by Томас Рейд
«We were just about to go fetch a round of drinks, as you suggested,» Valas said, making as if to step past the half-ogre, who was blocking their way. «I guess we'll need a couple extra. Ryld, why don't you come help me carry them all? Then we can talk business with you boys.»
«I've got a better idea,» the half-ogre said, his voice deep and rumbling. «Why don't you sit down and tell us just how much gold you actually have? Then we'll decide if you can leave or not.»
«I don't think that's such a good idea,» Valas said, his voice steely cold. «We'll just take our business elsewhere.»
«I suppose a half-ogre would be stupid enough,» Ryld said to the scout, «to think that just because Lolth has gone quiet, we've forgotten how to fight.»
The half-ogre smiled and said, «That's a pretty good joke, dark elf.»
Then the creature lunged.
* * *
In the end, it was the most straightforward approach, Pharaun decided, that would grant him entry into one of the wizardly institutes. He knew all too well from his working knowledge of Sorcere's defenses that most forms of arcane stealth would likely be detected, however careful he might be. It was the nature of mages to be distrustful of other mages, and he had discovered that with a handful of different academies, schools, and research organizations to choose from in Ched Nasad, the local spellcasters were even more wary of one another.
Apparently, competition between the associations for luring new talent inside their halls was fierce, and the prestige garnered from successful recruiting paramount. True to drow nature, the societies weren't above using any method, however violent and underhanded, to shift the balance of power. What better way to get inside, Pharaun reasoned, than to pose as a prospective new member? All that it required was doffing his House insignia and asking at the front gates for the opportunity to speak with someone who could give him a tour, expound upon the amenities and responsibilities, and so on. He could easily pass himself off as a wayward wizard in need of a home without revealing his true level of expertise or the means by which he had acquired it.
The first place Pharaun visited was the imposing halls of the Disciples of Phelthong, run by the Archmage of Ched Nasad himself, Ildibane Nasadra. Pharaun figured that being the largest and best endowed of the various schools, it would have what he sought. However, he was careful to explain to the minor official who was sent to escort him that his interest, his area of specialty, lay in the study of creatures. It would be paramount for the facility to have a vast menagerie on hand if he was to feel truly at home. When he discovered that the Disciples did not maintain such a zoo, he politely declined to take a tour.
The second place Pharaun chose to investigate was known as the Arcanist Conservatory. It was neither the most impressive nor the least, but he picked it on a hunch. The drow who met with him after he'd explained himself to the sentries at the front of the edifice was an enchanter by the name of Kraszmyl Claddath of House Claddath, a short, surprisingly stocky fellow with slightly yellowing hair and bad teeth. Pharaun feigned skills of a middling nature as he introduced himself, and Kraszmyl seemed genuinely delighted to escort his guest through the premises.
«Tell me, Master Claddath, does the conservatory maintain a collection or live specimens on site?
«Well, if you mean the best menagerie of creatures from both the world Above and the Underdark, properly housed and cared for, then yes.»
Oh, how delightful!» Pharaun didn't have to fake his excitement. This sounds like the right place for me.»
«Tell me, Master Pharaun, what is your particular expertise with this area of study?»
Well, my last assignment was for a merchant who wanted me to study various breeding effects on roth herds,» the mage lied, «but I have a special interest in a new field. I am most curious to learn more about chitines and choldriths.»
«Really?» Kraszmyl seemed nonplussed at the idea as he led Pha-raun deeper into the confines of the conservatory. «Why in the world would you find such base creatures of interest?»
«Oh, they are tremendously fascinating!» Pharaun gushed. «While we find them to be nothing more than simple hunting sport, they actually have a unique culture and religious focus that in several ways mirrors our own.»
«Oh, I see,» Master Claddath said woodenly. «I hope you're not one of those odd cretins who actually thinks we should cease our hunting.»
Pharaun laughed. «Certainly not,» he said, «but imagine the possibilities if I could make them more of a challenge?»
