Chapter 42

Kal spun to face the oni’s direction. “Ikuno. No.”

“Um, Sir?” Olvo cautiously asked as his new employer stood glaring at a wall.

“Kal can speak to us over long distances,” Kashka told the office manager, “and Ikuno gets upset at the mention of his new wife. Captain Kolas informed us of how Silvermoon’s laws work.”

“Then you know the marriage can be annulled?”

“What? No,” said Kal, turning around. “How?”

“Silvermoon’s laws make it so that a son inherits his mother as a wife when his father passes away. This ensures the widow is cared for after losing her husband, especially later in life. The arrangement seems awkward to outsiders, but it works. However, if the widow decides to take up with another man, then the ‘marriage’ to her son can be annulled as long as their marriage was never consummated,” Olvo’s face wrinkled in disgust. “I can submit the paperwork to annul the marriage to Mrs. Darrow, but submissions to the city’s administration often take several days to process. I wanted to speak with you about this now as I assume once Holm has gone over all of your holdings, you will want to inspect your new properties, including the estate where Mrs. Darrow lives.”

“Should you really be calling her Mrs. Darrow?” asked the cat.

“Let’s not go there,” said the mage. “Calling a woman I’ve never met Mrs. Kal just feels wrong.”

“I could use your surname instead,” Olvo offered.

“I don’t have one. The closest we had to surnames was our professions in the town where I grew up. Were I still there, I would be known as Kal the Farmer. I suppose it would be Kal the Wizard or Kal the Mage now. But since I’m the only mage in town, and thus master of my profession, they call me Master Kal.”

“You don’t have a family name?”

“My parents were both farmers. So, my family name would be ‘Farmer,’ along with every other farming family in the area, regardless of actual relation.”

Olvo thought for a moment. “No, ‘Farmer’ won’t do. I respect those who work the land to make the food I eat, but the title holds little weight in the merchant business. Would you consider, perhaps, Warlock, or Magus as a surname? It describes your profession and will let those we deal with know there is power behind your name.”

“Warlock is just another word for wizard and Magus feels pretentious. Besides, I specialize in creating and modifying runes,” he said, holding out his bracer-covered arms.

“Runemaker? Runeweaver?” Olvo suggested.

“I like Runeweaver-”

“Kal,” Kashka called, getting his and Olvo’s attention. The mage looked over to see her giving him a look like he had said something exceptionally stupid. Even worse, he could feel a similar look coming from Ikuno over the bond. “Kal, you’re a Runesmith. Just call yourself Kal Runesmith.”

“I’m with the lady,” said Olvo, “‘Runesmith’ feels like a strong name that will hold power when making deals. People will consider carefully before trying to swindle a Runesmith.”

“But ... I liked Runeweaver, and I’m sure Anika would have probably loved it, Bea as well.”

“It’s your surname, Sir, and ultimately your choice. But do you want to invoke images of a woman sitting in front of a loom making a blanket, or do you want people to think of a man holding a glowing, fiery rune in a pair of tongs, laying it on an anvil and forging it to do his will?” said Olvo.

Kal was taken aback by the powerful imagery Olvo conjured as much as the almost zealous look in the man’s eyes. “First, we have a friend who is a spider-girl, so sitting in front of a loom was not what came to my mind when you suggested Runeweaver.”

“But here in Silvermoon, and likely in any city, that will be the association, whereas ‘smith’ implies the strength, endurance, and power of a blacksmith.”

“Kashka? Ikuno? What do you think?” Kal asked.

“I love it,” the cat replied with little hesitation.

“I’m not as fond of the name. Not because I don’t think it sounds good, it does, and I think it fits you, but because I knew you as a farmer first. It feels like you are shedding that last little bit of the man willing to give up his newfound magic because he loved me.”

“I haven’t been that man for a long time, Ikuno,” said Kal, his voice subdued.

“I know. You were little more than a boy then, infatuated with his new power and his first love. I’ll forever keep a place in my heart for the clueless young man who showed up at my cave, but I am so intensely proud of the man you have become. I think Kal Runesmith is a strong and fitting name for who you are now.”

“A simple yes would have sufficed,” grumbled the mage as he reached up to wipe the beginnings of wetness from his eyes. His reaction to Ikuno professing her pride in him caught him off guard. “It’s going to take getting used to Runesmith being who I am, not just what I am.”

