In the darkness

— Why was the passage closed? Maybe you can only go through it once? — asked the discouraged blonde. - Don’t know. Maybe. Lex, try to collapse the wall, — her brother replied. Sasha had already forgotten about her abilities. How could I even forget? Of course, you just need to destroy the wall! The girl tensed, but nothing happened. Sasha looked at the obstacle in bewilderment and turned to her friends. - Some kind of magic. It looks like we’ll have to walk around Lioward, — Lex concluded. - It seems. But we don’t have much money, — Madan said. - What do you offer? — asked Sasha. - We need to collect some gems. We can sell them, — Erya suggested. - Cool idea! Let’s go down… But Sasha didn’t have time to finish. She felt something grab her arm and lift her off the ground. Turning her head, the girl noticed that the same thing happened to Madan. She looked up. Erya hung in the air and flew. Her eyes turned black again. They landed at the edge of the forest. Erya came to her senses. - How did we get here? I only remember that we were standing on a cliff, and I really wanted to go down as quickly as possible, — Erya asked, it was clear that she was confused. - We ourselves didn’t understand! But your eyes suddenly turned black, and you let us down through the air! But you don’t remember anything? Perhaps you lose consciousness and your body moves on its own? — Lex suggested. - Or maybe someone else will take your place? By the way, I haven’t noticed anything like this with you before! — Madan exclaimed. Perhaps this is the magic of the lake? — Erya expressed her opinion. - Maybe. But in legends it is represented as a stronghold of darkness, and so far nothing bad has happened…, — the guy said doubtfully. - I don’t understand anything myself. Okay, let’s pick up stones and leave here, — Erya suggested. After 15 minutes, the guys set off with backpacks full of precious stones. They didn’t know where to go because they couldn’t find their location on the map. - Erya, can you think about how much you want to go to Liovard? Otherwise we have no idea whether we are going in the right direction? — Sasha asked. - I’ll try. The girl closed her eyes and after a few seconds rose above the ground. She spun around in the air a little. Probably determines the direction. Erya picked up her friends and flew. Sasha examined the landscape. They flew past small villages with unsightly wooden houses, blue lakes (how many of them are there?), fast rivers and rivulets, green forests, viscous swamps and high mountains. Somewhere in the distance, Lex saw the spiers of a palace. Well, we’re almost there. The city was getting closer and closer, and Erya landed about a kilometer away from it. Her eyes turned blue again. Together they turned towards the citadel. It was Liovard. The guys stopped a short distance from the city gates. What if they won’t let us in? The travelers walked along the marble-paved road to the city. Despite Sasha’s fears, the gates were open. - What kind of security do they have? The enemy can also enter the city! — Sasha was quietly surprised. - Today is May 21, Antorakh! This is such a holiday. On this day, King Nimius always orders the gates to be opened! Madan explained. - Great, then we can get lost in the crowd, — Lex decided. The city itself was located on a slight hill. They got up and walked through the gate. Lex gasped. There was something to be surprised about: the streets were flooded with water, and people were floating on boats! Well, that’s probably how it should be. It’s a water city after all. - On holiday? — Sasha was brought out of his daze by the loud voice of the guard. The girl was confused, but Madan answered: - Yes, sure. Can I take a boat? - Come on in, take it, — answered the guard. The travelers boarded a small blue boat. The girls sat in the bow, and Madan sat at the helm. Having started the motor and adjusted the speed, they swam. - Have you been here before? Do you know anything about the city? — asked Sasha. - Yes, once. With parents. We wanted to watch the coronation of King Nimius. Here the kings change often. This one rules for four years. As you guessed, this is a water city. Everything here is done with water. And of course, navigation and fishing are developed here,” Madan said. - Cool. Where are we sailing now? — the girl asked. — To the main square, to the palace. There will be a celebration there. Let’s have some fun. And let’s eat. A feast was held in honor of the holiday, — the guy explained. - Great, — Sasha answered laconically. Sasha looked at the map. How can we get to Emrant? You can, of course, by water, but it will take a lot of time. Maybe we’ll get caught in a storm… Or maybe there’s some kind of passage to that underground world? Yeah, there you go! Under the palace! And that’s where we’re sailing! But… there are a lot of people there, it’s impossible to get through. We’ll have to wait until nightfall. Or let Erya want to go to the underworld, maybe it will work out… Meanwhile, the guys had already reached the square. There really were a lot of people there. You definitely can’t get into the palace. Sasha stood up and looked at the stage. There was some kind of entertainment program going on. Not particularly interesting. An ordinary performance. We need to find where they distribute food here. - Mad, row to the tables. Let’s eat. The young man obeyed. Of course, I didn’t really want to eat, but I needed to eat. We found the treats quickly, it smelled very tasty! But looking at the contents of the plates, the girl was dumbfounded. No, is it normal to eat live, fluttering fish? And those slimy clams over there? This is a mockery! From all this variety, Sasha chose the most harmless salad made from some kind of seaweed, and her friends calmly took raw fish each and put it in their mouths. They also smiled. The performance on stage was coming to an end. It was getting dark. Toasts began more often: “for Thona!”, “for Anas!”, “for Antonarakh!” and “for Nimius!” There is fun and joy everywhere. Well, Antonarakh is their god. Nimius is the ruler. What about others? Gods too? Suddenly there was an explosion. People turned around at the sound and screamed with delight. Sasha was not so optimistic and turned around with apprehension. But it was just fireworks. And beautiful. The variety of colorful flowers blooming in the sky warmed my heart. The girl even smiled. And her companions were smiling from ear to ear. It lasted for about half an hour. Lex’s ears are already tired of listening to this roar. When it was over, she breathed a sigh of relief. People began to disperse and blur. Now you can share your plan with your friends. - Erya, can you teleport if you want? We need to go to Emrant, — Sasha asked. - I’ll try. The girl tensed. Her eyes turned black. Lex froze, waiting. - No I can not. Sasha tensed: Erya spoke somehow insinuatingly, but her eyes did not turn blue.