“Well done, Jack! I have to be honest, I might have made an incorrect assumption about you. Maybe you aren't as simple as you present yourself to be.”

  Jack winced a little at the backhanded compliment but decided it was better to look simple and defy expectations than it was to be the reverse.

  Brandt was stroking his chin while he stared not at Jack, but at Turrel, who was looking a little uncomfortable with the attention.

  “Master Turrel, you are a trustworthy man, aren't you? I am sure you understand that anything that is said in this room is to stay in this room, yes?” Brandt asked.

  Nodding, he quickly replied. “Of course, Overseer. I understand,” Turrel said, looking as if he wanted to leave.

  “Well, Jack, I have a reputation to maintain. I am sure you can understand, so I trust you to keep this to yourself as well. To answer your question, I am bored. Nothing more, nothing less. There are many different reasons that feed into it, but at its core, the main reason I decided to be involved at all is because I am bored.

  “I have lived for a long time, and in that long life, I have seen enough that not much surprises me anymore. I have been Emperor, I have ruled over a planet, and I have started and ended wars. I have explored the stars, conquered rifts, and ended rebellions. I have won battles with my brawn and lost them with my words.”

  The Overseer sighed heavily as he leaned forward.

  “I am a greedy man, however; I still desire more. So I sit back, I observe, and I do my duty to pass the time. So yes, even if you were not involved, Jack, I would have still assisted Montarg in trying to close this rift. For him, it is because I want to foster a relationship with a newly rising star in the universe; a favour now could be useful to me in the future if Montarg continues his upward path.” Brandt unashamedly motioned with his hands.

  “Obviously, I don’t enjoy watching people suffer, and I was truthful in my reasons for moving my residence here. Understand that I am practical, however. I know that no matter how much I stretch the rules, I can’t save this planet on my own… well, I could, but I won't. It would be short-sighted of me to do so. Make of that what you will.” He dismissively waved his hand as if swiping away the thought.

  “You were a sweetener to the pot though, Jack. Not often is an unknown factor thrown into the mix like this. Even rarer is for an Envoy to send personal requests. Something new is something interesting, and that will sate my boredom for a time.” He winked at Turrel and then waved at Monty, who had approached while they were talking.

  Whether he was drawn over by the conversation or because he was finished, Jack wasn't sure, but Monty had an interested look on his face as he remained standing.

  “I know these two will have warned you about me, and they are acting as if I might erupt in a fit of anger and crush your skull. Which is fair; I gained a reputation in my youth which I have worked very hard to foster into the later part of my life. The reality is I am past that. You are more entertaining to me alive, and the risk of the Envoy taking offence means that regardless of what secret you are hiding, you will face no danger from me.

  “I will be greedy and try to foster a relationship with you, however, so that I can in some part take credit for your future achievements and grow my own legend by its association with yours. And if you crash and burn, I will say I saw it coming. Now, I think that should suffice for the second question. One more and then I get to ask mine,” Brandt said.

  Jack had strangely followed almost everything that Brandt had said. It all made sense, and knowing that it was an honest answer brought Jack a sense of relief. Hearing that he was nothing more than a temporary source of entertainment was strangely comforting, so much so that Jack decided to take a bit of a risk here and possibly waste his last question.

  As he turned and started to open his mouth, Monty placed a hand on his shoulder.

  “Hey, Jack. Hold on. Let's take a breath. I think it might help if you take a chance and maybe chat about it before asking the last question. No rush,” Monty said.

  Jack looked over at him for a moment and smiled. He respected that Monty was trying to look out for him, but he wasn't worried anymore. Jack realised it was more than just Brandt saying he meant no harm; that was a temporary thing and it could change at any point. The reason Jack was feeling relaxed was because Brandt felt relatable. He felt understandable all of a sudden.

  There was an air of mystery around him before; he had people like Monty scared of him. He had a scary-sounding title; he used to be an Emperor for God's sake. But more than that, Jack couldn’t understand him before. He seemed friendly and thick-skinned one minute and sensitive and volatile the next. Being in a new world with new people had confused him; his foundational understanding was different to everyone around him.

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  But greed was something he could understand. That was an emotion he knew. Something that was common on Earth, and for that silly reason alone, Jack felt a sort of kinship with Brandt.

