«Forgive me,» the archmage continued. «I didn't come to lament but to perform my function as your advisor, to share my thoughts on how to meet the challenges to come.» Triel rested her hand atop the cool, polished stone of the rail and asked, «How do you see those challenges?»
«It's obvious, isn't it? We've just experienced what promises to be the first in a series of calamities. By dint of observing you in combat, every Menzoberranyr with half a brain now knows you priestesses have lost your power. Rest assured, no matter what measures the Council takes, the word will spread beyond our borders. Perhaps some escaped thrall is proclaiming it even now. Soon, one or another enemy will march on us, or, if our luck is really bad, they might all unite in a grand alliance.» Triel swallowed. «None of our foes dares even to dream of taking Menzoberranzan.» «This Syrzan did. When its kin, and others, find out we've lost our divine magic, a significant fraction of our drow warriors, and virtually all our slave troops, it may inspire them to optimism. And they're not even the greatest threat.» «We ourselves are,» Triel sighed.
«Exactly. We always have our share of feuds and assassinations. Occasionally one House exterminates another outright, and that's as it should be. It's our way, it makes us strong. But we can't endure constant, flagrant warfare. That would be too much. . chaos. It would tear Menzoberranzan to shreds. Up to now, fear of the Spider Queen and her clergy has kept the lid on, but it won't anymore.» He spat. «It's a pity our new heroes didn't die heroic deaths in their homeland's defense.» «You refer to Quenthel and the outcast Mizzrym?» «Who else? Do you imagine them any less ambitious than the rest of us? They championed the established order yesterday, but, inspired by the knowledge that many would rally to their banners, may themselves seek to topple it tomorrow. Quenthel may try to seize your throne, not in a hundred years but now. Pharaun may strike for the Robes of the Archmage—by the Six Hundred and Sixty-six Layers, he all but did, having spent no effort in finding me before scurrying to your side. What a disaster that would be! Aside from any personal inconvenience to you and me, the city in its weakened state can't withstand that sort of disruption.» «I suppose they could be planning just that,» Triel said, frowning. «Perhaps we should have followed through and at least killed Master Pharaun.» «If we execute one of the saviors of Menzoberranzan—damn his miserable little hide—it would have made House Baenre look frightened and weak.» The archmage smiled a crooked smile. «Which we are, at the moment, but we don't dare give the appearance.» «What, then, do you recommend?» Below the balcony, a lizard hissed and wheels creaked as a cart rolled by. «Use them in a way that simultaneously benefits us and neutralizes the threat they represent,» said Gromph. «Surely you and I agree that the present situation can't continue. We must find a way to restore the priesthood's magic.» Triel nodded, looking away from her battered city. «I propose that as a first step,» the archmage continued, «we send agents to another city—likely Ched Nasad—to find out if their divines are similarly afflicted, and if so, whether they know why. You can assign Quenthel to lead the expedition. After all, it concerns Arach-Tinilith perhaps most of all. I'll be delighted to loan you the services of Master Pharaun. If the story I heard was correct, that weapons master friend of his should go as well, if for no other reason than it'll make Pharaun squirm.» «Ched Nasad. .» Triel whispered. «The three of them ought to be more than capable of surviving a trek as far as Ched Nasad,» continued Gromph, «and they can't very well try to overthrow us while they're leagues away from the city, can they? Who knows, perhaps Lolth will return before they do, and in any case, with time, their notoriety will fade.» His suggestion left Triel feeling a little sheepish. She hid it as best she could by pretending to consider his plan. «Faeryl Zauvirr proposed an expedition to Ched Nasad. She claimed to be concerned because the caravans have stopped.» Gromph cocked his head. «Really? Well, our representatives can sort that out as well. You know, it's good that the ambassador is already keen to go. She'll make a valuable addition and a more than adequate cover for the whole enterprise.»
«Waerva told me Faeryl was a spy,» said Triel, «and sought to depart the city in order to report our weakness to her confederates. So I forbade her to leave.» «What proof did Waerva offer?» «She told me she learned of Faeryl's treachery from one of her informants.» Gromph waited a moment as if expecting something more.
