The Kobold town of Sunrise was unlike anything Zach had ever seen. It was nestled deep within the mountainside and occupied a dozen large dome-shaped caverns interconnected by short tunnels in the cardinal directions. The lofty underground spaces were lit by lanterns that emitted calming blue light and each cavern contained two to four simple houses of grey cobblestone and polished wood, each housing a Kobold family.

The buildings were angular and minimalistic, with large windows and squat balconies that ringed their second floors and reminded Zach of the modern architectural style of Frank Lloyd Wright. They also had a strong natural vibe, thanks to exposed wood grain and a soft green moss that crept up the stone surfaces. And while the architecture was minimalistic, the decor was lively and welcoming, with warm-colored walls and soft leather furniture. The doorway of every house featured elaborate hanging charms similar to windchimes, made of gemstones, bones, and even seashells that sparkled in the dim light of the cave.

Kobold men and women had greeted the human visitors at the town border, all wearing leather tunics with colorful beaded hems. Most were barefoot, their paw-like feet apparently durable enough for their daily routines, but Zach also saw a few Kobolds who wore heavy chaps and metal boots. He figured they were miners or blacksmiths who needed more protection for their jobs.

After some whispered conversation with the welcome party at the town's secure front gate, Fern, Evelyn, and Alexia raced off to speak to the town's leaders. A black-furred Kobold man who spoke decent English aka King's Speech, guided the rest of the group to a building that was larger than the rest.

"My family runs this inn," said the smiling man with perky triangular ears sticking out of a floppy leather hat. He had given his name as Riverstone, but like all Kobolds his real name was something far more complex and difficult for humans to say or remember. "Our town doesn't get many travelers, but the Council pays us to keep it running as a public service. For times like this one. And the townsfolk use the space for community dinners sometimes."

"If you don't mind my asking, how many people live here in Sunrise?" Zach asked as the group stepped into the inn. The interior was surprisingly standard for an inn, with scattered tables and chairs, a bar, and a kitchen visible through a wide door at the back.

"Sunrise?" Riverstone blinked, then his eyes went wide with recognition. "Oh right, yes. It's been a while since I heard that name for our town. To answer your question, we have about 40 permanent residents, plus occasional diplomats who stop in on their way to human lands." He stopped and looked over the human party again. "It is far rarer for the humans to visit us, and it is a welcome treat. Please let me know if there's anything at all that would make your time here more enjoyable."

Milo took him up on that offer immediately, saying, "We're hungry from our travels. Do you have any food suitable for humans?"

Riverstone raised one eyebrow, then bowed his head slightly and said, "Yes, we have stew made from bison and root vegetables that should not give you any trouble at all. I started it this morning, so it should be nice and tender by now."

He started for the kitchen and said, "Please take a seat at a table, and I'll serve some stew. Unless you'd rather bathe first?"

The four human men shrugged and glanced at each other, then all looked at Riley at the same time. Embarrassed, she shook her head and said, "No, eating first is fine."

Though the room was empty of any other guests, the five humans settled around the same large round table. Zach let his gaze wander around the room, pondering what it must be like when the local Kobolds came together to eat, drink, and be merry. It felt simultaneously normal and bizarre, to be sitting down to eat in a building that was also deep underground.

Riverstone returned quickly, wearing a plain white apron and carrying five wooden bowls on a large tray and five mugs on a smaller one. "Here you go. 'On the house', as you humans say. The promised stew, along with some fresh spring water," he said as he passed out the food and drink. He smiled broadly, visibly excited to have human visitors to talk to. He pulled some wooden spoons from a pocket on his apron, handed them out, then bowed and said, "Please enjoy, and let me know if there's anything that would make it more enjoyable."

Milo grumbled under his breath, "You already said that."

"Oh, so I did! Sorry about that. I'll leave you be now." With that, Riverstone padded off, back into the kitchen.

Randolph glared across the table. "That was rude, Milo. We're diplomatic guests here, making an impression on behalf of New Albion."

Milo was already lifting a spoonful of dark brown stew to his lips. He shrugged. "I didn't think he'd hear me."

Riley cut in, "Of course he'd hear you. You know how good Kobold senses are. Or did you think Fern was special in that regard?"

Milo ignored her and ate his stew in silence. Zach dug into his own stew, happy that it hadn't turned into a full argument.

It was thick and rich with a very hearty flavor, but it was also a little plain. The bison meat was very lean, and the stew lacked salt and other seasonings humans were used to. It was still satisfying and filling, so Zach couldn't complain. He half expected Milo to say something snarky or at least ask for salt, but the mage remained quiet.

