"Excellent. The brain's electrical activity hasn't even stopped completely. A thick prefrontal cortex, abundant folds, and even the number of synaptic connections far exceeds the Drow average..."
This was the first time Renato had ever seen Klauthsura so "excited." Not only had the Mind Flayer grown talkative, but the four tentacles around its mouth had also begun twitching unnaturally, making it look positively overstimulated.
Watching Klauthsura continue to cradle and examine the Mage's empty skull, Renato gave an awkward chuckle and tried to change the subject:
"Mages are smarter, so their brains taste better, huh? What about that broken staff I brought back, and all that other stuff? Anything good in there?"
Renato had found only one small vault in the Duwa Family's treasury that hadn't been broken into. It held around a thousand gold coins, some silver coins, and scattered pieces of jewelry. Their quality was mediocre, but there were plenty of them.
Apart from that small vault, the magical traps in every other room of the treasury had already been disarmed. Even the heavy steel Arcane Gate had been opened.
As Renato pushed through those already-opened doors and looked into the empty stone chambers, he knew there was nothing much left in the treasury.
Apparently, in less than three minutes, Aknath had not only killed the three noble Drow Clerics and their dozen or so guards in the Chapel, but had also found time to collect the spoils, pocketing most of the Duwa Family's treasury.
Those were some fast hands. Faced with a treasury stripped even of its storage chests, Renato quietly raised his assessment of the Weapon Master's abilities another notch.
*He could get his hands dirty and scoop up the loot quickly, without letting social conventions or his own pride get in the way. He hadn't