"Old Man Cubbins says it's a dragon breathing smoke"
"...Well I heard it's a million billion bats, and not a cloud at all"
"You're both wrong, it's actually..."
While the Erilynian children argued about matter they all knew was unknowable, one boy was quiet. Finally, he spoke up. "You're all wrong. I know, I heard some people talking at the inn." The group of urchins silenced, turning to hear what their normally quiet compatriot could offer. "There was an elf, she was dressed in a shiny black robe, and she was meeting with some people who were wearing swords and armor. I hid under the table by them and listened... she said she and some others people went there, she saw what was in the mountains, she saw what was making the cloud. And I know she was telling the truth, 'cuz she gave the people with armor maps she drew to the Mountains of Madness"
The other children gave him expectant looks. "Well?" One demanded, "What did she say she saw?
The boy flushed with the excitement of being the center of attention, a position he obviously was not used to. "She said she saw..." he paused dramatically "She said she saw Milara." The boy smiled at their looks of incredulity, and continued, trying to get it all out before somebody interrupted him. "And there was some woman named Say-Leen or something, she said it was somebody's sister, a really important person. And a grey floaty thing that she didn't know what it was. She said there was a portal there, that some people let Lumbers out of... and that's what's making the cloud, the Lumbers live in a shadow place and the cloud is the shadow that got leaked out." He finished, trying to sound as though he actually knew what that meant and that he was actually sure that's what the elf said.
One of the girls snorted. "You're probably just making all of this up... I like Brandon's idea better."
The young Erilynian smiled, for the best surprise was to come. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of vellum, a veritable treasure from these urchins' perspective, and carefully unrolled it. "I... I think they knew I was there the whole time. One of the guys with a sword asked the elf to draw an extra map, and then after she had finished he reached down and gave it to me." He held the map up where they could see it, but not get their fingers on his prize.
"What do the words on it say?" Another boy asked.
"How should I know? I can't read any more than you can," the boy replied.
They began arguing about whether the map was real or not, and continued until the sun went down and it was too dark to try and make out anything on the map, and the boy carefully rolled it up with enough care to rival any curator or archivist, and tucked it away....