“You’ll manage, I’m sure of it. We’re at Thiben’s house. Love you. See you in a little while, ” she sent. Kal caught the image of Thiben opening the door to his house and calling his kids and Kiho before the oni dampened the connection.

“Love you too,” he said under his breath before turning to Olvo. “It’s been decided. My surname will be Runesmith from this point onward.”

“I think you made an excellent choice, Sir, and we shall start drafting contracts and agreements in your name. I’ll get the proper paperwork submitted to the city’s government so they will recognize you as a business owner. Like the annulment, it will probably take a few days to be official. Afterward, there are some documents you’ll need to sign in person at the administration offices to pay taxes and such, but those merely need to be taken care of before you leave Silvermoon’s lands.

“As for Mrs. Runesmith—”

“Nope, nope, nope,” said Kashka. “I know a few minutes ago I said calling her Mrs. Darrow felt strange, but calling her Mrs. Runesmith just feels wrong. Ikuno and I have more right to that title than she does.”

“It’s merely a consequence of Mr. Darrow’s death and Silvermoon’s laws,” said Olvo. “I don’t see—”

“Olvo,” called one of the female office workers.

He turned around and glared at the woman, snapping, “Why are you interrupting me?”

“Don’t argue with her on this. It’s a woman thing.”

Olvo stared in disbelief. “You have never spoken to me in such a tone.”

“I’ve never felt the need to, Sir. But you were about to say something that would have severely upset our new employer’s lady.”

“I won’t condone you calling out your superior,” Kal said to the woman. “But in this situation, I think she’s right, and she just saved you from a serious blunder, Olvo.”

The manager’s eyes darted to Kashka and saw the anger in her eyes. It didn’t appear to be directed at him specifically but instead was a general anger about the situation with Kal’s wife. “I won’t say I understand, but I do apologize,” he said to the cat with a small bow.

“I accept your apology. Just get that annulment paperwork done,” Kashka growled. Seeing the concerned look on Kal’s face, she sighed. “Sorry I’m so grumpy. I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”

“The locksmith will be here later today to change the locks,” Olvo called out.

Kashka looked back at Olvo and shrugged as if it didn’t matter before going up the steps to the second floor.

To Kal, he said, “I’m considering putting magic locks on the office. By your leave, that is.”

“I get the impression that she is quite skilled at handling magical traps on locks,” said the mage. Memories of Bozun and a dog-girl training Kashka to detect the nearly imperceptible scent of a magicked lock bubbled to the surface of The cat’s mind. Despite pushing away the memory, Kal caught a flash of Kashka bent over, retching from the sickness spell triggered by a lock’s trap as Bozun viciously beat her.

Kal blinked a few times as the cat slammed the door on the memory as well as the upstairs office.

“Sir? Is everything okay?”

“I hope so. What next, Olvo?”

“Your wife.”

“Please stop calling her that.”

“Mrs. Darrow then. I shall begin the proceedings for the annulment of your marriage. However, since you inherited her with the deal you made with Mr. Darrow, Silvermoon’s laws require that you look after her wellbeing. Once the annulment is finalized, you must still provide her with food and shelter. That said, you are within your right to demand some form of work in return. In the cases with widowers becoming a wife to their sons, this is often in the form of household duties and childrearing. With Mrs. Darrow’s case, there are no children to look after, but I feel she has some other skills which you will find useful.”

“I’m not sleeping with her until the annulment is final,” said Kal.

Olvo’s eyes widened. “No! No, that wasn’t what I meant at all, Sir. I believe she may have skills that could help grow your business. I do not wish to say more as it may skew your decision, and I feel she has the right to present her own case. As for the other thing ... I have heard she is quite skilled.”

“As Kashka said, there are many women more deserving of becoming Mrs. Runesmith...” Kal paused for a moment and worked his jaw as if it were stiff. “That feels very strange to say aloud. Regardless, the women I love and cherish deserve the title over a woman I have never met.”

“Understood, Sir. I will be off to the administration offices to start that paperwork for you. But before I leave you to Holm for the rest of the day, I should warn you that Mrs. Darrow will throw herself at you.”

Kal cringed.

Olvo chuckled. “Perhaps I should mention Mrs. Darrow was notably younger than Mr. Darrow when they wed and is likely around your age or slightly older. She is also quite beautiful.”

