When Ri-Bo returned to his room, the first thing he did was to unload the pockets of his uniform and put out the sweets he had brought from the dining room. Along with the nuts and gingerbread, a quadruple-folded piece of paper landed on the table. It's strange - as far as he remembered, his pockets had been empty in the morning, and he couldn't have accidentally taken any notes from the dining room table. But it had come from somewhere, hadn't it? Curious, Ri-Bo picked it up and unfolded it, reading the contents:

  "Hi, I've been wanting to take a walk in the forest with you for a long time. If you agree, come to the old zirz when the orange eye lights up. Zhu-Fi."

  Wow! He expected anything but a date. And from whom! Zhu-Fi was considered a beauty in their class, many people looked at her. What could she see in him? And on the other hand, why is he worse than others? He's not a freak after all. Besides, all his friends already had girlfriends, so now he would have one too! That thought made him feel good inside, and his mood immediately rose to an unprecedented height.

  One thing was confusing: how had she managed to slip him her invitation? She wasn't in the dining room, in class she did not sit next to them and did not come close to their company. Had she learned telekinesis? It didn't matter, she'd probably tell him when they met.

  Encouraged by that thought, Ri-Bo started going to the meeting. There was still time, but it would be better to arrive early - his older buddies from Edlim had said it would be bad if a girl would come before a boy. And the appearance must be up to par. Ri-Bo looked questioningly at his uniform - a little dusty, some stains, the left sleeve slightly torn. He needs to change it, but the dwarves give out a new one only once a month, on the tenth day. Okay, let it be.

  Another concern was - to take or not to take a gift for her? And what kind? Zhu-Fi, like all tilfing girls, likes sweets, but his intuition told him: offering her a snack of cookies brought from the dining room would not be a good idea. Neither would handing her a handful of crystals. Tim had given Selkise a flower, so why not do the same? The main thing is that one of the elves does not notice that he cuts off flowers from flowerbeds, otherwise they will start laughing.

  The elves were indeed hanging around, but not guarding the flowerbeds, just playing feyo. They had no concern for the tilfing, who was preoccupied with making a bouquet of the most beautiful ruzarts, elpinpies, and drikrs. Crawling on his knees for the sake of conspiracy, he got his already not very clean uniform dirty. But the bouquet was beautiful - Zhu-Fi would appreciate it!

  And then he hurried to the old zirz that grew in the depths of the forest - a bit far away, it could be somewhere closer. Zhu-Fi probably didn't want their relationship to be publicized, so she'd chosen a quieter spot. Besides, it's so romantic!

  When he reached his destination, Zhu-Fi was nowhere to be seen. She must be on her way, so he managed to get there first! But maybe she hid behind a tree to scare him a little with her sudden appearance. He must check it!

  A quiet chuckle behind him made him look around, but there was no one nearby, and Ri-Bo calmed down, attributing what he heard to auditory hallucinations. And only when he was firmly taken by the arms, blocking any opportunity to escape, did he realize how wrong he was.

  The shroud of invisibility fell, and Ri-Bo saw that he was surrounded on all sides by enemies. Hindag and Kunfor were holding his arms, Germeht was hanging around, the 'princess' and her 'maids' were smiling triumphantly on the other side of the tree. The tilfing turned around and saw Drega nearby, and the faces of Zur'U'Fes and two light elves, Fingor and Taeron, peering out of the nearby bushes.

  "Well done!" Germeht praised the assistants. "And your plan has succeeded as well as possible!"

  The last one was about Drega.

  "It's not all about brute force, is it?" she grinned. "Detours can often lead to better ends than straight paths."

  A rush of thoughts raced through Ri-Bo's mind. Was Zhu-Fi trapping him? But where is she herself? She must be hiding and pretending not to be here. When he meets her, he'll tell her what he thinks of her. But first he'd have to get out of the situation he'd gotten himself into.

  "Look, he had even managed to pick a bouquet!" Hindag pretended surprise. "Wasn't it for you, Drega?"

