Chapter 16 Chapter Thirteen When the Hourglass Starts to Flip

"Do you know what role you should play in each of the different situations?" Entreri asked when he and Wawel met again in the dark alley near the Brass Gamble.This place is also protected by Wawel's anti-peeping means, and any divination spells cannot know the situation here. "If you've ever told me about this situation," the halfling smiled warningly. "Then you know all about the situation," Entreri replied without any hesitation.He smiled back at Wawel very confidently. "Have you considered all possible scenarios?" the halfling asked skeptically. "They are dark elves, masters of trickery and deceit, who create the conditions they want and make the rules they want."

"But they are not in their native land, and they do not understand the subtleties of Calimport's affairs," Entreri reassured. "They see the whole world as one big Menzoberranzan, and more importantly, they use it to gauge how other people will react. I'm an iblith, a lower creature, so they don't think , their deceit is becoming a reality." "Is it time?" Wawel still had doubts in his tone. "Or, do you plan to start a decisive battle now?" "I've never been a patient person," Entreri admitted, but the smirk deepened on his lips.

"Each different situation," said Wavel, "that is to say, each reality of your own design. Be careful, my capable friend, not to get lost among the different plans you have devised." Entreri was about to lose his temper, but he put the negativity away, realizing that Wawel was giving him sensible advice, helping him defeat his most dangerous foe in the most dangerous game of his life.Artemis Entreri knew that, even under the best of circumstances, his success, and indeed his life, depended on a reaction or an action in an electric moment, and that, in turn, as long as he A little mistake, or even just bad luck, can lose it all.But what is happening now is not the precise strike of a seasoned killer, but the last desperate struggle of a cornered man.

Still, when Entreri set his sights on his halfling friend, his confidence and determination found support again.He knew that Wawel would never let him down, and she would do her best to assist him in fulfilling his plan. "If you succeed, I shall never see you again," said the halfling. "And if you fail, I'm afraid I won't be able to find your remains." Entreri took the blunt statement out of pure friendship between them.His smile was genuine - a rare thing for this killer. "You'll see me again," he said to Wawel. "The drow will get bored of Calimport, and they'll retreat to the sunless caverns where they belong. It may be months, it may be years, but they'll leave eventually. This It is their nature. Lecky and Kim Murray understand that for them or the entire Dayet mercenary group, there is no long-term interest in conducting trade in the surface world. As long as it is discovered, it means war. This And the main reason why they're upset with Jarlaxle. So they'll leave, but you won't. And I'll come back."

"Even if those drows haven't killed you now, should I believe that as long as you leave, the road in front of you will no longer be dangerous?" The halfling sneered softly. "Is there a safe and smooth path for Artemis Entreri? I say no. In fact, with your new weapon, and that defensive gauntlet, you'll presumably hunt those Outstanding mage, as a manifesto for your comeback. And, no doubt, there will be a mage who will figure out your new toys and their limits, and he will burn you down to a smoking skin." She lightly Laughing, shaking his head. "Yes. Go hunt Kelben, Vegardhurst, or Elminster himself. At least you'll die quickly and painlessly."

"I did say that I'm not a patient man," Entreri agreed. Much to the surprise of both him and the halfling, Wavel rushed at him, then jumped on top of him and hugged him hard.She quickly let go of her hand and stepped back, trying to calm herself down. "It's just good luck," she said. "Compared to those dark elves, I certainly hope that you win." "It's only because the opponent is a dark elf," Entreri tried to lighten the conversation. He knows what awaits him.That would be a brutal test of his skills - all of his skills - and his nerves.He is walking on the brink of disaster.He reminded himself again that he could completely trust Varvel Tigovis, the most capable of halflings.He stared at her, aware that she was going to do what he had just said, and she wasn't going to deny it, or tell him that she did see him as her friend.

