Глава 16

It's true, I checked with them. Every underground tabloid is spreading the news about him, and the words he wrote on the walls of the council hall.

The underground tabloids are printing far quicker than the censors can keep up.

Let's put that in the next letter to Sonya.

They should be on their way back to Grypherburg, come to think of it...

Write anyway. There are curfews everywhere. There's no guarantee they'll make it back on schedule.

Yes... I hope things go smoothly on their side.

They will.

Getting in wasn't that hard.

Just because I hacked the monitors doesn't mean you can let your guard down. They say the session has been suspended indefinitely, but they could also resume at any time.

The corridor leading to the meeting hall is still being patrolled four times an hour. Not counting the time it takes to get out, you have eight minutes to leave your mark.

Pee? Break something and take a piece?

...Can you do something that doesn't make so much noise and actually means something?

Well... I'll think about it.

Why do I have to dress like this, anyway? It's not like my normal clothes are all that conspicuous.

You're wearing a Grypherburg plumber's uniform. They don't have a seat on the council, but they have access to the council hall, and they're responsible for maintenance work throughout the building.

While there's no way for students like us—complete non-producers—to gain access to the council, much less gain any real influence.

Bah, why am I even explaining all this to you? I'm hanging up. You have six minutes.

Botani out.

<i>Lokh</i>.

What should I do? Six minutes...

The student in the plumber's uniform casts his gaze towards the end of the council hall, where the symbol of Ursine divine glory shines bright on the wall.

He thinks for a moment, then squints and pulls out a can of red spraypaint.

Brekin is not on duty today, but his colleague, who lives next door to him, sent his youngest son to his place and asked him to take his shift today, because he had a fever and a splitting headache.

Brekin, being the kind-hearted man he is, agreed. Scarcely could he imagine what he would see when he walked into the council hall—

<i>Gosudar-batyushka</i>—

The golden symbol on the wall is fully covered in red paint. Beneath it are words written with the same red paint, in the Ursine language—

<color=#FF4200>'The victor displays the emblem of the vanquished for his vanity, but he will forever stand in the shadow of the vanquished, if he cannot cast it away.'</color>

<color=#FF4200>—Yakov Petrov, penned in prison in the autumn of 1076</color>