Princess Hannah of the Jade Harem CH 32

Hannah turned about the magic room as Webster crawled over the desk, looking for any mice or rats he might eat. The space had been swept clean, and bookcases added to contain the many books collected on their journeys. It was the magic room they took from Endril, a secure location with only one way in. The door frame that acted as the entrance had been relocated to Gwen's castle, deep inside her magically shielded and protected area.

Even so, there were six guards both inside and outside the room: one gnoll, one tiger man, and one of Gwen's elite rogue hunters. If the gnoll were injured, Roric would know instantly. If the tiger man were injured, Rajeen would know, and of course, Gwen would know the second her rogue hunters were alarmed, making the space as secure as possible. The fact that the room existed in a sort of pocket dimension made it impossible to spy into it magically, so it was now the designated space for Hannah’s research. Now, she inspected her room as Quinny carried in a comfy leather chair and set it before the desk.

“Is that everything?” Quinny asked as she looked around the room, her tail casually twisting.

“I think so,” Hannah replied as she scooted Webster off the desk to open her necromancer's tome. “Now I can study this without the risk of anyone finding out.”

“Do you think the book Santos gave you will help make more sense of it?” Quinny suggested as she nodded to the book on the shelf that held a dozen others.

“I hope so,” Hannah replied as she recalled the very generous gifts the rogues guild had given her. It was only a night ago when they assembled and presented her with a veritable treasure trove of items. It included magical dark purple roses, rare flowers, a mad wizard's puzzle box, and a necklace that granted loving wishes. But the most prized gift had come from Santos himself, a rare book stolen from a wizard's private collection. It was called Zerathules treatise on necromancer and dark magics, and it was a treasure trove of well-documented information. While it focused on necromancy, it also had a broad dive into shadow magic, including infernal aspects of darkness. She hoped it would help unlock some of the esoteric mysteries of the necromancer tome and open the door to wider learning.

“Do you plan to find a way to open the wall and get to the magic circle?” Quinny asked as she went to the bare stretch of wall to tap at it. “Maybe we can just break in.”

“Frank already offered to tunnel through it,” Hannah said. “But Legeis is coming by later to run some tests and see if he can figure out how to open it. I want to try to get to it without destroying the wall if I can.”

“Do you think there is anything else outside the walls?” Quinny asked as she looked around the space.

“No,” Hannah replied, setting her magical bird figurine on the desk. “Breanne used her ghost form to look through the walls, and that was the only space outside it. She described the space beyond as a black void.”

“Do you think it’s the same space you found the crown in?” Quinny asked as she came up behind.

Hannah paused to consider the possibility if the void beyond the walls was the same space. She supposed it could be, or it could be the buffer, or anywhere they hadn't yet identified. For a moment, she tried to think of a way to identify where it was but put the idea away. She already had plenty of mysteries to solve, and this one wasn't worth the attention. She was disturbed from her considerations as Quinny wrapped her in a hug and rested her head on Hannah’s shoulder. Hannah sighed and used her tail to caress her little succubi, rubbing her back as they shared their moment.

“I love you,” Quinny whispered.

“Oh, Quinny, I love you too,” Hannah replied. “But we have a lot of work to do. Are you sure you want to help me?”

“I want to help you do everything,” Quinny said as she released Hannah.

“Alright,” Hannah said with a nod. “Then let's go ahead with plan sneak it out.” She was referring to the secret plan they hatched together to steal the magical fridge from the cliffside kitchen. It would be placed in the room to ensure they had a supply of cookies and cakes to see them through the long hours ahead.

“We have to sneak it all the way through Gwen’s castle,” Quinny warned with a wry smile.

Hannah knew the risk as the room itself wasn't the only defense. The doorway had been placed inside Gwen's own heavily warded space, the back rooms that were her private chambers. These locations were secured by NPCs that were higher level than Hannah and magical protections well above level one hundred in power. It was a death trap for anyone to try to break into, and even magical artifacts that could spy across the world would find the region impenetrable. Inside this space, the doorway was made to look like a picture frame. Set on the wall with an image of Hannah and her girls between it. The picture was on the wall behind it, and if you walked into the frame, you entered the magic room. Even if, by some miracle, somebody managed to infiltrate Gwen's private space, they would likely bypass the painting without a second look. To add even more security, the wall had a dozen more paintings of the girls in various scenes to create a sort of gallery.

