Late that night, Gideon sat in the back of a mana-powered carriage down the street from the EnviroCharm building, waiting to make possibly the most foolish mistake of his life.

In addition to Finch Vex, Mr. Rook had brought in two more of his associates, as he charitably called them. One was their driver, sitting in the front, wearing a ball cap pulled low over his face and pretending to be asleep. The other was a grim, bald man wearing a black turtleneck and slacks who Gideon had appraised as having twelve Might, two less than Finch, but a whopping fifteen Finesse. He was sitting beside the driver and would be joining Gideon and Finch inside the EnviroCharm building.

Finch had said little during their planning session at Mortimer Rook’s office earlier, but the other two goons had said even less. Their communication was mostly limited to grunts and nods, which was perfectly fine with Gideon.

He had tried to forget their names as soon as Rook had introduced them. Gideon hoped this would make it easier when it came time to betray them. The driver had a short-cropped beard, and the other one didn’t, which was another way Gideon had chosen to identify them.

The mana carriage had a purple velvet interior and leather seats. It didn’t look like a getaway car, but maybe that was the point—to throw off any city guard who came after them.

Gideon would never know. He never planned to step foot in this carriage again. Earlier that day, on his way back to Mortimer Rook’s office, he’d tracked down a boatman and offered him a generous sum to be waiting at the dock behind the EnviroCharm building in about thirty minutes, one bell after midnight.

“It’s time,” Finch said from his seat next to Gideon. The man didn’t seem nervous. To him, this was another day at the office. “Put ‘em on.”

Finch gestured at the masks Gideon and the crew were holding in their hands. They were made of dark, polished wood, with simple circular eye holes and thin slots near the nose and mouth.

Focusing his eyes, Gideon gave the mask one last [Appraise] before putting it on. He wasn’t about to trust any magical artifacts at face value. Not when they came from Rook.

Mask of Anonymity Active Ability: When worn, surveillance devices and inattentive onlookers won’t be able to identify you. You’ll look like a blur. Your voice will be a muffled whisper. Note: The illusion will not survive the scrutiny of a perceptive soul.

The mask did appear to be exactly as promised. Gideon pulled it on, and he felt the illusion fall over him. He could sense the enchantment surrounding him like a light, fuzzy blanket as the spell did its work. Each time he advanced, he felt more sensitive to magic.

Finch turned his gaze towards Gideon, and Gideon’s eyes couldn’t help but drift down to the mana emitter holstered at his hip before awkwardly meeting the man’s eyes. That gun would be Gideon’s biggest problem when it came down to it. Plus whatever other artifacts Finch had equipped. Gideon assumed there was more to his kit than just a gun that spat fire, but he couldn’t exactly ask him for details, and nothing was obvious.

Finch put on his mask, and he turned into a blurry ghost before Gideon’s eyes. Gideon blinked, focusing intently on Finch until the man resolved. Thankfully, even for anyone who could see through the illusion, the mask still covered the wearer’s face.

Finch hopped out of the carriage, and the man in front climbed down without a word.

Gideon followed, closing the door behind him and leading the two men down an alleyway that wrapped around a couple of non-descript warehouses before leading them to the back corner of the EnviroCharm building.

A series of metal pipes were bolted to the wall of the building. Gideon looked towards Finch, who had followed closely behind him. “Ready?”

“Get on with it,” the man said, scowling.

“Right.” Looking up, Gideon grabbed one of the pipes with his gloved hands, wrapped his legs around it, and began to shimmy up. It didn’t take long until he reached the height of the nearby fire escape, at which point he reached out and hauled himself onto the platform. He looked down, watching Finch and Beardless climb up after him. They seemed to have a much easier time of it than Gideon had. But he supposed that was what having an above-average Might score did for you.

At the end of the day, Gideon was a wizard, after all. Not a tough guy. This was hardly supposed to be his area of expertise.

“Keep going,” Finch said.

Gideon nodded. “Right.” He glanced up and down the alley but thankfully saw no one there. This part of the city was usually quiet at night. There were no residences here, and all of the businesses had closed. He clambered up the stairs onto the roof, then walked over to a metal door that led down into the building.

