Six days had slipped by since Lux’s trip to the city with Ruby. The rain had lingered for another day, but as soon as the sun broke through, work on the winery resumed in earnest. The building itself was finished just yesterday. Now, all that was needed to have a functioning winery was the arrival of the machinery and the first loads of fruit to make the wine.

  Before leaving the city with Ruby, Lux had made a stop at a nursery and picked up a variety of fruit seeds. He was still waiting for Twiggs to return so he could get started on the new farmland. Twiggs wasn’t the only one still out. Novgar, Violet, and Azura had yet to come back from their monster core expedition. There was no word from Silver, either, about the magical barrier for the farm.

  Lux let out a sigh as he scratched another mark onto the wall. Forty-three days in Mystic Beau. He was nearing the halfway point of his stay. A wave of homesickness hit, sharp and quick, and he buried his head in a thick jumper to chase it away.

  The mornings had started to cool off, so Lux had to dress warmer now. He opened his door and made his way to the campfire. Constance, Grace, Ruby, and Trella were already gathered around, eating breakfast.

  It had become their routine to start the day seated on the logs by the fire. “Lux, we’ll get started on the brick warehouse today. Once that’s done, we’ll move on to the temporary apartment. Did you buy the reinforcement potions?”

  “The reinforcement potions will be here tomorrow,” Lux replied. “I also brought an addition for the magical logging machine, a tank that attaches to the machine and adds the reinforcement potion to the timber as it’s processed.” He was pleased with the purchase. The tank hadn’t cost much, and it would save a lot of time.

  The potions themselves had cost him twenty thousand gold. Enough to cover one temporary apartment building. He hadn’t bought more because the city account only had two hundred seventy thousand gold left.

  Thinking about money made Lux think of Twiggs again. A flicker of green in his peripheral vision made his heart skip. He turned quickly, eyes searching for the source.

  A broad grin spread across Lux’s face when he saw the green figure. It wasn’t Twiggs, but it was someone just as welcome. Lux jumped to his feet. “Novgar! I’ve missed you!” Instead of running over, Lux immediately started scraping together a meal from the leftovers.

  “Lucky Charm, how did you know Novgar was hungry!” The big man took the plate, and with his free hand, picked Lux up like a doll and squeezed him tight. “Lucky Charm, Novgar has brought back spoils!”

  Lux was set back on his feet. Novgar untied a pouch from his waist and handed it over. The sound of marbles knocking together made Lux’s heart pound. With trembling fingers, he opened the pouch and dipped his hand inside. A handful of monster cores, each a different colour, rolled into his hand.

  A picture formed in his head of the contents in the pouch. Two hundred and twenty-seven monster cores. Lux grinned. “Novgar, are there any medium quality ones in here?” He didn’t know how to tell the difference.

  Novgar answered through a mouthful of food. “Novgar got medium quality ones. They are the bigger monster cores.” The pounding in Lux’s chest grew stronger.

  Lux eagerly sorted through the cores. Twenty-two were noticeably bigger than the rest. He laughed, breathless. “This is amazing, Novgar! I can’t believe you brought so many back!” With this many, he’d have plenty to keep the machines running. He couldn’t wait to see what Violet and Azura would bring.

  Lux’s mood soared. Things were finally coming together. With the all-in-one brick machine on its way, and Twiggs returning soon, they’d have constant materials for building apartments and the produce needed for the winery.

  Lux sat down next to Novgar and peppered him with questions about his trip. Novgar’s story wound down just as the breakfast dishes were cleared.

  The group was about to head to the warehouse construction site when a lone figure approached the camp. Long silver hair swayed as the man in a black robe walked closer.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “Silver! You’re finally back!” Lux’s heart, just starting to calm, kicked into overdrive. The sight of Silver could only mean one thing, he’d secured the magical barrier. Now Lux could start the farm in earnest!

  A round of greetings followed. Novgar and Ruby’s were loud and enthusiastic. The rest ranged from barely audible to nervous baritones. Then, all at once, Constance, Grace, and Trella made quick excuses and left.

  Lux raised an eyebrow. He’d expected this from Trella, but Constance and Grace had never even met Silver. Maybe they were just sensitive to people? Silver was a little intimidating, after all.

