"By the way, how you like the idea to go 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' didn't 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 should be evening now but too early to go to bed. May be 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 they've started, right? If Chilajt doesn't distinguish colors, I can also declare that mixed up blue with red, who'll check it?"
"Well, you are 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 it! We're probably on the second tier, and on the first tier below us there is the warehouse and the dining room."
"Where our classrooms are 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 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 an 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 note 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 is enough to order mentally.
"You fell asleep however! What luck I was able to awake you! As to us, some persons 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 they passed by the toilet as 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 about 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 fire ball 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 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 pull 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 heavy sleeping or went 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 here all 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."
"May be I wouldn't mind going with you. It's always more fun together."
"But you even didn't 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 namely you see each other at 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 at approaching closely. Naar-Tam created 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 Veil of Dark from the 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 in vision and such a trick don'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 silently," Naar-Tam gave a laugh.
"I have a gift of Biolocation and can feel living creature even if it is invisible," Fingor elucidated grudgingly.
"It's very useful skill, may be not less valuable than Infravision that helps us, drowes, to find our way in dark tunnels. Alas, from 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 a 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 establishment of your society, it isn't high position," Fingor needled.
"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. If 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 any of our classmates is hardly stayed there."
"May be 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 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 were 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 to 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 any continue not followed.
"And where we go now?" Fingor inquired when they had got out from the tunnel.
"May be 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! May be the entrance to the dungeon is nearby too!"
There was no objection, and soon they were standing before the iron-bound door; 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 there. Shall we go in?"
One by one they penetrated inside viewing 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 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 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 merchandise. 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 not bad alchemist! It is pity, that you are not studying alchemy! Then I probably would be your teacher. For the right price I can fabricate powerful potions acting not 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 rewrite it and return after. Or you prefer to tear it to five pieces?"
"You, drowes, are able to do more than so!"
"Not again! Can't you, elves, live in peace?" Naar-Tam 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 their ones) 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 like manner?"
"You have to be joking! Copying spell acts only on material objects and has 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 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 naturally because their tribes are living in the vicinity to 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. From 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 to 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. "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 were 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.