"It's here.” - I said, looking at the tall silver gate with its silver and gold branches. Two silver guards stood on either side of the gate, holding long silver-tipped spears. It seemed that at any moment these figures could come to life and point their weapons at the aliens, protecting the entrance to their world. I recognized the statues as elves with their arrogant horns and pointed ears. It's like a fairy tale.

"Please forgive me, but no one has passed through this gate for a long time.” – My companion said with confusion. - "Even I don't remember where they lead Please wait until I call our Keeper of the Paths.”

“Ok.” - I said, and began to walk around the room, looking at the beautiful patterns and bas-reliefs depicting scenes with the participation of elves.

Ten minutes later, another ghost entered the room. For a completely incomprehensible reason, he pretended to be a deep old man, although ghosts shouldn't grow old just because of the absence of a body. However, who will understand these vile xenos.

"Greetings, traveler.” - The old ghost asked me. - "I am the Keeper of the Paths of the Ghost Castle. I know everything about every entrance and exit. Do you want to hear the history of this gate?”

"I wish to go through them. But I don't mind hearing the story, either.”

“Wonderful.” - The ghost was inspired by my answer. Apparently, they really don't have anyone to talk to. - "This gate was one of the first created after the construction of the Ghost Castle. They led to the Silver Forest, home of the high elves. This wonderful people were descended from the gods themselves. They were immortal. When an elf got tired of life, he did not die, but fell asleep forever, and his soul went to the dream world in the Silver Forest. It was a glorious time. For many millions of years, the era of the rule of the elves lasted. Even in the dream world, they were able to create their own state, and their country was filled with many wonders. Alas, one day all this splendor came to an end. The Silver Forest had been invaded by a Filth that had consumed and corrupted all life, turning the owners of these places into ugly monsters, hungry for someone else's blood. Since then, these gates have been sealed to prevent the Filth from entering the Ghost Castle. The Silver Forest was destroyed, and these four elves remaining to guard the gates are the last elves of the Silver Forest in the entire universe. Later I heard rumors that the Filth has been destroyed, but I can't guarantee their truth. If you, a wanderer, decide to pass through this gate, then know that there will be no turning back. Seal on this gate only allows you to move forward.”

“Wonderful. That is what I need.” - I offered my enthusiastic opinion.

"Well, in that case, I will begin the ritual of opening the gate.”

Then the ghost began waving his arms, shouting long spells, and other ways to portray the importance and significance of this moment. After the circus performance was over, he went to the gate and entered the access code on an almost invisible panel. If I hadn't encountered such things before, I might have believed that the ghost had just put his hand on the wall.

The vine-covered gate shuddered and began to open slowly. The four elven statues turned their heads and stared at me, but a moment later they returned to their original position. From the passageway beyond the gate, the light was blinding, making it difficult to see what was there. I already knew that. It was another Stargate.

Passing through the portal, I found myself in the center of a vast desert. There was nothing but sand, and the sun, at its zenith was pouring its rays on the hot earth. When I turned around, I saw a rock sticking out of the sand with a gate painted on its surface. Even if I looked closely, I couldn't find any magic in this drawing. I turned away from the sand-gnawed stone-fang and walked forward, looking carefully around.

This place was dangerous. Although all I could see was sand, my instincts screamed that I couldn't stay here. After scanning the area, I realized that the threat was coming from underground. The Filth was still there. It hid under sand from the scorching rays of the sun, but was ready to infect the gaping victim.

When I realized this, I immediately flied up to the air and flew forward. The height of five meters was enough for my intuition to stop screaming and calm down. The further path was no less interesting than in the previous world. There was sand everywhere, and nothing but sand. No matter how much I flew forward, nothing changed in the area. However, a few hours later, another sun appeared in the sky. The first still stood at the zenith, but the second, more frailer, rose from the horizon and began to move in a gentle arc, more characteristic of the polar latitudes.

So, I flew forward for almost two weeks, during which time I was trained in flight, so that I could already overtake the car. I almost missed the sight of caravan on the horizon. Only when it was already at my side, I noticed a small 'defect' in the endless sand dunes.

Changing direction, I approached the caravan and saw a dozen camels slowly and sadly trudging along the sand. Each of the camels was ridden by a driver. And on the second camel from the head of the caravan sat a man wrapped in rags, decorated with a cunning pattern. Taking this as a sign of leadership, I went to him.

Caravans have noticed me for a long time, because I was moving towards them. As soon as I got close enough, they began to greet me without dismounting from their camels.

"Greetings, o mighty dev.” - The caravan leader folded his hands in prayer. - "I am humble merchant Hasup Ibn Marap, the head of this caravan, on my way to the city of Sanagar. What can I serve you?”

It seems that this merchant knew how to communicate with powerful mages, which spoke of a rich experience with them.

“I will follow you to Sanagar with you.” - I notified him

“As the great magician pleases. I would be honored if you would accompany our small caravan. Although the path is deserted and safe, the protection of the magician from wandering creatures of filth will never be superfluous.”

When I heard the mention of a certain path, I scanned the area and discovered that the caravan was indeed moving along a certain magical formation that prevented the Filth from approaching the surface.

"Tell me about this path." - I ordered to Hasup.

"As the great magician pleases. Since time immemorial, since the appearance of the Great Fiery Desert, people have known about the magical paths leading through the boundless sands. By the will of the gods, these paths were protected from the influence of Filth, allowing caravans to cross the desert without risking to turn into ugly monsters and burn under the scorching rays of the Great Sun. Previously, people knew travel songs that allowed them to shorten the path, so it took not months or years, but only hours.”

“Years? How long do you get to Sanagar?”

“O great magician, I follow from city Harshuta to my native city Sanagar. This journey takes six months. I have been on the road for almost four months now, so if the gods will grant it, in about seventy days the Great Wall will appear in front of me and the gate leading to Sanagar.”

The prospect of limping through the desert for more than two months did not please me at all. In addition, my 'compass' started to fail, refusing to show direction. It remained only to get to the inhabited places and try to ask people for directions.

"Tell me, merchant, have you heard of the Crystal Mountains where the underground people live?"

"The Crystal Mountains?" - The caravan master surprised. - "I have heard of the Crystal Hills, but not even a poet could call them mountains. And there are definitely no underground people, because this area is teeming with deadly Zugs, which are the enemies of all living things.”

"Have you ever heard of the Silver Forest that was once the site of this desert?" - I asked.

"Silver Forest?" - The merchant was even more surprised. - "I've never heard a story that there was anything but filth in this place. Here are stories about how a Righteous God created a Great Sun to burn out the Filth, I have heard many. And all of them with one voice said that the Filth existed in this place for centuries since the creation of the world. Then one of the Outer Gods dropped on the earth a drop of the evil he had collected, from which he had cleansed the newly created world. And this drop fell on barren land, giving birth to a host of nightmares and god-awful monsters. However, what can a simple caravan driver know about those distant times? If you are interested in how this world was created, and what was on this earth before Outer God sowed the seed of Filth in it, then you should go to the temple of the gods in Sanagar. The priest of this temple is known as a wise man, so maybe he can answer your questions.”

This ended the merchant's flow of words, and he fell into a thoughtful silence. But I kept him awake by asking the next question.

"What kind of travel songs did you mention?" - I didn't like the idea of traveling with the caravan. Now that I knew there was a path, I could fly along it much faster. But another option was to activate the magic embedded in the path, which accelerates movement.

"I've heard that when the first humans appeared in this area after the retreat of Filth, the great mages of the past were able to come up with songs that activated the hidden path magic. But alas, over time these songs have been forgotten, and the last few thousand years about them go only fables among caravans”