Insurrection

by Thomas M. Reid

Chapter Seventeen

 

  Pharaun cursed and took a step after Halisstra, thinking he might have to magically cloak the two of them in order to save them.

  "Don't," Quenthel ordered. "Danifae was unlucky enough to be wounded. I will not exhaust either resources or time saving her. Let's go while the spiders are distracted. "

  "But - " Pharaun began, but when he saw the look in the high priestess's eyes, he shook his head and stepped back into the alley. He regretted the idea of losing them - or at least, losing the beautiful Danifae. "Very well," he said.

  "I'm not leaving," Ryld said, and he turned to sprint out into the street, following Halisstra.

  "No!" Quenthel shouted at the Master of Melee-Magthere, but it was too late. Ryld was already ten steps away, removing Splitter from its sheath on his back as he charged toward the closest of the two spiders. "Damn you all to the Abyss!" Quenthel raged.

  Shrugging, Pharaun turned and followed the weapons master.

  "Go after them!" Quenthel growled from behind the wizard.

  Pharaun could only assume she was talking to him, though why she was ordering him to do something he had already made up his mind to accomplish, he couldn't fathom. Soon enough, though, the draegloth flashed past him, sprinting down the street in the direction he also traveled.

  The mage pulled up a few yards from the closest spider, watching as Halisstra reached her servant and knelt down. Somehow, along the way, she had fumbled a wand free from her cloak, and she quickly utilized it, causing both drow to disappear. The spider, looming over the spot where the pair had just been visible, snapped down once, clacking its mandibles together in obvious frustration. The beast began moving its head back and forth, trying to find its prey. In the distance, the second spider had turned its attention to something else. Fortunately, it was not coming their way - at least for the moment.

  Pharaun, of course, could still see the two females, for he was aware of the magic they radiated. It appeared to him that Halisstra was dragging Danifae to the side, out of harm's way, but the spider somehow sensed where the two females were, and it dipped its head again, missing a direct bite but coming close enough with its attack that it grazed Halisstra, knocking her down. Shivering in delight at having felt its prey, the spider raised up for another attack.

  Ryld had almost reached the creature, and his long legs covered the remaining distance quickly. He leaped through the air, Splitter raised high overhead. As the warrior sailed past the hindmost leg of the giant spider, he swung the greatsword around with all his might, cutting cleanly through the appendage. Black blood spurted everywhere, and the spider reared up, kicking with its ruined leg and barely missing the weapons master.

  At nearly the same time, Jeggred launched himself into the air toward another leg, grabbing a hold of the spider and climbing upward. Pharaun could see the draegloth's claws extended, and the fiend used them to great effect as he quickly ascended the creatures limb. Fearlessly, Jeggred slashed and clawed his way to the spiders body and began to climb the slick black abdomen, working his way higher and higher.

  The effect of the two attacks was instantaneous. The spider jerked away from its intended meal and spun around, looking to bite whatever tormented it. Its one ruined leg twitched erratically, but otherwise the arachnid lost none of its stability. Ryld had rolled into a crouch after his sweeping sword strike, and he had Splitter up,ready to fend off the spider as it maneuvered to face him.

  Pharaun shook his head and considered what he could do to aid in the fight. There was really only one choice. Most of his spells were gone, and the few remaining to him were not offensive in nature. He reached inside hispiwafwi and produced a wand, a single segment of iron that was about as long as his forearm. Extending it outward, he uttered a trigger phrase and activated the magic in the wand. Instantly, a sizzling bolt of electrical energy leaped forward from the end of the wand, arcing through the air and crackling across the surface of the spider's head. The discharge caused the spider to recoil, chattering and quivering, from Ryld's position. As the last remnants of the bolt dissipated, Pharaun could see that the spider's leathery hide and multifaceted eyes were smoldering.

