41: Aftermath
Jasmine rubbed her thumb idly over the glass face of the pocketwatch- still glowing bright enough it was actually difficult to try and properly read whatever time it presented. Still, she carefully pinched the winding gear with her free hand and gave it a few cranks. One. Two. Three. Four. Then, she paused and let out a long sigh, staring past the brightness of the face to watch the second hand ticking away- as mechanical and reliable as ever.
After a few moments, Jasmine looked up from where she was seated- on the top step of the large staircase leading down into the park where the Obelisk resided. It was abandoned- err… not exactly. Restricted. To all students and non-approved personnel. Now, the only people down in the park were a part of the full defensive line forming a ring around the monolith wrapped in a woven net of pink light. They were complete with wooden walls made by high-enough level Woodcarvers that they could resist dragonfire, and racks with more magical weapons and gear than Jasmine had ever seen in one place.
At the tops of the steps, Jasmine could see a few other students looking down at the preparations for war before they moved onto their own agendas. Even from here, she could see their weapons- strapped to their hips or carried in hand. Students had never been armed unless they were preparing for a delve in the Obelisk. Now, even Jasmine had a pair of pink-glowing war axes resting beside her. From behind, she heard awkward, shuffled footsteps approaching. Jasmine sighed but extended a hand upwards. “You should be resting.”
“No, I should be smacking the shit out of my wife for pulling a stunt like this.” Adeline said, gratefully accepting Jasmine’s hand and using it as leverage to help her lower herself in a seat on the steps. The heavily-pregnant woman gave a small groan as she settled. “But both of us will just have to wait to scold the people we love until after they escape from one of the most unknown, dangerous artifacts in existence.”
After a moment of pause, Jasmine spoke quietly. “The Lieutenant Major is alive.”
“She better be. If she dies in there, I’ll kill her myself.” The woman then handed over a small bundle wrapped in paper. “I know you didn’t eat, so I brought you some lunch.”
Jasmine took the package, then set it between her legs on the step below. “Thanks, but I’m not hungry.”
Adeline reached over, grabbed the bundle, then placed it back in Jasmine’s hands. “I never asked if you were, and frankly, I don’t care if you are. Eat.”
Adeline’s glare made a little bit of a shiver run down Jasmine’s spine, so she started unwrapping the sandwich. Still Jasmine gave a bit of hesitation.
“I’m sorry that you got tangled up in all this.”
The black-haired woman raised an eyebrow challengingly. “I knew full-well what I was getting into when I chose to marry a Syndicate officer- especially one working for the Specialist Reserve. I’d go weeks on end without seeing her while she’s deployed on missions, and I wouldn’t get to know anything about where she is or what she’s doing because it’s classified information. The only thing that makes this different than normal is the fact that the Syndicate’s told me exactly what’s going on. Though, even they don’t know what’s actually happening inside with your Artificer girlfriend, so it loops right back around to the part I like most- not knowing.”
Jasmine swallowed her bite of the sandwich. “You’d rather not know how the Lieutenant Major is doing?” Adeline shook her head.
“I’ve gotten quite comfortable with a lack of information. At least then, I can convince myself that everything is going according to plan and nothing is wrong. Any delays are trivial, and everything will turn out right as rain in the end like it always does. If you know how bad things actually are, then that only makes it worse.”
“I hate not knowing,” Jasmine grumbled. She then felt the arm of the older woman wrap around her back and pull her in a bit closer. Jasmine simply sighed and rested her head on Adeline’s shoulder while the woman nodded.
“Sweetheart, I’ve been there. But trust me when I say that it’s for the best. There’s only thing worse than the fear of not knowing what’s happening.”
“What?”
“Knowing that the person you love desperately needs help, and not being able to do a damned thing about it.”
They sat like that for a few quiet moments before Adeline jolted in place slightly, making Jasmine lift her head from the woman’s shoulder. “Everything okay?”
Adeline nodded, holding a hand over her swollen stomach. “Yeah, yeah. The little one just kicked a bit and I nearly wet myself.”
Jasmine curled a weak smile. “That would have been bad.”
“Unfortunately, it wouldn’t have been the first time.” Adeline patted her belly with a smile. “She’s making me ruin almost half my underwear.”
“Want me to walk you back?”
Adeline rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so anxious to get rid of me, Jaxie.”
“I didn’t-”
“I’m messing with you,” the woman smiled, then settled into a little bit more comfortable of a position. “Now finish your sandwich. We’ve got about forty-five minutes before your father’s scheduled to arrive and he gets the rundown of what’s happening. We’ll also get the debriefing on any further updates since yesterday, so we’ll both need to get going soon enough. Eat up.”
There were way too many people crammed into the comparatively small office. Jasmine was standing off to the side and leaning against the wall, opting not to sit in one of the several chairs that had been moved in- ones that were almost all filled.