  "It's rather for me," Shin'Ye'Het purred.

  "Goats like to eat plants, so he picked some for lunch," Kunfor laughed, amused at his own joke.

  "By the way, it is strictly forbidden to cut off flowers from the flowerbeds," Germeht said with a stony face. "And now we'll talk about the punishment for it."

  Ri-Bo remained silent - what could he do to justify himself? If he'd thrown the bouquet away, he could have said something like, "I don't know whose flowers are lying there." But since the evidence is there, it is useless to deny it. However, they're hardly interested in the bouquet, the reason is much more serious. And he was not mistaken.

  "Hindag, what punishment would you give for this?"

  "What is there to think, knock his horns off, and that's the end of it."

  "Unoriginal. What about you, Kunfor?"

  "Let's hang him upside down and let him hang like that until tonight!"

  "It's more interesting, but it's also a bit harsh. But let us not be hasty in punishing him; perhaps the horned boy will have something to justify himself," said Germeht, in a deceptively gentle voice.

  "Can I have the bouquet for myself?" Shin'Ye'Het asked in a soft, feline way, coming closer. "You picked it for me, didn't you?"

  Only now Ri-Bo noticed a strange translucent symbol on her chest, like a spear-pierced snake, which flickered with an yellowish light in time with her words. The symbol caught his eye, fogging his mind and weakening his will. And now he himself readily holds out the bouquet to the 'princess', whose beauty and charm could hardly be compared to any of the tilfing girls. And the anzimars are not going to do anything bad to him, they are just joking, and in general they are great guys, strong and lucky! That's the kind of people who succeed. And if he stick to their company, a piece from the festive table of life will fall to him! Oh, how he wants to be just a little like them!

  "That's right, now your stone, Drega, and let's begin the interrogation," came from somewhere far away, and the strange symbol was replaced by a silvery-blue stone that shimmered before his eyes in the same way. And then everything around him sank into darkness, and oblivion took him into its arms.

  When Ri-Bo woke up, there was no one around. His head ached like he'd been hit with a club. And worse, he couldn't remember how he'd gotten here. Any attempts to dig into the memory only made his headache stronger. He'd have to lie on the grass for a while until it receded. And he stretched out in the shade of the old zirz, not even realizing what events took place at that moment in the school.

  On his way back from Alkitmi Tim decided to stop by the dining room first - after a dozen games of tutun, his body needed reinforcement. During the game Alkitmi told about many interesting things, and then asked to play again - in the end Tim had to promise that sometime they would play again, but now he had to leave on urgent business. He didn't specify what it was.

  As he descended into the ground tier, Tim heard hurried footsteps behind him. Rumara was catching up with him.

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  "Hey, wait! Have you heard that Virda had been sent to the punishment cell?"

  "No, where from? I just got back from Alkitmi, I barely escaped persuasion to play a game or two of tutun. And why is she like that?"

  "I don't know, I'm going to find out. Although it's not hard to guess: some asshole told the anzimars that Virda had warned us about the kriurik! Come on, let's find out for sure!"

  On the way to the disciplinary cells Tim learned that Xitati told the orc girl what had happened, having seen Virda being taken away by the drow girls together with Drega. But she did not intervene, because she did not know how it all began. In addition, at school, many have already managed to understand: getting in touch with the squad members threatens with trouble.

  "Simply put, she was scared," Rumara summarized. "I hope you're not the scared type."

  Well, who admits to cowardice in front of a girl? Moreover, Tim did not feel any fear - at most they would simply not be allowed to go to the punishment cell. Fortunately, the ghost, who was on duty in the tunnel, did not interfere them, and did not even say any words.

  Virda was indeed in one of the cells - with disheveled hair, weeping eyes, and a fresh scratch on her left cheek. When she heard the footsteps, she huddled in a corner.

  "We are not torturers, don't be afraid," Rumara called to her in a low voice. "Why are you like this?"

