A shadow flickered beside Sam, and small stones fell.

  “Here it is. Unconscious.”  Said the soft female voice of the ghost.

 A shaggy, masked ghost with sharp spikes on his head and shoulders squatted next to Sam.

  “No, he can't be helped.  I'll see what he has.”

 The ghost began to rummage through Sam's things, some small objects moved into the ghost's bag, he was attracted by a container with beetles.

  “Although no, maybe you have a chance!”

The ghost opened the container and took out one of the beetles. Putting the beetle to Sam's hand, he pressed a little. The beetle woke up from hibernation and, feeling a living warmth, plunged its proboscis into the skin.

  “Let's see how you handle the bite."

The fluorescent poison penetrated the skin and entered the bloodstream. The ghost was surprised when he saw the blood reacting with the poison under the skin and starting to glow.

  “Yes, you're lucky! Will live!”

The ghost got up and went where Sam had come from, a few minutes later the ghost returned with a leather bag in his hands.

  “I wonder how you destroyed all the creatures?”  Said the ghost.

Taking some of the things, the ghost left. Then he returned again with a bundle of thick cloth. The ghost put Sam on the canvas and wrapped him, securing the body with a rope. Slinging a rope over his shoulder, the ghost dragged Sam up the flat rocks.

  “How heavy it is!” Said the ghost.

The ghost dragged Sam to a large lizard that had a rider's saddle mounted on it. Hauling Sam's body onto the saddle, the ghost slapped the lizard on the back, and it crawled over the rocks to the stairs that Cap, Sam, and Phil were descending.

  “Let's go to the doctor.” The ghost slapped the saddle twice from the right and the lizard turned in the right direction.

The bottom of the grotto was partially flooded, and large pipes lay in the water a little further away. The lizard with the ghost quickly ran along them to the tunnels of the ancient aqueduct and climbed into one of them. The lizard was perfectly oriented in the pitch darkness. She ran through the tunnel until she found herself in an artificial grotto. It was an old reservoir with rusted and dilapidated pipes around the perimeter. In the middle of the grotto stood a rusty tower to the edges of which long and sharp spikes were welded. On the widest tier there was something resembling an observation deck. A hoist with a container was installed just below the fencing of the site, which served to connect the tower with the collapsed platform on the other side of the grotto.

 The lizard with the rider ran to the edge of the platform. The ghost, without dismounting from the lizard, struck the floor with the tip of his spear. The sound echoed through the grotto. Two men appeared on the observation deck of the tower.

  “What do you want?”  One of them shouted.

  “We need to sew up the wounds.”

  “What in return?”

  “Liver of darkness, a full bag.”

  “How did you get a bag full of liver?”

  “The outsider had destroyed the entire nest of darkness. You can walk with children there now! The hunters will bring you nothing.”

  “Is he immortal or something! All right, get him in here.”

 The hoist winch creaked. The ghost dragged Sam's body into the container and closed the door. On the observation deck, they were met by two more doctor's assistants with a gurney for Sam.

  “Suely, why did you bring this mercenary here?“  One of the assistants was angry. “You know the rules, no strangers.”

  "He's not just a mercenary. He survived the nemurge bite.”  Ghost replied.  "Heng needs to see him."

 Dr. Heng, in his fifties, typical Nodian, narrow eyes and slightly yellowish skin. He looked older than his years, deep wrinkles and several scars on his face gave him a stern look. He signaled with his hand and the assistants dragged the cart with Sam into the tower. Dr. Heng rarely invited anyone to visit, this time he allowed Suely to come inside. A girl named Suely was hiding under the shaggy and scary costume of the ghost. She went inside and looked around curiously. There were many different medical equipment in the room.

  “Suely, don't touch anything here.”  Warned Heng, putting on a robe. “Nitt, wash the wounded man, he is covered in caked blood and mud, and then for diagnostics.”

Dr. Heng left Suely alone. Heng returned half an hour later, his robe was covered in blood.

 “Do you ever take off this mask?” Heng asked.

 “Yes, but not now?” Answered Suely.

  “Come on, I'll show you who you brought!”

 They entered the diagnostic room. In the middle of the room was a diagnostic machine with a retractable platform on which Sam lay. Heng walked over to the platform and pointed out to Sueli the tattoo on Sam's bald head.

  “Do you know what that means?”

 “It looks like a picture of a pilgrim bird, why does he have such a tattoo on his head?”  Suely asked.

  “That's right, it's a pilgrim bird!” Heng sighed. “But it's not a tattoo, it's a genetic mark. Only titarians put such a mark on newborn boys. This man is a Titarian. He is a descendant of ancient pilgrims, just like I am a Nodian, like you who live here on Grotar.”

  “What good is it to me. Leave it with you, there will be one more assistant. Besides, he is from the big world, like you, so you will have something to talk about.”

  “No. Suely, you must take him to the southern dome.” Heng objected.

  “I will not take him to the southern dome, most of the predators have a young brood, it is already dangerous to move through the tunnels, caravans will stop walking in a few days.”

  “Suely, get him to the southern dome, this is your pass to the city.” Heng insisted.

  “What is it about him that even I will be allowed to live in the city?”

  “This Titarian is a symbol of rebirth for the pilgrims. His appearance here is not accidental!”

  “Heng, no one here already believes in old legends, and these symbols do not matter.”

  “It may be here, but in the big world, the descendants of the pilgrims do not have an easy life.”

  “Not easy!” Suely chuckled. “There are predators eating something here every day.”

  “You live outside the city. You calmly walk where the hunters are afraid to go.” Heng objected. “ The difference is that here we live with animals that obey natural instincts. And what instinct does a civilized man obey in pursuing his own kind?”

  “You ask Dugo. He became like a predator.”

  “Dugo is a rare bastard, but now we are not talking about him. There are strict rules in place on this planet to survive. You know for yourself what that means. Without interrupting me, please.”

  “OK carry on.” Suely agreed.

  “With the onset of a new era, when flights in the galaxy were restored, and life flowed at the usual pace. Many wondered who is to blame for the fact that civilization almost perished. Naturally, the perpetrators were found immediately. Claims were made to the descendants of the ancient pilgrims who were the last to leave the star cloud. They were Ilits, Titarians and Grotarians, but the latter were presumed dead because the pilgrims managed to remove Grotar from all existing maps. The claims grew into demands for compensation, and then the Ilits and Titarians were persecuted everywhere. It all ended in a war in which the Ilites first fell, and then the Titarians. For more than twenty years, the descendants of the ancient pilgrims have been forced to lead a secretive lifestyle. Therefore, the pilgrims living in the big world believe in legends that there will be a revival of the pilgrims. You know that, in addition to the Nemurg hunters, pilgrims come here, just like me without a chance to return. But when another group of volunteers managed to get here two years ago, they said that a Titarian had appeared among the warrior caste. This means that the legends come true, which means the oracle exists. The appearance of this person here can hardly be called accidental. After being bitten by a nemurg, his DNA will gradually recover, he will become as strong as his ancestors were before the appearance of the DNA anomaly.”

  “The pilgrim bird returns for its chicks.” Suely thought about it. Then she grinned and continued. “ I'm not so naive as to believe the legends, I guess what you are up to. Only you don't know what kind of person he is, what he will do when he wakes up! Maybe he doesn't want to play by your rules!”

  “We'll see.” Heng smiled.