After the revelry, the Nightwind Family Fortress fell silent again, returning to its dreary routine.
Led by Tristana, Renato passed through the chapel hall. The servants had scrubbed the blood-soaked flagstones spotless, leaving no sign of the frenzied slaughter that had taken place there only days before.
The Nightwind Family had recruited another batch of servants.
The previous half-drow servants had known Renato came from the wilderness rather than Sammoril, and had still harbored some prejudice against him.
These new servants, however, treated him as a true Nightwind noble, a child of the Matron Mother.
Whenever the half-drow servants passed Renato, they instinctively held their breath, lowered their eyes, and trembled all over.
Through the shadows, Renato could savor the pure terror in their hearts.
Now he sat in a private room at the Breath of Tonnigat, waiting for Raven to bring him all the information he needed for the operation.
The Iron Price mercenaries had refurbished a room on the tavern's first basement level. Though sparsely furnished with only a sofa and a table, it had the advantage of being quiet.
An orange-yellow magic lamp hung on the wall. It was rather bright for an ordinary drow, but just right for Renato.
It seemed Raven was not as rough as she looked. She was actually quite thoughtful.
For now, Renato intended to work alone, using the Iron Price mercenaries as cover to take mercenary jobs in the Gray Zone.
He did not need the mercenaries' actual support, though. They had struggled even against the Swamp Sisters. If they encountered a truly troublesome enemy, they would not only be useless, but would also hold him back.
Klauthsura was bound by contract and could not leave the Nightwind Family's grounds, while Tristana needed to catch up on scriptures and religious texts