TRC - Searching for the Sky Ch. 30

Chuckling, he shook his head, there wasn't any need. "Ria? I need the tent, please. Find a spot for it in the main room."

The sprite jumped from her perch on one of the light stones Cyrene had set into the room's walls. "Got it," she said before zipping out the door.

Kal picked up the raven and walked out front, saying the command to unfurl the tent then immediately instructing it to switch to the two-person size before it damaged the den's ceiling. Ducking inside, he placed the harpy down in his bed then went back and arranged the other two into more comfortable positions. He smiled as they both reached out for one another without waking up. Returning to his room, he curled up behind Veir and joined her in slumber.

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Kal and Veir's return home was quick and fun with Kal gliding most of the way, then using the Haste rune for the remainder. As he delved into his studies back at the tower they caught a few more moments alone but nothing quite as exciting as their trip to Velt and Graff's.

Kal was also preoccupied with Sapphire's arrival. From Veir and Oona's reports, the gem golem was balking at the idea of meeting him and very unhappy that her Father's tower had a new master.

Kal let out a huge sigh of relief when Molo poked her head into the library and said, "She's here." Following the frog girl out to the clearing by the black sphere, they found Sapphire scowling at the rock from Kal's test.

The gem portions of her body were smooth and polished like Bas's but they were also transparent. The effect was disconcerting especially since the color of her gem portions fluctuated constantly ranging from dark blue, purple, or red to almost colorless. When devoid of color it looked like her legs were cut off below the knees and the same applied to one of her arms. Thankfully the part of her head that was covered in sapphire showed that it was actually a covering and he could only see her scalp below, not the inside of her head. On the other side, white hair with a hint of blue fell almost to her waist. She glanced back to see who had joined her and Kal noted she had the typical ruby eye. It was only visible for a moment before the rest of her body switched to the same dark red.

She turned back to the boulder, "You could have put it back."

"Not without getting supercharged by Kithana and I never want to experience that again."

Spinning around, she glared at him. "You don't belong here, you made it through Senny, Molo, and Kit's tests," long blades of emerald sprouted from her hands, "but you didn't pass mine."

"Saph!" yelled Kithana.

She didn't get another word in as Kal reached out with the technique Gerda showed him. Two small tendrils latched onto the bottom of the blades. He stretched the crystalline material in a random direction and both of them snapped off with a ringing click before falling to the ground.

The golem's surprise was short-lived. "I can do this all day," she said, forming two more swords while stepping forward and absorbing the broken blades into her body through her feet.

"So can I," said Kal sending out much thicker geomancy cables and attaching them to her ankles. The strength rune flared as he yanked her legs out from under her, the smell of singed leather filling his nose a moment later.

"Dammit, Kal! We need her!" Kithana called out.

"I know that. I won't hurt her unless I have to but I'm not going to let her run me through."

As the golem jumped back to her feet, Kal saw where she anchored herself to prevent it from happening again. "Hurt me?" Sapphire sneered.

Kal reached out again with the small tendrils, this time the swords shattered along their entire length. "I completed my trials, Sapphire, and I don't want to fight you. If you continue to attack me, I'll start doing that to your arm and legs."

Glancing down at the piles of emerald dust that were once her blades the golem knew that he couldn't do that to her body, but there was just enough doubt to make her hesitate. "That's Father's tower, not yours," she growled.

"I have a life and plans elsewhere. Though I plan on spending a lot of time here, this will always be the Tower of Prentas."

A deep thrumming sound came from behind them, filling the air and making the mage's bones feel like they were vibrating. Kal turned to see the black sphere lift off the pedestal and begin spinning as shadows swirled around inside it. A few seconds later a pulse of magic nearly toppled Molo and Kal while sending Kithana tumbling through the air. Sapphire reached out and grabbed the sprite as she passed by, stopping her. By the time they got their balance again and looked up, the sphere was resting quietly on the pedestal once again.

"What the hell just happened?" asked Kal.

"Old magic," Kithana said, flitting over to the sphere after the golem released her. "Naming magic. From now until the tower gets a new master this will be the Tower of Prentas."

"What exactly does that mean?"

The sprite didn't get to answer as Kal was suddenly tackled from behind. The golem nearly accomplishing what the sphere had not as he stumbled forward to keep from falling. Kal mentally berated himself for turning his back to an enemy as the woman seemed to be intent on trying to crush him. His strength rune flared as he prepared to fight his way out of the golem's grasp.

"Thank you! Thank you!" cried Sapphire, "I was so worried you were going to take Father's legacy away."

The strength rune went dark. He hadn't expected that.

"Ribs. Ribs! Breaking the ribs!" Kal groaned before powering the rune again but only enough so he could breathe.

Kithana watched them with amusement, "To make a long story short, anywhere in the world that ever referenced this structure has now been changed to say 'Tower of Prentas' and no one can call it by any other name it ever had, they will always say 'Tower of Prentas' instead."

