Chapter Summaries

Renato met with Quelyn, who offered him a Letter of Recommendation for the Combat Tower if he killed Keno Fryce in a duel. Renato accepted the mission, binding himself more firmly to the Nightwind Family.

• Quelyn questioned Renato about wanting to study combat techniques at the Combat Tower and criticized its students.
• Quelyn offered a Letter of Recommendation if Renato completed a task for her there.
• Quelyn demanded that Renato challenge and kill Keno Fryce, the Fryce Family's newly appointed Tower Guardian, to avenge an insult and prove his loyalty.
• Renato recognized that Quelyn was using the mission to bind him to the Nightwind Family and accepted the quest.
• Renato promised to bring Quelyn Keno's head, and she dismissed him to prepare.

Aknath took Renato to the Combat Tower and explained how he had once forced his way inside to challenge its guardian. At the entrance, Renato announced his own challenge and demanded that the instructors’ leader step forward.

• Aknath guided Renato through the Academy District, disparaging the Mage Academy and describing the Combat Tower.
• Aknath recalled that he had beaten an instructor and threatened him to gain permission to challenge the Tower Guardian.
• Aknath presented Renato’s enrollment invitation at the Combat Tower entrance despite a senior instructor warning him not to cause trouble.
• Renato stopped Aknath and declared that he had come to challenge the Tower Guardian and claim the tournament champion title.
• Renato demanded that the person in charge step forward as the instructors reacted with surprise.

Renato defeated a lead instructor at the Academy gates to prove himself and ask Aknath for a chance to challenge the Tower Guardian. Aknath agreed and ordered an instructor to lead them to the tower’s top floor.

• Renato rushed the lead instructor before he could draw his swords and overpowered him in close combat.
• Renato slammed the instructor into a wall and onto the paving stones, then knocked him unconscious.
• The other instructors drew their weapons but kept their distance because they feared Aknath.
• Renato asked Aknath for permission to challenge the Tower Guardian, revealing he was bypassing the usual enrollment process.
• Aknath approved, pointed his sword at a retreating instructor, and ordered him to take them to the top floor.

Renato entered a life-or-death duel against Keno Fryce for the Combat Tower’s championship after Weapon Master Aknath helped him bypass the usual challenge process. As the duel began, Keno used several scrolls to prepare for the fight and threatened Renato.

• Renato had provoked a Drow instructor to justify a fight, but Weapon Master Aknath had actively helped him secure a challenge against Keno Fryce.
• Renato surveyed the Combat Tower arena and recognized Keno as the pampered youngest son of the Fryce Family, whose servant had offered him three hundred gold coins to withdraw.
• Renato drank Oil of Speed while students discussed his reputation and warned that wealth and connections mattered in the Combat Tower.
• Keno drank a potion, activated three scrolls, and threatened to kill Renato as the duel began.

Renato defeated Keno Fryce after seeing through his Mirror Image and dodging his enhanced halberd attack. Keno invoked his powerful family as Renato killed him, leaving the Combat Tower silent.

• Keno Fryce attacked Renato with three images created by Mirror Image, but Renato identified the real one and wounded him with the Silent Lady.
• Renato realized Keno’s Barkskin enhancement had prevented his first slash from killing him.
• Keno leaped at Renato with his flaming halberd, but Renato used Misty Step to evade the blow and stabbed him through the chest.
• Renato explained the flaw in Keno’s attack as Keno pleaded for his life and threatened him with his family’s power.
• Aknath stopped the instructors from reaching the platform, and Renato beheaded Keno, silencing the Combat Tower.

After Renato killed Kaino, Sammoril’s Drow celebrated the Fryce Family’s humiliation rather than mourning the dead. Dissatisfied with the easy fight, Renato challenged the top students from all four floors of the Combat Tower.