«And that's it?» he asked at length. «With respect, Matron, may I point out that if you haven't spoken with the informer yourself, if you haven't probed the matter any further, then you really only have Waerva's word for it that the envoy is a traitor.» «I can't handle everything personally,» Triel scowled. «That's why we have retainers in the first place. I have not entirely lost touch with my—our interests in Ched Nasad, though their explanations and excuses do wear thin.» «Of course, Matron,» Gromph said quickly. «I quite understand. I have the same problem with my own retainers, and I only have Menzoberranzan's wizards to oversee, not an entire city.» «Why would Waerva lie?» «I don't know, but I've had some dealings with Faeryl Zauvirr. She never struck me as stupid enough to cross the Baenre. Waerva, on the other hand, is reckless and discontented enough for any game. Accordingly, I think it might be worthwhile to inquire into this matter ourselves.» Triel hesitated before saying, «That could prove difficult. Despite my orders, the Zauvirr tried to flee Menzoberranzan. I hired some agents of Bregan D'aerthe, led by Valas Hune—do you know him?» «I've heard the name mentioned,» Gromph replied. «He would make a fair addition to your little band of explorers,» Triel said.
«He's known to be more than passingly familiar with the wilds of the Underdark—a guide of some accomplishment, in fact.» Gromph bowed his agreement.
«Be that as it may, it was Valas Hune I hired to fetch Faeryl back. He completed his task well, and I gave the ambassador to Jeggred.» The wizard rounded on the draegloth. «What's the prisoner's condition?» he asked the creature. «Is she alive?»
«Yes,» said Jeggred through a mouthful of bloody meat. «I was taking my time, to prove I can. But you can't have her. Mother gave her to me. She just told you.» Gromph stared up into the half-demon's eyes. «Nephew,» he said, «I'm sore, frustrated, and in a foul mood generally. Right now I don't give a leaky sack of rat droppings whether you're a sacred being or not. Show some respect, lead me to this prisoner forthwith, or I'll blight you where you sit.» Clutching the rothй bone like a club, Jeggred sprang upward from his seat. Triel said, «Do as the archmage bade you. I wish it as well.» The draegloth lowered his makeshift weapon. «Yes, Mother,» he sighed.
TWENTY-FIVE
Her pack weighting her shoulders, her heart pounding, Waerva turned and peered about. The cave stretched out before her and behind, with stalactites stabbing down from the ceiling and stalagmites jutting up from the uneven floor. Nothing moved.
What, then, had she heard? As if in response to her unspoken question, a drop of falling water plopped somewhere in the passages ahead. It was one of the most common sounds of the Underdark, and scarcely a harbinger of peril. Waerva wiped sweat from her brow and scowled at her own jumpiness. She had good reason to be edgy, though. Everyone said it was suicide to travel the subterranean wilderness alone. Sadly, thanks to the cursed goblin rebellion, she had little choice. Because of the desperate fighting all across the city, the clergy's incapacity was no great secret anymore. Certainly Gromph had discerned it, which meant Triel no longer had anything to hide from him. Surely, then, she would seek his counsel once more. Waerva had been confident she could manipulate the frazzled matron mother, but she very much doubted she could fool the canny archmage. Accordingly, she'd cleared out of the Great Mound and Menzoberranzan itself before her kinsman could start asking questions, and there she was, a solitary wayfarer hiking through a perilous wilderness. But she was strong and cunning, and she'd survive. She'd make her way to her secret allies, and everything would be all right.
She took four more strides, then heard another little sound, and this one wasn't falling water. It sound
ed more like a stealthy footstep brushing stone, and it came from behind her. She whirled and saw no one, then something stung her arm. She pivoted. At her feet lay the pebble someone had thrown. Soft, sibilant laughter rippled through the air. From the sound of it, the merrymakers were all around her. Why, then, couldn't she see them? Adamantine mace at the ready, one wing of her piwafwi tossed back to facilitate the action of her weapon arm, Waerva advanced in the direction from which the rock had come. Weaving her way through the stalagmites, she reached the cavern wall without so much as glimpsing her attacker. She caught a whiff of a familiar reptilian musk, though, and she knew. Kobolds. The horned, scaly undercreatures were small enough that it was relatively easy for them to hide amid the calcite bumps and spikes. She turned once more, and despite herself, gave a start. Evidently the kobolds lacked the patience to play their skulking game for very long, because they were done hiding. While her back was turned, they'd crept out into the open and there formed a ragged C-shaped line to pen her against the wall. The brutes were Menzoberranyr thralls. House brands and whip scars gave that fact away. Indeed, a couple still wore broken shackles. Waerva plainly wasn't the only one who'd fled the city. She glared at the kobolds and said, «I'm a Baenre. You know what that means. Make way, or I'll strike you dead.»
