Anthony took Orrin upstairs. The thin staircase creaked and more pictures filled the walls from floor to ceiling.

“Once you deactivate your skill, you’ll probably either be in so much pain that you pass out immediately or your exhaustion will knock you out,” Anthony chuckled in his mind. “Either way, you’ll be dead to the world for a few hours until you wake up screaming.”

“That’s not reassuring,” Orrin complained.

“I’ll be here with some home remedies I’ve cooked up. You’re not the first fledgling to fall into my nest and you won’t be the last.”

Anthony stopped in front of a large metal door and took a key out from under his shirt. Opening the door, he stood to the side and tried to usher Orrin inside.

“This looks like a prison cell.” Orrin peeked inside at the bare mattress, bucket, and barred window. “Why do you have a room like this?”

Anthony tilted his head. “You do realize I cure mind mages or people dumb enough to get conflicting skills? That’s not a safe occupation. I wasn’t kidding when I asked if you were here to try and kill me.”

He waved his hand at the room. “Layers of different metals keep most spells in and interested third parties out. You’ve got a pot to piss in and a mattress to sleep on. You don’t need anything else because it’s gonna be real unpleasant for a few days.”

Orrin started weighing pros and cons and felt the headache spike again.

“Fine.”

Orrin entered the room and Anthony slapped it shut. Orrin heard the key turn. I can always teleport out-

“Now sit down on the mattress and pull up your status. Pull out [Mind Bastion] in a box and squeeze it. Right now, it’s in charge. But you can always take control of your own skills. Show it who the boss is.”

Orrin sat on the floor, avoiding the sweat stained mattress. He pulled up his skill.

[Mind Bastion]- individual is able to control his own mind and therefore part of his body.

He gripped the box in his hand and felt something give in his mind. Orrin put more pressure on the blue cube and screamed as shards of ice pushed into his eyes from behind.

“Sounds about right,” Anthony’s voice in his mind sounded like a hundred rusty nails scratching the world’s longest chalkboard. “Do you feel it yet?”

“Feel...what?” Orrin was sweating as he held on.

“Some find a switch or a lever. I’ve always seen skills as a dial. One poor kid had an entire door he’d open. Something that you control. Find it.”

Orrin had no idea what Anthony meant but he kept squeezing. The pain increased more with every passing second. Sweat poured down his neck.

Then the pain stopped and Orrin felt something new. Instead of a box around his fingers, he held a game controller. An old Atari style with a single button. The stick didn’t move. But somehow he ‘knew’ the button was the trigger.

“Found it.”

“Flip it, twist it, whatever. Try not to scream too much.”

Orrin hesitated for only a second before pressing the button.

Pain.

The truck running him over had been a light feather falling on him. The attacks he’d suffered so far, gentle tickles from a child.

Pain.

The stabbing in his eyes turned to hot fires. His neck hairs prickled as he flushed hot and cold. Scratches ran up and down the inside of his throat. Every beat of his heart pushed molten lead through his veins.

Pain.

Orrin screamed. He cried. Mercifully, he fainted.

Orrin woke with a scream. Anthony sat beside him, water dripping from a rag. He’d been pressing the cold water against Orrin’s forehead.

“Hush, it’s early morning. Don’t wake my neighbors again,” Anthony’s voice in his head felt quieter. Not as harsh.

“Water,” Orrin croaked. Anthony handed him a pitcher and Orrin drank deeply.

“Want to try some food again?”

Orrin pulled the pitcher away from his mouth. “Again?”

“Hmmm. Some block it out. That’s not good. You’ll try and do it again. Remember the pain, son.”

Orrin frowned and then gasped as images flooded his mind. Days and nights of vomit, crying, and pain. He’d begged and screamed. Anthony had to come in to stop him punching the wall, his fists a bloody mess. Orrin cursing Anthony for using his magic to stop Orrin from healing himself. Orrin laying in Anthony’s lap as he sang a soft song. The images flashed by and Orrin felt his bile rise again.

“Enough. Please. No more.”

Anthony took a bowl of broth and a slice of buttered bread from under a small sheet. “Try. You’re improving. I suspect it’s almost over.”