• Lavishly dressed students mocked Kaino’s death and celebrated, while losing bettors sat in silence and winning bettors threw wine.
• The chapter explained that the Drow’s cheers came from their desire to see the powerful Fryce Family lose face, not from affection for Renato.
• Renato regretted that Kaino had been such a weak opponent and that he had defeated him with only two sword strikes.
• Aknath told Renato that he would have to defend his Tower Guardian position for a month before claiming the tournament champion’s title.
• Renato asked Aknath to wait, then called on the top students from the Combat Tower’s first four floors to face him.

Renato secured his tournament title by exploiting the vacant Student Chief positions, then received a powerful Type IV Dragon Blood Enhancement Elixir made by Klauthsura. The chapter ended as Klauthsura prepared to slowly inject the elixir into Renato while reassuring him.

• Renato provoked the four Student Chiefs, who relinquished their positions rather than risk fighting him, leaving no one able to challenge him before the tournament ended.
• Aknath told Renato that his name, “Black Blade,” would echo throughout Sammoril as they left the Academy.
• Klauthsura explained that she could not reproduce Styx Grease and that Manticore Poison and Carrion Crawler Mucus required rare ingredients.
• Klauthsura showed Renato the Type IV Dragon Blood Enhancement Elixir, which could raise his Constitution to 16 and increase his maximum hit points.
• Klauthsura secured a psionically powered drug delivery device to Renato’s arm and prepared to administer the elixir over an hour, promising to stay with him.

Renato endured the painful Dragon Blood Elixir infusion and realized it was provoking the Deep Dragon’s greed, bloodlust, and desire to dominate. After he recognized the influence and regained control, Klauthsura helped ease his pain with a massage.

• Renato struggled through the burning pain of the hour-long infusion and tried unsuccessfully to meditate.
• Renato was overcome by sudden cravings for flesh and wealth, then realized the thoughts were unnatural and came from the Dragon Blood Elixir.
• Renato connected the potion’s influence to the Deep Dragon’s instincts and understood why the enhancement required resolve.
• Klauthsura adjusted Renato’s recliner, let him rest against her, and massaged his temples to soothe his pain.

During the long Dragon Blood Elixir injection, Klauthsura told Renato how the Elder Brain’s experiments created her as an incomplete Elder Brain Worm forced through ceremorphosis in a Half-Giant host. After Renato reassured her that he would not despise her, Klauthsura privately recognized him as someone truly like her.

• As she massaged Renato, Klauthsura explained that the Elder Brain created Dragonborn subjects to study dragons after struggling to subdue the captured Deep Dragon Gattholex.
• Klauthsura said her Half-Giant host survived the deadly experiments, and the Elder Brain used the host to test whether an Elder Brain Worm could undergo ceremorphosis.
• She explained that she had grown from tadpoles devouring one another and was forced into the Half-Giant’s cranial cavity, becoming a flawed Mind Flayer with weak telepathy and an intense hunger for brains.
• Klauthsura asked Renato whether he would despise her for being an evolutionary error, and he reassured her that he would keep helping her and would not fear her.
• Klauthsura thanked Renato and told him telepathically that, unlike the Colony’s Mind Flayers, he was truly her kind.

Renato confronted Tristana after she tried to control his movements and forbid him from seeing Klauthsura. He reminded her that they were bound by secrets and mutual risk, and they reconciled for the moment as the Holy Day Festival approached.

• Renato reflected on the physical changes caused by magical potions and the Dragon Blood Elixir.
• Tristana ordered Renato to protect someone near the West Wall and stop visiting Klauthsura, then admitted she had been monitoring him.
• Renato confronted Tristana about watching him and threatened to expose that her raiding party had been slaughtered and that she had brought a disguised human into the Goddess's holy city.
• Tristana calmed down after Renato reminded her of their shared secrets and called her the Fourth Daughter of Nightwind.
• Renato touched his lips to Tristana's forehead and proposed that they start over and trust each other.

Renato began guarding Rodi Nightbrize after Matron Mother Quelyn assigned him to escort the noblewoman around the West Wall for a day. Rodi celebrated her release from 155 years of house arrest, but Renato sensed concealed wariness and killing intent beneath her smile; she then asked to ride lizards.

