Adam felt like someone was poking him in the stomach, so he opened his eyes dazedly to see who had woken him up. The young boy didn't feel like talking to the two intruders, but he was quite surprised by what his eyes were seeing. He couldn't understand how, but there were two boys who couldn't be more than 8 years old, prodding him with wooden sticks as if to check if he was still alive.
The two boys were dressed in gray robes, both with messy black hair and green eyes. One had freckles, and the other didn't, but all their other facial features seemed identical, so they must be twins.
—He's alive, run to the exit, Apolo!— one of the boys shouted, poking Adam on the head with a stick, then running toward one of the cave walls.
—It won't show up! Hermes, the exit won't appear!— the freckled boy cried desperately, violently hitting the cave wall with his hand—Open the exit, old man! There's someone else inside! Open it!
Dazed by the scene, Adam touched his head in pain, incredulous at what he was seeing. In his 10 years living here, no one else had managed to enter this cave.
The eyeless old man materialized on the stone wall being pounded by the children and yelled angrily:
—Enough! Shut up, brats! It was you who asked the sheep to come here! Now shut your mouths and listen to the big redhead! And you, reckless one, move your butt and read the mission letter, it's on your desk!
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Adam didn't feel like doing anything, so he just stared at the lake as the boys looked at him fearfully from one of the cave walls.
The eyeless old man, seeing that Adam wasn't moving, shouted even angrier:
—Remember those sheep that "I" paid with my mushrooms? Well, they've proven the merchandise works: now go and read the letter! You have a favor to repay, and if you don't do it willingly, I'll hypnotize you to make sure you do!
Adam knew well that hypnotizing a librarian cost the eyeless old man quite a lot, so he didn't worry too much about it. Nonetheless, the young hero moved to his desk to avoid the old man's shouts continuing to bother his ears.
On the table, there was a letter and a very small wooden box. Without much enthusiasm, Adam took the letter and opened it to see its content. Inside the letter were two identification cards for the middle floors and a very short message.
The message said:
> "Take the box to the white wooden bookshelves - Take Apolo and Hermes to the wood floors market and buy sweets for the boys."
The identification cards read: Apolo/10423 - Hermes/41556
—I don't understand...— Adam said, somewhat angry about the mission —Why do I have to buy sweets for some kids? What do they have to do with the white wooden bookshelves and the favor I owe?
The eyeless old man appeared in front of the young boy, glaring at him while shouting:
—Complete the mission perfectly, or I'll never let you enter this cave again! If you're so eager to screw up your life, at least be useful and try reading one of my books, clown!
With that said, the eyeless old man spat in Adam's face and disappeared into the wall. The red-haired boy, amazed to discover that the old man could spit, wiped the saliva off his face with his white robe. Strangely, he raised his hand to see the portion of the robe he had used to clean himself and discovered that the old man had spat black ink.