The dinner was pleasant, at least when it came to food. As for everything else, it was almost as if there was an invisible barrier between everyone keeping them quite polite and understanding, but not entirely there. It didn’t help that both Eury and captain Adzorg had used means to keep their emotions hidden.

Most of the talking had been done by Eury, who was eager to know the practical details of the situation. Apparently, she had been to the capital once before as part of one job. She didn’t wish to say who the job was for—either during the dinner or after it—but it involved a lesser noble family.

Surprisingly, Adzorg didn’t seem to have spent a lot of time in Linatol, either. He was fully aware of the political situation in the city, casually making remarks about events that concerned one or other family of nobles, yet without saying anything specific. Most of the discussions had been done remotely through echoes, and it was up to Jiroh to bring back the items the captain sought.

“Sometimes, I envy you,” Dallion said, tossing another piece of bread in the hedgerel basket. “At least in most cases, you know where you stand.”

Isn’t that a bit harsh, dear boy? Nil grumbled. Unless you plan to actively get involved in politics, more information would be useless. You already were warned who to keep your distance from, who to be seen with, and above all—

“Never to trust anyone.” Dallion finished the sentence. It wasn’t an answer he liked, but the further he leveled up, the more it became relevant… especially once he became a full hunter.

A shardfly landed on Dallion’s shoulder.

“Hey, Ruby,” Dallion said.

If it wanted, the creature could have sliced his entire head off—one of the reasons everything from the wilderness was considered dangerous. For hunters, those with empathy especially, she was no more dangerous than a kitten.

“Ready to return to freedom?”

Ruby didn’t reply, though it was obvious she’d miss “drawing” up the building.

“Don’t worry, I’ll pass by to see you,” Dallion went on. “I’ll even comment on your new art. Think of that—there won’t be anyone to grumble at you for displaying your artistic talent.” He looked at some of the other creatures. “You guys will be off as well.”

It had always been the plan to return the creatures to the wilderness. However, March’s request had hastened the process. With both Dal and Eury out, there was no one left to take care of the creatures.

“Dal,” Eury’s voice sounded through the floor. Thanks to his increased perception, Dallion could hear her in the workshop, just as she could hear him. “You can give them to the overseer. Knowing her, she might even find it amusing.”

“No way.” The overseer might find them amusing, but the creatures wouldn’t. Close to something so powerful and part chainling, they’d do what any being in the wilderness did: try to fight their way as far away from her as possible. “I’ll go out for a bit. Can you keep an eye on them till I get back?”

“When will you be back? We have a bit of food left from yesterday.”

“I won’t do anything crazy,” Dallion said. “I’ll just need to check something in the shrine.”

There was no response.

“Eury?” Dallion asked. “You okay with that?”

“I’ll take care of your pets,” she replied in a neutral voice. “Hurry back fast.”

And you did it again, Vihrogon said from within Dallion’s realm. Where did I go wrong? All this invaluable advice and you still forget the first thing about treating women. You’re lucky she loves you so much.

Ignoring the guardian, Dallion threw the rest of the bread in the metal basket and left the room. The hedgerels became slightly agitated for a while, though quickly calmed down. As long as they didn’t feel hungry, they were quite docile creatures. One could even call them pets, but that was the issue. The way things were going, more and more creatures in the wilderness would face starvation and do whatever was necessary to survive. If March was right and the third sword was somehow related to the poison plague, he had no choice but to see it through. Was it, though?

The streets were a bit busier than usual. Even with everything going on, preparations for the festival were getting underway. This year, Countess Priscord had every intention of having a flawless event of such splendor that it would wash out the shame of last year. Already she had used the city guardian’s power to make people think that the festival had well ended before the desirous events of last year. As such, Dallion’s status as “Hero of Nerosal” had started to fade from people’s memories.

On his way to the awakened temple of the city, Dallion saw a few members of the mirror pool. All of them were low-level lookouts, but they let him know that the organization was still keeping an eye on him. They knew better than to get involved directly, but they had no qualms about approaching him.

Not today, Dallion thought, and whistled a tune.

The sound, infused with the desire to stay away from him, had an immediate effect. Two of the mirror pool members disappeared in the crowd, while the third looked away.

A long queue of people was waiting at the temple’s entrance. As some cynically would say, awakening was big business. Up to level ten, the only way to level up was either through extreme effort and discipline, or visiting the realm of an awakening altar. Thus, all of the single digits pretty much had to pass by the temple, which included a quite pricey entrance fee.

In order to enter, one had to pay ten gold coins. Nothing stopped a person from leveling up as many times as they wished up to ten, of course, but normally no one could manage more than two level ups at a time.

“Sorry,” Dallion muttered as he made his way to the front of the queue.

Several people gave him a cold look. One of the acolytes whose task it as to let people enter, however, had an entirely different reaction.

“Initiate,” he said with slight reverence. “Is there anything you need?”

“Some space and quiet,” Dallion replied.

The message was received loud and clear. The acolyte nodded, then moved aside so that Dallion could enter. There were a few minor grumblings from the people waiting. Some of them had been waiting for hours, however, such were the rules of this world: higher level came with its threats as well as its advantages. As an initiate, Dallion was partially considered part of the Order of the Seven Moons, and was free to enter the temple as if he were a cleric. Naturally, he didn’t have to pay for the privilege either.

“It’s been a bit busy lately,” the acolyte said, leading Dallion along a corridor, then down to an inconspicuous stairwell.

