Chapter 28.

Whether or not Mez'A'Shib's fears would come true, the friends preferred not to think about, concentrating entirely on organizing their second visit to the lower tiers. In principle, almost everything was already prepared for it: the day before the kobold had given them another vial of neutralizing potion, dwarves had equipped backpacks with a whole bunch of things that are extremely useful during any expedition. There were flasks with water, packs of bgurts (something like plates of meat baked to a crisp, very tasty and filling), bags of thick cloth (for collecting crystals and other small things), several sheets of thick paper with a stylus for sketches (dwarves never forget about their interest), a flashlight that Tim asked for (though not oil, but magic; the elemental inside had to be fed with crystals from time to time, but it was more convenient than oil one), and a massive, thick candle that should burn for a day (at least, that's what Rugud said). There were even a small axe and a mini-pickaxe - they looked like toys in the hands of adults, but just right for the friends. In addition, Tim noted to himself, they could be used not only as tools, but also as weapons. He didn't think they had to defend themselves against anyone, but the things made him feel better.

They were advised not to return back with the backpacks but leave them in the dungeon, best of all behind one of the statues of the minus first tier - which one is to be decided on the spot.

The mag-detector, though ordered, had not yet arrived. None of the friends were willing to wait for it to arrive - and who in their place would endure the torture of patience?

To avoid oversleeping, they agreed not to stay up too late, and that the first one to wake up would wake the others. And then, without haste, they run to the door with an arrow pointing down - the less people will have time to notice them, the better.

As it happened, they all woke up almost at the same time. When Ri-Bo banged on the door, Tim had already opened his eyes. Naar-Tam was awakened by the noise of the tilfing. A moment later, Mez'A'Shib came to them.

"All clear," he announced, glancing around again just in case. "Although someone was sneaking in and out at night, I heard footsteps, but I didn't go to find out who it was."

"Weren't the ghosts on duty?"

"That's the thing, they were. That's why I didn't tempt fate. The main thing for us now is that the road is clear. Even if we meet any of them, it's not a problem, because it's daytime and we can go anywhere."

When they arrived at their destination, Mez'A'Shib knocked gently on the door of the storeroom where they'd had tea with the dwarves the last time. The door was opened by Dobuzh, who let them in as soon as he saw who was there.

"Here's your luggage," he said, pointing to the backpacks on the nearest shelf. "Remember, you needn't bring them back."

"We'll try to find a good hiding place for them," Mez'A'Shib bowed his head gratefully.

"Here's another present for you," Rugud came up next, and from his pocket he pulled out a silver chain with a biconvex green lens suspended from it. "It's not jewelry, as you might think. The color of the glass corresponds to the color of the eye that is lit at the moment."

It's essentially the equivalent of wristwatches, Tim thought. It would come in handy in a dungeon, where the sense of time is different than it is on the surface. Now they'd have a chance to plan their actions. A very precious gift indeed! And Tim thanked the dwarf profusely.

"Oh, it's nothing," Rugud dismissed the thanks, though he appreciated it. "The main thing for you is to come back safe and sound."

"We don't mind it either," Naar-Tam smiled broadly.

"Of course you don't mind, but don't try to be too strong," Dobuzh added admonishingly. "The map will help, but its author could not take into account everything. And he had time to explore only part of the way."

"We'll finish it!" Ri-Bo promised without a shadow of a doubt.

"Well, we'll see...," Rugud said with a skeptical chuckle.

The words of farewell were said, there was no point in their waiting any longer. So with another 'thank you', Tim took the nearest backpack from the rack and put it on. And then he helped his friends, who didn't have to carry things like that on their backs, to do the same.

"Now we can go!"

This time the trap was two concentric circles, one into the other (Pulsok's imagination is fine, Tim thought wryly). It didn't matter, though; once the trap was neutralized, you could walk right through it. Still, they tried not to step on it unnecessarily.

There were no new names on the 'Wall of Honor' - though if anyone had been here, he might not had wanted to add his to the list. The stone on the fork still called for to choose one of the three paths. But they had already made their choice.

In the middle of the ashes left by their fire in front of the door leading to the minus first tier, they placed a candle, and Naar-Tam lit the wick with his wand. The flame flickered, and the door slowly opened again.

