TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prologue

Story 1. The Sanctuary

Story 2. Matilda’s First Attack

Story 3. Blind Chief

Story 4. Matilda’s Second Attack

Story 5. Alice’s Escape

Story 6. Alice in Deadly Peril

Story 7. Something is hunting Alice

Story 8. The Encounter with Agapogo

Story 9. The Great Hunt

Story 10. The Abandoned City

Story 11 Annie’s Awakening

Story 12. The Story of Agapogo

Story 13. The Hunt for the Almighty

Story 14. Annie Returns

Story 15. Agapogo’s Attack

Story 16. Annie Discovers Matilda’s Secrets

Story 17. Amba Leads Alice to the Temple

Story 18. The Return of the Dragon

Story 19. A Note for Shaman

Story 20. The Witch on the Unicorn

Story 21. Matilda is Defeated 133

Story 22. An Unexpected Encounter

Story 23. Final Preparations

Story 24. The Day of Cricket

Epilogue

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Story 1. The Sanctuary

1.1 Journey Through the Tunnel

A small group—Listening Forest, Lone Bird, Alice, Bella, and Lola—made their way through the rocks, climbing higher and higher up the mountain.

Listening Forest suddenly veered off the path and approached a massive stone slab at the foot of a steep granite slope. Shaman whispered something, stretched out his hands toward the slab, and seemed to press his whole body against it.

The massive slab silently slid aside. The people and dogs quickly ran into the opening in the mountain. And the huge stone slab slowly and silently slid back into place behind them.

The travellers found themselves in pitch darkness. Alice wasn’t afraid of the darkness. Standing in the pitch-black darkness, she realized keenly: everything in her life had now changed. Something new had begun. There was no turning back—only forward.

If a light had shone on her now, they would have seen the girl’s very determined face.

Shaman turned on a powerful flashlight almost immediately. The travelers saw a wide tunnel ahead: a ceiling as high as two people standing side by side and a brick-paved road stretching into the darkness.

They moved slowly through the tunnel, at first stepping cautiously and getting used to the darkness. The beam of the flashlight cut through the darkness, and the small group walked, listening for every rustle.

At first, Alice was a little scared: it seemed as though the tunnel would never end.

- Someone must have built all this—this underground passage, this brick road. You could ride a motorcycle here! - Alice suddenly thought.

Even before Listening Forest suggested leaving Lone Bird’s house for the Sanctuary, she and Lone Bird had decided not to reveal that she was Alice.

During the days when Alice lived with Lone Bird, her hair was cut short, and she was dressed as a boy to confuse Matilda’s spies.

And Alice even chose a boy’s name for herself—Lucas. And they decided that, as far as everyone at the Sanctuary was concerned, she would remain Lucas.

You never know who might show up there.

They had been walking for half an hour. Finally, a faint glow appeared ahead. A little further on, they emerged from the tunnel into a huge, dimly lit cave.

1.2 The Cave

The cave was striking in its size. A subdued light streamed down from somewhere above. In the center of the cave was a large lake, stretching into the dark depths.

There was no wind. The lake, like a vast mirror, reflected the walls, creating a bizarre, surreal scene in which the walls seemed to descend into the depths.

On the wide sandy shore of the lake stood three wigwams and three wooden log cabins. Further on, along the cave walls on both sides, there were scattered piles of large and small stones.

Looking along the lake shore, another entrance to the tunnel was visible in the distance to the left. A very large one.

The inhabitants of this cave—or, as Listening Forest called it, the Sanctuary—came out to greet the guests. Everyone came out except Blind Chief. Inside the cave were now: Blind Chief, two women—the chief’s daughters—and two more young men.

Lone Bird later explained: they were Blind Chief’s disciples. And there were also two young Native American guards there.

Listening Forest spoke briefly with those who had come out to greet him. It was clear that the Indians held him in high regard. Then he went into Blind Chief’s wigwam and came out a few minutes later.

He said a warm goodbye to Lone Bird and Alice-Lucas. He ruffled Bella and Lola and whispered something in their ears. Then he hurried back into the tunnel from which they had just come, almost running.

Lone Bird and Alice settled into one of the cabins. The cabin even had electricity, and water ran from the tap. All the amenities. There were even computers connected to the internet.

Alice immediately asked,

- How is that even possible here? Internet in a cave?

- Our engineers worked on this. The cable runs from above, replied Lone Bird.

For some reason, she sat deep in thought.

After unpacking her backpack, Alice-Lucas left the cabin and went to explore the surroundings. She was immediately met by two guards, Joe and Ju, two young, athletic Native American men.

They told her right away that entering the water and swimming were strictly forbidden.

- You’re not allowed to leave the beach either.

Going into the tunnel is absolutely forbidden.

- So what can we do here?” Lucas asked.

The guards spread their arms, laughed, and replied, “Everything else is probably okay.”

