Samire packed his bag as quickly as he could. He pulled in every item he could imagine he would need from The Institute. The backpack was already overloaded, but he was worried he might miss something vitally important. The road was most dangerous at night, and he needed to be prepared for the trip. On such short notice, Samire wasn’t certain he could even manage to escape. The portal rings were all being watched and logged. There was no option of escape there. He quickly looked around to ensure he was free from any curious eyes before turning back to his efforts.

“Hello Samire.” said a soft voice behind him.

He whipped around and saw Ebba had entered the room silently.

Ebba looked concerned, “Are you heading somewhere?”

“Oh Ebba. You scared me. Yes I have been called by The Watch to transfer to Prosit tonight. It’s some kind of educational mission they want me to perform there.” He said. He flinched when a window popped up in his vision.

Lie Failed. Ebba does not believe you.

“Is that right? I don’t recall seeing a transfer request go through”, she said.

Samire nodded slowly, a little confused at Ebba’s reaction to be lied to. “Well, the transfer request is still being written. It was relayed to me by word of mouth. This is a matter of some urgency, I am told.”

Lie Failed. Ebba does not believe you.

Ebba stepped further into the room and took a nearby seat, still wearing her armor. “Before you go, I noticed a weapon was removed from the dueling rack today. Why was the spear removed?” Ebba said, tapping one gauntleted finger against the other gauntlet. The metal ping ping ping sound unnerved Samire.

“Yes. Well Vina had made extensive use of that weapon on the first day and it needed to go out for repairs”, he tried to explain. For his effort, he got the same pop up window.

Ebba smiled, “I am glad you mentioned Vina. I couldn’t help but notice you were giving her some special attention today. How do you know of Vina outside of The Institute?”

Samire hesitated with that weird sentence. How did he know of her outside of the institute? He was unsure how to answer, so he chose to answer simply. “I’m just a teacher for Vina and the other students here.”

Deception Detected. Ebba knows you are being deceptive.

Ebba sighed, “Okay Samire. Let’s be honest with each other now, shall we? I have been letting you know I can detect your lies and deceptions. That’s why you’re getting your warnings. I am feeding them to you. Please stop lying to me.”

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Samire shifted nervously. He was not defenseless, but Ebba was clearly decked out for a fight. Samire activated his fake aspect of flames anyway, hoping to surprise Ebba. He thrust his hand out in front of him and a stream of fire flew from his fingertips. He bathed the room in flames.

After a moment, a metal gloved hand reached through the fire and grabbed him by the wrist. In one swift motion, his wrist bent and broke. Samire yelped in pain, but before he could take any other actions, Ebba forced him back first to the floor. “That was uncalled for, Samire!” she said through gritted her teeth. She placed both of her hands on his chest and Samire felt something slide into his heart.

You are afflicted with Geas of Truth. If you are asked a question, you will be forced to answer. You have a 3% chance of lying successfully. Attempting to lie will cause you pain. If you succeed in lying or not giving an answer, you will die. Geis of Truth will expire in 5 minutes.

Samire coughed from the weight on his chest, “Lady… lady Verax?” he wheezed out.

“Yes I am. See, it’s not hard to tell the truth. Now it is your turn. How do you know Vina?” Ebba asked.

Samire struggled to keep his mouth shut, but his words were pulled from within him. He tried to tell a lie, but he failed and suffered for the effort. “I was told Vina would arrive here.”

“Who told you?” Ebba pressed.

Samire again fought the compulsion to tell the truth, preferring to lie and die than betray. “Ahh! The Committee told me.”

Ebba appeared surprised by this answer. “The Committee is meddling this far out. Who are your contacts?”

Samire fought the compulsion, but two names spewed forth from his mouth and Ebba shook her head sadly. “Looks like I’ll be making other visits. Why did you warn Vina to not make a map?”

Samire struggled against Ebba’s hand, but she seemed immovable. “No one can know where Vina has been.”

“Why not?” Ebba continued her line of questioning.

“The… The Darkness would kill her.”

“The Darkness kills everyone." Ebba's eyebrows furrowed in frustration. "Why is The Darkness concerned with Vina?"

“I don’t know.” Samire answered. He sighed in momentary relief when the Geas did not punish him for trying to lie. His relief did not last long as Ebba continued to press him.

“Why did you remove the spear from the dueling area today?”

Samire groaned again, the words ripping themselves from his throat, “A spear is not a suitable weapon for Vina.”

“Why not?” Ebba asked.

Samire’s throat grew raw with the internal struggle he was experiencing. It pained his heart and body to speak, “Vina’s mother wielded the thrusting sword.”

Ebba’s eyes opened in surprise at the mention of Vina’s mother, “You knew Priya?”

“Yes” Samire spit out, his saliva sprayed out of his mouth all over Ebba’s armor.

“Does Priya still live?” Ebba cocked an eyebrow. She was fairly certain in her knowledge, but she liked to double check.

Samire cringed at the question but then relaxed. A grin crossed his face when the Geis did not force him to answer. Samire was loyal to his cause and gladly accepted his fate. He opened his mouth to answer Ebba and said, “I hope Vina kills you, you evil b...” Unfortunately, his heart stopped before he could finish.