City of inheritance

Exam. Practical part.

 

“So…” another teacher said, waving the papers. - They came.

Hiyat yawned heartbreakingly.

"Some of you came in vain," the instructor said pointedly.

Kalar scratched the top of his head. Dorana snorted. Only Marika sighed sadly, but even that is unlikely because of the news about the fate of some.

“So…” the teacher repeated.

“He reminds me of someone,” said Khiyat.

"Yesterday's 'so,'" Kalar suggested. - Only with a face.

— Could you please shut up? — sincerely asked behind his back.

Kalar shrugged. Khiyat did not respond.

“So…” the teacher repeated again, eliciting some nervous laughter. - Now you will go to the corridor, you will find lists on the wall there. If you are in red, come back here and get a route. If in blue, go to the first floor and listen to a lecture about what you lacked for admission to the labyrinth. All clear?

The crowd roared and obediently rushed to the exit.

Oddly enough, Liiran's entire group was on the red list, even Ding, who was doing the theory part somewhere else. I had to go back and get a route. There was no particular joy on this occasion even on the face of Dorana. It seems that at night she thought and decided that she was still too young for a silver chain.

Khiyat listened to the steps-vibrations, which, from time to time, he again began to feel. Kalar seemed to be looking out for yesterday's blonde. He even jumped sometimes. Marika, as always, was thinking about something of her own. And Tiyan chewed diligently, struggling with nerves.

What to do with the issued routes, no one deigned to explain. The examiner wished him luck languidly and dramatically dropped a round contraption on a chain to the floor. No one had time to consider anything, the world has changed too quickly. The crowd of examinees, the examiner, and the audience itself have disappeared somewhere. Khiyat found Tiyan and a disgruntled Dorana next to him. The rest of the group must have ended up somewhere else. They may even have been lucky. Because, the place in which he ended up, Hiyat categorically did not like. It was dark, empty and dusty. The light barely made its way through either specially darkened or covered with innumerable layers of dirt panes in high and narrow windows. I couldn’t see the hall, and I didn’t really want to. And it's clear that he's big. It was felt. The ceiling is somewhere high, high, and the walls, except for that one,

- And where should we go? Dorana asked, trying to look at something on the paper the examiner had given her.

- Somewhere along the windows. We will get lost in the dark,” Khiyat said.

- Sure? My route from the windows is straight, there seems to be the only gate there.

- Sure. It's empty, dark and you can't see anything. I would have dug a hole in such a place.

“I’ll light it,” Dorana suggested.

The girl raised her hand above her head, snapped her fingers, and nothing happened.

“And the fire is suppressed,” Khiyat added. - And if we walk along the windows, sooner or later we will find a wall, holding on to which we can bypass the hall and reach your gate.

The guy did not look at his route. He didn't care where he went. He would have been more than happy to go anywhere. I would sit on the floor, right here under the window, and I would sit until I realized what was sneaking there. It seemed at the moment the most important thing he could do. It was necessary to understand, otherwise you will miss the danger. When that which is sneaking reaches where it wants to, it will surely freeze so as not to betray itself by anything else. Yes, it will freeze like a predator in an ambush.

The examinees walked along the windows for a long time. These windows were not going to end. It was worth passing one, as the next emerged from the mist. As if hinted that people can wander in this place for an eternity, and never get anywhere.

“This room seems to be round,” Dorana said thoughtfully.

"Looks like it," Tiyan agreed.

Khiyat was silent. He kept listening to someone's footsteps. They seemed to be getting closer and closer. A little more and something big and terrible will break through the wall. He will smash the windows into pieces without noticing, trample people, and move on, bringing destruction with him.

The gate appeared somehow unexpectedly. Dorana, happily clapping her hands on her thighs, rushed towards them. Tiyan took out a cookie from his pocket and began to chew it melancholy. Hyatt just sighed. It couldn't be that simple. Or he doesn’t understand anything about exams and teachers at all.

The driver guessed. The gates were locked, and it was noticeable from afar. If you stop and look closely, you will definitely see it. But, carried away by dreams of leaving, Doran managed not to notice the deadbolt and the huge castle.

“Now I understand why,” said Khiyat.

- What "Why"? Tiyan asked, admiring how the girl kicked the gate leaf with all her foolishness.