Lucas immediately bombarded them with questions:

- Can we throw knives at the tree?
Do you have a real bow and arrows?
Can you teach me how to shoot a bow?

Basically, Lucas was acting like a typical curious little boy.

- Who are you guarding here, anyway?
We’re the only ones in the Underworld, aren’t we?

The guards exchanged glances when they heard this.

And they began to explain.

- Something huge lives in the water. Either a snake or a fish. We don’t know. No one has seen it.

- Sometimes waves come ashore, as if something big were swimming in the depths of the lake. And then fish leap onto the shore, fleeing from something. We don’t need fishing rods or nets to fish. We gather fish from the beach for the kitchen.

- Well, the tunnels are full of all kinds of predators. There are probably cracks and passages in the rocks, and wild animals sometimes make their way out. Cougars, bears, and even wolves have come. And if they’re hungry, they might attack.

- The Underworld is very large, and it’s incredibly easy to get lost in it.

- We usually just scare the animals away with gunshots. But gunfire is very dangerous. If a bullet hits the cave ceiling, it could trigger a rockfall. We usually use stun or flash grenades—the animals run away immediately.

Lucas listened and took it all in.

A wild thought crossed her mind: “Someday I’ll go there, deeper into the Underworld…”

He didn’t even imagine that it would happen very soon.

And the guards really liked it when Lucas said:

“You’ll have helpers now. They know commands and can guard with you,” and pointed to the dogs.

Joe and Ju were delighted and even played with Bella and Lola.

1.3 Lone Bird’s Story

That evening, Alice-Lucas had a conversation with Lone Bird.

She told the story of this Underworld:

- It’s a vast system of caves, lakes, and canals. An entire underground realm. Once upon a time, the Miners lived and thrived here. They fled from the surface to these caves to escape the many enemies who had invaded their land. And they settled completely underground.

The Miners built canals and tunnels and set traps for their enemies. They were the most advanced people in these parts. The Miners always sought to trade. They extracted iron and bronze from ore. They were nicknamed the Miners. They possessed gold and precious stones.

And God forbid that anyone from another people should offend the Miners. They always took revenge. And the tribes and peoples who lived above feared them.

Legends have survived that the Miners subjugated many beasts. They had elephants and even dragons in their army. Somewhere out there are seven underground cities.

Lone Bird had heard about them from her grandmother. But no one has seen the Miners in a long time.

They vanished, leaving behind tunnels and underground cities. Maybe disease wiped them out, or maybe something else.

- Why didn’t you ever tell me about them before? Alice asked.

Lone Bird smiled wearily,

- Everything in its own time. It’s one of the greatest mysteries of these places. You might believe me. You’d think, ‘Here she is, telling me fairy tales!’ In reality, it’s very hard to find an artifact, or anything related to the Miners. It’s as if someone deliberately cleaned it up. That happens sometimes in history.
And here we are, and you’ve seen it all for yourself. And now you’re hearing all this in a completely different light .

- I was already impressed by just the one brick-paved road, said Alice.
Just think of all the work that went into this!

1.4 Everyday Life in the Sanctuary

Daily life at the Sanctuary began—day after day. Alice-Lucas had no time to get bored.

During the day, Alice attended online school, and after classes, she helped Lone Bird with her work deciphering and recording stories from the totem poles.

It turns out this was a tradition among ancient Native American tribes. They would record stories from their lives on a pole, usually made of red cedar. Alice was very good at deciphering and interpreting the stories.

All the days she spent at Lone Bird’s house, combined with Alice’s lively and curious nature, had paid off.

Lone Bird praised her:

“O-o-o… you understood everything! And you solved this riddle too.”

And in the evenings, Alice would throw knives at a dry, protruding tree on the beach or sit with Bella and Lola on the lakeshore.

Sometimes, strange, barely audible distant sounds came from the tunnels. A growl — which made everyone’s blood run cold — or a roar so terrifying that, even though it was barely audible, it became even more frightening.

Then the guard on duty would immediately jump up from his chair on the shore, grab his weapon, open the box of grenades, and send Lucas to the cabin.

Bella and Lola began guarding the Sanctuary at night. The guards were only too happy about it. At night, they even put collars with huge spikes on the dogs. As they explained, it was to keep the wolves away. Just in case.

- Sometimes wolves really did come here. And the spikes would protect the dogs’ throats.

The guards even relaxed a little: the dogs were on alert and would warn of danger before anyone else.

And they would sometimes fall asleep in their chairs by the water while the dogs kept watch with them at night.

Alice had matured a lot over the past few days. She now had time to reflect on what had happened. She thought about her old life, her school friends, Thomas, and Annie—and she felt very sad.

She wanted to write to her friends,

- I’m living in a cave, hiding from witches. It’s so interesting here. Bella and Lola are with me.

But sometimes she would sit on the shore of the underground lake, and tears would roll down her face.

