Chương 42: Lest thine ears deceive me, that was a little girl.

"George?" she said.

"I know you're behind that chair. I was behind one over here, too. It's OK. I think we can come out now." >>Note to self. New standard protocol. Do the Identify thing every time we walk into a darkened room in a game in which people are trying to kill us! As Nod said that, a white line appeared in George's vision running between him and the other player in the room. George scooted the chair forward a bit and then leaned out so he could see around the side.

A small silhouette was framed against the moonlit window on the other side of the room. <Name: Cassie Race: Human Level: 92, E-Grade Profession: Logarithmic Empath Abilities: Timmy Fell Down the Well; Show Me Your Papers; You May Call A Falcon From The Sky, But Will You Like It When It Lands On Your Arm? Guild: Collegium Mentis Metadata—Encyclopedia Esoterica: The Collegium Mentis is one of the three strongest mental guilds known as the Tridium Mentis.

Disciples of the Collegium excel in mental communication, mind manipulation, memory-scanning, inception, and cognitive shielding. Unlike the other schools of the Tridium, they are weak in telekinesis, precognition, elemental manipulation, and cognitive enhancement. Yet, popular opinion and their trial record show that they are still more to be feared. > It was the little girl from the voting room. She walked across the room toward George.

As she stepped into the firelight, George saw that she was wearing an outfit so black that it almost seemed to eat the light. She had dark skin, and her hair was pulled behind her head in a curly puff. She walked straight up to the chair in front of George and jumped on it with her knees. She peeked her head around the chair and smiled down at his helmet.

"Hi, George," she said.

"I'm Cassie."

"Um. Hi, Cassie," George said.

"I'm not on your team," Cassie said.

"But I'm good. And so are you, so that means we're really on the same team." >>Proceed with caution. No threat level notification yet.

"Cassie, do you mind if I stand up?" George said.

"Oh, yeah," Cassie said, jumping off the chair and plopping down on one of the couches in front of the fire. George scooted the chair out and stood up. >>Don't trust her just because she's cute, George. I know what you're thinking right now.

"Nod is funny," Cassie said.

"But why do you have another voice in your head?" >>Ah! She can hear me! >>You can hear me?

"Yep," Cassie said.

"And I know you're good, too. You are not as nice as George, but you are funnier." >>How much do you know about us, freaky psychic child?

"Not so much," Cassie said.

"Just your conversation since you came into the room. And stuff you've thought about since entering. And I get a general sense about people. That's how I know you're good. I can tell that helmet is supposed to shield you from weak telepaths, but…" >>Well, George. How about that? You can stop worrying about me taking over your body now. I'm a good guy. I'm certified… >>… By a five-year-old girl.

"I'm twelve," Cassie said.

"How does a twelve-year-old end up in this game?" George said.

"I was born here," Cassie answered.

"My family runs a school. That's the guild I'm in. They do a lot to keep me out of the trials, but everybody has to do them eventually." She went on, "I'm supposed to hide until I can learn enough to make a team. So… want to be on a team? My parents said to promise anyone who helped me that they'd help them in the future, too." >>Uh huh. And what else can you offer Team Nod, Cassie?

"I'm pretty good at finding stuff out," she said.

"And I'm pretty good at telling when people are lying. I know what people are thinking if I get near them, and if they are lying, that is usually what they think about." >>Ok. What am I thinking right now?

"That George is lucky about the torso armor because it hides his dad bod," Cassie laughed.

"Ok, now you are thinking about when he got those bright blue sweatpants that didn't fit."

"Yes, thank you, Nod," George said.

"You are ever the faithful and helpful familiar. Cassie, believe it or not, I meant to buy an interface upgrade and got Nod instead." >>It was the best day of both of our lives. Ignoring Nod, George said, "Cassie, if you know what team I'm on, can you tell what team everyone is on?"

"Not everyone," Cassie said.

"My powers don't work in the voting room. And I'm not at a super high level like my parents, so it is actually pretty easy for some people to block me out. But I should be able to figure out what team someone is on if I get close enough to them." The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Wait," George said.

"Can you tell me which of the other players is in my family?"

"Someone in the trial is in your family?" Cassie said, looking confused.

"Yeah…" George started to explain, but suddenly, he didn't know where to begin.

"It's complicated. I don't have all my memories, so I don't know what my children look like. But I have a quest that tells me that someone in this trial is in my family. I…" He stopped suddenly when she walked across to him and touched the skin of his neck with her finger. He felt an electric shock jump from her finger, and he jerked his head back.

"Oh, sorry," Cassie said.

"I'm supposed to warn people about that." But then her voice trailed off, and her eyes bounced back and forth like she was speed-reading.

"You have to buy your memories?" she said.

"And click that button. You don't even know why you are in the game. And, oh wow. The AI talks to you? I've never heard of that." >>Sheesh, kid. Give a guy some privacy. >>That is a little hypocritical, don't you think? >>That's different. >>We're basically the same person. Cassie lifted a hand to her head and continued to delve into his memories.

"And then Nod came, but you didn't know why," Cassie said.

"Then he saved you. Oh my gosh, you didn't even know that guy was going to attack you. But good idea with the bomb. But you got the Saar mark. Those guys are scary. We don't let any of them in the school." Then she threw her hands over her mouth and laughed.

