"So, are we going tonight?"

  It was more of a rhetorical question - the three days it took the kobold to make the potion seemed like an eternity to them. Does it take much for boys to get ready for a quest? In all times and lands much less than a day, especially if the adventure is very exciting! And when difficulties and dangers stopped them?

  No one expressed fear or a desire to back out, only Naar-Tam doubted whether there was any point in taking flasks with them - they would hardly be there long enough to seriously suffer from thirst. It would be nice to get a kerosene lamp somewhere, Tim thought - it was probably very dark there, and his orange-skinned friend's magic might not be enough for a round trip. But if he started to ask about it, it would immediately be clear where they are going.

  The idea of collecting luminous moss in a glass vial of some sort seemed more perspective at that moment. Several test tubes with corks they borrowed from the kobold under the pretext of gathering ingredients which can’t be transported in a pocket. Scraping moss off the walls was not too much fun - it would take a long time to get enough of it. And then you have to wash your hands very carefully - the tiny particles of moss stained your skin in the corresponding colors. In addition, the glow gradually weakened - deprived of the roots, moss withered and ceased to emit light. Because of this it would be pointless to store up such luminaries; three of them were made only when the news that the neutralizer was ready and they could go into the dungeon at any time.

  But first, of course, they need to wait until nightfall. And on the way to the goal, not only to avoid being seen by ghosts, but also by their own classmates. Mez’A’Shib told about his walk around the school the previous night: when seeing the ghosts he tried to hide under the stairs, he was driven out from there by the indignant screams of a couple of light elves who had found shelter there a minute earlier. It had to cast the Veil of Darkness on them and run away, risking getting caught by the ghosts.

  Fortunately, Ri-Bo found an original way out of the situation.

  "Let’s go early and wait for the night in a place not far from the dungeon."

  "What place exactly do you mean?"

  "The punishment cells! I purposely went to see them today: there is nobody there, including guard."

  "That’s before we’ll have classes again."

  They didn't have classes those days - they were given time for meditation and self-training. Of course, most of the students preferred to use that time for something other than meditation and self-training.

  "Never mind, Master Aerg will fix that quickly."

  "It's lucky for us that Pulsok has calmed down a bit. Otherwise all the cells would be occupied by now, and some would have two or three people in them."

  Indeed, having assigned a couple of punishments in the form of a stint in a punishment cell, the goblin was no longer keen on it, preferring to send the students to community service. Really, what's the point of allowing discipline violators to idle away when the school constantly needs working hands? No one was surprised anymore to meet one of their classmates with a broom, mop or rag in their hands. Of course, a couple of elementals could do the cleaning faster and better, but where was the educational aspect then?

  The punishment cells, located at the very end of the tunnel leading to the utility rooms, were indeed empty. Of the eight cells (four on each side), six were locked with iron bars, two were open. The friends settled in one of the last and, to while away the time, began to play 'elves and orcs'. Mez'A'Shib, who had managed to get somewhere two pieces of chalk, taught them this game, resembling noughts-and-crosses but more sophisticated. And soon the walls and even part of the floor were covered with diamonds and stars. The game was so captivating that they almost forgot about the main purpose of their stay there. It was a good thing that each of the cells was equipped with a clock - probably so that the prisoner could find out at any moment how much longer he had to sit there. And so, soon after the violet eye lit up, announcing the onset of night, Mez'A'Shib put the chalk aside.

  "It's time. I'm going to scout. Stay here and try not to make noise."

  And, throwing the Veil of Darkness over himself, he slipped out the door.

  They had to wait for his return for quite a long time - at least twenty minutes. Ri-Bo even expressed doubt that the drow, frightened by something, simply ran away, leaving them here. Naar-Tam hotly objected to this - the dark elf is not one to abandon friends. Unless he was captured, Tim added. But neither Ri-Bo nor Naar-Tam believed it - anyone could have been captured, but not him!

  The appearance of Mez'A'Shib resolved their doubts.

  "Sorry to keep you waiting. At first the ghosts were circling back and forth, then the dwarves decided to rearrange the furniture in one of the rooms. But now everything is quiet, so we can go."