Story 2. Matilda’s First Attack

2.1 Shaman and His Team Prepare

So, Shaman had sent Alice, Lone Bird, and the dogs into the Underworld, to the Sanctuary. It would be much harder for Matilda to reach them there. Meanwhile, work at his house was already in full swing.

The entire team — Shaman, Thomas, and Lisa — spent their days preparing defenses against the attack, and their nights putting those plans into action.

Lisa took down her most valuable paintings and Shaman’s artifacts from the walls and carried everything valuable out through the underground passage. Shaman’s friends picked it all up and took it away for safekeeping.

Lisa also made an exact copy of Alice — a large doll, the same size as the real Alice. She sculpted the head from plaster, painted it, and found a suitable wig. Thomas built a wooden frame with joints, like a human skeleton. Lisa wrapped the frame in cloth and dressed it in Alice’s old clothes: a shirt, jeans, and a baseball cap.

From a little distance, you couldn’t tell it from the real Alice. And so this Alice-doll would sometimes appear on the porch and then disappear. Or come up to a window and then move away.

All of this was done so Matilda’s spies could occasionally see her and report back: Alice is being hidden in Shaman’s house.

Thomas spent a lot of time online, ordering very clever equipment. Shaman’s friends received the packages and brought them at night along the trails to Shaman’s house. Thomas worked at night too. He installed cameras, smoke bombs, and a few other things.

Eagles circled constantly above the mountain where Shaman lived, warning them about strangers. During the day, they often saw people watching the house from far away through binoculars.

Lobo’s wolf pack guarded the approaches to Shaman’s house day and night.

2.2 Matilda’s Plan

Matilda, having fled far away and settled with her friend — a witch — in a small mountain town, immediately began working out her revenge.

Her idea was simple: hire a squad of local thugs. Pay them well, arm them, train them, and point them at the target — Shaman’s house.

She was sure Alice was being hidden there. Her spies had reported seeing the girl from time to time — at a window, on the porch.

Matilda was already savouring her triumph.

She said to herself:

— I’ve figured you out, Listening Forest.
Think you’ll get away with just a wounded puma and a bear?
Feeling safe?
Hiding the girl at your place?
Think the police won’t stick their noses in anymore?

Ha…Ha...Ha…

Others will come.
Without a search warrant…
And soon you’ll be sitting here in my basement, awaiting the Almighty’s judgment.

She had received approval for this raid from none other than .…

He said:

— Remember the main thing — find Alice.
She must not reach the Underworld.
I’ll say it again.

Do you understand?
Do you understand?!

That terrifying voice on the phone sent shivers down Matilda’s spine…

She spent nearly two weeks preparing the attack. She had been advised to contact a semi-criminal biker known as Charlie — Black Head.

She met him in a local bar. Charlie was surprised.

An elegant, well-dressed businesswoman wanted to meet him, a biker. Clearly not his usual crowd. Matilda offered him a job and named a very large reward.

She explained:

— Approach Shaman’s house quietly. He’s a local eccentric. More of a veterinarian than a real shaman. He treats animals. The house stands on a mountain. There are no neighbors nearby. Inside, there may be Shaman and his friends - a man, a woman, and a girl. Take Shaman and the girl. Tie them up. Bring them to me. Take the others out of the house and leave them in the forest. I don’t need them. But no harm to them.

As for the animals — there’s a small zoo there — you can shoot them. Burn the house to the ground.

Charlie smirked.

- Easy money. I’ll grab a buddy — the two of us will handle it.

Matilda just shook her head and said sternly,

- No. My conditions are different: At least ten people. Train them in tactical movements and commands. And in shooting. Do not shoot at people under any circumstances. You’ll need real weapons — to scare them. And don’t even think about tricking me.

— What animals might be out there? - the biker asked.

— Wild ones. Wounded, sick. He used to have a puma, a bear, a deer… He heals them.

She looked him straight in the eyes. A cold feeling ran through Charlie. A thought flashed — maybe he shouldn’t get involved.

Matilda spoke again, sharply, as if reading his mind:

- And don’t even think about running. Do as I say, and you’ll get just as much.”

The tension hung in the air. Cricket was almost always near Matilda. When she fled the city, he had already been sitting in her car. He even overheard her conversation with Black Head at the bar.

And that’s why Shaman and his crew knew that Matilda had hired local thugs for the attack.

Black Head decided to recruit his trusted guys — fellow bikers.

He thought:

— So what if I got spooked? Shaman and his friends? What can they do against my crew? If the local Natives jump in, we fire into the air and scare them off.

And yet his instinct told him—something’s not right here.

— The client didn’t feel like a gangster. Educated. Controlled. And something about her was… unsettling like a witch. It should have been just a job. There shouldn’t be any problems.

But it still felt wrong.

