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At nightfall, Seyll, acco drooman and apale elf maiden, came for Halisstra The priestess of Eilistraee was ar sword at her hip She wore high leather boots, and carried a bundle under one ar," she said as she entered the cell, "but our senior priest-esses say it will be clear later on, when the oddess"
Halisstra shifted in her chains and rose
"I will not honor Eilistraee," she said
"You need not participate I a you the opportunity to observe and draw your own conclusions You challenged oddess is not a cruel or jealous one I stand ready to offer proof"
"Doubtlessyou think to ensnareenchant-ments," Halisstra said "Do not think I will be duped so easily"
"No one will atteic on you," Seyll replied She set down her bundle and unwrapped it Inside was a large leather case, boots, and a cloak not unlike her own "I have brought your lyre, in the hopes that youif you feel so inclined"
"I doubt you will take s," Halis-stra said
"We will see," the priestess said "You&039;ve beenyou a chance to get out of your cell"
"Only to be returned here when you&039;re done hectoring oddess"
"As we discussed before, you need only offer Lord Dessaer an ac-counting of yourself to be free," Seyll said She produced a set of keys and dangled them in front of Halisstra "Xarra and Feliane are here to help me escort you safely to and froht, and I&039; your hands bound"
Halisstra glanced at the other tomen They wore chain mail be-neath their cloaks, too, and also carried swords at their hips She had little wish to watch soless drivel in Eilistraee&039;s naet out of her cell At the very worst, Seyll&039;s vigilance would not lapse, and no opportunities for escape would arise, leaving Halisstra no worse for wear At best, Seyll and her fellow clerics ht make a mistake that Halisstra could capitalize on
In either case, she would at least have an opportunity to spy out soht come in useful if a chance to escape came up later - and there was always the chance of that
"Very well," she said
Seyll unlocked Halisstra&039;s manacles, and helped the Melarn priestess to don the winter clothing and cloak she&039;d brought She knotted a strong silver cord around Halisstra&039;s hands, and the seons and ascended into a cold, rain-spattered night
Elventree was not really a town, nor an outpost, nor an enca in between Ruined walls of white stone crisscrossed the place, hinting at the old raood-sized sur-face town, but s were nothing more than empty shells, but a number of them seemed to have been appropriated by the town&039;s current residents, who had covered the old buildings ooden latticework or permanent tents in order to turn the proud old structures into hunarled trees rose from the cracked pavement of ancient courtyards, and round in theircatwalks of silver rope and white planks A handful of the town&039;s original buildings still stood more or less intact
Halisstra saw that she had been imprisoned beneath an old watch-tower Across the square an elegant palace rose through the trees, illumi-nated by hundreds of soft lanterns Lord Dessaer&039;s palace, she surh the air
The priestesses of Eilistraee led Halisstra along an old boulevard that quickly carried them out of the town and into the dark, rainy forest They ht broken only by soft footfalls on the forest floor and the constant pattering of the rain - which did indeed slacken noticeably as they went on, giving way to a partial over-cast through which stars on occasion appeared
Halisstra had had about all of the World Above that she cared to endure, but she occupied herself by quietly working at the knots of the rope binding her hands while keeping an eye on her captors, hoping they would relax their vigilance Xarra, the droalked in front, while Feliane marched at the rear Seyll stayed close by Halisstra at all times, either a little before her or a little behind
"Where are you taking ed on
"A place we call the Dancing Stone," Seyll answered "It is sacred to Eilistraee"
"The forest looks all alike to me," said Halisstra "How can you tell one part of it from another?"
