Chapter 08

OBLIGATION

PART 1

As the beam of multicolored light erupted from his fingertip, Jackle felt the spell pull magnitudes more mana through him than anything he'd ever tried before. But he had little time to handle the sudden strain, as the moment it impacted Mara's beige artifact, his mind was besieged with cacophonic screeches, as if he were being assaulted by a telepathic harpie.

Gritting his teeth and focusing on tempering his mana, Jackle felt the spell slowly saturate the device with its screeching, until noise plaguing his mind finally quelled, and all that was left to do was impose his will.

Taking a second to breathe, Jackle let his mind adjust to the silence once more, his mana now enveloping every facet of the curios. He wasn't sure how it was supposed to function, but he knew it contained information, which meant he had somewhere to start at least.

“…Open”

Immediately, Jackle found his hesitancy misplaced, as the spell quickly set about interpreting and translating on his behalf, manipulating the internals of the device to activate what was needed.

In a matter of moments, the ‘Debug’ spell had triggered the small device to unfold a small compartment at the top, housing a tiny lens that lit up to project an illusion of a face that seemed almost familiar.

On display above his outstretched hand was the face of a woman that he most certainly knew, but also, didn’t. It took Jackle a moment to place why, but once he saw through the uncanny visage, it clicked.

The woman in the screen was visibly older than the Mara he knew, and considering Mara didn’t seem to age at all, that meant this one was much older. Incomparably so.

“Her sister?… No… That has to be Mara, but how?…”

Muttering to himself as he grappled with what he was looking at, Jackle tilted and rotated the illusion, trying to pry secrets from the not-quite-flat projection of his master.

“There has to be more than a still image in here… It looks like the illusion the mechanicals demonstrated in the forge, with faux depth and everything- But theirs moved… So, how do I trigger this one?…”

Thinking back to the moving illusion the mechs had shown them during their questioning, Jackle wasn't sure how to phrase what he was asking for, but as he was coming to find, the Debug spell didn't need such specific instructions.

Seemingly triggered off his recollections and desires alone, the spell tripped something within the device, and the still image came to life, accompanied by a voice that was just a hair deeper than the Mara's he knew.

“Surprise! Or not. I hope you don't think too poorly of how we age- At least I didn't of my own predecessor, but the hands of time have a way of tolling, even for us...”

The illusion of an older Mara paused as she drifted off into thought, eyes lingering on something in the distance before she continued.

“The message left for me is not the message I'm going to leave for you… Suffice to say, I have had a very rich life, full of friends and memories I could spend the rest of eternity dreaming upon, but throughout, the experience has been tainted with the bitter knowledge I will now pass on to you, as it was to me, with the confirmation of who I am.”

Suddenly locking eyes through the projection, the older Mara dropped all semblance of emotion from her face as she appeared to bore into Jackle’s very soul with her gaze.

“I am Mara Ordanavi, unintentional architect of the Cabal’s madness by the wake of my own descent. If you are me, then by these words, you will know that I am you, and we are trapped. Every time we die, we re-emerge as if it were our first arrival, yet that feeling persists. So… I now leave a different message for you. Find a way out of this cursed infinity. If not for yourself, then for the sake of all who are stuck in this loop.”

As the illusion glitched and paused, Jackle stared, wide-eyed, as the truth of Mara set in, and the gears began to turn. He didn't know what ‘The Cabal' was, or what she'd meant by ‘her own descent’, but those were trivial compared to the bombshell she’d just dropped on his head.

“This world resets when she dies?… That's… Oh, Somni- How long has that woman been at this…”

Staring at the small device, Jackle wanted any reason to doubt what he'd heard- Anything to dispute the truth behind her words. But Mara had given it to him, and a different Mara, clearly older than her, had been the one to leave the message.

How that was possible in any way was beyond him, but Mara was someone who had a penchant for defying what was known and accepted- This was almost par for the course.

Suddenly, perhaps in response to his implicit need to reject what he’d just heard, the projection in front of him glitched again, cutting ahead to a more disheveled Mara before it resumed playback.

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“-Hello Jackle.”

Caught off guard by the sudden call out, Jackle felt a jolt run through his bones, followed by a slow tingling chill climbing up his spine.

“What-How-”

“I’ve just sent you off to hunt down the last Obelisk, but I'm not leaving this message for him, but rather you, the one who has yet to accompany me… Before I continue, I need you to know that I’m sorry. You were always the stubborn one… To succeed, you needed to know the truth- You refused anything but. So make of that what you will, and paint ‘us’ as you need, but we have an obligation to unshackle the chains, regardless of scale or scope, and that includes yours. So… Please… Condemn if you will, but you must understand… Because the alternative is a stagnant hell.”

Vanishing with her final words, the illusion of Mara dissipated in a dusting of self-illuminated particles as the mana within the device fell away, ending the spell and leaving Jackle to make up his own mind about what had just been shared with him.

To say it was a hard pill to swallow would be the understatement of a lifetime, he felt like he had a throat-sized lump stuck in his airway. If what she said was true, then he, and her, and everyone around them, were all just copies circling an endless drain.

Without the device in his hands, their course would have already been decided- An infinity of repeating the same mistakes. But now… Now they had a choice. One Mara had already made, and in turn, was now left to him.

