Gemwright

I go outside to let Hana compose herself. Something a bit odd happened though. I'm feeling really zen, as though we'd just fucked. I should be feeling like I got blueballed, but instead I have a feeling of satisfaction. I can only speculate that it had to do with our telepathic connection after she orgasmed? Something to think about later, I hear Hana approaching.

She comes outside, and talks to me using her voice. "How long will you be here?"

Me, "I think I got everything I came for. I'll probably leave tomorrow or the day after."

Hana, "Oh. Where will you go?"

Me, "Immediate plans are to go southeast to Karmm. After that, I want to see the whole world."

There's some silence. She's clearly working up the courage to say something. After a while, she says it. "I don't want to stay here. All I can hope for is to become the wife of a miner or something, work hard for scraps, and die. I don't want that. I won't accept that! There's got to be more to life than this! I've seen some of it in your mind. Even though I might be naive, I can't afford to pass up this chance." She makes a determined face and stares me in the eye. "So please. Take me with you!"

Wow, that was an impressive speech.

Me, "Well said. While we are together, I'd certainly love to have you along, you've been enjoyable company so far. I will ask you to help out around the caravan. Next, it could be dangerous. I will do what I can to keep you safe, but there is a chance the journey will end abruptly. Lastly, I'll take what you say under consideration, but I will have final say in most matters. Sound good?"

Hana nods. "Yes."

Me, "Well, that settles it. I'll need to start making you your own cart."

Her resolute face crumbles into surprise. "My... own..."

Me, "Of course. It would be pretty cramped in there with two people. Besides, if I was so close to you so often, we'd probably end up having sex, and you'd get pregnant. I'm not ready for marriage or kids."

Hana blinks. "Wait, is

that

why you only kissed me earlier? Even though I was prepared for you to take my virginity?"

Me, "Um... Yes? Wait, go back a second."

Hana laughs, pauses, then laughs harder. "I can't believe it... That's the reason he gives." She takes a while before calming down and composing herself. "I'm drinking Euko tea. I won't be able to get pregnant for at least two weeks." She explains the tea causes women to be temporarily infertile for around two weeks after consumption. It's common sense that a sexually active women will drink it unless she's planning to get pregnant. "But are you really gonna make me a cart?"

Me, "I think so. I want you to have a place to call home, where you can enjoy privacy if you need it. You can visit my cart any time you want."

Hana, "Wow... Well then. It had better be a great cart! I'm going to be spending my rest and relaxation time there, after all."

Me, "Alright, alright. Stop by tomorrow, I'll show you how it's going."

She waves and runs off. Well, I'd better get started.

For the interior, I decide to make it similar to my memories of an RV. I can't work wood at all, so I spread hard gemstones pretty thin and that does the trick. I decide that the interior will be Emerald. I've got more than I know what to do with, it's very sturdy, and it matches her eyes. She gets a drawer, small bathroom, and a spot for a future mattress.

The outside will be Jet covered with a thin layer of Diamond. Jet is unfortunately not too hard, but even a thin layer of Diamond will protect it from damn near anything. I can just lie about the material if anyone asks. The Diamond layer isn't visible anyway.

The wheels are a bit tricky, but I've got experience with Sentral. I use the same setup, and a bit of Sapphire to golem-ize it, so it understands how to roll the wheels.

Remembering my haul, I put a bit of the new Rhodonite into the interior for energy at night. Next is a tiny amount of Sapphire which controls a small Diamond light. I duplicate the Sapphire to make a switch near the bed and the door, controlling two small Diamond lights in the main room, plus one in the water closet.

The Sapphire is enough to get the water crystal going as well. At this point I've exhausted my mana, so I leave the finishing touches for tomorrow.

It occurs to me that I still haven't tried to crush the coal yet. Well, plenty of time for that tomorrow.

Time to sleep in a proper bed before we leave.

[Day 6 | Day 3 at Mining Town Farnn]

The next morning, I resume work on Hana's cart. My mana isn't full, and I decide to just use Sentral's mana. I also graft in the Rhodonite from the day before into Sentral, increasing its mana storage enormously. I finish pretty early, and I'm working on a new CON ring for Hana when...

Knock.

¬Grey= I'm back=)¬

Her excitement bleeds through the connection.

¬hey welcome back# your cart is done want to see it£)¬

¬you're kidding# how# no way# you're telling the truth# and it's even)¬ she cuts the connection.

