Chapter 26 Chapter Twenty-One

Catti-brie and Entreri stared at each other for a long while in this small room in the secret labyrinth of the Dayette Mercenaries.This was the first time Catti-brie had been alone with him since being captured.Catti-brie could tell from Entreri's expression that he was thinking something. He raised his hand in front of him, spread his fingers, and the cat's-eye agate fell to the end of the silver chain. Catti-brie watched curiously, not sure what the assassin was up to.Of course he stole it from Jarlaxle's pouch, but why would he risk stealing such a dangerous drow? "You're a prisoner like me," said Catti-brie finally, "and he brought you here to do what he ordered."

"I don't like that word," Entreri retorted. "Prisoner. It means involuntary, and I tell you, I was never involuntary." He was nine points for bluff and one point for hope.Catti-brie could see it, but she just thought about it and didn't say it. "And what are you going to do when Jarlaxle finds out it's gone?" she asked. "At that time, I was already dancing on the surface." The assassin replied coldly. Catti-brie wondered about this man.This was said frankly and clearly, not like a conspiracy.But what do you mean by stealing that tiara?She continued to wonder, and then suddenly frightened.Entreri may have thought that seeing with its starlight was better than using his own thermal vision, or that it made up for his lack of thermal vision.But he shouldn't have told her that, if he was going to leave her behind—if he was going to keep her alive.

"You don't need that thing." Catti-brie tried not to tremble in her voice, "You already have thermal vision and can see the road clearly." "But you need it," said Entreri, tossing the tiara to the woman.Catti-brie caught it, clutching it tightly, weighing the meaning of the words. "I can't take you back to the surface." She thought the assassin had miscalculated, "I can only find my way down because I have the panther and the magic box to tell me how to keep up with Drizzt." The assassin's eyes didn't blink. "I said I couldn't get you out of here," she repeated.

"Drizzt can," Entreri said, "I'll make you a deal, a deal you can't refuse. I got you and Drizzt out of Menzoberranzan, and you two took me out of Menzoberranzan." Back to the surface. Once on the surface, we will go our separate ways, and we will have nothing to do with each other from now on." Catti-brie took a moment to consider this startling proposition. "Do you think I'll believe you?" she asked.But Entreri didn't answer, and didn't have to.Catti-brie was trapped in a small room surrounded by murderous dark elves, and things were only worse for Drizzt.No matter how dangerous Entreri's idea was, it couldn't have been worse.

"Where's Guenhwyvar?" Catti-brie asked, "and my bow?" "I have the bow and quiver," Entreri replied. "Jarrlaxle has the panther." "I won't go until Guenhwyvar is here," said Catti-brie. Entreri looked at her suspiciously, as if he thought she was cheating. Catti-brie threw her tiara to her feet and sat down at the edge of a small table, folding her arms defiantly in front of her. Entreri looked down at the tiara, then up at Catti-brie. "I'll always find a way to let you go," he promised. "If you think you can, you're wrong," retorted Catti-brie. "I see you need my help to get out of here, and I'm not going to help you. The big cat isn't here, neither me nor Trace Tet won't help you."

"You also know that Drizzt will agree with me." Catti-brie said to the point, "Guenhwyvar is a friend of both of us, and we will not abandon our friends!" Entreri hooked the tiara on his toe and casually lifted it towards Catti-brie, who caught it again, and this time she put it on her head.Without a word, the assassin gestured to her to hold still, and then he left abruptly. There was only one guard standing outside Jarlaxle's private chamber, and he hadn't noticed anyone coming.Entreri had to poke him with his fingers to get his attention.Pointing to the oddly flowing door, the assassin asked, "Is Jarlaxle in there?"

The guard shook his head. Entreri pointed to the water gate again, his eyes widening suddenly in surprise.As the guard leaned over to check, the assassin grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him through the door, sending them both down the watery passage.Entreri and the startled drow began a slow-motion scuffle.He was bigger than the elf, and equally nimble, so he gradually forced him into the room. Together, the two rushed through the other side of the door and fell into Jarlaxle's room.The drow reached for his sword, but Entreri caught it with a hook from his left hand; a series of combined punches followed, and when he was knocked to his knees, the assassin flew up and kicked him hard in the face.

