Something crunched wetly under my feet as I walked through the dimly-lit cave. The cave walls were damp with condensation, but aside from my footfalls, not a sound came from anywhere in this pit, let alone from deeper within. As I stalked through the halls towards the main chamber, I steeled myself for the struggle ahead. My quarry certainly knew I was coming.

Entering into a large chamber, I saw the source of the town's trouble and possibly the greatest challenge of my career: The Mindflayer. Lined with bio-luminescent fungi, the walls of the main chamber gave this grisly scene an almost otherworldly air. But The Mindflayer was real. Her victims—her many, many victims, I realized as my eyes adjusted to the light—were very real.

Lounging with a disaffected slouch on a throne at the center of the chamber, the creature sat. Her dark purple skin was leathery but moist, glimmering in the green light of the throne room. Her cephalopodic head was just as the books described; tentacles curling over a beak-less mouth and pitch-black eyes filled with an alien intelligence set on domination. The creature's body was frail, her lithe form fitted in a strange garment of black leather.

The Mind Flayer's physical frailty was no hindrance to her, as the dozen or so women surrounding the throne proved. "Mindflayer" was not a term given lightly. With their abilities, these creatures could twist, break, or even destroy the mind of even the most strong-willed individual. Though these women—the Mind Flayer's most recent victims—lay with blank expressions on their faces, with a mental command from their mistress, they would spring to life and attack me. Judging by their physiques, they were all adventurers at some point in their lives. This one was a collector, I lamented.

I recalled the impassioned plea of the village elder when I took on this job. How none of the adventurers they sent had ever returned; even those with some degree of fame. With tears in his eyes, he handed me the last of his town's funds. A meager sum, but I knew what would befall his town if I declined would be a fate worse than death.

Now standing before her, I started to wonder if I would meet the same fate as my predecessors. Not likely, I mused grimly as I looked at her collection of slaves. She seems to prefer women.

With my first step into the chamber, I could feel the strength of her psychic powers. Already she was probing at my mind, searching for weaknesses. I focused, resolute to show her none.

With a practiced breath, I let out my control lines and began to probe her mind in turn. It was only for a split second, but I knew I saw that unmistakable look on her face: the look of surprise. The Mindflayer was not the only psychic in the room.

As she probed my mind and I probed hers, I could hear her voice in my head. Sultry, desperate with need, and almost surely an act put on to make me let my guard down, she spoke.

"So you're ${name}, the Mind-Bender," she said. "Your reputation precedes you. I could use a slave like you."

I pushed deeper into her mind, ignoring her words. Her mental attack felt like fish-hooks clawing at my mind, but I offered no sign of weakness as I pushed on. There had to be a weak point, I thought.

"There is no weak point," her voice rang in my head again.

I knew what I had to do. Though a risky technique, it was my only chance at success. For just an instant I let my guard down, letting a single of her hook-like mental probes into my own mind. As she connected with my mind, I launched my counter-attack, sending a line of control back to her through her own. The two of us jerked as we became mentally connected. Now I had a line to control her just as she had one in me.

"So, you have some skill," The Mindflayer scoffed. "But it shall avail you nothing."

"That's where you're wrong," I smiled through gritted teeth.

Although my little trick had surprised her, it was clear the battle had only just begun. I could feel her resistance, surging through the line. She tried to sever the connection or redirect it, never giving an inch in her own mental assault. Though my line of control held steady, The Mindflayer's assault grew more powerful, buffeting me with raw psychic energy. I knew I had to come up with a means to overcome the sensations that were beginning to envelop me.

Slowly, I began