Mother of Learning. Arc 3 Incomplete

Zorian sighed. What a difficult question. He wanted — no, needed — what the matriarch was offering… but he really didn’t trust her with this. And really, how could he? Mind magic was only a hair’s breadth better than soul magic in terms of abuse potential, and that was only because mind magic had well-established counters whereas soul magic did not.

«You’re asking a lot,» Zorian complained.

«I offer a lot,» the matriarch countered. «And besides, I’m taking as big of a risk here as you do. I have no guarantee that you will actually track me down in each restart and alert me to the memories I stored inside your mind. What stops you from playing along for a few restarts, until you’ve gotten everything you wanted from me, and then meticulously avoiding contact with me for the rest of the time loop? Nothing. I have taken a leap of faith and decided to trust you. Is it so wrong to expect a similar commitment from you in turn?»

A short silence descended on the scene as Zorian digested her words in his head. He supposed there was some merit in what she was saying, though he wasn’t quite buying the idea that she was risking as much as he was. His risk was more final and immediate than hers.

Oh well. No pain, no gain.

«Fine,» he said. «I agree to your terms.»

«You are a braver man than I,» Kael told him as they slowly walked back to Imaya’s place.

Zorian absent-mindedly rubbed his forehead instead of giving him a proper answer. He didn’t feel noticeably different after the aranea was finished with the procedure, to be honest. Kael was worried about possible dormant command spells that the matriarch may have implanted along with the memory packet, but…

«I actually had a reason to think it might not be as dangerous as it sounded,» Zorian finally said.

«Oh?» Kael prompted.

«Yeah. I researched the limitations of mind magic before we went to talk to the matriarch, both the classical spellcasting type and the telepathic abilities of magical creatures known to use them. I even asked Ilsa and our combat magic instructor for advice. I probably made them really suspicious of what the hell I’m doing but whatever. Anyway, everyone seems to agree that even expert mind mages can’t just rewrite someone’s brain on a whim, or in a stealthy manner. It takes a great deal of time and you basically have to knock the victim unconscious or they will be fully aware of what you’re trying to do to them and fight it with everything they got — physically and mentally. If the matriarch tried to do something truly terrible to me, we would have known so quickly enough.»

«I’m not really sure I could have done much for you, even if I noticed the deal had gone bad,» Kael said. «I do have some modest combat skills, but I doubt they’d be enough to fight off three giant spiders that are all within jumping distance of me.»

«It doesn’t matter,» said Zorian, reaching into his pocket to retrieve one of his two unspent explosive cubes. He held the stone cube in his palm so Kael could see it. «All I had to do was send a pulse of mana into these and both me and the matriarch would have ended up in pieces. I very much doubt the matriarch could have incapacitated me faster than I can pulse my mana.»

«Suicide?» Kael asked, sounding surprised. He shook his head. «I stand by what I said. You are a braver man than I.»

«As Zach once told me, the time loop skews your perspective on dying,» said Zorian, putting the cube back in his pocket. Now that he thought about it, his impromptu security system reminded him of the similar system that protected Zach from the lich’s soul meld spell. He should probably start carrying something like this all the time, just in case. Something way lighter and less noticeable than two big stone cubes, though.

«It’s still possible she used something less comprehensive than a full personality rewrite on you, though,» Kael said after a few seconds.

«I know,» Zorian said. «But you heard what she said at the end. The memory packet should last for a year, at minimum. I plan to avoid the aranea in the next several restarts while I look for a way to examine my mind for such things. Even if the magical expertise is beyond me, I’m sure I can find an expert to hire so they can take a look at me.»

«Ah. Good idea,» Kael nodded. «Of course, that means it will be a while before you can question the matriarch again. She did say she wasn’t saying anything until you deliver the memories to her reborn self in the next restart.»

«An acceptable delay,» Zorian shrugged. It wasn’t like he had nothing to do while he waited, and Zach had indicated he would be spending the next several restarts in Cyoria as well. Hell, even in this particular restart he had to see what Haslush would do about the invasion and what Zorian could do to help him. If he ended up staying in Cyoria during the summer festival at all, that is. He wasn’t sure he wanted to do that, all things considered. «So… do you want to tell me your master plan for getting yourself into this time loop now or later?»