“The palace of clouds…” the dwarf sighed. “I’ll get us a mug of spirits.”

With a heavy step, Fevre walked out of the building, only to return shortly later with a large bottle. The moment he uncorked it, the smell of pure alcohol filled the room. The dwarf took an unapologetic swig, then brushed the top of the bottle with his sleeve and handed it to Jiroh. Much Do Dallion’s surprise, the fury not only accepted it, but took a swig as well.

“Strong,” the fury said, then placed the bottle on the glass table.

“And so are you,” Fevre grinned. A quick glance was given to Eury and Dallion, but neither took on the challenge. “So. The cloud city. Why do you want it?”

“There might be something I’m searching for there.”

“Cloud cities don’t give away their secrets. Being a fury isn’t enough to reveal what it ‘olds. Even one such as you. I didn’t get much further than the main entrance.”

“That’s my problem. I just want to know where to find it. As I said, I’m willing to pay.”

“Hah. Do I look like someone who needs ‘elp? Or gold? I sold everything I own. I ‘ad enough gold to life a ‘undred years like a king!”

“Then why didn’t you?” Euryale joined in. “For someone of your skills, you could have retired as an adviser to any minor noble. There are many in the empire that would love to have a dwarf awakened join their house.”

“Bah!” Fevre waved a hand, then grabbed the bottle of alcohol again. “I never liked the empire. Big, bossy, always causing problems for everyone else. I’m fine where I am.”

“You’re in the middle of a glass crater,” the gorgon reminded. “There’s nothing living for miles. The closest town is a sleaze pit that sells ore for trinkets. The only reason you’re here is to hide from someone. Just give us a name and we’ll settle this for you.”

Dallion felt a slight shiver pass through him. This was the first time that Euryale openly said she’d be willing to kill someone. There were signs back in Nerosal that she was partially involved in such a kind of work. The way the city guard came to her, her relations with the mirror pool, not to mention the determination with which she had attacked the first time Dallion had discovered a hidden chainling. This wasn’t someone who’d only gotten good from hunting animals. For that matter, neither had Jiroh.

“You think I’m ‘iding from someone?” The dwarf laughed. “If that was it, I’d gone to Duke Montagne. No matter ‘ow strong you are, you’re not stronger than an army. I’m ‘iding from the world.”

Silence filled the room, broken only by the dwarf’s drinking.

“What do you mean?” Jiroh asked.

“The world is coming to an end. Again.” Fevre looked around. “You think I’m crazy.” He laughed, pointing at each with his free hand. “You think I’m just another ‘unter that list it and became a ‘ermit? I found things near your cloud fortress, things that were enough to show me what’s to come. The Crippled ‘as come out to play, and each time ‘e does, there’s chaos, war, and a race gets banished. It’s ‘appened three times before and each time no one learns a thing.”

“We didn’t say you were crazy,” Jiroh said diplomatically. “We just—"

“Don’t believe the things you do,” Euryale finished for her.

“Oh? Then ‘ow do you explain the ‘ero of Nerosal showing up ‘ere of all places?” Fevre pointed at Dallion. “Do you think I agreed to this because I you ‘ave anything to offer? Or that I’m a coward scared to face you? You ‘ave potential, but you’re still a while to go till you can take me. ‘ow do you think I made all this furniture?” the dwarf asked proudly. “The signs are all there. If you go to the place, you’re asking about, you’ll see as well. But maybe by then it’ll be too late!”

Dallion could feel the bouquet of emotions coming from Fevre, all of them strong, all of them conflicting with the rest. There was acceptance, fear, calm, anger, and the faintest hint of hope. The ex-hunter had without question seen something that had tarried him to the point that he had quit his profession and hid away from everyone else.

“So, you know me,” Dallion said.

“Of course, I know you! I recognized you the moment you split. When the three of you approached, I thought you were some pesky merchants, and I wanted to scare you. When I saw it was you…”

“What did you find?” Dallion asked.

Fevre looked Dallion in the eyes, then the fury. Finally, he took another large gulp and slammed the bottle back on the table.

“I found the cloud fortress by accident,” he began. “I ‘ad gone there to explore a nymph city. The river snake that I was hired to kill by a port city ‘ad something very interesting in its stomach. There were ships and pier pieces, but there also was something different, something that only nymphs had done. The people of the port town were too pleased to investigate. Even the noble didn’t notice, so I took it as part of my reward: part of a stone arch. I knew that it ‘ad come from a building, and that it ‘ad to be somewhere nearby, so I started searching the sea nearby. It took me months, but in the end, I finally found it—the spot that ‘id an entire nymph city beneath the surface. And it wasn’t alone. There was a whole cloud fortress crashed into the sea.”

A cloud fortress crashed into the sea? The picture had to be something that had come out of a fantasy artbook. It also explained why no one else had found it before. For whatever reason, sea travel in this world wasn’t practiced a lot. There were a lot of river boats—Dallion had seen dozens of them at Nerosal itself. If the history scrolls in the ring library were to be believed, the eighth Tamin emperor had personally created a complex network of waterways between the major cities by improving streams and rivers to the point that they were large enough to hold dozens of ships side by side. Provincial nobles had carried on with the tradition, increasing the network in their land to the point that virtually every city had a “port” of its own. When it came to the sea itself, it was largely ignored by all but fishermen at coastal towns.

