Student of the Port School. Mount Pidan

The water in the lake, as you know, was hot. But after getting out of the lake, the guys immediately froze. It was very cold in the hall, the doorposts let in not only light, but also wind.
For some time, the travelers simply stood and shivered from the cold, not knowing what to do next, finally, Nikolai suggested that Zoya undress and wring out her clothes from the water as much as possible. Turning away from each other, the guys fiddled with their clothes for at least fifteen minutes, but when the clothes were wrung out and the guys got dressed again, the cave suddenly shuddered.
Water from the lake splashed out, but could not touch the feet of the guys. Zoya rushed to one of the doors and pressed her back against it. It became quiet again. Nikolai wandered in a circle from door to door and carefully looked at his feet,
Finally, his efforts paid off. What he at first took for a round stone turned out to be a small stone frog. Kolya beckoned Zoya to him, and in a whisper, so as not to disturb the water of the lake anymore, he told the girl that the stone frog was probably a clue.
— Can we take the frog with us? - Zoya turned the pebble, and even tried to taste it - I like it!
“I don’t know,” the young man took the frog and looked at it doubtfully, “but… okay, let’s do it the way you want.”
“So we take it with us?” the girl asked
- So let's take it! The young man smiled at her
After that, the lovers came close to the door and opened it.
However, they could not go far, as soon as they crossed the threshold, chests blocked their way. The entire room was filled with chests. Each chest had its own pattern. The chests were forged. But there were no locks on the chests. And again, Kolya had to be on the alert so that Zoya would not open the first chest that came across.
The chests were piled on top of each other, the top one was almost under the ceiling. However, several chests were free, and nothing prevented them from opening. Nikolai drew Zoya to him and asked her not to hurry. Zoya nodded. It was probably a storeroom. There were even small holes carved into the stone wall, either windows or loopholes. Pushing aside a small chest, Kolya went to the hole. Leaning out as far as possible, Kolya saw that the room where they were located was very high. Trees and a river could be seen below. It was impossible to go outside from the room. That is, there was a door outside, but chests blocked it. Kolya tried to scatter the chests, but it was almost the same as throwing away the stone blockage that blocked their path at the very beginning of the journey.
Suddenly Zoya screamed.
- Kolya, the eyes of the frog are burning red!
- Stop! Stop and don't move!
— What are you? Already scared me!
"Zoya, there's danger everywhere!" Give me a frog!
Zoya took a few steps towards the young man and whispered
- Eyes stop glowing
“Then return quietly to the place where they shone!”
I'll try, it's around here somewhere! Oh, they're shining again!
- I'll come to you now, just don't touch the chests!
After a little thought, Kolya realized that the frog's eyes were reacting to one of the chests. The guys then retreated, then approached again, until they figured out exactly which chest the stone frog was reacting to.
Opening the chest, they saw many round things. They were bronze mirrors. Turning over the chest, Zoya chose the most beautiful mirror, she liked the patterns on the mirror. And there was an inscription on the rim of the mirror. Zoya thought it was a declaration of love, but Kolya had to cool her ardor. The hieroglyphs simply gave information about the manufacturer of the mirror.
Zoya snorted, not liking this solution to the mystery. Throwing the mirror back into the chest, she sat on the edge of the chest and hung her head
- What are you? Kolya was surprised.
“That's not the mirror. Zoya was shivering
- Okay. Not that, so not that, we will look for the very thing that you need
“Don’t you dare laugh at me,” Zoya suddenly squealed, “you take everything so lightly!”
“Hush,” the young man raised his finger to his mouth, “probably you shouldn’t shout here!”
I want my mirror! Zoya didn't mean to lower her voice.
We won't find him if you cry. Kolya tore off the sleeve from his shirt and gave it to Zoya. “Here, dry your eyes!” Can you calm down?
“I’ll try,” the young man’s patience surprised Zoya, “I probably just want to eat.”
