"Just call me Unas," Laugard said, something that sounded off. "And what about the rest of you?"
"We are all innocent, sir..." The remaining few all rushed to recount their innocence and the tragic circumstances of their kidnapping.
Unas listened for a moment. These people all possessed skills that Gunsel needed for his research, but it was hard to say that their kidnapping life was particularly difficult. They were all well-fed and plump, and it was clear that they hadn't suffered any hardship. Gunsel must have been quite "respectful and courteous" to them.
"By the Holy Light, how pitiful are you lambs," Unas said with a compassionate expression, "You certainly deserve salvation, and in the name of the Holy Light, I will grant you your freedom."
"But," he continued before the cheers could even begin, "Before that, you need to do Holy Light a favor. Are you willing?"
"Of course, we'd love to help," the middle-aged man said hastily, then his voice suddenly trailed off, "But if it's against that powerful mage, our magic is too weak to be of much help."
The others nodded in agreement. Some of them had been genuinely kidnapped, while others had been half-hired and half-tricked by Gunsel. Although they were well-fed and clothed here, and the Purple-robed Person promised them generous rewards, nothing could compare to freedom.
"I'll deal with the Purple-robed Person when he comes. You just need to answer my questions honestly," Unas pointed at Talo. "This puppet has the ability to detect lies, so you'd better not lie."
"We would never dare to deceive you, Knight."
"Our first question is about a mage Merlin Firestone, who is the Purple-robed Person's mentor. Have you met him?"
"No." The answers were all the same.
Gunsel must have ambushed Merlin before he began to delve into the research of Mutant Spiders, so it's normal that they hadn't seen them before.
Sure enough, the puppet butler nodded and only said one number, "95%"
"And what about a huge red spider?" Unas pulled the Troll and Rose over and tried his best to describe Shadra's appearance.
The others shook their heads as well.
"You haven't seen this Miss Rosebayne either? She was very likely created in this laboratory."
"So, are there any secret rooms on this floor?"
"No."
Unas refrained from asking directly and instead probed indirectly, "Besides conducting experiments, does the Purple-robed Person do anything unusual in his daily life?"
There are many possible answers. Perhaps it was because he didn't want his assistants to discover his identity Undead. The Purple-robed Person's quirks and prohibitions were consistent, such as not being allowed to make eye contact with him or touch his body.
This was all useless information, and Unas was wondering what else to ask when one of the young men volunteered, "If you want to know the secret of the Purple-robed Person, I know one, but I'm not sure if it's a secret at all."
Such proactive speaking should be encouraged, Unas quickly said, "Speak freely, if it's helpful, you'll be greatly rewarded."
"One night I couldn't sleep, and I was preparing to try the experiment that failed during the day again, when I inadvertently discovered that my mentor... uh, the Purple-robed Person told us to call him mentor." The young man explained awkwardly, unable to correct himself for a moment, afraid of offending the Paladin in front of him who was clearly an enemy of his "mentor".
Is this one of Gunsel's quirks? This Lich probably spent half his life as an apprentice, so he wanted to experience being a "mentor" for himself?
Unas, of course, didn't mind. He took out a small bag of turquoise and said, "It doesn't matter. Continue. If it's useful, this bag of jewels is yours."
Greenish-blue quartz is only a mid-to-low-grade gemstone, but even a small bag of it has an average market price of over a thousand gold coins. The young man swallowed hard, his fear completely gone. "I noticed that the Purple-robed Person had quietly come down and slipped into the incubation room. I didn't dare follow him in. Generally, the Purple-robed Person would notify us assistants beforehand to prepare. This should be considered a strange move."
"Alright," Unas slapped the azurite into the young man's hand, "Here's your reward in advance. What about the others? Haven't they encountered anything similar? Anyone I found useful has been rewarded."
The effect of spending a fortune to buy horse bones was immediately apparent. The group racked their brains to come up with information about the Purple-robed Person's unusual behavior, some of which was just idle talk. Unas finally identified two suspicious places—the freezer and the incubation room—where Gunsel had secretly stayed on several occasions.
Unas said to Talo, "We'll split into two groups and thoroughly search both places."
This floor is so big, with so many rooms. They only searched it briefly before. Now that they have a specific target, they're determined to turn it upside down.
Unas, using the excuse that the puppets weren't afraid of the cold, sent them to the freezer while he chose the hatchery for himself. He figured it was unlikely that Gunsel would suddenly become maternal and go to take care of the spider babies in the middle of the night, so the hatchery probably held a secret.
Thousands of spider eggs of various colors and sizes are neatly arranged on rows of shelves, encased in nests woven from soft, warm spider silk, ensuring that the eggs remain warm for a long time even if the room temperature drops.
The Troll's eyes lit up when he arrived. If he had been tamed from birth, he was confident he could have subdued spiders like Rosebayne did.
Unas divided the room into more than a dozen sections, with each person responsible for thoroughly searching their assigned area. If no clues were found, they would exchange places with their neighbors and search again.
This method was somewhat complicated, but very organized. The group searched twice, but found nothing new.
Haikesi approached the Warden and said, "Sir, I sensed a faint divine aura in this room, but it's uncertain whether it's emanating from the Spider God. It's quite possible that there are Sons of Shadra here, still in their egg form."
"Then I'll leave the investigation to you. You must figure this out."
The group lined up and passed the spider eggs one by one to the Troll, who would then determine whether they were the Sons of Shadra.
Although this method is clumsy, it doesn't take long. Trolls are incredibly fast; they can often determine whether an egg carries the scent of Shadra in less than a second.
A quarter of an hour later, all the thousands of eggs had been examined. The Troll had a great haul; he had identified fifteen eggs of the Sons of Shadra.
These eggs vary in color and size, making it hard to imagine that they came from the same mother. It can be inferred that their fathers must belong to different species.
The stark reality was right before his eyes. The thought of his god being so insulted filled the Troll with grief. He let out a wail and dug two deep, bloody scratches into his face with his fingers.
"Haikesi, don't do anything rash..." Unas comforted him, but in his heart he thought: Didn't the Troll say he had long ago converted to the path of the Holy Light? Looking at him now, it turns out he hasn't forgotten his former self at all.