Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 431 The Wise Men Who Know When to Advance

Apart from the priestess, even the drow mage basically all succumbed, resigned themselves to their fate as prisoners, and sought opportunities for improvement.

In fact, the first drow to back down was Taybir. As a male and a spellcaster, he didn't have a strong sense of belonging to his family or the Spider Queen. Besides, the nature of the drow is that everyone has to look out for themselves, and once he fell into someone's hands, he had no interest in showing any backbone.

If at first Taybien still hoped that his family's successors could rescue him, after he was swept up on that incredibly fast magic ship and sailed north to this remote place, he no longer dared to have such a hope.

Menzoberranzan is located deep underground in the Thurbern River Valley of the Eternal Wilderness. Getting to the surface is not as simple as climbing stairs and exiting a basement. The reason why they pursued Viconia all the way to the Baldur's Gate is because there was another way.

They were hoping that the Aberre family, which couldn't even get into the eight ruling families, would launch an expedition to rescue a few marginal figures like them.

Taybine felt it was more practical to demonstrate his value to the human mage and try to achieve what the other party called "positive reform and starting anew".

As for secretly plotting and waiting for the right moment to escape, that idea was abandoned after the lord took him and Eirema to Neverwinter Academy for a visit.

The capture of just two dark elves was nothing to be surprised about, but the fact that his junior nephew had captured two mid-level drow spellcasters piqued the curiosity of the meddlesome Baras.

Led by a high-ranking mage, a group of mid- to high-ranking mages, seemingly bored and with nothing better to do, took turns observing and commenting. Their slightly curious yet coldly scrutinizing gazes, as if examining specimens or experimental materials, sent chills down Tybien's spine. He felt like a Rosa beast on a chopping block listening to butchers' evaluations: How much is the hair weight? What is the net weight? How much fat and lean is he?

This scene was all too familiar to Taybien. When he experimented on subterranean creatures and even slaves, it was roughly the same scenario, only the roles were reversed.

This can't go on any longer. Tybion was extremely anxious, having thrown his original little schemes into an abyss. If things went wrong, his value might be fully demonstrated on the dissection table and in the alchemy workshop.

The previously respectable Master Zhuo'er suddenly changed his demeanor, bowing and scraping like a hopping shrimp, making Zhang Yuan think that the guy's hemorrhoids had flared up.

Even though he was being watched by a group of big shots, Zhang Yuan wasn't afraid of what trouble this guy might cause. He simply untied the silence collar around the other man's neck and raised an eyebrow to signal him to speak.

"Masters, lord, I wish to pledge my allegiance! I wish to pledge my allegiance!"

Taybion was quick-witted. After overhearing their conversation, he understood what kind of people they were. Once they made their judgment, there would be no turning back.

"I've already reached the fourth ring of the magic network and can contribute to the development of the territory. If you're still worried,"

Master Zhuo'er hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth. Since he was going to sell himself, he might as well sell himself completely.
"You are all welcome to use command spells, control spells, or even magical contracts on me; I will accept them all."

Taybine's reckless decision was also partly driven by wishful thinking. After all, his opponents were experts in the field of arcane magic, so surely they wouldn't bother with a nobody like him?

While the Drow mage overestimated his race's reputation on the surface, he also seriously underestimated how boring these guys were.

You said it yourself!

Barras and his companions laughed, their kind eyes clearly conveying that same meaning.

Silent Commandment, Powerful Command, Triggered Binding Tattoo, Pointed Teleportation Manipulation, and many other spells and spell circuit diagrams were dumped on the tearful Taebien like they were free, not just extinguishing his hopes, but completely eradicating any lingering sliver of good fortune. The real hot potato was Eirima.

A mere minor priest is nothing special; it is the Spider Queen behind her who is truly worrisome. The tricky part is that once the priests' prayers, rituals, and other regular channels of communication with the deities they worship are severed, then the so-called divine gifts will be nothing but empty talk.

However, if the restrictions are lifted and the priest regains his ability to communicate, he will inevitably reveal everything. Although most deities would not have time to deal with such trivial matters, it is still a potential problem.

It is not to say that a priest is cut off from the being he serves after being silenced. A brilliant soul is a rare treasure in the eyes of the gods. Even if one cannot speak, the ripples caused by the fluctuations of one's soul may attract the attention of one's own boss.

Of course, the lower-level priests shouldn't even think about it. What's that saying again?

A priest without a chief priest is like a fart that doesn't even make a sound.

Given Eirima's level of understanding, he might have a chance to reveal the truth to the Wax-molten Handmaids when he reports to the Kingdom of Gods after his death. But in the present moment, attempting to attract Rose's attention through a spiritual cry is basically like being promoted to a chosen one after reading the Holy Scriptures twice—there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Zhang Yuan didn't really have much of a way to deal with this Drow priestess. He was planning to give her the cold shoulder and lock her up for a while to see how she behaved. At worst, he would just wait until the Spider Queen fell silent. He didn't believe that she could hold on if her prayers didn't get any response.

But for now...

"How about weaving a memory together, teacher?"

"Don't be silly. Using this method on the soul of a clergyman is too risky and not worth it at all."

"The suggestion technique is good, but its effect only lasts a short time."

"Or we could just fix it to the silence collar, and once the silence is broken, we could use suggestion to make her obey."

"It would be better to solidify a symbol of persuasion."

. . . . . .

The mages had many ingenious ideas on how to deal with a drow priest, and contributed a lot of valuable advice. Even Zhang Yuan couldn't help but get interested and join the discussion.

As the subject of this gossip, Eirima was almost numb. If all these vicious methods, some she had heard of and some she hadn't, were dumped on her head, her fate would probably be no better than that of a human flesh weapon.

With her younger brother's lesson still fresh in her mind, the Drow priestess quickly followed suit with a transformation, wag her tail and act pitiful.

The final result wasn't much better, but it wasn't the worst-case scenario either.

The mages, wary of the Spider Queen's existence, did not go too far with the soul binding; a sworn oath of secrecy ensured that she would be punished by the eighth-circle spell, Nibel's Wrath, if she revealed information about Viconia and its territory.

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(End of this chapter)