Chapter 03

SCOUTING

PART 2

When they reached the shoreline of the bay encircling the gray pyramid jutting from the water, Jackle waited in the rear as the other two deliberated the plan. He was more of an, ‘at your command’ kind of guy, rather than one inclined to attend strategy meetings.

Cracking open his tome once again, Jackle wrapped up a rather dense overview on the history of cryptography, only to find the next section dived headfirst into abstract math concepts like roots and primes, a curveball for a man who hadn’t attended a math lecture in decades.

However knowing it was worthwhile, Jackle set to gnawing on the concepts at hand until the other two had come to a consensus on their game plan.

After a few minutes, Jackle heard the conversation die down, and closed his grimoire just as the other two settled things. Compared to Mara, the ranger was far more wary of their circumstances, or rather, it’d be more accurate to say Mara was far too relaxed. Sure, she had proposed a solid theory backed by correlating facts, but her attitude seemed almost careless in comparison to Kali’s wariness.

In the end however, it was decided that Kali would stay ashore to salvage usable scrap and document any other the mech remnants in the area. As for Mara and Jackle, they had a bit of a stroll to take.

Watching the blonde ranger set off in the opposite direction, Jackle followed the lead of their gray-haired enigma, approaching the shoreline alongside his captain, mentor, and friend.

Ten months prior, she’d shown up in his office on campus, and from the get-go, she seemed out of her gourd. But in a good way. Since, he’d been witness to many a gorgeous scene, and today was no exception. The pyramid in front of them was wreathed in morning fog, gently illuminated by the growing light of dawn, painting faint sparkles throughout the mist as it reflected off the waves beneath.

“‘Experiences only the field can show’, huh? And to think, I was just an archeology professor last year.”

“Aye, a world of difference from that musty closet you called an office. Now, at your leisure, ‘Bubble’ us up, and remember: the key to sustaining mana is consistent release. Lapses happen but don't panic, just regain focus. Measure your output and keep pace, it’s not a sprint.”

Nodding, Jackle thumbed back through his grimoire to the lecture on Mara’s ‘bubble’ spell. A pittance of a name for a spell so novel, bridging barrier spells into an entirely new category of ‘selective micro-sieves’.

Implemented as Mara had transcribed, the spell would create a permeable surface that would both restrain water while doubling as an air exchange and ambient light source. However, its hypothetical applications exceeded even further, with potential to pose as an alternative to healing magica for those not so blessed by the church.

Shaking his head at the apparent squandering of magical knowledge Mara continually flaunted, Jackle took a deep breath and silenced his mind of other thoughts, focusing only on the pages of the grimoire involved with the spell.

Weaving the pages in his mind, Jackle wound through the intricacies, the processes, and the balance of energies as he brought his attention inwards, drawing the mana of his surroundings into his being with a long and measured inhale.

With eyes snapping open, full of intent, Jackle eased the pressure from his lungs, uttering a single word under his breath as he imparted the molded mana within him upon the world.

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“Bubble.”

The single command echoed through the air as if spoken in multitudes, causing the sand beneath their feet to tremble and swirl. Whipping up into a minor whirlwind, the grains of sand danced around their feet in excitement as they gradually encircled them with a luminescent blue ring on the sand.

His mentor, Mara, leaned over to inspect the glowing particles, evaluating numerous aspects of her pupil's work simultaneously, from the execution consistency to the consistency.

Seeing the luminescence was stable, and tidal waters at their feet were no longer present, Mara stood back up, satisfied with her student’s handiwork.

“Hm… Not bad. Shall we then?”

Motioning for him to lead, Jackle took his first tentative step towards the water, and with a noticeable sense of relief, saw the blue circle follow and begin to part the waves from their path.

Sensing his excitement, Jackle fell back to his years of experience as a monk, centering his elation and anxiety until he was the embodiment of calm once more.

Behind him, Mara seemed pleased to wait for him to steady himself, but it was also readily apparent that she was continuously evaluating his performance, ready to step in at any moment, and would likely continue to do so until they were done.

Putting aside the pressure of being watched, Jackle followed his tentative first step with a deliberate second, followed by several more fueled by growing confidence until they’d reached the point where the water should have been around their waists.

Around them, the waves appeared to halt, as if held in place by a near invisible blue glass, yet what was on display was a far more ingenious than a simple barrier spell.

Permitting himself a small upturn in his mood without destabilizing his calm, Jackle proceeded to head further into the bay until they were completely enveloped in a sphere of soft blue light that kept the waters beyond at bay.

As Jackle led them further into the murky depths of the bay, he could feel his ears pop as the pressure around them continued to build, yet the strain from his spell never increased.

“Inarguably marvelous...”

“Hm? Oh, bubbling? Yeah she's been a handy tool, I use a variant to keep myself dry on rainy days.”

Casually indifferent to Jackle’s amazement, his mentor tried to play her work off as if it were some sort of upgraded umbrella, when in actuality it was revolutionary development in its own right.

“You do know this single spell flies in the face of many long held beliefs on barrier magic, right?”

Even with the testament to her work on full display around them, from pressure-agnostic resistance to continuous air cycling, all he received in response to his incredulity was a small chuckle from his mentor behind him.

Finding his calm slipping, Jackle summoned up the patience he’d misplaced and put aside his admiration and disbelief to reaffix his focus to the task at hand.

As the slope gradually leveled out, Mara would occasionally interrupt their walk to examine things half buried in the now-dry sand, a hidden benefit of the bubble spell.

By design, the magic didn’t just affect the air around them, but perfectly encapsulated them inside a sphere that continuously purged all water from its volume, with some limits to prevent ‘accidents’ with organics and sealed containers.

Despite the numerous stops they made along the way, most of what they stumbled across were just the remains of various mechanicals, usually embedded in a mixture fused sand and glass, confirming that whatever eliminated them was heat-based, and could likely be abated with ice magica in an emergency.

Around a half-hour into their ‘stroll’, Jackle found a hand tugging at his sleeve as Mara brought his attention to the finger on her lips, hushing them both as she pointed upwards.

Above their heads, perhaps twenty or thirty meters up, was the outline of a large square pillar, suspended as if fixed in place. It was easily more than a hundred meters across on both sides, and undoubtedly towered all the way to the surface, several hundred meters up.

“I’m going to take us up there, can you maintain the bubble?”

Mara's whisper was soft, barely louder than the sound of the waters around them, but Jackle heard her request without issue and nodded once as he concentrated on keeping the crushing depths from drowning them.

Beneath his feet, Jackle felt the sand solidify into stone before gently rising beneath his feet. Glancing behind him, he saw Mara had knelt down to place an open palm on the surface, but had kept her eyes locked on the construct above.

As the sounds of shifting sands carried their gradual elevation upwards, Jackle found himself sharing in his mentor’s gaze, watching as the looming structure above them was brought closer and clearer with every passing minute.

Once their ascent had brought them close enough to clear the water’s haze, Jackle saw their destination cut into the base of the enormous building. A small rectangular recess centered on the bottom of the structure, housing what could only be a door, now gradually coming into view just above them.