Chapter 57: What Can You See (Patreon)

They’d been at it for hours.

Far from a high-octane, deceit-filled adventure, the process of investigating the mark’s utility for frequency targeting felt like a particularly dull lab project.

“Now?” Speaker asked, standing next to the pillar that was closest to the lift.

Elliot closed his eyes, feeling the sigil interact with the spell. A complex construct of steel and wood wrapped around the shining metal of the pillar, several pieces targeting Elliot’s hand, making constant adjustments to the resonance frequency—whatever that actually meant.

“No, that was a step backwards,” Elliot replied. “It feels like whatever you changed is making it target the physical mark itself now, instead of the bond.”

Speaker glanced down, brows drawing together. “Yes, I think you’re right. The frequency is closer, but more variable. Perhaps some mixture of physical and ethereal, given the progress…” his muttering became inaudible as he leaned over to tweak something.

Despite constant searching, Elliot hadn’t seen so much as a shard of glass. The devices might be added later, after the frequency was established, or maybe they were already present and concealed. He kept his eyes moving. Glass was his only lead.

To keep himself and the prisoners alive, he had to be useful enough to keep Speaker’s interest and stave off Det’s suspicions. To keep the world safe, the Titan’s bonds couldn’t be allowed to break. The knife edge between both requirements also required neutralizing the deadly, antidote-less poison—parasite?—embedded over his heart. It felt like circumstances were constricting around him, tighter by the hour.

“There we are,” Speaker crowed, rising again. His eyes shone. “That, I believe, is a technique we should iterate on. How does it feel now?”

***

As several days passed, each largely occupied with similar work, Speaker began to make progress. What had been wild and largely unhelpful changes became more calibrated, and every frequency trial began to draw closer than the last. During their most recent session Speaker had seemed almost manic, only stopping when the machinery started showing signs of overheating.

Leaning up against the wall of his cell, Elliot tried to think. Were the glass structures invisible? Were they kept near the other pillars, but kept away from the one he was working on?

“A meat pie from my nan with rosemary and gorse, a cup of elderberry tea, scones with butter and sharp white cheese, blueberries, and a chocolate tart.”

Elliot looked up, seeing Sasha flat on her back, holding her hands up to the ceiling like she was framing a picture.

“Mmm,” Yolena said. “For me, a steak sandwich on sourdough, a flagon of golden ale, and pancakes.”

“Pancakes?” Sasha asked. “You don’t look like someone who would like pancakes.”

“Pancakes,” Yolena replied firmly. “Elliot?”

“This is our first meal after getting out?”

“Were you not paying attention?” Sasha asked.

“No, no, I’m paying attention. Let’s see,” he licked his lips. “I’d like a stew, with lots of meat and root vegetables. A big hunk of fresh bread. Some spiced sausages, like the ones they sell at Held’s. And tea. A huge pot of Green Lily from the Overlook. And a pitcher of their mint, but iced.” He closed his eyes, mouth watering. “And maybe some more candies.”

“Is that all?” Yolena asked dryly.

“Leave him alone,” Sasha scolded. “It’s his meal. He can have as much as he wants.”

“Thank you, Sasha,” Elliot said.

“As you say,” Yolena said, smiling. “Eat yourself sick, if you wish.”

“I think I’ll also have candy,” Sasha said, putting her hands back over her head. “Just one or two.”

“Well, that’s—” Yolena’s sentence cut off abruptly as bootsteps became audible in the corridor outside.

A gray-cloaked guard stopped in front of the door. “Speaker wants you again. Quickly now.”

Elliot sighed. The man must have found a way to reset the spell machine faster. He levered himself to his feet.

Later that night, after another round of frenetic testing, Elliot found himself back in the dream.

“I don’t know what to do,” he said, sitting cross-legged in front of the towering Titan. “I can’t find anything glass to break, and I can tell he’s getting closer. If I stop helping him I’ll be executed and he’ll let the Talessi do it their way, but if I keep helping him I think he’s going to find the right frequency soon, and that can’t be good.”

