Cal again caught up with the group of three that were going to Silverpine. It seemed like they still suspected nothing.

He was happy that was the case. It wasn’t like he could get rid of Astris as easily as Kaelor. As callous as it made him look, the latter was disposable since he only had contact with the others every few weeks at most.

As for Tavia’s friends, it seemed like the Frostguard Dominion was playing the long game with them. They were not a priority at the moment.

Cal assumed Astris was the point of contact within the Celestial Order, so her disappearance would be quickly noticed. Plus, there was the matter of Oleg.

Until Cal knew where he was, Astris was safe.

He saw the two men bow slightly to Astris before splitting off in directions away from Silverpine. Astris continued on.

Cal didn’t close the gap and followed at the same distance until he saw her heading to the town’s main gate. He found that strange but didn’t question the gift.

His form disappeared as he used his full speed to give a wide berth to Astris and reach Silverpine before her. He entered the town without alerting any guards—not difficult since they were all mortal—and waited.

Cal occupied a spot on one of the buildings close to the gate and suppressed his mana flow as a precaution. It would be much harder for Astris to sense him in a town, but it wouldn’t hurt to be careful.

He saw Astris approach a few minutes later.

“Initiate Astris! You’re back early today,” one of the guards greeted her cheerfully.

“That just means more work early in the morning, I’m afraid,” Astris chuckled as she passed through.

Cal had narrowed his eyes at the exchange before concluding that the guard was clueless about what Astris was truly doing. He wasn’t sure what story she told them, but it was wise to have ‘official’ work lined up while she did this. There would be no questions asked.

The guard might have called her an Initiate, but he doubted that was the case. He didn’t want to risk revealing himself otherwise he would have tried to sense her strength clearly. She was almost assuredly an Apprentice, though hidden from the Celestial Order.

Cal ignored the fodder and focused on Astris as she leisurely walked toward the town center.

She was a girl that he wouldn’t have noticed in a crowd, but in a way that set off an alarm in his mind. She was too bland, as if it was by design.

He searched her face before locking his eyes on the back of her jaw. There was a slight discoloration of the skin, along with a faint scar that was hard to notice unless paying close attention. He certainly wouldn’t have since he generally didn’t bother paying attention to people unless they were important.

Unfortunately for Astris, she was very important to him.

Cal watched her go and left his spot when she disappeared. He checked the bar, Dragon’s Head, but saw it was closed. He would need to talk with Holt about what he saw, but it could wait until tomorrow when he returned.

He quietly left Silverpine and returned to his farm with too many thoughts in his mind. He would need to return early in the morning to find Oleg when he was moved to Silverpine.

***

It was quiet when he arrived at his farm. Not a surprise since it was past two in the morning.

Cal saw the golem standing inactive next to… a large wooden ball

… I’ll deal with that tomorrow.

He checked his crops before going to the pond. The level had dropped by over two feet, which was reasonable considering the size of the new batch.

Cal cast [Rainfall] to refill the pond. He didn’t hold back and let the spell release a deluge, making the rain look more like a constant flow of water.

As soon as he was done with his task, he entered the house and froze. Seris was sleeping on the couch with booklets scattered around her. He walked closer to see what they were.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Spell booklets?

Cal didn’t recognize them but remembered that Tavia mentioned buying more material for Seris. He had completely forgotten about Seris’s learning gift with the hunt that had taken over him.

He glanced at Tavia’s room before entering his own. He would need to speak to her about what he found out in Silverpine.

There was no reason to hide such a thing when he would need her help with Astris.

***

For some reason, the first thing Cal thought of when he opened his eyes was the war hammer. It had utterly passed his mind last night, but now he realized that it wasn’t added to his equipment list after he took care of Kaelor.

He had somewhat expected this since the whole ‘upgrade equipment simply by using them’ was due to [Farmer]. It would be strange if weapons that had no utility in farming could be added.

Cal left his room to see Seris still sleeping on the couch, except her position had drastically changed. Somehow, she was sleeping with half her body practically lying on the floor. Specifically, her face used the floor as a pillow while the rest of her body clung to the couch.

It briefly lifted his mood as he walked by, chuckling at her antics. He knocked softly on Tavia’s door.

