Kumo surged with more mana when she heard the matriarch’s request. Synexus had to tighten the vines on both of the women and add a few more to keep the situation from exploding all over again.

  “She’s a person, not a bargaining chip and it doesn’t seem like she wants to stay here. We will be on our way.” Vorin calmly said with an intentional sharpness to each word.

  Synexus released Kumo from the vines when Vorin reached her and started to talk her down. Unfortunately, the second the vines disappeared she tried to get around the rest of the party and head straight for her enemy once more. It took the entire party to hold her back from unleashing more destruction with her deadly winds.

  “What’s wrong, Kumo? This isn’t like you!” Synexus yelled out to his friend attempting to calm her.

  “Synexus, use your Mana Perception. She’s being manipulated.” Gene flew down and landed next to them.

  Without hesitation he activated the skill and saw a thin line of mana attached to her head and the other end came straight from the matriarch. Several other mana lines were snaking their way to the rest of the party. Gene yelled out a warning to them, but before the owl even got the words out, Synexus started to weave mana and used it to disrupt the skill which was something he had no idea was possible.

  Anger flashed on the woman’s face as her skill failed. She turned and looked straight at Synexus as if she was able to see exactly what he did. He wasn’t her only problem, however, the entire party turned and mana started to churn in the air like a hurricane was forming. Each one of them was preparing a skill aimed at the lady standing before them. A scream stopped them from releasing their wrath.

  “Mother! Stop this! What are you doing?”

  A blond woman who nearly looked like a skeleton with how skinny she was stumbled from the crowd and stopped right in front of the elderly woman. Her mana spiked quickly before the matriarch fell unconscious. She then turned to the party, and her eyes scanned each one of them.

  “Sorry about that. My mother has some um…issues. I’m Mhlirna and this is Silk Lake, home of the Mind Maidens.”

  Vorin shared a look with the rest of the party before they nodded, and he stepped forwards once again.

  “I’m Vorin and thank you for helping to deescalate the situation. We really mean no harm to you or your town. I believe we are owed an explanation, however.”

  Mhlirna sighed before waving off the crowd and having two women carry her mother away after Synexus recalled the vines into his Progress Garden.

  “Follow me. Let’s talk somewhere more private.”

  Cautiously, the party followed. Their eyes were constantly scanning for any reason to attack or flee. Synexus was watching everyone’s mana with every point of his perception. Fortunately, their walk was short and led to a one-story wooden house with a beautifully carved oak door.

  “This is my private residence. You’re all safe here.”

  “Thank you for accommodating us. We already promised your mother that we would repair what destruction we caused to your town. Before that, we’d like to know what’s going on here.”

  “That is completely fair. We would appreciate the help with the repairs. Silk Lake isn’t known for our creation classes except for our silk weavers.” She sighed again and then sat down on a cushioned chair. “Like I said, our town is known for the Mind Maidens. That’s what we call ourselves. Our tale and origin are quite sad. Perhaps it’d be easier if you asked the questions, I’m sure you have.”

  “What was with your mother?” Kumo shot out before she had even finished the sentence.

  “My mother is our highest leveled class chosen. From our name, I’m sure you have deducted that we chose a mind class. Mind magic is quite strong, but like everything in the universe, there is a balance. The stronger a mind class chosen gets, the harder it is to not face the backlash of messing with one’s mind. One as powerful as she, can get lost sometimes especially as the cruel march of time weakens one’s constitution.”

  “Your mother must be ancient to be facing side effects of age. Even a common class chosen can live for centuries with the help of the System.” Yu said while staring at a sculpture in the corner with pure fascination.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “She is. She was the first Mind Maiden and has led this town for nearly five centuries. Mind classes seem to hasten the degradation of the brain.”

  “I’ve heard of such phenomena throughout my centuries. Mind classes are even frowned upon in several parts of the world.” Gene added the additional information verifying the claims of Mhlirna.

  “Why was she trying to manipulate Kumo? She said she wanted to keep her.” Vorin asked his question next.

  “Again, I think she was just confused. Her skills can manipulate the mind of others by feeding what’s already there. Your friend was already angry, and my mother must have seen that as an opportunity. As for wanting to keep her, she simply saw that she had a lot of potential as a protector of Silk Lake. Our mind magic can deter most threats. Beasts don’t stand a chance against some of our illusionists, but sometimes he need a sword instead of a pen.”

