"Help me, please! I'm cold," a beggar, a middle-aged unshaven man trying to muffle himself up in a colourless threadbare suit, gave them a look of appeal, "I can recognize your kind hearts, help me!"

Lynette and Andreas took their cloaks off, gave them to the miserable man without any recompense and kept on walking.

"Thank you! Now I will not freeze to death at night!" the beggar brightened up and cried after them: "I wish you good luck, wherever you may roam!"

A short time later they reached the building with the secret basement. The door got shut as they came in, the lock clicked, and they went downstairs. Andreas put the two remaining banknotes onto the tray resembling the one at the other side but had paper money on it.

"No wonder that our ancestors emigrated from this nasty world…" Lynette murmured before entering the portal flare.

The city of Ariadna met them with the bright merry sunshine coming down from the clear blue sky. But the merchants and tradesmen were anxiously closing their shops, dismantling the booths, packing goods into sacks and baskets, rolling carpets up. Hurrying in all directions, detachments of soldiers supplemented the total muddle.

Lynette and Andreas returned to the yacht and saw Jim and Iven waiting for them at the gangboard, remaining outwardly imperturbable in contrast to alarmed sailors and merchants bustling near other ships confusedly.

"Trolls have been noticed near the city," the Elf explained the stir, "it's the rumour of the day."

"The monsters are hunting for me," Lynette was the first to come aboard, "we must sail away now, my presence can endanger these people."

They departed without delay and headed to the midday aquamarine expanse of the open sea, the surf rustle and crying gulls.

On looking back they saw the pursuers. A dozen of big boats made an appearance floating down the river through the city, hefty trolls swarming on the decks like dark shaggy spots, halberds in paws.

Hundreds of knights and soldiers lined up along the embankments, composed a kind of a phalanx, tight rows of shields bristled up with levelled lances, manifesting their eagerness to conduct a defence.

However the monsters didn't attack them, even hardly paid any attention to them, just passed by, intently chasing the prey ahead. Lubberly set sails made the boats careen, but the trolls took long oars. Barking something out rudely, the chieftain was urging the rowers forward. A gloating howl and gruff commands became heard when the hostile flotilla came out of the estuary and began to catch up with the yacht.

"They are going to grapple with us," Andreas checked whether his sword could be unsheathed easily. Standing beside him, Lynette tightened the belt of her scabbard. No shade of any fear but concentration in their eyes.

Jim dashed to open a larder hatch and took a not very large battle-axe out, the blade glinted with bluish steel.

"What shall you do with them?" Andreas slightly wondered when Iven, who had already put a quiver and a bow on his shoulder, hurriedly fetched three Elvish lanterns from the lower deck, in daylight they looked like big white convolute rosebuds in silver casings, small chains to carry or hang by.

"They can dispel all kinds of darkness," the Elf smiled a little enigmatically. Then he twirled one lantern by the chain like a sling and hurled it towards the enemies. It flew above the sea, burst in the air and scattered a sparkling golden mist above the two leading boats, a quiet crystal chime accompanied the flickering of that bright cloud.

"Elvish magic!!! It burns!!" the trolls screamed and dropped their oars rushing about the decks in panic, trying to avoid any touch of the weightless chatoyant veil. The two unruled boats collided and cracked breaking into pieces, squealing monsters clumsily flopped into the water, splashing and floundering.

Some playing and whirling amber puffs reached the yacht but did no faintest inconvenience to the four friends.

"Fragrant like roses," Lynette scented.

"The nectar from flowers grown by Elves," Iven nodded smiling.

"Ooh! Let me try too!" the Dwarf flung the second lantern vigorously, it exploded in the middle of the flotilla, and the new shining cloud produced a greater disorder, a louder whine, the boats began to veer round, bump against one another and capsize.

But one vessel did get closer, roaring trolls started to jump from it and climb the yacht board impudently. Iven strained his bow and shot one monster. Jim hewed the second brute with the axe not to let him step onto the deck. Andreas knocked two more assailants down into the water with swift blows of his saber.

Lynette took the last Elvish lantern from the steering-wheel where Iven had hung it and hurled it onto the enemy boat prow. Trying to escape from the shining golden nectar gushing out, the mob of remaining trolls heavily brattled towards the stern, bawling in horror. That panic rush made their vessel careen and overturn.

"Hey, we should spare illumination appliances!" Iven exclaimed in a joking discontent.

"But we did have a fun!" Jim went to the steering-wheel and rotated it to lead the yacht out of the magical mist diffusing in the air.