The morning after the "Great Plumbing Victory," the Castle of Shadows was not peaceful. It was a kiln.
Aris woke up face-down on a pile of blueprints in the Great Hall. The light of the Twin Suns—one angry Red, the other blinding White—streamed through the broken windows, heating the black stone floor until it felt like a frying pan.
"Too hot," Aris groaned, peeling a schematic off his sweaty cheek. "Why does this planet need two suns? One is plenty. Two is just showing off."
"Master," Eve's voice cut through the heat. She was standing over him, cool as a cucumber, casting a long shadow. "Wake up. The Kingdom is surviving, but only barely."
Aris sat up, his back cracking like a dry twig. "What is it now? Did the pipes explode?"
"The pipes are perfect," Eve noted, flipping a page on her clipboard. "However, the environment is hostile. The Twin Suns are evaporating the moisture from the Crabs' gills at a rate of 4% per hour. They are currently huddled in the shadows of the courtyard, stacking themselves like wet bricks to conserve water."
Aris rubbed his eyes. "Right. Aquatic species. Desert planet. Twin Suns. Bad combo."
"Also," Eve added, "The Goblins are hungry. They have eaten the last of the Golem-Gristle. They are currently eyeing the Crabs with... culinary intent. If we do not solve the food crisis by noon, we will have a civil war. And likely a barbecue."
Aris stood up, smoothing his rumpled suit. He looked out the window at the massive, empty courtyard. It was a dustbowl.
The "Student" part of his brain—the part that had spent nights cramming Structural History—kicked in.
"We can't farm outside," Aris muttered, pacing the floor. "The Red Sun burns the leaves, and the White Sun dries the soil. And we can't farm in here; the Throne Room is for ruling, not radishes."
He pointed to the open space in the courtyard, right next to the main keep.
"We build a structure there," Aris decided. "A controlled environment. A Greenhouse. But not just a shed. A sanctuary of iron and glass."
He grabbed a charcoal pencil and a fresh scroll. He started drawing. Lines connected to tanks. Pumps pushing water against gravity. Racks stretching thirty feet high.
"Get me Krakka. Get me Pinch. And for the love of physics, get me some coffee."
Ten minutes later, the Warlords and Legends were gathered around a makeshift table made of old shields.
"Listen up!" Aris announced, slamming his hand on the table. "We are facing a crisis of hydration and starvation. But I have a plan."
He unrolled the scroll. It was a detailed diagram of a Vertical Aquaponics Greenhouse.
"I call this project..." Aris paused for effect. "The Crystal Palace."
Kaelen raised an eyebrow. "Fancy name. Sounds fragile."
"It's a marvel of engineering from my world," Aris explained, omitting the fact that the original Crystal Palace on Earth had famously burned to the ground. Let's just hope history doesn't repeat itself, he thought, glancing nervously at Elowen.
Krakka, the Goblin Warlord, leaned in. He squinted at the drawing. He poked the paper with a greasy finger.
"Oooooh," Krakka whispered reverently. "The Lines of Power."
"It's a blueprint, Krakka," Aris corrected. "It shows water flow."
"No," Krakka shook his head, his eyes wide. "It is the Sacred Map. Look! The Box of Water goes to the Tube of Life! It rhymes with the shape!"
Aris blinked. "It... rhymes with the shape?"
"Yes!" Krakka turned to his lieutenants. "LOOK! The Boss has given us the Holy Manual! See the Arrow? The Arrow points UP! We must obey the Arrow!"
The Goblins gasped. "THE ARROW POINTS UP!" they chanted.
"Wait," Aris waved his hands. "It's not a religion! It's an instruction manual! It just tells you where to put the screws!"
"A Ki-Ya Manual?" a goblin asked, trembling. "Is Ki-Ya a powerful spirit of construction?"
"No!" Aris sighed. "Look, just listen. The logic is simple."
He tried to think of a way to explain the filtration of light and water to a room full of monsters. He decided to use their language.
"If we block the Heat," Aris said slowly.
"IF WE BLOCK THE HEAT!" the Goblins repeated, stomping their feet.
"The Plant is Sweet!" Aris rhymed, feeling ridiculous.
"THE PLANT IS SWEET!" The Goblins cheered.
"And if the Water Flows..." Aris continued.
"IF THE WATER FLOWS!"
"The Green Stuff Grows!"
"THE GREEN STUFF GROWS!"
"And when the pressure grows..." Garrick interjected from the back, spinning a dagger lazily.
The room fell silent. Garrick smirked.
"...the whole thing blows?"
Aris glared at him. "No, Garrick. Nothing blows. There is a pressure release valve right there."
"Boring," Garrick sighed, popping a mint. "But fine. No explosions. Yet."
"THE SACRED SHEET HAS SPOKEN!" Krakka snatched the blueprint. He held it above his head like a newborn king. "WE BUILD THE CRYSTAL PALACE!"
The construction phase was titanic.
Phase 1: The Glass
King Pinch and his architects took the lead. They scuttled up the stone walls of the courtyard, their sharp legs finding purchase.
