The drow refugee Dinin cautiously prowls the streets of the drow city of Menzoberranzan. As a deserter without a family for nearly twenty years, this seasoned warrior is well aware of the dangers of the city and how to avoid it. they. At this time, he was near the west wall of this giant cave that was two miles deep and wide. When he passed by an abandoned building, he couldn't help but stop and stare.On two stalagmite pedestals a crumbling wall encloses the place; looming are two dilapidated gates, one at ground level and the other twenty feet up the wall. In front of the patio, the door panel hangs precariously on twisted hinges.Dinin had lost count of how many times he had floated up this terrace and into his private noble chambers—the chambers of House Do'Urden.

House Do'Urden - one of the forbidden words in this drow city.And this Dinin's family used to be the eighth strongest clan among the more than sixty drow families of Menzoberranzan.His mother once held a seat in the ruling council, and he, Dinin, was one of the instructors of the Fighting Wuta, a warrior school in the Drow Academy. Standing in front of the building, Dinin felt as though its glory were a thousand years ago.His family was wiped out, his splendid house was buried in dust, and he himself had to join the notorious Dayet Independent Mercenary Group just to survive. "It's all over." The drow refugee whispered such a sentence, shook his thin shoulders, and wrapped his body with the concealment magic cloak. A drow without a family is always fragile.With a quick glance at the Narbondel Hour Pillar in the center of the cave, he saw that it was getting late.Every day at dawn, the archmage of Menzoberranzan would come to the Pillar of Narbondel and infuse it with magic.The temperature of the time column will increase with time, and when the temperature reaches the peak, it will gradually cool down again.To the drow's eyes, which sense infrared light, the heat-emitting hour-pillar is like a burning clock.

Now Nabendar is almost completely cooled, and the day is drawing to a close. Dinin traveled almost half of the city, and his destination was a secret cave in the Talon Rift.The Claw Rift is a huge chasm in the northwestern wall of Menzoberranzan City.Here lies one of the countless hideouts of Jarlaxle, Master of the Dayet Mercenaries, where he now waits. This drow slipped past the Narbondel Hour Pillar and more than a hundred porous stalagmites in the center of the city. There are more than a dozen family settlements here, and the strange and extraordinary sculptures and monster stone statues are shining with gorgeous demon fire.Drow soldiers patrolling the parapets and the bridges connecting the giant stalactites watched the lone stranger, holding their crossbows and poisoned spears, until Dinin was far away from them.

Such is the law of Menzoberranzan: always be vigilant, and never trust another. When he came to the edge of the Claw Rift, Dinin carefully inspected the surrounding situation, and then used his natural floating ability to dodge and float into the crack.After slowly descending more than a hundred feet, he saw the arrow of the crossbow again, but after his fellow mercenaries recognized Dinin, they quickly put away the arrow. Jarlaxle is waiting for you, a guard told Dinin in elaborate drow sign language. Dinin didn't answer, he didn't need to explain to ordinary soldiers.So he just rudely pushed past the guards and walked into a short tunnel.Soon, he was in a complex maze of corridors and rooms.After walking through a few more tunnels, the dark elf stopped in front of a door with a faint light, which was almost so thin that it was translucent.He pressed his palm against the door, letting his body temperature remind the hot eyes on the other side that he had arrived.

"It's finally here." A moment later, he heard Jarlaxle's voice, "Come in, Dinin, my Haubi, you've kept me waiting too long." Dinin paused for a moment, feeling the tone and words of this moody mercenary captain.Jarlaxle has always called him Haubi - "my trusted friend", and he has been from Jarlaxle since repelling the Do'Urden raid (in which Jarlaxle played a major role). He got such a nickname there, but he didn't hear the slightest bit of sarcasm from the tone of the mercenary captain.It seems that there is no problem, but when the mission of spying on the seventeenth family Vanderri of Menzoberranzan is at a critical juncture, why did Jarlaxle suddenly let him come back here?Dinin was full of doubts about this.In order to gain the trust of the Vandry family guards, Dinin had to deal with high danger for nearly a year.No doubt his leaving without saying goodbye would have cast serious doubts on his identity among the guards.

