It was still very early when I got woken up by a knock on my door. Turning to my other side, I pulled the blanket over my head. I really didn't feel like getting up yet... Even more so because a cool, morning mist was intruding into the room like a ghost through the carelessly left open window. Another knock forced me to finally sit up though, and drag myself out of bed.

The apologetic expression of the young priest, Casais, was the first thing I saw after opening the door.

"I'm sorry to wake you at this hour..." he started. "Would you mind accompanying me despite the time? I would like to show you something..."

I was too sleepy to argue or ask questions and unconscious enough to let myself be lead through the still dark, creaky hallway. The young priest led me across the first floor, where the faces of some godly paintings watched us from the semi-darkness, and then up some stairs. And suddenly, to my surprise, I found myself standing on the roof of the Siracel temple.

The fresh morning air cast some color onto my cheeks and brought me to my senses. I was surprised to see that it was still grey outside, the day only just starting to fight the battle with night. The city was still in a state of deep sleep, but despite the horridly early hour, two bright stains of sails moved on the calm waters, using the soft glow peeking out from behind the mountains in the distance, where the sun was lurking. I did feel that it's early, but I didn't expect it to be this early...

"What is it that you want to show me?" I tried to not allow the irritation from lack of sleep overpower the curiosity in my voice.

"I wanted you to see why this city is called the City of Pearls," Casais crossed his arms on his chest, not really bothered. "You'll see in a few minutes."

I glanced at him skeptically, then took a look around again.

The landscape was getting brighter pretty quickly, and a thicker, silvery mist started to creep up from the sea, reaching almost half up the city's walls at some spots. I bravely held back my sleepy yawning, wondering where all of this was supposed to lead us and whether or not I should just go back to bed, when finally...

The sun passed over the summits on the horizon.

As the first, warm rays flooded the area, a gentle breeze came from the sea, the gold of the fields bordering on the city in the north rippling, as if it was the fur of some huge animal still sleeping there. The morning mist spread over the vicinity quickly started to settle, leaving tiny droplets of water on everything it touched: blades of grass, leaves of bushes, grains of sand, roofs and windowsills of houses... The sun's brilliance started to reflect and refract in those tiny droplets, creating a fairy-tale-like impression of millions of beautiful pearls sprinkled everywhere around us...

"So that's why..." I whispered in awe, unwittingly coming closer to the edge of the roof.

"Yep," confirmed the young priest quietly. "There were never any real pearls in this city to begin with. The mist that comes from the sea is a bit different from the mist of inland. If you'd take a closer look at the droplets, you would notice that they aren't exactly transparent, but a bit cloudy. That's why the sparkle they give is not as crisp as that of normal dew. I don't know why, but this is the only seaside place in Earlindon where such mists occur."

"Excuse me for a moment," I said, climbing the low wall resembling a rampart that encircled the roof. "I need to take a look from a different angle."

Not waiting for Casais' reaction, I leaped from the roof into the brightening sky. I swept in a wide circle high above Tacritia, almost bumping into some early bird of prey, and soon came to a stop. The meadows in the east started to emit an intoxicating scent due to the humidity and the sun's warmth, among which the most dominating was the smell of mint with a touch of saltiness. The light of the droplets seemed to really be a little dimmed... It was like... magic, just without magic.

I had to practically force myself to go back after a few minutes. I didn't want to risk anyone seeing me. When I landed on the roof of the temple again, Casais smiled a little. "Like it?"

"That's one heck of an understatement," I wasn't able to tear my eyes away from it, trying to engrave the image into my mind.

"I hope it'll help you get your head sorted out enough to cope with that thing from yesterday properly," I suddenly heard a deep voice, so unlike the gentle one of the young priest.

I turned my head back, surprised. Where Casais stood just a moment ago, I suddenly saw a familiar, tall figure, looking down at me with that hawk-like gaze...

"You!"

"Nonsense, I just look similar," Canidralth laughed at me. "I can't believe it. You allow a stranger to drag you out of bed before dawn, lead you to who knows where and you're even happy about it... Sometimes I wonder if you're just naïve, or if you secretly have a death wish."

I chose to ignore that statement. "What are you doing here? And how did you manage to sneak into the temple?"

"I have my ways. I thought it would be fun to take the place of one of the priests here for a while, and this youngling, Casais, seemed like an interesting pick..."

"Don't tell me you actually..."

"Oh, he's alright, don't panic. He'll return to the temple as soon as I leave it. You really think I'm that ruthless?"

"Yes?" I didn't even need to think about my answer.

"Why thank you. By the way, be a bit more careful while flying, will you? You almost hurt Nacre up there."

"Nacre?"