Entreri half-handled the drow aside and flung it against the wall.The assassin punched him several times to make sure he was too weak to resist.After a while, Entreri had the dark elf kneeling limply on the ground, with his hands tied behind his back and something tightly stuffed in his mouth.He leaned the thing against the wall, and fumbled for the mechanism to open the door.As soon as the door to the chamber slid open, he pushed the drow inside. Entreri considered killing the guy.Then there would be no witnesses, and it would take some time for Jarlaxle to discover who had done the evil.But something still stopped Entreri's dagger, and his instinct told him to let this happen in the light of day, without causing damage to the Dayet mercenaries.

Everything is too simple.Entreri felt something was wrong, for he had found not only the statue of Guenhwyvar, but also Catti-brie's enchanted mask.Both things were waiting for him to get - yes, for him to get! —they were on Jarlaxle's table.Entreri picked them up carefully, checking to see if any suspicious traps had been set nearby, and then double-checked that the two were genuine. What a strange thing. Entreri pondered the not-so-subtle clues Jarlaxle had left: that the mercenary chief had taken him to warlock school, which had easily pointed him the way to the spider mask.He fished Alustriel's magic box out of the bag, and Jarlaxle absently tossed it to him that identified Drizzt Do'Urden's location.Jarlaxle had even said that he was going to sneak up to Drizzt at some convenient moment just after the ceremony at Baenry's house tonight.

What is all this for?Entreri didn't know.Jarlaxle had a personal plan, which apparently ran counter to the Baenry family's plan to attack Mithril Hall.Standing still in the mercenary chief's room, everything seemed clear to Entreri that Jarlaxle had inserted him into the game he had set up, a pawn in his hands. Entreri gripped the magic box tightly and tossed it back into his pocket.Very good, he thought.He'll make a real useful pawn. Twenty minutes later, Entreri disguised himself as a drow warrior with a magic mask, and Catti-brie walked silently through the winding streets of Menzoberranzan, cutting into a After passing the path of Stalagmite Peak, go to the plateau where Tir Brech is located, and go to the academy of drow.