The two girls crept into the gallery room and looked around to see twenty guards stationed about the space. Some were gnolls, some tigers, and some normal men, but two were undead knights created by Gwen after she gained access to the undead, thanks to Hannah. It was perhaps the only clue that there was anything special about the room, as a curious thief might wonder why it was so heavily guarded.

With Webster slung under her arm, Hannah and Quinny acted naturally as they passed down the hall, heading for the portal that would take them to the Jade temple. None of the NPC guards would react to the presence of the princesses passing by, so they didn’t bother to be sneaky in the least.

Using magical doors, they quickly passed from Gwen's castle to the decadent inn, then through another door into Hannah's cliffside tower. Here, they became more cautious as they slipped into the halls, eager to avoid being seen. They slipped down the tunnels from the secret rooms to the dining room and into the kitchen.

Monica was here as always, cooking away as if preparing to feed Hannah.

“Oh, hello, mistress!” she called in her cherry voice, smiling in her usual happy way.

“You made her too cheery,” Quinny said as the NPC cook returned to her work, stirring a pot as she began to hum a little tune. “She’s like a cartoon character.”

“I wanted a little happy and cheery in my life when I made her,” Hannah replied while walking to the metal box that was the magical fridge. “And now I can’t bring myself to let her go even though I don’t need her for anything.”

“Oh, did you say something?” Monica called from her work at the stove. “I can make you a nice stew.”

“No, thank you,” Hannah replied with a smile, setting Webster down. “I was just getting a snack from the fridge.” The woman smiled and returned to her work as Quinny giggled at how nice Hannah was to her staff.

“So, this should be easy for us to move,” Hannah said as she used her devilish strength to hoist the fridge from where it rested on a counter. “It's so amazing to be so strong.”

“Yeah, it's nice to be able to open my own jars,” Quinny added, causing them both to laugh. She helped Hannah move the bulky object as they carried it to the doorway and paused.

“Alright, you go ahead and check the hall,” Hannah said to Webster. “Let me know if anyone is coming.”

Webster chirped and faded from view, using his invisibility to go unseen. Hannah focused on seeing through his eyes as he scurried down the hall to ensure nobody saw them. With proof that the coast was clear, the girls slipped into the hall, rushing to the magical door with the fridge. Webster went through it first, and they had to wait as several harem girls passed through the next hall. When the coast was clear, Hannah and Quinny rushed over and hurried to the next door that would take them to Gwen's castle.

“This is easy,” Quinny laughed as they slipped through the next door unseen. “Webster is the perfect spy.”

“He certainly is,” Hannah laughed as they arrived in their mother's castle. “I need to use him for things like this more.”

“I miss you being a spider rogue,” Quinny giggled. “And how you would say sneak while you were invisible.”

“Frank thought it was silly,” Hannah replied. “But I was having fun. Maybe we can run some guild quests as our alter egos just for fun once in a while.” She smiled then her eyes went wide as Webster alerted her to the presence of Breanne in the hall ahead. “Quick, hide,” Hannah said as they stumbled with the fridge.

“Hide where?” Quinny asked as they turned circles in the hall. “This isn’t the kind of video game where there is a convenient locker nearby.”

Hannah struggled in a panic as Webster cried the alarm that Breanne was about to enter the hall from a nearby doorway.

“Quick, behind the tapestry,” Hannah said and helped lug the fridge to the wall. A fine silken tapestry of a unicorn standing in a lush forest hung on the wall. The two girls struggled to get behind it, creating an obvious bulge in the fabric as they huddled motionless.

A moment later, Breanne walked in, sweeping down the hall with her usual grace. She looked lost in thought and passed right by the tapestry without giving it a second thought. Hannah and Quinny held their breath until the woman passed through a far doorway and out of the room.

“That was close,” Hannah said as she peeked out from behind the tapestry.

“Hey,” Quinny said as she smiled. “Why didn’t we just turn invisible?”

Hannah froze as she realized that Quinny was right. They could have easily turned invisible and just avoided the need to hide. She grumbled at her stupidity as they hurried down the hall while Webster scouted ahead to ensure it was safe. A few minutes later, they were in the gallery room, and the plan was about to complete.

