Before we set off for the City, I send a telepathic message to Pinion to let Hebron know where we are and what we're doing and get a status report.

[That Ghostwriter sounds useful,] Pinion replies. [I had to write out all the notes again for the next spawn, but the notebooks are worth a significant chunk of essence so it's got to be done, especially since it's such a cheap way to make up some of the cost.]

[Did you spawn a treefolk yet?] I ask.

[No,] Pinion replies. [We spawned a shroomfolk! Her name's Penny. Short for Penicillia. She wants to start an apothecary. We used one of your old healing rods on spawning her too, plus the life-aspected water and stuff.]

[That sounds fantastic,] I reply. [Can't wait to meet her.]

Hebron continues to grow. I can't avert an apocalypse on my own. I need strong allies, as many of them as I can get. That was Liu Xing's mistake. He stood alone against a Divine Apocalypse. I will not make that mistake. I'm going to build up my base as much as I can. He thought he was in a solo RPG, when he was actually in a base building strategy game. Easy mistake to make, when you're used to being a weapon.

Since we arrived at Caldicoth so late at night, we spend the next day browsing the marketplace and stocking up on supplies for the trip. At least it will be significantly quicker than the last flight we made to the City. Back then, I didn't have full Control rating of my skyboat yet, and we were flying with a major speed penalty.

Milo shows us to some merchants he has been working with and gets us some good deals on supplies. One of Caldicoth Hearth's nephews had been among the Mushroom Garden's victims, and he decided to give up adventuring for the moment for trading.

Grubwick has benefited greatly from undoing Halkyn's misdeeds. It's unfortunate to think that all of Tempest is better off because they put people in a position from which they would need to be rescued. Surely there are better ways to generate essence. Fortunately, I'm in a pretty good position to figure some out. Conceptual energy is the root of power in this universe, and every living being is an engine constantly generating it.

On Saturday, August 8th, we board the Celestial Duck by green and set sail out of the skyport, leaving Tempest behind for now. We made quite the efficient dungeon tour thanks to being able to fly, and now the skyboat's sails are billowing in the aether current from the shining green skymote core. I point us in the general direction of the floating city, and set the tiller to cruise so I don't have to hold onto it the whole way.

As we fly, we practice, work, and chat. I keep working on my Clairvoyance essays and trying to unlock [Sticky Grip] already. The skymote core changes to yellow, then orange, before we draw close.

I flip the skyboat around once we enter Gleam Underside's gravity field so that Gleam is "down" and Flux is "up", mostly because it's disorienting for some of my crew members to be flying around what looks like upside down. It doesn't bother me, but I don't need any gravitationally-confused vomit flying around.

It's darker in the shadow of Gleam, especially since unlike Tempest Topside, Gleam Underside faces the Void. There's still plenty of light around the edges and reflecting off the domains below (or above, from our current perspective), but the whole of Gleam Underside is like a magitech London perpetually shrouded in twilight.

The final stretch of our trip to Mayfair takes an hour, crossing Gleam Underside, which seems to have crammed more nightclubs in a 20 km circle than exist in the entirety of Tempest. (I'm not sure if there's any nightclubs in Tempest, honestly, but I'll give partial credit to some of the rowdier guest houses.)

As we near the edge of Gleam, the orange light spilling over the edge of the domain gradually brightens, approaching "dawn". A cluster of skyscrapers stands silhouetted, rising on the edge of the domain to rent as many places with window views of the core as possible and casting the city immediately behind it into even deeper shadow.

You have discovered Mayfair.

I didn't really need that notification, as the massive rainbow neon sign that could be seen from over a kilometer away was my first clue.

The skymote core is brighter than the Great Orb, so that having Tiganna in the sky is a little more like having a sun than a weird giant crystal moon. It's still not as bright as the sun, though, but it's not like you could safely look directly at the sun, so being able to actually look at Tiganna without damaging your eyes is probably fine.

I scan the area with my telescope to try to locate someplace to park. There's a few docking towers, but the more secure one indicates that you need to pay to dock there. I'm not hauling anything of value in this flying tub of scrap wood, so I'll take my chances with a free dock. My [Sigil Key] will be enough to deter casual theft.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Welcome to Mayfair," Melody says cheerfully as we're leaving the boat. "Everything just got twice as expensive and half as useful."

There's an information kiosk not far from the docking tower with free brochures covered in advertisements that helpfully include maps to the things they're trying to sell. I have no doubt that there are plenty of secrets and holes in the wall that couldn't afford to get into this brochure.

The Cloudy Draught Public House appears to be a successful enough establishment to boast a half-page ad, and bears the slogan, 'Keep your head in the clouds!' Unfortunately, while the Cloudy Draught has its own dock, it costs extra to park there, because of course it does.

"Where are we heading?" Basalt asks, leaning in to look at the page.

"That-a-way, it looks like," I say. "Doesn't look far."

