344
You wonder if all the Elessin are fair-haired. Fortunately, one of them is wearing a kind of hood that you can use to disguise your own black hair. You don the loose-fitting toga of one of the Elessi and make sure that you have all the items they carried. Unfortunately, you will have to leave your Backpack behind, but you decide to keep your Staff in spite of the suspicion it may arouse.30 Satisfied that your disguise is as convincing as you can possibly make it, you set out for the Singing City.
It is a beautiful sight: a dazzling display of glass and crystal, twinkling in the sun like a rainbow. Delicate spires and towers reaching for the sky in perfect symmetry. Then the music of the city reaches your ears: the faint ringing of a million tiny bells and a warm, resonant humming that changes pitch at various intervals to the accompaniment of pure harmonies as delicate as a spring breeze. You are awestruck by the magnificent splendour of the city. The Academicians told you that the Elessin are cruel creatures but this place suggests a civilization that appreciates beauty.
At length, you arrive at the gate to the city. An Elessi stands beneath a large curving arch of crystal, dressed in similar clothes to yourself. He is probably a guard, although he carries no weapons.
If you wish to enter the city through this gate, turn to 307.
If you wish to try to find another way into the city, turn to 331.