  Pharaun started when he heard the twang of a bowstring strumming, and he glanced down to his right. Valas was there, kneeling, firing off a short bow. The wizard had seen the diminutive scout carrying the weapon all along, but up until then, Valas had apparently had little cause to use it. The Bregan D'aerthe scout lined up and released four shots in the time it took Pharaun to assess the situation, and his aim was true. The arrows embedded themselves in the nearest eye of the spider, one after another, puncturing the many-sided orb like a massive pincushion. The spider thrashed about in response.

  At the same time, Ryld was on his feet again,running with the spider, looking to get in another strike. This time, however, the warrior was not so lucky. As the jerking, pain-crazed creature spasmed along the street, one of its legs swept the warrior off his feet, sending the burly drow tumbling. Ryld landed hard, losing his greatsword in the process.

  The massive arachnid was skittering straight toward Pharaun and Valas, and the wizard could see Jeggred on top of it, sitting astride the thing's huge neck, slashing madly with his claws and flinging gobbets of flesh and black blood everywhere as the fiend sawed into the spider's head. The spider reared and jerked, trying to shake Jeggred from its body, but the draegloth clung tenaciously to it, sinking his claws deeply into the beast's flesh to maintain his hold.

  The wizard took an involuntary step backward as the onrushing spider closed the distance quickly, its rapid steps making the web street buck and bounce. Raising his wand, the mage fired off a second lightning bolt, letting it crackle over the spider's head, knowing Jeggred would be resistant to its destructive power.

  The electrical discharge obviously hurt the massive beast - Pharaun could clearly see scorch marks on its shiny black skin - but it didn't slow a whit. It ambled drunkenly toward the mage and the scout even as Valas pumped a dozen arrows into it.

  Goddess! thought Pharaun, backing up another step.

  He wanted to turn and run, but he couldn't make himself stop watching the charging creature. Valas was back-stepping too, still firing arrows, but they were both in the spider's sight and it was clearly targeting them as the cause of its woes.

  Just as the spider reached the pair of drow and snapped downward, Ryld leaped into view, swinging Splitter in a huge arc and smashing the blade savagely across the creature's face. The lightning bolt had obviously bought the weapons master enough time to retrieve his greatsword.

  The arachnid jerked backward, more blood dripping freelyfrom the fresh wound, but it was not to be so easily deterred. It snapped at Ryld once, twice, and the warrior fended the attacks off with his greatsword, laboring to keep the twitching mandibles away from him.

  Pharaun scrambled backward again, happy enough to let the broad-shouldered weapons master bear the brunt of the combat. Pharaun raised his wand for a third lightning strike, hoping that would fell the beast, but before he could activate the wand the spider snapped down at Ryld a third time, and the warrior's luck ran out.

  The spider's mandibles closed tightly around the Master of Melee-Magthere, who grunted in pain and nearly lost his grip on Splitter. The creature hoisted him into the air, squeezing its captured prey tightly, trying to crush the life out him. Ryld arched his back in agony and began desperately hacking at the mandibles with his sword.

  Pharaun hesitated to expend his magical bolts with Ryld in the way, and Valas likewise seemed at a loss, sighting down a drawn-back arrow but faltering. There was no clear shot. Even so, Jeggred continued to hew into the spider's flesh. The draegloth's arms were completely coated with sticky black fluid.

  Why won't the blasted thing die? Pharaun thought in dismay.

  He was tempted to jolt the creature despite the presence of his companions then he remembered his other wand. Reacting quickly, the wizard managed to f
ish the second item from inside hispiwafwi just as the spider stumbled into bothhim and Valas. The scout went sprawling, rolling into a tumble several yards away, while Pharaun managed to avoid the worst of the blow by leaping out of the way at the last moment, aided by his magical boots.

  Landing to one side, the wizard flicked the wand at the spider and uttered the trigger word, sending a host of glowing projectiles streaming from its tip directly at the spider's eyes. The five missiles swerved unerringly around Ryld and struck the creature's eyes in rapid succession. The great spider flinched away, opening its mandibles to chatter in pain, dropping Ryld in the process.

