Lucas looked over and saw that the houses all had names on the doors listed on what appeared to be a standardized plaque that read “Here lives:” followed by what was easily a dozen names per home. In fact, everything in the entire Alfar area had labels clearly carved on wooden plates right next to each building’s entrance. The leather worker, for example, had a piece of leather armor with the word “Leatherworker” inscribed on it along with the names of the people who worked there. It was an incredibly orderly and easy-to-navigate town, even if they did seem to pack people and workers into buildings like sardines in a can.

“Gotta protect nature by not wasting anything,” Lucas guessed.

“If they have this many people up here, how come there were only a few defending down there?” Nick asked.

“Over there, look at it,” Bonnie said, quickly indicating a group of around 20 guards. “Even if we hadn’t stopped them down at the shore, there is no telling whether that group of walking seafood would have been able to properly siege a city this size. There are a ton of guards up here, so what the hell did we have to fight so hard for?”

Lucas shrugged and looked out over the safety railing and then at the guards on the stairway leading down. “I guess they didn’t want to drop down. Maybe they didn’t want to risk leaving the main part of the town unprotected.” Although, this many guards only make my plan all the more complicated . . . Lucas groaned internally when he realized that the city proper was much better defended than he had initially believed. It makes sense, though. There are scores and scores more Alfar than Mere, probably because, aesthetically, the water folk are a much less desirable race than Alfar for most people. Then again, if their numerous guards wouldn’t jump . . . “Hey, Bonnie, how do you like it when a guy buys you a gift?” he asked, an idea suddenly forming.

“Aww, boss, you don’t have to, but if you insist, then I could really use a new pair of leather cuffs with more than one place to attach chains, maybe a black corset to match, some heels, some boots, some boots with heels—you can never have enough boots with heels—and let’s not forget a sword with a sheath to match the outfit too, but these will all be more for you than—”

Lucas just reached into his bag and pulled out the Web of Deceit he had gotten from defeating Saba’a. He tossed the item to Bonnie, bringing her chattering to a halt.