- Yes, I have already lost count of the clock, it's time for you to eat something. But I probably have it in my pockets ... - Kolya put his hand in his pocket, and unexpectedly pulled out half of the Butramousse apple, - oh, look, half an apple! I don't remember when I put it in my pocket, probably recently! The skin didn't even turn black. Will you eat?
What a strange apple, I've never seen one like it! Of course I'll eat it if you eat with me too!
- No, you eat, it won't be enough for two here!
However, Nikolai was worried in vain. Half a Butramousse apple could feed 10-15 people. In any case, Zoya and Nikolai ate, having eaten only a quarter of an apple. The rest was left in reserve. After that, Zoya became sad. Nikolay stroked her hand and said:
"Be patient, I'm sure we'll get out of here." We are no longer underground. This is some kind of mountain, you just need to carefully try to move the chests. Zoya helped Nikolai as best she could, but there was no end to the work, no edge. Some chests were light, others could not be moved. It was just some kind of puzzle. At last the windows were covered with darkness. The night was approaching.

Dense clouds of smoke crawled into the loopholes, Kolya turned around to wake Zoya and was dumbfounded. Zoe was not in the room, nor were the chests. The room was completely empty. The young man pinched his arm, but it did not help. Apparently, he did not sleep, and he did not dream about it!
Smoke also seeped through the doorposts, which had previously been littered with chests. Kolya took five big steps, went to the door and opened it. Behind the door was a large fenced area, a steep path led down from it, earthen steps completed the descent. The forest, which only in the evening Kolya had seen fresh and green, now burned with a terrible crackle, the water in the river boiled and foamed. Nikolai already really wanted to return to the room to wake Zoya, but he remembered that Zoya was not in the room. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Kolya noticed some movement, people ran out of the forest. Following the foot soldiers left the advance detachment. The muzzles of the horses were wrapped with rags. Riders and footmen peered into the burning forest, finally, one of the riders raised his hand and gave the go-ahead. People appeared from the forest, dragging carts laden with something heavy. Foot warriors wanted to help people in order to speed up the exit from the forest, but the leader on horseback did not allow it. Six carts were loaded with something heavy. People were exhausted, but those who had already got out of the forest had no right to help. As soon as the carts with people left the burning forest, the soldiers began to move. The unfortunate people were in a deplorable state, their skin was terribly burned, but it seemed that they did not feel pain. They stood as if rooted to the spot, each near his cart. The leader shouted something. A bunch of warriors that held shields over a certain person fell apart. The man the warriors were protecting was a shaman. The shaman approached the leader.
After short negotiations, the shaman pulled out six sharply sharpened small pegs from his bag. And then the incredible happened! The shaman approached each owner of the wagon and drove a peg into his head. The shaman was assisted by a warrior who stood ready with a huge hammer. Soon all six were dead. The worst thing about this was that the owners of the carts did not resist, they seemed to be waiting and blessing this death.
The shaman ordered the soldiers to take the owners of the wagons to the burning forest.
When the soldiers returned, unloading began. The shaman was shouting something, urging the soldiers on. The warriors timidly looked sideways at the forest, and hastily pulled out what lay in the wagons. When the soldiers began to move towards the room where Kolya was, the young man finally saw the contents of the wagons. Those were chests!
The young man backed away, there was nowhere to hide in the room! The shaman entered the room first, supervising the stacking of the chests. When the shaman turned to Nikolai, the young man went cold. However, the shaman, it seems, did not even see Kolya, he only turned his nose and muttered something. The chests were the same ones that Kolya and Zoya had seen the night before as soon as they entered this strange room. Only the piping on the chests was newer and shinier!
Suddenly the shaman screamed terribly. One of the warriors dropped the chest. The shaman leaned out of the window and shouted something to the leader of the troops. The warrior who dropped the chest fell at the feet of the shaman. The shaman became even more furious, and ordered the warrior to put the chest on his shoulders again, leave the room, go down the path, and then go back into the room again.