«Yes, I could see the value in that. Well, here we are,» the guide said, ushering Pharaun into a wing of the facilities that contained countless cages, cells, and holding pens.
Pharaun had never seen such a collection of species before, and he was more than impressed.
«It is spectacular!» he said.
«Yes, it is, Master Pharaun, but I have concluded by your reaction that you have seen nothing of the sort before. Now, why don't you tell me the real reason for your visit to our little conservatory today?»
Pharaun carefully reached into a pocket of hispiwafwi, extracted a fragment of glass, and turned to look at the other wizard, who was shielded by a number of protections. He held a wand in his hand that he pointed at the visiting wizard, and Pharaun knew that the drow had already used it. Some sort of enchantment magic, he guessed.
Trying to charm me into explaining myself.
«Is this the way you greet all of your prospective new members?» Pharaun asked, smiling.
Kraszmyl looked mildly surprised, then tucked the wand away.
«No, just those wizards who show up out of nowhere, claiming to want to join our ranks.»
The other wizard produced a second wand and aimed it at Pharaun.
«Especially those foolish enough to claim—»
Kraszmyl Claddath's words hung in the air, unfinished, as he transformed into glass. Of course, hispiwafwi, the wand, and several other trinkets that adorned his body remained intact, but the flesh itself was pure, clear crystal.
Sighing in satisfaction, Pharaun pocketed the fragment of glass.
«If you hadn't been so busy expounding on my foolishness, you might have heard the words to my spell,» he said to the inert figure, moving closer.
Being made of glass, the short, stocky drow was heavy. Pharaun persevered though, moving the transformed dark elf into exactly the right position.
«Now, let's see if we can find what we're looking for.»
The Master of Sorcere felt the urge to hurry, for he doubted the menagerie would remain unattended for long. It would require many first-year students to clean and feed all the imprisoned specimens.
Moving through the aisles of cages, he looked around, trying to find what he needed. Even in his haste, he was truly impressed with the collection before him. He caught sight of some rather large cages in the back, but he had no time to satisfy his curiosity.
A pity, he thought, rounding a corner and continuing his search. I would like to spend a few tendays here.
Finally, after several rows, he came across the object of his desire. Sitting sullenly, her four arms sealed in some sort of resin casts, a lone choldrith glared up at him with decidedly humanoid silvery-white eyes. He squatted down to examine her.
She had charcoal-gray skin and was completely hairless. A set of diminutive mandibles, so small that Pharaun doubted they were functional, flanked her more humanoid mouth. Her ears jutted up beyond the top of her head, similar to a drow's but even more pronounced. Pharaun thought they looked vaguely like horns. From what little he already knew and had managed to learn about the species, he understood the necessity for the casts, to keep the creature from casting spells and freeing herself.
«I have a proposition for you,» he said in the common language of the Underdark. The choldrith stared back him, saying nothing. «I you can understand me well enough, but just in case …»—he fumbled in his pockets for a few items—«it's a good thing I came prepared, eh?»
He produced a tiny clay ziggurat and a pinch of soot. Quickly, Pharaun wove a pair of spells, one to speak her language and the other to understand it, then tried again.
«If you will answer my questions, I will free you,» he said. Her eyes widened with hope, then narrowed with suspicion. «You lie,» she said in a strange, clicking speech, like the sound of a spider. «All drow lie to us.»
«Perhaps that is true most of the time, but in this, I do not. I have nothing to gain by keeping you here and everything to gain by getting some answers.»
When she only stared at Pharaun again, he asked, «What have you got to lose? You're trapped in a cage in a drow city, and your arms are encased in resin to keep you from calling on the Dark Mother. Except that doesn't matter, because she, too, has forsaken you, hasn't she?»
The choldrith's eyes widened again, and Pharaun knew it was true. «You know about the goddess?» the creature asked. «Yes, and I'm trying to find out where she's gone.» The wizard wasn't sure, but he thought he might have detected what would pass for a smile on the face of the wretched being.
