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Aliisza wasn&039;t sure how Kaanyr would receive her latest news, but it didn&039;t slow her steps Tarrying to deliver it served no purpose He would find out eventually, and she et on to other, s Besides, she wasn&039;t really troubled by the prospect of the caht fly off the handle from time to time, but he knew better than to direct it at her Whether or not he flew into a rage this tiht just soothe his ruffled feathers and give her a bit of fun, besides

Passing through the great doorway and into the throne roo on his throne, but he was not He paced in front of it, which s on his ood idea what those things were

"Any ?" she asked as she approached him

Vhok looked up froh her for a moment, and at last said, "All I&039;ve been able to determine at the moment is that they don&039;t seeood"

"Good? Why?" Aliisza asked She ht you liked the idea of a little sport for the Legions You tolda bit staid around - "

"Because so on," Kaanyr interrupted, "and because they were responsible for wiping out the patrol to the northeast"

Aliisza had been about to stretch out, hoping to distract Kaanyr from all of this serious discussion for a few ht

"That wasn&039;t just a roving band of duergar," Vhok continued, "they were professional mercenaries The Xornbane clan, if the evidence is correct They don&039;t go anywhere withoutbattles in the works"

Aliisza pursed her lips in thought

"So if they aren&039;t h I already have an idea, I was hoping you could telldown at the alu-fiend, "Where are aze

"I wasn&039;t able to convince them to join us," she said carefully, "and after they defeated ht it wise not to pursue the matter so directly"

"Defeated? Wiped out is more like it"

Kaanyr&039;s tone was measured, and Aliisza could tell he was displeased

So he already knew, did he? Is he spying on lad she&039;d been up front with hie the truth a bit, to tell him that the tanarukks had not followed her instructions, but in the end, so to have to start being a little more careful with Vhok

"They are formidable," she answered at last "The wizard with the He&039;s the one I spoke with, and it was definitely he who plowed through the Legions Drow are forin with, and it was a tactical error on e chaetting up off the floor and out of range Pharaun laid waste to the troops without ht"

"I&039; her explanation away Aliisza scowled at the insult but said nothing "It&039;s probably just as well It seeray dwarves are bound and determined to reach Ched Nasad, which is where our little visitors are headed, as well, I think We weren&039;t going to dissuade theed Legions, as well as some of your sisters, to bear"

"I did find out a coupleher idea on Vhok "They are all high-ranking nobles from Menzoberranzan, not just the priestess The wizard is powerful enough to be a s he admitted to convinced me that most of the others are of si, but I probably would have inferred that from the fact that the Mistress of the Acadein with It still doesn&039;t tellIt rays are on the move"

"Well, I have an idea aboutthat," Aliisza said, reaching the ree with her plan or choose to use so to do when they reach Ched Nasad, they all seerim Whatever it is, it&039;s serious, and I bet they aren&039;t the only drow in the city who are in the know about it So why don&039;t I sneak into Ched Nasad and snoop around a little?"

Kaanyr looked at Aliisza, pursing his lips She wasn&039;t sure if he was thinking about her idea or just studying her to see if she was up to so Of course she intended to do just what she said, so he had no reason not to trust her on it, but if she had a little fun on the side, well then, ould be the harm in that? She needed a vacation from Ammarindar, froood, too, she thought

"All right," he said at last, and the alu-fiend grinned broadly before she caught herself "Go and see what you can find out In fact, I want you to drop in on Aunrae If there&039;s so on, the matron mothers will be in the know I&039;d like to keep ood terms, at least for the moment, so be polite And keep me updated I don&039;t want to have to come find you to see what you&039;ve learned"

Aliisza was nodding energetically as she stood up and headed out the door

"I will," she prouise she&039;d like to use

As Khorrl felt the wagon finally roll to a stop, he al where he&039;d wedged hi spot beneath the pile of supplies He could barely stand to be there uer that the tripwas actually over He couldn&039;t i to crouch there for even another few on was thrown back, and dioods stacked beneath it Of course, to anyone not properly prepared, that&039;s all they would have seen - a wagon-load of supplies for the city Khorrl waited as he listened, not daring to move, in case it was merely another checkpoint He didn&039;t even want to breathe, for fear of being heard by whoon