Artemis Entreri would be very disappointed if she did that. "Be careful, don't let yourself fall into the lies you wove," Wawel said when the killer was about to leave, hiding himself in the shadows. Entreri took those words to heart.It is indeed confusing to mix up the analysis of possible situations.Perhaps all it took was super-reflexes to get him through, and Entreri's entire life had been spent on the brink of disaster.He has been forced to rely on his own intelligence, his own reflexes to challenge everything. This has happened a dozen times, or even twenty times, and he still survived.He has a plan for every foreseeable situation.Although he is very confident in his abilities and the plans he has set up, he never ignores that once something happens that he didn't expect, or he makes a mistake and doesn't think of a remedy in time If he does, he will die.

And given Lecky's personality, he's bound to die a terrible death. All the high streets in Calimport were very busy, and so was this street, but now the most unusual people on the whole street seemed the most inconspicuous.The figure of Artemis Entreri, disguised as a beggar, lurked in the shadows, and he did not move between the shadows, which would arouse suspicion.He just lurks quietly, observing the bustling streets. His actions were not without purpose.He has been watching his prey. Charlotta Vespa walked down the street with great fanfare.The woman who is believed to be the true head of the Basadoni Guild is heading towards territory controlled by the dangerous Pasha Daklan.Many eyes full of suspicion and even hostility were cast on her, but no one would shoot her.On Lakey's orders, she requested a meeting with Darkland, while she placed herself under Darkland's protection.Therefore, what she puts on now is a confident disguise.

She didn't seem to realize that one of the people watching and surrounding her was not following Pasha Daklan's orders. Entreri knew the area, for he had served the Pathfinder Guild several times before.Charlotta's behavior convinced him that this woman came with a big stake this time.Soon, she passed another meeting place, and Entreri knew that there was only one meeting place left, and it was bound to happen there.What he didn't know, however, was how important this meeting was to Leckie and Kim Murray. "Are you using your strange mental powers to watch her every step, Kim Murray?" he asked silently.

He began to think about what he should do if this was the case.Although he believed that the two drows were too busy considering their own plans to monitor Charlotte's actions, the possibility existed after all.Entreri thought that if that was the case, then he would be able to confirm it very soon.All he could hope for was to change his tactics in time when things happened. He moved quickly, walked through a remote alley, and went around in front of the woman.He even climbed on top of a house, then jumped to the roof of another house, then another. Soon he came to an alley, and found a figure on the roof of a house peeping at the situation in the alley.This made him even more convinced that Charlotte would pass through this alley.

Entreri, who was as silent as a god of death, quietly touched the back of the sentry. The other party's attention was obviously focused on the alley below, and he was completely unaware of him.But Entreri was still very careful, because he knew that since he had spotted one sentry, there must be more nearby.It took him some time, scouting the area, and noticed two sentries across the alley, and another on a building behind himself. He didn't pay much attention to the sentry in front of him, but he paid great attention to the other three. He studied their every movement, every turn of their heads.Most importantly, he guesses at the focus of their attention.Finally, he saw an opportunity, and when none of the other three were looking in this direction, the killer struck, pulling his victim behind a skylight. After a short while, the four sentinels sent by Pasha Daklan appeared to be in position again, all four watching the alley below with great concentration.At this time, Charlotta Vespa turned into the alley, and two Daklan soldiers guarded her back. Entreri's brain began to spin at full speed.There were five enemy soldiers, and a woman who was ostensibly an accomplice but was actually more hostile than anyone.He would not think