“That’s a relief. Not that I mind older women—”

“You’d better not, ” Ikuno sent.

“Oh, come on, Ikuno. You don’t look a day over six hundred summers,” Kal smiled, looking in the oni’s direction. He turned back to Olvo, laughing, and said, “I won’t repeat what she just told me to do.”

“Um, very good, Sir. I’ll be on my way then,” the man replied awkwardly before slipping around Kal and out the door.

Kal sighed and shrugged, then walked over to where Holm waited with the remaining stack of deeds and contracts.

“Pardon my asking, but are you actually six hundred years old?” Holm asked Ikuno once he and Kal finished reviewing Kal’s possessions.

“Don’t you know it’s rude to ask a woman her age?” Ikuno chuckled. “But I’m actually over a thousand.”

The workday was coming to an end as the day grew late. After about an hour, Ikuno returned with Thiben and Kiho’s letter, but the man left again immediately as Kiho wanted to celebrate the chance to contact her family. Once he left, Ikuno made it clear that Kiho would have happily similarly thanked her and Kal had Thiben been open to the idea.

Kal’s head of security arrived back at the offices around noon, followed shortly after by Scarlet and Tavorah, though the elf kept her face hidden with her cloak’s hood until they were upstairs in Kal’s office.

“The man certainly hated women, didn’t he?” said Scarlet as she looked around the room.

“That’s not the impression I’m getting,” Kal replied. “The sculptures and paintings all seem to be high quality.”

“They are,” said the commandant. “But the artwork tells every woman who walks through the door what Darrow thinks of and expects from them. I would have hated to be any of the girls downstairs who needed to come up here to ask Darrow a question.”

“That rarely happened,” said Olvo, ascending the stairs behind them. “Holm and I did most of the conversing with Mr. Darrow. Aside from being a generally unpleasant man, I never understood the women’s reluctance to speak with him until now.”

Scarlet turned around and looked at Olvo, only to see him enraptured by Tavorah’s face. “Fuck,” she muttered. Maybe we should go back downstairs for a few minutes,” she suggested to Kal. “I think we will need to talk with your employees about some of the issues they may encounter working for you.”

Kal frowned at the look on Olvo’s face as well. “Especially if Tavorah ends up staying landside with you.”

“Don’t take too long, Tav,” said Scarlet as she made her way to the stairs, followed by Kal and Kashka.

The elf nodded in reply, and the hungry look on her face said she looked forward to what she was about to do.

“It’s like the situation with Thiben all over again,” Kal growled. “Except I know Tavorah can’t turn it off.”

“It’s our fault,” said Scarlet, shaking her head. “I heard him coming up the stairs, so I know you did too, but I wasn’t thinking about her pulling her hood back.”

“Fair enough,” he replied while drawing a rune in the air. The chair sitting behind the empty desk rose up into the air and floated over the heads of the confused office workers before coming to rest in front of Olvo’s desk.

The mage sat down. “I need everyone’s attention for a moment,” he said in a raised voice, then waited for everyone to put down their quills before continuing. “As you know, The Intrepid was taken over by its slave cargo. Commandant Scarlet, here, was the woman who orchestrated the escape and mutiny, subsequently becoming Captain of the ship and changing its name to The Scarlet Bitch.

“When I boarded The Scarlet Bitch it was almost entirely crewed by monster girls. Since taking The Dauntless, that has changed, but monster girls will remain a large part of my ship’s crews and my business. Right now, The Dauntless is moored outside an Azum city, training the next generation of monster girl sailors.

“This means you will all likely be coming into close contact with various monster girls while working for me. Monster girls under my employ are expected to keep their more alluring abilities in check. However, as in the case of our hooded friend, not all of those abilities can be turned off.”

“Is Olvo okay?” asked Holm.

“He’ll be feeling wonderful in a few moments but will likely feel very guilty afterward, depending on his relationship with his wife,” said Kal. The workers shared some surprised and slightly confused looks.

“Tavorah is up there draining his balls,” said Scarlet. “It’s why she kept the hood up walking through here. To keep the men from getting a thump on the head for not keeping their hands to themselves, and maybe a few of you ladies, too. Her beauty works on men and women, just more strongly on men.”

