Chapter 954: He Found Something

The atmosphere changed as Liam descended beneath the central structure.

The upper floors had grown comparatively quiet, but the underground chamber remained busy.

Voices carried upward through the stairwell, accompanied by the clatter of tools, the movement of containers, and occasional instructions being exchanged between work groups.

Somewhere below, a student raised their voice.

"No, not that container! The one beside it!"

A moment later, another voice answered defensively.

"They look identical!"

"Because you’re holding them backward!"

Liam continued down the stairs.

’Dylan?’

He listened for another second.

No. Different voice.

’Apparently the condition is spreading.’

By the time he reached the lower entrance, the full extent of the operation became visible.

The reservoir chamber had changed considerably since its discovery.

Temporary workstations occupied several cleared areas around the central vessel. Forgemastery students moved between stabilizing frames and conduit housings, checking fittings and reinforcing sections that had deteriorated over time. Several worked near the outer pillars, where repaired connections were being secured before any attempt to restore full circulation.

The Alchemy students occupied another portion of the chamber.

Transparent containers held carefully measured substances, some faintly luminous under controlled Myst exposure. Notes and calculations covered portable boards and recovered surfaces. Students compared observations, prepared supporting compounds, and documented changes from previous tests.

The work was organized, but the atmosphere carried frustration.

Liam passed a pair of students comparing two sets of measurements.

"That’s the third time we’ve gotten the same response."

"Then the adjustment isn’t affecting the part we thought it was."

"So we change the formula?"

"Not until Ariana checks the previous result."

Sensible.

Liam glanced toward their calculations.

He recognized several familiar Myst notations.

The rest might as well have been an ancient language invented specifically to inconvenience him.

’Wonderful. An entire room of people discussing things I have no intention of understanding.’

Nevertheless, their work was clearly serious.

There was nothing random about the mixtures or the repeated tests. Each adjustment appeared tied to a measurement, an observed response, or a component the students had identified as potentially significant.

The central crystal remained inactive.

It stood within the reservoir’s massive supporting structure, surrounded by restored fittings and partially repaired conduits. Its surface reflected the chamber’s working lights without producing the steady internal pulse the students needed.

Whatever energy the team introduced during controlled testing failed to establish a sustainable circulation.

The reservoir was not simply an empty container waiting to be filled.

Something about the underlying system remained unresolved.

"Liam?"

He turned.

Edith Roswell approached from a nearby workstation, carrying a short inventory list.

"Didn’t expect to see you down here," she said.

"I had nothing urgent to do. Decided to see how things were progressing."

Edith looked at him for a moment.

Then nodded.

"Fair enough."

Her gaze briefly moved toward the upper staircase.

"I take it your recovery went well?"

"Well enough."

"Good."

She gestured toward the chamber.

"As you can see, we’ve made significant progress with the physical restoration. Maxwell and Quenivarius have nearly completed the control mechanisms above, and the structural teams have stabilized most of the sections we’re actively using."

Liam looked around.

"That much is obvious."

"The reservoir is another matter."

Edith’s expression became more serious.

"Ariana, Dylan, and the other Alchemy students have been working continuously. They’ve repaired several supporting components and narrowed down some of the conditions interfering with the crystal’s circulation."

"But it still won’t activate."

"Not reliably."

She glanced toward the central vessel.

"They can introduce controlled amounts of Myst, and certain components respond. But the crystal hasn’t maintained the stable cycle needed for storage and distribution. The circulation breaks down before the system can sustain itself."

"Meaning the upper chamber remains useless."

"Not useless," Edith corrected. "Unpowered."

Liam gave her a sidelong look.

She continued with perfect composure.

"Quenivarius made that distinction very clear."

"Of course he did."

Edith’s mouth twitched.

"The Alchemy team has tried several approaches. Each test has eliminated some possibilities, but the main problem remains."

Liam considered the explanation.

He understood the operational issue well enough.

The repaired machinery could not fulfill its purpose without a dependable power source, and the reservoir could not supply that power until its internal processes functioned correctly.

