“Enter,” Niweq’s voice called. SJ opened the door and walked inside. The interior hadn’t changed. The posters on the walls of various acts reminded SJ of a theatre office. Niweq was not alone, and sitting in a chair in front of his desk was a kobold.

“Hello, Niweq,” SJ said.

“Ah, the Fae. You have returned. Are you seeking employment this time?” Niweq asked with a smile.

“No thanks. I am here on town business,” SJ said.

“Town business. I see. What business do you have with the town and my establishment?” Niweq asked, raising one eyebrow inquisitively.

“I am here to talk about a delicate matter,” SJ said, looking at the kobold, who had not paid attention since she entered. It continued to ignore her, stubbornly refusing to face her.

“Delicate, you say,” Niweq replied, looking at the kobold. SJ couldn’t see any movement from the kobold.

“It relates to the expansion of the town’s borders.”

“I see. What does that have to do with you?”

“I am the town’s ambassador and here as a representative to discuss this matter on the town’s behalf,” SJ said, knowing that she hadn’t even had the express discussion with Zigferd about whether she should be here.

“The town’s ambassador?” Niweq said, surprise registering on his face. “I did not know. Congratulations on your appointment.”

“Thank you. As I mentioned, I wished to discuss this delicate matter with you,” SJ said again, indicating toward the kobold.

“It is fine. Please continue,” Niweq responded, waving his hand towards the kobold, who still sat with his back to her. No one had invited SJ to sit, and she didn’t assume it was an option.

Standing, feeling a little awkward, she continued. “The town is considering expanding its borders, and with the proposal, the land around the Wandering Ogre would fall within its new boundaries. As you are the deed holder of this property, I do not want to force anything on you that you didn’t consider viable. I just want to discuss a proposal for the Wandering Ogre and its land to become under the town protection.”

“You wish the Wandering Ogre to become a protectorate of the town?”

“I wouldn’t say a true protectorate, as we aren’t after controlling what you do. We would like to offer you the ability to consider being a more permanent part of the town in the future. You would benefit from the standard elements relating to all those who live in the town.”

“What benefits does this bring me? All I can see from your initial proposal is that we would fall under the taxation and remit to the council.”

“No, that is not what I am saying. I am saying you would receive the same protection rights as any other member of the town, with guard support.” SJ felt completely out of her depth, wishing she hadn’t started this path of enquiry with Niweq.

“Do you think I require guard support here at the Ogre? I have some of the most capable fighting staff around these parts.”

“You may have once.”

“Once? What do you mean once?” Newiq’s brow furrowed.

More people will move into the area due to the territory and boundary expansion, and those already here will also grow stronger.

SJ noticed a movement from the kobold for the first time. One of his clawed fingers raised slightly and wagged towards Niweq, the slight gesture not passing her.

“I was unaware of these changes. What are you referring to, exactly?”

“The town now accommodates all up to level 20 for growth.” SJ could feel a bead of sweat on her back. She really wasn’t content with the conversation’s tone or direction.

Niweq’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Then why would I require protection, as it will mean that my own can also level?”

“I really don’t like him,” Dave said. “The way he is acting. The fact he didn’t introduce the kobold. He isn’t to be trusted, and I would advise cutting the conversation short and leaving it here. You are currently outside the town’s boundaries, and he doesn’t seem receptive to your offer. You need to be careful.”

Niweq had been charismatic and charming when she had first met him, even if he ran a seedy club, but his mannerisms today were completely different. He didn’t show any of his charm. ‘I wonder if that kobold is controlling him,’ SJ thought.

“Maybe he has something on him,” Dave said.

‘Did you just read my mind?’ SJ thought.

“I don’t think so?” Dave said.

“What!” ‘What!’ Dave said, and SJ thought at the same time.

SJ had lost all sense of direction at the sudden revelation that Dave could read her thoughts. The interaction lasted only seconds, but Niweq now sat staring at SJ, awaiting a response. Trying to control herself and not react, she quickly considered her options.

“Niweq. It is obvious that I have caught you at a bad time. Pethtu has informed me that your clientele has decreased since the wyvern attack, and I only hope your business continues as it has done. I am not trying to force or change how you run your establishment. I only offer you the consideration of integrating into the town as it grows. Consider the thought of future growth. I will leave you to dwell on the proposal.” SJ said, turning to leave.

SJ noticed Niweq’s expression change to one of confusion as she cut the conversation short and turned, walking from his office. Hurrying back down the corridor to the side entrance, she let herself out, calling thanks to Pethtu, who raised a hand in response from behind the counter he sat at.

“What has just happened?” she said as soon as she was at a safe distance to talk to Dave.

