"By the way, how about a little walk when things calm down?" Ri-Bo whispered, looking around as they approached the doors of their rooms.

  "Aren't you afraid of ending up in the punishment cell after those two? Night is just around the corner."

  "Where I came from, it was just the beginning of the morning. I barely had time to open my eyes, and then some invisible man asks if I want to learn magic. Well, I agreed without thinking twice. It's the middle of the day there now, and I don't feel like sleeping at all! What about you?"

  "It should be evening in my place already, although I usually don't go to bed so early. Maybe two or three hours later. But if discipline is so strict here, I can do it now."

  "Don't worry, if we meet someone, we'll say that we decided to... well, for example, visit a library! The thirst for knowledge - what could be better?"

  "It's unlikely that it works at night."

  "But we might not even know about it, right? If Chilajt doesn’t distinguish colors, I can also declare that I mixed up blue with red, who’ll check it?"

  "Well, you are a sly one!"

  "I have to be. Otherwise, how would we have survived after the Anzimars appeared? So, if anything happens, don't get involved in the conversation, and I’ll try to pull the wool over."

  "Okay, you've convinced me. Because they didn't even give us time to look around."

  "Exactly! For sure there are many interesting things here! And somewhere there should be an entrance to the dungeon that the Principal was talking 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! We're probably on the second tier, and on the first tier below us there is the storehouse and the dining room."

  "Where are our classrooms then?"

  "Probably the same place. Well, don't fall asleep, I'll knock when the time is right!"

  Once in his room, Tim first made his bed. After a walk, he would hardly feel like doing that. And before that, he could take a short rest – let the food digest calmly, he had eaten too much. Next time, he should try to limit himself, otherwise, instead of studying, there will be a constant desire to sleep. It was not for nothing that the ancient Romans came up with the saying "satur venter non studet libenter " (a full belly is deaf to learning).

  After admiring the sunset from the balcony for a while, he lay down and did not notice how he fell asleep. He woke up from a knock on the door and, by inertia, jumped up to open it. Only then did he realize that it was enough to wish for it mentally.

  "Did you fall asleep after all? At least I managed to wake you up! Some of us can only be woken up by shouting right in their ear! And making noise for the entire tier is not in our interests. Do you agree?"

  "Absolutely. Let’s go!"

  The fact that night had come into its own was evidenced not only by the darkness outside the window, but also by the significantly reduced number of the 'moss' twinkles among which blue and purple ones now predominated - in addition to the dark blue eye, which essentially illuminated nothing. It's a good thing their daily clothes was made grey - it will be harder to spot them in the dark.

  Unnoticed by anyone, they left the corridor and went deeper into the tunnel, but as soon as they reached the toilet, an elf appeared from the shower – as it turned out, their neighbor from room 26.

  "Where are you going?" he asked mockingly.

  "We… to look at the schedule for tomorrow."

  "Very like a whale! You went out to scout, right? I was thinking about the same thing."

  "Then join us if you're not afraid."

  "No one has ever called Fingor a coward. You see!"

  "Hey, are you taking me with you?" the red-haired inhabitant of room 28 asked cheerfully, poking his head out, obviously having heard their conversation. "I can summon a magical fire! Otherwise, it’s easy to get lost in this darkness!"

  "You are welcome!"

  "Naar-Tam," the red-haired boy introduced himself, placing his palm on Tim’s, Ri-Bo’s, and Fingor’s ones in turn. His light orange skin felt very hot to the touch. And then he created a fireball that hung in the air above their heads and illuminated the space around them no worse than a torch.

  "Cool, of course, but with such a searchlight we will be visible from a mile away," Tim chuckled. "It will be better when we go down into the dungeon."

  "Wow! Are you really going there?" Naar-Tam said admiringly.

  "We thought about it," Ri-Bo admitted.

  "I knew it!" Fingor exclaimed in triumph. "But I wouldn't go there alone. If something happens, they won't find you for a long time. Another thing if you are in a company - there will be someone to pull you out if you accidentally fall somewhere then."

  "Are we going to take our neighbor from the twenty-seventh room?"

  "Who is he, does anyone know?"

  "No. Let's take him, otherwise he'll get upset later that we didn't invite him."

  However, no one answered the knock on the door.

  "Either he's fast asleep, or he's not here. Well, maybe another time."

