《A young magician from Earth.》 Prologue + Chapter 1. Prologue. The strangeness began in the morning. The alarm clock which always sounded exactly at 7:00 this time woke him up almost an hour earlier. And as a result he could not finish the dream where he was soaring in the sky on the back of a huge bird whose plumage shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow, and the bright crimson sun pleasantly warmed his skin giving a feeling of peace and happiness. Tim tried to sleep again, but failed. The remnants of such an amazing dream were gradually fading from his memory and by the time he finally woke up his mind was filled with the cares of the day ahead. On his way out of the bathroom after washing he felt as if the reflection in the mirror grinned after him. Tim looked around, seeing his own face again, but he didn''t notice anything suspicious. The neighbor¡¯s cat that he met on the way to the bus stop suddenly stood on end its hair and with heartbreaking meow rushed away. Although usually he greeted Tim with a tail up and sometimes even allowed to pet him. Not far from the school building he was hailed by Alex, his friend since the first school year. As Tim approached him, Alex looked at Tim''s feet in bewilderment. "Hey! Where did you lose your shadow?" Tim turned around. The shadow was in place. "But just now it wasn''t there... um, maybe I was wrong." Geography and English classes went as usual, but in math Tim suddenly felt someone staring at him. Perhaps with a similar look a biologist examines a frog prepared for dissection. The feeling was so unpleasant that when the teacher asked him to solve a relatively simple example at the blackboard, Tim blurted out the nonsense, though under other circumstances he might have had no problem giving the right answer. The classmates laughed and the angry teacher gave him an ''F'' promising to call to the blackboard again the next day. So after returning home and lunch Tim reluctantly took his math book out of his school bag and opened it to the right page. After the meal he wanted to lie on the couch and take a nap rather than work with decimal fractions. To cheer up, it would be nice to go to the online-game ''Fantasy Worlds'' at least for an hour, but there was a problem - the computer is password-protected, before 6 p.m. he can¡¯t launch it. And before that time his parents, whose efforts to protect him from temptation are too correct and therefore boring, will have time to return from work and demand a report on what he did in their absence. Willy-nilly at least a part of the homework must be done. And for what all these mathematical rules are!? Four arithmetical operations are quite enough. Not without reason someone of wise men noticed once: eighty percent of knowledge obtained at school nowhere will be useful in real life. But adults decided so, it¡¯s too difficult to argue with them. Three hundred years ago the weighty argument in their hands was rod, now it¡¯s the access to virtual reality. Even though times are changing, the ''stick'' in the system of education is still more weighty than the ''carrot''. As a result, many years later you will have nothing to remember except your studies! Reflecting on the injustice of life Tim turned the page mechanically. The rows of equations suddenly blurred and transformed into a sentence that had nothing to do with mathematics: The best school of magical arts in whole Universe invites you to study! Would you accept? The parents are right about something - too much interaction with the computer and especially online games will begin to produce glitches in real life as well. Well, no one has ever died from them, a short break is enough for restoration. Having calmed himself with this thought Tim tried to concentrate on his homework. But the strange sentence arose in his mind again and again. It is interesting, what will happen if he agrees? "Are you sure?" someone whispered in his ear. "Absolutely!" If you make a decision, don''t stop halfway - Tim always has tried to follow this simple rule. But if he''d known what would happen next... With a sudden jerk an unknown force yanked him from his chair and lifted him up. And then with great speed it dragged him along, through the absolute darkness of endless space illuminated only by the cold twinkling of distant stars. And Tim could not see how his grinning doppelganger got outside from the mirror. Flunging the math book under the table, he flopped down on the couch and pulled the TV remote to him. Book One. - The only earthling. Chapter 1. But then the flight stopped and Tim felt the solid surface beneath him. The darkness around him receded, scattered by the hundreds of multicolored lights that illuminated a huge hall, the size of which he had never seen before. The ceiling and walls were adorned with cave paintings: mysterious buildings that resembled ancient Eastern castles, distant misty shores and ocean depths, inhabited by strange creatures, and many other, no less impressive works of an unknown artist, executed so realistically as if he saw it all with his own eyes. At that moment, however, Tim had no time to look at pictures - he found himself in the middle of a crowd of boys and girls about the same age as him. When he tried to move, he found that he was unable to do so. He couldn''t speak either, so all he could do was turn his head around. The others seemed to be in the same condition, since no one made any attempt to start a conversation. A pointy-eared girl to his right, with matte white skin, bluish-black hair and bright red lips, noting Tim¡¯s interest, smiled so as if in his place was something delicious. Probably she poses as a vampire, he thought. A boy on the left looked even more exotic, covered from head to toes in ''scaly skin'' tattoos and with vertical, reptilian-like pupils in his eyes. At first Tim was slightly frightened when he saw this, but then he realized that such an effect may be achieved by implanting special eye lenses. Surely, the boy pretends to be a lizard-man! Tim looked around the crowd and was even more amazed: it was as if he had arrived at a carnival rather than a respectable educational institution. All the people around him had extravagant hairstyles and the most unimaginable colors of skin and clothing. Dressed in a daily blue T-shirt and home shorts Tim was a little embarrassed. But no one had warned him about the necessity of dressing up in a masquerade costume! A few bright flashes on the dais in front of the crowd distracted him from seeing his future classmates. Five figures materialized before them. A stately man with a chivalrous bearing and an unyielding expression of his face framed by waves of golden hair. Another man, less stately, a full head shorter than the first, was staring sorrowfully into the distance. A girl in a long-skirted green dress, her pointed ears peering through her brown hair. A third man, in contrast to the first and second, smiled good-naturedly, his fiery red curls flaring brightly as he did so. And finally, a woman in a burgundy color suit who looked something like the girl on the right, also black-haired and with scarlet lips. A sixth figure appeared a few seconds later - a green-skinned midget with a big crooked nose, dragging a cart in front of him on which was placed a glass cube the size of a microwave oven. The hall darkened, and a blue-grey fume filled up the cube forming vague outlines of someone¡¯s face. And then came a voice, unlike the image, clear and resounding. "Greetings, apprentices! Have you come here to learn the art of sorcery? And you dream of becoming powerful wizards, don''t you? Our school will give you that opportunity. But you''ll have to work hard, - a mockery was in the voice, but it was as if the people present did not notice it, listening to the speech in awe. - You must master the manipulations with the magical energy called mana, learn by heart dozens if not hundreds of spells and prove in practice that you are worthy to be the best of the best! You''re probably already wondering who I am. I won''t torture you with doubts: for the past three hundred and forty-eight years I have been Principal of the school. And during this time, thanks to my modest efforts our school has not only become a treasure trove of priceless knowledge about the art of magic, but it has also greatly expanded its territory. So now its young disciples have enough space for study and for rest. At your disposal will be everything you need for this, but remember - you cannot go above the second tier and down into the dungeon. Violators will be severely punished... if they live to see it, of course! If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. And now let me introduce your future teachers. Master Aerg (the man with a stern knight posture stepped forward) will teach you the basics of the magic of Light. Master Nimikel (the girl in the green dress dropped a curtsey) is skilled in the magic of Nature. Master Saag-Kof is an acknowledged expert in the magic of the Elements (the man with fiery red curls waved both hands in greeting). Master Iskitt (the man with the sad gaze nodded absently and paused again in thought) knows the magic of Mind better than anyone else. And finally, Master Ven''A''Sash (the woman in the burgundy color suit smiled ironically) will tell you the secrets of Twilight magic. And you have to be diligent students and not upset your teachers with laziness and disobedience. Our school is a closed boarding school, and you can''t leave it without completing your studies. Vacations, visits with relatives, exchange of letters and parcels are not allowed either. Nothing should distract you from your studies! Don''t worry: while you are here, your copies will remain at home, knowing and able to do the same as the originals, so no one will detect replacement. And when your training is finished, your minds will be merged upon return, and you''ll know everything that happened while you were away. Standard training lasts five years, but usually most people graduate ahead of time - it is enough to earn a thousand points and you''ll be sent home the same day! How do you obtain them, you ask? Very simply: you need to demonstrate your talents to your teachers for rewarding and winning tournaments that will be held regularly. Thus, all in your hands! As to the internal regulations ¨C daily schedule of activities will be posted regularly in front of the classroom. Each of you will be given your own room and a set of our school''s traditional uniform. Dining room is open throughout the day, but please remember that you are not here to fill your bellies! All the textbooks you need, as well as scientific and educational literature about the mysteries of magic can be found in the library. If you have any other questions, you can contact either your teachers or Sir Pulsok, the school''s caretaker." With a crooked smile, a green-skinned midget dressed in buttoned up grey suit made a bow. He looks like a goblin, Tim noted to himself. What if he really is a goblin? After all, the school, as the invitation said, is the best in the whole Universe. That''s why his future classmates looked so strange - they are not freaks, but real extraterrestrials! The ones with the pointy ears are probably elves. The girl on the right also has them, though for elf she is looking too oddly. But which of his compatriots can boast of having seen a real elf? Hmm, and what a weird ring is on the ring finger of his left hand? It looked like silver; if the school is really serious, it could hardly be iron. He got the answer almost immediately, though. "It is his responsibility to keep order in the school. And to punish those who disregard the rules of conduct. You''ll find them, by the way, on the same tier where your rooms are located. How can you read them if they are written in enhiu, the ancient language of magicians? Very simply, thanks to the rings each of you received when you got here. They allow you to read any text and understand what others are saying. And for successful creation of sorcery each of you will receive a wand that concentrates and directs the blow of magical energy. They will be given to you at the same time as your uniform. As for me, I wish you only one thing: good luck!" The image inside the cube disappeared. Before Tim had time to comprehend what he had heard, everything around him plunged in darkness. Fortunately, not for long: a few seconds later it was bright again. Now, however, they were in another room - less huge and more squat. The teachers were gone, only the goblin stayed with them, guarded by a giant who was three times Tim''s height and as much broader in the shoulders! Of course, who was going to obey an ugly midget? And with such a giant it¡¯s quite another matter! The goblin considered it beneath his dignity to introduce him to apprentices, and took the lead instead. "So, we''re going to the storeroom now to get things, and then you''ll settle into your rooms. Don''t scatter from there: when the pink eye lights up, we''ll have a celebratory dinner. And remember the Principal''s words!" The last one was uttered with the intonation with which the expression ''memento mori'' (don¡¯t forget death ¨C Latin) is usually uttered. Judging by the absence of windows in the halls and the domed ceilings, they are somewhere inside the mountain. A little unusual, but in principle nothing supernatural. Worse if there weren''t any windows in their rooms either, it would feel like you were in a prison cell. Where''s the way out? It would not be bad to see the world outside the school. Only if they are inside some asteroid... but his father once said that asteroids have practically no gravity, and it is enough to jump up to fly to the ceiling. There is no such thing here, Tim immediately checked, finding that he could control his own body again. Eh, they didn''t even let him say goodbye to his parents. Although they certainly wouldn''t let him go anywhere. That must be why the wizards here had invented the trick with the doppelgangers. How identical are they to the original? Probably sufficiently, otherwise the forgery would have been exposed at once. After all, he wasn''t the only one invited here to study! Tim didn''t have much time to think about it as the crowd around him started moving, the boys began stretching their limbs, the girls - putting on their makeup. Together they followed the goblin into a wide tunnel that led to the wide-open doors of a storage room where five dwarves, three men and two women, met them on the threshold. Just as many fantasy books describe them: stocky, with a perpetually concerned air and, of course, bearded. The women, however, did not wear beards (although some fantasy authors claimed otherwise) - Tim certainly would not have survived it. "New apprentices?" the dwarf, dressed more representative than the others, asked indifferently. He must be the head of the storehouse, and the others must be his assistants. "That''s right, Rugud. You may begin your service. When they get their things, our disembodied friends will show them where to live." A second later about a dozen of translucent creatures resembling enormous, adult-sized jellyfish appeared near the goblin. The similarity was enhanced by continuously stirred tentacles. The frightened pupils bunched in a crowd. "Don''t worry, they don''t bite," the goblin chuckled, pleased with the effect. "I don''t advise you to ignore them, though. They will make sure that you do not wander around and stay in your rooms at night. They themselves need neither rest nor sleep, and therefore are able to patrol the school territory day and night. Besides, they don''t have to pay a salary. See how convenient that is? The genius idea to hire them also belongs to our Principal. Before him, the place was such a mess! But now it is fixed completely!" Personally, Tim did not see anything funny in it - if he met such a bogeyman at home maybe he would become a stutterer. "Put some order into it, Pulsok," Rugud grumbled. "Otherwise how shall we serve them?" "Agyg, do it," the goblin commanded, and the giant began to form a line, without any hesitation pushing back those who happened to come across not in their turn. When he finished, the dwarves began their work inviting two people inside. The first who got a young sorcerer¡¯s set, was the girl with ashen hair, light-grey skin and glistening black eyes. In the right hand she had a suitcase, in the left ¨C something like a small pointer. Tim couldn¡¯t make out the details of it: one of the ghosts breaking away from the group of its congeners with a nasal whisper offered her to follow it. The same fate befell a boy with sharp-pointed ears that had left the storehouse after. Tim was lucky to be in the top twenty. Ahead of him was a puny boy half a head shorter, but with small curved horns peeking out from under his curly hair. If there were goblins and dwarves here, the horns must be real, but Tim was too shy to ask directly. Soon two boys and a girl approached them; all three were well-proportioned, blue-eyed and with sunny locks of hair. Undoubtedly they are from the same people as the teacher of Light magic. "Hey, tilfing, we were in line before you, remember?" one of the gold-haired fellows began without any preamble. "No, actually," the boy with horns cringed in fear. "Let me remind you," the second golden-haired boy said between his teeth. Coming close he pushed the horned boy forcing him to fall down to the floor. Tim instinctively helped the poor boy to stand up. "Hey, yellow-haired freaks, you sure weren''t here!" a swarthy-faced square-built boy with tough black hair and peeped out from the lower lip fangs appeared somewhere from behind. "Get off, orc, otherwise I¡¯ll beat you," the first golden-haired boy promised, and the girl from their company smiled contemptuously. Insulted by her smile, the swarthy-faced boy attacked the bully, but he easily dodged moving aside. The second blow was with the same result. Preparing himself for the third strike the swarthy-faced boy suddenly felt rising in the air: in the heat of the fight he didn¡¯t notice Agyg returning. "The school forbids fighting, and those involved will be severely punished," commented the goblin, who happened to be nearby. "For the beginning, give him a good shake and put in the end of the line. If he starts kicking, he''ll be locked up in a cell. And what are you standing around for? Take your places!" The company of golden-haired abusers went away with chuckling. Curiosity literally ate Tim, and in the end he dared to ask the owner of the horns why they attacked him. "But they''re anzimars! There is a long-standing feud between our peoples!" "Why?" From the confused narration of the boy Tim could understand the following. Once upon a time the people of tilfings lived free and happy in the world called Edlim sowing knoszu and breeding zhritu, and didn¡¯t think too much about the future. But one ill-fated day anzimars literally fell from the sky and began to create lawlessness taking for themselves the best lands, and those who tried to resist were killed or turned into slaves. Tilfings had to retreat in places which anzimars didn¡¯t want to populate and the armistice was declared. But it barely improved the situation: a tilfing can visit anzimar settlements only having sign of loyalty, and even then he can become an object for sneers and walloping. Several times tilfings rebelled but without any success: anzimars are better armed and master powerful magic, mainly Super-Abilities which are able to convert any weakling into an unbeatable champion. "Why do you think the anzimar beat me so easily? For sure he applied Super-Strength; with it you¡¯ll knock down even ihrig (animals resembling earth oxen, as Tim found out later)!" "Now I see why that orc couldn''t hit his opponent." "Yes, it also wasn¡¯t without the magic of Super-Abilities. Therefore I don¡¯t recommend you to stay on their way!" "Unless it''s a matter of principle. Don¡¯t worry: almost certainly we also shall study this magic." "That''s right! Then we''ll see who''s who! Our own magic isn''t very useful in battle. It''s actually good, but not when you''re getting hit." He didn''t have time to narrate for details what the sorcery is inherent to his race: he was invited in the storehouse. Tim was the next. Chapter 2. The warehouse was enormous, with all sorts of things - home furnishings, kitchen sets, a huge selection of clothes and shoes, and many other things for which we could only speculate. Separately, there were the suitcases that Tim had already seen in the hands of the other pupils. One of the dwarves dressed in a green coat (the other dwarf had a blue coat and was currently serving the tilfing), assessing Tim''s figure at a glance, handed him one of the suitcases. "There are two sets of clothes inside: everyday and uniform. Uniforms are mandatory for classes and ceremonial events held at school. The bedding is already in your room, changed every two weeks. Also you can find in the suitcase all necessary supplies for studying: grimoire, sheets for rough notes, stylus and so on." "What a grimoire is?" "Notebook for spell recording," the dwarf explained patiently. "And now follow me, you''ll have to get your own wand which is the most important thing of all." They came to a rack on shelves of which there were mini-pointers, each about thirty or forty centimeters long, with unique, unlike other colors and decorations on their surfaces. And the material used to make them was not the same either - wood, stone, glass and metal were almost equally represented here. There must have been at least two hundred of them in all - there was plenty to choose from. "And if I lose it, will I get a replacement?" the tilfing who had already acquired his own wand, a wooden stick with whorls, asked merrily. "For sure. But before you¡¯ll be knocked into the middle of next week. After it you¡¯ll hardly forget your wand anywhere." "All right. Catch up!" the last was referred to Tim, and the tilfing ran to the exit with a hop. "Which of the wands may I take?" "Any. But if you want to find the one that''s really yours, try to call it mentally. And accept one that has responded to you." Listening to the advice Tim closed his eyes and stretched out the palm of his right hand. Indeed, a moment later a wand came to be in it: hexahedral, made from the strange material resembling dark lilac plastic, but much heavier. "It''s very interesting," commented the dwarf. "In my memory, no one has ever chosen this wand. Or, more precisely, it didn¡¯t choose anybody. And I have been working here for almost seventy years." "Maybe I¡¯ll take another one?" "Why? What''s wrong with this one?" Tim did not argue, although there were some wands on the shelves that he liked better. And, not wanting to hold up the line he left the warehouse. "Follow me," with a howling whisper one of the ghosts commanded, and Tim had no choice but to obey. The tunnel led them back into the hall, and then they went upstairs. There was another hall, right in the middle of which Tim saw a construction resembling a Japanese garden of stones. In the centre of it there was white-marble obelisk on which at closer look one could make out a half-erased inscription: ''Just on the place Great Master Naergin, the founder of Jelshakh¡¯s school of the Magical Arts, proclaimed the main principles of its existence: everyone with magical abilities can come and study here independently of his origin, race, sex or faith''. On the opposite wall Tim noticed several multi-colored eyes painted in the ancient Egyptian style, arranged in a circle. The orange eye glowed brightly; the others remained dim. The clock of the world, Tim realized. That''s what the goblin had meant about the feast when the pink eye lit up. It''s worth hurrying - pink follows orange. Although, considering how many people are still just about to get their suitcases, he has some time on his hands. But the ghost seemed to think otherwise: without delaying it turned into one of the tunnels. They passed two doors across from each other; the inscriptions on them in Tim¡¯s brains were automatically transformed into the words ''Shower'' and ''Toilet''. So, the miraculous ring does not only make it possible to understand other people''s speech, but also to read any writings! Will they be allowed to keep their rings after finishing school? In theory it should be, otherwise how will he be able to communicate with former classmates afterwards? The main thing at that moment was not to lose the ring, but it was firmly situated on his finger not giving reasons for anxiety. The tunnel led them to a small corridor with five doors. The ghost headed for the one on the right, which bore the number "30". "Your room," it whispered. "Touch the door, and it will remember you." Tim placed his palm cautiously against the cool stone surface. The door smoothly slid backward. And a few seconds later it closed automatically behind him. That''s handy, and you don''t have to carry around your keys risking losing them. But what principle of interaction is used here? Reading of the fingerprints? The uniqueness of the bioenergetical envelope of a body commonly called an aura, surrounding every living being? Purely mechanical relation of an owner-thing type? It''s probably best not to talk about retinal scanning, let alone DNA analysis. It would be nice to ask somebody about it, but whom? Well, maybe it will be cleared with time. Fortunately, there was a window in the room. What''s more, there was also a balcony! It was accessible through another door, which also opened at a touch. Tim did not hesitate and climbed out - how could he not admire the beauty of the unfamiliar world! The bright crimson sun - just like in a dream. That''s where those visions came from! There must be some birds with rainbow plumage, but there were none to be seen. Only tatters of pale purple clouds floated leisurely by. Could it be that their school was so high up!? Cautiously leaning over the railing Tim looked down, and he was dizzy. Below him was a steep precipice, which after a couple of kilometers gradually descended into a gentle slope. Then a carpet of greenery stretched further - grass, bushes or trees, it was impossible to tell from this distance. The waterline glittered on the horizon. Was it a river or the sea - how to check it without skills of flying or alpinism? Maybe to prevent such attempts sturdy iron rods screwed into the railing, arching upward so nobody can easily climb over it and fall down. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. "Hey!" he was called out from a neighboring balcony. Tim turned around. It was his new acquaintance. "Good thing they settled us nearby! I was afraid they''d put someone else in your place if you stayed in the warehouse too long." "The dwarves hardly allowed me to stay there for a long time." "May I drop in on you?" "Certainly!" And Tim returned back into the room. "Ask the door to open, otherwise I can''t get in!" Tim had to touch the door again. "In fact, if the owner inside he can do it mentally," the tilfing remarked entering the room. "How did you know that?" "From a ghost. I wondered if all the doors were like that, or if there were some that had a normal lock on them." "Why do you need to know that?" "My innate gift is the ability to pick locks with the magic of the Illusory Key," the tilfing winked slyly at Tim. "I''ll show you sometime if I can find a suitable object. Oh, what a cool wand! Did you choose it yourself, or did you take the advice of the bearded shorty?" "I took some advice." "And I just grabbed the one I liked without listening to any of the chatter. You''d think dwarves knew magic!" Indeed, in the online games Tim logged in regularly on the Earth, dwarves were usually offered the warrior or guard option (with the immutable axe in their strong hands); they weren''t as good at magic as elves. But how would the tilfing know that? "Why do you think so?" he wondered. "Would a real wizard work in a warehouse? We don''t have people who are good at magic who would ever do that kind of nonsense!" "Neither would our wise men. And what do you say about the goblin?" "The so-called Sir Pulsok? He is nothing more than bachu! (as was cleared further the bachus are bald, badger-like beasts, in addition evil-smelling). A hundred to one he even doesn¡¯t know from which end to take a wand. That is why he hired a hill-sized bodyguard! Otherwise how to avoid jokes from pupils? I can make such a joke that nobody understands who the author is!" "He might be wearing something that protects him from the effects of magic. And that wouldn''t end well. It¡¯s better not to make haste." "Yeah, I didn''t think about the enchanted things against the effects of magic. Well, let''s not be hasty. By the way, we haven''t met yet! I''m Ri-Bo, and you are?" "Timothy." "It''s a pity you don''t have horns!" "Why?" "Then we would be able to butt! We do it when we make an acquaintance or simply greet each other!" "Well, maybe other tilfings are here and you can do it with them." "I haven''t noticed them yet. Have you seen any of our neighbors?" "No." "So it¡¯s time to get to know them!" "Are you not afraid of meeting anzimars among?" "It seems they stayed at the end of the queue; mainly girls and a couple of elves were ahead of us. Well, maybe later. Now change your dress, I¡¯ll drop in on you again after some time!" And he ran away. Before following the advice Tim looked around at the apartment where he was now going to live. There, on Earth, he also had his own room - small, but very cozy. A sofa-bed, a wardrobe, a bookshelf, a TV, a table with a computer. And a number of knick knacks like a crassula on the windowsill or posters on the walls. As long as the doppelganger doesn''t start redecorating in his own way! He shouldn''t if he really is his precise copy. There is a bed, a table and a wardrobe here, too, but different - more monumental, made of heavy wood. Directly above the bed was an eye-circle just like the one in the "garden of stones," but, of course, significantly smaller in size. Near it there was something like a datasheet. When Tim came close to it, he could make out nine squares filled with numbers from 1 to 25. Probably the local calendar, he thought, and then the local year has a total of 225 days. His surmise was confirmed by the inscription at the top: the year 2739 from the founding of the school. Wow!!! No other school on the Earth could boast such longevity. The numbers in three squares and partly in the fourth were crossed out by the former lodger of the room. It is interesting who he was. An elf? Orc? Anzimar? Or someone else? He was hardly destined to find out, unless by chance. After it Tim counted the eyes. There were fifteen of them. So there are fifteen hours in the day. Most likely, the local hour is longer than the earth hour, otherwise the pupils would have no time to study and sleep. In any case, he would have to get used to the local schedule. Then he unpacked the suitcase, just by running a finger along the seam, darker than the rest of the surface. Firstly he discovered the uniform; contrary to the fashion accepted on the Earth neither mantle nor pointed hat were not a part of it. It looked more like a tracksuit than anything else - a long-sleeved shirt of soft, comfortable fabric, pants of the same material, elegant black ankle boots and a headdress in the form of a cap. Daily clothes differed from the uniform in color - gray instead of magenta. The clothes were supplemented with several pairs of underpants and socks. Under the clothes there was a package containing school supplies. In it Tim found a weighty, encyclopedia-sized notebook, bound in leather, the pages of which were made not of paper, but from unusual material resembling two-layer polyethylene film reinforced with a thin metal net between the layers. A ballpoint pen would hardly leave any mark on such a surface. So instead of it there was a cylindrical rod one end of which was pointed and the other, on the contrary, rounded. It must be the stylus that the dwarf had mentioned. Once in a history class the teacher said that chroniclers of the ancient world used it to write on wax tablets, and the rounded end allowed them to erase what was written. In recent times other styluses have appeared - miniature sticks with a silicone tip. By touching a sensor panel you can control a computer or smartphone, as well as to make sketches on a graphic tablet. However, the rod that Tim was holding in his hands was closer to the "historical" version by design - and where in the world of magic would modern gadgets come from? Just out of interest Tim took a stylus in his right hand and tried to write on the first page of the grimoire his own name. Contrary to his fears, there was no need to scratch the paper - even a slight touch left a distinct mark on it. Turning the stylus over, he tried to wipe what he had written, and succeeded again - it took no more effort than wiping dust off with a rag. It is very comfortable: he will be able to correct an error or remove a picture (in dreaminess condition, when homework was too complicated or the lesson was too boring, Tim sometimes made various drawings of funny little people or flowers in the margins) before a teacher notes it. After taking inventory of the contents of the suitcase Tim looked into the wardrobe. There was a thick soft mattress and a set of bedclothes, and all that was left was to make the bed. He had never liked to do that, but he had to - three years ago his mother had declared that he was old enough to take care of himself. But now it would come in handy. Surely there would be some among his new classmates for whom this would be a problem. Then he touched one of the twinkles on the wall with his finger. It turned out to be varicolored moss (more correctly, a plant very similar to the moss) in contradistinction to its terrestrial analogue having the ability to light. In future they almost certainly will be trained to use magical light but now he had to be satisfied with these twinkles. Then he thoroughly inspected the wand that ¡°chose¡± him. Here and there on its facets there were scarcely noticeable symbols, but what they meant Tim could not realize: this time the ring refused to help. Closer to the thickened end of the wand he found a bulge and gently pressed it, but without any effect. Well, he¡¯ll come back to it later. The orange eye gradually began to fade and the pink one, accordingly, to flare up. It¡¯s time to put on the uniform. As soon as he did it, the tilfing appeared again wearing exactly the same magenta suit. Chapter 3. "Are you ready? Then let''s go!" "Do you know where the dining room is?" "Of course. It is on the same storey as the storehouse. There is an appropriate signboard near one of those tunnels." At the exit of the tunnel their attention was caught by a pair of elves, a boy and a girl (her costume, unlike his, was peach color), discussing some text carved in the wall under the ''clock''. It was the school''s Code of Conduct, mentioned by the Principal. Despite the objections of the tilfing, who was afraid of being late for the dining room, Tim still decided to at least glimpse the document. It would be quite reasonably to cite it here in its entirety:
  1. The Jelshah School of Magical Arts is the only school in the universe that teaches all kinds of magic.
  2. Only those chosen by destiny, whose ability to magic is unquestionable, can receive an invitation to study here.
  3. The house rules are set by the Principal of the school, and the pupils must abide by them.
  4. The administration of the school provides the pupils with everything they need for studying and living.
  5. Pupils have to attend classes. In case of unauthorized absence or inappropriate behavior the teacher has the right to impose disciplinary measures at his/her own discretion.
  6. At day-time pupils have the right to move freely within the school territory excluding the places that are clearly specified.
  7. At night-time pupils must stay in their rooms.
  8. In the case of misbehavior the inevitability of punishment is guaranteed. Nothing escapes the Magical Eye!
  9. Disciples that succeed in sorcery mastering may be stimulated with early school graduation. In exceptional cases they are given a pass to the Academy of sorcery with the prospect of becoming a teacher of magic.
