Wulf and the others set off through the guild territory. There was plenty of land beyond the coast, light bright with suntrees and covered in large estates or other facilities, but that wasn't Wulf's concern. He approached the castles and inns along the coast.

"The Imperial Outlook…" Kalee remarked. "That's the name of an inn?"

"And a really fancy one, at that," Seith replied, pointing along the road. A sign stood in front of an inn with high sandstone walls and a steep, black shingled roof. Its windows glowed, and guests stood on verandas around the sides of the building. There were a few spires and turrets, but it probably got its name from the jut of rock it perched on, which gave it the best view of the ocean and the setting sun.

"What's even the point of putting a bunch of resorts around your big fancy containment facility?" Irmond asked. "Like, that seems an odd combination."

"There's also a city," Wulf said. The road expanded, making room for more carriages. Between the castle-like inns, there were hundreds of smaller buildings—probably housing for staff, as well as industry to support the resorts and the main storage facility.

"It's a city for the guild," Kalee replied. "It probably started as a location for them to experiment on spirits and store them, but they figured they had a prime location, so why not make some extra money while they were at it."

"And it gives us the perfect cover," Wulf said. "Come on."

An hour later, they'd checked in at the inn's front desk and climbed up to the fifth story. Their room (Athllas had only booked one, and though it had two medium-sized beds, someone was probably sleeping on the floor) looked out over the ocean, and had its own balcony. Wulf pulled open the closet, and found a complimentary set of floral-patterned shirts and light trousers.

"We have five days," he said. "That's what the clerks said. We should use four of them to scout, and plan the heist for the fifth day."

"Are we stealing the spirits?" Irmond asked. "Like, taking them and running with them? Or are we going to advance to Gold right there?"

"Depends," he said. "Kalee and I can probably advance right there. How are you two doing with your advancement progress?"

"I'm at ninety-nine point nine percent progress," Seith said.

"Same," Irmond replied.

"Then you guys should advance there, too. It'll make it easier to get out of here," Wulf said. He sat down on the end of one of the beds. The others had caught up while he'd been planning this heist, but he was pretty sure he could advance quickly after Gold.

To get through the stages of Gold was easy enough. Since your cores would be combined, they were massive. Instead of your advancement being based on the amount of mana you had, you had to compress the mana down to a point where it hit a critical mass, and then you would trigger your advancement to Ruby.

He still didn't know how to get to Orichalcum from Ruby, but it probably had something to do with Embodiments. Still, it was a step in the right direction.

He said, "But I'm exhausted. Wake me in the morning, alright? And we can get started."

~ ~ ~

The next morning, he woke up before anyone else. It felt odd to not have to post anyone to keep watch over them, and the beds were oddly soft compared to the academy dorms.

They'd let him sleep on one of the beds first. Considering he was the Pilot, they said, he'd done the most work and was probably the most physically exhausted. He didn't protest for this night, but tomorrow was a different story.

While he waited for the others to wake up, he stepped out onto the balcony and watched the sun rise. It was easiest to see clearly when it was close to the horizon, but with the haze, it looked red and swollen.

Much like it had at the end of the world.

He shut his eyes and winced, then pushed his anxieties to the back of his mind. This was an important step, and they had to do this.

Once the others woke up, they descended to the inn's main floor, where the tavern served a complimentary breakfast buffet. They ate quickly, scarfing down eggs and bread and smoked meat. It was probably incredibly expensive, but considering they'd skipped dinner last night, they were all starving.

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Then they got to work. They planned the fastest route to the tower from the inn, then the best route out of the coastal city and back to the Wraith. They found the nearest horse stable, and got comfortable with the shortcuts through the city.

And of course, they hunted for their way into the tower. Its gates, the guards, the rotations, and how they got inside. The gates automatically locked with the help of some kind of construct, and in Wulf's senses, he registered the doors as a Low-Ruby device. He wasn't going to break through easily.

To open the doors, the guards used a special slip of enchanted parchment. It delivered an impossibly long line of runes, and the lock opened, allowing them in.

Along the back of the tower, enormous pipes fed into the sea, and harnessed ocean spirits in the shape of vibrant blue koi fish spun a horizontal waterwheel. It probably operated the pump, drawing sea water into the tower.

