50: Stress
Alexandra adjusted the straps on her shield once again to try and change the angle from which it hung off her arm. If she had it tightened properly, then the shield would sit straight perpendicular to her forearm like it should. However, she preferred a very slight angle that tilted the mass a little bit more in line with her arm. Nothing that ultimately changed anything about how it functioned to protect her, but it was what Alexandra was used to. After all, ever since the first shields Eris tried making back in that distillery were a little bit off-kilter, it meant that was what Alexandra had trained with for years.
Alexandra let her shoulders slump just a little bit with a frown. Eris.
Even after learning how to properly make a shield, the girl continued making any for Alexandra specifically with the tilted angle. It was such a small thing. A simple gesture between friends, like remembering each other’s birthday. But now, fighting against this nonmagical Marrix-provided training shield made a bittersweet warmth pour into her chest amidst the war raging in her head.
Fuck, she just threw everything away.
No, she just stated what she wanted.
She still doesn’t know what she wanted, but it couldn’t have been this.
At least it doesn’t hurt as much.
Alexandra sighed, picked her training sword up off the ground, then walked over to a nearby bench and sat down. She couldn’t argue against that point. Being the third wheel in Eris and Jaxie’s relationship felt like a knife in the gut every time she thought about it. To care about them so much but know that she’d never be on that same pedestal they put each other on. It was akin to plucking a live chicken every time it was fed- no matter the pain the chicken would always come back for the food.
Now, thinking about it wasn’t as bad. It still hurt, especially the thought that they’d have to have this whole conversation again when Eris gets out of the Obelisk, but there was another feeling in Alexandra’s chest. Solidarity. Even though breaking up with Jaxie and Eris sucked, Alexandra knew that it was ultimately for the best- not only for her, but for them, too.
An open relationship was perfectly fine, and Alexandra was more than a little excited to keep being a part of it. Jaxie and Eris were hot- any chance to use a Desire gathering session and keep getting to have sex with them was a delight that warmed her mind. But a poly relationship wasn’t in the cards. Not for them. They were too important to each other to even consider entertaining the idea of pretending that a third person could join that mixture and not be an outsider.
Alexandra let out a sad sigh, brushed a lock of blonde hair back that had come loose from her ponytail, then glanced around.
The Hazard Training Room was bustling around her. These last two weeks have probably seen the facility get more use than it did during an entire semester- what with the Obelisk locked up. Hundreds upon hundreds of students were scattered about, practicing their fighting styles and keeping their muscle memory intact now that they couldn’t go into the Obelisk to further their progression. She could only imagine that the HTRs in each of the other sectors were just like this. People training because they didn’t know what else to do, and almost none of them able to get any proper progression because they weren’t fighting a genuine threat.
The entire school held at a standstill because the Obelisk was locked.
Alexandra was about to look down and fiddle with the stupid shield straps again before:
“Yoo, Alex!”
The Knight glanced up to see two figures strolling towards her, the taller of the two being led by a very earnest, shorter figure. In fact, Meghan was leading a blushing Claire by the hand. Claire was wearing casual clothing- jeans and a loose shirt. Meghan had once again decided on ‘extra-casual’, since she was still wearing pajama bottoms and a tank top with flip-flops. Judging by the tussled mess of her hair, she may quite literally have rolled out of bed and straight into her day.
“What are you two doing here? Aren’t you in sector Fura?” Alexandra raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah,” Meghan said chipperly. “But we wanted to ask if you were down to have an orgy tonight.”
Claire choked on her spit and started hacking. Alexandra’s eyes just went wide as her brain struggled to comprehend what the FUCK the Shaman just said.
“Uhh, excuse me?”
Meghan smiled. “Right, context. Well, Claire and I hooked up last night after getting back from the dinner with your Dad and Addy-”
“Meg!” Claire squeaked, face turning bright red. Meghan looked back, rolled her eyes wide with a smile, then took the hand she was holding and put her other overtop it to fully grip onto Claire’s.