"We know this trail well," Seyll replied "In fact, we&039;re not all that far from where we first encountered you and your companions They aban-doned you, and haven&039;t been seen since that night"
Halisstra took a sip from her own flask to hide the smile that flitted across her features The apostate priestess had made a mistake, and she didn&039;t even realize it If they weren&039;t far from where she&039;d been captured, it stood to reason that she could follow the directions of Pharaun&039;s vision fro the Jaelre drow Regardless of what else she accoht, it had already been worth her while
They cae boul-ders Xarra crossed first, leaping lightly fro into the woods on the far side, keeping watch for any danger Seyll fol-lowed, a few steps ahead of Halisstra, her eyes on the uncertain footing beneath her Halisstra started to follow The rushing water was loud, even though the creek was shallow and not at all wide Thethe forest floor
Halisstra scented opportunity
She quickly hopped two rocks into the strea her next step Instead she pitched her voice low and began abae&039;qeshel song, the sound covered by the noisy creek Seyll continued to pick her way ahead, and behind Halisstra the surface elf Feliane stopped, waiting for her to cross
It was difficult with her hands bound, even as loosely as they were, but the power of the enchantment was in Halisstra&039;s voice, not her hands Even as Feliane lost patience and hopped forward to aid her, Halisstra turned around and fixed her red eyes on the pale girl&039;s face
"Angardh xorr feleal,"she hissed "Dear Feliane, would you draw your sword and free me of these troublesome bonds? I a priestess easily With a blank expres-sion, she drew her blade
"Of course," the elf h the cords on Halisstra&039;s wrists Halisstra glanced over her shoulder at Seyll and carefully moved to shield Feliane&039;s ith her body
"What&039;s wrong?" Seyll called
"Don&039;t answer," Halisstra whispered to the girl She kept her hands to-gether and turned carefully to face the priestess "A moment!" she called "I&039;m not certain of this step with lanced at the creek, then retraced her steps, leaping one rock to the next as she came back toward Halisstra and Feliane Halisstra twisted to look back at Feliane, standing behind her with her sword drawn
"Dear Feliane," she said sweetly, "htly, perhaps aware soed ht, but she extended the sword&039;s hilt to Halisstra Again concealing the movement with her body, Halisstra took the blade in her hand
"Here," said Seyll The Eilistraee priestess reached the next boulder and set her feet carefully, extending a hand "Take my arm, and I will steady you"
Halisstra spun with the quickness of a cat and buried Feliane&039;s sword beneath Seyll&039;s outstretched arasped in cold shock and cru from her perch to fall aardly in the icy stream She sluainst the stone, sitting waist deep in the rushing water
Halisstra withdrew the sword and turned back to Feliane, who stared at her with duirl," Halisstra snapped "Quick, run back to Elven-tree and fetch help! Go!"
The pale elf ed only one jerky nod before she whirled and raced off Halisstra leaped over Seyll&039;s rock and dashed quickly over the path Xarra, the younger drow priestess, e to find out what had delayed the others To her credit, Xarra took in the situation with a single glance She raised her crossbow and took quick ai inXarra&039;s quarrel hissed by her torso so closely she felt it tug at her coat as it flew past
"You irl," Halisstra snarled
Xarra dropped her crossbow and reached for her sword She died before the blade had cleared her scabbard, spitted through the throat Halisstra straightened and looked down at the body, her heart pounding The strea loudly beside her, and the air smelled of rain and wet leaves
What next? she wondered
Her prizedin Elventree, and as much as she wanted to recover her possessions, it didn&039;t seem likely that she would be able to without the assistance of the Menzoberranyr Her best move would be to arm herself as well as she could, take what provisions she could from Seyll and Xarra, and strike out in search of the Jaelre With luck she would find theers found her
Halisstra thrust the sword through her belt and ventured back out into the strea of use She splashed down into the cold streaathered her up beneath the aret a better look at her gear The ar over Seyll&039;s shoulder and the sword at her belt Halisstra began un-fastening theto strip it froroaned, "Halisstra "
Halisstra recoiled, startled above all else, and so the corpse of solanced down at the stone and studied a coursing rivulet of blood strea water of the creek The priest-ess&039;s breath sounded wet and shallow, and bright flecks of blood stained her lips
"I hope you will forgive me, Seyll, but I have need of your arms and armor, and you will be dead in a very short tiracious invitation to join your observances tonight, as I have pressing business elsewhere in the forest"
"Theothers?" Seyll gasped
"Xarra had the decency to die swiftly and without aard conversa-tion The surface girl I char off into the forest"
Halisstra unbuckled Seyll&039;s sword belt and dragged it loose, setting it well out of the dying drow&039;s reach She set to work on the ars
"While I admire your determination to save me from myself, Seyll, I can&039;t believe you didn&039;t see this as a likely outcome of your attempt to convert me"
"A riskwe are allprepared to take," Seyll ed "No one is beyond rede more and reached up to interfere with Halis-stra&039;s work, but the Melarn priestess simply batted her hands away
"A foolish risk, then Lolth has punished your faithlessness through my hand, apostate," Halisstra said She pulled off Seyll&039;s boots and undid the leggings of her mail "Tell me, was it worth it, to follow the path that led you to a cold and pointless death here in this miserable forest?"
