Chapter 27: Beneath the Surface of a Warrior
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The door clicked as I yanked open the washing machine, staring in and pulling the plastic pass from the top of the pile of washed clothes. The cord was somewhat frayed from the wear and tear of the machine, but as I stared into the magic circle, I could still feel the faint magical resonance of the pass - emanating with a pulsating arcane energy, one that I could feel as I placed my fingertip against the circle. I gripped the arcane pass, wrapping the frayed cord around my neck, as I slammed the washing machine shut. I stood up, staring around my apartment for a moment.

Sometimes, I wish I could just spend the whole day here and tune out from the world. However, people still needed help out there, they needed people like me - I couldn't afford to sit around and let them face some other reincarnation agent. That'd be worse than death. 

Grabbing my keys from the top of the washing machine and tucking the manilla folder under my arm, I walked out of the apartment and into the corridor, shutting the door behind me. I heard the faint mechanical click as I turned the key, locking the door before pulling the key out. Coming back up here felt like such a waste to me - but then again, I guess in this place, most of my superiors considered me doing my job properly a "waste" anyway. I sighed as I wandered back to the elevator, the doors lazily opening before me as I stepped inside.

As I descended, I couldn't help but feel a little queasy from the motions of the lift. The Inspeculator session was still knocking me around from earlier. Staring at the cold metal door, I felt my gut rise as the elevator fell, the sickly sensation of it already stirring my troubled stomach. Finally, as the elevator slowed, that sickening sensation began to ease for a moment - as the elevator doors opened.

Stepping out onto the Inspeculator floor, I could see that young gnomish girl, talking to a figure much larger than herself. She was wearing her typical charadous1Adjective form of Charade. Yes, I made up another word. facade as she conversed with a tall man, with tanned skin, blonde hair and an unmistakably resplendent suit. I knew who it was almost immediately. Fuck; the last thing I needed was to run into Dalton at this time in the morning. I waited, as she guided him over to one of the Inspeculator machines, departing for a good three or four minutes before returning - her faux smile now fading from her face as she wandered over to deal with me.

"Pass, please," she said. 

I lifted the little circle of paper with an arcane sigil on it as she placed the runestone against it. It glowed, but not with its usual green radiance. Instead, a soft orange light emanated from the stone. She let out a soft groan.

"Whatever," the girl mumbled.

"Wait, does the amber light mean something?" I asked.

"It means that the rune circle's tainted," the girl said. "I can extract the information from it, so that's fine for me, but the magic's been tampered with - meaning the authentication will fail. I'll have to manually approve it later. If you're going down to the portals or anything though, you're going to have to requisition a new pass."

"These things aren't waterproof then?" I asked. 

"Well, from what I know, they're just chalk drawings on a plastic-wrapped piece of paper," the girl answered. "They're pretty flimsy, you know?"

I stared down at it. Looking in closer detail, the plastic had bent around the middle, little pockets of air having formed on the surface of the plastic. I guess the searing water of the hot-wash had melted into the sigil, but I didn't know - the pattern inside looked the same as usual to me. The same strange blue glow shone faintly within, occasionally flickering as ethereal energy coursed around the circle's edges. Frankly, I wouldn't know if it was any different: I didn't care enough to remember what it looked like in the first place.

"So, does this mean we're done then?" I asked.

"That was all I needed from you, yes," she replied with a cold smile.

"Great, I'm glad we got this settled," I told her. 

I turned to leave, and as I did so, I stopped for a moment - as curiosity got the better of me. I'd never seen Dalton on this floor. Hell, I'd never seen him put any extraneous effort into his job beyond looking at the file and chucking some poor sod into a pit of misery. It seemed odd to me, that a worker like Dalton who'd done everything he could to clear cases quickly with no interests in the ramifications would be up here, using those contraptions. It struck me as odd. I sighed, turning back around to face the gnomish girl as she began to wander off. 

"Hey, before I go, I was just wondering - what was Dalton up here for?" I asked. "He doesn't seem like the type to engage with his client's lives."

"I don't know," she replied. "All he said was he had to close a really important case, same as nearly everyone else who comes up here. You know him?"

"I know of him," I replied. I didn't want to be any more associated with him than I already was, and even then, the association I had with him was still way too close for comfort. I'd rather not get any closer, that's for sure. As I said that, the gnomish girl came closer, leaning in.

"Well, I don't want to spread rumours or anything," she said. "However, he did look very pale, a little worried - almost. Something tells me his superiors might be hanging over his head or something. Just think, even the star employee has his demons... isn't that fascinating?"

The gnomish girl gave off a frightening smile as she recounted what she'd seen. It was the only time I'd seen her true emotions, entirely unvarnished by that innocent affability - her heinous self now on full display as a horrid sneer stretched the length of her face, the lights of her eyes giving way to the darkness of her soul. She enjoyed the power of knowledge, being at the centre of it all, and that terrifying face spoke of all the things she'd use that knowledge for if someone ever forced her hand. I gulped.

"Thanks for the info," I said hesitantly.

"Not a problem," she said, slowly reverting to her more cheery - more deceitful self. "Will that be all?"

"Yes, thank you," I replied, turning back around and heading toward the elevator. I'd rather not think about that face of hers. It didn't matter who you were, this place was capable of twisting anyone if you let it. Sometimes, though, one had to wonder - if that lurked beneath the surface of a young girl like her, what lurked beneath the surface of a veteran like myself?

However heinous and horrendous she was beneath that facade of hers, it was nothing compared to my memories of that battlefield: the horrors I'd seen, and the horror I'd been. If that's what she was capable of becoming, then what would become of me if I let this place get to me?

I stepped inside the elevator, trying to cast that nagging thought from my mind. I wouldn't let myself succumb to it. No matter what, I was going to make damn sure that question was never answered - because if it was, I didn't want to think about the horrors that answer would cause.

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