Lux hauled himself out of bed, hunger twisting his gut, and stalked to his door. He scratched his head as he swung it open.

  Trella was already walking toward him, plate in hand, a quiet steadiness in his eyes despite the early hour. “I was just coming to wake you.”

  Trella offered the plate with a small, thoughtful smile. “Twiggs mentioned the convoy went out yesterday to sell the produce. They should return in three days.” He paused, considering. “At the pace Twiggs works, another harvest will be ready as soon as they return. We may need to start thinking about expanding the workforce.”

  Lux remembered last harvest, the scramble, dropping construction just to keep up with the crops. “Then let’s focus on building the houses for the farmers, we’ll need to build more houses than originally planned if the turnaround of crops is this fast.”

  And the sewage… If they kept building houses, they’d have to do something about the waste. Lux had worried about it, the lake was huge, but stagnant. If they dumped sewage in, the place would reek in no time.

  Lucky for them, he’d found a river flowing out of the lake. So they could run the pipes to where the river left the lake, send the waste downstream for now, hold out until a proper treatment plant could be built.

  Lux and Trella huddled together, quietly weighing worker numbers for the next harvest and the sewer build. Trella’s calm observations helped clarify the numbers, and Lux appreciated the thoughtful approach. Lux grabbed a request form, inked it out, stamped it with the official seal, and handed Trella extra money to go find pumps for the system, because waste sure wouldn’t move itself.

  Trella nodded, accepting the task with a steady, “I’ll make sure to lodge the paperwork at the guild and discuss supplies with Magenta.”

  Lux set his sights on Ruby next. If anyone could put together the piping, it was her. He tracked her down at the farm, deep in conversation with Twiggs. The two saw him approach, Twiggs waving wildly. “Lux! How was the city?”

  Lux gave them the quick version, glossed over the details. “So, you need me to build a sewer system?” Ruby’s voice was sharp as chipped stone. “Absolutely not! I will not build pipe made for shit to travel!”

  A blast of fire detonated between them. Lux jerked back, heart leaping, sweat prickling his brow as flames licked the earth at his feet. Ruby’s eyes gleamed, inferno-bright. Flames dripped from her fingers.

  Lux’s mind screamed, Danger! Volatile! His chest squeezed, and he took another quick step back, arms up in shaky surrender. “Whoa, whoa! Easy there, Ruby, I surrender! You’re way too precious to be on sewage detail, anyway.” He forced a nervous chuckle, hoping grovelling would save him from being flambéed alive.

  Movement to the side caught his eye, a sweep of black robes, silver hair like moonlight, and Lux nearly sagged with relief. Silver’s timing was uncanny! Instantly, the flames winked out. Ruby busied herself smoothing her dress, all smiles and honeyed words. “Silver, we thought you had left, we did not see you yesterday.”

  And the difference in her tone! Silver barely appeared and Ruby was all sweetness. Lux actually wanted to yell at the unfairness of it. “Follow his orders,” Silver said. The command rolled through the air, rich and absolute. Ruby looked like she’d been enchanted, and Twiggs just grinned.

  “Silver, did you come to have a tour of the farm? It’s almost completed, we just need to plant the fruit trees Lux wanted, he is going to make wine with them.” Twiggs was like Novgar, practically idolising Silver.

  Silver angled his head, a nod to Twiggs, and the two marched off, Twiggs’ explanations trailing behind. Ruby’s foot stamped the ground, drawing Lux’s attention. “Stupid Twiggs, he is just like Novgar, always stealing his attention.” Her eyes trailed after the departing figure, seething.

  And when those furious eyes snapped back to Lux, he flinched, pulse racing. “Looks like you got your wish,” she spat, tight?lipped. “I will build the pipes for your shit.” She spun on her heel and stormed off, leaving Lux to wonder if it was safer to avoid Ruby until the sewer job was done.

  He still needed to talk to Silver, but with Twiggs monopolising him, Lux decided to wait. He grabbed a fresh scroll, the memory of Helidale crowding his mind. He’d need to overhaul the Silver City plans entirely.

  He lost himself in the drawing, hands flying. Now the dungeon would be the heart of the place, with a market centre and a zone for temporary lodging. Ideas fanned out, lines multiplying.

  A shadow passed over the parchment. Silver’s face appeared, the silver eyes as cutting and clear as ever. No hostility, just an unreadable weight. Lux held up the map, eager. “What do you think?”

  Silver took his time, gaze flicking over every line. Lux fidgeted, nerves catching up. “Silver,” he started, “when I visited the city, a serious problem arose.”

  The parchment lowered, Silver’s gaze pinned him.

  Lux forced himself to continue. “If we build the dungeon as soon as the book is filled, we will not have enough housing or food for a large influx of visitors to Silver City. The ward you have is not a Magical Security Ward, is it?”

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  Lux had done the math. The dungeon would pull crowds far beyond their current capacity. Chaos would run rampant, and without a Magical Security Ward, the whole plan could collapse. Worse, governing bodies could swoop in, seize control, find any loophole to take over. Lux knew enough about greed, here and back on earth.

  He laid it all out, trembling by the end, half expecting Silver to rage. He knew what this city meant to him. But Silver just nodded, utterly calm. “Okay, we will do it your way for now.” He pointed at the parchment. “We just need a Magical Security Ward and enough food and housing, correct?” The words came out slow, deliberate.

  “Yes, but with our current funds the only thing we can implement is growing the farms.” Disappointment clung to Lux. The dungeon was a goldmine, tokens exchanged by the sackful, but they couldn’t risk disaster. Not yet.