“The reason I’m bringing this up is that sex is always an issue when dealing with monster girls,” said Kal. “Between yesterday and today, I’m sure I don’t need to explain what may happen. Most monster girls prefer men for sex but often take women as lovers and find them equally attractive. This means all of you are likely to be propositioned at some time. The other issue is--” Kal stopped as Olvo descended the stairs, his face red but with embarrassment, not anger, followed by Tavorah with her hood in place, “Tavorah,” the mage finished.

The elf sighed. “I don’t stay in cities for long for a reason, Kal. I’ll go back to The Bitch and stay there.”

“That’s unacceptable, Tavorah. If Scarlet is staying to manage my affairs, then you shouldn’t be forced apart on my account. Tavorah is an elf,” Kal stated, eliciting a collective gasp from his employees, “An elf does not cause uncontrollable lust like many other monster girls. Instead, their magic enhances their allure and beauty, causing men, and even women, to desire and fixate on her.”

“Sex with me in any form will dampen the effect for a time,” Tavorah continued, but if I stay with Scarlet and help her in her work here, then even if it is just a quickie every few weeks, I will likely end up sleeping with all of you at some point.”

“If you feel this will be an issue with your spouses and no longer want to work here, then I will not hold it against you and wish you the best,” said Kal as he took over again. “Understand that having sex with Tavorah or any monster girl is not a condition of your continued employment. There is merely a high likelihood of it happening if you stay, and I do not want to cause friction in your family life because of it.”

“I can already hear my husband wondering if she could join us for the night,” muttered one of the women.

“That may be arranged,” said Tavorah. “But keep in mind that I am Scarlet’s lover, and you will need to make it worth her while to give me up for the night.”

“Oy, you’re making it sound like she needs to give me a good licking before you’ll sleep with her and her husband,” said Scarlet.

“Oops, sorry. I meant making it worth her while through your hard work.”

“What these three are trying to say,” said Ikuno from her seat across the room by the door, “Is that working for Kal, and with monster girls, sex is going to happen. Either with you or simply around you, it is going to happen and may happen with relative frequency. If you think you will have a problem working in this kind of environment, we suggest you find work elsewhere.”

“But we can’t,” said the woman who asked about the threesome. “Her and I are lucky enough to work here, but only because we are barren and our husbands let us.”

“I am a widower,” said the third woman, “my first husband passed before he could give me a child, and I chose to not take another. Olvo was the only person in the city besides a brothel who would hire me.” She sighed and looked at Kal. “At least sucking your cock will be more fun than Darrow’s.”

Kal sat up. “I’m sorry, what?”

“It was our way of keeping our jobs. Darrow would have fired us if we didn’t,” she explained, her eyes refusing to meet his.

Kal looked at the other two women. They also refused to meet his gaze.

“I’m assuming your husbands don’t know?” They both shook their heads.

Kal sat back and sighed. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. I promise I will never demand sex or sexual favors to continue working for me.”

“He has me and Kashka for that,” said Ikuno as the cat giggled.

“That said,” he continued while looking at the widow, “I rarely turn down a woman, but if you approach me, then it is nothing more than a little fun between two adults and will not affect how I treat you as an employee.”

“Pfft,” Ikuno scoffed, “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Kal. Your heart’s too big for that.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“You have tiny little boxes in your head for nearly all of The Scarlet Bitch’s original crew, and each one of them you cherish in their own way. Only a few don’t have boxes, and those are the ones who had lovers already or have picked one up since, like Hesta once you found out she claimed Kolas. It may be because of the bond, but I can tell who has a little box in your head and who doesn’t by how you treat them. If one of these lovely women approaches you and you sleep with them, they get their own box, and you will treat them differently because of it, whether you notice or not.”

“Sure, Ikuno, just call me out like that in front of everyone,” he grumbled.

“Just trying to avoid any more women in a purple dress.”

“That’s fair. I did get too attached to her.”

“Like I said, your heart’s too big.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s just his heart,” the other married woman mumbled.

“Ah, our peeper from the other day speaks!” Ikuno laughed.

“What?” asked the widow.

“He’s enormous!” the woman blurted out. “Like, the size of my arm!”

As wide eyes across the room turned toward Kal, the mage chuckled. “I’m a magic user and have a few tricks up my sleeve. One enchantment allows me to make love to Ikuno, Kashka, or any other woman without discomfort.”

