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Aliisza, disguised as a lovely drow fe the side of a street leading to the plaza, and she watched the cos of the citizens, slaves, and visitors of Ched Nasad The store offered fashionable, decorative silk wraps and other clothing, but the fiend crouching on its rounded, cocoonlike roof was not interested ina purchase Instead, she watched intently as Pharaun and the other two drow hter of one of their own race and strolled calmly in the other direction She observed them as they disappeared down one of the calcified webs that served as a street in the unusual city When they were ale point and strode off after them

Aliisza was not terribly surprised that the three dark elves she was shadowing had not aided the drunken priestess She had seen far too much nonchalance in the city since she had arrived for it to strike her as odd Still, she got the distinct i a great effort to avoid drawing attention to itself She intended to find out why, but first things first

The alu could not help but s the wizard and his co to shop for trinkets in the bazaars and markets She studied the myriad lines of calcified webs that stretched across fro faintly with ht as far as the eye could see She half expected to see so its way across the vast webbing

They sure do love their spiderthey do revolves around the great Lolth, Queen of the Spiders You&039;d think they would learn to diversify a little bit, try to becorinned at her own little joke Droere such odd creatures, she decided On the one hand so deceitful and chaotic, always turning on one another, but on the other hand trying to live their lives by some code or structure, based on the tenets of faith set down by a demon as as unpredictable as could possibly be

At least they universally agree on one thing, the alu concluded, they all think they&039;re superior to every other species in the Underdark, and on the surface, too

Aliisza watched as a gaggle of kobold slaves, pushed along by their hobgoblin slavemasters, scurried from one web street down a sloped ramp to the next web street below All in all, she had seen ine being gathered anywhere else The "lesser races" outnuured, and included surface dwarves, orcs, quaggoths, bugbears, and others, almost all of theray dwarves, who traded honestly enough with the drow that they were tolerated in the city as merchants In addition, Aliisza had seen an aboleth with its host of caretakers, illithids, grell, and what she suspected uised as a dark elf, she detected the unmistakable scent as it strolled by

The one notable exception to the eclectic collection of visitors were the beholders, for which Aliisza was not in the least sorry

There&039;s a race that&039;s even more fond of itself than the dark elves, if that&039;s even possible, the alu thought

Eye tyrants were nothing but trouble as far as Aliisza was concerned, but fortunately they were in a perpetual state of ith the drow, so none were ever seen in the vicinity If she had caught even a glireat V-shaped cavern, she would have turned and headed the opposite direction as quickly as was fiendishly possible

The alu blinked, realizing that with all her daydrea around, she spotted the trio of drow heading along a segment of web street toward a wall, into an out-of-the-way part of the city She realized that they were in the h that Pharaun and the others were headed for an inn set along the end of the dead-end thoroughfare

Good, she thought Now I can keep an eye on thehts and sounds for a few days Maybe I can even get the wizard alone for a little while

Faeryl Zauvirr brooded on the plush bed while Quenthel stalked back and forth in the rooh priestess didn&039;t like to be kept waiting during the best of ti in the e city, tendays away from her homeland, and by threesred rend him the moment he returns

But she knew she couldn&039;t eliminate the wizard or even allow him to be injured As much as she loathed the situation, Quenthel knew she was dependent on Pharaun as a resource

Bute return to Menzoberranzan

The unfinished thought hovered in her mind, not so much because she didn&039;t knoas to be done with the irritating e but because she didn&039;t knohen, or if, she would see her ho since she&039;d last felt the presence of Lolth, had last bathed in the goddess&039;s glory and favor, that she wondered if she even properly reone?

Stop it! Quenthel silently scolded herself If you are being rested, fool, then right now, your score is not high Not high at all Even if she did send you back for a purpose

Jeggred opened the door and entered, stooping as he did so to avoid the low ja the door shut behind him

"Where in the Hells were they?" Quenthel asked, still pacing

"They went for a walk," the draegloth answered, shrugging

Quenthel looked over at the creature, as leering at Faeryl The ambassador looked miserable under the fiend&039;s scrutiny, and Quenthel wanted to laugh, res Triel had told her about the Zauvirr&039;s torture at the hands of Jeggred Even so, this was not the ti, or must I send you to fetch the away froe toldhe needed to look over before they joined us" Even down on his haunches, the draegloth was as tall as the high priestess His white mane of hair cascaded out behind hi so from its surface with the hand of one of his s," he finished, not looking up

Quenthel swore, drawing a look froh priestess didn&039;t care

Out carousing, like foolish boys! she seethed When we return, they shall be putto work in the rothe fields

