I don't want to meet any of my classmates here, Tim thought, grasping the doorknob. Fortunately, there was no one inside, and the librarian, having noticed someone's appearance from a distance, mistook him for Mez'A'Shib:
"You're back, young drow? Well, hang on a minute, I've found a very interesting treatise on elves' settlements in the Far West."
"It's just me, a humble human from the planet Earth," Tim replied humorously.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I can make you happy, too: in an ancient folio I came across a reference to the wizard of your people who taught Elemental magic a thousand and a half thousand years ago..."
"If I may, not now. Khalid-amga, I have a huge favor to ask of you: is there any way you could contact Master Ven'A'Sash?"
The old librarian stopped talking and stared at Tim in surprise for a while, as if he was seeing him for the first time.
"I can, but why?"
"It's about my magical gift, she asked me to let her know through you when it manifests itself."
"Well, if that's what she asked, of course," the old man fussed. "Follow me."
Tim skirted the edge of the library counter and hurried after the flying carpet as it maneuvered among the shelves. Luguk followed, probably hoping for a treat, but Tim didn't have anything else with him except his wand; an hour ago he'd never thought of going into the storehouse of book wisdom.
Soon they were in a small room, the whole interior of which consisted of two wooden tables that have become cracked with time (and a pair of chairs by each of them, no less old), and a dusty bookshelf with an equally dusty manuscript that must have been lying on it for decades. There was also a large glass globe on the shelf, held in place by a brass stand that prevented it from rolling to the floor. It was this that Khalid-amga took first of all, removing it from the shelf and moving it to the window sill.
"This is our reading room," he explained. "Students who have received permission from any of the Masters to read literature of a higher level of difficulty or not to be taken out of the library, are allowed in here."
Simply put, containing knowledge too dark for immature children's minds, Tim grinned. For example, the intricacies of summoning demons. Or the formulas for some particularly deadly Black magic spells, like Finger of Death. Their textbooks, for obvious reasons, didn't have any. Tim wondered if the drow girls were really going to apply Finger of Death to the paamph, or were they just bluffing? Judging by the kind of magic they were taught at home, one of them might well have known the formula. Whether or not it would have worked, who knows, but Tim had no desire to test it on himself.
Khalid-amga, meanwhile, grasping with both hands, turned the ball around its axis for a quarter of a turn. A light flickered inside, and soon a familiar voice was heard, on the metal in which you could cut yourself.
"I hope, Khalid, you had a good enough reason for bothering me."
"I'm sorry, madam, but a young human has come in and claims he urgently needs to speak with you."
The reason was apparently deemed convincing, as the intonation softened slightly.
"Wait. I'll be there shortly."
After about a minute, the Twilight magic teacher materialized next to the 'intercom'. Luguk hid under a nearby desk, just in case.
"So your gift is awakened," she said with a quick glance at Tim. "What is it?"
"Some very unusual magic, Master, I couldn't quite figure it out myself."
"Really? Tell me in order, then. And try not to leave out a single detail."
As a matter of fact, Tim did not intend to be secretive - after all, he had done nothing wrong, and with the help of an experienced sorcerer there was a chance to understand what had happened. So in his excited voice he told both about the game of hide-and-seek and how they had rushed to rescue Pimpy, not forgetting to list the names of those who were going to make fun of it. He gave a particularly detailed account of his time in the reality created by the gift, mentioning that the elves thought it was Teleporting.
"Did the elves really think so?" The Master grinned. "Well, let them keep thinking that. You were right not to dissuade them."
"So it wasn't teleportation at all?"
"Of course not. There is no movement in which the colors of the reality around you are bleached. And no matter how fast you moved, your manipulation of the beast and the enemy's wands would have been noticed. No, there's much more powerful magic at work here than ordinary moving."
"But what kind of magic?"
"I have a hunch," Master Ven'A'Sash frowned, though she didn't chastise Tim for his hotness. "You say your wand has turned a dazzling white? May I examine it?"
"Yes, of course," and Tim held out his wand to her.
Picking it up, the teacher carefully examined each facet, scraped one of them with her finger, and even made a gesture as if she were going to bend it. Tim instinctively tensed, but nothing terrible happened.
After all this manipulation, Master Ven'A'Sash frowned even more. And, placing Tim's wand on the windowsill, she took hold of her own. Right in front of her appeared in the air an outlandish, steel-gray bird that looked like a raven and a hawk at the same time.
"Fly and bring Rugud here. And don't let him hesitate!"
The bird flew away, and there was silence in the room. Tim was curious, but prudently he refrained from asking any more questions. Khalid-amga was silent too, rubbing his beard pensively, and Luguk had retreated to a corner and even changed his coloring to something more inconspicuous. Though no one was going to feed him black crystals.
At some point in the distance there was the sound of a door opening, followed by the sound of slow, heavy footsteps.
"Did you summoned me, Master?" Rugud inquired with dignity as he arrived at the room's threshold.