The undercreatures stared back at her for a moment, then lowered their eyes. The line broke in the middle, making an exit. Sneering, head held high, Waerva srarted for the opening. For a moment, all was silent, then the reptiles laughed, screeched, and rushed her. Bellowing a battle cry, she swung her mace, and every stroke smashed the life from a thrall. But for every one she killed, there were dozens more hacking and beating at her legs. Her knee screamed with pain, and she fell. The kobolds swarmed over her and pounded her until she just couldn't struggle any more. With some difficulty, they divested her of her armor and clothing, and went to work on her. Amazingly for such a bestial race, they seemed to understand anatomy as thoroughly as her dear Tluth, but their ministrations were nothing like massage.
Faeryl had learned to court unconsciousness. It brought surcease from the lingering pains of past tortures. Unfortunately, it couldn't avert new ones. When Jeggred found her so, he simply waved a bottle of pungent smelling salts beneath her nose until it jolted her awake.
She could hear him coming. So could the jailers, who scurried to the back of the dungeon to give him privacy. Shivering, she struggled to compose herself. Perhaps she could deny him the satisfaction of a scream—at least for a while—or even provoke him into killing her. That would be wonderful. The draegloth appeared in the doorway, stooping to pass through. Despite herself, Faeryl flinched, then saw he was not alone. Dainty little Triel accompanied him. So did her harsh-featured brother, clad as usual in the Robes of the Archmage. «My. . salutations, Matron,» the Zauvirr croaked. «Hush,» said Gromph, «and all will be well.» He looked up at the glowering half-demon. «Free her, and be gentle about it.» Jeggred strode to Faeryl. This time, she managed not to cringe. The draegloth supported her weight with his smaller hands while cutting her bonds with the claws of the larger ones, then scooped her up in his arms. She passed out.
Next came a blur of hours or days, during which she would wake for a few muddled seconds, then lapse into unconsciousness again. She lay on a soft divan, where servants salved and bandaged her wounds and sometimes spooned broth into her mouth. Priestesses read scrolls of healing, and Gromph appeared periodically to cast his own spells over her. She noticed Mother's Kiss lying on a little table beside her, and when she felt strong enough, stretched out her trembling arm and touched it. Finally she opened her eyes to find her thoughts clear and vitality tingling in her limbs. The servants helped her don new raiment. They said it was for a meeting with Triel. Faeryl considered taking her warhammer along, then thought better of it. If her rehabilitation was an elaborate prank, if the Baenre was summoning her to further torment, the weapon wouldn't save her. Her legs still the least bit unsteady, she followed a male through the endless corridors of the Great Mound. Eventually he opened the door to a small but lavishly decorated room. Triel sat at the table in the center of the space, with two bodyguards standing against the wall behind her. Faeryl inferred that this was a chamber the matron used when she wished to palaver away from the formal trappings of her court. The Baenre rose and took her prisoner's hands. «My child,» Triel said, «I rejoice to see you. Some folk said you wouldn't recover, but I never doubted it. I knew you were strong, a true drow princess favored of Lolth.» «Thank you, Matron,» said Faeryl, thoroughly perplexed. Triel conducted her a chair. «You'll be glad to know we caught them,» the matron said. «Them?»
