Aida Plakhovna Mamsel’kina—a hardworking old lady with a scythe in her hands—commits a serious crime against office to help Mephodiy and his friends escape the wrath of the Office of Darkness’s head, the hunchbacked dwarf Ligul. The world of bumpkinlikhoids is vast, but there’s nowhere to hide in it. Eden and Tartar are out too: the pupils of Darkness don’t deserve Eden, and there’s no need to rush into Tartar—especially not there! So there’s only one place where Mephodiy and his gang won’t think to look right away… Bald Mountain. Mamsel’kina also advises the boys to learn the secret of Ligul. They say that in his youth the hunched dwarf spent several years on Bald Mountain and grew to hate that extreme little place. Meanwhile, Ligul searches for the Stone of the Path, which will give him resolve, strength, and the will to victory in achieving his main goal—to become the lord of Darkness…