Lux wondered why everyone was staring at him like he’d sprouted a second head. Was it awe at his city planning skills? He didn’t have to wait long for an answer. Violet snatched the parchment from his hands and waved it in front of his face. “You call this a city?”

  The aggression caught him off guard, a crooked smile playing at the corners of Violet’s mouth, even as her eyes flashed. “Is this what they teach you on earth, a bunch of bull shit!” she huffed, her voice sharp.

  “I could come up with a better plan than this! In fact, I think you should leave this task to me. I’ll have a city built within a week!” She punctuated her challenge with a dramatic toss of her hair, eyes dancing, as if daring him to argue.

  Lux’ eyebrows shot up. Did Violet really think you could just slap down buildings and call it a city? He couldn’t help it. Laughter burst out of him at the ridiculousness of the idea.

  Violet stomped her foot, her face red with irritation. “What is so funny! This isn’t a city! It’s just a crappy hovel!”

  Lux wiped the tears from his eyes, still chuckling. “Violet, how do you think cities are formed?”

  “What?” Violet huffed, folding her arms, but her embarrassment was clear as she quickly tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, trying, and failing to hide her red ears.

  “You can’t just build a bunch of structures and bam, you have a city. What about inhabitants, economy, culture, law?” Lux watched as Violet’s mouth formed a round ‘O’ of realisation, her earlier bluster melting. “The first thing Silver City needs is ways to entice new residents to stay.”

  “To entice new residents, Silver City has to be able to sustain itself economically and meet the basic needs of its people. Right now, it has nothing.” Lux was just repeating what he’d learned from city building games. “Without food, shelter or trade, Silver City will fail.”

  “In a new settlement, you need to establish a source of food, water, and building materials first. Luckily, we already have a large fresh water source. Our farm isn’t big enough to feed a large population, so we’ll have to expand it. There’s plenty of wood for building, but like I said before, we’ll need to hire skilled workers to process the wood and build the structures. Unless you want a town filled with dodgy houses.” Lux tried to be patient as he explained.

  Violet ruffled her hair, cheeks still flushed. There was a sheepish twist to her lips as she looked away. “You really are a city planning expert,” she admitted, her voice dropping to something almost shy.

  Her shoulders drooped, and she couldn’t meet his gaze as she handed back the sketch. “Sorry for my outburst. I promise not to doubt you again.” She flashed him a quick, charming smile, the anger gone as quickly as it had come.

  Lux felt a twinge of guilt for deceiving them, but he brushed it off quickly. He still remembered how crazy this group was. They’d kill him without blinking! Besides, he needed a good cover if he wanted to stay alive for the next eighty-two days.

  “So, from my understanding, we need a skilled workforce to complete the next phase of your plan,” Ruby interrupted.

  Lux nodded. “Yes, if we can’t secure workers, construction will be held up. Our budget will also affect the construction of Silver City, we need money to pay the workers. I don’t know how much it costs to hire carpenters and woodworkers yet.”

  Ruby tapped her chin, thinking. “Magenta, tomorrow you go and see how much workers cost.” Then she glared around at the group. “Hand over your money!” she suddenly demanded, all business.

  “Fuck! Ruby, I was saving up for new armour!” Azura complained, but then straightened, his rational side taking over. “It’s a necessary investment, and I’d rather not fight in rags. But I suppose building a city is important too.” He reluctantly fished out his pouch.

  “Great! Then you should have lots of money!” Ruby flashed a sweet smile at Azura. “Don’t worry your pretty head, Azura,” she consoled when Azura’s head drooped. “Silver will reimburse you when he returns.” She sounded confident.

  Lux wasn’t sure if Ruby was right. Silver had no idea he was spending all this money. Panic crept in, and Lux’s hand went to his neck. He felt like he could feel an imaginary noose tightening around his neck.

  Lux could only pray that Silver would be happy that construction had started on Silver City.

  A fat pouch hit Lux in the chest, the sound of coins clinking was distinct. “There’s 100,000 gold in there, don’t lose it!” Before Lux could process the amount, three more purses flew his way.

  “I can only spare 2,000 gold. I spent all my money on a new sword,” Violet explained, her voice bouncing back to lightness.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “I have not earnt much lately, so I can only give 5,000 gold.” Twiggs piped up.

  “I can spare 50,000 gold. But if you waste my money, I will need compensation!” Magenta’s smile was sharp as a knife, her eyes flicking over Lux as if mentally calculating the odds of repayment, or the trouble it could cause Silver. The corners of her mouth curled up, not out of friendliness, but because she was already thinking several moves ahead.

  Lux stared at the purses, his throat dry. This was a huge amount of money. Not at all like the handful of coins he’d been given at the start.

  Sweat prickled at his temples. His lie was getting out of hand, way faster than he’d expected. But if he confessed now, there was no way things would end well for him. He was stuck.

  With a shaky hand, Lux fished out a piece of parchment. He needed to start a proper ledger for all this. No way would he keep track otherwise.

  He started counting. The coins glittered in the lamplight, distracting him with thoughts of what he could do with so much money. By the time he finished, the numbers barely made sense: 157,000 gold, 98 silver, and 15 bronze coins. These people were loaded!