“We are so clever,” Hannah laughed as they slipped through the doorway into the magic space. She and Quinny climbed down the steps as she bumped into something.

“Do you need help with that?” Frank asked as Hannah jumped, nearly dropping the fridge.

“Frank!” she cried in alarm. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to check on you two,” he replied as he folded his arms. He was in his human form, his dark hair framing a handsome face as his eyes dug into her soul. “Is that the fridge from the cliff base?”

“Why did we even bother?” Hannah sighed as they set the fridge down. “And yes, it is.”

“Why are you sneaking it here?” he asked with a funny smile.

Hannah sighed and explained that they felt it was greedy to want a secret stash of treats, so they wanted to sneak it in without anyone knowing. He nodded, then suggested they put it beside a table and place a cloth over it to help conceal it. She smiled at her understanding husband, who immediately played along with their silly game. She and Quinny came to his arms to be wrapped in a warm hug as he asked how the setup was going. They stepped back to explain it was nearly done, and they were ready to begin the work.

Frank put the fridge in place for them, then looked over the table laiden with items given to Hannah by the rouges guild. He picked up the magic necklace of wishes and asked if she had considered making one. Hannah joked that she would wish for her memories back, but it didn't work like that. The wishes had to be made out of love for another and had all sorts of limitations.

Frank set it aside and picked up the rare purple rose that Hannah had put a flower singer blessing on to help preserve it. It was a dark midnight purple with a bright light blue center, like a moon in a midnight sky. Hannah wrapped her arms around him from behind, and he held it to her nose to smell.

“It has a lovely scent,” Hannah said, looking over her gifts. “It was so nice of them to give me presents.” He agreed and picked up the small metal box decorated with golden symbols. Hannah explained it was a puzzle box and took it from his hand as she traced the metal bands.

“Do you have any idea how to open it?” Frank asked.

“Not yet, but something about these patterns is familiar,” Hannah replied, turning it over in her hands.

“Do you know what’s inside?” Quinny asked curiously.

“He didn't say,” Hannah said as she handed the box back to Frank. “So, are you nervous about what I am doing?”

“A little,” Frank replied but smiled nonetheless. “But we all understand why you need to do this. None of us feels safe not knowing if the woman in your crown is manipulating you.”

“And probably us by proxy,” Quinny said. “She might even be responsible for our current choice of class.”

Hannah felt relieved that her family understood the gnawing concern growing inside. It was something that had to be dealt with if they wanted long-term peace in their lives. Everything had been growing into something better, slowly blossoming into a life full of magic. But one dark cloud hung over their head, and she wanted to put it to rest. The first real step was to learn more about the crown, hopefully by studying it in the enchanted machine built by Legeis. They had tried this once before, but the machine was a prototype and didn't have the power to get solid results. It was also somewhat dangerous, causing magical items to explode when pushed too hard. However, since then, Chandice had been helping him, enchanting parts to make them more efficient and boost the power. By all accounts, it was reasonably safe now, able to accurately test more powerful items.

Hannah had requested they try again on the new machine, and Chandice agreed, meeting with Legeis to get things ready. Now Frank told her it was all set up and ready to go, and they could proceed when Hannah wanted.

“It's ready to go?” Hannah asked excitedly as he nodded. She pressed him when they could begin, and he said as soon as Chandice and Legeis could be contacted. She asked if they could do it right away as a mixture of excitement and nervousness coursed through her veins. He agreed, and they set off together to see where the others were. Chandice turned up in the palace, talking with Roric and Rajeen. They readily agreed to help, but Rajeen wanted to bring a second woman named Istrah, who was a class known as a Devil binder. It was a variant on the warlock but could only bind devils and might prove useful should the woman inside the crown reappear. Breanne and Umtha were collected from the harem and added to the party as Webster was slung under an arm like a toy pet.

They headed off as a group, going back to the cliffside base where Legeis's workshop was hidden. Deep in the lower halls, they entered a mechanical wonderland of metal walkways and hissing steam engines where thirty goblin engineers labored over various tasks.

“What is that?” Hannah asked as they passed a room where an eight-legged machine that resembled a spider stood. It had no head, and the central body was a sort of cockpit with a wheel and various levers as if to pilot the machine. Frank explained it was the mechanical mount that Legeis was making for Umtha.

“He’s taking too long,” Umtha complained. “We need those machines in large numbers.”