  “Silver, you know how to clear a room,” Lux joked. The only response was the tiniest lift at the corner of Silver’s mouth. “How did you go with the Magical Security Barrier?” Lux skipped straight to the question he cared about most.

  “Tonight,” Silver replied, the word clipped and soft.

  Lux mulled it over, then asked, “It’s getting delivered tonight?”

  Silver shook his head, then reached into a pouch and pulled out a parchment. He unfurled it on the ground. A detailed map of a city appeared. “We will retrieve it tonight,” Silver said, voice low and musical.

  Lux frowned. Why did they need a map to collect a barrier? Maybe Silver had never been to that city before? As he pondered, Silver pointed to a large structure on the map.

  Then another parchment appeared, this one a layout of the building Silver had indicated. Novgar started to wiggle in his seat, grinning from ear to ear. “Treasure hunting! Novgar will bring the most back!” He was practically vibrating with excitement.

  Lux stared at the city map, confused. It didn’t look like a place for treasure hunting. How was this related to getting a magical barrier?

  Ruby cut in, “It’s finally happening. I thought they’d given up on the city raid. Well, that’s good news for us. I take it we’re stealing the magical wards?”

  An uneasy feeling twisted in Lux’s stomach. The word “raid” didn’t sound like something he ever wanted on his resume. When Silver nodded, Lux’s jaw dropped.

  He’d never stolen anything in his life, not unless you counted that time he took an extra ketchup packet at a fast-food joint. “We’re stealing? Can’t we just buy one?” he blurted, the words escaping before he could think better of it.

  Ruby laughed. “Lux, do you know how much magical wards cost?” When Lux shook his head, Ruby answered, “A basic one like the one we have now is fifty million gold.”

  Lux’s eyes went wide. “F-fifty m-million?” he stammered.

  “Mmm. Why do you think Silver has no money? With his skills he should be rich, but he’s dirt broke. He spent it all on the magical barrier for Silver City,” Ruby explained.

  “Wow. You should have just stolen it,” Lux heard himself say, shocked at his own words.

  Ruby laughed again. “If he didn’t have to officially register it, that’s exactly what he’d have done.”

  “Then how will he get away with stealing this one?” Lux didn’t ask Silver directly, knowing he’d only get a cryptic answer.

  “You only need to officially register one barrier. Any others get merged with the first, so that’s how you upgrade or expand coverage,” Ruby explained patiently.

  Lux looked down at the maps. Even though they were talking about theft, he knew there was no way to get a second magical ward anytime soon otherwise. But something about it felt wrong.

  A picture of his mother with a disappointed face flashed in his mind, and his chest tightened. He knew if he didn’t speak up now, he’d regret it.

  “I don’t feel comfortable with theft,” he said.

  “Lux, do you know what a city raid is?” Ruby leaned forward, holding his gaze. Lux shook his head. “A group will enter a city,” Ruby tapped the map, “and the first thing they do is disable the city ward, then pocket it. It sells for a lot. Next, they head to the city vault and clean it out.”

  Ruby pointed to the second map. “The magical barrier is going to be stolen, so we may as well take it first. Besides, the person who runs that city is a piece of shit. He’s well known for being part of an interracial trafficking syndicate. He gets away with it because he controls the city’s magical barrier and can manipulate it. So, you see, it’s not a bad thing to take his ward.”

  Lux wavered at that. “People in the city won’t get hurt during the raid, will they?”

  “No. In city raids, only wards and vaults are targeted. If residents were killed, the Royal Military would get involved, and no one wants that. They’re bloodthirsty. Just raiding a city only brings in bounty hunters. They’re ruthless, but not killers.”

  “Normally we avoid city raids. The people who do them usually have a grudge against the city owner or are criminals looking for profit. But this time we need the ward, and the city’s run by that piece of shit. I won’t feel bad about stealing, not this time,” Ruby finished.

  Lux thought about it. “If the man is known to be part of a trafficking syndicate, why hasn’t he been arrested?”

  Ruby sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know. I think it has to do with how he manages the wards and the others in the syndicate. But if the wards are gone, he won’t be able to hide anymore.” Ruby flashed a sly smile.

  Lux fell silent, considering everything. If the magical barrier was going to end up in the hands of criminals anyway, it might as well go to Silver’s pockets. And exposing the city lord’s crimes was a good thing.

  He drew himself up. “Okay, let’s do this.”