"It&039;s all right," he heard a drow voice say, and he recognized it as belonging to Za who he was talking to "You can show yourselves, now We&039;re inside the storehouse"

With a thankful groan, Khorrl rose up, feeling his knees coar did the sa back into visibility one by one They looked at each other, as if to confiran to peer around at their surroundings Khorrl hi his axe as he did so Nearby, hters appeared, cla out from between crates, barrels, and bales of foodstuffs He knew that there were over twenty wagons, so he had about three hundred troops More would arrive, in waves, over the course of the next several hours

As Zae, open roooods there other than as on the wagons Ostensibly, the contents of the wagons were for the benefit of the Houses, but in reality, it was his ar there for a few days, resting and preparing while the other duergar units arrived, all of the until it was time to do their job Khorrl hoped the storehouses would be left undisturbed, as proons in order to free their hidden occupants or unloading the supplies and stacking the a couple of wagons over, giving so drow male a few instructions When the dark elf was finished, he turned back to the duergar clan leader

"I hope you find everything in order here, Captain Xornbane," Za it in the wilds of the Underdark, but it should acco as no one coin The last thing we need is the city catching wind of us before your mistress is ready to fly her true colors"

Khorrl paced about as he spoke, trying to get the feeling back in his legs ashis te to be a proble Khorrl wanted to tell hiar of a pack lizard&039;s visage "I&039;ve got loyal drow troops on guard duty around the storehouse, and you&039;re sequestered here in the far back chamber No one will bother you"

"If you say so," Khorrl answered doubtfully He had seen h theawry "Just reave one, shipped off to safer parts If you&039;re thinking of turning the tables, you won&039;t be seeing it again It&039;ll be an expensive betrayal"

Zaenuinely hurt, but only for a moment

"I&039;m not sure you realize the risksan army here," said the drow "If you&039;re discovered, she too suffers the consequences It really isn&039;t in her best interests to turn on you, you know"

"Hmm," Khorrl answered "We&039;ll see"

"So, I presu the subject, "but if there&039;s anything else you hile you wait here, now is the ti you "

Khorrl barked a deep laugh despite hi his troops into such an uncertain situation without arranging for every provision, every possible contingency, was funny

"No, we&039;re fine Nohen are we going to find out just exactly e&039;re supposed to be killing?"

"Soon, ain "Very soon"

In the end, the battle with the tanarukks wasn&039;t ht at all Pharaun had devastated rank upon rank of the slavering hu so far as to deci in the back He honestly didn&039;t even find it sporting, especially when he was able to hover overhead, out of their reach, and attack them at his leisure

The Menzoberranyr ell beyond the halls of A in on Ched Nasad

"We should be running into patrols by now," Faeryl gru "We&039;re within a quarter "

"I think we knew that before we left Menzoberranzan," Quenthel snapped

The group found itself on the hfare that led into the city fro when they would actually reach the surrounding outskirts of the city proper, the area protected by patrols Pharaun couldn&039;t bla apprehensive Even after several tendays of concern for her hoht have held out so in order upon finally arriving Still, he doubted that soh they hadn&039;t yet encountered any patrols, they were no longer alone on the road to the city

Traffic flowing to and from Ched Nasad was a trickle of its nor to the ambassador Pharaun didn&039;t doubt it The avenue they folloas broad, wide enough for numerous caravans to pass in either direction, but there were no such convoys out and about that day Most of those who shared the road with the Menzoberranyr were other drow, though the occasional gray dwarf, kobold, or goblin passed theave the droide berth Any pedestrians ere headed toward the city were scattered just as far apart as those leaving, and Pharaun and his coe estion he had been conte has happened here, siht be prudent to consider a less obvious entrance into the city"

"What do yousharply atPharaun

"Only that should we boldly approach and announce our stature and intentions, we ht not receive the elcome we should under lad to see us? Even relieved?"