Several visits and no one could remember what the “merchant” who came here looked like. Initially, Dallion thought that there were limiting echoes involved, but after using his kaleidervisto, he saw that there wasn’t an echo to be seen in the entire town. Something else had caused the locals to forget, and that made him feel uneasy.

“What do you think?” Largo asked, as Jiroh kept on staring at the horizon.

After spending a bit of money on fish and information, the hunter party had settled on one of the piers, waiting for the fishing boats return. With everything in the town was cheap, relatively speaking, it was no issue buying an entire boat. The only catch was that none of the locals were willing to guide them anywhere. It was the wood and sails that were for sale, not the services of the crew.

“It’s a big catch,” the fury replied. “It’s normal for others to want to reach it first.”

“That doesn’t help much.” The large man sighed. “Think they will cause trouble?”

The question remained unanswered. To make matters worse, none of the guardians Dallion had asked remembered the visitors either. They were perfectly happy to explain in great detail everything that had happened in the town for the last half year, but when it came to the mysterious merchants, it was as if the people never existed.

There are a number of artifacts that cause memory loss, Nil said. Not to mention that music does as well. I’m not too concerned about that. The main issue is the number of poisonings and the targets. Normally, it isn’t the nobles that die first, unless they were specifically targeted.

You think someone wanted to take over the city? Dallion asked as he continued to slice open the fish he had bought. It wasn’t a pleasant activity, but it helped increase his zoology skill. Strictly speaking, that could be treated like a sort of cheat. However, when it came to crafting skills, that wasn’t entirely valid. Knowing about fish and sea creatures wasn’t going to help him when facing other beasts.

There are far easier ways to achieve compliance. Moon vows, realm invasion, even good old-fashioned fighting. If this was an attempt to take over the town, it was poorly executed. With the funds these merchants commanded, they could have bought the place outright and even vassalized the local nobles.

Instead, everything is crumbling to dusk, Dallion said.

“Are you going to eat that?” Eury asked, looking over Dallion’s shoulder.

“Do you dare eat anything in this place?” he asked, then threw the fish remains in the sea. “I’m just practicing my skills. Might be good to have some underwater knowledge before we head out.”

“You won’t be needing it.”

Huh? Dallion looked up. Before he could ask what the gorgon had in mind, the sound of returning fishing boats attracted everyone’s attention. They were a fair distance away, but everyone’s perception level was so high that it seemed as if they were a few dozen feet away at most.

Dallion kicked the rest of his basket into the sea, then joined the rest of the group.

It took close to fifteen minutes for the fishermen to reach the port. All of them were surprised to see foreigners at one of the piers, and were quick to offer their catch at a discount. After they were told what the situation was, they quietly got back to unloading the fish, while the captain of one of the boats—a miserable looking wreck that was barely seaworthy—invited them aboard.

“You want the nets?” he asked, looking at Jiroh.

“We just need the boat and the sails,” the fury replied. “You can take everything else.”

“If that’s what you want,” the man replied, but Dallion could feel that he was happy with the deal. No doubt all those items had been included in the initial ship price, but he was trying to make a bit of profit on the side. Given the state of the people in Bevanna, Dallion decided to remain silent, focusing instead on the fishing boat instead.

Are you alright? He asked, tapping the side of the deck.

I’ve seen better days, the boat replied. I think I have a few more years in me, though. Thanks for asking.

The sadness in her voice made Dallion’s heart ache.

We’ll get you fixed up, he said. Just close to the port.

He could feel the boat smile.

I remember when awakened used to mend me every month. I used to be quite a beauty back then. That was a long time ago. Even back then, I don’t remember seeing an empath.

There aren’t many like me, Dallion said. How long have you been here?

Two, three hundred years… Time becomes all the same after a while. In the past, nobles used me for joy rides. They’d go out into the ocean searching for adventure. Usually, they’d come back a few weeks later, sometimes with a large fish or two. But at least they were happy.

Well, old girl, you’ll go on your greatest adventure yet. With a smile, Dallion made his way to Eury.

“She’s in pretty bad shape, but it’s fixable,” he whispered. “We’ll have to go on an expedition once we go far enough.”

“That’s a given,” the gorgon replied. “Anything else interesting?”

“Not as far as I could tell. She used to be a noble ship. Other than that…” he shrugged.

“I see. Check for echoes, just in case.”

Unloading the cargo, and everything else that wasn’t nailed down, took half an hour, even with the added incentive of a silver coin. Dallion took the time to diligently look over the boat, and what remained on it, with his kaleidervisto. Just as before, there was no echo to be seen. Just to be on the safe side, he also checked the people nearby as well. None of them turned out to be cultists.

Once the last “valuable” was taken off board and the Seamoon was given to Jiroh, the voyage officially began. Fevre had given very specific instructions in which way they were supposed to sail, however, the fury directed the boat in a slightly other direction. If anyone was watching them from town, it was better not to provide them with any free info.

Every few seconds she would increase the speed on the wind, progressively making the boat sail faster and faster, until the port town could no longer be seen. Just to be on the safe side, the trip continued for another five minutes, after which the boat came to a complete stop.

