Mind Games

The ghosts are gone, released into the afterlife, but the holiness remains in the cavern where the Defenders of Daybreak first met Saint Morak and Claris's spirits. With half the group lapsed into exhausted slumber, a few members stand vigil around a small fire.

"Here's the reply to the sending you asked me to cast to your second-in-command on the surface, Malachite." Velendo recites carefully. "My lord! Necromancer Kings slain to a man. Coronis's sacrifice turned the tide. Phylactery is destroyed. Success has healed wounds. Your absence sorely felt. Journals inspirational."

Malachite looks worried. "I'm glad I sent my journals back with the dwarves who used Ceann's gift, and it looks like the Church Militant was successful in the war that Aleax wanted them to fight. But should I be reading anything into the first two words?"

"What were the first two words?" asks Agar.

"My Lord."

Understanding blossoms on the halfling's round face. "Oh my!"

Velendo tries to look comforting. "Perhaps they elected you. . ."

"I know."

". . . to some high office."

"There's only one high office."

"Well, perhaps that now belongs to you, assuming we make it home."

Malachite hazards a joke. "I'll have to address reports to myself. 'Dear Me, killed Ivory King. . .'"

"Well," interrupts Galthia, "In the meanwhile we've got to take on a mindflayer city and an elder brain." The firelight creates rippling shadows across his angular face. "My friend Rondeth is still there, enslaved after a rrakma years ago, and I have a score to settle with the elder brain that we healed. I'm going on even if no one else wants to." He grits his teeth.

Velendo looks surprised. "I think we're all agreed that they should be wiped out. The question is, how do we do it?"

Mara starts to say something, pauses, and speaks slowly. "You know, I think just charging in is a bad idea in this case." Everyone looks at her in surprise. "Well, it is! We may be better served by stealth. The best tactic is probably to split up and come at them from different sides at the same time."

Galthia blinks. "I'm not so sure about that."

"Sure," says Mara. "It'll divide their forces at a time when they'll need a concentration of illithids to defeat us. If we split into three or four small units, we can't help but win."

"Hmm." Velendo looks doubtful. "I had a good idea for tactics. We should plan on summoning lots and lots of powerful elementals. They have no brain to speak of, so they can't be influenced by mind-affecting powers. That negates the vast majority of a mind flayer's attacks."

"Nope," says Agar in disappointment. "I remember hearing that most mindflayers have adapted to this tactic. They have a method for seizing control of an elemental and turning them back against its summoner. I'm not looking forward to being targeted by multiple elder elementals."

They sit quietly for a moment around the fire, each lost in their own thoughts.

This isn't going to work, realizes Velendo. There's nothing we can do to attack them in their own home; it's a form of suicide. No one will blame us if we don't bring the fight to them.

He rubs his forehead. But I'll blame myself, he thinks.

No I won't, he thinks. This is going to be a horrible way to die.

"There's got to be some way we can do this and succeed," he says out loud.

"I think we don't have a chance unless we're protected mentally, and we don't have the capability for multiple mind blanks." Mara leans back. "Do you remember the battle of the Agathean Pillars?"

Malachite sits up. "No."

"I'm surprised. It was a battle of mixed Aeosian troops against a relatively small group of mindflayers. They got slaughtered. The problem is that they didn't have any defense against the mental powers, so the soldiers and commanders were completely eliminated. If we don't go in protected, we're going to fail."

Agar frowns. "But we have no means to protect ourselves that thoroughly."

"Exactly."

We might as well just head home now, thinks Velendo. "Does anyone think we can win this?" Everyone awake shakes their head, and something deep inside Velendo's brain struggles to the surface. "But we thought we could yesterday!"

"So?" Agar shrugs. "Now we know more information."

Velendo's face twists in frustration. "No we don't! Agar, is there any chance that our mindlink has been tampered with?"

"No," answers the halfling. "No chance at all. No one can do that."

Malachite looks doubtful. "Hasn't it happened in the past? I can't remember."

"I don't think so. It shouldn't be possible."

Velendo leaps to his feet. "But it has happened in the past! I know it has!" Everyone stares up at him, faces doubtful.

Agar clambers to his feet. "I think I know my own magic, Velendo," he says huffily, "and I'm telling you that it can't be done. I know it can't."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"Right, like I know we can't win against the mindflayers! I think they're messing with our thoughts. Can they do that?"

Mara shakes her head again, golden hair shimmering in the firelight. For a second it dangles down in loose tendrils in front of her face, but she pushes it back with one hand. "This is different from when we've met them before."

"Still, he may have a point – specifically because I keep thinking that he doesn't have a point." Malachite nods. "Agar, you're being influenced."

Agar sneers. "Hardly."

"Please take down the mindlink anyways?" asks Velendo. "Can't hurt. Also, Mara, please check for evil. I'm going to put up a sovereign wall and see if that helps block any mental influence."

I better not, thinks the cleric to himself. We may get trapped in here. But why would I want to escape from inside a sovereign wall? Wait, if there IS a mind flayer here it'll be inside with us. No, that's okay, we could find and kill it. He shakes his head as if trying to knock loose the conflicting thoughts, and casts the miracle. A bubble of impenetrable force surrounds the entire group of heroes.

"The mindlink is down, everyone," reports Agar. "Good thing, too. It could have been penetrated."

Velendo spins. "Mara, do you still think splitting up is a good idea?"

"Of course not," says the paladin. "It's a stupid tactic."

Velendo turns his face to the unseen heavens. "God damn it!"

Agar grimaces. "We're in trouble, aren't we?"

"We're in trouble. The fact that they can influence all of our thoughts trivially while we're planning. . ."

Malachite swallows. "We're not prepared for this."

Galthia gets to his feet. "There's no point in going in there if it means certain death."

Mara purses her lips. "I'm not sure it does. Attacking the elder brain may not be useless. You know the battle I remembered?"

"Yes?" asks Agar.

She looks embarrassed. "I'm not sure it ever occurred. I remember hearing about it, but I can't recall when!"

"Well, I could have sworn that I heard it was a good idea to send elementals to fight mindflayers until the mindflayers became experts at turning them against the summoner, but I don't remember where I heard it either." He brightens. Maybe that means it's a good tactic that the illithids don't want us to use!"

Galthia gives a short laugh. "Unless the flayers are using reverse psychology."

Something bounces off the sovereign wall and flutters back into the darkness.

"A bat." Velendo sighs. "I need to think more."

"The element of surprise is gone now," Mara says. "They now know we're coming." She brightens. "This explains why I didn't want to just charge in! Thank Aeos. I thought I was going soft."

"We knew something was wrong."

Then something slaps into the side of the sovereign wall. It's not a bat. Instead, it's a silvery opalescent color, the same sheen of the ectoplasm that they saw dripping from the ceiling of T'pocl. It has ten legs, four wings, no head, and is holding something in four of the legs. As the group watches in disgust, the creature bumps again up against solid wall. It holds itself there with several of its legs, and then unreels a piece of paper for the group to read.