Black Head spent the money carefully. He assembled a crew of ten men, just as requested. They bought explosives to blow the house apart at the end. They trained at the shooting range for a week.

The men were excited: “We’re doing what we love — and getting paid for it!”

The night before the attack, Black Head couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned. His hands and legs were shaking for no clear reason.

He kept telling himself:

— With a crew like this, I could level half the city.

Finally, the day came. They set out very early. Four black off-road trucks rolled into the darkness. Big armed men inside, grinning, looking forward to an easy job: shoot some animals, grab a couple of people, scare the rest, burn the house down. A perfect job.

2.3 A Complete Failure

In the predawn fog, before sunrise, the trucks began climbing the steep slope along a barely visible track. They approached Shaman’s house. There were about five hundred meters left. They stopped.

A quiet command:

— Out. Check weapons and explosives.

A few minutes later, the group moved up the hill in a loose line. No jokes now. No chatter. Everything precise, by the book. Slightly crouched, moving uphill, covering their sectors with their weapons. They reached a position about a hundred meters from Listening Forest’s house and dropped to the ground.

Dawn was breaking. The sun had just touched the mountain peaks. They waited for the signal.

Through the thin morning mist, the house was clearly visible. Close. Very close. Suddenly — a sharp whistling sound. Five arrows struck the ground right in front of them.

— What the hell?

— Indians?

— Where?

— Who fired the arrows?

— From behind!

The men twisted around, scanning the slope, raising binoculars, trying to see something behind them. And when they looked back at the house — it was gone.

Just gone.

At that same moment, somewhere very close in the forest, a deep, heavy drum sound rolled through the air. Low. Slow. Unsettling.

And again, arrows whistled through the air. This time they flew higher, coming from somewhere behind, and plunged near the bewildered army.

That was enough. The entire group — ten armed, tough men — turned at once and ran for the trucks. Black Head cursed under his breath and followed, half-crouched, keeping low.

He understood immediately: they had been expected. And whatever this was — it wasn’t going to be an easy job.

— Yeah… this isn’t some zoo raid… . The client had warned him. Said it wouldn’t be simple. What on earth should they do now? And where the hell did the house go? What kind of trick was that?

When Matilda heard about the failed attack, she raged for a long time.

— Not Shaman… a damn Copperfield.

She went quiet for a moment.

— No. I’ll have to go there myself. Take control on site.

Story 3. Blind Chief

3.1 Alice-Lucas’s Daily Life

Alice’s days in the Sanctuary were all the same. You can’t walk in the tunnels. You can’t go into the water. Even the dogs aren’t allowed to bark.

During the day, Alice-Lucas spent 4–5 hours at the computer attending online school, where she had been enrolled immediately. She picked up the lesson material quickly.

The lessons were interesting and not as boring as they had been at her old school. And Alice-Lucas completed all her assignments quickly and correctly.

At first, though, she tried to fool around and act a little mischievous. But Lone Bird checked her homework constantly and asked what they had studied that day and what she had understood. And she quickly put a stop to all her attempts to fool around.

Lone Bird explained:

— A lot of money has been paid for you so that you can study in this program. Do you want to get kicked out of this program and spend all day on the beach with the dogs?

Whereas Thomas and Annie used to restrict Alice’s access to the computer so she wouldn’t play games like her friends and waste time in chat rooms, she now had access to educational programs and encyclopedias.

There, every click opened something new and interesting, and a flood of information you never even knew existed would come your way. And it’s so interesting!

This was a new experience for Alice.

But Alice-Lucas still found time for the dogs and worked with them every day. She insisted on unquestioning obedience to commands.

Sit—sit instantly.
Lie down—that means immediately flop onto your belly.
Crawl.
Stay.
Quiet.
Come to me.

And a few more commands she knew.

Bella quickly understood what was expected of her. Lola often grumbled at first, but then agreed. Especially since for every command obeyed, she was rewarded with a tasty piece of dried meat—something she could swallow whole or chew and chew.

And in the evenings, Alice would throw the knives her guards had given her on the first day at a dry tree sticking out of the rocks on the shore, closer to the entrance to another tunnel.

They were already flying straight at the drawn target and sticking in every time. Alice thought, “Maybe this will come in handy someday.”

Sometimes Alice sat on a small beach with her dogs when everyone else was already asleep, but she couldn’t fall asleep.

Even at night, it wasn’t completely dark in the cave—as if a faint light were streaming down from above. And at night, Alice listened to the distant, muffled sounds of the Underworld.

They were terrifying—sometimes a drawn-out scream. Sometimes a terrifying growl would echo from afar. Bella and Lola would immediately jump up, assume a defensive stance, and stare intently at the far entrance to the cave

3.2 Tales of Lone Bird

Lone Bird told many stories about the Underworld:

- It only seems that we are alone in the Underworld.
There is someone in these tunnels and other caves.
There are many fish in the underground lakes and canals.