  A minute later they were already at the door with the image of an arrow pointing downwards. Tim's heart was pounding desperately in his chest; judging by the rapid breathing, the others were no less worried. After a slight hesitation, Mez'A'Shib took hold of the door handle and carefully pulled it towards himself. The door was unlocked - as if inviting them inside.

  "Ready? Remember - once we cross the threshold, there will be no turning back. And if anything happens, we won't get away with a simple cleaning of the premises or washing dishes. They might even kick us out of the school. Or they'll come up with some particularly offensive punishment especially for us - so that others won't dare."

  "We didn't come here to turn back at the last moment!" Ri-Bo declared decisively, meaning not only himself, but the others as well.

  "Then go ahead."

  Putting his hand in his pocket, Mez'A'Shib pulled out a vial with a pinkish opalescent liquid.

  "The kobold said it should be enough for the whole night. Let's check now."

  And, carefully removing the cork, with a sharp movement he splashed the liquid right in front of him. The liquid spread across the floor, forming a pattern similar to a giant starfish. Rays of the starfish reached the opposite walls.

  "Aha! Here it is, the trap! It is enough to step on one of the 'rays', and your goose is cooked. Fortunately, now we can see it. And although it must be deactivated, let's try not to step on it."

  Moving along the walls and carefully overstepping the 'rays' they passed the trap and found themselves in a semi-dark corridor. The corridor led them to another door that, unlike the first one, was locked, and not with an ordinary bolt that may be easily unlocked by pushing it back, but with a big padlock that cannot be unlocked without a key.

  "Hmm, I would not want to break it…"

  "But why didn't the kobold say about the second door?"

  "Perhaps he simply did not know anything about it. What was the point of giving us the potion if we could not enter the dungeon?"

  Mez'A'Shib looked around.

  "Ah, if only there was a metal rod nearby, I could try to pick the lock."

  "Do any of you accidentally master the magic of metal?" Naar-Tam joked sadly.

  "It seems like it's high time to use my gift, maybe it will work!" Ri-Bo exclaimed.

  A golden cloud swirled between his palms, a second later rushing towards the keyhole, simultaneously stretching out into a tube. Part of it penetrated into the lock, the part remaining outside formed a key, shaped like an ancient Egyptian ankh. When everything was ready, the tilfing made a rotating motion with his hand, and the shackle of the 'key' turned too. With a click, the lock opened.

  "It worked, though!"

  "And you happen to have a very valuable gift! At Merzeran it would quickly find an application!"

  At the Earth too, Tim thought, though the consequences for such craftsmen could be very unfortunate. But there was no time to speculate on the subject (and no time to warn Ri-Bo not to show his gift to just anyone) because Naar-Tam had already opened the door and was inside; there was nothing left to do but follow him.

  They found themselves in a small cave. Contrary to Tim’s fears it was light enough there: not only Mez’A’Shib but everyone else could orient themselves without problem. Naar-Tam therefore didn’t light the torch and Tim put the test tube with glowing moss back in his pocket. The path further lay through the tunnel on the left side, but first of all their attention was drawn to the inscription on the wall on the right:

  'If you dared to come here, you may leave your name on the wall'

  Under it there were dozens if not hundreds names. Many were already half-erased and almost illegible; others, made more carefully or not so long ago, were quite distinguishable.

  "Wow!" Ri-Bo was amazed. "How many people have been here before us!"

  "Did you really think we'd be first?" Naar-Tam laughed. "We're not even in the top twenty!"

  "It's good if we're in the top hundred," Tim added, exploring the list of the names. He didn’t meet a single one resembling terrestrial. However, he hadn't even counted on it.

  "But we're first in our class! I think this is a great reason to imprint our names here too! Mez, where's your chalk?"

  "I left it in the cell."

  "Oh well, no problem," Naar-Tam wasn't upset at all. "I'll think of something now!"

  And, looking around, he discovered a pebble with a sharp edge lying right under his feet.

  "Aha, that's what we need! They've probably used it before us, and for the same purpose!"