After the meal, Riley got to experience the marvels of Kobold engineering firsthand in the inn's bathroom. The shower stall was tiled with seamless black stones and had a fogged glass door that was perfectly balanced to move with the lightest touch. A single rotating dial in the wall controlled the water temperature to remarkable precision, and the shower head was somehow flexible and poseable. When she described it to Zach later in the inn's main room, he nodded and said, "Oh, nice. That sounds like the showers we have back home."

Riley glanced around and saw that the rest of their group was scattered around the room, reading or tending to their armor, and they were all out of earshot. She whispered, "Your world is so unbelievable to me. I tell you about the most impressive bathroom I've ever seen, and your response is 'Oh, nice. Seen it.'"

Zach raised his hands defensively, "Hey, the magic here still impresses me every time I see it. Like the lamps all over Sunrise, how do those even work? I don't think they hire conjurers to light them like New Albion does."

"I can answer that," came a voice from the doorway. It was Fern and she seemed to be alone. As she approached Zach and Riley's table, she explained, "Princess Evelyn and Alexia are still speaking with the town council. Would you like a tour of town while we wait? I've visited Sunrise a few times and can show you some interesting sights."

Zach and Riley's eyes lit up in tandem and Zach said, "That would be awesome."

"Awesome? Meaning full of fearful respect? Or perhaps merely inspiring awe? Yet it's clearly a good thing from your tone of voice…" Fern scritched at one fuzzy ear. "Your terminology is quite interesting, Zach."

Zach slumped back into his chair, blinking. "Wow, I totally forgot that 'awe' has a negative connotation. These days, 'awesome' is purely positive. It's pretty much synonymous with wonderful or excellent."

Fern smiled. "Thank you for the explanation. Well, shall we depart?"

Riley glanced over at Arko and Randolph who had their armor up on the table and were scrubbing it with a leather pad. Milo was reclined in a booth on the far wall, his nose in a book. "What about the others?"

Fern turned her head that direction and loudly announced, "We'll be going for a brief walk around town. We should return before the Princess does."

Randolph gave a wave and Arko nodded. Milo looked up from his book and opened his mouth as if to say something, then changed his mind. He returned to reading without commenting.

Fern led Zach and Riley through several domed caverns, explaining the strange blue lanterns on the way. "Those are lit by mana crystals, a naturally occurring crystal that can store and emit mana. They glow blue as long as they hold mana."

Their destination was a partially excavated room on the edge of town. Most of the ceiling had been chiseled out but huge piles of rubble still covered the floor. Just as Zach was wondering how the Kobolds had removed so much stone, Fern stopped them in the entrance tunnel and pointed, giving Zach his answer.

Near the far wall was a large metal machine with six massive wheels, each nearly as tall as Zach. But despite its height, the machine was slender and fragile looking, with strange spiralling blades on the front, like swords that had been stretched and twisted into the shape of a hollow drill. Along the machine's length were numerous of exposed gears that reminded Zach of steampunk, except instead of brass, the surfaces were all anodized to a rainbow sheen, the same sealing technique that had been applied to Milo's wand.

Then a heavily-dressed Kobold sitting on top pulled a lever and the machine rolled forward with a low hum, far quieter than Zach had expected, and it didn't emit any steam or smoke either. As he stared dumbfounded, the fragile-looking blades at the front spun faster and faster until they were a blur, then the vehicle approached a wall and cut right into it like it was butter. The hollow drill funneled chunks of rock back through the machine and into a cart that it towed behind. Cutting into stone like that should have thrown off chips and dust, but the air stayed perfectly clean.

Zach squinted. "Why isn't there any dust?"

"Magic," Fern answered. "The blades at the front were enchanted by a human mage, and since they're made of a similar mana-infused alloy to the wands we make, the enchantment works quite well. The rest of the machine is all Kobold engineering."

"How is it so quiet?" Zach was still watching the elegant machine as it chewed through the wall and rapidly filled its cart with stone. "And what's its power source?"

"Powdered mineral lubricant, which we mine not too far from here. Because of our sensitive ears and nose, we prioritize quiet operation and low dust emission for our mining tools. And they use the same power source as the lanterns: mana crystals." Then Fern looked Zach in the eye. "You're very curious about these machines, Zach. Are you engineering minded, perhaps?"

He shook his head. "Not really. My specialty is economics, but my dad was a mechanical engineer, and I guess some of it rubbed off on me." Then he asked, "What exactly are these mana crystals you've mentioned?"

