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The wizard glanced over to Ryld, who still looked weakened froht with the spider Nonetheless, he had his hand on the hilt of Splitter and was stepping forward, ready to coe But Pharaun could tell by the warrior&039;s expression that he was trying to determine just how badly he really wanted to choose sides at this juncture
Jeggred whipped his head around and snarled, "Don&039;t even think about it, weapons master I will tear out your stomach and feast upon it if you interfere"
Ryld&039;s expression tightened as he took offense at the draegloth&039;s threats, but Pharaun gave a quick, subtle shake of his head to warn the warrior off
"MistressQuenthel, since you are so passionate about recovering your valuables," Pharaun said, trying to make his voice sound jovial, "then let&039;s make haste, before the opportunity is wasted"
Quenthel s successfully asserted herself and regained the upper hand
"I knew you would appreciate the i away
"So, wizard, how do you propose we cross over to the Flaside Pharaun "What et us there quickly and safely?"
"None, Mistress Baenre," Pharaun replied in all seriousness "I have consuic for the day, and I&039;et out of the city"
"That&039;s not good enough, Mizzry his lips "Let roup wait here and rest It&039;s out of the way, fairly easily defended, and I can find you again when I coet me to the inn and back quickly, I just can&039;t take all of you with , and Pharaun wondered if, as often as she frowned so severely, the high priestess even realized she wassuch a face
"Very well," Quenthel said at last, nodding "Do not dawdle"
"Oh, I don&039;t intend to The less chance there is of large chunks of this doo atop me, the better off I&039;ll feel"
Quenthel turned and explained the plan to the rest of the group Everyone nodded in agreement, ready for a respite
Ryld pulled Pharaun aside and asked, "Youare co back, aren&039;t you?"
Pharaun cocked an eyebrow and replied, "Besides having a fondness for you, et to the bottom of this mystery My chances are better with you all than without"
Ryld looked at hi
"Be careful," he said, turning to find a seat against a wall of the alley, his crossbow out
"How do you intend tocross the city?" Halisstra asked
Her face was drawn and tired Still, her eyes glittered red, as with so that I can use to get there and back again fairly quickly," Pharaun answered "Unfortunately, I would be much better off if I were not visible, but I have already played that particular trick today"
"Maybe I can help," the daughter of what once was House Melarn said "Mistress Quenthel, that wand you just confiscated from me would serve us well, with your approval"
"What is it?" the high priestess asked, seely pleased by the deference shown her
"A spell that will render him invisible, even should he attack a foe," Halisstra replied "I assure you, it will not harm him"
Quenthel scowled and looked at Pharaun for some sort of confirmation The wizard nodded He still believed the two feroup were trustworthy, and they certainly wouldn&039;t be in much of a position to turn on the rest of themnow
"Very well," Quenthel said
She produced the wand and passed it back to the other feh priestess She targeted her wand at Pharaun
"Wait," the wizard said
He produced a feather fro, he enchanted hi the feather back into its custoo ahead It&039;s always easier to cast when you can see your own hands"
She sy from the wand In but a moment, Pharaun was totally invisible Halisstra offered the wand back to Quenthel
"No," the high priestess said, shaking her head "You can keep it I think you learned your lesson"
"Yes, Mistress," Halisstra said with a smile that did not reach her eyes She tucked the wand away and went to sit down once more, beside Danifae
"I&039;ll be back shortly," Pharaun said
He rose into the air before anyone could think to reply
Danifae watched as the wizard disappeared, and she sensed when he departed the alley Shaking her head, she sat back and watched the weapons er to be away froe lot I&039;ve wound up with, she decided They are coroup of dark elves I&039;ve ever seen
The battle captive looked over at Quenthel, as speaking quietly with the draegloth, Jeggred
She&039;s certainly an interesting one, Danifae decided
It wasn&039;t the first tih priestess - confident yet blustering at everything and everyone
Still, Danifae thought, letting her eyes linger appreciatively over Quenthel&039;s forhts Halisstra The First Daughter of House Melarn looked visibly shaken at the physical loss of her hoh Ssipriina had already wrested possession of it from her Danifae wondered how her mistress would hold up under that kind of duress Certainly, there was no la the destruction of House Melarn on her own part, but Danifae could iine hoould feel if her own faht well have been destroyed, for all she knew It had been far too long since she&039;d last seen it She didn&039;t even know the fate of Eryndlyn itself in the current crisis, much less her own House
