67: Communication
Moments Earlier
It was unsettling at best. Being able to stare Jaxie dead in the eyes from a single inch away- to run her fingers over the Berserker’s arms and even plant a tentative kiss on her lips, only for there to be no reaction whatsoever.
Eris could walk around Professor Kull’s office and through the assortment of bodies all packed within. Each of the Deans, as well as Professor Konderlacht, and even all five of the members of the party she was originally supposed to be the dedicated crafter for. The room was packed, yet nobody noticed Eris in the slightest- no matter if she shouted directly in their face. She could feel the fabric of their clothing and even their hair under her fingertips, but after a bit of resistance, they partially phased through her own skin- like Eris weren’t entirely real. That did make her feel a bit more comfortable about the fact that this ‘sensor’ version of herself had no clothing. It was easier to walk around a room full of people completely naked when she knew that nobody could see her.
Elmas had suggested for their first test of the Skeleton Key- and a potential attempt at communication using the secondary feature- to place the sensor in Professor Kull’s office. That made a modicum of sense. Sure, it would be easier for Eris to picture her and Bailey’s room, or even her workshop, but Elmas argued against it. After all, the Syndicate already knew that Eris was an Artificer, so both of those locations probably would have been cordoned off and picked through for absolutely anything of interest according to Elmas’s best guess. At best, they would have had someone guarding those locations, but Elmas wasn’t optimistic about it given that over two weeks had gone by.
Using the Key itself was easier than expected- though certainly disorienting. With helpful descriptions and even a rudimentary drawing from Elmas to jog Eris’s memory about the interior of Kull’s office, Eris got it to work. One moment, she was sitting down, cross-legged on the marble floor of her workshop with the Skeleton Key in front of her, with Pravala, Elmas, and Bailey each in chairs quietly around her. She hadn’t even needed to touch the Key, as soon as Eris started to try and focus on activating it, the creation began to give off a gentle gray light. All she needed to do was make sure the assortment of half-assed quick items in her lap were easily accessible for draining- just like with the Adjudication’s Altar.
A single blink later, Eris was sitting down, butt-naked, right on top of Professor Kull’s desk with Professor Konderlacht’s eyes literal inches away from her tits. Thankfully, it only took a moment of sheer panic to realise that none of the people in the room could see her. It took another moment to realise that she happened to drop in right in the middle of some kind of meeting, which was extremely fortunate. It meant that Eris could listen in and learn a lot in a matter of minutes as they discussed a back-and-forth between waiting for Eris to get herself out, and sending the five party members in after her.
At the very least, she could be grateful for the confirmation that her attempt to use Wonders of Artifice worked, since that seemed to be the central focus of this entire conversation. She could assume the skill worked given the quick boost of fifteen Desire points immediately after using it, and then a drip feed of a few more a couple minutes later. Still, confirmations were always nice. Except for the confirmation that the Syndicate was honestly considering sending the five in after her.
That was the last thing Eris wanted to happen. Not while Pravala was still alive. It was too risky.
If Eris designated them as allies, there was a good chance that Pravala wouldn’t immediately attack them, bind their souls, and inadvertently destroy their classes like she did with the sudden appearance of new guests two weeks prior.
However, Pravala had proven that she was beyond unstable. One moment, she could be calm and collected, and the next she was holding a blade against Eris’s throat and threatening to kill the only person that could help her escape. That woman was a coin flip away from making drastic decisions, and if there was even a chance that Pravala turned on Jaxie, Alex, Nima, Meghan and Claire?
No.
That couldn’t happen.
There wasn’t a single future where Pravala was allowed to live in the same space as anyone else- especially not someone Eris cared about. As much as it left a pain in her chest, Eris needed to make sure that nobody tried to come in after her. She could solve this problem on her own. She had to.
“I do wish to aid her, but my hesitancy is because a new theory has recently been brought to my attention.”
Professor Kull’s voice caught Eris’s attention, turning her focus back to the desk the man was leaning over.
“Some of our researchers are beginning to believe that the Obelisk is using Miss Kadell’s energy to… ‘repair’ itself. If that is the case, and Miss Kadell’s presence is making the Obelisk more powerful, that would include each of its enchantments- including the very one designating prison realms as one-way and is presumably preventing her from getting back. If we are to believe this, then having these five girls all now connected to Miss Kadell and containing her energy suddenly go into the Obelisk in a rescue attempt, it might just make that enchantment even harder to bypass than it already was.”