  10. May the magic be with you!
"Why do I have to be cooped up at night? What if I have to pee?" The elf girl was indignant. "Well, they''ll probably let you go there!" the boy with the pointy eared answered her laughingly. "I''ll keep you company if you''re afraid." "Thanks, I''ll make my own way somehow!" "How do we know when it''s night and day?" Tim asked diplomatically. "Maybe one of the ghosts will tell us?" "Fie! They are so unsympathetic!" "You don''t like them either?" "Totally. They''re undead! We, elves, love living beings!" "Me, too," said Tim, and Ri-Bo nodded in agreement. "There''s stone all around!" the elf girl complained. "How can we study the magic of Nature if there isn''t even any grass here?" "Maybe a greenhouse is in one of the caves." "Let''s ask the teachers! For sure they will be present at the dinner!" "Nice idea. At the same time we shall find out about the change of day and night!" "Most likely blue and violet eyes are corresponding to night hours, yellow and red ones ¨C day hours accordingly," Tim noticed thoughtfully. "What makes you think that?" "Just guessing." "So, does the local clock look that way?" The elf girl was interested in it. "Not all watch the time on the chant of birds and moths fluttering. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if neither birds nor moths we meet here." "Oh, it will be very sad! It''s a pity I didn¡¯t think to take Yulluk with me!" "It''s her pet. Now she''ll think of him every day and cry for him," the elf boy explained humorously. "You''d think you wouldn''t care what happens to Uppigi!" the elf girl retorted indignantly. "Of course, no. Well, let''s hope our clones will take care of them just as well. By the way, my dear, after such a long conversation it would be impolite not to introduce ourselves to our new acquaintances. My name is Eliavin, and this is my twin sister Eliavel (they do look a lot alike, though different sexes, Tim noted to himself). And who are you?" "I''m Timothy." "And I''m Ri-Bo." "I''m sorry," Tim coughed. "When I arrived at the school, a black-haired, long-eared girl with crimson lips was next to me. Is she an elf, too?" Eliavin and Eliavel''s faces twisted in disgust. "Drowes! Dark elves! Cruel and vicious creatures who are worse than even orcs!" "You''re no saints, either, my so-called light brethren," a mocking voice came from behind them. A drow, dressed in a peachy uniform, looked in their direction with a challenge. "You were passing by, so keep walking," Eliavin replied coldly. "Cute in appearance and rude in communion ¨C that¡¯s it, the true face of a light elf," The drow needled him with a flirty smile. "Don''t try to molest my brother, or you''ll regret it, creature!" Eliavel was furious. "Really? I wonder, how?" "Now see!" A swarm of distastefully buzzing insects, hybrids of large flies and hornets, appeared in front of her and moved to the drow. But it didn¡¯t have time to cause any harm: the ghost flying nearby immediately shattered the sorcery. "Attacking your mates is a serious violation of the Code," it said with a nasal twang. "I shall report it to the administration and you¡¯ll be punished accordingly." "It wasn''t Eliavel''s fault!" Eliavin stood up for his sister. "It was the drow!" "But she wasn''t the one who cast the attack spell," the ghost was adamant. "Please be tolerant of each other." And with the winner''s step she moved away. Tears came to Eliavel''s eyes. "It''s not fair! If I am guilty then she is too!" "Only don¡¯t cry! No need to give drowes occasion for sneer!" "I knew that they are insidious and love to provoke, and succumbed nevertheless¡­" "Until meeting them face to face you can¡¯t grasp it completely." "They look a little like vampires," Tim remarked. "Who are there?" He had to explain it. "Spot-on!" Eliavel cheered up. "I wouldn''t be surprised if they really drink blood!" "Hey, are you going to have dinner?" two other elves hailed them from the stairs. "One moment!" and twins hurried to join them. "We must hurry too!" Ri-Bo was slightly nervous. "While we were chatting with the elves a lot of people passed by!" "Excuse me, please, will you tell me which eye is burning right now?" a gray-skinned girl with ashy hair turned to them - the same one who stood in line first. Tim looked back at the circle of the eyes. The pink eye was glowing at full power. Has the dinner really started already? They really had to run! Nevertheless, he deemed it unseemly to simply brush off his classmate. "The pink, of course. Don¡¯t you see it?" "Alas, I can distinguish only hues of black and white." "Then how about this: you draw a circle with your eyes and I''ll sign each one so that you will always know what time it is." "Oh, thank you! Why didn¡¯t such a simple solution cross my mind?" On the way to the dining room the girl had time to tell that her name was Chilajt and she was a gorgon. "And of course you turn people to stone with your gaze," Tim joked remembering the myths of ancient Greece. "Oh no, just paralyze them for a while," the girl replied in all seriousness. "It can''t be," Ri-Bo said disbelievingly. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "Are you doubting?" Chilajt smiled archly. "Then look into my eyes." "Oh, no, no, better another time¡­" The dining room met them with a festive atmosphere: the colorful twinkles shone here brighter than anywhere else, cheerful music played and the ghosts transformed into funny little men dancing in a ring. Most of the seats were already taken, they indeed turned out to be among the last. There was a teacher''s table against the wall opposite the entrance, and all five of them were already here. Noting Tim and his mates the goblin waved impatiently - get in, don¡¯t be long, we were waiting only for you. Then he seated himself at a separate table off to the side of the teacher''s table; sitting nearby Agyg already licked his lips in anticipation of the meal. But someone else was even later - the last one to arrive was a blue-skinned boy whose lilac hair was sticking out in different directions. The door slammed shut behind him meaning all festive dinner participants are inside. And it was the signal for Sir Pulsok''s Speech from the Throne. "First of all, let me congratulate you on the beginning of your studies at our school! Here you will learn everything connected with sorcery and our teachers will help you to do it! By the way, since they are also present here, you can ask them questions, but only one for each teacher. Everything else will be afterwards, in drab existence, and now we have a celebration! Here, in the dining room, special ¡®kitchen¡¯ magic is present, and today it is working at full capacity. Just imagine any dish, and it immediately appears in front of you! Everything you could only dream of at home, begging your parents to give at least a bit - no limits now!" Several students clapped their hands, and soon the rest, including Tim, Ri-Bo and Chilajt, joined them. As Tim finished applauding, he felt hungry. To imagine what he wants most of all? Without a problem! Roast turkey with all the fixings and, of course, with a crisp, just now extracted from an oven. Even when thinking about it, any mouth will water! "Wow, you did it!" Ri-Bo was happy with his friend¡¯s success. His own view of a feast for the stomach was expressed in a wooden basket filled with biscuits resembling oat ones. But the dish that appeared in front of Chilajt almost made Tim sick - a porcelain bowl filled to the top with earthworms! He had to enjoy the turkey without looking in its direction and thinking about the gorgon''s tastes. And at the same time he looked at his new classmates. One of the girls seems to have horns - Ri-Bo would have someone to butt with. And that one had ashy hair: Chilajt wouldn''t be without company from her countrymen, either. Most of them were elves, maybe a dozen. But drowes are in sufficient quantity, too; taking into consideration their attitudes, conflicts are inevitable. Five anzimars, there will be no picnic for tilfings. Besides it, three tattooed persons are here, a boy and two girls. Three orcs are heartily eating big pieces of fried meat. A few of the red- and lilac-haired boys and girls are sitting together; despite the difference in color not only hair but also in their skin they are chatting with each other in a friendly way. The freckled boy at the next table looks like an earthling, but for sure it had to talk with him. "Pupils, I''m warning you at once: don''t take the dishes out of the dining room! As soon as you cross the threshold, they will disappear and return to the kitchen!" Tim gave a start of surprise: he didn¡¯t even have thoughts of ¡®borrow¡¯ the plate on which the turkey was. But it seems that someone had such ideas since on some tables there were utensils and cutlery of yellow metal. Of course, it may be bronze¡­ "I want to ask," the first who dared to trouble the teachers was one of the drow girls. "When we become powerful sorcerers, will we be able to conjure up as much gold as we want?" "Oh, certainly, you will," red-haired Master Saag-Kof answered cheerfully. "If such trivia will excite you at that time." Some laughs were heard and the dining room made noise. Immediately after it an elf stood up from his place; Tim couldn''t say for sure if it was Eliavin or someone else, because he was too far away. Moreover, the same uniforms and traditional for all elves light-brown shoulder length hair ¨C it was a tough nut to crack, however! "I''m sorry, Masters, but the Code claims that in night hours we must stay in our rooms. Alas, not a word there when they are beginning and finishing." "There''s nothing complicated about that, and I wonder why Sir Pulsok hasn''t enlightened you by now," Master Aerg said rigidly. "Night for all of us begins when the violet eye lights up and finishes when the rifle-green eye goes out." "And how to use the wand?" one of the orcs wondered. There were smiles and laughter again in the dining room. "Very simply," Master Nimikel took the floor this time. "Those of you who looked at it closely almost certainly found out bulge. If you press it and say the key phrase, the spell will work. We will teach you exactly what words are needed for this." "Will it work if I say some jabberwocky?" Ri-Bo commented mischievously. Tim and Chilajt shrugged. "It probably won''t do anything." "We''ll have to give it a try!" "Only don''t blow the whole school to pieces!" Having eaten more than half of the turkey, Tim felt a thirst attack. A glass full of cold cola would come in handy, he thought, and he got what he wanted immediately. Just like in a fairy tale! Seeing this Ri-Bo and Chilajt also provided themselves with beverages suitable for their races. "It seems that the best place in the school is the dining room," Ri-Bo joked. "If only the lessons also take place here!" "And if in addition to setting here beds, it would be great at all," Chilajt spoke ironically. "You¡¯ll get bored of even the tastiest dish if it is served every day. By the way, would you like to try some of my food?" Having coped with his emotions Tim politely declined the offer, and Ri-Bo put some worms on his plate. "It¡¯s pretty delicious though the taste is unusual," he mumbled with a mouthful. "Roots of phiolt plant are one of the most exquisite dainties for us." Roots? With effort of the will Tim forced himself to glance at her bowl again. Indeed, ''worms'' didn¡¯t move and at closer examination had little in common with earthworms. "Well, then I also want to taste it," and he put a couple of ''worms'' on his plate. After it Ri-Bo treated Tim and Chilajt with tullku from his basket. Biscuits had fruit candy consistency and a bittersweet taste. In his turn Tim summoned another dish of the roast turkey specially for his new friends. In the meantime someone decided to ask why the Principal is not with them. "The Principal is very old and rarely leaves his quarters," Master Ven''A''Sash explained coldly. "But don''t worry, he''s always with us in spirit." There was another round of applause, which puzzled Tim: was it because the Principal is very old, or because he''s always with them in spirit? He was much happier when one of the lilac-haired boys asked what magic was. "That''s a good question," Master Iskitt answered; the color of his hair indicated the same ethnicity as the boy. "For thousands of years the greatest sages didn''t stop to argue about it. If anyone is interested in the details, I may recommend the book ''A bit about sorcery''. In short, the generally accepted point of view today is the following: magic is the ability to do paradoxical things by the appropriate influence on the universe structure. The core of this influence is just the phrases you should pronounce for required effect obtaining, and success is guaranteed with enough mana." "And," he added a second later, "I think, my colleagues will not object if I present two points to such a serious disciple for promotion of his thirst for knowledge." This time the applause seemed to Tim more deserved and he joined it with pleasure. Although, as he noted, not everyone was happy about their classmate¡¯s success. But there was a whole crowd of people who wanted to earn points, too. "No, no," the goblin intervened. "One question for each teacher has already been asked, the rest is not today. Now, each of the Masters will demonstrate something of their art, simple but quite illustrative." The noise in the dining room subsided, all present were waiting for continuation. "Since Light magic is undoubtedly the most honorable, I¡¯ll start first," Master Aerg declared. "Something simple? Well, let it be True Light." And with a wave of his wand he created several blindingly white orbs in the air. The ghosts, still dancing carefree, scattered frightfully as they appeared. "Do you see? No creature from the netherworld can harm those who have mastered the magic of Light to perfection!" "Light makes no sense without darkness, they are two sides of the same coin," Master Ven''A''Sash intervened. "Let the apprentices see the other side, and bow before its power!" The blindingly white orbs suddenly turned dead green, and Tim found himself sitting at the same table with zombies. The empty eye pits, black cleft instead of mouth and pus oozing through cracks in brown skin looked so natural that his blood ran cold. One of the girls shrieked in fear; her scream almost caused a general panic. Master Iskitt''s intervention saved the situation. "Dear colleague, you applied rather magic of illusions, which is within my competence," he mildly rebuked the drow teacher, at the same time liquidating the aftermath of her sorcery, "and frightened children into fits." "If I''d applied the true transformation, they wouldn''t have slept through the night," she snorted in answer. "Of course, we shall start our lessons with relatively innocuous things; let them get used to it." "Well, illusions are illusions," Master Iskitt agreed melancholy, not really listening to her anymore. "Maybe I shall be able to create something more optimistic." And those present were delighted to find their tables standing in the middle of a green meadow, surrounded on all sides by a forest thicket. Putting his hand aside, Tim touched the stone wall. It meant that actually they stayed where they were; around them was merely an illusion. But how believable one, up to impalpable details like chirring insects and aroma, well known to walkers in the woods on a sunny summer day! "I think the scenery can be enlivened a bit," Master Nimikel stepped in. A unicorn appeared at the edge of the grass-plot, and those who had desire could make certain that it was real by touching. Tim also dared to do so when the unicorn was nearby. The beauteous beast went around the dining room in a circle and disappeared waving its tail goodbye. All students were in rapture, especially elves: as it turned out later, just in their forests unicorns dwell. "And now it is my turn!" Master Saag-Kof cheerfully announced taking his wand in hands. "Nistorg denztirr augrumme!" Leaden clouds immediately covered the sky and heavy rain poured down. The pupils climbed under the tables to escape. Fortunately the downpour soon ended; sun began to shine again and warm wind quickly dried their bodies and clothes. Tim even felt regret when wonderful vision passed away: after a sunny summer meadow the dining room seemed gloomy to him. "Cool!" Ri-Bo was admired. "No one I know has ever mastered such powerful magic. Except for illusions, but those were not so impressive." "Not without reason they are Masters," Chilajt smiled. "With such power I could move their table closer to our one, with all the teachers, too." "Really?" "Of course. Because I have an innate gift for attracting things. Here, look!" And one of the biscuits moved through the air from Ri-Bo''s basket directly into her palm. "Awesome!" the tilfing was admired again. "You can take things from anywhere, even from under the teacher''s nose when he can''t see it. And I thought of your gift - paralyzing by sight!" "No, this ability is inherent to all representatives of my race. People say that once it saved us from the ruthless kelgogs." Tim pricked up his ears. There is a mention of a gift again. What if he has one too? But why doesn''t he know anything about it? "Those who liked the performance give thanks to your teachers!" the goblin¡¯s voice broke him away from the thoughts. After roaring cheers the junket continued; or, more precisely, gradually came to end. Pupils already had time to line their stomachs and not so much ate as talked. One by one the teachers were leaving the dining room disappearing into the air. Soon after it Sir Pulsok obviously hinted to them to finish the meal. Sitting near the entrance door Tim, Chilajt and Ri-Bo left the dining room among the first. And because of that they missed the most interesting event: a brief, snatchy scream followed by the thud of a falling body, and immediately after it - stomping of huge feet. What the goblin was talking after it was not clear, but it was not difficult to guess - the disciples, who had hesitated in the doorway, shot out, and in the corridor appeared Agyg holding at outstretched arms a pair of elves - light and dark. Pushing back one of the tattooed girls he carried them somewhere. "They''re fighting again," Ri-Bo commented merrily. "What the elves are, can¡¯t be in peace!" "Maybe it was a matter of principle." "Gradually they get used to each other sitting in the same classes," Chilajt didn¡¯t give it much importance. "Thanks for the company, but I have to go. I want to clean my room before nightfall. There is terrible dirt in my room! It''s as if the girl who lived there before me didn''t even think it was necessary to clean it once in a while! So I''ll see you tomorrow!" "My room is clean, just a little dusty," Ri-Bo boasted. "The former lodger had time not only for magical tricks." "Mine, too. Well, at least we don''t have to hurry to do the clear-out." And among others they walked to the stairs. Chapter 4. "By the way, how do you like the idea of going for a stroll when it¡¯ll be quiet here?" Ri-Bo suggested in a whisper as they approached the doors to their rooms. "Don¡¯t be afraid to find yourself in a disciplinary cell? Night is coming soon." "Where I came from, it was just beginning to morning. Before I could open my eyes, some invisible man asked me if I wanted to learn magic. And I blurted out ''yes'' without thinking what would happen. Now it is the middle of the day there and I don¡¯t want to sleep at all! What about you?" "In my land it should be evening now but too early to go to bed. Maybe two or three hours later. But if the regime is too severe here I can do it now." "Don¡¯t worry, if we meet anybody we shall say¡­ Well, for example, we decided to visit the library! What could be more beautiful than a thirst for knowledge?" "I don''t think it''s open at night." "But we might not be informed that they''ve started, right? If Chilajt doesn¡¯t distinguish colors, I can also declare that blue is mixed up with red, who¡¯ll check it?" "Well, you are a dodger!" "I have to be. How else would we have survived after anzimars'' invasion? Therefore, if we meet someone, don¡¯t start to talk before me, and I¡¯ll try to pull the wool over." "All right, you got it. Because they didn''t even give us time to look around." "Exactly! For sure there are a lot of interesting things here! And somewhere must be an entrance to the dungeon that the Principal talked about." "He also mentioned the third tier." "It''s not quite true: it was forbidden to go higher than the second tier. Maybe the third tier doesn''t exist at all." "If so, why the ban then?" "Let''s find out! We''re probably on the second tier, and on the first tier below us there is the warehouse and the dining room." "Where are our classrooms then?" "Probably the same place. Well, don''t fall asleep, I''ll knock when the time is right!" In anticipation of it Tim firstly made the bed. After night walking he hardly will have a desire to do it. And before it would be nice to have a rest, let the meal in the stomach digest a little, too much of it was eaten. Next time he should try to limit his appetite, otherwise instead of studying it will be continual sleeping. Not without reason ancient Romans said: satur venter non studet libenter ((a well-fed stomach is deaf to learning (Latin)). Feasting his eyes with sunset, Tim lay down and didn¡¯t notice when got off to sleep. A knock at the door awakened him, mechanically Tim had risen with a spring to open it but a second after he realized that it was enough to order mentally. "You fell asleep however! What luck I was able to awaken you! As for us, some people can be awakened only if you shout them directly in an ear! But making a noise on the whole tier is not in our plans. Do you agree?" "Absolutely. Let¡¯s go!" Not only the darkness outside the window, but also the greatly diminished number of the twinkles (among which blue and violet ones prevailed now) eloquently indicated that night had fallen. Tim found his daily suit, almost to the touch, and hastily put it on. Good thing that it is gray, so it would be harder to spot them in the dark. Nobody was in the tunnel but as soon as they passed by the toilet an elf came in sight from the shower room - as it turned out, their neighbor from room 26. "How far are you going?" he asked mockingly. "We want to check the schedule for tomorrow." "Very like a whale! You went out scouting, didn¡¯t you? Actually I thought the same." "Well, you may join us. If you are not afraid, of course." "Nobody before called Fingor a coward! You see!" "Hey, will you take me with you?" the red-haired occupant of Room 28, who poked his head out, obviously had overheard their conversation. "I can summon magical fire! Otherwise in local darkness it is easy to go astray." "You are welcome!" "Naar-Tam," red-haired boy introduced himself in turn by slapping his palm on Tim, Ri-Bo and Fingor palms. His pale orange skin felt very hot to the touch. And then he created a fireball that hovered in the air above their heads illuminating the area around them as well as a torch. "Good show, of course, but with such a searchlight everyone can see us a mile away." Tim made a wry face. "Better when we get down in the dungeon." "Hoo-oo! You really are going to do it?" Naar-Tam smiled. "We thought about it," Ri-Bo confessed. "I knew it!" Fingor exclaimed in triumph. "But I wouldn''t go there alone. If anything happened, it would take a long time to find you. Another thing if you are in a company - somebody pulls you out if you should happen to fall." "Are we gonna take our neighbor from room 27?" But nobody answered on the door knocking. "He is sleeping or going for a walk. Well, maybe next time." So, trying not to make any noise, they started on their way. At the entrance to the hall they had to wait for a while until the ghost patrolling the area disappeared into one of the tunnels. After taking a few steps Fingor suddenly stopped, however. "Shh! Someone is moving toward us." And they hid under the stairs leading upward. "Don¡¯t lurk, I see all of you finely," someone''s derisive voice called out to them. It was black-haired prick-eared boy with dark red lips. "Drow!! What do you want with us!?" Fingor shouted angrily. "Absolutely nothing. And please be quiet if you don¡¯t want to attract all the inhabitants of the local zoo." "Then why did you bother us? You could have gone on your way, mind your own business, and we could have gone on ours." "Maybe I wouldn¡¯t mind going with you. It''s always more fun together." "But you didn''t even ask for our agreement!" "Hey, elves, why are you so quarrelsome?" the good-natured face of Naar-Tam was genuinely confused. "I admit your people may have fought among yourselves in the past, but you see each other for the first time! And perhaps by joining forces you¡¯ll achieve more than singly." "We are too different to cooperate." "That¡¯s all nonsense! We, peirots, and yusmes are complete opposites to each other that doesn''t mean we can''t be friends!" "All right, let him come with us," Fingor grumbled. "But he can''t stay out of my sight all the time." "Oh, don¡¯t worry, if I had evil intentions I would make the thing!" The drow smiled and snapped his fingers. A pitch darkness reigned around them, Tim did not view anything even when approaching closely. Naar-Tam created a fire ball again but its shine was now very dim: the darkness seemed woven of a huge number of tiny black particles that absorbed the light. "Hey, put the fire away, I''m going to remove my spell!" Both spells stopped working at the same time. After the impenetrable darkness the lights on the walls seemed like little suns to Tim. "I can create the Veil of Dark from infancy," the drow explained, not without dignity. "It''s a very useful sorcery when you''re being chased by an enemy: it will confuse them. Though in our land there are beasts that have no need for vision and such a trick doesn''t deceive them. But there''s someone among you who practices Super-Abilities! I moved absolutely silently trying to avoid the lighted areas." "It seems not absolutely silent," Naar-Tam said with a laugh. "I have a gift of Biolocation and can feel a living creature even if it is invisible," Fingor elucidated grudgingly. "It''s a very useful skill, maybe not less valuable than Infravision that helps us, drowes, to find our way in dark tunnels. Alas, on the other hand our eyes can¡¯t endure bright light and in the sun we go blind." "That''s why you attack at night," Fingor noted caustically. "That''s enough!" unexpectedly even for himself Tim declared harshly. "The ghost will return soon and we have to go back. Personally, I believe the ability to see in the dark will be useful somewhere." "Me too!" Ri-Bo supported him. "What is your name?" "Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib, the Third Son of the Twenty-Seven House of Merzeran, to your service," the drow made an elegant slight bow. "As far as I understand the establishment of your society, it isn''t a high position," Fingor needled. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. "Not too high," Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib agreed quietly. "With training in magic, in theory I could strengthen it. But even being the First Son I hardly can hope for more than a job in one of our mean schools as assistant of a teacher. Honestly, I''m much more attracted to being independent of others." "It¡¯s because even if you become the Father of the House you¡¯ll not be its real ruler. For it you should be born as a girl." "Thanks, I''m fine being a boy." Tim, Ri-Bo, and Naar-Tam didn''t understand much of the dialogue, so they thought it best to grab the two elves by the arms and drag them along. And just in time: as soon as they descended the stairs, the ghost returned to the ''garden of stones''. In the hall of the lower tier Tim finally had a chance to look leisurely at the signs to all local tunnels: 1)Warehouse. 2)Library. 3)Laboratory. 4)Utility rooms. 5)Medical aid station. 6)Dining room. 7)Exit. "There is an exit to the outside!" Fingor rejoiced. "So I was right after all!" "Wait a minute, maybe this is the entrance to the subway," Ri-Bo cooled his ardor. "Well, in that case the signpost would be ''Entrance'' rather than ''Exit''. "I think we should go and check it." "Wait a minute. Mez, you won''t mind looking, are any ghosts there?" The dark elf readily responded to the request. And he looked at all seven tunnels one by one. "There''s one in the warehouse district. Two more are near the dining room although none of our classmates hardly stayed there." "Maybe the ghosts also decided to have a snack!" Naar-Tam joked. "So let''s head for the exit!" And they went off to make new discoveries. But on approaching it became clear: they are not destined at this time to see the world outside. The exit from the tunnel was closed by a huge stone boulder and two granite statues of monsters from afar resembling trolls guarded it. "Hey, you, stone blockheads, open the gate for us!" Ri-Bo hailed them mischievously. He shouldn''t have done it - the monsters, who''d shown no sign of life until then, jumped down from their plinths, squeezing and unclenching their fists, one blow of which could knock out if not an elephant, then a buffalo for sure, and their eyes glowed ruby red. "Hey, I didn''t mean that at all! Of course you''re handsome and the best guards in the school!" The monsters froze in place, apparently unsure whether to take that last phrase as a compliment or a mockery. Unable to come to any decision, they climbed back onto their plinths, though their eyes continued to burn with alertness. "Eh, happiness was so close," Fingor sighed. "Don''t worry, maybe the door will be open during the day and we''ll get past the monsters somehow." "It''s a pity we can''t do it now." "Why?" "There''s a ghost moving here." And indeed, one of the incorporeal creatures had turned into the tunnel where they had been and was now heading in their direction. "We''ll hide behind the statues," Mez''A''Shib reacted as quickly as thought. "I''ll apply the Veil of Dark again!" Naar-Tam and Fingor took cover behind the ''troll'' on their left and Mez''A''Shib, Tim, and Ri-Bo behind the one on their right. The darkness mantled them again - about the friends'' presence nearby Tim could judge only by their heavy breathing distinctly audible in silence. "They don''t have eyes! They hardly can see us!" he whispered to Ri-Bo, but Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib also heard it. "Just in case. Ghosts can sense the fire of life, but only at close range. Otherwise we haven''t been detected yet." "It would be nice to scare it by the balls that our teacher of Light magic was launching in the dining room." "Even if you succeeded, it would fly away and come back with help. It''s easier to use magic that makes you invisible to them. Shh! It''s too close." It seemed, a bit more and they would be found. In addition, the action of Veil of Dark ended at that time. But before reaching the statues the ghost turned back and soon faded into the distance. "Yippee! Let''s get out of here at last! I''m sick of seeing the asses of these ''beauties''." "Beware! If they get really offended, you won''t get past them at all. Better tell them thanks for not betraying us!" The monsters'' eyes lit up again but none continue not followed. "And where are we going now?" Fingor inquired when they had got out from the tunnel. "Maybe utility rooms?" Ri-Bo offered conspiratorially winking to Tim. "It will not work: a ghost flew this way," Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib sighed. "Then let''s go to the laboratory! For sure there are a lot of interesting things there! Maybe the entrance to the dungeon is nearby too!" There was no objection, and soon they were standing before the iron-bound door; a whiff of ammonia felt from under it. Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib took the door handle and cautiously pulled it. With a squeak the door opened enough for penetration. "It seems nobody is there. Shall we go in?" One by one they penetrated inside, looking dirty, covered by grayish-brown spots marble tables. Tripods, flacks, mortars, test-tube holders and other chemical accessories (names and destinations of which Tim didn¡¯t know) were piled on them in a mess. Only the table opposite the entrance was more or less clean or even covered with a tablecloth. Cupboards with jars of various contents were disposed along the walls. Among them there were several shelves with ancient scrolls probably containing all the wisdom of alchemical arts. In the far corner there was a stove made of bricks, and next to it was a sack of charcoal apparently used here as fuel. In another corner there was a dark passage, and one could even make out a few steps going down somewhere. "Wow! We found it!" But everything was not as simple as it seemed at first. As soon Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib came close to the passage as a meter tall creature in lab coat over the frock-coat popped out of there. Pointed ears and long nose made him related to goblins but his face was a lot smarter (he resembles a bit Master Yoda from ''Star Wars'', Tim noted to himself ). Seeing ''visitors'' he screamed hysterically: "Thieves! Go away, or I''ll call the guards!" "Please, don''t! We didn''t take anything, we just want to know where the dungeon is!" "And what makes you think it''s behind the door marked ''Laboratory''? Stupid disciples! The previous ones were smarter than you and didn¡¯t search for it here! Because the entrance to the dungeon is in a completely different place!" "Which one, if it''s not a secret?" "Ha! You think I''ll tell it? Don¡¯t hold your breath! Though¡­ if you''re not afraid of night walks¡­" "It''s nighttime now, and we''re here instead of in our rooms," Ri-Bo boasted. "What kind of young people are these days, no respect for the elders! They didn''t even let me finish what I was saying! You¡¯d think I don¡¯t know what time it is now! And that there are newcomers in school today! Who were so nimble that dared to violate the Code of Conduct right away!" "But you won''t turn us in to the administration, will you?" Fingor asked gloomily. "Of course not! What''s in it for me? It''s not my job to catch troublemakers. Let those in charge do that! Though assistants would be very useful for me, I can''t go everywhere alone!" This is where the delinquents are dispatched! But probably not just here otherwise those two elves now would pound any muck in mortars or watch for the stove regularly fueling fire in it. "You decided not to extradite us for acquisition of free assistants. Hence you are expecting to get more out of our voluntary cooperation," Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib supposed suavely. "You are discerning, young drow. Indeed, in our world, as everywhere else, information is a commodity. And the more valuable it is, the more it''s worth." "And there are extortionists here, too," Fingor grumbled, taking the carved wooden plates out of his pocket. "Oh no, I have no use for elvish money. That''s not the currency we use here. Look!" opening one of the boxes of the table in front of the door the creature got off there several varicolored crystals. "Here! Quintessence of the ether, crystals of magic in its pure form. You can use them to improve your magical talents, or you can bring them here and exchange them for something useful. Not just information - I actually am not a bad alchemist! It is a pity that you are not studying alchemy! Then I probably would be your teacher. For the right price I can fabricate powerful potions acting no worse than a good sorcery! Invisibility? No problem. Ice Shield? As many as you like. Metamorphosis? As you say. It''s just a question of price." "But where are we going to get those crystals?" Tim asked. "Anywhere. Watch your step more often! And keep in mind that the value of crystals depends on their shape. Spheres are the most often found, so they are the least valuable. Less frequent are tetrahedrons. If you are lucky, you will find a cube or an octahedron. And icosahedrons and dodecahedrons are the rarest and worth-while. But get a couple of spheres to start with!" "And what else can we do to help?" Ri-Bo took the initiative. His face was burning with impatience. "With what else...," the creature became thoughtful. "Well, besides crystals, you might also come across fragments of a mosaic, pieces of a picture, and if you recreate it, you might get a reward. For instance, a spell not described in the books. Or an enchanted item with very useful qualities for a young magician. Or a pet that can help out in a time of need. Until you put the puzzle together, you won''t know it in advance. If you find a few identical pieces, bring extra pieces here. And, of course, I will need ingredients for potions. Here''s the list! But keep in mind that they must be fresh, as dried ones are of little use!" The rolled into a tube list moved to Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib hands. "Hey!" Fingor resented. "Why you?" "I will rewrite it and return after. Or you prefer to tear it into five pieces?" "You, drowes, are able to do more than so!" "Not again! Can''t you, elves, live in peace?" Naar-Tam was sincerely surprised. "I''m sure he values our friendship more than the list! "It goes without saying but light elves are hardly able to understand it." "Well, keep out of a quarrel; it¡¯s not in your interests or mine," the creature said in a conciliatory tone. "Give me back the list for a moment, and I''ll make copies. See how it works." From the same box he got a wand (less than half that of theirs) and with whispering some words touched the list. A moment later five identical lists laid in front of him. "Cool!" Ri-Bo admired taking one of the copies. "And the crystals may be multiplied in a similar manner?" "You have to be joking! Copying spells act only on material objects and have a lot of limitations. But about it let the teachers tell you! And, if you don¡¯t have any questions, I am going to leave. See you again when you¡¯ll get at least five crystals! I''m sure it shouldn''t be too hard for such slyboots like you!" Lifting his wide-brimmed hat in a farewell the creature disappeared in the passage he had come from. Realizing the conversation is over Tim and his friends left the laboratory. "We still need to figure out where exactly these crystals may be found¡­" "It would be nice to have some digging near the obelisk in the middle of the hall of our storey. For sure we shall find a few!" "Who was that? Another goblin?" Tim wondered. "It''s really a kobold," Mez''A''Shib explained. "It''s a good thing you didn''t ask that question in the laboratory otherwise he kicked us out of there. Though goblins and kobolds are distantly related, they cannot stand each other. And there''s no worse insult to a kobold than calling him a goblin." "I see you know it firsthand." "It¡¯s natural because their tribes are living in the vicinity of us, dark elves. By the way, kobolds are really skilled craftsmen and in jewelry craftsmanship they have no equal. Their potions also are pretty nice but prices usually are high. On the other hand they never deceive their customers and you are receiving what you want. Rather a dwarf cheats you than a kobold." "Well, let¡¯s go find some crystals then!" "Too late. We''ve been spotted." Tim turned back. As many as three ghosts approached their company. "I¡¯ll try to confuse them," Ri-Bo took the initiative. "Hey! It''s a good thing we met you! We were lost in our search for the library! We want to borrow some of the cool picture books!" The ghosts paused, digesting what they heard, and did not answer immediately. "It''s nighttime, and you should be in your rooms. You should come to the library during the day." "The night has already begun? Are you sure? We hadn''t noticed! Thank you for the information. We''re going back to our places immediately!" The tilfing said all this with complete sincerity. He''s clearly losing his acting talent, Tim thought. "Nice talk!" Mez''A''Shib admired it. "Not every drow could do that!" "A true elf wouldn''t defile his mouth with lies for paltry purpose sake," Fingor grimaced. "So go and tell them that you have maliciously violated the Code. And with peace of mind set off after those two." "Damn it! At first we had to find them!" "Relax, there''s probably guards there. Besides, they''ll probably be back in the morning." Under escort, they went up the stairs. Then they parted: one of the ghosts led Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib to his apartment; two others followed in Tim, Ri-Bo, Naar-Tam and Fingor footsteps preventing attempts of an ''accidental loss'' along the way. "How vexing, we didn¡¯t have time for all our plans! Well, we shall continue it tomorrow!" "There are classes tomorrow," Fingor informed glumly. "We''ll start with Aerg on the light-green eye and then Nimikel on the yellow-orange one." "How did you know that?" "From the schedule, of course. After the festive dinner I decided to take a walk upstairs, that''s where it was." "You went up to the third tier?!?" Tim and Ri-Bo exclaimed in one voice. "Was that the third tier? Actually, I wasn''t the only one who went up there. And no one kicked us out of there." "That''s strange. What did the Principal mean by that?" "You''ll have to ask him yourself." "If I meet him anywhere you get a hold of him, I will!" "There''s also a classroom there for our classes, by the way," said the elf. "I''m sure it''s the second tier; we''re on the first now, and the one we''ve just been the ground tier or the basement." The future confirmed his assumption. Chapter 5. That''s really enough for today, Tim thought, once he was back in his room. Too much adventure for just one day. After allowing himself a few minutes to admire the stars that shone brightly against the purple-black sky of the alien world (three stars were much larger than the others - probably the satellites of the planet where their school was located), Tim undressed and dove into bed. As he did so, something round fell off the blanket onto the floor, immediately rolling under the wardrobe. He sneezed a few times from the dust in his nose, but pulled it out. It was a small green ball, slightly warm to the touch. So the crystals really could be found! In a burst of treasure-hunting excitement Tim explored every corner of his room, but found nothing else. Well, a little bit of a good thing. He crawled back under the blanket and fell asleep almost instantly. In the morning a loud knock at the door woke him; in a half-awake state Tim jumped up to open it, but halfway realizing where he was now he gave a mental order. A second later Ri-Bo appeared in the room. "Still asleep? Hurry up, the light green eye is already lighting up, the Light Magic class is coming up!" Yeah, that''s what not having an alarm clock means. "By the way, look what I found this morning!" There were two crystals in the palm of tilfing''s hand, a yellow sphere and a black tetrahedron. "That''s cool! Two of them at once! I''ve only had one so far, and that was by accident. It rolled off the blanket when I went to bed." "I found mine in my nightstand. Probably, the previous owner has left them as a memento. It¡¯s a pity, I don¡¯t know his name, otherwise for sure I would say to him ¡°Thank you very much!¡± With such a success we¡¯ll be able to pay off the kobold no later than today! Especially if our friends can find at least one each. Anyway, when you''re ready, knock on my door! Naar-Tam will go too!" Alas, there was no time for breakfast. Fortunately, after the festive dinner hunger has not yet had time to wake up. Taking their grimoires and wands all three of them set out for class. Fingor, as it turned out, had left early, and the mysterious inhabitant of Room 27 still refused to show his face. "Maybe there''s no one there?" Tim hesitated. "Actually, someone is. I heard quiet footsteps behind the wall," Naar-Tam reported. "Maybe he''s afraid of us," Ri-Bo summed up. "But we''re not scary at all! Well, just let him go to the toilet and we''ll meet him on the way out and get acquainted!" In the upstairs hall there was indeed a schedule of classes. Next to it was a calendar similar to the one in Tim''s room, but ten times bigger. Seven of the nine squares were blacked out; they arrived here at the very beginning of a new month. The year was 2740 since the school had been founded, which meant the previous occupant of his room had graduated a year and a half ago. Almost certainly ahead of schedule - it is highly unlikely the administration would have waited so much time before enrolling new pupils. Directly opposite the stairs was a classroom, as evidenced by the corresponding sign on the door. As a matter of fact, there were only three rooms on this tier - besides the lecture hall, there was also the Main Hall and the museum. The tunnel to the Main Hall was decorated with statues; it was where they all arrived the day before, agreeing to the training. The tunnel to the museum, on the other hand, was blocked off with brickwork and the words "Repair works" written at an angle in red paint. "It¡¯s a pity that we won¡¯t be able to admire the local curiosities," Naar-Tam sighed. "Maybe it will be opened soon," Ri-Bo tried to encourage him. And seeing the girl with ashen hair, called her out: "Chilajt, hello!" "I am Mikpir. Well, my countrywoman¡¯s name is Chilajt? I saw her but had no case to become acquainted." "Hey, Naar-Tam!" a red-haired girl with light-orange skin hailed their company in turn. "Meet: my compatriot Tiis-Mir," Naar-Tam introduced her to Tim and Ri-Bo. The girl clapped her palms alternately on theirs. "Glad to meet you. How do you like our school? I can''t wait to learn how to do magic!" "Then let''s not keep the teacher waiting for us. I think he''s already inside." Master Aerg had indeed already taken his seat on the rostrum, to which rows of stone desks descended in a semicircle. The elves and anzimars had occupied the front seats, and the others sat behind them in a jumble. Tim and his friends had taken one of the upper rows, at the left end, so they could see everything, and not in front of the teacher. After waiting another five minutes, Master Aerg decided to start the class. "Did everyone bring their grimoires and wands? Very well (if anyone didn''t, he didn''t admit it). You must have them with you at each lesson. Today you¡¯ll need rather grimoirs than wands because we are beginning from the ground up. Magic of Light includes three main sections: Healing, Super-Abilities and Protection from the dark sorcery. Passing the exam assumes that you have mastered at least one of the sections and are confident in the other two." Sakes alive! There''s also an exam to take? Although what school is that without final exams? At that moment, a girl who was breathing heavily ran into the classroom. "Excuse me, please, I had to go back for the grimoire..." Tim looked back - it was Chilajt and - what a tragedy! - in her gray daily clothes! If she''d come earlier, she could have hidden behind the desks, and maybe the teacher wouldn''t have noticed it. And now... "Ha-ha, look what she''s wearing!" It was heard from the front rows, and the whole class turned around and looked at Chilajt as if in her place was some outlandish critter. The girl''s cheeks turned black, the gorgon way of expressing extreme embarrassment when you''re literally ready to fall through the ground. "Silence, you lot!" Master Aerg exclaimed. "I realize that your race doesn¡¯t distinguish colors but it¡¯s no reason for lateness. Go change your clothes and come back. Minus three points for a starter; if it happens again, a few hours of community service is usually a good thing for correction." Chilajt ran off and the lesson resumed. "And now a little theory, without which you can''t even become a junior assistant to the most untalented wizard. What good is having magical power if you don''t know where and how to use it? You will have to memorize dozens, if not hundreds, of spell formulas, the very key phrases that are able to realize your desires. It is not difficult for those who set a goal to learn at least one a day. You''ll find the formulas you need in Frexg''s textbook ''Magic of Light is my favorite magic''. And at the next class I''ll check to see if you''ve read it and what you''ve learned from it. A little later there will also be practice, first of all on healing, as it is the most noble and necessary occupation. But first... what do you think is the difference between a strong sorcerer and a weak one? That''s right: their potential. Each spell requires a certain amount of mana to be successful, and if it exceeds your supply, you can wave your wand around all day, muttering keywords - nothing will work. So in addition to memorizing your formulas you must work tirelessly to expand your mana stock and its continuous replenishment. How? Through meditation, of course! The meditation technique is described in detail in Abalug''s booklet ''Finding Power'' which can also be borrowed from the library. In brief, it is enough to sit down, close your eyes and concentrate on pronouncing certain phrases without thinking about anything else. The influx of mana is not very fast, and only those who are diligent enough can reap the worthy fruit from this tree." After a brief silence Master Aerg took a few steps back and forth across the rostrum. Taking advantage of the pause Tim opened his grimoire and wrote down the authors and titles of the books. Ri-Bo didn''t bother with that. "I''ll copy it from you later. I better be a listener now!" If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Chilajt also seized the opportunity for inconspicuous penetration in the lecture-room sitting behind their company. "For those who are not so diligent there is another way," the voice of Master Aerg became harsh, "sometimes on the school¡¯s territory you¡¯ll find vitreous crystals; in real they are concentrates of the magical energy. It is enough to touch a crystal with your wand and say ''Eflirg toakt'' and it will dissipate, transmitting you its energy. I see some of you are impatient to go looking for one right now. Be warned: don''t get too enthusiastic about using them, there are a lot of hidden rocks there." "Did you write down the right words?" Ri-Bo asked Tim. "The words for the crystals activation? Of course." "But what danger is there in using them?" Tiis-Mir wondered. "I found one and I didn''t know what it was for." And she showed them a small red ball. "He''s probably trying to teach us discipline so we don''t take the easy way out," Naar-Tam explained with a laugh. "I am sure: when he was our age he was also looking for the crystals, and now he''s moralizing over us!" Ri-Bo said the last phrase too emotionally - several classmates looked in their direction, forcing the teacher to put an end to ''disorder''. "You must not engage in extraneous things during class! If I notice any of you chatting with neighbors or sleeping I''ll immediately impose a penalty!" Ri-Bo got frightened and stayed quiet for the rest of the class (which took a lot of effort from him). He didn''t have to endure the ordeal for long, though: talking a little about how honorable to be a White Wizard, Master Aerg let them go, in the end one more time scaring them with severe punishment for those who will not be zealous in sorcery studying. "Not so much teaching as intimidating," Ri-Bo commented as they left the auditorium. "Well, at least he gave details about the crystals, the only benefit of the lesson." "You knew about them already?" Chilajt was surprised. "A little... but it''s better not in front of everyone. Otherwise the whole class will come looking for them and we won''t get anything." "Then let''s go to the Main Hall, it''s empty and I''ll show you the board with our names on it. I was so tired from cleaning last night that it''s not unusual to get my costumes mixed up while I was awake. When I had returned after changing clothes I initially couldn¡¯t make up my mind to enter the lecture-room at once and to build up courage I decided to look into the Hall." "The board with our names? That''s interesting! Let''s go there!" On the way Tim looked with interest at the statues they passed by. The greatest sorcerers of the past were staring blankly into the distance, indifferent to what was going on around them. But as soon as he looked away, there was an immediate feeling of ''sight in the back'', which disappeared when he turned round. In the Main Hall, across from the entrance, there was indeed the board, though it wasn''t there yesterday. Five dozen names, Tim was not lazy to count. Most of them had zeros against them. Someone named Patpako had two points, probably that one who had asked about the essence of the magic during the festive dinner. Minus four points to Eliavel due to attacking the drow girl; minus three to Chilajt was the ¡®present¡¯ of Master Aerg. Some of their classmates also had minus two or three points: probably they decided to do night walking too but were unlucky to get caught. Thanks to Ri-Bo, otherwise the number of names with negative scores would be significantly larger. Two of them, Taeron and Zur''U''Fes, got minus seven points, probably for fighting in the dining room. Couldn''t they have done that without being seen? "Come on, tell me what you want to say! " Chilajt addressed Ri-Bo when the interest in looking at the list of names had faded a little. "Just between us, there''s someone here who trades alchemical potions for crystals. He''s the one who told us about them." "Why didn''t you say this earlier?" Tis-Meer lit up with the idea. "Let''s look for them right here! We''ll find at least one!" Indeed, one crystal was found - a white tetrahedron. And Naar-Tam was also lucky to come across an object that at first appeared to be a shard of porcelain saucer. Fortunately, its edges were not sharp and could not hurt the skin. On one side of the shard was half a green leaf, drawn very carefully - you could even make out the veins. On the other side was a symbol made up of two letters ''K'' joined together. "That''s what the kobold was talking about," Ri-Bo whispered reverently. "A piece of a puzzle. If you put the pieces all together, you''ll get a present." "What present?" "Nobody knows it yet, but it''s almost certainly valuable enough." "Where else shall we look then?" "It''s probably better not now," Tim said. "I didn''t have time to eat breakfast this morning, and now I would be happy to have a snack. I''ve got one more class to get to today. If I''m lucky, I even have time to visit the library before Nature magic class." "That''s right! We need snacks and textbooks too! Let''s go!" At the tunnel''s exit, however, they were waiting for three anzimars lazily staring at the statues and pretending not to be interested in anything else. "They''re after me," Ri-Bo muttered fearfully and stopped. "You have said it so as if they''re going to arrest you," Chilajt grinned. "No, but they can beat him a little,"Tim stated in all seriousness. "What for?" "No reason. Well, for instance, because they don''t like guys with horns." "This is nonsense," Tiis-Mir snorted. "Is that a reason?" "For someone it¡¯s so." "Three against one, is that fair?" "Three against five would be less satisfactory to them," Naar-Tam asserted firmly. "Come with us and do not answer if they call." When their company reached the anzimars, one of them said: "Tilfing, we need to talk to you." "Well, talk, we won''t interfere," Tim replied with a sneer in his voice. "The conversation is not for outside ears." "I''m sorry, in that case, we have business to attend to. Perhaps he''ll have a moment for you later." "It would be in your interest, tilfing, to do so now," the anzimar said with pressure, disregarding the jokes. The authority in his voice and the unwavering confidence in his own power made Ri-Bo bow his head; a little more and he would agree to go voluntarily with his torturers. But at this moment Chilajt came into play. "You were answered ¨C later! Clear the way!" "Wow, what a bold statement! For a start learn to distinguish colors! How do people like you even get into a school?" "Do you really want to know?" Chilajt asked in a deceptively soft voice. Their gazes met for a moment, and her eyes flashed with a piercing gleam. With a muffled cry the anzimar tried to turn away, but froze with his head bowed to his side. "Anybody else want to know this?" she turned to his pals, and they all backed away in fright. "So the question is over. Don''t worry about your buddy: he will wake up soon. And we, if there are no objections, will continue on our way." "Thank you, of course, but now the anzimars won''t want to be friends with you," Ri-Bo sighed when they went downstairs. "We don''t need friends like that even for nothing," Naar-Tam replied cheerfully. "I am sure we can find more pleasant people for friendship. And now it''s really time to have a meal!" They decided to take the grimoires and wands with them - it was a waste of time to take them to the rooms first and then take them back for the next class. The dining room was deserted. Later it turned out that someone had heard a rumor that the Druidism class was to be held outdoors, so the exit was already open. As a result, everyone rushed off to explore the world outside. It is interesting how effective the kitchen magic today, Tim thought, and ordered another fried chicken for the sake of experiment. And he wasn''t too surprised to get a potato side dish with three pieces of meat and a tomato salad instead. "Enough is enough," Ri-Bo summed up dejectedly, chewing the pinkish-yellow beans of unknown origin without much appetite. "I hope there''s more than one holiday a year." The meal of Naar-Tam and Tiis-Mir was steamed, so hot it was. But it didn¡¯t prevent them from enjoying it. "We, peirots, like hot things," Naar-Tam explained with a cheerful smile. "No wonder we are called the Children of Fire! And yusmes, the Children of Water, on the contrary prefer when ice crunches on the teeth." From his further narration it was cleared that both folks are living on the same planet but on different halves of it . On the one half, where the peirots live, the sun shines all day long (unless covered by clouds) and it''s very hot. The other half, which is home to the yusmes, is lit by a planetary satellite, there reigns eternal night and very cold. The peirots and the yusmes have never fought each other; what for it if you cannot live in the foretgn territory? Moreover, because each folk have things needful for the other, in Borderlands, where they can both stay for long periods of time, there are a dynamic trade, news exchange, theaters, circuses and intricate games. There are also schools of magic - each nation, of course, has its own. They teach mostly the magic of the Elements: the Peirots, of course, primarily study the magic of fire, the yusmes - the magic of water. In addition, you can find empaths among the yusmes. "Who are they?" Ri-Bo wondered. "Those who are able at barely glancing detect your state of mind: joy, sorrow or anxiety in your heart," Naar-Tam explained. "Awesome!" "With such a talent in my world you would have a straight ticket to psychoanalysis," Tim noted. "The coolest profession: to talk with a man heart-to-heart and to discover that all his problems due to the conversation in the parents¡¯ bedroom overheard in early childhood, and having a good profit out of it." Naar-Tam and Tiis-Mir laughed heartily. "In fact, it¡¯s very similar! Yusmes are known lovers to make a mountain out of a molehill. As for us, warm, light, friends nearby and opportunity to do things you like, what else do you need for happiness?" Their carefree talking was interrupted by the appearance of an orc who immediately began to inspect the floor under the tables. "Hey, mate, what did you lose?" In the end the curiosity was simply eating Ri-Bo up. "Namitil said yesterday that he had seen here a ball under one of the tables but he was too lazy to take it up," the orc confessed guilelessly. Most likely the elf joked but his words were taken at face value. And what if he¡¯ll really find something? Luck smiled at the orc at the table where the goblin and his ''bodyguard'' had sat the day before. Bending down he picked up a thing and started to examine it. "Show what you found!" Ri-Bo hailed him mischievously. "It looks like a plate was broken here, and one of the shards remained unclear. A nice picture was on the plate, what a pity!" It was a piece of a mosaic with a picture of a snow-covered mountain peak, and the temptation to advise the naive ''treasure hunter'' to throw it away and pick it up later was great. Fortunately, no one gave in to the temptation. "If they come across any more, collect them, if they are the same, bring them to us for exchange. " "What for?" "You can make a picture out of them. For which you will receive a prize." For a minute the orc pondered what he had heard. And then he grinned happily, clapped Naar-Tam on the shoulder and ran away. "It''s a pity we didn''t check the dining room before we ate," Ri-Bo sighed. "Don¡¯t regret! You''ll find a dozen more!" Yeah, for peirots all is simple: don¡¯t refuse a gift, don¡¯t accept a blow. On the other hand, it isn¡¯t sadly in their company. Chapter 6. It was quiet in the library. Also it was very dark there, even darker than in tunnels at night hours. Reading in these conditions is a direct way to lose sight. And what else is to do in a library where nothing but books? Therefore being inside Naar-Tam decided not to wait when vision will be restored, once again resorting to the help of the fireball. Directly in front of them was a green cloth-covered library desk, and beyond that were rows of stone shelves going down into the darkness. There were hundreds if not thousands of manuscripts on them: ancient, iron-bound, with time-darkened pages; maybe wisdom of all worlds inhabited by sentient beings had been gathered here. Legends, myths, tales about greatest rulers, invincible commanders, glorious heroes of the past, whose deeds and exploits chroniclers deemed worthy to save for posterity - all this Tim was fond of almost from the cradle. Maybe that''s why he was invited to study at the school of magic. Although there are millions of children on Earth who read fantasy stories, what is so special about him? "Have you come for knowledge?" a voice full of wisdom and sadness distracted Tim from his thoughts. From somewhere on the side a flying carpet emerged from the darkness and stopped behind the desk hovering half a meter from the floor. An old man sitting on it looked as if he had been taken from the pages of ''The Arabian Nights'': with a turban on his head, a long white beard, a full-length oriental cloak and pointed suede shoes on his feet. The likeness ended on it, though: the old man¡¯s skin had steel hue and the eyes were emerald green. "Why else would we have come here?" said Tiis-Mir with a laugh. "Not to have lunch, of course!" "We had class on Light Magic today," Naar-Tam added. "You don''t have to go on," the old man smiled. "Frexg, ''Magic of Light is my favorite magic'', am I right? Master Aerg is surprisingly consistent and always recommends just this textbook, though there are other tutorials, not worse. All right, I''ll give everyone a copy. But first I should register you, that''s the order." From a box on the edge of the library desk the librarian got a pile of notebooks resembling their grimoirs but several times less in size. There are service lists, Tim guessed; just in them their names and taken books will be recorded. And after it a funny small octopus, pink with black shiny eyes, leapt out of the box. "Oh, how cute!" Chilajt was admired. "Who is it?" "It''s Luguk. It was created by Migraim, the greatest wizard of his time, and it is serving faithfully to its masters for nearly two thousand years. I inherited it from the previous librarian, and when I am ready to retire, I will pass it on to my successor." "Created? You mean it''s... undead??" "It depends on what you mean by ''life''. Trees can''t move, but they''re alive, right? The ghost guards, on the other hand, though they can move and talk, they''re certainly not alive. Luguk is a magical elemental. Have you heard of such elementals?" "We are aware of the existence of the Elementals," Naar-Tam said, and Tiis-Mir nodded in agreement. "In our land a lot of people can summon elementals of Fire, its animated incarnations." "That''s right," the librarian confirmed. "The Elementals are intelligent and with patience can be tamed and even become your companions. Many sorcerers of the past used them as bodyguards; very effective bodyguards, by the way. Magical elementals have their own features, but it''s better to let the Masters tell you about them." The little ''octopus'', meanwhile, sprang up on its hind tentacles, peering intently at his master for further instructions. "He''s a long-lived creature, though! What does it eat? Or doesn''t it need anything?" "Why nothing? He needs food from time to time too. He finds colorful balls here in the library and that''s what he eats." "Such as this?" a smiling Tiis-Mir demonstrated the red crystal. Taking it as an offer to have a snack Luguk in a few leaps approached her and catching the ''present'' by its front tentacles forwarded it inside itself. A second later its coloring became brighter and it started to jump about joyfully. Such a show worth a crystal, Tim thought. It seems the similar idea also had crossed Ri-Bo¡¯s mind because he offered a funny creature the black tetrahedron. But after sniffing around, the ''octopus'' didn¡¯t take it. " It''s probably already fed up," Naar-Tam commented cheerfully. "It doesn''t like the black crystals," the old man shook his head. "Do you not know that their color isn¡¯t random?" "No, we only were informed about the possibility of their application for improving magical abilities." And for some reason the kobold didn''t enlighten them on the matter. Maybe any crystal is suitable for him. "In the world of magic every sorcery has its own color," the old man said solemnly, "For Light magic it is, as you can easily guess, white. For Mind magic it is yellow, and for Elemental magic it is red, the color of Fire, though Fire is only one of the Elements." "Then Nature magic must have it as green as grass," Tim suggested. "Quite true! Blue is the color of Transformation magic, which allows you to turn one thing into another." "Will they teach us that?" Chilajt inspired. "There isn''t much to teach, just one formula plus imagination. You should distinctly realize the final goal of your transformation otherwise the result may be not what you want. Also the other complexity is there: transformation spells require enormous amounts of mana and only highly gifted students can cast it immediately after beginning of the education. But a couple years later, I think, you will be able to do simple transformations, too!" "What kind of magic does black color correspond to? Twilight one?" Ri-Bo asked, slightly disappointed that his crystal had been rejected. "Not really. Shadow magic and Occultism are just different shades of gray. True black color belongs to the magic of Annihilation, which Master Ven''A''Sash will teach you. I don''t know if Necromancy is part of the general education curriculum right now, but it corresponds to brown color." "Necromancy - what kind of magic is it?" Naar-Tam asked. Tim knew the answer in principle - from his experience in computer games, of course, but decided not to intervene in the talking. "The science of reanimating the remains of living beings," the librarian readily explained. "With the appropriate spells you can revive a corpse and force it to execute your orders. Experienced necromancers can even trick death itself by performing the Eternal Night ritual and becoming liches, powerful undead sorcerers." The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The expression of disgust appeared on the faces of Naar-Tam and Tiis-Mir. "Dead bodies are bad things! They must be incinerated!" "Therefore not every magician can be a necromancer. However I''ve been talking away instead of loaning the books," the old man became slightly worried. "The other pupils may come too!" "We also were recommended to take something about meditation technique," Chilajt remembered suddenly. "Abalug¡¯s booklet?" "Yes," Tim peeked into the grimoire. "Also one example for each? Well. While I am seeking the books, you, Luguk, please register the new readers and make a record in their service lists: Frexg, ''Magic of Light is my favorite magic'' and Abalug, ''Finding Power''." And the flying carpet with its ''driver'' disappeared into the darkness between the racks. ''Octopus'' grabbed one of the ''notebooks'' and with funnily moving approached Tiis-Mir with it. A questioning glance, and her name appeared on the cover, and on the first page - the authors and book titles, quickly and neatly done with a tiny stylus. By the time the librarian returned, Luguk had already managed his errand and was pacing back and forth victoriously on the tabletop. "Did you register yet? Well done! Then you can go for a walk, I''ll take it from here." ''Octopus'' didn''t have to beg twice: he jumped down and disappeared under one of the shelves. In exchange for the books they had to put thumbs to each of the records in their service lists ¨C something like a signature on the Earth. Leaving the library Tim recalled: he was going to take some entertaining reading! Well, maybe another time, no need to detain the friends, I''ll come back when there''s no hurry, Tim decided. There was an unpleasant surprise waiting for them at the exit from the tunnel: Sir Pulsok, accompanied by Agyg and a couple of ghosts. "Apprentice Chilajt," the goblin began solemnly, without any preamble, "you are charged with assaulting your mate. In vain you thought: if nobody had seen it you would escape unpunished. Nothing can escape the Magic Eye! That''s exactly what it says in the eighth paragraph of our school''s Code of Conduct." "Only about it I was thinking all the time," Chilajt answered sarcastically. "And I don¡¯t believe that I was wrong." "Yeah, so you admit your guilt?" The goblin almost jumped for joy. "And you''re not even remorseful? In that case, the punishment is doubled. Ten hours of community service. After the class on Nature magic you should come to the storekeeper and report him. He will determine exactly what you will do. In the case of failure to appear the punishment will be more stringent. Is that clear? Do you promise not to do it again?" Chilajt was stubbornly silent. "She had no choice!" Tiis-Mir boldly stepped forward. The others followed her example, blocking the gorgon in front of them. "You don''t know why she had to do it!" "Please don''t punish her!" "Maybe I won''t," the goblin smirked. "If she publicly and absolutely sincerely asks for forgiveness to those who were offended." "Forget it! No way!" "Well," the goblin sighed affectedly. "After sixteen hours of community service, next time you''ll think twice before launching your wizardry." "And I don¡¯t advise you to intervene," he added, dismissing any further objections. "You were all there together and you didn''t even try to stop her. For complicity there is a penalty too; it would be nice to prescribe a couple of hours for each of you. But I am kind today, therefore for the first time I forgive you. Or to prescribe it, eh?" No one dared object this time, not even the peirots, who were staring down at the floor. "That''s right. Mind you for the future: if you were there and didn''t interfere and stop it, you were guilty too. Don''t worry, when the tournaments begin, there will be a place to vent your aggression. For now, you should obey the Code!" On it the conversation ended. Pulsok went away, taking along his henchmen and leaving the pupils to clench their fists in powerless rage. "Take courage! Let''s all go together and explain