Euryale didn’t come that night, nor was she there the following morning. According to the house guardian, that wasn’t particularly unusual. The workbench—who was all too eager to chat—explained that it was common for her to be called by the city guard and spend days before coming back.

After having some food, Dallion went up to the second floor to check on the hedgerels. Initially, the creatures didn’t seem overly enthusiastic, but the moment Dallion brought them some bread, they instantly rushed towards him. It was notable that Euryale had removed the metal basket that held them previously. Despite her insistence to the contrary, the gorgon was rather good at tending to animals. Being a far more experienced hunter, that was to be expected.

“Still hungry after all this time?” Dallion laughed, tossing them a piece of bread. The hedgerels didn’t fight for it too aggressively, which was a sort of improvement from before. “I heard you made a bit of a mess while I was gone.”

None of them reacted, ignoring him completely. That was the issue when leaving Eury to take care of animals. She didn’t have Dallion’s patience, preferring to kill or subdue animals than reason with them. The hedgerels instinctively knew when and when not to press their luck, and right now Dallion had presented them with a rare opportunity.

“You shouldn’t cause trouble,” he said, adding a note of power in his words. The effect was instant. The creatures—so care free till a moment ago—suddenly froze up. Faint fear emanated from them. For several seconds they remained as they were, uncertain of what would follow. When Dallion tossed another piece of bread. They visibly relaxed, though, remained as obnoxious as before.

Baby steps, Dallion thought.

“You keep spoiling them,” a voice said, inches from Dallion’s ear.

His natural reaction was to split into instances and turn around. As a result, all his instances were matched and stopped; what was more, in each case he received a kiss. Dallion had the power to force one reality, but he didn’t, taking advantage to leave all of them to play out.

“Missed you,” the gorgon whispered. Several of her snakes looked at the hedgerels. Instantly, the creatures retreated to the far corner of the room. “Didn’t think you’d come before the festival was over.”

“I was lucky,” Dallion replied. “This place has grown a lot since I left. Two levels?”

“One. The countess did it herself. The overseer was against it. She thought it was a bad idea.”

I can see why, Dallion said to himself.

With Nerosal leveling up, it had become the capital of the county, and was one step closer to the provincial capital. For some reason, that made Dallion nervous. Forty years ago, his grandfather had joined the army during the wars of succession, which had led to the family of the current Archduke taking the throne. Things were getting dangerously close to events in the past. It was no secret that the current Archduke had no heirs, which left the provincial throne shaky. The greatest contenders were his current relatives, but not all counts were pleased with the prospect. Apparently, Countess Priscord had a thing or two to say as well. Dallion doubted she would challenge the Archduke’s authority, but she was positioning herself to become a kingmaker, regardless of who took the throne itself.

“I see you released all the animals,” Eury continued.

“Yeah. Ruby preferred to stay with me.”

“As long as he doesn’t destroy the second floor.”

“He won’t.” Dallion paused for a moment. “Heard anything from March?”

“She’s been preparing for this quite a lot. I’m not talking about the festival. So far, she hasn't said anything specific, but I think she thinks that we’ll be facing something strong.”

The Star, Dallion thought. March probably feared they were going to face the Star. Considering the interest it had shown towards the previous world sword, it was normal to think so.

“We probably will… Anything else I should know about? Chainlings? Cultists?”

“It’s all been calm so far. With so many nobles at the same place, it’ll be difficult for them to pull anything off. Not that I’m letting anyone slack off. Even the mirror pool is keeping an eye open. The countess told them in no uncertain terms that if the festival isn’t flawless, she’ll personally hunt them down.”

“That would make it almost worth it.” Dallion smirked.

The gorgon’s snakes stirred, telling him not to continue that train of thought.

“Tournament starts in a few days. You can watch, if you want.”

“No thanks. There are other things I need to do. Will you have some of us time during the festival?”

“Not much.”

The answer was expected, but it still made Dallion’s heart sink a bit.

“I was given a few hours today, though.” She placed her hand on Dallion’s shoulder. “The overseer sensed you entering the domain. Of course, she didn’t tell me till morning.”

“Typical. At least we got a few hours, then.”

A few hours were barely enough, but it was also an eternity. Part of the time Dallion spent with Eury in their room, weeks more passed in his domain, where they were able to catch up a lot more. That was one of the disadvantages of being a hunter: relationships were a lot more difficult, but even so, they had beaten the odds manyfold. This was different from the fling and charm back when Dallion had first arrived in the city. They were pretty much a couple now, though no one was in a rush to take the final step. Maybe one day Dallion would, though not this day.

Seconds became weeks, when then turned to months, but even so, a time came for it all to end. Eury had work to get back to, and Dallion himself wanted to take the opportunity to check something at the Icepicker guild. A year ago, he had done the exact same thing, only this time he was going to do it the proper way.