“I do not know,” he replied, sounding confused.

“You read my mind!”

“I think I did.”

“You must know if you did or not.”

“Think of something now.”

‘Dave sucks.’

“Hey! Oh, damn, I did read your mind, didn’t I?”

“It seems that way. Has this ever happened to you before as an administrator?”

“No, never. I am as confused as you are. I know I can see your neural pathways, but I never realised that I could communicate with you without you having to speak to respond.”

“At least I can walk around town without looking like I am always talking to myself.”

“Yes. I don’t know what has allowed me to read them. I am looking through my code currently and trying to see any changes, but I can’t see anything.”

“It is a little disconcerting knowing you can read my thoughts.”

“How do you think I feel!? It’s not as if I want to know everything that goes through your mind. Oh, isn’t that dress pretty? Her hair looks nice like that. He’s cute,” Dave said sarcastically.

SJ stopped, still considering what Dave had just said, uncertain if she even had thoughts like that. She supposed she may occasionally, but hadn’t considered how it might appear to anyone else.

“You realise I can now understand what you were just thinking about.”

Embarrassed, SJ began walking in earnest towards the town again.

“I can’t understand why it has happened. I know we have got close, but I never expected this to occur,” Dave said.

“You said you can see my neural pathways?”

“Yes. I can see the patterns of your electrical signals as your brain triggers. That is the basis of the integration coding that allows us to communicate directly with your brain and converse with you.”

SJ couldn’t get her head around the concept that Dave could see the internal workings of her brain at the same time as seeing everything around her. “How does it work?”

“It’s hard to explain. I suppose the easiest explanation would be like seeing a holographic projection of your brain.”

SJ had seen movies and TV shows back on Earth, whether science fiction or science-based, but never imagined a real version of them. The concept was not alien, just very difficult to comprehend. “What does this even mean?”

“No idea. It is as new to me as you. I am in as much shock as you are,” Dave said.

“If you can read my thoughts, what else can you do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Can you control them?” SJ sounded concerned.

“I do not know. I wouldn’t have thought so. That would mean integration and neural transition. I know I previously joked about taking over a dragon or beastkin, but I never thought it would be a serious option. This may mean it is a possibility.”

“That’s scary.”

“But also, exciting.”

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“For you, maybe,” SJ frowned.

“For us. Just consider if I could help out during situations. I have a greater visibility of the world around you and could support you during times of need.”

“You already have that ability, and you support me.”

“I mean reaction times. If I could control…”

“Don’t even go there!” SJ snapped. “There is no way you will ever be able to control me.”

“No. I don’t mean control.”

“That is exactly what you just said.”

“Yes. I didn’t mean control, control. I meant control as in help. Say someone attacked you, and I could see the attack before you could and react before you could.”

SJ shivered at the thought of being controlled. “The fact you can read my mind is frightening enough. If you could ever control me, I am not sure I could cope.”

“I honestly don’t know what it means. I will have to speak to the system about it.”

“NO,” SJ shouted, stopped again.

“Why?” Dave asked.

“I am sure if this is normal, you would know. I don’t need to draw more attention from them. They already class me as an anomaly.”

“Okay. I won’t. I will continue to work on my code, though. The recent levels have been challenging in breaking the algorithmic locks they implemented.”

“Has this anything to do with what you have been working on previously?”

“No. I was just freeing my mind and removing restrictions. I don’t believe anything I have done would have caused this.”

Over the past couple of weeks, SJ had not considered Dave’s coding and the changes he had been investigating. She had been too busy with her new life.

“Ohhhhhh,” Dave suddenly said.

“What?” SJ said, concerned.

“Erm, you have a new entry on your character sheet.”

“What?” SJ said as she called up her display and switched to her sheet. Reading through it, she saw nothing different until the last line.

Synchronisation 7%

“Synchronisation!” SJ exclaimed.

“It appears that way. Maybe because we have communicated so often. I don’t know.”

“Why is it only showing now? I have never seen it before.”

“The fact I can read your thoughts may have triggered it to show. The system has many hidden features to which I am not privy.”

“If we ended up synchronised. Would that not mean I could also see your code or what you know?”

The comment startled Dave, and he spluttered a response. “I don’t know. Maybe it would.” His voice now contained a nervous inflexion.

“Why are you worried suddenly?”

“No reason,” Dave coughed.

“You are afraid I would discover all your dirty little secrets, aren’t you?” SJ asked.

“No. I have nothing to hide. Well, not that much anyway,” Dave chuckled nervously.