She must have already been awake since it took a second at most for her to answer the door.

“You’re back—“ Tavia narrowed her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Cal glanced at Seris and said, “Let’s speak outside.”

Tavia followed him with a concerned frown and looked at him with a raised brow once the front door was closed behind them.

“Do you know somebody called Astris?”

Tavia looked shocked that he knew the name. “Yes, I meet with her often.”

“How did you come to know about her?” This was something that stumped Cal. Astris wouldn’t benefit from being in contact with the core guild member. In fact, he would’ve thought Astris would have avoided someone like Tavia due to the attention it would draw.

“… I found her through referrals. It was several people, but the guards of Silverpine recommended her the most. I was looking for somebody frequently traveling through the territory, and almost everyone pointed me at her.”

Cal started to connect the dots on what excuse Astris likely used. “Let me guess, she’s a successful merchant.”

Tavia nodded before pushing for an answer. “Why are you asking me? Did something happen to her?”

“Not yet,” Cal said darkly. “She happens to be involved with the Frostguard Dominion. I was in Silverpine due to some information I got about Oleg. He was about to be smuggled into the Dominion’s territory, but Astris decided to spare him due to your interest in Oleg’s whereabouts.”

Tavia stared at him in shock. He patiently let her process the information.

“I’m going to turn her into ashes.” That didn’t sound like a threat. Tavia made that statement, and a calm one at that.

“No, you won’t,” Cal said sharply. “I suspect that she’s an Apprentice. Leave her to me.”

Tavia looked rebellious before she finally backed down at how serious Cal was. “What about my friends? What does this mean for them?”

He had no intention of mentioning Kaelor. He wasn’t ashamed of getting rid of him—the invasion of the guild rid him of any negative emotions of taking out an enemy—but he also didn’t want Tavia to see his indifference to taking a life.

“They’re fine. I’ve heard her say that the Frostguard Dominion intends to treat them kindly to attract others to join them.”

“I have to get them out soon.” Tavia wasn’t dumb. She immediately caught on to the fact that the Frostguard Dominion had nefarious plans that would take effect when there were enough new ‘volunteers.’

“One at a time. First, is there an excuse you can make to meet Astris today? I need you to ask about Oleg again.”

“I’ve been pretty persistent about him, so there won’t be anything off about me meeting her again this quickly.” Tavia looked ready to jump onto her carriage and rushed back to Silverpine.

“I’ll join you soon after,” Cal said with a firm nod. “In the meantime, I want you to have some backup. Nibbles!”

Tavia blinked at his sudden yell. It was effective. Nibbles appeared out of nowhere and stood before him, ready to follow orders.

“Accompany Tavia. Don’t take any action unless she is attacked first, understand?” Cal waited for Nibbles to nod before turning to a bemused Tavia. “You’ll be safe with her.”

“… I should’ve expected that even the adorable furball is ridiculously strong,” Tavia said with an incredulous smile.

Cal simply shrugged before saying his farewells and watched Tavia’s carriage leave the farm.

Astris will be the last one I remove. Since I’m already involved, I might as well look to eliminate the whole organization. It shouldn’t take long.

He went to the pond and cast [Rainfall]. His field was ready for step two—the slurry of powdered crystals and water. He would need a lot of water to cover the two acres.

Cal continued to the next step of repairing the soil. It might have seemed an unnecessary waste of time, but it would settle his anger. That was needed if he would speak to Astris directly in a few hours.

***

He stood back and looked at the shockingly beautiful sight of two acres of his field covered in the slurry. It looked like his entire field was covered in gems.

Cal turned to the golem beside him and wondered what he should make it do while he was gone. Unfortunately, he still didn’t trust it to do anything complex while he wasn’t there to monitor it. To be more accurate, he didn’t trust himself to give it a command that was restrictive enough.

“Compress the new wooden pile just like you did the last one. After you’re done, just stand there and do nothing.”

The golem started to compress the wooden boxes that powdered crystals came in.

Cal had an idea of using the golem to plow the field when it was time. But he needed a new tool with multiple blades. If everything worked as he imagined, it would make things far more efficient.

He returned to his house to send Seris back to Mariner’s Rest. He would give Orrin the new order before he left for Silverpine.