It had been nearly a week since Lux had last seen this deranged pair, and now it looked like Novgar was unleashing every ounce of his madness in full force. Who in their right mind looked at a peaceful convoy and immediately assumed they were enemies?

  Bare feet thudded against the earth, gaining momentum as Novgar charged the convoy. The broad sword in his hand caught the fading sunlight, flashing with each stride. Even from where he sat, Lux could see veins bulging along Novgar’s green skin.

  Lux sprang to his feet. He had to stop the rampaging lunatic before he reached the caravans! He started waving his arms wildly, running straight at the oncoming mountain of a man. “Novgar! Stop!”

  Thankfully, Novgar’s gaze shifted to Lux. For a split second, surprise flickered across his face, then a wide grin split his lips. “Lucky Charm!” Novgar bellowed. Lux slowed down, but began to sweat when Novgar didn’t slow at all, instead, he just changed direction and barrelled straight at Lux.

  “Don’t run at me with a sword out! Slow down!” Lux yelped, but Novgar paid him no mind. Lux spun on his heel and took off in the opposite direction. “Damn it, Novgar, stop running!” he panted. “Ah, shit, my body is not made for intense exercise!”

  The pounding footsteps closed in, and a massive arm wrapped around his waist. His feet left the ground, legs dangling helplessly. “Lucky Charm must be scared, he is weak after all,” Novgar rumbled. “Novgar will smite all the trespassers for Lux!”

  Novgar tucked Lux firmly into the crook of his arm. The arm with the sword pumped as Novgar changed course back toward the convoy. “For the Bluehill Bolder Tribe!” Novgar roared, making Lux flinch.

  Lux gritted his teeth as his head rattled with every step. He twisted around so his hands could reach Novgar’s thick skull, and started swatting him frantically. “Stop and listen!” Novgar just grinned wider, completely unfazed by Lux’s frantic smacks.

  Novgar’s sword crashed into one of the wagons, splinters flew, shouted erupted and chaos broke out. People scattered in all directions.

  Novgar didn’t even slow down. In a few giant strides, he was already at the next wagon.

  As Novgar raised his sword again, Lux grabbed his ear and yanked hard. Novgar’s head tilted, his steps faltered. “Damn it, Novgar! Stop and listen!” Lux barked. At last, the giant man paused and turned bewildered eyes to Lux. “Why is Lux pulling Novgar’s ear?”

  “Finally!” Lux gasped for breath. “They’re not enemies. I invited them here.” He motioned at the group of wagons.

  “Why did Lux not tell Novgar that sooner!” Novgar set Lux down and sheathed the sword on his back. Lux just rolled his eyes. He’d forgotten how infuriating this man could be.

  As he surveyed the wreckage Novgar had caused with a single swing, a glint of silver hair caught his eye. Silver approached, steps lazy and silent. An amused glint was in his eyes. No wonder Silver had not stopped the giant oaf, he was using him as a source of entertainment!

  Lux lip twitched, then the silver orbs collided with his own. A shiver of fear ran down Lux’s spine, reminding him that he was not looking forwards to seeing the silver haired man. He was about to find out if he could keep his head attached to his neck. Lux gulped, sweat beading on his brow as the man drew closer.

  When those silver eyes kept looking at him, Lux’s knees nearly buckled. Silver’s gaze flicked to the ruined wagon. “Silver wants to know, why Lux invited those people.” Novgar’s translation made Lux feel a spark of hope. If Silver had been angry, surely he would have made some kind of sound.

  Lux told the story of how he’d spent the last week building Silver City. He didn’t have to lie to these two, they already knew the real reason he was staying. When he finished, Silver was looking at him with an odd expression.

  The nervousness that had faded while he spoke came rushing back under Silver’s stare. “I was really afraid for my life!” Lux blurted, desperate to explain his actions and keep his head.

  Silver suddenly extended a hand. “Show me.” Lux fumbled out the design for Silver City and the ledger he’d been using to track the funds. Silver scrutinised the papers for a long moment, then hummed. Lux’s anxiety spiked. He couldn’t tell if that noise was good or bad!

  When Silver finally looked up, Lux could see his face clearly. The faintest lift at the corner of his lips meant he was pleased. Lux let out a shaky breath. “Don’t disappoint.” The melodic voice drifted to Lux’s ears.

  A heavy weight settled on his shoulders. Lux started cursing himself for the city planner lie. He’d enjoyed the job before, but now that Silver had expectations, the pressure was on.

  “Novgar did not know human Lux was experienced in building cities, this is a great fortune! Lux really is a Lucky Charm!” Novgar boomed. Lux could only manage a weak smile.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Silver handed the documents back, then pulled out a money pouch and pressed it into Lux’s hands. “Pay back the others first.” Lux stared, dumbstruck by the string of words. Clearly, paying the others back was important. He just nodded.

  He looked down at the pouch and pulled the string open, curious about his new budget for building Silver City. His eyes went wide as the amount registered. After deducting the borrowed money, just over five hundred thousand gold coins remained. Lux wondered how the hell Silver got all that money, but quickly decided he was better off not knowing.

  Once the shock wore off, his practical side took over. Although it looked like a fortune, it wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things. One factory had already cost over a hundred thousand gold. There was still a winery to build, so he’d need to set aside funds.

  The good news was that he could now hire Trella’s crew. He could split them into construction and farming groups. As Lux searched the area for anyone from the scattered convoy, he realised Silver had slipped away while he was distracted by the money. “That man always does as he pleases, comes and goes without a word!” Lux grumbled.