"That seems extremely powerful while at the same time exceptionally silly."

Kal extricated himself from the gem golem's grasp as the girls in the tower came flooding out to see what caused the building to shake. A few, such as Veir, were arriving from the surrounding forest as well.

Kithana's explanation of the naming brought a cheer from the gathered women and more than a few tears. This was a much bigger deal to them than Kal thought it was. He later learned the women made a pact after he passed the trials to not influence his decision if he chose to rename the tower, though nobody knew the purpose of the sphere outside until now. Kal had a feeling that there was more to the onyx ball than Kithana was telling them but didn't get the impression she was holding anything back.

After that, the girls took turns welcoming Sapphire back. She had only been in contact with a few of them on her journey back and from the sounds of things she hadn't returned to the tower in centuries.

The golem stared at Sera when she introduced herself. "A natural amalgam," she whispered, her voice hushed and reverent. Sapphire turned to Kithana, "Is Father's equipment on the top floor still intact?"

"Mostly, but it's all in need of repair. Kal isn't to that point yet, so I haven't worried about fixing it."

"Well we will need to worry about it now." She looked over at Kal, "I'll read the emerald for you once it's up and running." Turning back to Sera, she said, "Veir and Oona said you were his companion... no, not companion, lover, right?" Sera nodded and the golem looked up, grinning at Kithana. "I've never seen an amalgam before, we need to get a scan of her before they leave. Also, what did you mean by 'isn't to that point'?"

"He's young Saph, only twenty-two summers."

The golem looked over at Kal, "And already a geomancer and rune-user?"

"I have some stone golem lovers who were very good instructors," the mage answered. "Also, I'm a runesmith. I've never heard the term rune-user before."

"That's a bold claim."

"But accurate," said Kithana, "His eyes are like Prentas's and he is able to create runic spells with relative ease."

"Why is it a 'bold claim?'" Kal asked Sapphire.

Kithana answered instead, "The knight who had the shield rune you removed was a rune-user, and there are plenty of those around. Mercenaries carrying strength runes or shields like your friend, merchants with lie detection spells. It's easy to conceal and all they need is a mana crystal."

"But how do they keep from activating all of the spells at once?"

"They normally only have one spell. You seem to forget that your mana crystals are a rarity and that a huge number of them are more like the one Ikuno shattered in front of you and the knight. You still haven't explained to me how you managed to get four so large and of such high quality."

Sapphire suddenly became very interested, "Let me see."

Kal shrugged, "Sure." Detaching the pouch with individual sleeves for each crystal from his belt he held it up for the golem to inspect.

She only glanced at them before brushing his hand aside and leaning in and inspecting him closely with her ruby eye. "Lift your shirt," she demanded.

"Really? You want to do this out here? In front of them?"

She glared up at him, "Not that, I just need to check something." There were a couple of disappointed aww's from the crowd.

"Fine." He said, tugging his shirt out from where it was tucked into his pants and pulling it up to his neck.

Sapphire brushed her fingers over the place where the mana golem's javelin pierced him. then backed up and looked him over once again. "I want to see that leg as well," she said pointing at the leg injured on that same trip.

Kal dropped his shirt. "I don't think I should," he said hesitantly.

"What is it Saph?" asked Kithana. She wasn't the only one curious, it seemed like all the girls were leaning toward them, listening closely.

"He's been to one of the crystal caves. He was touched by a mana golem. Twice."

"What?!" shrieked the sprite. She turned to Kal, "Explain, now."

With a nervous smile at his rapt audience he started, "Okay...so it was Perra's birthday..."

Kal proceeded to tell them the entire tale of his and Gerda's adventures to make Perra's pendant. Later on, some of the girls complained that he stopped before telling them all the juicy details of the human girl's first time.

"Thoughts?" Sapphire asked Kithana when he was done.

"My best guess is that the golem drained him through the crystal, then the spear used most of its energy breaking his shield and the one that got him in the leg didn't maintain contact long enough. It's the only way I can think of that he didn't end up splattered all over the cave."

"Would you two explain what you are talking about?" asked Kal.

"A mana golem's spear doesn't just pierce," Kithana explained. "It's fully charged when formed and injects its magic when it strikes something."

"That means it probably wasted its power on the shield," Sapphire suggested. "The second struck the rock first before going into his leg. Touching the ground would have wicked away most of the effect but it still should have killed you."

"Let's go inside and discuss this," suggested Kithana, "It sounds like the girls told you he passed his trial but didn't mention how."

Sera hung back as everyone else went back inside. Noting her absence, Senshu came back to check on her. "Are you alright?"

Shivering from being out in the cold for so long without Kal's acclimation spell, she looked up at the silver lamia. "No... I don't think I am."