomas asked. ‘There’s no fish in there. There used to be but they don’t come any more.’
‘I’m not looking for fish,’ Jasper replied.
‘I wish there were fish. It used to be a nice change for dinner,’ Tomas said with a sigh.
Jasper looked through the swirling waters. ‘Aha, here’s your problem.’
He put his hand in the water and gasped as it was freezing. He reached down and grabbed hold of a mass of weeds and sticks, that had lodged against the side of the lake, and pulled them out. He threw them on the rock floor then looked again into the lake. Sure enough there was a large grated hole where water was diverted to the basins.
‘It’s working! Come look,’ Tomas cried out but Jasper stayed staring into the water. Just below the surface he could see a fish. Then he saw another one and another. In a few seconds the lake seemed to be almost filled with fish, glinting silver and blue, then one leapt out of the water and splashed back in.
Tomas came over as Jasper sat up to watch the now dozens of jumping fish.
‘Fish?’ Tomas said in a tone that would suit Jasper’s new farm boy character. A huge grin spread across his face. ‘I have to tell Cook. Which was your feed?’
‘The scribe’s sink,’ Jasper said, still staring at the fish.
‘That’s fourth from the lake but it hasn’t worked in years,’ Tomas pointed to the now-full basins. ‘The charms wear off over time and apparently that was one of the first ones created. There are others that don’t work too.’
‘Can it be fixed?’ Jasper asked but he figured it would have been by now if it could.
‘All it needs is someone to boost the magic charm,’ Tomas said, then laughed at his own joke. ‘That’s if we had anyone around here that could do it these days. I wish they were all working as it’s usually me who has to lug water around from one place to another. Well, thanks for helping. I need to get upstairs and tell Cook about the fish. I guess I’ll see you around some time.’
And with that Tomas picked up his large bucket and ran out of the cavern. Jasper walked over to the scribe’s sink feed. It still sounded an odd thing to even think. He stared at the water then up where it should be going on the roof. Four other feeds were shooting water up now and it looked like a waterfall going the wrong way.
He sighed and looked around for the small bucket. He might as well get some water and head back soon. Before he could move though he heard a noise at his feet. He looked down and saw the water in the basin beginning to bubble and swirl. His eyebrows rose and he looked around to see if anyone was nearby. He was alone, and he stepped back a pace just as the water began to stream upwards.
It appeared that everyone had been wrong. Was that one where Tomas had poked his finger in the feed hole? Perhaps that had cleared whatever problem it had. He shrugged as he really didn’t care how or why it was working. It meant he didn’t have to carry water up so many flights of stairs and he wasn’t interested in anything else.
He picked up the bucket and went to stand near the edge of the cavern where the sun streamed in. His hand was still cold so he took off his wet glove and breathed on it to warm it. The view was just as spectacular and if it wasn’t so far down, and so cold, he would love to just dive over the edge — then just swim away and keep going.
The wind had picked up and was driving fiercely into the cavern entrance. It may be tedious to be cleaning tools upstairs but it was certainly warmer than here. He turned away and headed for the stairs at a leisurely pace and whistling off-key.
By the time he found the floor he was supposed to be on it was almost an hour later as every corridor had looked the same. He poked his head around the door of the scribe’s room and nodded with relief. He was tired and wanted to sit down for a while.
‘There he is!’ Master Veran shouted. ‘It’s all his fault!’