"Sand!" Pinch barked orders from a pile of rubble. "We need silica! Melt the desert sand! But do not make it clear! Add the Dust of the Void! We must filter the Red Anger!"
The Crabs used their acid-spit to melt the sand, but Elowen assisted. She hovered in the air, her hair floating like a halo.
"Cooling breeze!" Elowen chirped, blasting the molten glass with wind magic. "And a little twist for style!"
The result wasn't just glass. It was Frost-Glass—thick, milky panes that turned the harsh twin suns into a soft, glowing ambient light.
Phase 2: The Tanks
Krakka stood on a crate, conducting the Goblins with a wrench.
"LIFT THE STONE! BREAK THE BONE!" Krakka chanted.
"MAKE THE CRAB A HAPPY HOME!" the Goblins roared back, heaving massive slabs of rock into place to form the swimming pools.
They worked with a chaotic speed that terrified Aris. They didn't measure with rulers; they measured with "Gunt" (a goblin unit of measurement equal to one forearm). But somehow, it fit. The Goblins treated every screw like a holy relic, bowing to the "Sacred Arrow" on the blueprint before tightening it.
Phase 3: The Vertical Rise
This was the hard part. They had to pump water 30 feet into the air.
Kaelen stripped off his jacket and joined the Goblins, lifting an iron pipe that three goblins were struggling with.
"Easy now," Kaelen grinned, effortlessly hoisting the beam. "It's all about leverage, boys. And protein."
Garrick floated up to the ceiling trusses. "You missed a spot with the welding," he called down helpfully. "That bolt is loose. It vibrates with... distinct incompetence."
"Fix it then!" Aris yelled up.
"I'm the supervisor," Garrick winked. "I supervise the incompetence."
When the final pipe was connected, the Crystal Palace stood complete in the center of the courtyard. It was a beautiful, industrial cathedral of iron and frosted glass, gleaming under the dual suns.
"Turn it on," Aris whispered.
Krakka pulled the lever.
THUMP... THUMP... WHOOSH.
Water flowed. It traveled up the pipes, across the ceiling, and rained down into the planting racks.
It was a miracle. The air inside instantly became cool and humid. The light was soft. The sound was a soothing, constant rainfall.
Valerius walked to the bottom rack. She opened her jar of Void-Kelp spores.
"Feed," she whispered, blowing the purple dust into the system.
Under the filtered light and the nutrient-rich water, the moss didn't just grow. It erupted.
Fast-motion nature. Vines shot out of the buckets. Broad purple leaves unfurled with audible pops. Within minutes, the black iron racks were covered in a living, breathing carpet of violet vegetation.
And then... it started making noise.
Eeeeeeeee.
"Is the salad... whistling?" Aris asked, disturbed.
"It screams when it grows," Valerius smiled sweetly. "It is the song of cellular division. Isn't it romantic?"
"It sounds like a tea-kettle possessed by a demon," Garrick noted.
"FOOD!" Krakka roared. He grabbed a handful of the screaming purple moss.
He didn't just eat it. He ran to the velvet pillow where the Sacred Rectangle lay. He held the moss up to the blueprint.
"Thank you, Ki-Ya Spirit!" Krakka yelled. "For this loud vegetable!"
He shoved it into his mouth. Crunch. Squeak.
"How is it?" Aris asked, cringing.
Krakka chewed. He swallowed. He burped.
"Tastes like..." Krakka thought for a moment. "Like spicy dust. But crunchy! It is a Munch-Bunch!"
"A Munch-Bunch?" Aris groaned at the rhyme.
"THE MUNCH-BUNCH!" The army cheered.
Aris slumped against the doorframe of the Crystal Palace. He watched his kingdom.
Goblins were bowing to an IKEA manual.
Crabs were swimming in their new high-rise apartments.
A Mage was napping on a sun-warmed pipe.
And everyone was eating screaming moss.
"You did good, kid," Thal materialized from the shadows next to him. "You truly are a fungi to be with."
Aris stared at him. "Did you just... make a mushroom pun?"
"I've been saving it," Thal's mask didn't move, but his voice sounded smug. "Since Chapter 4."
"Master," Eve appeared, her clipboard blocking Aris's view.
"Let me guess," Aris sighed. "Another disaster?"
"No," Eve tapped the paper. "The infrastructure is stable. The temperature is regulated. The food supply is renewable. However..."
"However?"
"We have depleted our iron reserves building the Palace. We have zero gold. And the Crabs have formally requested a salary."
"A salary," Aris repeated.
"Yes. They want to be paid. In 'Shiny Discs'."
Aris looked at his pockets. He pulled out a piece of lint and a button.
"I have a button," Aris offered.
"That will not suffice," Eve said mercilessly. "We are a Kingdom of 8,000 monsters, and we are broke. We need an economy, Master. And we need it by Tuesday."
Aris closed his eyes, listening to the screaming salad.
"Accommodation solved. Farming solved," Aris whispered. "Now... I have to invent money."
"Don't worry," Garrick floated by, snatching the button from Aris's hand. "I'll keep this safe. It's the Royal Treasury, after all."
Aris put his head in his hands.
"I hate group projects," he mumbled.