It didn’t take long for Bunty to discover why Jagdish’s crew were so enchanted with Gwyneth. Two days had passed since Bunty regained consciousness and walking around no longer hurt enough to bring tears to his eyes. After their stop at the tear-drop shaped island, the vessel had left open water to travel down narrow channels through mangrove-lined channels. It was close to sunset when a swarm of human-sized lizards attacked the frigate.

Much to Bunty’s surprise, neither their numbers nor the lines of glowing golden scales on their back concerned the crew. Instead, the vessel’s gunman and his subordinates ambled over to the harpoon stations positioned all around the ship. Then they looked to Gwyneth for help. She summoned her spirit and cast her utility spells. A swarm of violent blue wisps dispersed from the spirit before following her guidance into each of the weapons.

When the marksmen fired their weapons, a metallic aroma filled the air. Lightning crackled around the harpoons’ barbs head as they flew. The lizards thrashed when the metal pierced their flesh, colouring the waters a dark red. Gwyneth cast her spell again. The wisps flew into the weapons. Not long after, the lightning travelled through the iron-threaded rope into monsters. Their thrashing ceased. Bunty imagined the fights typically demanded a lot more effort. The crew would probably have to fight the creatures on deck and in the water.

Once the creatures went still, the crew retracted their harpoons, and the frigate continued its journey. The marksman retired to a corner, to celebrate their easy win with drinks. Meanwhile, a pair of deckhands got to work skinning and butchering the beasts.

“I should be paying you really,” Jagdish said when Gwyneth joined the marksmen for a drink. “We sell the materials from all creatures that attack the vessel. My crew ends up hacking and bludgeoning them until all we have left are scraps, though. Most of the earnings from them go towards paying for healing, repairs or ammunition. Gwyneth’s presence has turned that into profit, though. I’ll take half of whatever profits it nets us, the rest the crew will get as bonuses.”

“No wonder your men and women love, Gwyn,” Bunty said, nudging Gwyneth. She shot him a tired smile. Summoning two sets of multiple wisps must have severely drained her spirit tired her out too. “What kind of cut can we expect?”

“How about Sandile steaks?” Jagdish grinned, skirting the question.

“Too briney,” Gwyneth commented. “Get the cook to make his coconut milk curry with it, and we’ll call it even.”

“With turmeric and mustard seeds?” Bunty asked, eyes lighting up. He missed sneaking off to the Indian cafeterias to the docks. He and Alexander would visit them whenever a Boleyn vessel returned from the mainland. The ports lay beyond the outer ring, but the city guard and private securities made it almost as safe as Climber’s Market.

Jagdish nodded. “He adds curry leaves as well. A private grower on tear island makes a tidy profit selling them. The soil here sharpens their aroma and adds a citrus hint to them.”

“I can’t wait!” Bunty exclaimed. “The curry leaves you get outside are the dried kind and aren’t particularly potent.”

“It won’t be long before his product is available in the city,” Jagdish said. “Farooq needs to adjust his expectations and accept the Montagu’s rates first, though.”

“Why doesn’t he just use your smuggler connections?” Gwyneth asked, stretching. Her lamp floated above the vessel as it continued its journey, casting pale blue light on the mangrove forest’s canopy. “Better rates and no arsehole house will profit off his hard work.”

“I’ve suggested the idea to Farooq before, but he’s too much of a coward to risk their wrath,” Jagdish answered. “He’s got it in his head to make his produce famous as well, and smuggling would get in the way of that.”

Gwyneth shrugged. “It’s the people that give the nobility their power.

Jagdish fell silent. He was victim to the Montagu’s rule too. Bunty had been alarmed when he learned that the house took a third of all of his profits since he refused to work for the house directly. As a result, he disguised his vessel as a luxury cargo ship while selling smuggled goods on the sly. Bunty expected Gwyneth to be more sensitive on the front, but she failed to reign in her scorn for the nobility.

Edgar’s attack had only fuelled her further. Bunty had doubts regarding whether Victoria had let Gwyneth’s identity slip or Edgar had really figured it out himself. With every passing day, Gwyneth doubted Victoria more, though. She didn’t think Victoria had done it out of malice, though.

“Nobles don’t take the plight of their lessers seriously,” Gwyneth had said when she and Bunty spoke about it last. “I’ll bet that it’s the same for Victoria. She didn’t think my issues with the DeLawneys were no big deal and let the information slip in conversation. She most likely had her brother promise to keep the information quiet and stay away. That didn’t work out, of course. You can’t trust a megalomaniac. Unfortunately, that’s most of the nobility for you.”