There was only one way to find out the truth, and the refugee soldier finally made a decision.He held his breath and squeezed into this translucent barrier, it looked as if he had walked into a thick wall of water, but there was not a trace of water on his body.Taking a few more strides, he crossed the exits of the two fluid boundaries before he penetrated the magic door that seemed only an inch thick and entered Jarlaxle's hut. The room was filled with a comfortable red light, where Dinin could adjust his vision from the infrared range to the normal light range, and he blinked to let the pupils gradually adapt to this change.Then, as before, when he looked at Jarlaxle, he blinked again.

The mercenary leader sat in a soft chair behind a stone table.Supported by only one leg, the chair can swivel freely or recline to a considerable angle.As usual, Jarlaxle lolled back in his chair, his slender hands resting behind his clean-shaven skull. (It can be called a unique drow hairstyle!) Jarlaxle put one foot on the table, his high black boots tapping rhythmically on the rock face.At this moment, his other foot kicked the rock with equal force, but the boot made no sound. Dinin noticed that the mercenary captain's ruby ​​eyepatch was on his right eye today. Standing by the table was a small, trembling humanoid.Dinin's five-and-a-half feet exceeded his height by a full factor of two, and that's when you count the pair of small white horns on his protruding forehead.

"It's the kobold of Obrozar," Jarlaxle explained casually. "It looks like the poor little thing found its way in, but not its way back." This reason sounded reasonable to Dinin. Obroza, the third family of Menzoberranzan, lived close to the mouth of the Claw Rift.It is said that they have raised thousands of kobolds, which are used to torture and entertain in peacetime, and become the frontline saber meat in wartime. "Do you want to leave?" Jarlaxle asked with a thick smile. The kobold nodded eagerly and foolishly. Jarlaxle pointed to the door, and the kobold rushed towards it, but he didn't have the strength to penetrate the barrier at all, and was only bounced back, almost falling at Dinin's feet.The kobold hadn't gotten up yet, but he foolishly snarled disrespectfully at the mercenary captain.

Jarlaxle swung his hand a few times, but Dinin couldn't recognize how many times he swung, he just tensed up reflexively.But he also knew that if you wanted to live, you had to stay still, and Jarlaxle never missed his mark. When he finally ducked his head, he saw five daggers pinned to the kobold's lifeless body, imprinting a perfect pentagram on the wretch's tiny chest. Jarlaxle shrugged at Dinin. "This worm cannot go back to Oleda. He has seen too much here." Dinin shared Jarlaxle's smile and bent to draw the daggers, but Jarlaxle signaled he needn't. "They'll snap back into place by themselves," Jarlaxle said, pulling up the sleeve of his jacket to reveal the magic scabbard on his wrist. "Sit down," he ordered his friend, pointing to an unassuming stool by the table." We have a lot to talk about."

"Why did you call me back?" Dinin asked straight to the point as soon as he sat down, "I have successfully penetrated into the Vanderui family." "Ah, my Haubi," Jarlaxle responded, "you always get right to the point, and that's what I like about you." "Wuenhe," which means "liar" in the drow language, Dinin didn't buy it. Once again, the partners burst out laughing at the same time.But Jarlaxle's laughter didn't last long, and he put his foot down.Leaning forward, holding hands together, the jewels that only kings can have are shining brilliantly.How many of these shiny jewels are magical?This is a question that Dinin often thinks about.Perhaps the gleam of the jewels reflected the color of the stone tabletop, and Jarlaxle's face became as gray as iron.