“Aww, there’s no need to be embarrassed- especially around Alex. I mean, one of her girlfriends is literally fueled with the magic of sex.”
Frost formed around the inside of Alexandra’s chest. Before she could say anything, Meghan turned back to face her with a grin.
“Anyways, we fucked, but we’re still not sure whether we want it to be a ‘girlfriend’ thing or a ‘friends with benefits’ thing. Claire then had a great idea of hooking up with other people to see how it feels-”
“It was a joke!” Claire moaned. Meghan continued.
“And I just so happened to hear from a friend about an orgy that’s gonna be happening tonight in sector Teer. Apparently, the entire fourth and fifth floors of dorm number eight have teamed up and decided to throw a big party for the entire sector, but they aren’t stingy if other people want to join in. All doors are open, all genders welcome, and snacks and drinks are being provided on the house. I’ve also heard that a couple of Alchemists are gonna be providing free shots of birth control potions, so everyone can kinda just go nuts. And bust nuts.”
Meghan pulled Claire along and both of them sat down on the bench right beside Alexandra. The Shaman was all smiles while the Evoker looked like she was going to pass a stone.
“Well, Claire said it sounded like fun, and then I thought that you and Jaxie might like to tag along. I mean, the entire thing is kinda being done specifically so that people can relax for a night and relieve some stress that’s built up from all the shit going on, and you and Jaxie seem like you’d probably have the most stress out of everyone because of Eris being MIA. Nobody’s gonna know us, especially since we’re all gonna be from outside the sector, no commitments need to be made, and everyone’s just gonna be there to have some guilt-free fun.”
Meanwhile, Alexandra felt her face heating up. How could Meghan talk about something like this so casually? At the very least, she could have been whispering so that nobody nearby could hear about Alexandra getting invited to an orgy. Though, a glance around showed that there really wasn’t anyone else in proximity. Alexandra had already chosen a spot that was a bit out of the way and away from others, which just so happened to make this conversation all but completely private. Still, it was embarrassing.
Not as embarrassing as when Alexandra found herself giving a small nod after a few seconds.
“Uhh… sure. Why not?”
Meghan smiled. “That’s the spirit! Remember- sector Teer, dorm eight, fourth and fifth floors. Sundown ‘till sunup, and no shame or judgement.”
Alexandra tensed a little bit when Meghan then placed a hand on the Knight’s thigh- a little bit too high to simply be ‘friendly’. The redhead winked. “I’ll be looking for you two. We can call it ‘team bonding’.”
Alexandra awkwardly fingered the leather straps holding her shield in place. Meghan just laughed as she stood up with a roll of her eyes.
“You don’t have to make a big deal out of it- we’re already trusting each other with our lives, and I’m pretty sure we’re all gonna be having sex with Eris eventually because of her Desire stuff. Us fucking shouldn’t be a problem.”
Claire held her face in one hand. “Can’t you be just a teeny bit more tactful?”
“With strangers, yeah.” Meghan chuckled. “But with friends? Nah- I’m good.”
The Shaman then leaned in a little bit and lowered her voice just a touch. Not enough to keep Claire from hearing, but certainly enough to give the impression of sharing a secret.
“I’m a-okay with doing butt stuff. Also, do you know where Jaxie is so we can go invite her?”
Alexandra had to blink a few times from the whiplash of the sudden question change, but managed to stammer uncomfortably. “I- uhh… probably her dorm?”
“Cool. Which one is that?”
“Umm… thirteen fourty-seven?”
“Lovely,” Meghan smiled and stood back up straight with her hands on her hips. “Alright Sparklefingers, let’s go find a tall, hot, muscular Berserker and invite her to rage-fuck us.”
Claire blushed, but gave a small parting wave to Alexandra while turning and following Meghan who began swiftly walking away. Alexandra did overhear Claire leaning in and muttering to the Shaman. “Are we going to go ask Nima?”
Meghan audibly scoffed. “You want to go to the person that has no idea how to interact with people at a basic level, and invite her to an orgy?”
