Thankfully, it seems I shall get a reprieve from all those nasty glares I've been receiving. Miss Walker has taken her pet barbarian with her on that fool's errand she's running to the obelisk. Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say!
I didn't bother to learn all the details of Miss Walker's mission, but it seems clear to me now that the obelisks are a red herring. It is the Edmundium that matters, so if she and her violent little lackey want to play explorer, so be it.
In the meantime, I shall journey into the heart of these caverns to conduct real science, and make real progress. Excelsior!