And there’s something else living in the water—probably a huge Serpent.
But no one has seen it.
This cave we're in now is just one of many.
This is just the very beginning of the Underworld, and it’s simply enormous.
There’s a whole system of underground lakes, canals, caves, and tunnels here.

The Underworld is practically unexplored.
Groups of Indian warriors have tried several times to make their way
through the tunnels from the Sanctuary and have disappeared.

A unique microclimate has developed in the caves.
The comfortable temperature hardly changes year-round.
There are no sudden shifts from heat to cold like there are outside.

Despite the prohibitions, Alice sometimes went into the water.
Yeah, the fish aren’t jumping out, there are no waves, no one’s watching—so everything’s calm, and there’s no one scary around. And she quickly got back out onto the shore.

The water wasn’t warm, but it was comfortable enough.
One question immediately piqued Alice’s interest:
- Where does the light in the cave come from?
Are there lamps up there?”

Lone Bird explained:
- Diffused light from above in any cave is a sign.
It means the Miners were here.

Did you see the path here when we came?
Did you see the clever door when we entered?
Our engineers improved it a little.
But they were amazed by what had already been done before them.

And the light from above?
The Miners replaced the ceiling of their caves with quartz.
Quartz is a natural, translucent stone that lets light through well.
The Miners cut through the cave ceiling wherever possible and inserted quartz.
From the outside, they look like ordinary white stones.

That’s the kind of windows they left in the darkness of the Underworld.
Well, here with us, if it’s cloudy at night, there are lamps under the vault of our cave. It’s as if there’s moonlight in the cave all the time. But that’s only here.

Alice spent a lot of time with Lone Bird. She listened to her stories. She even became interested in syllabic writing.

- Wow, that’s cool!” Alice thought.
It looks like just some squiggles, but in reality,
you can leave an important message and no one will understand.

She also became skilled at deciphering the pictograms of ancient tribes, which were carved and painted on totem poles.

And every evening, Lone Bird told Alice the legends and stories of her people. They even sang old songs softly and recited the words of some incantation every night before bed.

- Arg-tael morhan.

In response to Alice’s question:

— What does that mean?

Lone Bird explained:

— My grandmother taught me to say this; it’s something like, may tomorrow be my best day.

— But that doesn’t sound anything like your language at all, said Alice.

— Yes. I know. - Lone Bird said honestly.
It doesn’t resemble any Native American dialects I know. It’s something very ancient. The sounds are completely different.

3.3 Meeting with Blind Chief

One day, Blind Chief wanted to see Alice. He lived alone in his wigwam, and Alice had never seen him. She had been told, “Blind Chief lives there.”

Blind Chief had two disciples. They were middle-aged Native Americans, sturdy and strong. Blind Chief passed on his wisdom to them.

Lone Bird called to Alice from the shore and said:

— Let’s go to Blind Chief.
He’s waiting for you.

They went to Blind Chief’s wigwam. A very old Native American, with long gray hair braided into plaits. A dark, wrinkled face. His eyes were half-closed.

Blind Chief said something to Lone Bird, and she said to Alice:

- Come closer. Don’t be afraid. He will run his hands around you. He can hardly see, but that way he senses people better.

Alice stepped closer. The Chief ran his hands around her head several times.
Then he suddenly recoiled and said something to Lone Bird in their language.

Alice still couldn’t understand everything they said, but she had already learned some words. And she clearly heard the word “trouble/misfortune.”

Lone Bird immediately took Alice by the hand and led her out of the chief’s wigwam. Alice sensed something was wrong and asked:

- Did something happen?

- It’s nothing serious. He just hasn’t seen children in a long time and asked
why you’re here instead of with your parents. And it might be dangerous for you here.

But Alice didn’t find this explanation convincing at all. She sensed that something wasn’t right here.

The next day, she accidentally overheard a conversation between two of Blind Chief’s disciples. They were sitting in the dining hall. The windows were open, and Alice was standing beneath them, hearing their conversation.

One of them said,

- I spoke at length with Blind Chief yesterday. Blind Chief doesn’t want us to hide this boy here. He believes he will bring us great misfortune. He wants to speak with Listening Forest so that he will take him away from the Sanctuary. He doesn’t belong here.

Whether a boy or a girl, according to some legend, he will awaken the Dragon. And he will start a real war with the Almighty.

And Blind Chief doesn’t want that.
He’s afraid of witches.

But another one objected,

— I heard that the witches are looking for a girl right now. But not a boy.
That’s for sure.

Alice got goosebumps and felt a chill inside from everything she’d heard.

So that’s what the Chief said to Lone Bird in the wigwam back then,

— This boy will bring us misfortune! Take him away from here.

At first, she wanted to go and tell Lone Bird about the overheard conversation. But then she thought:

- She already knows what the Blind Chief said, and she clearly doesn’t want me to know.