  “Thanks, Monty; sorry, Montarg. Should I call you Lord in these situations? I get it and thank you for trying to help me. I know what I want to ask next already. I feel like Mr. Overseer has been very fair and reasonable so far. He even technically let me have a redo; it wouldn't feel in the spirit of things to collaborate to take advantage of that, you know?” Jack said.

  “I think my issue here is I don't know enough to ask the right questions, now or later. Even if I have you two to help me and give me that knowledge. So just keep that in mind for my next question. Now, Overseer Brandt.” Jack turned to him as he sat up for the first time in a while. He peeled himself out of the comfy couch as he leaned forward to place his bowl on the table in front of him.

  “If you were in my place, what questions would you have asked? Knowing that all you wanted was to live a peaceful life of no responsibility and expectation.” Jack stared, trying to gauge the expression on Brandt's face as he finished the question. He knew that Brandt was getting as much out of the questions Jack was asking as he would out of the question he asked at the end. He could try to gauge something out of his reaction.

  He didn't get much more than a slightly raised eyebrow and a nod. Still, that was something, so he waited while the man thought and raised an eyebrow at Monty and Turrel. Monty shook his head and Turrel gave an appreciative head tilt, so he thought it wasn't the worst question he could have asked.

  “Hmm, interesting question. I would never want that. It is hard to imagine and there is a lot I would need to know to answer that question properly. I feel I wouldn't be able to answer that from your perspective fairly. Not yet anyway, so how about this: I agree to answer that question after I have asked mine? Sound fair?” Brandt said as he shifted his bulk on the couch, moving his body so he was able to look at all three of them at once.

  Jack looked at the others and felt as if they were more worried than he was. That made him pause for a second as he wondered why. It was one thing if sharing his secret put him at risk, but if there was a flow-on effect to the two men who had been helping him, that was another situation entirely.

  “Can I ask these two a question first? They seem on edge,” Jack asked Brandt, who waved him to go ahead.

  Standing up, he walked over to Turrel and made Monty follow him. He leaned in as they put their heads together and whispered.

  “So, is this a problem for you guys? Can you get in trouble because of me? What's the problem here?”

  “Jack, we are in uncharted territory. Your ability is very unique. While we didn’t technically lie… The Envoy was involved and, well, I don’t know how they might view our… misdirection. It is your choice; I believe we are respected enough that if there is any blowback it will be minor for us. I have no problem with taking that risk, but just know he will act in his own interest,” Turrel whispered back.

  Jack looked at Monty, who nodded his agreement. Turning back to Brandt, he walked over to the couch and sat back down. Making another note that he had to get one of these couches for himself at some point; it was so comfortable.

  “Ok, feel free to ask your question,” Jack said.

  He almost mentioned not wanting to get anyone else in trouble based on his answer. Realising who he was talking to, that would have just been an admission of guilt, so he decided to wait until the question had been asked first.

  “Hmm, this has been fun. I thank you for the momentary entertainment, Jack.

  “Now, I am going to be kind here, Jack, as a learning experience. Never agree to something like this again. You have a quick mind, but I think you are a little… trusting. I could use this agreement to put you deep into my debt.” Brandt made a dramatic pause and Jack felt the tension in the room rise slightly.

  “For now, I will keep my question similar to the spirit of your own. Simply tell me what you think makes you so special?”

  As the question was asked, Jack felt a weight pull on the back of his mind, urging him to answer truthfully. The feeling had been shrinking as he asked his questions, but now it was a noticeable pulse in the back of his mind.

  He thought for a moment about how he could reply. Each time he thought of concealing something or lying he felt a light zap, likely the binding on the agreement encouraging him to answer truthfully. The inquisitive side of him wanted to try to lie and see what would happen, but even the thought of it sent a shock pulse of pain through his mind.

  He winced as the pain hit and noticed Brandt smile as he did. It made him want to lie more, which made him wince again. He decided to try a different approach. If this was going to be a learning experience, he might as well use it to work out how he might approach a similar situation in the future.

  If he couldn't lie, then could he tell a half-truth? He thought about trying to say that he skipped a tier; there was no pain, just a light tap, almost as if he was being admonished. He tried a few variations of the half-truth to see where the line was. It seemed as long as his answer was true and in some small way answered the question, he could get away with it. If he was truthful but avoided the question, he felt pain again.

  He settled on something he thought was fair, and when he had no more than a slight tap tap reaction from the finger on his mind, he spoke it out loud.

  “I guess I am kinda lucky,” Jack said with a mischievous grin spreading across his face as the pressure in his mind vanished.