«The brigands who waylaid you and murdered your followers, who left you for dead in that place where my servant Valas found you. I supervised the executions myself.» Faeryl was beginning to comprehend her situation. For some reason, Triel had forgiven her her disobedience. The Zauvirr could go free, her honor and rank restored, but there was a catch. Henceforth, she would have to endorse the fiction that Triel was in no way responsible for any of her misfortunes. For after all, the sovereign of Menzoberranzan was a perfect being, whom the Spider Queen herself had exalted above all others. How, then, could she possibly make a mistake? It rankled a little, but Faeryl was more than willing to embrace the lie to avoid a return to the dungeon. «Thank you, Matron,» she said. «Thank you with all my heart.» Triel waved her hand, and a servant brought wine. «Do you still want to go home?» the Baenre asked.
Pharaun had been summoned to a good many audiences in the course of his checkered career, and it had been his experience that no matter how urgent the occasion, one generally wound up parked in an antechamber for a while. Matron Baenre's waiting area was considerably more lavish than most, and in ordinary circumstances, he would have amused himself by passing esthetic judgment on the decor. Instead he had to address another matter, for when he arrived, Ryld was sitting on a chair in the corner, half hidden behind a marble statue. The carving depicted a beautiful female doing something unpleasant to a deep gnome, for the greater glory of the Dread Queen of Spiders, one assumed.
The Mizzrym hadn't spoken to his friend since the slaughter of the renegades. He supposed the time had come. But first he paid his respects to Quenthel, who, much to her annoyance, was being kept waiting as well. The mage then bowed to a stern-faced drow male, looking ill at ease and out of place in rough outdoorsman's clothes and ugly trinkets. Pharaun didn't know him. «Valas Hune,» the warrior said, «of Bregan D'aerthe.» Pharaun introduced himself, then strolled toward the Master of Melee-Magthere. «Ryld!» the wizard said. «Good afternoon! Have you any idea why the Council summoned us?» The burly swordsman rose and said, «No.» «To shower us with honors, one assumes. How are you?» «Alive.»
«I rejoice to hear it. I was concerned because I could tell that warriors trance strained even your constitution.» For a moment, the two masters regarded one another in silence. «My friend,» Pharaun said, having lowered his voice. «I truly regret what happened.» «What you did was tactically sound,» said Ryld. «It was what any sensible drow would have done. I hold no grudge.» The wizard looked into weapons master's eyes and realized that for the first time, he couldn't read him. Perhaps Ryld meant what he was saying, but it was just as likely he was lying, lulling his betrayer's suspicions to facilitate some eventual revenge. Thus, while Pharaun might continue to observe the forms of their long friendship, he could never trust his fellow master again. For a moment he felt a pang of loss, but he quashed the sensation. Friendship and trust were for lesser races. They weakened a dark elf, and he was better off without them. Pharaun gave Ryld an affectionate clap on the shoulder, just as he had a thousand times before.
When the tall doors opened, all eight Matrons of the Council sat enthroned and illuminated on an eight-tiered pyramid of a dais, with Triel of course set higher than the others, and a span of radiant marble webbing arching overhead. Quenthel stalked in proudly, ahead of Pharaun and the other males, and why not? She was Mist
ress of Arach-Tinilith and a Baenre. Truth to tell, a miniscule part of her, a part she loathed and repudiated, hadn't wanted to come in, because her unknown enemy was very likely in the room The matriarchs weren't the only folk in the vicinity of the platform. A symbol of the goddess's favor and a source of practical protection, Jeggred loomed behind Triel's chair. Servants scurried about the steps to do the great ladies' bidding. Gromph stood on the highest riser, a place of ultimate honor for a male. When she, the mage, the weapons master, and the mercenary reached the foot of the dais, Triel began to praise them for their efforts against the illithilich and its pawns. At first the oration was pretty much what Quenthel had expected, but soon it took an unexpected turn. She herself would lead an expedition to Ched Nasad to find out why no travelers came from that direction, and what the priestesses of the vassal city might know concerning the silence of Lolth. Ryld Argith, Pharaun Mizzrym, and Valas Hune would serve as her lieutenants, accompanying the ambassador, Faeryl Zauvirr. Upon hearing the news, the hulking warrior in the dwarven breastplate simply inclined his head in acquiescence. The wizard grinned, and the scout smiled. At first the envoy, who was standing nearby, looked equally pleased. Then Triel said, «Finally, dear sister, I lend you my own son Jeggred for your journey. A draegloth carries the blessing of the Dark Mother, and you may need his strength.»
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