Though Gideon didn’t partake, one of his old work friends had been a security guard who often came to the roof to smoke. Gideon had joined him a few times just to chat.

Gideon gestured at the door. The Beardless Man approached and removed a set of lockpicks from his pocket.

“Remember,” Gideon said, “don’t open it, just unlock it. We need to time our entrance.”

The man looked at him and smirked. No shit, his facial expression appeared to say, but the man said nothing.

Gideon stood there, looking around, trying not to panic while the man worked. There were clicking and jostling noises as the man manipulated the tumblers. At last, with one final click, he hummed to himself. “Ready,” he said.

“Okay.” Gideon kneeled next to the door and placed his hands on the roof. This part would be slightly different than using the spell on the earth, but the building was mostly stone, so [Geosense] should still work.

He pushed his mana out of his hands and into the roof, then allowed it to spread under the door and inside. There was a stairwell that led down, as expected. As [Geosense] flowed up the walls and towards the ceiling, he found the security camera. This time, he arranged the spell in the lattice structure he’d learned in the book rather than the constant energy field he’d previously used. It felt much easier to maintain the spell than when he’d improvised it.

The surveillance feed wasn’t always monitored, but the footage was recorded and would be reviewed later. However, Gideon knew from his old friend that the devices were sometimes unreliable. If they went out for a few seconds, the guard wouldn’t think too much of it as long as the feed soon returned. They would need to move fast, however.

Reaching out with his mana, Gideon concentrated where the camera was mounted to the wall and cast [Entomb], forming an earthen shell around the lens.

“Now,” he said.

Like a flash, they were in. Finch entered last, closing the door softly behind them. They crept down the stairs, past the camera, entering a long corridor. After they were clear, Gideon broke the [Entomb] apart. Anyone who looked would find a small pile of dirt and rocks in the stairwell, which would be suspicious, but it couldn’t be helped.

Gideon led them deeper into the building, right then left, past another two cameras, which he dealt with similarly to the first. Though the EnviroCharm building’s layout was like a labyrinth, five years of employment had burned a map of it into his memory. Even without [Geosense], he would have known exactly where to go. Using [Geosense], he could see in every direction, through every wall and around every corner.

They reached another stairwell that led down, past the first floor, into the basement level. At the bottom of the stairs was a thick metal door that led to the basement workshop area, with another security camera directly above it.

The basement was where EnviroCharm’s most valuable merchandise was stored. Gideon blacked out the surveillance while the Beardless Man picked the lock. This door was also fitted with an alarm rune, but it was a basic working, and Gideon thwarted it by feeding it mana until it fizzled out.

Unfortunately, that took more energy than he expected, and when he rose to his feet, he felt a little light-headed. He hadn’t even gotten to the dangerous part of his plan yet, and he already felt close to a low mana warning.

Blinking his eyes, he took a deep breath and tried to meditate while he waited for the man to pick the lock. Finch tapped his foot, one hand resting on his gun while he watched the stairs.

A few more moments and the door swung open. Gideon walked through, followed by Finch, who once again closed it behind them. Gideon released the [Entomb] and felt a brief rush of vertigo. Blinking his eyes and reaching out to steady himself, he took a deep breath before he looked around.

They were standing on a landing in a vast open hall. On either side, short flights of stairs led to the workshop floor. Various workbenches, toolboxes, and forges for runecrafting were spread throughout the room.

At the center of the far wall, a giant steel door was surrounded by glowing circles of runes. It reminded Gideon of the vault underneath Castle Kastorus, though Kelvan’s runic circles were more intricate than these.

Thankfully, there were no surveillance devices within the workshop itself. Magic interfered with other magic. In a place like this, where magical artifacts were being produced to a high degree of precision, any other conflicting enchantments could have interfered with the work.

Getting here had been smooth enough so far, if not exactly easy. But the real security was on the vault itself and the items inside of it. Thankfully, Gideon had one advantage that no one could have predicted.

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Unless they had worked at EnviroCharm for a week or two. Then, they might have been able to guess.