"That's right. Can you come a little closer and answer the question: since when do you give irnalh wands to pupils in our school?"
"Irnalh?" the dwarf asked astonished. But he regained his composure at once.
"Do you mean the wand on the windowsill? The apprentice here took it when he arrived at the school. Let me say that we are not particularly interested in the material from which the wands are made. Because they come to us under the appropriate inventory numbers, which are recorded in the statement of income and expenditure. This wand, inventory number 361-798, had been on the books since 2616th year, long before I came here."
"It's a pity, Rugud, that you're not interested in such things," Master Ven'A'Sash said venomously. "If you were, you'd know that the wand made of irnalh is worth more than the contents of your storehouse and your crew."
"What is of value to wizards may not be of value to dwarves," the storekeeper said in an indifferent voice. It wasn't easy to get him off his chest.
"I hope you're not going to take the wand away from the boy?" Khalid-amga said anxiously.
"Of course not," the teacher answered with a chuckle. "Do you really think I would do such a thing? If the wand recognized him as its master, it is unlikely to remain as effective by passing on to another sorcerer. After all, you made your choice with a mental summons, didn't you?"
Tim nodded his head in agreement.
"So no matter where you are, it'll come back to you if you want it to. Do you want to check it out?"
"Yes."
And, squeezing his eyes shut, he mentally called out to his own wand. And it moved instantly into his palm.
"What was needed to prove. All right, Rugud, you may go. And next time, pay more attention to what comes into the storehouse."
With a bow, the dwarf leisurely departed. When the door slammed in the distance, Master Ven'A'Sash continued the conversation, switching to the librarian:
"In the next few days, prepare a list of literature that mentions Colorless Magic. And try not to hesitate. You may put all other things aside."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I've never heard of such magic," Khalid-amga threw up his hands in frustration.
"I'm afraid, my dear Khalid, there's a lot you haven't heard of. Then I suggest you search for any references to it. And starting today."
"Colorless magic?" Tim muttered dumbfoundedly.
"With a high degree of probability. But to give a definite answer I need to know more. So I give you my permission to come here at any time and browse through the literature that interests you."
"And one more thing," she addressed both of them at the same time. "It is in your best interest to keep everything you hear confidential. If you need to ask or discuss anything, contact me exclusively."
"It's primarily up to you," now it was exclusively for Tim, "to have a gift like that is not only profitable, but also dangerous. So try not to add anything new to what you've told your classmates."
"But how can I manage my gift? Do I have to get really angry every time?"
"Not necessarily. Anger was just the impetus for the awakening. I'm sure you know from talking to your mates that it's easier if you want to use it. Though it's unlikely that such a rare gift will be activated too often."
"And the wand? Would I have to carry it around with me all the time? Or does the gift not need it at all?"
"No wizard could possibly tell you about the connection between the irnalh and Colorless magic," Master Ven'A'Sash grinned again. "As a matter of fact, little is known of either of them, and we can only speculate. I suppose we can discuss that the next time Khalid deigns to find something."
"I'll do my best," the old librarian vowed.
"Great. I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this together. But remember to keep your mouth shut!"
With that, the teacher of Twilight magic left, teleporting back to her room. Khalid-amga pulled a handkerchief from the folds of his robe and wiped his forehead with it.
"Phew, it seems to have worked out. Not an easy choice of patron, though. Master Ven'A'Sash, no one argues, is the competent teacher, but the character is too harsh. You must have figured that out by now."
Tim nodded his head in agreement. Luguk, finding that the danger had passed, crawled out of his hiding place, nimbly climbed onto the tabletop and looked at him questioningly.
"I'll bring some treat next time," Tim promised, sighing sadly to be sure.
"And as for the patron, in a way, I had no choice," he said in an apologetic tone to the librarian. But the librarian didn't ask for details.
"Whatever, I'll look in books I haven't looked in yet, and see if I can find anything. Colorless magic must be an extremely rare form of magic, or I'd have heard of it."
However, the Master knows something about it, and it seems that she knows far more than she is willing to reveal. But not all, otherwise what's the point of doing a literary search?
"Well, I'll start now, and you come back in a day or two. I hope I won't be too busy serving readers and I'll be able to find at least some useful information."
Tim didn't object and hurried out into the fresh air - it was too stuffy in the reading room. And dusty - a little cleaning wouldn't do any harm.
When he returned to the fountain, Mez'A'Shib and Iwiel were still there, sitting side by side and talking peacefully, the drow's arm was carefully bandaged with some leaves. Iwiel was enthusiastically sharing her knowledge of the geography of Gallaeri and the peoples that inhabit it (Mez'A'Shib had had time to tell her about life in the dungeon earlier), and Tim was happy to join in to listen.
"The mountains where the dwarves and you, drowes, inhabit are to the east of us, stretching from the Ice Cliffs in the north to the Desert Barchans in the south. To tell you the truth, I only know of their existence from what the adults tell me - it's too far away to see from the top of the tallest tree. To get there, I'd have to ride a unicorn for at least ten days."
