Chapter 21 Chapter Seventeen: Impossible Loyalty

Ravel put his hand in the pouch for a moment to tease Puck.They were alone with the unimportant servants in the central room on the top floor.Ravel had promised to present the master as a gift before the Ruby Pendant returned, and Puck knew the wizard would do it with great care.It's not very smart to disappoint the guild master. Ravel was confident in his gift, and not at all intimidated by his own boasting.He showed the thing to Pook, grinning from ear to ear. Pook held his breath, his palms sweating as he reached out to touch the onyx figurine. "Brilliant," he murmured, his heart unable to resist the attraction of the thing. "I've never seen a thing so finely carved. I even want to pet it!"

"You can," Ravel whispered.The wizard, however, did not wish to describe all the advantages of such a gift at once, so he replied, "As you please, so do I." "Where did you get this thing?" Ravel squirmed nervously. "That doesn't matter," he replied. "It's for you, Master, and I dedicate it to you with all my heart." He changed the subject quickly so that Puck wouldn't press further. "The fineness of the engraving is only a small part of its value." He deliberately played tricks, attracting Pook's curious eyes. "You must have heard of these leopards," Ravel continued, content to impress the guild master once again, "they can become the master's magical companions."

Thinking of this, Pook's hands began to shake. "This," he stammered excitedly, "will bring this leopard to life?" Ravel answered the matter with an evil smile. "How? When can I—" "Anytime you like," Ravel replied. "Shall we get a cage first?" Pook asked. "No need to." "But at least let the leopard know who his master is—" "You are its master," Ravel interrupted. "You summon it, and it is entirely yours. It will obey your every command." Pook clutched the statue to his chest.He couldn't believe his good fortune.His favorite things are those cats, such as the leopard that makes him so obedient, as an extension of his personal will, he feels unprecedented throbbing.

"Now," he said, "I will call out the panther. Tell me the summoning spell." Ravel put the figurine on the floor and whispered the words into Pook's ear, careful not to spoil Puck's moment of excitement by summoning Guenhwyvar himself. "Guanhwyvar," said Pook softly.Nothing happened at first, but both Puck and Ravel could feel that it was fully connected to the distant entity. "Come on, Guenhwyvar!" Puck ordered. His voice traveled through the passages between the planes of existence to the dark corridors of the astral plane, the home of the Leopard's entity.Guenhuffa was awakened.The leopard found its way carefully.

"Guenhwyvar," came the calling voice again, but the panther did not recognize the voice.It was many weeks ago that the master took him to the main material world last time, and the leopard finally had a good rest for a while, but this also made him feel nervous and scared in his heart.Now.Now, Guenhwyvar heard a completely unfamiliar voice, and it knew something had changed completely. It was a little reluctant, but it couldn't resist the call, so it jumped into the tunnel. Puck and Ravel watched in fascination as a cloud of gray smoke appeared, covering the ground near the statue.The smoke hovered slowly for a while, then began to take shape, and finally transformed and solidified, becoming Guenhuffar.The leopard stood there upright and observed its surroundings.

"What should I do?" Pook asked Ravel.The leopard became nervous when he heard him, because it was his master's voice. "Whatever pleases you," Ravel replied, "the leopard will sit by your side, hunt for you, walk at your feet—kill for you." Hearing the last sentence, the guild master suddenly had some inspiration in his mind. "What are the restrictions on using it?" Ravel shrugged. "This type of magic usually has a time limit, but after it has rested enough, you can summon it again." After he finished the previous sentence, seeing Puck's discouraged eyes, he quickly added, " It cannot be killed; killing it can at most return it to its original world, but statues can be destroyed."

Pook looked unhappy again.Something like this had become too important to him, and he couldn't imagine losing it. "I assure you that it will not be easy to destroy this statue," Ravel continued, "its magic is very powerful. Even the strongest blacksmith in the world cannot use his heaviest hammer wound. It's nothing!" Pook was very satisfied. "Come here." He stretched out his hands and ordered the leopard to say. Guenhwyvar complied, dropping his ears as Pook stroked its fine black fur. "I have something to do," Puck declared suddenly, and turned his excited eyes to Ravel. "An equally memorable and amazing task. And the first task for Guenhwyvar."