that the enemy only sent these five soldiers.On the main street outside the alley, there must be people from Ducklan among the nearly a hundred wandering guys. But Entreri still made a move. He turned over and hung his body on the edge of the roof of the second floor, holding on to the roof with only his hands, and landed lightly, coming to the side of the surprised Charlotte. "It's a trap," he whispered harshly, turning to face the two soldiers following him, holding out his hand to order them to stop. "Jim Murray has set up any door on the roof for us to escape from here." Although the tried and tested Charlotte concealed her inner emotions well, Entreri could still see the turning point of her mood: from surprise, to anger, to calmness.He knew that he had successfully confuse her by using Kim Murray's name to convince her of his absurd statement. "I'm taking her," Entreri said to the guards.He could hear voices coming from the end of the alley and from both sides, and from this he knew that two of the other three sentries had begun to move towards this side, wanting to see what was going on, including the Entreri was the sentry on the same side of the alley. "Who are you?" asked a soldier behind Charlotta suspiciously, at the same time, his hand had reached under his ordinary traveling cloak and touched the hilt of his refined longsword. "Go," Entreri whispered to Charlotte.The woman was still hesitating, so Entreri simply stopped trying to remind her with any words.He drew out the gem-studded dagger and Charon's claw, and unfolded the cloak completely, revealing the gorgeous equipment all over his body.Leaping forward, he swung his sword at the guy who asked the question, and thrust his dagger at the other soldier. The opponent's sword also swung out.One of the swords parried Charon's Claw's swing, but this time the parry forced the sword bearer to take two steps back.And that was Entreri's main goal.Another soldier was not so lucky.As he held his sword to parry, Entreri flicked his wrist, and the dagger bypassed the longsword and plunged directly into the man's belly. The killer didn't have time to finish him off as the other enemies were approaching so quickly, but he used the dagger's life-draining ability, making the man feel an absolute terror he had never imagined.In fact, his injuries were not very serious, but he fell to the ground, clutching his stomach and screaming loudly. At this time, Charlotta Vespa was climbing the wall to escape to the roof; the killer retreated quickly, leading the enemy away from the wall. The soldier who had been driven back by Entreri's sword charged again from the left.Another enemy is approaching from the right, and two others are approaching from the other end of the alley.Entreri thrust his sword at the enemy to the right, but turned it quickly to the left.This change was not beyond the expectations of the four enemies, but just as they were thinking about how to respond, the killer rushed to the right again, and at this time, the soldier on the right was speeding up to chase him. The soldier found himself in a hurricane of blades.He is able to wield his longsword and dagger very well.He was by no means an inexperienced combatant, but he was facing Artemis Entreri.Whenever he made a parrying motion, Entreri would change the angle of the knife.He held it back with difficulty, but the dagger eventually left a deep gash on his right arm.While disabling his arm, Entreri spun around, using Charon's claws to parry the sword thrusts from the enemy behind him, and then turned back, passing through the weakened defenses of the wounded, as a chest general. He cut it in two. At the same moment, Entreri's wicked sword released black smoke.The smoke was horizontal rather than perpendicular to the ground, so it didn't obscure the enemy's view, but the odd sight caused them to pause a bit, and Entreri took advantage of it to finish off the enemy to his right.Then the killer began to swing his sword rapidly, creating an opaque wall. The remaining three soldiers did not dare to cross the wall rashly. They tried to make some kind of limited cooperation on the other side of the wall in confusion, but after they mustered up the courage to pass through the wall of smoke, they found that the killer was no longer there. Now Entreri was watching them from the roof, shaking his head and sighing at their incompetence, and sighing at