The Failed Espionage

 Maybe he’s just pretending to be ordinary. Otherwise, he always just says to us, “See, this is science,” and never explains further. Darion (squinting one eye, whispering): – No, my guess is different. He must have gained knowledge from a fallen ancient star. Or… made a pact with demons. Lukas (shocked): – Demons?! Darion (nodding): – Otherwise, how could one person’s mind hold so much knowledge? (At that moment, Lira accidentally steps on a broken branch. “Crack!” – a loud noise. The three of them freeze in place. Moris lifts his head from the book, sits silently for a moment, then simply shrugs his shoulders and continues reading.) Lira (whispering nervously): – We’re saved! He didn’t hear it… (Just then Darion’s stomach growls loudly, “grrrr.” The three of them cover each other’s mouths in panic. Moris smiles faintly and closes the book.) Moris (without turning back): – Children, you still need to work on your spying skills. (Lukas, Lira, and Darion gape in astonishment, realizing their master had known about them all along. Moris stands and turns toward them slowly.) Moris (smiling): – If you want to know what I know, just ask instead of spying. I don’t hide knowledge. But be prepared, my answers will be long and headache-inducing. Lukas (stammering): – Master, we… we were just… curious. Moris (shrugging): – Curiosity is the beginning of science. But if you asked “why?” instead of sneaking around, you would learn much more. (The three of them laugh awkwardly, embarrassed. The scene ends with a light, warm atmosphere.) Scene: Morning time. Moris, as usual, is conducting some unknown experiment in the forest. Lukas, Lira, and Darion are peeking from the thick trees. Lukas whispers: — This guy… yesterday when he defeated the mithril lizard, he did everything differently. How does he know so much? Lira impatiently: — Yes, I don’t understand either. 

  He doesn’t sound like a sorcerer, but like a scholar. He says “the structure of minerals,” “metal atoms”… where did he learn all that? Darion sighs: — We’ll find out today. If all three of us spy on him and still notice nothing, then… I’ll carve my own name onto my sword. (As they sneak closer, suddenly the bushes rustle and huge yellow eyes flash. It is the Levian tiger, Rocky. The predator instantly circles them. The three tremble in fear.) Rocky, through telepathy: — Hey, little mice… what are you doing here? (The three of them flinch, startled by the voice echoing directly in their minds.) Lukas: — N-no… we were just… studying nature! Lira, trembling: — P-picking flowers… yes, flowers! Darion, clutching his sword: — We… we… no-o-o, I swear we mean no harm! Rocky’s eyes narrow: — No harm, you say? But I can hear your heartbeats. If you lie, I’ll swallow your heads in one bite. (Rocky growls slightly, opening his mouth, his teeth gleaming in the moonlight. The three instantly fall to their knees.) Lukas: — No! We weren’t spying on Moris! Rocky (telepathy intensifying, making their ears ring): — Lies! You want to uncover his secret. If he caught you, he’d just embarrass you. But I am Rocky, the Levian tiger! I swore to protect Moris. If you harbor ill intent, I will devour you. (Lira’s eyes well up, Lukas raises his hand, and Darion drops his sword.) Darion: — No, no, we swear, we won’t betray Moris, we mean no harm! We just… wanted to know how he has so much knowledge. Rocky calms slightly: — Moris’s knowledge would be too heavy a burden for you. You are not ready yet. Now go home. 