“Unless you want it to hurt a little,” said Ikuno, wiggling her hips. “Then his magic can give you a nice stretch.”

“Ikuno, you aren’t helping.”

“Like hell, I’m not. It’s my responsibility as your first woman to find you more women to stick your cock in and figure out which ones you should add to your harem. I haven’t been able to do my job for the past two years, so I’m making up for lost time. A strong-minded, intelligent, and independent woman seems like a good fit for you.”

“This is our second day here. Could you at least slow down on your search for new bedmates? It’s not like I’m bored or unhappy with my current ones.” Kal could tell she was enjoying making him squirm under the uncomfortable looks of the office workers.

The mischief in the oni’s eyes bordered on malice. “No.”

“Would you make up your mind then?”

Ikuno blinked. “How so?””

“First, you are warding me away from getting attached, then in the next breath, you suggest I do just that. Which is it?”

“Hmmm, I did do that, didn’t I? I’ll get back to you with an answer later. All this talk about your cock has gotten me worked up, and I’m sure that’s affecting my judgment.”

“Are you trying to make everyone here uncomfortable?”

“A little, but not out of meanness. You just spent the last few minutes talking about how sex will become a large part of their work environment, whether listening to me getting fucked upstairs like yesterday or in casual conversation. This seemed like a good way to show them what they may experience in the future.”

Kal looked around the room. “She has a point. Expecting monster girls to keep the conversation civil when they have cock on their minds is a lost cause. This should give you all a good idea of what to expect and what you will need to speak with your spouses about. Although, I hope this ends up being an extreme example.”

“An extreme example would have you rutting me right here on the floor,” said Ikuno with another wiggle.

“Do I need to take you upstairs?”

The oni made a face. “And squeeze through that tiny door again? Twice? I’ll wait.”

“Despite Kal and Ikuno’s banter,” said Scarlet, addressing the office workers. “I will make an effort to keep things civil, and any of Kal’s sailors or other employees who get out of hand will face punishment if they make you overly uncomfortable. Unfortunately, if it’s these three,” she indicated Kal Ikuno and Kashka, “there is little I can do except yell at them.”

“Aside from having to take a break after days like yesterday, I don’t have any complaints,” said Holm, grinning from ear to ear.

The widow rolled her eyes. “Nor will you as long as Miss Ikuno is here,” she said, cupping her breasts.

“We’d better keep an eye on this one,” Tavorah piped in. “If he ever meets Ikuno and Roka at the same time, he may die of happiness on the spot.”

Holm took the ribbing well and chuckled along with everyone else.

“Seriously, though,” the widow continued. “I don’t know if I can speak for the other girls, but this is already a huge improvement over Darrow. If what we’ve seen and heard the past two days is what we can expect, then I don’t have a problem with it. You and Miss Scarlet seem to actually care about our happiness and comfort instead of just how well we did our jobs. Besides, it will be nice to see the men understand how we felt when some of Mr. Darrow’s business associates came in.”

One of the other women clutched her shoulders and shivered.

“Were these men allowed to touch you?” asked Scarlet through gritted teeth.

“Mr. Darrow made it clear his business dealings were more important than the discomfort of an office worker,” said Olvo. “Especially a woman.”

Scarlet stood clenching her fists. “The more I learn about this bastard, the more I think getting ripped to shreds in The Spine was too quick of a death.”

“Just think of how much his spirit is raging now that his office is that of the woman who stole his ship and knocked him overboard,” Kal suggested.

“Oh ... that is a pleasant thought.”

The mage untied Ria’s bag from his belt and tossed it to Kashka while calling the sprite. “Ria, add Scarlet and Tavorah to my party, then help them remodel the upstairs while Holm and I try to get through all this paperwork.”

“Last one,” said Holm, sliding the parchment over for Kal to inspect.

“No,” said Kal.

Holm looked up to find the mage frowning. “This is that last contract owned by Mr. Darrow.”

“No, there’s another estate or building somewhere. The place where he sent all the slaves that were unsellable or too much trouble.”

Holm’s face fell. Leaning forward, he peered around Kal and said, “Olvo, he’s asking about the phantom house.”

“Phantom house?” the mage asked.

