Chapter 25 Chapter 20 Personal Abacus

"Where's that woman?" Trill asked impatiently, pacing Jarlaxle's private room.This is in a secret cave in the rocky walls of the Claw Rift, a great rift northeast of Menzoberranzan. "Beheaded." The mercenary leader replied lightly.He knew Trill used some sort of lie-detection magic, but believed he could stand up to it. "She is the youngest daughter of an unknown nobleman in a low-ranking family." Cui Er stood still, staring at the mercenary leader who made excuses.Jarlaxle knew very well that the angry Baenre nobleman was not asking about the Kalisa Heka.Carissa, like other slave traders on Los Beast Island, was ordered to kill them, but news leaked to Trill, saying that there was a woman and a mysterious big cat on the island.

Jarlaxle was better at the game of staring than anyone else.He sat comfortably in a chair behind the big table, and even pretended to be at ease.He leaned back and rested his booted feet on the countertop. Triel rushed over and brushed his feet off the table.She leaned over the table and brought her angry face closer to the arrogant mercenary leader.The priest heard a slight commotion behind a wall, followed by the same noise from underground, and she thought that Jarlaxle had many of his associates here hiding behind the secret door, ready to rush in to protect the Dayet mercenaries. regiment leader.

"Not that woman." She took a breath, trying to calm down the atmosphere.Triel is the leader of the highest school in Drow Academy, the eldest daughter of the first family of Menzoberranzan, and as far as she knows, she is also the strongest high priest favored by the Spider God Queen.She wasn't afraid of Jarlaxle or his cohorts, but she did fear her mother's wrath, if she was forced to kill the always useful mercenaries, if she suddenly brought this secret war to a head, or even just in the Mother would throw a tantrum if there was an unpleasant atmosphere between the valuable Dayet mercenary group and the Baen Shui family.

And she knew that Jarlaxle knew she couldn't do anything wrong, that Jarlaxle knew the situation better than anyone, and took advantage of it. Suddenly smiling, the mercenary leader took off his exaggerated wide-brimmed hat with a serious look, and slowly stroked his bald head with one hand. "My dear Tril," he answered calmly, "I tell you the truth that there are no other drow women on Loth Beast Island, nor anywhere near it, unless she is a soldier of House Baenry." Trill stepped back from the table, pursed his lips, not knowing which topic to turn to next.As far as she knew, the mercenary chief hadn't lied, and either Jarlaxle had found a way to counteract the magic she was casting, or he was telling the truth.

"If there was, I would have reported it to you, of course." Jarlaxle added, this obvious lie ringing in Trill's head with a nasty voice. Jarlaxle hid his smile.His last lie was to convince Trill that her spell was still working.From her skeptical look, Jarlaxle knew he had won the round. "I heard that there is a big black panther." Trill reminded. "Great big cat," Jarlaxle echoed. "If what I've read about this traitor is correct, it belongs to Drizzt Do'Urden. It's called Guenhwyvar, and it was Drizzt who killed Mar Shoji later took it from the body of Masoj Henet."

"I heard that this black panther, this Guanhaifa, once appeared on the island of Lost beasts." Trill explained impatiently. "It did appear." The mercenary leader replied.He took out the metal whistle from under the cloak, "appeared on the island, and then turned into a cloud of illusory mist." "What about the summoning tool?" "Drizzt is in your hands, dear Tril." Jarlaxle retorted calmly, "neither I nor my people have ever approached that traitor except during the battle. And, if you say If you haven't seen Drizzt Do'Urden in battle, then I assure you, my men are too busy to think about how to pick that guy's pocket!"

Cui Er's doubts became more and more serious. "Oh, it is true that someone ran to the traitor who fell off the cliff," Jarlaxle explained, as if he had forgotten a small detail just now, "but he didn't take any statues from Drizzt, nothing at all A tool for summoning, I promise you." "So you and your mercenaries didn't happen to find that agate statue either?" "No." Once again, the scheming mercenary boss is telling the truth.Because Artemis Entreri wasn't technically a member of the Dayet mercenaries. Trill's spells told her that Jarlaxle's words were true, but all reports indicated that the panther had been on the island, and the Baenry soldiers had failed to find the precious statue.Some believe that when Drizzt fell, the statue fell from him into the black water.A detect spell failed to find it, but this may be due to the natural topography of East Negaton Lake.It is well known that this dark lake is turbulent but turbulent, but something even more terrifying lurks in its depths.