  And, picking up the pebble, he painstakingly scratched their names on the wall. Mez'A'Shib, in turn, began to examine the tunnel leading deep into the dungeon; Tim followed him. Ri-Bo took advantage of the moment to collect crystals that were in sight and then together with Naar-Tam hurried to go after their friends.

  The tunnel soon brought them to a fork. Three roads led from here in three different directions. And at the crossroads itself there was a mossy boulder, on the front side of which was written:

  'If you are brave, go forward.

  If you are strong, turn left.

  If you are dexterous, turn right.

  If you are smart, go back.'

  "It is unlikely that any of us considers himself stupid, but I personally do not see any reason to go back yet," Mez'A'Shib summed up, having read the inscriptions.

  "But why do you have to be strong to go left?" Naar-Tam wondered.

  "And why do you need dexterity to go to the right?" Ri-Bo echoed him.

  "It seems to me that in one night we will not have time to solve all the mysteries of the dungeon," Tim expressed regret.

  "It means the only way for us, ahead," Mez’A’Shib concluded. "And don’t forget to pick the crystals: we must pay off the kobold, otherwise he’ll find other assistants."

  And they continued on their way. The tunnel went downhill and gradually narrowed – soon they had to walk one after another, in some places even bending down so as not to hit their heads on the ceiling. But finally the torment was over, and the friends found themselves inside another cave. In the center of it was a circle made of stones, inside which there was ash. Apparently, someone had once made a fire here. I wonder why, Tim thought – it was not cold at all in the cave. Nevertheless, the mysterious someone had also taken care of a supply of fuel for the future: there were several armfuls of dry branches lying near the wall on the left. Perhaps he intended to drop in here again sometime, although the choice of a place for a picnic was more than strange.

  However, at that moment they had to deal with a much more serious problem: from the cave they could only return back to the fork.

  "Is it really a dead end?" Ri-Bo exclaimed, almost crying from disappointment.

  "That can't be! The sign should have warned!" Naar-Tam tried to remain optimistic.

  "He doesn't owe you anything," Mez'A'Shib grimaced. "Those inscriptions are unknown how old, and a lot could have changed in that time. For example, an earthquake happened, and part of the tunnels were covered by a collapse, but new ones appeared in another place."

  "It doesn't look like there was an earthquake here."

  "What if we simply can't see the passage further? What if one of the walls is illusory?"

  "That's easy to check. Especially if there's a specialist in removing illusions at hand. Is there one among us? For some reason, that's exactly what I thought. We'll have to act manually."

  The drow and the tilfing walked around the cave, probing the walls, but without any success.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  "It seems that whoever wrote that you have to be brave to come here simply decided to joke. We'll have to go back and choose between strength and dexterity."

  No, it's not that simple, the thought crossed Tim's mind. Then came the feeling of an incorrectly solved problem, which sometimes visited him before. A fire circle and fuel nearby... it seemed that one of the computer games had a similar quest. In any case, they wouldn't lose anything if they tried.

  "Hey, what are you going to do?" Ri-Bo called out to him as Tim grabbed one of the bunches and dragged it toward the circle.

  "This is no time to sit by the fire!" Mez'A'Shib said with a hint of condemnation.

  "I'll be quick! Xeroblinz exlelloto!"

  However, the sparks failed to ignite the wood: either it had become slightly damp, or the spell was too weak.

  "Naar, could you make a fire?"

  "Most likely, but why?"

  "You'll see. If I'm not mistaken, of course."

  Naar-Tam, although slightly surprised, fulfilled the request. The flames eagerly began to devour the branches, forcing the darkness to retreat. And on the wall opposite the entrance, an inscription suddenly lit up:

  'Minus the first tier.

  Welcome, brave ones!'

  After that, part of the wall gave way, smoothly sliding to the side – just like when they used the secret passage from the kobold’s laboratory.

  "Hooray!"

  "How did you guess that we needed to light a fire?" Ri-Bo was perplexed. "That never would have occurred to me!"

  "Purely intuitively. I just thought that maybe this was the key to the solution."