“Why are you here,” the waterman said and smiled in an otherworldly way. “You have to change the structure of the deadbolt, and we'll get out. But what are we here for?

“Good idea,” Tiyan approved and set off to accomplish his feat.

Khiyat finally unfolded the leaflet with his route and studied it carefully. It didn't look like a labyrinth. Pieces of seven turns, schematic images of doors, some incomprehensible icons.

“Crap,” the guy said.

All paths of the route were straight from turn to turn. It just wasn't worth going through them. The darkness in the center of the room, which turned out to be round, clearly hinted at this. It was not worth going into that darkness. And the route led right there.

The bolt shattered into fragments with a soft clang, as if it had turned into glass. Tiyan barely had time to jump back, and the massive doors swung open, crashing against the walls. Beyond the gate was a corridor. Light, narrow and tall, with a multicolored tiled floor.

- And what's wrong here? Khiyat asked.

“Surely something must be wrong?” Dorana came over.

Not necessarily and not everywhere, but it should. This is a test… On the other hand, maybe we are being tested for paranoia. Or alternate danger with safety, checking to see if we let our guard down.

“You have paranoia,” the girl said. Her gaze was strange. So look at a beautiful picture. “But there really is something wrong here.

Tiyan nodded and crunched another cookie loudly.

- What do we do? Dorana asked.

“I don’t know,” Khiyat said indifferently.

Vibration steps sounded different now. It seemed that someone was trampling on a small patch, trying to find the most convenient place. Or a pose. It was necessary to get out of the labyrinth as quickly as possible, perhaps this place dampens the sensations. However, Khiyat no longer doubted that the city helped to hear the crouching one. Understand what it is and how important it is.

It is bad to be an inexperienced storekeeper, there is nothing to compare your feelings with.

“Let’s throw something in there,” Tiyan suggested cheerfully. - And we'll see what happens.

“Give it up,” Dorana agreed graciously.

Tiyan chewed thoughtfully, looked around and stared intently at the ceiling.

— What are you thinking? the girl got worried.

The builder waved it off.

- Hiyat! Doran called.

The waterman blinked and raised his hand, apparently asking for silence.

“Hiyat, he’s going to bring down the ceiling now,” the girl panicked.

“It won’t bring down,” the otherworldly guy replied. - Except for plaster. There is protection.

What else is protection?

I don't know, I've never seen one like this. It's too complicated, it's everywhere.

- But…

Why is he so indifferent to what is happening?!

It started to snow in the hallway. Large and small flakes fell to the floor, turning it white.

“Yeah,” Tiyan was delighted, finding that in some places the fallen plaster mysteriously disappears. Either under the influence of some kind of weaving, or it flies through the illusion and falls into the pit under it. - There are traps.

"Let's move on," Dorana said.

Something, the more time passed, the less she liked the creeping company. It would be better to finish this trip soon, otherwise she would be disappointed altogether.

"Yes," said the lookout who was watching the progress of Group Three. - One has intuition, the second has determination, and the third has a drop of reason. I sympathize with their leader. But I think these will do. They balance each other almost perfectly.

- What about the benefits? ' said the second observer with a sigh. “What to teach them, even give them a chain?”

“Though not hopeless,” said the first. - And the group will not have to be disbanded. Although the commander, yes, it's a pity.

There was no pity in his voice.

- Again, some kind of nonsense, - Dorana said irritably, examining the corridor with holey rags hanging from the ceiling, partially blocking the view.

“The air is gone,” Khiyat said thoughtfully.

- What?! How did it disappear?

Dorana wanted to hit him. He is in this labyrinth, always reporting something. And with such an expression on his face, as if the ceiling was about to collapse on their heads. Apparently, the deity sends insights to him, and he hurries to share them and tries not to underestimate their significance. And here you are, if you believe the routes on the sheets, this corridor is the last one, and Khiyat again decided to say something.

"Can't you breathe in there?" Tiyan asked phlegmatically. So I can try to turn...

- There is no poetry. At all. The air is empty,” Khiyat clarified.

- And what? Dorana asked.

“That must mean something,” the waterman explained.

Dorana wanted to hit the guy on the head even more. Preferably something heavy.