Gideon descended the steps and approached the vault door with Finch and Beardless close behind him.

A small console covered in glowing mana crystals sat before the vault. As Gideon approached it, he could hear the hum of energy within. Taking a deep breath, Gideon reached out and began to manipulate the protruding crystals. Eight letters and three numbers appeared in glowing light, then shimmered and dissolved. The runes around the vault door faded. Deep within the door’s mechanisms, bolts began to retract.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” Finch said.

Gideon smiled at him. “I didn’t realize you could read runic.”

“What the hell does ‘Biscuits123’ mean?”

“It’s the name of his cat,” Gideon explained. “In my years working here, Mr. Dreadmoor never once changed it. I may have seen it over his shoulder a few times. He types excruciatingly slowly.”

“Seriously?” Finch looked almost annoyed at how easily Gideon had thwarted what was supposed to be the heaviest layer of security in the building. “That’s it?”

Gideon smirked. “What can I say? The weakest link in most security systems is the user, not the system itself.”

Beardless didn’t seem to care much either way. He stepped forward and, with a heave, slowly swung the vault door open. “Let’s get fucking paid,” he grunted, motioning for Finch to follow him inside.

Gideon took a deep breath before joining them.

It was almost time for the inevitable betrayal.

Inside, the vault was the size of a large room. A light flicked on in the ceiling, revealing shelves stacked with boxes. As Gideon walked past the shelf closest to the door, he stopped and stared.

The “Paradise-In-A-Box” described itself as a one-size-fits-all gardening and landscaping toolkit. You could reshape the earth, plant grass and make it grow instantly, till the soil, fertilize, kill weeds, and perform many other tasks without expending any effort.

It was one of EnviroCharm’s top-of-the-line products, forever out of Gideon’s financial reach. He could only think of how useful it would be back at Castle Kastorus, both for the conservatory and the grounds. He wasn’t a thief, or so he told himself. But he had to admit it was tempting.

“Wake up,” Finch said, and Gideon pulled his gaze towards the intimidating man. “Mr. Rook ain’t no gardener.”

Gideon followed them deeper into the vault, past other stacks of merchandise, towards where the rarest artifacts were kept.

When he’d worked here, he hadn’t been senior enough to see the latest in EnviroCharm’s innovations, so he had no idea precisely what they would find. But when he saw a handful of boxes on the very back shelf, he knew why they had come.

The boxes were labeled with a picture of a mountain being split in half by an explosion, with text that read, “EarthCracker 9000: Make The World Bow To Your Will!”

“That’s more like it,” Finch said, stepping forward and reaching for the box.

“Wait!” Gideon shouted, and Finch turned back to glare at him.

“What now, kid? You got us here, right? Don’t worry. Rook will be pleased.”

“That’s not it,” Gideon said. “Everything in here is tagged. Like how Rook tracks me by my blood? Instead of blood, every artifact here has been imprinted with a unique mana signature. As soon as that box leaves the vault, an enchantment in the vault door will go off, tripping a silent alarm. EnviroCharm’s private security and the city guard will be here in ten minutes. Or less. Even if we get it out of here, EnviroCharm has wizards on retainer, Falconridge graduates who will track these things wherever they go.”

Two years ago, one of Gideon’s fellow employees had been standing right where they were now. Disgruntled with EnviroCharm—who could blame him?—he’d decided to leave with a bang and take the company for all he could.

He hadn’t made it more than ten steps outside before he was caught and arrested. As far as Gideon knew, he was still in prison. Gideon had no plans to join him.

“Okay,” Finch said. “So how do you disable it?”

Gideon walked forward, pretending to examine the box containing the EarthCracker. While most of the artifacts were contained in wooden boxes, this one was inside a thick metal case. From inside, he sensed a vast, ominous energy. It ran on earth mana, so he was attuned to it. Overly sensitive.

And it filled him with dread.

As Gideon crossed Finch’s path, he reached out and cast [Entomb], encasing Finch’s pistol in stone. Finch reacted quickly, stepping to the side and fumbling for the gun he could no longer remove from his holster.

