Chương 17: First disagreements

Lloyd didn't take his eyes off it. Mippo, meanwhile, unhurriedly looked around — the wooden head slowly turned left, then right. Green eyes slid across the slimy walls, across the dark sludge underfoot, across the low ceiling with its hanging threads. The creature surveyed the tunnel with the expression of something that had taken a profound dislike to what it saw. The tunnel returned the sentiment — there wasn't much here that anyone could like.

The greenish light pulsed, reflecting off the slimy walls in uneven patches. Somewhere deep in the tunnel water dripped methodically. The air stood motionless — warm, damp, thick with the smell of rot. Then Mippo looked back at Lloyd — and a note appeared in its voice that could only be described as displeasure. — I would ask you not to summon me to places like this again. Lloyd looked the creature up and down — then back up — and slowly got to his feet.

The dark sludge released him reluctantly, squelching in protest. He shook his hand, trying to rid his palm of the green mass that had stuck to it. It didn't work particularly well. The mass was sticky and behaved accordingly. — Mippo, — said Lloyd, wiping his hand on his trousers, which had long since given up any pretence of cleanliness, — can you tell me where I am? Mippo tilted its head — smoothly, slowly, as though the question had caught it off guard. The feathers on its crown swayed.

Something that resembled surprise flickered in the green eyes. — Did you really not know where you were going? — it said after a pause. — Although you haven't even reached the first level. I don't know why I'm surprised. Lloyd's face twisted. — You have entered a green category dungeon: Rotten Drains, — Mippo continued in the tone of someone reading out an official document. Lloyd tilted his head. — And that's all you can tell me? — he looked the creature over. — I expected more from you. I already knew that.

Mippo's wooden mask twitched. Barely perceptibly — but it twitched. The green eyes narrowed slightly. Something tensed beneath the cloak. And then it answered — in the same childlike voice, but with something new in it. Something sharp. — Idiot. Then why are you asking if you already know? Smelly little human. The veins on Lloyd's forehead swelled. — What did you just call me, you little snot?! — he stepped forward, the sludge squelching underfoot. — Have you seen yourself?!

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Mippo twitched again — more noticeably this time. Small green fingers tightened around the lantern handle. The golden crystal inside flickered — once, twice, as though responding to its owner's mood. — Snot, is it... The creature slowly bent down and scooped with its free hand directly from the sludge underfoot — pulling out a handful of dark green sticky mass. It held it out on an outstretched palm and looked at Lloyd.

The tunnel around them was silent. Only water dripped somewhere in the darkness. Only bubbles popped lazily on the surface of the sludge. Lloyd raised an eyebrow. — What are you doing?.. Then it dawned on him. His face slowly began to pale. — Hey, wait, wait. I was joking. But Mippo was past caring. The hand with the green mass was already moving. Lloyd only managed to open his mouth. — You little... The green mass hit him directly in the face — densely, wetly, with a resounding smack.

Lloyd lost his balance, his feet slid out from under him on the slippery sludge, and he crashed onto his back into the dark green waste. Full back. Back of the head. Hands. The tunnel filled for a moment with the echo of the fall — hollow, full — then silence returned. Only water dripped. Only the greenish light pulsed. Only the sludge slowly spread in rings from the point of impact. Mippo straightened up. It raised its wooden head with the air of a creature that had just restored justice.

The feathers on its crown swayed triumphantly. The golden light of the lantern lit it softly from below, casting a long shadow on the slimy wall behind it. — On that note — I bid you farewell, — it said calmly and matter-of-factly, as though nothing had happened. — I cannot stand places like this. Besides, I have a great deal of business to attend to, apart from you. It turned and headed toward a small green puddle by the wall — unhurriedly, with dignity, swinging the lantern.

The bell at its waist chimed softly with the movement. Lloyd sat up. Slowly. Green mass dripped from his face, from his hair, fell from his chin back into the sludge. He stared ahead for several seconds — with that particular expression of someone trying to decide whether to be angry or simply accept what had happened as one of life's facts. Then he reached a hand out toward Mippo. — Wait. Tell me at least something useful. Mippo stopped. It turned its head — slowly, over its shoulder.

The green eyes looked at Lloyd without particular sympathy — evenly, calmly, the way one looks at someone who has no one to blame but themselves. — In your case — nothing, — it said. — You haven't even reached the first level. I'll be surprised if you survive. It turned back to the puddle. Bent down, preparing to jump. The surface of the sludge reflected its silhouette — small, with the lantern, with the feathers on its crown — and immediately distorted it with ripples.

And then — already almost gone — it tossed one last word over its shoulder. Casually, as though in passing. — You might find the statistics window useful. And jumped. The sludge splashed, churned — bubbles raced across the surface one after another, quickly, densely — and went still. The green puddle was just a puddle again. Quiet, dark, indifferent. As though Mippo had never been here at all.

No trace, no sound — only the soft ring of the bell, which hung in the air of the tunnel for one more second and then dissolved into the darkness as well. Lloyd stood up. Slowly, with effort — the sludge gripped his legs and didn't want to let go. He shook himself off, insofar as that made any sense given his situation. He looked at his hands — green, sticky, gleaming in the dim light. Looked at the spot where Mippo had just been standing.

Looked at the tunnel — at its damp walls, at the murky greenish half-light ahead, at the darkness behind him. Quiet. Only water. Only light that was in no hurry to go anywhere.

"What did he mean by the word statistics?" And then — barely had the last word formed itself into a thought — the familiar violet window appeared before him.