- What do we do? The girl practically growled.

Hiyat shrugged indifferently.

— Tiyan, is he mocking me, or is it just me? Dorana turned to the second companion.

The builder chuckled.

“He's always like that. Don't be mad at him. It’s useless,” he said in the tone of a wise old man.

“Another philosopher on my head,” Dorana muttered, waved her hand hopelessly and sat down under the wall, deciding to sit and wait for that bright moment when the men would solve the problem. Is she a woman, after all, or what? And since a woman, she has every right to shift the difficult task onto strong male shoulders.

The men were in no hurry to decide anything. One was chewing, the other was diligently staring somewhere into the distance of the corridor.

“Hiyat, are you sure? Dorana groaned, realizing that it would take a very long time for these two to act.

She quickly got tired of sitting. You can't sit here for the rest of your life.

- What? - the guy said distantly.

“Are you sure that there is air without life, energy and what else is there?”

“I can see it,” said the effigy, and turned its thoughtful gaze to the ceiling.

“I mean, see?

Khiyat sighed loudly, as if she was distracting him from some important thoughts.

“Dorana,” he said as if addressing a little girl. “There is always water in the air. Tiny flying droplets. They are too small for me to do anything until I collect a larger drop from them, but I see them, I feel them, like all the rest of the water. And now they are also lifeless water, like that river, you understand? And it was only possible to steal strength from them together with the strength of the rest of the air.

“Understood,” the girl said.

It is possible to be connected with only one element, but as firmly as Khiyat with his own, much better than rather weakly, but with all. Too bad it can't be changed.

Interestingly, does Kalar see if the water is empty or not? What can Dean see in the fire? Although this one, most likely, is nothing, self-conceit blinds his eyes.

Dorana took a deep breath. I counted to ten, then to twenty just in case.

“Hiyat, don’t you need to go anywhere?” she asked ingratiatingly. “You see, the sooner we get out of the labyrinth, the sooner they will let us go. More likely…

"Yes, you're right," he agreed thoughtfully.

- And what will we do?

“I don't know,” the guy said. “Maybe we should go there and see what happens.”

- Brilliant! Dorana barked, her patience snapped, and she went. One way or another, she had never heard of deaths in exams. I didn't really want to win. So what's the difference?

For some reason, Khiyat followed after him, and then unceremoniously grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him back.

- What else?! ' yelled the completely pissed off girl.

Tiyan crunched another cookie and stared as if he were attending a theater performance.

“There’s sleeping pills in the air,” Khiyat said melancholy.

What other sleeping pills?

- Strong.

- Sure?

- Yes. I recognized him by smell. It is made from such red flowers. I keep forgetting what they are called.

“Yeah, you also have a better sense of smell than I do,” the girl said with a sigh. It never occurred to her to sniff the lifeless air in the corridor. - And what are we going to do now? If we make a draft, we'll waste a lot of time. And changing the structure here is unlikely to help. Tian needs to see what he's changing. Otherwise, instead of turning sleeping pills into perfumes, he will arrange for us to turn the air in the corridor into poisonous gas.

“It won’t work,” said Khiyat. - The air is inanimate and sleeping pills too. It cannot be turned into anything, like a dead metal weapon. Understand?

Dorana nodded just in case.

- Here. And nothing will come of the draft, it will go out as soon as it is in the corridor. Living things are always changing. The dead can only be destroyed or tried to bring it back to life.

- Are you going to try? Dorana scoffed, realizing that she would not. More than one person must have taken life from the corridor air.

- I won't be able to. I’m not even an airman and I’m sure I’m not able to consider something important,” Khiyat said quite seriously.

"What are we going to do then?"

- Look for workarounds.

“They are not here,” Tiyan rightly remarked, without bringing yet another cookie to his mouth.

- Must be. Otherwise, the test is meaningless. Any problem must have a solution,” Khiyat said stubbornly.

- Let's knock the walls first, suddenly there are secret passages there. Parallel to our corridor,” Dorana suggested conciliatoryly, putting aside thoughts of filters in her nose. Nothing to do with these filters.

“Come on,” Tiyan agreed cheerfully and, with the most brutal expression on his face, stepped towards the nearest wall.

- Well done! - solemnly sounded a male voice, and the wall moved to the side, as if frightened by the structural engineer.

