B2 | Chapter 36 - Mysterious Object

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B2 | Chapter 36 - Mysterious Object

It was a dome. Just sitting there like it had always been there, waiting for them to stumble across it like idiots.

It was pitch black and nothing reflected off it. It had smooth walls, curved like an egg. Like something had been born here and left its shell behind. Warm, too, which was the worst part. Everything else in this place was cold, but this thing was practically humming with heat.

Which it probably was, knowing his luck. Even though he hadn't touched it yet. He was waiting on Jack.

"You're staring at it like it owes you money."

"Always so helpful with your observations, Roland."

"I try."

Theodore rolled his eyse. "As for staring, I'm not staring. I'm observing. There's a difference."

"Is there?" Roland tilted his head.

"Yes."

"Huh. I don't know. Because from where I'm standing, you look like you're trying to set it on fire with your mind."

"If I could set things on fire with my mind, Roland, we wouldn't be having this conversation. We'd be having a very different conversation."

Roland blinked. "I mean, you CAN set things… on fire… with your mind…"

Theodore groaned.

"Do you have anything productive to add?"

"No, not really. That's why I am being difficult." Roland smiled.

"You're not usually like this. What's the occasion?"

"You need to chill, that's why."

"What do you mean?"

"I think you're kind of traumatized by whatever happened with the Night Whispers."

"Huh."

"I mean, you're human, no? It happens."

"I guess so. So what does that have anything to do with this?"

"You're expecting something bad to happen. That's why I am being difficult to distract you."

Theodore looked at Roland's grin, dryly.

"So, what's your theory on this one?" He asked sarcastically.

"My theory? My theory is that it's going to cause us an enormous amount of trouble and probably get someone killed in the process."

Theodore's eye twitched. "And you said I am expecting something  bad to happen."

"You are, so am I, but we are both doing it for different reasons."

"Whatever. Where did these things even come from? Did someone just wake up one morning and think, hey, you know what this world needs? More mysterious fucking domes."

"Well, here comes Jack. So he'll probably have something to say about that. Right on schedule. Looking like death warmed over and twice as eager."

Jack arrived, looking exactly how Theodore expected him to.

Hollow-eyed, check. Poorly slept, double check. Absolutely vibrating with curiosity like a tuning fork someone had struck too hard. The man never met a mystery he didn't want to dissect with his bare hands. Probably literally, if given the chance.

"Welcome," said Theodore.

They stood around it like it was a campfire. Like they were going to roast marshmallows and sing songs. Except the fire was potentially magical and definitely wrong and might eat their faces if they got too close.

They discussed potential things to do, and then they took action. Jack went first, of course. Hands hovering like he was blessing the damn thing. Then pressing, palms flat against that too-smooth surface. Like petting a snake to see if it would bite.

Jack used several skills and spells to assess the object, and then after minutes of looking into it he turned to face them.

"It's blank," Jack murmured. "No readable signature. No magical fingerprint. It's resistant to everything. Like it's ignoring me."

Of course it was ignoring him. Why wouldn't it? Maybe it only talked to domes. Maybe it was shy.

I need some sleep, Theodore thought, sighed, frowned and activated [Arcane Awareness].

Nothing inside. Now that was unsettling. Objects this big usually radiated something. They had presence. They took up space in more ways than one. But this thing was a void aside from the heat it radiated.

When he tried pushing mana in—

Oh.

Oh, that was a mistake.

Biggest mistake he'd made all week, and that was saying something.

The dome drank it, fast and voracious. Like it had been dying of thirst and he'd just offered it the first drink it had seen in centuries. Like feeding a starving man soup with your bare hands, except the man was made of nothing and the soup was part of your soul.

Theodore jerked back, teeth clenched, breath sharp. Heart hammering like he'd run a mile. Sweat on his forehead despite the cold.

It hadn't hurt exactly, but it had felt wrong. Unclean. Like being touched on the inside by something with too many fingers. Something that shouldn't have fingers at all.

Something that definitely shouldn't be touching.

Jack saw it immediately, naturally. The man had eyes like a hawk when it came to magical fuckery.

"Let me worry about this, Lord Theodore," he said. He looked exhausted. "I need some time alone anyway."

Of course Jack needed time alone with the mysterious magical dome that ate mana like candy.

What could possibly go wrong?

Theodore nodded and left him to it.

***

He returned to the problem of the land.

Back in his office, he had a box full of soil ready to be experimented on. Theodore pressed his palm against the contaminated soil sample for what had to be the twentieth time today, activating [Healing Touch]. The familiar warmth spread through his hand, and he watched with satisfaction as the sickly gray coloration began to fade from the dirt, replaced by something that looked closer to actual healthy soil.