  The weapons master fell limply toward the ground but somehow still retained consciousness enough to halt his own descent, drifting the last couple of feet to the pavement. The spider, meanwhile, reared up, its face a bloody mess, Jeggred still slashing at the top of its head.

  There's no way it can withstand much more, the wizard thought.

  "Finish it," Quenthel said, pointing past the spider. "Kill it and be done with it. "

  Pharaun could see the second spider coming their way, so he quickly discharged a second round of screaming projectiles from the wand. When they struck home, the spider finally collapsed in the middle of the street, nearly landing atop the still-prone Ryld. The creature didn't move, though its legs and mandibles spasmed awkwardly.

  "Withdraw!" Quenthel demanded. "The other one is coming. "

  Pharaun ran to help Valas get Ryld to his feet, and the trioscurried as fast as they could back into the alley. Jeggred leaped down from his perch atop the dead arachnid and joined them. They all reached the protection of the side street simultaneously, and Pharaun turned back to see what had become of the pair from House Melarn. Farther up the street, the wizard could see the magical emanations of Halisstra and Danifae. They were walking toward him as quickly as the limping drow could move.

  "They're almost here," Pharaun said, gesturing back to where he knew only he could see the two. "Keep still," the Master of Sorcere warned. "It might sense vibrations. "

  The two groups waited, apprehensive. Halisstra and Danifae stopped moving, pressing against the wall of the closest building as the second spider came closer. Pharaun slipped back into the shadows.

  As the beast passed, Pharaun prepared to cast the spell he'd considered earlier, one that would bring about a heavy mist, should they need it, but they did not. As the giant arachnid moved off, the vibrations grew calmer. Pharaun stole another glance and saw that the two females were drawing closer.

  "You would openly defy me?" Quenthel snarled, slapping a still-woozy Ryld across the cheek.

  Jeggred rose up to his full height and moved to stand beside the high priestess, backing her while she meted out her discipline.

  Ryld staggered back from the blow, and a trickle of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, but he didn't flinch from the high priestess's gaze.

  "They aren't so expendable as you might think," he said weakly but with his chin in the air. "Give them a chance to prove themselves before you abandon them. It might be you she's rushing back to aid next time. "

  Jeggred growled and took a step forward, but Quenthel held up her hand in a signal for him to be still. The draegloth glowered at Ryld but obeyed his mistress.

  "Your days of questioning my authority are nigh ended," Quenthel said, turning to face both Ryld and Pharaun together. "When we get out of this city, there will be some changes. I am tired of this. "

  As if to mimic the Mistress of the Academy's foul mood, the snakes of her whip began to shimmy back and forth, hissing in vexation.

  "All I say is that you are too quick to dismiss them," Ryld insisted. "They are more valuable than you give them credit for. "

  "He's right," Pharaun said, "Halisstra has demonstrated some resourcefulness. Don't discount them simply because they are not from Menzoberranzan. "

  Quenthel scowled at the two of them in turn then drew in Valas with her gaze for good measure. Halisstra and Danifae reached their position, still invisible.

  "I am sorry," Halisstra said upon arriving, "but I could not abandon her. She still has a certain value to me. "

  Quenthel snorted but waved her hand in dismissal, as though minimizing the entire episode.

  "You are aware of the conditions under which you will be permitted to stay with us. Keep up, or fall behind. We will not suffer you to slow us down. "

  She just doesn't want to let on how much we defy her, Pharaun realized. She's pretending that remaining and waiting was her own act of generosity. The wizard smirked to himself.

  Halisstra let Danifae down and produced a wand from her belongings. She waved it over the battle captive's leg and murmured a phrase that the wizard didn't quite catch, but then he saw that the puncture wound had healed. The dark elf moved to Ryld to administer a similar healing effort to him, but Quenthel intervened.

  "Where did you get that?" the high priestess demanded.

  Halisstra started, not expecting such a venomous reaction to her charity.