  Novgar, however, had not left. He stood beside Lux, grinning brightly. That grin made Lux uneasy, Novgar wore that look whenever he was about to go into battle. “Lucky Charm, Novgar has good news! We will be going off to battle tomorrow to bathe in blood!”

  Lux pointed at himself. “You mean I’m coming?”

  “Yes! Silver decided it would be easier for Lux to collect all the monster cores!” Novgar beamed.

  “No! I am not sticking my hand into monster heads!” Lux shuddered at the thought of poking around in brain matter.

  “Novgar knows Lux is squeamish. Does Lux remember the monster core tornado?” Novgar prompted.

  “Of course I remember.” It was the start of all this chaos. Lux’s eyes went wide as he realised what Novgar meant. They were taking him to a place filled with monsters, since he was the only one who could move the book!

  Lux started cursing. When he finally ran out of steam, he plopped down on the ground. He knew there was no point in trying to get out of it, but he gave it one last shot. “I thought we agreed that I would stay safe in Silver City.” He whined. But Novgar wasn’t listening, he was eyeing a wagon off to the side.

  In a few large strides, Novgar reached the wagon, then his hand shot out and came back holding a person. A trembling Trella dangled from his grasp. “Oh, Trella, I’m glad we found you! I have some good news!” Lux beamed.

  It took a while for Trella to calm down. The man seemed absolutely terrified of Novgar, his eyes glued to every move the green giant made. To his credit, Novgar was cleaning up after his rampage. “Trella, I now have funds to hire your crew! Great, right?” For the fourth time, Lux tried to engage the man in conversation.

  Trella finally tore his gaze from Novgar. “Lux, that’s Novgar of the Bluehill Bolder Tribe,” Trella whispered. “We need to get out of here.” His voice trembled, on the verge of tears.

  “It’s okay, you’re safe. Novgar just misunderstood.” Lux smiled brightly, hoping to ease Trella’s nerves. It didn’t seem to help. Lux tried again. “Novgar is really very friendly.” To prove his point, Lux waved at the big green man and got a dopey smile and enthusiastic wave in return. “See? He’s just like a big puppy.”

  Trella’s eyes went round. “Lux, you can’t call him a puppy!”

  Lux rolled his eyes and shouted at the green man. “Novgar! Come here, I need your help.” The conversation with Trella was going nowhere, and at this rate, they’d be here all night.

  Novgar dropped what he was doing and bounded over. “Do you have an enemy for Novgar to smite?” he asked, excited.

  “What? No, stop that.” Lux sighed. “Can you tell Trella that he and his friends are safe in Silver City and you will not harm them, please.”

  In response, Novgar gave Trella a menacing glare. “Novgar will smite you and bathe in your blood if you harm Lucky Charm!”

  Lux delivered a smack to Novgar’s thick skull. “Cut it out!”

  Novgar pouted, then with a sullen look, tried again. “Novgar will not harm Lux’s friends.”

  Satisfied, Lux turned to Trella. The look on the man’s face made Lux pause. Trella’s expression was frozen in shock. Lux tilted his head in thought, so far Trella had been level-headed. He wondered what about Novgar made him panic.

  The thought did not last long as Trella finally managed to speak. “Y-you hit him.” His eyes were huge with disbelief.

  Lux decided to ignore Trella’s nonsense. “Yes, I did. Now let’s sign a contract.” Lux pulled out the handheld stamp and poked Trella. “Hand me a parchment, I know you have some on you.” After the last incident where they had no paperwork, Lux had asked for some to be brought with the convoy.

  With shaking hands, Trella obeyed. Lux filled in the details for the number of labourers he wanted and stamped the document. Trella absentmindedly put the papers away. Lux breathed a sigh of relief, then pulled out a blank parchment from his pouch.

  Since he’d just learned he’d be heading out with Novgar and Silver, he decided to write instructions to leave with Trella on what to build while he would be away. The man was in no state to listen right now, and Lux didn’t want construction to stop. He wrote detailed instructions for Trella and his crew and handed it over.

  Afterwards, Lux thought of another document he should prepare. He had a ledger for the funds, but nothing with the basic details of Silver City.

  Lux decided to make an overview of Silver City itself. That way, he could see the city’s status at a glance. He played around with the details for a while, and in the end, kept it very simple. The results made him laugh.

  The ledger looked just like a screen from one of the city-building games he used to play.

  Silver City

  Treasury: 500,000 gold, 98 silver, and 15 bronze coins.

  Population: 8 (Permanent residents), 25 (Temporary residents)

  Contracted Workers: Labourers

  Buildings: 10 shoddy houses, Farm, Dirt path.

  Lux looked at the paper and grimaced. Silver City looked dismal on paper! Well, at least he can keep track of the permanent resident’s names with only eight!

  He firmly decided to keep this particular parchment to himself until things improved. He quickly tucked it away, said goodbye to Trella, and started toward his shack with Novgar in tow.

  Once they were almost back home, Lux asked Novgar when they’d be leaving. “Novgar will wake Lucky Charm first thing tomorrow morning!”

  True to his word, Novgar was pounding on Lux’s door as soon as the sun rose. Lux rolled out of bed and marked the twenty-second stroke on his wall. He dressed, grabbed the golden book off the floor, and opened the door to a grinning Novgar.