  “Right, now that’s sorted, can we eat dinner? It smells so good!” Ruby hovered over the simple kebabs and bread, practically drooling.

  Lux’s stomach rumbled in response, and he realised he’d forgotten all about his anxiety. “Give me a second, I’ll dish it up.” He hurried to serve dinner.

  That night, Lux went to sleep content, he’d eaten well and would get to play his city building game again tomorrow.

  The next morning, he marked his wall with the nineteenth strike and stepped outside to make breakfast. He noticed he was alone by the campfire. Lux shrugged. Maybe everyone was having a sleep-in today.

  He’d made extra bread last night, so breakfast was simple, toast and butter. As he munched, Twiggs wandered over from the direction of the farm. “Morning Lux.”

  “Good morning, Twiggs. Did you water the farm already?”

  “Yes, the others went to town with Magenta. You were still asleep, so I went early to water the plants.” That explained why Lux was alone. But as he thought about it, a grin spread across his face. Magenta could transport people with her porthole magic! That was great news for when he finished activating the dungeon.

  Twiggs plopped down next to Lux and watched him eat, eyes thoughtful. “Lux, what are we doing today?” Twiggs asked suddenly.

  Lux blinked. He was surprised Twiggs had come to him for a task. “I didn’t plan anything for this morning. I wanted to wait and see how much the labour workforce costs on Mystic Beau.”

  “Oh.” Twiggs pouted.

  Lux glanced at the disappointed face and almost laughed. He guessed Twiggs had enjoyed being busy the last few days. As he sat there, Lux grew curious. “Hey Twiggs, what’s your home planet like?”

  “Green Aurora is my home planet, and well, it’s boring.” Twiggs let out a huge sigh. “It’s peaceful to the point that nothing interesting ever happens. My kin only care about raising plants.” Twiggs picked a blade of grass and twisted it in his fingers. “That’s why I came to Mystic Beau for some excitement. It was the best decision I ever made. I honestly never want to return home.”

  “Won’t you miss your family?” Lux couldn’t imagine never wanting to see his friends or relatives again.

  “Green Aurorae’s aren’t like you humans. They don’t form connections with each other, they form connections with plants. I’m an anomaly because I like to interact with others and not plants.” A sad smile crossed Twiggs’ face, and Lux felt his heart ache for the man.

  He couldn’t begin to imagine what it must have been like, growing up unable to connect with his own kind. Lux was about to say something comforting, but Twiggs cut in, “Lux, can you tell me about earth? I heard you have things called movies.” The gloom vanished from Twiggs’ face, replaced by twinkling eyes.

  Lux got swept up describing all the entertainment he liked on earth. “I want to try that thing called video games, that sounds like fun!” Twiggs peppered him with questions about different games.

  By the time the others returned, Lux was drained from answering Twiggs’ questions, so he didn’t immediately notice there were more than four people coming back.

  “Lux, we have a problem!” Ruby shouted, pushing a young man in front of her.

  Lux looked at the newcomer, confused. “What’s the issue?” he asked directly, keeping his tone casual.

  The youth’s eyes were wide, but his stance was steady, jaw set with the kind of resolve that comes from dealing with tough crowds. He opened his mouth, hesitated, then squared his shoulders and met Lux’s gaze.

  Lux could sympathise, the others were intimidating. “How about you give us some space? I don’t think I’ll get an answer from him if you’re all standing here glaring at him.”

  “Whatever.” Magenta flicked her hair and walked off.

  “Fine, but make sure you find a solution, Lux.” Ruby warned, motioning for the others to follow.

  Lux was honestly curious now. “Hello, I’m Lux.” He gestured to the log beside him. “Take a seat, then you can tell me what the problem is.” Lux made sure to look as non-threatening as possible.

  The young man sat down with careful composure. His long light brown hair was tied at the nape with a leather strap. A neat white shirt and brown vest covered a muscular chest. His hands were full of callouses and scratches, a working man’s hands, Lux thought, not a coward’s.

  When the man found his words, he answered with calm clarity. “Hello Lux, my name is Trella. I am part of the labourer’s guild. The problem your friends are talking about is that they do not have a permit to hire labourers from the guild.” Trella’s voice was steady, though Lux could sense a wariness beneath.

  Lux sighed. He could imagine how that conversation had gone with the others. He wondered how badly they’d threatened this man. Trella didn’t have the threat of Silver to keep the group in line. “So how do we get a permit?”

  “It’s simple. All you need to do is take the land permit to your local town hall and get the construction you want approved. Then they’ll issue a construction permit. I already explained to your friends how easy it is.” Trella’s tone was measured and even, betraying only the faintest edge of frustration, as if he was used to dealing with difficult clients.

  Lux frowned. “Well, I can see why they invited you here.” He politely rephrased ‘kidnapped’ because he was sure this man hadn’t come voluntarily. He gestured at the shoddy houses. “You see, this is our current town, and we don’t have a town hall yet. So how do we get a permit?”

  Trella glanced at the rundown buildings. “Just because you don’t have a town hall does not mean the permit issue can’t be fixed.”