To Halisstra&039;s surprise, Seyll sth
"Worth it? Uponazed up into Halisstra&039;s face "I have hope for you still," she whispered "Do notconcern yourselfwith me Ihave beenredeemed"
Her eyes closed for the final ti halted
Halisstra paused in her work She had expected anger, resentiveness? What power did the Dark Maiden hold over her worshipers that they could die with a blessing for their enemies on their lips?
Seyll turned away froh eance Yet Seyll died with calm assurance, as if she had escaped Lolth finally and co of her life
"The Spider Queen take your soul," she said to the dead priestess, but somehow she doubted that Lolth would
"A swift march is our surest path to victory," Andzrel Baenre said, ad-dressing the assembled priestesses
Nimor stood to one side and watched the Baenre weapons master, one of only a handful of males invited to take counsel with the assereat Houses, and no less than sixteen of the minor ones, were represented in the hastily mustered Army of the Black Spider, named for the banners under which they h priestesses - at least one froh priestesses froreat co Andzrel like predatory cats while reclining, sitting, or standing as rank and opportu-nity dictated Nimor and the other few males stood, of course No h priestess re
"We lead some four thousand drow soldiers and twenty-five hundred slave soldiers into battle By all reports it would seear army that marches up froar in a fair fight, of course" The word "fair" sent a wave of chuckles echoing through the tent Andzrel used a slender baton to direct their attention to a large nificantly stronger than our own by picking the right ground to fight for The place ill halt the duergar advance is here, at the Pillars of Woe"
"If I decide that your plan has o of House Barrison Del&039;Arment, but I intend to think for myself, boy"
A tall, powerful fe priestess present and nominally in command of the entire ex-pedition Each of the Houses had contributed soents in battle, ranging frohters and matronNimor in his role as Zhayemd Dyrr - co to the endless details of organizing the army of Menzoberranzan
"My cousin presents House Baenre&039;s views, Matron Mez&039;Barris," Zal&039;therra Baenre rasped "Matron Triel endorses the weapons master&039;s battle plan"
Foremost of Triel Baenre&039;s cousins, Zal&039;therra looked nothing like the petite Matron Mother of House Baenre She was tall and broadly built in the shoulders, a strapping female with a remarkable a manner She and Mez&039;Barris were two of a kind in physique, yet the Matron Mother of House Del&039;Ar more than a sullen streak in the Baenre priestess Mez&039;Barris fixed her red eyes on the younger woman, but did not respond
Andzrel knew better than to speak while the two feh a
"Here is Rhazzt&039;s Dilerach Dyrr reported the duergar vanguard yesterdayIt lies about twenty-five miles south of the Pillars of Woe, at the lower end of the canyon Assuar to storm the outpost and force the entrance by soar are hearty soldiers and can , but they&039;re slow, and their are engines Ascending the gorge will be difficult going It seeain, they should reach the Pillars in five days - ray dwarves haven&039;t overrun the outpost al-ready?" a priestess of Tuin&039;Tarl asked
"We do not, Mistress Tuin&039;Tarl The duergar wizards and clerics are preventing our efforts to scry the surroundings, a common tactic in war-fare of this sort" Andzrel nodded to Nimor and added, "That is why it is essential to deploy a screen of capable scouts, to find out through rach Dyrr is charged with the command of our reconnaissance"
Andzrel waited a moment to see if the priestess had any more questions, then went on, "In any event, our array dwarves, and we have a uard to reach the Pillars of Woe three to four days froar will never break our defenses As you can see, it is so of a race, and therefore we should make all possible speed"
"What plan do you have for battle, Zal&039;therra?" asked another priest-ess, the ent
Nimor smiled at the remark Zal&039;therra had certainly been instructed by Triel to rely on her House weapons h priestesses naturally talked past Andzrel as if he wasn&039;t even there
"Andzrel will present it," the Baenre priestess replied, as if she&039;d just finished explaining it all to hienius
If the weapons ht, he did not show it