"Chris?"
The Matron Mother's urging rang like an alarm bell. Cold sweat seeped from Tang's forehead, and he instinctively reached for the lute on his back.
Compared to drawing a blade, the gesture was relatively harmless, while still letting him react immediately if anything happened.
The Intellect Devourer residing beneath Christian's scalp finally seemed to dredge up information on the two Drow from decades-old memories. He turned back.
"Two students from the main line."
The Matron Mother nodded. "So they are Klings."
"Yes, Priestess." Every family's Matron Mother was nominally one of Lolth's most trusted followers and served as a priestess as well.
"Good."
The Matron Mother clapped her hands. The hall's obsidian doors rumbled open, and two Drow Elves entered in fitted, purple-black outer armor.
They pried open the Kling siblings' mouths. Once they confirmed that neither had any more escape tools hidden beneath their tongue, they hauled them out of the hall.
As Night Wind was led away, he looked back at Tang with a questioning gaze, as though asking, You really will come save me, right?
Tang made out an almost imperceptible thread on their shoulders. It belonged to the [Tracking Spider] Night Wind had left him, now hidden in his pocket, allowing him to follow the thread to their cell and eventually find the Kling Matron Mother. He gave a slight nod, as though saying, Off you go. Don't worry.
Night Wind didn't think that sounded very reassuring.
As the main hall's doors closed again, the Master of Arms knelt at the Matron Mother's feet to serve as a footrest, like a puppet entirely at her disposal—a remarkably easy role for the Intellect Devourer to play.
The Matron of Spider Silk turned her gaze back to Shalti.
"Now then, child of Do'Urden, what reward do you