• Renato questioned why Quelyn had assigned him alone to guard Rodi, but accepted the quest for its experience reward.
• Rodi leapt from a boat onto the pier and celebrated being outside after 155 years of house arrest.
• Renato sensed coldness, wariness, and concealed killing intent beneath Rodi's cheerful expression.
• Rodi recognized Renato as Tristana's former guard and said she felt safe with him protecting her.
• Rodi asked where the family beast pen was and proposed riding lizards because it was too far to walk.

Renato rode through the West Wall district with Rodi, who questioned him about life beyond Samoriel City and whether he could survive alone in the wilderness. He warned her that the Underdark wilderness was deadly, while her watchful behavior suggested she was searching for something.

• Renato rode cautiously through the West Wall district as Rodi recalled how soldiers had once protected her from rival families.
• Rodi asked Renato about the wilderness outside the city, and he described its dangers as well as the distinctive cultures and crafts found there.
• Rodi mentioned Renato's strength and asked whether he could survive alone in the wilderness.
• Renato told Rodi to ask her father, Aknath, why a Legendary Warrior had chosen city life instead of the wilderness.
• Rodi fell silent and continued watching the streets and patrols, while Renato hoped she would reconsider whatever she was planning.

Renato noticed that Nightwind soldiers had disappeared from the West Wall district, then spent hours sparring with Aknath by Lake Tonnigat. When Renato told him that Rodi could leave Lake Island at designated times, Aknath refused to intervene and said her fate was no longer his concern.

• Renato noticed that Nightwind soldiers had been moved from the West Wall district but could not determine why.
• Renato sparred with Aknath for several hours, relying on instinct to last longer against the Legendary Warrior.
• Aknath stopped the sparring to rest after returning from a search party and several fights outside the city.
• Renato told Aknath that Quelyn had allowed Rodi to leave Lake Island at designated times.
• Aknath said he had fulfilled his duty as Rodi's father and would not help her if she chose to heed Quelyn.

Renato learned more about the Nightwind Family’s secrets as Rodi revealed that Quelyn had sacrificed her newborn sons to Lolth, including the brother whose remains formed Quelyn’s bone mask. After Rodi hinted at disappearing slaves and escape, Renato stayed silent, leaving her choices—and her fate—uncertain.

• Renato discussed the Nightwind Family’s secrets with Rodi in a private room while Raven listened nervously.
• Rodi revealed that Quelyn had offered each of her newborn sons to Lolth because of an oath she had sworn as a young Priest.
• Rodi explained that Quelyn’s bone mask contained the remains of her beloved firstborn son, prompting Renato to reconsider what had happened to Aknath and Rodi.
• Rodi mentioned that many slaves disappeared in Sammoril, and Renato told her that runaways were usually recaptured or died in the Gray Zone.
• Renato considered warning Rodi against trying to escape the city but kept quiet, recognizing that she had to make her own choice.

Renato tested the new dragon hide arming jacket Klauthsura had made and learned that the Nightwind Family had delivered Half-Drow slaves with irreparable brain damage. He promised to address the matter while Klauthsura urged him to stay calm and protect his standing.

• Renato put on the dragon hide arming jacket Klauthsura had made and tested how it fit beneath his plate armor.
• Klauthsura explained the jacket's layered materials and asked Renato to help with the Nightwind Family's recent deliveries.
• Klauthsura showed Renato a Half-Drow slave whose head had healed but whose brain was severely damaged.
• Renato realized the damaged slaves could no longer serve as suitable food and learned that three deliveries in a row had been unacceptable.
• Renato said he would handle the problem, but Klauthsura embraced him and urged him not to jeopardize his standing with the Matron Mother.
• Renato promised Klauthsura that he knew where to draw the line.

Renato confronted Tristana over her sabotage of Klauthsura’s food supply, then learned she had ordered Iron Price to stop serving him. He spared Raven despite the threat to his plans and left to complete his mission, while Raven reflected on his unexpected mercy.