"It's all right, I've only seen them from the inside," grinned Mez'A'Shib. "It's rare for us to get to the surface, much less alone. Usually drowes go as well-armed units, or they might get hit in the head with a club from orcs. Or get an arrow in one place from the light elves. I beg your pardon."
"You're a wild people," Iwiel grimaced. "Even orcs don't catch arrows by accident unless they've crossed the Boundary in secret and are going to bully. But that's bandits, driven out of the camps by their own kind. Normal orcs come to us to trade and do not harm anyone. They live to the south of us, where the forests end and the steppes begin. Farther south, not even grass grows and there's sand everywhere. The orcs who live there have completely black skin. It would probably take me at least a year in the sun to get a tan like that."
"Well, I can't get a tan at all," Mez'A'Shib spread his hands.
"But I don't want to. And why live in a world where only thorns grow and no one but snakes and lizards? They say that there are forests beyond the sands, but no one has ever been there, not even orcs - you can't find water in the desert, and you can't survive without it."
"What if you swim along the shore?" Tim asked.
"What shore?" the elf girl wondered.
"But you must have a sea or an ocean of some kind! I can't believe the whole planet is dry land."
-Of course there is! If you go further west from us, you'll end up on the shore of the Endless Ocean. And there are elves who make boats and sail them, but they don't go very far, because once you've lost sight of the land, there's no going back. So no one knows how far it extends, and what lands lie on the other side. Sometimes orcs come to those elves and sell the fish - orcs can weave nets and catch enough fish to feed themselves and leave for sale. But they don't know, too, what the ocean is like in the Far South - if you believe the rumors, the water there is so hot that it starts to boil, and no living thing can survive there long, even under the protection of magic. Some people believe that if you build a strong ship and sail it farther and farther west, you'll end up on the East Coast. But is that possible!?"
It was clear from the intonation in her voice that she herself did not believe in such 'nonsense'. But Tim didn't try to dissuade her: once upon a time, the earthlings had imagined their world resting on the backs of three elephants, standing on the shell of a giant tortoise - until the age of the Great Geographical Discoveries began. If he had them at home now, he'd probably be able to convince the elves: the planets have to be round.
"What's on the East Coast?" Tim asked instead.
"Who knows," Iwiel brushed it off. "East of the mountains are the marshes, and if you can still find settlements of dwarves in the foothills, then further there's nothing but goblins around."
"I thought the forests east of the mountains were the same as the west," Mez'A'Shib confessed.
"You are really something! Don't you have geography books in your home library?"
"Nope. Only talentless writings about drow-superheroes with no problem winning legions of orcs and light elves. And some stupid love stories that my sisters are crazy about."
"Hey! And I like love stories, so I'm stupid too, right?"
"Not at all, because there's little of the sublime in that scribblings, but plenty of the stupid. For example, how about this episode: '...she liked him, but since he was from a lower House, she only let him kiss her toes occasionally'."
"That's some nonsense, indeed," Iwiel snorted. "Okay, then. But don't you have any public libraries where you can borrow books?"
"We have a few. But they don't have the most exquisite selection. Don't forget, the elves who set out to explore the dungeons had a lot of things with them, but not books. Who would have thought they wouldn't come back and stay there forever?"
"But didn't any of you ever want to go back to the surface?"
"Certainly, many of us did. But will they be glad to see drowes there? I know some who have gone and never returned, but I don't know if they have found refuge in a world of sun and stars."
"Don't grieve, maybe things will still change!"
It was heard from somewhere far away:
"Iwiel, where are you? Come to us!"
"I'll be right there!" the elf girl shouted back. And turning to the friends she thanked them for their company.
"We'll talk again sometime. Now if you'll excuse me, my countrymen missed me."
"That's alright, we have to go too!"
Tim and Mez'A'Shib headed back to the school.
"You are now in the light elves' esteem," the drow said ironically, admiringly at the same time. "Only a true elf, by their standards, would risk his own life to save his pet."
"Come on, it wasn't that much of a risk. I don't think the enemy's wands were loaded with Finger of Death. And as far as I know, none of them have that gift."
"No, but they could have conjured up something nasty. But how did you teleport first there and then back? Did the gift activate twice in a row? And the anzimars didn't have time to react when you disarmed them?"
Well, you can't get rid of Mez'A'Shib with his insight that easily. So Tim didn't make up anything plausible, he just said:
-It wasn't teleportation at all. I don't know what it was, either. And, alas, I can't tell you more, because I gave my word not to say anything."
If the drow was surprised, he didn't show it.
"To one of the teachers?"
"Yes."
"I can guess who. That's why Ven'A'Sash kept you after class, slamming the auditorium door behind us. Don't worry, I won't ask you anything."
"On Earth, in such cases, they often say - to me, as a friend, you can confess everything."
"That's exactly why I won't. But be careful, because if I figured it out, so might the others."