“Pardon me sir, but could I have a moment of your time?” Hilda asked as a rough looking human passed by with a wheelbarrow full of scrap stone.

He glanced at Hilda and then at the odd helmet Alma was holding.

“Not interested,” he grunted before picking up his pace.

“Well that makes six,” Alma sighed as she sat down on the cobblestone.

The two of them had spent the better part of the morning trying to convince people going into the dungeon to let them check for mind control.

Alma suspected that something like this might happen. The helmet wasn’t exactly subtle. There were odd bits sticking out at seemingly random locations as well as a gyroscope near the front. All in all, it looked more like something you would find in an interrogation chamber rather than a measurement device.

“Hmm perhaps we’re approaching the situation the wrong way,” Hilda muttered.

“I’m not sure our approach is the problem,” Alma replied glancing down at the helmet.

“Oi Hilda, is that you?” called a gangly man from down the street.

“Mr. Roach?” Hilda replied.

“Didn’t think I’d be seeing you again so soon,” He greeted as he walked closer, “how’ve you been?”

“Hilda, do you know him?” Alma whispered.

“Oh Alma, don’t be rude,” Hilda whispered back.

“Mr. Roach let me introduce you to my protege,” Hilda said pushing Alma forward, “this is Alma.”

“A pleasure,” Roach said holding out his hand.

“Nice to meet you, um, Roach,” Alma said shaking Roach’s hand hesitantly.

“So what brings you out here again?” Roach said joyfully.

“Oh, we’ve been trying to check people for mind manipulating magics,” Hilda replied candidly, “it’s been hard going though.”

“Enchantments of the mind, eh?” Roach said rubbing his chin, “I could stand to get my head checked.”

“Just sit down here and put this on,” Hilda said as she took the helmet from Alma as Alma tried to suppress a giggle.

“Just relax and let me know if you feel uncomfortable,” Hilda said as she waved her hand over the helmet.

A low hum began to emit from the helmet as Alma watched with fascination.

“Kind of nice actually,” Roach commented as the humming was joined by a few notes of a higher pitch, almost creating a musical harmony.

“Hmm interesting,” Hilda muttered to herself as the humming slowly died down.

“Interesting how?” Roach asked.

“You show signs of mental manipulation in the past, but nothing for quite a while,” Hilda said.

“Oh I know about that, don’t worry,” Roach said, waving his hand dismissively, “first one was about eight years ago. Enchanted mirror. Nasty stuff. Other one was a magic sword about two years after that. Fortunately, I can’t swing a weapon to save my life, so that one was short lived.”

“I see…” Hilda said as she removed the helmet.

“Why are you looking for enchantments?” Roach asked as he stood up.

“Just concerned about this wizard,” Hilda mentioned looking down the road, “not all wizards are what they seem.”

“You should see Duke,” Roach suggested, “he’s been looking for you anyway.”

“Someone’s been looking for Hilda?” Alma asked with a worried tone.

“Yep,” Roach replied, “says you could probably answer a few questions he has.”

“And why should she meet with this Duke person?” Alma asked suspiciously.

“Alma!” Hilda exclaimed.

“No no, s’alright,” Roach said, putting his hands up, “tell you what, if you’re having trouble talking to people around here, a word from Duke and you’ll have a line of people turning up to get their heads checked. He’s well known around here as being an honest man and people trust his judgment.”

“Sounds like just the person we should be speaking to,” Hilda said, “thank you Mr. Roach.”

“Oh please, just Roach is fine,” he said, "first you're going to need to take 12th street…”

***

“Is the spell working Zee?” asked Jasper.

“Yes, well no, um,” Zee began, stuttering as he went.

“Breathe Zee,” Jasper said.

Zee took in a breath.

“Well you see I started with a scrying spell-,” Zee began again.

“The dungeon is open again,” Duke said, opening the door harder than strictly necessary.

“Oh! Please tell me the coin cabinet is still there,” Jasper exclaimed, completely ignoring Zee.

“Yes the coin cabinet is there,” Duke said rolling his eyes, “the dungeon also upped security.”

“How so?” Jasper asked.

“I think the whole floor is trapped somehow,” Duke said, “the glass on the coin cabinets have been reinforced with a metal grate.”

Before Duke and Jasper could continue, there was a knock at the door.

Duke turned to answer and opened the door a crack.

