After a few hours of discussion, we were quite exhausted. Still, I had one more thought I wanted to bring forwards.

“I have been thinking”, I began, “We talked about all the other races and how they could help but what about powerful individuals?”

“What do you mean?”, Alex asked. Her voice was distorted from her head lying on her arms.

“There are bound to be a bunch of really high-level people out there. Not necessarily humanoids but…”

“Are you thinking what I believe you are?”, the Cleric asked.

“Stormbringer”, I said.

Alex perked up.

“Seriously? That’s more like a force of nature.”

“And most definitely a sapient with how much magic it’s using.”

The Cleric eyed us suspiciously.

“There are also others, less powerful but still…”

“Selene?”, Alex asked.

I nodded.

“That is a name I have not heard in a long time”, the Cleric said. His voice was tense behind his mask.

“So she is from here”, I said, “I met her in the mountains. Far enough in to be outside of Eterios but not deep enough to be within the ork valleys.”

“She was banished for her extreme… opinions.”

“Like what?”, I asked.

“I have only heard of her second hand. She wanted to immediately taint the node as soon as we learned that it would change the node to no longer devour the world. She was certain the taint would be… a non-issue. After all, how long had we been storing the samples already without any ‘major incidents’. Suffice to say, she was chased away.”

“Huh”, I said, “I maybe should check on her again.”

“For what reason?”

“I traded with her. Got her some magical supplies. I hope she’s not trying to do it on her own.”

The Cleric’s eyes widened.

“Yes, please do make sure.”

“And maybe I can ask her to join the experiments on the small node once we go on with tainting it. That might help her understand.”

“Well, do you know what level she is?”

“133, race level. That was a year ago so maybe she got a few more since then.”

“That is… high.”

“It’s thirty more than me”, I said.

The Cleric froze.

“You… have a second Class?”

“I thought Jane would have told you?”

“The only information she gave us was that you had not taken [Thaumaturge] but are still able to follow the craft.”

I shrugged my wings.

“My second Class doesn’t really have much going for it, at this point. It’s an apprentice Class at level 10. I just can’t find the time to work on it.”

“That is not surprising. Just one Class can be a lifetime’s effort to get proficient. Have you at least taken something aligning with your first one?”

“I mean… sort of? It’s actually closer to thaumaturgy than my first Class… But it’s kind of a bridge between the two. A little bit?”

“Ah, that is enough”, he stopped me, “I apologize for asking about something that personal.”

“I don’t mind.”

“To get back to the topic at hand, if Selene is that high of a level it will be difficult to keep her under control. She may be a double and potentially even in both of her Classes.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. She’ll be 193 years old by now.”

“That said, I am willing to talk to her once we have our outpost set up. Which may well take another year.”

I nodded.

“Makes sense. Do you have anything on Stormbringer?”

“No. Sadly, those beings are far older than our records. Potentially even older than the node eating our planet.”

“Okay. I’ll see if I can’t get close enough to talk. I’ve got an idea that should be rather safe.”

“Are you sure?”, Alex asked.

“Yes. I’ve been trying to understand him before but didn’t get far. It’s a risk but with what’s on the table… I feel it’s worth taking.”

My friend nodded.

“Do you know about any other beings like that?”, I asked the Cleric.

“Potentially. For one, we have reason to believe there is not one Stormbringer but two. One creating the blizzard, one the hurricane. Though they likely know each other.”

“They are flying the same path, after all”, I said, “It does make sense.”

He nodded.

“There may be some in the Deep Green. No, there most likely are. Though it is impossible to say how smart they are and how much they know about the situation. Other than that, most sapient beasts have been introduced to society and live primarily within the Corpus Saxi. The few that were unwilling to cooperate with humans have been killed in battle.”

Alex raised an eyebrow.

“We did offer to let them leave the human plains. They simply preferred preying on our people.”

“I see.”

“So, the plan is to clear things up with the dwarves and try to find other peoples. Potentially some powerful sapients might be able to help as well. How long should we work on that before focusing purely on helping with research?”

The others nodded at my summary.

“I think if you can come back in a year so we can share information that would be best”, Alex said, “Should also be enough to set up a research post. What do you say?”

“I am in agreement”, the Cleric said, “From what you have told me, a year seems like an appropriate amount of time to collect information with which we can settle on a final plan. I would like to have at least a decade to double-check it and we might need to rethink our approach if any issues arise.”

“Then we’ll do that. I’m gonna talk to Nymph and the Borsdown Council. Then I’m going to the goblin village. I’ll talk to the [Thaumaturge] about the situation. And then I’m taking no more than a year to explore the Deep Green. If there’s silverwood anywhere than in that forest.”

