The next morning came late. Rather than late, dark might have been a better description. I had some sense of time and it should have been much lighter by the time the dwarves got up. When they did, they went right back to bed. I was a little confused by their actions and took a closer look at the sky. Through the locked window, I saw dark, roiling clouds crest the horizon. It was on the north side of the building and so I quickly spotted the cause. A hint of grey light revealed snowflakes drifting through toiling winds. Not many in the city but a few kilometres out they turned into a veritable wall.

I connected to Harra’s mind to ask the question.

“This is Stormbringer?”

She rolled over in her bed and glared at me.

“Didn’t you say you’ve seen him?”, she murmured from beneath her blanket.

“Yes, but only in summer.”

She yawned.

“Go back to sleep. You’re gonna need it.”

I turned to look at her.

“Why?”

My only answer was the dwarf turning around followed by soft breathing. At least for the next hour or so. By then, the winds had picked up into a blizzard. It was not possible to see much more than a metre ahead. The winds only worsened throughout the day. It never got bad enough to actually damage the window but I would not have wanted to be outside in that weather. At some point, the dwarves got up and we had some tea and a simple breakfast. The common room was packed, heating artefacts running high. It was very comfortable with a lot of alcohol going around. I kept to tea. The human part of my mind was longing for something fruity. Some tangerines or spiced wine, maybe. My owl self simply huddled up in a corner of the room, enjoying the atmosphere and lack of attention.

I observed the dwarves becoming increasingly merry and losing one or the other piece of clothing. It did not turn sexual, thankfully, but there was a lot of skin contact and sweat being exchanged. They were singing songs about inappropriate maidens showing their ears to strangers for a mug of ale or a Guardian barrelling down on someone doing inexplicable things to a donkey. I tuned out the words rather quickly. I saw them have fun but could not quite get into it myself.

My ears picked up the storm increasing until late evening when it slowly started to recede. I found a calm place in the bedroom I had shared with the girls for the last two weeks or so. There I kept looking out the window, trying to spy the dragon. Of course, the winds were only the far outskirts of his storm. I had no chance to see Stormbringer without being in the eye of the storm. And I was honestly glad I had a roof to protect me. My metal form might have been able to stand the cold but my flesh and blood body could very well freeze completely. Though I wondered if that would harm my Core. And if not, would I simply be alive again after thawing?

At some point, the dwarves found their way to their beds. Though it only took an hour or two before a slight grey replaced the near-perfect black of the clouds. It was morning again. And this time, the dwarves were up at the first hint of light.

“Come on, Fio! Let’s enjoy the snow!”

The siblings quickly put on some warm coats and were outside in the receding winds. It was still at a point where I would be careful to fly but here and there a few rays of sunlight broke through the clouds to form spectacular light shows with the crystalline water.

The dwarves were all out of their houses, running through the fresh snow. A few had brought out ladders and made their way up to the roofs to throw even more of the white powder onto the streets. Children were frolicking with snowball fights and making snow angels. It took a whole thirty seconds for Selvie to hit me with one. Of course, I could not take that lying down and pulled out all my shadow tricks to create a barrage of snowballs. Soon, we had me and the two girls leading a squad of children and youths into a glorious battle of white. Of course, my army won!

From there the day started to devolve into a sort of improvised festival with everyone just playing around and doing whatever they wanted. At some point, I found the time to ask Selvie a question.

“So, is this something normal, or is everyone going crazy?”

She made wide eyes as she turned to me.

“Oh, wow. We totally forgot to tell you with everything going on. Stormbringer’s passing marks the beginning of winter and is a large festival. Though there’s never anybody preparing for it since it’s a different time every year.”

“No preparations for winter sounds a little… stupid?”

“Ahaha, not like that! We prepare food and stuff we just don’t make plans for the day itself. The cities further south won’t even know it’s winter for a few days until the snow reaches them. Our caravan is basically going to follow the storm and arrive right after their festival.”

“I see. So, anything I should look out for, today?”

“Right, didn’t you want to follow Stormbringer?”

“Not quite yet. I’m going to follow his trail for a bit but I have to keep enough distance to avoid the wyverns.”

“Okay, then… There’s not really much… Just have fun, I guess?”

And with that, the festival had truly started for me. Why nobody had told me beforehand, I was not sure. When I asked Servin about it, he thought I knew already. Since I was a citizen or something like that. With the spontaneous nature of the festival, it was not really an issue. I simply drifted through the people on the streets. Early on, I stuck close to the siblings but at some point, they started to disperse. Just meandering from group to group and having some kind of fun was the go-to way to enjoy the festival, it seemed. I drifted between snowball fights, snow-sculpting competitions and drinking challenges. Some of those I partook in, others not so much. But the dwarves were no different. A lot of them simply enjoy the atmosphere along the side of friends and strangers.