From that day on, Alice-Lucas saw everything through different eyes and felt that the Sanctuary’s inhabitants viewed her as a burden.

One day, Cricket appeared in the Sanctuary. Alice asked him with great interest about what was happening up above.

Cricket told her that Matilda was planning to return to the city and restore her power. And he told her about the first repelled attack.

Alice burst out laughing : “Isn’t it great how Shaman outsmarted the bandits?”

And suddenly she said, in all seriousness:

- Cricket, something’s not right here.
Take me away from here, please.

Cricket immediately asked,
- Why do you think that?
|
- I feel like I’m not welcome here. I’m a burden to them.

Alice decided not to mention her encounter with Blind Chief. She thought that Lone Bird should have already told Cricket herself what had happened in the Blind Chief’s wigwam.

But for some reason, they don’t want to tell her the whole truth.

Cricket paused for a moment, then said

- I know there will be more attacks on Shaman’s house.
And I must help him, find out about Matilda’s plans, and warn him.

Right now, Matilda is busy fighting Shaman.
If Shaman disappears, she’ll start looking for you

And that’s her primary task—to find you.
Matilda must not find out that you are already in the Sanctuary,
in the Underworld.

Please wait for me.
Don’t do anything without me.
He said this and vanished.

Story 6. Alice in Deadly Peril

6.1 A Strange Sign

Alice, Bella, and Lola dashed from the beach at the Sanctuary into the tunnel, running about 50 meters before coming to a stop in complete darkness.

Alice suddenly asked the dogs, as if they were her two friends.

- Well, girls, are you with me?
Shall we go find our Dragon?”

The dogs whimpered quietly. Alice sat down against the wall and checked her supplies again to see what she had brought with her.

Then she said quietly,

— Well, I wish I had more, but what we have is what we have. Let’s go with this.

The road in the tunnel was just as paved as the one they had taken to get to the Sanctuary.

— Yeah, the Miners built it really well, — Alice said to herself.

She decided not to light the candle yet; a light breeze was blowing through the tunnel. After half an hour of cautious movement—they heard no sounds. Only fresh air was coming from somewhere.

And finally, the group came to a fork in the road. Two paved tunnels diverged in different directions.

Alice remembered Thomas’s lessons. Once, they had drawn and played with mazes.
And Thomas had said then,

— The simplest strategy for navigating a maze,
so you don’t get lost, is to turn right all the time.
If you go back, well, then do the opposite.

Turn left all the time.
And you’ll end up back where you came from.

Alice looked around at the fork.
She saw, in the light of the flashlight at the entrance to the right tunnel, some kind of squiggle scratched into the wall.

A straight line and a downward hook at the right end. Alice studied the mark on the wall for a long time.

She thought,
- Something like “end of the road.
It looked like one of the drawings she had deciphered on the totem pole.
But the mark there wasn’t like this one; it was slightly different.
And a light breeze was coming from the right tunnel.
Maybe the exit from the Underworld is there? Alice decided.

After standing there a little longer, undecided, looking at the tunnels, Alice said firmly,

— Bella and Lola—stay close!
Let’s go right!
Stay close to me!

And she very carefully entered the right tunnel.
The first five minutes went smoothly.

Then there were several sharp turns. They navigated them with great caution, waiting and listening. After dimming the lantern, they sat for a few minutes in complete darkness, standing at the turn and straining their ears.

But there was no one around the bends.

6.2 The Miner's Trap

And then Alice suddenly heard a faint noise.

- The sound of water?

And she also noticed that the walls had become wet. And the road! The road had changed too!

These were no longer rough bricks but smooth, almost polished, stone slabs. Sloping slightly forward.

Alice thought: “Up ahead—a waterfall or an underground river!”

She stood up, and the dogs beside her stood rooted to the spot; her powerful flashlight bounced off the walls…

And suddenly she lost her balance and slowly slid down the slippery slabs. It was a good thing the flashlight had a cord attached to her hand and a sturdy casing. Even though the flashlight hit the stone floor during the fall, the light didn’t go out.

The dogs rushed forward on their own without a command and managed to hold onto the slippery stone floor with their claws, clinging to the cracks between the slabs and biting into her jacket on both sides of her shoulders.

For a few seconds, Alice was afraid to move, and the dogs stood as still as statues.

Then Alice slowly and carefully drew the knife from its sheath, which was on her belt.
And she tried to drive it into the slippery stone floor.
It worked!

The knife was made of very good steel. It made a small dent in the stone. And Alice was able to brace herself against that small dent.

She suddenly understood the meaning of the notch at the entrance to this tunnel.

- Someone carved a mark on the wall with a chisel.
And you, silly girl, didn’t understand.

There it is—the Miners’ trap!
Strangers will fall off the cliff onto the rocks or into the water.
And for their own—a mark at the entrance.
An almost imperceptible scratch on the wall.