※※※※ Once again, he saw the layers of stairs in the Glorious Dwarven Dungeon, the heart of Mithril Hall.He conjured images of the western entrance, through the Valley of the Guardians, and then Glen Canyon. Drizzt struggled to shake off the images, unwilling to reveal the true location of Mithril Hall, but he knew those details too well!It's like revisiting the old place, walking freely beside Bruno and others.Struggling to resist the mind flayer's hypnosis, Drizzt found himself completely overwhelmed.He has no psychic barrier to protect himself from the psychic attacks of Matron Baenre's familiar, and no willpower to stand against this spiritual giant. The pictures and shadows came back to Drizzt's mind one by one, stripped away bit by bit, and turned into food for ugly illithids.Every contact with the drow ranger's spirit, every intrusion was accompanied by pain, and electric shocks that burned his mind. At last Drizzt felt the monster's tentacles let go of his forehead, and he fell, a tangle of confused images and throbbing pains in his head. "We got some intelligence today." He heard the distant voice that seemed to come from the water. Got some info... These words echoed ominously in Drizzt's mind over and over again.The illithid and Matron Baenre were still talking, but he wasn't listening anymore, he was focused on the words, wondering what those horrible words meant. Drizzt still bowed his head, slowly opened his purple eyes, and stole a glance at Mai Hill.The monster was standing just a few steps away from him, with its back turned to him. The illithid now knows part of the structure of the bottom layer of Mithril Hall. If he continues to invade Drizzt's mind, he will soon be able to know the terrain of the entire Mithril Hall. Drizzt could not let this happen; his hands slowly gripped the chains on either side. Drizzt kicked out, kicking the ugly monster in the back of the head.Before Mai Hill could dodge, the ranger's legs clamped around his neck, and he writhed from side to side, trying to break the guy's neck. Drizzt felt the tentacles groping his skin, digging into his legs, and he fought back the nausea as he pulled furiously.He saw the hateful Fandes rushing from the side, knowing what kind of punishment was coming, but he still concentrated on his attack.For his friends, Mahir must die! The illithid fell back, trying to knock Drizzt unconscious and shake him off, but the seasoned drow ranger stepped back.As a result, Mai Hill fell headlong to the ground.Half were leaning against the wall and the other half were being held to death by Drizzt.Drizzt lifted him up and slammed him to the ground, letting his legs go.Illithids are not creatures that are good at hand-to-hand combat, and Mahir raised his three-fingered hand desperately, hoping to withstand the sudden storm of kicks. Something punched Drizzt just below the ribs, taking his breath away.He insisted on continuing to kick down, but was hit hard again.Then came the third blow, and the fourth. Hanging feebly from his chains, he tried to curl up to protect where Fenders' sledgehammer had struck him.Drizzt thought he was doomed when he saw Datak's furious eyes.The vicious eyes were mixed with hatred and fury, as if she was always so angry. She stopped, stopped even sooner than Drizzt dared to expect, and turned away calmly, leaving Drizzt dangling from the manacles, curling up powerlessly. Matron Baenry sat comfortably on the disk, and Maisir was back beside her, staring at Drizzt with pupilless milky eyes. Drizzt knew that the next time the illithid invaded his consciousness, Myhill would go out of his way to increase his suffering. "Don't give him medicine." Mistress Banrui ordered to Danzhuo who was standing by the door with an indifferent expression.Following Matron's gaze, Dendro turned his gaze to the vials on Drizzt's left wall, and nodded. "Dobulus," Matron Baenre taunted Drizzt, using a drow word for "forsaken folk." "Our high family rituals will be more pleasant knowing you are here to suffer." She said. He nodded to Fan Desi who was wandering aside, so Fan Desi turned around and threw a small short dart. There was a slight sting, and the short dart hit Drizzt in the stomach, and then the whole stomach seemed to be on fire.He retched and tried to scream, but the ensuing pain made him curl up.However, this position did not relieve the pain at all.The enchanted dart continuously seeped drops of poison into his body, burning inside him. Through tear-filled eyes, Drizzt saw the Disc float out of the cell.Fenders and Myhill followed Matron Baenry respectfully out.Danzhuo leaned against the door frame expressionlessly.After a while, he walked towards Drizzt. "You idiot!" said Dendra, "if you make my mother kill you before I do, I promise I won't spare any living thing that has Drizzt Do'Urden as a friend!" Dendro slapped him across the face again with Drizzt's dizzying speed.The Ranger hangs feebly on the chain, and is soon forced to curl up into a ball by the poison dart pierced through his stomach. ※※※※ At the bottom of the wide stairway leading to Tyr Bridger, in a corner that no one else could see, Artemis Entreri was trying to remember the image of Archmage Gromph Baenre of Menzoberranzan.He had seen Gromph a few times, mostly when he was an agent of Jarlaxle (Jarrlaxle believed that the Archmage's embers at Narbondel's Pillar of Hours had re-ignited quickly, shortening the duration of the magic spell. The length of the night in Sobera. So he wondered what the dangerous mage was up to, and sent Entreri to find out). Entreri's cloak had become flowing mage robes, his hair a mass of long white hair, and there were even subtle wrinkles around his eyes. "I can't believe you dared do that," Catti-brie said as he stepped out of the shadows. "The