The warrior meekly obeyed.
Soon the room was in the form in which the young man saw it for the first time. There was one chest left, the one that had not yet been hoisted to the very top of the pyramid of chests. The shaman screamed again. The warriors began to fuss. They began to move the chests, soon, along the chests, as one could climb the stairs to the very top of the pyramid. The shaman refused to help. The chest, which he personally wanted to lift to the very top, was probably not as heavy as the other chests.
However, having almost reached the top, the shaman staggered and did not hold the chest. The chest fell and opened, a large mirror fell out of it, there was nothing else in the chest. The shaman flew down the makeshift stairs like lightning, he screamed and raged. Then he suddenly quieted down and took out a small bronze bell from his bag. Kolya leaned against the wall. Only this space was left not filled with chests. When the young man was no more than two steps away, the bell rang. The shaman stopped. There was silence. It seemed that the shaman was calculating something in his mind.
After that, he picked up a mirror and put it in the chest, where he also put the bell. It seemed that after that he lost interest in the chest, because he ordered the warrior to lift the chest, and did not carry it himself.
Having looked around the remaining space, the shaman ordered the soldiers to close the door overlooking the street with chests. The room got cramped. Nikolai leaned even closer to the wall. The warriors looked questioningly at the shaman.
The shaman grunted and moved towards the window. Enormous nails were driven into two sides of the loophole. The shaman ordered one of the soldiers to put his hand on the right nail, and he took up the left one. On a signal from the shaman, the warrior turned the nail three times counterclockwise, and the shaman himself did the same only clockwise. There was a loud creak. However, the source of the creak remained unknown to Kolya, because the shaman suddenly came close to Kolya and... passed through him. Kolya screamed, a terrible pain pierced his heart! The young man screamed and screamed, it seemed to him that he was dying, and then he felt a kiss, and a gentle voice called his name. Nikolai opened his eyes and realized that everything he saw was still a dream. He was still in the room with Zoe, and there were old trunks around. After reassuring Zoya, Nikolai went to the loophole. The trees were green, and the fire he saw in his dream had been raging centuries ago. Nikolai retold his dream to Zoya, and silence fell in the room.
“You know,” Nikolai looked thoughtfully at Zoya, “I think I know where we are!”
- Yes? - Zoya was surprised, - how do you know?
“The shaman and the warriors spoke in ancient Chinese, but I understood something. The Jurchen army remained behind the burning forest, and the shaman came to this mountain with only a handful of warriors. The people who were carrying the wagons were the dead, whom the shaman brought to life precisely in order to carry the wagons through the burning forest. And the mountain on top of which we are now is called Mount Pid.
Are we on the mountain? - Zoya was delighted, - so we can quickly go down to the people!
- Take your time, - Kolya shook his head thoughtfully, - do you remember, I told you and Varvara Stepanovna about the Chinese Chen with whom we wandered through the taiga?
- Well ... I remember something. You also said that he disappeared after all.
- Yes. So, Chen once talked about this mountain. According to him, this mountain is huge, and it is arranged in the form of giant steps. It can take a whole day, or even two, to overcome one step.
And how many steps are there?
- Eighteen. Each step is a huge wooded or mountain plateau! On a plateau, for example, as here, there can be a dense forest and a river. That is, each step is a separate world. We are at the very top, and it will probably not be very difficult for us to go down. But the terrain is unfamiliar, and at night we will not be able to move.
— What are you leading to? Zoya looked at Nicholas suspiciously.
“I…I'm trying to remember all the details of my dream.
- So what?
- Wait a minute. If you go from that side, then you can probably see a ladder of chests. It didn’t occur to us with you that you could climb up the chests.
- This is not dangerous? - Zoya grabbed Nikolai by the sleeve, - if you fall from there, then both of us will die.
"Wait," Kolya stroked Zoya's hand, "I'll just take a look." Maybe my dream was just a heavy haze.
But the steps turned out to be exactly where Kolya saw them in his dream. The young man approached the girl and stood beside her.
