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"And why should my aunt trust anyone who sends adisdainfully down her nose at Zammzt
The drow priestess reclined imperiously upon an overstuffed couch that had been further padded with an assortment of plush fabrics, as ht the slender dark elf should have looked oddly out of place in the richly appointed private lounge, dressed as she was in her finely crafted chain shirt and with her ed to appear as though she was counted a House Unnamed&039;s most exclusive clientele Quorlana wrinkled her nose in distaste; she knehich House Eliss&039;pra represented, and she found that the haughty drow reclining opposite her exhibited a little bit too much of her aunt&039;s superior affectations
Za the other dark elf&039;s concern
"My ifts that she hopes express her complete and enthusiastic sincerity in this matter," he said "She also wishes me to inforreee your own fears, as well," he added hat he h Quorlana found it to beZammzt was not a handsome male at all
"Your &039; both appellations and nareed at the outset, "is asking for a great deal from my aunt, indeed from each of the Houses represented here Gifts are not nearly a generous enough token of trust Youjust to Quorlana&039;s right "My grandmother will not even consider this alliance without some serious proof that House - " The drow male, dressed in a rather plainpii, snapped his nia proclai He caught his breath and continued, "Ithese funds you speak of"
He seeed a name, but the ht," Dylsinae added from Quorlana&039;s other side, her s from the scented oils that she habitually slathered on herself Her gauzy, hugging dress contrasted sharply with Eliss&039;pra&039;s ar in hedonistic pleasures Her sister, the matron mother, was perhaps even more decadent "None of those e represent will lift a finger until you give us so our own heads on pikes There are far e in than rebellion," Dylsinae finished, stretching languidly
Quorlana wished she were not sitting quite so close to the harlot The perfueneral distaste for the other four drow, Quorlana agreed with theroup
"If my mother were to ally our own House with you other four lesser Houses against our common enemies, she would need certain assurances that ould not be left by the rest of you to dangle as scapegoats the moment events turned difficult I&039; exists"
"Believeto make eye contact with each of them in turn, "I understand your concerns and your reluctance As I said, these gifts I have been ordered to bestow upon your Houses are but a small token of my mistress&039;s commitment to this alliance"
He reached inside hispiiand produced a scroll tube, and a rather ornate one, at that After slipping a fat roll of parchment from the tube, he unfurled the scroll Quorlana sat forward in her own chair, suddenly curious as to what the dark elfthe contents of his stack of curled parch, re them to each co-conspirator in turn When he handed Quorlana her sheaf, she took it froht be inlaid in the pages She eyed them carefully, but her suspicions were dispelled; they were spells, not curses He was offering theifts!
Quorlana felt elation rise up into her Such a treasure was priceless in days of such uncertainty and unease The Dark Mother&039;s absence had put a strain on every priestess orshiped her Quorlana herself had not been able to weave her own divine ic in four ten-days, and she broke out into a sweat every tiht on it But with scrolls, the fear, the anxiety, the sense of hopelessness ht be staved off, at least for a time
It was only with the ute to read through the scrolls there and then Forcing herself to remember whom she served, at least for the moment, she instead pocketed the parchment sheets inside herpiiand turned her attention back to the clandestine gathering in front of her
"The only other proof strong enough to convince you of our sincerity would bethe h none of the other dark elves see the least bit of attention to him
Eliss&039;pra and Dylsinae were both wide-eyed with the sah not as personally thrilled - the spells orthless to hiifts
"It should be obvious to each of you," Zammzt continued, "that once our House approaches outsiders, there is no turning back We would be coe of alliance That,the cart before the lizard"
"Nonetheless," Eliss&039;pra answered, still sazed on the scrolls in her hands, "that is precisely what youyour allies"
"Yes," Dylsinae agreed
Nadal nodded his concurrence
"I thinkto accept those terms Especially after she sees these," Quorlana voiced her assent, then gestured at the scrolls tucked away in herpii"Most definitely if there are more where these came from"
How in the Underdark do they have precious scrolls to spare? she wondered
Za I very ree to this, but if she is willing, I will procure the services of theyou the proof"
No one spoke They were all one step away from the point of no return, and despite the fact that none of them were actually in a position to ht of that decision just as heavily
"Then ill ain after you have hired the ar from her couch "Until then, I don&039;t wish to see any of you near htly, the drow priestess stalked out of the private lounge
One by one, the others also departed, even Zammzt, until Quorlana was alone in the room
Our time has coe The great Houses of Ched Nasad will fall, and ours will rise up to take their place Our time has come at last
