- Can we poke her with a stone? - someone asked in a low voice.

- Are you crazy, what stone! You'll make a hole in her, she's a human. They are terribly fragile! They can't fly, they can't be underwater! It's amazing how they have survived without magic so many changes of the moon and sun! - answered the second.

- No wonder, you know how. And you know very well how much it costs us all. - The first one said very displeased.

- Stop grumbling, people have not passed through the protective mountain for a very long time. If she did it, then she deserves it. Perhaps she is a descendant of one of the sorcerers. This is surprising, given that for thousands of moons no one has left our valley. Let's take her to the queen, we ourselves have no right to decide what to do with her next. - said the second.

- You do as you wish, but I will not give this thing to anyone for anything. There are two of them, take the second. We need to share the spoils fairly.

- You are right, this is the most beautiful creation I have ever seen in my entire existence.

''What a strange dream,'' - thought Betsy - ''First, this strange woman was in her dream again, and now these voices with a strange dialogue.'' Betsy slowly began to stretch herself. But something strange happened, and she could not move her arm or leg. She opened her eyes sharply. The fall in the cave was real. She was in the same field. looking at her hands, Betsy was horrified. They were tied. Fear seized her, and she tried to free herself, but nothing worked. Only then slowly Betsy began to look up and saw them.

- Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

- Wow, that sounds awful. Cover her mouth with something. My ears are about to burst. Nightmare, nightmare, nightmare! She's definitely a siren! Look how she screams! It was the marines who sent her! - said one of the creatures.

He was short, with huge ears, small black eyes, and a nose that looked more like a potato. Plus, it was either dusty or stone. And all in folds. Betsy could even call him plump in comparison with his friend, who, by the way, was also not very handsome. Each of these creatures was holding Betsy's pink sneaker. It seemed that they even smiled or grinned. At the same time, it was clear that in their mouth they had an uncountable number of triangular dark gray teeth. These creatures were not at all cute pandas from the Toronto Zoo.

-What Serena, she would have died without water a long time ago! Let's just temporarily disarm her - said the second one and picked a plump flower and put it in Betsy's mouth.

- Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm - Betsy continued to shout, but it was already much quieter.

- That's so much better! - grinned one of them. -Now let's find a longer stick, hang her up and take her to the queen.

''I dream, dream, dream. Now I will wake up and find myself in my room at the camp,'' - prayed Betsy. She closed her eyes tightly, then opened them, but nothing changed. Two incomprehensible creatures, dressed in baggy clothes, which, it seems, became so dirty over time that also turned to stone, hung her by her arms and legs and were carrying her in an unknown direction.

''What are they anyway? These are neither people nor animals.'' - Betsy thought.

''And for sure, we were camping, I got lost, slipped and fell. Most likely, I have a skull injury, and I'm lying somewhere in a cave or in a hospital, and all I see is just the cunning tricks of an injured brain.''-Betsy reassured herself. But the aching hands and feet tied with a rope more than said that this was most likely not a fantasy.

- Why are you afraid of us, we are simple mountain trolls! Shur, do you know at least one mountain troll who could offend another living creature? - asked the beastie that was walking behind. He was ten centimetres shorter than the second one and, as it seemed to Betsy, was in a friendlier mood.

- What about your cousin Lail? This bastard is always getting into trouble! They say many moons ago he even ate a rat, - thoughtfully said the beastie, which was called Shur by the first one.- Yes, all these rumours.. who in their right mind would come up with the idea of eating living beings, - the first beastie doubted, but did not argue with Shur, his cousin really had a very dubious reputation.

So, they walked for about half an hour. More and more clearly, Betsy understood that she was not dreaming about all of this and that these creatures were more than real. She also understood that she did not remember the route they were following at all, and having crossed a long meadow, they were already on a mountain path. What was even more surprising was that the trails periodically intersected with others, were noticeably trampled, and as Betsy noticed, they even turned off somewhere at the junctions a couple of times. In a word, if she wanted to run away, she wouldn't most likely run far and would get lost even more.

- It seems to me that the stranger has calmed down, let's untie her, - said the kinder one.

- Come on,- Shur agreed - especially since my back is completely tired of carrying her, she is too huge and heavy. - The creatures stopped and stood up in such a way that it seemed that they were about to make a solemn speech.

- Ahem, ahem... a kind creature and a guest of the mountain kingdom! My name is Bir, and this is my friend Shur. I'm sorry I had to tie you up, but otherwise, you would not have agreed to come with us to the mountain queen. People have not passed through a magical barrier for many moons and suns. If you could, then you are a worthy person and will not harm us. We are peaceful. And no one will touch you. I promise. Please do not scream anymore, our ears are very sensitive, and we get hurt by your not-at-all-melodic screams. Well? Ready? - Bir said and smiled. Needless to say, his smile was not for the faint of heart. In his mouth, Betsy at first and quick glance counted three rows of sharp stone triangular teeth. If they are such civilians, why do they need so many teeth? Betsy thought with horror.