to Rugud how things were," Naar-Tam generously suggested. "That''s right! Maybe he''ll get an easier job or cancel the punishment at all," Ri-Bo supported the idea. "It seems to me he isn¡¯t in a good relationship with the goblin," Tim added. "Thanks, friends," Chilajt was able to say only that. Her eyes filled with tears. "And don¡¯t believe the story about a lidless magical eye. For sure the golden-haired guys complained," wishing to comfort Tiis-Mir gave her a hug. "Almost certainly," the tilfing confirmed. "Anzimars, when facing an equipollent opponent, don¡¯t enter the straight fight, prefer to flee for help." Most likely so, Tim thought, but it would be unwise to completely exclude the presence in the school of invisible creatures. On occasion it would be nice to find out what spell allows to detect invisible beings lurking nearby. "Hey, are you going to class?" an elf girl hailed them. "Hurry up, it will soon begin!" "Where?" Naar-Tam shouted in response. "Follow me to the exit!" And she ran away towards there. Our friends had nothing to do but run after her. This time blocking the way the stone boulder had been rolled aside and the monsters peacefully slumbered on their plinths not reacting to passers-by. The first that struck the eye was plenty of light and greenery. The landscape was almost the same as on the Earth except the flowers that grew in numerous flowerbeds and looked too unusual. The path starting right after the exit from the tunnel led to the fountain, water splashes of which sparkled on the sun. Further on there was the forest: initially sparse wood gradually turning into the real thicket extending almost up to the horizon. To the right and left of the huge mountain within which their school was located were the rocky ledges that enclosed the plateau where they now stood. The cliffs were almost sheer, even an experienced climber could hardly climb over them and come down the other side. Looking up, Tim noticed a huge circle of eyes at a height of about fifty meters - it would probably have been visible from even the most remote corners of the forest. Quite reasonable for a world where no wristwatch had yet been invented. Some superstructures and small towers were disposed higher; and at the top ¨C a strange structure resembling the Stonehenge. Their balconies were apparently from the opposite side of the mount otherwise he would be able to see the plateau just yesterday. Everyone''s mood rose at once, even Chilajt stopped frowning, temporarily forgetting what had happened. Almost all of their classmates were already here, staring at strange plants, chasing butterflies or busily searching the area for crystals. Some of the peirots were exposing their faces to the sun, and some of the elves were happy enough to stretch out on the grass without even the fear of getting their uniforms dirty. But not everyone was happy to get out into the fresh air - drowes covered their eyes with their palms for more shade, lilac-haired yusmes also tried not to stay in the heat of the sun. Tim also noticed that anzimars, gathered in a small group under a large spreading tree with long bifid leaves, were whispering about something. For sure they plotted something nasty. Two girls came running up to them at once. Both were Ri-Bo''s countrywomen, as one could easily guess from the small elegant horns peeking out from under the curls of their hair. The horns of one of the girls were silver-plated, of the other ¨C tied with pink bows. "Hey, why are you ignoring us? We saw you yesterday. And you saw us, but you didn''t even come to make an acquaintance! You are shy, aren¡¯t you? Come on, prepare your forehead!" Ri-Bo obediently had inclined his head and the owner of silver-plated horns butted him so vigorously that he saw stars before his eyes. "Sakes alive!" he could only say. "And you thought! I have the most firm forehead among contemporaries in my tribe! More firm than even some adults have!" "What tribe are you from?" "Senhu." "And I am from Unagu." "I know Vi-Si from your tribe." "That''s my cousin," Ri-Bo boasted. "Oh yeah? She''s a cool girl, we had so much fun at dulylu feast last year! My name is Za-Zu, by the way. Well, Zhu-Fi will introduce herself." So Ri-Bo had to bend his head again. This time he prepared himself to take the blow. But Zhu-Fi only lightly rubbed against it with her forehead. "How beautiful it is here!" Tiis-Mir exclaimed again and again. "How much greenery we don''t have, even in the borderlands!" "What a pity, I can¡¯t see all this splendor ," Chilajt sighed. "Maybe one of the locals could help you with your grief," Tim tried to comfort her. "In my country, if you can''t see well or at all, you wear a device called glasses on the bridge of your nose. And if there are really strong wizards here, what does it cost them to design glasses through which you can see the world in color?" Chilajt looked at him with admiration. "You''ve come up with a great idea again! You''re so clever!" And not shying away from those present she gave a kiss on his cheek. Tim blushed; it seemed to him that all eyes turned in his direction and someone even showed the thumb as a sign of approval. He was saved from the friendly banter by a melodious voice behind him. "Come with me, apprentices, it''s time for class to begin." Chapter 7. In a disorganized crowd they followed Master Nimikel deeper into the sparse woods. Their path led to a grassy glade large enough to accommodate them all. In the middle of it was a mossy, flat-topped stone boulder; a dozen or two smaller boulders surrounded it in a semicircle. Too few for all of them, but that wasn''t a problem: the others settled comfortably on the grass behind them, hiding from the watchful eye of their master. After hesitation for a moment Tim settled on the right side, where flowers that resembled pansies peeked out of the dense grass. Their odor was, however, very unusual. Next to him was the freckled boy who had been sitting at a nearby table in the dining room yesterday. The perfect occasion to know who he is! "Hello! What country are you from?" Tim started and stopped when he looked at the boy''s hands. His palms were four-fingered. "From Khidoki. And you?" "I''m an earthling." "Not one of us, lycoses, then. It is a pity. Guess you can''t turn, either." "In what way?" "It''s very simple: you just have to wish for it in your mind. I, for instance, can turn into a kangur (an animal by description is closest to terrestrial leopard). And Meikli, - he pointed to the freckled girl at the other end of the clearing, - can become a birigog (strange animal looking like giant triton)." Werewolves! In the books Tim read and the movies he saw, meeting with werewolves often ended in tragedy. But there were exceptions, and sometimes the ability to transform was even saved in difficult situations. Maybe it depends on the individual and the motivating reasons. Tim looked at the boy questioningly, but the boy interpreted his gaze in his own way. "Only don''t ask me to show you how it works. It¡¯s not as simple as you may think." He didn''t have time to tell more: Master Nimikel took the floor and the noise around quickly died down. "I see you brought your wands and grimoires," she nodded approvingly as she looked around at the apprentices. "Very well. But in druidism studying primarily you will need the ability named Living Nature Sympathy. One who possesses it can feel the pulse of life around him - understand what the wiiks are singing about, where and why the swift-footed olcunts go, and whether or not seed of the yearrax cast into the ground will grow. Most of my kinsmen, elves, have the gift of Sympathy, but don''t let the others despair: love of nature will help you to develop it, to understand how the world around us is arranged, to feel yourself a part of it. It is enough just to get out of stone walls and enjoy communication with plants and animals. Or meditate, not only to replenish mana, but also to develop Sympathy. The forest here is vast enough for anyone to find a nook for themselves." The question immediately rose - how far it stretched, and what is located at the other side of the rocks. "That''s far enough. It takes at least a day to get to the far end of it, because there is no straight road, only roundabout paths. In some places the thickets are impenetrable. Cliffs surround it on all sides, shielding it from the outside world, where there are very dangerous creatures, which a novice magician cannot cope with. But here, inside the stone ring, there are none. In their time, the druids cleared the plateau of predatory beasts, poisonous insects and carnivorous plants. The only thing you must keep in mind: necessity to return to school before the sun goes down. So if you feel you have inadvertently gotten lost, try to find a higher ground or climb a tree. The mountain inside which our school is located is the highest in the area." Judging by the facial expressions, no one was particularly upset at the prospect of sleeping in the woods. If there''s no danger, what''s the problem? You could have a picnic, especially if there weren''t any ghosts wandering around. At least, all the time he''d been outside the stone walls, Tim hadn''t noticed a single one. "Would you like to see if you have the ability to Sympathy?" Master Nimikel suddenly inquired. "By what way?" Gook-Luk, the other peirot girl, was the most impatient. Master Aerg in such a situation for sure would read lecture about what a big sin to interrupt a teacher. But the elf teacher only smiled back. "Now you''ll see!" And almost at the same moment from the lower branch of one of the trees jumped a yellow-haired animal with a long fluffy tail, which resembled an earth squirrel, but a little larger, the size of a cat. "It''s a paamph. Now I will mentally ask it to go around one by one, and each of you may gently touch it. You''ll see from the animal''s reaction how strong your attraction to wildlife is." Master Nimikel shut her eyes and there was silence in the glade. The little beast raised on its hind legs, listened attentively to something that only it could hear and then, amusingly bouncing on the run, rushed toward the pupils who were sitting on the right side. So Tim was one of the first to appreciate the softness and velvetness of its fur. Tim did it gently, not wanting to be too rough. In return, the beast sniffed its palm and hurried onward to meet the other pupils. Most of the introductions looked similar, but sometimes the paamph lingered longer, even jumping on his shoulder, and on other occasions he ran away immediately after a touch. It didn''t take a great seer to figure out who had trouble mastering druidism. And in general the beast is cool, Tim wouldn''t mind having one as a pet. It is interesting what it eats, and if it can be tamed. Most likely yes, but he had to try hard: he isn¡¯t an elf and doesn¡¯t have any experience in it; at home on Earth there weren¡¯t any pets besides aquarium fish. "Ouch! It bit me!!" The cry of one of the drow girls distracted Tim from the thoughts. He had time only to note how the frightened animal was dashing away into the thicket. "Sadly, it¡¯s your fault," Master Nimikel said ruefully. "You shouldn¡¯t take the paamph in your hands against its will, moreover so roughly! Don¡¯t worry, there is no poison in its teeth. Put your bitten hand to the grass and I¡¯ll use Natural Regeneration." Stolen story; please report. Under the action of the spell the wound had closed almost instantly and after a short time only scarcely noticeable scar remained about the incident. "Drowes must be kept away from animals; to teach them Nature magic as good as to cast pearls before swine," an elf sitting in front of Tim uttered indignantly. He said it in an undertone, but the teacher still heard it. "Love for nature lives in the heart of each of us, but there are not always conditions for its awakening. I hope that being in our school will help it. After all, we are all an integral part of the world around us, and no person can develop harmoniously in isolation from it. Moreover, there are places which, like the magic I have used, can heal wounds of the soul and body. Animals are able to seek them out instinctively and go there when they are sick or wounded. There are several such places here on the plateau. One of them is the glade where we are now. As for the others, I think you can find them on your own. When you''ve had a little experience." "Simply, you just have to watch where the elves go," Mez''A''Shib whispered mockingly. Tim didn¡¯t catch sight of him appearing nearby; one minute earlier he hadn¡¯t been here. For sure at last night walking they would pass by and not observe him ¨C if not for Fingor. "You''re good at moving completely unnoticed." "A very valuable skill in our world - if you don''t want to bend your back to everyone who''s stronger or higher in rank than you. Isn''t that how it is in your world?" "Somehow, yes," Tim answered after a while. "So you''d have to have some knowledge of Twilight magic, too. Pity it doesn''t work on ghosts, only on those with eyes. But it''s not bad at all! Shall we go out tonight? I''ve got something for the kobold!" And Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib furtively demonstrated a blue cube hidden in his fist. "Cool! We found only balls and tetrahedrons. If it''s no secret, where did you find it?" "Where it was, it''s gone. Just kidding. I pushed aside one of the stones near the obelisk. If you dig deep enough, you without fail will find more! Too bad it was a crowded place, so I had to be careful." "And if you lift the obelisk, there''d probably be a whole bunch of these crystals underneath it." "Why waste time on trifles, it''s easier to search the dwarves'' storeroom," the drow said with humor. "That''s where the gold mine is! Our dwarves drag in their pantries all that isn¡¯t nailed down. It is unlikely that local beard-faces changed their habits!" The mention of dwarves brought back another, less pleasant memory - the five of them having to go to Rugud after class. Moreover, the teacher had already glanced in their direction twice, so they had to end this conversation, otherwise next time it would be admonition. "All right, when it gets dark, knock on the thirtieth." "Agreed," and when Tim glanced around again, Mez''A''Shib was gone. Master Nimikel, meanwhile, had decided that enough theory was enough, it was time to move on to practice. "And now, according to the wise saying that it''s better to see once than to hear a hundred times, I will demonstrate to you the effect of the spell Triumph of Life." From the folds of her dress, she extracted a small box, inside which were pale pink oblong seeds the size of small beans. "It''s an ultia, one of the fastest-growing plants in the world. It can raise a full cubit off the ground in just a day! But even that is far from optimal speed for us. So I will cast that spell and you will see how it works." Leaning over, she stuck one of the seeds in the ground, and after saying ''olpikki dunt immier'', she touched it with her wand. Almost immediately the sprout appeared from the ground and soon it was almost human-sized. And if the Master hadn''t undone her own enchantment by uttering ''leefor stoleng'', it probably would have risen above the crowns of the trees surrounding the glade. "Impressive? The most powerful druids can create a blooming oasis even in the middle of a barren desert! Those who want to master the spell may take some ultia seeds and train to sprout them in their free time." There were so many people who wanted it that there was barely enough in the box for everyone. Tim decided not to be greedy, so he took only three for a start. In fact their class was ended on it: the teacher wished them success and disappeared in a blinding flash of instant teleportation. "What textbooks do we need?" one of the elves belatedly interested in. But his mates advised him to chill a little, when they would be informed about it. One by one or in small groups they began to leave the glade - some to look for crystals, some to experiment with seeds or simply to examine the forest. Tim would have liked to join the latter, but alas - first he would have to pay a visit to the warehouse manager. And it was better not to put it off - if they were lucky, there would still be time for more enjoyable activities before lights out. Rugud met them on the doorstep with a gloomy face. Probably he expected a dirty trick from their company. "I am¡­ about my punishment...," the gorgon babbled. "Let¡¯s check it," with an air of importance the dwarf got from his pocket the notebook with shabby pages. "The apprentice Chilajt? Yes, she is on my list. Sixteen hours? Not a few! Pulsok¡¯s head was knocked by your brick, eh? Well, it¡¯s not my business. But what did the others come here for?" "We are her friends. We''d like to ask you to cancel her sentence." "Why would I do that?" "She found herself in a situation where she had to use magic. But only for protective purposes!" "Wizards'' business is none of my business," Rugud brushed aside. "I don''t give or take punishments, just make sure they are dealt with accurately and in a timely manner. Oh, and you''ve been claiming to be friends with this young lady, have you? It''s a good opportunity to see how strong your friendship is." "How so?" the pupils looked at each other perplexedly. "Simply. She''ll have to come here several times to do the sixteen hours because working more than four hours in a day is prohibited. But if you all work together, you can do it tonight. Of course, no one''s forcing you," the dwarf added with a sly smile. "But what are we supposed to do?" "Follow me and you''ll see!" Through an inconspicuous door at the side of one of the racks they entered a half-dark corridor that led them to the kitchen. Or rather, that section of the kitchen where the bathing work was done. Piles of dirty dishes on tables, a few sinks, and a cupboard full of unsophisticated cleaning supplies like baking soda and liquid soap - no prizes for guessing what the work they will do. "You see, the magic of creating food has been invented, but the magic of cleaning dishes after meals turned out to be more difficult," said Rugud, who dispelled any lingering doubts. "So someone has to do it. And in this case, it''s you! Wash all the dishes and you''ll be free. Kruda!" An elderly dwarf woman in a shabby apron appeared from one of the adjoining compartments. "There are your helpers for tonight. Their task is to make sure that not a single dirty plate or spoon is left here! Supervise the process, and if they need anything, give it to them. When it''s ready, report back!" And with a sense of dignity he went away. It had friends rolling up their sleeves and putting aside wands and grimoirs to take in hand sponges and soap. For somebody it was the first time but Tim had some experience ¨C from the same time when he had begun to make his bed. Kruda helped them as far as possible, not only with advice but folding and taking away the pure dishes. Sometimes she also told funny stories from her school life. From them among other things Tim knew why it is unreasonable to tell the ghosts to go to hell or ignore them: they possessed the magic of obedience (and feelings at its application are not pleasant). About the teachers she narrated a little saying you''d see for yourself and make up your own mind. And she could say nothing about the Principal. "He never came to us. What for? He has all he needs, and if he needs anything else, Pulsok will take care of it." Chapter 8. They were finished just in time for nightfall. With an approving nod of his head Rugud accepted the work and let them go. "Next time don''t break the rules or at least don''t get caught! We''re always in need of workers, though." "Thank you very much!" Chilajt literally was on cloud nine. "You''re true friends! I won''t be indebted!" "Let''s not worry about it, we''re friends!" And so they parted; the girls retired for the night; Tim, Ri-Bo and Naar-Tam ¨C to discuss plans for the expedition. They were tired after all their work in the kitchen, but no one would even think of rescheduling their walk for another night. "I wonder if Fingor is in or out again." "Let¡¯s see." However, the door of room 26 was opened in surprise by the tattooed boy, the one who had been on Tim''s left when he arrived at the school. "And where is Fingor?" Naar-Tam was confused. "We made an exchange with him." "But... is that possible?" "Yes. There were two other elves where I was settled and Fingor decided to transmigrate there. As for me, I didn''t really care." "All right, excuse us then!" "No problem at all." "And he didn''t say a word to us!" Ri-Bo was indignant when the door closed behind the tattooed boy. "And now we don''t know where to find him." "Let''s ask our new neighbor," Naar-Tam suggested. "Fingor would have informed us if he''d wanted to, or left a message," Tim decided to show his mettle. "Let''s wait a while, and if he doesn''t show up before Mez''A''Shib arrives, the four of us will go." On it the discussion ended. Being in his room Tim seized the occasion to browse the textbook on the magic of Light. Oho, how many things are in it! Only in section ''Healing'' there are several dozens of spells, almost every of them had explanatory text and illustrations, often too naturalistic and more relevant for the medical textbooks. Fortunately, for especially impressionable persons they were made in the black-and-white medieval engraving style. It seems the technique of color printing hasn''t been invented yet here. Judging by the description almost all ailments can be cured by magic, even resurrection from the dead. However, successful application of the spell was guaranteed only if the body wasn¡¯t damaged too severely and not so much time had passed since the death. Otherwise the sorcerer risked raising a zombie. Not much less space was taken up by the section on defense against dark magic. Tim, who had expected to see pictures of various demons and monsters, was slightly disappointed: most of the section was occupied by descriptions of spells that dispel darkness, detect the presence of dark magic and erect protective barriers in its path. For the sake of curiosity Tim tried to reproduce the spell that Master Aerg had used to scare away the ghosts during the feast dinner. It didn''t work - maybe the mana stock was too small for this. Tim flipped through the third and smallest section without really reading it - there were no pictures, effects of the Super-Abilities application he already saw with his own eyes, and hardly had they required less mana. Besides, even if he succeeds, how could he test the effectiveness of the action? In any case, he should begin by meditating before choosing a spell to practice. Abalug¡¯s brochure slightly resembled a tutorial for beginning yogis. Well, at least standing on the head wasn¡¯t required: in the simplest version it was enough to lie on a rigid surface and pronounce certain word combinations. Tim wouldn¡¯t want to lie on the floor, but on the bed he is risking to fall asleep. It would be nice to find a posture in the best way combining efficiency and comfort. A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Mez''A''Shib, he thought, but it was Naar-Tam and Ri-Bo. "Our mysterious neighbor has left his room! Let''s go meet him!" The three of them set up next to the shower room, wherefrom the sound of pouring water could be heard. They had to wait for a while - it seemed the neighbor liked water procedures. But finally the sound of flowing water subsided. "Hello, friend!" Naar-Tam shouted loudly when the door started to open. And he stopped short because it was a girl. A yusme girl, for her skin was pale blue. Instinctively she sprang back, closing the door. "Sorry, please, we thought you were a boy!" Ri-Bo shouted after her. "And we didn''t mean to hurt your feelings, we just wanted to make an acquaintance!" Tim added. The door slowly opened again. "Probably, I shouldn¡¯t lurk from the start," the girl said with a sigh. "But I lost courage when I realized: I am in a boys¡¯ compartment. Maybe due to my short haircut the ghost thought that I am belonging to the stronger sex." "But you could have explained the situation and asked to resettle in the girls'' compartment!" "Is that possible?" "Why not? Everybody makes mistakes, and so do ghosts." "Of course, if our society is totally unacceptable to you," Ri-Bo added slyly. The girl in turn looked closely at each of them before answering. "If you promise to behave yourself..." "It goes without saying!" "Then I''ll think about it," the yusme promised, smiling at the corners of her lips. "It seems you are speaking genuinely¡­" "What doubt could there be?" "Are you an empath?" Tim guessed. "Something like this. Although I have much to learn to become a true empath. Guessing of names is not yet in my sphere." The hint was well taken, and the boys introduced themselves. "It''s a pleasure, and my name is Selkise. But let''s do the rest later, because it''s nighttime and I want to sleep, especially as there is the class on Elemental magic tomorrow in the morning. Don''t you have one? Do you want to go on an adventure?" "No!" all three of them said in one voice. "Then be careful: ghosts are dangerous. I don''t know why, I just have a feeling." "We''ll be sure to take that into account," Ri-Bo nodded with a serious look. They didn''t tell her about the obedience magic mentioned by Aunt Kruda, just in case. And after saying goodbye Selkise went to her room. And a minute later Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib appeared. "I beg your pardon, two ghosts blocked my way, it had to wait a bit. But now all is clear there. Are you ready?" "We are always ready. For sure the kobold already got tired of waiting for us." "It''s not us but our crystals. What does it matter to him who will bring them?" "Is Fingor going with us?" "I guess not. Especially now we have a boy with pictures on his body in his place." "Gaarsh? No, it''s not a name, it''s just the title of his people. They''re distantly related to the dragons, by the way! Long ago they had a common ancestor who lived in the ocean, and then made it on land. Some of his descendants learned to fly and gradually became winged lizards, the other - to walk on two legs and talk, so they became gaarshes." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "But are the dragons not able to talk?" "No, they communicate mentally. How, exactly, let your new neighbor tell you more." "How do you know all this?" "I overheard what my country girls were talking about. They weren''t shy in their language, but no one else could hear them. Some of them called the gaarshes dyed monkeys." "Your girls are so intolerant of others?" "My advice: don''t mess with them at all. Especially with Shin''Ye''Het, the girl with gold earrings with rubies. She despises everyone around her, even her own girlfriends. She is the First Daughter of the Fifth House, in the future the Mother of the House and one of the masters of our people''s fate. The Mothers of the first seven Houses rule Merzeran, the capital of the drow, and in fact our entire community." "So, she is a princess?" Tim grinned. "Who is the princess? A king''s daughter? Well, something like that. She''s used to living carefree and looking at people around her as her servants." "We don''t have servants, everyone''s equal," Naar-Tam shrugged. "Who rules then?" "Once every thousand yekvoks (a period of time roughly corresponding to one and a half Earth days) we all gather together, even the children, and decide who is the most worthy for it." "It''s called democracy," Tim explained. "We also have a city where equality reigns. That''s what it''s called: Free Town. After the Time of Troubles it was inhabited by those who disliked the power of the Mothers. The legends say that only those who wish to be neither lord nor servant can find their way there. When I graduate, I will certainly try to find it. I''m sick of curtsying to the children of more noble houses." "You certainly will succeed!" Naar-Tam encouraged him. "But don''t you, drowes, have any friends at all?" "It happens, but rarely, it''s more of a rivalry. And even then you still have to be curtsy in public. Otherwise you risk getting it in the neck. My elder sister, the Second Daughter of the House, thinks men only understand the language of the whip. That''s why she doesn''t hesitate to use it." And with the top of his uniform off, Mez''A''Shib showed the scars on his back. "Wow! But why do drow men put up with it?" "To fight back, we must unite, and all fear betrayal. Alas, the Light Elves are right: our people are full of treachery. That''s why those who don''t like it go away." "Do you have to curtsy before Shin''Ye''Het, too? - smiling slyly Ri-Bo asked." "No!" Mez''A''Shib''s eyes flashed violently. "This isn''t Merzeran, and I don''t have to take a bow and pull a smile over my face. Of course, she might try to punish me for what she called bad behavior, but it''s not likely to be easy." "If anything, call us for help!" "Thanks, but the drow are used to sorting things out amongst themselves. Don''t worry, I know the tricks of our girls, and I won''t be tempted. But you ought to be careful when speaking with them." "Ri-Bo and I already were witnesses of such a talking yesterday," and Tim spoke briefly of the wrangle between the twin elves and one of the drow girls. "That''s just the way they are. Our girls can do more than whip when they need to, they can charm. Eliavin must be on his guard, or he could be walking into a trap." "But what exactly is he in danger of?" "He''ll fall into submission. He''ll stare at her with amorous eyes and dance to her tune. And give her all his findings as well." "We''ve been talking, and the clock is ticking!" the tilfing alarm. "That''s right. We can have a heart-to-heart talk later. Whoever''s got crystals, grab them and let''s go!" They had to hide under the stairs in the hallway of the first tier once more as several ghosts were escorting a crowd of their classmates. "What a catch!" Ri-Bo marveled. "I wonder where they were caught." "Almost certainly in the woods. Some of the elves, and not only elves, were reluctant to go back up the mountain. I guess that''s what the administration was counting on, a raid on the first night after they opened access to the outside. I had a hunch about that, so after wandering around a bit I came back. By the way, I didn''t see any of you after the druidism class. Did you go somewhere else, or were you holed up at home?" "Believe it or not, we were washing dishes." "What dishes, left from the feast dinner? But why? Did someone make you do it?" It had to tell the whole story from beginning to end. "Cool!" Mez''A''Shib looked at his friends respectfully. "We''d sooner have someone else to blame than help ease the punishment. Well, as long as the ghosts aren''t back, I think we can get through unhindered." On the lower tier they had to hide under the stairs again. This time the reason for the delay was the dwarves who were dragging some bales and parcels from the utility rooms to the warehouse. "They work like ants, even at night," Tim remarked ironically. "Ants?" Ri-Bo asked in surprise. "Yes, but what¡¯s so surprising here? In my world ants are insects that are working from dawn till nightfall hunting for food and arranging their dwellings well." "Nothing, simply we have a similar word for fat and lazy animals." The friends laughed. "These are the dwarves of the Festrok clan; they''re very hardworking indeed," Mez''A''Shib explained. "And perhaps the friendliest inhabitants of the dungeons where the drow have taken refuge. The other dwarves are not so friendly, taking up their axes at the sight of a dark elf. We are partly to blame for this: in the past we often disregarded treaties." "What is the nature of your conflict with the light elves?" Naar-Tam asked. "A long time ago we were the same people. In the Age of Great Wars one of the groups of elves was sent to strike at the back of dwarves. Their way laid across mountain tunnels, but because of the earthquake which filled up many passes, they could neither reach the goal, nor return back. They wandered for many days, tormented by despair, hunger and thirst, not all of them were able to endure the hardships of the journey. Finally, wandering into the deepest depths they met the altar of the goddess of darkness, Ulirrim. The goddess agreed to come to the aid of the weary warriors demanding in return that they renounce the old gods and submit to her alone. A temple was built around the altar, and the settlement that would later become Merzeran grew around the temple. It was either the lack of sunlight or the effects of Ulirrim''s magic that turned our hair black and our skin white, and we ourselves turned into dark elves." "Wait, but where did you get the women from? And why did they take power?" "Women are not the weaker sex in elves, but equal fighters with men. That''s why it''s not surprising that they made up almost half of the group. When at the beginning of the expedition commander Viltaar had been wounded to death with the cave goblins, the squad was led by Tiliel who later became Til¡¯O¡¯Mugh, the Mother of the First House. Ulirrim, for some reason unknown to me personally, dislikes men regarding them as inferior creatures. And put that simple thought into the heads of the women who have since taken the reins of government in their own hands." "I see. But why did you become enemies with the elves who remained on the surface?" "It is believed they betrayed us by sending us to certain death. Viltaar didn¡¯t hesitate to express his views without regard for rank and therefore made a lot of enemies. And his campaign might have been doomed to failure from the start. Sadly, I have found very little information about him in our books - mostly praise to Tiliel and Ulirrim. Perhaps here I can find manuscripts describing this story more honestly." "Have you been to the library here yet?" "I haven''t had a chance. Maybe tomorrow." "It''s really cool! Especially the assistant of the librarian." "Who is he?" "You''ll see!" The dwarves meanwhile had finished their work, and there was silence in the tier. Making sure the path was clear the friends hurried to reach the door of the laboratory. Kobold seemed to have been expecting them - the lab smelled like camphor, and a fire was burning under a huge glass flask half-full of bubbling purple liquid. From time to time, watching for changes in the intensity of the color, he poured in the contents of a nearby colorless vial or added in a yellowish-brown powder. "Yeah! I was right about you! And for sure you''ve already found something! But where did you take your fifth companion? You had an elf with you, didn''t you?" "He went somewhere else," Mez''A''Shib side with a smile. "Where drowes are absent, eh? For a long time I have been seeing the same thing: if in the company there is a light elf, there isn¡¯t a dark elf in it, and vice versa. Therefore I was slightly surprised yesterday. But now everything fell into place! Well, it doesn¡¯t really matter; let''s talk about our business: did you find anything?" "Naturally, or we wouldn''t have come," Mez''A''Shib said triumphantly, laying out his loot, a cube that Tim knew, two spheres and a bunch of herbs from the alchemical ingredient list. "Wow, where did you manage to gather all these?" Naar-Tam wondered. "In the wilderness, where else? While some of us scrubbed the dishes in the kitchen, others worked hard for the common good." "Then next time let''s swap places!" Naar-Tam laughed at the joke. "Especially as the crystals can be found in the kitchen too." Indeed, behind one of the piles of unwashed dishes Tiis-Mir was fortunate to find a crystal in place of the one eaten by Luguk. Tim, Ri-Bo, and Naar-Tam added their own to the crystals already on the table. Kobold, however, was primarily interested in the herbs: he deftly sorted them out and pulled a thin bluish stem with droplet-shaped leaves from the bundle. "Zilgima