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 – 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 the 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 exchange with him."
"But... is that possible?"
"Yes. There were two other elves where I was settled and Fingor decided to transmigrate there. As to 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 was ended.
Being in his room Tim seized the occasion to browse the textbook on the magic of Light. Oho, how many things 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 isn't invented yet here. Judging by the description almost all ailments can be cured by the 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 - may be the mana stock was too small for this.
Tim flipped through the third and smallest section without really reading it - there were no pictures, effect of the Super-Abilities application he already saw with his own eyes, and hardly had they required less mana. Besides, even if he succeed, 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 yogi. 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 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 realized: I am in a boys' compartment. May be 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 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 for becoming 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 the 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 always are ready. For sure the kobold already got tired of waiting 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."
"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 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 the nobler 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 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 in 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 took 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 well their dwellings."
"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. May be 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 is 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 in absent, eh? For a long time I am 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 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."