The Baenry daughter, however, was not convinced by the story about the woman, or the panther.Jarlaxle convinced her this time.But she was as confident in her report as she was in the mercenary chief. The look of her already believing, the rare displeasure on the proud Baenry daughter's face certainly reassured Jarlaxle. "The plan continues." Tril said suddenly, "Mistress Banreu has assembled a high-level family ritual, and now this ceremony will be upgraded, because she has obtained the most valuable sacrifice." Jarlaxle carefully pondered the words and the meaning of Triel's words.Drizzt, the trigger for the attack on Mithril Hall, has been sent back, but Matron Baenre still plans to continue the attack plan on Mithril Hall at full speed.What would Goddess Rose think of the whole thing?The mercenary leader really wants to know.

"Of course, your mistress should take some time to think it over," Jarlaxle replied calmly. "She is dying." Tril suddenly retorted, "She is eager for this battle, and she is not allowed to die unless she has won the victory." Jarlaxle almost laughed out loud at the description, saying that she "would not allow herself to die," which reminded him of the haggard mistress.Matron Baenre should have died centuries ago, but she's alive anyway.Maybe Triel was right, the mercenary leader was deep in thought.Perhaps Matron Baenre thought she would not live for another few decades, and that was why she recklessly pushed forward with this expedition.Jarlaxle liked chaos, and he liked war, but this was a matter of careful consideration.The mercenary chief really enjoys life in Menzoberranzan.Maybe Matron Baenre put this way of life in jeopardy?

"She thought it was a good thing to catch Drizzt," Trill continued. "It was, it was a good thing! That traitor was the long-awaited sacrifice of the Spider Queen." "But..." Jarlaxle continued. "However, when the other mistresses know that Drizzt has been arrested, how will the alliance be maintained?" Trill pointed out the stakes. "At best, the alliance is only temporary. If someone thinks that Goddess Rose When the plan for the raid is no longer supported, and the purpose of going to the surface considered accomplished, the existence of the Alliance will be even shorter."