optis! The most valuable thing among those you have brought! Because it is a catalyst for many alchemical transmutations. Let''s see how effective it is this time!" And without thinking he sent the stem straight into the flask. The liquid inside seethed, changing its color to orange-red. "Aha! A little more, and the elixir will be ready. What do you think it''s for? A hundred to one, you''ll never guess! Turning lead into gold? Ha! That''s not the sort of nonsense alchemists do anymore. This is the Salamander''s Scale! All you have to do is splash it on the floor, and when it hardens (and it will harden quite fast), whoever steps on those scales will be in trouble! A fire will break out under his feet and burn him severely!" "Useful if you have to evade pursuit," Mez''A''Shib commented. "Yes, in situations where drowes find themselves more often than others," the kobold remarked sarcastically. "But the red blobs on the floor would be noticeable! Would anyone want to step on them?" Naar-Tam asked incredulously. "Have you ever seen a fire salamander?" "No, I''ve only heard of it." "That''s just it. Yes, its body is red, but the scales are black like graphite plates. You wouldn''t notice them at all in the dark. I don''t recommend it for friendly banter, though. The consequences are sometimes..." Freezing for a moment, the kobold rushed to the nearest cupboard filled with bundles of dried herbs, and pressed a secret button on the side. The cupboard slid gently aside, revealing the insides of a small cave. "Go there quickly! And don¡¯t talk!" Mez''A''Shib was the first to respond, nudging Naar-Tam in the right direction, and the rest rushed to follow. As soon as they were inside, the cupboard fell into place. "It''s dark in here!" "Don''t you dare light a fire!" "And don''t make any noise, you were told!" Mez''A''shib saw a ray of light emanating from a tiny circular opening. From it he could see and hear everything going on in the lab, without being seen. The hole was clearly made for a reason; it was essentially a peephole, though what the kobold might need it for, it was unclear. "Let me see, too!" Ri-Bo jumped up. "Wait a minute. Wow, there''s a whole delegation here! Looks like we almost got ourselves in a whole bunch of trouble." Chapter 9. When Tim managed to peek through the peephole in turn, he saw Sir Pulsok in person, accompanied by five ghosts. The faithful bodyguard Agyg was most likely to have remained outside - the door was obviously not designed for his size and he would have had to crawl through it. And it''s unlikely the kobold would have been happy to see a clumsy giant in the laboratory full of glassware. At the moment, however, the giant was of no interest to Tim; it was more interesting to listen to the conversation between the creatures who were related to each other, and yet couldn''t stand each other. "The potion should have been ready a month ago! The Principal is very displeased!" "Tell your beloved Principal that quality potions are impossible without quality ingredients! From that junk delivered to me last time I would prepare only salves for acne treatments! And if he can¡¯t provide this, let him come here and make the potion himself!" "But how dare you say that about the greatest Principal in the history of the school! You don''t want to get kicked out of here without a severance package!" "So be it! A good alchemist always finds a job, but your beloved Principal will have to work hard to find a worthy replacement!" "Well, well, don''t make a fuss," the goblin screwed up his face backpedalling. "I''ll get you reagents. I will personally follow through. And I¡¯ll give at your disposal as many assistants as you need. We caught a dozen or two discipline violators today - not bad for only one night!" "Thank you, but the research I''m doing now is too serious to be passed on to apprentices. Perhaps later." Probably, Sir Pulsok expected another answer because falling silent he suspiciously looked around. Tim instinctively jumped back even realizing the goblin could hardly notice him. His place was immediately occupied by Naar-Tam. Although Tim could not see now what was happening in the laboratory he could hear almost all. "Well, and then say when you¡¯ll think better. By the way, some disciples still haven¡¯t returned to their rooms. We have searched all three tiers, but they''re nowhere to be found." "Most likely they went for a walk and got a little lost," the kobold answered with sneer. "In this case they should have time to get very far. All the school territory surroundings were already inspected by us. If they accidentally drop in here," ominous notes in the goblin¡¯s voice promised the most severe penalties for those dodgers, "at any cost hold them and let me know." "Why would they come here?" "Just in case. If they were able to escape from us, they may be quite cunning to snake here. Well, never mind. Well, they won''t get away from us. You¡¯ll see!" After it the goblin left the laboratory taking the ghosts with him. Waiting for a couple of minutes the kobold set the boys free from their involuntary confinement. "Not gasping for breath there? (it was really dusty in the cave and Tim barely restrained himself from sneezing repeatedly). I hope you understand that now you must keep your mouth shut, otherwise big trouble is guaranteed for all of us." "Sure! We''re very grateful to you! And we shall not be in debt!" Mez''A''Shib hastened to assure him. "Of course. But we''ll discuss your gratitude later. You''ve done your part, now it''s my turn. Would you like to know how to get into the dungeon? It''s a very risky undertaking, especially for those who haven''t yet learned any spells. Let''s just say that not everyone who''s gone in has come back out." "What happened to them?" Ri-Bo asked lively. "Who knows? Those who go to the lower levels do so at their own risk. And, of course, they keep quiet about their findings as well as their losses. Who wants to earn penalty points and many hours of the most difficult and dirty work?" "But what dangers might lie in waiting there?" "Everything. You could get lost and not find your way back. Or fall from a great height and break something. Or encounter creatures that you can''t handle. There are also magical traps, sometimes very insidious!" "As long as we''re together, no one''s afraid of us!" "Brave words," the kobold smiled. "But what do you know about danger at your age? Caution comes with age, sometimes too late. Well, perhaps you are fortunate, they say that in the lowest tier of the dungeon there is a lake whose shores are literally dotted with the crystals, and in only one night you can collect them more than in a year here. A worthy reward for an ambitious young wizard who managed to overcome all obstacles on his way. And there will be many of them, believe me. The entrance to the dungeon is actually easy to find, it is behind the door with the arrow pointing down. The door is usually unlocked or bolted and easy to open. But there''s almost certainly a magical trap waiting for you inside. Pulsok is very fond of setting them. If you fall into one, you''ll be transported, for example, directly into the disciplinary cells. Or you may stick to the floor, and at the same time the whole tier will be filled with nasty grinding sounds." It is very similar to the inconspicuous photocells connected to the alarm system - if you go through them, the siren will be turned on immediately. Sorcery is instead of electronics here, but the result is essentially the same. "So much! What are we going to do?" Naar-Tam was upset. "But the others got in somehow, or was there no trap before?" Tim asked. "They were set up when the apprentices began to disappear. Of course, there were people who learned how not to get caught in them. But nobody did it right after entrance to the school! Well, if your intention is solid (the friends'' slumping spirits brightened up again), I will help you. Not for free, of course - it''s not a charity shop here! But this time I will not ask for payment in advance, only when you can do it. You will more than compensate for your losses in the dungeon, I''m sure. But not today. For the next two or three days I would recommend that you stay in your rooms at night. Let Pulsok calm down a bit. In the meantime I''ll prepare a potion to neutralize the trap. Master Ven''A''Sash will tell you the theory of magical traps in time, but not in the near future". "It''s a very interesting theme," Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib uttered musingly. "Especially for drowes, eh? As far as I understand you are not from a very noble House and for sure are not the First Son." "Quite right." "It was noted long ago: the fewer drow¡¯s gentility the easier to deal with him. Let¡¯s see who you¡¯ll become after returning home, however. Probably you¡¯d like to take a higher position, eh? Or even to found your own House?" "We¡¯ll see," Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib answered indeterminately, not wishing to talk about his dream. "Well, it¡¯s your business. Frankly speaking, to deal with light elves is not much easier. And orcs are better to keep out of the laboratory: they will endeavor best efforts but surely something will be broken or spilled. You have to watch out for tilfings too: they regularly try to take with them ¡°souvenirs¡± (Ri-Bo smiled slyly). Peirots is another thing: they do their work best and don¡¯t despond (it came to Naar-Tam for smiling). And who are you?" the kobold switched to Tim. "You are neither elf nor orc. I never met anzimars without golden hair and blue eyes. And if you are a lycos, why without freckles then?" "I am a human being." "A human??" The kobold was genuinely surprised. "That''s the way it is! I''ve never seen a human in person before, only in pictures. That''s why I didn''t recognize it at first. Honestly, I never thought I''d see one. Humans hadn''t set foot in a school for hundreds of years. But once upon a time, in the old days, there were very powerful mages among them. Why that was the case, I do not know. Perhaps Khalid-amga, our librarian, knows more." Mez''A''Shib, Naar Tham, and Ri-Bo looked at their companion as if he had suddenly been replaced by a dinosaur. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. "If so, you must have a very unusual gift," the drow concluded. "Show what it is!" the tilfing wondered immediately. Inwardly Tim was prepared for the question to be asked, but he was a little confused. "I... don''t know." "You don''t even know if you have it?!" Tim was silent - it''s not easy to admit your own weaknesses, even to your friends. How can you explain to someone for whom magic is as familiar as an evening sunset that on his planet all miracles have long since been explained by science, and that wizards exist only in fairy tales? "Magic talent does not always manifest itself at once, sometimes it takes a considerable amount of time. But it will come sooner or later," the kobold came to his aid. "What do I have to do to make it happen?" "Nothing at all. Just one day it will come naturally. At least for us, peirots," Naar-Tam explained. "We do too, in principle. But usually you need a push from the outside, a strong emotional stress. My first Veil of Dark came out when my sister whipped me," Mez''A''Shib added. "It was when my parents locked me in the cellar because I had been naughty. They were surprised when I got out!" Ri-Bo bragged. "Maybe humans get magic later. I know very little about your race, unfortunately. I hope you''ll learn more in the library. And you," the Lab Master looked pointedly at Tim''s friends, "try not to mention it in conversations with your classmates. I hope you are old enough to understand why." "Of course," Mez''A''Shib answered for everyone. There was nothing worse than being flawed in some way, Tim thought bitterly and anxiously. There, on the Earth, in the school he attended, there was a quiet white-haired kid who suffered from a stutter. Because of this, he was constantly mocked and had little pranks like putting "farting" bags on his seat or hanging labels with silly slogans on his back to provoke laughter from those around him. To be fair, Tim tried not to participate in such "fun" activities. But he had no desire to be in that guy''s shoes, either. So, in order not to become a black sheep, he had to learn at least the simplest magic as a matter of urgency. "Well, if there are no more questions, the smartest thing for you to do would be to go back. If Pulsok''s on the hunt himself, he won''t rest until he''s got all the game. And since that''s not in your interest, or mine either, you''ll have to make some arrangements." He opened the door and peered out carefully. "That''s right: on duty. Sure enough, they''ll be at the stairs by dawn. And the rest of them would be off scouring the woods. Because where else does Pulsok think you might have gone?" "What do we do now?" Ri-Bo grimaced. Kobold looked at them all with a glance of scrutiny. "There is a way out. But we have to keep quiet about it, and about the hidden room, too. Otherwise the doors of the lab will be closed to you forever." "We''ll keep the secret," Tim promised firmly, thus vouching not only for himself but also for the others. "I''ll try to believe it. If I had any doubts, they''d be escorting you to the disciplinary cells right now." "Where are they, by the way?" Mez''A''Shib immediately inquired. "The tunnel leading to the utility rooms turns off to the side at the very end. That''s where the cells for those who break discipline are located. Would you like to meet them?" "No, we don''t!" "In my world a minor may be placed in a punishment cell only if he did very bad things!" Tim was resented. "What an idiotic regime in the school!" "We do too!" Ri-Bo supported him. "And we don''t have any," Naar-Tam said proudly. "But how do you punish the guilty?" "With a public reprimand. The others cease to deal with him! In the most serious cases it will be exile, temporarily or permanently depending on the guilt degree." Yes, for sociable peirots a punishment of obstruction should be a very effective measure. Mez''A''Shib was silent. After all Tim had heard about the drowes, he would not have been surprised to learn that they had much harsher methods of punishment than the usual solitary confinement. "Forget what came before," the kobold cut them off. "You''re not going home until you finish your training." "But why?!? The other schools have vacations, don''t they?" "According to the current stature of the school, the Principal can establish any rules. And if he considered it inappropriate to distract you from studying, then so be it." "What does he look like? We haven''t even been shown to him!" "If need be, you¡¯ll see him. Or he''ll show himself. Now keep in mind that every new question reduces your chances of getting back to your beds." He pointed his wand at the door, and it glowed pale green. "No one can come in here, not even ghosts, while the magic is active." "Cool! Can you teach us how to do that?" "No way! You''ll get your heads blown off for this kind of magic. And keep in mind, this magic, though powerful, is short-lived. So quit your idle chatter and get back in the lumber-room." "Which lumber-room?" "The one you were just sitting in!" He pushed a secret button and let the students go ahead, so with another wave of his wand the kobold shone a bright light inside (Mez''A''Shib had to squeeze his eyes shut). The cave was really a lumber-room, with piles of broken tables, chairs, and other furniture against the far wall (that''s how the dust got there!). But it wasn''t the junk that caught Tim''s attention, it was the faint outlines of the two doorways on the right and left, respectively. Without the light on, it would have been almost impossible to locate them, even to the touch - no door knobs, bolts, or holes where the key could be inserted. They would have been unlocked by magic, then, or by hidden levers. The latter was closer to the truth. Pressing the secret button again (this time a different one) and a narrow passage leading somewhere up appeared before their eyes. "Here! This is the shortest way to your apartments. I can¡¯t predict exactly in what tunnel you¡¯ll find yourself but I think you¡¯ll be able to orient yourself there." "Thank you very much!" "And where does the other door lead to?" "It is unknown. The stairs go down ending in a precipice. Therefore using it isn¡¯t recommended. Why is it so, who knows; I didn¡¯t build the passages, only found them after arriving here for work." Ri-Bo wanted to ask something else, but the kobold stopped his attempt. "That''s all for today! Hurry up!" And then he returned to the laboratory, restoring the cupboard back to its place. The four brave pupils had no choice but to use the passageway given to them. Naar-Tam led the way, followed by Mez''A''Shib. It wasn''t a long walk though, as they soon found themselves on a small platform in front of a new door. There was no need to guess how to open it - this time no one thought to hide the lever. "So, are you ready? Then go ahead!" and Naar-Tam took up the lever going to pull it. "Wait a bit. It seems there is a passage further," Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib looked around and in some places knocked at the wall surface. "But where? We don¡¯t see anything!" "So it was well disguised. I also don¡¯t see it, only feel its presence. Such flair is inherent to all inhabitants of the underground. Being in my place, an experienced dwarf most likely would be able to find it." "I wonder who excavated all these passages." "Dwarves, of course, who else? The other subterranean including us, drowes, don¡¯t like to do it simply using what is already available." "Let¡¯s search for entrance in it!" Ri-Bo became enthusiastic about the idea. "It''s better not today," Tim decided to be reasonable. "What if the kobold was worried for a reason? If Pulsok got angry, he might use powerful searching charms. And then we wouldn''t get away with it!" "Do they really exist?" "Absolutely." Tim had read about the existence of spells that could locate a wizard through the residual emanations of his sorceries. It was enough to use magic once, and a specially trained spirit (simply speaking, elemental finder) immediately picked up the trail. Personally, he was unlikely to be found this way, but Naar-Tam and Mez''A''Shib had used their innate gift more than once. But trying to save himself leaving friends to their fate? Never! "We have animals that can sense an aura of magic," said Mez''A''Shib. "I don''t know if they''re here, but it''s better not to risk it. We already have achieved a great deal. Gaining confidence in the kobold alone is worth much! Not everybody can do it, especially in just two days." "Then I''m yanking?" Naar-Tam asked and without waiting for confirmation, pulled the lever down. The mechanism worked with a disgusting screech, a part of the wall slid back and to the side letting them free. They were indeed in a tunnel, but the important thing was that there weren''t any ghosts there. "Hooray!!!" "But how do we close the door now? There''s no lever on this side!" Their anxiety was in vain: a minute later the door-stone fell back into the place. Probably the mechanism was designed to return it back after a certain period of time. Apparently hearing suspicious noise from the central room abutted with the tunnel corridor a girl looked out. And immediately after it she slammed the door with a scream. "It¡¯s apparently not our compartment. Go away from here," Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib resumed. "By the way, if anything happens we can say that we''re welcome," Tim suggested. "Exactly! In the morning I¡¯ll talk about it with Tiis-Mir. Let her say if someone would ask that we were visiting her," Naar-Tam caught up with the idea. "But what will she demand in return?" "Drop it! We do not accept such a thing. Otherwise next time when you¡¯ll need something don¡¯t count on one''s help." "However, in that case we have to explain where we were that night!" "Oh, nothing, I¡¯ll think of something!" In the hall of the first tier our friends also didn¡¯t meet ghosts. Maybe they were too enthusiastic in combing the forest. "Now we are dispersing: me here, you there," Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib at a glance evaluated the situation. Few could have argued with him on quickness of reaction. "Let¡¯s see you tomorrow!" The rest of the way also was overcome without problem, fortune was clearly on their side. Their last adventure in the night was speaking with Selkise, appearing in the corridor at their approaching. "Finally! I was beginning to think you were caught and I¡¯ll see you not soon." "Nonsense! What could happen to us?" Ri-Bo thrust out his chest haughtily. "And why aren¡¯t you asleep?" "You can''t sleep with a dozen ghosts hanging around the door! They can¡¯t go into the room; probably, the door magic not to let them in. But they can wait outside as long as they want! But then it was like they were all recalled, at some point, they all disappeared at once. Luckily for you." "We were delayed by the dwarves and therefore we missed each other with the ghosts," Ri-Bo fibbed without blinking an eye. "For some reason I thought so," Selkise needled. "But now seeing you are all right, at last I can sleep peacefully. And I wish you the same ¨C if, of course, you have interest in attending tomorrow''s class in Elemental magic." Chapter 10. "Come in, come in, don''t be shy! Shyness is not the best quality for a wizard! The main thing is his knowledge and experience, everything else is trivia! I personally like a talented sloven much more than a plodding mediocrity! Well, if there is talent and diligence - then just great!" Master Saag-Kof seemed to radiate the most cordiality with no moralizing or scolding of latecomers, so Tim liked him immediately. "He is a first-class tutor, such schoolmasters should be more!" Ri-Bo expressed the general opinion after the class. The Master''s lecture was like a circus performance, where the teacher alternately played the roles of a ringmaster and a prestidigitator. "So you''ve come here to learn the mysteries of Elemental magic? That''s great! And I firmly believe that you will succeed! Now, who can tell me how many Elements there are and what they are? Four? That''s right! Fire, Air, Stone and Water. And even though Fire is the only one that burns blindingly red, just the red color became the symbol of Elemental magic! And it wasn''t occasionally because all the others were born of a flame! And if it were not for its warming breath, our world would have turned into a lifeless ice desert! Look, isn''t it beautiful, especially when embodied in a graceful form? Ahkdinz lujamo tinh kurrim!" With a wave of his wand myriad sparks of fire lighted up above the audience (the drowes and yusmes had to shield their eyes and hide under their desks); they merged to form an enormous bird with bright orange plumage. "It''s a phoenix! Isn''t it beautiful? It consists of pure flame and, when it dies, it turns into ash, from which a new phoenix will emerge after a while." Eh, a pity I didn''t take my cell phone with me, thought Tim, what pictures I could make now! Who else would believe when he returned to Earth that he had seen a real firebird? On the other hand, even if he''d had his wits about him, the phone wouldn''t have lasted long, there''s nowhere to charge it. "But it is too cold and uncomfortable for it here. So it''s better to let it back!" and with another wave of the wand the firebird was gone. "The phoenix is the sacred bird of our people," Naar-Tam whispered. "It sits on the shoulder of our greatest deity, the Fire Lord. I''ve been to the main capital''s temple a few times with my parents and have seen it there. They live in places so hot that even we, peirots can''t get into." Selkise, sitting not far from their company, was furtively wiping away her sweat, as Tim had noticed. Yes, the teacher had to be careful with some of the spells, because they weren''t the only peirots in the school, after all. But Master Saag-Kof seemed unconcerned with such trivialities. "Fire is a wonderful thing, but there are other elements, too! And it wouldn''t be fair not to pay a little attention to them! Air, for example. A mage skilled in it could always make a cool breeze when he''s feeling a little warm. You''ll see!" Tim was quick to seize the grimoire and hold it tightly against him. Most of his classmates were less successful: reigning in the lecture-room hurricane threw to the floor their grimoirs and wands and they had to retrieve them from under the desks. "Besides it, Air Masters were highly valued in the old days, especially by captains of long-distance voyages," the teacher went on as if nothing had happened. "The presence of such a Master on board ensured that the ship would never be caught in a storm or flat calm, always in a fair wind! But what if the ship suddenly begins to leak? Then you will be helped by knowledge of water magic!" If only he wouldn¡¯t create pouring rain as during the festive dinner, Tim thought with anxiety. Luckily, this time Master Saag-Kof limited himself with small short-run snowfall, so no one had time to freeze. And at the same time he promised to teach Water Breathing and Water Walking. The only question is how to use them in practice if there is no water pond nearby. Once he was done with Water, the Master moved on to the fourth element, Stone. Tim mentally prepared to flee the classroom if he thought of using Earthquake. But instead of it an awkward humanoid figure as though cobbled together from a number of stones appeared on the rostrum. "Let me introduce Datun, the Stone elemental. Sure, it''s not exactly a model of beauty, nor is it as agile as the Fire or Air elementals, but few can stay on feet after hitting its fist! And also it is able to carry things a lot heavier than its own weight! See how useful a companion you could get if you mastered the magic of Stone!" It''s unlikely you could summon such a golem and place it at your service without being a Master, Tim thought. But what spells of Stone magic can be simpler? In the computer games which Tim used to play this type of sorcery almost wasn¡¯t presented. Usually it was limited to such spells as Earthquake or Stone Fall. Or again, summoning a golem. With a wave of his wand Master Saag-Kof released the elemental, and then continued his speech. "You almost certainly have a question: how do the Elements interact with each other? Oh, there''s a lot to talk about here, too! Each Element has its own character, and you should take it into account if you''re experimenting with more than one of them at the same time! And because a true explorer never restricts his or her pursuit of knowledge, it''s very helpful to learn a few simple rules. Fire is no friend of Water, which tends to extinguish it. Oh, of course, a drop of water will not cope with a conflagration, but when the forces are equal, Water will definitely win. But there is also a way to deal with Water - Air! A strong wind will dry out even a very big puddle! And if it blows continuously for a very long time, it will dry the entire ocean! But it is impotent against Stone; even hurricanes can do nothing to those who are in reliable stone shelter! Do you understand now, why there is no wind under the ground? It is very uncomfortable for the Air inside the Stone. But it is not a hindrance for Fire: the intense heat makes rigid bodies crack or even melt, and then one can only hope for Water! What do we have as a result? Those who listened to me carefully have probably already guessed it! The result is a vicious circle where each Element is stronger than some other and weaker than the third one. Besides, there are preferences within the circle as well: Fire is friends with Air, and Stone with Water. Be sure to keep all this in mind when your opponent uses Elemental magic in a tournament! Put out his Wall of Fire with a Downpour, and put a Stone Shield in the way of Headwind!" Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Tim barely had time to take notes - it would have taken a stenographer. Ri-Bo didn''t bother again, not even touching the stylus. "Surely it''s all in the textbooks, why bother?" "Maybe so, maybe not. Better write it down just in case." "I wonder if there''s a spell that transfers everything you say to paper without you having to do anything." No one answered that question as Master Saag-Kof spoke again. Tim could, of course, talk about a device that converts speech sounds into a text file, which is then easy to print out on a printer. But it would have taken too long to explain how it worked. Besides, he himself was not very clear about the mechanism of such a device. And the tilfing would have thought it was just another kind of magic. "So, what else did I want to talk about? Of course, about the spells that combine the properties of several elements! Even though Water and Fire aren''t friends with each other, you can still combine them in spells such as Boiling or Hot Steam. By combining Fire and Air you get Desert Wind, Water and Stone - Sticky Mud. There are a lot of spells like that, and new ones are being invented all the time! With a little training, you can start constructing formulas, too - a very exciting thing to do!" Naturally, the question of how to do it immediately followed. "It''s very simple. Where do you think all these formulas come from? That''s right: someone made them up some time ago! But they didn¡¯t necessarily look the same as in your tutorials. For example, in order to create a ring of fire around yourself, you have to say ''burstan fehtrago dezrisst''. The pioneer of the formula is thought to be the sorcerer Wazernig. However, the sorcery reproducing from his notes surrounds a magician only with a semicircle; from the back he stays defenseless. It seems Wazernig knew about this shortcoming because in comments he advised to have a wall, fence or chasm behind ''in order the enemy couldn¡¯t have stab in the back''. Two centuries later the other magician, Voan-Sur, modified the formula changing ''desmit'' on ''dezrist'' that allowed to obtain a full circle of fire. After another five centuries Daltaar discovered that if instead of ''fentragi'' one pronounces ''fehtrago'', the diameter of the circle may be significantly increased. And there were other replacements such as ''dezrist'' on ''dezrisst'' or ''vurstan'' on ''burstan'' that turned out to be useful. Now you see how long and difficult may be the way of development of formulas you are getting ready!" Some of the elves doubted that students who had just begun to learn magic were capable of inventing anything worthwhile. "Why not? Droplet of talent and a lot of desire can work wonders! One of the students at our school, after only a year and a half of study, managed to invent the Electric Shield! The formulas for the Fire and Ice Shields were known a long time ago, but the Electric Shield couldn¡¯t get into the hands, although attempts had been made repeatedly." Another question followed - to which Element Electricity is related to. "Electricity? To the Air, of course! And you''ll find spells like Electric Discharge or Lightning Storm in the appropriate section. Some wizards have suggested that Metal and Electricity should be considered as separate Elements, but this point of view has not been universally accepted. And why should it be? Four Elements are enough." And if you combine metal with electricity, you get electrical wiring, Tim thought mischievously. Local wizards would be strongly surprised if they knew that wires could conduct electricity! Though he could hardly find it here; on Earth wire was invented only when the need to transmit electricity over long distances arose. And to make it himself - he can''t do without special equipment and appropriate skills. Meanwhile, two more questions came from the front rows - about textbooks and which spells were the best to start with. "Tutorials? Oh, there are so many, I can''t even remember their titles! But in the library you¡¯ll undoubtedly be given advice! The main thing is not to get too old books for the reason I mentioned earlier: they may not contain spells invented recently, and those invented long ago may not be represented by the most effective formulas. On the other hand, in ancient books you might come across some very interesting spells that were later, alas, rejected by the editors and not mentioned anywhere else. Although most often it was not because of their faulty ideas, they simply were not finished - some people lacked patience, and some got carried away by other developments. In the world of magic all sorts of things happen! As to spells that require minimal amounts of mana," Master Saag-Kof thought for a moment, "I suppose Spark of Flame, Breeze or Cold Touch would be the best for you, and further all what you want. For example, to do the same thing!" A thick fog descended on the classroom, and it got very dark and damp. And then sunlight streamed in through the barred windows, followed by a rainbow. "It''s beautiful, isn''t it? The magic of the elements can sometimes work wonders! But that''s enough for today, the show''s over! One point for everyone who liked it!" Who in this situation would admit they didn''t like it? And hardly those would be found after the demonstration of magic''s true power. Under enthusiastic cries and applause Master Saag-Kof disappeared from the rostrum creating a final bolt of lightning that struck the floor where he''d just been. Tim closed the grimoire with a sigh: he would have loved to have seen a few more tricks. Okay, a little bit of a good thing. Tidying the top of the uniform he felt a weight in his left pocket. There was an oatmeal cookie in it; he''d managed to wake up early this morning and even visit the dining room. Creating a plate with cookies he ate three of them, mechanically putting others in the pocket, and then went for the class. And only now he evaluated the significance of his discovery. Unlike utensils, food doesn''t go anywhere when you leave the dining room. That means you can stock up as much as you want! Or at least enough to go on a long expedition and not to die of hunger during it. It''s more complicated with water - plastic bottles haven''t been invented here yet. But together they''ll probably figure something out! His friends were already halfway to the exit; a little more and they would mingle with the crowd. "Hey, wait!" Tim called out to them. "Hold on a minute!" "What happened?" they turned around, looking in his direction with puzzled curiosity. "There''s one thing I want to show you!" Even if some of his classmates looked around too, they probably lost interest now, deciding - lucky guy found a crystal, hardly a surprise to anyone. Surely most are already lucky enough to find at least one. "Well, show me!" Ri-Bo was the first. "What is it?" Naar-Tam looked at the cookies. "Where did you get these?" "In the dining room, where else?" "Is it food?" Mez''A''Shib asked semi-affirmatively. "Yes, it is." "Would you like to try it? Something tasty?" "Why didn''t you eat them all at once? You were saving it for last?" "That''s right. The food stays with you, otherwise you''d be hungry all the time. And you can order more than you need at any given time." "And preferably something that won''t go bad by evening," winked Mez''A''Shib, who had a pretty good idea what Tim was driving at. "Or within a week," Naar-Tam followed with a hint. "Hey! What are you stuck in there for?" being already in the doorway Tiis-Mir called out to them. "We''re just discussing whether to go straight to the woods or have lunch first," Ri-Bo reacted to the situation, and Tim hurried to put the cookies back in his pocket. "What''s there to think about, let''s go to the dining room and then out into the fresh air! There''s still plenty of time before Mind Magic class!" "Then let''s go!" Tim had other plans that, for the time being, he didn''t want to share with anyone, not even his friends. Wasn''t