Developments in The City

But now, looking at Agnus's eager face, his almost manic glee at the prospect of me building more towers, I saw the truth. The merchant wasn't exaggerating.

There was disdain in my heart as the truth about Agnus settled in. This man wasn't incompetent, he was a coward. The injuries he'd claimed to have sustained from the monsters? Likely a fabrication, a convenient excuse to avoid the dangers that lurked beyond the city walls. While the people of Vermillion suffered, he'd been hiding, playing the role of the wounded victim.

The old man was terrified, consumed by a primal fear of death, a fear that extended to the very monsters he claimed to have fought. Agnus, despite his sixth-circle power, was likely no match for those creatures. Age had eroded his strength, leaving him with the power of a fourth-circle mage at best.

His offer, his desperate plea for me to stay and oversee the tower construction, suddenly made sense. He needed someone to protect him, someone to shield him from the