  And, trying not to make noise, they set off. At the entrance to the hall, they had to wait a bit until the ghost patrolling the area disappeared into one of the tunnels. After taking a few steps Fingor suddenly stopped.

  "Shh! Someone is moving toward us."

  And they hid under the stairs leading up.

  "Don’t lurk, I see all of you finely," someone's mocking voice called out to them. It turned out to be a black-haired prick-eared boy with dark red lips.

  "Drow! What do you want with us!?" Fingor exclaimed in rage.

  "Absolutely nothing. And please be quiet if you don’t want to attract all the inhabitants of the local zoo here."

  "Then why did you bother us? You could have gone on wherever you wanted, about your business, and we about ours."

  "Perhaps I wouldn't mind going with you. It's always more fun together."

  "But you didn't even ask if we wanted that."

  "Hey, elves, why are you always squabbling among yourselves?" Naar-Tam's good-natured face expressed sincere incomprehension. "I admit that your peoples were at odds with each other at one time, but you're seeing each other for the first time! And perhaps, by joining forces, you could have achieved more than you could have on your own."

  "We are too different to cooperate."

  "That’s nonsense! We, the Peirots, and the 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 so that he is always in my sight."

  "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 close look. Having come to his senses, Naar-Tam created a fire ball again but its shine was now very dim - the darkness around seemed to consist of tiny black particles that absorbed and scattered 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 have been able to create the Veil of Darkness since infancy," the drow explained, not without pride. "Very useful magic when an enemy is pursuing you - it will confuse him. Although in our land there are animals that do not need sight, you cannot fool them with such a trick. However, among you, too, someone has the Super-Ability. I moved completely silently and tried to avoid illuminated areas."

  "So, not completely silently," Naar-Tam laughed.

  "I have a gift of Biolocation and can sense the approach of a living creature even if it is completely invisible," Fingor elucidated grudgingly.

  "Not a bad ability, probably no less valuable than infravision, which helps us, dark elves, find our way even in complete darkness. Alas, on the other hand, our eyes absolutely cannot stand bright light. Once in the sun, we instantly go blind."

  "That's why you like to attack at night," Fingor noted caustically.

  "Well, that's enough!" Tim spoke out unexpectedly even for himself. - The ghost will soon return, and we will have to go back. Personally, I think that the ability to see in the dark will definitely come in handy somewhere."

  "Me too!" Ri-Bo supported him. "What is your name?"

  "Mez'A'Shib, Third Son of the Twenty-Seventh House, at your service," the drow bowed gracefully.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  "As far as I understand the structure of your society, this is not a very high position," Fingor quipped again.

  "Not too high," the drow did not argue. "Having learned magic, theoretically I can strengthen it. But even the First Son should hardly hope for more than a position as a teacher in some seedy school. Frankly, I am much more attracted to the opportunity to be independent from others."

  "Because even if you become the Father of the House, you will not rule it. You'd have to be born a girl for that."

  "Oh, no! I'm quite happy being a guy."

  Tim, Ri-Bo and Naar-Tam understood little of this dialogue, and so they thought it best to grab both elves by the hands and drag them along. And just in time: they barely had time to go down the stairs when the ghost returned to the 'rock garden'.

  They found themselves in the lower tier hall again. Tim finally had the opportunity to leisurely examine the signs to all local tunnels:

  1)Storehouse.

  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 dungeon," 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 bit. Mez, would you mind taking a look to see if there are any ghosts there?"

  The dark elf readily responded to the request. And he examined all seven tunnels in turn.

  "There's one in the storehouse area. Two more are hanging out by the dining room. I don't know why, I doubt there's anyone left there."

  "They probably decided to grab a bite to eat too!" Naar-Tam joked.

  "Then let's head to the exit!"

  And they rushed towards new discoveries. But even as they approached, it became clear that if they were destined to get outside, it would not be now - the exit from the tunnel was blocked by a huge boulder, guarded by two granite statues of monsters that vaguely resembled trolls.

  "Hey, you stone blockheads, open the gate for us!" Ri-Bo shouted mischievously at them.

  It would be better if he didn't do that - the monsters, who had not shown any signs of life until that moment, jumped off their pedestals, squeezing and unclenching their fists, with one blow of which it was possible to knock out if not an elephant, then a buffalo for sure, and their eyes lit up ruby-red.

  "Hey, that's not what I meant at all! Of course, you're handsome and the best guards in the school!"