Eris narrowed her eyes. That was… something. They theorized that the Obelisk was using her to fix itself and make itself stronger? Quite a theory.
“And that’s operating under the assumption that the connection alone would even allow them to enter the Obelisk in the first place.”
Wait, what? Eris almost missed everything else the Dean said by focusing too much on that little tidbit. ‘Allow them to enter the Obelisk’? Did that mean they couldn’t enter it as of this moment? And that was because of her?
Well… shit. Things just got more complicated. Eris had been assuming that the Obelisk had been acting completely normally while the three of them had been stuck. Not only had it changed in such a drastic way, the fact that the Syndicate themselves believed it was only getting stronger was a genuine issue. The entire plan revolved around the Obelisk being heavily damaged. So much so that Eris could slip right between the cracks of the enchantment directly dedicated to preventing anyone from ever escaping a prison realm.
If Eris’s very presence was fixing those same cracks the plan was imperative on, would the plan even work?
Eris blinked, then looked back around the room. She was here, so surely she wasn’t fixing things too much, right? Although, this was only some kind of sensor transmitting her perception, and not her real self, so maybe the enchantment on the Obelisk didn’t apply? Did that mean that everything about the Skeleton Key was exempt from the restriction because it was centered on transferring senses, and not people?
Hmm, no. Even entertaining the thought was nothing but naive ambition. Stupid beyond measure. Eris would just have to hope that even if the Obelisk was getting stronger, it was still broken. Her own power along with Pravala’s boost would have to be enough to overcome it.
“And then if we do enter the Obelisk, and we manage to end up wherever Eris is, bada-bing, bada-boom, we’ve got a winner. We can help Eris out, catch up on all the weird shit that’s happened, maybe fuck a little bit since that’s kinda her deal, then magic our way out. No problem.”
Eris refocused her attention back on the enthusiastic Shaman- a twinge of fear creeping into her chest. As long as Pravala was in the picture, the five couldn’t be allowed to even consider the chance of coming in to help Eris. Although the conversation up to this point seemed to be quite anti-action and weighted towards letting Eris do her own thing, it was clear that the girls- at least Jaxie, Alex, and Meghan- were all in on diving headfirst. Knowing the first two of those three, Eris was well aware that if it was even a consideration, there wasn’t a cabbage’s chance in a pig pen that Jaxie and Alex were going to roll over and let this pass by. They would fight with everything they had to try and reach Eris. Eris sighed.
Even though Eris could walk around the office, feeling and touching and smelling and listening, she could still sense a different presence- like the mana within her but different. Intuitively, she knew it was the magic of the scrap items held in her lap- the fuel for the secondary effect whenever she chose to activate it. She wasn’t sure how much time this would give her before the projection faded, so she would need to be quick.
Eris took a deep breath, trying to ignore the fact that if this ‘sensor’ did in fact become visible as part of the projection, she was going to be nude in a room full of Syndicate officials. Instead, she focused on that esoteric energy of magic tingling under her skin. Magic that surged to the surface. They were already planning on trying to establish communication, but now it was more imperative than ever. Eris needed to ensure that it was absolutely clear;
Do. Not. Attempt. A. Rescue.
Truthfully, nothing at all seemed to change for Eris as she focused on draining the magic of her sacrificial items. The change came from everything else.
Everyone in the room immediately ducked their head, rubbed their eyes, and took instinctive steps away. Actually, Jaxie, Alex, Nima, Meghan and Claire were all shoved backwards by each of the Deans, one of which even drew a knife and pointed it in her direction. Eris did the only thing she could think of.
She held both of her hands up in a motion of surrender. That naturally left nothing on her body covered, meaning everything was on display while her voice spat out quickly.
“Don’t attack! I don’t know how much time this will last, so we need to be quick!”
“E-Eris?”
Alex’s choking throat nearly brought Eris to tears, and the expression on the blonde’s face was nothing short of pure shock and surprise. Eris fought back her own desire to sob in relief.
“Yeah, it’s me. I’m fine. We’re fine- kinda. We’re safe, at least. Listen, I’ve got a- oomf!”
Eris was cut off by a sudden surge of strength wrapping around her in a tight embrace, though the scent of Jaxie was a comfort in itself. The hug was firm enough that Eris was struggling to breathe, but that wasn’t important. Jaxie’s voice was audibly catching in the Berserker’s throat.
