Yawning, I stretched out on the large bed. Unsurprisingly, I still loved sleeping, even after reincarnating. However, the stiffness and aches that had plagued my old body were a thing of the past. However, the peaceful feeling was short-lived as the memory of my last thoughts before falling asleep resurfaced. It brought with it a gnawing sense of unease.
I had only seen the green kobold ambassador one time, but for some reason, he weighed heavily upon my mind. I suppose I could consider him my first mortal enemy. I was pretty sure that the chieftain suspected the ambassador's motives.
However, I knew the green kobold wanted me dead after receiving a notification from the system. How the system knew, I had no idea. It made me suspect a god was involved.
I sat up in bed, a chill ran down my spine. Even though a god was apparently on my side, I didn't like the feeling of being observed. If the system answered more of my questions, I might have been less worried. However, the system didn't even acknowledge my questions about who gave me the system or why that individual had given it to me.
Speaking of questions, I decided it was time to get some answers for myself. The ambassador wasn't a diplomat here to foster peace between tribes. If he was, he wouldn't have seen me as a threat. What worried me was the feeling that he was planning something, something that could bring harm to our kobold tribe.
That thought festered in my mind. I just couldn't shake the feeling of impending danger. I knew I had to do something to find out what the ambassador was planning before it was too late. My heart raced as an idea formed. However, it did make my stomach twist with both fear.
I could use my telepathic powers to read his mind, or at least, the mind of someone close to him. My worry was that they might somehow find out what I was doing. I had never used it on another person before. Because of this, I decided to try reading the minds of one of my maids, I mean my caregivers.
First though, I had to honor the hard work of my caregivers by enjoying a quick meal. After that, I quietly waited in my room for one of my caretakers to arrive and take away the empty plates. Soon enough, Forsjá entered, her red scales catching the light from the firestone in the corner. She brought in some snacks which she set down on the table with her usual gentle smile.
"Good morning. I brought you some snacks for later," she said as she climbed on top of the chair. She placed some berries and honeyed roots next to the other plates which she then picked up. "I thought you might enjoy something sweet today. Don't tell anyone though."
"Thank you," I said. My heart pounded in my chest. This was the first time I was given food that didn't make me question their origins. She nodded and made to leave, but I quickly spoke up. "Could you stay for a moment? I... I wanted to ask you something."
Forsjá turned back to me. "Of course. What would you like to ask?"
"Can you tell me more about the ambassador from the Groenneitr tribe?" I needed to ask her about something so that she wouldn't leave. While she was answering, I focused on her, letting my mind reach out toward hers. I tried to be gentle, not wanting to intrude too harshly.
The first thing I became aware of was a feeling of affection. It was the kind of care one might feel for a younger sibling or a hatchling. Then I caught a flicker of something more specific. I began to sense the thoughts that floated near the surface of her mind.
Forsjá paused, as if to gather her thoughts. However, I could hear what she was thinking as she looked at me, "She's such a strange little one, isn't she? So different from the others. It's not just her color and her wings. Even her intelligence is different from other wyrmlings. In fact, she doesn't even look like a newly hatched wyrmling any longer. It won't be too long before I can introduce her to … "
I had started to snack on the root, quite pleased with the delicacies. However, I started choking on them the moment I heard her refer to me as a girl.
She asked, "Are you okay?" She was clearly worried.
I nodded. "I'm fine. I just didn't expect it to be so delicious."
"Oh, the poor thing. I can tell she didn't mean that. She must be trying to be nice. It looks like she can't handle sweet treats. I'll make sure no one brings her anything like these again. Now, why is she asking about the ambassador though? The person I want to introduce her to is Fálátr. She might still be too young, but she is growing fast. Just look at that belly. It is already starting to grow. While Fálátr might be as bright as a burnt-out firestone, but he sure knows how to fill a belly in the bathing pools." Out loud, she asked, "Why do you want to know about the ambassador?"
I had just taken a bite of a berry which I choked again. My eyes watered a little. "Something about him just doesn't feel right. I don't trust him. I'm pretty sure that he's up to no good."