This wasn’t the first time Dallion had been to this section. The clerics of the temple claimed that it had been created so they could pray to the Seven in peace, away from the crowds. However, that was far from the truth. According to the temple area guardian, the section had been present during the temple’s construction. The intended purpose was for it to be used for blessing and creating emblems. The practice had been abandoned well over a century ago, leaving the room vacant. Dallion wasn’t sure he believed that either. Whenever a guardian claimed there was an empty room in an overcrowded building, usually it was never empty.

“Here we are, initiate,” the acolyte said. “I’ll leave you to your seclusion. How long will you stay here this time?”

AREA AWAKENING

The room vanished, replaced by an endless pavement. That was to be expected. Only, the awakened realm Dallion found himself in wasn’t that of the temple. Instead, it was the boundary between it and the realm of the Moons.

“You should have let him walk away,” the massive form of the Green Moon appeared in the sky.

He’s probably used to it, Dallion thought.

“He has. You’ve been coming here a lot lately.”

“I need advice.”

“That’s what you always say. I cannot make your decisions for you and neither can the Star. Those are the rules.”

“Advice on how to find the dragonlet,” Dallion said. “I’ve been accepting every creature job in Wetie and beyond, and still nothing.”

“You’ve been asking for a lot of help lately.” The Moon didn’t sound pleased.

Strictly speaking, that was correct. Dallion had come to the Moon a lot, but as much as he had asked for help, he hadn’t been given it. The conversations sometimes lasted anywhere from minutes to hours, but sooner or later, it always ended the same way. The Moon reminded Dallion that he wouldn’t get more help until he had fulfilled his debt, even if he was asking for help for that exact task. The only reason he was getting any leeway was because of Dallion’s experience going to the furies’ world and back.

“It’s impossible to find a dragon. I’ve asked every person, creature, and guardian there I’ve come by. No one has seen a trace, not even close. There aren’t even rumors for me to hunt down.”

“If dragons were so easy to find, they would have been killed out long ago.” The Moon glowed brighter. “Think of this as a trial. Any task given has a way to be completed. You just need to figure out how.”

“It’s a bit tougher than that.”

“The reward you were given was better as well. But since you’ve come here, you have my blessing. You won’t be poisoned by any food, so there’s one less thing for you to worry about.”

“And Eury?” the question popped out before Dallion could even thank the Moon.

“She’ll have to rely on herself as usual. No matter how you feel about her, she’s no one’s favorite.”

Dallion suddenly found himself back in the room. The acolyte was standing politely, waiting for his answer. The slight delay combined with the look Dallion gave him said everything there was.

“Are you done, initiate?” he asked, more out of politeness.

Dallion was left with nothing else, but to apologize for the moment of awkwardness, and leave the temple. Things could have gone a bit better, but at least he had been a piece of information. The Green Moon had seemed convinced that Dallion had what he needed to fulfill his promise and find the dragonlet. Since Moons couldn’t lie, unlike the Star, that meant that Dallion had the answer.

For half an hour Dallion walked aimlessly through the streets, then went back to Eury’s workshop. It would have been a lot easier if he could use her help, but that wasn’t an option. He was forbidden from telling anyone about it or asking for assistance.

Evening came and went, then a new day started. All that time, Dallion kept on thinking how to arrange the puzzle pieces that were his life. Nothing kept him from taking a few months off; he could spend more time with Eury, take care of the creatures he had brought it, and even improve his skills up to the next level cap. It was extremely tempting, but at the same time he felt he couldn’t risk it. Even if there was a fraction of a chance that the poison plague was related to the Star, Dallion would prefer to have the full favor of a Moon before setting out.

By noon, Euryale had gone back to repairing and rebuilding the stack of clothes and armor pieces that was starting to pile up. With the festival approaching, a fair number of awakened wanted to have the gear to participate in the tournament. That allowed Dallion—in addition to hearing a lot of gossip from the attire in question—to go through the bestiary of magical creatures he was given. There were seventeen pages on dragons, of which all but one were unaccounted for. Based on the scant information, the dragon had been seen “to the south” which was in the rough direction of Dallion’s home village. The issue was the south was a vast area and completely unexplored. According to scientific speculations, the area was at least three times larger than the entire empire, and continued to the end of the continent. There were no countries there, just a few isolated settlements—remnants of failed expeditions.

A task that I can accomplish, Dallion said to himself. As long as I figure out the puzzle.

It’s a dangerous thing trusting the words of a Moon, Nil said. They never mean what you think they do.

I don’t have much choice, Nil. Or do you think I should give up?

Not at all, dear boy. Keeping a promise to a Moon is an excellent idea. Even they tend to lose patience, and it’s never a pretty sight when they do.

Reassuring as always…

If I thought you were in trouble, I’d be the first to point it out. From my point of view, you’re merely taking the initiative, which is commendable.

And coincidentally increasing the chances of finding your trinket. Dallion frowned mentally.

There’s nothing wrong with that.

Is there anything more you can make out from the book? Dallion asked.

Nothing I could help you with, the echo sighed. Although that wouldn’t be useful, anyway. While useful, the information is more regarding the nature of creatures, not their whereabouts.

That sounded logical, not to mention that there was no way the Moon could know that Dallion would even get such a tome. Back when the deal was made, Dallion was a mere double digit who hadn’t even…

I’m an idiot! Dallion thought.

Almost an entire year, and he had failed to see something so simple. In his defense, at the time, he had more pressing matters. In the end, it was the Moon’s hint that had guided him to the answer. There was no guarantee, but as the hunter saying went, “guarantees are for the sheltered.”

I know where to start, Dallion said. The only part of the wilderness I’d seen before coming to Nerosal.

Dherma village? Nil asked.

Not the village. The trail of the chainling I had to hunt.