Jarlaxle crossed his fingers in front of him, and there was a long pause in the conversation.She was bright, the Baenry daughter, wise and wise and as familiar with drow ways as anyone in the city—except her mother, and maybe Jarlaxle.But now she would lose too many benefits, so she revealed some factors to the mercenary leader that he had never considered, a potential major problem. In vain to conceal his frustration, Trill turned and walked away from the table, across the small room, and made a beeline for the unusual exit.The exit almost seemed to contain a pile of glue, which seemed only a few inches thick, but it made her walk through a corridor filled with water.Even so, she hardly slowed down until she rushed between the two smirking Dayet mercenary members in the corridor. For a moment, Jarlaxle saw the thermal silhouette of a drow hand appearing on his translucent door, a sign that Triel had left.A lever under the mercenary leader's desk opened seven secret doors on the wall and floor, and several drow walked or climbed out, plus a human, Artemis Entreri. "Triel heard about the women on the island." Jarlaxle said to his most trusted drow mercenaries, "Go to the shore and find out who betrayed us and leaked the news to Baenry's daughter. " "Do you want to silence?" a member asked expectantly.Jarlaxle admired his interrogation skills. The mercenary leader looked condescendingly at the impulsive drow, and the rest of the Dayet mercenary group stared at him in the same way.The tradition of the underground army does not advocate the execution of spies, but handles them skillfully.Jarlaxle has proved many times that using the other party's spies can obtain the same intelligence and release the same false information as using his own spies, and for the trained Dayet mercenary group, Triel is placed in the Any spies on the shore will do them good. Needless to say to the well-trained and experienced members of the regiment, Jarlaxle waved them away. "This adventure is getting more and more interesting now," the mercenary chief told Entreri after they were gone.He met the assassin's eyes, "But you let me down." Entreri was not at all prepared to hear this.He struggled to understand Jarlaxle's subtext. "You know that Drizzt is in the Underdark, and even that he will be in Menzoberranzan soon," the mercenary leader suggested, but Entreri was not enlightened by this statement. "The trap was set and perfectly executed," the assassin argued, but Jarlaxle didn't think so: several members of the mercenary company were wounded and four were killed.Even against such a staunch opponent as Drizzt, such a loss is surprising. "I'm the one who lured Drizzt down and captured Catti-brie," Entreri reminded him sharply. "That's where you're wrong." Jarlaxle sniggered as if asking for a crime.Entreri stared at him, completely bewildered. "The human woman Catti-brie who followed Drizzt here, with Guenhwyvar, and this," Jarlaxle said, holding up the heart-shaped magic box. "She followed blindly, through circuitous caverns and terrifying labyrinths. She had no hope of turning back." "She probably didn't intend to leave," Entreri added dryly. "That's where you're wrong," Jarlaxle reiterated.He broke into a smile, and now Entreri began to see what he meant. "Drizzt Do'Urden alone can guide you out of the deep Underdark," Jarlaxle told him frankly.The mercenary leader tossed the magic box to Entreri. "Feel the temperature of it," he explained, "feel the temperature of the warrior's blood rushing through Drizzt Do'Urden's veins. If it gets cold, then you know Drizzt is no more, and you The world of sunshine will leave you forever." "Perhaps, I can get a lucky glimpse—when Mithril Hall is captured." Jarlaxle added with a sly wink. Entreri was repressing the urge to leap across the table to kill—if it hadn't been for the thought that there might be a lever under the table that would open seven more secret doors, allowing Jarlaxle's closest guards to leap at him and engulf him.But really, after the initial rush, the Assassin's interest in the proposal outweighed his anger, for two reasons: Jarlaxle's claim that he would never see the sun again, and Drizzt Dorotor's The possibility that Den could lead him out of the Underdark.Thinking secretly, the assassin held the magic box and walked towards the door. "Did I mention that the Horba family has started to investigate the cause of Jellis' death?" Jarlaxle's question came from behind him, making the assassin's steps stop halfway. "They even had contact with the Dayet mercenary group and were willing to pay a good price for the relevant information. How intriguing, don't you think so?" Entreri did not turn around.He went straight for the door and ran out of the room.The seriousness of this matter is far worse than intriguing. Jarlaxle was thinking about it too—it was getting more and more interesting to think about this whole interesting episode.He thought Trill had pointed out the flaws in Matron Baenre's plan, which Matron Baenre would never notice because she was blinded by lust for power.He thought it likely that the Spider Queen's love of chaos had put