the failure of the sword to meet a worthy opponent--with each battle he ended, he grew fonder of the sword. like. "Where is it?" Charlotta called to him from the other side. Entreri looked at her mockingly. "Where's the portal?" Charlotte asked. "Where?" "Maybe Darklan interfered in some way," Entreri replied.Judging from the current situation, Lackey and Kim Murray didn't seem to be paying close attention to Charlotta's actions, and the killer couldn't help but chuckle. "Or, maybe they decided to abandon us," he added.He wouldn't mind if this sentence shook Charlotte a little bit about her worldview and the dark elf conspirators. Charlotta just frowned when she heard this. The noise behind them told them that the soldiers in the alley had not given up on their pursuit, and also reminded them that this was a hostile area.Entreri ran up to Charlotte, motioned for her to follow, jumped down another alley, onto the roof on the other side, and down a third alley, after which they jumped off the roof and across The dark and secluded streets ended up in the sewers - Entreri was not afraid of entering the sewers at all, and after killing Domo recently, he didn't even have a little nervousness.They didn't stay underground for long before they returned to the ground again. At this time, they had already left the area controlled by Daklan and returned to the territory near the Basadoni Guild. Entreri was still ahead, walking briskly on until they came to an alley near the Brass Gamblers, where he stopped abruptly. Charlotta didn't seem to thank him for this "rescue", but was very annoyed, apparently doubting the authenticity of the so-called trap, and didn't think this kind of escape was necessary.She walked past him without stopping, not even looking at him. However, the killer's long sword stretched out and pressed against her throat. "I think you'd better not go that way," he said. Charlotta glanced at him, and he motioned her to continue on, into the alley that led to the Wawel Brass Gambling Hall. "What does that mean?" the female human asked. "This is your only chance of survival," Entreri replied.But she still didn't move, so he grabbed his arm and pulled her into the alley with amazing strength.His long sword kept pointing at various parts of Charlotte's body, threatening her to move on. They passed through a secret door in the alley and entered a small room.There was a chair in the room, and Entreri forced Charlotta to sit on it in unkind ways. "Could it be that you've lost all your sense of reason?" the woman asked. "I am not the one who makes secret deals with the dark elves," Entreri replied.Before Charlotta had time to hide her expression, Entreri saw the truth in it. "We all have to make some necessary deals," the female human replied angrily. "Deal? Or two-faced? The two are not the same, even for a dark elf." "You're talking stupid," Charlotta snapped. "But you're closer to death than I am," Entreri said, leaning forward, holding the gem-encrusted dagger in his hand, and the expression on his face told Charlotte that he wasn't talking big.Charlotte was very aware of the dagger's terrifying ability to absorb life. "Why are you meeting with Pasha Daklan?" Entreri asked straight to the point. "The events in Dallabad have aroused suspicion," the woman replied.This answer is very accurate, but it is obviously not comprehensive enough. "Such suspicions are not enough to worry Jarlaxle," Entreri said. "But some people's suspicions may indeed cause some trouble," continued Charlotta, a remark that Entreri knew was entirely improvised. "I met with Pasha Daklan to reassure him that the situation will gradually ease back to the original situation, whether it is on the street or anywhere else." Is it over?" Entreri asked suspiciously. "When Jarlaxle makes his next conquest, your words will be a lie and you will be met with even greater rage." "Next conquest?" "Do you think our suddenly ambitious leader will stop at this point?" Entreri asked. Charlotte spent a long time thinking about this question. "At least, I've been told that the Basadoni Guild will gradually withdraw from the area it currently occupies and return to its previous turf," she said. "As long as we don't encounter other influences from the outside world." "Like the spies in Dallabad," Entreri agreed.Charlotte nodded quickly—Entreri thought she was being too eager. "That said, Jarlaxle's