"That squid in the weird space world. Then… gross. Those little spiders popped out of your arm," Cassie said. >>Oh, and I suppose you just manifested out of thin air, little girl! Hmm? She looked at George and said, "You are in trouble. That Murdo guy. And you have to help Neco, but he's mean. Then you got that family quest, but you don't know what it means.

"Wow! You have been busy during the hunting rounds. I've just been hiding. You got chased by that hyena thing and then those snakes. Oh, and the metal ball robot guy. Lucky that you were both on the red team. And then the floating around room, and then, Nod died for a while, and you got that thing in your hand." >>I didn't die. >>I made a tactical retreat. >>…into unconsciousness. When she was done, she blew out a breath.

"Ok. Sorry about that. We should definitely be on a team, though. You need me. I mean, it would be better if my mom was here. Or my dad. But still. It is better to have one Cassie on the team than none.

"What do you say? Team up? You've got, like, five big problems you need to solve. I've been mostly hiding out so far, but I can at least help you look for your family if you want," Cassie said.

"Neco is probably your biggest problem because if he dies, you die too. Too bad we can't get that helmet off." >>Cassie, could you go into another room so my colleague and I can have a private conversation?

"It's fine, Nod," George said.

"I'm not going to make her go into another room where somebody could pop out of a portal at any moment. She just read my whole mind. She probably knows more about my life than I do at this point." >>True. Self-knowledge is not your strong suit. >>What is the point of not joining up with her? She seems nice. >>Or she's mentally puppet-mastering you, and she's actually an evil hive-mind demon overlord possessing the body of an admittedly adorable twelve-year-old girl. >>… No offense, Cassie.

Cassie just laughed and watched them. >>What do we have to lose? >>Plus, if she finds out which of my children is in this trial, she could tell us who it is. Then, we'll have another ally in here. >>There are so many holes and potential pitfalls in that chain of reasoning that I am choosing not to address any of them. George held out his hand to Cassie and said, "You've got a deal, Cassie. We're officially Team George and Cassie." >>No. It is still just Team Nod.

Cassie gave his hand one pump up and down and said, "This is great! I'm supposed to find people I can trust and help them. It creates tribal bonds and mutual camaraderie. That's what mom and dad said." >>You're a weird little girl, Cassie. >>And I've got my eye on you. >>But welcome aboard. For now. >>I'll forward the entrance fee to Team Nod to your parents' account, shall I?

"Thanks, Nod," Cassie said. She held out a small blue hexagon the size of a poker chip. There was an ornate rune inlaid in white on both sides.

"I'm supposed to give you one of these, too. It means we are on a team and the guild is on your side."

"OK," George said and took it, holding it up to the firelight. The white rune inscribed on it looked vaguely like a tree. He slipped it into one of the pockets in Webb's trousers. >>How do we use this token, Cassie?

"Just show it to people, and they'll know you're with the guild. And that we have your back." Cassie said. >>And what happens after that?

"Well, if they know the guild, they'll… I don't know… be scared of us," Cassie said.

"I wish you knew my parents. It'd make more sense, then." >>So, we show people the token, and then they'll know that if they mess with us, the psychic mafia will come and scramble their brains for them.

"Yeah, basically," Cassie said. They were interrupted by another message from the loudspeaker.

"Murdge the Auctarium, level 140 Corpulent Palimpsest. Entering The Manor House." Ability Notification! Threat Level 2 Knickknack Savant - Level 3 >>That can't be good. Cassie closed her eyes briefly and then said, "Bad!" George walked to the doorway and peeked into the hallway but only saw shadows down the long hallway.

"The empath and the amateur," Murdge's voice boomed from elsewhere in the house.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." George waved Cassie toward the door. He slipped into the hallway and opened the door leading to the adjacent room. Cassie followed him into the small, bookshelf-lined room. The portal glowed faintly in the unlit fireplace.

"Let's go through the portal and then try to find another portal as soon as possible," George said.

"If Murdge is that giant creature that looked like five different bodies all sewn together, I'd rather have a few rooms between him and us."

"Yeah, that's him," Cassie said.

"OK, I'll go in first, and then—" George started to say, but he was cut off when Cassie waved at him and ducked into the portal. George hurriedly stepped into the portal after her, and almost tripped over her when he came through. She had stopped in front of the portal and was staring ahead at a counter with what looked like the torso of a ventriloquist's dummy bolted onto it.

Entering Hunting Room: Johnny Johnny's Traveling Emporium for the Harried Wanderer Ability Deactivated: From the Fragments to the Aftermath Threat Level 0 Ability Notification! Development points assigned: 35 Progress toward ability upgrade: 55/1000 The hunting room was less of a room than a large closet. When George looked behind him, he saw that the portal had disappeared. In its place, there was only a white wall covered in racks of candies and bags of chips, like a convenience store.

The dummy was dressed like a butler and was utterly inert. Its chest slumped sideways, and its arms hung limply at its sides. There were two large buttons on the counter, a red one and a green one. The green one had a sign beside it that said, "Press for Service" in ornate handwriting. The sign next to the red button said, "Press to Exit." >>Ooookaaayyy >>Honestly. >>Who makes this stuff up?