his idea worth a little time alone? While his friends were busy putting it into practice, he should have time to find out something for himself. And so, as they made their way down to the ground tier and headed for the dining room, Tim excused himself under the pretext of the urgent need to visit ''a certain establishment''. "Start without me for now, and I''ll be there as soon as I can." "Don''t stay there too long!" Ri-Bo advised, to the amused laughter of the others. Chapter 11. After returning to the hall of the ground storey Tim turned not toward the stairs as one could expect, but to the tunnel leading to the library. In principle he had a desire to go to the toilet but not so strong that it couldn''t be tolerated. He was lucky ¨C no one else was concerned about acquiring book wisdom immediately after the class. This time it was much lighter in the library due to standing on the library desk a lamp in the shape of a griffin holding in its paws bowl with flame inside. It seems the librarian guessed that not all disciples are able to see in the dark. Luguk was the first to notice Tim''s appearance, leaping from one of the shelves and nimbly climbing onto the library desk. "Hello, Luguk! Do you recognize me?" In return, the magical elemental stood up on its hind tentacles and lifted front ones up intertwining them above his head. It was very amusing, and Tim, overwhelmed by emotions, offered the elemental small blue ball that had been found this morning on the way to the dining room. Luguk didn¡¯t reject the treat changing its color from pink to violet. Apparently hearing Tim¡¯s voice the librarian (on the flying carpet again) appeared from the depths of the library hall. "Do we have visitors, Luguk? Yes, I see. And if vision doesn¡¯t deceive me, this is the same youth that came here yesterday with a group of friends." "Absolutely right," Tim confirmed. "Have you really read everything and decided to take more?" "Not really, Khalid-amga. Of course, I would take new books with pleasure, especially as we already had classes on Nature and Elemental magic. But firstly I would like to pose a few questions, answers which are very important for me. Last evening I discovered that representatives of my folk hadn¡¯t been accepted into the school for a long time. Even worse, unlike the others I don¡¯t have innate magical gift! Probably there was some mistake and what should I do now? Who is in charge of the school enrolment? Why did he suddenly decide that I can study here? After all, sorcery is the same art as painting or singing, you can never become a genius without talent, only capable mediocrity in the best case! Yes, I can memorize hundreds of the formulas, but what''s the point if I can''t put any of them into practice?" The old man listened patiently to Tim''s emotional speech without a single word or gesture expressing surprise or indignation. "You''ve asked a lot of questions, and it won''t be easy for me to give a short answer. So let''s answer in order," he suggested. "What kind of people are you?" "I am a human." "Human. Hmmm...," the librarian''s face grew troubled. "Indeed, during my work no one of your race was here. However, I am working as a school librarian not so long, only seven years. But perhaps we can find the answer in the books! Wait a moment!" And the flying carpet flew off into the darkness and was soon back again. In his hands Khalid-amga held a weighty reference book called ''The Inhabitants of the Magical Worlds''. He set it down on the desk and with a thoughtful expression began to turn over the pages, richly decorated with illustrations, mostly in black and white, but here and there tinted with mineral paints like umber, ochre, and ultramarine. Tim glimpsed a long line of creatures familiar to him from Earth books and movies (and now he had time to make the acquaintance of some of them): elves, dwarves, goblins, trolls, dragons, genies, pixies, treants, phoenixes, salamanders, sylphs. But many others he had seen for the first time and could only guess who they were and what they were called. Having thumbed through to the last page, the librarian with a sigh put the reference book aside. "Nothing about humans, alas. Therefore, your world is not one of the magical ones. But that''s no cause for despair - the worlds of tylfings, lycoses, and gorgons are not magical either. Nevertheless, their inhabitants are regularly invited to school, and you''ve for sure met some of them. There was a tilting in your company yesterday, wasn''t it? It would certainly be easier if someone made an atlas of all the worlds inhabited by sentient beings. Such an attempt was once made by the Honorable Nulham-amga, and he even went on a voyage for it, from which, alas, he never returned. Hopefully the work he lived for will sooner or later be completed by someone else. We, ngwares, are very fond of knowledge, for it is the only true value in the face of the inexorable time! That is why we are often invited to be their guardians and collectors. Most often our employers are lords who own their own castles, or temple priests, where a collection of ten or twenty folios is already proudly called a library. From this point of view I was exceptionally lucky - there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of manuscripts, no life is enough to read them all! I''ve only been able to read a very small fraction of them. Let''s do this: come back here in three or four days, and I''ll see if I can find any literature that mentions human beings." Tim agreed, breathing a sigh of relief - with so many books it would take a whole day to even look through the catalogs. "As for your lack of the gift... usually apprentices have it before entering the school. But, probably, exceptions are possible. Our race isn''t one of the magical ones, so it''s hard for me to answer definitively. Perhaps one of the teachers will be more helpful than I am." The thought of the teachers had already crossed Tim''s mind, but here there was another difficulty - how to do it without being seen by his classmates? After all, when the class was over, the teachers immediately teleported, most likely to their apartments (which might be on the very third tier or even higher). Where else they might be found is unknown. It makes no sense to ask the dwarves about it - it wasn''t for nothing that Rugud said that wizards'' business don''t concern him. "But in any case, an apprentice incapable to master the sorcery could not come here," the librarian said solemnly. "Ixoar, a magical elemental like Luguk, but much more serious and powerful (the ''octopus'' made an offended face - I also wasn¡¯t born yesterday), is strictly watching for that. When it''s time to invite new pupils, the Principal gives the appropriate order and Ixoar sets off. Wandering between worlds, he searches for children with abilities to magic. Then, when the necessary number of them have been recruited, he sends an invitation. Those who accept them find themselves here. You know that yourself, because there''s no other way to get into the school!" It''s a pity, it is impossible to interrogate the elemental - it hardly can speak and in addition where it can be found? Although it finally would be clear why he was chosen, Tim thought. "Could it accidentally make a mistake in its choice?" "No way! Elementals don¡¯t have flaws and weaknesses, they cannot be intimidated, bribed, or deceived. And if he chooses you, it means that you have abilities for sorcery. You just need to discover them in yourself and learn how to use them properly." "Thank you, you gave me a spark of hope! I will begin my training immediately. And I''ll look again in a few days. And today I''d like to take some textbooks on Red and Green magic. Unfortunately, the teachers didn''t tell which ones to get, but Master Saag-Kof said to ask in the library. Can you give me a hint?" "Oh, of course. That''s why we, librarians, exist. There are a good many tutorials, but you might be interested in the ones with simpler spells, right? Well, so be it. While I go get them, Luguk, find data card of this boy''s card and write down in it: Alawiel, ''Marvelous Magic of the Living World'', and Biisato, ''Who is the Lord of the Elements''." The ''octopus'' zealously set to work, and soon Tim had both textbooks in front of him. The textbook on elemental magic looked a lot like a children''s pop-up book; it seemed to be intended for very young wizards, since the pictures took up most of the book. By contrast, in the textbook on Nature magic pictures were almost completely absent, only one per chapter. Anyway, he was old enough to look at pictures instead of studying, Tim thought prudently. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. "Thank you very much! But I have one more little request. One of my friends, a drow, is very interested in the history of the origins of his people. He suspects that the official chronicles describe it, so to speak, not quite correctly." "Serious interest for such a young age, however! Your friend undoubtedly has a very sharp and shrewd mind. But let him be careful - knowing the truth very often brings with it great trouble, and sometimes it costs one''s head. If he manages to cope with them, while keeping the pursuit of truth, honor and praise to him! Fortunately, that''s easier than in your case - there are plenty of books written by and about elves in the library, somewhere the truth is sure to be found! Here, for example, Raengor¡¯s work ''Biography of the folks inhabiting Gallaeri'', written nearly a thousand years ago, but still actual because Raengor objectively described events and facts known to him. If it will not be sufficient there are other historical works. But before I give it to you, I''ll check it!" And putting the ''Biography'' on the desk he gave a quick thumb through it. "It seems to be alright, you can give it away!" "What was the purpose of this inspection?" Tim wondered. "Some old books can have curses on them. If you open it, you will, for example, sneeze for an hour. Or run to the toilet several times in a row. And that''s the best case scenario! Fortunately, I''d never heard of a curse that killed on the spot, but occasions of insanity or lethargy took place. Alas, no one has invented yet the spell allowed to detect if a book cursed or not. And it is not always possible to remove a curse, sometimes only by burning. Which is very sad, because some books have left only a single copy! But don¡¯t worry, only a very small part of library literature is dangerous! Tutorials are absolutely safe and you may read them without worrying. But with books where really terrible sorcery was described you should keep your eyes opened! And if anything happens, run immediately to the medical aid station, there you¡¯ll get help!" "Thank you for the warning, we''ll be careful!" And, having said goodbye, Tim was about to leave, when two anzimars came into the library. "We thought we''d be the first," said one of them cheerfully, turning to his companion. "Never mind. Let''s see what the others are going to read," the second anzimar literally snatched the books from Tim''s hands. "Yeah, textbooks on Elemental and Nature magic. But why do you want to read about the history of elves?" "For general development. I want to know who I am studying with." "What trash is interesting for you, however. You would have in addition a history of the tilfings! Yes, by the way, tell your horned buddy: let he don¡¯t hide and come to speak with us. Then there will be no problem." "What, I wonder, do you want to talk about?" Tim asked him sarcastically. "Life, of course, what else is there to talk about with a tilfing?'''' Anzimar smirked back. "You shouldn''t have messed with him in the first place. Tilfings are devious, duplicitous creatures, who only pretend to be weak. They like to be a sad spectacle and to provoke compassion for themselves just waiting for the moment to swindle their well-doers out. As the saying goes, give them a finger and they bite out their whole hand. If I were you, I''d stay away from him." "It''s my business," Tim said firmly, taking his books back. "Of course, each of us is free to make our own choices. But if it turns out to be wrong, what''s the point of clinging to it? Isn''t it better to turn right away in the right direction?" "Germeht, look at the cool librarian here!" the other anzimar exclaimed, pointing to Luguk. "In fact I am the librarian," said Khalid-amga reproachfully. "And you, youngsters, should learn to be polite." Tim took advantage of the moment and left the library with conflicting feelings. He had no sympathy for the fair-haired youths, but what if, for a moment, they were right? Ry-Bo wouldn''t even think of writing down what the teachers were saying, and he hoped to copy it off him later. But why must Tim give his notes for copying? Let everyone work for himself. The kobold also characterized tilfings not in the best way. Maybe it''s no coincidence that horned bipeds have a long history of dislike on Earth, populating places where they usually wish their sworn enemies to burn. After all, logically, there had to be some reason for it, right? It is unlikely that the tilfings ever inhabited Earth, but the sorcerers of ancient times may well have met them, and their impressions of such encounters were later couched in religious and mystical form. Had he really made a mistake in coming to the aid of Ri-Bo? Voices in the distance distracted Tim from his thoughts. As Tim recalls, his father once said: if you can''t make the right decision, don''t rush into one, wait a while. Then maybe it would come up on its own, or changed circumstances would spare you the need to make a choice. His mother advised to trust his heart in such situations. Tim did not dare to trust it too much - there were times when he had rushed to the aid of those who did not need it at all. Or rather, those who tried to use his impulse for their own, at times dubious, purposes. Well, there was no hurry. Caution would do no harm in any case. He was in the hallway when he heard a call from his friends, who were on their way up the stairs from the dining room. "Got you! Now we see which toilet you have gone to!" Naar-Tam livened up. "And we thought you''d drowned there," Tiis-Mir added mockingly. "By the way, Sir Pulsok was looking for you," Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib said quite seriously. "What for?" "He was angry and said you should be kicked out of the school." "Me? But why?!?" "Something like that because your big troubles threaten all of us!" Probably, Tim had such a dumbfounded appearance that his friends unwittingly began to laugh. "It didn''t work, though," Ri-Bo said. "What do you mean?" "While dining we discussed how to help you to wake your gift. And we decided: you should be scared into grey hair! But probably we should choose another way to do it." "Well, at least not by beating my head with a brick," Tim grumbled. Friendly help undoubtedly is a good thing, but why tell the girls about his shortcomings? Even boys do not always know how to keep a secret and girls all the more so. His mood was spoiled, fortunately not so strong to turn around and walk away. "Probably for its awakening in humans not negative but positive emotions are needed," Chilajt assumed. And she kissed Tim again. "If it didn¡¯t work last time, why now?" Tiis-Mir grinned. "I believe his gift will be liberated when he casts a spell essentially close to it." "It would be nice to know from what field of magic my gift is," Tim slightly cheered up. "Try everything, sooner or later you will succeed. By the way, we have developed your idea!" Judging by their distended pockets the idea was developed to the fullest. "We hadn¡¯t decided what to do with water, though," Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib sighed. "Setting off on a journey drowes usually take metal hip flasks but where do they get them here?" "What if ''to borrow'' a couple of flasks from the laboratory? There are a lot of them there, no one will become poor," Ri-Bo offered merrily. "Glass things are breaking easily. I advise you not to take chances." "And if you make them from wood?" "Light elves really use wood cans for transportation of liquids," Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib became thoughtful. "Unfortunately, I don¡¯t know the manufacturing technique." "Maybe the dwarves have them?" "Good idea! Dwarves also are using metal hip flasks!" "Only without stealing!" Tim warned severely looking at the tilfing. "It¡¯s better to get it in exchange for the crystals. Of course, if dwarves are interested in them." "Yes, for sure. Dwarves never pass up an opportunity to make a good deal. After all, the flasks we''ve been ''given'' can be written off as obsolete and replaced with new ones." "All right, let¡¯s do this. I personally can¡¯t offer more interesting options." Ri-Bo volunteered to negotiate with the dwarves. Nobody objected, in the sphere of diplomacy he had no equal. After it the turn came to books from the library. "These are the books that Khalid-amga recommended to me," Tim explained eagerly, handing the peirots a ''picture book'' to look through, and Chilajt an essay on the magic of the living world. "And this is for you," he handed the third book to Mez''A''Shib. "I hope you''ll find what you''re looking for in it." "You took it for me??" the drow marveled. "And you ask nothing in return?" "Only one thing: remember to return it when you''ve read it. Because it has been written on my name." "And you should get used to the fact that friends aren''t the ones who want something from you!" Naar-Tam added with a laugh. "If so, thank you very much! I''ll try not to keep it to myself for long." "Your homeland is called Gallaeri?" Tiis-Mir looked up and read the title of the book. "That''s what the light elves call it. It''s called Galarud by the dwarves, Guldur by the orcs, and Galhiri by the drowes. You can tell by that alone which nation the author belongs to. I hope he was objective enough, and the pages of his creation aren''t filled with nothing but curses against the dark elves." "And don''t the drowes have books?" "Alas, there is no truth in them at all. Mind you, the powers-that-be have always hated to read the truth about themselves, preferring flattering lies. And even less did they like those who wrote it. And who wants to put his head on an executioner¡¯s block?" "Khalid-amga said there are plenty of books about elves in his establishment. I''m sure you''ll learn things you never knew!" "By the way, what about walking in the library? We also need the textbooks!" "Better not right now. After me a whole bunch of our classmates came there. You have to wait a long time for service." Tim didn¡¯t mention about the anzimars ¨C let it be later in a private conversation with Ri-Bo. "All right. Then let''s scatter and reconvene before the Mind Magic class begins." Chapter 12. After waiting for the pupils to stop arriving, Master Iskitt wiped his forehead with a handkerchief (though it wasn''t at all hot in the classroom) and quietly asked: "May I begin?" This was so unexpected (where''s a teacher ever asked a student for permission!) that the pupils were confused a little. Someone finally nodded his head. "Fine. Then let''s begin. Where do we start? Probably with illusions, which are the easiest to learn. You probably already know what illusions are. No, no, we are not talking about unfulfilled dreams. Even the most sophisticated magic cannot make them come true. Is not magic omnipotent, you may reasonably ask. Yes, there are spells that can help you to achieve what you want, but at the same time they create a lot of problems. If you decided, for example, to get rich by borrowing some coins from the treasury or coffers of some rich man. It''s easy to do, Invisibility plus Teleportation, and the deal is done. But what next? Once you start living beyond your means, the neighbors will immediately become suspicious. Tax collectors and policemen are not likely to stay on the sidelines. Or you met someone for whom you have fond feelings. But here is the problem: despite all your efforts, the object of adoration remains completely indifferent to you. If you apply an appropriate incantation, you will be able to make the person fall in love with you, but it will be a fake love, zombie love, without sincerity and warmth of heart. It is unlikely that such a result will please most of you." After a pause, Master Iskitt wiped his forehead again. "I''m sorry, I seem to have gotten a little distracted... What were we just talking about? Oh, yes, illusions. Simply put, illusions are when you see things that do not exist. Or scientifically speaking, an optical illusion of vision." "Are those ghosts flying back and forth around the school illusory too?" without even asking permission, one of the drow girls was interested in. "Not really. They are beings from the astral worlds. Unlike phantoms, you cannot create them, only summon them, as any other soulful creature. Oh, of course, in the old days (maybe even now, but secretly, at their own risk), the dark druids experimented in the field of creation of homunculi and chimeras. Results of such experiments usually were deplorable: it was easier to create a golem than a chimera that wouldn''t disintegrate or be extremely bad-tempered. But Master Nimikel, your teacher of Druidism, can narrate about it better than I. And we''ll return to... what was it about before? Illusions? The magic of illusions is also called Pink, though the primary color of Mind magic is yellow. Has anyone ever told you about the coloring of different types of magic? If you look through a special biconvex glass, you''ll see that the spell you cast leaves in air clouds of smoke, the coloring of which depends on which area of magic it belonged to. But the hue in the case of Mind magic can change within a very wide range - from pale yellow to dark orange. Orange, by the way, in this case is not a combination of yellow and red, but rather yellow and black. That''s the spectrum of the combat section of Mind magic, like Insanity or Amnesia (the audience was noticeably more animated). But I''m sure you should have been warned not to use such spells on your mates!" A couple of didactic examples followed, about how bad it is to be a bad guy and how it might end. However, Tim missed them intensely, pondering a very different thought. If soulful beings cannot be created through magic, then who are their clones? After all, it is not enough to enclose mind in body, soul is also needed, otherwise the resulting creature will turn into a biorobot, or a creature with big strangenesses, innocuous or, on the contrary, harmful, depending on the circumstances. At worst it may become a permanent inhabitant of mental hospitals or prisons. It is strange that nobody else was concerned about it discussing any nonsense: the odd teacher continually losing his train of thought, funny cases of some spell application, life before the school, and, of course, cute girls (if boys) or handsome boys (if girls). Do they not care about their own future? A moment later that thought somehow went away, and Tim listened intently again to Master Iskitt, who was finally able to concentrate on the subject of the class. "Illusions are unreal visions that reproduce fragments of the world or images of living beings. They are incorporeal and, as a rule, cannot cause physical harm, the main purpose of their creation is to surprise, frighten, or confuse someone. There are two fundamentally different classes of illusions. One of them is incarnated directly with the Fantasy World spell, and the visions will look as the wizard wishes. The other is based on the Deception of Sight formula, and the object will perceive reality in a distorted light - as suggested by his imagination, the activation of which is an integral part of this spell. In the simplest case they are pale, barely discernible shadows. This is where most neophytes who wish to become Masters of Mind Magic begin their journey. As your potential grows, their outlines will become clearer, fill with color, and remain stable longer. Great Masters of the past could build palaces that were indistinguishable from the real palaces from a distance! And those palaces stood for a very long time, sometimes outlasting their creators. And only then they slowly dissolved in the air." "I have a question," the freckled boy who had been lying in the grass next to Tim in Nature''s magic class rose from his seat. "Is there a way to detect if something is illusory without getting too close? Who wants to go into a raging fire to see if it''s real!" "A very good question. Perhaps even worthy of a point or two (the audience became lively again). Indeed, illusions created by an experienced sorcerer are very difficult to distinguish from reality. An illusory fire can crackle and spark as the real one, unable only to burn. However, it is really hard to know it from afar. That''s when True Sight comes to your aid. Under its influence you will see reality as it really is. Or you can simply destroy the illusion with a scattering spell. But it''s harder to do, because it requires more mana. But in many cases partial success is enough: even if the illusion doesn''t disappear, it becomes translucent and thus reveals its essence." Master Iskitt refused to tell the pupils about the combat section of Mind magic. "You''re not going to war! And your magical potential is too weak for that. Sometimes later we¡¯ll study methods of mental protection and after that we''ll talk about the simplest attacking sorcery." Selkise dared to ask her own question. "Excuse me, Master, I''d like to ask about the Directed Thought spell. If I understand correctly, can it be used to communicate mentally?" "Not exactly, but close in nature. Directed Thought only works in one direction, so you can use it to tell your companion something or ask them to do something. He won''t be able to answer you unless he also knows how to cast this spell. Here, see how it works. Dallbemt fragsakk gobfirg!" A second later the orc named Shugiz stood up, nodded his head, and headed for the exit. "I asked him to leave the classroom," the teacher explained. "That''s all, thank you, you can go back to your seat." Shugiz looked at him perplexedly and then hurried back. "The ability to have a mental conversation is given by the Telepathy spell. Then there''s full two-way contact, but only if you''re close to each other. The farther apart you are, the more magical power you must have to maintain such a conversation." In other words, Directed Thought could be compared to a pager, and Telepathy to a cell phone session, Tim thought with a smile. It would be great to learn to talk without opening my mouth, of course. It would be very useful when you need to urgently discuss some delicate problem with the person you are talking to, and there are a lot of strangers around. And even if no one seems to be beside, where are the guarantees that there is no invisible person wandering around? And then it is better to use a spell to dispel the spell first. Ugh, how complicated things are in the world of magic. "If I may, Master, I have one more question." Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Yes, yes, of course, ask!" "Am I correct in assuming that the ability to maintain telepathic contact can be greatly enhanced if an empathic connection is established between the talkers." "Oh yes, such a connection really does give the ability to understand from a half-word, even without any magic! And with sorcery it can work wonders - the interlocutors can hear each other at enormous distances, sometimes even being on different continents! Unfortunately, empathic connection is not available to everyone, and one can only be happy for those who have managed to achieve a high degree of mutual trust." Master Iskitt did not go into detail. But he rewarded Selkise with five points - probably, he liked her questions more than others. After that, there was a lot of noise in the classroom - everyone was eager to ask something, even if it was not related to the subject of the class. The teacher barely had time to answer, and only in the end he asked if anyone present had an innate gift for creating illusions. "I have!" Za-Zu immediately responded. "I can make an illusory copy of myself!" "It''s very interesting! Please come to the rostrum and show us what you can do!" Za-Zu''s copy was pretty much identical to the original, except that it couldn''t move or speak. "And I can create illusory images," Zhu-Fi boasted. And with a smile she drew a flower in the air that looked like a lily. "Great!" Master Iskitt approved. "Tilfings have always had an excellent abilities for Pink magic. Well, I think you deserve three points each." "Tilfings are goats!" one of the anzimar girls loudly declared. Either because of an antipathy for horned creatures, or because her question was not scored a single point. "You are the same!" Za-Zu answered with a snarl. "When will you beat each other?" the orcs (and not just them) livened up in anticipation of free entertainment. "What did you say, she-goat? I''ll tear your hair out!" "Aren''t you afraid of getting my horns in your belly? That actually hurts!" "Then you won''t even live here!" The situation clearly called for outside intervention, and Master Iskitt was not left out. "Tsk, tsk, girls, that''s not nice! You''re setting a bad example! I''ll have to use Pacification. Sullun terfik saur bhon!" It was quiet in the classroom immediately after it. The girls sat back down in silence looking shamefully at the teacher and at each other. However, Master Iskitt did not say anything else, just advised to borrow the book ''How not to get lost in the world of illusions'' from the library. By the time our friends got to the corridor, a large crowd had already gathered - for some reason no one was in a hurry to go their separate ways. As it turned out, the two elves, Faelinn and Namitil, were arguing over who had the best affinity to Green magic. They naturally found many eager to see the duel, and after some debate they agreed to the following conditions: at the judge''s signal, each of them would plant one of the ultia seeds in the same spot and cast an incantation accordingly. The person, whose sprout grows faster, will become a winner. It was a coincidence that an elf girl named Yumial had a whole box of these seeds with her, and so it was decided to hold the duel immediately, in the same glade where their lesson on druidism had taken place. They came down as a group and headed for the exit. On their way to the dueling ground the crowd stretched into several small groups; being in rear-guard Tim noted that Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib whispers about something with a freckled boy and girl, who nodded in agreement. Soon after it the drow left them and came to Tim. "I¡¯m afraid it will come to a fight." "But they wouldn''t be throwing fireballs, would they? They''re just germinating seeds." "That''s true, but as to us, dark elves, such bets often end up in a bloody brawl. Of course, I hope it doesn''t come to that here. But it never hurts to take some precautions." The meaning of the last phrase became clear to Tim later, but for now he simply watched what was happening. He didn''t care who won; he hadn''t met any of the elves yet. He was simply curious to see how fast their plants would stretch upward. There was nothing to compare it to, he had no time to busy himself with his own seeds. Finding out the best place for their aim the elves in turn a seed from the box of Yumial, chosen by the contest judge, and at her signal they stuck the seeds in the ground at the same time saying ''olpikki dunt immier''. After about a minute, the seedlings emerged from the ground. Their growth rate, of course, was far from the teacher''s, but still fast enough not to be bored for hours waiting. And it soon became apparent that Namitil''s sprout grows faster. And he would be the winner if not the orcess Rumara. "Hey, you! You didn''t play fair! I saw you secretly had used a couple of crystals before the contest began!" "Now you''ve been found out," Eliavin laughed. "Now I understand why you claimed five crystals for the winner in a friendly match." "You have to play fair. And if you''ve been caught, you should accept defeat with dignity!" Gmuruk remarked instructively. "That''s the last thing we need to hear from orcs!" Namitil got furious and took his staff ready. "Light elves often have an ace in the hole," Shin''Ye''Het said in a sarcastic tone. "And you, drowes, shut up! You are caricatures of elves, you evil creatures of darkness!" "If we were here in Merzeran, you''d be on your knees begging for my forgiveness!" "Fortunately I''ll never be in your filthy town. It''s high time to teach you, dirty drowes, a good lesson!" The elves grabbed for their wands - it looked as if a bloody battle was about to begin. But at that moment a strange beast, like a spotted leopard, sprang from the bushes on the right. It roared and darted toward the disciples. Some of them tried to be brave, but when a giant black with red stripes newt appeared from the bushes on their left they also hurried to the saving entrance in the mount. Soon there was no one left in the glade but Mez''A''Shib and Tim, who almost gave in to the general panic. But the drow grabbed his arm and held him in place. "That''s it, you can go back now!" he waved a hand, and the strange beasts obediently disappeared into the bushes from which they had sprung. "I didn''t think you were able to command beasts! I thought that''s what light elves were into." "We, dark ones, can do a lot of things, too," Mez''A''Shib smiled enigmatically. What exactly he meant was clear when the freckled boy and girl emerged from the bushes, smiling. "That''s what your "precautions" meant!" Tim guessed. "Yeah. Wasn''t that a bad idea? Well, it worked!" "It always works on those who aren''t aware of our skin-changing abilities at first," said the girl. "Then, of course, they get used to it and stop being afraid." "Only one thing I don¡¯t understand: why did you need it?" The lycos boy was puzzled. "Let the fight be, nobody forces you to participate in it. After blowing off steam they would almost certainly calm down." "I don¡¯t like such sort of things," Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib avowed. "The punishment then would be for all: who participated and who simply stood aside. What do I want it for? In addition, pay attention: except us there is no one else in the forest now. And hardly anyone dares to get out from the mountain today." "That''s a great idea!" the boy agreed cheerfully. "The crystals will be useful for us too. And it was crowded after the druidism yesterday." And he turned to Tim. "In that class we were nearby but didn¡¯t have time to get acquainted. I am Yantau, and you?" "Timothy." "And my name is Meikli," the girl introduced herself. "Nice to meet you. By the way, in the folklore of my people there are legends about werewolves which are able to transform themselves into wolves or other beasts. They could do it only in the full moon however and before dawn should have back their original identity. And after it they didn¡¯t remember what they were doing in the beast form." "It¡¯s not about us," Yantau laughed. "We can turn our skin regardless of the location of the heavenly bodies. And we don¡¯t lose our memory. It''s another thing to take off your clothes before you turn, or they''ll be torn to shreds. That is why at home we wear tunics or long dresses without clasps; some of us limit themselves to loincloths. Therefore with the school uniform we have some problems: it had to take off its top and bottom separately. Well, gradually we¡¯ll get used to it." "That''s why you told me not to bother showing you the transformation! Though, frankly, I wouldn''t mind seeing it." "Don''t you dare peek!" Meikli warned him with a fist. "I''m not always in control of my second form, and I can bite you inadvertently." She said it in all seriousness, but it came out a little comically, and everyone laughed involuntarily. "I''m not going to," Tim promised, smiling embarrassedly. "In fact, there is another reason," Yantau said. "Transformations take up a lot of energy, after them we are feeling quite tired. Therefore making transformations twice in a row would be very hard for us and may not work at all. And not always it passes painlessly." "But probably there are some perks here?" "Certainly! As a kangur I can hear sounds that otherwise are inaudible or completely unheard. As far as I know, in druidism such an effect is achieved by the Sensitive Ear spell." "And I can climb plumb walls," Meikli boasted, shining with all her freckles. "Cool! And can you get there?" Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib pointed at the mount spire where a strange structure resembling Stonehenge was located. "No! It''s too high, I''ll get dizzy and fall. But on some small rocky ledge I could probably do it. By the way, that''s not a bad idea, I should try it sometime." "No one of you, guys, can fly, by any chance?" "Alas. Ivliar can turn into an efliko (an animal that resembles a panda, but with a different coloring), and Sitmis can turn into a zalsirb (something like a terrestrial porcupine, as far as Tim was able to understand). But in general, there are those among our compatriots, whose second skin is velhao, and they are capable of soaring through the air. Not like birds, of course, but still." "It''s a pity. I''d like to see what''s beyond the mountains." "Maybe in time we will find other ways," Yantau shrugged. "We haven''t even explored the forest yet. I think it would be a good time to do that now." "No problem. Your half of the forest is to the left of the fountain, ours is to the right." Chapter 13. Exploring the flora and fauna of the alien forest (and there was a lot to see) turned out to be a fascinating activity. Together with Mez''A''Shib they explored the strange trees and animals (if they didn''t hide when they approached them), and found five crystals and fragments of mosaic. At the same time the drow was carefully inspecting the plants, especially those that were infrequent and had unusual shapes or colors, constantly checking against the kobold''s list. I should have taken it with me, Tim thought wistfully, but then I would have needed some sort of collection bag, too (too bad I didn''t have any plastic bags handy!). Mez''A''Shib solved the problem simply by getting a piece of cloth somewhere and wrapping his findings in it. It''s more difficult with insects: they hardly can be placed in a pocket, and it is required to deliver them in the laboratory alive and not too crumpled. It needs jars with lids, but where to get them? But even without all that, just wandering through the woods was great! After all, Tim had never been in a real dark forest, only in clean, well-groomed parks, which even an inveterate optimist would not call ''wilderness''. And here, on top of that, there was so much to see! And once again he regretted about lack his cell phone here. Because of all this, he had to literally force himself to go back up the mountain. Mez''A''Shib was sympathetic to Tim''s desire to try to learn at least one spell. "Come on! At the very least, you can pass it off as your gift of magic. I could barely stop Naar-Tam in the dining hall, or he would have spoken of our dungeon expedition. I didn''t realize the peirots were so chatty." "They are too cheerful to think before they speak. But I wouldn''t rule Naar-Tam out of the group because of that." "Nor would I. At least I wouldn''t expect any tricks from him." It was difficult to disagree, and Tim hurried to his quarters. He had already picked up a spell for training - the ''Sparks of Flame'' mentioned by Master Saag-Kof at the lecture, the easiest to master. There was also a purely practical aspect here - what if a fire could be made? As was described in the ''pop-upbook'' at its successful casting several sparks (a number of which will depend on sorcerer¡¯s power) must appear. So, the test must be done away from things that can catch fire. Pronouncing ''xeroblinz exlelloto'' Tim pressed the button, but nothing happened. Of course, it would have been nice if it had worked the first time, but he didn''t count on miracles. And if you try to ''eat'' a crystal? Master Aerg for some reason didn¡¯t advise to addict it, but it is unlikely he¡¯ll become ill from only one crystal. In any case he must do it ¨C if he is afraid of everything, he has nothing to do in school. It''s a pity there aren''t any red crystals among his finds today. Maybe a yellow ball will be suitable for it? Putting the ball on his palm, after a short hesitation Tim uttered ''eflirg toakt'' and touched it with the tip of his wand. The crystal burnt from the inside and melted flowing into a puddle that almost immediately soaked into the skin. He didn¡¯t feel heat however, only pleasant coolness. Too bad, he doesn¡¯t know how to estimate the magical power magnification. Probably, it hadn¡¯t been very much because the spell didn¡¯t work out again. And if one more ball? No, Tim pulled down himself; nobody guarantees the result and another crystal may be also lost in vain. It means only meditation can help him. He ran his eyes over the manual again and chose a pose of sitting on the floor, with his back against the wall, his legs tucked under him, and his hands on his knees. In addition, one must say the word ''ishhou'' to oneself until one becomes bored. Most likely it will happen very soon ¨C Tim has never been able to remain motionless for a long time. But some later it may be repeated: no one said the effect can be achieved only after staying in the pose from morning to evening. After sitting in the right way Tim resignedly closed his eyes and began to repeat mentally the word. ''Ishhou, ishhou, ishhou¡­'' echoed somewhere inside, driving him to a sleepy state. An unexpected gust of wind slightly cooled inflamed the head, resurrecting memories in it. The park where they loved to walk as a family on weekends, the trip to the sea last summer, the local Disneyland, where his class was taken out one day together with parents and teachers, the faces of his classmates - the earthly ones that had become familiar during the years of study. And here is his house, surrounded by a garden plot; when the mother was not busy at work, she liked to be engaged in its cultivation. But now it looked completely abandoned, as if no one had touched the plants for a month - the flowers had wilted without watering, and everything, even the paths, was overgrown with weeds. The door to the house was ajar, creaking in the wind. Cold with foreboding, he hurriedly opened it and peeked inside. The living room was a mess - the table was overturned, the armchair shells ripped in several places. The parents'' room was no better - the bed was wrinkled, the clothes from the wardrobe piled on the floor beside it. It was better not to go into the kitchen at all - shards of a china set, given as a present on one of his wedding anniversaries, strewed the entire floor. Could it be that there had been a major family quarrel in his absence? But his parents had never quarreled in that way, at most a heated conversation which quickly ended in a reconciliation. And there was a thick layer of dust everywhere. Maybe they had decided to split up and leave this place for good? No, it couldn''t be, they wouldn''t leave him alone! Something terrible had happened here, but what exactly? And why? Perhaps he would find the answer in his own room? Overcoming with difficulty the fear he crossed its threshold. Broken screen of the TV, out-turned insides of the computer system unit and splodgy with some brownish green muck sofa didn¡¯t surprise him yet, but also didn''t answer on the question: what happened here during his absence? And if a gang of robbers infiltrated here in search of values and his parents were kidnapped? No, not murdered, they can''t die, it just can''t be! Finding his cell phone in his pocket, with a hand shaking with excitement, he dialed 911. Crimson-red numbers lit up on the screen, but instead of ringing the bell - a distant chime of the funeral bell. And then, instantly incandescent, the phone blackened and charred into a pile of ash. He had to get out of here, find one of the neighbors, let them make the call! But it was too late - with a loud crash the door closed, cutting off the way to escape, and it got very dark inside the house... Tim opened his eyes with a shudder. What luck, it was only a dream! But how had he managed to fall asleep in such an uncomfortable position? They say when one is very tired one can fall asleep even standing up, but he had not done anything to fall off his feet from fatigue! Probably the effect of meditation - it was something he had never done before, and surprises were to be expected. The darkness was easy to explain - the sun had disappeared behind the clouds, and it would soon be even darker. And what was he frightened of, anyway? Strange and sometimes not entirely pleasant dreams had visited him before. It is interesting how much his power increased; Tim¡¯s thought took another direction. Probably it¡¯s better to meditate more and try not to sleep. And at feeling he is beginning to go off ¨C to interrupt the meditation session immediately. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not avoid it. This time he was wandering through the forest, the same forest he and Mez''A''Shib had explored a few hours before. But the drow wasn''t there now; he must have gotten distracted by the gathering of plants. And the longer was his way, the more apparent the change in the forest - the trees became shriveled and mossy, wisps of slime hung down from the leaves. Cheerfully twittering birds disappeared somewhere, their place was taken by somber black birds with curved beaks and ruby-red eyes. Instead of the grass that softly spring underfoot, he now had to walk on nasty smacking mud. How had he managed to wander into the swamp? Maybe this is due to the blue-grey fog that enveloped the forest; he couldn''t see the outlines of the cliffs that served as landmarks, only what was close by. As a result, everywhere he looked he saw the same dreary landscape. But there was a light ahead - not the flame of a fire, but rather a lantern. Could it be that someone had gone in search of him? If they found him here, punishment was imminent, but better that than wandering endlessly through the filthy swamp. Deciding this, Tim ran toward the fire, though it wasn''t easy: his feet were getting deeper and deeper in the mire. At last he managed to get close enough to it, only to find with horror that it was no lantern at all! On a stake driven into the ground a man¡¯s skull had been skewered, and an oily yellowish light was streaming from its empty eye sockets. Moving back he stubbed his toe on a snag and at full tilt fell into a stinking puddle. Mocking laughter was heard behind, and even the skull rattled in time to it bouncing on the stake. No way, they don¡¯t get him for free! Anger drove away fear; standing upright he took the challenge. Just at the right time his faithful wand turned out to be in his hand. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Benzir alm eghurd!" A swirl of dazzling white twinkles rushed to the skull literally exploding it from the inside. And the silence reigned on the glade in the middle of which the stake had been established. "Not bad for such a nobody as you," the mocking voice seemed to come from all directions. Tim looked around, ready to face his opponent, but there was no one there. However a few seconds later outlines of strange creatures remotely resembling terrestrial varans showed through the mist. They were very terrible: rampant, with milky white skin covered with sparse wool of scarlet color ¨C as if bleeding from numerous tiny wounds. In addition, they were armed with glass daggers ¨C it was awful just thinking about how sharp cool glass cuts his stomach. Eyes of the creatures lit up with triumphant malice as if in anticipation of the moment when they will be able to skin him alive and then roast, or simply eat him raw. None of these options suited him. It means it¡¯s time to remember Master Saag-Kof¡¯s lessons. "Burstan fehtrago dezrisst!" Flames burst from the ground, encircling him in a ring of fire and scorching those who got close enough to him. Discontentedly grumbling ''varans'' disappeared from sight, probably moved away to a safe distance and laid low waiting when the sorcery would finish its action and the flame go out by itself. "One more point in your pouch," the voice continued to mock. "You amused me a little. However it¡¯s even more interesting: no pleasure to deal with sheep submissively waiting for a moment when they will be taken to a sacrificial altar. But keep in mind: a fly caught in a web can flutter as much as it likes, a spider can get to it. Cats also do not always eat a mouse preferring to play a bit with it. But the end will be the same." "If the fly is strong enough it will tear the web and fly away. And the mouse will bite the cat for last." "Well, flutter, if you want. Though it only will prolong your sufferings." The already dark sky grew even darker, filled with leaden clouds that rained down heavily, dousing the fire and soaking him from head to toe. And then a piercing wind blew in, growing colder with every second. The soaked clothes stuck to the body, burning it with cold and gradually hardening. Soon it began to snow and there was no color in the world but white. And there was only one thought: to find a place where it was warm and dry, and the sooner the better, while he was still able to move. But which way to go? The snowy haze surrounded him on all sides, and it was hard to make out anything at a distance. Losing hope, with bluish lips he shouted "Help!" three times hoarsely, but there was no response. He must have time to cast a spell... but which one? Though no words were spoken, the wand glowed, and the heat emanating from it drove away the sensation of becoming an ice statue. The runes carved into it glowed especially brightly, at one point formed into the inscription: ''You must find the Oracle'' After that the runes had formed another inscription, but he didn¡¯t have time to read it: a huge snowball hit him straight in the forehead knocking over and turning off consciousness. When Tim came to, he was surprised to find himself lying on the floor; the door of the room was opened wide and hastily withdrawing her hand Selkise was nearby. "Excuse me; I only touched your forehead. He is so hot! What if you got sick? Let me take you to the medical aid station!" "I don¡¯t need it," Tim jumped on his feet. "I merely had been in a meditative state and fell asleep. And I am not sick at all; simply you have a lower body temperature than I. Due to it you were feeling hot. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine!" The last thing he needs is that some girl makes a fuss of him as a hen of its chick! "Well, no problem," Selkise was embarrassed. "It seems to me that you feel bad. When someone being unconscious lies on a floor it is unlikely that this is because he likes it. Therefore I could not pass by." "Wait a moment! How did you manage to open the door?" "In no way. It was open." "But when I started the meditation it undoubtedly had been closed!" "In some situations it may open without the order. For example, if you call for help." "But I didn¡¯t do it!" "It¡¯s enough to do it mentally. And as far as I understand now, it works even when you are unconscious. By the way, it is very reasonable: when the door is closed no one will know that you had a misfortune. Of course, after some time your absence will be noted and the door will be opened from outside. But it may turn out that there will be no one to save." It was said with a touch of resentment and Tim felt remorse. "I¡¯m sorry, I wasn¡¯t expecting such a turn of events. I would never have thought that in such an uncomfortable pose one can fall asleep. It¡¯s not the technique of meditation but the technique of self-lulling!" "Don''t worry: with a little practice you''ll learn to control your mind, disconnecting from what''s going on around you, but not losing consciousness. We are taught this from an early age, almost as soon as the baby learns to walk and talk. But, as I noticed, your sleep was very restless." "Why do you think so? Can an empath really see into someone else''s dreams?" "No, it''s much simpler than that: while you were dreaming you made movements as if you were fighting someone off and then trying to escape." "It really wasn''t a pleasant dream," Tim mumbled, not wanting to go into details. "Now before the meditation session I have to deal with the inner fear of its repetition." "Then it is better to tune in beforehand to positive emotions. For example, think of an event that is sure to end in success. Or remember something pleasant from your life before school." The mention of ''life before'' brought back visions of the first dream. Has something unpleasant happened at home? But no, what could have happened in just three days! They say that there are prophetic dreams, when a person sees events that will happen in the future, but he had never had such a dream before. Probably the only exception was the dream on his last night on Earth, although he had not yet met a bird with rainbow plumage. Usually his dreams were surreal combinations of things he had already seen, heard, or experienced. Though it would have been nice to be as skilled at wielding magic as in the second dream. But without the gloomy swamps, the icy rains and snowfalls, and the strange creatures with glass daggers. "There are no roses without thorns," the same voice whispered snidely in his ear. Tim flinched in surprise. "Are you sure you''re alright?" Selkise was worried again. "Take in mind, you can visit the medical aid station even at night, no one will punish you for it." "An interesting idea, actually! If somebody takes by the scruff of the neck, you may say that went for medical care but was slightly misdirected. " "You, boys, are silly, aren''t you? You''ll be taken there, and when you''re found to be well, you''ll be prescribed "not-liar" in very large doses. After that, you won''t be able to say anything but the truth." "Luckily, there is no such drug!" "Are you sure?" And really, he may be forced to drink some alchemical muck that loosens the tongue. ''Truth serum'' was invented on Earth without any magic. Almost certainly there are also spells under action of which you¡¯ll empty the bag. "Okay, you win. It had to think of something more convincing." "Can''t you just not break the Code?" "Then life would get really boring. What''s the point of being goody-goody? You won''t be living for yourself, you''ll be living for someone else, why do I need it?" "We''ll see what you say when you grow up." "You think you''re old enough to say that! You don''t need to raise me!" "I even wasn''t going to," Selkise grinned. "But just to make sure you''re alright, give me your hand." "What for?" "You''ll see. And try to be serious." A surprised Tim obediently held out his palm, which Selkise placed on top of hers. The minute their palms touched passed in silence. "There didn''t seem to be any reason to worry," she announced the verdict, and then she broke the contact between their bodies. "But the sensation is very unusual (Tim himself felt nothing but the coolness coming from her skin). Maybe you''re an empath too, but you haven''t realized yourself yet." "Cool! Can I really learn to read someone else''s mind?" "Don''t be ridiculous. You can''t learn empathy in principle. If you don''t have it, no amount of training will help." "It''s like a magical gift." "Sort of. I have a different one, though. Sorrow. Or in other words, Depression. If you''re under its influence, life will look very dark. And you''ll get discouraged, and you''ll be in a bad mood." "Wow! You''ve got combat skill!" "It''s rather a defensive one. Or disarming, whichever way you look at it. Actually it¡¯s nothing in comparison with the gifts of some of our classmates, especially the drowes. Did you know, for example, that Kakh''I''Geg can reanimate a corpse? And Nhel''Yu''Min can apply Pain?" Tim was glad of the change of subject, he didn¡¯t need inquiries about his own gift. And to discuss the drowes instead ¨C as much as you want! However, after some phrases Selkise finished the conversation. "It''s late, and it''s bedtime for us. And I suggest you spend the night in bed, not wandering through tunnels with the risk of getting into a lot of trouble. Otherwise, you''re gonna have a lot worse dreams." "Whatever you say, commander." "You are a silly boy! Well, I''ll see you in Twilight Magic class!" And she was gone. Tim stared dumbly after her for a minute before he closed the door. Why was he so childish, really? Selkise seemed quite sincere about trying to take care of him. Not as a mother, more like as an elder sister. He didn''t have any brothers or sisters, so he had nothing to compare it to. Then he picked up the wand that was lying on the floor and examined it carefully. No, it hadn''t changed. The symbols carved into it were dull and barely visible. And, of course, unreadable. He needs to find someone, but whom? Oh, nothing, it makes no sense to rack your brains for any kind of dream! Better to see if today''s meditation made any sense at all. "Xeroblinz exlelloto!" The tip of the wand flashed for a moment, and two sparks flew from it. They faded before they reached the floor, but it didn''t matter. He had done it. Then all was not lost. Although the wand continued to stay cool and dim, no inscriptions appeared on it. Chapter 14. "So you think you can master magic? And you''re sure you can be a powerful sorcerer? Oh well, keep dreaming." As soon as Master Ven''A''Sash entered the classroom, she took the bull by the horns, not waiting for the students to check the new teacher for weaknesses. "And don¡¯t be late. Those who come here after me will be punished. No, not with community service in the form of cleaning the school grounds. Discipline violators will be dealt with exclusively by magical means. Such as this!" She waved her wand, and the yusme boy who entered the classroom last was thrown out the door with a powerful telekinetic blow. He was afraid to go inside again, thus missing the class. "That''s not pedagogical!" Iwiel resented, and several of the students cheered her on. "Unpedagogical?" the Master laughed wickedly. "Perhaps. But very intelligibly. Praise relaxes and punishment mobilizes, forcing you to move forward. If you''ve had a good lash, you''re not likely to want to try it again. You''re lucky that Jelshakh School does not use corporal punishment. But other schools do, and a lot more than that! They range from kneeling on broken bricks to hanging on hooks, overnight staying in an ice cold cell, spending a long time in complete darkness or, on the contrary, in a company of very bright lights, surrounded on all sides. Being left without food for three or four days is also, believe me, very conducive to correction." "Yeah, I feel we''re going to have a lot of grief with a teacher like that," Ri-Bo complained to his friends. "Quite an ordinary drow teacher," Mez''A''Shib said indifferently. "In our schools anyone that talks or rolls from side to side in class gets hit over the head with a pointer. And if the teacher''s in a bad mood, then a lash on his buttocks." "And the earlier education begins, the better the results. Therefore from today you must memorize a few simple rules. Address the teacher only using the title ''Master''. If you want to ask a question, raise your hand and patiently wait until the teacher allows you to do it. In class, sit still and listen carefully to what the conversation is about. Anything else will be considered disrespectful to the teacher and punished accordingly. As well as unpreparedness for the lesson: laziness is the mother of all vices! And don''t delude themselves with the hope of scoring a thousand points in other subjects by ignoring Twilight Magic. From today, the Attendance Book will be kept, and absentees will face imminent and very harsh punishment. Who keeps the Attendance Book, you may ask? That''s what the praepostor is for. And now we are going to appoint one. Anyone interested?" "Can I try?" Shin''Ye''Het immediately replied. "Are you sure you can do it? Well, here''s a journal. Make a note of who''s in the classroom. You do that every class. And I''ll check your notes periodically." "With a pleasure, Master!'''' With her tongue hanging out, Shin''Ye''Het began to work. "That doesn''t seem right to me," Naar-Tam said. "If you''re interested, you''ll attend anyway. If you''re not, such measures can only cause an intense dislike for the subject." "Drow teachers think otherwise," Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib remained indifferent. "To be the overseer of your own fellows is terrible. I bet there are a lot of people who hate your praepostors." "It goes without saying. But no one ever shows their true feelings about them out in the open. On the contrary, other drowes try to be friends with them." "Why??" "It''s very simple: if you tell a praepostor that he''s a bastard, he''ll just stop putting your name on the list. And then go prove that you were present in class. The teacher is more likely to believe the praepostor than you. Or, more accurately, the Attendance Book." "Our teachers themselves check the presence and note those who are absent," Tim said. "And our ones simply memorize students¡¯ faces; those who truant will be asked stricter," Naar-Tam added. "We can only sympathize with you, drowes." "Such is our world," Mez''A''Shib sighed. A huge soap bubble filled with water suddenly appeared above their heads. A second later it exploded, splashing the company of friends from head to toe. "And another thing: distractions in class are strictly forbidden! On those who sleep or chat with their neighbors, magic will be applied without warning!" "Damn that witch to hell!" Ri-Bo said in anger. Just in case, in a whisper, and not addressing anyone in particular. ''Witch'', meanwhile, glancing around the momentarily hushed audience and making sure that the proper educational effect had been achieved, finally moved on to the topic of the class. "So, Twilight Magic. The perfect magic for those who don''t like to advertise their affairs. And those who prefer night to day. Therefore it hardly comes to taste to light elves and other creatures of light, but since it''s a part of school program, you need to know its basics. Twilight Magic has three main sections. Those who are not going to practice it in the future can learn only Shadow Magic, the art of being invisible and moving silently. Those who like the secrets of truly dark magic can take up Necromancy or Destruction, Brown and Black magic respectively. But now is not the time to discuss them, and you don''t have the strength to reanimate even a mouse corpse." "Well, why not? For example, I can reanimate even a rat!" Kakh¡¯I¡¯Geg bragged. And immediately she squealed with fear: her grimoire went up in bright flame. Fortunately, it was only an illusion but almost indistinguishable from the real one. Well done illusion, as Master Iskitt would say. "Keep in mind, today it¡¯s only a warning. Next time your grimoire will be turned into ashes. Once again, for you and all those who don''t understand the first time: if you have something to say, raise your hand and wait for the teacher to pay attention to you. And don¡¯t forget to add the title ''Master''." "Absolutely, my Master, we shall do so!" Kakh''I''Geg said with a flattering smile. "And now about your reanimation ability. It''s an innate gift, isn''t it? Unlike all other magic, it doesn''t consume any mana, and the only limitation is that you have to wait a certain amount of time before you can use it again. If you didn''t know that, it''s unfortunate that your intelligence level is so low. Reanimation spells, by the way, consume an enormous amount of mana - not like drawing hearts in the air! Due to it the gift holder in such cases always would take preferences over others. Therefore I have no doubt you¡¯ll provide yourself with your own zombie-servant before anyone else!" Someone¡¯s hand rose. It was the lycos boy named Ivliar. "Excuse me, Master, but what''s the point of employing zombies? They stink and decay, and they''re stupid!" That''s right, they don''t shine with intelligence, Tim thought to himself. "Only dabblers in the art of necromancy can say so. With special spells, or alchemical preparations, whichever you prefer, you can stop the process of rotting, and then there will be no smell. They''re not very intelligent, that''s true. But there''s no doubting their master''s loyalty. If you want a bodyguard rather than a servant, suit him up in armor. Zombies have no sense of pain, and they are very hard to defeat." Zur''U''Fes dared to ask his question immediately afterwards. "Master, what is the difference between such armored monsters and Black Knights?" "What do you think is the difference between an ordinary soldier and a gray-haired veteran? The difference is fundamental: no matter what you put on your zombie, whether it''s armor, jewelry, or spells, it''s still a zombie. He will only be able to follow orders, nothing more, because he doesn''t have his own self. Black Knights are a different matter; you can''t get them by reanimation, you''ll need a special ritual. And they retain not only all the knowledge and skills they possessed while alive, but also their minds. But the distinction between the lower and higher undead is irrelevant to the topic of today''s lesson. It would be a good start for you to learn how to do that!" If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. She waved her wand, and the audience was plunged into darkness. Tim, who had experienced Mez''A''Shib''s magical gift, was not confused, but simply waited for the magic to work. But, judging by the moaning and frightened exclamations, it came as a complete surprise to some pupils. "Did you like it? That¡¯s better. However, it¡¯s recommended to use this only if you¡¯re detected and you have to save your own skin. And if you need to sneak in somewhere, it¡¯s better to use invisibility. But don¡¯t relax with it too: in bright light your shade will be noticeable; besides it invisible being is reflected in a mirror. The spell Enhanced Invisibility allows correcting all these deficiencies but¡­ may lightning strike me if one of you can cast even a common one at least within the next year! By the way, it isn¡¯t necessary to become invisible for penetration in places where access is denied. Sometimes it¡¯s quite enough to use Shifted Look consuming a significantly much smaller amount of mana. The sorcerer remains visible but the people around lose the desire to look at him. This spell is a particular case of Defensive Spheres sorcery protecting those who are inside them. There are a number of very effective Spheres: Spheres of Horror, of Faintness, of Blindness and so on ¨C nobody will be able to come close intending to do harm to you! And if someone is following you and you don¡¯t like it, put the magical barrier behind you. Depending on the construction it either will not pass through itself or give your pursuer some not very pleasant surprise. There are a lot of appropriate formulas in the literature; you will have plenty to choose from. You may not create high-grade barriers limiting yourself with magical mines. And then a surprise awaits the one who accidentally steps on it. What kind of surprise? It will depend on your fantasy." Already for a minute someone''s hand remained in the raised position. But the teacher pretended to notice it just now. "You may ask." "Great Master (Master Ven''A''Sash grimaced, but didn''t punish for such primitive flattery), could you tell me for casting of what sorcery one can earn a lot of points?" "What? Well, for example, by soaring over the audience. Or by breaking down the window bars and jumping out into the courtyard in one piece. Too hard? Well, then create a rain of fire or a rockfall! Not in the competence of Twilight magic? How about managing to leave the classroom without anyone noticing? You also can¡¯t handle it, right? Then no way. Though if you have something to surprise me, I''ll think about it. Actually, the correct question would be: What is the easiest Twilight spell for a novice wizard to master?" "Yes, yes, that''s what I was going to ask!" Nhel''Yu''Min cheerfully confirmed. Her impulse seemed so sincere that it was not punished. Master Ven''A''Sash only nodded graciously. "Your teachers seem very fond of flattery," Tim whispered, turning to Mez''A''Shib. "I think, yours also not without sin," the drow answered quietly. Tim was about to object, but decided against it. Indeed, even on Earth one could find teachers willing to forgive ''pranks'' and give higher marks to pupils who were flattered in time. And, on the contrary, to crack down on those who dared to have their own opinion and were not afraid to express it. "Then start with Shadow Cover. This spell makes the outlines of your figure blurry and less noticeable. Here''s the formula: zamshat duzgabr ooffk. And if anyone wants to know more about the subject, you can take a look at the manuscript titled ''Magic of the Night''. You might find a lot more interesting there." The last phrases were said with a certain amount of irony - where have you ever seen that students read books, especially if no one forced them to. Tim, though he had no intention of becoming an expert in Twilight Magic, was careful to write down both the formula and the title of the book. Not for praise, but rather to avoid giving reasons for punishment. Which might not be as unpleasant as it was embarrassing. The teacher, meanwhile, remembered the Attendance Book. "Filled it out?" she asked, and Shin''Ye''Het handed it to her, smiling beamingly. "Hmmm... Dem''O''Sut... Kunfor... Ruum-Fib... Alkitmi... But what''s that?? Two gorgons, four werewolves, three orcs..." "There are four of us," Urgrot snorted, but Master Ven''A''Sash ignored his remark, concentrating solely on Shin''Ye''Het. "Don''t they have names? What do you want me to call them? Hey, you? Or something else?" "Why do they need names? They are inferior races!" The drow girl''s smile grew even wider. But the teacher didn''t appreciate her humor, tapping her on the head with her wand. "You fool!" "How dare you treat me like this! I''m the First Daughter of the Fifth House!" "And I don''t care about that," the Master grinned. "You are as much a pupil here as that orc over there. If you don''t learn this simple truth, you''re going to be in for a lot of trouble. The biggest of which is having one of your younger sisters become the Mother of the House instead of you." "I will kill them all!" Shin''Ye''Het shouted angrily. And immediately after it she bit her tongue: you should not do such declarations if you don''t have the power to execute your plans. "I don¡¯t doubt," the teacher commented on her impulse ironically. "But not before you''ve finished school. And now, as I see it, you can''t even do the simplest task. I''ll have to assign it to someone else." "No! Please don''t do that! I¡¯ll definitely be corrected!" "Okay, I''ll try to believe it. By the next class, I hope you''ll know the names of all your classmates. And just in case, also write down who came from where and what gift they have." "What about those who don''t have a gift?" "Are there really such people here?" "Oh yes, for example! " and she pointed at Tim. All the heads turned in his direction. Most of them were bewildered or simply curious, but some looked with mockery or even contempt. Tim felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured down his neck. "Is that possible?" one of the elves hesitated, and was immediately hit on the head with the wand as well. "Silence, this isn''t a circus! The lesson isn''t over yet! And you'''', Master