Everyone at the back of the vehicle was a little confused about what Vimm and Hilda was talking about, but they basically grasped the meaning: the space-time accelerator accident had shaken the foundation of the fragile society, and there were many problems in elven society itself. However, as outsiders themselves, non of these problems were their concern, they weren't in a position to ask question.
The levitated vehicle was fast, it arrived at Dawnbreak Island in no time. As the vehicle passed through an energy shield and went over the wall, the towering steeples in Aerym Royal District showed up ahead. The vehicle proceeded to fly toward one of the homogeneous steeples and landed on a semi-circle platform extending out from the steeple. Hilda opened the vehicle door and said to them, "This is my home."
Lily glanced curiously at the huge steeple, chuckling. "Whoa, it looks huge."
Hilda smiled haplessless. "At least, we're not short of living space."
Meanwhile, a few Aerymian elves which looked like servants were darting towards them. The servants looked excited when they saw the queen who had gone missing for the past days. The heartfelt joy and repose on their faces told all about the prestige Hilda was accorded here. Hilda and Vimm proceeded to brief the servant, then introduced Hao Ren and his company to them. "They're our VIP guests, please arrange them accommodation and take good care of them."
"I've to call for assembly of the elders." Hilda wheeled. "I would like to apologise to you all for I've to attend to some emergencies in the kingdom."
Lily replied noisily. "That's OK, we can help ourselves. By the way, can I look around?"
"You may." Hilda nodded with a smile. Then Vimm and her got back in the levitated vehicle and left in a hurry.
A young, slim female elf came up and signalled Hao Ren to follow her. "Allow me to bring you to the guest rooms."
Everyone followed. As they entered the steeple, and passed through a long and dull-looking corridor with a series of simple-lined yet elegant arches to the guest area. They received quite a lot of curious stares along the way; wherever they went, the palace staff would pause and looked at the new guests in strange costumes. With rebuke from the leading young elf, the curious onlookers quickly dispersed.
"I apologise for the indecency, they were just curious." The young elf bowed slightly in apology.
A lift carried them to the mid section of the steeple. Then they were led to an oval-shaped hall with rooms on every side—this was the VIP guest area. The rooms were specially catered to VIP guest. Before leaving, in front of the lift, the young elf said, "Have some rest here. Food is available in the cabinet at the end of the hall. Dinner will be served separately. If you need assistance, please press the green button in the room, or look for the royal guard in the lift."
Hao Ren nodded back in acknowledgement. Lily was suffocated by the formal and solemn atmosphere of the royal palace. As the young elf left, she howled happily, ran in circle and scampered in and out of the rooms. Vivian had a stretch. "Truly a queen, look at this place, it's huge!"
"Though short in resources, they could still maintain a normal life." said Hao Ren. He then sauntered around the place checking out the rooms. The VIP guest room was simple, nothing fancy, and had only functional furniture which were clearly mass-produced products. The lack of style and design showed that they were churned out from production line with cost-effectiveness in mind—a distinctive characteristic of resource-constrained subsistence society. Though the ruler might get more material quota, they were using the same things as what the ordinary people used—products of cost-effective production line which totally forwent craftsmanship.
However, being a queen had its privilege: there were ornamental plants in every corner of the hall and rooms. These green bonsai added life to the otherwise dull atmosphere. Aerymian elves were originally from the forest, so they had a natural instinct for plants. Wherever possible, they would strive to decorate their living space with green despite of the fact that they had to live in the efficiency-obsessed industrial machine for survival. Earlier, the guardian tree of Hilda had mentioned that Aerymian traditional artistry and plants were inseparable. However, this kind of artistry was considered a luxury now and only maintained in the royalty and elites while what the eco-dome had was limited.
At one end of the oval hall was a lift, and at the other end was a round floor-to-ceiling window through which one could have a bird's-eye view of the city. Hao Ren was standing right there looking out at the exotic-world scenery, the filtered sunglight shone through the dome, the greyish white city which was slowly coated in a golden light from the sunset, and the small aircrafts traversing in the golden sunset. Suddenly, Vivian, who had come up to him without him realising, was heard saying, "Disregarding the dire situation they're experiencing, this is a beautiful place."
Hoa Ren just nodded without saying a word. He was recalling what he had learned from the employee handbook, trying to look at the whole picture from the viewpoint of an agent. Since landed in the floating island, he had been carefully observing every detail of Aerymian society, and trying to understand the culture and status quo from the characteristics of the city, and words and deeds of everyone. But, as a foreigner whose worldview and race were totally different from Aerymian, reaching a proper conclusion was difficult but an observation skill every agent must have. He continued looking out the window and was silent for a moment before poking the MDT in his pocket. "Give me some suggestions."
"No comment. From now on, you've to deal with things according to SOP." the MDT replied. "Anyway, the hint is: Ma'am Raven said your're fully in-charge—hope you get what she meant. I do hope you could solve things using your given ability, do not simply ask for help from the Goddess or other higher forces, build your influence and connections and solve problems independently befitting an agent. The only limit you must always observe is that you cannot disturb other civilisation; under no circumstances you should help a civilisation you like at the expense of another civilisation. You cannot be partial."
Hao Ren laughed. "Then worry not. I don't know anyone yet for me to be biased against."
Lily had made her round around the rooms when her bio clock sounded its hungry alarm on the dot. She remembered the female servant elf told that there was food in the cabinet, so she ran looking for it. She found a rectangular box in a metal cabinet. "Is this edible at all? It looks weird..."
She put the box on the table. Hao Ren saw it—the food was like some sort of synthetic stuff, mostly of yellow or green sticks the length of a finger, and crispy to the touch. Lily took one and put it into her mouth, chewing noisily. Then she frowned. "It taste bland! A little salty like a chalk!"
"You ever tasted chalk?" Vivian gave her a sideways look.
Lily wasn't embarrassed at all. "I did. The first time I saw a chalk, I took a bite out of curiosity. That taste is still fresh in my mouth just like yesterday."
The maiden probably inherited the 'fine tradition' of her race from her parents, that was to take a bite of everything just to taste them out...
These chalk-like synthetic food couldn't even appeal to non-picky eater Lily. So she found another: a kind of paste stuff in a cylinder, was cream-like and sweet smelling. With high expectation, Lily gouged a little out with her finger and put that in her mouth. The moment the paste reached her tastebuds, her tail puffed up instantly. "Taste of engine oil!"
The MDT got out from Hao Ren's pocket, examining the paste. "It's product of chemistry. Though it's able to provide energy for carbon-based living things, don't expect much for how it tastes. The addition of special flavour and giving its some texture require a complicated production method which is wasteful."