desires are finally satisfied, and we can return to quieter and safer routes," the Killer commented. Charlotte didn't answer. Entreri smiled.There is no doubt that after seeing through Charlotta's lies, he has learned the truth.If this had been the time in the old days, when that Jarlaxle could have easily mastered his subordinates and brought Entreri to Menzoberranzan, Entreri would never have played such tricks in front of him.But Entreri knew that the current mercenary chief had fallen for Cershennibon's desires, and with the information Wawel had given him, he knew exactly what that meant.The truth of the facts is quite different from the lie that Charlotte made up just now. Charlotta claimed that she was ordered by Jarlaxle to meet with Duckland, but in fact, the instigators behind her must be Lecky and Kim Murray.From this Entreri knew that the time left for him was indeed dwindling. He took a step back, mulling over the new information, trying to deduce when and where the infighting might occur.At the same time, he also noticed that Charlotte was staring at him closely. With the grace and swiftness of a cat, Charlotta rolled forward from her chair, drew her dagger and hurled it at Entreri's heart, before rushing to another unobtrusive secret door in the room. Entreri caught the dagger in flight, turned it around in his hand, and hurled it before Charlotte could reach the secret door.The dagger was stuck in the door, and it kept shaking.Charlotta's eyes widened in surprise. He grabbed her, twisted her around roughly, and punched her in the face with a straight punch. She drew another dagger - or so she tried to.The moment the dagger was drawn from its concealed scabbard, Entreri had grabbed her wrist, twisted and pushed, Sharlotta's hand immediately lost strength, and the dagger fell from her hand. on the floor.Entreri pushed forward again, and let go.He jumped in front of the woman, slapped her twice, then grabbed her shoulders and pushed her into the chair. "Don't you know who you're playing these stupid tricks with?" he growled in her face. "They'll use you, then dump you. In their eyes, you're an iblith, a word that means 'not drow,' but also livestock, trash. And Lecky and Kim Murray are Jarlaxle's lieutenants Two of the most racist of them all. You'll get nothing from them, silly Charlotta, all you'll get is a horrible death." "And what about Jarlaxle?" she screamed back. It is this subconscious outburst of emotion that the killer is counting on.This phenomenon could not have shown more clearly that Charlotta was indeed standing with the two guys who were plotting to seize control of Dayet's regiment.He took a small step back and stared at the disturbed Charlotte in the chair. "I'll give you a chance," he told her. "Not because I have any good opinion of you—none. But you do have something I need." Charlotta tries to straighten her blouse and blouse to regain her dignity. "Tell me everything," Entreri said flatly. "Everything about this conspiracy—when, where, how. I know far more than you can imagine, so don't play tricks on children with me." Charlotte looked at him with a half-smile. "You don't know anything," she replied. "If you knew, you'd see you'd be a fool by now." The instant the word "fool" came out of her mouth, Entreri had moved behind her, his hands roughly grabbing her hair, pulling her head back, and the The deadly dagger rested on her defenseless throat. "Last chance," he pointed out with great coolness. "And don't forget that I don't like you very much, my dearest Charlotta." The woman swallowed hard, her eyes caught by Entreri's terrifying gaze. Entreri's prestige heightened the menace in his eyes, and Charlotte suddenly felt she had nothing to lose and no reason to remain loyal to the dark elves, so she poured out all she knew. Everything about the plot was said, even the method Lacky and Kim Murray were going to use to disable the Crystal Shard - some kind of psychic magic could do it temporarily, and they'd put the magic energy they needed to harness it into Filled into a container resembling a lantern. Of course, none of this surprised Entreri.Still, it did shake him a little to hear those words blatantly uttered, and it reminded him just how precarious his position was.He kept whispering to himself that he must use the threads of the intricate web of intrigue to weave the truth he needed, and he himself was as