  "Our houses and the surrounding area are full of secret passages, but usually they open with levers or springs, sometimes with magic. This is the first time I've seen something like this," Mez'A'Shib admitted.

  "And if I had simply lit a torch, would it have worked?" Naar-Tam asked.

  "I doubt it. Otherwise, why would there be a need to make a fire? But next time, we'll check! And now let's go, otherwise, I'm afraid, when the flame goes out, the door will close!"

  They found themselves in a spacious hall, much larger than on the upper tiers. It was a little darker here than in the caves, but still light enough not to use the lighting means available to them. At least up close - where the slender rows of columns on both sides of the entrance ended, was not visible from here, so they decided to go around the perimeter of the hall. Behind the columns, right next to the walls, they found pedestals. On them were statues of strange creatures that resembled giant furry spiders with large eyes standing on their hind legs. The Insectoids, as Tim called them, were evidently intelligent: many of them were dressed in something like overalls, some even held tools in their front paws like a hammer, ruler or miniature pickaxe.

  The friends looked at the statues in surprise. None of them had ever heard of such creatures before.

  "It looks like the tunnels weren't built by dwarves at all," Tim summed up.

  "Now I think so too," Mez'A'Shib agreed. "I had some doubts right after arriving at the school, but I couldn't imagine that anyone other than dwarves would do such work."

  "It's strange, no one mentioned them. I'll have to find out more about the history of the school."

  "A good idea! Especially if I can find a list of graduates. It would be very interesting to see which drowes studied here. Maybe I know any of them?"

  "Why look for a long time, there it is, the list, hanging at the entrance here. Now with our names too," Naar-Tam teased him.

  "I think that not everyone has been to the dungeon, and some might not want to leave their name. If Pulsok accidentally looks in here and finds the list, you know what will happen next."

  "Hey, why think about sad things, let's collect the balls instead! There are plenty of them here!" the tilfing intervened.

  And indeed, the kobold was right: crystals were found almost at every step. By the time they walked around the entire hall, their pockets were stuffed to the brim. Naar-Tam was even lucky to find a fragment of a mosaic with an image of a hexagonal gold coin.

  "As far as I know, no one else has such a symbol," Mez'A'Shib looked at the find. "Probably it is very valuable."

  "The rarer they are, the more difficult it will be to assemble the pattern."

  "But the reward should be significant. So don't lose it, suddenly more like this will be found!"

  After that, all that was left was to examine the center of the hall, where their attention was immediately drawn to a huge square slab of black granite. However, they were unable to examine it more closely: as they approached, a feeling of unreasonable fear appeared. It seemed to Tim that the slab was a tombstone which was about to open, and a terrible undead creature would crawl out from inside and attack them. No less terrible were the visions of his friends: Mez'A'Shib thought that an earthquake had begun and the ceiling was about to collapse on their heads, burying them alive; Ri-Bo - that the stone 'spiders' were coming to life and were going to feast on them; Naar-Tam - that all the lamps go out one after another, including the torch he hastily created, and they are doomed to wander in the darkness until the end of their days.

  As they moved farther away, they were relieved to find that the fear was gone.

  "It seems that the slab is surrounded by a Horror Sphere," Tim suggested, remembering Master Ven'A'Sash's lesson.

  "Most likely," Mez'A'Shib agreed. "It's a pity we don't have a mag-detector with us. With its help, we could determine whether there is magic nearby, and what kind it is."

  "Great!" Naar-Tam admired. "With such a device any trap isn’t a problem for us. Can we get it in school?"

  "Most likely, but it won't be easy. In Merzeran only very powerful magicians have mag-detectors. And they won't give it to you for free."

  "Well, okay," Ri-Bo was not upset at all. "We'll do it ourselves! However, we have nothing else to do in the hall, where to go next?"

  "Actually, our choice is not that great. Of the five passages leading from here, two are walled up, the third is tightly closed with an iron grate. It remains to choose from the two remaining."

  "In that case, let's look at the one that is closer!"

  And they turned towards the passage located on the left side of the entrance to the hall. However, after walking about thirty meters, the friends discovered that there was no way further for them - the tunnel was filled with rocks from top to bottom.