  The monsters froze in place, apparently not knowing how to perceive the last phrase - as a compliment or as a mockery. Not having come to any decision, they climbed back onto their pedestals, although their eyes continued to burn warily.

  "Oh, happiness was so close," Fingor sighed.

  "Don't worry, maybe the door will be open during the day, and we'll somehow slip past the monsters."

  "Too bad we can't now."

  "Why?"

  "A ghost is moving here."

  And indeed, one of the incorporeal creatures turned into the tunnel where they were, and was now heading in their direction.

  "We must hide behind the statues," Mez'A'Shib suggested. "And I'll apply the Veil of Darkness again!"

  Naar-Tam and Fingor hid behind the 'troll' on the left, Mez'A'Shib, Tim and Ri-Bo - behind the one on the right. It became very dark around again - Tim could only guess that his friends were nearby by their excited breathing.

  "They don't have eyes! They can hardly see us!" he whispered to Ri-Bo, but Mez'A'Shib heard too.

  "Just in case. Most likely, the ghosts sense the fire of life, but only close by, otherwise they would have discovered us long ago."

  "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 return with help. It's easier to use magic that makes you invisible to them. Shh! It's too close."

  It seemed that they would be discovered soon, and besides, the effect of the spell had worn off by that time. But, not having reached the statues a little, the ghost turned back and soon left the tunnel.

  "Yippee! Let's get out of here at last! I'm tired of looking at the butts of these 'handsome men'."

  "Beware! If they get really offended, you won't get past them at all. Better this way: thank you for not giving us away!"

  The monsters' eyes flashed again for a moment, but there was no continuation.

  "And where to now?" Fingor asked, when they were back in the hall.

  "Maybe utility rooms?" Ri-Bo offered winking conspiratorially to Tim.

  "No way, the ghost flew there," Mez'A'Shib sighed.

  "Then let's go to the lab! There's probably a lot of interesting things there! At the same time, we'll see if that very dungeon is nearby!"

  There were no objections, and soon they were standing in front of a door from under which a faint smell of ammonia was coming. Having taken the plunge, Mez'A'Shib took hold of the handle and pulled it towards himself. With a grinding sound the door gave way, opening just enough for entry. As Tim had noticed, the doors on the lower tier were more like those on Earth and opened accordingly.

  "It seems there is no one there. Shall we go in?"

  One by one they filtered inside, looking at the marble tables covered in grayish-brown spots. 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 remained more or less clean and even covered with a tablecloth. Along the walls were cabinets, chock-full of jars with multi-colored contents. Among them there were several shelves with mossy folios probably containing all the wisdom of alchemical arts. In the far corner there was a stove made of bricks, next to it - a bag of coal, obviously used here as fuel. In another corner there was a dark passage, and one could even make out several steps going somewhere down.

  "Wow! We found it!"

  But it wasn't that simple. As soon as Mez'A'Shib approached the passage, a creature only a meter tall in lab coat popped out of there. Pointed ears and a long nose made him look like a goblin, but his facial expression was more intelligent (he resembles a bit Master Yoda from 'Star Wars', Tim noted to himself). Seeing the "visitors", the creature screamed shrilly:

  "Thieves! Get out of here, or I'll call the guards!"

  "Please, no! We didn't take anything, we were just wondering where the dungeon is!"

  "And why did you decide that it was behind the door marked 'Laboratory'? What stupid students! The previous ones were smarter; seeing tables with chemical equipment, they didn't look for something that wasn't 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 night now, and we're here, not 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 were newcomers at school today! Who were so nimble that dared to violate the Code 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 violators of discipline. Let those in charge do that! Though assistants would be very useful for me!"

  So this is where they send wrongdoers! But probably not only here, otherwise those two elves, carried away by Agyg, would now be pounding some musk in mortars or watching the fire, regularly throwing pieces of coal into the furnace.

  "Since you did not hand us over to the local guards, it means you expect to get more benefit from our voluntary cooperation," Mez'A'Shib suggested.

  "You are insightful, young drow. Indeed, in our world, as everywhere else, information is a commodity. And the more valuable it is, the more it costs."

  "And here we have extortionists, too," Fingor grumbled discontentedly, taking carved wooden plates out of his pocket.

  "Oh no, I have no use for elven money. A completely different currency is in use here. Look!"

  Having one of the boxes of the table in front of the door opened, the creature took out several multi-colored balls from there.

