And then, shortly after arriving in Alavieska and decontaminating, Athalia had crashed into the Fountain of Väinä. For this crime, she was sentenced by the 8-Ball to one month of solitary confinement.
On the Mountain, Kismet had given her a solution to this punishment. After he knocked her out and used the leaves on her, she didn't remember his presence there, but she vaguely remembered what to do in order to avoid the punishment. It worked, and the month of hell felt more like a long nap.
After her solitary confinement ended, she immediately had to go debrief the mission with Enza and someone higher-up, in this case being Kismet.
Kismet had snuck out of the tram successfully upon their return. Since it's not unusual for him to be underground for days at a time, nobody knew he had left.
Right now, while listening to Athalia and Enza trade off recapping events, he was finding it extremely hard to act normal.
Finally, their story was done. Naturally, Athalia and Enza kept some things to themselves, but they gave Kismet the most important points.
Kismet 'hmm'ed and 'ahh'ed for a while as he took in all the information. Although he had come with them on their expedition, he wasn't in close proximity to them for most of the time, so a lot of their revelations were still quite surprising.
For the things he already knew, he would have to step up his acting performance.
"Azarias is… alive?" Kismet stood up and shouted with a panicked tone.
Enza and Athalia nodded with frustrated expressions. "We don't know how, but…"
"I watched him leap into the Chasm with my own two eyes!"
Neither of the two women had anything to say to this.
After pretending to recover from the shock, he pretended to be finally ready to move on to the next topic, saying something like, "At least he shouldn't be able to harm us from there. Even so, dealing with him will become a high priority now…"
Kismet then turned his focus to the second most surprising thing.
"The sight behind the church… Azarias can look at it without being harmed?"
Athalia and Enza nodded. "With the way he talked about it, it seemed like it's related to our memories."
"Memories, huh…"
Kismet went into thought for a while, taking a few notes.
"Enza, about that courthouse. The gargoyle told you that the building came from Earth, and isn't just a recreation of an Earth building. This is the first time we've had direct confirmation that something other than us was sent here."
With the help of Azarias's memories, the Institute had identified many things on the Mountain that resembled Earth. There was obviously a connection between the two, but the Institute couldn't be sure if the Earth-like elements in this place were actually taken from Earth, or were just replicas.
Now, it's important to clarify what is meant by 'this place'.
There is Alavieska, there is the Chasm, and there is the Mountain.
These three places are not in different worlds from each other. They are separated by physical space. These places exist together in the same world.
This world is called Pohjola.
This name is not one that the Explorers gave to this world, but a name they discovered on the Mountain.
Now, there was direct confirmation that something else had been 'sent' to Pohjola, just like the Alavieskans.
Kismet took note of this and moved on to the next topic. In his opinion, the next most surprising thing was the crazy injuries Athalia received and seemingly recovered from quickly.
"Athalia, your brain turned black after Enza's surgery? The adhesive for the blindfolds seeped into your brain?"
Athalia nodded solemnly. Initially, Enza had concealed this fact from her in order not to crowd her mind. But during the crossing, Enza couldn't hold it back any longer.
Kismet frowned. "Has it caused any side effects?"
Athalia shook her head. "Honestly, I feel totally fine."
Enza actually found that strange, even without considering the problem with Athalia's brain turning dark. Athalia was acting very normal, considering she just got out of a month of solitary confinement.
Just a short while ago, Enza had been waiting at the entrance to Athalia's cave and had heard her monologuing like a crazy person. But now, she was acting just like herself again.
Enza might not find this as strange if she knew about the method Athalia had used. Athalia had left this part out of her side of the story; she was worried that it would come across as getting off too easily.
If word of that got out, she might be taken to trial all over again. Of course, that isn't fair, but Athalia was hated by the general public in Alavieska.
Kismet told Athalia to keep a close eye on her mental state, but he was relieved that she felt fine. It was a signal to him that the solution to the punishment had worked.
Finally, the Explorers were allowed to leave.
This meeting had been held at the bottom of an inverted chimney, below a store called Aster Bookkeeping and Games.
Recapping the mission had almost made Athalia forget that Kismet had pinned the crime of messing with that Abacus on her, the Instrument that keeps track of the bets made between Alavieskans.