“He's got a lot of projects going on,” Frank said as they moved down the hall, passing a rack of swords and hammers that were part mechanical. They had dials, lights, and hoses to carry power to the business ends of the weapons. Hannah asked what they did, and all Frank knew was they delivered extra striking power from battery packs in the handles. Everywhere she looked was another wonder, as Legeis had proven to be prolific in his constructions. His suit of battle armor now stood on a platform with two other suits of varying design and stages of completion. Goblins worked nearby, crafting small parts or studying monitors as they worked on projects. They passed a heavy metal door labeled ammunition with two burly goblin guards in full mechanical plate armor.

“This place is super neat,” Quinny laughed.

“It's almost disturbing,” Breanne commented. “I don't like the idea of a human mind teaching Umtha's goblins to use New Edens system to recreate our weapons. Think of the damage that could be done with magic-enhanced modern weapons?”

“Legeis says he can’t recreate modern weapons,” Frank replied. “It all has to be modified to suit the world's systems. He can make goblin copies, but they are nowhere near as deadly as the real-world versions.”

“That’s a little comforting,” Breanne said as they passed another project that strongly resembled a cannon.

They arrived at a thick double door with two metal clockwork goblins guarding it. The letters GMIAMM were emblazoned on the surface in bold yellow letters above a warning of intense radiation. Chandice strode up and used the password, causing them to step aside. She then spoke a command word, and the door slowly rose, revealing a vast domed chamber inside, which was a sight of absolute wonder.

“This is it,” Chandice said with a smile. “The goblin magic identification and manipulation machine.”

Hannah was awestruck by the machine that dominated the center of the room. It consisted of a round raised metal platform with red bands of lights in magical patterns, creating a pentagram. There was a white circle in the center that pulsed with a soft light that was echoed by great metal rings that created a shell around the platform. The rings would turn periodically and then lock into place, causing a holographic magical symbol that floated in the center. Then they would turn again, moving to another position creating a new symbol of blue light. They created a cage around the central platform large enough to hold Frank in his ghoul form.

Thick metal cables ran across the floor to a bank of metal canisters over ten feet tall. These had dials and a bank of lights flickering to show their current power level. There were additional poles arrayed around the platform that occasionally flared with a soft hum and then died away just as quickly. Six goblins in goggles stood behind thick glass as they studied a bank of monitors.

“What is all this?” Breanne gasped as they walked into the room and could feel the power in the air.

“It’s Frankensteins' lair,” Roric said as he was staggered by the machine that took up the entire room.

“This looks disturbing,” Rajeen commented as she joined Chandice at the edge of the platform and pointed to a row of symbols along the edge. They discussed how they were a circle of confinement meant to keep anything accidentally summoned inside the circle.

Legeis arrived with three other goblins and went directly to Frank, Roric, Rajeen, and Blackbast before lifting his goggles to speak.

“You guys sure you want to do this?” he asked as the goblins began to check the power levels.

“We need some answers,” Frank replied. “And we need to know why Hannah did not get her memories back when she put on the goblin crown.”

“Sheesh, I feel like we are tampering with something some powerful people don't want tampered with,” Legeis argued. “You saw what happened last time.”

“We have all debated this in great detail,” Rajeen interjected. “We are willing to accept the risks for her sake.”

“Alright, Legeis replied as he turned to regard Hannah. “What test do you want to run first? A crown scan or a scan of your strange polymorph?”

“Oh, I was so focused on the crown I wasn’t thinking of the polymorph,” Hannah replied. “Maybe we should look at that first?”

“It’s much safer now,” Chandice said as she joined Hannah’s side. “But you need to take off all your magic items and cancel any buffs.”

“Oh, pooh,” Quinny sighed. “We are going to lose our succubus forms again.”

“It's only for the tests,” Breanne scolded and used her tail to swat the unruly girl's rear.

“Hey, watch it,” Quinny countered as she rubbed her rear.

“Girls,” Blackbast said in a commanding tone, and the conflict died instantly. Hannah smiled and reached up, planting her thumbs to her forehead before pushing up. A green gemstone appeared like a third eye and pushed away as the thin crown formed and came away. Instantly, Hannah was a blond human woman with lovely blue eyes and fair skin. Umtha was a goblin, Quinny, a zombie, while Breanne was a regal-looking elvish woman with a loving smile.

