Chapter 294: To Learn the Results

Chapter 294: To Learn the Results

Tala couldnt remember when this unending torment had started, and she had trouble remembering anything outside of the ongoing agony.

She definitely knew that she should know what was happening.

She also somehow knew that she probably shouldnt be able to feel anything at all at the moment.

Even so, she could.

-Its your magical reinforcement and enhancement around your neural systems. They shouldnt still be feeding you pain, but they are. Tala, Im so sorry.-

Tala ignored the buzzing sound that sometimes came into her mind.

-Youre being rebuilt, and its almost done. Im sorry, but- There was a pause in the buzzing before it continued. -I think the pain is going to get worse when your nerves are actually whole once more.-

There was a solidity to her, which hadnt existed before, at least not in her memory. A support structure had been forged within her body of pain.

An unknown amount of time passed, and the pain did, indeed, grow to a crescendo.

At the final, ultimate wave of agony, Tala screamed for the first time. Again? Im sure its again.

The material around her vibrated under the force of the wail.

-Tala? Tala! Are you with me again?-

Her mind seemed to have mostly pulled itself back together, and her existence extended beyond mere pain and confusion once again.

Tala lay in a coffin that seemed to be filled so full of black muck that it came around her eyes and almost blocked her nose and mouth.

The horrible stench almost made her gag, but somehow the ability to smell again was a sweet relief sufficient enough to overcome the horror of the extreme odor, at least for the moment.

Blessedly, she seemed to have tried to throw her head back for her agonized cry, so her airways were lifted up above the level of the viscous liquid.

Even through the sludge over her eyes, she saw a bright pulse of light, and Tala flinched.

Light means magic. Magic means more pain.

Something within the black ichor changed, and it began to rush downward, flowing where it hadnt before.

-Surface tension and molecular cohesion most likely. The magics made it so this stuff could drain.- There was another moment of hesitance. -How was all of this stuff inside of you, Tala?-

Tala just groaned, trying to keep her mouth closed even though every breath through her nose brought with it the foul odor.

Soon, the box was mostly drained, and a resonant cracking came from all around her.

The box fell away, one wall hinging the lid up and away from above her.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøv€l-B1n.

There was a sickening squelch as the wood fell onto the seemingly coated floor.

The last of the gunk splashed down onto the panels, where the inscriptions on the wooden panels continued to facilitate the liquids movement through the drains in the floor of the room.

Tala simply laid there, gasping.

The light in the room caused her to twitch, but it was obviously different from the light given off by activating inscriptions. Her utter inability to do anything about the light, and the lack of harm from it, forced the knee-jerk reaction to fizzle out, and her aversion to fade.

She felt too weak to lift her arms, and she was utterly drained.

Over the months, shed gotten to a place where she could sense her reserves, at least vaguely.

They were utterly spent.

She was utterly spent.

In fact, she felt like barely a husk of herself, though she knew that the inscriptions across her body would have maintained her shape one way or another.

Her mind was fuzzy, and it almost felt like over enthusiastic musicians were playing loud, grating, monotonous music, filling the room with incessant noise.

-Tala, thats someone knocking and calling out to you.-

Oh

Mistress Tala?

Tala groaned.

It was Mistress Holly. Mistress Tala, can I come in to help?

Really? Just come in already, woman.

-You told her you didnt want assistance You arent in danger from what I can tell, so I wanted to wait for you to be ready.-

that was before; this is now. Tala groaned again, but slightly louder and in an affirmative manner.

That was apparently enough as the older woman opened the door.

There was a pause, then a gagging retch.

Oh oh, child.

Tala felt magics enact, though she couldnt quite tell what they were.

Suddenly, a stream of water shot across the room and began to sweep back and forth, presumably rinsing the black remnants away.

The cold water hit Tala, and she flinched, or at least she tried to.

Her body did not want to move. So, instead, she just groaned again. This time it was definitely not in an affirmative manner.

One moment, Mistress Tala. Ive got to get you clean of this stuff before the magics run their course. Otherwise, youll find the black discharge more pervasive than tar, and youll be finding it everywhere for weeks.

She couldnt summon the strength to protest, though she wanted to.

Why won't my arms move?

-Youve been mostly dead all day.-

Tala didnt really know how to respond to that, and in any case, it didnt help her solve her current issue.

Then, an idea came to her.

Alat!

-Yes, Tala?- The alternate interface sounded incredibly tentative.

Send her a strongly worded missive telling her how I feel about her washing.

-are you sure?-

Do it!

-Alright done.-

Good, Im going to slap that woman if this continues. She tried to move to fulfill the threat, but all that she accomplished was slightly moving one finger.

-You just wiggled your finger!- Alat was elated.

Ive always been a quick healer.

The stream of water froze in place for a moment, the Mistress Holly snorted. Mistress Tala. I am trying to help you. The woman grunted. You knew Id say that, eh?

What?

-I ended the missive telling her not to say that shes just trying to help.-

Tala snorted a laugh, slightly shaking her head at Alats antics. She approved. Then, she tried to grimace in pain. This is awful

- You just shook your head! That doesn't make you happy?-

Lyn put a calming hand on her shoulder, and Tala felt herself shudder. Tala, I dont know whats going on.

Tala turned to look at Lyn. Im trapped. It wont open.

Lyn slowly grabbed the door handle and pulled.

The door opened easily.

Tala are you okay?

Tala shook her head. No, I dont think I am, but I need to get outside. She was still too panicked to be embarrassed. She needed to get outside. Even so, she managed to get out two words as she stepped outside, Thank you.

