A dim crystal ball sat at the center of the workbench. Renato recognized it as Klauthsura's Psionics Beacon Eye.
During the assault on the Mind Flayer Hive, Klauthsura had entrusted it to Renato.
Hadn't this powerful magic item, capable of providing teleportation coordinates and disrupting spatial targeting, already shattered? Had the mind flayer repaired it?
Renato took another look and found that several fine cracks still remained on the crystal ball's surface, but the psionic light within had gathered again. Clearly, it had not been completely destroyed and was still usable.
Before he could ask, Klauthsura had already begun today's "meal."
Tentacles clamped tightly around the witless half-drow's head, followed by a teeth-grating crunch of bone.
Blood poured from where the tentacles met the scalp, dripping onto the silver-white circlet.
The half-drow slave's eyes suddenly rolled upward, exposing bloodshot whites. His limbs began convulsing violently, his fingers opening and clenching in spasms while his feet kicked mindlessly against the floor with erratic scraping sounds.
The entire process lasted a dozen seconds or so. Then the body went completely limp, like a heap of mud stripped of its support.
Only after Klauthsura set down the half-drow slave and removed the Crown of Intellect from his head did the mind flayer offer an assessment:
"This magic item cannot physically increase the number of synaptic connections or the electrical activity within brain tissue." The mind flayer's voice was steady, with the rigor of an academic discussion. "Instead, it assists brain activity through magic. You can think of it as an external, temporary accelerator for thought..."
Klauthsura wiped the blood from his tentacles with a silk handkerchief, his movements elegant and unhurried. The white cloth quickly became mottled red, and he casually tossed it into the waste bin beside the workbench.
"However, although the