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Would such a city have any place for a Baenre? he answered himself
No revolution such as Dyrr drea but complete annihilation for the First House of Menzober-ranzan While Gro relations who populated Castle Baenre, he would be dah and ancient family as the supreme power of Menzoberranzan There could be, really, only one response
As quick as thought, Gromph raised his hand and unleashed a terrible, brilliant blast of colors at the lich, a spell whose energy he had prepared with such care and effort that it took only the loo with it a different doo blue bolt of electricity passed so close to Dyrr that the lich&039;s ancient robes crackled with tiny arcs, while a bright orange ray burned the ancient creature with acid powerful enough to melt stone A third ray, a beam of insidious violet, was deflected by the lich&039;s animated buckler The device tittered like a wicked childas it intercepted the attack
"I ae of Menzoberranzan," Gromph roared "I a shriek of anger as the acid splattered and hissed, gnawing at his ancient flesh The snificent conjury with a horrid stench Gro an abjuration he hoped would turn Dyrr&039;s spells back at hie fully expected that it would take every ruse, every defense, every subtle and deadly spell at his corach Dyrr
Gro spell just in time, as Dyrr recovered with impossible speed and lashed out with a dire black ray of invidious energy that would have ripped away great portions of the arche&039;s very life-force had it struck home Instead, the ebon beam rebounded on Gromph&039;s shield and struck Dyrr in the center of his torso This, however, had an unforeseen effect Instead of shredding the ancient lich&039;s own life-force, the crackling black energy swelled the Lord of Agrach Dyrr with its horrible power The lich laughed aloud
"A clever rievously harorated by it!"
The arch a vile green ray at the laughing lich It burned a perfect round hole in Dyrr&039;s breastbone, blasting undead flesh and bone to dust The lich screeched again in whatever passed for pain in its undead state and leaped aside before Groe co, Dyrr snarled out the words of a dark and murderous spell that clawed horribly at Groreedily at the very fluids of his body and bleaching his skin with a thousand needles of agony Groasped aloud in pain and lost the spellhe&039;d been preparing to cast, stu heavily to the floor
Daht I need to buy a moment&039;s respite
Fortunately, he was in his sanctuht employ
Gromph rolled to his elbow and barked out,"Szashune! Destroy him!"
In one alcove of the room, a tall statue of a four-armed swordsman carved fro out into the cha warrior
Dyrr skittered away several steps and spoke a word The lich soared up out of the spiderstone golem&039;s reach, but Gromph used the opportunity of the distraction to summon up the most destructive spell he knew and hurl it at the airborne lich Fro white energy streaked out to blast through the lich&039;s undead for explosion that de pieces of the undead sorcerer The exploding e to Gro a pair of old bookshelves to flinders and snapping an ared by a petulant child Gromph cried out in triumph as pieces of Dyrr clattered to the floor
Dust billowed fro form of the lich, and his skull nodded down to his breastbone al hi speed Dyrr looked up again as wicked green light grew strong in his eye sockets, and he laughed
"My old bones aren&039;t the entirety of reat effect"
He started to intone another spell, but the arch to dispel any enchant spell failed, and the lich sank down into blade-reach of the living statue waiting below
The golem rushed forward The massive construct pounded at the lich with terrific blows of its three re black face cohty irin
"Youcorpse, lich, but you&039;ll have a difficult ti spells when you&039;ve been disraves," he called "You were a fool to challengeto strike again with a spell
Dyrr endured two, then three tre in his steps as bone cracked and split The de shrilly and blocking evenstrike after strike from the stone construct The sorcerer retreated a step, found his footing, and spread his ar black robes shi saw of razor-sharp blades that carved chunks of stone fros, and books with abandon
Blades slashed through the arch hih to kill Gro razors, blinking blood froolem crumbled into worth-less black rock
Dyrr shouted in triu his ada speed and swiftness Gromph yelped in surprise and rolled aside just in tistone right where he&039;d fallen
"That does not befitto his feet
Dyrr didn&039;t answer Instead the lich leaped after hireat two-handed sweeps of his staff
Gromph shouted a spell that ripped the lich&039;s weapon fro it across the roo end first, in the chaiant
As Dyrr floundered for balance, Gromph took a lobe that would coate the effects of all but the most powerful of spells So fortified, he hunted quickly through the various incantations locked in his ainst the Lord of Agrach Dyrr
"Ah," Dyrr re sphere "An excellent defense, young Gromph, but not impervious to one of my skill"
The lich muttered a word of awful power and scuttled forward, his skeletal talons outstretched Seely unconcerned by Groh the dancing globe of color and grasped the arche by one arm Gromph shrieked in dismay as the power of the lich&039;s spell struck full upon hiht and locking his every idity
"Gromph Baenre, thou art encysted," Dyrr intoned, his naked teeth gleareat and terrible blackness within his skull
The arch over him, then he started to fall Groh the floor, through the flickering rooh a vast distance into the yawning black rock below the tower, the city, the world For one terrible instant Gro up through uncounted ure of his nemesis above The darkness fell in upon hie&039;s cha down at the spot in the floor where he had condeht have panted for breath, treue, or perhaps even collapsed froic binding his undead sinews and bones together was not subject to the weaknesses of the living
"Bide there a ti Gromph," he said to the empty place "I may find a use for you yet, perhaps in a century or two"
He reat peals of a thunderclap echoed through the black stone passageways, a ru so deep and visceral that Halisstra could feel it reat stone arch and risked a quick glance across the great hall On the far side, below the drow party, a handful of hulking ht cover Several e of the lower portion of the hall
"That broke their rush," Halisstra called out to her coh"
"Determined bastards," Pharaun said
The wizard sheltered behind a towering pillar of stone, griue Over the previous day and a half the coh the endless corridors of the Labyrinth, pur-sued at every turn by seely endless hordes of minotaurs and baphomet demons On two occasions the dark elves had narrowly avoided fiendishly clever efforts to trap theh
"I have few spells of that sort left," Pharaun said "We need to find a place where I can rest and ready more spells"
"You&039;ll rest e all do, wizard," Quenthel growled The Baenre and her ere splattered with gore, and her arly rent where a deadly blow had barely been turned "We&039;re close to the Jaelre We anize another charge"
The other drow exchanged looks, but they pushed themselves to their feet and followed Quenthel and Valas into another passage This ran for perhaps four hundred yards before opening into another great hall, this one featuring tall, fluted colu-stones Graceful, winding staircases rose up along the cavern walls to alleries where diht once have been workshops,merchant houses, or simply the ain," Ryld observed "And again, abandoned You&039;re certain this is the place, Valas?"