Ven''A''Sash attention shifted to Tim, "tell us who you are and what world you''ve come from." "I''m human, from the planet Earth." "Human, you say? That''s new. I''ve never heard of such people. It seems, there was a prophecy about it... well, never mind. What kind of wind brings you here? Can you cast at least the simplest sorcery?" "Yes," Tim said, licking his dry lips, and then gripping his wand with a sweaty hand. "Xeroblinz exlelloto!" A whole bunch of sparks exploded from the end of the wand. Though he wasn''t aiming at anyone in particular, some of the sparks hit his classmates. Significant part of those sparks Shin¡¯Ye¡¯Het got and her magnificent head of hair was slightly spoiled. "Watch where you''re pointing your wand, you crooked idiot!" she shrieked, hurriedly fixing her hair. "Believe me, he didn''t do it on purpose," the teacher grinned again, clearly amused by what had happened. "I would advise you to be careful what you say from now on: there are some very touchy people among witches. The presence or absence of the gift does not play any role here. Everything about your current duties clear? (the praepostor nodded her head in agreement). And about other things... Well, why should I repeat twice? Those who do not understand at the first time, it is pointless to teach them. And now... you won''t be of any use today, so you may be free! Class dismissed!" How good is that he guessed to take the nearest to the door seat! Tim grabbed his things as soon as the last words were spoken and ran as fast as he could toward the door. And then he ran back to his room, where he flopped down on his bed and lay for a long time with his head on the pillow. He wanted to burst into tears but failed to get it although insult and anger at himself raged inside, over and over again bringing him back to the moment of public disgrace. Several times there was a quiet knock at the door, but he did not open it, not wanting to see anyone. And only when mental pain had calmed down a little he found the strength to let the visitors into the room. They were Naar-Tam and Tiis-Mir. "We are...," Naar-Tam began, trying to find the right words. "Well, it''s our fault." "It was more my fault," Tiis-Mir interrupted him. "I told Gook-Luk about you and she told her friends, including Kakh''I''Geg. And the drow almost certainly gave the information to Shin¡¯Ye¡¯Het." "It doesn''t matter now, because what''s done can''t be undone," Tim shrugged in a doleful tone. "We understand that," Naar-Tam entered into the conversation again. "So we have come to ask for your forgiveness. Can you forgive us?" It was said so sincerely that Tim put all doubt aside. "Sure. But be careful from now on: not everyone here has good intentions." "We know that now. On our planet, Olmari, if someone behaves like the drowes (except Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib, of course), nobody will deal with him! Or he¡¯ll be driven into exile." "It¡¯s a pity, we are not in Olmari." Tim sighed. "Would you like to go there?" Tiis-Mir immediately became enthusiastic about the idea. "So what''s the problem? Come visit us when we graduate, you''ll be our guest!" "First it will be necessary to go home. And then ¨C why not? I¡¯m afraid only it will be too hot for me there." "It¡¯s nothing; you¡¯ll like it in the borderlands! If even the yusmes can live there, then so can you are!" "All right! I¡¯ll see your world with pleasure!" On that they said goodbye to each other and pleased with successful outcome peirots went about their business. And after it Ri-Bo appeared. "It was really cool when you scorched that loathsome ''princess''! I couldn¡¯t do that." He wants to cheer me up, Tim guessed. And very delicately, without mentioning the unpleasant and focusing on the positive. Tim was even ashamed of his own doubts after the conversation with the anzimars. By the way, it''s a good time to talk about it. "What could they possibly want from you?" he inquired as he narrated about his visit to the library. "I don''t know," Ri-Bo said worriedly. "Yes, in our lands there are cases when the anzimars take what they like. Instead they give us all sorts of trinkets ¨C you would think we are savages! If you start to resent, you are risking nothing at all. But I don¡¯t have anything that might be of interest to them!" "So they just want to ''have fun'' with you." "I guess so," the tilfing sighed. "Such cases also take place, especially if there are a lot of them and you are alone. Well, I¡¯ll try to be more careful. Thank you for the warning! By the way, I had time to talk with the dwarves. They have a couple of flasks that we need." "And what do they want in return?" "Nothing. They said that the storehouse exists just for students¡¯ service. Although judging by their sly faces I am sure: sooner or later they''ll present a bill to us." "If anything, we can say that we decided to walk in the woods longer than usual. And how can you do without water on a hot day?" "That¡¯s exactly what I said. It doesn¡¯t matter if they believe in it or not, the main thing is that the flasks will be!" "So, it remains only to wait until the neutralizer for the trap will be in our hands." Chapter 15. "Will we go today?" Mez''A''Shib might not have to ask that - the three days it had taken the kobold to make the potion seemed like an eternity. Does it take much for boys to pack for a quest? In all times and lands much less than a day, especially if the adventure is very exciting! And when difficulties and dangers stopped them? No one expressed fear or resignation, only Naar-Tam wondered if they would need the flasks since they weren''t likely to be on the expedition long enough to be thirsty. It would be nice to get a kerosene lamp somewhere, Tim pondered - it must be very dark there, and his orange-skinned friend''s magic might not be enough to travel there and back. But if he started to ask about it, it would immediately be clear where they are going. The idea of collecting luminous moss in a glass vial of some sort seemed more perspective at that moment. Several test tubes with corks they borrowed from the kobold under the pretext of gathering ingredients which can¡¯t be placed in a pocket. Scraping moss off the walls was not too much fun - it would take a long time to get enough of it. And then you have to wash your hands very carefully - the tiny particles of moss stained your skin in the corresponding colors. In addition, the glow gradually weakened - deprived of the roots, moss withered and ceased to emit light. Because of this it would be pointless to store up such luminaries; three of them were made only when they heard the news that the neutralizer was ready and they could go into the dungeon at any time. But first, of course, they had to wait for night without catching someone¡¯s eye on the way to the goal: many of their classmates learned to sneak dodging the ghosts and hiding in various places. Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib told about his walk around the school the previous night: when seeing the ghosts he tried to hide under the stairs, he was kicked out of there by indignant cries of two light elves. It had to cast the Veil of Dark and run away, risking getting caught by the ghosts. Fortunately, Ri-Bo found a way out. "Let¡¯s go early and wait for the night in a place not far from the dungeon." "What place exactly do you mean?" "The disciplinary cells! I purposely went to see them today: there is nobody there, including guard." "That¡¯s before we¡¯ll have classes again." In those days they had no classes - they were given time for meditation and self-training. Of course, most of the pupils preferred not to use that time for meditation and self-training. "Never mind, Master Aerg will quickly fix that." "It''s lucky for us that Pulsok has calmed down a bit. Otherwise all the cells would be occupied by now, and some would have two or three sitting in them." Indeed, after a couple of punishments in solitary confinement, the goblin was no longer fond of it, preferring to be sent to community service. Really, what was the point of letting troublemakers idle around when the school was in constant need of manpower? Therefore no one was surprised now to see a classmate with a broom, mop, or rag in his hands. Of course, a couple of elementals could do the cleaning faster and better, but where was the educational aspect then? The disciplinary cells, located at the very end of the tunnel leading to the service quarters, were indeed empty. Of the eight cells (four on each side), six were locked with iron bars and two were open. The friends took up residence in one of the last and, to pass the time, played ''Elves and Orcs''. Mez''A''Shib, who had managed to get somewhere with two pieces of chalk, taught them this game, resembling noughts-and-crosses but more sophisticated. Soon the walls and even part of the floor were covered in diamonds and stars. The game was so fascinating that they almost forgot the main purpose of their stay here. Good thing each of the cells was equipped with a clock - probably so that the prisoner could know at any moment how long he had left to stay here. And so, not long after the purple eye lit up to herald nightfall, Mez''A''Shib put the chalk aside. "It¡¯s time for me to go on scouting. Stay here and try not to make any noise." He threw the Veil of Dark over himself and slipped out the door. They had to wait for him to return for at least twenty minutes. Ri-Bo even doubted that the drow was afraid of something and had simply run away, leaving them behind. Naar-Tam protested heatedly that the dark elf was not the type to abandon his friends. Unless he was captured, Tim added, but neither Ri-Bo nor Naar-Tam believed that - anyone could have been captured, but not him! The appearance of Mez''A''Shib resolved their doubts. "I''m sorry to keep you waiting. At first the ghosts circled back and forth, then the dwarves decided to rearrange the furniture in one of the rooms. But it''s quiet now, so we can go." A minute later they were at the door with the arrow pointing down. Tim''s heart was pounding desperately in his chest; judging by rapid breathing of his friends, the others were just as worried. Mez''A''Shib took hold of the door handle after a moment, pulling it gingerly toward him. The door was unlocked - as if it invited them to go inside. "You ready? Remember, as soon as we cross the threshold we¡¯ll become outlaws. And then we¡¯ll not get away with trivial matters like cleaning of the school territory or dish washing. We can simply be kicked out of the school. Or we¡¯ll be placed in the same disciplinary cells for a week or two." "We came here not to turn back at the last moment!" Ri-Bo declared proudly. "Well, go then." From the pocket of his uniform Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib took out a vial with pinkish opalescent liquid. "The kobold said it should be enough for the whole night. Now we check this." Cautiously taking out the cork with sharp movement he splashed out the liquid right in front of him. The contents of the vial spread about the floor changing its color and forming a pattern resembling a giant starfish. Rays of the starfish reached the opposite walls. "Aha! That¡¯s it! It is enough to step on one of the ''rays'', and your goose is cooked. Fortunately, now we can see the trap. And although it must be deactivated, let''s try not to step on it." Moving along the walls and carefully overstepping the ''rays'' they passed the trap and found themselves in a dark corridor. The corridor led them to another door that, unlike the first one, was locked, and not with an ordinary bolt that may be easily unlocked by pushing it back, but with a big padlock that cannot be unlocked without a key. "Hmm, I would not like to smash in the door¡­" "But why didn''t the kobold say about the second door?" "Maybe he simply didn¡¯t know about it." "What¡¯s his meaning to give us the potion if we could not enter the catacombs?" Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib looked around. "Probably if we have a metal rod nearby I would try to break open the lock." "Do any of you accidentally master the magic of metal?" Naar-Tam joked sadly. "It seems the time for bringing to bear my gift! Maybe it will work!" Ri-Bo exclaimed. A golden cloud began to form between his palms, and a second later it was streaming toward the keyhole, stretching out into a tube at the same time. Some of it reached inside the lock, and the rest outside formed a key shaped like an ancient Egyptian ankh. When everything was ready, the tilfing made a motion as if turning a faucet with his hand, and the shackle of the "key" turned as well. With a click, the lock opened. "It worked, though!" "And you happen to have a very valuable gift! At Merzeran it would quickly find an application!" At the Earth too, Tim thought, though the consequences for such craftsmen could be very unfortunate. But there was no time to speculate on the subject (and no time to warn Ri-Bo not to show his gift to just anyone) because Naar-Tam had already opened the door and was inside; there was nothing left to do but follow him. They found themselves in a small cave. Contrary to Tim¡¯s fears it was light enough here: not only Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib but also his friends could orient themselves without problem. Naar-Tam therefore didn¡¯t light the torch and Tim put it back in his pocket test tube with the moss. The way went further through the tunnel to the left of them. But primarily their attention was attracted by the inscription on the right: ''If you dared to come here, you may leave your name on the wall'' Under it and on both sides of the inscription there were dozens if not hundreds names. Some of them had faded over time and became almost indistinguishable; the others, in contrast, that had been made not so long ago, were quite readable. "Wow!" Ri-Bo marveled. "How many people were here before us?" "You really thought we''d be the first?" Naar-Tam laughed. "We are not even in the top twenty!" "Good if in the top hundred," Tim added, exploring the list of the names. He didn¡¯t meet a single one resembling terrestrial. He hadn''t counted on that, though. "But in our class we are the first! I think it is a good reason to imprint our names! Mez, where is your chalk?" "I left it in the cell." "No problem," Naar-Tam was not upset at all. "There are a lot of small stones around, maybe one of them will be suitable. Here, for example, a piece with a pointed edge! For sure it already had been used for this purpose long before we came here!" So, picking up the piece, he painstakingly scratched their names on the wall. Mez''A''Shib, for his part, surveyed the tunnel that led to the depths of the dungeon; Tim followed him. Ri-Bo took advantage of the moment to collect crystals that were in sight and then together with Naar-Tam hurried to go after their friends. The tunnel soon led them to a fork in the road. Three roads led from here in three different directions. At the crossroads was a mossy boulder with writing on its front: ''If you''re brave, go ahead. If strong, turn left. If nimble, turn right. If smart, go back.'' "I don''t think any of us think we''re stupid, but I see no reason to go back yet," Mez''A''Shib summed up as he read the inscription. "But why do you have to be strong to go left?" Naar-Tam wondered. "And why do you need dexterity to go to the right?" Ri-Bo echoed him. "I don''t think we can solve all the riddles of the dungeon in one night," said Tim, sadly. "It means the only way for us, ahead," Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib concluded. "And don¡¯t forget to pick up the crystals: we must pay off the kobold, otherwise he¡¯ll find other assistants." And they continued on their way. The tunnel sloped and became progressively narrower, so that they had to walk one after another, sometimes ducking to avoid hitting the ceiling with their heads. But at last the torment was over, and they found themselves inside another cave. In the center of it there was a circle made of stones, inside which there were embers covered with ashes. Apparently, someone had once made a fire here. I wonder why, thought Tim - it wasn''t cold in the cave at all. Nevertheless, the mysterious someone had also taken care to store fuel for the future: there were several bunches of dry branches lying by the wall to the left. Perhaps he intended to come here again sometime, though the choice of picnic place was more than strange. At that moment, however, they had a much more serious problem to deal with: the only way out of the cave was back to the fork. "Is it really a dead end?" Ri-Bo almost cried in frustration. "It couldn''t be! The signpost should have said so!" Naar-Tam tried to remain optimistic. "He owes you nothing," Mez''A''Shib grimaced. "I don''t know how old those inscriptions are and most things can change. For instance, an earthquake causes some of the tunnels to fall in and then others appear instead." "It doesn''t look like there''s been an earthquake here." "What if we just can''t see the passageway? What if one of the walls is an illusion?" "It''s not hard to check. Especially if you have a specialist in the removal of illusions. Isn''t there one among us? For some reason, that''s what I thought. We''ll have to do it manually." The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The drow and the tilfing went around the cave, probing the walls, but without success. "It looks like whoever wrote that you have to be brave to come here was just kidding. We''ll have to go back and choose between strength and agility." No, it''s not as simple as it seems, the thought crossed Tim''s mind. Feeling of incorrectly solved problems didn¡¯t leave him. The circle for the fire and the fuel nearby... It seemed that one of the computer games had a similar quest. Either way, they wouldn''t lose anything if they tried. "Hey, what are you going to do?" Ri-Bo called out to him as Tim grabbed one of the bunches and dragged it toward the circle. "This is no time to sit by the fire!" with a hint of judgment Mez''A''Shib said. "I''ll be quick! Xeroblinz exlelloto!" However, the sparks failed to ignite the wood: either it had time to get a little damp, or the spell was too weak. "Naar, could you build a fire?" "I suppose so, but why?" "You''ll see. Unless I''m wrong, of course." Naar-Tam was slightly surprised but complied. The flames eagerly began to devour the branches, forcing the darkness to retreat. And on the wall opposite the entrance, an inscription suddenly lit up: ''Minus the first tier. Welcome, brave ones!'' Then part of the wall slid back, moving gently to the side, just as it had when they had used the secret passage from the kobold lab. "Hooray!" "How did you guess to light the fire?" Ri-Bo was perplexed. "That never would have occurred to me!" "It was intuitive. I just happened to think that might be the clue." "There are lots of secret passages in and around our houses, but they''re usually opened by levers or springs, sometimes by magic. I''ve never seen anything like it," Mez''A''Shib avowed. "And if I lit a torch, would it work?" Naar-Tam asked. "I doubt it. Why else would there be a fire? But we''ll check next time! Now let''s go, otherwise I''m afraid the door will close when the flames go out!" They found themselves in a spacious hall, much larger than ones of the upper levels. It was a little darker here than in the caves, but still bright enough not to use the lights available to them. Symmetrical rows of columns on the both sides of them went off into the distance; the hall was so large that they couldn¡¯t discern where it ends, so they decided to walk around the perimeter of the hall. Behind the columns, against the walls, they found pedestals. On these were statues of strange creatures, like giant furry spiders on their hind legs with large eyes. The insectoids, as Tim called them, were evidently intelligent: many of them were dressed in something like overalls, some even held tools in their front paws, like a hammer, a ruler, or a miniature pickaxe. Their friends looked at the statues with wonder. None of them had ever heard of such creatures before. "It looks like the tunnels weren''t built by dwarves at all," Tim summed up. "I think so now, too," Mez''A''Shib agreed. "I had some doubts when I arrived at the school, but I couldn''t imagine anyone else doing this kind of work except dwarves." "That''s strange, no one mentioned them. I''ll have to find out more about the history of the school." "Good idea! Especially if we can find a list of graduates of the school. It would be interesting to see who of the drowes studied here. Maybe I know some of them." "Why go far, you¡¯ll find it at the entrance to the dungeon. Now with our names," Naar-Tam needled him. "I''m guessing not everyone has been in the dungeons and some may not have wanted to leave their names. If Pulsok accidentally will decide to drop in here and find that list (for a moment a fear appeared on Naar-Tam¡¯s face, but he could gain control of himself), well, you can guess what happens next." "Hey, let''s not think about sad things, let''s collect the crystals! There''s plenty of them!" the tilfing intervened. And indeed, the kobold was right: there were crystals at almost every turn. By the time they made their way around the hall, their pockets were full. Naar-Tam was even lucky enough to find a piece of mosaic with a hexagonal gold coin in it. "As far as I know, no one else has such a symbol, - Mez''A''Shib glanced at his find." It must be very valuable. "The rarer they are, the harder it will be to collect the pattern." "But the reward should be greater. Therefore, do not lose, suddenly such will be found again!" After that the only thing left for them was to examine the center of the hall, where a large square slab of black granite attracted their attention immediately. But they could not look at it more closely: on approaching the feeling of unreasonable fear appeared. It seemed to Tim that the slab was a tombstone which was about to open, and a terrible dead man would crawl out from inside and attack them. The visions of his companions were no less terrifying: Mez''A''Shib thought an earthquake had begun and that the ceiling was about to fall on their heads and bury them alive; Ri-Bo thought stone "spiders" were alive and about to devour them; Naar-Tam thought all the lights were going out one by one, including his hastily created torch, and they were doomed to wander in darkness until the end of their lives. As they moved farther away, they were relieved to find that the fear was gone. "It seems that the slab is surrounded by a Horror Sphere," Tim suggested, remembering Master Ven''A''Sash''s lesson. "Something like that," Mez''A''Shib agreed. "Pity we don''t have a mag- detector with us. It could tell if there''s magic nearby and the kind of it." "Great!" Naar-Tam admired. "With such a device any trap isn¡¯t a problem for us. Can we get it in school?" "Most likely, but not easily. In Merzeran only very powerful magicians have mag-detectors. And they don¡¯t give you one without very good reason." "Well, fine," Ri-Bo wasn''t the least bit upset. "We''ll make it ourselves. But there''s nothing more to do in the hall, so where to next?" "Well, as a matter of fact, we don''t have much of a choice. Of the five passages leading out of here, two are bricked up, and the third is sealed off by an iron grate. We''ll have to choose between the remaining two." "In that case, let''s take a look at the one that''s closer!" So they turned in the direction of the passage on the left side of the entrance to the hall. But when they had walked about thirty meters they found that they could go no farther because the tunnel was strewn with stones from top to bottom. "There must have been a landslide here," said Mez''A''Shib with a sigh. "Nonsense, we''ll take it apart now!" Naar-Tam and Tim grabbed for the nearest boulder. But no matter how hard they tried, they could not move it. "It''s no use," the drow commented on their efforts. "It would take a crew of workmen with tools to move it. And no one knows how long it will take even for them. Especially if the collapse was deliberate." They had to go back into the hall. But before they reached the entrance to the only tunnel that remained accessible, Naar-Tam suddenly stopped. "Did you hear that?" "What exactly?" his friends turned to him in surprise. "There''s someone calling for help!" They stopped listening. Now Tim could hear the moans and cries coming from the depths of the tunnel. "We must hurry to help!" Naar-Tam was alarmed. He did not hesitate to rush forward as quickly as he could. Mez''A''Shib''s face suddenly changed. "Stop! Or you''ll be in trouble!!" That didn''t work, he had to chase after him. He finally managed to catch up the peirot and held him in place by grabbing his arm. Tim and Ri-Bo followed. "Why did you stop me?" "Because there''s nobody there but us! That''s the call of the hinkhu, the evil spirit of the dungeons. If you answer it, you''ll be in trouble." "What kind of trouble?" "Depends on the situation. Let''s go a little further and see, but watch out!" So they followed Mez''A''Shib, treading carefully and constantly looking around. The wails of pity grew stronger and stronger, but the friends tried not to react to them. Making about twenty steps the drow stopped. "Aha! I was right! Do you see it?" They were on the edge of a precipice that was very wide and deep, and the light of the torch lit by Naar-Tam could not reach the bottom or the other side of it. Ri-Bo picked up a small stone and threw it down, but only a few seconds later they heard the deafening sound of it hitting the stone. "Wow! What depth!" "Do you see where you would have ended up if you had kept running?" "But who is this hinkhu? Why does he do that?" "According to the legends of our people, the souls of those who found their death in the dungeon and were not properly buried turn into hinkhus. The hinkhus are jealous of the living and hate them, so they seek to destroy them. I''ve never met a hinkhu myself, but I''ve heard a lot about them." "Thank you, you saved me! You are a true friend!" Naar-Tam exclaimed eagerly. "I am indebted to you!" "Perhaps one day you will help me out of my trouble. And since there is no further way, there is nothing more for us to do here." "Wait, what is that?" Ri-Bo leaned over and picked up what appeared to be a wand. "Was its owner walking into a trap set by an evil spirit?" "It might have been. That''s not something we can verify just now, as you know." They stood in silence at the edge of the precipice, staring vainly into the void. You''d need a searchlight here, many times more powerful than their torch. "Maybe we''ll come back here again when we have a rope ladder with us. For now we can only sympathize with the poor fellow who believed the howls of the hinkhu." "By the way, have you noticed? You don''t hear the yelling anymore!" "Naturally, because we figured out the deception. And we won''t fall for it again." "We should make a warning sign!" Naar-Tam got worried. "Otherwise someone else might fall into the trap!" "It''s no use," Mez''A''Shib shook his head. "Hinkhu could appear anywhere. A warning sign should be placed at the entrance to the dungeon." "Like there''s tricks and traps everywhere, you''d better not come here at all!" Ri-Bo cheered. "Or they''ll take all the crystals and we won''t get anything!" "Everyone knows that dungeons are dangerous," Tim pointed out. "But that didn''t stop us. What makes you think the others would do otherwise?" "But what if someone will be prudent enough?" While talking they didn''t notice how they were back in the hall. "We''ll have to find a lever to raise that grate, that''s all we can do," Mez''A''Shib suggested with a sigh. "It seems to me, in order to move forward we should solve the riddle of the slab," Tim objected. "But we can''t even get close to it!" "What if I can?" "I don''t think so." "I''ll do it," Tim gritted his teeth and promised resolutely. He wasn''t sure of that, but he couldn''t back out now, his pride wouldn''t allow it. So, ignoring the appeals to be prudent and to try other ways first, he walked steadily straight to the slab. Fear returned: the hall appeared to him as a gigantic crypt, draped in the corners with cobwebs and illuminated by a dim greenish-blue light streaming from the wall lamps. But the worst awaited him, Tim suddenly felt like the very creature buried centuries ago, but not completely dead. His dream was interrupted by the appearance of those obnoxious boys, always sticking their noses where they weren''t asked... so warm and delicious it was impossible to resist. In a little while they would become his dinner... it had been a long time since he had had to enjoy the taste of fresh flesh... At the price of tremendous effort Tim moved towards the goal; every new step came to him with an increasing difficulty. Cold sweat flooded his eyes, the top of the uniform was soaking wet. In a minute the tombstone will be thrown aside and the dead man would be free¡­ he must not let that happen! If he is too late, his friends will die! Desperate determination gave him the strength to overcome the distance remaining to the target. And as soon as he touched the slab, his fear disappeared. Sighing with relief Tim mockingly looked at incredulous faces of his friends. "Well, what did you get scared of? Just do not give in to your feelings and you''ll be fine!" Who of boys in such a situation would want to expose himself as a coward before his buddies? And so soon they all joined Tim, just as relieved when their terrors were behind them. "There''s finally a place to sit down and rest!" Ri-Bo cheerfully exclaimed as he jumped onto the slab. A muffled creaking sound came from somewhere below and made him jump back down. The frightened boys scattered in different directions. But no harm had come of it: the slab moved smoothly to the left, opening a passage downward. "That''s where to go next!" They waited a bit (what if it wanted to go back down?) before they started their descent. A stone staircase led them to a glass door with an inscription: ''Minus the second tier. Never come up here alone!'' "Clearly," commented Ri-Bo cheerfully. "Otherwise you¡¯ll die of boredom here!" An absolute darkness reigned behind the door; neither Mez¡¯A¡¯Shib¡¯s eyes nor Naar-Tam¡¯s torch could tell what awaits them further. "It''s strange," the drow said sadly. "At home, even in total darkness, I could make out the shape of things. Well, you wait here, and I''ll see what I can find out. Perhaps it will get brighter from here." Low shuffling of retiring steps sometimes came from the darkness and then they heard ''Ouch!'' and the sound of a fallen body. "Mez, are you all right?" Naar-Tam was alarmed. "Wait, I''m coming to help!" "But don''t run, or you''ll fall too! There''s a cliff! Luckily it''s not too deep, I''m only bruised! Move carefully until you get to the edge, and then jump or go down! And don''t be afraid, it''s bright here!" One by one they followed the advice. The height of the jump was a good two meters, so Tim lost his footing and lay down on the floor. Naar-Tam landed next to him in the same way, but Ri-Bo preferred to climb down carefully, clinging to the edge of the precipice before letting go of his hands. It really was bright in here - brighter than the upstairs hall, like the cave with names on the wall. And the amazing thing was that from here they could see the door they had just passed through! "Astonishing! One-way visibility!" Naar-Tam exclaimed enthusiastically. "I''ve never heard of such a thing! I''m sure there must have been magic involved!" "Naturally. Otherwise I would have been able to see something. It was as if my eyes were tied with a black bandage." It''s a lot like tinted car windows, Tim thought. Inside you can see what''s going on outside (in a slightly darkened view though), but no one can see you from inside. Then dark blue spots on the floor caught their attention. Their chain led to a wall on which a liquid of the same color had been scrawled: THIS SCHOOL... IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK... Tim''s notes on his classmates. 1) Elves. Seven boys (Eliavin, Faelinn, Taeron, Elsingor, Gillmir, Fingor, Namitil) and four girls (Eliavel, Iwiel, Parial, Yumial). They are kind and cheerful, though sometimes they can be mistrustful and even a little arrogant. They like to discuss lofty topics, tell and listen to different funny stories. But their friendship will be offered only to those who are considered worthy of the name "friend". 2)Dark elves (drowes). Two boys (Mez''A''Shib, Zur''U''Fes) and five girls (Gan''I''Tar, Shin''Ye''Heth, Nhel''Yu''Min, Kakh''I''Geg, Dem''O''Sut). Cunning, insidious, consider themselves to be above all the others. Frankly, there''s no desire to communicate with them. Mez is the only pleasant exception (how he managed to deal with dirt and not get dirty is still a mystery to me). 3)Anzimars. Three boys (Germeht, Hindag, Kunfor) and two girls (Drega, Virda). An amazing example of combining doll-like looks with a black soul. So incredible, as if an angel descended from heaven would give you a good kick in the ass instead of helping you in a difficult moment (at least with wise advice). It is better to stay away from them. 4)Peirots. Three boys (Naar-Tam, Ruum-Fib, Heen-Lun) and two girls (Tiis-Mir, Gook-Luk). Friendly, sociable (sometimes even too much), a real soul of the company. Cannot stand loneliness, do not like to think about boring and complicated things. Always come to the rescue, just call. 5)Yusmes. Two boys (Patpako and Alkitmi) and three girls (Xitati, Selkise, Jaamite). Calm, thoughtful, often distracted. In contrast to the Peyrots they are better for sharing sadness than joy. But you can always count on their compassion. 6)Lycoses. Two boys (Yantau, Ivliar) and two girls (Meikli, Sitmis). Aside from their ability to turn into animals, they are not much different from terrestrial boys and girls. Perhaps my judgment is superficial, since I don''t know much about them yet. 7)Orcs. Three boys (Gmuruk, Shugiz, Urgrot) and one girl (Rumara). Naive, simple-minded, nothing to fool them around. But if the deception is revealed, beware of their anger, they can easily punch you in the eye. As to dueling, just give them a reason. But you should not expect any tricks on their part. 8)Tilfings. One boy (Ri-Bo) and two girls (Za-Zu, Zhu-Fi). Carefree, mischievous, loves adventure. In conversation they can brag or make up an entire story. Fortunately, they rarely use deliberate deception for their own purposes, only for self-protection. However, white lies aren''t a rare thing and on Earth too, is it? 9)Gaarshes. One boy (Ashshaat) and two girls (Shiimaa, Miinash). They are not very sociable, they don''t seek anyone''s company and don''t be the first to talk. But if you ask them something, they will definitely answer. Perhaps they are just very shy. It would be nice to have an opportunity to inquire with my neighbor from the twenty-sixth room about the dragons. 10)Gorgons. Two girls (Chilajt, Mikpir). Since I only talked to Chilajt, I can''t say anything definite. If they''re all like her, then great. Too bad no boys of their race were invited to school. What if they don''t have boyfriends at all? In the myths of ancient Greece there were three female gorgonians, but there were no men at all. But those are myths, and logically they should be. 11) And I''m the only one from Earth... Approximate correspondence of the local clock (at maximum eye luminosity) to Earth time: Mazarine eye ¨C midnight. Blue eye ¨C 01:36 a.m. Azure eye ¨C 03:12 a.m. Turquoise eye ¨C 04:48 a.m. Rifle-green eye ¨C 06:24 a.m. (end of night). Green eye ¨C 08:00 a.m. Light-green ¨C 09:36 a.m. Smaragdine eye ¨C 11:12 a.m. Citron eye ¨C 12:48 p.m. Yellow-orange eye ¨C 02:24 p.m. Orange eye ¨C 04:00 p.m. Pink eye ¨C 05:36 p.m. Scarlet eye ¨C 07:12 p.m. Crimson eye ¨C 08:48 p.m. Violet eye ¨C 10:24 p.m. (beginning of night). TO BE CONTINUED...