  "It's mine," she began to explain. "I brought it - "

  "Not anymore, it isn't. Give it to me," Quenthel insisted.

  Halisstra stared at the high priestess but made no move to hand over her magical trinket.

  "If you don't want Jeggred to shred you to several pieces right now, hand that wand to me. "

  Slowly, her eyes burning with anger, Halisstra passed the wand to Quenthel.

  The Mistress of Arach-Tinilith examined the wand carefully, nodding in satisfaction. She turned and used it on Ryld herself. As the divine power of the wand flowed into the warrior, his worst injuries closed, though several small scratches and bruises remained. When she was satisfied with the weapons master's condition, she tucked the wand away in her own belongings.

  "Now," Quenthel said, turning her attention back on Halisstra, "we will have no more of this wasteful use of curing magic taking place. I will be the one who decides when and if a member of this group receives divine aid, is that clear?" Halisstra nodded.

  "Do you have any mote magic secreted away that I should know about? Believe me, I will know if you do. "

  Drisinil's daughter sighed and nodded. She produced an additional wand and handed it over.

  "You cannot use that, though," Halisstra mumbled. "It's arcane in nature. I also . . . dabble in that sort of magic. "

  "I see. Well, if it becomes necessary, you might get it back when you've proven your worth. Until then, I keep them both. "

  The high priestess turned and strolled a few feet away, completely ignoring the drow female who stared daggers at her back.

  "Halisstra," Pharaun said, trying to change the subject and hoping to show Quenthel that the priestess was useful at the same time, "both you and Danifae seemed to know where these giant spiders came from. What can you tell us?"

  "They're guardian spiders," the dark elf answered, her voice thick with anger, "summoned only in times of great need. Those two were so small . . . the matron mothers who conjured them must have had a rather minor one stored away. "

  "You mean they get bigger than that?" Valas asked incredulously.

  "Certainly," Halisstra replied, warming to the subject. "How do you think the webs of the city first appeared here? Upon arriving in the cavern, the first high priestesses, along with their wizard counterparts, summoned spiders of immense size to spin the webs upon whichthe city would rest. It was with Lolth's blessing that these sacred creatures came to us, and they were magically stored, transformed into crystalline statues. From time to time they are brought forth again to repair sections of the city or to defend the chamber. Normally, though, they're controlled through a mental link to do our bidding and to gate in more of their kind only when we command it. I don't know exactly how. That is a secret reserved for the matron mothers. "

  "Blessed Dark Mother," Ryld said. "Do you think the other one will bring more?"

  "I don't know," the priestess
replied. "I hope not. "

  "Look," Pharaun said, glancing ahead, where the spider could still be seen scuttling along the web street.

  A force of gray dwarves were on a pathway above it, peering over the side at the spider below them. A number of them had begun throwing more of the damnable firepots at the creature. As the little incendiary devices struck the arachnid, they burst into flame, and the colossal spider reared up as it began to burn, looking to eliminate the source of the pain.

  More of the clay pots were cast down, several of them striking the spider on the head and abdomen. Rising up on its hind legs, the spider attempted to reach the duergar, but they were too high overhead. The spider spun in place, turning its back on its attackers, and fired a thick stream of fluid in their direction.

  "Webbing," Pharaun noted aloud, impressed.

  The stream of webbing sailed accurately, attaching to the underside of the web street, hardening as it did so. The spider turned and began to scamper up the strand of sticky filament, pursuing the gray dwarves, who were desperately clambering to get out of the way.

  "The fools," Ryld said. "They just managed to get its attention focused on them. Fortunate for us, though. "

  "Enough," Quenthel said. "We still need to get our belongings from the inn and leave this wretched city. "

  Pharaun turned to gaze at the high priestess, knowing full well that his expression was one of dumbfounded amazement.

  "You can't be serious! Look around," he said, gesturing out toward other parts of the city, where the distant glows of more and more fires were visible through the ever-thickening smoke. "The whole city is in turmoil.

