The excuse of a sleepless night backfired against Ri-Bo himself: that same evening he was visited by Zur'U'Fes. If the tilfing had known who was coming to visit him, he wouldn't have opened the door at all. He had to let the drow in: a conversation with the door open could have been heard by one of the friends. For surely there was a reason for the drow to be there! Alas, his hunch was right.
"Greetings from Germeht," Zur'U'Fes said from the doorway.
"They let him out of the punishment cell already?"
"Yeah. Him and Nhel'Yu'Min, only the stupid orc stayed there till morning. And rightly so: next time he'll know how to destroy other people's wands! Anyway, tonight it's our turn to be on guard in the first tier hall. As soon as it's dark, you must be there, and don't be late."
Now he have to sit and watch all night in case someone wants to dirty the wall with bad drawings. Ri-Bo felt his anger at the unknown doodler boiling up inside. He was the reason for all the trouble! And that's why the squad members are so angry - who wants to see his own 'portrait' being pointed at and laughed at? Well, he'll do his best to catch this doodler!
Anger drove away the urge to lie down and take a nap, and so he felt as awake as he had been in the middle of the day by the start of duty. Germeht and Zur'U'Fes, who was hanging around, were already awaiting his arrival in the hall.
"Do you understand the task?" the anzimar began instead of greeting him. "There is a suspicion that tonight the 'artist' will do it again. Try to catch him, or at least find out who. We'll take it from there."
He left, leaving it to the tilfing and the drow to decide who's first to stand guard. Zur'U'Fes took the initiative immediately.
"You hold your post, and I'll check the second tier. The doodler may be lurking there, waiting for the right moment!"
Ri-Bo didn't argue, though the tone was insulting, as if the drow was talking to his own servant. I have to put him in his place on occasion, Ri-Bo thought.
When he was alone, the tilfing made himself comfortable in a recess between the stones and the obelisk, from where he could see the whole wall, and he was hard to see, especially in the half-light, with only the blue and purple twinkles on.
Several times ghosts passed by silently, but they didn't touch him - they must have been warned about being on duty. He heard occasional footsteps from somewhere, but the echo, much clearer at night than during the day, made it impossible to tell which tunnel they were coming from. Time passed, Zur'U'Fes didn't appear (he must have gone somewhere and is sleeping soundly), Ri-Bo gradually relaxed and began to doze off.
Suddenly, as if by a jolt, he woke up and, to his horror, found new 'graffiti' on the wall. Had he fallen asleep that hard? Ri-Bo could have sworn on anything - even in a half-asleep state he would have noticed anyone's activity nearby. But you can't argue with the fact - here it is, the scene from the tournament, when Germeht throws his wand at Gmuruk, and if someone sees it, he will be in trouble. The anzimar is already irritated that they dared to send him to the punishment cell - him, the leader of the squad! Ri-Bo's thoughts rushed feverishly from side to side. He must wipe off the paint, but with what? He couldn't do it with his hands, he needed a scraper, but where could he get one? Could he wash it off with water? Lacking a better idea, the tilfing dashed back to his room, grabbing the pillowcase and the flask he'd refilled on his way out. Back in the hall, he rubbed the wet pillowcase on the wall as hard as he could. He got so carried away that only a slap on the shoulder from behind brought him to his senses, simultaneously making him feel cold with fear.
Fortunately, it was Zur'U'Fes, who'd managed to sneak up on him and catch him in the act.
"Aha! You'd missed his arrival! And now it's going to cost us both! Mind you, I'm not going to cover for you. I'll go and tell Germeht how you're doing your duty!"
"It's not really my duty!" the tilfing had the courage to object.
"Well, we'll see what you say when the anzimars come," Zur'U'Fes turned around and prepared to leave.
"Hey, wait, don't. Let's make a bargain."
"What?"
"You keep your mouth shut, and I'll give you ten crystals for it!"
"Come on, offer me something better!"
"What do you want then?"
"Your flask, I like it very much. Where did you get it?"
"I found it in the woods," the tilfing said without blinking an eye, slightly recovering from his fright.
"There are interesting things in the woods around here, though! It's not even rusted yet, someone must have lost it recently. All right, scrub the wall so there's not a trace of paint left. But we'll still have to make up some believable story for Germeht. He wouldn't believe me if I told him no one came. Are you sure you didn't see him?"
"I did, but it was too late, because he used Eyes Away, and so he managed to slip away," Ri-Bo continued to make up his own story. "It seemed to me he had long ears."
"It was an elf? Then let Fingor find out which one of them. I won't be allowed anywhere near light elves."
Fingor?? Does he work for the anzimars, too!? What a piece of news! He would have to tell his friends!
But Zur'U'Fes seemed to read his mind.
"Don't you dare mention Fingor to anyone! He's a deep undercover agent!"