As soon as she was out of the house, it was as if a massive weight was lifted from her, and her breathing slowed.

Her steps became a bit firmer, and she straightened, only having just realized that she was hunching.

She shivered, but not from the cold.

Yeah that was awful.

-Are you going to be okay?-

I hope so.

-Is there anything I can do?-

Let me focus on something other than that little panic attack?

-I can do that.-

Tala grimaced and found that she couldnt divert her mind too far. I think I understand now why Master Grediv would be hesitant to move towards being Reforged. I cant imagine its a pleasant process.

-It does seem like every step is more difficult in some way or another.-

Yeah. Though, it might be more accurate to say that each step is differently difficult.

Alat snorted a laugh within Talas head. -That does sound more accurate, yeah.-

The cool air was invigorating, and the slight breeze across Talas minimally clad body was helping to shake loose some of the lethargy that had been plaguing her for the last several days.

There had been quite a bit of snowfall recently, to the point that even her widened tread sunk deeply into the light, fluffy, dry powder, allowing the cool snow to fall inward and dust her bare feet.

It added to the refreshing coolness, and Tala felt a smile blossom across her face for what felt like the first time since her Refining as she turned her mind outward, and to the present moment, leaving her still fluttering internal flutters and the past aside for the moment.

Pedestrian traffic was beginning to pick up, and there were even a few vehicles about, but the streets were still mostly empty at this early hour.

The sky was still dark after all. It seemed that her sanctum matched the day-night cycle wherever she was, but as it was spring-like within Kit, the length of the days matched that time of year, rather than that of wintery Bandfast.

Tala almost diverted to get some food, but she still had an over abundance which Mistress Holly, Rane, and Lyn had brought her off and on over the last few days.

So, instead of going to a restaurant, she simply reached into Kit and pulled out a still warm breakfast sandwich.

The bread, itself, was still steaming, having come straight from the oven to be made into a sandwich. From there, it had been in one dimensional storage after another.

Ranes storage was less preserving than Kit could be, but it still let the food taste like it had been made within the last half-hour, rather than three days earlier.

She stepped carefully as she ate, making sure not to lose any of the incredibly tasty breakfast.

She had an undeniable hankering for coffee, as many of her memories made with these tastes were accompanied by the smooth power of that dark liquid, but she was not going to go down that road, at least not until her body had fully stabilized.

The first sandwich was barely the start of her feast as she walked the distance to Mistress Hollys workshop.

Unfortunately, none of the food was magically special.

Mistress Holly had explicitly told Tala to avoid even endingberries until theyd been able to test her fully to get a sense of how, exactly, the Refining had gone.

Tala pulled out her incorporator for a drink but paused with a sigh.

Incorporated water didnt really harm a Mage. All it took was a little bit of their throughput to maintain the molecules in that form until it passed through, and Tala had magic aplenty.

Even so, that would be another strain on her magic and body at this time.

Instead, she put the device back in Kit and pulled out a mug, already filled with clean, clear water.

She drained the mug in one long pull, reveling in the sweet simplicity of the water.

After placing the cup back into Kit, she patted the pouch. Thank you, Kit. That was a really excellent drink.

Kit did not respond.

The mug sent Talas thoughts spiraling off in an unpleasant direction, If I melt down a cup, purify the materials, and remake the cup, is it the same vessel?

-Obviously not, but that isnt actually what happened. In this case, the cup was separated into individual molecules and held perfectly in place while the imperfections were removed. Then, it was allowed to reconnect to the surrounding pieces, exactly where they had been.-

That sounds like the vessel would be left full of holes

-Maybe thats why it needs to be Reforged?-

Tala shuddered. Yeah Im not ready to consider that at the moment.

-As you wish. It will be interesting to hear what the test results are, right?-

Yeah. It definitely will be.

She continued to pull out food to eat while she walked the last blocks to her destination.

Tala pushed open the door and smiled at the receptionist, yet another Mage that Tala didnt recognize.

She wasnt feeling very restrained at the moment, so Tala just asked, How many different receptionists are there? I feel like Im in here all the time, and I dont often see regulars behind that desk.

The young-looking man cleared his throat, straightened his back just a bit, and smiled hesitantly. Well, this is a testing position for those who want to work with the honored Inscriptionist.

Talas eye twitched, and she opened her mouth to respond, but Mistress Holly came out into the entry hall before she could.

Master Adam, Ive told you that unnecessary flattery wont factor into my decision.

Huh, thats funny, he shares a name with Adam the guard.

-Yes, Tala, many people share names.-

Yes, Mistress Holly. Adam lowered his gaze back to the work on the desk before him.

Mistress Holly turned to Tala. It really is informative, how much you can learn about a person by how they handle such a position.

Tala grunted, starting to slowly walk towards the door to the back.

How are you doing, Mistress? There was genuine concern in the womans voice.

Tala sighed and turned to regard her. Well, before all this started, I was fine, and I suppose when this process is done, I will be again.

Mistress Hollys eye twitched as Tala tried to keep her smile back.

You might even say that soon I will be re-fine.

Out!The inscriptionist pointed at the main doorThat was a terrible pun.

Fine, fine. The smile broke through Talas features. Or should I say, Refine?

Mistress Holly shook her head. Lets get this over with. Youre going to strain something if you keep that up.

Without another word, the two women turned toward the back.

Tala didnt ask, but she leaned on the older womanjust a bitfor support.

Mistress Holly silently shifted to be of better help.

Together, they went to learn the results of their respective efforts and ordeals.