Part III The Bubble Caves   A blackish haze blocked my view of the mountain as I set out the following morning. I continued down the path as the warm blue sun burned off the haze and suddenly a majestic purple mountain rose up in front of me. The path seemed to end as I approached a large pool with a black waterfall surging down the face of the mountain.

I worked my way around the pool, stopping occasionally to drink from the cold lavender water. The walls of the cliffs surrounded me on three sides as I made my way toward the waterfall. Drawn by some unknown force, I was determined to reach it by nightfall. Finally I reached the strange black water, which, closer up, was really a combination of dark purple, brown, and black. I cautiously walked behind the fall and to my amazement a human-size faerie greeted me and urged me to follow her into a cave.

The cave entrance was lined with large white bubbles, each one had a black eye that seemed to follow me as I moved by. The interior of the cave was a large white room with the same bubbles lining the walls and ceiling. The faerie motioned for me to sit on a flat rock. She left for a few minutes and returned carrying a tray of what I thought might be food, but how could I eat something I couldn't recognize. "Tae", she said in a soft sexy voice. (All faeries sound sexy.) At first I didn't know what she said, but then it dawned on me that if the colors are reversed, maybe the language is also.

I took some of the strange colored fruit and reluctantly chewed a few pieces. Not too bad. I thanked the faerie and asked her name. "Arik", she said. "Hmmm, Kira", I thought. "Is this a coincidence.?"

I asked her if she knew how to program my device and she took me by the hand and led me down a long corridor into a smaller room. Hiding in the back behind a bubble a dark grey troll with large white eyes peered around in Kira's direction. She walked up to him and motioned for me to follow. She took my device and handed it to him. He moved the dials around and then seemed satisfied with the result.

Kira took it back and gently pushed it into my hand. As I turned around, I felt a kiss on my cheek. I looked back, but the room was empty. I went to the center of the room and pushed the red button. A blue light swirled through the ceiling and hovered over me. The next thing I knew I was lying on a walkway on Ytrebil Dnalsi.