him in a position where he could influence the other world above Menzoberranzan. Matron Baenre had her own plans, and Trill certainly had one, and now Jarlaxle was pulling one of his own.There's no better reason than to feel the onslaught of the wild chaos in which cunning mercenary bosses have always been able to get away. ※※※※ The semi-conscious Drizzt didn't know how long the punishment had been going on.Fandes is a master of torture. She found every sensitive spot on this unfortunate prisoner, beat and picked, and used sharp torture tools to rake the most painful places. She kept Drizzt half-awake all the time, never allowing him the strength to resist, yet awake enough to feel every pain. Then she was gone, Drizzt hanging from the manacles, unaware that the hard manacles were cutting his wrists.All the ranger could wish for in this horrible moment was to be free from this world, from his tormented shell.He couldn't think of the surface world, he couldn't think of his friends.He vaguely remembered that Guenhwyvar had been on the island, but he couldn't concentrate on thinking about the significance of it. He was defeated, and for the first time in his life, Drizzt wondered if death was better than life. Someone roughly grabbed his hair and pulled it back.He struggled to see around his blurry, bruised eyes, for he feared the return of the hateful Fandes.But what he heard was a male voice. A bottle was pressed to his lips, and his head was turned aside to let the contents down his throat.Drizzt resisted instinctively, thinking it was poison or a potion that would knock him out of his mind.He spat some out, only to be punched head-on against the wall and doused with more of the sour potion. Drizzt felt his whole body burning, as if his limbs were on fire.Deciding that this was the last moment of his life, he struggled to get rid of the hard chains, and then weakened exhausted, waiting for death to come. The burning sensation suddenly turned into a sweet feeling; Drizzt suddenly felt stronger, his eyes gradually subsided, and his vision became clearer. Two Baen Swee brothers stood before him. "Drizzt Do'Urden," Dendro's tone remained flat, "I've been waiting many years to see you." Drizzt didn't answer. "Do you know me? Know me?" Denjo asked. Drizzt remained silent, and this time he was slapped across the face for the silence. "Do you know me?" Dan Zhuo's questioning tone became stronger. Drizzt tried to remember the name Matron Baenre had called the man.He knew Bo Yinyong in the academy, because he studied with him and patrolled with him, but he didn't know the man who spoke; he couldn't recall the man's name.Drizzt knew the guy was self-centered, and it would be wise to feed his vain pride.He pored over the man's outfit for a while, hoping he'd come to the right conclusion. "The Martial Arts Master of Ban Rui's family." His voice was slurred, and blood flowed out of his damaged lips with every word he uttered.He noticed that the sting of the wounds was not so sharp, as if they were healing quickly, and he understood what the medicine poured into his mouth was for. "So Zaknafein told you who Dandra was," the guy said, puffing out his chest like a barn rooster. "Of course." Drizzt lied. "Then you know why I'm here." "I don't know," Drizzt replied honestly, a little confused. Danzhuo turned his head and looked over his shoulder, leading Drizzt's gaze to a pile of equipment neatly stacked on the other side of the room - it was Drizzt's equipment! "I've wanted to fight Zaknafein for years," Dendro said. "To prove that I am stronger. He is afraid of me, and he dare not emerge from the mouse hole where he is hiding." Drizzt refrained from yelling, so Zaknafein wouldn't be afraid of anyone. "Now I've got you," Dendro continued. "To prove yourself?" Drizzt asked. Dan Zhuo raised his hand to punch him, but he pressed it down. "If we fight and you kill me, what will Mistress Banre say?" Knowing Danzhuo's dilemma, Drizzt asked this question specially.He had been arrested for more than just to prove the arrogance of one of the Baenrews' brazens.All of a sudden it was a game—a game that Drizzt had played.His sister had gone to Mithril Hall to capture him, and as a bargain she had allowed Artemis Entreri and Drizzt a personal duel.For no other reason than Entreri wanted to prove himself. "The glory of my victory is greater than any punishment." Dendro replied confidently, as if he really believed his words. "Maybe instead of killing you, I'll cripple you, put you back in chains, and let Vanders go on with her game. That's why you're given the potion. You'll be healed, then beaten to the brink of death, And then be cured. If Matron Baenre is willing, it can be repeated for a hundred years." Drizzt remembered the insidious ways of his people and would not question such a statement.He had heard rumors that nobles captured in family civil wars had been imprisoned by the victorious family for hundreds of years as a tool for torture and pleasure. "There is no need to doubt, we will meet in the last match, Drizzt Do'Urden." Dan Zhuo said.He brought his face closer to Drizzt, "When you are healed