Tightly clenching the beige device, every fiber of Jackle’s base instincts wanted to rage and destroy the messenger, but despite all his doubts and anger, he knew it not only had the potential to excuse Mara’s actions, but to sway his own.

“The ends justify the means…”

Jackle knew he had no real argument against its contents. Sure, there was potential it was all fake, but Mara wasn’t one to be inauthentic, just reserved and cautious. Plus, the older Mara who’d left the message was clearly in a very different headspace than the woman he knew, and even an experienced conman would have a hard time faking that.

Sighing as he slowly unclenched his fist, Jackle stared at the small beige device- A thing so small, yet so potent. It didn’t take a genius to see that Mara had quite literally been there, done that, time and time again. Now? Now it seemed there was only one path left to take… Hers.

What would that mean? He honestly hadn’t the faintest idea, there were too many unanswered questions, but what was certain was that Mara would need his help, and that, at least, he felt he could offer.

As the knot in his gut loosened, Jackle felt the pangs of hunger announced their unmuted return, and a glance out the window of the artificially lit cabin showed it had long since fallen to night.

Half of him was tempted to scavenge for something on the ship and relish in a bit of solitude, but the device’s contents had left him curious for more, and the only one with those answers also happened to have been brewing them all a stew when he’d left.

Reluctantly agreeing with his own train of thought, Jackle swung himself out of bed to make his way out of the cabin and immediately knew he’d made the right choice. The smell alone, wafting over from their campfire, was both rich and savory, as if Mara had specifically prepared the perfect remedy to his future craving.

Making his way to the bow of the ship, Jackle placed a single hand on the banister and, without breaking stride, swung himself over in a single motion, landing smoothly on the sands below.

Ahead, it appeared that he was late to dinner, as there were only two shadows around the fire. Yet, as he approached, he was surprised to find Kali and Fran, with no Mara or Anvi sight- However the latter’s presence quickly made itself known by the unmistakable snoring that radiated from the tents.

Next to the fire, the ranger was busy grooming their new addition with a brush she’d found somewhere- While the Pynma was half-asleep, full of stew, and looking very content with Kali’s attention.

As he broached the warmth of the fire, Jackle knew the ranger was already well aware of his approach, but greeted her to announce himself regardless.

“Evening Kali.”

“Hey hey- If you’re hungry there’s still some of the stew left.”

Pointing to the pot above the fire with the hair brush, Kali tried to hide her smile, but quickly amended herself to fill him in on the joke.

“-I do mean some. Fran was very hungry.”

Cocking an eyebrow, Jackle peered into the cast iron pot and saw there was just enough for him left at the bottom, then cast a wary eye towards their new addition.

“Well… It’s certainly better than waking up to a hungry Pynma…”

Taking a few steps over to his pack he’d left at the campsite, Jackle fetched his bowl and spork and proceeded to pour himself the rest of the stew before finding himself a seat opposite the ranger and beast.

Practically starved from his mentally and emotionally taxing day, Jackle dug in without any further words to his companion, silently savoring his mentor’s delicious cooking as each bite warmed his core, chipping away at the pit in his gut until his bowl was as empty as the cauldron.

“You know… After that meal, I’d follow her lead just for the cooking.”

Overhearing his half-mumbled comment, Kali burst out laughing.

“You mean you weren’t already?”

Chuckling as he stood up to unhook the empty cauldron from the fire, Jackle shook his head at Kali, unable to keep the smile off his face as he replied.

“You may have a point.”

Leaving the pair to head to the shoreline and back, Jackle made quick work cleaning everything up, drying and storing everything before once again finding a seat at the fire. Yet, even after all that, as the night began to crest into its darkest hours, Mara was still nowhere to be found.

Curiosity bristling within him like a simmering pot of unanswered questions, Jackle felt he was loosing the battle with his patience and levied his friend for answers.

“Where is our magnanimous captain?”

Sitting back to appreciate her handiwork, Kali glanced at the brush full of Fran’s hair, then looked to Jackle.

“Asleep actually- I took first watch. We weren’t sure if you’d be joining us, so she should be up in an hour or so for second.”

Nodding, Jackle understood, he hadn’t exactly parted on terms that merited discussing their evening plans, but he appreciated that they’d stepped up in his place regardless.

“Thanks… If you’d like, I’d be happy to take what’s left of the first watch if you’d like to get to bed a little early.”

“Are you sure? Fran should be okay, but I know you’re still wary of her.”

Eyeing the man-eating beast, now seemingly content with its new ‘pack’, Jackle rolled the dice. He had questions for Mara that he didn’t want to burden Kali with.

“Yeah… Yeah we’ll be okay. She looks like she hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in days- I’ll be alright.”

“Oh for sure, and after today? Definitely. We took her out and rough-housed for a few hours- Used it to pound some sense into Anvi after coming back to this little surprise.”

Standing up and stretching, Kali gave a generous yawn as she surrendered to her weariness and tossed the hair brush into her backpack. She’d had just as long of a day as the Pynma, so without much further fanfare, Kali bid Jackle a good night and headed off to crash in the girl’s tent, leaving the stoic monk-mage to watch over the camp in her stead.