Matthew Miller Stories

Illithid: The Mind Flayers

The last of Leah’s rations were gone. She’d entered the caves beneath Thakhar almost a week ago with her party, and now—

She tried not to think of them. She wanted to forget their names. Forget their fates.

Leah felt the insides of her bags and ran her hands across the rocky ground under her to be sure she hadn’t missed any crumbs. Nothing. And there would be nothing ’till she reached the surface or kicked the bucket.

She breathed in deep and released slowly—quietly. The thing that killed Tellur was still out there. She’d rather starve than meet his fate.

Leah stood and tried to orient herself. It was pitch black. All she had to go on was touch and memory. The ground felt nearly even. Without a slope to guide her, the best she could do was guess her way to the surface, retracing her original descent without the light of a torch. Without the light of Anush, who always smiled, who was always sincere… Anush, who had slain her own brother at that thing’s command.

Leah winced. No—there would be time to mourn later, if she survived. She had to shake the thoughts… the memories. With one hand against the wall, she pressed on. However much she tried to remain quiet and unseen, Leah’s skin crawled.

After enduring days of unrepentant darkness, her eyes jumped at the dim green glow of an outcropped crystal ahead. Her heart nearly skipped a beat. This could be her chance—her light to guide the way. Leah dashed to the crystal and pulled a dagger from her belt.

Baldur had taught her how to chip stones with a crude blade. If anyone could make it out of a pitch black cavern, it’d be him. He always used to tell tales of how he’d spent the better part of his childhood exploring underground at the behest of his parents. He was lucky to be alive, he used to say, because once he found a basilisk, or a bulette, or a dragon. The story changed every time he told it. Maybe he knew he’d find his resting place below the surface. He never would have guessed it would have been Anush, though, who did him in… He didn’t deserve it.

Crack.

The sound of the crystal snapping echoed through the cavern. Leah weighed the broken hunk in her hand. It wasn’t nearly as bright as a fire, but it was enough that she could adjust her eyes to see the rough shapes of stones and tunnels. She kissed it in her hands. This was the key to her underground prison.

The hair on Leah’s neck stood up. She wasn’t alone. She twirled and bore her crystal light. The chasm formed a beautiful, vacuous stage. Something pulled on Leah’s thoughts. Her sense of time eroded, and specters of people she once knew appeared before her.

Tellur. Anush. Baldur.

Tellur spoke first, “You sure we’re even heading the right way?”

“Gotta be pretty close,” Baldur said. “Still finding them odd tracks here ‘n there.”

“Wait up, did you guys see that?” Anush’s voice wavered.

“I’d see better if you quit shakin’ the damn torch, An,” Baldur quipped.

Leah said, “Shut it.” She’d held her tongue this far. It felt odd to speak so firmly — to hear her words echo off the cavern walls. She knew what happened next.

Everything went to hell.

Anush dropped her torch. When she turned to look at Baldur, her eyes glowed with unearthly magics. Something was possessing her. Anush broke Baldur’s jaw with her mace, spattering Leah with blood and teeth.

“The hell—” Tellur started.

A figure flew from the shadows and took Tellur from behind. It dragged him to the ground and let loose a piercing scream.

Leah was stunned. Four mercenaries who thought they’d seen everything were dismantled in seconds. She knew that she had to help, but—

She didn’t.

Leah’s eyes closed. Her heels turned, and her legs began to move quicker and quicker until she fell. This time she wasn’t alone.

The creature extended its hand. It offered her aid. It brought hope and reassurance.

ALL IS AS IT SHOULD BE.

Leah looked up. The thing in front of her looked almost human. Her eyes swam in the purple and deep blue hues of its skin. It was strange to think that she had been afraid. To think that she had hated something so perfect. But now her eyes were open.

She took the Illithid’s hand. And she forgot their names.

Illithid

This model is a Bathalian from the Reaper Bones line, used to represent an Illithid. In my opinion, this model is far more paintable than the official WizKids Mind Flayer minis, and I had a lot of fun with it. I’m looking forward to throwing one of these at an adventuring party.

Illithid, also called Mind Flayers, are classic Dungeons and Dragons monsters, and they have been a staple of many of my favorite campaigns. Their biology and abilities are totally alien, and they are irredeemably evil.

In combat, Mind Flayers disorient foes with their psychic screams and their ability to dominate the minds of other creatures. If they successfully incapacitate a target, they may decide to consume their brains immediately, or they will bring the target back to their hive to be infested with Illithid larvae or made into servants.

This was a difficult story to write because I wasn’t sure how I wanted to demonstrate what makes Illithid so terrifying. When you’re sitting at a table playing D&D, mind control is a pretty simple roll of the dice, and a mind-controlled party member is often mainly a tactical difficulty—not a major narrative threat. In writing this story, though, I wanted to stress the process of the mental assault that Leah endures from the Mind Flayer. It had to be magical but also tangible, so that there’s a discernable threat and transition in Leah’s perspective.