«Then she does not love the dark elves more,» she said, apparently to herself. «She has not abandoned the spider people in favor of you.»
«No, her absence has been spread generously about to all her worshipers, it would appear,» Pharaun answered. «What I'm trying to find out now is why?»
«The Dark Mother weaves her own webs. The Dark Mother seals herself away, but she will return.»
«What? How? What tells you this?»
«I will tell you no more, killer of spider people. Free me or not, I have answered your question,»
«So you have,» Pharaun acknowledged, «and I will let you out of the cage, How you find your way home is up to you.»
The wizard unlocked the cage door and stepped back. The choldrith edged warily toward the opening, eyeing Pharaun, obviously expecting a trick. He gestured toward the exit, palm open and up, and took another step back. The creature darted out of the cage and was halfway down the hail before the wizard caught himself laughing. He wondered how she would get the resin from her hands, but it was no longer his concern.
«Now that I know, it's time to go,» he said aloud to himself. «But first, I can't resist a little peek. .» and he turned to stroll toward the larger cages he had seen earlier.
Many of the larger cells were empty. It was the ones that were occupied that made Pharaun gasp. A creature unlike any he had ever seen before floated in one of the magically sealed chambers, something horrible and fascinating all at the same time. Its body was gray and soft, like the brain matter of creatures Pharaun had dissected in his younger days, with multiple tentacles hanging down from beneath it. A beak of some sort protruded from the front of the creature, but the wizard could not see any discernable eyes. It hovered in the prison, its tentacles hanging limply. Pharaun gazed at it a moment, then moved on.
The next creature he encountered was very familiar to the mage. The eye tyrant was a small specimen, no more than two feet in diameter. An adolescent, he surmised. The creature's eyes were all milky-white and scarred, effectively blinded and disabled. Still, watching the creature, Pharaun felt a little sense of dread.
From the other side of the great chamber, there was a shout, followed closely by a great crash and the sound of tinkling glass. The wizard smiled. That would be Master Claddath, warning me that people are coming. Thank you for the tour, Kraszmyl.
The mage wondered what kind of magical alarms he was triggering as he created one of his blue extradimensional doorways and stepped through to the outside of the Arcanist Conservatory.
No matter, he thought, allowing the magical passage to wink out as he floated between two levels of web streets, near a wall of the great cavern. They'll simply think my presence there was an attack from a rival institution. If anyone thinks to ask the sentries, I shall be famous.
With that, Pharaun drifted down to the street below and started on his way back to the Serpent and Flame.
He would have accounted the stroll back to the inn pleasant, had the streets not been so busy. All along the way, he caught snatches of conversation that centered mainly on the growing discontent of the citizens, the imminence of an attack from beyond the gates by all manner of fiendish armies, and the conviction that Lolth had abandoned the city to its fate. More than once, he witnessed the beginnings of a confrontation, but each time he saw trouble was beginning to brew, he wisely took a different route, frequently levitating either up or down to a different level to avoid the brawl.
«Pharaun,» a voice called to him as he was making his way through a lane filled with cheese shops, wishing the odors were a bit less. . well, stale.
Surprised and perhaps a bit unnerved at being flagged, he stuck his hands in his piwafwi, contemplating what sort of spell he might use to extract himself from trouble.
The wizard turned to find himself gazing at a beautiful drow female, her silvery white hair in lustrous curls down to her shoulders. She arched one high eyebrow at him and smiled, and he felt as though he knew her. Her dress was a bit unusual, and it lacked any sort of identifying insignia. Most telling of all, though, were the several auras of magic that she radiated, and he knew that she was not revealing everything.
«I beg pardon … do I know you?» Pharaun asked. In response, she merely winked and crooked her finger for him to follow. Wondering what dangerous game he might be embroiled in but fancying a bit of fun, the wizard turned and sauntered after her. The female led him along a few streets, mostly back ways, and up a number of sections, until they found themselves in a residential area. The drow ducked into a small abode and turned and looked at him expectantly.