capable a competitor as his two adversaries. He left in front of Charlotte and came to the secret door inside the room.He pulled out the dagger stuck in the door, and then slammed it hard three times.After a while, the door opened, and a surprised Wawel Tigovis entered the room. "Why are you here?" she asked Entreri, but then she spotted the languid Charlotta and took a good look at the woman.Then she turned to Entreri again, looking startled and angry. "What did you do?" the halfling demanded the killer. "I will not participate in any infighting in the Basadoni Guild!" "You will do as you are told," the killer replied grimly. "You will have Charlotta as your guest, here alone in comfort, until I return and allow you to release her." "Allowed?" Wawel asked suspiciously, as she shifted her gaze from Entreri to Charlotta. "Are you crazy, you fool?" "If you insult me ​​any more, you'll pay with your tongue." Entreri played his ruthless role perfectly. "You will do as I command. There will be no room for error. When it's over, even Charlotte will be grateful to you for protecting her when no one was sure she was safe." As Entreri spoke, Wawel stared hard at Charlotta, silently trying to make contact.The female human nodded very lightly. Wawel turned to the killer. "Get out," she ordered. Entreri cast his eyes on the secret door through which he had entered, so perfectly concealed that its outline could only be seen on the wall if he looked closely. "Not over there...that door only opens inward," Wavel said sarcastically, pointing to the relatively ordinary door. "Go this way." She stepped forward, pushed him out of the door, followed her out of the room, turned around and locked the door behind her. "Has it gotten to this point?" Wawel asked when the two of them were safely in the hallway. Entreri nodded gloomily. "But you still intend to carry out your plan?" Wawel asked. "Despite this unexpected turn of events?" Entreri's smile reminded the halfling that nothing was unexpected. Wawel nodded. "Improvised logical reasoning," she points out. "You know your role," Entreri replied. "And I think I played pretty well," Wawel laughs. "You played it too well," Entreri told her as they approached another door that led into the alley. "I wasn't kidding when I said I was going to cut off your tongue." After saying this, he walked out of the brass game, leaving the trembling Wawel behind.After a short while, though, the halfling shook his head and chuckled.She doubted that if she insulted Entreri, he would not do as he had threatened. Just skeptical, not sure—never.This is the elusive Artemis Entreri. Before dawn, Entreri was outside the city, whipping the horse he had borrowed without his owner's permission, and galloped toward the Dalabad oasis.He is familiar with this path.There are often crowds of beggars and robbers here.But that doesn't stop the killer, or even slow him down a bit.The sun rose from below the horizon, shining on his left shoulder, and he only picked up speed again.He had to get to Darabad in time. He had told Wawel that Jarlaxle was in the Crystal Tower now, and that the Killer himself would be there quickly.Entreri knew that the halfling had been given hints of what to do if the plan aborted.Once she frees Charlotta... In the growing sunlight of the morning, Entreri lowered his head deeply and continued to push the horse forward.He was still miles away from the oasis, but he had seen the tips of the crystal towers... no, two towers, he realized it suddenly, as he saw two crystal pillars growing rapidly in the sunlight. Of course, he didn't know what that meant, but he wasn't worried.Jarlaxle was in the tower, and the information came from a number of independent messengers, none of whom were out of reach of Raiki, Kim Murray, and all their subordinates. Soon he felt that someone was watching him with magic.But the desperate killer just buried his head lower and continued to urge the stolen horse, determined to beat this cruel but voluntary timetable. "He's running fast to Jarlaxle, and we still don't know where Charlotta Vespa is," Kim Murray told Lackey. These two men were underground in Calimport, watching with Boyinyon Baenre the killer galloping out of the city on horseback. "Charlotta may be staying with Pasha D'Arclan," replied Leckie. "We can't be sure." "Then we should figure it out," suggested a visibly nervous Kim Murray. Lakey glanced