It was dark enough and fog began to set in. Terror seized me and I wanted to run away from here. I began to miss my friends and even the spirit who initiated me into these secrets. The doors and windows were closed. It looks like no one lives in these houses, I thought to myself. I wonder what kind of houses these are, and who lives in them? The castle was made of stone, unlike the two previous houses. Skeletons stood at the entrance gate like two faithful guards. On the very edge of the roof sat a black raven, and stared at me intently. This made me even more scared, I no longer wanted to continue on my way, I wanted to wake up as soon as possible, but I did not know how to do it. The mist enveloped the whole neighborhood, nothing was visible and I did not know where to go next. Clouds of dark gray smoke obscured everything around. I began to look around. Someone suddenly touched my shoulder, and I flinched. It was my friend.
– We finally found you! It is a creepy place! What do you think? I was quite surprised to see them here.
– We have been looking for you for a long time. My friends came accompanied by my new ghost friend. – Your friend helped us find you. I was excited to see my friends. My fear disappeared and I wanted to continue on my way.
– We decided to go with you to the end. Did you hear that you are going to the party? I smiled cordially in response, as a sign of agreement.
– How did you find me?
– We ran after you across the bridge. The snake obviously did not like it, and we had to run as fast as we could. When we caught up with you, you suddenly disappeared and there was an empty meadow in front of us. Then we found ourselves in a clearing near a house covered with moss. It turns out that this is the house of Veles himself. He guards the vestibules of the Navi world and appears here occasionally.
– Where does such knowledge come from?
– It was your friend the ghost who enlightened us! Then the picture changed dramatically, and we saw an abandoned house. The picture is not pleasant. We wanted to go home so much. This is the home of Chernobog, the master of this world. It seems that the gods do not live in their homes, but live somewhere else. I wonder if there is a lot of badness here. How much longer do we have to walk?
– And who lives in this castle?
– This is the abode of Koshchei the immortal. This is Mara Marena’s husband. In addition, that abandoned house is the house of his father Chernobog. Koschei loves skulls and bones. He collects them and decorates his abode with them. Chernobog also has a son, Viy, but he does not go to the festival, and it is better not to see him. We have done the main way. Soon the ice palaces of Mary Madder will appear before us. Now all the main gods have gone to the festival, with the exception of some.
– How do we get to the holiday?
– They are waiting for you there. You were allowed to get here, but I do not even know about your friends. It is dangerous for them to stay here. They may not come back. I looked at them with regret. My conscience tormented me. I did not know how to help them anymore. My only goal was to save my late grandmother, and instead I dragged my friends with me. Now there are three of them.
– Let’s go further. The Spirit led us along, and we found ourselves on the edge of a cliff. The cliff was made of stone; there was an abyss under his feet. Stones rained down from the edge and fell into the abyss. On the other side of the cliff, ice Palaces could be seen. There was a huge distance between us. It seemed that this Hall was somewhere on the other side of the world, perhaps even in the sky.
– «These gods cannot live in heaven. They are terrified of the light. This is what kills them. They are inhabitants of darkness. They are darkness themselves. I looked at him, and he actually sees everyone through, despite the fact that he is transparent.
– How do we get there?
– It is complicated. I have never been able to do it myself. It started snowing, and light snowflakes were swirling in the air.
After making several passes from side to side, I noticed a transparent bridge. It was barely noticeable, made as if from water, barely frozen water.
– Here it is. Look, the bridge. This is the transition to the ice Palaces. My friends came up to me briskly. – Who is the first? I asked happily. To my surprise, one of my friends took a decisive step. The bridge swayed. Despite our general fear, he continued on his way. We followed him. After taking a few steps, I looked back. Stones were falling from the cliff. Nothing could be seen from behind, everything was shrouded in darkness. Bony tree branches could be traced among the haze. The snowfall intensified and the wind began to blow. The bridge became lighter and more transparent and seemed about to melt.
– The main sign of Mary is frozen water. Said the spirit, flying over us. If the bridge melts, I will not be able to help you.
– And what will happen to us? We are already in hell! I tried to joke, but I was not laughing myself. The bridge melted, and we fell into the abyss.
We woke up in the cemetery, near an unmarked grave. Friends frantically looked around. I was laughing at them; I knew how they were feeling right now.
– I hope we dreamed it. Alternatively, just a glitch. Come quickly from here. We walked from the cemetery at an accelerated pace. We were wearing the clothes in which we left the apartment. There was a heavy snowstorm outside. Almost nothing was visible.
– Let’s remember how we got here. I suggested it. We need to get back. At least for me.
– You need to. You come back. What did I forget there? It is too early for me. My friend was screaming furiously.
– You had fun when you laughed at her. I objected. Now you want to leave.
– Lets not quarrel. We need to remember everything from the very beginning. We were all laughing, and we all ended up in that place. Now we need to fix it all.
– I agree. I answered. One of the friends reluctantly agreed. – It all started with my grandmother’s grave. That is where I fell into the abyss for the first time. We need to find the grandmother’s grave.
We went through the cemetery in search of a grave. Despite the severe frost and blizzard, we did not feel cold. We walked for about an hour and found ourselves in the same place near an abandoned grave.
– And then what? How long are we going to walk here?
– Stop whining. Go home alone. Vitka and I are staying. One of them abruptly headed for the exit. Although I did not know where the exit was anymore. His figure was receding, and because of the blizzard, he was no longer visible. After standing for a few seconds, we went back to search for the grave.
– I roughly remember where she is, this is where we found you the first time. We went in the direction of relying on the memory of a friend. When I reached the grave, I stepped over the fence. The grave was covered with snow, and I was standing almost knee-deep in snow.
– I wish Grandma would help us. I thought to myself. As soon as I thought about it, I immediately found myself on the other side of the cliff. I was standing on the edge and stones were falling from it as well as on the opposite side. The view from this cliff was the complete opposite of the other. It was like heaven and hell. The view of the ice Palaces was a beautiful sight. It was a white palace