Pharaun hesitated at the doorway, looking around the street for any signs that would clue him in.
«Come on,» his companion said, sticking her head back out. «Come inside.»
«Why would I want to do that?» the wizard asked. «You've very obviously cloaked yourself in some obscuring magic, so your efforts to deceive me are only partially successful. I think my well being and I will remain out here, thank you all the same.»
She simply smiled, and before his eyes the cloaking aura faded as her hair grew from light to dark, and her ebony skin transformed to the color of purest alabaster. The clothing she had attired herself in was transformed as well, into a black leather corset.
Pharaun smiled back.
«Hello, Aliisza,» he said.
«Now, come inside so we can talk,» the alu-fiend said, motioning for the mage to follow her and disappearing inside.
The interior of the home was small, if tidy, but it had the look of being lived in for a long time. The entirety of the place glowed with a soft violet hue, enough to illuminate the time-worn couch and table in the front room.
«I daresay this is not your place,» Pharaun asked as he watched Aliisza slink across the floor and settle provocatively on the couch.
«No, I'm just borrowing it for a while,» the demon said, reclining and propping a leg up. «I won't be here that long. Unfortunately, a home, unlike everything else in this city, is a bad investment at the moment. I doubt I could find a buyer, even if it did belong to me.»
Pharaun grinned wryly as he settled into a chair across the room from the winged woman.
«So you've noticed the unstable marketplace, have you?» he replied. «A shame, that, but then it's not your worry, since it's not your place. Where are the owners at the moment?»
The alu-fiend smiled again, but her green eyes sparkled dangerously as she answered, «Oh, I don't think they'll be coming back. We've got the place all to ourselves, you know.»
She turned over onto her stomach, propping herself up on her elbows and letting her feet wave lazily in the air above the backs of her thighs.
«Well, then, that holds promise,» Pharaun said, his smile widen-tng as he leaned forward. «But a clever girl like you must have things todo, places to go, kaanyr vhoks to see.»
Aliisza made a face. «Come now, wizard. You're n
ot going to plead honor or some such nonsense to me, are you? Kaanyr is a long ways away.»
«It's not so much the Sceptered One I worry about, you lovely creature. It's me. My mother always told me not to get involved with bad girls, especially if they had wings. I'm just a wandering wizard, far from home. You might take advantage of me.»
The alu-fiend giggled.
«Contrary to what your mother might have told you, we 'bad girls' aren't always looking to take you home to the Abyss with us. Sometimes, we just like the look of a fellow.»
Pharaun looked down at his hands as he said, «Sure. And you just want to have some fun, right? I'd love to stay and keep you company, but I really do need to—»
«Pharaun, I already know what's going on,» Aliisza said, her tone serious. «Your Spider Queen has vanished without a trace, leaving no scraps of magic for the ladies, and you came all the way from Menzoberranzan to find out why. I really couldn't care less. «Well, that's not entirely true, I can't wait to see Kaanyr's face when I tell him, but it can wait. I just thought that before I head back to him and you went on your merry way back to your home, we might enjoy a little conversation.»
She sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the couch to face him.
«Besides,» she added, reaching up and beginning to loosen the laces of her corset, «you and I didn't get to finish sharing magic tricks.»
«No one's expecting me for a bit,» Pharaun chuckled. «I suppose I could stay for a little while.»
* * *
Ryld knew Splitter would be next to useless in such tight quarters, so he had already reached down and grasped his short sword. He slid the blade smoothly and easily from its sheath in one smooth motion, remembering the feel of it in his hand, the balance, even as he brought it up to defend against the onrushing half-ogre. He parried die blow from the creatures upraised mace, then made a neat slice across the beast's midsection.
The half-ogre jerked just the tiniest bit in surprise, and Valas was on the creature from nowhere, drawing one of his kukris across its hamstring. There was a burst of light and a crackle from the strangely curved blade as it struck home, and the beast howled and toppled as it clutched its gut and leg in pain.
