Burgandy and Marigold vs Gareth and Blue
Gareth POV chapter
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The final round was under way. Gareth served as soon as the water was in position and then he got started working on a little project. Instead of focusing on the match, Gareth was designing… a chair! Which, as silly as it might seem, was the best way he could think of to ensure victory. It would give Blue a good way to rest without simply sitting down on the ground and if he lifted the structure upwards so it was closer to the water, it might even help save mana.
So first things first, he created a basic throne. A raised rectangle for the base, then three thing rectangles for the two armrests and the backrest. Next, Gareth focused on merging the four stone pieces into one so that he wouldn't be required to hold it together continually with mana. It wasn't long before that step was complete so Gareth moved onto the next, and much harder step. Figuring out how to make it comfortable.
While he was doing that, Marigold and Burgandy were getting into things. This time, Marigold had taken a smaller chunk of the court, even if she was still covering a bit more than half of it. Marigold was taking the back, and Burgandy was taking the front. Using the time it took Blue to set up, they'd even managed to dig out an extra line to mark where each section ended.
It was also worth noting, that Burgandy didn't bother to solidify the floor at all. If it was going to help, and she wasn't sure it would, the mana drain likely wouldn't be worth it long term. Sure mana levels and body fatigue weren't directly linked, but push it too far and you'd be tired all the same. Additionally, there might be some strange tactic that needed mana to clinch out the win. Neither woman had figured it out yet, if it existed at all but it was currently their best hope.
Back with Gareth and his chair construction, things were going well. He'd decided to hollow out the seating area and create some superfine sand to fill the hole. In theory, making a cushion of some sort, perhaps with air pockets and somewhat flexible layers of dirt would be better. Alas, Gareth wasn't an earth mage or an engineer and had no idea how he'd even approach making something like that. So he didn't try. Instead, he focused on grinding the sand down as finely as possible before it was deposited into the hollow. Hopefully it would help.
Once that was done, Gareth worked on carving out a smooth indent so that Blue could lean back somewhat, when he paused. *Hmm… should I make this chair one that can recline back? Probably if I can… but can I? Probably not. Bother. Then what angle should I set the backrest at? Should I ask Blue? I'm not sure I want to distract her with a question like that. I'm not sure how much concentration she needs… but I don't want to cause problems. Or Thyme forbid, startle her into dropping the spell.*
Gareth thought it over for a moment, thinking of all the ways he could try to make the chair recline, but he was failing to find any that would operate without the use of earth magic, so they were useless for the moment. So he got back to carving the back to be more comfortable as he pondered.
While Gareth was pondering Marigold and Burgandy were running themselves ragged. Marigold was doing pretty well, her mana restored and with it her stamina. Burgandy, not so much. Despite basically doing nothing but resting the previous round, if anything, it'd just made things worse. Her legs were sore, her mind felt sluggish and she could really use a big hearty lunch right now. Sadly, she needed to get through this match first, and was really regretting the fact she hadn't cared enough to try and stop it from happening. Then again… getting in between Marigold and a chance to flirt might be even worse for her health.
Blue was sweating a bit. Her mana was full, but she'd been casting for hours at this point. Even with the small breaks it was wearing on her mana channels. They really were not trained for this sort of nonsense. Though Blue did make a note to do so in the future. Blue was certain that she'd need to hold a spell for a long time later in her career. It would be terribly annoying to train properly though. She'd need to figure something out that wasn't so boring.
Back with Gareth and the chair was done… at least to a basic level. He still really wanted to make it a recliner but it just wasn't looking likely. Part of him also wanted to find a way to soften up the back rest, but that also wasn't really in the cards. He'd need a real spell to do the second, and a lot more knowledge to do the first. *So is it good enough to distract Blue? If it is… then I should let her know somehow. Without startling her. Probably walking slowly in front of her and asking her to step back into the chair. Then raising it up somewhat. Then… I could ask her if she wants it to recline?
What should I do about the footrest if she says yes? I could probably get away with a stool… but could I lift up that much earth? Not quickly… and maybe not while keeping the chair intact? Hmm… I could just set a bit of Earth to pop out of the chair… but that's probably worse. Best to stick with making the platform slightly larger then the chair, and adding a stool if Blue wants one.*
"Hey Blue, I made a chair for you. If you take a step back you'll be able to sit in it. Let me know how it feels," said Gareth.
Blue, confused, looked behind her once the ball had landed in the water. She focused on keeping it there for a bit as she looked back. "Huh… so you did…" mumbled Blue. She sat down on the chair and sent the ball off as she got used to it. The sand was a bit of a strange choice to her but it wasn't too bad. Leaning back was decently comfortable as well. Sure the backrest was made out of stone, but it fit her back well. Blue nodded and started to launch the ball back once again.
"Would you like me to recline this for you before I move it up?" asked Gareth.
Blue instantly realised why he'd move the chair up, but was confused about the reclining. "This chair can recline?" asked Blue.
"Not really…" admitted Gareth. "I can sort of fudge it with my earth affinity. Not quickly, and perhaps not smoothly but I CAN manage it. If that's something you want. Oh and a footrest but that part will be a bit harder,"
"Hmm…" Blue thought the offer over, sending the ball back twice more before reaching a decision. "If you can just recline it a little bit then I think that will be perfect," decided Blue. Gareth nodded and did so, adjusting the back just a tad. Blue shifted a bit till she was comfortable then nodded.
Gareth nodded back and started to raise the ground underneath it. It wasn't too fast, but that was fine, Gareth didn't need to go far. Once the top of the chair was just a touch below the bottom of the water Gareth stopped and nodded, before patting himself on the back for doing a good job. Then he made his way off to the side a bit and smoothed the sand out into a wavy chair that mostly fit the shape of his body. It was good enough to his mind.
"Thanks for this Gareth," said Blue with a smile. "This might not be the greatest chair ever, but with something to sit on? I feel like I'm getting a second wind. I bet I can keep this water defending for hours. Just sit back and relax, I got this." Of course, Blue not having looked behind her didn't see that Gareth had already done so.
Gareth shot back a thumbs up as he started to relax. Already there were cracks showing in Marigold's and Burgandy's teamwork. With Blue smiling and ready for battle, the win was basically in the bag. Or well, the win for her. Gareth would happily take a tie for second place.
*Yup. That chair was an awesome idea. I'm glad I took the time to make it well. It also makes me a bit glad this is the last match. Not sure I could've come up with it until I saw Blue meditating on the ground. Nor would I want for anyone to steel this idea to use after I've shown it off. Even if Burgandy is the only other person who could. Well… Marigold would probably accept Blue using HER as a chair, but best not to dwell on that particular idea.*
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