Hana runs into sight. "I saw it in your mind, but I couldn't believe it! It looked amazing! Show me in person though!" I guess she wanted to see it for the first time with her eyes, and not my memories.

Me, "Of course, come on over." I lead her to her new cart.

Hana, "It's really... How can this be? How did you get gems shaped like this? So, wait, all of the furniture in your room, those were gemstones?"

Me, "Ah. Hmm. We, hmm... We are going to have a discussion before we continue any further."

I find a seat. I gesture to another chair. She ignored me and plops down in my lap. This girl... Well, for now, I drape my arms around her in a loose hug. Ohhh, she is nice to hug, just like I thought.

Me, "I can manipulate gemstones. It's some kind of magic that, I think, only I have access to. I can have gems do specific things based on what kind of gem it is. I think that's the short version."

Hana, "Oh. That's incredible! So you're rich? Seems like an incredible way to become insanely rich."

Me, "Haha.. I'll get there. I don't want to be controlled, so I'm currently keeping a low profile. I have some money but it's not even on the level of a baron."

Hana, "But barons are fabulously wealthy... You say some odd things."

Me, "Perhaps. I want to show you the next secret. You won't be in danger." I pick her up, stand up myself, and put her down.

Hana, "Okay. You're too trusting, and that's not a good thing you know. But I'll trust you.."

We walk outside.

I touch Sentral. Zone indicates nobody else is nearby. I call on Sentral, unlock its door, and order the biped golem out. Hana stiffens, then slowly relaxes.

Hana, "What..."

A few seconds pass. Then, she jogs up to the golem. I feel conflicted, but decide to resolve it as happiness that she trusts me.

Hana, "Is this also Diamond covering it? Why is it black? What's that thing on its arm? Why is it so short?! It's not menacing enough! Does this mean you made that horse too?"

She's so curious and lively. I like that about her. "Yes, it's Diamond covered. It's black because the gemstone, Jet, converts light to mana. The thing on its arm is a weapon, I'll show you later. It's short because I don't have unlimited resources. I'm sorry I haven't created golems with the goal of being terrifying. And yes, I made the horse." I explain it all while smiling.

"Wow!" she turns back to the golem. "Wow..." she walks around it. "Make it give me a ride!"

I burst out laughing.

- - -

After she rides the horse golem's back, I stow the biped golem again.

Me, "Your cart is black for the same reason, to absorb energy. It only takes in energy during the day. During the night, there's not enough light for it to work." Mostly the truth. "Jet is somewhat weak, so Diamond covers it to maintain the structure. Similar story with the wheels. I can't work wood, so your cart is entirely gemstone. That means it's somewhat light. Any questions?" A shake of the head. "Come on inside then."

She rushes ahead of me. "It's so greeeeeen!"

I touch a gem to activate the lights.

Me, "This is the living room and bed room. There is little concern for internal privacy as this is your place, but I can change that if you wish. The bed requires a mattress which I don't have, so it's straw for now. You can use that dresser over there for your clothes, just pull out a drawer. The water closet is over there. The shower is only cold water for now, sorry, I don't have a way to heat water right now. You can use the toilet for taking care of business. It goes to a chamber that I'll empty periodically when we travel." Well, Sentral will. I'm not dealing with that. "Any questions?"

Hana, "Yes... About a hundred. First, how did you do that with the lights?

Me, "Oh, just touch this Sapphire here. There's one next to your bed as well." I demonstrate and turn the lights off and on. She then gingerly does it herself, then pressed the button rapidly, toggling the lights.

Hana, "Wow... and what's a shower!"

Me, "Press the Sapphire here, and water will come down. You can use it to clean yourself. It's a bit mana intensive, please try to use it only during the day."

She gives me an incredulous look, but tries it herself. Water falls from the top.

Hana, "Incredible... This is unbelievable."

Me, "I take it you like it?"

Hana, "Yes, I love it."

Me, "Want to grab your possessions? I'd like to leave today, if possible. I can help you carry them."

Hana, "Sure.. Yeah. You can come over. You can meet my Mom, too."

Me, "Let's go, then."

- - -

Her home is... Let's call it lower middle class, to be polite. It's certainly seen better days. A woman meets me at the door as though expecting me. I guess Hana called ahead.

Kohana, "You must be Grey. It's a pleasure to meet you." She's clearly Hana's mother. The resemblance is obvious. I'd been informed of her name on the way over.