Standing on the path back to town, they both stayed silent. SJ was trying not to think of anything that, under the circumstances, was virtually impossible. She looked around, trying to focus on the trees and the plants, considering the animal sounds that filtered from the nearby forest, anything apart from what she wanted to think about. Giving in, knowing it was pointless, you spoke. “Can we agree? Whatever happens, we will never divulge each other’s secrets or use anything we learn about each other against each other.”

Dave did not hesitate to agree. “I agree fully that whatever happens, we will always keep each other’s thoughts secret.”

“This is a little one-sided. I can’t read your thoughts.”

“It’s not exactly comforting for me either. It’s a good job that we are best friends.”

‘Yes, we are,’ SJ thought before realising.

“Now that’s the kind of thought I like to see,” Dave said cheerily.

“This is going to take some getting used to.”

“It is, for both of us. I am now going to have so much more to do.”

“Consider this option. Unless I am involved in a conversation with another or in an area with others. I will always speak to you normally. Does that sound fair?”

“It does. It stops me from having to continually monitor your thoughts, although it doesn’t take much processing power.”

“Are you saying my thoughts are not worth the effort?” SJ huffed.

“No. I would have expected the continual load of neural processes to take up much more processing than they do. It is tiny in comparison, which is strange considering the complexity of the human brain.”

“You just said human brain?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I am a Fae. Is my brain not a Fae brain now?”

Silence.

“Dave?”

“Sorry. I just had a moment of realisation.”

“What?”

“You are absolutely right. You should have a fae brain, but you don’t. It is still human.”

“Sorry?”

“When any other Legionnaire has transformed or selected their race previously, their metabolism and physical changes fully morph those of the race they choose. Your brain hasn’t changed, meaning that you are actually a Fae with a human brain. I had never even considered it until you mentioned it.”

“Is this a bad thing?”

“I don’t think so. Let me check something quickly.”

Silence.

“I think I understand why you still have a human brain. According to reincarnation protocols, only a human brain can integrate into the system. By adapting the terms and conditions and your waiver status for potential future reincarnations, if they had physically altered your brain to that of any other race, they could not reintegrate you again.”

“What about those who go in dungeons and die but get reincarnated?”

“It’s not really a reincarnation. They are basically in a sub-system of Amathera and then reinstated in Amathera. It’s the same with world events. They create sub-systems. If you die in the main Amathera system, the main system then reincarnates you. It’s again one of those MIT moments to fully explain or comprehend.”

“What about those who decide to be humans? Does that mean that they could be reincarnated if the system wished?”

“No. Their brains are Amatherean human brains, not Earth human brains. You still have your full-on original grey matter. This is mind-blowing.”

“You are telling me!?”

“I will start doing some research. I need to understand the synchronisation process more.”

“We both do,” SJ said as she once again continued back towards town.

SJ returned to the cottage and settled down to eat when there was a sharp knock on the door. “Who is it?” she called.

“It’s the guard,” Dave said before they replied.

“Councillor. We have been asked to inform you that someone spotted the Dire Wolf near the town entrance, violating the rule that it should stay away.”

SJ jumped from her table, knocking the chair over, and ran to the door.

“Is he howling?” she asked excitedly as she opened the door.

Surprised at her reaction and the look on her face, the guard replied, “Yes.”

“Amazing. Let’s go,” SJ said, pushing between the guards and pulling the cottage door to behind her.

Both the guards looked confused at her reaction, turning to follow SJ.

“I will meet you there,” SJ said as she transformed into her miniature form and took off. Her flying speed was much faster than her walking pace. She quickly flew through the streets to the far side of the town. It didn’t take her long to arrive to see a group of six guards standing in a line facing out towards the Dire Wolf, who sat approximately a hundred feet from the street on the path between the cornfields. SJ had heard Patch’s howl as she crossed the town.

Ignoring the guard, she flew straight past them towards Patch, landing and growing as soon as she did. “Have you found her?” she said excitedly.

Patch gave a low growl and turned back, leading towards the forest.

“Wait,” SJ said, turning back to the guard. “Get me the mayor now.”

The guards just stood looking at her with confused looks.

“NOW!” SJ shouted.

One guard reacted before the others and ran towards the barracks. Several minutes passed while SJ paced impatiently. Seeing Zigferd appear, SJ yelled at him, “The wolves have found Alice! Get some guards to follow!”

Zigferd’s look of confusion disappeared in an instant, and he shouted orders at the guards who had been standing facing Patch. They immediately moved towards SJ. Switching to her miniature form, she followed Patch as he moved across the cornfield. SJ heard a roar behind her, turning to see that Zigferd had transformed into his bear form and was pounding across the fields in pursuit. This left the poor guard trying to keep up with them. Zigferd soon caught up as Patch led them into the forest.