Chương 27: Chapter 26: Weight of the Words Unsaid

The wards around the containment ring unraveled like silk threads loosening under a sudden draft. The stone was oddly warm. Fabrisse didn't think the heat was magical, but more like the kind of warmth one felt when they held onto something for too long. It had human warmth. The stone was also denser and more weighty somehow, but he couldn't tell if it was that different from a normal Stupenstone. Then the System whispered.

[Stupenstone Reclaimed — Emotional Loop Established] Emotional Memory Recovered: Determined Shame Rarity: Rare (Soulbound to Fabrisse Kestovar) Passive Effect: Shameflare-Linked Utility +3 DEX, +3 Inventory Slots when Equipped [Celestial Hoarding] +7 DEX while casting spells charged with Shame It has an effect now? This hasn't shown up before. In fact, a Stupenstone aiding a caster with anything at all is unprecedented. Also… Extra inventory slots? That... wasn't how this was supposed to work.

It wasn't as though he could stuff more than fifty Stupenstones into his satchel even if the Eidralith felt generous enough to count higher. As far as he understood it, that was simply how much he could carry. So what did this mean? Did the stone somehow weigh less than it should? Was it making him stronger? Expanding... whatever space the Eidralith used to hold his hoard? None of those explanations made any sense. He hadn't performed any further alchemical test on this stone beyond what he'd done in the lab.

How had it awakened new effects? [QUEST PARTIALLY COMPLETED: "Weight of the Words Unsaid"] Objective Completed: Bind with the object Objective Remaining: Exit the Chamber with the Stupenstone you abandoned during the Eidralith ceremony A flash crossed behind his eyes. A failed charm spell in his first year of Basic Thaumaturgy I. The laughter. The heat in his ears. The sound of parchment tearing when he'd crumpled his own notes afterward. The shame was distant now, but still sharp-edged.

Again, this Stupenstone used shame to boost casting parameters. That was structurally wrong. Shame was an useless emotion that the Synod didn't teach in their curriculum. It didn't do anything but weaken the casting power of a spell. This was a new discovery beyond anything he'd ever been taught. But first things first… Bringing the stone back and finishing the quest. Maybe the new spell Stupenstone Fling could tell him a thing or two about—"You've been standing still for a very long time," someone said.

"Did it knock you into a trance, or were you composing a stanza again?" Fabrisse quickly turned and slid the stone into his sleeve. Severa was a few steps away from him with folded arms and a rather judgmental look.

"… It's nothing," he said. That was definitely the wrong answer. Her eyes narrowed.

"Oh, please. I am already aware you've used me to gain access here. I have tolerated it. Do not now insult me by pretending there is nothing of interest." Fabrisse's thoughts tripped over themselves. He couldn't say'a voice inside my head tells me to do it'. He couldn't say'emotional loop established' without sounding unstable. He couldn't say anything. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"If you couldn't find anything remotely fascinating to share, I'll dissect it." She took a step closer and brought a hand forward.

"Hand me the rock." Fabrisse winced. There it was—the point of failure. If he wanted to walk out of here with the stone, 'nothing' wasn't going to survive another sentence..

"…It holds aetheric components I've never seen before," he said.

"It reacts to… specific emotional states in a way that's observable."

"Which emotion?" she asked.

"... Shame."

"Ah. Of course." She paused enough to make her feel uncomfortable. Then, she said again, "Is there anything else this rock can do that might be relevant to binding with the Eidralith?"

"Not that I'm aware of," he said. That part was the truth.

"But it did bind with me during the Eidralith event. This must've been the trigger. So whatever mechanism allowed that interaction—this stone is part of it." This part was just out of his bum.

"Hmm… We could replicate the trigger by inducing parallel memories and creating a layered imprint." Which, frankly, he had no idea how to do. He wasn't even sure Severa could cast memory-binding spells at that level. That kind of work bordered on advanced cognitive Thaumaturgy—something only a Magus Exemplar or higher could reliably perform. They were mages so far above ordinary instructors that most students only saw them during ceremonies. Which is great! Maybe she can realize it's impossible and give up now.