 (The tiger leaps over them, deliberately scratching the ground with his claws and scattering dirt. Terrified, the three leap up and run away.) End of scene – a humorous moment: Once they reach the village, Darion’s knees are shaking, Lira’s hair is full of leaves, and Lukas is panting hard. Lira: — We… will never ask Moris anything again… Lukas: — Yes, but there’s one problem… Darion: — What problem? Lukas: — How do we know when Rocky will find us again with his telepathy?.. (All three flinch and glance back. The camera pans toward the forest, where Rocky’s eyes are once again glowing in the distance.) The dark of night. The moon gives off only a faint light. After their failed spying attempts, Lukas, Lira, and Darion make a new plan: to steal Moris’s notebook while he sleeps. — “Tonight we’ll uncover his secret!” — whispered Lukas, eyes gleaming. — “But what if he catches us?” — Lira asked anxiously. — “Then… we’ll just say we heard nothing!” — Darion declared bravely. The three approach the house where Moris lives. In front of the door lies Rocky, the Levian tiger, coiled like a chain, his head resting on his massive paws, asleep. — “Oh no… he’ll swallow us alive,” — Lira whispered softly. — “Don’t worry, he’s sleeping. We just need to pass quietly,” — said Lukas, trying to sound confident. — “Did you forget last time he said through telepathy he’d ‘crush our heads’?” — Darion muttered, teeth chattering. With hearts pounding, the apprentices creep over the wooden planks near Rocky. His ears twitch slightly, but then he resumes snoring. — “Phew… alive!” — Lukas wiped his sweat. They enter the house, carefully stepping into the room where Moris sleeps. No lamp is lit, but the moonlight clearly illuminates the table where the notebook lies. — “There it is! His secret notebook!” — Lira whispered excitedly. — “Alright, alright… grab it quickly and let’s go!” — said Darion. Lukas picks up the notebook, and the three sneak outside. Barely forty steps away, they open it eagerly. Inside, instead of thick pages of formulas, there is only one sentence: “Why are you stealing this notebook?” The three freeze in silence. 

   Then: — “Um… is this… magic?” — Lira asked wide-eyed. — “No, no! It’s a curse to expose us!” — Darion panicked. — “No! Moris already knew we would do this!” — Lukas said, trembling. Suddenly, more words begin glowing under the first: “Yesterday in the forest, you loudly spoke of your secret plan. If you were good listeners, you would already know what a drone is.” — “Drone?!” — the three shout in unison. — “What’s that? Some new kind of magic?” — Lira asked. — “No… maybe… the name of a demon!” — Darion said, eyes rolling. Suddenly, the buzzing sound of a drone emerges nearby, and a small beam of light shines on them from above. The drone hovers in the air, speaking in a tiny mechanical voice: — “Secret notebook thieves identified. You are officially… idiots.” Lukas, Lira, and Darion clutch their heads and run toward the door. But at the entrance sits Rocky again. The tiger squints his eyes open: — “Well then, what shall I do? Swallow you or not?” — he teased telepathically. The apprentices, nearly crying, place the notebook in front of Rocky and fall to the ground: — “Forgive us, Moris-sama! We just wanted to know!” — “We’re doomed for trying to uncover his secret…” Rocky simply stretches and says, “Go, sleep… but if you try again, I really will chew you up,” before lying back down. The apprentices, terrified, run straight to their homes. The drone follows them, loudly echoing: — “I-dio-o-o-o-o-o-ots!” Thus, the apprentices’ “secret spying operation” ends in failure, while Moris, lying in bed with a smile, whispers: — “Little spies… you still have much to learn.” The forest was wrapped in the silence of night. Only the rustle of leaves and the distant cries of predators could be heard. On a faraway branch, a crow perched, watching the movements of three apprentices. Its black eyes glimmered, observing everything with sharp vigilance. 

 Suddenly, from the shadows emerged a tall figure cloaked in black. Thick dark hair spilled over her shoulders, peeking out from beneath the hood. With every step, her cloak brushed the ground, shrouding the forest in deeper darkness. When she simply waved her hand, several crows around her fluttered their wings anxiously before settling back onto the branches, their eyes gleaming as they fixed their gaze on the three apprentices. This was a manifestation of her magic. As she stepped forward, her cloak shifted slightly, revealing two black wolf ears protruding from her back. They stood alert, twitching as though listening to every sound around them. One crow landed on her shoulder, moving its beak as if whispering into her ear. The mysterious woman closed her eyes, seeming to listen to the bird. Then she spoke in a low whisper: – “This boy… he never leaves the side of the Levian tiger… That means he truly has a pure heart… Creation itself has granted him a companion…” Her voice was dark and enigmatic, yet carried a strange tenderness. The crows began flapping their wings, circling in the air above her. The sight frightened other creatures of the forest into silence. The mysterious woman paused, then reached up and pulled back her hood slightly. Yet her face remained hidden in shadow. Only her black hair spilling over her shoulders and the twitching wolf ears were clearly visible. – “Perhaps… I should meet him…” she murmured. 

   At that moment, the crows cawed in unison, as if agreeing with her words, before scattering. From that instant, the mysterious woman seemed not only to watch Moris from afar, but also to begin acknowledging him deep within her heart. In place of her doubts, a slow spark of hope and curiosity began to grow.