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 salve 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 find 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 other answer because falling silent he suspiciously looked around. Tim instinctively jumped back even realizing the goblin can hardly note 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 return 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 will 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 not to sneeze 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 wait 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 very interesting theme," Mez'A'Shib uttered musingly.
"Especially for drowes, eh? As far as I understand you are not from 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 at home, however. Probably you'd like to take 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 not much easier. And orcs are better to keep out 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 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.
"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 minor may be placed in punishment cell only if he did very bad things!" Tim was resented. "What the idiotic regime in the school!"
"We do too!" Ri-Bo supported him.
"And we don't have any," Naar-Tam said proudly.
"But how in that case 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 Principal can establish any rules. And if he considered inexpedient to distract you from studying, then so be it."
"What does he look like? We haven't even been shown 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 orientate yourself there."
"Thank you very much!"
"And where the other door leads to?"
"It is unknown. The stairs go down ending in a precipice. Therefore using it isn't recommended. Why it so, who knows; I didn't build the passages, only found them after arriving here for the 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 passage further," Mez'A'Shib looked around and in some places knocked at 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 underground. Be in my place experienced dwarf most likely he 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 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!"
"Are there 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 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 better not to risk. We already have achieved a great deal. Gaining confidence of 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 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 of 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 outstayed one's welcome," Tim suggested.
"Exactly! In the morning I'll talk about it with Tiis-Mir. Let she say if someone would ask that we were visiting her," Naar-Tam caught up the idea.
"But what she'll demand in return?"
"Drop it! We are not accepted such sort of a thing. Otherwise next times when you'll need something don't count on one's help."
"However in that case we have to explain where we were the night!"
"Oh, nothing, I'll think of something!"
In the hall of the first tier our friends also didn't meet ghosts. May be 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 appeared 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 with 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 with ghosts 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 – if, of course, you have interest to attend tomorrow's class in Elemental magic."