• Tristana admitted she had damaged the slaves’ brains to spite Klauthsura, and she stormed out after arguing with Renato.
• Renato considered how to protect Klauthsura and set aside his anger to focus on growing stronger before the Holy Day Festival.
• Raven told Renato that Tristana had ordered Iron Price to stop providing him services after his current commission.
• Renato threatened Raven with the Black Sword, but she calmly explained that dying by his hand would be preferable to punishment from Lolth’s priestesses.
• Renato withdrew the sword, spared Raven, and left to finish the mission; Raven bowed and called him truly noble.

Renato and Klauthsura discussed their futures and agreed that neither wanted to remain in Sammoril, where Lolth’s rule made drow society dangerously irrational. They decided to escape together, though they had not yet found a reliable way past the city’s anti-teleportation defenses.

• Klauthsura tested the Crown of Intellect on a half-drow slave and explained how it improved the taste of damaged brain tissue, but Renato declined the circlet.
• Klauthsura sealed the workshop and asked Renato whether Tristana could help him return to the surface; Renato said she had no intention of helping.
• Klauthsura explained why he rejected the Nightwind Family and criticized Lolth’s influence over Sammoril, then passionately defended the autonomy and rational structure of mind flayer society.
• Renato confirmed that he and Klauthsura both wanted to leave Sammoril, and Klauthsura agreed to help him escape.
• Klauthsura explained that anti-teleportation arrays guarded the city walls and proposed leaving with an outgoing expedition, while Renato considered relying on his Holy War plan instead.
• Renato accepted Klauthsura as a traveling companion and explained that shaking hands was a human custom for expressing goodwill.

Renato watched the aftershocks unsettle Lake Tonnigat while Samoriel City struggled with monster attacks, shortages, and unrest ahead of the Holy Day Festival. A Nightwind Guard then ordered him to the Chapel at Matron Mother Quelyn’s command, where Tristana was also waiting.

• Renato calmed his Subterranean Lizard as a brief earthquake rippled across Lake Tonnigat.
• Frequent aftershocks drove monsters onto trade routes, while rising prices and food shortages fueled unrest in Samoriel City.
• Matron Mother Quelyn sent nearly half the Nightwind Family’s forces to help clear trade routes, halting Renato’s swordsmanship training with Aknath.
• Renato practiced Abyssal and Infernal, raising his Linguistics skill to level 5 and bringing his stored experience to 18,500 points.
• A Nightwind Guard told Renato that Quelyn had ordered him to the Chapel and reassured him that Tristana was there.

Renato met Brichidi outside the Matron Mother's bedroom, where she renewed her offer to partner with him before leaving to avoid defying her mother's orders. Tristana threatened Renato over betrayal, but the Matron Mother silenced her and summoned Renato inside to discuss his next assignment.

• Renato encountered Brichidi and Tristana outside the Matron Mother's bedroom, where Brichidi praised his strength and renewed her invitation to work together.
• Tristana claimed Renato could serve only her, while Brichidi argued that he would make a valuable partner and then left to attend to other matters.
• Tristana accused Renato of letting Brichidi touch him and threatened him with the consequences of betrayal.
• The Matron Mother ordered Tristana to be quiet and told Renato to enter so she could explain his next assignment.
• Renato left Tristana kneeling outside and opened the bedroom door.

Renato visited Quelyn, saw the brutal treatment of Kalesh Winsbade, and received orders to guard the West Wall with Tristana and kill anyone trying to flee Sammoril. Quelyn then revealed that his targets might include Nightwind Noble Blood, and the Adventurer’s Guide appeared as Renato read the quest description.

• Renato entered Quelyn’s room and found eight guards, a heavily pregnant Quelyn, and Kalesh Winsbade serving as her footstool.
• Renato recalled how Kalesh had once been a celebrated swordsman and Quelyn’s House Consort before she stripped him of his status and condemned him to slavery.
• Quelyn ordered Renato to guard the West Wall with Tristana and kill anyone attempting to flee Sammoril.
• Renato hid his alarm, affirmed that the Nightwind Family’s enemies were his enemies, and waited for Quelyn to explain the task.
• Quelyn asked whether Renato would kill Nightwind Noble Blood, and the Adventurer’s Guide appeared before him.