“What… how did you get out?”
A different voice chirped up from behind Eris- Professor Konderlacht. “Where are Miss Geriege and Lieutenant Major Elmas?”
Eris hated it, but she gently pried herself out of Jaxie’s firm hug to turn and look at the white-haired woman. Eris did, however, move her hands to cover her sensitive regions.
“They’re with me right now. We’re still in the Obelisk.”
That raised a few eyebrows, but Eris kept talking before anyone could offer a question.
“Listen, I’m not actually here! I made something based off of Elmas’s bracelet and it’s letting me project myself somewhere else so I can communicate and stuff, but I’m physically still in the Obelisk with Bailey and Elmas. Think of it like a holoarcanic projection, except I can feel and smell and interact with stuff. This isn’t going to last much longer though, and I can only do this once a day so shut up and let me talk!”
Thankfully, everyone understood and remained completely quiet. That didn’t mean Jaxie let go- the Berserker adjusted so that she was standing defensively behind Eris, with her arms wrapped around the Artificer’s naked waist. However, a thought tickled at the back of Eris’s mind. She had no idea what was happening back with her real body in the Obelisk. For all she knew, she was standing up and walking around the space, talking with people that were invisible to Pravala, Bailey and Elmas. If that was the case, anything she said, Pravala would hear. She needed to be careful. She took a deep breath.
“Okay, the three of us are in a prison realm with another Echo. She’s a Summoner of Envy named Pravala, and she’s helping me make stuff like this that’ll help us get out. Bailey and Elmas both lost their classes so they don’t have any magic anymore, but that’s a long story. There’s also about fifteen hundred other people all stuck in here that have been in here since before the Sundering, so there’s gonna be a lot of us all exiting at once.”
Eris ignored the looks of a room full of people that obviously wanted to ask a LOT of clarifying questions, and kept talking.
“The same thing that’s letting me talk like this can also theoretically make a pathway for us to get out, but the only way for me to do that is by doing the same thing I’m doing right now, but I have to cum at the exact same time as someone I’m watching on the other side. However, the sensor only lasts for ten minutes at a maximum, so we’ll have to be really quick if we’re also going to get over a thousand people through the gate.”
Eris quickly went over the rest of the talking points in her head- the ones that her and the others had determined. Nary a heartbeat passed before Eris continued.
“I have everything handled on this end, so the only thing I need all of you to do is get that side ready. I’m gonna plan for the path to open at four in the afternoon tomorrow, and we’re gonna do it at the Obelisk. The person on that side needs to cum-” Eris bit her lip, then decided absolute clarification was best. No mistaking ‘cum’ for ‘come’- not now.
“They need to orgasm at the same time as me, and we’re gonna try and do it right after I start the next sensor to make as much time as possible for the path to stay open. Like, immediately after. The moment I appear, they need to cum, because that’s what we’re going to plan on our end. Bailey says there should be some potions in her shop that can help keep people on the edge for as long as they need to, which should help for lining it up, and a lot of her customers can be asked if you need clarification on how they work. They need to be ready-”
Then it happened.
The ever-present tingle of magical energy being drained to sustain the projection snuffed out, suddenly leaving an uncomfortable itch over the surface of Eris’s skin. If that wasn’t enough, all the confirmation she needed that the effect ended happened a moment later.
Just like when the projection began, every person in the room abruptly took a half-step backwards, closed their eyes, and rubbed them hard like they were trying to dig out the last dredges of sleep. Jaxie did too, except since she had been holding Eris in a silent reverse-hug, the Berserker’s arm actually bonked the underside of Eris’s chin.
Even that was odd- Eris could feel Jaxie’s arm pass up and through her head like she weren’t there, but the impact of sudden movement hit her jaw and slammed it shut, biting down on her tongue in a way that made Eris taste blood and stumble to the floor. Meanwhile, Jaxie just took a step backwards with zero apparent knowledge that she uppercutted her girlfriend, reopening her eyes to look at her empty arms with an expression of loss that made Eris’s heart clench.
“Eris…” the Berserker squeaked.
Holding her cheek with one hand, Eris pushed herself back up off the floor. She wasn’t sure how much time was left on the sensor itself given that she’d been a silent observer for a number of minutes, but obviously, all the magical energy from her improvised crafts had been drained and thus ended the secondary effect. She was about to take a look around the room, until her face once again met the metaphysical impact of suddenly occupying the same space as something the sensor couldn’t exist inside of. Namely; an elbow.