Gideon dropped to his knees, slammed his palms against the stone floor, and cast [Quake]. He targeted Finch and Beardless’s feet, shattering the floor and trying to trap the two men just as Gideon’s mirror image had done to him during their first encounter.

Beardless fell into a large crack and was pinned there, frantically trying to free himself.

Finch, however, reached to the inside of his belt buckle and flicked on a device. A shimmering shield of red mana appeared around him, and he jumped to the side. The barrier also shattered the earth around his pistol, and Finch drew the gun, training it on Gideon. The man moved quickly—Gideon had expected as much, given his high Finesse score, but seeing him in action was entirely different.

In a panic, Gideon flung out his hand and cast [Entomb] again, shielding himself with a stone barrier just as Finch pulled the trigger on his mana emitter. A beam of blazing red-white fire shot out of the gun, blasting against Gideon’s earthen shield. He began to weave [Enhancement] into the protective shell, strengthening and hardening it. As the spells weaved together, Gideon’s shield took on a metallic sheen and gleamed with light.

Though Gideon felt the heat of the fire, the shield held. After a moment of blazing light, the beam stopped.

Gideon conjured a quick [Hail of Stone], sending the shards of earth hurtling against Finch’s mana shield. Though the shield blocked them, it noticeably weakened when it did so, and Gideon thought he could estimate the shield’s maximum amount of absorption. He wished he had his staff with him so he could have used an [Echo] to shatter the shield. Instead, he cast another [Hail of Stone], then tried another [Quake].

If his mirror image had taught him one lesson, it was to attack relentlessly.

The combination of the two spells caused Finch’s shield to fizzle and dissipate, and he sank into the shattered floor.

A jolt of pain shot through Gideon’s forehead.

[ Low Mana Warning! ]

Ignoring the notification, Gideon cast [Entomb], surrounding the feet and legs of both men with newly summoned earth, holding them in position. In Finch’s case, he extended the shell to wrap around his wrist, and the man dropped his gun. Finch’s red shield pulsed faintly again, trying to repel the magic, but there was too much for it. With one last fizzle, the shield disappeared.

“You lying piece of shit,” Finch said, struggling against the encasement.

“Did I lie?” Gideon said. “I told Rook I could get you in, and I did. I never promised I’d bring you back out again.”

Finch glared at him, eyes filled with rage.

Gideon shrugged. “Never trust a wizard.”

He was surprised when Finch’s rage faded, replaced by fear and confusion. “Why go to all this trouble just to betray us now?”

Beardless was watching them both intently.

“Can you honestly tell me you weren’t going to do the same?” Gideon asked. “You just hadn’t gotten to that part yet.”

Finch didn’t say anything. His silence was answer enough, Gideon supposed.

“Listen, Finch. I have nothing against you personally, but I wasn’t going to help you rob this place for Mortimer Rook. Do you know how it feels to have that debt hanging over you? To be a pawn in someone else’s game?” Gideon shook his head. “I’m tired of it.”

Finch laughed. “You think this will stop him? Rook doesn’t care about us. He’ll have us replaced by tomorrow. He’s going to come for your head, Moody. You just signed your death sentence.”

Gideon shook his head and sighed. “I never expected to stop him. I just wanted to give him one bad day. I’m leaving the city tonight. If he wants me, he can come and get me. I think he’ll find more than he bargained for.” He looked over at the EarthCracker sitting on the shelf. “Now that I know what he wanted, I’m even more glad I was here to ensure he didn’t get it. I’m no fan of EnviroCharm, but I want Rook to have that even less. What the hell does he even need it for?”

Finch shrugged with his one free arm. “Dunno. Don’t care.”

Beardless had been struggling to free himself, but there was no way he could get out of the hardened earth that now bound him to the shattered floor. After a few more moments of effort, he gave up, sighed, and placed his head in his hands.

For the first time that night, he looked directly at Gideon and began to speak. “Private client offering top dollar to anyone who could get their hands on one of those. Mr. Rook wouldn’t, or couldn’t, tell us who. It’s state of the art. EnviroCharm made it on contract for A.A.R., but it’s got all sorts of uses.”