The word summoned forth the soft flapping of wings, and the pearl kite landed gracefully on the man's shoulder. I blinked. Was she the bird I almost hit in the air just now?

"That's... a pretty name," I admitted reluctantly.

"Fitting of a pretty girl."

Trying not to make a face at how weird he sounded fawning over his child, I switched to more important matters: "Why are you even here?"

"I found out where you should direct your next steps to and thought you might be interested... Then I became interested in how you'll handle this 'young master Calthraval' problem."

"How about you spare me the trouble of counting out all of the reasons why all of this is your fault," I couldn't stop my voice from getting harsher. Every mention of that name was like a sip of sour wine.

"Dear Sigrian, is the color and shape of the pebble that started the avalanche really the most important thing?" the mage turned his unconcerned gaze towards the sea.

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I sighed heavily. "Where do we need to search next then?"

"I would like to reveal that to all of you, and I don't like repeating myself... so how about we return downstairs for breakfast and wait for the rest of your happy bunch to wake up?"

"Fine..."

I cast one last glance towards the fabulous landscape and the burning circle of the sun that was losing more and more of its crimson tint as it climbed up the sky. Canidralth told Nacre to go have some fun before taking the form of the priest again, and I let him lead me back downstairs. Soon, we entered a small dining room which, at this hour, was still empty. Only the golden rays of sunlight entered the chamber, sifting through the leaves of a maple tree growing outside and marking the wall with irregular stains.

"What would you prefer to drink to breakfast?" asked 'Casais'. "Juice, tea, or maybe you prefer wine?"

"No," I whined, disarmed by his casual behavior. "And I'm not hungry."

The mage laughed at me again. "You don't have to be afraid that I'll poison you. Maybe you'll get tempted once you've seen some of the local delicacies."

But despite the food that he brought from the temple pantry looking really delicious, I didn't touch anything. And not because I was afraid of poison. Since the encounter on our way through the city yesterday night I felt like something was gripping my stomach way too tightly... It loosened up a tiny bit after the visit to the temple's roof, but still... I only poured myself a bit of milk and started sipping it unhurriedly, while 'Casais' decided to wake Siaril and Yasenka. Once back, he sat at the table, opposite of me.

"They'll be here in a few minutes," he said, taking on his real form again. Even though I saw them a few times already, those transformations still managed to make me get lost in admiration. I couldn't stand this guy, but I had to admit he was insufferably good at what he was doing... And I was under the impression he was still learning and getting better.

"Well then, what do you plan to do with it?" he spoke again after a few moments.

"With what?" I grumbled, sleepily watching the contents of my mug.

Canidralth ostentatiously looked at the ceiling. "With the food," he threw at me sarcastically. "Wake up already, I'm talking about the fact that probably half of the city already knows the descendant of the royal lineage has suddenly appeared in Tacritia."

I shot him an irritated stare. For a moment, I considered making use of the knife lying next to my plate. But then I came to the conclusion that Yasenka wouldn't forgive me for eliminating such a brilliant source of information, so I decided to arm myself with words only for this conversation. I leaned my chin on my hand and nonchalantly glanced to the side, not wanting to look him in the eyes.

"It was just one man that saw me, he was old, sleepy, and the street was dark, so there's no telling whether or not you're right," I answered coldly. "I have no idea what brought the survivors from Ioreth to seek shelter here, so far from the capital, but there are not many of them. I'll sneak out somehow."

"Coincidence is a scary phenomenon..."

"Stop joking around! Besides, why are you of all people worrying about it so much?"

"You're so nice on the outside, but boy can you be rude..."

"It's because you're an absolute genius when it comes to putting people out of patience," I didn't give my choice of words much thought.

Canidralth, looking like he just heard a splendid compliment, mimicked me by propping his chin on his hand and leaned above the table slightly. "But I'm helping you, aren't I?" his predatory gaze sunk into me, challenging me to deny it.

I took a deeper breath, but suddenly didn't know what to do with it. What saved me from this awkward situation was the muffled voice of Siaril and Yasenka's pearly laugh, which came from the hallway leading to the stairs. I blinked, still looking at Canidralth, who raised an eyebrow before we both glanced towards the entrance to the dining room. A moment later Yasenka appeared in the doorway, arm locked with and leading my very sleepy looking friend.

When he saw us both sitting at a stacked table as if nothing was wrong, the sleepiness fled like a lizard running from a hungry cat. Luckily for all of us, Yasenka gripped his forearm firmer and completely calmly. Unlike Siaril, she didn't seem very surprised by the mage's appearance. In the end, there were really few things that could throw off her equilibrium.

"What are you doing here?" asked Siaril finally, not hiding his dissatisfaction. Clearly this wasn't something he was happy to see first thing in the morning.