"But why would he do that? He'd be torn to pieces by his own people!"
"Do I care? It's his problem," the drow cheered. "Well, let be so. I'll take another look around the second tier, and you keep watch. You can relax a little: I don't think that elf is going to come here again."
Thank you for the permission, shove it up your ass, thought the tilfing sullenly, glancing after Zur'U'Fes as he moved away. And, after waiting a moment, Ri-Bo retired to his room to sleep. Let them think what they want, but he's had enough.
No one bothered him for the rest of the night. In the morning, there were a couple of knocks, but Ri-Bo wouldn't open the door. The friends had to go to the dining room without him.
After breakfast their paths diverged. Naar-Tam and Tiis-Mir went to practice Elemental Magic spells - they now had to prepare for the second round. Tim, too, had intended to practice a little outdoors, so he had brought his wand with him, but he was tempted by the elves to play hide and seek for a while. Mez'A'Shib promised to join them, but later, after a visit to the library where Khalid-amga had found for him a very interesting historical document.
Of course, in the art of finding hiding places in the woods elves have no equal. And so Tim soon had to seek, counting loudly to a hundred while the others hid. But he only managed to count to seventy-eight...
Loud cries distracted him from the counting, forcing him to interrupt. From a nearby thicket, a disheveled Iwiel ran out.
"Hurry up! Somebody help me!"
"What happened?" Tim reacted at once.
The twins, who had heard the call, came rushing toward them from different directions.
"They've grabbed Pimpy and are going to do something terrible to him! We have to save him, but I can't do it alone! Please help me!"
From her confused story on the way to the scene of the accident Tim learned the following. As Iwiel started practicing an acrobatic exercise with her pet, the drow girls crept up on her, completely silent (not even the paamph noticed!). They snatched the animal out of her hands, and when Iwiel tried to stop them, Drega twisted her from behind (her grip was iron indeed!) The drowes carried away the paamph with them, and the anzimar girl, turning Iwiel in the opposite direction, gave her a good speed boost with the admonition to run without looking back - otherwise they will do to her what they are going to do to the pet.
"Don't worry, we'll fight your pet off together!" Eliavin reassured her.
But it wasn't that easy to do. When they arrived at the scene (the drowes had not gone far, having set up in the clearing Tim had seen in his dream, though the grass was now as green as anywhere else, with no reminder of what had once happened), it turned out that their opponents had a numerical superiority: Hindag and Kunfor having joined them, and Zur'U'Fes looming in the distance. Drega held the half-suffocated animal by the scruff of its neck, Kakh'I'Geg and Nhel'Yu'Min were pointing their wands at him. The elves and Tim were at a loss, huddled at the edge of the clearing, unsure of what to do next since they had no time to discuss their options.
"Ah, here you are," Shin'Ye'Het greeted them mockingly. "Why so few of you? Didn't the rest of you want to take part in the rescue mission?"
"It's none of your business! Release Pimpy now!" Iwiel shouted.
"Why would that be? We like him very much too. A perfect specimen for experiments!"
"What experiments, you bastard? Do them on yourself!"
"Should we throw her in the punishment cell for insulting?" Drega suggested, haughtily.
"There's no hurry. First let them watch how we use Finger of Death on this little beast. And then Kakh will bring his corpse back to life - she needs to develop her gift! What's left after that, you can take for yourself!"
The 'maids' chuckled sneeringly. Eliavin and Tim stepped forward, but five wands were aimed in their direction.
"One more step and someone will be in a lot of trouble," Shin'Ye'Het warned them. And then she continued with a sneer:
"But if any of you would like to take the place of that animal, welcome. Come on, isn't there anyone brave enough? You light elves, call yourselves defenders of wildlife. And where are you now?"
"Let him go at once, or you'll be sorry!" Tim said, gritting his teeth, threateningly.
"And with you, Gift-less, we'll talk afterwards. For insolence, both yesterday and today, there will be a special punishment for you!"
"You'll wash yourself in your own blood!" Hindag sternly promised.
"We have a saying: he who laughs last laughs best."
"Clever, eh? You'll sing differently when we get to you. You'll be in the infirmary for a month."
"We'll see who the infirmary is crying for!" Tim exclaimed fiercely with his wand raised. He hadn't yet figured out which spell to use. What happened next, however, even he could not foresee.
The wand suddenly flashed blindingly white, and Tim was blind for a moment. And when his vision was restored, an astonishing and frightening picture was before him. All the colors of the world had faded into shades of only two colors, black and white. All sounds were silent, the wind stopped blowing; his classmates, friends and foes alike, became statues to themselves, which postures and facial expressions frozen forever in the moment of the flash: the triumphant smile of Shin'Ye'Heth, the distorted with despair face of Iwiel, Hindag, ready to fight at any moment. It was as if Tim was inside an old black and white photograph, remaining the only one be who was able to move and retained colors other than black and white.