“What...how many days...?” the smell overwhelmed him and Orrin tore the bread with his teeth. A little stale from being out for so long, it tasted better than anything he’d ever had.

“Four days. Well five now, it’s almost morning. Eat and clean up. There’s a bucket of clean water and a towel. Come downstairs when you can.” Anthony took his own bucket and left, leaving Orrin to devour the broth.

It took him an hour to wash his body. His body felt weak and the small towel dropped from his shaking hands a few times. He couldn’t remember ever being so sweaty and smelling quite so bad. This is Daniel after soccer practice level stink. He chuckled to himself.

Daniel.

Oh shit, Orrin felt tears start again. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. I really fucked things up.

With [Mind Bastion] off, all of the feelings and emotions of the first ten days poured over him like a wave. Anger, fear, depression, guilt.

I killed a man.

Orrin almost threw up but swallowed hard.

[Mind Bastion] didn’t let him control his mind. It blocked emotions. He’d stopped caring about his friend. He’d only acted robotically, focusing on leveling and completing tasks. No wonder Daniel had lost it on him.

I need to find him and apologize. Orrin dried quickly and noticed his clothes had been cleaned and folded in a pile.

After he dressed, he made his way downstairs. Anthony was making another pot of tea.

“Good, you made it down the stairs.”

“Thank you.” Orrin had stopped at the bottom step. “I think you saved my life here.”

“Of course I did. Now sit. We ain’t done yet.”

Orrin frowned but sat. “I feel much better. What else-“

“Don’t go using that skill.” Anthony’s voice cut him off. He slammed a cup down in front of Orrin. “You feel better now but you could build up again from overuse. Skills are a muscle you have to exercise. You tried lifting a wagon with a baby’s left toe.”

Orrin looked down at the cup of tea in shame. “Yeah, I know now.”

“You don’t.” Anthony sipped his tea while yelling in his head. “I’ve never seen a skill detox that bad. I was worried you were gonna die kid. Promise me. Don’t use it for another week at least, a month if you can do it. When you do, don’t you dare push more than one or two extra mana pools a day. You have to build your tolerance up slow.”

“And I’ll keep my word. Not a word about your other skill. But if I hear so much as a whisper that you use it on a person...” The room seemed to darken and Anthony’s face filled Orrin’s vision. “I will find you and make the past five days seem like child’s play.”

“I swear, Anthony.” Orrin was shaking in his seat. “I just want to find my friend and go home. Thank you for everything.”

Anthony huffed and stared at Orrin for a long moment. “Call me Tony.”

“Thanks, Tony.” Orrin pulled a smile.

Tony smiled back. “Your bill is five gold.

After Orrin had paid him, Tony started up his non-stop talk again. Orrin got the impression Tony didn’t get out much.

“So you save people’s lives often?”

“Nah. Every few months, I’ll get some idiot in here trying to skirt the laws and finding out the hard way why mind mages don’t last long. Other than you, I’ve only had three or four cases over the years of just crazy skill combos going wrong.”

“But like, is it a job?”

“Something like that.” Tony went quiet. Orrin had stuck around to help clean the detox room. It still stunk, so Orrin had volunteered to mop the floors.

Tony stood at the door not talking for so long, Orrin thought the conversation was over. He startled when Tony’s voice appeared in his mind again.

“When I was young, about your age, I picked up a few skills too many along the path to being an illegal mind mage. Most nobles and people in power don’t want others taking a glance at their thoughts, so most countries outlaw some skills. But unless you get dumb, a lot of people still have one or two and it’s overlooked.”

“I overheard some things and talked about it to a friend. He started a riot when he shared the information. He lost his head and I lost my tongue. Really, I shouldn’t have gotten off so easy, but someone thought up a new plan. Let a mind mage hunt for illegal use around town.”

“So for years, I was a chained dog. I’d catch people using [Thought Manipulation] or [Mind Read] on judges, nobility, or whoever I was tasked to watch.”

Orrin had stopped mopping and was listening with wide eyes.

