The crystal lamps overhead were unusual yet simple in design. Even their soft glow seemed to have the unhurried air of an old man as they illuminated this place, its oldest and most faithful guardians. Once that impression took hold, Ruger found that everything he looked at seemed steeped in the wear of years, from the lamps to the blue-gray stone floor.
"Wizard Ruger, please come this way." Wizard Roman waited two breaths, giving him a chance to look around before speaking.
Ruger answered politely and followed, walking beside Roman.
"I've been traveling for several months now. You're the tenth person I've brought back."
Perhaps because they had arrived, Roman volunteered a little information about the matter.
"Did someone refuse?" Ruger asked curiously as they walked.
"The world is always unpredictable. By the time I managed to find one of them, all that remained of him was a head..." Wizard Roman said.
Ruger nodded beside him in wholehearted agreement.
Whenever Wizard Roman turned to look at him, Ruger could sense a trace of curiosity in his eyes. Roman would also glance discreetly at his fur and ears, and he had done so more than once already.
Ruger inwardly curled his lip. This fellow had probably been wrestling with the question of whether he looked a little like a kobold ever since they met.
"You may move freely on this level, and you can use your Identity Badge to access any unoccupied laboratories. However, it would be best to stick to small experiments to relieve your boredom, lest you become occupied with something you cannot leave immediately. Please keep the Contract Scroll from earlier on your person, or in a low-grade Storage Pocket, so it does not block your ability to sense it."
Wizard Roman led him down a long corridor,