Chapter 117 Village Life 4 (1/2)
Zero couldn't see anyone yet but he heard coughing from the underground passageway. Vrald shrugged and continued walking as if it was a normal occurrence. Gerald gave the brunet an apologetic smile and urged him along.
”Are they nearby? I heard someone coughing...”
”Don't worry about it,” Vrald grinned. ”You can hear a lot of things from the underground passage. They're not far but they're not that near either. Sound travels a lot faster and clearer underground after all.”
Zero didn't question it and followed the path out the tunnels, past the farm. There was a small quarry behind the special living quarters that he didn't see before. As they passed by the special quarters, the brunet waved to Grandma Moppo who was having tea with Amaraline.
”Are you visiting the lab?” she asked and Zero smiled.
”Yes, I am. There was an explosion earlier. Is everyone alright?”
Amaraline giggled. ”Don't worry, it's just Raj and one of his crazy experiments again. Also, you should come over for dinner. Brother and uncle would be pleased to have you.”
Zero beamed. ”Ok!”
Vrald led them around the cliff to a small hill. During the walk upslope, Zero wondered if the workshop turned lab was very far. The explosion sounded very loud and Zero became worried as they walked into the forest again.
”Is the lab very far?” he asked.
Vrald hummed. ”It's not far if you can fly. However, not everyone can do that or climb the cliff so we have to take the longer route.”
Zero blinked and recalled the only two people he knew could take the shortcut. ”Wouldn't it be bad if somebody attacked the village from this side?”
Gerald laughed. ”Oh, you don't have to worry about it. Raj and Wiser have done some real modifications to this area so if it's one of the most secure places in the village. It's also the main reason why the special accommodations are where they are. Raj's creations may not always work but when they do, they're something not to be trifled with.”
”That quarry you saw earlier is one of the escape paths. There's a stronghold near the workshop and a secret route to the farm through the well in case of a raid. Wiser may be an oddball but he's very good at what he does.”
Zero smelled the muddy waters of the swamp as they walked and frowned. Were they leaving the forest?
”There it is,” Vrald grinned. Zero smelled smoke in the mix and wrinkled his nose. The air smelled funny, full of iron, sulphur and some other weird chemicals. He couldn't see what Vrald was pointing at until they got closer.
The workshop was a small cottage made of stone and wood. The sides of the stone walls were green with moss so it was difficult to tell. The house blended so well with the swampish forest that Zero believed it wouldn't be spotted by the enemies easily. Even without magic, it did well to hide of sight. There were vines climbing all over the thatch roof and if it wasn't for the black smoke coming out from it, Zero wouldn't have spotted the workshop.
”I told you that it wouldn't work. Now look what you've done!” a soot-faced pixie-sylph yelled. She was covered in black soot from head to toe. Zero couldn't tell her gender if it weren't for her voice. The map didn't detect her presence and even if she did, it wouldn't tell Zero her gender.
The pixie-sylph had emerald green eyes and short pixie-bob hair. She was dusting soot from her wings and Zero winced when she sneezed. Beside her was a fat dwarf who laughed heartily with a rumble in his voice. The dwarf was also covered in soot except for one eye that was covered with a monocle. He polished the monocle and grinned.
”At least ye know now it's a dud.”
”That's Hyelin the pixie-sylph and Tambolt our dwarven blacksmith. The man groaning at the doorway is Raj the inventor and the human behind him is Wiser,” Gerald introduced.
Zero blinked. Raj looked very sick and dashed behind to puke rainbows. Wiser didn't seem to be affected very much even though he was also covered in black soot from head to toe.
”Experiment #166.8. Result - Failure. Reason: Overheated and exploded when Chemical Agent Y reacted with Chemical Agent ZS. Notes for future reference: Reduce chemical quantities by 500% for lab scale testing.”