The start of their journey was marked by a pleasant surprise - the Horror Sphere only affected those who couldn't get past it, and let the rest pass through unhindered. They did not bother to collect the few crystals (they simply did not have time to form again, Tim suggested), nor did they search for the messages left by the geerkhs (if there was anything on the minus first tier, it was probably already found by those who had been there before them). The only thing they could do was to look for a hiding place for their backpacks. As a result it was a niche behind a statue in the far corner of the hall, the tunnel next to which was filled with stones.

Alas, there was still a veil of impenetrable darkness at the entrance to the minus second tier - they had to grop their way around again and jump down very carefully to avoid damaging the contents of their backpacks.

"I wish there was a ladder, or at least a superstructure to make jumping easier," Ri-Bo grumbled, shaking himself off. He tried again to climb down the wall, but could not hold on to the edge.

"Good idea, when we've mastered the magic of the stone we'll try it!"

Before entering the maze, Mez'A'Shib unfolded the map.

"I know it by heart, it's not that difficult, we, drowes, have more difficult ones. So stick with me, I will lead you to the exit."

With an experienced guide it really wasn't difficult to get over the labyrinth - it must have been five minutes before they found themselves at the fork. Two tunnels led from there, the left one labeled 'bridge', the right one - 'needles'.

"Which way do we turn?" Mez'A'Shib asked his friends.

"We'll take the bridge!" Ri-Bo said and Naar-Tam seconded the offer.

Tim wasn't so adamant about it. If the road had been safe, no one would have penciled notes on the map. But he didn't argue, deciding to have a look for himself first. According to the principle - it is better to see once than to hear a hundred times.

Once again a surprise awaited them - this time not so pleasant. There was no bridge, and the passage ended in a precipice no less deep than the one they had almost fallen into the last time following Naar-Tam, deceived by the cries of the hinkhu. And it was wider - not less than twenty paces wide.

"There was a bridge, but it is gone," Naar-Tam commented dejectedly.

"Well, since none of us can fly, we'll go over the needles. If others can pass through them, so can we!"

They had to go back and turn right at the fork. The tunnels looked exactly the same, as if they were made by copying. Or rather, mirrored symmetrically to each other - like shoes for left and right feet. Only the 'surprises' were different. So where are the needles?

As Tim thought about it, a pointed metal pin jutted out from the wall in front of Mez'A'Shib. In a moment it would have plunged into his body. As it soon found out, the pin was coming from the wall you was closest to, or, if you walked to the center, straight out of the floor. One wrong step and you would find yourself on a spit. Not a very pleasant sensation, which hardly anyone would agree to experience.

In principle, you can pass through an obstacle, but only if you know for sure where to duck, and where to jump. In essence, running through a minefield, where one wrong move and the game is over. However, none of them wanted to risk it.

"Eh, it's a pity we can't ask the maker of the map how he managed to get farther," Naar-Tam sighed.

"Thank him for marking the trap at all, or some of us would be hurt right now," Tim protested.

"I expected a catch, but another one," Mez'A'Shib admitted.

"Can you get us through it?" Ri-Bo asked impatiently with a nod toward the 'needles'.

"I'll try, but it will take time. Stay where you are until I get to safe territory."

"Wait," Tim interjected. "I have one suspicion. You notice how smooth the edges of that chasm in the parallel tunnel were? If the bridge had fallen, there would have been splinters, reinforcements of some kind. And there weren't any!"

"Exactly!" Mez'A'Shib cheered. "Why didn't I think of that? There's a bridge, but we can't see it!"

So happy to have found such a simple solution, they started almost running, and a minute later they were standing on the precipice. Here Tim had to cool down especially hot heads: if they guessed wrong, someone would take a short, sad flight. So, approaching the very edge, he bent down and groped the space in front of him. His fingers felt the stone where his eyes could only see the blackness of the gap. Magic again, and a very good one at that - even at graduation it was unlikely that any of them could create an illusion close in power. At the same time it was found out that the "bridge" was not that wide - only a meter and a half wide, and there was a real chasm beyond it, without any illusions. So they had to cross it by walking one after another strictly along the center, without approaching the tunnel walls.

"It all seems to be over," Tim exhaled in relief when the obstacle was behind them.

"Where to now?" Ri-Bo asked.

"You'll see."

Down the stairs, they found themselves in the hall. It wasn't as big as the one on the minus first tier, but it was roomy enough, too. The passageway was at the opposite end of the hall. A few statues of geerkhs, mostly on the right side. And on the left side... at first Tim was rather frightened when he saw the dark figures moving towards them. Only a few seconds later he realized that it was them, or rather their reflections. The very Mirror Rugud had spoken of. It's huge, even Agyg would be reflected in it in one piece. Why is it here? A tenth of it would have sufficed for the geerkhs. Or did it exist before they? Not likely, since the tunnels that lead into the hall are not designed for any giants.