“When I saw that I thought I ‘ad it made,” the dwarf continued. “I could get enough to but my own town by selling the location of the cities alone. Maybe I should ‘ave done that. ‘owever, I chose to go and search.” He let out a heavy sigh.

Is that possible? Dallion asked.

Technically, I suppose it is, Nil replied. There’s evidence of cloud cities crashing in mountains. There’s nothing to say that they can’t crash into land or in the sea, as is the case. It would be quite the coincidence.

“I tried with the cloud fortress first. There were enough gaps in the wall to let me slide past the outer walls. The main gate took a bit of work, but I managed to open it too. It was after the second courtyard that I couldn’t go any further. There was no door, you see.” The dwarf turned to Jiroh. “I didn’t want to smash any of the walls, so I decided to go through the nymph city first, then come back.”

“And then you found it?” Dallion asked.

The dwarf nodded. A feeling of sadness and regret engulfed him for several seconds, then released its grip.

“It was magnificent. More beautiful than I can imagine. I ‘ad read scrolls depicting what nymph cities looked like, I ‘ad seen sketches in old scrolls, but I never expected it to be what it was. Even after spending thousands of years underwater, filled with fish, crawling with corals and seaweed, I could see the brilliance. Every shape was precise, perfectly sculpted of stones that seemed more watery than the water itself. There were no statues or paintings or other decorations. The walls themselves were the masterpieces, made of mosaics, each piece of which was smaller than a pea.

I spent ‘ours ‘olding my breath just looking at the scenes on the walls. There was nothing much there. Time and fish had taken everything else away. In one room, though I sensed metal.”

Dallion tensed.

He’s a forger, Dallion said.

Dear boy, most dwarves have forging skills. For their race, it’s as common as attack or guard. It creates quite the advantage when working metal—their awakened powers tell them how to create an item, and their hands allow them to merely stretch the metal in that fashion.

“And it wasn’t just one piece. There were dozens of them, all on the floor of a room. The moment I saw them, I knew that they were—metal scrolls. I gathered as much as I could carry and swam back to my boat. I wanted to fill it up with all of them, but curiosity made me take a peek.”

“And you found that ciphered,” Eury finished the sentence.

The smile that appeared on Fevre’s face clearly showed that she was wrong.

“They weren’t?” The gorgon asked.

“Oh, there were. Anyone would ‘ave ‘ad a difficult time breaking in the cipher. ‘owever, not everyone is a dwarf. After so much time, the syllablights inside were overjoyed seeing one of the race that ‘ad created them. All I ‘ad to do was ask then they move into place, and they did.”

“That’s convenient.” Euryale crossed her arms.

“I told you I ‘ad more skills than you’d think. Writing doesn’t make a ‘unter, but it ‘elps. Throughout the years, I’ve learned all main languages of this world, except one.” Fevre crossed his arms as well, giving the gorgon a glare. “The scrolls were a warning about the Crippled. They explain what signs to look for, and what to do should the stars emerge. The nymphs were much more enlightened than most. They ‘ad learned the lessons of the copyette’s banishment and ‘ad prepared. Their built their cities to withstand the changes, scattered them throughout the world, and they waited… and they still failed.” He grabbed the bottle, but seeing that there was nothing inside, grumbled and put it on back on the table again.

“The nymphs tried to take over the world,” Jiroh explained. “They worked with the Star. Of course they would get b—"

“They weren’t the only ones!” Fevre suddenly snapped at her. “The gorgons tried to take over the world as well right after the copyette’s downfall.”

Dallion stared at the dwarf in disbelief. Jiroh was also fighting with the idea, while the snakes on Euryale’s head were moving about in warning fashion. No one had expected such a revelation.

“He’s not lying,” Dallion said after a while.

“Didn’t know that, did you?” The dwarf asked with a bittersweet smirk. “The nymphs did and had come to the conclusion that it’s all based on the star’s whim. Wars don’t cause banishment; they just speed it up. And, more importantly, there always are exceptions. There still were copyettes in the world after the fall of the race, just as there are nymphs and dryads. When the world changes again, and another race gets banished, I plan to be ‘ere.”

I believe that he’s lost it, Nil said. To quote his own words.

He’s not lying, Dallion reminded. And he sounds quite convincing.

Everyone who talks about the end of the world is convincing, dear boy. After a while you just get used to it. I don’t doubt that such theories circulated during the height of the nymph race. I strongly doubt that there have been nymphs, copyettes, and dryads running around in the world in secret since then.

Fevre went to the fireplace, extending his hands forward to get some warmth.

“The cities are thirty-seven degrees west by southwest,” he said, his back to the group. “Go far enough into the sea and you’ll find your sunken cloud. Since you’re a fury, it should be easy. Now leave.”

Jiroh opened her mouth, about to say something, but ultimately chose not to. There was a lot to unpack, even if she had received the information she had come for.

“Thank you,” she managed to say after a while. “I wish you luck.” The fury left the building.

“Let’s go,” Eury told Dallion.

“Go ahead,” he replied. “I’ll be with you in a bit.”

Catching that he wanted to remain along with the dwarf, the gorgon nodded.

“What was the sign?” Dallion asked.

“You really want to know?” Fevre didn’t move from his spot.

“Yes.”

“An otherworlder will help the Star to pull the whole cities into the wilderness.” The dwarf looked over his shoulder. “You stopped the star from destroying Nerosal, but for a moment, you caused the city to be pulled out of the world. Didn’t you, otherworlder?”