"Renato, have you been hypnotized?!"
At Rolling Stone City's rear gate, a troop of duergar laden with bags of all sizes was sorting through their supplies, discarding anything useless.
The old dwarf spoke impatiently:
"Why listen to a mind flayer? Nothing but lies comes out of an Octopus Head's mouth. They're worse than drow! Klauthsura just wants to trick you into staying close, so you can be a meat shield and an emergency food supply..."
"Stop your slander, surface dwarf. Drow schemes never target the weak," Tristana interrupted. She pursed her lips, looking somewhat hesitant. "But this business about the Elder Brain... Klauthsura might not be lying."
"At first, I thought it was a mind flayer's lie too," Tristana continued, rubbing the holy symbol at her waist. "But it was so far-fetched. Who would fall for such a flimsy excuse? So I prayed to Lolth and asked her to show me the way..."
"Lolth revealed to me that a great crisis was coming to the Underdark, and delivered an oracle. I must follow her oracle and stop the aberrations' evil plan..."
"That's because that Spider Mother from the Abyss is lying to you too!" Balin said impatiently, his beard quivering. "She just wants to watch an Octopus Head eat your brain alive and see you die like a fool!"
"I don't have time to argue with you, runt!" Tristana's brows shot up. "You should listen to Renato and stay in this stratum to fight the Elder Brain, instead of acting like a coward! Running will only leave you exhausted and dead in the end!"
Renato had no choice. The logic was simple: if the Elder Brain really could merge with a true dragon, the first to suffer would surely be helpless exiles like them in the nearby strata.
But he