Alex.
Nima.
Claire.
Meghan.
The heavily-pregnant Adeline.
Dad, in his wheelchair and wringing his hands.
Professor Kull, and last but certainly not least;
Professor Konderlacht- the superintendent of Marrix. She was an intimidating figure through position alone, especially when seated behind the desk alongside the dean of Sector Saez. Her voice was firm and commanding, but held an edge of softness when directed towards the grieving father.
“We are terribly sorry for what has and is transpiring, but we appreciate your being here, Mr. Kerrot. You are the legal guardian of Miss Kadell?”
Dad nodded, and the sight nearly broke Jasmine. She could see it in his eyes- he was trying so hard to keep it together.
“Yeah- Yes. Yes, ma’am. She- umm…” Dad sniffled and wiped his nose. “Her father was a member of the Syndicate, but she passed away many years ago.”
Professor Kull looked over a sheet of paper. “Abigail Richard Kadell, fourteenth level Sharpshooter, officially reported Killed in Action on the twelfth of Cabalos during the Syndicate’s attempt to retake Hailfire Island in the Jurshi Archipelago a little over twelve years ago. Married to one Rebecca Reik Kadell, who committed suicide less than a week after hearing about the death of her wife and father of their only child, Eris Limeen Kadell. Eris was then placed into the care of Rebecca Kadell’s ex husband- with whom they were still on good terms-, Mr. Frank Levigne Kerrot and his wife Lizbeth Triss Kerrot to be raised alongside their own daughter Jasmine Daisy Kerrot.”
Dad nodded and cleared his throat. “Yes, ma’am. Lizzie- Lizbeth, passed less than a year after we took custody of Eris and I’ve been doing this on my own ever since. Even though she isn’t biologically mine, I see Eris as much my daughter as Jasmine.”
Jasmine could see the way Dad was gripping the arm of his chair. He was angry. He was mourning. Jasmine understood perfectly- she was, too.
“Then a week and a half after my two girls come to this school, a messenger from the Syndicate shows up at my door and says there’s been an incident and that he isn’t even allowed to tell me what’s going on? That I’m supposed to pack everything and completely move out of my house to be temporarily relocated to Marrix, and spend days on end during the travel wondering what in the world happened to my little girls?”
Professor Konderlacht crossed her hands. “Again, we would like to apologize, but we hope you understand the brevity of the situation at hand. It revolves entirely around extremely classified information that the Syndicate would prefer to keep a secret to everyone not directly involved with our operations. The Syndicate didn’t want to risk information getting out by telling you during your travels with the potential of eavesdropping, and would rather inform you of everything when you were here in Marrix.”
Dad’s voice lowered several pitches as he let out a shaky sigh. “Well, I’m here. Now please, I need you to tell me- is my daughter alive?”
Professor Kull nodded. “We believe so, yes.”
Jasmine had to turn her face away and idly wipe the corner of her eye at the sight of Dad’s tense response. “You ‘believe’ so?” he asked.
“The situation is complicated, Mr. Kerrot.”
“Then un-complicate it, sir.” Dad practically growled.
“Dad…” Jasmine warned, but Professor Konderlacht lifted a hand to stop her before clearing her throat.
“Then we shall start at the very beginning. Twenty-three days ago, on Eris Kadell’s eighteenth birthday and the day of her Gifting, Eris did not receive the Artisan class like she told you. Instead, Eris became an Artificer, one of the mythic classes of the world pre-Sundering, and was officially marked as not only the final Gifted, but an Echo of Demeri, the Augur. Along with that, she was given a warning that the fate of the war against the Hollow ultimately rested upon her shoulders.”
Dad’s eyes widened, which was fair considering what he was hearing. Professor Konderlacht, with her cream-coloured bun starkly contrasting her dark skin, continued.
“However, Eris also learned that in order for a mortal body to withstand and handle the power that comes with bearing a mythic class, the individual has to choose a cardinal sin and embrace it in a form of balance. They can only bring as much good as the sin they bring into themselves. Through what was apparently an accident, Eris chose the sin of Lust. Eris has progression on almost all of her abilities where nobody else has any, but in order to make her skills more powerful she needs to commit acts of Lust such as kissing and sex. Miss Kerrot and Miss Qualley learned of Eris’s secret the very same day of her Gifting and have been assisting in Eris’s efforts to gather her special energy resource known as Desire.”
Jasmine saw Alex blush a little bit and avert her gaze when Dad looked over. Still, the superintendent kept explaining.