  “You said that mind magic has a backlash, does it also do harm to the mind that it’s used against?” Synexus asked while looking over at Kumo.

  “No. The danger only comes from repeated exposure to the altering effects. Your friend is fine. Her emotions might be unbalanced for a few days however.”

  “Okay, now that that’s out of the way, what is going on with this town? No defenses? No men?” Everyone nodded with Vorin’s question. It was something they were all curious about.

  “That’s where our story comes into play. Centuries ago, when my mother was still a new class chosen this place was a proper town. We had walls, and guards. Most importantly we had fathers, brothers, uncles, and boyfriends. My mother married my father underneath the waterfall. Then something went wrong. When I was still a child learning about the world, our warriors left. We actually don’t know why.”

  Mana surged and seconds later a set of teacups and a teapot came floating out of a doorway on a glistening tray. The teapot seemed to pour the tea on its own even though Synexus knew it was Mhlirna using some kind of telekinesis skill.

  “All we do know was that they did exist. Sadness fills our hearts trying to take the space of the empty holes they left behind. Sometimes someone will get a brief glimpse of a long lost loved one before the memory slips from their mind once more. My mother is the only one that could speak to what actually happened, but even her memories have been altered.”

  The party was sitting around the table drinking hot tea while their focus was solely set on the story unfolding before them.

  “She says that her husband, my father, was a mind class master. She doesn’t know why they had to leave, but there is an imprint of a dire situation on her mind. Her last memory of him was both of them in tears saying their infinite vows of love before everything went blank. Our theory is that he didn’t want us all suffering the death of the men in our lives, so he tried to perform a kindness by erasing all memories of them and their probable fate. Instead of accepting life at it is, we all mad a vow to become masters of the mind ourselves until we can find out what really happened to those that we clearly loved.”

  “Are there no skills to simply recover your memories?” Shell asked with a hint of sadness in her voice from the story.

  “None that we have found, and we have a whole town dedicated to mind classes.”

  “Gene, do you know if they exist?” Synexus turned to the owl.

  “I’m not sure. There are an infinite number of skills and paths in this universe. That being said, memories are an especially tricky path to specialize in. If you mess up altering a memory, it could do irreparable damage. As you know, the brain is incredibly complex. Humans have one of the most simplistic brains to put it into perspective.” Gene turned back to Mhlirna before continuing. “Your dedication and end goal are inspirational. I truly hope you succeed.”

  “Thank you. I must admit, I’ve never seen a talking owl before.”

  “You get used to it.” Zuls casually said while taking out a suspicious bottle and pouring a bit of it in her tea.

  Vorin nudged her and she stored the bottle away into a pouch. She looked at him confused before downing the whole cup.

  “I don’t want to speak for the rest of the party, but this doesn’t sound like something we can help with. We should start on the repairs and continue on before your mother wakes up. It was clear that our presence agitates her condition.”

  “Please, it is almost nightfall. You may leave if you’d like, but you can take my two guest rooms if you choose to for however long the repairs take. My mother will not bother you, I can assure you of that.”

  “Thank you for your hospitality. May we have a moment to discuss?”

  Mhlanir nodded at Vorin before leaving the room.

  “I think we should stay for a day or two to rest of up.” Zuls started the discussion.

  “I’m not sure we should. Being assaulted or manipulated by invisible spells isn’t something I want to deal with.”

  “Prith makes a good point. We would have to be on our toes the whole time we are here.”

  “Personally, I would like to stay and witness the effects on the mind when they are altering memories. Perhaps I can figure out a way to help these people.” Synexus threw his point of view into the discussion.

  “I’m fine with staying but keep the old lady away from me and I would like us to be gone in two days. This town gives me the creeps.”

  “I agree with Kumo. I would like to get moving towards my sisters as quickly as possible.”

  Gene nodded along in agreement, not really being on either side.

  “It should take us that long to get the repairs done. We did promise that, so two days in Silk Lake and then we leave?”

  “Yes, Captain!” They all said in unison.

  Mhlanir came back minutes later, and they told her their decision. She agreed to allow Synexus to observe some of the mind skills revolving around memories and showed them to their rooms. It would be a long couple of days of being constantly alert and aware of the dangers of the mind.