There was a knock at the door, and Quenthel stopped pacing at last, planting her hands on her hips as Jeggred rose to answer it When he swung the portal open, Pharaun, Valas, and Ryld filed in Quenthel was surprised to see the grim looks on the faces of the three males

Before anyone had a chance to speak, Pharaun flashed,Soic No one say a word until I ward the room

With that, he produced a small mirror and a tiny brass horn and used theh Quenthel could not see any visible difference Nor that she expected to, but the idea of the wizard perfor he did, made her uneasy

"The city is about to boil over," Pharaun said when he was finished casting He took a seat on the couch and avoided looking directly at Quenthel

He knows he&039;s about to catch it, the high priestess thought

"What do youout there, anyway? Didn&039;t I instruct you to get so meal?"

"Actually, you did not, Mistress," Pharaun answered as the other two found places to lean against the far wall "You said thatyou were going to rest, and you specifically told us to leave you alone Under such circu you with trivialities like a refreshing walk"

Quenthel sighed Once again the wizard isting her words around, using the us, I can&039;t say Itout so on Then again, it could have been someone specifically worried about us I didn&039;t see as scrying When I returned, I pulled out , though not stop it fronal, everyonethat the wizard was taking wise precautions

"Very well," she said "What did you discover while you were strolling through the city that makes you believe it is about to &039;boil over&039;?"

"It&039;s true," Valas said quietly fro restless We witnessed an attack today"

"So what?" the high priestess responded "They squabble a the of theh at whoh to kill her in front of everyone in an open plaza"

"They would dare?" It was Faeryl, sitting on the edge of the bed, her red eyes glittering with anger, "And you did nothing?"

"Truth be told, she was quite inebriated," Pharaun said, reclining on the couch "Still, she provided us with the proof we needed Ched Nasad&039;s clergy suffers the saes that you do, Mistress"

Quenthel had folded her arms beneath her breasts andto aid her?" she asked, turning her gaze toward the other two uilt on their faces

Pharaun shrugged and said, "To have interfered would have only drawn attention to the fact that ere in the city, Mistress If we are to continue to investigate, we mustforward again, "she was pleading for Lolth to return to her, right there in the open courtyard She had clearly lost her resolution and was not, in oddess"

"In your - !" Faeryl seethed "The opinion of a mere male is counted upon for very little in most issues In the matters of the sisterhood, ita step toward the wizard With a gesture frored was instantly between them The ambassador shrank back from her one-time tormentor

"Faeryl, my dear, in this you are usually correct," Quenthel said in hervoice It was one she rarely used, but in this instance she believed it arranted For his part, Pharaun gaped at her, which h priestess continued "The wizard is actually correct, though he may have stumbled upon this conclusion accidentally, addled with brandy though his mind seems to be I understand your fears, but you ic If a priestess loses her faith in such a public spectacle, does she do her sisterhood any service?"

Faeryl shook her head as she backed away fro to her spot on the bed

"No, of course not," she mumbled at last "She shames us all with her cowardice"

"Precisely," Quenthel said, nodding sagely, "and as foolish as it was for them to be out and about in the first place, these three silly boys would have only caused ress if they had ive my impudence, Mistress Quenthel," Faeryl said, her tone dreary "I have returned home to find my city on the brink of implosion, where thralls dare to assault priestesses in open markets As you love Menzoberranzan, your city and homeland, so I love Ched Nasad and do not wish to see her coot myself in a y with a wave of her hand

"Understandable, in this time of crisis," she said, "but you must learn to control that emotion if we are to move forward"

"Do I take it, then, that you believe there is still h priestess answered, pacing onceto hear what the rest of you think, before I make my decision"

It was Valas who spoke first

"I think it&039;s unsafe to re, Mistress," the diminutive scout said "We have discovered e came here to learn, and I think it would be wise to return to Menzoberranzan before riots fill the streets and we get caught up in another slave revolt, or worse"

"I agree with Valas," Ryld added "It is clear toof Lolth less well than you and yours back home There is little they can do for us"

Quenthel looked to Pharaun, knowing he would have so completely different and unorthodox inthe other two ate further Valas opened my eyes to another possible avenue of study, one that I would like to take advantage of There are other races who venerate the Dark Mother besides drow, and it would behoove us to discover whether or nor they, too, suffer her loss"

Quenthel nodded and said, "An interesting idea, but not one of much practicality We are not loved by many others, and I doubt that those orship Lolth would too freely impart such secretive infor ourselves, even to the dark elves of our sister city However, as there is still business I consider unfinished here, ill not be going just yet"

"Yes, precisely," Pharaun replied "While you&039;re busy with all that, I plan to at least look into ht know of a way to confirm it by tomorrow"

