(Morcster Chef) - Controlled again! - Ch. 94 (Patreon)

At some point during the teleportation, Arek lost sense of where he was. As he was quickly growing reaccustomed to, he slowly realized that he’d exited the portal a short while ago. He was lying flat on the ground, his face pressed against a prickly, fresh smelling bed.

He cracked an eye open, nearly spearing it on a blade of grass. His pack felt significantly heavier than it normally did and a dull ache permeated throughout all of his muscles. The orc’s mind felt muddy and fuzzy, as if it had been pulled out of a swamp.

Arek turned his head to the side, unable to muster the drive to stand. Belmont laid beside him, staring unblinkingly into the sky. The man’s chest rose and fell steadily. The was still firmly planted in his shoulder.

“Belmont, are you okay?” Arek asked. His words came out garbled and stuffy, as if his mouth were full of fuzz.

Belmont blinked. He stared blankly at the orc for a moment before drawing a sharp breath. He swore and forced himself into a sitting position. He gritted his teeth and reached up to grasp the handle of the axe firmly. Belmont’s eyes narrowed and he ripped the axe free of his shoulder. With his other hand, he raised the staff to the wound and healed it.

“We’ve been affected by mind magic,” Belmont said.

The clouds in Arek’s mind parted with every word that the other man said. The orc rolled over and pushed himself upright. Now that Belmont mentioned it, his memories of the past few minutes were hazy. It was like several feet of water separated him from his memory.

“By what? And how?” Arek asked, rubbing his eyes groggily.

Ming and Malissa laid to his other side, both still slowly coming out of whatever the teleportation had done to them.

“We’ve been under its affect ever since we first saw that obsidian arch,” Belmont said. “I didn’t even notice it. It’s not like anything I’ve ever seen before. Most mental attacks are loud and telegraphed once they happen. This was so subtle I wouldn’t have believed it possible if it hadn’t just happened.”

“I’m not even sure what it did,” Arek said. He frowned, trying to discern what actions he’d taken that weren’t his own, but it was impossible. Aside from the fuzzy memories, it was like nothing was out of place.

“I believe it influenced us to use the portal. As for when it started… I have no idea,” Belmont said. “Can you imagine? What could have ever possessed me to agree to activating a strange portal using a random attack with pure magic?”

“That does sound pretty stupid,” Arek admitted. He scratched the back of his head as Belmont rose to his feet and staggered over to Malissa. He healed the seeping wound on her cheek.

“Something wanted us to use that portal,” Belmont said. “Its influence might have started when we entered the dungeon, or maybe it was when I used the trident to cause the avalanche. It might have even happened when we first saw the arch. I have no way to tell when it happened or what it wanted, and that concerns me greatly.”

“Guys?” Ming asked, rubbing her eyes. “Could you shut up for a second? My head is killing me.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Belmont said, kneeling beside the mage. “Are you okay, Ming? Look at me.”

Ming groaned as Belmont forced her to open her eyes and make eye contact with him. The armored man swore and released her. He grabbed his staff and poked her in the chin with it. A cloud of pink energy enveloped Ming’s head as Belmont poured his magic through it.

“What’s going on?” Malissa asked, vaulting to her feet and rushing to stand beside them.

“Her eyes!” Belmont exclaimed.

Ming’s eyes completely lost their pupils. In their place were two dim glowing green orbs. Arek peered closer at them. The orbs weren’t solid – they were made up of what might have been hundreds of miniature runes.

“What’s wrong with my eyes?” Ming asked worriedly.

Malissa pulled a mirror out of her bag. Ming took it and peered into it while Belmont desperately poured more pink energy into her.

“I can’t see anything, Belmont! Stop that for a second,” Ming complained.

Belmont pulled the staff back, and bared his teeth when it became clear that Ming’s eyes remained green.

“Oh,” Ming said. “That’s…probably not good. My headache is gone, though.”

“Belmont, calm down,” Malissa ordered as Belmont raised his staff to try and heal Ming again. He sent the woman a distraught glance and started pacing back and forth.

“What do you mean? Who knows what could have happened to her! She might be mind controlled or seriously injured or –”

“Belmont!” Malissa yelled. “Stop. One problem at a time. Panic will get us nowhere.”

The armored man forced himself to stop walking. He drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then he nodded.

“Right. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. First, and most importantly, we all survived. I don’t believe we’re still in the dungeon, either.”

Everyone seemed to realize the meaning of her words at the exact same moment. The last of the fog surrounding Arek’s mind faded as the orc let out a sigh of relief.

“How did that thought not even cross my mind?” Arek asked, staring up into the darkening sky above them.

“Mind magic,” Belmont spat. “First that crazed – ah, right. First the unnamed incident, and now this. I’m getting fed up with it.”

“Let’s focus on the good things,” Malissa said, rising to her feet. She helped Ming and Arek to their feet as well before brushing some of the dirt off her clothes. “We survived, and we’ve got a good bit of loot as well, assuming at least one of us found something useful. Now, we need to figure out what happened to Ming. The best way to do that would be meeting with Magus.”

“That’s a good point,” Belmont said, relaxing slightly. “He would be able to spot things that I can’t. Ming, I can’t sense any foreign magic on you despite your…eye situation. Does anything feel off for you?”

The small mage tilted her head. She raised her staff and a tiny mote of blue energy formed at its tip. Ming let it fade and shook her head.

“Nope. Nothing seems out of place,” she said. “I am hungry, though.”

“Well, Ming clearly hasn’t been replaced,” Arek said, chuckling.