Me, "And you are Hana's mother, Kohana? Well met."

She brings us inside and sets me down at a simple wooden table. She serves some tea, likely made minutes before we arrived. After we've all got a cup in front of us, she sits across from me and leans on the table a bit.

Kohana, "You're the man stealing away my daughter then? My... I may never see her again."

I'm almost certain she's messing with me. "Ah, I see now where Hana gets her cheekiness from."

Kohana smiles, "Guilty as charged, magistrate. My daughter had already told me all about you. To hear her tell it, you're too good to be true. Rich, powerful, and interested in a poor girl like her."

Kohana pauses, which I take as a prompt to talk. I take a moment to construct a response. Before I can, though, Kohana continues. "I don't have my daughter's mental gifts. But she is strong that way, always has been. She told me all sorts of things about what goes through your mind, but that your intention to protect her is genuine."

Me, "Yes, it is. If she comes to harm, it will be because I have already fallen. I believe I have the capability to protect her from anything short of a dragon or an army." I smile, "I'll grab her hand and run in that case."

Hana, "That's good enough for me then. I will miss her dearly, but she should get to see the world. It's dangerous, but I will support her decision."

The conversation carried on for a brief while, and Hana went to collect her things.

Kohana, "Say. During your travels, will you be traveling through the Omega Sky City?"

Me, "Perhaps. I intend to see as much of the world as possible, though I haven't heard of that location."

Kohana, "It's located in Kengen, near the border of Al Ruheibi. If you should ever meet a man by the name of Tishee Merin, feel free to collect an old favor he owes me. I'll never see him again, so it's useless to me. Just tell him that it's about Yalena flowers, and he'll understand."

Me, "Yalena flowers... Sounds like there's some interesting backstory there."

Kohana giggles. "Something like that. Bring my daughter back to me with three or four grandchildren, and I'll tell you all about it." I choke on my tea, and start coughing.

- - -

Kohana comes with us back to the carriage. I told her I planned to leave town, and she wanted to see her daughter off. No father appears or is mentioned, and so, reading the air, I don't mention it at all.

Hana's belongings were fairly limited. Odds and ends, clothes, brushes. I carried a bit, but they wanted to carry most of it. I decided not to argue the matter.

When we arrive. I have Hana go inside her cart for a bit to put down her stuff.

I grab a few coins from my purse and hand them to Hana's mother. "It's clear you two are close. Please accept this, and keep yourself healthy for her sake. I don't know when we will be back, but we will eventually. It wouldn't do at all to have Hana return to a sad homecoming."

She accepts it without looking at the value. "How very gallant. My. Are you also after this old lady's heart?"

I feign interest, looking up with my hand on my chin as though I'm considering it, "Hmm, hmm, a mother-daughter combo", and nod. She laughs.

After a moment Hana comes out of the cart, shouting, "

No

, you can't have my mom too!"

Her mother replies, "Honey, you know how it is. All men are wolves!"

I turn to Kohana, "You really DO say that?!"

Hana and her mother share a look, then both look at me. "Men are such simple creatures," both of them say. Then they both smile and laugh. I groan, but laugh with them.

- - -

With the luggage dropped off, but before heading out, we make one last stop at Hana's favorite restaurant, all 3 of us.

Hana, "Old man, we're back!"

Chef, "My favorite customer is back early. I see you made up with your boyfriend, hmm?"

I put my arm around her shoulder before she can react and say, "That's right."

I guess she remembers how she left last time, because she pushed off my arm and blushes. "No, I haven't made up with him at all! He's a bully, and he's mean to me. He has no redeeming qualities! He's just... buying lunch today is all."

The chef laughs. I order the same soup as last time, and so does Hana. I didn't catch what the Kohana's order was.

After bringing out the soup, the chef is talking to us more this time, mostly Kohana. The chef eventually turns to Hana and I. "You're headed out after this?"

Hana, "We are. I don't know when we'll come back. There's more to this world than a mining village run by a puny minor noble. I'm going to see it all."

Chef, "Very true. You're lucky to get the chance. Traveling isn't cheap, and it's quite dangerous." He turns to me "You seem to know what you're doing. Keep her safe, alright? She's my favorite customer."

Me, "I'm just making it up as I go, same as anyone. But don't worry about us. I'm confident I can keep us both safe and healthy."