Olvo looked up from his work. “Darrow periodically showed up with large amounts of money for me to deposit. Any other time, there was an explanation, either a sale, gift, or trade. But no explanation was given for this money, and he did not allow me to ask any questions. So, I started calling it Darrow’s ‘phantom money.’ When we started hearing rumors of Darrow’s ‘Final training’ facility, someone called it the ‘phantom warehouse,’ which turned into the ‘phantom house.’

“Unfortunately, that’s all I can tell you about it. To us in the office, the phantom house is merely a rumor, but I believe it is where the money was coming from, and it sounds like something Darrow would do. If there are any records of its existence, I think they were kept at his southern manor.”

“Where Mrs. Darrow lives?”

Olvo nodded.

“Damn, I was hoping to postpone visiting her until the annulment had been finalized. Thiben?”

After finishing his celebration with Kiho, Kal’s head of security returned to work and stood on the opposite side of the door from where Ikuno lay napping on couch cushions brought from the upstairs office. The pieces of leather covering her sex and bottom had been modestly tucked between her legs, but her top had shifted, baring a dark blue nipple.

Thiben’s eyes snapped forward, and he stood straight as an arrow before almost shouting, “Yes, Sir?”

“I’ll be leaving for my southern estate tomorrow morning. Handle the preparations, please.”

“Will you be riding by horseback or carriage,” he glanced at Ikuno, “or wagon?”

“Horseback. Kashka will ride with me.”

“I don’t think there are any horses large enough for...”

“I’ll walk,” said Ikuno without opening her eyes. She tugged her top up to cover her exposed nipple before quietly grumbling, “Wagon. Hmph.”

“Would you like a full guard, Sir?”

“No, but I want you to come along. As head of security, you should be able to smooth things over with any guards unhappy with their change of employer.”

Kashka returned to The Scarlet Bitch with Scarlet and Tavorah but Kal and Ikuno chose to stay in his new residence there in Silvermoon. Darrow’s estate was about a half-day’s journey south, so instead of making the daily commute, Darrow purchased a house in Silvermoon where he could stay while tending to his business. The two-story house looked to be in good condition as they approached, with a stone fence encircling its yard, like most of its neighbors. Hanging from the inside of the fence were a host of brightly-colored flower boxes displaying autumn blooms. To the right side of the property was a small partially-harvested garden.

Kal opened the lock on the gate with the spare key Darrow kept at the office in case he came into town late. The steel lockbox behind his desk held the extra keys for all of his various properties, from the gates of plots of land leased out to farming families, to storage facilities, to residences like this one, most of which were rented out.

If Darrow arrived during the day, the door would likely be open, or he could get the maid to let him in. But his maid, Alya, locked the door at night and would not let anyone inside, even if it sounded like Darrow. Hence, the need for a spare key.

It also meant Darrow only needed to keep track of two keys, one for the office and one for the lockbox. Unfortunately, both of those keys were currently aboard the Dauntless. Since they didn’t fit any of Darrow’s chests aboard the ship, Kal left the keys in the desk drawer where they were found and promptly forgot about them. Thankfully, Kashka’s skill made light work of getting into the lockbox.

Kal unlocked the front door of the house and stepped inside. A cute fox-girl with tan fur and black ears came running out into the entry hall only to squeal in fright and bolt up the stairs to the second floor.

“Alya!” Kal called, only to be answered by a slamming door.

“Good job scaring your maid half to death,” said Ikuno as she entered the house behind him. The oni could stand upright but needed to duck beneath the beams crossing the ceiling while moving around.

“Are you sure it wasn’t the giant blue woman standing behind me?” he shot back as he started toward the stairs.

Ikuno sniffed the air. “You go take care of your maid. I’ll make sure whatever supper she left on the fire doesn’t burn,” she said before squeezing through the doorway Alya appeared out of.

At the top of the stairs, Kal discovered the master bedroom took up nearly the whole side of the second floor while two more large bedrooms took up the other. What space the master bedroom left on its side was for an indoor outhouse. Beside the wooden seat with a hole through it was a magical waterspout used to fill a nearby bucket that a person could use to flush away any waste. Kal had heard of these and knew that something in the pipe’s shape allowed it to take away waste without stinking up the rest of the house. However, an indoor outhouse was rare as it either needed to be constructed in place by a geomancer or made of expensive, corrosion-resistant steel. Darrow appeared to have opted for the first choice and gotten the mage to make a simple water-creation runestone as well.