14.0. Rushing

They approached Caoilainn to see what was inside the chest. And inside, was another riddle:

On Lonelol dale's center
Hidden to peering eyes
The hollow you will enter
Dissolve the purple dyes

Caoilainn's disappointment was visible as she said:
- "So, this is awkward." - Isabella asked:
- "What's the matter?"
- "More roots! Purple roots!" - she shouted - "We will need argonite to open this." - she spread her arms and looked up - "We have no time!"
- "Please explain, Caoilainn" - said Isabella.
- "Lonelol is far! There will be more roots, purple roots! To dissolve those roots, we will again have to perform nigredo." - she was taking fast" - But for these roots, we will need a rare catalyst, argonite which is often found near here in the village of Menialainem. But gosh, there is so little time..."
- "Caoilainn" - interrupted Isabella - "breathe and cut to the point." - Caoilainn ran her hands over her face, breathed and said:
- "So, we will have to go to Lonelol, which is not close. But before, we will need to acquire argonite for a special nigredo, which we can look for in Menialainem. The issue is that we have only three days of full moon. If we take more time, we will have to wait for the next one." - now they all felt the blow and frustration she was feeling. They thought for some time, however before they started discussing, Isabella brought up the solution:
- "So, it is simple. Tomorrow we set out to Menialainem to find argonite. We will go to that village and see what we can do. If we cannot meet the deadline, we will just do what we can." - visibly, none of them were happy with this, but it was the best they could do. They agreed and set out on the next day.

The next day, they reached the Menialainem village in the afternoon. At first, as they walked in, no one saluted them, as Isabella's influence did not spread to this village. Despite that, a well dressed man in his forties came to meet them. He had a nice expression and mustache to accompany it. He said:
- "My fellow travelers, welcome to our most humble village of Menialainem" - he greeted them - "My name is Valorum, I am the head of the village" he looked at Isabella - "and you must be Lady Isabella of Kitatik, it is an honor."
- "The honor is ours" - Isabella answered, slightly bowing and signaling the others to do as she did.
- "What brings you to our humble village?"
- "We have one small assignment here for the kingdom" - Isabella was very composed - "And we need a material usually found here, argonite" - she turned her head - "of course we will pay for it." - the man thought a bit, before his mustache revealed a bit of a mischievous smile and he replied:
- "You see Lady Isabella, we are honored of receiving a request from one such as you, and very proud from the argonite we mine." - he touched his mustache - "however" - Caoilainn lost her energy hearing that - "we are facing a sickness and are very short on working people" - he paused - "you see it's been very hard on us..."
- "I feel sorry for your village. I am certain we can buy more of the material or buy other things from the village to help the economy" - he was fast:
- "Actually, we don't need money" - Isabella was now sure things would be thrown in disarray and was regretting her decisions - "of course, money is valuable but in our shortage, in our difficulties, what we need is work" - the regret was taking her over - "you four seem so young and apt for work. If you gave us some help for like one week, we certainly can grant you all the argonite you need" - Isabella was dying inside and tried to escape her fate:
- "Well, you see, our timeline is extremely tight" - she hesitated - "and we only need a little bit of argonite, so we can help you today."
- "I was really hoping you'd help us at least four days."
- "I am sorry, but we only have one day" - she was getting more nervous.
- "It is sad to think that I have always heard about how Lady Isabella was so courteous and generous." - he paused - "To think that she can only spare one day for us poor citizens, it is really a shame" - Isabella and the other three died inside. They were caught into the trap.
- "Alright, Valorum, no need to go that far." - Isabella faked seriousness - "We are able to work today and tomorrow and the next day's morning. But at the following noon, you will supply us with the argonite we need."
- "Yes of course" - Valorum was really satisfied - "I will show you how you can help" - he started walking - "please follow me" - Isabella looked at her comrades spreading her arms in defeat. All of them felt that defeat, they knew they were in for a treat.

Valorum happily showed each of them their tasks.