Beyond that, the technical details belonged to people who actually understood them.

Which, thankfully, did not include him.

His attention shifted toward a workstation near the central crystal.

Ariana stood beside a table covered in calculations and small measuring instruments, carefully comparing a set of recorded observations with the current response of a repaired conduit.

Beside her was Dylan.

Liam paused.

Something was wrong.

Dylan was quiet.

Not merely quieter than usual.

Completely absorbed.

He leaned over the workstation with his blond hair falling slightly across his forehead, one hand holding a page of calculations while the other traced a sequence of symbols across an old technical diagram.

He did not look toward the surrounding Alchemy students.

He did not make an inappropriate remark.

He did not appear particularly interested in the girls working nearby.

His entire attention rested on the problem in front of him.

’Should someone check his pulse?’

Edith followed his gaze.

"Dylan’s been like that for a while."

"Quiet?"

"Focused."

"Concerning."

"He’s actually been extremely helpful," Edith admitted. "His understanding of Forgemastery has allowed him to identify several mechanical relationships the Alchemy students weren’t initially considering."

Liam watched Dylan compare two readings, then turn to another page.

"I’ve noticed he’s occasionally capable of functioning like a responsible person."

"Occasionally," Edith agreed.

At the workstation, Ariana leaned closer to examine something Dylan had marked.

"That’s the same deviation from the earlier test," she said. "Are you sure the reference measurement is correct?"

Dylan nodded absently.

"Checked it twice."

"Then compare it with the conduit response before the stabilization attempt."

"Already did."

Ariana looked at him.

Dylan finally glanced toward her.

"Sorry. Three times."

She smiled faintly before returning to the calculations.

"Then why does that part still bother you?"

"Because it shouldn’t be doing that."

"What shouldn’t?"

Dylan frowned at the diagram.

"That’s what I’m trying to figure out."

Ariana studied him for another moment, then moved to retrieve the earlier records.

Liam watched the exchange with interest.

Dylan’s usual humor had apparently been displaced by genuine irritation toward a technical problem.

That was not necessarily surprising.

For all his ridiculous behavior, Dylan had demonstrated considerable intelligence in both Forgemastery and Alchemy. When something captured his attention, he could become far more capable than his everyday personality suggested.

’The clown has entered his natural habitat.’

A horrifying thought.

Perhaps this was what Dylan looked like when his brain was allowed to operate without constant interference from his mouth.

Edith turned toward another section of the chamber.

"Sheila’s over there."

Liam followed her gaze.

The commander was assisting two Forgemastery students near one of the supporting frames. One student held a replacement fitting in position while another checked its alignment. Sheila had taken responsibility for steadying a heavy section of the assembly with controlled Myst, maintaining enough support for the students to secure the component without forcing them to work beneath its full weight.

She did not attempt to direct their technical decisions.

She simply followed the instructions they gave her.

After the fitting was secured, Sheila gradually released her support and stepped back while the students inspected their work.

One nodded.

Sheila exchanged a few words with them, then looked around the chamber.

Her eyes found Liam and Edith.

She smiled slightly before approaching.

"Liam. There you are."

"Here I am."

"I was wondering where you’d disappeared to."

"Apparently, I haven’t mastered disappearing while obeying orders."

Edith gave him a look.

Sheila laughed softly.

"Your recovery?"

"Went well. Decided to walk around afterward."

"And now you’ve come to inspect everyone else’s work?"

"I’m considering a career in standing nearby while people explain things I don’t understand."

Edith’s expression remained perfectly composed.

"You would fit in wonderfully with some of our supervisors."

Sheila covered a brief smile.

Liam looked toward the reservoir.

"Any progress?"

"Quite a bit," Sheila answered. "More than I expected when we began this morning."

She folded her arms loosely, looking toward the students working around the central vessel.

"The structure is becoming safer, the control mechanisms are almost ready, and the teams have managed to recover more usable equipment than we initially anticipated."

"But the reservoir."

Sheila nodded.

"Still the main obstacle."

Her expression turned thoughtful.

