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Aliisza looked at the purple worest worm I&039;ve ever seen," she murmured
The half-demon&039;s seat of power in the ruins of ancient Ammarindar was the better part of two hundred and fifty miles southeast of Men-zoberranzan, and the Darklake was an obstacle in their path Fortunately, tanarukks were fast, hearty, and could endure swift marches with few sup-plies The dwarves of ancient Ah their realm, broad, sh the endless gloom Kaanyr was somewhat discon-certed to think that the tremendous cavern of the Darklake lay somewhere a mile or two beneath his feet, but the old dwarven road offered far and away their best route to the environs of Menzoberranzan If the road hap-pened to be plagued by hungry monsters, well, any other route would have problems of its own
He shook himself fro file of his warriors, streaed double-coluain about this Niar Steelshadow&039;s ray dwarves and the dark elves have fought many wars over the centuries What I don&039;t understand is what&039;s in it for a drow assassin?"
"As best I can tell," Aliisza replied, "he hates the great Houses of Menzoberranzan enough that he&039;ll destroy the city in order to bring about their fall"
"Such a purity of intent is rare in a dark elf You know he&039;s lied to you, of course"
Kaanyr suspected, as always, that Aliisza was holding so of her encounter with Nihter of a succubus, and her weapons and methods were obvious
"Lied?" she quipped "To me?"
"I merely point out that that one should beware of dark elves bear-ing gifts," Kaanyr replied "Hemy army here, but I don&039;t believe for a heartbeat that your ain fro, doesn&039;t it?" she said "If you see that, why did you agree to bring your ar to happen there," Kaanyr said "My am-bitions have reached the borders of old Ammarindar, and I don&039;t care to arrest the by, staring past them to the dark visions that enthralled hi from above and to the east," Kaanyr said, "per-fectly positioned to flank a force trying to hold the Pillars against the approach of Gracklstugh&039;s arar Steelshadow and his drow assassin want us there It e a few days and let the drow deci on the same side of an obstacle as our enemies carries a liability, as well as an opportunity I wouldn&039;t put it past Horgar to manufacture some excuse for a delay in order to let "
Aliisza cozied up beside him and purred, "Until the battle is joined, love, you haven&039;t chosen sides The dark elves ht pay, and pay well, for your assistance at a critical juncture of the can Even if that assis-tance takes the forray dwarves in their attack"
Kaanyr Vhok bared his pointed teeth in a wry sht, then We&039;ll see what happens when the Pillars of Woe stand before us"
Halisstra was ed, hooded, her hands manacled behind her The surface elves had healed the wound in her calf in order to keep her fro them down, but the rest of her injuries they didn&039;t bother to tend While they&039;d removed herjacket against the cold night air - after searching carefully to ical devices
Eventually they reached a place where the forest floor underfoot gave way to stone, and she could hear the whispers and rustles of a nurearht penetrated the hood over her eyes
"Lord Dessaer," a voice close by said, "the captive Hurmaendyr spoke of!"
"So I see Rehtful voice from so Halisstra squinting in the bright light of an elegant hallvines wound along posts and beae hearth Several pale elves watched her carefully - apparently guardsof some kind, dressed in silver-hued scale mail with polearms and swords at their hips
Lord Dessaer was a tall half-elf with golden hair and pale skin with a faint bronze hue to it He ell- as Ryld, and he wore a breastplate of glea, too," the elf lord said "She&039;ll have little to say otherwise"
"Careful, my lord," spoke the captor beside her, whoht in the forest "She knows so of the bard&039;s arts, and may be able to speak a spell with her hands bound"
"I will exercise all due caution, Curnil" The lord of the hall htfully into Halisstra&039;s blood-red eyes, and said, "So, what shall we call you?"
Halisstra stood mute
"Are you Auzkovyn or Jaelre?" Dessaer asked
"I am not of House Jaelre," she said "I do not know of the other House you nalance with his advisors
"You belong to a third faction, then?"
"I was traveling with a sht no trouble with surface dwellers"
"A drow&039;s word is regarded with some skepticism in these lands," Dessaer replied "If you&039;re not Auzkovyn or Jaelre, then as your business in Cormanthor?"
"As I said, it was a trade mission," Halisstra lied
"Indeed," drawled Dessaer "Cor the Retreat, and ly to the drow effort to seize our old homeland Noould like to knoho exactly you and your co in our forest"
"Our business is our own," Halisstra answered "We intend no harone from this place as soon as our business is done"
"So I should sio free, is that it?"