Her life now literally hung on the claws and teeth of her two dogs and the tip of the knife caught in the dent.

In a quiet voice, trembling with excitement, she said,
— Bella, Lola—slowly back.
Very carefully.

And although she had never trained them to follow such commands, Bella and Lola understood everything and, retreating cautiously, took a few careful steps backward.

Alice stabbed the knife into the stone floor a few more times and helped Bella and Lola, leaning on the knife.

After a few meters of this, Alice tried to stand up and slipped again. But this time it was simply from the strain of the previous few meters. But the dogs immediately clung to her jacket again.

And they stood there for a few minutes, resting. But the slope was gentler here. Another careful pull. With the knife jamming into the cracks between the slabs.

Finally, Alice felt dry stones under her hands. She slowly rolled over and got down on her knees.

She stood up, took two steps, and sat down again. It seemed like she wasn’t doing anything. It was Bella and Lola who were dragging her back. But after those long, tense minutes, Alice simply collapsed from exhaustion.

The dogs sat down beside her. Alice pulled them close.

– Oh, what a witch-slayer! she said to herself.
I would have flown right into the trap myself and ruined the dogs too.
Thank you, my darlings!
You pulled me out.

And she sat with them for another 10 minutes, hugging and petting them, coming to her senses.

Then they finally emerged from that terrifying tunnel. Alice stared at the mark on the wall for a long time, tracing it with her fingers. Trying to memorize even the texture, in case there was no flashlight.

The dogs waited patiently, sniffing and listening for every rustle.
Then they all went into another tunnel.

After an hour of cautious walking, the tunnel widened and they found themselves in a very small cave.

A brick-paved road in the middle. Large stones lined the road, and three tunnels branched off in different directions.

Alice felt utterly exhausted. A sleepless night before the escape. A final day in the Sanctuary filled with tension. The long journey through the Underworld and, finally, their escape from the Miners’ trap had taken a tremendous toll on her strength.

Alice surveyed the cave. She found a small niche by the wall behind a rock, almost completely blocked by a large stone. She climbed in easily and called for Bella and Lola. The dogs also climbed into the niche and settled down beside her.

Alice took out her foil camping blanket—silver foil that reflects heat inward.
She curled up in a ball with the dogs. It’s invisible from the outside, even if you get close. She turned off the flashlight. And fell asleep almost instantly.

Story 15. Agapogo’s Attack
15.1 Alice persuades Agapogo

One evening, Alice was sitting on the shore with the dogs and Agapogo. A bonfire was burning. Alice was telling riddles, though at first Agapogo didn’t understand at all what a riddle was.

Alice posed a riddle about fog. Fog? Foggy? Wait!

Instantly she remembered what Cricket had told her last time! Matilda is on a yacht right now. Her yacht is called Foggy Lady.

“She’s here telling riddles, but the witch is plotting something against her and her friends right now!”—the thought flashed through Alice’s mind.

Suddenly, some otters swam up. One of them had a small bag on straps on its back. Inside was a note from Shaman. He asked if Alice needed anything. He could now send it with the otters.

Alice asked Agapogo:

- The water in the canals and lakes in the Underworld isn’t cold at all,
but is the water colder out there in the Lake outside right now?

- Yes, much colder, Agapogo replied.

- That’s a problem!

But then Alice remembered. When they were at camp on the island in the summer, they went to a small town where all of them—Thomas, Annie, and Alice—learned to surf. There were wonderful little waves for beginner surfers.

And that beach was always full of people with surfboards. It was the perfect place to learn. Alice got on her board and stayed upright on those small waves. Her instructor was very pleased with her progress.

But most importantly, they all got foam wetsuits back then, they spent several hours at a time learning to stand on their boards in the rather cold ocean.

They weren’t cold at all.

Alice ran back to the house and quickly wrote a note. Then she called over an otter that was splashing nearby. She put her note in the otter’s waterproof pocket on its back.

The next evening, three otters brought fairly large rubber bags on their backs. Alice opened the waterproof bags. She took out a wetsuit in her size, fins, a mask, and three small tanks.

The tank screwed right onto the mask. Or you could put it in a small backpack, and then the hose would connect to the mask.

It said “10 min” on it. With this tank, she’d be able to stay underwater for a full 10 minutes!

Alice examined the equipment that had been sent for a long time and read the instructions. Then she put on the wetsuit and tried on the mask.

All in black, with a mask on her face and fins on her feet, she entered the water. She swam, then dove, and carefully turned on the tank—it worked! She could stay underwater and breathe calmly!

Suddenly, Agapogo appeared from the depths and swam alongside her, looking at Alice in surprise,

- I’ve seen people in suits like that in the Lake.
But there weren’t any children among them.

Then Alice came ashore, took off her gear, and sat down on the sand. And she waited. Finally, Agapogo appeared. Alice walked up to him, placed her hand on his enormous head, and began to whisper,

- Agapogo… my dear, I want us to sink Matilda’s yacht.
Help me, please!

