“Welcome, hunter!” The guards stood to attention as Dallion approached Nerosal’s main gate. “The countess wishes to see you.”

That was fast, Dallion thought.

The news of his mission had spread throughout the city. The Countess had made sure of that and now wanted to have a word with her hunter.

“Do I have time to wash?” Dallion asked.

The soldier didn’t respond, but the emotions streaming from him suggested that was a bad idea. In the end, Dallion decided not to put him in a bad situation and agreed to be escorted to the palace immediately. With luck, his stinky state would help the meeting to remain short.

“I’ll need to talk to the overseer,” he said as they walked. “Will she be present at my meeting?”

“I don’t know. The overseer has been focused on keeping the city safe.”

“Cultists?” Dallion asked instinctively.

“Drifters,” the guard replied. “One of the captains will explain it better. They knew more than I.”

More likely, they were allowed to discuss more. With the province on the verge of another civil war, it was normal to expect security to be tightened. Having an opposing noble taken out in their own city was poor sport, but not doing it was worse. Both sides would be tempted. One might have even given in.

There were a lot fewer soldiers than usual at the palace, confirming Dallion’s suspicions. When threatened, some nobles would amass as much strength as they could to discourage any external attacks. The really powerful nobles did the opposite: this way, they’d be sure only to kill those who’d come with the goal of assassinating them.

The city guard dropped Dallion at the captain of the countess’ personal guard. He, in turn, led him to one of her private studies. Upon reaching the door, the man stepped aside, gesturing for Dallion to enter.

“Do I need to leave my backpack?” Dallion asked.

The captain shook his head.

“Thanks.” Dallion knocked, then immediately opened the door.

This wasn’t the first time he had been to the castle, even after the reconstruction. The room wasn’t one he had been to before. It was very stoic, made entirely of white marble with a single fireplace in the distance and a rather large cage. Looking at its composition through his forging skills, Dallion could see that an alloy of all seven magic metals was used to construct the cage, the floor of which was a slab made of aether crystal.

“It cost me a fortune to obtain,” the countess said, standing in front of the extremely large window. Her words bounced off the marble surfaces of the room, creating an echo. “From an old acquaintance of yours.”

“The general, my lady?” It didn’t take a genius to guess who she was referring to.

“Yes. As an added bonus, he agreed not to give you any tasks while you’re working for me.”

“I’m very thankful.”

“What’s your progress?”

“I’ve found a trail.”

The statement surprised the countess to the point that she let part of an emotion leak out of her for a moment. The mistake was quickly remedied as she regained her composure. One would almost say that she was wearing a blocker item.

“Continue.” The woman raised a finger above her shoulder, her back still turned to Dallion.

“I would prefer not to say, my lady. People have set their sights on me.”

Countess Priscord lowered her hand briskly.

“I am aware.”

“I was made an offer to change sides.”

The statement was enough to make the woman turn around. Her dress shifted color from dark green to bright purple.

“By the Archduke?” she asked directly.

“It was suggested, but there’s no telling whether that’s true. The Star cults are after me. So was someone else in Linatol. Was that someone else acting on your orders, my lady?”

“Careful, Dal.”

Dallion nodded. She still needed him, but not to the extent that she could press her luck. If she was going for the ruler of a province, she’d be willing to more than get in bad relations with the hunters.

“No, it wasn’t me. As long as you fly about, I don’t have to do anything. The longer you flutter in front of everyone, the better it would be, but that doesn’t mean I’ll protect you outside my cities.”

“Yes, my lady.” He bowed.

“Anything else?”

“I tried to find out who gave the phoenix feather to be sold at the auction. I wasn’t able to find out.”

“Of course you wouldn’t. The night auctions have higher backing than you could imagine. They probably wouldn’t tell me either, at least not yet.”

“If things change, could I request that you find out where the feather came from, countess?”

“You want to know that much?” A corner of the noble’s mouth curved up marking the start of a smile. “Alright. If you play your part and survive up to the point I take the province, I’ll do that for you.”

“Thank you, my lady.”

Dallion started to bow, but a quick gesture on the countess’ part told him that his presence was no longer required. Maybe the stench had gotten to her, after all. Quickly, he left the room, going to the corridor where the captain of the palace guard was waiting.

She admitted openly that she wants to take over as Archduke, Dallion said.

Why shouldn’t she? Nil remarked. It’s no secret. Besides, it’s beneficial for her. The more the rumors spread the more the Archduke has to work to suppress it.

I’ll never get used to this nonsense…

The Gremlin’s Timepiece was full when Dallion got there. Having an awakened fury was definitely a draw, even if Di was much closer to Hannah’s demeanor than her sister’s.

Emotions of joy and eagerness emanated from her the moment Dallion stepped in. However, one wouldn’t be able to tell it by looking at her. Both she and the innkeeper glanced at Dallion in a way suggesting that they were doing him a favor, then returned to their work.

“Hey,” Diroh said. “You took your time.”

“Aspan, make a special for the hunter!” Hannah yelled in the direction of the kitchen. A second yell from the kitchen made it known that the cook had confirmed the request. “You smell like sweat and rot.”