“Anything?” Jiroh asked Eury.

“Nothing as far as I can tell,” the gorgon replied. “If anyone’s spying on us, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Okay, let’s get to work.”

Dallion expected all of them to go on a mending expedition. However, before he got a chance, the ship around him had already transformed. Not only was all the rot removed and cracks erased, but the vessel had been improved as well, making it much closer to the luxury yacht it had been in the past… or at least the local equivalent.

“Thanks, guys.” Dallion crossed his arms.

He could tell that they wanted to get things done as quickly as possible, but it would have been nice if they had at least told him. The boat, on the other hand, was overjoyed, regardless of who had done the mending and improving. And since Dallion was the only one who she could speak to, spent over a minute thanking him.

With the change done, Jiroh raised the sails and started the actual part of the trip. Now the moment of truth approached.

For over an hour, they sailed in the direction the fury had determined. The sun had long passed its zenith and was now on its way towards the horizon. By Dallion’s estimates, there were about five or six hours of sunlight left—not a lot, considering they were in the middle of the ocean.

Each time a cloud appeared on the horizon, everyone would look at it for several minutes, trying to determine whether it was in the water or not; each time, it turned out not to be the one they were looking for.

“Maybe I could ask some fish?” Dallion suggested.

“You can do that?” Largo asked, impressed.

“I can try. You just need to—"

“Some other time,” Eury cut him short. The fact that Dallion had earned his hunter’s emblem had made her no less protective than before. “We follow the instructions.”

“What if the cloud citadel’s completely underwater by now?” Dallion asked.

The gorgon didn’t give an answer. That annoyed him slightly. Moving to the front of the ship, Dallion took out his kaleidervisto and looked through it at the horizon. If there was anything he expected to happen, he was bitterly disappointed. There were no telltale signs leading to the nymph city or the cloud citadel. In contrast, he had a very clear idea of the exact distance they had traveled from the port to their current location. It was almost as if had an automatic mapmaker in his head.

Are any of you doing that? He asked in his realm.

That’s the effect of writing, dear boy, Nil replied. It also helps with map making and mathematics.

That’s not writing! It should be called differently!

And how exactly do you suggest you call something that’s used for all forms of communication?

Dallion had no answer. Even back on Earth, there were many who liked to say that math was the universal language.

“I see something!” one of the party shouted. “I think it’s it.”

Instantly, everyone rushed to the respective side of the ship, looking at the horizon. Initially, Dallion thought it would be a cloud like all the rest so far, but soon enough, he saw that it could be the real deal. Even from this distance, it was clear that the cloud wasn’t in the sky, but floating on the water itself, like a ball of mist.

Eager to get a closer view, Jiroh used her powers to give the boat a thrust forward. Moments later, there was little doubt.

“Towers,” Dallion said, still in disbelief.

“Yes. Towers.” The fury agreed, joy flowing through her words.

Long before setting off on this voyage, Dallion had seen pictures of cloud fortresses and citadels. There weren’t many in the ring library, but Hannah had managed to find him a tome from somewhere so he could get a glance. The illustrations were as one might expect—vast fortresses atop of clouds. Seeing the real thing, however, made all those illustrations look like stick figures. The castles and forts weren’t on top of the cloud, but part of it, made of the same matter as it had been, only with a finger shape. Looking at them, they seemed both wavy and straight, messing with the mind of the observer to the point it couldn’t make a decision.

As the boat got nearer, details began to emerge: individual structures separated by walls and connected by a network of cloud bridges. Everything looked sculpted of a material somewhere between white clay and cotton.

“Is that it?” Dallion asked, his own enthusiasm resonating with Jiroh’s.

“Yes. I can recognize the crest.”

Dallion focused on the buildings in an attempt to see it, but failed to do so. Still, he took the fury at her word. No doubt it was there somewhere. The entire cloud was larger than six neighborhoods in Nerosal, and to think that was only the part that was above the surface. Based on the arc of the cloud itself, Dallion suspected that five-sixths more had been submerged.

This brings back memories, the armadil shield said. There were times when the sky was full of those.

“Are there any more left?” Dallion asked. “Flying, I mean.”

“It’s said there are a few, mostly abandoned,” Jiroh replied. “Several fury dukedoms are scouring the skies, searching for their home. Whether they found them, your guess is as good as mine.”

The boat dropped anchor half a mile from the citadel. This was the maximum distance that was deemed to be safe. Jiroh put an end to the wind. From here on, everyone who approached had to do so on their own.

Two teams were formed: one to go underwater in search of the nymph city, and another to enter the cloud citadel. Largo was to be in charge of the underwater team, as expected. Initially, Eury was supposed to join the fury back to her home cloud. However, Dallion felt he couldn’t let that happen. It wasn’t only the general’s request that compelled him to do so, he wanted to see Jiroh pass through to her own world with his very own eyes.

“No,” he said, just as everyone was preparing to leave the boat. “I’m going to the fortress as well.”