That seems to satisfy him, and we finish our meal. As we get ready to leave, Hana starts tearing up, runs behind the counter, and gives the chef a hug. "I'll miss you, old man. Thank you for all the help." I guess there was some history there. I decide not to pry.

- - -

Back at the caravan, I yield the rider's seat on Sentral to the two ladies, and we ride to the edge of town. They have a long conversation that I can't hear, and don't try to eavesdrop. Eventually Hana calls for a stop. They both get down. They hug for a long time. Kohana cries uncontrollably. Hanamaya joins her. So she inherited her waterworks from her mother, too... I quickly begin a study of a nearby tree. Once the noise dies down, I see Kohana standing back. She looks at me and nods.

I lift Hana up, and hop back onto the seat myself. "See you next time, Kohana. Be well." Might as well keep it short, since I don't know her well. Kohana smiles, and bows. I glance at Hana, then seeing she has nothing else to say, touch the gem string and the horse golem starts walking. We ride in silence for a few minutes.

Hana leans on me. "So where are we going first?"

Me, "I want to go southeast. There's a few cities I think might be good to visit before leaving the country. Among them are Karmm, and then maybe... ". I list off a few cities I'd heard about with good sized populations. I want to make a quick stop in each, buy/sell gems, then resume my course.

Me, "On the ride there, I have three goals."

Hanamaya puts her arms on her knees, and props her chin up, looking at me. "Only three, huh?"

Me, "Hah... okay, a lot more than three. But, if I get these three done, I'll be happy."

Hana straightens up and points at me. "First things first, though! WHEN are you going to explain how those carts have been moving this whole time without a horse?! My mom asked me, and I didn't know what to tell her!"

Me, "Oh yeah." I stop the caravan (now that it's three, I want to start calling it that) and unhook the horse golem, commanding it to walk alongside Sentral. I hop back up to the seat, return my arm to the armrest, and command Sentral to resume moving the caravan.

Hana, "... Now you're just showing off."

Me, "Yup!" I pause to collect my thoughts. "I'd like to keep a few secrets for now, but you're currently sitting on a golem. I have named it Sentral. It is capable of pushing my carts with telekinesis, though only my personal cart needs that. It can do other things as well. It will attempt to protect us from harm. While I am touching it, I am much more powerful than I am otherwise." I think that's everything I want to reveal about Sentral for now.

Hana, "This looks like a cart to me. Okay! So why haven't you disguised the horse golem as a rock golem? Gemstone golems will draw attention! I've never heard of anybody being able to do that!"

Me, "Um...?"

Hana, "You didn't even think of that? What am I going to do with you!"

I laugh. "Anyway, my immediate goals. One is to enchant a CON ring for you. I am confident I can keep you safe, but this will help in case anything goes wrong. Two is to build a stronger light beam. Three is to learn telepathy from you. And now, four, to build two more horse golems as you suggested, and make them appear wooden."

Hana looks interested. "Okay! But what's a light beam?"

I touch the seat and have Sentral float out my flashlight. "This is a weapon I made for self defense.

Do not push magic into it

." I stress the last part for both our safety. "It emits a beam of light bright enough to blind someone."

I take the device and point it at the trees. "Close your eyes at first." Confirming with Sentral there's nobody back there for some odd reason, I point it at the trees and activate it with a flick of my magic. They light up, it's painful to look at them. I leave it on for a second, then switch it off. Touching the seat, I entrust it back with Sentral and tell it to recharge the device. It floats out of sight. The ring I was working on this morning floats in front of me instead, and I take it.

Hana is rubbing her eyes after the flash. "That was so bright! I never even opened my eyes!"

Me, "Yeah, it's no joke. I want it to be able to blind anyone who attacks me, even the powerful, so I made it pretty bright. That blast wouldn't blind me permanently, but I'd have holes in my vision for hours. At least, I think so. I haven't tried it. Next is your enchantment."

Hana, "Oh, what metal? Iron? Silver? Gold? Maybe... Platinum?" She asks, still blinking.

Me, "None of the above. Amethyst, and Jet," I responded. She makes a confused expression, then nods. "Now's a good time to resize it anyway. Ah, and I'd like your opinion. Do you want a ring, which you can remove at will but can be taken from you. Or, do you want an anklet, which you will need my help to remove? Or, a bracelet which can be sized tight or loose?"

Hana, "Ring please. The others would probably chafe."

Me, "Yeah, good point. Give me your hand." She does. "Tell me if it's too tight or hurts."