They had nothing she hadn't already seen.

Cirdor's voice cracked as he looked up from the screen. "There should be more information here!" He tapped on the screen, then looked around the sparsely decorated office.

Penelope sighed as she sat down in the wooden chair on the other side of his desk. It was easy to see that it hadn't been used in a while. A fine layer of dust covered everything, from the two chairs to the bare desk and the empty bookshelves.

The console itself was interesting. The screen was built into the top of the desk and was touch activated, so she could see all of the files and searches that Cirdor was going through in his frantic search to determine how much of the information was missing from the on-site database.

How come I can read what he's typing? Penelope glanced over at Jeru. Don't Elves have their own language?

"The system translates everything for you." The blue man beamed. "It's one of the best things about the system!"

Penelope sighed as she looked back at the other Elf. "It looks like the outer dome is blocking more than just communications with the outside."

"I don't understand!" Cirdor looked up from the screen. "There should be a database here for everything that we teach!"

"It's obviously not here if you can't find it." Penelope stood up. "If you've got nothing to add, then we need to focus on what we know and can do." She walked over to the window behind his desk and looked down at the square where she'd first been summoned. "Do you know what levels your people are?"

"The system came online when the dome around the campus fell." The orange Elf glanced at the window. "I brought our strongest people in here to deal with the incursion."

"Your strongest?" Penelope took a deep breath. "How many more are out there?"

"In the thirties?" Cirdor eyed her. "I'm not sure."

"Liar." Jeru shook his head. "He knows exactly how many Tier Threes there are as well as their levels."

He doesn't trust me completely. Penelope sighed. Not that I blame him, but strong-arming him isn't going to help that.

"What?" Cirdor studied her.

"Just thinking." Penelope let out the breath she'd been holding. "We had a lot of time to clear the last floor, so I don't think we need to rush down to the next floor, but we do need to start putting a team together." She looked at the orange Elf. "I'm guessing you want your people to be a part of that?"

"Why does it sound like you're not wanting to be involved?" His eyes narrowed.

"I'm not used to combat." Penelope cleared her throat. "I got thrown into this life and given a responsibility that's bigger than anything I've ever had." She gestured at the Elf. "Now that you're here, I have a chance to let someone else take the reins while I catch my breath."

Cirdor stroked his chin as he looked her over. "That doesn't sound like something an agent of the Elders would say."

"Trust me, I wasn't his first pick." Penelope shrugged. "I doubt I was even his top forty, but I'm the one who has the responsibility now, but…" She looked back down at the empty square. "I'll be useless if I burn out."

"He should have come to me." Cirdor pouted. "I've been fighting the forces of darkness for over a hundred years! There's no reason a Human should have been given this burden."

"The Dark Legion Treaty fell apart thirty years ago." Jeru scoffed. "Once the fighting started back up, he got sent here because he didn't have the stomach for it. If the Elders were going to pick someone to be an agent, it wouldn't be him."

I'm not telling him that. Penelope just nodded in agreement. "Then we can introduce you to Patrick, our leader and you can hammer out the details with him…" She looked at the Orange Elf. "Would you be able to make arrangements for me to stay in a room with an actual bed? We've been down there for a while and I'd appreciate being able to get a good night's sleep."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"The Weary Satellite hasn't been able to work since the dome went up." Cirdor sighed as he stood up. "But the Casino has some rooms." He swallowed as he looked down at the desk. "But you'll need an introduction and…" He cleared his throat. "How many people do you think are going to be staying there?"

"As far as I know, me and my friend are the only two of the people on the third floor who need a break, but there could be more." Penelope tilted her head. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"For two, that's no problem, but the Goblins aren't the most gracious of hosts…" Cirdor took a deep breath and typed on the pad on his wrist. "I'll send for Lady Shearkar Husley to bring you over there."

"Is she an Elf too?" Penelope tried not to look over at Jeru.

"She's Mebope. Considering they're almost extinct, you should be honored to meet one." Cirdor's tone hardened. "She'll treat you with grace befitting her station; you would do well to do the same."