  "Here! The quintessence of ether, crystals of magic in their purest form. They can be used to improve your magical talents, or you can bring them here and exchange them for something useful. Not just information - I'm actually not a bad alchemist! It's a pity they don't teach alchemy at school, otherwise I could very well be your teacher. I can make very useful potions that work no worse than the corresponding magic. Invisibility? No problem. Ice Shield? As much as you like. Transformation? Also possible. It's just a question of price."

  "But where are we going to get those crystals?" Tim asked.

  "Anywhere. Watch your feet more often! And keep in mind: the value of crystals depends on their shape. Spheres are the most common, so they are the least valuable. Tetrahedrons, or simply a triangular pyramids, are a little less common. If you're lucky, you'll find a cube or an octahedron. In general, the more facets a crystal has, the more valuable it is and the rarer it is. However, get at least a couple of spheres to start with!"

  "How else can we be useful?" Ri-Bo stepped forward, his face 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 mosaic 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 the potions. Here's the list of them! But keep in mind that they must be fresh, as dried ones are of little use!"

  The scroll rolled into a tube ended up with Mez'A'Shib.

  "Hey!" Fingor resented. "Why you?"

  "I will rewrite it and return after. Or you prefer to tear it into five pieces?"

  "You, drowes, are able to do more than so!"

  "Not again! Can't you, elves, live in peace?" Naar-Tam was 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."

  "Okay, don't quarrel, it's not in your interests or mine," the creature said conciliatorily. "Give me back the list for a while, I'll make copies. Watch how it's done."

  From the same box he got a small wand 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 similar manner?"

  "You have to be joking! The spell only works on material objects and has a lot of limitations. But about it let the teachers tell you! And, if there are no more questions for today, allow me to take my leave. See you when you get at least five crystals. I'm sure for such sneaks as you, this will not be difficult at all!"

  And, nodding his head in farewell, the creature disappeared into the passage from which it appeared - its dwelling must have been located there. Realizing that the conversation is over Tim and his friends left the laboratory.

  "We still haven't figured out where exactly these crystals are found..."

  "We should probably look where few people go."

  "Who was it? A goblin?" Tim asked with interest.

  "A kobold, actually," Mez'A'Shib explained. "It's a good thing you didn't ask that question in front of him, otherwise our conversation would have ended there. Goblins and kobolds, although distantly related, can't stand each other. And there's no worse insult to a kobold than calling him a goblin."

  "I see you know about them firsthand."

  "Of course, because their tribes live next door to us, dark elves. By the way, kobolds are quite skilled craftsmen and have no equal in jewelry. They also make good potions, although the prices are high. On the other hand they never deceive their customers and you'll receive 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 around. As many as three ghosts approached their company There was nowhere to hide except the lab, and going back there would risk the owner's displeasure.

  "I'll try to confuse them," Ri-Bo took the initiative.

  "Hey! How good that we met you! We got lost looking for the library! We really want to borrow some cool picture books to read!"

  The ghosts stopped, digesting what they heard, and did not answer right away.

  "It's night now, and you should be in your rooms. You need to come to the library during the day."

  "It's already night? Really? And we didn't even notice! Thanks for the information! We're heading back to our places immediately!"

  The tilfing said all this with complete sincerity. He was clearly losing his acting talent, Tim thought.

  "Not badly said!" Mez'A'Shib admired. "Not every drow could do that!"

  "A true elf wouldn't defile his lips with lies for such a paltry purpose," Fingor grimaced.

  "Well then, go and tell them that you intentionally violated the Code. And with a peace of mind go to the punishment cell after those two who started a brawl in the dining room."

  "Oh, damn! You should have found them first!"

  "Relax, there are probably guards there. Besides, they will most likely be back by morning."

  Under escort, they went up the stairs. Then their company parted: one of the ghosts led Mez'A'Shib to his room; the other two followed Tim, Ri-Bo, Naar-Tam and Fingor relentlessly, preventing attempts to 'accidentally get lost' along the way.

  " It's a pity, we didn’t have time for all our plans! Well, we shall continue it tomorrow!"

  "There are classes tomorrow," Fingor informed glumly. "Light magic on the light-green eye and then magic of Nature 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?"

  "Ask him yourself."

  "If I meet him anywhere, I will!"

  "By the way, there's also a classroom there for our classes," 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.