At some point, I had bumped into other animals. A beaver and a white fox were sitting next to a bonfire in the middle of the street. They looked up as I approached and after a nod, shuffled to the side. I joined them in the warmth, watching the merriment all around. After a minute, I noticed the fox staring at me with ice-blue eyes. A probing thought reached my mind and I allowed the distinct feeling of [Telepathy] inside. It was much less clear and controlled than Nymph’s but still good enough for some basic conversation.

“Greetings”, the fox sent, “I haven’t seen you around.”

“I have seen her”, came from the beaver, “In the bathhouse.”

She had a very nasal mental voice with some squeaking noises in between. As if she was not quite able to imagine human, or dwarven, speech properly.

“Yep. Hello to you two, as well. I haven’t seen many like us in the city.”

“That’s just Serrington. With the Guardian being so shy, it’s tough to learn [Telepathy] here. I can only use it thanks to Foxy, here.”

The animal in question rolled his eyes.

“I told you to call me Arctus. When will you remember that?”

“[Identify] shows Foxy so I’m calling you Foxy!”

I chuckled.

“You’re good friends, huh? If you call him Arctus, his status might change to reflect that.”

“Even more of a reason to call him Foxy! I’m Brilda, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Fio.”

“See, that’s a cute name, too!”

The fox growled quietly.

“It’s a girl name for a girl. I’m not a girl.”

“I think Foxy is fine as a name. The one who gave me my name based it on a mushroom…”

“Huh, a mushroom? What mushroom is called Fio?”

“Not in Ordugh. Different language.”

“Oh”, the fox looked up, “You know more languages? Aren’t those super difficult to learn?”

I nodded.

“Usually, that’s the case. But I have a Skill to help out so it’s not that hard.”

“So, how long have you been here?”, the beaver asked.

“About two weeks? Though I spent two days away sometime in there. What about you?”

“That’s pretty short. This isn’t your first dwarven city, is it?”

“Sort of… I was in Borsdown for about… two months? Maybe a little less…”

“Ah, that’s not a city but yeah, it counts.”

“I’ve been here for three years, now”, the fox sent.

“One for me”, the beaver followed up.

The conversation slowed to a halt as we simply enjoyed the warmth of the fire. I could see why the dwarves would still use this when they had artefacts. It was just much more comfortable with the flickering flames and crackling wood. And with all the forest around they would not run into a shortage anytime soon.

“So”, the beaver started, “How are you liking the dwarves?”

“Hmm. Quite well. They’re good people. They got good tea.”

“Tea?”

“Yeah, I like tea. Part of why I came to Serrington.”

“Huh. I didn’t know your kind drink. I thought birds get most of their liquid from the blood of their prey.”

I glanced at the beaver.

“Yes and no. It’s not that we can’t drink water or the likes, it’s that we don’t usually need to with an abundance of fresh prey.”

She shied back a little.

“Featherweight…”, the fox complained.

“Yup.”

“So, what are your plans for the winter?”, the beaver asked.

“I’m following Stormbringer.”

That got a reaction from both of them. The beaver’s mouth stood wide open while the fox narrowed his eyes.

“You’re suicidal”, he sent.

“I’m not. I’m keeping my distance. I want to investigate his trail for magic. How can there be a sustained forest when something like that passes through twice a year?”

“Still, suicidal.”

I glared at him for a moment, before letting off.

“Maybe, maybe not. I’ve seen the eye of the storm. I’ve seen the feathered wyverns. I know what I’m in for.”

“And how are you going to get food? Or do you plan to come back to town every day? The winter holds little prey.”

“For you, maybe. I could come back to town but I don’t need to. I have a Skill to help out.”

He huffed and turned away. The beaver finally returned to her senses.

“Ahhhh. Why are you crazy? Why can’t there be a normal animal around here?”

The fox shoved her with his snout.

“No, you’re not normal. You wanted to sneak into the Guardian Wall! Do you really think we could have a chance against some beast that lived for centuries in there?”

“No way someone that hides like that is actually that powerful. It’s probably the tenth generation Guardian or something… How would they even live that long? The city is over 300 years old. There had to be a change at some point.”

I shook my head.

“The Guardian is older than the city. Have you read up on Beast Cores and Affinities?”

The wolf looked at me.

“What’s that got to do with this?”

“Cores and Affinities can increase life span. From the samples I have seen, they usually do by a large amount.”

That silenced him for a moment.

“Still doesn’t mean shit…”

I bobbed my head.

“And what would someone over 300 years old be able to do with a major node at their beck and call?”

The fox only answered with a grumble.

“See, madness!”, the beaver sent, looking triumphant, “You’re mad too!”

“Maybe. But I’m also powerful. And I can fly. I won’t get caught easily.”

“Birds. You’re unfair. Hey, when are you leaving?”

“Probably tomorrow, sometime before noon. He came by around midnight and the wyverns are usually about one day behind. That should give me enough of a safety.”

The beaver nodded.

“Then how about you hang out with us until then.”

I considered for a moment.

“Sure. I gotta say goodbye to my friends at some point. They’re merchants and leaving tomorrow as well, so we can hang out until then.”