The man beside them had frozen at the sound.

He was looking up at the barrier with an expression that was no longer just appreciation. Whatever he was feeling, it was deeply personal, mixed with a sense of wonder.

"Storm dragon," he said.

The words came out softly, almost to himself first, then louder as he turned to the group.

"That’s what that is. A storm dragon." He looked back up at the barrier. "They live in the storms. Hunt in them too."

"The sand and the wind are their natural environment, the same way the desert floor is natural for the Chilopodas." He paused. "I’ve seen one once. At the tail end of a storm, just before it passed out of sight"

"The back half of it was visible for maybe three seconds before it was gone." He shook his head slowly. "It was enormous. It had scales that looked like they were made from compressed sand, and you could barely tell where the dragon ended and the storm began."

"Is that why they warn against walking in a storm?" Melody asked.

"That’s the main reason," he said. "Everything else in a storm is dangerous enough on its own. The sand velocity, the disorientation, and zero visibility. But a storm dragon is the reason you don’t gamble on it."

He looked at her. "If you’re caught outside during a storm, you dig into the sand and you wait until it passes you by. That’s the only advice worth following."

Another roar rolled through the static overhead, further away this time, moving with the storm as it continued its passage over the city.

The revelry on the street continued around them, the vendors busy, and the Adepts eating and drinking and watching the last of the dark sky move east.

Thirty minutes later, the storm cleared.

The barrier above them emptied, the sand gone, and the afternoon sky returned in a wide, clean blue as the storm continued its journey.

They drifted back into the inn. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Karrakas paused at the foot of the stairs. "I’ll have the dungeon list for you later tonight," he said, then headed to his room.

With nothing else to do, the three of them found their way back to their table, dropping into their seats with smiles on their faces.

Melody was still looking out into the streets from the window, even though there was nothing left to see beyond the returned afternoon sky and the vendors packing up their temporary stands.

"That was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen," she said.

"Especially the patterns the sand made against the barrier," Akira agreed, leaning back in her chair. "It was as if something was drawing them." She thought about it for a moment. "I want to see every storm that passes over this city."

"Me too. I want to see every single one," Melody said, nodding.

"I’m just as impressed that no one who had a stall set up outside their shop or establishment even complained about it," Lukas said. "It’s probably some unspoken agreement to facilitate celebration during a sandstorm or something."

Akira nodded, thinking about it."I’m more curious about something. If we were caught outside the city walls when a storm hit, do you think we could outrun it?"

Melody considered this with genuine seriousness. "If we had a car, maybe. Depending on the speed of the storm, we could definitely outrun it."

She shook her head. "But why would you want to? If you run from a storm, the storm follows you. The only thing you achieve is staying at the front of it indefinitely. It’s much better to find cover and let it pass over you. Running is just exhausting yourself for no gain."

"That’s actually practical," Akira said.

"Logical," Melody corrected.

Then she turned to Lukas, and he couldn’t help but chuckle as he recognized the look on her face. She was about to ask for something.

"So, Lukas. We have money now," she said with a grin. "When are we buying a car?"

Lukas nodded. "We should get a sedan. Something from the economy range. Something reliable and functional, that would get us around the city without us depending on trams." He paused. "We have money, but that doesn’t mean we spend it without thinking."

Melody opened her mouth.

"A practical car," Lukas added, before she could get started.

"Cars are practical," Melody said. "That’s exactly what I’ve been saying since we arrived in Salaria."

"You hugged one in a vault and it didn’t look practical to me," Akira said.

"I was appreciating the craftsmanship."

"You whispered goodbye to it," Lukas said.

Melody pointed at him. "I was being respectful."

"To a car," Akira said.

"To an Adept ranked [Item] that deserved acknowledgment." Melody sat back with the dignity of someone who had just made an airtight argument. "There’s a difference."

Lukas and Akira looked at each other, then they both looked at Melody.

She held her expression for approximately three seconds before the corner of her mouth tilted upwards.

"Fine," she said. "I like cars. I’m not ashamed of it."

After almost an hour of relaxing, they headed back upstairs to their rooms.

The rest of the afternoon passed without agenda. Melody produced her deck of cards within minutes of them entering the room, and the ongoing series between her and Akira resumed from wherever they’d left it, the stakes renegotiated with the same seriousness they brought to actual combat.

As usual, Lukas spent his time reading.

He worked through the second of Akira’s Second Floor books, taking notes in the margins when something stood out, setting it down occasionally to think and then picking it back up.

Outside the window, the sky moved from afternoon to evening. The ladies left to fetch them lunch and after eating, they continued their game.

The card game got loud at one point, but he didn’t look up.

When the light outside had fully faded and the streetlamps had taken over, they made their way downstairs to the tavern for the evening meal.

The room was busy, the usual crowd of Adepts filling the tables, and the aroma of cooked food in the air.

They found their table, ordered, and were most of the way through eating when footsteps came down the stairs.

Karrakas appeared, a folder tucked under one arm. He walked to their table and set it down in the center with a grin.

"This is the dungeon list," he said, pulling out a chair. "It contains everything we could realistically clear in under a week."