IF HE CREATES A TRUE RESONANCE CASCADE, THE BONDS WOULD SHATTER IN A MATTER OF DAYS. IT IS POSSIBLE THE SIGIL WILL PROVIDE ENOUGH DATA, ALTHOUGH IT WOULD TAKE A GIFTED ARTIFICER TO MAKE SENSE OF THE INFORMATION IN SUCH A LIMITED FORM.

“I do think he’s very good at what he does.”

THEN YOU MUST MAKE HASTE. YOU HAVE A TOOL THAT SITS UNUSED.

“What?” Elliot asked.

YOUR SKILL OF SIGHT.

“How can that help if I don’t have anything to target?” He perked up. “Are you able to tell me more about how to use it, or how I got it?”

DO NOT ASK ME TO SPEAK TO ITS ORIGIN. THE KNOWLEDGE IS NOT MINE TO DISPENSE. BUT IT IS MORE FLEXIBLE THAN YOU APPRECIATE.

“More flexible,” Elliot muttered. “So, what, I can just target the air and it’ll show me what I’m looking for?”

YOUR TARGET IS NOT AIR. YOUR TARGET IS THE RESONANCE DEVICES. WHY MUST YOU SEE THEM, TO MAKE IT SO?

Elliot frowned, thinking. “I’ve never felt like I could target something without line-of-sight. That makes it sound like some kind of search ability, not an inspection.”

IT IS AN ABILITY TO SEE THAT HAS CONSIDERABLY FEWER LIMITATIONS THAN YOU IMAGINE. YOUR TALENT WILL BIND YOU MORE FULLY THAN ANY INHERENT WEAKNESS OF THE SKILL.

“Okay, then I suppose I’ll try it. And if it doesn’t work the way you’re implying?”

FIND ANOTHER PATH. FAILURE IS UNACCEPTABLE.

“Okay, okay,” he replied, sighing. “I’ll see how it goes.”

***

“This time, I want you to try channeling some energy into the mark,” Speaker said, twisting a small knob on a panel in front of him. “Not much, and with no particular purpose in mind. Just direct some of your core’s flow in excess of what is normal.”

They were back in front of the pillar, doing the same exercises as before.

“Alright,” Elliot replied, proceeding to channel energy into his thumb instead of the mark. As Speaker drew closer, Elliot had been experimenting with delays. So far, he didn’t think he’d been found out.

“No, that didn’t do it,” Speaker said, frowning. He took three steps around the pillar and began to tap on a faceted white crystal set into a metal fixture. “Strange.”

“I can try again,” Elliot offered, controlling his breathing. Just another experiment. Nothing to be suspicious of here.

“Not yet. I must have misjudged something. Give me a moment.”

As Speaker worked, Elliot’s attention snapped back to his surroundings. The space was more well-lit now; several large lanterns pushing back the darkness, but there was still no sign of glass.

His eyes darted back to Speaker, trying to guess when he might launch into the next test. Elliot wasn’t sure what using [Eye of Niamh] would do to the measurements, and he wasn’t interested in finding out. There was only so much time before he was sent back up to the cells, though, and Speaker was getting closer by the hour. The glass needed to be found, soon.

Footsteps from behind distracted him.

"How goes the work?"

Elliot turned. Det—with his blind eyes and runic glasses—was walking over from the lift, trailed by his personal guard.

"It goes well, honored Det," Speaker replied, any trace of frustration gone from his face as he stood. "Faster even than I had predicted."

"Wonderous. The Elders will appreciate the good news." The Witness didn’t stop walking until he stood directly below the pillar, in the midst of Speaker's equipment. "How close is the resonance?"

"We started at a ninety percent match, considerably better than the seventy we had achieved without the Titan's sigil. We are currently resting at ninety-seven, although I think by the end of the session I could achieve ninety-nine."

"I see," Det replied, his expression neutral. "And the outsider? He has been cooperative?"

"Completely."

Det looked over his shoulder. "Your will, Elder?"

Elliot, confused for an instant, realized the words had shifted to the secret Talessi dialect. As he made the connection, another figure stepped out of the gloom.