  "There was definitely a collapse here," Mez'A'Shib said with a sigh.

  "Nonsense, we'll take it apart now!"

  Naar-Tam and Tim grabbed the nearest boulder. But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't move it.

  "It's useless," the drow commented on their efforts. "A team of workers with tools is needed here. And even then, it's unknown how much time it will take. Especially if the collapse was done intentionally."

  They had to return to the hall. However, before entering the only remaining accessible tunnel, Naar-Tam suddenly stopped.

  "Did you hear?"

  "What exactly?" the friends turned to him in surprise.

  "Someone is calling for help!"

  They stopped, listening. Now Tim could hear the moans and cries coming from the depths of the tunnel.

  "We need to hurry to the rescue!" Naar-Tam became alarmed. And without hesitation, he rushed forward as fast as he could.

  Mez'A'Shib's face suddenly changed.

  "Stop! Otherwise, you'll get into trouble!!"

  This had no effect, and they had to run after him. In the end, Mez'A'Shib managed to catch up with the peirot and, grabbing his hand, held him in place. Tim and Ri-Bo arrived right after him.

  "Why did you stop me?"

  "Because there's no one there! This is the call of the hinkhu, the evil spirit of the dungeons. If you answer it, you'll get into trouble."

  "What kind of trouble?"

  "Depends on the situation. Let's go a little further and see, but be on your guard!"

  And they followed Mez'A'Shib, stepping carefully and constantly looking around. The plaintive wailing grew louder, but the friends tried not to react to them. Making about twenty steps the drow stopped.

  "Aha! I was right! Do you see this?"

  They found themselves on the edge of a precipice that was very wide and deep; the light of the torch lit by Naar-Tam could not reach the bottom or the opposite edge. Ri-Bo picked up a small stone and threw it down, but only a few seconds later they heard the deafening sound of it hitting the stone.

  "Wow! What depth!"

  "Do you see where you would have ended up if you had kept running?"

  "But who is this hinkhu? Why does he do that?"

  "According to the legends of our people, the souls of those who found their death in the dungeon and were not buried properly turn into hinkhus. The hinkhus envy the living beings and hate them, so they try to destroy them. I've never met a hinkhu myself, but I've heard a lot about them."

  "Thank you, you saved me! You are a true friend!" Naar-Tam exclaimed passionately. " I am in your debt!"

  "Perhaps, someday you will help me out of trouble, too. And since there is no further way, there is nothing more for us to do here."

  "Wait, what is that?" Ri-Bo bent down and picked up an object that turned out to be a wand.

  "Did its owner really fall into a trap set by the evil spirit!?"

  "Quite possibly. As you understand, we are unlikely to be able to verify this at the moment."

  They stood in silence at the edge of the precipice, staring vainly into the void. A searchlight, many times more powerful than their torch, would be needed here.

  "Perhaps we will return here again when we have a rope ladder with us. And now we can only sympathize with the poor fellow who believed the howling of the hinkhu."

  "By the way, have you noticed? The screams are no longer heard!"

  "Naturally, because we figured out the deception. And we won't fall for it again."

  "We should make a warning sign!" Naar-Tam got worried. "Otherwise someone else might fall into the trap!"

  "It's no use," Mez'A'Shib shook his head. "Hinkhu can appear anywhere. A warning sign should be placed at the entrance to the dungeon."

  "Like there's tricks and traps everywhere, you'd better not come here at all!" Ri-Bo cheered up. "Otherwise, they'll collect all the crystals and we won't get anything!"

  "Actually, everyone knows that dungeons are dangerous," Tim reasonably noted. "But that didn't stop us. Why do you think others will do otherwise?"

  "But what if someone will be prudent enough?"

  While talking they didn't notice how they were back in the hall.

  "We'll have to find a lever to lift that grate, that's all we can do," Mez'A'Shib suggested with a sigh.

  "It seems to me, in order to move forward we should solve the riddle of that slab," Tim objected.

  "But we can't even get close to it!"

  "What if I can?"

  "I don't think so."