"Isn't it obvious? We're having breakfast."

"Save it, none of us touched anything..." I mumbled.

Siaril didn't answer, just sat down on the chair that was farthest away from the mage. Yasenka let out a quiet sigh and settled between them.

"I hope that your appearance here means you've found out something new," Siaril switched to the cold and indifferent tone that I didn't like.

"Indeed, I know more or less where the next shard can be found."

"Good, then kindly tell us, and you can go."

Canidralth suddenly turned to Yasenka. "Is such ingratitude normal for those two?" he asked curiously, as if me and Siaril weren't even present.

Yasenka raised her eyebrows a little before laughing shortly. "No," she tried to take on a conciliatory tone. Siaril let out a spectacular sigh of deep irritation, which she ignored. "They'll get over it once you've gone. But back to the topic..."

"The stone is most probably hidden in the Dragon Mountains."

"That's not very far from here..."

"Wait, in the mountains?" for a moment, I forgot I wanted to act offended. "Can you even reasonably hide something in wild mountains? I mean, when you know you'll send someone to search for it decades later..."

"Yes, in fact," Canidralth politely started to explain. "Because it's those mountains that conceal countless caves and tunnels, the remnants of dragon residences. Supposedly, it's a whole labyrinth of tunnels, chambers, treasuries. Almost a whole kingdom sculptured out of stone."

"Oh, so that's where the name comes from..."

"And may I ask where you got this information from?" Yasenka got a little suspicious.

"I've spent quite a lot of time watching Sharish lately, and got to know quite a lot of things. Among those being that he's almost sure the shard is hidden in those mountains, and he plans to visit them. If it's true, it would be better if you got there before him. Besides... I think it's better if you know that your trouble increased in size." When Yasenka slightly tipped her head in a silent question, he answered: "Sharish acquired another shard of the Ilmerast."

Yasenka sucked in a breath. "Is that why... Did he test the power on Ioreth...?"

"Oh, you saw what he did to 'celebrate'?"

"Did you see it happen? We weren't sure, he didn't leave any traces beside the ruins, graves and stains of blood..."

"I'm sure. The treasury in the royal castle was where the shard was hidden."

"What?" an unpleasant chill ran down my spine.

"Annoying, isn't it? You were so close to it for so long..."

"Did Yisral hide it there?"

"I have no idea, I found out only recently."

"And let me guess, you watched Sharish get it and of course you did nothing to prevent the tragedy from happening," this accusation was the first sound that Siaril gave from himself in the past few minutes. Apart from the sigh that is.

"If you feel like facing two dozens of ansirths and a crazy mage single-handed, I'll gladly watch you try. Just let me know when you gather up the courage to do it."

"Oh, so there is something you're afraid of?"

"You know, there's a subtle difference between courage and stupidity..."

"Enough!" Yasenka's patience suddenly ran out.

An abrupt, pleasant silence filled the air above the table. Siaril and Canidralth looked away like scolded boys.

"So..." I couldn't tell if Yasenka was more irritated or more amused. "Any other clues for us?"

"None that I can think of."

Yasenka brushed her lips with her finger, thinking for a second. "And... does 'green summits of the disinherited monarch' ring any bells to you?"

The mage raised his eyebrows at her. "No... wait yes," the confusion swiftly changed to a sly smile for some reason.

"Oh?"

"Well..." Canidralth suddenly stood up, as if sensing some change in the atmosphere. I had to admit, I felt it too, but had no idea where it came from. "I think this 'disinherited monarch' is the one who you should turn to with that one... if you manage to find him and make him talk. Not to mention, he could help you with this 'young master Calthraval' issue."

"What are you..." I didn't even know what I should ask anymore.

"Excuse me, but I think it's about time young Casais returned to the temple and I to my own business."

He gave us a small, theatrical bow before vanishing and leaving behind the usual tiny token.

"Does he really have to complicate things every time instead of explaining them?" I complained, shoving the feather away from me with an annoyed flick of my wrist. It made its way towards Siaril, who casually raised his hand...

... and suddenly the feather got incinerated in a small and short, but violent outburst of flame.

"Siaril..." Yasenka frowned a little, somewhere between surprised and worried.

I gave him a confused look as well. "Do you know what this madman meant?" I asked, trying to look my friend in the eyes.

But Siaril stood up, turning his head away a little. "No," his answer was short and sharp as he made his way towards the door.

And so was the reaction of the crystal underneath my shirt.

"Siaril...!" I shouted after him, standing up so abruptly that it was a miracle I didn't knock my chair over.

He paused in the doorway, but didn't turn around to face us. "I need some fresh air. I'll be back in a few minutes," he said quietly before disappearing.