Mebope? Penelope directed her question at Jeru. That was in your opening, but I don't remember the race.

"They're cousins of the Merfolk. Hybrids who can swim underwater and walk on land. Their homeworld vanished about three hundred years ago and one of the largest colonies of their people is here on Dinmar." Jeru nodded. "He's not wrong about it being a privilege to work with them. Most people could go their entire lives and not see one in person."

"I treat everyone with at least as much respect as they give me." Penelope let the subtle threat hang in the air for a moment. "One other thing… The system has a Jobs tab, but we've not been able to do much with it. Would I be able to get some craftsmen to teach me how to do some of those things?"

"Shearkar will be able to introduce you to the Mebope tradesmen and Sibak can handle the Goblins…" His voice trailed off as he looked her over. "No one ever raises their job levels on game worlds because the stats and bonuses are miniscule compared to the returns from just leveling by fighting." He shook his head. "If you think you're going to get better by raising your job levels while we're down there fighting Demons…"

"I just want something to do to keep busy that's going to give me something positive while I'm on the surface." Penelope held up her hands. "I'm not trying to level a different way."

"Yes you are." Jeru laughed. "The main reason why jobs aren't considered a viable strategy is because of the small boosts for the large amount of time required, but when you've got all the time in the world…" He grinned. "Those become very BIG boosts in the beginning."

I'll worry about that later. Penelope forced herself not to look at the floating Elf. "I also think it would be helpful if I knew how to make our own potions and repair damaged armor." She tugged at the collar of her gray robe. "Or maybe upgrade this so I can keep using it."

Cirdor snorted. "You don't have the body to be a blacksmith!" He shrugged. "But you're probably smart enough to grasp the basics of Alchemy and Tailoring, probably have a knack for Enchanting as well."

"Can you make those introductions for me?" Penelope tried to keep the eagerness out of her voice. The orange Elf might have been her connection to the rest of the town, but she couldn't wait until she was away from him.

Cirdor tapped on his wristpad. "I'm telling Lady Husley to take you around later and make the introductions."

"Thank you." Penelope headed towards the door. "I'll bring you down to Patrick and you can talk to him about how to go down to the fourth floor."

"Wait." Cirdor grumbled. He stuck his hand into his gray robe and pulled out a wristpad that was similar to the watch that he was wearing. "Take this."

"You want me to put a restraint on?" Penelope shook her head. "No thanks."

"It's not…" Cirdor sighed. "This device is capable of communicating with others within the network, which, at the moment, is only those under the dome. But I'll be able to communicate with you even once I go down to the fourth floor." He pushed the object closer to her. "It also identifies you as someone who is working with the University."

Is it legit? Penelope eyed the wide watch.

"Yeah, though it's only going to identify you as one of his aides." Jeru shrugged. "Basically, you'll have the privileges of being a teacher, which really only means that you're not going to get thrown out of businesses for being one of the invaders."

Seriously? They're going to do that? Penelope reached out and took the wristpad.

"From the locals' point of view, the Demons and the Humans showed up at the same time." Jeru shrugged. "Which is why the last big thing I did was wall off the campus until you reached the fourth floor."

"Thanks." Penelope put the wristpad on. "I guess I need to get you back down to the the third floor—"

"We'll move the command post up here." Cirdor sat back down at his desk. "I'm going to see what I can do to get a team down there to map out the first three floors, then get teams put together to clear the next floor." He waved for her to leave. "Lady Husley will pick you up in a car at the front gate. I'll call you if I need you to return."

Penelope bristled and almost snapped back at him, but she took a moment to breathe and dipped out of the office.

I've got to find Circe, then we can get out of here for a bit. Penelope took the stairs back to the ground floor two at a time. I can see why Nate didn't like him.

"He's not that bad, just got an Elf-sized ego and is overwhelmed." Jeru floated beside her. "Come on, you know you're excited!" He grinned. "Now you get to start grinding!"

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