  "Use your ears," he continued, gesturing in a different direction, where the screams of the fighting and dying echoed off the walls of the huge cavern. "We're running out of time. I'm sure the whole city is choosing sides and takingthe battle to the streets, and yet you want to tempt fate by trying to go after more of your trinkets? I think - "

  "Listen to me,boy," Quenthel spat, her face livid. "We just went through this with your warrior friend. You will do as I say, or you will be left here to die. If you'veforgotten who I am, allow me to remind you that I am High Priestess Quenthel Baenre, Mistress of Arach-Tinilith, Mistress of the Academy, Mistress of Tier Breche, First Sister of House Baenre of Menzoberranzan, and I will no longer tolerate your snide remarks and your haughty insubordination. Do you understand?"

  As if to back up her words, Jeggred stepped forward and with a menacing growl took hold of the collar of Pharaun'spiwafwi, bunching it up in his clawed fist.

  The wizard glanced over to Ryld, who still looked weakened from his fight with the spider. Nonetheless, he had his hand on the hilt of Splitter and was stepping forward, ready to come between the draegloth and the mage. But Pharaun could tell by the warrior's expression that he was trying to determine just how badly he really wanted to choose sides at this juncture.

  Jeggred whipped his head around and snarled, "Don't even think about it, weapons master. I will tear out your stomach and feast upon it if you interfere. "

  Ryld's expression tightened as he took offense at the draegloth's threats, but Pharaun gave a quick, subtle shake of his head to warn the warrior off.

  "MistressQuenthel, since you are so passionate about recovering your valuables," Pharaun said, trying to make his voice sound jovial, "then let's make haste, before the opportunity is wasted. "

  Quenthel smiled, obviously pleased at having successfully asserted herself and regained the upper hand.

  "I knew you would appreciate the importance of my decision," she replied, turning away.

  "So, wizard, how do you propose we cross over to the Flame and Serpent?" she asked, appraising the devastation alongside Pharaun. "What magic do you still have up your sleeve that can get us there quickly and safely?"

  "None, Mistress Baenre," Pharaun replied in all seriousness. "I have consumed over half of my magic for the day, and I'm not even certain how we'll get out of the city. "

  "That's not good enough, Mizzrym. "

  "I have a counter-suggestion," the mage said, pursing his lips. "Let me go get the goods while you and the rest of the group wait here and rest. It's out of the way, fairly easily defended, and I can find you again when I come back. I have a spell to get me to the inn and back quickly, I just can't take all of you with me. "

  Quenthel scowled, thinking, and Pharaun wondered if, as often as she frowned so severely, the high priestess even realized she was making such a face.

  "Very well," Quenthel said at last, nodding. "Do not dawdle. "

  "Oh, I don't intend to. The less chance there is of large chunks of this doomed city falling atop me, the better off I'll feel. "

  Quenthel turned and explained the plan to the rest of the group. Everyone nodded in agreement, ready for a respite.

  Ryld pulled Pharaun aside and asked, "Youare coming back, aren't you?"

  Pharaun cocked an eyebrow and replied, "Besides having a fondness for you, my brooding weapons master, I still truly desire to get to the bottom of this mystery. My chances are better with you all than without. "

  Ryld looked at him for a long time before nodding.

  "Be careful," he said, turning to find a seat against a wall of the alley, his crossbow out.

  "How do you intend tocross the city?" Halisstra asked.

  Her face was drawn and tired. Still, her eyes glittered red, as with some new determination.

  "I have a spell of flying that I can use to get there and back again fairly quickly," Pharaun answered. "Unfortunately, I would be much better off if I were not visible, but I have already played that particular trick today. "

  "Maybe I can help," the daughter of what once was House Melarn said. "Mistress Quenthel, that wand you just confiscated from me would serve us well, with your approval. "

  "What is it?" the high priestess asked, seemingly pleased by the deference shown her.

