“Rounded or edged?” Luka asked, the vein in his forehead bulging.

  Four “hmms” echoed through the room as the hairdressers all regarded the piece of trim. Trim! A single piece of trim required all four to cautiously think about, study, and communally decide the best option. Not that it mattered in the slightest! Like at all!

  Luka forced his irritation away, expressly ignoring the fact that this piece of trim will have a shelf in front of it!

  “Rounded,” Alpha said, his hand on his chin as if the decision was going to save the planet.

  “I agree,” the twins said together.

  “Really?” Luna asked. “I Liked edged better.”

  The three regarded the lone, before the four hummed and returned their gazes to the trim piece.

  Hours! They had been at this for hours! Luka, more than once, thought about leaving and coming back later. But no—he couldn’t. This was a divine envoy and pseudo park employee group. They had every right to take up his time… even if he had countless other things to do.

  “Let’s just go with rounded,” Luna eventually said before taking a step back and reevaluating the room.

  Since the barbershop was located in the Stormcorsair Harbor, it was mostly sailor themed. Well—generic sailor and harbor. Everything was made of wood, everything was stained dark and damp, everything adopted a nautical hint and a flair of whimsey.

  Big, thick edges rounded the mirrors, rusted rivets clamping them firmly to the walls. Four worn leather barber chairs sat evenly spaced, each mounted with salt-crusted metal fittings planted firmly into the weathered floorboards. Nets hung from the ceiling, each outfitted with random knick-knacks like oars, glass baubles, ship rudder wheels, and cannon balls.

  “I think that’s done,” Luka said, rushed. “Let’s move on to lighting—”

  Luna cut him off. “As many light glyphs, crystals, or heatless flames as you can around the border of the mirrors as well as nine spaced evenly along the ceiling.”

  He blinked. “That’s oddly specific,” he said.

  “Well, yeah. We need a lot of light to work.”

  Luka decided to gamble. “Is there anything else you specifically need?”

  “Some shelves here and here,” she said, pointing. “Then a reception desk.”

  He blinked again. I should have started with this, he thought, thinking how much faster this process could have gone.

  In moments, his magic worked around the room, producing what the hairdresser asked for. He did not, however, ask for details on these specific requests, and instead simply continued the room’s theme.

  “This looks great!” Alpha said, grinning like a cat.

  I really should’ve started with this, Luka silently thought.

  ***

  The door to the barbershop swung open, and a very out-of-breath Eve stepped in. Her posture like a sickly hyena, she bore holes into Luka from staring alone.

  “There you are!” she practically snapped. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

  Luka gently set down a spinning red and white spiral cylinder. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “The WHEEL is broken down, and now the swings are too!”

  He was afraid of this. He turned to the barbers. “I’m afraid I’ll have to come back to finish this.” Luka fished through his pocket, producing four wooden coins embroidered with the word ‘employee.’ “Here. Show these to any of the food venders, and they’ll give you breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Don’t give them to any guests, please. We’ve already had to purchase a couple back after empathetic park employees gave some away.”

  Luna took the coins. “Take your time, World Walker. We will be finishing the uniform order, no need for us to be open just yet.”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Luka nodded, spun on his heel, and left with Eve. “Where’s Annie?” he asked once outside.

  “With Vlad and Jear at the hotel. Ressen’s refusing to eat.”

  “A tree is refusing to eat?”

  Eve made a face, one that both highlighted the absurdity of the situation while also downplaying the causation. “Yeah.”

  “And Annie and Vlad are helping out?”

  “Jear came looking for them.”

  That got a smile out of Luka. “At least Jear’s leaning on those around her.”

  Humming, Eve put her arm out and slowed him to a stop. “Before we continue, I think you should know that there’s been a few security reportings.”

  “About the crime lord? Because I already—”

  “Gnomeeee,” she said, referring to the band of corporate gnomish spies. They were the ones responsible for attempting to steal park secrets.

  “Ah,” was all Luka said.

  “If the reports are to be believed, then they were the ones who broke the WHEEL and the swings.”

  “Spies and saboteurs,” he muttered.

  Distantly, a memory from Earth resurfaced.

  Luka was back in his engineering laboratory and office, talking to building security and a high-ranking military official. Papers were strewn across the floor and his computer sat gutted. Hard drives were gone, along with a certain folder hidden deep within the depths of his filing cabinet.