Severa lifted her head and stared at the ceiling. He winced at the thought of what she was about to say.

"My father can do it," she said. Fabrisse kept his face very, very neutral.

"Oh. Great." She gave him a slow smile.

"And you will meet him." He nearly dropped the stone again.

"Montreal—""You owe me access," she said.

"You promised something replicable. If this is a real path of attunement, then we can map it. My father will know how." Oh no. The Montreal patriarch. His sleeve felt heavier with the weight of the stone. Or maybe that was just dread.

"I—don't think that's a good idea to get more people involved," he tried.

"You want to bring the stone out of here, don't you?" She said.

"The wards will sound the moment you leave with an unregistered artifact," she said.

"And when they do, I'll simply report that I tried to stop you. Tell me, Kestovar—which of us do you imagine they'll believe?" Fabrisse didn't answer. Severa stepped closer until they were only a few inches from one another.

"Which is why," she hummed, "we do this my way. I'll even let you keep the stone afterward," she added, with an almost indulgent smile.

"Consider it a gesture of kindness. Play with your… discovery while you still can. But if you run away with it, you have no idea how much trouble you'll be in." Fabrisse didn't trust his voice, so he just nodded.

"We shall go now," she said, then headed toward the door. He followed. The moment they were outside, hand lifted, fingers tracing a shape in the air that didn't leave any visible mark. Fabrisse saw nothing. Not even a glow of aether. [Spell Cast: Obscurant Veil (Veil Thaumaturgy — Epic) — Rank IV] So she did cast a spell. She hadn't been lying about the wards. Fabrisse didn't relax until they were well down the hallway. Only then did he notice the slight tremor in his fingers. Sensory rebound.

The containment lights weren't loud, but their vibration settled wrong in his bones. He curled his fingers into his palm and released them slowly, until the shaking eased. Still, somewhere in the back of his mind, a single, treacherous thought echoed: That went too well. But he didn't say it out loud. Even he knew better than to tempt the architecture. They had scarcely gone ten paces from the containment chamber before footsteps echoed from the opposite end of the corridor.

Archmagus Rolen, with his signature bobbing ponytail. Sacred socks. Of all the people… Rolen had been the one to summon him after the Eidralith incident. He knew exactly which containment chamber the reclaimed Stupenstone had been locked inside. And now Fabrisse was walking out of it, with Severa Montreal, carrying the stone up his sleeve. This looked catastrophically guilty. He buried his hand-holding stone in his satchel.

"Stand still," Severa ordered. Rolen's eyes landed on them and brightened.

"Miss Montreal," he greeted.

"You've managed to escape your father's laboratory for an afternoon. I was beginning to suspect Mentor Rubin had started chaining you to a workbench."

"I escaped only because someone has to compensate for your department's deficiencies," Severa replied.

"Mm. A familiar accusation." That... wasn't how one normally greeted an Archmagus. Apparently they'd skipped straight to old acquaintances.

"And Mr. Kestovar," Rolen spoke again.

"Archmagus," Fabrisse managed. His rock-holding hand shook. He couldn't stop the shaking. Rolen smiled. The smile was not reassuring. Then he turned back to Severa and asked, "So, did the two of you find what you came looking for?" Severa answered without hesitation.

"We found enough."

"I see. I daresay you've lingered here long enough. Containment corridors are rarely private for long, and I'd hate for someone to arrive asking awkward questions." Severa inclined her head.

"As would I."

"Good." Rolen gestured toward the stairwell.

"Off you go." As Fabrisse hurried after Severa, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd just witnessed an entire conversation whose language he didn't speak. Rolen knew. He must have known. And he was just letting them go like that. Fabrisse knew he was responsible for ensuring the Stupenstone remained in containment as well. If he inspected Chamber Seven in a few minutes, he'd know immediately that they'd taken it. Something didn't add up.

Fabrisse could feel Rolen watching the back of them until they disappeared around the corner. As they turned the corner, he heard the archmagus whistling.