“Put all the items in that cage over there,” Chandice instructed. “It shields them from the tests.”

Hannah walked into a frame of metal bars that reminded her of a birdcage and placed the crown on a table inside. She added her blue ring and green gemstone bracelet to the crown before removing her belt for good measure. She returned wearing only her clothes as the machine moved and the arms lined up, forming a layer of halos. Chandice instructed Hannah to walk to the center of the platform and stand on the white disc, then do her best not to move.

“What is the white disc?” Rajeen asked as Hannah took her place.

“An enchanting table,” Chandice replied. “It’s one of mine, nested inside the magic amplifier to act as a focus for the tests we run.”

“It works really good,” Legeis said as he scratched an ear. “But uh, we should all go behind the protective glass for our safety.”

“You are not instilling me with confidence,” Hannah called as she nervously stood at the center of the platform. She looked about the machine from the center and wondered what was about to happen. Inside, her stomach was doing flip-flops, but at the same time, she felt deep hope. Would this answer some of the questions that had plagued her for so long, or would it add more to the mystery?

“Alright, let's power it up,” Legeis said over a speaker, then barked in goblin, telling all the engineers to either leave the room or get behind shielding. Engineers scurried to safety as a slow, steady hum filled the air, and glowing symbols appeared on the floor around Hannah. Chandice spoke over the speaker, telling Hannah that they were going to do a simple detect magic and then try to suppress any magic to run the test again to find hidden effects.

“Alright,” Hannah replied as she felt her skin tingle. She did her best to hold still but couldn't help flexing her hands as the sensation made her skin feel alive. One of the metal rings spun around her in a complete circle and then locked into place as a red symbol appeared around her.

“Two spells,” Chandice said excitedly. “The polymorph and some kind of suppression magic.”

“What does that mean?” Hannah asked as she watched the ring spin around her again.

“We have no idea,” Legeis replied. “Just hang in there, kid. We are going to try to get more.”

Hannah nodded as a second ring of metal began to spin. It stopped and locked into place as a more complex pattern of symbols appeared with her in the center. There was a sensation as if she were floating then the circle under her feet turned red.

“Feedback,” Legeis called. “It’s fighting the inhibitor.”

“What does that mean?” Hannah called as there was a sudden flurry of activity as Goblins ran to other stations, pulling levers and barking out numbers.

“Turn on the antimagic field,” Chandice said as the pillars around the platform began to hum with an ear-piercing tone.

“Sixty percent power and nothing,” Legeis said. “It’s still trying to resist the detection.”

“Go to eighty,” Chandice demanded as she slammed her fist on the table. “Use the dust of disenchanting to contain the field.”

“Am I in danger?” Hannah called as the three metal arms began to move in unison. A glittering dust began to fall around her as the hum grew louder, the pillars beginning to blur as they shook at a terrible frequency.

“Is she safe?” Frank demanded as he began to show signs of worry.

“She's fine,” Chandice said. “The machine is designed to protect the object in the center, while the arms outside cast the technomagical effects.” She looked at a screen that showed pulsing magical symbols as they appeared around Hannah in a rapid chain. The rings spun at a dizzying speed, their mechanical whine competing with the hum. Hannah felt a sensation of being pulled at as if her body wanted to spread out. She heard Legeis shout that they were at eighty percent, and the feedback was rising to match their efforts. The antimagic field was holding, and the dust seemed to have done whatever job it was meant to. Chandice called for the power to go up at two percent increments as they carefully watched.

“I am not comfortable with this,” Rajeen said as the room began to vibrate. “I had no idea it would be so traumatic. Please call this off.”

“It’s your call,” Roric said to Frank as Blackbast took his arm. Frank leaned forward, looking through the protective glass as Hannah began to float over the red circle in the middle.

“The feedback just keeps rising to match our power output,” Legeis said as he had to grab a clipboard before the vibration topped it from the workstation. “She's so heavily warded it's impossible to gauge how high we need to go.”

“Push higher!” Chandice shouted. “Go past the safe margins.”

“What are you doing?” Frank asked as the entire group became alarmed. “Don't hurt her.”

“She's fine,” Chandice argued as she studied a panel of lines that were almost static. The room began to shake so violently that they had to hold on to something as Hannah floated into the air, her skin glowing with blue light.