“Upon their arrival at Marrix, Miss Kadell’s roommate was Miss Bailey Jade Geriege, estranged daughter of King Raymond Geriege and third year here at Marrix. Miss Geriege was not let in on this secret, not even when Miss Kadell managed to successfully Inspect the otherwise un-Inspectable artifact from the old world, the Obelisk. Miss Kadell’s nature as an Artificer let her discover that the Obelisk was actually a gateway to distant realms known as the Abstract of Eternity, created by seven Artificers of the old world, and was also used as a magical prison. However, the Abstract of Eternity, which we will be referring to as the Obelisk for simplicity, is severely damaged and malfunctioning, which is presumably the only reason that the Syndicate has been able to use it as a training tool for the last four hundred years.
“Meanwhile, the Syndicate discovered that any new recruits attempting to undertake the Gifting were unable to do so, as the Giftings were no longer functioning. This led us, on the day after Miss Kadell’s arrival at the school, to question her about the nature of her Gifting given that she was the last recorded person to become Gifted. Professor Kull and Lieutenant Major Elmas, the wife of Adeline here, discovered that Miss Kadell was lying, and so Lieutenant Major Elmas was sent to uncover whatever information Miss Kadell may have been hiding. Elmas managed to discover quite easily that Miss Kadell was an Artificer, and so she had been assigned to keep a very close watch over Miss Kadell to both uncover any possible information and ensure Miss Kadell’s safety.
“The night before first-year students were allowed to enter the Obelisk, circumstances and misunderstanding ultimately led to Miss Kerrot informing Miss Geriege about Miss Kadell’s nature, and therefore bringing young Bailey into the secret. That then brings us to fourteen days ago- the day that the Obelisk was opened to new students and the day the incident occurred. Unfortunately, our exact information on Miss Kadell’s location and actions on that day are relatively unknown, since Lieutenant Major Elmas was unable to report back before the incident.”
“...What happened?” Dad asked shakily. This time, Professor Kull leaned forward to share the information, gesturing towards all five of the girls.
“Jasmine Kerrot, Alexandra Qualley, Nima Gargrave, Claire Massato, and Meghan Leghume, with Jasmine and Alexandra both fully equipped with gear crafted by Eris, entered the Obelisk for their venture. By their reports, the venture began relatively normal, until they were abruptly split up and forced to complete odd challenges. Miss Gargrave was forced to read aloud a Ra’lan poem before being shown a strange vision of Eris made of pink light, Miss Kerrot and Miss Leghume had to answer a riddle about Lust, and Miss Massato and Miss Qualley had to find the answer to a puzzle about the familiar companions of the Seven- with the answer being the familiar of the very same deity that bestowed Eris as an Echo. Our reports also state that all five other delving parties that were in the possession of at least one of Eris’s crafted items upon entering the Obelisk had similar, strange experiences and puzzles where they were split up, and all seemed to revolve suspiciously around Lust, the Seven, or Eris herself. One team even reported seeing an apparition of Eris nearly identical to Miss Gargrave’s, where Eris appeared to be curled up in a ball and sleeping. Regardless, every single item crafted by Eris in the possession of one of the parties when they completed their puzzle began emitting an unending pink light.”
Professor Kull cleared his throat.
“It is our understanding that the Obelisk was reacting to Eris’s energy as an Artificer through the connection of the items she crafted, but the Obelisk was too damaged to do whatever it was intending. However, upon each of the six parties completing their challenges and being reunited, every single one of them was presented with the exact same series of phrases. ‘Four pains control the mountain fear, three storms rage for grove of war. Two people trapped for lost punish, one soul awakens the endless beast.’ By our best assumptions, the Syndicate believes that it is supposed to be some kind of prophecy, presumably about Eris. Though, we are still hard at work with our best scholars to try and decipher exactly what it entails and have no solid leads at this moment in time.”
Dad visibly steadied himself. “What happened to Eris?”
Professor Kull hesitated, then swallowed.
“Again, we aren’t entirely sure given the lack of a report from the Lieutenant Major, but we have surmised that Miss Kadell and Miss Geriege spent the majority of their morning working together in their workshops, as evident by a series of items we recovered in both that were obviously made by Eris. They then appeared to have gotten lunch and ate it in the park surrounding the Obelisk. At some point, the two girls apparently walked up to the Obelisk and had a conversation, whereupon an accident occurred.”
Professor Kull adjusted in his seat.
“An alchemical concoction known as Bottled Storms accidentally erupted in the park, sending both Miss Kadell and Miss Geriege colliding with the Obelisk and consequently getting pulled into one of the realms. At the same time, witnesses reported that Lieutenant Major Elmas seemingly attempted to aid them, but in doing so, appeared to have been pulled into the Obelisk as well despite maintaining no physical contact with Kadell or Geriege. It is our assumption that Eris accidentally forced Elmas into the Obelisk alongside her and Miss Geriege with her capabilities as an Artificer. The instant the three vanished, the Obelisk seemed to retaliate in some way, immediately ejecting every single Syndicate member that had been inside at the time, before subsequently becoming covered in pink light much like Eris’s items that had been brought into the Obelisk.”