Leaving Ruby and most of his weapons behind, Dallion went for the guildhall. The moment he reached the street, he remembered what a mistake it was to do so at noon. The city guards did little to calm the chaos, especially in the more notable areas of Nerosal. It didn’t help that a whole lot of guardians greeted Dallion along the way, making the noise even greater.

The twenty minutes it took Dallion to reach his destination felt like an hour. After getting used to the wilderness, the sensation was like being crushed by a river of bodies. On one occasion, Dallion even considered using the rooftops to get to the guildhall. That would have been a bad idea, of course. With the Countess having taken control of the city directly, such behavior wouldn’t be tolerated, least of all now.

My original isn’t here, Nil said. Neither is March.

Who’s left?

“Dal?” a thin man with spiky blond hair emerged from the entrance. Looking at him, one would think that a punk band member had made a sudden appearance in this world. He looked a bit scruffier that Dallion remembered him, but the same familiar wildness emanated from him. There was a time when the man seemed unreachable—a guild elite that spent his spare time seeking out bar fights. He was one of the people who had helped Dallion get his harpsisword and shield back, taking on the mirror pool itself. Now, he was way beneath Dallion’s level.

“Hey, Spike,” Dallion said. “Still stuck with guard duty?”

“You cheeky kid.” Spike laughed.

It was true, though. Since fighting was forbidden during the festival, the guilds were ordered to keep their troublemakers hidden away as much as possible.

“Is the vice here?”

“That’s what you have to ask?” Spike crossed his arms. “We haven’t seen each other for so long and this is the hello I get? Seems you haven’t changed a bit!” He moved closer, placing his arm around Dallion’s shoulders. “What mess are you getting yourself into this time?”

“No idea. For now, I just want to talk with the vice.”

After a laugh and some typically inappropriate jokes, Spike let Dallion inside. The building was deserted, as expected. The only ones present were Spike and half a dozen Icepickers, none of which were the vice guild master. However, thanks to one of echo rings, Spike was able to get a message to the person in question.

In less than ten minutes, the vice guild master had arrived and directed Dallion to his office on the fourth floor. It felt almost nostalgic being seated in the small room facing the massive desk. The last time Dallion had been here, he had quit the guild.

“I want to explore the second world sword,” Dallion went straight to the point. “I’ll try to avoid fighting altogether. There’s just something I want to check at the final temple.”

There was a long moment of silence. The vice guild master looked at Dallion, then at the frowned. Dallion could tell that the man was strong, probably stronger than him still, but the gap was narrowing.

“What’s your plan?” he asked.

“I can’t tell you.”

“I see…”

“All I can say is that I won’t do anything destructive. Or try not to.”

“Try to, you say.” The man sighed. “March said you might pull a fast one. After what happened last time, it would have been too easy to hope that you’ll just go on with her mission. The second sword is a lot worse than the first one. The exploration teams have been doing nothing else but destroy the cracklings and all other crap. If you reach the final temple, you’ll be the first person who’s come into contact with a guardian.”

“They’re hiding?” Dallion asked, intrigued.

“There seems to be a silent understanding. They observe from a distance. We don’t enter their domains and they don’t stop us from moving on. As I said, for the moment it’s slow. We’re still hiding our skill for the moment our alliance falls apart.”

“I’ll try not to show them any tricks.”

“Bullcrap!”

He got you there, dear boy, Nil sighed. I doubt you could manage half a day without going on a rampage if you tried.

“And once you find that thing you want to see, what then?” the voice asked. “Will you restore the sword? Or just make a deal with one of the guardians?”

“Depends on what I find, but no. I’ve no intention of making any other deals.” I just want to see if there’s a twi-crown.

In truth, Dallion was hoping for a bit more than that. Now that he had regained his Moon’s favor, he wanted to have a chance to learn herbology. If nothing else, the skill had the potential of helping him figure out a way to counteract the poison plague. Of course, he was going to have to prove himself to the dryad crown keeper. Given his current level, that was quite doable.

“What if I say no? Will you go behind the guild’s back again?”

“I prefer not to.”

“Oh, you prefer?” the man stood up then turned around, looking out of the window. “In that case, let’s better not find out. I’ll take you to the sword. You have one chance to find what you find. Succeed or fail, that’s it. Only the guild master can say different.”

“Sounds good.”

“Naturally—” the vice guild master turned around briskly “—you won’t be paid. In fact, this will be treated as your payment for March’s mission. You’ll get some pocket change, but nothing major. Do you agree with that?”

Slowly, Dallion nodded. “And Eury?” he asked.

“Eury will get what she’s been promised. This matter only relates to you.”

“Just one question. The second sword. Does it have survivors inside?”

“No. As I said, it’s in a worse state than the first one. So far, the only buildings remaining other than the guardian’s temples are crackling cities. You still want to go?”

“I don’t have much choice.”

“Alright. In that case, vow to the Moons that after this try you won’t try again.”