  "For the pictures," Virda admitted grudgingly.

  "What pictures?"

  "Those ones that from time to time appeared on the walls of our tier hall, in a funny way representing the goblin and some of our classmates."

  "So it was you!?"

  "No. I do draw a little, but only in my notebook. But they didn't believe me."

  From her further story, the details of what had happened became clear. As soon as Virda, being at her room, started preparing for the lesson on Green magic, there was a knock on the door. It was Drega, but she was followed by the drow girls. Shin'Ye'Het announced from the doorstep that the owner of the room would be taken into custody on charges of 'malicious hooliganism, expressed in the regular portrayal of her comrades and the school administration in an unsightly and offensive manner'. Virda tried to justify herself, but no one listened, Kakh'I'Geg and Nhel'Yu'Min came in from behind her and started pushing her toward the exit. Unable to endure such impudence, Virda gave the 'princess' a slap in the face, and then all four of them rushed at her, dragged her out into the corridor and took her to the punishment cell. Germeht and his buddies were hanging around, but they were more 'providing cover' than helping the squad girls.

  "Honestly, we thought it was because you told us about the kriurik," Rumara frowned. "They didn't want to say it directly, because it was forbidden, so they accused you of cartoon drawing. It means only one thing: there's a traitor among us!"

  "Not necessarily," Tim objected. "A lot of people knew that Virda was good at drawing."

  "But for some reason no one ran to inform the squad members. No, there was clearly not without betrayal!"

  "Somebody could have said it by accident."

  "You try to see only the good in others, and this is wonderful, but alas, life is sometimes too evil," Rumara sighed. "Well, let the future show which of us was right."

  And, turning to Virda again,

  "You, most importantly, hold on! And remember - you have friends to whom you can always turn to in difficult times."

  "Thank you," said Virda, sobbing.

  "I've warned someone to call whoever he can find. When we get together, we'll decide what to do next."

  However, the first to come was the one who was not expected at all, namely Zur'U'Fes. Noticing Tim and Rumara, he did not come closer, but shouted from a distance:

  "Talking with those in the cells is forbidden! That's an order from the administration!"

  "Don't you want to get in the eye?" Rumara asked grimly, taking a step forward, and the drow backed away in fear.

  "Hey, guardian, why do you allow disorder in the school?" he wailed in a falsetto, addressing the ghost.

  "There's no disturbance going on at the moment," the ghost muttered back, not without gloating, as Tim thought.

  "Then I'll bring the squad here right away!" Zur'U'Fes promised, and started toward the tunnel exit.

  "Flee, and don't come back!" Rumara shouted after him. "Otherwise I'm not responsible for myself!"

  None of the squad members showed up, but Shugiz, Urgrot, and Yantau arrived, all of them swearing that they had told no one anything, and that they would find the one who had denounced Virda.

  "He will crawl at her feet, begging for forgiveness!" Shugiz promised sternly.

  "Thank you, but no crawling in front of me, a sincere repentance will suffice."

  "If he accidentally blurted out, not knowing what he was doing, then be your way. But Rumara doesn't believe in it."

  “I don’t believe in it,” the orc girl said stubbornly. “Mark my words: the anzimars must have found some secret assistants, ready to serve them for a few extra points. Or for a promise not to put them in a punishment cell and keep them away from community service."

  "Then all that's left is to keep an eye on the more dubious individuals," Yantau summarized.

  "There is another way," Shugiz suggested. "For example, there is a suspicion about a certain comrade. Then you give him knowingly false information, and if the squad members fall for it, the conclusion is unambiguous - guilty!"

  "This is called provocation," Virda explained. "Our interrogators often use such methods. But I don't approve of it."

  -If it's for the good, sometimes you can," the lycos disagreed. "Or even simpler: learn the True Speech spell and use it to interrogate all suspicious types."

  "And how would we differ from the anzimars with their kriurik?" Tim asked ironically.

  "We'll have to think of something else," Urgrot said thoughtfully, scratching his head.

