“Need to check the True time” - Eala whispered as she almost dived into the trunk. After searching for a while, she finally found something resembling a mirror with two handles, and began fiddling with it.

Meanwhile, I was worried about all the time I had spent in the pyramid myself. I must had been lying there for at least six hundred years, without counting the time before the elves came. If I get back home, will it be the future already, with colonized Mars, SPA resorts on Europa and the fresh release of Half-Life 3?

And it seemed, that Eala did not get the result she hoped. The mirror handles in her grip were slowly bent into the wheel shape, before she dropped the item on the floor.

“So, true time, six hundred years? What was all that?” - I reminded Eala about my existence.

“This thing,” - Eala pointed at the still blinking ring: “is created to measure time. You switch it on, and later can check how much time passed. Very useful in unstable worlds or wild-power places, Lord”

“Timer.” - I automatically reminded her about the suitable word.

“Yes, timer.” - Eala nodded in agreement: “and it seems that before leaving, my people left this timer switched on so that we could use it to calculate the direction out of this world.”

“And what about true time?”

“That is the measure of time we see as constant value. I believe, I have heard that it is the time going on in First World. And as different worlds can have different flow of time, our sages use some means and special tools to compare the local flow of time to the True time, so that all Taistealaithe could use the same calendar. And this,” - Eala pointed at the bent mirror: “is the tool that should show the difference between the time flows. But it did not show anything at all.”

I scratched my chin before asking: “May it be so that the time flows the same here and in that, First World?”

Eala shook her head in response: “No, it would show that. I never heard about it showing nothing. So I think, it is broken, Lord. Of course, I can be wrong, it is my fault for being unable to find the answer.”

“Nevermind, nevermind, it seems to be the sages’ stuff. Alright, what else have we got?” - as Eala got confused and nervous, she became overly ceremonial and subservient again, so I did my best to distract her.

---

“A copy of the results of the research.” - Eala checked a thick stack of thin, waxy sheets covered in the peculiar writing style of the Taistealaithe. As she skimmed through the contents she quickly found something of interest: “According to, I think the name for you would be… Beith, who is the researcher, the city ruins we are in have the foundations tens of thousands of summers old. But the newer buildings of different style are just around two or at most three thousand summers old, while most of the destruction and signs of war, can be estimated to be not much older than five hundred summers.”

“And if we add six hundred from the time these notes were made, then the war happened over one thousand and one hundred years ago? Or summers, as you count?” - I looked around and shrugged at the flow of questions that kept getting answered and then cropping up again.

“Or at least, the battle in this city happened then.” - Eala nodded in agreement.

---

I shook my head, trying to get rid of numerous ideas that kept popping up in my now overly spacious and flexible free mind. Instead, I reminded her about the reason for us to come there: “How about the tools to get us out of this world, then?”

“All here, but as I can not compare the time flows and I have no special training and skills, it will be dangerous. I am sorry, sorry for that.” - Eala bit her lip in dismay.

“What do you need?”

“It will take a lot of time to calculate it all by myself, our Guides can do that instinctively, but I can’t.”

“Take your time.” - I dropped the huge pile of things I carried on my back. This world seemed to be empty of civilization, so carrying around all the leather and barter items was clearly useless. Wishing I had an Inventory like most RPG characters have, I began to sort out the things I could not bear to leave behind.

I felt almost physical pain, that ought to be familiar for all gamers who have ever had to choose between “Old Rust Iron Sword” and “Discarded Broken Wood Shield” when forced to make space in Inventory to fit in some important quest item. Or any traveller, who has ever had to leave his favourite shower gel behind because of the airplane baggage weight limit.

I got rid of most of the leather and fur, but kept some pieces as samples in hope for the future research. Then I threw away most of the weapons and utensils we had picked up, although I retained several objects of elven craft. Near the bottom of my improvised sack I also found some remains of the dried meat, which by now had acquired a rather unhealthy greenish fuzzy look, with visible signs of being on the verge of gaining sentience and developing its own unique culture. So it was mercilessly dumped into a far off corner, left to fend for itself.

After I had repacked, I still ended up with a mountain of things, and I was at my wit’s end when I noticed Eala sitting on one of the wooden trunks, nibbling something resembling a reddish compressed biscuit. “What is that?” - I asked her, inwardly wondering what mental and physiological processes were responsible for that sour feeling I had now.

“Preserved food from that box there. To properly design the way, need time. Better to eat to save time, Lord.” - she made a sitting half-bow as she explained.

Rational part of my mind totally agreed, but the still-weak, but present emotional side chirped that she could as well help to sort things. I was surprised at my own irrational thoughts, so I focused to force them down, as I reasoned that Eala’s current task was crucial for our future. In retrospective, I had grown surprisingly used to Eala, even if no emotional attachments could be felt.

After much deliberation, I finally ended up with a few thin strips of hide from spirds, a few samples of crystals and magical metal arrays and a choice of elven knives and daggers. The rest of my sack was filled with preserved elven rations for Eala, in case we ended up somewhere extreme.

I finished sorting our belongings, but Eala was still busy, she was now using a sharp needle-like pen to write something down on a sheet of waxy elven paper.

She told me that it will take a while, so I morphed my weapon into the shape of a staff and left the room to look around.

---

Eala, covered in dust but still looking quite stunning in her unique pale way, found me on the roof terrace of the building.

I was looking around, estimating the position of the pyramid with the reference to the diaries and books I had found in the pyramid. As far as I could tell, the city we were in was not Bial, but possibly some nearby, perhaps even allied, city. I guessed that because of the Iceheart-resembling energy-converting pillars that dotted the city, which could have been the result of the shared research between cities. Because of the surrounding jungle, I could see little else.

I gazed at the gigantic pyramid that seemed to be close but was actually at least a week’s travel away and four other pyramids that could be barely seen far away in the distance, even with my enhanced vision. I kept wondering why they were there and what secrets did this world keep.

But unfortunately, I had no way to solve such mysteries. So I turned towards Eala, who had been patiently waiting while I was immersed in my thoughts: “Ready?”