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Message: <blockquote data-quote="BoldItalic" data-source="post: 6784484" data-attributes="member: 6777052">"I'm most terribly sorry," said Clotbert as he brought BoldItalic round with a healing incantation and applied a poultice to the lump on his head to reduce the swelling. "I don't know how it happened. One minute I was reciting Myrristra's Prayer Of Rest and the next minute I was turning towards you. I must have been going to say something but I have no idea what it was. Then my mace gave you a terrific crack on the head. It was all over in a moment.""We thought he had gone insane," put in Rylnethaz. "Possessed by demons, or something."BoldItalic decided to stay sitting down for the moment. It was painfully obvious that someone in the room could read his mind. That being so, there was no point in keeping his thoughts private. "It's not Clotbert's fault," he announced to the room in general. "Someone here read my mind, though not accurately enough, and supposed that I was about to attack one of you. I wasn't, but I pretended to be, as a thought experiment. It was a trick. And it worked. Someone here can read minds. Just, not very well."There was an awkward moment while the others took this in. "Does this mean what I think it means?" asked Rylnethaz carefully."It means more than that," replied BoldItalic. "Whoever it is, panicked and reacted by forcing Clotbert to knock me out. It could have been anyone, but Clotbert just happened to be the nearest to me at the time. He was acting under a compulsion, not under his own volition. So, I conclude that not only can someone here read our minds but that same someone can take over our minds and force us to do things against our will. We are in the presence of a very powerful being."Everyone looked very uncomfortable at that, and people looked suspiciously around at each other, trying to work out who it was. "Well, it's not me," said Fingers quickly. "If I could read minds, let alone make people dance like puppets, I wouldn't be here at all. I'd be walking around town knowing where all people's secret stashes of gold were hidden and making them give me all their money." Then looked thoughtfully at nobody in particular and added "I don't suppose whoever it is, could teach me the trick could you? You can plant it in my mind if you like. I won't be offended." He paused, and held his head on one side for a moment, as if listening. "Nothing coming in," he announced. "Oh well, it was worth a try."Infántilë looked down. "Who was it you imagined attacking with your lightning bolt?" she asked. Was it someone you suspected? Was it me?""Yes," said BoldItalic. "And you have just confirmed my suspicions, haven't you?""Just a moment, what's going on?" demanded the captain as he waved his soldiers into position to guard the princess. He laid a hand on BoldItalic's shoulder and said firmly "If you were even thinking about harming her highness ...""Let him go. He knows the truth," said Infántilë sadly. "I gave myself away, didn't I?""Can someone please explain?" asked Rylnethaz. "I don't like not knowing what's going on.""I'm sorry, dear. You are well served by your vizier. He said that he imagined attacking someone, but only the person who read his mind would have known that he was thinking about a particular spell, a Lightning Bolt, that would have killed me. And he knew that I knew." She sighed. "Yes, I can read minds, though not very well. Just pictures, really. And I can compel people, though not very subtly. My father is far better at it than I am. That's how he keeps his throne, of course, though it's supposed to be a secret. His subjects would be unhappy if they knew the true nature of his power." She looked sorrowfully at Rylnethaz. "Will you still take me, now that you know?"Sir Rylnethaz gazed at the princess. "I think you know the answer, don't you?" he said.</blockquote>

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