  “I’ll do it,” Tim promised decisively, gritting his teeth. He wasn’t sure about it, but he couldn’t back down now, his pride wouldn’t allow it. So, ignoring the calls to show common sense and try to look for other ways first, he walked straight to the slab with a firm step. The fear returned again: the hall seemed to him like a giant crypt, covered in cobwebs in the corners and illuminated by a dim greenish-blue light streaming from the wall lamps. But the worst was yet to come – Tim suddenly felt like that very creature, buried centuries ago, but not completely dead. His sleep was interrupted by the appearance of these unbearable boys, always sticking their noses where they weren’t wanted… so warm and tasty that it was impossible to resist. A little more, and they would become his dinner… he hadn’t had the chance to enjoy the taste of fresh flesh for a long time…

  At the cost of tremendous efforts Tim moved towards his goal, each new step was more and more difficult. Cold sweat poured into his eyes, the top of his uniform seemed to be soaked through. In a moment, the tombstone would be thrown down and the undead would gain freedom... he must not let this happen! If he was late, his friends would die!

  Desperate determination gave him the strength to overcome the last meters separating him from the slab. And as soon as he touched it with his hand, the fear disappeared. Breathing a sigh of relief, Tim mockingly looked at the incredulous faces of his friends.

  "Well, what did you get scared of? Just don't give in to your feelings, and everything will be fine!"

  Which of the boys in such a situation would want to make a coward of himself in front of his buddies? And so soon they all joined Tim, just as relieved when their horrors were left behind.

  "Finally, there is a place to sit down and rest!" Ri-Bo exclaimed cheerfully, jumping onto the slab.

  A dull creak, coming from somewhere below, forced him to jump back. The frightened boys ran in different directions. However, nothing terrible happened: the slab smoothly moved to the left, opening a passage downwards.

  "So that's where to go next!"

  After waiting a bit (what if it wanted to go back down?) they began their descent. A stone staircase led them to a glass door with an inscription:

  'Minus the second tier.

  Never come here alone!'

  "Of course," Ri-Bo commented cheerfully. "Otherwise you’ll die of boredom here!"

  Although the glass seemed transparent, it was impossible to see anything behind it - it was too dark on the other side. There were no problems with the door itself: they touched it, and the doors smoothly slid apart. However, the darkness did not disappear anywhere, and it was so thick that neither the eyes of Mez'A'Shib nor the torch of Naar-Tam could tell them what awaited them next.

  "Very strange," the drow was upset. "At home, even in complete darkness, I could make out the outlines of objects. Okay, wait here, I'll try to scout out the situation. Perhaps it will become lighter further on."

  For a while, quiet, retiring footsteps were heard from the darkness, and then a cry of 'Ouch!' and the sound of a body falling.

  "Mez, are you okay?" Naar-Tam was worried. "Wait, I'm coming to help!"

  "Just don't run, or you'll fall too! There's a cliff here! Luckily, it's not very deep, I'm only bruised! Move carefully until you reach its edge, and then jump or climb down! And don't be afraid, it's light here!"

  They followed the advice one by one. The height from which they had to jump turned out to be quite large – two meters, no less, and so Tim lost his footing and fell to the floor. Naar-Tam landed nearby in the same way, but Ri-Bo preferred to carefully climb down, clinging to the edge of the cliff, and only then letting go of his hands.

  It was indeed light there – lighter than in the hall above, about the same as in the cave with names. And the most amazing thing was that from here they could see the door through which they had just passed!

  "Amazing! One-way visibility!" Naar-Tam exclaimed enthusiastically. "I've never heard of anything like that! Surely magic was involved here too!"

  "Of course. Otherwise I would have been able to see at least something. But here it's like a black blindfold," Mez'A'Shib agreed.

  It's very similar to tinted car windows, Tim thought. When you're inside, you can see everything that happens around (albeit in a slightly darkened form), but no one will see you from the outside.

  Then their attention was drawn to dark blue spots on the floor. Their chain led to a wall on which the following was written in the same color liquid:

  THIS SCHOOL… IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK…

  Tim's notes about his classmates.