Zero blinked. He understood that it was common language. However, the man spoke it in such a weird fashion that threw the brunet off badly. Zero simply stood rooted to the ground and stared at the tall yet thin man. He spoke in a high and nasally voice while coughing badly. Zero didn't think that his cough wasn't entirely caused by the soot. According to what he learnt, it sounded like a cough caused by the infection of the air tubes in the lungs. From the looks of it, Wiser must have been experiencing these coughs for a long time now. He'd have to ask Hua Tuo about it to be sure.
”I see that you've all been busy,” Gerald greeted as they got nearer.
Hyelin stopped bickering with Tambolt and blinked. ”Oh, we have guests! That's rare. I'll bring tea,” the pixie chirped then turned to Zero and flew right up in his face, startling him.
”Hmm, you look human but don't smell like one. Oh well, that's fine. Wiser hates humans so be sure to clarify that with him. Also, please don't mind the mess. Raj will be here soon enough...” she glanced back at the still retching half-djinn and grimaced.
”On second thoughts,” she turned back to the dragon descendants. ”Could you give us a moment? We'll clear out the workshop really soon.”
Zero nodded and the pixie flew off, dishing out orders left and right. The brunet decided that they were an odd bunch. Hyelin looked like she owned the place, scolding everyone who did things wrong.
”Don't sweep the floor first! Dust the shelves or the soot will dirty the ground again!”
”Do you have no brains? You can't use a dry cloth to get the soot off... you need water!”
”Don't use the blower! It'll just mess up the places we've cleaned! And don't touch the siphoner. That project hasn't been tested.”
Zero laughed weakly as the chaos escalated. Vrald and Gerald bailed, not wanting to get roped in to help with the cleaning. The brunet didn't quite know where to start as everyone started arguing over his head.
”Project Super Siphon is perfect! We should take this chance to test it out!”
”Don't be ridiculous! Do you want to make things worse than what it already is?”
”What could be worse than this? Even the tea set is covered in soot. There's no harm in using it!”
”The two of you should learn how to SHUT UP AND LISTEN! Soot is a POWDER and can only be removed with CHEMICALS.”
Zero grimaced and quietly sneaked away from the four-way crossfire. He went back down to Grandma Moppo's house and asked for a bottle of white vinegar.
”Oh dear, are they fighting again?”
Zero nodded. ”They're cleaning the soot but can't agree on a good way to do it. I thought that I would try help. I've seen master use vinegar and water to clean it off once when I accidentally burnt the kitchen.”
Grandma Moppo chuckled and gave Zero a bottle of white vinegar. ”Let me know if you need help. Also, Hua Tuo mentioned that he will be here for dinner so don't stay too late. Those lab enthusiasts can be so engrossed in their experiments that they forget to eat half the time. Be sure to remind them for me, won't you?”
Zero grinned and thanked Grandma Moppo before hurrying off with the promise to be back for dinner and remind the quarrelling company when it is time to go.
Zero arrived at the workshop by following the sounds of Hyelin's yelling and Tambolt's laughter. The workshop didn't look any less sooty than it did when he left. Thankfully, the soot had settled and Zero wondered if it was possible to test his cleaning magic.
”Mii, is it possible to absorb this bottle of vinegar and mix it with the absorbed water to clean the workshop?”
Mii calculated the possibilities and reported, ”Yes, it is possible. However, due to the nature of the mess and property in the workshop, gentle cleaning is recommended.”
”Gentle cleaning?”
”The usual method of washing out the house or high-pressure water jet sprays are not recommended. Water bubbles infused with clean water and vinegar are recommended to go over the affected areas. It is easier to rid of the soot inside water bubbles controlled with magic than throwing it out and washing it away. Will that be acceptable?”
Zero thought about it and frowned. ”Why didn't we use the water bubble method when cleaning master's house?”
Mii scoffed. ”Master should learn how to clean his own house.”
At his strawcherry friend's answer, Zero wanted to faint. No wonder cleaning magic didn't work before! Mii simply didn't intend to clean... she intended to destroy Hua Tuo's house.