There was a massive chimney on each side of the tower, which pumped a column of steam up into the sky, but Wulf was pretty sure that wouldn't be useful. But it did make the sky seem a little more blue, at least in a small patch.

Wagons brought other supplies in through a similarly locked entrance, but all the wagons were thoroughly inspected—even the underside. Sneaking in on a wagon was going to be impossible.

In fact, bringing any of their storage rings in was going to be impossible. Of the brief glimpses Wulf caught of the inside of the building, he was pretty sure he spotted a spirit that was specifically designed to detect arcane devices. It was made of brown arcane material, and it bashed its head against the bars of its cage whenever someone with an arcane device walked past.

That meant that either he had to completely hide their weapons and storage pendants from detection—which he wasn't exactly sure how to do—or they couldn't bring any.

In the evenings, he brewed batch after batch of potions, making sure to practice his crafting skills. It didn't feel like he was getting better, but he hoped that the practice would, eventually, let him shoot for a tier higher with ease.

He was making High-Gold potions without intense concentration. Ruby potions, he was pretty sure he could make, but he'd aim for what he needed when they had a more concrete plan.

Finally, Orichalcum potions…he wasn't exactly sure what it would take to break into that tier of potion, either, but he was willing to try.

Just not right now.

They spend the first two days watching, observing, and planning their entrance. But on the third day, before they left their room in the morning, Irmond said, "Guys, people are getting like…suspicious of us. We're not doing anything that normal people would do here. We've got a guard following us, now, and I'm pretty sure I caught the hotel staff whispering about you, Wulf."

Wulf sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I see…that could be a problem, yeah. We should probably do something about that."

"You don't know what to do about that, do you?" Seith asked.

Wulf glanced at Kalee. She shrugged. Wulf winced, too.

"I don't think either of us know…" he said. "But I need a plan. I need a goal, still. I need to accomplish something."

"You two are hopeless," Irmond muttered. "Alright, alright. Let's say this. We'll go to the beach. What would you be able to watch from the beach?"

"We can pay attention to the guards, and see what they do, how they protect their intake pipes, and perhaps what happens if their spirits get tampered with," Wulf suggested. "That's valuable information, and I already have a few hunches of how we can work it into the plan."

"Wonderful!" Irmond said. Then, he turned to Seith. "So, like, we're gonna do our plan, right?"

"I think we could afford to, yeah," Seith replied.

"What plan?" Wulf asked. "What are you guys doing?"

"You'll see," Irmond said. He cast Wulf a cheeky grin. "How's that for a grin? Is it like the one you do?"

"It's a little too exaggerated…" Wulf said.

"For the record, I also want to know what this plan is," Kalee said. "They didn't let me in on it."

"Of course not," Seith said. "But it's for both of you's own good."

"And now you know how it feels!" Irmond wrung his hands mischievously. "Let's just say…I don't think you can save the world if you don't have someone worth fighting for, too. Someone who you couldn't bear to live without—especially if you're aiming for Orichalcum, someone who you couldn't bear to spend an eternity without."

"What are you going to do?" Wulf asked. "Seriously, Irmond—"

"Come along. We have some shopping to do. Seith, you know the plan."

"Precisely." Seith snatched up Kalee's wrist, then pulled her out of the room. "We should have enough funds to cover this expense, too."

Wulf sighed. "My turn?"

"Your turn," Irmond replied. "Come on, what's the point in saving the world if you can't live in it a little?"

"I think the 'living in it' part comes after."

"And I think…" Irmond sighed. "Alright, look. I don't think I'm going to make it to Orichalcum. I'm appreciative of your help, and everything you're doing, but that's for the absolute best of the best. If I do make it to Orichalcum, it's not going to be in the next few decades. But you? You've got a real shot at it, Wulf. I know you do."

"Alright."

"But you don't make it super high if you don't have a reason to advance. You can say to save the world, to live with no regrets, all that. I think you need someone to share the world with. Someone close. And if you and Kalee aren't going to pull it together, then I will do it for you. Got it?"

Wulf put on a small smile. "Got it. Lead the way?"

"After me."

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