"Ah, how terrible. She really can't handle anything sweet. From now on, I will bring the most bland and tasteless foods that I can find." What she actually said was, "You don't need to worry about such things. The grownups can deal with the ambassador."
I just knew something terrible would happen if I tried to read another person's mind. I quickly brainstormed a way to salvage my sweet treats. Suddenly, I didn't care at all about the ambassador. "Can you bring more of these next time?" I held one of the roots and started to take a bite out of it to show how much I loved its taste.
"She's so sweet. Hopefully, when she gets older, she'll be more attractive. Still, just having wings will allow her to find plenty of kobolds who will gladly wash her back."
"I'm sorry," she said, genuinely finding it tragic that someone so sweet couldn't eat sweet foods. "I'll have to see what I can do."
I had to close my eyes for a moment and take a deep breath before asking, "Can one of our shamans or sorcerers read the ambassador's mind to find out what he is up to?"
"Unfortunately not," Forsjá said, shaking her head. "It's common practice for the senior members of trading and ambassadorial parties to use magic items or spells to prevent such a thing from happening. A spell called Shield Thoughts is a low level that almost any spellcaster can use. Whenever it detects magic trying to pry into the spellcaster's thoughts, it will automatically block any thoughts from getting through."
Seeing that I was raptly listening, and obviously cared about what she was teaching me, she continued, "Of course, if we had a mind mage here, that would be different. Since mind mages use their mental energy to cast spells instead of spell points, they don't activate most magic defenses."
I frowned. Was eldritch mind a type of mind mage? A surge of anticipation coursed through me. Not only had I successfully used my telepathic powers to read a mind, but I would also be able to bypass any defenses the ambassador might have as well.
Seeing I was distracted and was perhaps thinking of my next question, Forsjá waited in silence. However, her thoughts continued. "Of course, there aren't many mind mages left, which is why no one really worries about them. Speaking of worries, Dróttinn must have been overreacting. She doesn't seem 'touched in the mind' at all. Well, not too much anyway."
After hearing her thoughts, I was rendered speechless. Obviously, the chieftain was concerned about my claiming to be the god of twilight. I was tempted to find him and read his mind, but then I had second thoughts. The more I listened to Forsjá's thoughts, the more embarrassing it became.
Just as I was about to stop reading her mind, another of her thoughts reached me. "I have to admit. He was right about how smart she is. She is already smarter than almost every kobold in the city. I guess that is a good thing since she wasn't blessed with good looks. Maybe I should encourage her to exercise more. I thought walking around the city would be enough to prevent her from becoming chubbier, but she is bigger today than she was yesterday."
I quickly withdrew, breaking the telepathic connection. My heart raced, and I struggled to keep my expression neutral, not wanting to betray what I had just done. Forsjá seemed unaware, her soft smile still in place as she waited for me to speak.
"I... I just wanted to thank you for everything," I stammered, trying to cover my nervousness. "You've been very kind to me."
Forsjá's smile widened, and she reached out to gently pat my arm. "You're very welcome, little one. I'm here to help you in any way I can. Don't hesitate to ask if you ever need anything. We can even go for a walk later. It looks like you could use the…fresh air."
I nodded, the heat in my face not entirely fading as I watched her start leaving the room. As soon as she reached the door, I let out a long breath I hadn't realized I was holding. It wasn't enough though. Since I was already near a wall, I walked up close to it. When I heard the door close, I started gently thumping my head against the wall.
Testing my powers had been a success, but it had also shown me an unexpected danger. Apparently, I really didn't want to know what people around me were thinking. I hadn't expected to feel so exposed myself, and the experience left me with a lingering sense of guilt. I had invaded the thoughts of someone who genuinely cared for me.
Unfortunately, at that moment, Forsjá opened the door. "I forgot…," she started to say something else when she saw what I was doing. "Uh, nevermind," she said before quickly closing the door again.
At that moment, I was really glad that I couldn't read her thoughts. I heroically resisted the impulse to continue banging my head. Instead, I sighed and sat down before holding my head. Reading Forsjá's mind had caused just as many issues as it resolved. I certainly hoped that I wouldn't be in the same boat when I tried to read the ambassador's mind later. After all, what could happen?