of the Others were from Moscow District, not the city. And before check-in Edgar had given us false passports and applied high-quality masks that fourth- and fifth-level Others wouldn't be able to penetrate. So I walked past my colleagues under the name of Alexander Peterson, resident of St Petersburg. Gennady became Konstantin Arbenin, but what Edgar called himself I didn't hear.
Once I was in the plane and the flight attendant had brought the coffee and cognac that Edgar had promised I realised that I had lost the game all hands up. Every now and then the furry noose on my neck, which had attracted glances of puzzlement at customs, squeezed a little bit tighter, or scratched at my skin with its tiny little claws... or teeth. Just about the only thing it didn't do was purr while it waited for me to use any magic. I even remembered what the thing was called. Schrodinger's Cat. Evidently because nobody had ever been able to decide whether this piece of trash was alive or dead. In the Inquisition they used Schrodinger's Cat for transporting the most dangerous criminals. The lousy son of a bitch had never failed. And by the way, unless I was getting things confused, it was the only one of its kind. Edgar had stolen some truly unique artefacts.
'Drink your coffee,' Edgar said amiably. I had been put in the window seat, with Gennady beside me. Edgar sat behind us, and he made sure there was no one in the seat beside him: the perplexed but unprotesting passenger was moved to somewhere in economy class, with showers of apologies and promises of countless bonuses in compensation. All in all, Aeroflot made a quite remarkably pleasant impression. No worse than the western carriers, or even a bit better. It was just a pity I wouldn't be able to enjoy the flight. I was in the wrong company for that.
I drank coffee and brandy by turns, watching as the plane rolled out onto the runway. Edgar whispered something behind my back - and the roar of the engines disappeared. A Sphere of Silence. Well, it made sense: now no one would bother us, and no one would hear us. It was a good thing that, unlike the wizard Khottabich in the fairy tale, Edgar had other ways of combating the noise apart from stopping the engines...
Proceed, if you are as strong as I;
Or go back, if you are as wise as I.
He was mocking. Of course he was ?mocking the hapless treasure hunters. But he still believed that he had to give a hint. That was in the unwritten rules of the game in those days. So there had to be a way.
Proceed-go back. Forwards-backwards ...
Perhaps you had to pump up the momentum, by swinging back wards and forwards, like trying to free a car that's got stuck in the mud ?an art completely forgotten by the masses in this era of automatic transmissions. Reach the sixth level, jump back, then back to sixth and take a run straight through...
Absolute drivel. I had just barely managed to get as far as the sixth level once, pausing to catch my breath after every breakthrough.
I was assuming that I could jump straight out of the depths of the Twilight, like Geser, I still wouldn't be able to pump up my speed like that.
Let's repeat the argument from the beginning.
The Crown of All Things is here concealed. Only one step is left.
That was all clear enough. The inscription was on the sixth level. The Crown of All Things was hidden on the seventh. The cunning Merlin had left the signpost where only the most powerful and skilful magician could reach it... it felt really good that I had managed to get there!
But we weren't told anything special in this line. It was a kind of preamble. An introduction. We could only hope that Thomas the Rhymer's translation was adequate... but then it ought to be, coming from a great bard and an ancestor of Lermontov.
But this is a legacy for the strong or the wise ?
This was more or less clear too. Merlin had left the decision about whether to use the artefact or not up to those who would be his equal. In Power or wisdom - it didn't matter which.
You shall receive all and nothing, when you are able to take it.
Right, now this was a bit more interesting. It looked as though Merlin believed that using the Crown might cause a