Riley answered, "I've learned about them in school. Mages can drain them to power large spells, but they are rare and single use, so most mages don't bother."

Fern grinned, her eyes glinting. It was the look of someone who was privy to exclusive and exciting information. "They aren't single use. We can refill and reuse them many times before they break down."

"Refill?" Riley said, skeptical. "I've never heard of someone being able to refill those."

"Ah, that's because you'd need a place with incredibly dense mana, like where I'll show you next."

Fern jogged back into town and Zach and Riley followed. She was headed for the center of the grid of 'streets'. Instead of another dome, there was a narrow tunnel that sloped downward and zigzagged unpredictably. Zach could hear trickling water ahead and saw more of that blue light glinting off the smooth, water-eroded walls ahead.

Then they rounded a corner and stepped into a natural cavern over 50 feet high and almost as wide. The entire room was illuminated in vibrant blue light from an uncountable number of crystals that coated every surface. Most were small, no larger than Zach's thumb, but some of the crystals were over 10 feet long, like spears of sky blue ice.

A small waterfall cascaded down the opposite wall and collected in a perfectly clear pool. More glowing crystals were submerged in the water, revealing another 20 feet of flooded cavern below.

"Wow," Zach said as he stared. The sight was beautiful in a way he couldn't begin to describe so he didn't bother to try.

Fern smiled and bounced from foot to foot. "Yes, it is impressive every single time I visit. Sunrise was founded here because of this cave, or more precisely because of the mana that runs through it. The mana current coming up from the earth is so dense, it causes all these mana crystals to form. We used to harvest them to power our machines, but now we have enough high quality ones that we can recharge instead."

As she said that, she pointed at a wooden rack that Zach hadn't noticed before. He'd been too distracted by the cave's beauty. On the rack were dozens of crystals, all perfectly symmetrical and carefully organized so they didn't touch each other. They were all glowing blue, but to various degrees. "These crystals are recharging now."

"Um, Zach?" Riley asked, sounding slightly concerned. "You should look at your backpack."

"Huh?" He glanced over his shoulder but couldn't see anything, so he took his backpack off. It didn't take long to find what Riley wanted him to see. The little quartz pendant that dangled from his bag, the same one he'd bought from a vendor for as thanks for giving him directions, was now glowing bright blue. "O… kay? Why is my quartz pendant glowing?"

"Ooh!" Fern blurted as she knelt down to get a closer look. "Seems that you had an exhausted mana crystal this whole time! Where'd you get it?"

"Uh, I bought it from an old lady in the market in New Albion. It cost me six Chips, I believe." Thinking about it brought back other memories of his first few days in this world, when everything was new and overwhelming.

"Six Chips? In Kobold markets, a crystal of that size and quality would sell for the equivalent of four Harts."

Zach raised an eyebrow and thought, Almost 14 times more? The vendor must not have known its true value.

"Are you sure? I thought this was just a piece of regular quartz."

"No, while that certainly looks like quartz, only crystals formed in mana-rich areas can store mana. That's most likely a mana crystal that was used up and discarded, like Riley mentioned. Since humans don't know they can be recharged, they sell them as decorative trinkets. What a waste."

Hmm, I wonder if that old lady got the crystals from the Mage College then? Zach wondered. Then he asked, "Is there an easy way to tell the difference between normal and magical crystals? For a human, at least?"

Fern thought for a moment then said, "I don't think there's much that a normal human can do, but a trained mage could tell by injecting a bit of mana into it, and any Kobold would know with one sniff."

"Oh, thanks." Zach made a mental note to tell the nice old lady that she could get more for her crystals by selling to the Kobolds. He could even act as the intermediary, setting up the deals and handling transportation for a cut of the profit.

It was nice to be thinking about trade and economics again. With any luck, his gold mine would start producing value soon and he wanted some plans ready to put the money to use. But those desires seemed shortsighted and selfish now that he knew about the Elven threat. That was the reason for this trip, and he felt he should do everything he could to stop war from breaking out.

If it was anything like what happened during World War Two, small-time business opportunities would dry up as the government redirected resources to the war effort, and Zach didn't have the connections nor the desire to get into war profiteering. He was pretty sure he could find a way to be useful to New Albion's side of the fight and make a living doing it, but he'd rather avoid that entirely.

Zach's mood fell further the more he thought about the prospect of war and he was quiet on the walk back to the inn. I hope Evelyn returns from her meeting with good news, he thought. I hope we got here in time to save the Kobolds from being poisoned.