“What are you,” Zoya moved away, “what did you see there?”
“I,” Kolya was shocked and did not hide it, “I just couldn’t believe my eyes!” There are chests with which you can climb up.
- So what? Why didn't you climb?
- So I ... You didn't want to. So I decided to consult with you before climbing.
- Oh, you're talking about it. - Zoya looked at the young man suspiciously, - do you really want my advice?
- Well, yes
“Miracles,” Zoya pinched her cheek, “Kolka asks me for advice!” This is the first time in my life when someone needs my advice!
- Zoya, you're thinking again! I sure that…
- Okay, what is there to think for a long time! Climb up and get a mirror and a bell from the chest. Wait, are you sure there was nothing else in the chest?
- Yes I am sure!
- Go then! And be careful!
From below, climbing chests seemed like a trifling matter, but in reality everything turned out to be not so simple. The pyramid of chests staggered. And yes, it took its toll. It turned out that the chest at the top of the pyramid deviated slightly and between it and the rest of the chests, there was a decent gap. A dangerous balancing act almost led to tragedy. A pyramid of chests could crumble like a house of cards, and bury Kolya and Zoya under it. But everything, thank God, worked out! Soon Kolya was standing next to Zoya. In his hands he had a large mirror and a bell. The mirror was larger than all the mirrors in the room, and was very light, although it was impossible to tell from the look. It was made of a material resembling bronze, but inside it was hollow between thin plates. One thing could be said about the bell, the bell did not ring. The bell didn't even have a tongue.
Kolya twirled and shook to bell, but the result was the same - the bell was silent.
Zoya looked at what the young man was doing with eager interest, it seemed that the negative result did not discourage her.
“Sleep is not always in hand,” the young man said, still trying to find the tongue of the bell.
— What are you talking about? Zoya swallowed hard.
- The bell rang in a dream! Okay, let's leave the bell for now! Let's take a look at the mirror. You know, it seems to me that I have already seen such mirrors,” Kolya said thoughtfully.
- Where? Zoya asked incredulously.
“I…I can't remember. Remember when I told you about memories that hurt? A signal is heard in the head, and the head starts to hurt! So, this is just such a memory!
"Then stop remembering now!"
- Good.
The room became quiet. Kolya leaned back against the loophole and slid down to the floor.
“I’m hungry,” Zoya said sadly, “you promised that we would get out of here!”
- We'll get out! Now! In addition to dreaming about the mirror, I saw something else ... Wait a minute ... Everything is there! I remembered!
- What?
— Now, wait!
Kolya looked around
Here they are, don't go anywhere!
- What are you talking about?
- About nails! Here, about these! Can you squeeze through here?
Yes, I'll try! What to do?
- Stand next to the right nail, and I will stand next to the left! Ready? Now listen very carefully! You must, at the same time as me, turn the nail. No, wait! Listen up! We will turn the nails at the same time, but in different directions. You are anti-clockwise and I am clockwise. Understood?
- Yes! Well, let's start!
"Wait, we'll have to try something else before we get to the nails."
- I do not understand you.
- Well, at least on these two sticks that I picked up from the floor. Here's one for you and another for me. Imagine that your wand is the left nail and mine is the right one. Is that clear?
“Clearly, tea is not a fool!”
“You… Don’t do that!” You are smart and beautiful! I'm just afraid!
- Good good! I understand, let's get started.
Ten minutes have passed. Kolya and Zoya repeated simple actions with sticks ten times, and Kolya kept playing for time.
The young man understood that if everything happens as it happened in a dream, then ...
Kolya did not have time to think, seeing the indecision of the young man, Zoya decided to take the situation into her own hands. She tossed the stick aside and took hold of the nail resolutely.
"Come here," she said loudly.
“No,” Kolya shook his head, “it seems to me that we need to repeat it one more time!”
- No need. If you don't want me, I'll turn my own nail.