The office was quiet for a moment. When Dad seemed to find his voice, it was strained. “Did you try sending in people after them?”
This time, Professor Konderlacht gave a respectful nod.
“By our understanding of the Obelisk, it is theoretically impossible for any individuals to ever come across each other after entering the Obelisk, unless they were maintaining physical contact upon entry. Even if it was a miniscule chance, the Syndicate was willing to attempt having one individual bear as many of Miss Kadell’s crafted items as possible and hope that the magical connection was enough to potentially send them to the same location as Miss Kadell, Miss Geriege and Lieutenant Major Elmas.”
“Why didn’t you?” Dad asked. The superintendent let out a breath.
“Because immediately after the incident occurred, the Obelisk appeared to be- for lack of a better term- ‘locked’. Any who touched it were no longer transported elsewhere. Even our attempts at having someone bearing Miss Kadell’s crafts touch the Obelisk yielded no results. As of this point, there does not appear to be anything that the Syndicate can do from this side of the Obelisk.”
“And they’ve been stuck in there this whole time? For two weeks?!”
“Dad,” Jasmine said softly, walking over to gently hold onto one of his hands. “That’s not the worst part…”
Dad looked horrifically back towards the two figures sitting behind the desk, to which Professor Kull sighed.
“Lieutenant Major Leyla Ernaline Elmas is a member of the Syndicate Specialist Reserve, a subdivision of the Syndicate that contains exceptional and highly-trained individuals that perform extremely precise operations or tasks with little room for error. Elmas is more than capable of not only clearing any challenge the Obelisk throws at her with a speed and efficiency most parties can only dream of, but also ensuring the safety of both Miss Kadell and Miss Geriege as she does so. The simple fact that they did not re-emerge from the Obelisk by the end of the first day has led to our scholars believing that Miss Kadell’s very presence in the Obelisk led to an outcome that isn’t normal in the slightest.”
“How do you know they’re still alive?”
“We don’t know entirely for sure because we are dealing with magic we still do not understand, but the fact that the Obelisk and all of Miss Kadell’s crafted items continue to glow pink seems to imply that Eris, at the very least, is still alive. Since she would be completely incapable of surviving something like the Obelisk on her own in a normal circumstance, it is very reasonable to believe that Lieutenant Major Elmas is still alive and protecting her. Since Elmas is likely still alive, then there is no reason to believe that Miss Geriege would have passed either, since the Lieutenant Major is more than capable of ensuring both their safeties. However, that brings us to the matter at hand, and our theories on why they have not returned.”
Dad squeezed Jasmine’s hand, but ultimately stayed quiet so Professor Kull could continue.
“We have little in the way of solid proof, but we believe that Elmas, Miss Kadell, and Miss Geriege are trapped in one of the Obelisk’s designated ‘Prison Realms’, from which there is apparently no way to exit.”
Jasmine watched the colour drain from Dad’s face and his grip got even tighter. However, before he could say anything, Konderlacht spoke up quickly.
“However, it has been proven that the Obelisk, in its highly damaged state, is actively malfunctioning. Supposedly, nobody but Miss Kadell should even be capable of using the Obelisk, yet the Syndicate has been using it as a vital part of our operations for centuries. Given the fact that Miss Kadell is an Artificer herself, it is entirely possible that she may just be able to find a way to bypass the enchantment preventing their escape and allow the three of them to exit.
“In the meantime, all Syndicate members and students have been informed about Eris, her potential as the key in our war against the Hollow, and are expressly forbidden from sharing that information with any non-Syndicate personnel. Furthermore, the Obelisk is off-limits to all non-vital individuals, is being carefully monitored by multiple battalions of battle-ready Syndicate soldiers at all times, and all inhabitants of Marrix are to be ready for evacuation and/or combat events at a moment’s notice.”
Dad’s eyes narrowed. “Evacuation?” The superintendent nodded.
“Miss Kadell appears to be a smart girl, so she is almost certainly aware that she may need to bypass the enchantment making prison realms one-way. However, the Obelisk is extremely damaged and much of the magic is already malfunctioning. If Miss Kadell tampers with the magic further, we are preparing for the result that it may end up completely destroying the enchantment that keeps the prison realms locked. In that circumstance, all those doors open directly in the center of Marrix.”
“So just to be clear-” Dad began hesitantly, “-if Eris and the others manage to escape the Obelisk…”
Professor Kull’s voice steeled. “Then there is a non-zero chance that every single person, creature or thing that was locked away in the Obelisk and is somehow still alive after all this time may end up escaping as well.”