Wawel? Tagoves crept into a small, dimly lit room in the Brass Casino. Wawel, the most capable female halfling—adept at wielding her tricks, adept at wielding her daggers, and even more adept at wielding her wits—she doesn't often walk around this house so carefully, given that it's one of the safest buildings in all of Port Carlin. But it's Artemis that she's going to see now? Ntrili, when he was around, there was no place in the world that could be called safe.

When she walked into the room, he was pacing as if he hadn't noticed her at all. Wawel stared at him curiously. She knew that Ntreuri had been in a nervous state lately, and that she was one of the few people in the whole of Port Carlin who knew about it, apart from the people of the Bashadoni Guild. The Dark Elves have infiltrated the streets of Port Carlin, and Ndrlili plays the role of a figure who makes a face for the Dark Elves. Regardless of whether Wawel had any previous doubts about how terrifying the Drow were, those doubts would have dispelled as long as she glanced at Entreri's appearance. He'd never been so nervous—but Wawel wasn't sure if he was really that nervous right now—and Wawel never thought of what he was going to do.

What intrigued her even more was that Ntrili invited her to share her intimacy. It's not his style at all. However, Wawel is not worried that this will be a trap. She knows that no matter how surprising it may seem, facts are facts. It wasn't so much that Ndrri wanted to talk to her Wawel as that he wanted to talk to himself in order to clarify his thoughts; And for some reason that Wawel couldn't yet understand, he was willing to let her hear.

In her mind, this was the highest compliment he could give her, and she knew that with that compliment came potential dangers. With this uneasy thought, the guild master, the female halfling, sat down quietly, listening cautiously, trying to catch all the clues and comprehend what she had not known before. She was startled when she inadvertently glanced at a chair against the wall, which contained a half-empty bottle of Moonshadow whiskey.

"In this cursed city, in every corner of every street, I can see them," Mr. Ntrili said. "The culture of pomp spreads, people see scars and weapons as badges of honor, and men and women alike are so focused on their own fame that they forget what they really want to accomplish. They gamble their lives for the sake of status and honor, but they don't have any nobler goals. ”

Although his voice wasn't very slurred, Wawel was still able to clearly realize that Ntreuri had indeed drunk some whiskey.

"So, Artemis? When did Euntreri start to worry about the thieves? Wawel asked.

Ntreili stopped and glanced at her, a look of acquiescence on his face. "I have to watch them carefully and pay attention to them, because I know that my prestige is higher than my own existence. Because of this prestige, many people on the street would be tempted to plunge a dagger into my heart. The killer began pacing again. At that time, the Assassin would have gained very, very high prestige. They knew that I was starting to age now, and they didn't think I would move as quickly as I used to – and to be honest, their reasoning was completely valid. It's true that I'm not moving as fast as I was ten years ago. ”

Hearing this surprising confession, Wawel narrowed his eyes nervously.

"But as the body gets older and its movements become sluggish, the mind becomes sharper." Ntreili continued. "I'm just as focused on prestige, but not in the way I used to. My goal in life is that I must do better than my enemies, and that I will defeat them, both in battle and in thinking. I had aspired to be the most perfect warrior, but a dark elf whom I despised told me by action that my methods were wrong. I was taken hostage as Jalaso's 'eater' to Morsoblai, where my fanatical dreams of becoming the strongest and my efforts to achieve it were reduced to nothing, and I found that my efforts really did not make any sense, because the whole world was already filled with people as powerful as I had dreamed of. I saw images of myself at every turn, the warriors who were so indifferent to everyone around them, so so invested in that goal that they couldn't enjoy the whole process of reaching it. ”

"They're drow." Wawel said. "We can't understand their true motives."

"Their city is beautiful, my little friend." Ntrili replied. "It's so powerful that you can't imagine it. Still, Morsoblé was an empty and boring place, for there was no passion but hatred. When I came back from that city full of killers, I really changed, and I had doubts about the basis of my existence. At the end of the day, what is my goal, my purpose of being? ”

The fingers of Wawel's small, plump hands clasped together, and she studied the man in front of her intently. Could it be that Eun Trili is going to wash his hands in the golden basin? Was he refusing to accept the whole life he had spent and the glory he had received? She sighed silently, shook her head, and said, "We're all thinking the same thing, aren't we?" The goal is gold or respect or property or power......"

"Of course." He said coldly. "I am now able to better understand who I am and which of the challenges I will face that are really important. However, I still don't know what I hope to achieve and what challenges I will face. But I do know now that the most important thing is to enjoy the process of reaching your goals.

"Do I still care if my reputation is extraordinary?" Ndrri asked suddenly, just as Wawel wanted to ask if he had an idea of his purpose—a message that was undoubtedly very important given the power of the Bashadoni Guild. "Do I want to keep working hard to achieve my goal of becoming Port Carlin's most successful killer?"

The answer to both is still yes. But my own reasons are by no means the same as those of the fools who brag on the street corners and try to attack me. To me, they're just corpses lying in the gutter. The reason I value fame is that whatever I do, it allows me to do it more efficiently. Fame will make my enemies even more blindly afraid of me, and I don't have to bother to warn them. Even when they hunt me, they are afraid of me. That fear is not normal awe, it paralyzes them and makes them involuntarily predict whether they will live or die in the next second. I can fight them with that fear. With just a few small bluffs and feints, I can use that fear to put them at a complete disadvantage. I can pretend to show some flaws when I play against the less cautious ones so that I can get ahead of them and defeat them, so that when I do show them, the cautious enemies won't dare to attack. ”

He paused and nodded. Wawel realized that his thoughts had truly cleared completely. "What an enviable situation." She wasted no time in agreeing.

"Let those fools hunt me, and countless killers will follow." Ntrili nodded again. "With every person I kill, I become wiser, and as my wisdom grows, I grow stronger."

He grabbed the strange black brimmed hat and deftly fastened it to his head, which matched his newly haircut. It was then that Wawel noticed that his bushy goatee had also been trimmed, leaving only two moustaches and an inverted T-shaped beard on his chin and under his lips.

Ndrri looked at the halfling, gave him a mischievous look, and strode out of the room.

What does all this mean? Wawel pondered. Of course, she was glad to see that he had finally put his grooming in order, because being raunchy was not his style, and it could only show that he had lost control of himself and, worse, his heart.

She sat there for a long time, thinking about why she had been invited to participate in this event, thinking about Artemis? Ntrili opened up to her—not to anyone else, including himself—for the reasons of opening his heart. He had an epiphany, she realized. And she suddenly realized that she also had an epiphany.

Artemis? Ntriri was her friend.