  "Let's not be hasty," Rumara suggested. "Let each of us think carefully and make a list of those whom, in his opinion, it is dangerous to trust. And then we will check the lists - you see, the situation will become clearer."

  "Good point! That's what we'll do."

  Then they went away, wishing Virda to stay strong and keep her spirits up, and promising to visit her again some time later. Tim rushed to tell his friends the exciting news, but only Naar-Tam was there, training Ruyzhik.

  "I see it has already got a lot of skills!" Tim marveled as he saw the elemental go through the bars of the balcony grate and then come back.

  "And it'll be able to do even more! Now I'm trying to establish two-way contact with it, so that it not only can execute commands, but also tell where and what is happening."

  "Cool! I should get some funny pet too. Did you hear the news about Virda? She was put into the punishment cell!"

  "Really? The anzimars are coming after their own people? I can't believe it. What did she do to them?"

  "She was accused of drawing cartoons, though Virda herself denies it."

  "But if not her, then who?"

  "Ask me something easy. Personally, I believe her. But maybe the 'cave painting' is just an excuse, the true reason is different."

  "In what?"

  Tim had to tell about the grammar lesson, where Virda showed up unexpectedly and told them about the kriurik.

  "Well, that makes sense. With so many people it's no wonder someone blabbed! She didn't take an oath from you to keep everything a secret, did she?"

  "No."

  "Then why be surprised? There's no point in looking for someone to blame. Now I see what stone Elsingor was complaining about, and at first I thought he was in over his head."

  Was the elf being questioned about the secret hiding place they had taken refuge in that night? A similar thought flashed through Naar-Tam's mind, expressing doubt:

  "I don't think so, Gillmir was approached with the kriurik as well. Maybe the elves have a special secret that the anzimars are very interested in?"

  "Probably, but I don't know it personally. In fact, the sooner we find a way to get rid of the stone, the better."

  Naar-Tam thought for a moment.

  "Rugud once promised to get amulets protecting from Mind magic. It would seem a good time to remind him of that."

  "I agree, it's about time. Let's go!"

  The dwarves were busy moving another load of crates from the storage room to the warehouse. But when Tim and Naar-Tam volunteered to help them and made a few trips back and forth with the others, Rugud agreed to listen to them carefully. Mentioning about protective amulets, Tim did not hide the reason why they were urgently needed.

  "Yeah, things like that kriurik shouldn't be in school," the dwarf frowned. "We don't want the squad members to interrogate everyone! Yesterday they came here and tried to find out what goods and in what quantities come to the school, and I had to chase them away. All right, I'll try to help. Master Iskitt is scheduled to visit the storehouse today or tomorrow. This kind of magic is his specialty, so let him decide the problem."

  "Thank you very much!"

  In fact, there is no need to wish for better - the anzimars hardly dare to oppose the teacher. At the same time, Virda will be avenged. The main thing is that Master Iskitt agrees to participate in this.

  "Hold on thanks, it's not done yet," Rugud grumbled. "As for the amulets, they arrived with the last delivery, but only two. So you will have to decide who will wear them. Well, or in turn, I do not care. Decide this for yourself. I will bring them now."

  While he was gone, Naar-Tam suggested that Tim take one for himself and the other for Mez'A'Shib. Tim tried to refuse, but the peirot was persistent.

  "I'm of little interest to the squad members, and you're on their special list. Once they've dealt with the elves, they'll probably come after you. So don't be shy!"

  The amulets were not what Tim had imagined, more like silk garters, traditionally worn as headbands, but theoretically they could be tied around any part of the body without reducing their effectiveness. With Naar-Tam's help, Tim fastened one of them on his forearm - it was not noticeable under the uniform. The second amulet peirot volunteered to pass to the drow.

  After thanking Rugud once more, the friends went to the dining room. And that night, as if in mockery of the squad members, a new picture appeared on the wall of the first tier hall: a sad girl's face behind bars.