Slowly and carefully, Bir untied first her legs, then her arms, and finally pressing his huge ears a little, he pulled a flower out of her mouth and stepped aside. Elizabeth didn't run away. She stood as if rooted to the spot and looked at two unknown until this moment creatures.

-What are you? - Betsy barely said. Her voice did not obey her, and it seemed that it was not she who spoke, but a stranger.

- I told you, we are mountain trolls. Servants of the Mountain Queen. Usually, we live inside mountain caves and look for gold, gems and magic stones. But sometimes we go out to check the mountain border. Today it was our turn and we found you. Here others will envy.. no one has crossed the border for a very long time. If the sewage had not enveloped the dome so thickly, we would have already thought that people had ceased to exist.

-Thanks for the answer, - to admit, the answer confused her even more. Self-control gradually returned to Betsy and she decided to be polite with strangers. Maybe they still want to eat her. She needed to build trust. Pleasant companions should be eaten less often.

- I am very pleased with your invitation, but I think my friends have lost me and I need to go back. They will look for me and most likely they will send a search service, call the police, and even worse, they will tell my sister, and she will begin to worry. Do you have any idea how scared my sister and her wife would be if they were told about the missing child?! - she didn't really believe that these arguments would convince the trolls, but it was still worth trying her luck.

- Yes, no question, we will return you not only to the same place where you came from. But also at the same time that you appeared in our world. Oh, you still don't know what our magic stones are capable of. - One of the trolls rolled his eyes.

- That is, right now I can take and go back to where we came from and return to my world? - asked Betsy hopefully.

- Well, of course, you can. But understand people have not passed the barrier for many moons and suns, and if you are here, then you are special. Most likely, the blood of a sorcerer flows in your veins. Or you have those qualities that will allow you to become a sorceress yourself. And we need you. No one just simply gets past that barrier. The queen had fenced off the human world a long time ago to protect the remnants of the magical world. I think that on the way to the queen, I can tell you a lot more, or rather everything I know, but it's time for us to go. Well, think what are you really risking just following us to the queen? Trust me, she will let you go as soon as you want to leave. And we will take you exactly to the place from which you appeared, and you will return to your world at the same time. In the same place. - Bir insisted.

- Oh guys, thank you all then. Your offer is very tempting, but I am leaving. It was really nice to meet you and all, but I have to go. - Betsy began to walk slowly in the opposite direction. Turning around for a moment, she saw how these two unsympathetic creatures were looking at her and smiling. On the belts of each one of them, there was Betsy's bright pink, shiny boot. She decided not to ask them to return the sneakers. Walking barefoot was safer than wearing uncomfortable shoes. These creatures looked at her with their beady eyes, silently smiling with their sharp teeth. ''What a horror!'' - thought Betsy. ''It's time to get out of here.''

She walked along the path for about fifteen minutes until she came to a fork.

Seems to be here. With a confident step, she moved on. The trail seemed familiar, which made her very happy. Though she wouldn't say that she was well oriented on the ground. But still, she did not see anything new, which could not please. Her success was not long. She came to the same fork again. And she had already done it many times. Damn it. She got lost.

-If you come with us to the mountain queen, we will return you to the same place and time. - said a familiar voice from behind. Betsy jumped in surprise. Familiar creatures were standing behind her.

-It's not fair. You are cheating! Ok Ok! Since I have no choice anyway, let's go to that queen of yours quickly and you will take me back. Just give me back my shoes. It's cold for me to walk on the rocks. - Her mood had completely deteriorated. It turned out that she would have to play by the rules of these eccentrics. ''What kind of queen was that?''- thought Betsy.

- I will not return this brilliant treasure for anything! - Shure replied. And he was so indignant that dust and stones fell from him.

-Let's give it to her, it's not ours ... people are fragile, if she breaks into the cave now, what will we say to the queen then? - Bir answered.

The trolls reluctantly returned the shoes to Betsy. They began to offer some salavats in exchange. If not for these circumstances, I would have given them these ill-fated sneakers, and even would have added something else for getting rid of them. As uncomfortable as they were, Elizabeth was well aware that it was much more comfortable with them than without them. This always happens, we can complain about life's circumstances and inconveniences for a long time. And as soon as we lose them, we immediately understand that it turns out that it was not so bad with them.

This strange company walked in silence, not for a long time. Betsy didn't know what to ask first. Two stone creatures were walking and did not know where to start the story. And so they went, until, as is usually the case, they decided to break the silence at the same time.

-Where are we.. -began her question Betsy.

-We are.. - at the same moment, the troll began his story.