Aliisza was so used to the tanarukks&039; constant grunting, snarling, and slavering that she rarely heard it anymore, so the quiet that surrounded her as she strode alone along the dwarven thoroughfare was noticeable Being out and about in ancient Ammarindar without an escort of the half-fiend, half-orc hordes was a refreshing change Kaanyr rarely asked her to - she refused to say "let" - do anything without an arotten how pleasant solitude really was Still, as ht be, she had a purpose, and it quickened her steps
Sheand broad boulevard, which had been hewn by long-dead dwarves froh she barely noticed it, the craftsle was perfect, every column and cornice was thick and finely decorated with runes and stylized ies of the stout folk At the tere chaulfed a small surface town She turned into a side tunnel that would allow her to cut across several es and reach the avenue that would take her directly to Kaanyr&039;s palace, deep in the center of the old city It still surprised her how empty the city could be, even with all of the Sceptered One&039;s Scourged Legions roa around She crossed the avenues and found the path she wanted, then hurried toward the palace
A pair of tanarukk guards flanked the doorway into the throne rooreen humanoids were hunched over as usual, their proe lower jaws as they peered at her with their squinty red eyes To Aliisza, it ale forward and ra foreheads Aliisza knew that with herfrom atop those foreheads were no threat to her, but still the creatures seemed uncertain of who she was, for they kept their battle-axes crossed before the opening as she approached Finally, just before it see to have to slow her pace and say so - which would have made her very cross - the two coarse-haired, nearly naked beasts stepped aside and allowed her to enter without breaking her stride She s howthrough several outer chambers, Aliisza crossed the threshold into the throne roo on his throne, a great, hideous chair constructed of the bones of his ene, she was reminded of how crass it was She knew tooatop a pile of bones to be solory, but in her opinion, it exhibited no class, no subtlety It was Kaanyr Vhok&039;s single biggest lack of vision
Kaanyr had thrown one leg over the ar in his cupped hand, elbow against his knee He was staring off into the upper reaches of the cha and oblivious to her
Aliisza alan to saunter provocatively as she closed the distance between the his for hair was roguishly disheveled and, coave hi, if somewhat devil-may-care, half-elf Aliisza crooked herin thehimself off on the surface world as a member of that fair race
Kaanyr finally heard his consort&039;s footsteps and looked up at her, his features brightening, though whether it was siht of her or the news she bore, she was not sure She reached the first steps of the dais and cli just a hint of a pout to creep into her visage
"Ah, my delectable one, you&039;ve co hiue at hi distance to plop herself down atop his lap
"You never just ravishher backside as she settled "You only love me for the work I do for you"
"Oh, that&039;s not fair, little one," Vhok replied, running his hand lovingly down one of her black, shiny leather wings "Nor is it particularly true"
With that, he reached up with his other hand, and placing it behind her lustrous black curls, crushed her to hi kiss For the briefest ofone of the infinite variations of the gaht was short-lived His hand strayed down her throat to the hollow of her neck, and it continued lower still She practically buzzed at his touch, and she knew that with the news she brought him, such flirtations would only break the spell
As it was, Kaanyr still pulled away after a h Tell me what you found out"
This tis and elsewhere left her panting slightly, and important news or not, she was not ready to be cast aside so quickly She considered withholding the infore that she was not to be trifled with He ht rule this place, but she was not his servant She was consort, she was advisor, and she was free to find another lover, should he cease to satisfy her Satisfying an alu - the daughter of a succubus and a hue feere up to Kaanyr was one of those few She decided to tell him her news
"They haven&039;t veered froh it&039;s apparent they knoe&039;re closing in Their scouts have spotted our skirmishers and have continued to avoid contact We will have theainst the Araumycos, soon"
"You&039;re certain they&039;re not here to spy or to ar? No quick strikes before vanishing into the wilds?"
Kaanyr was absently stroking one of her wings as he asked this, and the alu-fiend shivered in delight He seemed not to notice her reaction
"Fairly certain They are apparently headed southeast, toward Ched Nasad Each time we cut off their route, they seek out another They see to that path"
"Yet, they are not a caravan," he said "They don&039;t have goods or pack anihtly ar The question is, what?"
Aliisza shivered again, though this time it was as much from the anticipation of the next bit of news as fro
"Oh, definitely not a caravan," she told hie I think I&039;ve seen wanderingaround the wilds They have a draegloth with theht into Aliisza&039;s eyes, and asked, "A draegloth? Are you sure?"
When the alu nodded, he pursed his lips
"Interesting This just getsFirst, we haven&039;t seen a drow caravan of any sort in the last few tendays Finally, when a party of drowdoventure out, they co they would normally avoid like the stink on a dretch, and lastly, they have a draegloth acco them, which means drow noble Houses are somehow personally involved What in the Nine Hells are they up to?"