Mana Harvest, page 26
part #1 of Sword to Ploughshare Series
As the golem approached, Cid swung the shirt in circles over his head, waiting for his moment to strike. Lyle was crouched on the ground behind him next to his now-empty pack.
When the beast got within range, Cid struck out with his weighted shirt. To his relief, he struck the golem’s glowing core. It fell to the ground with a clatter, and he held his breath waiting to see what would happen next.
The golem’s face contorted with fury as it tried to hold its body together, but it was no use. It splashed to the ground in a puddle of water, soaking Cid’s shoes.
"Yeah!" Lyle said. "Three down, one to go."
The lad leaped into the glowing portal that had just appeared on the floor and vanished. Cid took a moment to retrieve his shirt and gear and winced as he untied the bundle. The shirt was soaking wet.
No point putting that back on.
Sighing, he put the shirt into the pack with the rest of his things. Apparently, he was going to do the last Trial shirtless.
Chapter 44: Between Us
Cid stepped on the glowing portal and teleported back to the main room.
Just one more.
He didn’t like to admit it, but he was feeling his age. Hopefully, he could make it through the last Trial. He felt like he could sleep for a week.
Lyle was waiting for him in the main room, as usual, beaming.
"How’d you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Make that whole weapon up on the spot!" the lad said. "I’ve never seen anything like that before.
Cid blinked. "…Never?"
"Everyone I know just uses magic for that kind of thing. They wouldn’t have been able to figure it out."
That made sense. If Lyle had spent all his life in a society made up entirely of very powerful magic users, he probably wouldn’t have encountered many people who’d learned how to improvise like Cid had just done.
Funny.
He’d always envied the Magic Knights a little. He was proud of his career as a Guard, of course. The Guard had the best men in the kingdom. But the Knights had always had the glamorous job. There weren’t that many kids in Hearthstone who dreamed of being a Guard one day. But every lad in the city— and many grown men as well— had a Magic Knight name picked out just in case the Corps came calling.
But using magic for everything might not actually be a good thing. He’d seen it when the Guard and the Corps worked together on missions. The Guard were always better at finding new solutions to unusual problems. The Knights usually just used spellcraft to blast through everything in their way.
Well, it’s something to think about.
"Let’s get on our way," he said. "We’ve been down here a long time. Your grandfather will be worried."
"Yeah! Let’s finish the job!"
Three of the doors were dark now, and the white-glowing door that led to the air trial was the only one left. Cid took a breath, stretched his back out, and led the way into the narrow passageway.
"Do you think you’re going to try to use the crystals to recharge your magic?" Lyle said, trotting along behind him.
"I don’t know. I might try to finish the job without magic now just to prove it can be done."
"Wow!"
Cid grinned. It was good to know the lad was so impressed.
Once again, the corridor turned a corner and opened up into a large cavern. Once again, they were on a platform overlooking a large pit. This one had nothing at the bottom of it— as far as he could tell. It was just a deep hole that trailed off into darkness.
"Do you think it goes on forever?" Lyle asked.
"I don’t know," Cid said. "I think we’d be wise not to fall into it. We’d be falling for a while."
He looked down into the pit in dismay. Maybe it was a trick of the eye, but it seemed larger and wider than the others. How were they going to make it across without magic?
Something whizzed past his face, and he jumped back away from the edge.
"What was that?"
Lyle pointed at the air above their heads— high up. A large rock was flying across the pit at high speed. When it reached the other side, it bounced off the wall and came back in their direction. And it wasn’t the only one. While Cid was watching the first rock, a second one dislodged itself from the wall of the cavern and started whizzing back and forth. Soon, the air above their heads was full of flying rocks.
"Okay," Cid said. "I guess that’s our ticket across the pit."
"But how? They’re going way too fast for us to catch."
"I know."
Cid flinched as another rock zoomed past them. They were dangerous missiles, and he didn’t relish the thought of what might happen if one of them hit him or Lyle. They’d split his head open like a summer squash.
How would I solve this if I did have magic?
He could use [Earth 1] to trap one of the flying stones in a wall of rock, maybe. Or even better, use [Air 1] to create a wind strong enough to hold it in place. Magic made everything so damn easy.
There’s no point in thinking that way, though.
He had to figure out a way to do it with the assets he had, not the ones he wished he had. That was a lesson he’d had drilled into his head from his first day in the Guard, and it had saved his life many times in the rough streets of Hearthstone. Standing back close to the wall, out of the path of the flying rocks, Cid assessed the situation.
They were going fast, but they were also following a regular pattern. Each stone took the same path to and from the far platform. That was good. This wasn’t a chaotic situation where anything could happen. The rocks were consistent and predictable.