"I have other work for you toaze "Faeryl, Jeggred, and I shall pay a visit to the storehouses of Black Claw Mercantile and take what rightfully belongs to House Baenre while the three of you find a et out of the city with those goods as quickly as possible The caravans are long overdue in Menzoberranzan, and we are here to make sure due payment isan arguain

Pharaun was surprised when Quenthel asked hi the rest of the group, along with specific instructions to Jeggred to keep an eye on Faeryl, instructions that made the ambassadoractually tremble The wizard stood silently as Quenthel closed the door, then he cocked an eyebrow at her when she asked him if his detection spells were still in place

"Yes, as a e responded "The divination should reh priestess said, nodding in satisfaction "You&039;re pretty talented with divining inforrin but sat on the couch as he spread his hands ingenuously, wondering why she, of all droould pay hiet by," he said

"I want you to do so her lip

Pharaun tipped his head to one side, surprised, for it was not at all like her, especially in recent tendays, to pay him a co way froive the wizard leverage if he could perforenuine task for her, but of course the first notion that popped into his head was the prospect of being played Shrugging, he thy pause, the high priestess said, "I want you to determine the identity of someone"

" &039;Someone?&039; " Pharaun asked "Surely you have more forher lip again, "soht on the couch, looking directly at the female in front of him

"Kill you?"

He was surprised, not because it was so inconceivable that Quenthel was the target of an attack - ht with it a host of eneh with this confidence and the task If that was indeed what shereally wanted Maybe she was just trying to occupy his ti else A hundred possibilities swirled in his head

"Someone back in Menzoberranzan sent several deht into the Academy Fortunately, my proas sufficient to fend off the attacks, but I would like to put a stop to them before we return It is a waste of both the lives of ic I have been forced to consu Soh to bend demons to his will had to coes in the school of ic had the ithal, but howQuenthel Baenre?

"I will look into it," the Master of Sorcere said "If I can determine who sent the fiends in your direction, you will be the first to know it"

"Good," Quenthel said "You will tell no one of this, not even the other members of our expedition"

"Of course not, Mistress," Pharaun replied "This issue is between the two of us, and the two of us only"

"Very well," the high priestess said, indicating that thewas at an end "Ferret out my enemy, and e return to Menzoberranzan in triumph, I will make certain you are duly honored for your part Your future at Tier Breche will be as bright as Narbondel"

Pharaun bowed low as a gesture of thanks

If by that youspells, he thought, then we shall see

"I look forward to the accolades, Mistress Quenthel," the e said aloud, and with that he pulled the door open for her and followed her out to attend to the eveningover his inability to peer into the De spells had been successful, and he was growing irritated He was considering ways to get around this dilee arrived It was a nized Pharaun Mizzryically transmitted voice

Reached Ched Nasad City in chaos;new possibility, more information next communication Quenthel to visit Black Claw tohtened at the mention of his sister

Hopefully, she will not coe knew of the spell the other wizard was using to communicate, and he are that he could whisper an answer to his counterpart Unfortunately, he had not prepared for this Thinking quickly, he whispered a few instructions

"Focus attention on gathering information to aid our own situation Keep me apprised of all new possibilities Report on success at Black Claith next -

" - contact," Gromph finished, but he knew that the spell had winked out before he&039;d runtled, but he knew the Mizzryardless Whether he would follow those instructions or not was an entirely different matter

The Baenre wizard sat back in his chair, conte what condition the expedition team was likely to be in He especially wondered how his sister fared and if the strain of his own attacks, coupled with the journey, had taken their toll He certainly hoped so

He suspected that she and Pharaun were clashing on a regular basis The wizard was too independent, too full of hih priestess, and she had been too long inside the Acade to listen to advice, no e thought, frowning

It often seemed to Gromph as if both of his sisters made poor decisions for no other purpose than to spite others Even if Quenthel did survive her journey, Grohter when she returnedIf she returned If Quenthel were to lead the expedition into disaster in Ched Nasad, it would certainly be to Groe He could be rid of both her and the Mizzry blow Yet, the fate of Menzoberranzantheether the wisest choice?

Still uncertain what his next step would be regarding his own investigations of Lolth&039;s domain, but with a whole new set of issues to deal with, Gromph arose from behind his bone desk and hurried to find his sister

Triel scowled slightly when she saw Gromph enter the audience chah her brother was hardly some common supplicant, she had hoped to avoid any visitations for a while The e throne as her brother approached The arch the matron mother She liked everyone to keep a little distance

Gro in so as to nearly whisper, "Triel, I have news"