I quickly regret saying that as I neglected to take into account how many stairs we'd wind up needing to climb up and down, and we completely miss what would have been a much straighter path from the docking tower.

"Sorry, I always get lost here myself," Melody says.

We finally find ourselves outside a heavy wooden door beneath a placard depicting a mug full of clouds. Not the logo I would have chosen unless this is supposed to be some sort of weird magical consumable. We head inside.

Crystal lamps bathe the interior of the pub in blue-tinted light. A cosmopolitan crowd mills about, enjoying their food and drinks. The press of their combined vis is enough to overwhelm my senses. Too many people in a small area and all their auras bleed together, making it hard to pick out specifics unless I'm directly in front of someone. Locating someone named Sage Pinner in a crowd might be harder than I'd anticipated.

Still, I want to find them before we turn in for the night and deliver Lark's letter of introduction. She warned me not to trust anyone else, after all. I'm picking up on many flavors of greed and malice from the crowd, and while I doubt any of it is directed specifically at us, it would be difficult to tell if any of it was.

Anise just goes with the direct route of going up to the nearest employee and asking, "Hi, do you know where we can find Sage Pinner? We were told to find them here."

"Oh, um, I'm not sure," the young woman says. "I just started here. Let me ask my manager for you."

The young woman goes off and returns a moment later with an older woman.

Name: Viola Mayfair Gleam Tiganna Race: Human | Gender: Female | Rank: Heroic | Tier: Elder | Class: Organized Taskmaster Disposition: Neutral | Mood: Suspicious

"My girl here tells me you strangers are looking for Sage Pinner," Viola says. "What do you want with her?"

"Good day, ma'am!" Amethyst says. "My name is Amethyst Hebron Tempest Tiganna, newly spawned [Dwarven Brewer], and I'm on a quest to procure samples of yeast for winemaking. These adventurers were kind enough to escort me, though I'm sure your fine city is surely not dangerous enough for it to be necessary."

As soon as the dwarf mentions yeast, Viola's aura shifts from 'suspicious' to 'bored'. "Yeast. Right then. Fine, I'll show you to Sage Pinner's suite. But you adventurers better be on your best behavior. Absolutely no bar fights will be tolerated in this establishment."

"We wouldn't dream of it, ma'am," Basalt assures her.

Viola escorts us down the hallways at a power walk and stops outside a door to knock and wait impatiently. After a moment, the door opens to reveal a middle-aged woman in a green dress.

Name: Sage Pinner Gleam Tiganna Race: Human | Gender: Female | Rank: Epic | Tier: Master | Class: Passionate Brewmage Disposition: Neutral | Mood: Curious

"Hey, Sage," Viola says. "Got a newbie Brewer here who says she got a quest to find you." She jerks a thumb at Amethyst.

"I have a letter," Amethyst says, pulling it out and passing it over.

Sage Pinner is using an unknown skill. Aspects: Knowledge, writing. Auto-naming: Enhanced Mind (Absorb Knowledge)

I have got to learn that skill. The Epic Brewmage here just read this note without even opening it up. And since it's a World-to-Self skill, it doesn't even require Elite rank. It's just [Mapping Step] for books. I jot down a mental note to remind myself to unlock it while bored during swarm season and pay attention to the conversation.

"I see, I see," Sage says. "Well, no sense in leaving you standing in the hallway. Come in and make yourselves comfortable. Do you have arrangements for the night yet?" At Amethyst's head shake, Sage looks to Viola and says, "Can you book them a suite for the night? Put it on my tab. They're friends. And have someone bring up dinner for us, if you would."

"Suit yourself," Viola says. "Looks like the spot across the hall is vacant, if you don't mind the shadow view."

We agree, and Viola gets that quickly set up and a pair of keys into our possession while we're availing ourselves of Sage's cushy couches and armchairs.

Sage emerges with an old, dusty bottle of wine. "I've been saving this for a special occasion. And if Lark's letter is to be believed, the rebirth of a lost Hearth and introduction of a new type of fruit is cause for celebration. I'm eager to see what you will make."

She opens the aged vintage ritualistically and pours everyone a bit. The teenagers get small amounts watered down. I get one drop in a glass of water. I hate being nine sometimes. Oh well.

Room service arrives shortly, and a young man hauls in a rolling cart loaded with covered plates that he starts offloading onto the dining table. It's not big enough to comfortably sit us all, so some of us get passed trays to eat at end tables. I accept one with a hearty plate of meat and potatoes that makes my mouth water.

"So, Lark tells me she's well and has been working in your village as a crafter?" Sage asks Amethyst.

"Not our village," Amethyst says. "Their village." She gestures toward me and Anise.

Anise nods. "They can't go anywhere, either. Some jerks from Gleam showed up and said they'd arrest her if she ever stepped outside the village walls. You should've seen the way my aunt told them off, though."

"I am grateful for your family's honor, then," Sage says. "Lark is an old and dear friend of mine and losing her was devastating. It gladdens my heart to know that she's safe and well."

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