at him. "It's very simple, my friend," he said. "Artemis Entreri is no threat to us, just a nuisance. Fleas are more likely to be crushed when they stay together." "A more complete and quicker victory," agrees Boyinyong. Kim Murray hesitated for a moment, and then took out a small square lantern, which had barriers on three sides and left the other side open. It was Yaras Creek who gave him the thing, and assured him that if Kim Murray lit the candle in it, and let its light shine on Cershennibon, the power of the Crystal Shard would be restrained .But the illithid also warned him that the effect was only temporary.Not even the confident Arras Creek thought there was anything that could render this treasure useless for long. But it didn't take long at all, Kim Murray and everyone else knew it, and Artemis Entreri's side with Jarlaxle wouldn't change anything.Jarlaxle would be quickly and completely overthrown, and all who stood by him, including Entreri, would suffer the same fate if the artifact were restrained. Today is going to be sweet — or might as well be tonight.Lecky and Kim Murray timed their attack for night, when the Crystal Shard would be at its lowest point of power. "He's a fool, but I think the fear he's showing is real," she told Charlotta when Varvel Tigovis returned to the small room. "I beg you to have at least some sympathy for him." Charlotta, who was under house arrest, just looked at the halfling suspiciously. "Oh, he's gone," Wawel said, "so you can go too." "I thought I was your prisoner," the woman said tentatively. Wavel chuckled. "Are you going to stay with me forever?" There was obvious sarcasm in her tone. "Artemis Entreri was frightened, and so should you. I admit I know very little about the dark elves, but—" "Dark Elf?" Charlotte repeated, trying to feign surprise and bewilderment. "What does this have to do with dark elves?" Wawel laughed again. "The news has already spread," she said, "about Dallabad and the Basadoni Guild. The people in power behind the puppet chief have long been known." Charlotte began cursing Entreri under her breath, but Wawel cut her off. "Entreri didn't say a word," she explained. "Do you think I need to ask a character as powerful as Entreri to get such mundane information? I have a lot to say about myself, but I don't think stupidity is one of them." The female human leaned back in her chair, staring fiercely at the halfling. "You think you know a lot when you really don't," she said. "That's a dangerous mistake." "I just know I don't want to be in this muddy water at all," Wawel shot back. "Including the Basadoni Guild and the Dalabad Oasis. Also the feud between Charlotta Vespa and Artemis Entreri." "It looks like you're already part of the feud, though," the female human replied, her gleaming black eyes narrowing. Wawel shook his head. "I just do what I have to do, nothing else," she said. "Then I'm free to go?" Wavel nodded, then turned sideways to make way for the exit. "I'm sure I came here as soon as Entreri was gone. I'm sorry, Charlotta, but if being an ally with you meant making Entreri an enemy, then I wouldn't do that. .” Charlotta was still staring at the surprisingly outspoken halfling, but she couldn't refute the logic of the statement. "Where did he go?" she asked. "According to my sources, he left Calimport," Wawel replied. "To Dallabad, perhaps? Or something farther away—there is the shortest road out of Calimshan in the Oasis. I think that if I were Artemis Entreri, I would take it there." 夏洛塔并未回答，但她的内心中非常赞同这一观点。她对于近期发生的事情仍然感到非常迷惑，但她现在清晰地意识到，恩崔立所谓的针对她的“救援行动”不过是某种形式的绑架，以便从她这里榨取他所需要的信息。而她已经提供了大量的信息，她知道自己的处境。她告诉他的事情太多了，莱基和金穆瑞绝不会接受这种事情。 她离开了黄铜赌局，竭力试图整理好纷乱的思绪。她所能够确信的一点就是，黑暗精灵很快就会发现她的踪影。女人点点头，她认清了摆在面前唯一现实的选择，并且开始全速奔向巴沙多尼公会的驻地。她要把恩崔立的阴谋告诉莱基和金穆瑞。 恩崔立看向低垂在东边天空的太阳，深深地吸了一口气。时间已经到了。瓦维尔已经按照事前的约定释放了夏洛塔。毫无疑问，那个女人将会立刻去寻找莱基和金穆瑞，从而触发一些更为重要的事件。 只要那两个黑暗精灵仍然呆在卡林港。 只要夏洛塔并没有分析出绑架事件中隐藏的诡计，并且正如事前预计的那样行动。 只要黑暗精灵们没有提前发现夏洛塔身在黄铜赌局并因而将该地荡平，那么，达拉巴德和碎魔晶现在应该还没有进入莱基那双危险的手中。 如果莱基和金穆瑞发现了事实的真相，但并没有回过头逃往魔索布莱的话。 如果贾拉索仍然身在达拉巴德的话。 最后一个必要条件使得恩崔立深深担忧。不可预知的贾拉索也许是整个未知列表中最不稳定的一个。如果贾拉索离开了达拉巴德，整个计划都会遭到全面而巨大的麻烦。莱基和金穆瑞甚至可能在他毫无所觉的时候就轻易地抓住并杀死他。 杀手摇摇头，赶走所有的疑虑。他对于这种不够自信的情绪一点都不习惯。也许这正是他憎恨黑暗精灵的原因。在魔索布莱，即使是强大有力的阿提密斯·恩崔立也感到自己的确非常渺小。 真相就是你为之努力的那一个，他提醒自己。是他在这里编织了阴谋和欺骗的网，所以拥有真正控制权的人也是他——不是莱基和金穆瑞，不是夏洛塔，甚至不是贾拉索和碎魔晶。 他再次观察太阳，然后瞥向另一边。在那里，壮丽的双塔矗立在达拉巴德的棕榈之间。他提醒自己，这一次，是他，而不是其他任何人，转过了那只沙漏。 时之沙已经开始流转，留给他的时间越来越少了。他用力向马匹的侧腹踢了一脚，以最快的速度冲向绿洲。