There was an awkward silence, after which the troll nevertheless decided that it was necessary to bring the guest up to date. Because it wasn't turning out well at all, they were taking Betsy not clear where, and not clear to whom. But trolls are very friendly and hospitable people.

- We are in the realm of the mountain queen. It is protected by an impenetrable dome and people cannot enter here. But it was not always so. Magical creatures once lived alongside humans. We have coexisted peacefully for many moons and suns. Dragons flew freely over the whole world, and mermaids could safely go ashore.

- So stop! What dragons? Mermaids? These are fictional fairy tale characters.

- Not exactly ... if you're lucky, you'll see a dragon before you return to the human world. They are more than real. Where do you think people get their fantasies from? They really saw everything. And only then, when we hid, stories about magical creatures turned into legends, legends turned into fairy tales. Many storytellers had magical roots. And they passed through the dome, but over time there were fewer and fewer of them. And now you have come, from that, I am sure that sorcerer's blood flows in your veins. But back to our story. I was still just a small stone when it all started. You will not believe it, but there were times when we all lived in friendship and harmony. So, it was before the appearance of the Shajirs. Dark creatures have enslaved the minds and hearts of men by deceit. The magical world tried to keep aloof from the affairs of people for as long as possible. But then the kings and queens of the magical world intervened and dealt with the dark forces. Only one thing they did not take into account, is that the person has changed too. Very soon people got to us, magical creatures. At first, they asked for help, and we helped them, then the requests turned into demands, and then into orders. People tried to use us for their own benefit. And they killed or locked in cages those who disagreed. The Shaijirs also told the man about magic stones that give strength. They are hidden in the storerooms of our kings and queens. Then people decided to destroy the magical world and take everything for themselves. We don't like to remember those times. The kings of the magical worlds simply decided to isolate themselves from people. And only occasionally magical creatures crawled out of our worlds, but they did it less and less. The air of the human world was saturated with poisonous gases that your machines produced. This dirty air is detrimental to us. We cannot breathe it for long. We start to get sick. We are dying. The queen pulled on a protective dome and even your air stopped penetrating into our world.

- Are there many kingdoms like yours? - asked Betsy.

- There is no one like ours, our kingdom is the most beautiful and magnificent! But yes, there are many other kingdoms. There is a water kingdom, there is a kingdom of snow and ice, jungles, deserts, forests, and even a kingdom of volcanoes. There are many of them, for many years we have been living next to the world of people, and you do not even notice us. Hehe. - Bir laughed. Apparently, he was unspeakably pleased.

So they reached the grandiose gates carved into the mountain. Elizabeth simply could not believe that such a thing was possible. Giant boulders were skillfully turned into sculptures of unseen creatures. The most familiar to Betsy here were the dragon sculptures. There were also trolls similar to Bir and Shura. And brand new ... some were quite frightening, like monsters. With several pairs of arms, fangs and wings. But one figure was very different from all the others. In the center stood a woman with her head held high. On her head was a huge, majestic crown. Betsy also noticed that the face of this queen was as if covered with scales. And in the eyes was frozen look with snake pupils. She was wearing a long dress and a child stood at the hem of her skirt. It was a little boy. This slightly surprised Betsy. After all, as the trolls claimed, there were no people in their world for a long time.

- Is this the Queen? - Betsy politely asked.

- Yes, this is our mountain queen, isn't she beautiful? – sincerely admired Shure.

-Uh-huh, -not quite clearly agreed Betsy.

-Let's go quickly, tell everyone that Bir and Shur found you! Especially if such a round lady troll asks about it, her name is Litta. If she really starts to be interested in it, then you can say that it was only Shur who found you. And you know, it will be even better if you say that Shur not only found you but also saved you!

-From whom? The blocahemad, we have not had any attacks for a long time. - Bir was outraged. His small stone eyes even rolled back for a second in indignation.

- Yes, it sounds a bit unrealistic ... well, at least say that I found you and dragged you all the way on my back. Deal? - Shura said very excitedly.

- Ok, OK ... I understood everything! Shur, he saved me, dragged me on his back, lady troll Litta! - Betsy said quickly, so as not to forget the details of the deception.They had been walking along the inner part of the mountain for a long time. It was cool inside, but quite light, huge luminous blocks were hanging from the ceiling. It seemed that they were not always there, but someone specially installed them there.

- Do you have electricity? How do these ceiling lights glow? - Elizabeth wondered.

-These? Ahh ... as simple as that, it's the Utar stone. We find them deep in the mountains and bring them to the queen. Not only them, of course, there is also a lot of gold and other stones. And this particular stone is very interesting. It glows at night and in the dark. Its light never goes out, it is nourished by the heart of the mountain. The stone of Uthar can only go out with the queen. But I hope that never happens. You know, it also sings very beautifully. But you can hardly hear its voice. Only we trolls can hear the song of other stones. People have weak ears. Do not be offended, but you people generally have few decent abilities. And your appearance is so so ... - Bir opened up.