- What? Tiyan asked in confusion, jumping to the side. Apparently, he was also afraid of overly moving walls.

“You did it, well done,” said the man who came out of the new corridor with a smile.

— And now what? Dorana asked grimly, suspecting that it was no good.

“Come on, let’s figure out what you are not good at and what you should change in yourself,” the man delighted her and pointed to the corridor behind him.

“So I knew,” the girl muttered, but she went. About your shortcomings, even if you don’t consider them as such, it will be useful to find out.

For some reason, Khiyat sighed very loudly.

The room was even cozy. A small one, with one window, a round table that occupied almost the entire space, and soft chairs arranged around it.

- Sit down. The man pointed to chairs.

The examinees obediently sat down. We waited for the man to sit down. We watched patiently as he sorted through the sheets pulled straight out of thin air. Almost did not react to his chuckle and some strange look.

“Yes,” he finally said. — Curious situation.

Dorana snorted softly. It seems that this uncle seriously decided to test their patience. Tiyan rustled something in his pocket. Khiyat both stared into space and continued to stare.

“None of you will get a chain today,” said the examiner thoughtfully, or whoever he was, and looked around those present with another strange look. Apparently he expected some kind of reaction from them.

Not wait.

“I’ll explain why,” the man said with a sigh. — Perhaps you are talented and smart, but you have one common flaw. None of you are willing to take responsibility for anything. The girl did not even deign to choose the direction of further development, and hangs between her small skills. And you…” Tiyan and Khiyat were rewarded with a dismissive smile. - A structural engineer who has to stand over his head and control the process, due to the fact that he forgets to stop out of absent-mindedness, is worth nothing. It does more harm than good. And what does this structurer do? He did not engage in self-control even after it was demanded of him. He is more interested in studying the properties of rare metals and their effect on plants.

Tiyan smiled palely and rustled something again.

“It’s not a fact that this structural engineer will get a chain after he learns to control his talent, but without it, he might not even come to the next exam!” the man sighed and turned his gaze to Hiyata. - In what distances this young man soars, it is generally unclear. Control, even your own, is absolutely beyond control. Man of the moment. Whatever comes into his head, he does, without thinking about the consequences. His area of ​​expertise… I can't imagine what this combination of incongruous is for. Would you like to explain?

Khiyat blinked, looked at the questioner a little, and then shrugged indifferently.

“Interesting,” he said and smiled. Light so. Dorana even fell in love.

- Interesting ... You are a waterman, why do you need a fire?

“I was looking for points of contact,” Khiyat said.

The man stared at him in surprise.

- For what?

“I wanted to help a friend.

- And how did you find and help?

“Yeah,” Khiyat nodded. “You know, if you enclose water in an amulet, then a fireman can use it. The amulet, however, can only be one-time use, if it is made from inanimate material, but it works. Can you imagine what a surprise for the enemy is the power of water in the hands of a fireman?

“I can imagine,” the man said in amazement. “And how many such amulets have you made?”

- From the non-living? Khiyat asked. One, in case of fire. He must stop the fire.

- To prevent fire from the fireman? Dorana asked. An unexpected decision.

“There are different cases,” Khiyat remarked with a shrug. - Suddenly he overdoes it, loses consciousness and will not be able to keep this fire.

"Okay," the man slammed his hand on the table. “Tell your guardian's sister about the amulets, and she'll decide if they were worth the time. Now is not about that. Now about responsibility. Somehow you think you can do whatever you want. You can disappear, appear, engage in extraneous things, shift decisions to others ... Well, this is not so. An adult should be able to make decisions and insist on his own.

Hiat nodded. He had to, he had to, he wasn't going to argue about it.

“So,” said the man, admiring his indifferent physiognomy. - The first thing you had to do in the maze was to check the routes, make sure they were the same. You didn't even make it to the end.

The examinees looked at each other. For some reason, nothing like that came to their minds.

- Second: you had to choose the main one. One person whose word will be decisive.

“And he would get a chain?” Dorana asked.

- Not necessary. If he had been chosen because he convinced of his competence, and then really proved it, he would have received it. In all other cases, it's unlikely. I don't know if this will console you, but some bands still choose.