And how fast are they actually going?
Once they got away from the platform, they were actually moving at a fairly moderate speed, slow enough that someone could ride them across without being blown off. They just felt unmanageably fast when they were six inches from his face.
"Okay," he said to Lyle. "I have a plan."
The lad looked at him and said nothing.
"I’m going to try to grab one of the flying rocks as it goes by," Cid said. "I’ll hold it in place. You hop on, and we’ll ride it across. We’ll need to jump off before it hits the far wall, obviously, but I think we can do it!"
He tried to put a positive spin on it, but the lad looked skeptical.
Well, he always looks skeptical. He’ll see.
Cid ripped the sleeves off his wet shirt and wrapped them around his hands so he could grip the rocks better. He felt a moment’s irritation that the boy’s wild quest had caused him to lose one of the only two shirts he owned then tamped it down. He could always buy more shirts.
Once he was ready, he stood at the edge of the pit and watched the rocks fly by. He needed to pick the right one: large enough that it would hold him and Lyle but small enough that he stood a chance of catching it. He let three go past before he spotted the one he wanted. It was a good shape— broad and flat, made of nondescript gray granite— and he thought he could manage to hang onto it long enough for the lad to hop on.
He crouched low, gathering his strength, as the rock flew toward him. Once it was within range, he grabbed it— and held on for dear life as it fought against his grip. It was much more powerful than he’d expected it to be, and his feet skidded on the platform’s surface as it dragged him toward the pit. When he was only inches away from falling off, he gave up and let go.
"Wow," he said, breathing hard. "That was—"
That was something.
He’d have to try again. And he’d have to choose a smaller rock. "Lyle, can you help this time?"
The lad nodded and stepped forward to join him at the edge of the pit, and together, they watched the rocks fly across the cavern.
"That one was too big," Cid said. "I couldn’t hold it. We’ll need to pick a smaller one next time."
"But that means—"
Lyle trailed off, but Cid knew what he’d been going to say. The rock he’d just chosen was as small as they could get while still fitting the two of them on top of it. Any smaller and they’d have to make two trips.
Well, it is what it is.
With that settled, he scouted another rock— a brown one this time— and waited for it to come close. This time, and with Lyle’s help, he was able to hold it. Barely.
"Get on!" he shouted, feeling the sweat drip down his face as he tried to keep the rock from flying out of his hands and across the pit. "Quickly. Now!"
The lad scrambled onto it— but as soon as he was settled, the rock jumped forward suddenly, catching Cid by surprise. In seconds, he was suspended over the pit, still hanging onto the rock, flying through the air at high speed.
"Cid!" Lyle screamed. "Don’t let go!"
"Not a chance."
He wasn’t about to end his days falling forever into a bottomless pit. There wasn’t even any honor in that. He’d been smart to wrap his hands, at least. He could feel his palms sweating under the fabric, and his arms were aching from the effort of hanging onto the rock above his head.
This is terrible.
Soon enough— although not soon enough for Cid— they were approaching the far platform.
"Lyle!" he shouted. "Jump off as soon as we’re over solid ground!"
The lad gave him a thumbs up, keeping his eyes locked on the wall ahead of them. Cid’s arms were killing him, and as soon as he was no longer over the pit, he let go of the rock and dropped. Lyle leaped off just before the rock crashed into the opposite wall and bounced back toward the other side of the cavern.
That was surprisingly graceful.
Cid took a moment to shake his arms out then turned toward the final door. The final challenge in the Mana Trials. It felt like they’d been in this cavern forever.
"You ready?" he asked.
The lad nodded, and together, they pushed open the last door.
The room on the other side was large, glowing white from the crystals that lined the walls— and empty. It was brighter than the others with no shadows for a golem to hide in. Moving slowly, Cid took stock of the cave, wary that something might drop from the ceiling. Nothing did.
"Where is it?" he asked just as something slapped him in the face.
He fell back, reflexively striking out at whatever had hit him. But his fist encountered only empty air, and he spun around, baffled. Nothing was there. Before he could think any more about it, something struck him on the back, lightly, as if it were trying to mess with his head. He turned. Nothing.
"Did you see what hit me?" he asked. The lad shook his head.
It must be invisible.
It made a certain sort of sense. A golem made of air wouldn’t have a body for him to see, anyways. But it made his life difficult. How could he fight it if he had no idea where it was? For now, it seemed like it was just trying to confuse him, and its attacks weren’t serious yet. But he knew it was likely to get down to business for real soon— and if he couldn’t think of a way to fight back, he was a sitting duck.