One of the male Deans had whipped around to stand at attention in front of the desk. Right where Eris had been standing. His saluted stance with one fist held over his chest and elbow extended outwards meant that Eris was once again dropped to the floor from a ghostly impact that partially passed through her body and seemed to have no perceivable effect on the other end. Blinking tears from her eyes, Eris barely managed to pull her hand out of the way before it got crushed under a Syndicate boot, then scuttled backwards into a corner of the room away from everyone while holding a bleeding lip.
“What are your orders, Ma’am?”
The Dean who accidentally punched Eris- she was pretty sure it was the one from Sector Teer- addressed the superintendent with formality. Despite being quite young, like most of the other Deans, he was completely bald, with a shining, dark-skinned head like he had been dipped upside-down into a bowl of melted chocolate. Professor Konderlacht cleared her throat and looked over each of the Deans as all six, including Professor Kull, slid into a positional line in front of the desk to address her.
“Begin preparations around the Obelisk, and start evacuation protocols. We still don’t know if Miss Kadell’s plan is going to release other prison realms so we need to be ready. If nothing else, it seems like she is going to be escaping alongside a very large quantity of individuals with unknown alliance, so prepare to defend against hostile reactions.”
Eris watched the superintendent stare directly at Professor Kull. “Kull, have a detachment comb through Miss Geriege’s shop and procure any products that can aid in the alignment of orgasm. All of you, find any volunteers- either from graduated soldiers or high-level students still enrolled- that are willing to be stationed around the Obelisk tomorrow at the scheduled time and prepared for the required orgasm that Miss Kadell mentioned.”
In the moment of quiet that followed, three people spoke up simultaneously. Jaxie and Alex both said “We’re going to help.” Meanwhile, Nima took her own saluted stance with a chirped; “How can we assist?”
Eris watched Professor Konderlacht glance over each of the five girls, where both Meghan and Claire stepped up beside the three that spoke, then narrowed her eyes. Right before any words left Konderlacht’s mouth, Eris abruptly felt a churning. Like her stomach was rumbling on the verge of vomit, but throughout her entire body. Everything felt uncomfortable. The world went dark. Everything was quiet. She couldn’t see, she couldn’t feel. There was nothing.
Then, a split-second later, the world shifted back into focus. Except it wasn’t the office for the Dean of Sector Saez. It was a marble-carved workshop. A workshop that was seen through the poof of a blonde ponytail- just behind the concerned face held a few inches from hers. Eris blinked.
“Bailey?”
The roommate’s eyes widened in surprise, pulling back a small cloth she was holding against the lower part of Eris’s face. “You’re back? It’s done?”
Eris nodded, taking in her surroundings. Everything was exactly the same as it had been when she ‘left’, including her own position. She was still sitting cross-legged just in front of the Skeleton Key. A further check confirmed that she was still fully clothed. It was just the sensor version of her that had been naked. “Yeah, we’re good. What are you doing?”
Bailey glanced down to the rag in her hands, then at Eris’s mouth. “Oh, uh, your lip started bleeding out of nowhere, so I was just trying to keep it in check. Did it not work right? Why did it hurt you?”
Eris touched a finger to her lip, which was sensitive. Pulling back, she could see crimson on her skin and taste iron in her mouth. She swallowed.
“No, it worked perfectly. Just a weird interaction, I guess. Transmitting my sense of touch gives me some kind of limited tangibility, and I got punched by one of the Deans.”
Elmas raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“Not important,” Eris brushed it aside, then accepted Bailey’s rag to hold it on her tender jaw. “Could you guys hear what I was saying?”
Pravala’s eyes narrowed. “No. You were sitting completely still and silent until now.”
Eris nodded. Nothing she did or said through the sensor transmitted back to her real body? That could be useful… if she wasn’t already planning for Pravala to be a non-issue before Eris could even try to use the Key again. Regardless, she let out a short breath.
“I did get cut off a bit early, but I managed to not only make contact, but inform them about the basics of our plan. They’re organizing their end of things now and everything will be prepared for four-o-clock tomorrow.”
Bailey let a little smile curl at the edge of her lip. “Really? Just like that?”
The Artificer couldn’t help the grin pulling her cheek. Well, a smile was better than infuriating uncertainty of whether this would work or not.
“Yep. Tomorrow afternoon, we’re getting out of this damned place.”