They found the three council members in their seats, avidly discussing something over a small crystal. Rovin glanced up as they approached. The man’s eyes had deep bags under them and he looked a hair’s breath away from falling asleep.

“Ah. I’m sorry about that meeting,” Rovin said wearily, rubbing his forehead. “I had no idea that your groups had history with each other.”

“It’s fine,” Malissa said, shrugging. “You had no way to, and no serious harm came of it. We came to find out if there’s anything else we can do for you.”

“You’ve already done much,” Lucille said. She didn’t look to be in much better shape than Rovin. “And the Avenguard have cleared out all the monsters in the surrounding area. Anything that does remain is weak enough for the guards to take care of it.”

“So Red Mount will be okay?” Belmont asked.

“We’ve got some problems we need to sort out,” Rovin said, waggling a hand. “It isn’t smooth sailing, but with all things considered, we’re in a rather good spot. We’ve been going through the food supplies that the wyrms haven’t ruined. We’ve got enough to last us for a week as long as everyone is conservative. We’ve already sent teams to the local villages requesting aid, and our supply lines should be working again soon. So, in short, we should be fine thanks to everyone’s efforts.”

The Happy Sunflowers exchanged a glance. A small smile passed across Rovin’s face. “I suppose it’s time for the four of you to move on, isn’t it?”

“We were meant to lay low,” Arek said, scratching the back of his head. “We’ve got some enemies that we’re trying to avoid. The Avenguard is going to report on what happened here, and that means our location is going to be public knowledge.”

“I see,” Rovin said. “In that case, we will be limited with any of the information that we pass on to those that come seeking your name. I fear I will not be able to silence the entire city, but I believe many of our citizens will be more than happy to avoid mentioning when you left or where you headed.”

“That would be greatly appreciated,” Belmont said. “There aren’t any more seriously injured people, are there?”

“Thankfully not,” Rovin said, laughing. “Thank you for everything you’ve done. I implore you to return to Red Mount once we’ve rebuilt. Ah – before you leave, let me get you something. It would be a shame to send you away without some sort of assistance. If you are seeking to hide…”

Rovin glanced at Valea. She raised an eyebrow but nodded. The graying woman pushed herself out of her chair and walked to the back of the council building. A guard opened a heavy door and she stepped inside.

A few minutes later, she reemerged holding a palm sized tube. It was intricately decorated with red and gold designs of dragons and great beasts. A thick layer of dust covered the tube. Valea brushed it off, grimacing as dust flew around her, and handed it to Rovin.

“This will give you safe passage into the Floating Cities,” Rovin said in a hushed tone. He discretely passed it to Arek. “If you wish to hide away from prying eyes, there are few places better to do it. And it doesn’t hurt that the Floating Cities are one of the greatest vacation spots in the entire kingdom.”

The tube was heavier than the orc had expected. He raised his eyebrows and slipped it into his pack discretely.

“We will tell nobody that you have passage to the cities,” Valea said in a hushed tone. “Whether you go or not is up to you. There are several entrances, but the closest one is at the base of Vorgt mountain. I can mark it for you if you have a map.”

Arek glanced at the other members of his team. They shrugged, so he pulled the map out and handed it to the woman. She scanned over it, then pulled out one of her hairpins. She popped the top off, revealing a small point dripping with ink. She quickly pressed it to the base of an unmarked mountain on the map and capped it again.

“You never know when you’ve got to sign something quickly,” Valea said, putting the pin back into her hair with a slight smile.

Arek blew on the map and folded it back up. “Thank you for this gift. I don’t know where we’ll go next, but we shall be sure to visit both this location and Red Mount in the future, once it has rebuilt.”

“Before you go, let us give you some basic supplies,” Rovin said, beckoning over a guard. “We can spare enough for a few people.”

He muttered something into the man’s ear. The guard nodded and jogged out of the building. They waited silently for a few minutes until the man returned, carrying a small bag of food. The guard handed it to Malissa, then returned to his station.

“Some of that needs to be kept chilled, but I believe you have a Bag of Colding,” Rovin said.

“We do,” Malissa. “Thank you very much for this gift. Are you sure you don’t need the food?”

“We’ll be fine,” Rovin promised. “We did not give you much. Just enough to replace some of the supplies you all spent cooking for us.”

Malissa nodded and peered into the bag, pulling out all the cold ingredients and placing them into her bag before they could spoil.

“This is farewell for now, then,” Rovin said as Malissa sorted the food. He extended a hand to Arek, who shook it carefully so as to not crush the man’s wrinkled hand. Rovin did the same with all the other Happy Sunflowers, waiting until Malissa had finished putting the food away to bid her farewell.

The other councilmembers gave them low nods that might have been construed as bows had they been standing. The Happy Sunflowers returned the gesture, then headed out of the council building and into the dawn light.