The man was tall, unusually so, and wrapped in a simple brown travelling cloak. His hair was long, dark black, and tied into a loose tail with a leather band. Sharp, angular features framed a nose that had clearly been broken many times, and his eyes were a brown so pale it was almost gold.

“His progress is impressive. I will give him another few days, to see what he achieves,” the newcomer said, voice soft—almost hoarse.

“And who are you, friend?” Speaker asked, in the shared tongue.

“Tell him my name is Tavi,” the new man said, still in the hidden language, “and that I am a researcher sent to help with the resonance work.”

“As you wish, Elder.” Det turned back to Speaker, pivoting smoothly between languages. “This is Tavi, a researcher from Syreen. He has experience with resonance cascades.”

“Does he not speak for himself?” Speaker asked.

“He is not an expert with the outer-fold tongue. You may converse with him in Common, as needed. But I wished to introduce him privately. It would be better for the Marchman to only know what is necessary.”

“Ah. Of course,” Speaker replied, his expression studiously placid.

Det turned back to the man who claimed to be Tavi. “Do you wish him to know any of the other changes?”

“No,” Tavi replied. “Tell him nothing. Anything he must know, he will learn through other avenues.”

“We won’t be able to hide the presence of a Fury. If you act to block the Stonecrow, he will know immediately.”

“I expect him to sense the emergence of a new Fury. With the Stonecrow’s recent aggression, he’ll be anticipating it. I do not wish him to know it is me. He knows we have our own designs on the Titan. There will be a twist, near the awakening. Some ploy. He’s too clever to allow us the freedom to strike. I wish to be close to him, unsuspected.”

“Yes, Elder,” Det replied.

Elliot felt a chill pass through him. Fury. 

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Speaker,” the Elder said, switching to Common. “I hope my expertise can be of some use.”

“I’m sure it will. We find ourselves facing a viciously complicated problem. More heads at work are always welcome.” Speaker’s tone was casual, as relaxed as if they were out picnicking. 

They brought a Fury, Elliot thought, feeling his pulse hammer. Breka could actually be threatened.

“If you would be so kind as to walk me through what you already have in place, I can offer my thoughts as we go,” the Elder continued, moving to stand directly in front of the pillar.

“Of course,” Speaker replied. “Did you need anything else, honored Det, or were you just here to drop off our guest?”

“Nothing more. I will retire to my quarters. I wish you both the best of luck.”

“It all starts with the basal artificing,” Speaker said to the Elder, turning to look at a cluster of metal rods. “We can begin there.”

Have to do it now. He won’t be running more tests while he explains the basics.

Elliot took a deep breath, then activated [Eye of Niamh]. It was a strange feeling, trying to trigger the ability without looking at a target. Like chewing without teeth. If it was possible, then surely it relied on a strong visualization. But how was he supposed to visualize something he’d never seen?

Picturing glass—shaped into cups, bowls, beakers, vials, anything he could imagine—he began to run his eyes around the pillar.

Nothing. He kept activating the ability, keeping the images of glass fixed in his mind’s eye, but each time it just fizzled out, not catching on anything.

There had to be something he was doing wrong. Elliot closed his eyes. The goal wasn’t to find glass. The goal was to find the resonance devices, and if they happened to be glass then that was an unimportant secondary detail.

He pictured the pillar cracking down the middle, pieces shearing away into freefall with a cascade of rubble. He imagined what it would feel like for a wave of energy to hit the Titan’s bonds, harmonizing with the underlying spell structure, then twisting into a perfect reversal of that harmony. He thought of waveforms from back on Earth, and how two opposing sounds could cancel each other out if in steady enough balance.

He activated [Eye of Niamh] again, vortex spinning.

And he saw. Three glass bowls were sitting on a small table immediately beside the pillar, covered by an illusion built into the wood below. Each was clear, shallow, and empty. They were resonance harmonizers, and they were going to focus the attack on the pillar.

Elliot sucked in a deep breath and forced himself to let it out as a gentle sigh rather than a heave of air. Yes.

Now he had to find a way to destroy them, and those by the other pillars, without suffering death by Fury, Talessi guard, or parasite.