For about thirty seconds, anyway.

Then the contamination crept back in, like watching ink spread through water in reverse. The soil darkened again, that unnatural gray tinge returning as if his healing had never happened at all. Theodore pulled his hand back and stared at the sample with the kind of frustration that made him want to throw something.

He'd been at this for a lot of time now, trying every approach he could think of. Different amounts of mana, varying the duration of contact, attempting to channel the healing energy in different ways—nothing worked beyond that initial temporary improvement.

It was maddening, really, watching his magic succeed and then fail in the span of less than a minute.

The healing touch was working, that much was obvious. The contamination responded to it, clearing away under the influence of his skill. But whatever was causing the contamination in the first place wasn't being addressed by the healing.

It was like trying to clean a wound while the thing that had caused it was still actively making it worse.

Every time his healing magic made progress, something pushed back, undoing his work with what seemed like conscious intent.

The more Theodore thought about it, the more convinced he became that there was something active in the contaminated soil. It couldn't just be residual magical energy, but an actual organism or entity of some kind. 

That would explain why healing touch worked temporarily but couldn't provide a permanent solution. He wasn't addressing the root cause, just treating the symptoms. It was like trying to cure an infection without killing the bacteria causing it—you might provide temporary relief, but the underlying problem would keep reasserting itself.

The question was, how should he go about solving something like that? His [Healing Touch] was insufficient, and he didn't have access to the kind of specialized equipment that might be needed for a more thorough analysis. He could ask Jack to take a look, but the man already had his hands full with the mysterious dome situation.

Maybe it was time to look deeper into his new affinities?

***

Theodore trudged through the frost-brittle grass toward Farmer Jed's field, already knowing he wasn't going to like whatever Jack had to report.

The dome squatted in the middle of the field like some enormous black egg that had been abandoned by whatever cosmic chicken had laid it. Theodore still couldn't get over how wrong the thing looked just sitting there, like someone had cut a hole in reality and filled it with nothing. It didn't belong in this world, didn't fit with the natural order of things, and every time Theodore looked at it he felt that familiar twist in his gut that told him this was going to become his problem whether he wanted it to be or not.

Jack was crouched beside the structure when Theodore approached, close enough that his breath was fogging against its surface.

The man looked like he'd been sleeping rough for a week, which he probably had, knowing his tendency to lose himself completely when presented with an interesting puzzle.

"Any progress, Jack?" Theodore asked, though he already suspected he knew the answer from the defeated slump of the mage's shoulders.

Jack shook his head without looking up from whatever he was doing, his frustration written in every line of his posture. "Nothing, my lord. It's as inscrutable as ever. No magic I know can penetrate its defenses or reveal its nature. Nothing can chip away at it, either."

Of course not. Theodore had been expecting as much, but hearing it confirmed still made him want to sigh. He'd been hoping Jack would have some brilliant insight.

The surface looked smooth as glass under the weak winter sunlight, perfectly black and perfectly featureless, like someone had carved a dome out of the void itself.

Theodore sighed, his shoulders sagging slightly. He approached the dome, and placed his hand against it for the first time, curious despite himself about what something that had stumped Jack so thoroughly might feel like.

The surface was cool under his palm, not unpleasantly so, the heat it had been radiating earlier was completely gone, and now it just felt normal, if a bit cold.

"What is it—"

He began, but his words caught in his throat as a familiar blue screen materialized before his eyes.

Side Quest Activated: Sever the boulder sent by Varyndros with a single strike.

Theodore felt his blood go cold as the implications of that simple sentence crashed over him like a wave of unwelcome understanding.

Varyndros had sent this thing…

"M'lord? Is everything alright?" Jack asked, and Theodore realized he'd been standing there with his hand pressed against the dome like an idiot, probably looking like he'd seen a ghost.

Which, in a way, he had. The ghost of his own peace of mind, mostly.

Theodore sighed. The last thing he needed was to explain this Quest to a man who was already working himself into an early grave trying to solve magical mysteries. Jack had enough on his plate without adding such complications to the mix.

Theodore waved the text away, and turned to Jack, schooling his expression into a mask of calm.

"It's nothing," he lied smoothly, dropping his hand from the dome. "Just... a chill. It was hot before, so I was surprised."

Jack looked skeptical but didn't press the issue. "Perhaps we should return to town, my lord."

Theodore nodded absently.

Varyndros sent this... boulder? And now wants me to sever it? Why? Why is Varyndros suddenly taking such an active interest in me?

"You go ahead, Jack," Theodore said. "I want to try one more thing."

Jack hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. "As you wish, my lord. Don't stay out too long," Jack said before he left.

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