I want to take revenge on her for what she did to my family and me.

Bella and Lola whined and fidgeted on the shore when they saw Alice sailing away, sitting on Agapogo’s back. But then the dogs sat down on the shore and waited.

At first, it was a fairly easy swim. Alice sat on the Serpent’s back, and they quickly flew through the tunnels of the Underworld toward the exit to the Lake.

The exit to the Lake wasn’t easy. Here, Agapogo slowed down.

- We have to dive right here.
There will be a small underwater tunnel leading to the Lake.
Are you ready?

- Yes, - Alice replied and turned on her tank.

And Agapogo suddenly dove too fast, and Alice simply fell off his back. But she quickly rose to the surface—it was dark all around. Alice tried to get her bearings without panicking. She turned off her tank. And began to wait.

Agapogo surfaced and laughed slyly,

- Sorry, I went down too fast.
Hold on tight.
Don’t be afraid, I’m with you.
We’ll go slower now.

On the second try, they swam through the underwater tunnel leading to the lake. Alice and Agapogo surfaced in the lake.

It was already dark. She had only ever seen these places from the other side, from the sandy shore. She turned off her tank. In the distance, the lights of the marina—the cove where the yachts were moored—were visible.

Agapogo and Alice approached the marina slowly. Alice simply swam alongside, holding onto Agapogo, trying not to stick her head out of the water. From a distance, it might have looked like some kind of half-submerged log in the water.

A restaurant was open on the shore in the marina. It was all lit up. Music was playing. Only three yachts had their lights on.

There it is. Foggy Lady—the cabin light is on. Matilda is there! They swam closer. They looked at the name again.

Alice asked,

- You can sink this yacht, right?

- I can easily make a hole in the side, - Agapogo confirmed.

Alice whispered,

- Well, go ahead, do it.

Agapogo suggested,

- Let me take you over to that huge buoy at the entrance to the marina.
Hold on to it and wait for me there.
I’ll need quite a long underwater run-up.
I’m fast.

They swam up to the buoy; Alice let go of Agapogo and grabbed the handrail. The buoy was simply enormous.

Agapogo went underwater. Then the buoy with Alice on it rocked violently on a wave. That was Agapogo passing by underwater, picking up speed.

15.2 Matilda is in Shock

Matilda was sitting in a chair with her laptop, checking her messages in the living room cabin of her yacht. Next to her was a cup of strong black coffee and a delicious pastry from the best café in town.

Matilda usually stuck to a strict diet. Only what was good for a witch’s health. That’s why she was always in excellent physical shape. But sometimes she allowed herself to relax.

Suddenly, a terrible blow shook the boat. Everything flew off the table. And Matilda found herself on the floor.

Then there was that unpleasant sound. The sound of water seeping into the yacht. Matilda jumped up from the floor and felt the yacht begin to list to one side. The witch rushed out onto the deck.

The yacht was already noticeably listing to port.

Matilda returned to the cabin and frantically grabbed the essentials—her phone and a bag containing her documents. She threw her computer into the bag as well and rushed back out onto the deck.

She managed to leave the boat literally at the last moment. Strong arms belonging to neighbouring yacht owners who had run over grabbed her and pulled her onto the pier.

People from other yachts, whose lights were still on, heard the terrible crash and ran out onto their decks. They saw that the neighbouring yacht was listing to one side.

And immediately ran to help. Someone started calling 911.

People also began running out of the marina restaurant. They watched as the yacht Foggy Lady slowly sank.

People from the marina surrounded Matilda on the shore, asking questions,

- What happened?

She snapped angrily,

- I was drinking coffee when there was a terrible crash against the side.

I barely managed to jump out.
What happened?
How should I know!?

Someone filmed her on their phone. They posted it online, and that evening the story appeared on the city news on radio and TV.

“Mysterious incident on the yacht Foggy Lady.”

But Matilda quickly pulled herself together and broke away from the crowd. She hailed a cab on the street and left.

Her first thought was,

- Did Listening Forest track me down and hire divers?
Well, Shaman, I’ll get my revenge—and it’ll be even worse.
Joking aside.

15.3 Cricket is Thrilled

The next morning, Cricket told Shaman

- Someone sank Matilda’s yacht last night!

Shaman replied

- Yeah, I saw it.
There’s a TV here, and I watch the local news too.

And he added to himself

- What a girl!!!! - with admiration.

Cricket asked again,

- I don’t get it.
What girl?

Shaman explained,

- I sent Alice a wetsuit and a mask today in response to her urgent request.
She wanted to go out onto the Lake with Agapogo.

And Listening Forest broke into a smile.

Can you imagine how crickets laugh? There was such a deafening chirping!

And the Cricket, continuing to chirp,

- It’s definitely her!
She could do it!

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