“It feels weird!” Hannah cried.

“Ninety-eight percent,” Legeis cried. “It's matching us still.”

“Push to one hundred and twenty,” Chandice said.

“We will burn out the batteries,” Legeis argued.

“Just do it,” Chandice snapped and ran from behind the glass to stand before Hannah as she began to glow brightly.

“One hundred and five,” Legeis said as he wiped his forehead. “One hundred and ten.”

“Stop it,” Frank said as he finally broke. “Whatever you're doing is hurting her.”

“Just a little more,” Chandice cried as Hannah was suddenly encased in a blue bubble that resembled glass. It crawled with magical symbols that kept changing at an alarming pace as she began to scream from inside.

“Shut this down!” Rajeen insisted as every light in the room went red. The blast doors suddenly began to close as Goblins ran for safety.

“One hundred and eighteen!” Legeis shouted as a brilliant light filled the room, and there was a sound like breaking glass. The bubble around Hannah exploded as magical power swirled in a storm around her. It hit the antimagic shell and was contained, but Hannah now glowed with a brilliant white light.

“The barrier is gone!” Legeis cried. “I am getting solid data!”

“It’s working?” Roric said in a shaking voice.

“It's working!” Legeis said. “Spell Polymorh other. Cast level five hundred and forty-five, target Hathlisora, shape Human female. Spell focus figurine of imprisonment.”

“Wow!” Quinny cried.

“Oh, the poor thing,” Breanne said as she choked up.

“It’s a long chain of appearance data after that,” Legeis said

Five hundred and forty-five?” Chandice said in shock. “Is anybody even that high of a level?”

“The other spell is divine banishment, cast level six hundred and two, target Hathlisora spell focus eye of Hexorus. Banishment target Abbadon,” Legeis read off.

“I can’t believe this is working,” Frank said as he stared at the ball of light that was his wife.

“Wait, theirs a third spell,” Legeis said as he scratched his ear. “Total mind wipe, level nine hundred and twenty-two. Target Hathlisora status permanent.”

“Anything else?” Chandice asked as she hovered just outside the spinning rings, gazing in wonder at the woman inside.

“Yeah,” Legeis said as he lifted his goggles. “But you aren’t going to like it.”

“What?” Chandice demanded as Legeis shook his head.

“That spell we broke to get the data,” Legeis said. “It was called Sphere of suppression. I don’t even know where to begin with this data. It looks like the spell was cast at over level one thousand in power.”

“Can we please get her out of this now?” Blackbast begged.

“Bring her down slowly,” Chandice said, and Legeis nodded. He threw some levers, and the power began to drop off even as the batteries on the wall began to smoke. Goblins ran to the wall, pulling cables to prevent fires as Legeis did his best to bring the power down smoothly. As soon as it dropped a little, the blue bubble reformed and vanished a few seconds later. Hannah floated down, her skin no longer glowing as they dropped below a hundred, then eighty, then sixty.

Frank and the others ran down as the metal arms rolled to a stop, and the safeguards were switched off. Hannah stood in the middle of the platform looking no worse for wear as she rubbed her ears.

“That thing got really loud,” she said as the machine finally ground to a halt.

“Are you alright?” Frank asked as he ran up to take her into his arms.

“I am fine,” Hannah said. “Did I look like I wasn’t alright?”

“By the gods, yes,” Blackbast spat and glared at Chandice. “You took this too far.”

“We needed the data,” Chandice countered. “She needed it to find peace.”

“Wait? Did we get something?” Hannah asked.

“You mean you didn’t hear all that?” Breanne asked as she struggled to calm herself.

“All I could hear was that terrible thing buzzing so loudly it drowned everything out,” Hannah replied before looking behind her to the wall. “Is that thing on fire?”

“It's spent,” Legeis grumbled. “I will need a week to fix this before we can test the magical items.”

“I broke it by standing in it?” Hannah asked in alarm as Frank released her from his hug.

“Don't worry about that,” Chandice said as she took Hannah's hands. “Love, we got through the protections, and we know everything. We know what spells are cast on you, what level they were cast at, and some of the items used as part of the spell.”

“You do?” Hannah gasped as her eyes went wide. She began to tremble as Chandice suggested they go to Gwen’s secure chambers and have this discussion. She could hardly wait to hear what they discovered in the test, but the look on Frank’s face made her nervous.