  The lodging would be another windfall. But it felt more insane by the minute to think he could build a city with what he knew. He should tell Silver, he wasn’t the right person for this job.

  Silver’s gaze went distant. Lux waited, letting him think, rehearsing how to say he wasn’t qualified. When the silver eyes met his own again, Lux straightened, bracing himself for the hard conversation.

  “Thank you for telling me about the issues.” The voice was quiet, softer than Lux had ever heard. “I like that you will not hold things back from me.” Lux blinked, stunned. Of all things, gratitude? “It is difficult to find someone who will speak to me straightforwardly. You also show no fear towards me.”

  Lux gaped. No fear? Was Silver joking? But a pulse of laughter escaped the man at Lux’s face. “What, who was it that demanded compensation for helping with the dungeon?”

  It was true. Lux had. He had all but extorted monster cores. Silver smiled, a flash of surprise, and then let slip something that made Lux’s mind freeze. “I find it hard to trust people, surprisingly in the little time I have known you, I feel that you would never betray me.”

  He kept talking, and Lux could only listen, struck dumb. “I know you are not qualified to build the city, but I have a feeling you will muddle through.” Silver gestured at the parchment. “You have a surprising rich imagination. Although you can’t execute all the finer details, you can plan out a rough guide.”

  Silver tilted his head back, eyes on the sky. “You won’t need to worry about the fine details though, you can get others to do that. Trella will deal with that. So, before you head home to your earth, you just need to get Silver City to the point that the dungeon can be built.”

  The silver gaze swung back, more direct than ever. “I will give you plenty of higher tier monster cores in return, how does that sound?”

  Lux nearly missed the offer, still stuck on the waterfall of words Silver had just unleashed. He’d never expected this kind of trust, or confession.

  Silver didn’t trust the professionals. Lux realised it meant he’d been picked not for his skills, but his loyalty. He actually felt sorry for Silver, what kind of life was that, to trust no one around you?

  He weighed the offer, staring past the camp. He’d get monster cores anyway, but more couldn’t hurt. Could he get Silver City to the dungeon stage before his time in Mystic Beau ran out?

  “Ah fuck it! Why not!” The words burst out. Silver was right, Lux had imagination. If he only had to sketch a map, not become some master planner, he could do it. “I want lots of monster cores though!”

  “Deal.” Silver’s voice was back to its melodic, even tone.

  Lux expected Silver to leave after that, but the man just handed the map back and sat there, watching distant clouds. Good enough, Lux dove back into drawing, scribbling in every idea that flashed through his mind.

  By the time the sun was brushing the treetops, his map was done. He turned to Silver, who still sat beside him. “Want me to explain what I’ve drawn?” Silver nodded. Back to silence, Lux figured.

  Didn’t matter. He was eager to explain. The dungeon was the city’s anchor, pressed against the lake, five great roads radiating out to a ring road. “I made it so that all main roads would lead to the dungeon. I set the dungeon near the lake, it will give it a nice visual backdrop, the rest of the city will sprawl away from the lake.”

  “The main roads will also act to section the areas, we can build different zones. Most of the area around the dungeon will be left for temporary housing, but I also want to add a shopping district close by. In amongst the cheaper temporary housing, I want nice public baths and restaurants. When I visited Helidale, I noticed this was lacking. People want nice food and a place to relax.”

  He circled a block on the map, five segments out from the dungeon. That would be the starter district. It would look odd, all that empty space, but we had to build cheap and fast, unless a miracle dump of coins appeared. Silver could fill in the rest after he left.

  He explained the sparse construction, and Silver let out a low hum. Encouraged, Lux moved on to the farming issue. “The current ward you have in place will cover the city, however the farmland and the logging factory will need to be moved, or they will end up in the heart of the city.”

  He tapped a section beyond the city limits. “This will be a good place to build farms and the logging factory. Having farms in the city does not allow for growth due to the limited space available. But if I move them here monsters could cause trouble at the farms.”

  He looked to Silver, hoping for a solution. “I will secure a ward, so build the farms there.” This time, the musical voice made Lux grin wide.

  “Okay!” He jabbed at the map, excitement building. “This area will be for the fruit wine factories.” He pointed out the spot near the farmland. “But before I go ahead with this plan I need to know if fruit wine is something that is popular on Mystic Beau.”

  Silver tapped his thigh. “Any alcohol is popular, however if you want to make large profits then add Firewater and Icebreath to the wine. Azura can tell you more about those ingredients.”

  Lux mentally flagged Azura’s name, having no idea what Firewater and Icebreath were, but if Silver said ask, he would. He pushed ahead. “This section will be for permanent residents, I have not set a solid plan for this area as I was not sure what the ratio was between Mystians and other travellers to the planet.”

  “Ask Magenta, Ruby, Violet or Azura about anything related to Mystic Beau, they are all indigenous Mystians. However, I can answer this question, around fifty percent of the population are Mystians” That was more than Lux expected.

  A new thought struck him, how big was Mystic Beau, really? On earth, there was no limit to travellers, and beings from other worlds must swarm here. The size of it all was impossible to picture.

  But for now, the map was done. His explanation had been brief, but the blueprint held everything. Silver seemed satisfied.

  As Lux prepared to leave, Silver stood. “Lux I will need to leave for a while.” No explanation, just the words and the footsteps.

  Lux called out. “Stay safe!” He watched the silver hair vanish. Strange, but after today, he saw the man differently. “Ah shit, do I now consider him a friend like Novgar and Twiggs?” He groaned. “I really am an idiot!”

  He rolled up the map, heading back to camp, tomorrow he would attack the new plans, full force.