Unaware of the major victory in the Broken Mining District, Annan sat by a bonfire with Little Smo and the others, sharing his experience with the freemen step by step. He even showed them Let Magic Fly.
Black Mole was there to watch, too.
"Don't get it," he said, voicing what a few others were thinking.
Most of the freemen looked thoughtful. They sensed there was more to the story than met the eye, especially Wilson. Smo, meanwhile, knew the lines by heart.
After Let Magic Fly ended, Black Mole stayed to watch Cat and Mouse over and over. He bared his teeth at anyone who tried to stop him. Only when Annan asked, "Don't you have something to do?" did he seem to remember something—and then he kept watching with a newfound sense of urgency.
Annan tested him. At one point, he asked as if it had just occurred to him, "Does Grand Lord Raymond know there's a gold mine underground?"
"We're still fighting over it."
The answer slipped out of Black Mole's mouth. A few seconds later, he slowly turned toward Annan. Annan's innocent smile was reflected in his dark eyes.
"Don't look at me like that. Of course I know. I'm a friend of the Ratfolk Elder."
Even in a world of magic, the laws of science still applied. A head no bigger than a fist could only hold so much intelligence.
Black Mole readily believed Annan and went back to watching, now weighed down by worry.
So they really had found a gold vein...
Now everything made sense.
Why the Grand Lord had used him to clear out the other two major factions. Why he had sent Kilian to assassinate him.
If it meant the Raymond Family could take complete control of the Broken Mountains and