  "A spell that will render him invisible, even should he attack a foe," Halisstra replied. "I assure you, it will not harm him. "

  Quenthel scowled and looked at Pharaun for some sort of confirmation. The wizard nodded. He still believed the two females newly added to the group were trustworthy, and they certainly wouldn't be in much of a position to turn on the rest of themnow.

  "Very well," Quenthel said.

  She produced the wand and passed it back to the other female. Halisstra took it, offering her thanks to the high priestess. She targeted her wand at Pharaun.

  "Wait," the wizard said.

  He produced a feather from inside hispiwafwi. Using the feather as part of the casting, he enchanted himself with the ability to fly.

  Tucking the feather back into its customary pocket, he turned to thepriestess and said, "All right, go ahead. It's always easier to cast when you can see your own hands. "

  She smiled faintly and nodded, then summoned the magical energy from the wand. In but a moment, Pharaun was totally invisible. Halisstra offered the wand back to Quenthel.

  "No," the high priestess said, shaking her head. "You can keep it. I think you learned your lesson. "

  "Yes, Mistress," Halisstra said with a smile that did not reach her eyes. She tucked the wand away and went to sit down once more, beside Danifae.

  "I'll be back shortly," Pharaun said.

  He rose into the air before anyone could think to reply.

  Danifae watched as the wizard disappeared, and she sensed when he departed the alley. Shaking her head, she sat back and watched the weapons master and the scout, both of whom paced, apparently eager to be away from there.

  This is a strange lot I've wound up with, she decided. They are competent, and yet they bicker and argue unlike any group of dark elves I've ever seen.

  The battle captive looked over at Quenthel, who was speaking quietly with the draegloth, Jeggred.

  She's certainly an interesting one, Danifae decided.

  It wasn't the first time she'd
encountered a female like the high priestess - confident yet blustering at everything and everyone.

  Still, Danifae thought, letting her eyes linger appreciatively over Quenthel's form, she's a fit leader.

  Danifae turned her thoughts Halisstra. The First Daughter of House Melarn looked visibly shaken at the physical loss of her home, even though Ssipriina had already wrested possession of it from her. Danifae wondered how her mistress would hold up under that kind of duress. Certainly, there was no lamenting the destruction of House Melarn on her own part, but Danifae could imagine how it would feel if her own family had been wiped out in such a fashion. House Yauntyrr might well have been destroyed, for all she knew. It had been far too long since she'd last seen it. She didn't even know the fate of Eryndlyn itself in the current crisis, much less her own House.

  "Let us come with you," Halisstra said to Quenthel. "Let us help you find the priest of Vhaeraun. "

  Danifae looked at her mistress sharply.

  "What makes you think we're going to try to find the scout's friend?" Quenthel asked.

  "I-I beg forgiveness, Mistress Baenre," Halisstra stammered. "I merely assumed - "

  "Assumptions are best left to that miserable wretch, Pharaun," Quenthel warned.

  Halisstra bowed her head.

  "Of course, Mistress Baenre," she said. "Nonetheless, I would humbly ask that you permit me and my servant to accompany you. Our chances of survival are much greater if we stay together, and as you know, I have nothing left for me here. "

  The dark elf pursed her lips, obviously trying to control her emotions. Danifae thought it somewhat unbecoming, showing so much of her passion, but she would never say so, especially not in front of others.

  Quenthel tapped her lips with her finger and nodded as though she understood the pain of Halisstra's plight, though Danifae seriously doubted the high priestess held any true compassion for Halisstra's situation.

  "Yes, well, as long as you can continue to make yourself useful, and if you are willing to do what I say, then I see no reason why you cannot continue to travel with us. "

  Danifae cringed. No doubt this would take her farther away from Eryndlyn, not closer. She was going to have find a way to break the binding, and soon, and she thought perhaps the wizard had that capability. It would be easy enough for her to manipulate him into helping her, the way she caught him eyeing her all the time. Easy, indeed.