  “It was Pierre Lambert,” the security guard said, reading from a listed piece of paper. “His ID was last used on the floor before the janitors found it like this.”

  “And what time was this?” Luka asked.

  “Four fifty-one AM. Nine minutes before shift change for us guards.”

  “It was premeditated, then,” the military man muttered. “What do we know about Lambert?”

  Luka shook his head. “He was a friend. I never would have believed he’d do something like this.”

  The military official scoffed. “In your line of work, I’m surprised there’s not more of this. Countries would pay millions to get our tech. So. What do we know about Lambert? Who is he going to sell to? Where is he hiding? And how many lives will be lost because of him?”

  Luka recalled everything about the man he could remember. And when all was said and done, he had a question. “What will happen to him when you find him?”

  The military man shrugged. “Prison, I suppose. Maybe he’ll hang for treason. If it was up to me, I’d shoot him on the spot.”

  The memory faded, and Luka found Eve leaning close, studying his face.

  “You’re back,” she said with relief. “I thought you weren’t having old memories appear like that anymore.”

  Luka shivered. “I haven’t been, nothing besides nightmares.”

  Eve pressed her lips together firmly. She was one of the few he could confide in—one of the few non-divine that knew his full history. So, when she spoke next, Luka was almost expecting the question.

  “What happened in the memory?”

  “The end of a friendship,” he said softly. “He stole from me and sold it to the highest bidder.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “Not a clue. They never caught him.” Luka left out that because of Pierre, a dozen small military encampments, bases, and safehouses were blown to bits. ‘Tests’ for the weapon Pierre stole.

  Luka resumed walking, Eve following right along. “What can you tell me about Gnomeeee?” He grimaced as he said it—was he the military official now?

  “Gnomish inventors steal from each other. Part of their culture is to always innovate, meaning they embrace competition and often hand out their blueprints to competitors. And when other non-gnomes create impressive stuff, they feel entitled to the groundwork.”

  “To innovate upon,” Luka said.

  “Exactly. Gnomeeee is a for-hire gang that steals non-gnomish work. And, if the reports are correct, we’re a massive target.” Eve took a deep breath. “They don’t mean anything by it. Gnomes are not malicious, but people often think they are.”

  Luka nodded along, understanding very well the prejudice surrounding gnomes—specifically gnomish inventors. It was one of the first things he learned about the people of this world after opening the park. Even a god or two warned him a few gnomes were already attempting to steal his work.

  But Eve was wrong.

  “If they’re breaking the rides to steal our secrets, then they are malicious,” Luka said flatly. “I can handle intellectual property theft. Without my magic, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to steal my designs fully. And well, rollercoasters and Ferris wheels are like wagons or barrels. They are a genre of ‘things,’ anyone can make one.”

  Eve took a deep breath. “But?” she asked.

  “But when they break my rides and risk hurting others to do it…” Luka teetered off. He wanted to end his statement with a threat. But that wasn’t him anymore. If he caught whoever broke the rides, they’d be banned from the park and presented to the rightful authorities. He wouldn’t become the vindictive military official in his memories. Maybe he would have, once. But not anymore.

  “Right,” Eve said after a moment. “My aunt sent her raven to Sneerhome to get a guard unit. Hopefully they’re quick.”

  Luka frowned. “What does Sneerhome have to do with us?”

  “Nothing outright. But they do still have jurisdiction over Emberwood Village—just like how we have to file papers with Sneerhome to tear down trees.”

  Luka froze. Then he asked a question that chilled the air. “Did anyone submit the paperwork for Ressen and the World Tree Inn?”

  Eve’s eyes slowly widened. “I… better go find Mayor Tram.”

  “Good. Do that.” Slowly, bitterly, he asked, “What are the odds that Sneerhome tries to take over Ressen and the World Tree Inn because of misfiled paperwork?”

  “I’d say… not zero…”

  “Better find Tram quickly, then…”

  Eve darted off.

  Luka took a long, centering breath. Everything was fine. Nothing was on fire. Everything’s working out—

  That was, of course, when he saw smoke. He pushed through the crowded park pathways, finding the teacups aflame—and a trio of fleeing darkly-dressed gnomes.