She shimmied out of the inverted chimney and went to talk to the blond girl who worked at the store. "Orvokki, I promise it wasn't me. I can explain everything…"
Orvokki smirked at Athalia. "Don't fret, I already figured that part out. I realized that you simply would have no reason to do it. Who would make a bet with you, Athalia the Untrustworthy?"
"Are you going to report Kismet for this?"
"Probably just going to get him to pay me off."
Athalia's mouth twitched. She was about to turn and walk out of the store when she remembered the thing she had forgotten to ask Kismet. She decided to ask Orvokki instead.
"What's with that smell?"
Orvokki's expression turned for the worse. "You weren't informed? The door to Tuonela is broken; it's stuck on the trash chute. We haven't been able to seal the door or use any of the other handles. It's got public morale down in the dumps."
Athalia frowned. "Has anyone gone into the chute to investigate?"
Orvokki sighed. "Well, there aren't any obvious problems when you look at it from the top, and nobody has been willing to go under the surface of the trash. There's been a lot of public pressure to do that, though, so if you're willing, nobody would object."
Athalia was thinking, "Maybe I can earn some respect for once…"
But first, she had more important things to be doing.
The important thing was she might now have a way to help Sariel!
As she strode out of Aster Bookkeeping and Games, she was on her way to get that magnet Instrument.
Naturally, it wasn't with her.
After the decontamination is finished, the Instruments are carefully moved to a stronghold—a place called Instrument Management.
When an Explorer comes back from the Mountain with an Instrument, it does not become their personal property. The Instruments are the property of the Alavieskans as a whole, although they are most heavily used by the Explorers.
If an Instrument suits a person very well, they might have it with them all the time, meaning it functionally becomes theirs. However, if there is a larger need for that Instrument in a different situation, the person has to give it up.
Almost nobody objects to this rule. The mindset of the Institute is not grounded in individuality.
Although not every Alavieskan is an Explorer, what the Explorers do is with the intent of benefiting all Alavieskans. Escaping Pohjola is for everyone; this has been made very clear in public discussion. If the Explorers find a route on the Mountain that leads out of this world, they must prioritize migrating the whole population and not running off on their own.
As Athalia walked toward Instrument Management, she was considering how to get her hands on the magnet. She would have to make a legitimate request, and she wasn't sure what exactly she would say she was requesting it for.
The only evidence that this magnet Instrument would cure Sariel was from a vague implication in a clue, a clue given by a person who isn't exactly considered trustworthy. This is why she didn't inform Kismet about possibly using the magnet to cure Sariel—she was worried she would be prevented from trying.
How would Athalia convince Instrument Management that this Instrument was a way to cure Sariel, or at least worth trying?
Well, it's been a month, so they should have had time to test out the magnet.
If I'm lucky, the magnet's effects will be obviously meant to be used for curing Sariel's paralysis, although I'm not sure what that would look like. On the other hand, if it shows obvious negative effects, it'll be harder to convince them. I'll only know for sure once I get to Instrument Management…
Athalia made it to a large black tower where the words 'MOUNTAIN RESEARCH AND EXPLORATION INSTITUTE' were prominently engraved sideways.
There were some people coming in and out of the building. A lot of them were wearing clothespins on their nose in order to avoid the smell from the trash chute.
She brushed past them as she walked in, getting a few bizarre looks, but even her release from captivity wasn't enough to get people talking that much.
The Institute was a total mess. Everyone was busy worrying about how to get the door to Tuonela closed. Some people ran around, some sat in hushed circles.
She walked past people and made her way to the back of the building, went down some stairs, and reached a door labeled 'Instrument Management'.
The moment she entered the room, her eyes were drawn to a giant vault door that was placed on the floor. Its machinery was extremely complicated, with multiple sections that needed to be unlocked individually before the whole door could be opened.
Casually standing by the door was a man in a gray uniform. He gave Athalia a brief glance as she walked in, then returned his gaze to a thick binder.
Athalia didn't immediately try to talk to him. Instead, she walked over to a container attached to the wall, where there was a stack of paper. She grabbed a sheet from the top, and also something to write with.
Outside the room, she leaned against the wall and stared at the form. It wasn't complicated; there were only three questions:
'Which Instrument do you want?'
'Why do you want it?'
'For how long do you want it?'