  Halisstra bowed her head again in thanks and said, "If it is not too presumptuous, Mistress Baenre, may I ask what your intentions are?"

  "Well, once we manage to get out of this city," Quenthel replied, emphasizing the words to show of what a daunting task that would be in and of itself, "I think we might actually pay a visit to this friend of the scout's. However infuriating the Mizzrym boy can be in so many other ways, he does occasionally have a good idea or two.

  That's why you can't afford to alienate him or cause him bodily harm, Danifae surmised.

  It wasn't difficult to see that Pharaun was really the most valuable member of the team. That raised the question of who was really the leader. Quenthel by default, but Pharaun by subtle necessity.

  That will bear watching, Danifae thought with a smile.

  Ssipriina surveyed the troops she'd assembled in the courtyard of her estate and grimaced. So few remained of what she'd started the day with. Would they be enough? She let her gaze roam over them . . . soldiers, priestesses, wizards. How many had she lost in the destruction of House Melarn? How many more in the hours since, battling the rival Houses, her own duergar mercenaries, succumbing to the guardian spiders?

  The matron mother shook her head, thinking of that debacle. It was certainly a blunder, but she refused to label it ill-conceived. Animating the creature to fight for her House had been clever, an idea her allies had all endorsed. Certainly, none of them had been able to foresee that the mental link used to control the spiders was in some way tied to their connection to Lolth. Without the goddess, there was no link, but once Ssipriina and the others had figured that out, it was too late. They had all missed that, and she refused to accept sole blame for it.

  Still, the damage could have been contained, if only that double-crossing fool Khorrl had done his duty. She had paid him a matron mother's ransom. He should have jumped at her every beck and call, but instead he turned his back on her, gathered his mercenaries, and was preparing to pull out of Ched Nasad all together. The loss of his support was a tough blow, but what galled her more was how foolish he'd made her look - foolish in the eyes of her peers.

  The other matron mothers, upon hearing that the duergar were no longer in House Zauvirr's service, had washed their hands of the alliance, immediately withdrawing their support for Ssipriina's claims. They had their own Houses to consider and couldn't afford to weaken themselves further in a lost cause.

  Lost cause! Yes, she had been made to look foolish, and she would not have that. Ssipriina Zauvirr would show them what a lost cause was.

  Let the rest of them distance themselves from her. Let them rot at the bottom of the chasm. She was not going to let these setbacks foil her plans. Half the city might burn, but when the smoke cleared, House Zauvirr would sit at the top of the heap.

  Khorrl Xornbane was going to pay as well, but would her remaining troops be enough? Between her own House and those from House Melarn who had switched allegiance, she had assembled a potent army, but so many had been lost.

  That was Clan Xornbane's fault, too. They'd let the battle around House Melarn get out of control. It was their horrible firepots that made the stone burn, that allowed the House to fall. It was needless destruction, brought about after needless fighting.

  Ssipriina had no doubt that the gray dwarf captain had spoken the truth. Zammzt could very well have been behind the premature exposure of her mercenaries, but why? Which matron mother was he in league with? Which of them had something to gain by watching her plans build up, then teeter to disaster? There were so many, but she would have to determine that later.

  Ssipriina would miss Zammzt. She needed his efficiency, his battle acumen. She didn't have enough strategists to put in charge of the forces she'd assembled. The ugly male would have served in that capacity nicely. Faeryl would be a suitable replacement, but she'd not been seen since the chaos at the end of the gathering of matron mothers. Ssipriina suspectedthat her daughter had perished when the estate crumbled into the bottom of the cavern.

  Foolish girl, the matron mother thought. Good riddance.

  Sighing, Ssipriina shook herself out of her musings and swept her gaze one last time over her undersized army. They would have to be enough. She would lead them herself, and they would be enough.

  "Gather yourselves," the matron mother said, moving to a protected place in the middle of the milling mass of drow. "It's time to claim what's ours. "