“After awhile, they stopped thinking of me as a danger. I overheard more and more that made me rethink what I’d gotten myself into. It took a lot of deals and the promise to stay in my house, but I got out of it all. But people still already knew. I was the boogeyman. The one who’d cleaned up others like me.”

“At first, people stayed away. But one girl showed up crying, begging me to help her get rid of [Mind Read]. She’d wanted to know if her boyfriend really loved her and got the skill when drunk. More came after her. Now, I’m sort of a therapist slash doctor. It’s not what I wanted or thought my life would become, but life rarely is what we expect.”

Orrin chuckled. “Thanks for telling me. I appreciate it.”

Tony smiled his crooked smile and pointed to the floor. “You missed a spot.”

Orrin spent the morning helping the old man do chores. His body felt weak but he felt clear headed. He also knew he was avoiding the one thing he really needed to do. Find Daniel.

With a wave and promise to check back in a few days, Orrin left Tony’s and headed back to the guild. He bought some meat on a stick on the way. After one bite, he got back in line for two more sticks. I need to remember this place.

At the reception desk, Orrin tried asking after Daniel, but the receptionist just shrugged and refused to give out any information on fellow guild members.

“He’s my friend. I just need to make sure he’s ok,” Orrin tried.

“If he’s your friend, he’ll show up.”

Orrin tried to sleep that night but nightmares now plagued his dreams. He was tempted more than once to just put [Mind Bastion] back on, but the smells and images Tony had shown him were still fresh. He spent two days waking early and staying in the front hallway. Every receptionist rejected his efforts to find Daniel. Finally, one offered a new solution.

“Put up a quest and leave me alone.”

“How?”

The woman hadn’t given any response the day before when she’d been on shift. She took her feet off her desk and pushed a scrap of paper forward.

“Write your quest down. It’s one silver. You also better pay your reward or we’ll come after you for it.”

Orrin scribbled down: “Locate Daniel. Fighter. Dark hair. 5 silver for information. Contact Orrin, guild”

“Hmm. Add credible information or you’ll have everyone telling you they saw him,” the woman suggested.

Orrin did it and paid.

“Now get out of here,” he was shooed away.

Orrin sat on the steps outside the guild thinking of other locations he could look. The sword. Jovi’s.

He ran down the street to the blacksmith’s store. A guard yelled at him to slow down. Orrin did a fast walk until the guard turned and then he darted around a building.

He arrived sweating.

“Hi sir, can I interest you in-“

“I’m looking for Jovi,” Orrin spoke over the sales clerk. The man rolled with the rude interruption and guided Orrin to the back. Jovi was happily hammering.

Orrin’s eyes scanned the walls and he sighed when he saw the sword, Gertrude, was still there.

“Mr. Jovi, this young man-“ Orrin waved his hand at the man.

“Sorry, I- uh. I forgot my money, I’ll be back.” He ducked out before Jovi even turned around, leaving the clerk sputtering.

He walked slowly back to the guild. There was no way that Daniel had tried to do that cave mission without him right?

He had just reached the guild steps, when someone tapped his shoulder. He turned and found a woman in her mid-twenties, holding a spear and small arm shield. Her hair was short and shaved at the sides.

“You Orrin?”

He nodded.

“Daniel’s the guy you’re always with right?”

He nodded again.

“Five silver if I tell you where he is? That simple?”

Orrin guessed his quest had been put up already. “Yeah. I haven’t seen him in a few days. Just trying to find him.”

She shrugged. “He’s been staying at the Catanzano House.” She held out her hand.

Orrin’s mind raced as he processed her words. He’s okay. At the Catanzanos? He felt cold run down his spine. He told her. He went right against our promise. No, he wouldn’t do that, would he?

“Excuse me, payment time.” A frown line appeared between the spearholder’s eyes.

“Sorry, yeah.” Orrin pulled silver out of his pocket and gave it to her. “Here you go.”

“Listen, if you were hoping to party up with him, I’d give up. Word around the street is Lady Catanzano is putting together a team for a dungeon dive. Don’t know what she sees in a little sword wielder but then again, I’m no Lady.” She forced a laugh and left without another word.

Orrin’s heart sunk. Daniel had already found another party.