After admiring their own faces (the tilfing couldn't resist playing around a bit, making funny faces and watching with delight as the reflection copied them), the friends scattered in different directions to collect the crystals. Tim lingered for a moment, his attention was drawn to the smeared dirt at the very edge of the Mirror. He squatted down and took a closer look. It looked as if someone had tried to destroy some kind of inscription. It wasn't dirt at all, but the same blue substance, which seemed almost black in the darkness. It looked like the yusme who had issued the warning about the school had been here, too. With difficulty Tim was able to read the half-faded letters that formed the word 'Yuenhee'. There was no point in guessing what it meant - it would take someone from the Children of the Water. But if he try to find out it, they'll ask him where he learn about it. Well, maybe on occasion...

He straightened, leaned his palm against the perfectly smooth glass, and his reflection obediently did the same. Tim's lips involuntarily whispered 'Yuenhee', and the mirror rippled, blurring outlines of the reflection. And then, instantly, it went black, like a turned off monitor screen. But it wasn't for long - a second later, the outlines of the unknown world were revealed through the darkness. A lifeless, icy wasteland - Tim could feel its mesmerizing breath that froze everything inside him. No living thing seemed capable of surviving here, but no, several fountains of snow rose up, materializing strange creatures that looked remotely like gargoyles. Spreading their wings, the creatures flew swiftly toward him. Their jaws full of sharp dagger teeth, their long curved claws, and their eyes burning with hatred, left no doubt that he was doomed to become their victim. An anxious thought rattled inside - run, save yourself! But the body, shackled by the deadly cold, refused to obey...

A sharp jerk backward tipped him onto his back, and Tim saw his friends' faces above him - amazed and worried at the same time.

"Hey, how are you?"

"I'm... I'm fine," he coughed, struggling to get up. Though it was warm in the dungeon, the coldness of the world that had accidentally opened up to him was in no hurry to let go of its prey. "What... happened?"

"You're asking! You were half in the mirror! A little more, and you would have disappeared inside! It's a good thing we got you out in time! How did you do that?"

"I don't know. I put my hand to the glass and it was like being on another planet. There was very cold and full of monsters. The minute they saw me, they wanted to eat me. They may have been illusory, but looked very much like the real ones. So thank you for pulling me out of there!"

"But we are friends, could we have done otherwise!?" Naar-Tam said with bafflement in his voice.

"I can see now why Rugud would advise caution," Mez'A'Shib nodded his head. "At least it's not blocking the path."

Tim did not tell them about the cryptic inscription deciding to figure it all out for myself first. And they continued on their way and soon found themselves at a door securely locked by two massive metal bolts. They tried to push one of them aside, but no matter how hard they tried, it was not possible to move even a millimeter.

"That's where Agyg would have come in handy," Tim sighed, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"It doesn't seem to be rusted, why doesn't it move?" Naar-Tam exclaimed again and again as he looked at the bolts.

"There must be some secret mechanism," Mez'A'Shib was anxious to find.

It wasn't hard to find, just the two small stones either side of the door. As Mez'A'Shib stepped on one of them, the top bolt slid gently aside.

"Is it really that simple?" Tim, who had been expecting a catch, was surprised.

As it turned out, not simple at all - as soon as Mez'A'Shib jumped off the stone, the bolt slid back into place.

"Clearly, the two of us have to stand on the stones at the same time, and then the door will open!"

Of course, they checked it out immediately. And indeed, the bolts parted in different directions, and the door plunged right into the floor - just a small part of it was left outside, which they simply stepped over.

"So there's nothing to do here alone?" Naar-Tam was puzzled.

"You were told that on the minus second tier."

"Oh yes, I forgot about that. Did we really get it?"

And, as if in answer to his question, the inscription on the front lit up:

'The minus third tier.

Have you changed your mind about going any further?'

"Don't worry, we haven't," Ri-Bo snorted as the letters melted into the air.

"What traps are waiting for us here?" Naar-Tam asked when they arrived at the small cave whose only other attraction was the statue of a geerkh with an unusual headdress resembling a crown.

"There's nothing dangerous near us," Mez'A'Shib reported, glancing at the map just in case.

"Then I have a suggestion: let's take a break and have a little snack!"