"Let us come with you," Halisstra said to Quenthel "Let us help you find the priest of Vhaeraun"
Danifae looked at herto try to find the scout&039;s friend?" Quenthel asked
"I-I beg forgiveness, Mistress Baenre," Halisstra stammered "I merely assumed - "
"Assumptions are best left to that miserable wretch, Pharaun," Quenthel warned
Halisstra bowed her head
"Of course, Mistress Baenre," she said "Nonetheless, I would humbly ask that you permit me and my servant to accoreater if we stay together, and as you know, I have nothing left forto control her e so much of her passion, but she would never say so, especially not in front of others
Quenthel tapped her lips with her finger and nodded as though she understood the pain of Halisstra&039;s plight, though Danifae seriously doubted the high priestess held any true co as you can continue toto do what I say, then I see no reason why you cannot continue to travel with us"
Danifae cringed No doubt this would take her farther away fro to have find a way to break the binding, and soon, and she thought perhaps the wizard had that capability It would be easy enough for her toher all the tiain in thanks and said, "If it is not too presumptuous, Mistress Baenre, e to get out of this city," Quenthel replied, e task that would be in and of itself, "I think we ht actually pay a visit to this friend of the scout&039;s However infuriating the Mizzrym boy can be in so ood idea or two
That&039;s why you can&039;t afford to alienate him or cause him bodily harm, Danifae surmised
It wasn&039;t difficult to see that Pharaun was really the most valuable member of the team That raised the question of as really the leader Quenthel by default, but Pharaun by subtle necessity
That will bear watching, Danifae thought with a smile
Ssipriina surveyed the troops she&039;d asserimaced So few remained of what she&039;d started the day with Would they be enough? She let her gaze roam over themsoldiers, priestesses, wizards How many had she lost in the destruction of House Melarn? Howthe rival Houses, her own duergar uardian spiders?
Theof that debacle It was certainly a blunder, but she refused to label it ill-conceived Aniht for her House had been clever, an idea her allies had all endorsed Certainly, none of them had been able to foresee that the mental link used to control the spiders was in sooddess, there was no link, but once Ssipriina and the others had figured that out, it was too late They had all missed that, and she refused to accept sole blae could have been contained, if only that double-crossing fool Khorrl had done his duty She had paid him a matron mother&039;s ransom He should have jumped at her every beck and call, but instead he turned his back on her, gathered histo pull out of Ched Nasad all together The loss of his support was a tough blow, but what galled her more was how foolish he&039;d made her look - foolish in the eyes of her peers
The other er in House Zauvirr&039;s service, had washed their hands of the alliance, i their support for Ssipriina&039;s claims They had their own Houses to consider and couldn&039;t afford to weaken themselves further in a lost cause
Lost cause! Yes, she had been made to look foolish, and she would not have that Ssipriina Zauvirr would show them what a lost cause was
Let the rest of them distance themselves frooing to let these setbacks foil her plans Half the city ht burn, but when the smoke cleared, House Zauvirr would sit at the top of the heap
Khorrl Xornbane was going to pay as well, but would her reh? Between her own House and those froiance, she had assembled a potent army, but so many had been lost
That was Clan Xornbane&039;s fault, too They&039;d let the battle around House Melarn get out of control It was their horrible firepots that made the stone burn, that allowed the House to fall It was needless destruction, brought about after needless fighting
Ssipriina had no doubt that the gray dwarf captain had spoken the truth Zammzt could very well have been behind the premature exposure of her ue with? Which of the her plans build up, then teeter to disaster? There were so many, but she would have to determine that later
Ssipriina would miss Zammzt She needed his efficiency, his battle acue of the forces she&039;d assely male would have served in that capacity nicely Faeryl would be a suitable replacement, but she&039;d not been seen since the chaos at the end of the gathering of hter had perished when the estate cruirl, the , Ssipriina shook herself out of her aze one last tih She would lead theh
"Gather yourselves," theto a protected place in themass of drow "It&039;s time to claim what&039;s ours"