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"Co after they had finished their sparring By the urgency of the weapon master’s tone, and by the fact that Zak didn’t even pause to wait for Drizzt, Drizzt knew that soht up to Zak on the balcony of House Do’Urden, where Maya and Briza already stood
"What is it?" Drizzt asked
Zak pulled hireat ca-vern, to the northeastern reaches of the city Lights flashed and faded in sudden bursts, a pillar of fire rose into the air, then disappeared
"A raid" Briza said offhandedly "Minor houses, and of no concern to us" Zak saw that Drizzt did not understand
"One house has attacked another" he explained "Revenge, perhaps, but her rank in the city"
"The battle has been long" Briza rehts flash"
Zak continued to clarify the event for the confused secondboy of the house "The attackers should have blocked the battle within rings of darkness Their inability to do sohouse was ready for the raid"
"All cannot be going well for the attackers" Maya agreed Drizzt could hardly believe what he was hearing Eventhan the news itself was the way his family talked about the event They were so calm in their descrip-tions, as if this was an expected occurrence
"The attackers must leave no witnesses" Zak explained to Drizzt, "else they will face the wrath of the ruling council"
"But we are witnesses" Drizzt reasoned
"No" Zak replied "We are onlookers; this battle is none of our affair Only the nobles of the defending house are awarded the right to place accusations against their attackers"
"If any nobles are left alive" Briza added, obviously enjoy-ing the drama
At that moment, Drizzt wasn’t sure if he liked this new revelation However he aze fro spectacle of drow battle All the Do’Urden co about in search of a better vantage point and shouting out descriptions of the action and ru-mors of the perpetrators
This was drow society in all itsin the heart of the youngest mem-ber of House Do’Urden, Drizzt could not deny the excite-ht Nor could Drizzt deny the expressions of obvious pleasure stamped upon the faces of the three who shared the balcony with hih his private chambers one fi-nal tiht seeious were safely hid-den He was expecting a visit from a matron mother, a rare occasion for a master of the Academy not connected with Arach- Tinilith, the School of Lloth Alton was more than a little anxious about the motives of this particular visitor, Ma-tron SiNafay Hun’ett, head of the city’s fifth house andon the stone door of the outeruest had arrived He straight-ened his robes and took yet another glance around the rooet there, and Matron SiNafay swept into the roo froht of Alton’s chamber-without so ined, diminutive even by the standards of the drow She stood barely hed, by Alton’s estimation, no h, and Alton rele spell
Alton averted his gaze obediently and tried to convince hirew less at ease, however, when Masoj trotted in and to his s from House Hun’ett, Gelroos" Matron SiNafay said "Seventy-five years and more it has been since we last talked"
"Gelroos?" Alton mumbled under his breath He cleared his throat to cover his surprise "My greetings to you, Ma-tron SiNafay" he ?"
"You should come to the house" the matron said "Vour chaan to feel very sick
SiNafay did not miss the look A scowl crossed her face and her eyes narrowed evilly
Alton suspected that his secret was out If the Faceless One had been a member of the Hun’ett family, how could Al-ton hope to fool the matron mother of the house? He scanned for the best escape route, or for some way he could at least kill the traitorous Masoj before SiNafay struck him down
When he looked back toward Matron SiNafay, she had al-ready begun a quiet spell Her eyes popped wide at its com-pletion, her suspicions confir more curi-ous than concerned
There was no escape, no way to get at Masoj, standing prudently close to his powerful ain, taking a three-headed instrument from her belt, the dreaded snake-headed whip that injected thepoison known to drow
" Alton" he stuttered, having no choice but to answer He knew that since she noas on her guard, SiNafay would use siht concoct "I am Alton DeVir"
"DeVir?" Matron SiNafay appeared at least intrigued "Of the House DeVir that died soo?"