Claire winced. “Right- maybe that’s not a good idea.”
The pair were getting a bit farther away, but Meghan did laugh. “Yeah, but it’s really fuckin’ funny.” The redhead then jumped excitedly. “Ooh! Let’s invite her but not tell her it’s an orgy. Let’s tell her it’s a costume party or something.”
Alexandra could only look down at her feet with wide eyes.
What the fuck?
Grace chewed on the end of her pencil, staring hard at the lust-infused war axe resting on the table. She wasn’t even trying to Inspect it- she’d done that many times over the last two weeks after it was found in Miss Kadell’s shop and during the studies to determine every possible scrap of information about it. She knew everything it did, forward and back. Well, not everything. Specific testers and volunteers did some parts of the analysis in privacy, for obvious reasons, but Grace knew all of the results second-hand. They were documented and studied for days, just like the lust-infused penis potions found in Miss Geriege’s shop.
Instead, Grace was staring while subsequently lost in thought, one finger idly tapping on the table and the various notes scattered about.
At least ninety percent of the magical artifacts of the old world were completely un-Inspectable, and the few that could be Inspected were moderately weak weapons or pieces of armour that were too damaged by time to properly use. Both had all but been proven as being created by the old Artificers, but then why were so many of them un-Inspectable like the Obelisk? Obviously, Miss Kadell was able to Inspect the Obelisk when nobody else could because of her nature as an Artificer, which meant she should be able to Inspect the dozens of rusted, broken relics locked away for safekeeping and give the research divisions some good information. With luck, she might even be able to make them function again and really turn the tide of the war.
However, what were the differences between them all that determined if they could or couldn’t be Inspected? Was it a difference of raw power- that the items were so completely filled with magical energy that only an Echo could Inspect them, or was it something special only to Artificers specifically? Likely the second- the running theory in the division was that after the old Artificers became strong enough, they could keep non-Artificers from Inspecting their creations. If that was the case, then it was almost certainly some kind of skill that Artificers got to allow it, much like all crafters and their Enchanter skill to place enchantments on their crafts based on the crafting materials. Even if all Artificers were different, for the Inspection-blocking to be so prevalent on almost every single magical item from the old world, the skill had to be one that almost every Artificer got, if not all of them.
Grace’s eyes flicked over to another item sitting off to the side- an iron helmet that was glowing brightly from pink spiderwebs of light wrapped tight around the entire thing. The helmet that Miss Qualley had been wearing during her party’s adventure into the Obelisk.
An ordinary, non-lust-infused helmet that functioned identically despite the light emanating from it, and a lust-empowered war axe that sat dark and dim. Each of Miss Kadell’s creations that entered the Obelisk began to glow, but only after each of the respective parties bearing one or more of them solved puzzles relating to lust or the Seven- and that was before Eris herself was knocked inside.
The magic of the Obelisk was reacting to Eris in such a potent way. Was that a side effect of the Obelisk being so damaged, or was it intended to have that connection with all Artificers? Regardless of which was the case, why had experiments done years ago to bring magical artifacts from the old world into the Obelisk never produced such results before? Items presumably made by Artificers brought into the Obelisk with absolutely no abnormalities occurring, yet Miss Kadell’s items reacting almost violently.
Surely that was just because the girl was alive, right? The Obelisk wasn’t reacting to her magic- it was reacting to her active, living presence through the items she made. Those items then reacted to the Obelisk acting up, making them glow as they are.
Grace brushed a lock of black hair behind her ear and sighed. There was just so much they didn’t know, and too many questions all asking ‘Why’?
Like, if Miss Kadell’s crafts caused puzzles and prophecies to appear, why did Miss Kadell herself entering the Obelisk cause it to completely lock up and imprison her? Was it too damaged? Were Miss Kadell’s items just enough of her energy to influence the Obelisk, but her entire presence was too overwhelming for the broken magic? If that was the case, then why did it lock up at all? If Miss Kadell’s energy was too much for the Obelisk to handle, then surely it would have the opposite effect and break the enchantments more, not keep other people out like it was originally supposed to-
Wait.