“Who is it?” He asked.

“Am I speaking to Mr. Duke?”

“Yes, some people call me that,” Duke replied.

“My name is Hilda and I have something I’d like to speak to you regarding a matter you might be close to. May I come in?” Hilda asked.

Before Duke could reply, Zee immediately jumped up and flung open the door.

“Oh wow, it really is you!” Zee exclaimed, “come in, come in!”

Duke sighed and stepped to the side.

“Thank you,” said Hilda as she took Zee’s invitation, “This is Alma, my apprentice.”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Nice to meet you,” Alma said somewhat curtly as she followed Hilda.

“So what did you want to talk about?” Duke asked before Zee could start to gush.

“As I understand it, you have a strong connection to the wizard who has popped up in the warehouse district and the people who gamble at the parlor,” said Hilda.

“Unfortunately, that seems to be the case,” Duke said.

“Oh Duke, don't be humble,” Zee chuckled.

“Well looks like I’m in the right place,” Hilda said, “regarding why I’m here, I’d like to check the three of you for traces of enchantment, or magical mind control.”

“Why? Do you suspect the wizard has been using enchantment?” Duke asked.

“Well, not really,” Hilda explained, “there’s nothing that would suggest that anything untoward is happening, but it would be foolish to trust a newcomer wholeheartedly.”

“Oh perfect,” Jasper piped up, “if it turns out that there is nothing going on, Duke can finally shut up about wizards.”

“Jasper…” Duke groaned as his hand went to his face.

“I’m serious, Duke. I realize that going to the warehouse has been difficult for you, but Zee and I have offered to keep an eye out on it, yet you keep insisting on going. Zee and I have been practically watching you slam your hand in a door frame with this,” Jasper exclaimed.

Duke sighed again.

Alma and Hilda shared a look.

“Should we come back a different time?” Hilda asked.

“No,” Duke said, “Jasper is right. I’ve been a mess since this whole thing started. Anything you can do to help put my mind at ease would be appreciated.”

“Duke, I believe you and your friends know more than you're letting on,” Hilda began.

“W-what do you mean?” Zee stammered.

“By the gods Zee, you are such a shit liar,” Jasper moaned.

“Jasper!” Exclaimed Zee.

“What? Anyone would know that something was going on with the way you said that,” Jasper shrugged.

“As far as the wizard is concerned, we know it's not actually a wizard,” Duke said, ignoring Zee and Jasper.

“Duke!” Zee exclaimed.

“It's all right, Zee” Duke said, “anyone paying attention would have known Jasper wasn't actually talking about wizards.”

Hilda cleared her throat before the argument could get any worse, “well now that we got that out of the way, I suppose we can talk about the gambling parlor in the context of a dungeon rather than a wizard.”

“I'm tired of dancing around the truth personally,” Duke replied.

“As long as it's Just between the five of us,” Jasper said cautiously.

“I'd love to compare observations,” Zee agreed enthusiastically.

“I suppose this brings me to the reason for my visit,” Hilda explained, “Alma, would you show them the instrument, please?”

Alma stepped forward and pulled the helmet out of the bag she had slung over her shoulder.

“Wow,” Duke said.

“That’s… certainly an advanced instrument,” Zee stated as neutrally as possible.

“Reminds me of something you’d see for kids around the winter solstice celebration,” Jasper said bluntly.

Hilda scoffed a bit before continuing, “Yes, well, that brings me to my next point. I’m having trouble finding volunteers to try it on.”

“Can’t imagine why,” Jasper said under his breath before Zee shot him a dirty look.

“And you need my help with this?” Duke asked.

“Precisely,” Hilda said, “I was told you are a trusted person among the people who frequent the dungeon.”

“And you need my help to convince them to put on… that,” Duke finished.

“Well yes,” Hilda said.

There was a slight pause as the three of them looked at each other.

“For heaven’s sake, I’ll put it on!” Zee exclaimed as he stepped forward.

“Excellent!” Hilda said as she grabbed a chair and motioned for Zee to sit down.

“If your head explodes, can I have your stuff?” Jasper asked.

“Shut up, Jasper,” Zee groaned as the helmet was placed on his head.

Once again, humming noises of different pitches emanated from the helmet as lights flashed and an arch of plasma even arched between two of the rods.

“Hmm interesting,” Hilda said.