"I know everyone’s tired. Ariana and Dylan have been working on this for hours, and the other Alchemy students haven’t had much opportunity to rest either. But I’d rather they take the time to understand the problem than rush something dangerous."

Liam glanced toward the crystal.

"Sensible."

"Unfortunately, sensible doesn’t make the process faster."

"Usually the opposite."

Sheila smiled faintly.

Edith checked the list in her hand.

"We have enough materials for several additional controlled tests, assuming the current supporting components remain stable. But if the team needs anything substantial replaced, we’ll have to review our available supplies."

"And sunset’s approaching," Sheila added.

Liam looked toward the upper staircase.

"About two hours when I left the wall. Less now."

"We’ll need to decide when to stop for the evening," Edith said. "Some of the students have already been reassigned to prepare food and relieve the outer work teams."

Sheila nodded.

"I don’t want anyone continuing delicate work while they’re too exhausted to judge what they’re doing."

Liam glanced toward Ariana and Dylan again.

Ariana was still checking the earlier measurements.

Dylan, however, had moved.

He now stood beside a repaired section of the reservoir’s supporting mechanism, comparing the diagram in his hand with the actual arrangement of its components.

He leaned closer.

Then stepped back.

Then looked at the central crystal.

His expression had become unusually severe.

’Whatever he’s looking at is irritating him.’

Liam recognized the expression. Not because he understood the technical problem, but because he had seen the same kind of concentration in fighters trying to resolve a pattern that refused to behave as expected.

Dylan returned to the workstation and flipped through several pages.

Ariana noticed.

"Dylan?"

"Hold on."

She glanced toward the diagram.

"What are you checking?"

"Something."

"That narrows it down considerably," she said, smiling despite herself.

Dylan barely seemed to hear her.

He pointed toward one of the recorded values.

"Can you confirm this measurement?"

Ariana leaned over and examined it.

"Yes. That was the result before we adjusted the stabilization mixture."

"And this one?"

"After the adjustment."

Dylan stared at the two figures.

Then at the diagram.

His brow furrowed further.

"That makes no sense."

Ariana followed his gaze.

"Which part?"

Dylan did not answer immediately.

He crossed to the old mechanism again, crouched beside it, and examined a section of the repaired housing.

One of the nearby students looked toward him.

"Need something?"

"Not yet."

He rose, returned to the table, and began writing rapidly.

Ariana watched him with growing curiosity.

’He’s following something,’ she thought. ’But what?’

She had spent enough time working beside Dylan to recognize the difference between his ordinary distractions and the rare moments when a technical problem consumed him completely.

This was the latter.

Nearby, Sheila continued discussing the evening work schedule with Edith.

Liam listened, though his attention occasionally returned to Dylan.

The blond student had stopped writing.

He was staring at the page.

For several seconds, he did not move.

Then his eyes widened.

His gaze snapped toward the central reservoir.

Back to the diagram.

Then to the crystal.

His mouth slowly opened.

A strange grin spread across his face.

Liam noticed immediately.

’Oh, no.’

Dylan straightened.

A short laugh escaped him.

Then another.

Ariana turned.

"Dylan?"

He began laughing properly now, loud enough that the nearest students stopped working.

Ariana stared at him.

’Has he finally lost his mind?’

Dylan slammed one palm against the table, not hard enough to disturb the equipment, but with enough enthusiasm to make several students jump.

"HA! YOU BEAUTIFUL, OVERCOMPLICATING IDIOTS!"

The chamber fell quiet.

Every nearby head turned.

Dylan threw his head back and laughed again, his earlier exhaustion apparently forgotten.

"All that genius! All those ridiculous safeguards! All those clever little mechanisms!"

He pointed triumphantly toward the ancient reservoir.

"AND YOU STILL MADE A MISTAKE!"

His grin widened with almost offensive satisfaction.

"IN YOUR FACES, YOU LONG-DEAD, SELF-IMPORTANT GENIUSES! WHOEVER DESIGNED THIS THING—YOUR PRECIOUS MASTERPIECE ISN’T HALF AS CLEVER AS YOU THOUGHT!"