Grace stiffened in her chair, sitting up a little straighter as her mind raced. Before long, she found herself standing, walking out of the observation room entirely and rapidly stepping through hallways, up stairs, and knocking on a closed office door.
“Enter,” came the voice from within. Grace opened the door, to which Major General Kull glanced up from his desk with a curious look. “Private McMerkel, aren’t you supposed to be monitoring Miss Kadell’s creations in case of any change?”
Grace nodded hastily, bringing her hands in an official stance down by her sides. “Err, yes? But they’ve been the exact same for two weeks and I think I might have maybe thought of something that maybe nobody else might have thought of.”
The dean remained flat-faced. “Private, simplify your sentence, drop half a dozen uncertain adverbs, then say it again.”
“Uhh, yes sir.” Grace cleared her throat. “I have a theory about Miss Kadell’s interactions with the Obelisk I believe nobody else has considered. Whether or not it’s true is questionable, but it may give us a new angle of thinking to try and solve this problem or even help us deal with old world artifacts moving forward.”
Kull nodded, then leaned back in his seat. “At ease. Explain your theory.”
Grace relaxed her posture.
“Okay, we’ve been operating under the theory that Miss Kadell is making a broken Obelisk screw up even more- that’s why having her items go inside made the students get weird puzzles and visions and a prophecy, and Eris herself going inside made it light up and lock, right?”
“Correct.”
“Okay, but what if it was actually the opposite? What if the Obelisk is broken, and Miss Kadell’s energy interacting with it is actually fixing it?”
The Major General’s brow furrowed. “Go on…”
Grace brushed another loose bit of hair out of her face. “It’s a long shot, but one of the three enchantments that Miss Kadell Inspected from the Obelisk explicitly states that unauthorized individuals can’t even use the thing. However, the Syndicate’s been using it for four hundred years, so that enchantment clearly isn’t working anymore. However, as soon as Kadell went inside of it and their energies got all mixed up, the Obelisk locked and none of us can enter- exactly like the enchantment suggests it should have already been able to do.”
Kull rubbed his chin with one hand, visibly thinking. “Interesting…”
“Now, I still have no idea why the Obelisk made Kadell’s items start glowing,” Grace spoke quickly, “but I think that since the Obelisk was made with the souls of Artificers, it somehow detected Kadell’s Artificer energy and is borrowing it to supplement the magic it had already lost. That’s letting it reinforce the broken enchantment preventing unauthorized use, which would also explain why every single student inside at the time was instantly kicked out all at once. Eris is making the Obelisk work as it’s supposed to- not how we’ve been using it.”
“If Miss Kadell’s energy is indeed fixing the Obelisk’s malfunctions,” the Major General began, “do you believe that it would also be strengthening the enchantment that keeps her from escaping a prison realm?”
Grace paused, then gave an uncertain nod. “Presumably, sir.”
“And what is your proposition on how we can use this theory to try and rescue her from our position outside the Obelisk?”
The researcher wrung her hands nervously. “I… I didn’t think that far ahead, sir. I thought of this just a few minutes ago and wanted to make sure it was put into consideration in case it helped with anything.”
“I see…” the dean nodded thoughtfully. The room was silent for a number of moments before he spoke.
“As uncertain as it is, this theory is still a candle while we’re shooting in the dark. I’ll ensure that the options are considered by the research division, and they can get to work on brainstorming ideas. Is that all, Private?”
Grace nodded quickly. “Uhh- yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
“Good.” Kull turned his attention back down to his desk, grabbing a new sheet of parchment and beginning to quickly write something down. “I’ll write up this theory and hand over the report. In the meantime, return to your duties and continue watching Miss Kadell’s crafts. They may very well be our one and only indication of her well-being in the Obelisk.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Major General spoke without looking up at Grace. “Dismissed. Close the door on your way out, McMerkel.”