She has a sister? Dallion asked.

He had known the fury for quite a while, he even believed to know her well. Apparently, that wasn’t the case. Ever since Dallion had joined the hunter party, he had learned a lot of things about her, and Eury, that he never suspected. However, he never expected to be so out of the loop regarding this.

Nerosal is a place for new beginnings, dear boy. Nil said. Everyone has a history, and it usually is left at the city gates.

That was true. Nerosal was considered one of the cities for second chances, or the places where nobles were sent to be banished. Either way, it used to accept people from all over the empire and beyond, no questions asked. Soon things were about to change, though.

“I didn’t know you had a sister,” Dallion said, taking another sip of his drink. “She doesn’t look anything like you.”

“Because of my skin?” Diroh frowned. “Can’t humans learn that—"

“Di,” Jiroh interrupted.

The younger fury pouted, then turned around, pretending to arrange the shelves. She was only a few years older than Dallion’s own brother, but the difference was immeasurable. Living pretty much in the wilderness had made her grow up a lot faster to the point she could run a hunter tavern. Dallion strongly suspected that the hunters were helping out as well, not to mention providing protection, but it was impressive nonetheless.

“Thunder furies are like me. The others aren’t.” Jiroh explained. “Di, check the beds. Make sure the floors are clean.”

“Fine, I’ll go so you two can have a talk,” the young fury said, then disappeared in the blink of the eye. Using his focus, Dallion caught part of her movements, though not all.

“She’s a good kid, just not used to being nice. Too much of a hunter without being one.”

“Must have been tough,” Dallion remained at a loss. “Did this belong to a relative?”

“Might have. I found it a few years ago. By then it was already Di’s place.”

“You didn’t know you had a sister?”

“There’s a lot I don’t know. One thing was for certain—she wasn’t around when I left.” A second glass made its way from the counter to the bar plot. Once there, the fury poured herself a drink and downed it in one gulp. “I found out about her through a map. The merchant said he knew about my family and for a few artifacts for the information. When I paid, he gave me a piece of paper and the news that I had a sister.”

Dallion felt the sound of anger coming from within Jiroh. Even after all this time, she still resented the merchant. In her place, Dallion probably would have as well. To learn the location of a relative in such a way was unfathomable, but also the perfect way to describe the life of a hunter. There always were deals, some of them good, some not that much, and one never knew what they might find at the end of the map.

“Does Hannah know?” he asked.

“Of course.” Jiroh shook her head. “There’s little that Hannah doesn’t know. She offered to take her in, even help her with the Gremlin’s Timepiece. I was against it. I didn’t want to take a sister I didn’t know existed from everything she knew to put her in a place at which she’d be unhappy. As the saying goes, we furies make our own families, and she has made hers here.”

Furies made their own families… Several people had used those words, including the general. The sleazy snob, to whom Dallion was still indebted, had given that as an explanation for the loyalty of his fury servants and bodyguards. From what Dallion had seen, the man had a dozen under his “employ,” several constantly at his side.

“What’s this about a beast sighting?” Dallion changed the topic.

“Flame tongue lizard,” Jiroh said. “Very nasty, very rare, and for those who want to pay, very expensive. The Order still hasn’t made its mind how to classify the creature, so there are always a few nobles willing to pay a lot for capture. Of course, most just want to kill it.”

Know anything about that one, Nil? Dallion asked.

It’s more or less as the name suggests: a lizard that can melt anything it eats, the echo replied. They’re omnivorous, so they can get annoying when they grow too much. Oh, and by omnivorous, I mean they eat absolutely everything. Stone, livestock, soldiers in full plate armor…

So, a perfect weapon for war.

A very chaotic and uncontrollable weapon. Think of it more as a status symbol.

“How much money is involved?”

“Enough to get everyone out there. In the case of Eury, though, she does it mostly for fun and bragging rights.”

“That sounds like her.” Dallion finished his drink. “I’ll go get some rest. Only slept in the realms this last week.”

“Go.” Jiroh poured herself another drink. “First floor. We’ll wake you when it’s time for dealing.”

Dallion’s bed was the one closest to the window, right next to Eury’s—one could easily tell by the stack of armor pieces surrounding it—some of which were Dallion's own. Apparently, the gorgon remained the group’s mender even when she was out of Nerosal.

In theory, no one dared steal from a hunter, but just in case, Dallion put all of his possessions that fit in the chest next to his bed. Just the shield was put leaning in the corner of the room. Taking off his top clothes and putting them to the side, Dallion got in the bed. Although they seemed rough, the blankets were incredibly soft. That was one of the advantages of hunters—since they spend a lot of their time hunting creatures in the wilderness, they had access to materials fit for nobles. Fur of the cloud beaver, in this case, provided unmatched warmth and softness.

It seemed that the moment Dallion closed his eyes, someone shook him. Next thing he knew, it was already evening and Eury was leaning over his bed, trying to wake him up.

“You sleep like a log,” the gorgon whispered as Dallion cracked his eyes open. “Get dressed. The rest are waiting downstairs.”

Dallion’s initial reaction was to close his eyes and sleep some more. However, he had the wisdom to enter his realm first. Two hours later—or a moment in the real world—he stood up and got dressed. He considered taking his weapons a long, but ultimately decided to leave all but the Nox dagger.

The room downstairs was completely different from what it had been earlier. Hunters were everywhere, making the place seem packed to bursting point. Despite that, the only noise heard was that of Dallion’s steps as he made his way down the staircase. Unlike ordinary awakened, hunters used taverns to conduct business, and while conducting business, they always whispered so that only the other people at their table could hear.