The girl giggled and promised:

“Next time, I will definitely choose someone.

“The exam will be different next time,” the man said grimly. - You can go. And think about my words. You have six months to correct the situation. Previously, you will not be admitted, even if you find yourself in a foreign city.

This message did not particularly upset anyone. Judging by Hiyat's face, he would have missed exams for two years in a row, and with great pleasure.

- And yet, we are great! - Dorana said, once outside. - Done quickly. My brother wandered the labyrinth for the first time for two days, with the same result as ours. I took water with me to the next exam ... And we did it in a few hours.

“For three,” Khiyat suggested absently, trying to understand whether it was possible to keep silent about the amulets. It was impossible to lie in that room, the examiner would have understood right away. There the whole table is an amulet that reacts to lies. But still ... It’s good that they didn’t ask for whom exactly the fire protection was done. Probably not taken seriously.

Something continued to creep up, only now it shifted to the left side, it seems to the Big Bowl. What it is, Khiyat did not understand, and the city could not help him in this. For the city, it was unfamiliar, but dangerous.

“I went home,” Tiyan said.

- Learning self-control? Dorana clarified with a chuckle.

“I think it will come in handy,” the structural engineer said seriously and, waving his hand in farewell, really left.

Is it just me or does he eat a lot when he's nervous? asked Khiyat Dorana.

- Who knows? Maybe it helps him think.

"Perhaps," the girl agreed easily. - Don't you want to eat?

Khiyat looked at her with curiosity.

“It’s not far from the Fat Cat.” The food there is delicious and not expensive at all.

“For the first time, a girl invites me,” Khiyat admitted and smiled again. So dreamy. - Let's do it another time. I have an urgent matter. If I don't make it, I don't know what to do next.

“Okay,” Doran carefully portrayed happiness, although the guy wanted to hit again. He has things to do. Urgent. Gad! The other would have jumped in his place, afraid that she would change her mind. - In the other, so in the other. Good luck with your business.

And she left, proudly lifting her chin. Without looking back. Therefore, she did not notice that he followed her with a rather interested look.

“She’s kind of strange,” muttered Khiyat and went to the house inherited from his father. He had an idea how to quickly and quietly get to the valley of the Big Bowl. And Ladai will have fun at the same time. And he's been pretty gloomy lately.

- What is this?! Khiyat asked when Ladai finally deigned to answer the call.

“Clothes,” Ladai said. “Maybe even your daddy.” But the size fits.

“Yeah,” was all the owner of the house could say.

If earlier Ladai, with his multi-colored eyes, looked simply unusual and could scare, except perhaps in the dark and out of surprise, now ...

No, the black jumpsuit was his size and would have looked good on its own. But here's a hooded short something with a hood, especially the faint of heart, could lead to stuttering. Very much in it, Ladai looked like a living scarecrow from horror stories. Only a sharply sharpened scythe, sparkling in the moonlight, was not enough. But the frayed edges and holes were in place. This scarecrow also tied a black scarf with gray flowers around its face, leaving only its multi-colored eyes and light eyebrows for review. The lack of shoes stood out from the overall picture. But Ladai will most likely solve this problem without much difficulty. Rob some cobbler at night.

Yes, any shoemaker himself will give anything, if only this revived nightmare lags behind him.

- Did you hit your head? Hiat asked cautiously.

- No, I solved the problem with the face.

Are you going to walk around the city like this?!

“Well,” Ladai said thoughtfully, “I don’t see any reason for that yet. But I'm going through the mountains.

“I hope there won’t be any random passers-by,” Hiyat muttered. “You won’t have time to bring the injured to the hospital.” Conscience then torments.

It is useless to dissuade Ladai. Stubborn as three donkeys at once. Yes, and anyone will get bored of being locked up.

- Come on, when are you going to go for a walk? Khiyat decided to clarify.

- In the evening.

- Great. Hiat smiled. — Let's go for a walk to the Big Bowl.

- Or maybe to the Far Cape?

- No. I don't need to go there. Something bad is happening at the Big Bowl. The city feels, and so do I.

“Understood,” Ladai said with a sigh, pulling the handkerchief off his face. - Let's fly to Despo. I think he will agree to help.

Khiyat nodded, that was exactly what he was counting on.

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