‘That is the city of Nith,’ said Éha in wonder. ‘I did not know you had ever been there.’
‘I’ve never been there before,’ said Deborah, who was just as surprised as Éha. ‘It’s like something out of a fairy tale.’
Éha turned to her with a quizzical look. ‘A what?’
Deborah had to suppress a smile. ‘I’ll tell you some other time. What are those people doing?’
There seemed to be some sort of activity around a strange-looking building that looked as though it had once been airy and open, but was now closed to the outside world by an incongruously fortified stonework. An ugly pall of smoke issued from its upper windows, as from a fire recently subdued; there were dark smudges of soot streaking the sides of the building from its upper windows. The scene drew closer still, until individual faces could be seen.
Éha gasped. ‘That is the Elf King! Those hooded figures with him are his Loremasters! And those others are Goblins! They are looking for something amongst all those old books. They have taken the library of Nith.’
Deborah was mystified. ‘What do they want with a bunch of old books?’