Ravel's eyes lit up as sheer pleasure filled Pook's entire face. "Bring me Regis," Puck said to Ravel. "The first thing Guenhwyvar killed was the halfling I despise the most!"    Regis was exhausted by Puck's various tortures and abuses in the nine-cell cell. He was let go in front of Puck's throne!He fell face down.The halfling struggled to his feet, determined to face his next torment, even death, with dignity. Puck waved his hand, telling the guards to leave the room. "Did you enjoy being with us?" he sneered at Regis. Regis brushed the tangled hair back from his face with his hands. "It's okay," he replied, "although the neighbors are noisy, they've been there all night yelling."

"Shut up!" Puck snapped.He looked at Ravel standing next to the throne, "He won't be in the mood to joke after a while." The guild master said with a dangerous smile. Regis had passed the stage of fear, and now he was resigned to fate. "You've won," he said quietly, hoping to displease Pook. "I took your pendant, and you caught me. If you think this deserves death, kill it." me." "Oh, of course I would!" said Pook contemptuously. "I've planned this from the beginning, but I haven't figured out the proper way yet."

Regis fell.Maybe he wasn't as calm as he thought. "Guanhifar," Puck called. "Guenhwyvar?" Regis repeated softly. "Come to me! My pet." When the magic leopard entered Ravel's room through the half-open door, the halfling's jaw almost fell to his chest in surprise. "Where... did you find it?" Regis stammered. "Wonderful, isn't it?" Pook replied. "But don't worry, little thief. You can come a little closer." He turned to the leopard. "Guenhwyvar, dear Guenhwyvar," said Pook in the leopard's call, "this little thief has killed your master. Kill him, my pet, but please kill him slowly. I wish to hear his screams .”

