Chapter 393 Struggling to Relax
It was already afternoon and the sun had begun its descent over Gilga. Jack was still caught up on the discovery of the enchantment key, as well as Daliea, and struggled to relax at all. Eliza and Maura had long stopped asking about the item, having spent five minutes trailing the slow walking Jack with no results.
They entered the back most courtyard and descended the steps, although Eliza remained at the rear and refused to move from behind Jack.
Maura hurried to Lina, who was using Dragov like a giant slip and slide with her powers over water.
When Jack finally reached the bottom steps, he sat down there. He released Bowzer and Phoro to let them play or do whatever they wanted. Jack said nothing to either of them, even if Bowzer had begun to grill Jack anew like Eliza had done before.
Eliza decided to sit beside Jack, making sure to have Bowzer lay down beside her and with the fox's head on her lap. This was comfortable for Bowzer but especially so for Eliza, who struggled to even look up while inside Dragov's dedicated space.
Daliea eventually brought out Mooldrat, distracting herself with learning about him and his abilities. And since Dragov allowed Mooldrat to attack him however the beholder wished, it allowed Mooldrat and Daliea to explore Mooldrat's attacks as well as Daliea's new abilities.
Still lost in turbulent thought, Jack scratched his head. Then he scratched his neck. When his neck started to feel raw, Jack scratched his head with both hands. Soon, Jack was vigorously scratching his shoulders.
No matter what positives he tried to imagine, Jack, for the most part, hated that new item they discovered.
"Jack…" Eliza placed a hand over Jack's, stopping him from attempting to scratch a hole through his cloak. "I'm not mad you're keeping a secret from me, I just don't know how to help you or comfort you without knowing."
"This… is probably something that can't be comforted," stated Jack, still softspoken and spooked. "Knowing those things exist changes everything, Eliza. That much I can say."
Leaning her head on Jack's shoulder, Eliza asked, "Then… how many of those things are there?"
"There should be five of them… but I'm not sure."
"What do you mean?"
Finally glancing at Eliza through the corner of his eye, Jack stated, "All I know is that there were originally five of those keys. What I don't know is how many still exist."
Taking a moment to think, Eliza drew a blank. "Does that mean you can break them? If you're so worried about that item, then why not break it like the--"
"No!" Jack suddenly jolted, turning his torso to face Eliza, who lost her headrest and saw pure fear in Jack's eyes. "We must never break that key. I wish those never existed but… all we can do is protect it or hide it."
Feeling Jack's uncommon seriousness, Eliza nodded. "Okay, Jack. Then we'll never break that key. Can you tell me why?"
Jack took a moment to think of a fitting answer, finally stating, "Enchantment keys are like a double-edged sword. They can make a powerful enchantment more secure but it can also lead to that enchantment's undoing. Basically, a particular portion of the source enchantment is engraved into an enchantment key, making that enchantment impossible to break without the key. But should someone get the key, then it can be undone easily."
"And what if someone breaks a key?" asked Eliza.
"Then that portion of the source enchantment is removed, making the enchantment fragile and easily breakable," explained Jack. "And no matter what, we must never break that key. We can't even let it's source enchantment weaken, let alone get undone."
"I see…" Eliza nodded, following Jack's logic. "Does that mean we'll now be searching for more keys?"
"No," Jack answered immediately. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to have that key. It's just… I wish that key and the other four never existed. Their existence is what's terrifying…"
"Well, should you ever want to tell us, I'm sure Maura and I will be happy to hear all about it," replied Eliza. "Thanks for teaching me about enchantment keys."
Jack sighed, finally letting a slight smile creep up at the ends of his lips. "Thanks for listening… It helps, at least a little."
Pecking Jack on the cheek, Eliza was beaming. "Anytime, Darling."
They sat there for a while. Eliza returned her head to Jack's shoulder as they both watched Lina riding what Jack considered a rollercoaster made up of Dragov's body. Maura was on Lina's back, enjoying the moment with their little sister and making yet another happy memory for them all.
It was good for them to laugh and enjoy that moment.
The rest of the day passed without a hitch. With Jack low on mana, they could only wait till the next day to leave for Dragas.
Originally, Jack wanted to visit the other three ancient tombs in Churstin, however, his mood for tomb raiding was soured at the moment. And since it wasn't an urgent matter, Jack decided to save those for later.
Jack was also startled to find his room altered. The bed was now much larger, and he discovered that Eliza wasn't joking about the four of them sleeping together. But he was also happy to see his wives sleeping together like long-lost sisters sharing a bed. It was a pleasant sight and helped his restless mind finally get some much-needed sleep.
In the morning, Jack groaned as he stirred awake. He groaned again, feeling something immensely heavy on top of him. There was no way it was one of his wives. Jack's mind was still starting up as he blinked and eventually recognized what was laid on top of him and his wives.
A massive, fifteen-meter long hydra had laid all three of her heads across the bed. Her snoring was jarring, making Jack wonder how he hadn't been awoken from that alone.
"Lina… Liiina…" Jack patted one of the heads, trying his best to wake her gently but failing miserably. "Lina… Lina! Liiina!"
Eliza, Maura, and Daliea all groaned as they were woken up by Jack's shouts. But their momentary anger fizzled out when they realized their situation.
"Lina! It's time to wake up!" Jack kept shouting, now rocking one of the hydra heads furiously.
"Huuuh…" That rocking hydra head yawned loudly, startling the four people directly underneath. "Huh? Oh… Good morning, Big Bro…"
"Lina, why are you in here?" asked Jack. "And why are you in that form?"
"Hmm? Oh! Sorry!" Not realizing her mistake, Lina giggled as she reverted to her human form. Now, the teenage girl laid across all four of them and rolled to the side.
Finally able to get up, all four of them stretched and felt a rush of relief spread through their bodies.
Maura was the first to look back at Lina at the side of the bed, asking, "Lina, why are you in here?"
"Ummm… I had a bad dream…" mumbled the teenage girl, still acting like she was barely eight years old. "I thought it would be better to sleep here and it was."
"Well…" Eliza sighed, rubbing Lina's bedhead. "That's fine, but you should let us know when you come it next time, okay?"
"Okay!" Glad to not get scolded, Lina hugged Eliza tightly.
Jack then added, "But no hydra form, not when you're sleeping with us."
"But… I was scared… And I'm stronger like that, so…" Feeling nervous again, Lina looked up at Jack from her hug.
"I get that…" Jack sighed. "But you shouldn't trap us like that. Tell us beforehand and then, maybe, just maybe, you can place one of your heads on the bed with us."
"Okay!" Jumping at Jack with a hug that tackled him back into the bed, Lina giggled again. "Thanks, Big Bro!"