Mother of Learning. Arc 3 Incomplete

They didn’t have to wait long. The matriarch soon skittered into view, flanked by two other aranea guards. The fact that he was able to pick out the matriarch among the three aranea, despite the fact that all three of them were fairly identical to his eyes, was probably just another proof that he really was empathic. Things like these made him wonder just why he had needed a talking spider to point it out to him before figuring it out.

[I originally intended this to be a private talk between just the two of us,] the matriarch spoke to his mind. [But since you saw fit to bring a guard, I decided to do likewise. Oh well, at least you didn’t shut me out of your mind like your friend did, so you’re still better than most humans I converse with.]

«Kael isn’t here just as a guard,» Zorian said, speaking out loud for Kael’s benefit. «He is involved in this thing as surely as you are, and I’d like him to participate fully in the discussion. Do you perhaps have a way to communicate vocally for his benefit?»

The matriarch seemed to consider it for a moment before she suddenly started waving four of her front legs in front of her, tracing some complex gesture in the air. Zorian tried for a moment to decipher what she was trying to communicate before he realized she wasn’t trying to talk to him.

She was casting a spell.

«There,» a feminine voice declared from the direction of the matriarch, though her mandibles didn’t move at all. «This is the aranea equivalent of the ‘magic mouth’ spell that you are no doubt familiar with. It’s just a sonic illusion, but it should be enough.»

Huh. So they did have more than just mind magic in their arsenal.

«I thank you for your consideration,» Kael said guardedly, obviously threatened by the spiders but trying to stay polite.

«Far from me to refuse such a simple request,» the matriarch said guardedly. She was obviously a little suspicious about Kael herself, probably because his mind was protected behind a mind shield spell. The spell made him immune to her abilities, but it also seemed to paint him as a threat to the aranea.

«Please, child,» the matriarch scoffed. Zorian heard the words with his flesh and blood ears, but he also felt them broadcasted to his mind — she might be vocalizing her words for Kael’s benefit, but she clearly wasn’t going to give up communicating with Zorian ‘the proper way’. «I could get past your silly human mind magic any time I wanted to. No, the reason I’m bothered by his mind ward is that it blocks me off from his mind completely. How am I supposed to trust him if he won’t even let me read his emotions and surface thoughts? It’s rude.»

Zorian’s mind boggled at the mindset that considered putting your surface thoughts up for scrutiny as being basic courtesy, but he supposed that’s species differences for you. Kael didn’t appear to be as understanding.

«Rude!?» he demanded, indignant at the accusation. «You think you have a right to just barge into people’s minds as you please, no permission given or asked, and you call me rude!? You spied on my personal memories, damn it, I have every reason to protect myself!»

The matriarch sent him a telepathic equivalent of a sigh, though no sound was vocalized for Kael’s benefit. «So did I,» she said calmly. «Your friend was a possible enemy that I needed to know more about, and you were one of the weak points I could target in order to get the needed information. Your mind was completely unprotected, after all.»

«So why didn’t you sift through Zorian’s memories, then? Wouldn’t that be quicker and more relevant to your quest?» Kael asked.

«Hey!» Zorian protested.

«I have limited myself to skimming his surface thoughts as a courtesy, because he is Open,» the matriarch said. «Among Aranea there is an unofficial custom to ask for permission before delving deeper into the minds of non-enemy psychics, regardless of species.»

Kael narrowed his eyes. «And if a person isn’t… ‘psychic’?»

«Flickerminds are fair game,» the aranea matriarch said dismissively.

«All right, let’s stop trying to piss each other off now and get back to business!» said Zorian with a clap of his hands, hoping to halt the argument before it got out of hand. «We were talking about the time loop and how you can help me with that. Before we get to that, though, I really have to ask — when you say I’m ‘open’, are you referring to my empathy?»

Kael gave him a surprised look at that, since Zorian never told him anything about being empathic.

«Being Open implies being empathic, but they are not the same thing. Empathy is just one of the powers available to you, and a bit of a low-hanging fruit at that — that’s why you can use it, despite being completely untrained in the psychic arts. Openness often manifests itself as a low, uncontrolled empathy in the beginning, coupled with a gift for divinations and an occasional prophetic dream.»