But what horrible witchcraft had he used?!? After all, he hadn't had time to utter a word! Was such powerful magic contained in the wand? Tim looked at it with hatred, but the unconscious impulse to try to destroy it was followed by the realization that his gift had finally awakened. But why was it so strange and what to do next?
A moment later the realization came - no enchantment lasts forever, and the gift is no exception. He must act while it lasts! Running up to Drega, Tim snatched the paamph out of her hands and pushed her so hard that she fell. And at the same time he stripped his opponents of their wands, scattering them in different directions. And only then he returned to his friends.
It was just in time: as he did so, a strange sound was heard, as if a glass chandelier had been dropped on the tiled floor. And the picture came to life, regaining colors, smells, and sounds. The first reaction of his classmates was confusion - no one could understand what happened, why Drega was lying on the grass, and the animal she was holding, ended up at one of the rescuers.
-Here you go! - and Tim solemnly handed the paamph to happy Iwiel. The beast, trembling with all its body, immediately clutched tightly to her uniform.
The anzimar and the drowes stared at each other in bewilderment, unsure of how to respond. Judging by the blunt determination written on Hindag's and Kunfor's faces, they were still eager to have their way, waiting only for the signal to act. Seeing this, Eliavel prepared for defense, summoning the oxiarches, who appeared in the middle of the clearing as a whirring ball, and Eliavin blocked the way with Clinging Vine, which braided the legs of any who crossed it, forcing them to waste time and energy to overcome the 'obstacle course'. Since neither the oxiarches nor the Vine were the first to attack, there was no way to charge their masters with breaking the Code. But Shin'Ye'Het was more disconcerted by the magic employed against them - fearing its repetition with even more unpredictable results, she hesitated to order an attack, allowing the elves and Tim to leave the 'field of battle' unhindered. Iwiel carried the animal to the fountain, and so did the others.
Elsingor, Yumial, Parial, and Gillmir joined their company on the way; naturally, questions began immediately. But Tim was careful what he said (especially since he didn't fully understand it either) - in his description, it looked like he suddenly found himself near Drega, took Pimpy from her, and immediately was moved back.
"So you've got Teleportation!" Elsingor realized. "I've never encountered a wizard with such a gift."
"You must think you've seen a lot of them!" Yumial sneered.
"It's a great gift, by the way, because if something goes wrong, you're immediately not there," Eliavin winked at Tim.
"Especially if you want a little respite from your sister's custody," Gillmir added humorously.
"Just try to escape! And you, Gill, don't tell him what to do!"
So, teasing each other without malice, they made their way to the fountain, where the paamph finally dared to get off Iwiel's hands and, after getting drunk, began to lick the fur, just like an earth cat. After making sure it was no longer in danger, the elves ran off to play on - all except Iwiel, who had to stay behind because the creature didn't want to go back to its place running back and forth around its mistress. Tim stayed, too, under the pretext that he was a little dizzy after he'd awakened the gift. In fact, he didn't want to seek anyone again.
Soon Mez'A'Shib joined them.
"I apologize for being late. I couldn't resist reading at least a page of the tome I'd been given. Have the squad members been bothering you? I saw them on the way here - they were mad as hell. mean as hell. Good thing they didn't see me, or they would have picked on me."
"We taught them a lesson!" Iwiel's eyes shone with delight. "But of course, without Tim's gift, we couldn't have done it!"
"Oh, really? Has it finally awakened?"
Tim had to tell the whole story, from beginning to end, with only the occasional nod or comment from Iwiel, but he didn't say any more than the elves were aware of.
"Oh, I wish I'd been with you," sighed Mez'A'Shib.
"And if you had, would you have sided with your countrywomen?" Iwiel's reaction was unexpectedly blunt.
"Why would you think that?"
"Because you're a drow, too, and hawks will not pick hawks' eyes out!"
"You shouldn't think so."
"It's not wrong. You can't fix a dark elf. Even your blood is black."
-Are you sure?
-Absolutely! I've been told that many times!
Then Mez'A'Shib broke off a dry branch from a nearby tree, and with the tip of the branch he stabbed himself in the palm of his hand (the elf girl gasped in surprise). The drop of blood that gushed from the wound seemed almost black in the tree cover, but the water turned red as the drow dropped it into the fountain.
"Well, I'm sorry," Iwiel muttered reluctantly. "I was pretty sure of that. And how can you not believe adults when they all say the same thing?"
"Sometimes even adults can make mistakes. Or even tell untruths, at best repeating someone else's lies. I hope you trust your own eyes more."
"Yes, I do... unless you've been casting illusions!"
Listening to the elves bicker over their mutual prejudices was of little interest to Tim, especially since he had an urgent business to attend to. So, leaving Mez'A'Shib and Iwiel to sort things out between themselves, he went straight to the library.