"You would do yourself no hare in deadly battles every day against your kind," Dessaer said "Even if you say you have nothing to do with the Jaelre or the Auzkovyn, that doesn&039;t mean you&039;re not our enemy We do not ask quarter of the drow, nor do we extend it to the to my satisfaction why you should be spared, you will be executed"
The lord of the surface folk folded his arms before his breastplate, and fixed her with a fierce stare
"Our business is with House Jaelre," Halisstra said She drew herself up as best she could with her arms bound behind her "It does not concern surface elves As I said before, my company is not here to cause any trouble to you or your people"
Lord Dessaer sighed, then nodded to Halisstra&039;s guards
"Escort the lady to her cell," he said, "and let us see if she becomes more helpful with souards replaced her hood, covering her eyes again She stood passively and allowed them to do so without protest If her captors came to expect coht et out of her bonds
Her guards led her out of the hall and back outdoors again She could feel the deep chill of the air, and sensed the growing brightness in the sky even through her hood Daas near, and the night was vanishing at the sun&039;s approach She wondered if her captors e, a place where the curious and malcontent could come by to jeer and tor and down a short flight of stone steps
Keys jangled, a heavy door creaked open, and she was led through Her hands were unbound, only to be secured again in heavy iron h hands maneuvered her into place
"Listen well, drow," a voice said "You will be unhooded and ungagged, at Lord Dessaer&039;s command However, the first time you at-tempt to work a spell, you will be fitted with a steel muzzleand hooded so closely you will labor for every breath We don&039;t go out of our way to mistreat prisoners, but we&039;ll repay every trouble you cause us threefold If wehave to break your limbs and shatter your jaw to keep you docile, ill"
Her hood was reht cell, illurate up in one corner Several arn of trouble She siainst the wall Her hands were chained together tightly, and the , cleverly designed to take in any slack
The guards left her half a loaf of soold-brown bread and a soft leather jack of cool water, and they exited the cell The door was riveted iron plate, evidently locked and barred fro at the opposite wall
From what little she&039;d seen of the surface town, Halisstra suspected that her coh with a determined effort
"Hardly likely," Halisstra muttered to herself
She was a Houseless outcast whose usefulness did not overcoh House, she stood as Quen-thel&039;s erous rival in the band The Mistress of the Academy would be only too happy to abandon Halisstra to whatever fate awaited her
Who would argue against Quenthel on her behalf?
Danifae? Halisstra thought
She allowed her head to drop to her chest and she laughed softly and bitterly
I must be desperate indeed, to hope for Danifae&039;s coed off as a battle captive herself, Danifae would find the situation deliciously, perfectly ironic The binding spell wouldn&039;t let Dan-ifae raise a hand against her, but without specific instructions, the battle captive would not be co else to do but stare at the wall, Halisstra decided to close her eyes and rest She still ached in calf, torso, and jaw from the in-juries she&039;d sustained in her desperate last stand As s to heal herself, she dared not The pain would have to be endured
With a simple mental exercise she distanced her ue, and slipped deep into Reverie
In Dessaer&039;s audience hall, the half-elf lord watched his soldiers lead the dark elf ahile he stroked his beard thoughtfully
"So, Seyll," he said, "What do you make of this?"
From behind a hidden screen a slender forlided forward She was a full-blooded elf, thin and graceful - and she was also a drow, her skin black as ink, the irises of her eyes a startling red Shesoldiers with their hooded captive
"I think she&039;s telling the truth," she said "At least, she&039;s not a Jaelre or an Auzkovyn"
"What shall I do with her?" the lord asked "She killed Harvaldor, and she darace, I will restore Harvaldor to life and heal Fandar," the drooman said "Besides, is it not the case that Curnil&039;s patrol attacked her and her co herself"
Dessaer raised an eyebrow in surprise and glanced at Seyll
"You intend to give her your goddess&039;s e?"
"It is iven to me, I was very much like her"
She inclined her head to indicate the absent prisoner
"She&039;s a proud one froh House," Dessaer said "I doubt she&039;ll care to hear Eilistraee&039;s words" He rested a hand on the drow priestess&039;s shoulder "Be careful, Seyll She&039;ll say or do anything to get you to lower your guard, and if you do, she&039;ll kill you if you stand between her and freedom"
"Be that as it ment for a tenday," the Lord of Elventree said, "butif she refuses to hear your e I must act to protect my people"
"I know," said Seyll "I do not intend to fail"