Robert moved around the end of the bar, signaling to his bouncers to help. “Throw the bodies into the chute,” he instructed the two men. “Strip them first, if you want. Not sure there’s much worth keeping.”

“Got it,” one replied.

Robert started to right chairs and benches. The fight could’ve been so much worse. He’d warned Eliot’s gang to be ready to die. The plan was foolish to begin with. Who takes on a paladin of Bahamut? The rest of the group weren’t exactly sloppy. The one Tabaxi was killing bandits without having to lift a finger.

“Are they on their way?” the voice came from a dark corner of the room. The one Robert made sure always stayed that way.

“Aye, my Lord. They left not even an hour ago,” Lifting up a tankard, he noticed the coin hidden underneath. Glancing around, he made sure none of his employees saw him pocket it. The gold the Tabaxi had given was one thing; an electrum piece left near where the dragonborn had sat was another.

“What about the other two I expected? The warlock and bard?”

“I did not see them, my Lord. There was a blind girl with them, but not the other two.” He hesitated, “I did notice something odd, though.”

“What?”

“The group was not as tight as you led me to believe. There are some cracks within their fellowship. The paladin sat alone. The druid kept giving him dirty looks. And the cleric seemed haunted.”

“This pleases me to hear. Chaos is what Lolth sows. She is in the Abyss, but Her will is being done. What of the Tabaxi?”

“Which one, my Lord? There were two.”

A low chuckle came from the darkness, sending a shiver down Robert’s spine. “Either would do, though the male would be more beneficial to me.”

“Ah, that one. He killed without lifting a paw. He simply stood close enough and the ruffians fell.”

“If the other two come, send word to me. They will find my foe first, perhaps take care of him for me. Seal the passage. Outside of the warlock and bard, let no one else come into my realm.”

“As you wish, Lord Halaster.” A blast of cold air, followed by the stench of an open grave, caused Robert to shiver again. He didn’t like the lich, but he liked being alive and in business even more.