and able to defend yourself." Drizzt's eyes flickered, and Dandra had already slapped him twice.Drizzt had never seen such swift action before, and he took note of it, anticipating that he would see it again in more dangerous circumstances someday. Danzhuo turned around and walked away from Bo Yinyong towards the door.The young son of Baenre laughed loudly at the hanging prisoner, spat, and followed his brother out. ※※※※ "It's so beautiful." The bald head of the mercenary stroked Catti-brie's thick auburn hair with his slender fingers. Catti-brie didn't blink her eyes, she fixed her eyes on the vague figure, not denying that he was indeed handsome.This drow was a little different.She didn't think he would rape her.Buried beneath Jarlaxle's bravado was a distorted sense of honor.To be sure there was some resemblance to Entreri.Entreri had imprisoned Catti-brie for a long time, during which time he had never lifted a finger of her except to force her on the road. So did Jarlaxle.Catti-brie believed so, and hoped so.Had the mercenary chief thought she was attractive, he might have seduced her, at least temporarily. "Your bravery is undeniable." Jarlaxle continued the unpleasant conversation with fluent expression. "Come to Menzoberranzan alone!" The mercenary leader shook his head in disbelief, looking at Entreri.Another human being in this small room. "Even Artemis Entreri was tricked into coming here. He will leave as soon as he can find his way." "It's not suitable for surface dwellers here," Jarlaxle said, as if to prove it, the mercenary leader suddenly took off the cat's-eye headdress from Catti-brie's forehead.Darkness, darker even than the night in Bruno's deepest mines, surrounded her, and she had to fight back against the welling up of fear that was overwhelming her. Jarlaxle was right in front of her.She could feel his presence, feel his breath, but all she could see was his glowing red eyes looking her up and down with thermal vision.Across the room, Entreri's eyes glowed with a similar light, and Catti-brie had no idea why he, a human, should have such vision. She wished deeply that she could have the same vision.Darkness crept over her, engulfing her.Her skin became extremely sensitive, and all her senses were stretched to the limit. She wanted to scream, but she didn't want to give pleasure to her captor. Jarlaxle uttered a word Catti-brie couldn't understand, and the room was bathed in a soft blue light. "Here, you can see," Jarlaxle said to her, "and once you get out, through this door, there's only darkness outside." Catti-brie watched him play with the tiara, and then Let it fall into a bag on the back of his waist. "Forgive me," he said softly to Catti-brie, disarming her. "I don't want to torture you, but I want to keep myself safe. Matron Baenry wants you—I guess she must be very Anxious, because she locked up Drizzt—she knows that you are the best thing to use to wear down his strong will." Catti-brie could hardly hide her excitement, and the gleam of hope, at learning that Drizzt was still alive. "Of course they haven't killed him yet," the mercenary chief continued, more as if he was addressing Entreri than Catti-brie, and the assassin noticed. "He was a valuable prisoner, and he was a source of information when asked about the surface." "They'll kill him," Entreri remarked—and Catti-brie sensed some angry emotion in it. "Eventually," Jarlaxle replied, laughing. "You'll both be dead for a long time by then, though, and so are your children. Unless they're half-drow," he added sinisterly, winking at Catti-brie. "It's such a pity that things have come to this point," Jarlaxle went on, "I was hoping to have a chat with the legendary Drizzt Do'Urden before the Baenry's got hold of him. A few words. If I still had that spider mask, I'd sneak into Baenre's courtyard tonight. I'd sneak into the cell to talk to him while the priests were at their ceremonies. Of course, it had to be done earlier in the ceremony, before Matron Baenre decided to sacrifice him tonight. Ah, that's it." He sighed and shrugged, his fingers soft for the last time. Carefully brushing Catti-brie's thick long hair, she turned and walked towards the door. "I can't go anyway," he told Entreri. "I have to meet with Matron K. Holba to discuss the cost of the investigation." Entreri's only reaction to the harsh words was a smile.As the mercenary leader moved on, he rose to his feet and followed Jarlaxle.Then he stopped suddenly and turned back to look at Catti-brie. "I think I'll stay and talk to her," said the assassin. "As you wish," replied the mercenary leader, "but don't hurt her. If you do," he corrected with a smile, "at least don't leave a scar on her pretty face." Jarlaxle walked out of the room and closed the door behind him, letting his magic boots clatter loudly as he continued down the rocky passage, to convince Entreri that he had gone far.He fumbled in his pocket and smiled, for he found that the tiara had been stolen from it.There is nothing surprising about this. Jarlaxle had planted the seeds of chaos, and now he could sit back and watch how the fruits of his labor would grow.