- Not! Well, well, okay. Let's start!
As soon as the manipulations with the nails were done, a creak was heard, which Nikolai had already heard once, in a dream. The room began to get dark. Holes opened in the loopholes, and stones fell from there, a muddy liquid flowed after the stones. Five minutes later, the stones and the liquid became one. Now the windows of the loopholes could not penetrate even adobe weapons. Not a single ray of light penetrated through the loopholes. The room became dark, and there seemed to be even less air. In any case, the guys began to choke. They were saved from complete suffocation only by the fact that time damaged the protective fastenings of one of the loopholes, and the stones could not crumble. The dim light of evening still oozed through this loophole. After that it became quiet. The guys waited ten minutes, fifteen, but nothing happened.
- Well, - Zoya looked at Kolya, - what's next?
- Next ... I don’t know what happened next! Next, I woke up! Maybe ... Let's turn the nails again, I think it won't be worse.
Nikolai was wrong, what happened next was much worse. As soon as the travelers turned the nails once more, the floor under their feet moved away and they began to fall. How long the fall lasted, Kolya did not know, in flight he lost consciousness for a few seconds, because one of the chests also fell after the guys, and hit Kolya on a tangent.
The fall was stopped by a giant web, it was so strong that, hitting it, the guys and the chest again soared low into the air. Falling a second time, they still broke the web. Nikolai fell, hit something hard, but this, oddly enough, brought him back to consciousness!
It was insanely painful! Kolya tried to sit up, but his arm gave way, and he fell again. It was painful and dark. The young man did not know in which direction Zoya was. He called the girl, but she did not answer. The darkness was absolute. Carefully rearranging his legs, Kolya moved at random, and suddenly heard the sound of a bell. The bell was in his pocket, and by all the laws of nature he could not ring, but Nikolai distinctly heard his thin ringing. Kolya stopped. Bell verse.
And then there was light. The light came from Nikolai's left leg. After the darkness, the light was especially intolerable to the eyes. This mirror, which Nikolai put into the top of his boot, reminded me of himself. Sitting on the floor, Kolya carefully took out a mirror. The light grew stronger and stronger, it hurt my eyes. Tears flowed from his eyes, and did not allow him to see the room where Kolya and Zoya had fallen. Finally, Kolya seemed to catch a slight stir.
Running up to Zoya, he tried to lift her up, but saw that blood was flowing from the girl's left temple. Throwing the mirror on the floor, Kolya tore his shirt, and tried to pull the girl's head. The blood seemed to stop flowing, but Zoya did not come to her senses. Nikolai tried in every possible way to bring Zoya to her senses, but nothing worked out for him.
The mirror apparently reached the limit of its capabilities, because the one thrown on the floor suddenly began to project some signs, and then the floor of the cave in which the travelers found themselves began to melt. Frightened, Kolya raised the mirror, its light fell on the girl, and suddenly a miracle happened, Zoya came to her senses a little and groaned. Probably, she was in the same pain as Kolya, and, of course, there was nothing good in this, but at least the girl was alive!
Kolya carefully lowered the mirror back to the floor, sat down and laid the girl's head on his feet. Zoya was saying something, but when Kolya turned to her, her speech became unintelligible, and she began to scream. Meanwhile, the mirror continued its work, the floor under its rays began to melt. Kolya got up to take the mirror, but the bell started ringing again. The hole in the floor was spreading, but the mirror did not fall, it suddenly rose into the air. Finally, the destruction stopped.
Kolya took Zoya in his arms, and, after taking a few steps, bent over the hole that the mirror had made. Something glittered below, peering, Kolya could not believe his eyes. The mirror illuminated the underground lake, the waters of which turned into ice. Kolya shook his head and crawled away from the hole. The mirror moved behind him. Moving as far as possible from the hole, Kolya leaned against the earthen wall. The young man was breathing with difficulty, his chest was suffocating, and only the thought of what would happen to Zoya if he lost consciousness did not let him pass out.