“I’m just here to drop off my things, then I’ll get a bath.”

“Leave your stuff here,” the innkeeper tapped on the counter. “And go. Your food will be ready when you get back.”

“Whatever you say.”

Dallion took off his backpack, then all his gear except for the Nox dagger. While he did, a glass of lime liquid floated in front of him.

“For the road,” Diroh said.

“Thanks. I take it things have been smooth while I was gone?”

“I don’t need a babysitter to keep me safe,” the fury snapped.

“That’s not what I meant.” An icy edge was added to the words, making Diroh instinctively form a few protective air currents around her.

“Dal,” Hannah said sharply. “Get a snack from the kitchen. You need it.”

Dallion relaxed his expression, then calmly did as he was asked. The innkeeper joined him amid laughter and whispers that he was in trouble again. Anyone who was a regular remembered the days he worked as a bard and server at the inn, often to be grumbled at by the innkeeper. The difference was that this time, he wasn’t the one in trouble.

“Her magic’s been fine,” Hannah said after she closed the door behind them. “Though the noble you pissed off has been looking for her.”

“He’s here?” Dallion asked.

“Apparently, he made a deal with the countess. Loyalties are changing quickly as of late. Most of the nobles loyal to the former lord mayor have been sent to the other capital or given less demanding duties. Meanwhile, that prick has become the countess’ chamberlain. For the moment, he can’t do much. The countess doesn’t want any distractions, so she sent him to assist in overseeing her interests in the other capital as well, but he’s free to return as often as he wants.”

“And you’re sure he’s after Di?”

“No, he’s after you.” The woman snorted. “Right now, he can’t touch you. Plus, I know a few people here and there. He can’t do anything openly while you’re in good favor with the countess, so don’t mess things up.” She poked him in the chest with a finger.

If only you knew how things really stood, Dallion sighed to himself. He wouldn’t be surprised if the countess was using this for additional motivation, although she really didn’t need to. For the moment, she held all the cards.

As Dallion contemplated what to do, a sandwich was shoved in his hands by Aspan. It looked deceivingly simple, but Dallion’s heightened senses let him admire the bouquet of finely crafted flavors the same as if he had tasted it. Definitely different from the standard catch of the wilderness.

“I heard what happened to you in Linatol.” Hannah softened her tone. “Glad that you’re alright.”

“They only wanted to scare me,” Dallion lied. “Has anyone been asking about this?”

“They know better,” Hannah grunted. “There’s talk of more hunters joining in the action. Not in Wetie, though. Some might track you down in the wilderness.”

“I bet.” Dallion took a bite of the sandwich. It was magnificent as he imagined it to be, making him drool while eating. “Has any of you heard of Erokol?” he asked, mouth half full. “It must be some old city or something.”

“Erokol?” The copyette asked. “Are you sure?”

“Sounded like that. Do you know it?”

“I know of it. It’s a legend. Supposedly, it existed in a past age.”

“Didn’t you live in the oldest age there was?”

“No, I’m lived in the last age before races got banished. There were plenty of ages before that. Well, I say plenty, but there’s no way to know. The myth was that back before the races inhabited the world, there were cities of something before.”

“An eighth race?” Dallion instantly asked.

“Eighth, nineth, tenth…” Aspan waved his hand in a circle. “No one knows. According to the legend, Erokol was one of those ancient and magnificent cities, supposedly where all the Moons and Suns lived. A place of immeasurable beauty and magnificent in which only deities lived. It was claimed that some major catastrophic event took place that shook the world, changing it forever. The Suns were cast out into the sky, leaving only the Moons to look over the world, creating their own race to populate it. That’s how the seven races were born.”

That was interesting. The creation myths Dallion had read also involved the Moons, but all the elements of something existing before that were absent. Although, there were instances of suns being described as deities of skills. In the more modern versions, the term constellation was used—not to be confused with the Crippled Star, which was always something evil and separate from the natural order.

“Does it still exist?”

“If it existed, its ruins were completely destroyed before my time. Most of the scholars claimed it was an allegory of the perfect society made exclusively of powerful awakened. As someone who conquered a quarter of the world, I can tell you with some certainty that I never found any hint that it existed.” He went to the oven and stirred one of the boiling pots. “Where did you learn about that place? Did someone from the Academy mention it?”

“No, someone else.” There was no way Dallion could tell them about his experience in the feather. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them. Rather, he didn’t trust the city. For the moment, mentioning the name of the city was enough. “They told me that the phoenix used to live there.”

“From a theological perspective, they were right. As the Purple Moon’s familiar, the aetherbird probably did spend a lot of time there. Maybe it’s using some time distortion spell to open a portal to the distant past and visit it. Or maybe it’s just a realm that recreates the ancient city. With magic, a lot of things are possible. It’s not a spell I know or use, even if I did. The Moons still haven’t forgiven me completely.”

“Got you.” As interesting as that was, it didn’t provide any help. As soon as he had washed, eaten, and gotten some rest, he was going to get back to his original plan—finding Havoc.