The grotto Spirit and Esper decided to spend the night in was beneath the starlit sky, which had both a dark blue and a purple tone, with stars lying flat on the colorful plain. The hillside was more dangerous in the dark, and that was the only idea that compelled him to seek refuge in the cavern on the narrow slope. They ended up here since Sakuramori included a small, sparsely inhabited town. A couple from the hamlet had called all of the legal guilds, pleading for assistance, and Luminous Rose had contacted Spirit. The sole loving kid of the job posting had inexplicably vanished from the hamlet, and they assume it had something to do with the unusual crystal caverns nearby. They believed he would be most qualified for this as the Cavern Dragon Slayer, and his potion shop wasn't far away.
A pattering sound resonated through the long, huge cave. A crystal clear brook stood opposite him. There was no darkness above it. The cave was blue and sometimes pink and purple from the light reflecting off crystals in the cavern. That beautiful view was mirrored in the small river. It was from there that the pattering sound came. Droplets of water fell into the water, upsetting it and rupturing the depiction it created. That sound has its own rhyming pattern and style. It triumphed over all natural sound, even the chirping of birds and the rumble of thunder. That natural rhyme he was hearing formed a prominent tune, one that he remembered in his soul from the Dragon's magic within.
He turned his focus from the lovely and calm sight at the entrance to Emerald, who lay perched on his shoulder, her tail loosely wrapped around his neck for leverage should he make any abrupt moves that may cause her to tumble. The pair would enter further into the cave, make sure to stay on what seemed to be flat stone blocks laid atop and beside one another forming a natural walkway. It wasn't long before he saw odd creatures flowing out of fractures and occasionally just splitting off from one of the cavern's crystals. They looked to be little, cute crystal creatures about the size of a young cat. As a small group of ten formed around Spirit, the two ready themselves for the worst. Soon behind them would approach a horse sized fox made from gem and crystal that formed a smooth body unlike the spiky creatures surrounding Spirit and Emerald. It wasn't until it showed up at the air of danger started to become more real. Slowly extending a hand Spirit would use his dragon slayer magic to produce a small crystal that seemed to grow from inside the palm of his hand. It's light would mix with the light of the cave causing it to grow brightly with a soft radiance.
When Spirit made his crystal, the crystalline monsters' attitude would shift from wonder to menacing, and then back to curiosity and even acceptance. The little ones would return to their ground fissures or mix with the natural crystal in the cavern. The huge fox would approach, smell Spirit and the crystal, and then lick him on the face. The tongue moved normally, yet it felt more like a silky jewel on his skin than a regular tongue. He felt his dragon slayer magic resonate with it as he petted it on the head. The fox sensed it as well. As someone who could see magic, he witnessed some of its magic transfer to spirit and merge with his own. The monster had unwittingly bestowed a new spell on him. As it moved its head and pointed deeper down the cave, a link could be felt. The fox would leap into the darkness of the cave with a direction given, eventually disappearing from Spirit's Senses.
"What was that about?". Emerald was understandably confused by the entire situation but found the entire experience amazing. As a small dragon full of curiosity she could almost be confused with a child at time. "I'm not sure to be honest. I think everything here is resonating with the cavern dragon magic within me. Af first they were curious about me but when the fox showed they were ready to attack. After I created this crystal it seemed to almost tame them. That might be the best word for what just happened. I think they saw me as one of their kind." It was the best explanation that Spirit could come up with and one that Emerald would accept. As a dragon herself she knew well the power a dragons magic could hold.
The scenery greeted him with a magnificent mood as the two moved deeper into the cave. It wasn't dark in there. The purple and blue, which was dotted with an infinite number of stars and rays of light, smiled at him. Emerald didn't feel what Spirit felt but she was still enamored by everything. He moved carefully tight terrain making sure not to brush up against any of the sharp jutting crystal formations sprew about. From a distance, the silhouette of a little, fragile human child could be seen strolling through what appeared to be a large circle cave room, laughter following behind as a small vaguely humanoid appearance followed the child he was looking for. It's body floating off the ground appeared to be that of a female wearing a sleeveless white dress. Its lower body was that of a conical pink crystal that was surrounded by a series of long crystals similar to those on its headdress. The tips of the circlet around its neck curve outward and there was an additional half-circlet around its waist. The crystal fairy was best described as a royal pink princess due to its noble appearance. "LOOK A FAIRY!" Emerald would shout in glee ruining any element of surprise they might have had.
Cupping his hand over Emerald's mouth, it appeared to be too little, too late. She had been overheard by the crystal fairy and the child. The crystal fairy would capture the child and enclose it in a crystal field that jutted out from the earth. With the child in suspended animation, the fairy would interpose it's body between the child and Spirit with Emerald.
"How dare you enter my caves. How dare you come here without permission. I know why you are here. You came for the child, the child that wandered in here and that I accepted as my own. You can't have! You can't have! You can't have!" With anger and frustration the fairy threw a fit and yelled at the intruders of her crystal caverns. Not even giving spirit a chance to reply the fair would raise both its arms as a magic circle would appear before it. Spikes of crystal spears protruded from the earth, racing from the fairy towards Spirit and Emerald, making a straight yet wide route of peril. They were approaching at such a breakneck pace that Spirit was taken off guard. It didn't help that he was at the tight entryway to the open area, leaving him with little to no room to dodge.