The scout nodded wearily, his right hand clamped over a shallow but bloody wound on his left shoulder
"I have been in this very cavern before," he replied "These are Jaelre dwellings Up there a number of armorers lived, and over on that as an inn I stayed at The palace of the Jaelre nobles lies just through the next passage"
Quenthel leaped up a short, curving stairway and glanced into some kind of shop, its s dark and e into each in turn before descending back to the floor of the s, then where in all the screa hells are the Jaelre?" she demanded "Did the accursed minotaurs slay theht here - ould have seen the signs Even if the minotaurs had carried off all the bodies over the years, there would be scorch stones, the remnants of ruined weapons I think the Jaelre left this place of their own accord"
"How long ago was it that you were here, Valas?" asked Ryld
"Alo, really The Jaelre skirmished frequently with the uarded by both physical and reat chamber carefully "Let me proceed ahead a little ways I will see if I can find anything in the palace that o?" Ryld asked
"Best not There is only one entrance to the palace, and we could be trapped inside if the minotaurs return in numbers Remain outside, so that you can escape if you need to I will return in a fewthe coree with Mistress Melarn," Ryld said "It see of value and left this place"
"A great deal of trouble for nothing, then," Pharaun re as fruitless toil and hardship, I&039;m not sure what it is"
The company stood in silence a hts
Halisstra ached with exhaustion, her legs as weak as water She had avoided any serious injury, but on the other hand she had alth over the past few hours, wielding herbae&039;qeshel songs to confuse the attacking hordes, strengthen her companions, and staunch the worst of her co at the rear of the band near the tunnel leading back to the previous room, broke the silence
"If the ain," the draegloth said "I do not hear the er, whicharound to coht theht tunnels, I suppose," Ryld observed He studied the Jaelre cavern with a practiced eye "Best not to let theht overwhelm us with sheer numbers"
Danifae asked quietly, "What if this is a dead end?"
"It can&039;t be," Quenthel said "Somewhere in these caverns we&039;ll dis-cover where it is the Jaelre have fled to, and ill follow I have come too far to return to Menzoberranzan eood," Pharaun said "However, I feel constrained to point out that we are exhausted and have alh these halls and corridors until the e to trap and kill us is sheer stupidity Why don&039;t we lie low in one of those artisan hoallery over there - and rest until we&039;re ready to continue? I believe I can conceal our presence from our pursuers"
Quenthel&039;s eyes flashed with fire as she said, "We will rest when I see fit Until then, we keep- " Pharaun began, rising to his feet and speaking with short, clipped words
"I do not believe you understand what I a you to do!" Quenthel snapped She whirled on the wizard and stepped close, her whips writhing in agitation "You will cease your incessant question-ing of ently, I will," Pharaun retorted, his calred rose with a feral snarl and grasped the wizard around the upper ar hi hiloth thundered "You address High Priestess Quenthel Baenre, Mistress of Arach-Tinilith, Mistress of the Academy, Mistress of Tier Breche, First Sister of House Baenre of Men-zoberranzanyou insolent dog!"
Pharaun&039;s eyes flashed as he leaped to his feet The facade of good hu but cold, perfect ain," he said in a deadly hiss
His hands crooked at his sides, ready to shape awful spells against the draegloth, while Jeggred crouched and rip on her scourge and paced closer as the ser-pent heads curled and darted, striking at the air in their agitation Ryld set one hand on Splitter&039;s hilt and watched all three, his face an expres-sionless mask
"This isher crossbow at the floor "We et out of here alive"
Quenthel opened her gred charging at the wizard regardless of the consequences, but at thatup to the co in the situation with a glance
"What is going on here?" he asked carefully
When no one answered,the Bregan D&039;aerthe looked at each of the company in turn
"I cannot believe this Have you not had your fill of fighting in the last forty hours? How can you even consider spending the last of your strength, youreach other, e&039;ve already fought our way across half of the daued by you, lared at Pharaun, and thrust her whip through her belt "It serves no purpose to fight each other here"
"Agreed," said Pharaun - perhaps the tersest statee had uttered in the time Halisstra had known him From soer and straight-ened, relaxing his hands "I will not be handled like a coh That I will not bear"
"And I will not be taunted and baited at every turn," Quenthel replied She turned to Valas "Master Hune, did you find anything in the palace?"
The scout glanced nervously at Quenthel and Pharaun, as did Halis-stra and Danifae
"In fact, I did," he said "In the e portal of soe nuh it I suspect House Jaelre lies somewhere on the other side, in some new abode"
"Where does the portal lead?" Ryld asked
Valas shrugged and said, "I have no idea, but there is certainly one way to find out"
"Fine," said Quenthel "We will put your portal to the test at once, before the minotaurs and their demons return In a few minutes, anywhere will be better than here"
She let one long glare linger on Pharaun, who finally had the good sense to avert his eyes in ould have to suffice for a bow
Halisstra let out a breath she didn&039;t realize she&039;d been holding