Euryale and her group were sitting at a table in the far corner of the room. Jiroh was also there, as were five more of the usual members. This time, though, there was one more person—a middle-aged woman dressed in rather expensive clothes. One could tell at first glance that she was a merchant; the clothes and the necklace made of travelling medallions gave her away. To Dallion’s surprise, she was also an awakened.

When Dallion reached the table, one of the hunters shifted along the bench-like chair to offer some space. The gorgon didn’t move an inch. There was no secret that she and Dallion were an item, but when it came down to business, Eury was the leader and Dallion—just a trainee.

“This is a surprise,” the merchant whispered so no one outside of the table could hear. “The hero of Nerosal. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I’m no hero,” Dallion said, more surprised that she was so well informed than annoyed.

While a number of people had seen his actions during the battle at the arena, the countess and other city authorities had made sure not to discuss his involvement openly. As far as the city was concerned, the countess had taken over the role of the Lord Mayor, becoming the third most powerful person in the entire Wetie province. Dallion’s involvement was barely mentioned, even within the Icepicker guild.

“We’re not here to discuss him.” Eury’s tone was calm, and yet sharp enough to bring the conversation back on point. “Make your offer.”

“Usually, it happens the other way around,” the merchant says. “You make the offer and I decide whether to accept it.”

“Not this time. Show us what you’ve brought and then we talk price.”

Haggling at its best. Dallion could sense that the merchant was using music to influence the talks to her advantage. It was quite subtle, but he had grown accustomed to noticing such things. Also, her music level was rather low. The gorgon, of course, had a blocking ring on, making the attempt doomed to failure.

“I have two maps and a name.” The merchant had no intention of quitting.

A double scroll case was placed on the table. Combining his music and forging skills, Dallion was able to sense that the case was made of a silver steel alloy. More interesting, it seemed that scrolls within were made of metal as well.

“I bought these off a hunter during hard times. Apparently, he found something so terrifying that he wanted to quit his profession. He was selling off everything he had gathered: weapons, artifacts, gems… all for gold. I was lucky to come across him first. If he’s to be believed, these two beauties were found in the ruins of a nymph settlement.”

Nymphs? Dallion put in a lot of effort to remain calm, but deep inside he was everything but that. The nymphs were the second race that had tried to take over the world, after the copyettes. Unlike the copyettes, though, all of their cities had been destroyed, making them exceedingly rare.

“A nearly intact nymph settlement,” the merchant added.

“There are no nymph settlements,” one of the group said.

“Apparently there was at least one,” the woman smiled. “Perfectly preserved underwater. I’d give you the location…”

“But you don’t think we can afford it,” Euryale finished for her.

“No. The hunter refused to tell me. The items he found there were real enough. I had them authenticated twice.”

In this day and age, there were several ways of authenticating artifacts. Dallion, however, chose to use a shortcut.

Hey, he said. Metal scrolls, were you created by nymphs?

An empath? a voice asked through dozens of others striving for Dallion’s attention. And human, at that. There aren’t a lot of you.

Thanks. There aren’t. So, were you?

No, a second voice nearly identical to the first replied. We were forged by dwarves.

But we were held by nymphs.

Discreetly, Dallion nodded. That was enough for Eury to get the signal. She still didn’t know all the details, but was one of the few to be aware of part of his skills.

“Real nymph maps,” the merchant said. “You don’t come across that every day.”

“That wasn’t the arrangement,” Jiroh said sharply. “The purse for information.”

“Information that could lead to a deserted cloud castle?” The merchant smirked. “I told you I had a name, but I won’t give it to you just for a pouch.” The merchant leaned forward. “So, do you want the maps and the name, and what are you willing to offer?”

“If the maps are so valuable, why sell them to us? Nobles can pay more than hunters.”

None of the people she hired were able to read us, one of the scrolls said to Dallion. Several even entered my domain trying, but all they managed was to get hurt.

That explained a few things. There was nothing nefarious in the merchant’s behavior, she simply couldn’t afford to be at a loss. The goods she was offering, while authentic, were bad. If she cheated a hunter, all she might get a few people upset for a few years; cause a noble to save face, however, and there would be serious consequences to pay.

“How much are they worth to you?” Dallion asked, causing everyone but Eury to turn his direction.

“Not a bad question.” The gorgon took the lead. “You know me well enough, so just tell me what you want.”

Emotions burst like flares. This was the second time Dallion had seen the color and shape of emotions outside of the realms. Normally he would feel and hear the sounds that conveyed what people and guardians were feeling, but now for a single instant he saw them all in color: anger, stubbornness, anger, greed… The hunters didn’t want to be taken advantage of, and the merchant had no intention of backing down. However, it was Liandra who had the most unusual reaction of all. Despite pretending not to want the deal, she was desperate for the information, and ready to pay whatever prince was asked.

“The hero’s harpsisword,” the merchant said. Now it was Dallion’s turn to sound surprised. The weapon had been a source of interest, but no one so far had openly wanted to buy it. “There are a few interested parties that—"

“It’s linked,” Eury cut the merchant short before Dallion had the chance. “Choose something else.”

“Another weapon.” The merchant didn’t miss a beat. “Something old, something nobles would like to play with.”

“I’ll take care of that. Is that all?”

“And the pouch.”

Several of Eury’s snakes moved towards Jiroh, indicating it was her call. A few moments later, a velvet pouch appeared on the table in front of the merchant. Dallion wasn’t sure what the contents were, but knew they had to be worth a lot. Apparently, a lot less than his harpsisword, though.

“Always a pleasure to close a deal.” The merchant took the pouch and stood up. “Fevre Dorr,” she said, handing a small piece of paper to Eury. “He was last hiding in the Glass Mounts off west. I expect he’ll still be there, until the weather gets better, at least. Good luck.”