Regis looked into the leopard's wide eyes. "Calm down, Guenhwyvar," he said, as the leopard advanced with slow, hesitant steps.It pained Regis to see the Wonder Panther obeying the orders of a villainous man like Puck.Guenhwyvar should belong to Drizzt. But Regis didn't have time to consider what the panther's presence represented.His own fate was his chief concern now. "He is the man," Regis yelled at Guenhwyvar, pointing at Puck, "and he ordered an evil man to take you from your true master, who is looking for that evil man!" "Great!" laughed Pook, who thought Regis concocted a set of lies in a final struggle to confuse the animal before he died. A pain in the hand, little thief Regis!" Ravel squirmed uncomfortably, and he recognized some truth in Regis' words. "Now, my pet," ordered Puck, "let him suffer!" Guenhive growled lowly, its eyes narrowed. "Guenhyvar," Regis said at the same time, taking a step back, "Guenhyvar, you know me." The leopard showed no sign of knowing the halfling at all.It was completely driven by the command of its master, so it crouched down and approached Regis inch by inch. "Guenhwyvar!" Regis yelled, his hands groping the wall for his escape. "That's the leopard's name," laughed Pook, who hadn't yet seen the halfling calling sincerely, "goodbye, Regis. Take comfort in the fact that I will remember this moment all my life! " The leopard's ears drooped and it had squatted lower, its hind feet stomping on the ground for better balance.Regis ran to the door, although he knew it was locked.Guenhwyva leaped at him, with uncanny speed and precision.Regis hadn't figured out yet that the leopard had jumped on top of him. But Bashar Pook's ecstasy lasted only a moment.He jumped up from his chair, hoping to see the movement more clearly, because Guenhwyvar blocked Regis.Then the leopard gradually disappeared. The halfling was gone, too. "What's wrong?" Pook yelled. "Is that all? No blood?" He turned to Ravel. "Is this how it kills people?" The wizard's terrified expression told Pook that this was not the case.The guildmaster suddenly understood that what Regis had said to the leopard was true. "It took him!" roared Pook.He rushed to the throne and pressed his face against Ravel's, "Where are they going? Say!" Ravel trembled so much that he almost fell over. "Impossible," he said in amazement, "this leopard should obey its master, the person who owns the statue." "Regis knows the leopard!" cried Pook. "That's impossible loyalty," Ravel replied blankly. Pook collected himself and sat back in his chair. "Where did you get this thing?" he asked Ravel. "Where Entreri is," the wizard replied without delay. Puck scratched his chin. "Entreri," he repeated.The jigsaw puzzle is beginning to show rough patterns.Pook knew the killer so well that he couldn't have given something so valuable to someone else without asking for something in return. "It belonged to one of the halfling's friends," Jek reasoned, remembering Regis mentioning "the real master" to the leopard. "I didn't ask," Ravel replied. "You don't need to ask!" Puck yelled back. "It belonged to one of the halfling's friends maybe the one Obernor said. Yes. Entreri traded it for you..." He gave Ravel a wicked look. "Where is Pirate Pinocchio?" he asked ferociously. Ravel nearly passed out, caught in a net that ended in death wherever he went. "Enough," said Pook, who took in everything from the wizard's pale look of terror. "Ah, Entreri," he said thoughtfully, "although you've done a lot for me, you still give me a headache every time. And you," he breathed out to Ravel, "Where are they?" Ravel shook his head. "The world where the leopard is," he blurted out. "This is the only possibility." "Will the leopard come back to this world?" "Only when called upon by the owner of the statue." Pook pointed to the statue on the ground in front of the door. "Get that leopard back," he ordered.Ravel rushed over. "No, wait a minute," Pook reconsidered, "let's build a cage first. After a while, Guenhwyvar will definitely listen to me. We're going to train him to obey." Ravel went on to pick up the statue, not knowing where to start.Pook caught him as he passed the throne. "But the halfling," growled Pook, crushing Ravel's nose with his nose, "on your life, wizard, bring me back the halfling!" Puck pushed Ravel away and headed for the door leading downstairs.He'd have to find some stalker in the street and ask about what Artemis Entreri was doing, and about the halfling's friends, whether they died on the Asavi Strait or not. If it weren't for Entreri, Pook would have used the Ruby Pendant, but it wouldn't work against a dangerous killer. Pook yelled to himself as he walked out of the room.He had longed for Entreri's return and not allowed him to go off on the road again, but even Ravel was so clearly involved in the killer's game that his only choice at the moment was Reshita.    "You want to get rid of him?" the Rat Man asked, which he always asked at first whenever Puck asked him something. "Don't overestimate yourself," Pook retorted. "Entreri is none of your business, Reshita, and that's beyond your power." "You underestimated the power of our guild." "You underestimate the assassin's organizational network. Maybe many people you mistakenly think are comrades belong to their side," Puck warned. "I don't want a war in my guild." "What's the deal?" the Rat Man asked sharply, visibly disappointed. Hearing the ratman's dissatisfied tone, Pook began to play with the ruby ​​pendant hanging around his neck.He knew he could confuse Reshita, but he'd rather not.Hypnotized people will not act as successfully as they would if they were willing, and Regis' friends have escaped from Pinocchio, and Reshita and his men must exert their full strength to defeat them. "Someone followed Entreri to Calimport," Puck explained. "I think those people are friends of the halflings, and dangerous to our guild." Reshita leaned forward, pretending to be surprised.In fact, the Ratmen had already learned of the arrival of these northerners from Dunton. "They'll be in town soon," continued Pook. "You're running out of time." They're already in town, Reshita answered inwardly.He tried to hide his smile. "Do you wish to capture them alive?" "Just get rid of it," Puck corrected. "That group is too strong. We can't take any chances." "Get rid of it," repeated Reshita, "that's what I suggest every time." Puck shuddered helplessly. "If it's done, report it to me right away," he said as he walked toward the door. Reshita snickered behind her master's back. "Ah, Pook," he whispered after the guild master had left, "you don't know my influence." The rat man rubbed his hands!I expected in my heart that I would be successful.It was late at night, and the northerners were about to hit the street—Dunton would find them there.