Adriano quickly turned the corner where Astrid had just disappeared. Suddenly, a sharp "Thud!" echoed from that direction, followed by a loud "Ouch!" It was Adriano's voice—sounding as if he'd been knocked on the head.
For his own good, Eídal understood he had to ignore Adriano. He walked slowly toward the large hallway windows that overlooked the outside. Wiping away the fogged glass, he observed the city. It seemed they were on the third floor of an inn.
This building was located in the tourist district, the outermost area of the city of Cardinal. Due to the abnormal weather, it seemed most visitors had either taken shelter or left the city entirely.
The tourist district owed its name to the small cabins and hotels surrounding four semicircles of water, designed as artificial lakes. These lakes were distributed across the cardinal points: north, south, east, and west, and bordered the city's outermost wall, functioning as large bathtubs.