Betsy continued to admire the halls of the castle inside the mountain. Although all the walls, columns, and stairs were made of stone, Betsy saw that the stone was everywhere different in its structure and colour. Somewhere inside the stone blocks, there were shiny elements, somewhere transparent stripes. Betsy did not know much about rocks, but she could assume that this was marble. These were rooms and halls of delightful beauty. After the third hall, Betsy began to notice some movement and realized that while she looked up and around, she forgot to look at her feet and did not see at all that there were many tiny creatures under her feet. If earlier she might have thought that they were just stones, now she understood that these stones were definitely moving. She even jumped in surprise.

- Oh, these are our babies. Many moons and suns will pass before they grow up to be real stone trolls and be able to talk. But I assure you, someday it will happen. And they will chat non-stop. In the meantime, they are growing and gaining stone mass.

- And why in our, well.. in the human world, stones are just stones, and they are absolutely not alive? - asked Betsy.

- They were once. The dome not only protects us from humans but also keeps the Queen's spell out of your world. You see, the mountain queen fills us all with living energy, and we, in turn, energize her. After all, she receives colossal powers from certain stones. We diligently look for them and bring them to her. Especially good are the stones with the name ... - Bir began. Until Shur pushed him in the back.

-Stop, why are you telling her all this, it's the secret of the mountain queen. If she wants, she will tell her everything herself. - Shur got angry.

-OK, OK ... but everyone in our kingdom knows about the rainbow stones of Salavat. I won't tell her about them. And I won't say the name. But think for yourself, and it's no secret. Ask every underground rat. - Bir was outraged.

- Oh, you are hopeless ... it would be better if you had to remain a silent stone. She's not from our kingdom, your stone head. If people find out about the existence of these stones, they will gut all the mountains of the world.

Betsy did not like the fact that she heard some secret against her will and she diligently pretended that she was not listening to them, but was actively engaged in contemplating everything around her. And it was really something to look at! The deeper they went into the castle inside the mountain, the more festive the walls became. If the first halls were decorated with simply beautiful stones, now the walls began to shine from stones of unprecedented beauty. Betsy did not know much about different stones, but here she was almost sure that these stones were either precious or at least semi-precious.

So, they came to another gate, entirely composed of stones of the white sort. Only in the center stood the same figure of the queen from green stones. A tall, proud woman with a huge crown. She was very beautiful and scary at the same time. Now Betsy knew for sure that this was not just a person. There was something serpentine about her. Huge yellow stones were inserted into the eye sockets of this figure. They definitely belonged to a snake. Although these stones were not real eyes, they seemed to look directly into the soul of the beholder. Betsy felt uneasy, a chill ran down her back. It was as if she could not take her eyes off this figure at the same time, and at the same time, she wanted to run far away without even looking back!

- All right, guest of the mountain kingdom! We have come. For the last time, I ask you, have you concealed malicious intent? After all, if you are the messenger of enemies and want harm to the queen, these gates will incinerate you into fine dust. Well, of course, you can become a stone troll like us, but you will need a lot of moons and suns for this.

-I honestly don't want anything bad, but I'd rather go home as soon as possible, of course ... can I go home right away without meeting this queen of yours? - Elizabeth pleaded. She did not like to take risks where she could do without risk.

- I think not, since you came to our world, it means that your or our world needs it. Gates rarely let people through unless absolutely necessary. - Shur thought.

- So, I can't go back without a visit from the queen, but you don't rush to let me see her either. It turns out this is some kind of catch-22. Betsy chuckled.

-Don't be afraid, you don't look like a warrior. You look painfully frail. - Bir reassured her, this type was clearly one of those who make dubious compliments.

- Okay, let's get this over with. I don't wish your queen anything bad. Come to think of it, I didn't even know about your kingdom until this morning. So, I'll meet her quickly, wake up quickly, or you'll take me back to this passage. - said Betsy aloud.

After that, the trolls stepped forward and touched the wall on both sides. After that, some absolutely incredible things began to happen. The gate seemed to come to life, and the stone green figure in the center began to move away. They slowly began to open. Betsy was amazed at how thick the gates were. It seemed that no explosive devices would be strong enough to open them.

The green majestic figure continued to look at Betsy appraisingly with its yellow jewelled eyes. Betsy was uncomfortable, even though she did not pose a clear threat to anyone at all. The troll was right, she was not one of the physically gifted children. In all respects, she was rather below average.

Nervously sighing, Elizabeth took the first step. Out of the corner of her eye, it seemed to her that the green figure moved a little. But it seemed to stay put. Then, gaining a little courage, Betsy took another step and then walked more confidently into the new room.