“I love you,” he said as the group headed off.

“Frank, did something go wrong?” Hannah asked before she ran to retrieve her magic items. She scooped up the stuff and ran to his side as he led her into the outer hall. He seemed tense yet eager to hold on to her as if she might suddenly vanish and be gone for good. Breanne, Umtha, and Quinny were the same, hovering about and asking questions about how she felt and whether she was in pain.

Ahead, Rajeen, Blackbast, and Roric were in an argument, torn over something Chandice had done and if it was worth the risk.

“I take it this didn’t go as smoothly as planned,” Hannah said.

“It was a mess,” Quinny replied. “You have to be the most heavily cursed person in all the land.”

“Gee, I feel better now,” Hannah sighed and looked to Frank. “Is it really that bad?”

“Let's get someplace safe to talk,” Frank said as he shot Quinny a glare. “No more details.”

“I understand,” the woman replied with a nod.

Hannah didn't say another word until they reached Gwen's castle, and a call was sent for her mother to join them in the protected chambers. Gwen arrived and immediately sensed the tension, demanding to know what had transpired that brought them all here.

Chandice explained it all, the machine, the test, the findings. Hannah was dizzy by how high level the spells were and how some of them had been magnified with magical items. Gwen was shocked and insisted that there were no players that high in level, but the results didn't lie. She insisted the machine had been wrong or miscalibrated if they thought they broke a level one thousand protective spell.

“She has a point,” Roric said. “Could that have been a safeguard?”

“I guess it could have been,” Chandice admitted with a shrug. “But when that bubble broke, we started getting real data that had solid information.”

“How high can that machine go?” Frank asked. Hannah wondered the same thing as she began to consider that she was changed by something called a figurine of imprisonment. She looked at her hands and wondered why this form was considered a prison. What had she been before that this was considered a way to contain her?

Chandice suggested that with power boosted to dangerous levels, they were effectively casting at about level two hundred. Gwen scoffed and waved away the notion that they would have been able to put a dent in that spell at level two hundred. She insisted the goblin machine had to be wrong, at least as far as the levels.

“Umm,” Quinny said as she looked at her character sheet. “Maybe it was cast a little higher.”

“What are you talking about?” Breanne said as Quinny pointed to something on her sheet, and Breanne's eyes went wide. “You're right!”

“Excuse me,” Chandice cut in. “Right about what?”

“Our essence pool is drained to about fifty percent,” Quinny said as she turned her sheet around for the others to see. “See, we share the pool with Hannah, and it's depleted. She must have somehow been boosting your spell with her own power while inside the machine.”

“What? That's ridiculous,” Hannah protested. “I didn't have my ring on, so I would be unconscious right now.”

“That’s why she was glowing blue,” Frank said.

“And floating in the air,” Quinny added. “She was somehow channeling her power into the machine’s effects.”

“Obviously, that can't be the case,” Rajeen said. “Hannah was not the machine's power source.”

“Don’t be so hasty to say that,” Chandice corrected. “Hannah was standing on an enchanting table of significant power. It’s how we get the system to work in the first place. I effectively start enchanting the item in the center, opening the lines of magic so the machine can read them. Maybe by being the target of an open channel of enchanting magic, she was able to conduct some of her power back to the machine.”

“So I was using essence to boast your level two hundred spell to something higher?” Hannah asked.

“Something much higher,” Chandice replied. “High enough to peel away a level thousand spell temporarily.”

“Why wasn’t I told you were going to attempt something like this?” Gwen demanded. “This is my daughter we are talking about.”

“It was very spur of the moment,” Frank said. “And we never expected any of this to happen. It was supposed to be a mundane test to give us a few nuggets of information.”

Hannah was shocked to think she had overcharged that effect to achieve what they accomplished. More so, why was she still awake? Using her power like that should have left her dead to the world for a week. A debate broke out about what to do with what they learned, but Hannah wasn't listening. Who had hated her so much that they marshaled power on an unimaginable level to erase her memory, steal her body, and lock her away for all eternity?

It was a question she wasn't sure she wanted answered because it meant that person or persons would likely try again. Whatever they chose to do about what they learned, one thing was vitally important: Hannah needed to level. If she and the others wanted any hope of facing this danger, they needed to have levels into the hundreds.