An Unwanted Meeting [Job/Solo]

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I saw the light fade from the sky
On the wind I heard a sigh
As the snowflakes cover my fallen brothers
I will say this last goodbye

Upon the abyss they says that there’s a tower, a tower so large that it kissed the sky goddess as a greeting once. Grema didn’t know if that part of the rumor was true, but she was about to find out. Hefting her bag onto her should, Grema kept moving toward the thin upward shape in the sky. It wouldn’t take too long for her to get there, not really. She had rented a magical motorcycle that she had planned to hide near the majestic buildings base.

Night is now falling
So ends this day
The road is now calling
And I must away
Over hill and under tree
Through lands where never light has shone
By silver streams that run down to the Sea

Supposedly on the top of this hellishly tall tower rests a stone. This stone cannot be moved, budged or inched along in any way. It stays stagnant. Supposedly not even a god could move it. Once again, Grema didn’t know if that is true or not, but if you were to move the tower itself, would the gem move? Or what if you cut the stone around it? Would you be able to move the gem then? Or is the reason the tower built was because there was a mysterious gem floating in the sky that will move for nothing? Maybe it was the gem keeping the tower upright, Grema couldn’t think of any other reason such a ridiculously tall and narrow building could stay upright without a ton of magic being drained. Not even a firm base or magitech could keep it up, Grema was sure even as she admits she didn’t know much about buildings.

Under cloud, beneath the stars
Over snow one winter’s morn
I turn at last to paths that lead home
And though where the road then takes me
I cannot tell
We came all this way
But now comes the day
To bid you farewell
Many places I have been
Many sorrows I have seen
But I don’t regret
Nor will I forget
All who took the road with me

The unmovable jewel is called the Gem of Time according to the mage’s sources. The mysterious woman had been very insistent that Grema go and check the tower out. She had reminded Grema of the old man that had advised her to seek out the guild Black Rose at the Silver Moon inn if she wanted a job. It was also a very mysterious occurrence, but had worked out well for the magitech mage, so like before she had gone along with the sketchy request.

Night is now falling
So ends this day
The road is now calling
And I must away
Over hill and under tree
Through lands where never light has shone
By silver streams that run down to the Sea

It took Grema two whole freaking days to climb the gods forsaken tower and she was sick of seeing it’s beautiful engravings, fine artwork, and lively ivory. It would have been longer if she hadn’t stopped after five hours of painful climbing to build something to aid her. What? She was a scientist not some athletic body builder or marathon runner! Climbing steep steps like that was hard for her, mostly with her hunch and health issues. Her fake limbs did help the ascent, but she didn’t want to use much magic just in case there were traps or monsters lurking within. So she had scavenged some metal from the surrounding areas along with larcima to build a crude machine that will climb the stairs while Grema happily sat on top of it. Her AI M.A.I accused her master of being lazy. The engineer argued that the robot could move faster up the stairs than she could, thus the job would be finished faster. She had rested for the night and continued on in the morning.

To these memories I will hold
With your blessing I will go
To turn at last to paths that lead home
And though where the road then takes me
I cannot tell
We came all this way
But now comes the day
To bid you farewell

Finally, Grema had reached the top. The large white gem rested on a platform like roof of the Sky Tower, held up by two fierce looking griffons and fine golden engravings looped around the bottom of the gem itself like art. At her feet there was a beautiful mural of the sky above, one half of it depicting the day, the other depicting the starry night. Overall it was extremely tacky. But the view was genuinely breath taking, for both it’s beuty and the terrifying reiminder that one was so high up. Grema could see all of Fiore from here. Off to the tower's east side he could see the forest, and Magnolia Town, maybe even the cat shaped house she built. And even further off in the distance the mechanic could see Clover Lake and the Inferno Mountains even further still.

Too the tower's left Grema see’s the remains of the Sabertooth Guild Hall, nestled in the mountains you're in, far, far down below the building nothing but a spec from way up here. However, after staring straight ahead, she could behold the beauty of Fiore's grasslands, including the twin cities of Era and Crocus shining in the plains.

Too her north, was the grandiose Royal Palace, home of the snobbish Politicians> Nearby is a stark contrast because nestled in a nearby forest you can see the gigantic beanstalk from Beanstalk Village piercing the clouds up above as you are here on the Sky Tower. Grema almost couldn’t belive that she could see her new home of Rose Garden, glistening in the distance like a rainbow under a constant enchantment. Finally to the South, Grema see’s the Peace River and Peace Village nestled as a tiny spec off in the distant southern grasslands. Wow it just occurred to her those names were stupid. Wasent naming something ‘peace’ just asking for something to take a piece from it?

Grema shook herself our of her wonderous viewing spree and surveyed the mural bleow her again. There seems to be a hint about some sort of magical ritual, but Grema couldn’t understand it. It probably wasn’t meant for her eyes, and she could study it later. There was a gem for her to investigate.

So she walked up to it, eyeing the gem with wary curiosity. It was probably a diamond, a very large one at that. Was it just her, or was there a flickering golden light inside of it? Maybe it was a refelction from the golden art below it, aided by the setting suns light? Probably. Before touching it, Grema hesitates, remembering what the mysterious woman told her, that the Gem of Time grants the ability to ‘learn with ones master once more’. She sure as hell hoped not. But supposedly it was a lot harder for most to scale to tower and that she should feeling lucky for getting this far.

So with a mental shrug Grema reaches out with her real hand and touches the beautiful white diamond. Nothing happens for a second, then everything happens. Golden sparkles beam out from the jewel and stay motionless in the air for a split second, causing Grema to look at them with shock. Before the mage could react though the sparkles move again, attaching themselves to the woman. She tries to pull her hand away from the gem, but finds with horror that a shinning gold substance was pulling her inside of it, along with the sparkles. The scientist fought with all of her might, but soon she had fallen into the Jewel of time with a scream.

I bid you all a very fond farewell.

WC: 1331