Alex clapped her hands.

“We have a plan!”

“That we do”, the Cleric agreed, “I will deliver the news to my companions. We will be waiting for your message, Alexandra. Both of you are welcome in the Cathedral at any time. You should be careful with visiting the other human countries until our messengers can reach their authorities. Though I hear you will be fine in Eterios.”

“Oh, right”, I perked up, “That reminds me. Is Martha one of your spies?”

“Yes, she is. Thank you for being cordial with her.”

“How important are the human countries? Specifically the royals and nobles?”

“They provide the resources we need. Other than that, while cold, we do not need them.”

“Is she known to the King of Eterios? It might be good if you work closer together.”

“Our spies are a separate entity. I am sure she has a persona that can reach him when necessary.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“What if she doesn’t?”

“That… might be a problem. Are you insinuating you can assist with that?”

“Yup”, Alex laughed, “We got access to the royal palace. Keyed into the wards.”

“I had not heard of that.”

“Then Martha truly might not be able to get that kind of information.”

“If you can help her, feel free. But it is of secondary importance.”

I nodded.

The Cleric took off his mask and carefully laid it down on the table. His eyes focused on both of us one after the other. They shone with gratitude and a hint of hope.

“Thank you, truly. Both of you. Your assistance has given me new hope. I may not make it to the end but I believe we will prevail. You have my unending gratitude!”

He inclined his head, the cowl of his robes sliding in front of his eyes. He took a deep breath, then rightened himself.

“We will surely see each other again, Fio, Alexandra. To Know and to Protect.”

I hooted.

“Let’s get things going, then.”

“Yes”, Alex said, “Thank you for trusting us. We want to keep living and we’ll help to our best abilities.”

The Cleric left us in the living room, our butler showing him out. We only had a few minutes of quiet before I heard a suspicious caw from the street. Circe’s voice answered it with some soothing words and Jane was laughing. Then, the door opened.

Moments later, a raven was having a staring contest with me. It was sitting on Circe’s shoulder and had that evil intelligence shining through its expression. At least that was what I imagined.

“So you did it?”, I asked.

The raven flinched. I smirked.

“Yup!”, Circe said excitedly, “This is Mex, my familiar. He’s great!”

The raven sat a little taller at that. He was just large enough to look over Circe’s head from her shoulder. His coal feathers shone with ordo vis and his beak bent into an evil smirk. Still, I knew he understood that I was not only much stronger but also socially in a higher position.

“Don’t worry, buddy!”, Circe cooed, “You’ll be sapient in no time.”

There was a caw as answer.

“What are his will Attributes?”, Alex asked.

“Seven Wisdom, nine Intelligence. So four levels, probably. I’ll have to practice some Witchcraft so he gets those.”

“That sounds good”, I said, “I’ll get you another arcane speaker. That way, he’ll be able to speak to others as well.”

“Thanks!”

“So, what did you do all day?”, Jane asked.

“A Cleric was here”, I said, “And we talked about our long-term plans.”

“And what will those be?”

“We’re going to return to the Dwarven Hills, soon. Trying to get some diplomacy going. And then I’m going to go flying again to look for rare resources. They want a living silver wood, if possible.”

“Oh.”

Circe’s smile vanished. Her raven cawed and rubbed the side of her head with his beak.

“Yeah. We’ll have to think about what you’re going to do. I’ll be returning to the Cathedral somewhat often, so maybe you can just stay here. Or maybe Alex can convince the Dwarves to let you come along with her.”

That made her light up again.

“I want to see the dwarves!”, she squealed.

I chuckled.

“Slow down. It shouldn’t be a problem but what about your family? Do you want to send them a letter? I’m probably going to fly by the village to meet my family as well.”

“Right. I’ll get right to it!”

She nearly jumped to the desk, the raven complaining loudly.

Jane laughed.

“You can stay here as long as you want. The residence will probably be kept free for your use.”

“For me as well?”, Cerberos asked from the couch.

“Of course! Just make sure to pay your rent on time!”

Everyone laughed at her grin.

“Right, will do, will do. Thanks.”

“No problem. I’m not sure what they’re planning on having me do, yet, but I’ll probably be informed soon. Just hope it’s not one of the external workshops…”

“Why not?”, Circe tilted her head. Mex copied her cutely.

“There’s not the tiniest bit of good food out there.”

More laughter filled the room. We enjoyed the remaining afternoon together. I decided to stay another day before flying off. I could get some proper rest with Vivi and Safrah. There was a lot to tell them when I returned.