Bunty would’ve disagreed with her now long ago. Now, he was no longer sure. Once he had recovered and was confident enough to re-enter the primary hub, Bunty planned to visit the Boleyn house. He was sure Baba would storm out as soon as he discovered what Edgar had attempted. On the downside, there would be no one to watch over Alexander. Bunty worried for his father’s safety now, though, and worried Edgar would try to get rid of him too.

Victoria didn’t have a clear idea of how Edgar’s spirit worked, but if he had truly enchanted Lord Graham, Baba was in danger. There wasn’t just the threat of the house’s head-turning on him. Despite, Baba’s prosthetic leg, his spirit made him a formidable warrior. Bunty wasn’t just worried about his father being forced into a suicide mission. The thought of Edgar enchanting Baba terrified him too. He refused to believe his father would fall for something of the sort though.

Baba and Edgar despised each other—only one of them vocalised their distaste in the other though. The lordling couldn’t bear the intense training and had forsaken the sword long before Bunty too. As a result, the pair didn’t have much reason to spend much time around one another. Things had probably changed in the household now, though. Edgar had a lot more pull as the prospective heir and probably attended meetings with Lord Graham and Baba.

“Everything alright?” Gwyneth asked, snapping Bunty back to reality.

The sky had darkened. Bunty realised he’d been staring at the passing treeline for quite a while. “I’m just thinking about, Baba,” he said. “What if Edgar takes out his anger on him? I need to go talk to him once the DeLawneys aren’t breathing down our necks. Initially, I thought it would be for the best if he stayed with the Boleyns, but now…”

“Edgar’s spells have got you worried?” Gwyneth finished the thought after Bunty trailed off mid-thought.

“I can’t help but imagine the worst. What if he turns Baba against me?” Bunty sighed, leaning against the frigate’s railing. “I can handle augmentations, summons and attack spells. They don’t worry me as much. Mind control and Illusions, though? They terrify me, Gwyneth. Edgar has the power to turn everyone I love against me. If that weren’t bad enough, he’s got the DeLawneys on his side.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Bunty,” Gwyneth replied, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Things are dire right now, and I can’t think of anything to say that’ll help you feel better. The rarity of such spells means we do not have many tools to counter it. On the plus side, he’s as flimsy as they come. If we face him again, you need to hit him once, and he’ll be done for.”

When Bunty didn’t reply, Gwyneth placed a reassuring around him in a sideways hug. “Let’s focus on getting to the seventh floor and upgrading your spirit. I’m sure the pen will have decent compatibility with the pen. Then we can look into sending him a message.”

“I’m not sure a message will cut it,” Bunty replied. “There’s no way to guarantee it will reach Baba’s hands unseen.”

“In that case, we need to find a second Core for my lamp. Once it’s upgraded, we could risk going to the primary hub. We’ll only be in danger in the Gate Room. It’s crowded enough in there for DeLawney agents get a sneak attack in unseen. It’ll be smooth sailing once we’re in the main bit. There are too many wandering eyes for anyone to get sly.”

“Perhaps the council will get them to cease their aggressive moves by then,” Bunty said. “It won’t get Edgar to back off, but might slow down the DeLawneys.”

“I would hold my breath there,” Gwyneth said, shaking her head. “The council takes forever to act, and I’m sure DeLawneys have connections on there. It’s likely they’ll never truly leave me alone. Most of their powerful Climbers have only upgraded their Cores twice though. Any more and they’ll l\ose their access to the fifth floor. So, the higher we climb, the safer we’ll be from them. They’ll keep their distance once we’re in the third interval and we’ll be more or less untouchable after crossing the fifteenth floor.”

“What about their expedition teams?”

“They’ll be too busy to wait around for us in floor hubs. Besides, their focus isn’t dealing with people like us but finding rare beasts, Cores, and materials for the house. They’re not likely to waste time on us unless we contest one of their marks.”

“It’s full-speed ahead once we’re on the seventh floor then,” Bunty declared, groaning as he climbed onto his feet. He wished the slime lord had given him increased healing or resilience. The toxin resistance had saved his life, but whatever Edgar used had still slowed down his recovery.

“You need to take it slow for a few weeks, Bunty—”

“We can’t afford to take it slow, Gwyn.” Bunty narrowed his eyes, mentally chastising himself for not spending his recovery time meditating. There was no evidence of it refining tempering energy and getting the most out of it, but he couldn’t just sit around. Besides, it would help him centre his mind and deal with the growing anxieties. “It’s not just my best friend that’s in danger now, but Baba too.”

“Take the next couple of days to refine your summons then,” Gwyneth said. “Perhaps prepare a couple of ideas for the next one after you absorb the ice spider’s Core. You won’t be in top form any time soon. So, it’s time to play smart.”