Spirit didn't have much time to mull about things. He considered casting an attack spell for a second, but what if he missed and hit the child behind the fairy? Even if he didn't assault, the cave floor was now a spiked death trap. He'd cast Cavern Dragon's Folly by raising his hand. Spirit created a big, level, spherical pool of water in front of him. Its surface, like a mirror, projected a picture of a magic being cast. The identical spell that the fairy had cast would come from the mirror, crashing against it and canceling it out when all the crystal spears collided and the magic was stopped. Because of how he had protected himself and had also removed the obstacles from the ground. Once countered the mirror and the reflection would turn to water and splash on the ground.
"Listen, we aren't here to fight. We are here for the child. She is not yours. She belongs to a family that misses her. You know this. I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you but I will if I have to." Spirit would attempt to appeal to the enraged crystal fairy princess but it would seem his efforts were in vain. "Ha, you insult me. If they loved their child so much why was she so far away from home? You come here wanting me to give up my prize but you kill all my family on the way in here? I think not human. Now that I am alone I will keep this child and raise her as my own."
Buffudled Spirit would play back what he heard and look at Emerald who was also confused. "Did you say killed your family? You don't mean the small adorable crystal spiky crawlers and the large crystal gemstone fox do you? We didn't kill them. They are still back there in the cave. They let us by as kindred spirits."
A room of confusion. The fairy now had a look on her as she let down her guard a little. "Alive you say? How is this so?" Closing her eyes spirit could see a wave of magic pulse out from her like a bats echolocation. A look of shock would appear on her face as she felt all her family still out there in the cave system. "But how. How did you manage that? No matter. This child is still mine but I will make a deal with you for not killing my family. If you can release the child from my crystal prism then i will let you take her away. But you can't use whatever trickery that last spell was you cast." Despite her anger and confusion the fiary was still a fairy and thought she was pulling a fast one on Spirit with a game.
Leaving Emerald to watch the entryway, Spirit would approach the imprisoned kid slowly and carefully. He wouldn't let his guard down for a second as he walked by the fairy, who was gleefully flying about, thinking she had won the scenario, that the gamble and the prize were hers. In reality, Spirit would be unable to utilize Cavern Dragon's Folly in the first place. While another spell was being cast, the spell had to be employed. It was pointless because her jail had already been created. Though he was not going to tell her that. There was also the issue of the prison itself. Spirit could see that his spell to counter other magic wouldn't have worked anyways. It appeared to be two spells piled together, almost like a fusion and that was beyond him.
Spirit wondered how he would break the child out of the spell without harming her inside. Then it hit him. The solution was so stupid, so simple, so elegant in a way. With a snap of his fingers he'd walk up and start to eat the crystal. His teeth would tear apart giant chucks as he crunched down on it swallowing some and the rest falling to the ground. He'd do this until the unconscious child was freeded and his belly full. Patting his stomach the magic of the fair was now inside of him, fueling him.
Looking up the fairy would fly at him and star him face to face, her little nose touching his. "Wait a freaking moment here. You can eat crystal? There is only one being I've ever met who could do that. A dragon named Quartzia who died some time ago. As a crystal fairy I know of her well. Are you to say you are a slayer there human?" Not moving his face but instead talking calmly. "I am. She is who I get my power from. I am the Cavern Dragon Slayer. You stood no chance against me but I still wanted to try to resolve the situation without bloodshed. Fairies to my knowledge are thought to be myths. I did not want to make that possibly true. Listen, I get it. You remind me of my beloved friend Emerald of there. Full of fun, wonder and curiosity. I tell you what. We will visit from time to time to keep you company or you can always visit my potion shop. With me you will be safe there and it's a win win for everyone. Don't you think?"
It would take some time to negotiate with the fairy, but in the end, the two formed a vague contract and Spirit was permitted to return the child to his family. The family was happy to discover their daughter after leaving the cave system. It turned out that they had grounded her for something trivial thing at the time, and she had rushed away in a rage as a result. The tiny girl had no idea how much danger she was in. As fickle as she was, the fairy might have transformed her interest into rage in an instant, terminating the child's life. Spirit made sure to mention this to the family so that the girl could know her mistake.
Heading home to the potion shop the two would fly. Spirit would use crystal wings in honor of the job he had just done and wanted to return home before dark anyways. Touching down he'd move to a training area off behind the shop and try out his new spell that he had gained from his bond with the crystal gemstone fox. He couldn't explain it but he just knew how to cast it. Extending his arms he'd place his one hand curled into a fist onto the palm of the hand. As a magic circle appeared he'd open his hand and a large crystal gemstone fox would appear to jump out and attack a target. It was similar to something he had seen called Dynamic Ice-Make, but in this case it was crystal and dragon slayer magic. The spell was interesting because it allowed for the fox to chase a target, making it pretty useful he felt.
Testing out new ways to use it, Spirit would then create a larger version of the fox that stomped a large area and then he'd create several small foxes that ran on the ground to swarm a target or even possibly targets. In total he had four new magic spells added to his Cavern Dragon's Slayer magic. One that honed in on a single target and would pursue it for an attack. Another spell that could flatten a area, another that could hit several targets and the last created a fox that would explode hit everything radiating from where it exploded. He was glad but the one thing he wished he could do was actually summon the crystal gemstone fox itself, but his magic didn't allow for that sadly. Then again, maybe it could and he just needed to go revisit the fox and forge a stronger bond. He'd try in the morning. For now he was ready to sleep and end on a good note.
Word Count: 2532