  1) Elves. Seven boys (Eliavin, Faelinn, Taeron, Elsingor, Gillmir, Fingor, Namitil) and four girls (Eliavel, Iwiel, Parial, Yumial). Kind, cheerful, though sometimes they can be mistrustful and even slightly arrogant. They love to discuss lofty topics, tell and listen to various funny stories. But they will offer their friendship only to those they deem worthy of the title of 'friend'.

  2)Dark elves (drowes). Two boys (Mez'A'Shib, Zur'U'Fes) and five girls (Gan'I'Tar, Shin'Ye'Heth, Nhel'Yu'Min, Kakh'I'Geg, Dem'O'Sut). Cunning, insidious, consider themselves above all the others. Honestly, I have no desire to communicate with them. Mez is the only pleasant exception (how he managed to deal with dirt and not get dirty is still a mystery to me).

  3)Anzimars. Three boys (Germeht, Hindag, Kunfor) and two girls (Drega, Virda). An amazing example of combining doll-like looks with a black soul. So incredible, as if an angel descended from heaven would give you a good kick in the ass instead of helping you in a difficult moment (at least with wise advice). It is better to stay away from them.

  4)Peirots. Three boys (Naar-Tam, Ruum-Fib, Heen-Lun) and two girls (Tiis-Mir, Gook-Luk). Friendly, sociable (sometimes even too much), a real soul of a company. Cannot stand loneliness, do not like to think about boring and complicated things. Always come to the rescue, just call.

  5)Yusmes. Two boys (Patpako and Alkitmi) and three girls (Xitati, Selkise, Jaamite). Calm, thoughtful, often distracted. Unlike the Peirots, it is good to share sadness with them, not joy. But you can always count on sympathy from their side.

  6)Lycoses. Two boys (Yantau, Ivliar) and two girls (Meikli, Sitmis). Aside from their ability to turn into animals, they are not much different from terrestrial boys and girls. Perhaps my judgment is superficial, since I don't know much about them yet.

  7)Orcs. Three boys (Gmuruk, Shugiz, Urgrot) and one girl (Rumara). Naive, simple-minded, it’s easy to fool them. But if the deception is revealed, beware of their anger, they can easily punch you in the eye. As for duels – just give them a reason. But you should not expect any dirty tricks from them.

  8)Tilfings. One boy (Ri-Bo) and two girls (Za-Zu, Zhu-Fi). Carefree, mischievous, loves adventures. In conversation they can brag or make up an entire story. Fortunately, they rarely use deliberate deception, only for self-protection. However, 'white lie' isn't a rare thing on Earth too, is it?

  9)Gaarshes. One boy (Ashshaat) and two girls (Shiimaa, Miinash). They are not very sociable, they don't seek anyone's company and don't be the first to talk. But if you ask them something, they will definitely answer. Perhaps they are just very shy. It would be nice to have an opportunity to inquire with my neighbor from the twenty-sixth room about the dragons.

  10)Gorgons. Two girls (Chilajt, Mikpir). Since I only talked to Chilajt, I can't say anything definite. If they're all like her, then great. Too bad no boys of their race were invited to school. What if they don't have guys at all? In the myths of ancient Greece there were three female gorgonians, but there were no male ones at all. But those are myths, and logically they should be.

  11) And I am the only one from Earth...

  Approximate correspondence of local hours (at maximum eye luminosity) to earthly time:

  Mazarine eye – midnight.

  Blue eye – 01:36 a.m.

  Azure eye – 03:12 a.m.

  Turquoise eye – 04:48 a.m.

  Rifle-green eye – 06:24 a.m. (end of night).

  Green eye – 08:00 a.m.

  Light-green – 09:36 a.m.

  Smaragdine eye – 11:12 a.m.

  Citron eye – 12:48 p.m.

  Yellow-orange eye – 02:24 p.m.

  Orange eye – 04:00 p.m.

  Pink eye – 05:36 p.m.

  Scarlet eye – 07:12 p.m.

  Crimson eye – 08:48 p.m.

  Violet eye – 10:24 p.m. (beginning of night).