A.A.R.? Gideon thought before he realized it was the acronym for Acretan Arcane Railways. Gideon supposed that a train company could always use a better way of blasting through mountains.

“You think you’re the only one he has leverage on?” the man continued. He turned and spit on the floor. “He has my blood, too.”

“And mine,” Finch said. “But that’s not the point, Jory! You know that’s just for insurance. He’ll never use it on us.”

“You’re a prat, Finch,” Beardless—or Jory, apparently—said. “You say that because you’re Morty’s favorite. But you’re just as fucked as the rest of us. He’s never gonna let either of us go.”

“I didn’t see you complaining about the payment for tonight, Jory,” Finch replied. “When it comes down to it, you’re a mercenary. We all are. Get over it.”

“Aye,” Jory said. “But our reasons are different. I’ve seen the way you live, Finch. You know where my money goes?”

“I know—” Finch began, before Jory cut him off.

“Every last coin I make goes into medicine for my little girl, Finch. Medicine and treatment from wizards who make more money daily than I do in a year.”

Gideon stood there, unsure of what to say. This part, at least, hadn’t been in his plan. Jory turned to Gideon. “You want to hurt Rook?”

“Shut up, Jory,” Finch said. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“He has a warehouse. 452 Golem’s Row. That’s where he keeps the blood samples and his ledgers with all the documents. You want to hurt him? Destroy that. While you’re at it, maybe you destroy my sample, too, not just your own? Jory Mardok. M-A-R-D-O-K.”

Gideon looked at Jory, trying to decide what to do. Was it a trap? While Gideon wanted to be suspicious, nothing about Finch or Jory’s behavior up until this point had suggested they were capable of this kind of quick thinking or subterfuge. Which meant Jory was most likely telling the truth.

It made Gideon wonder how things might have gone if he’d been in Jory’s position. Rather than one scam loan, what if he’d been forced to go ever deeper into debt to save a child?

Or a parent? If he could have gone back in time and taken out a loan to save his mother’s life, he knew he would have. He would have done anything. Was that how Uncle Kelvan had felt about his wife?

“Anything else I need to know?” Gideon asked.

“Quit while you’re ahead,” Finch said. “You think we’re going to be in jail long, Moody? We didn’t even steal anything yet. Once we’re out, I promise you I’m going to fucking—”

Gideon [Entombed] the mouth slot in Finch’s mask with a wave of his hand.

“Anything else?” Gideon asked Jory.

“Not really,” Jory said, glancing nervously at Finch, whose forehead was bulging with veins as he tried to scream through his sealed mouth hole. “His security ain’t too fancy. Mostly relies on nobody knowing where it is and being too scared to fuck with him. There are locks, but… You can take my set. There’s magic, of course, but you’re the wizard, not me. I don’t know what’s what.”

“All right,” Gideon said, reaching into Jory’s pocket and removing the set of lockpicks. “Good luck. Sorry to leave you here, but I can’t risk you deciding to warn him.”

Jory shook his head. “All part of the game. I wouldn’t have blinked twice when Finch tossed you in the canal. I suppose I ain’t exactly to be trusted just like that, am I?”

“Probably not,” Gideon said. He walked out into the workshop and returned with a small pick from one of the workbenches, which he placed in Jory’s hand. “There. It will take you a while to free yourself. But if you work at it, you might make it out before morning.”

Jory nodded. “Much obliged, Mr. Moody. Word of warning—if Rook is there, him or his son, forget it. Just run. Get the hell out of there.”

Gideon stopped cold. “He has a son?”

“Course he does. It’s why he’s so intent on making all this money. Never been for himself. Magic tutors, books and potions, Falconridge tuition, all of that ain’t cheap. Like all fathers, Morty Rook wants his son to have a better life. I respect that.”

Not all fathers, Gideon thought bitterly.

So Rook’s kid was living Gideon’s dream, and all this misery was paying for it. Gideon took a moment to process that new information, then shook his head and turned away. The why hardly mattered.

Now he needed to move quickly. He grabbed Finch’s gun from the floor, spared one last glance for the Paradise-In-A-Box, then ran for the exit.

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