A wide yellow strip went around the center of the hall and closed in on itself, forming a circle. A myriad of tiny ornaments were burned into it, among which the triangle most often came across. He had seen something similar before. Magorsky Nismanty called such figures "seals of Griefer." Filled with gold or silver, they absorbed spells and protected people who fell into their space.

After making sure that the hall was safe, Tant called the others. The companions entered all at once, quickly looked around and began to whisper in displeasure.

“ There’s nothing here,” one of the porters concluded. “Slag and dust all around. Let's go before the ceiling collapses.

What about under your feet? Yuller said, touching the seal. “It's gold, bastard. Judging by the brilliance, the purest sample.

“ Okay, then I’ll go to the camp for pickaxes.

He headed for the exit, but the thick-set Taur blocked his path, reminding him that he shouldn't walk alone.

- Hey! Look at this, ”Corda’s ringing voice rang out.

The boy held in his hands an oval object the size of a palm. Tant carefully examined the find, which turned out to be a piece of black mica. Bols were made from this mineral. The stone was dark, like a smoky piece of ice, and there were gold designs on the back of it.

Holden pointed to the wall, along which ran a chute with dozens of holes. Then he picked up a few black fragments.

- Yes, it's not slag, Master Tantabas. These are the pains of the creators! It must be everything that was stored here.

Tant looked at the surviving gold-patterned bola. There, too, a circle was visible, but inside it was squeezed a square, which in turn filled the triangle.

What do you think, master? Holden said. Are we strong enough?

Tantus nodded, never ceasing to marvel at how a henchman manages to grasp everything on the fly. Pulling out the Letter Gnawer, he clutched the amulet in his palm, causing it to glow orange. Everyone, with the exception of Taur and Yuller, looked at them as if they were crazy.

- Then I'm with you! Kord perked up. - In vain, have I been sniffing for a whole month?

No , Kord. The second is risky. We will move to a new location. If there is nothing to breathe there, the return transition will take longer.

- Don't do it. What if the place where you jump collapsed? Silas said. “You will grow into stone, master.

Tant kissed the amber amulet and tucked it under the sling. He understood this very well, but he had been looking for the temple for three years not in vain. Old man Ravian didn't die in vain either.

- I'll go to the end. Everyone, get out of the circle!

Holden slung a bag of supplies over his shoulder and handed him another. Tantus handed the torch to the henchman. After gathering their belongings, they entered the seal space. The young man took a deep breath and hugged him. Tant did the same, running his fingers over the stone.

The rest went to the walls and waited. The magic of the creators did not work immediately. Tant ran the bole a few more times. The golden circle on the floor shone faintly, then flashed brighter and began to buzz steadily. A bright flash, similar to the light of the sun, blinded everyone. Holden's grip tightened. Tant felt an invisible whirlwind pick them up and carry them away, towards the unknown.

The distant sound of water brought him back to consciousness. Jumping to his feet, Tant tried to open his eyes and realized that he could not do it twice. He was already staring into the darkness. The stuffiness came down, the chills barely passed. Then he took out the Letterbiter from behind the sling, but the light of the amber was not enough. Finding the right case at his belt with difficulty, Tant took out a bola and released a firefly. A silver orb soared overhead, illuminating the bodies of his companions.

– But how? he shouted, running up to Kord.

He was scared, but the young man stirred. Tant ran for a flask and gave him a soothing brew of Laidor to drink. The fisherman's son coughed, fixing his bleary eyes on him.

" Master Tant? " Am I following you?

We 've all moved. Wake up the others. Everyone you can. Saying this, Tant looked at Holden, who at that moment raised his head.

Gradually, one by one, the members of the detachment came to their senses. The listeners woke up without problems. Sebastian and Rick stood up surprisingly easily too. Commoners suffered the most. The porters had to pour the life-giving juice of the Mirkvist down their throats, and it took a long time to bring the thug Taur to his senses.

Holden took out his crafting bola, releasing another firefly. Someone tried to light a torch, but the fire burned weakly. Yuller and Sebastian began to walk around the hall, demanding to find a way out. Rick found a ladder and climbed the stairs, reporting that there was a steel gate at the top. The henchmen shouted that they had found the same door at the other end of the hall.

We are alive and that's good! Tant announced. "So we've been thrown too far." I have three travel bola. We'll get out.

" You'll make it, Reverend," Taur muttered.

Tantus raised his hand, bidding the silvery flame rise higher. It became clear that they found themselves in a square hall with two passages. The massive, double door Rick was standing at was ajar. From behind another came the sound of water. There was another golden seal on the floor, but it looked different. It was a huge triangle with geometric figures strung on top. The circle was also present. He framed the whole seal.

Holden slipped through the door and sent a firefly through, illuminating the rows of stairs. Everyone hastened to follow. Tant walked last, wondering where they had gone and who had lured them here. The reason why someone broke the bolas in the shrine was clear. But why leave one stone intact if you are not expecting guests?

A steep staircase led to an empty room. The walls all around were made of massive light brown blocks, and triangular holes appeared between the stones. Having passed along a straight corridor, the detachment got into the next room and there was already something to see.

Rick stepped forward and stood motionless for a long time, looking at the gigantic pipe.

" What the hell is this?" whispered the conductor. - Reminds me of a siege tower.

In the meager torchlight, ten people lined up in front of what appeared to be an iron pillar. On it, in addition to hoops and jagged gates, there were many disks tied with steel ropes.

“ Master Tantabus, we are not in the city of creators,” Holden remarked, venturing closer to the monolith. Why are there so many winches and ropes?

“ It’s some kind of ancient mechanism,” Tant suggested, looking at the gate, apparently responsible for the rotation of the column.

- What other mechanism? Where is the fur? Taur asked, blinking his eyes.

Tant walked around the structure, inspecting the massive disk at its base, but could not imagine what the tower could do. Here, against the wall, there were granite chests without lids. Yuller took out his ax and rummaged through the heaps of glass inside, but found nothing but rusty hoops and wedges.

“ Let’s go look for a way out,” Sebastian pleaded, removing his wife’s mirror from the case. “This is not a temple at all. Do you feel? The air is like a grave.

“ Stuffy, because we are underground,” Rick explained, pointing to the passage on the right. - If you survived the jump, then we really are not far from the gorge.

He strode towards the rectangular stone-framed opening behind which the waterfall roared. They didn't see him right away. The fireflies had to accelerate in order to reach the far end of the hall, where a stream of water was white over the collapsed wall. This place reminded Tantu of the Kenovian capitulum. Here, too, there were steps descending from four sides to the center of the hall, only instead of an altar, a lake seethed at the bottom.

Everyone began to look for a way out, and the longer this went on, the louder the voices sounded. There was no way up. The gate on the left did not budge, while the one on the right seemed to lead back to the hall with the seal.

- Shit! Oh shit! Dead end! Taur yelled, shaking his fists.

Tant went to the door where Rick was busy. She, too, was iron, but not as big as the others. The gates consisted of wide beams with chamfered corners and were painted with geometric ornaments. Immediately at eye level stretched a longitudinal recess with many petals and pins. Rick touched them and some rose while others made melodic clicks.

“ It looks like a cipher lock, your reverence,” the yeoman explained, continuing to disturb the petals with the dexterity of robbers. - Very rare. I've seen these on Suran chests. Only the pins were inside and did not make musical sounds.

If it's a lock, where do you put the key?