It whacked him hard on the arm, and he moved away to another part of the cavern to think. Hopefully, this one will be as slow as the others.
An image popped into his mind unbidden: the swirling dust storms that his mother had once called "dirt demons" when he was a boy.
There’s a solution.
If he could figure out where the thing was and throw dirt on it, he might be able to make the unseen golem visible.
"Lyle!" he called to the lad on the other side of the room. "Sand again. Lots of sand."
“You got it."
Cid also gathered sand, making a large pile in what remained of his shirt, and waited for the air golem to strike again. When it did— slapping him in the back of the head even harder than it had before— he threw a handful in the direction he thought the creature might be. To his relief, it worked. Some of the sand filtered into the air currents making up the golem’s body. He could see a dim outline of the creature now, silhouetted against the bright mana crystals behind it.
Quickly, he dumped more sand onto it. Lyle sprinted over and did the same, and soon, the golem was fully visible as a vaguely man-shaped dust cloud standing at the center of the cavern. It was hard to tell, but it looked annoyed.
What’s holding it together this time?
The water golem they’d already defeated had a glowing mana crystal in its chest, and he wondered if this one might have one too. It would be invisible, probably, but it might be there. He’d have to get close enough to reach in and grab it.
Getting close would be a problem, though. Before he could take a step forward, the air golem raised its arms, and a powerful wind blew him back toward the other side of the cave. He hit the far wall hard and dropped to the ground.
"Cid!" Lyle shouted.
"Alright. Alright."
He stood slowly and took stock. His back hurt where it had made contact with the wall, but nothing seemed broken. Yet. He might not be so lucky the next time. They needed to take the golem out before it could do any more damage.
He glanced over at the crystals lining the wall of the cave as the golem readied its next attack. If he was able to recharge his magic, he’d have an easier time of it…
No. Call him a fool, but he was a stubborn fool. He’d only try the crystal idea if he really got into trouble.
He advanced on the air golem, holding his stalagmite in one hand, just as it launched its next strike. The wind hit him hard, but this time, he dug in his heels and held his ground. Then, wincing against the force of the golem’s attack, he took a step forward. Then another. The air golem poured more power into its spell. Cid pushed back harder. He took another step.
He could hear the lad cheering him on behind him. "Go Cid! You can do it!"
He was about halfway to the golem now and still making slow and painful progress. If he could just reach it, he could knock the crystal out of its chest with his weapon.
"That's the worst you can do?" he taunted, and to his surprise, the wind didn’t pick up. Maybe this was the worst the golem could do.
He covered the last few steps to the creature, trying to keep from sliding backwards. Then, he forced his arm up toward it, stalagmite in his hand. Eyes closed against the wind, he struck— and hit home. The crystal clattered on the floor, and he almost fell over as the golem’s air attack suddenly stopped. The creature was gone.
He turned to Lyle— and to his surprise, the lad looked back at him gravely, arms crossed.
"Congratulations Cid," he said. "You passed."
Chapter 45: Leyline
For a moment, Cid thought that he must have misheard what Lyle said. "What? You want to repeat that?"
"You heard me correct. You passed the Mana Trials, Cid, well done," Lyle responded, his voice a little firmer than it had been before. "You should be proud— and without magic for the second half, too. I don’t think anyone in Haven has seen anything like that in a long time."
"No, no, no," Cid said, shaking his hand. "No. You passed the Mana Trials. You’re the one who dragged me down here. I spent all day looking for you so I could teach you how to defend yourself from bullies without magic."
Lyle sighed, and Cid could tell the lad had regrets. "Yeah, sorry about that one. It was a ruse. I told my grandfather not to do that, told him you should know the truth, but he insisted. Said there might be trouble otherwise if you were let in on the secret in advance and didn’t pass."
"What?" Cid asked. He was still having trouble processing this turn of events. He was mad. What’s going on with this town? It seemed like there were secrets stacked on secrets here.
"Let’s go back to the main room," Lyle said and pointed toward the exit. "I’ll explain everything once we get there. It’s creepy here in the golem cave, and I don’t want to wait around for the respawn and have to fight it again."
Cid followed the lad through the glowing portal and into the room with the four doors. The exit remained sealed. All four of the doors had grown dark, and the crystals on the ceiling glowed with multicolored light. Just in case, he tried the door— the main one that led back to the larger cave and the exit— but it was still sealed fast.
Lyle shook his head. "Not that way. Ours is down. The harvest isn’t over."
"Down? What do you mean by down, Lyle?" Cid asked, his voice edged with some of the anger he was feeling. Don’t do anything hasty. Just see this through.