“Interesting?” Zee asked with a concerned tone.

“Oh nothing bad,” Hilda said as she took off the helmet, “in fact there are no signs that you’ve ever been under the effects of mind control magic.”

“Oh that’s good,” Zee said relieved.

“So who’s next?” Hilda asked as she looked between Duke and Jasper.

“Well my head didn’t explode, but if yours does…” Zee began as he looked at Jasper.

“Ugh fine,” Jasper groaned as he hopped up on the chair.

Hilda repeated the process and fortunately for him, his head remained intact.

“Allright Duke, seems safe enough,” Jasper said as he hopped off the chair.

“Guess it’s my turn,” Duke said as he sat down.

Once again Hilda activated the helmet and once again an indecipherable set of sounds, lights, and assorted spinning bobbles activated and stopped.

“Anything?” Duke asked.

“It looks like you had some run ins with mind control magic, but nothing in the past eight years at least,” Hilda commented before taking off the helmet.

“Yeah, sounds about right,” Duke said, “that would be a group of will-o-wisps that we- I ran into about eight years ago.”

Hilda hummed noncommittally and gave Duke a knowing look.

“So will you help us with our surveying of people who frequent the dungeon?” Hilda asked.

“Considering that I can still think straight and Zee and Jasper’s heads seem to be in-tact, I think I can help you out,” Duke said.

While Hilda had been checking Jasper and Duke for signs of hypnosis and mind control, Alma had noticed a magic circle drawn in chalk in the corner of the room.

“Hmm, it seems to be some sort of scrying, but not?” Alma muttered to herself.

“Oh just something I’m working on,” Zee whispered, noticing Alma examining his work.

“The structure is quite stable,” Alma mentioned, “where did you learn magic?”

“Oh, mostly self taught,” Zee chuckled quietly.

“Wow, this is surprisingly good work for self taught. Have you considered applying for the academy?” Alma asked.

“Well that’s what I moved to Harmony for,” Zee said, looking away embarrassed.

“Oh,” Alma said.

There was a slight pause while Jasper and Duke swapped places.

“So what does the spell do?” asked Alma.

“Oh nothing much,” Zee muttered, “I couldn’t scry inside the dungeon so this is a bit of a work around. It’s based on a wind spell that deep elves use to communicate.”

“Really?” Alma asked, suddenly very interested.

“Yeah, it’s only good for listening in on a location. Didn’t get anything except rumbling and the occasional ‘meow,’” Zee said.

“This is actually brilliant,” Alma said, “and don’t worry about not being able to scry. The dungeon is likely luck aspected.”

Zee’s eyes grew wide.

“Yeah, that would explain things,” he muttered as Duke was finishing up.

“So we’ll be meeting you outside the dungeon tomorrow?” asked Hilda as she packed up the helmet.

“Definitely,” Duke replied.

“This is great,” Jasper said, “if it turns out that the dungeon is just buying lumber, then this proves that it’s not a malicious dungeon.”

“I’m sure the orc who got his arm cut off would have something different to say,” Duke snapped.

“I said ‘not malicious’ not ‘pacifist’,” Jasper said rolling his eyes, “you’d forgive someone for defending themselves if their house was broken into.”

“That’s…” Duke began.

“What, Duke?” Jasper shot back, “what’s really so different?”

There was an awkward pause as Alma leaned in to whisper to Zee.

“Are Duke and Jasper always like this?” she asked.

“Only about the dungeon,” he replied, “Duke had a bad experience with a dungeon during his adventuring days and Jasper sees this as an opportunity to get everyone from the Slums out of poverty.”

“So what’ll it be Duke?” Jasper demanded, “do you want to get into it again or are you finally going to admit that this dungeon isn’t murderous?”

There was a pause as Duke clenched his fist before relaxing.

“If the dungeon hasn’t been using mind control, I swear on my oath I’ll make an effort,” Duke said solemnly.

Jasper looked like he had been splashed with cold water.

“Oh good,” was all that he managed.

“It seems like you all have things to discuss, so Alma and I will be taking our leave,” Hilda announced before politely removing herself from the argument.

Seeing an opportunity to escape an awkward situation, Alma immediately turned for the door, but not before looking back at Zee and departing with a “it was nice to make your acquaintance,” and exiting.

“Likewise,” Zee mumbled to the closed door.