"I am the only survivor" Alton admitted
"And you killed Gelroos-Gelroos Hun’ett-and took his place as master in Sorcere" the matron reasoned, her voice a snarl Doom closed in all around Alton
"I did not1 could not know his nameHe would have killed me!" Alton stuttered
"I killed Gelroos" came a voice froain held his favorite two-handed crossbow
"With this" the young Hun’ett explained "On the night House DeVir fell 1 found my excuse in Gelroos’s battle with that one" He pointed to Alton
"Gelroos was your brother" Matron SiNafay reminded Masoj
"Damn his bones!" Masoj spat "For four miserable years I served him-served him as if he were a matron mother! He would have kept there instead"
The matron looked from Masoj to Alton and back to her son " And you let this one live" she reasoned, a sed an alliance with a new ht" Masoj said through clenched teeth, not knohether punishment or praise would follow
"You were just a child" SiNafay re the timetable involved
Masoj accepted the compliment silently Alton watched it all anxiously "Then what of lare on him "Your life as Alton DeVir ended, so it would seeht House DeVir fell Thus you remain the Faceless One, Gelroos Hun’ett I can use your eyes in the Academy-to watch over my son and my enemies"
Alton could hardly breathe 1b so suddenly find himse)f allied with one of the most powerful houses in Menzober ranzan! A jumble of possibilities and questions flooded his mind, one in particular, which had haunted hinized his exciteh priestess of Lloth" Alton said boldly, that one notion overpowering all caution "It is within your power to grant me my fondest desire"
"You dare to ask a favor?" Matron SiNafay balked, though she saw the torued by the apparent importance of this mystery "Very well"
"What house destroyed , Matron SiNafay" SiNafay considered the question carefully, and the possi-bilities of Alton’s apparent thirst for vengeance Another benefit of allowing this one into the family? SiNafay won-dered
"This is known to me already" she replied "Perhaps when you have proven your value, I will tell-"
"No!" Alton cried He stopped short, realizing that he had interrupted a matron mother, a crime that could invoke a punishes "This question must be very important for you to act so foolishly" she said
"Please" Alton begged "I must know Kill me if you will, but tell e, and his obsession could only prove of value to her "House Do’Urden" she said
"Do’Orden?" Alton echoed, hardly believing that a house so far back in the city hierarchy could have defeated House DeVir
"You will take no actions against theive your insolence-this time You are a son of House Hun’ett now; re that one who had been clever enough to carry out such a deception for the better part of two decades would not be foolish enough to disobey the matron mother of his house
"Come Masoj" SiNafay said to her son, "let us leave this one alone so that he may consider his new identity"
"I must tell you, Matron SiNafay" Masoj dared to say as he and his mother made their way out of Sorcere, " Alton DeVir is a buffoon Heharm to House Hun’ett" "He survived the fall of his own house" SiNafay replied, "and has played through the ruse as the Faceless One for nineteen years A buffoon? Perhaps, but a resourceful buffoon at the least"
Masoj unconsciously rubbed the area of his eyebrow that had never grown back "I have suffered the antics of Alton DeVir for all these years" he said "He does have a fair share of luck, 1 adh he is usually the one who puts his value to our house"
"What can we hope to gain?"
"He is a ives me eyes where 1 now need them" She stopped her son and turned hiht understand the iainst House Do’Orden hts of accusation"
"You reat houses into punishing House Do’Orden?" Masoj asked
"The great houses would hardly be willing to strike out for an incident that occurred alo"
SiNafay replied "House Do’Urden executed House DeVir’s destruction nearly to perfection-a clean kill Th so ainst the Do’Urdens noould be to invite the wrath of the great houses on ourselves"
"What good then is Alton DeVir?" Masoj asked "His claim is useless to us"
The matron replied, "You are only ahierarchy With Alton DeVir’s charge whispered into the proper ears, the ruling council e on Alton’s behalf"
"To what end?" Masoj re the importance "You would risk the losses of such a battle for the destruction of a lesser house?"
"So thought House DeVir of House Do’Urden" explained SiNafay "In our world, we her ones All of the great houses would be wise noatch closely the moves of Daermon N’a’shezbaernon, the ninth house that is known as Do’Urden It now has both a h priestesses, with a fourth nearing the goal" ’
"Four high priestesses?" Masoj pondered "In a single house" Only three of the top eight houses could claihts inspired rivalries that inevitably thinned the ranks