"I am ardth no longer. I gave that up when I came after you. I knew what I was doing."
He knelt and caught her to him, saying, "There is no place for either of us, except with the other. Two wanderers."
"Two wanderers," she sighed. "With a purpose. A mad, insane belief in themselves. To fight even when there is no chance of victory!"
The tower stood gaunt and lonely, rising up into a blue sky. Baked dirt powdered into clouds under their feet as they walked toward it. The tower was strong and thickly built, and it towered above the flat earth in its loneliness. In that respect, it was a little like Tyr himself, Katha thought. She studied the flat buttresses and arched windows.
"An ardth-man built that," she said.
"If he did, he made it a laboratory and home at the same time."
Katha furrowed her thin black brows. "But what ardth ever built such a tower on Lyallar?" she wondered.
Tyr pushed open the big wooden door. The round room was walled with dials and panels, cool and dim. It gave off a faint and musky smell. A circular table was covered with vials and belljars and retorts. Shelves lined the walls, and bottles lined the shelves. At the far side of the room, a metal stairway twisted its way to the upper floors.
Katha wandered around, delight shining in her eyes. She lifted vials and smelled at chemicals. Laughter gurgled in her throat.