Once again the armies of darkness are sweeping across the world and this time there may be no stopping them. Only by standing together can the heroes of civilization hope to prevail, but at this hour of their greatest trial the mightiest of their nu...
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“Interesting,” said the first slaver, its telepathic communication audible only to its companion. “They seemed pleased to see us.”
“A most curious reaction, certainly,” agreed the second. “Possibly the first time in history that any of their kind have expressed joy at the sight of one of us. I shall examine their minds to find the reason for it.”
It went to stand in front of Thomas, who gazed dreamily up at it totally under its telepathic power. It bent down so that its proboscis, coiling and uncoiling lazily, was dangling in front of his face.
“Yes, lordly one,” the wizard mumbled dreamily. “Feed on me. Let me have the honour. Give some meaning to my worthless life by taking it now.”
The cthillian wasn’t interested in feeding, though. Not yet at least. For the time being it was only interested in what his brain contained and so it sent in a telepathic probe to read his thoughts and memories. It gave most of his mind only a cursory glance, having not the slightest interest in his childhood, his years of education in the University or any of his guilty, shameful secrets, and passed them by like a man flicking through the pages of a book until it reached his memory of the past few weeks where it stopped for a closer examination.
“Ah, now I understand,” said the cthillian when it had finished, and it communicated everything it had learned to its fellow. “Fascinating. What kind of self respecting cthillian would willingly associate with these animals and allow them to think of themselves as its equals?”
“Don’t forget you only saw the relationship from their perspective,” replied the other. “You must make allowance for the fact that everything you saw in his mind is coloured by his own prejudices and preconceptions. You are young yet. As you grow older you will learn to do this.”
The younger slaver took another look inside Thomas’s mind. “Ah yes,” it said after a moment. “Ctharliwun conversed with them during the journey, probably to relieve his boredom, and they misinterpreted it as companionship, not surprising considering their low intelligence. I’m hungry, I haven’t fed since we left Ralathiyup. May I have one of them?”
“No,” replied the other. “For one thing they are on a mission that will benefit the cthillian race, but also, more importantly, they are the property of Ctharliwun and it would be impolite for us to take one without his permission. There are plenty of the smaller breed of humanoid hereabouts. Go and find one. I will stay to protect this herd until Ctharliwun returns.”
The younger slaver began to leave, and as it went its older companion sent a thought after it. “Bring one back for me.”
While the younger slaver was gone, Shaun, Matthew and the trogs recovered from the mind blast and struggled back to their feet, whereupon they were immediately brought under the cthillian’s mind control. Sensing their weariness and seeing their injuries, the slaver made the cleric heal them, including her own arm, and then made them go to sleep while it stood guard over them. Shortly after, the younger slaver returned with two of the small humanoids and the two cthillians fed hungrily, after which they amused themselves by reading the questers’ memories in more detail.