"The attack on Wan Derui is about to start?" Dinin thought he had found the answer to the question while asking. "Forget Vanderri," Jarlaxle replied. "Their business is not important to us now." Dinin put his pointed chin into his thin palm, it doesn't matter anymore!he thinks.All he wanted to do now was to jump up and strangle this vague mercenary leader.He spent a whole year... Dinin erased his consideration of Vanderi, staring sternly at Jarlaxle's usually calm face, looking for clues.Finally, he understood. "My sister," he said, and Jarlaxle nodded before Dinin could say the word, "what did she do?" Jarlaxle straightened his body, looked across the cabin, and blew a shrill whistle.A stone slab was raised at the sound, revealing a small hole.Dinin's only surviving blood relative, Vierna Do'Urden, entered the room, looking more splendid and beautiful than when the family was destroyed. When Dinin saw what Werna was wearing, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.Verna in her old gown!It was the robe of the high priest of Lolth, and the spiders and weapons decorated on it were the emblem of House Do'Urden!It never occurred to Dinin that Verna would keep it; he hadn't seen anything like it in over ten years. "How dare you..." He wanted to warn, but Vierna's rage was immediately revealed.Her red eyeballs burned like two fires on her high ebony cheekbones.Dinin looked into those eyes and couldn't say a word. "I've been favored by Rose again." Verna declared loudly. Dinin looked at Jarlaxle, who just shrugged and silently moved the patch over his left eye. "The Spider Queen showed me a miracle," Vierna continued, her graceful voice hoarse with uncontrollable excitement. Dinin thought the woman was now on the verge of madness, and the calm Vierna had always tolerated everything silently, even after the sudden demise of House Do'Urden.But in the past year or two, her behavior has become increasingly erratic and extreme, often leaving her alone for hours at a time, frantically praying to their grim gods. "Will you tell us the miracle that Rose showed you?" Jarlaxle asked her after a long period of calm, but he didn't look very shocked. "Drizzt." Vierna bellowed the name, which belonged to their blasphemous younger brother, and her sister's delicate lips were twisted with hatred for the name. Dinin wisely raised his hand to cover his mouth, not allowing the words of retort to blurt out without revealing the slightest bit.Although Verna's current appearance is obviously irrational, she is a high priest after all, and she must not be disrespected. "Drizzt?" Jarlaxle asked her quietly. "Your brother?" "Not my brother!" Vierna yelled, rushing towards the table, as if to knock Jarlaxle to the ground.The quick movements of the mercenary captain failed to escape Dinin's attention this time, and the wrist equipped with the dagger had already turned to the ready position. "That's a traitor to the Do'Urden family!" Vierna was furious, "All traitors from the drow!" Her scowl suddenly turned into a smile, evil and cunning. "With Drizzt as a sacrifice, I'll be favored by Rose again, and again..." Vierna snapped her mouth shut, obviously not wanting to reveal the rest of the plan. "You sound like Matron Maris," Dinin said boldly. "She's also intent on hunting down my brother...that traitor." "Do you still remember Mistress Maris?" Jarlaxle's tone was sneering, but he also hoped that the name would calm the over-excited Verna.She was Vierna's mother, Matron of House Do'Urden.By failing to capture and kill the rebellious Drizzt, she directly contributed to the family's demise. Verna did calm down, but then she let out another spasmodic laugh that didn't stop for a long time. "Do you understand why I summoned you back?" Jarlaxle turned his head and asked Dinin. He didn't seem to notice the existence of the priest at all. "You want me to kill her before she causes trouble?" Dinin asked equally casually. Verna's laughter stopped suddenly, her big eyes fixed on this cold-blooded younger brother, "Wishya!" She shouted, and the magic energy knocked Dinin off his seat, blasting him directly onto the rocky cave wall. "Kneel down!" Werner ordered, and Dinin fell to his knees as soon as he regained consciousness.And Jarlaxle, who was sitting next to her, didn't seem to exist to her. The mercenary captain also couldn't hide his surprise. This was just a simple spell, and it shouldn't have any effect on an experienced fighter like Dinin. "This is Rose's favor." Werner stood proudly in front of the two. "If you dare to oppose me, I will use the spells and curses blessed by Rose to deal with you, and you can only wait to die." "The latest news we have about Drizzt is that he has gone to the surface," Jarlaxle told her hastily in order to divert Vierna's anger, "all the information shows that he is still there." Verna nodded, her weird smile never left her lips, the pearly white teeth contrasted sharply with the shiny ebony skin, "He was there, but Rose showed me how to find him." The way, that is the way to glory." Jarlaxle and Dinin exchanged bewildered glances again, both Vierna's manifesto and Vierna herself in an unnatural state of madness, based on their experience. But Dinin ignored his own wishes and all rational considerations, and still knelt there.