spider mask is in Gromph's desk." The assassin replied coldly, not at all worried. "There is no other way to sneak into Baenry's house." "What if Gromph is sitting at that table?" "Then your and my corpses will be scattered all over the hole," Entreri snapped back, walking up to Catti-brie, grabbing her hand, and pulling her up the steps. Entreri relied on luck as much as on strength.He knew that there were dragons and crouching tigers everywhere in the school of warlocks, but generally these masters did not interfere with each other.He only wished that Gromph, though a man, had been invited to the high family ritual at Baenre's house.The walls of that chamber prevented scrying and teleportation, and if his disguise could trick the magical walls set up there, he could pass in and out of Gromph's room with little trouble.The archmage is notoriously hot-tempered, and no one dared to block Gongfu's way. Standing at the top of the steps, at the top of the Till Bridge steps, the two saw the three buildings of the Drow Academy.To their right was the austere pyramid-shaped fighting tower, and directly in front of them loomed the most impressive building—Spider Academy, the school of Goddess Lolth.Entreri was glad he didn't have to go inside the two buildings.A large number of guards gathered in the Fighting Martial Tower, which was heavily guarded.The Spider Academy is protected by the high priests of Lolth, who work together to protect the interests of the Spider Queen.Only the elegantly shaped steeple-shaped building on the left, the Warlock School, can be secretly infiltrated. Catti-brie drew her arm back, almost piercing with sharp terror.She has no pretense at all, and she doesn't feel safe here at all.But she mustered up her courage, so she didn't struggle when Entreri grabbed her again and pulled her hard, striding over. They made their way to the wide open front door of the School of Warlocks and were stopped by two guards.A guard asked Entreri a question, and the answer was a slap from the assassin.The assassin went straight in, hoping that Gromph's gruff reputation would calm the guards down and let them pass. The scam worked.The two guards retreated to their posts, and did not dare to whisper a few words until the archmage had gone a long way. Entreri made his way through the winding passages, and the two of them soon reached the wall leading to Gromph's chambers.He took a deep breath and looked at his companion, reiterating to himself that if Gromph was behind the door, they would both be dead. "Cursens Ober," the assassin murmured.Entreri breathed a sigh of relief—the wall began to twist and twist, turning into a spider's web.The spider silk rolled away, revealing an entrance emitting a soft blue light.Entreri slid through the entrance quickly, pulling Catti-brie in before he lost his nerve. Gromph wasn't in there. Entreri made his way to the dwarven bone desk, rubbing his fists and blowing on his hands for luck before opening the drawers.At this time, Catti-brie was full of curiosity about the magical objects around her, walking around while looking at the parchment in the distance, and even went to a ceramic bottle and boldly pulled out its cork. Suddenly hearing the Archmage's voice, Entreri's heart jumped into his throat, and he was relieved to find that the voice was only coming from a bottle. Catti-brie looked at the bottle and cork with interest, and put the cork back on to silence the sound. "What is this?" she asked Entreri, since she didn't understand a word of the drow. "I don't know," Entreri replied angrily. "Don't touch anything!" Catti-brie shrugged, and the assassin went back to his work at the desk, trying to confirm the code to open the drawer.He thought back to his conversation with Jarlaxle, when the mercenary chief had told him that word.Was Jarlaxle telling the truth?Or is the whole thing just part of an elaborate game?Had Jarlaxle lured him here so he could open the drawer with the wrong code word and blow himself and half the school of warlocks away?Jarlaxle had probably put a replica of the spider mask in a drawer, and had lured Entreri here to trigger Gromph's powerful guardian magic, to destroy the evidence. Entreri dismissed these thoughts.He had put his life on the line, he said to himself, perhaps the plan to let Drizzt go was part of Jarlaxle's grand plan, but no matter what, he couldn't give in to his inner fear now.He whispered a secret word and quickly opened the drawer. The Spider Mask is waiting for him inside. Entreri grabbed the mask and looked at Catti-brie.She filled an hourglass with fine white sand and was watching it trickle down.Entreri flipped over the table and rushed to kick the thing aside. Catti-brie stared at him curiously. "I'm counting the time," she said calmly. "It's not a timer!" the assassin explained bluntly.He turned the hourglass upside down and carefully removed the sand, put the hourglass back into the box and gently covered it. "It's a bomb, once the sand runs out it'll turn into a sea of ​​flames. You're not allowed to touch anything!" he snapped. "If everything is in order, Gromph won't even know we're here. said Entreri, surveying the messy room. "Or, at least, it should be as messy as ever. Jarlaxle hasn't been in since he put the spider mask back." Katie Bree nodded a little, looking like she was genuinely ashamed of what she had done, but it was just a show.The young lady had guessed, if not quite, what the hourglass was for, and she wasn't going to let it leak.She did it just to get confirmation from the worldly Entreri, that's all. The two quickly left the mage's room and walked out of the warlock school.Catti-brie stole a couple of hourglasses and filled her waist pocket with enough sand for detonation.Entreri knew nothing of it.