13. A Helping Hand
I lay on my stomach on my bed, turning the ring that Zesyyr had given me over and over in my hands. What kind of people assassinated their own family? Granted, it wasn't entirely unusual for the heir to a surface throne or a fortune to conveniently die, allowing a younger sibling or more distant relative to inherit. But at least nobody tried to involve me in their plots and schemes. Nobody asked me to murder.
I realised that it was a somewhat odd view to possess. I'm an adventurer, right? Killing shouldn't make me squeamish. But I like to think that there's a fine line that separates adventurers from murderers. I only ever kill in self-defence. And most of the time, the killing involves hostile humanoids, such as orcs, trolls, andsoforth. In killing them, even in self-defence, I am making the realms a safer place. I'm not stupid or desperate enough to try to use that excuse to justify my actions. Rather, I like to think of it as a byproduct of my adventuring.
But what Zesyyr was asking me to do was pretend to extend the hand of friendship to her mother, and then cut that hand, and probably a lot of other body parts, off. One thing I am terrible at is duplicity. I've never been able to meet a person and pretend to be their friend, whilst plotting to betray them. There's something in my eyes that gives it away, I think. I'm a terrible liar.
There was a knock on my door, and I put the ring back into my pocket, bringing myself into a sitting position before calling that it was okay to enter. It was the Seer herself who stepped into my room, for once not surrounded by a cadre of bodyguards. When I expressed my surprise at that, she smiled.
"They are a little over-protective at times, especially when I am threatened, but they know that I am safe enough with you," she explained.
"You really do believe that, don't you? You believe that I'm going to save everybody from the Valsharess."
"Of course. It is what the goddess has shown to me."
"I don't suppose she showed you how I'm going to destroy this dark elven bitch?" I asked hopefully.
"Regretfully not. Eilistraee does not show me everything, only what she believes I need to know. I have asked Nathyrra and Valen to help you. They know the Underdark well, and can give you valuable information, as well as lending you their skills."
"I've already spoken to them," I said, waving dismissively.
"Is something troubling you, my friend?" asked the Seer, lowering herself regally onto my bed.
"I met a charming young woman named Zesyyr who asked me to murder her mother."
"Ah. I was afraid that something like this would happen."
"Something like this?"
"That you would be drawn into the deadly world of drow politics. I am sorry that Zesyyr has put you in this position. It is likely that she saw in you a chance to seize house Maeviir from her mother."
"She said that her mother is getting desperate, that she won't stay our ally for very long. That sooner or later she will bend knee to the Valsharess, just like all the other houses have done."
"That is unfortunately true," said the Seer sadly. "At first, Matron Myrune was a strong, vocal opponent of the Valsharess. But every day that we spend here, trapped and powerless, she has become more and more withdrawn, more and more reclusive. She will not even hold an audience with me anymore, and no longer sends her generals to our pre-determined meetings to discuss battle plans and strategies. I fear Myrune worries that the Valsharess will destroy her house completely, for daring to stand against her."
"And where will that leave your people, the rebels?"
"Without the support of House Maeviir, we stand little chance against the Valsharess. Unless you can sufficiently weaken her, of course. Even then, if House Maeviir was to turn on us, rather than just stand aside, we would likely all perish."
"So my options are murdering a woman in cold blood, or dooming the Underdark to the Valsharess' rule. And even if I did kill her, what's to stop House Maeviir from turning on us for killing their leader?"
"Drow politics do not work in that way," the Seer explained. "It is expected that Zesyyr will eventually kill Myrune for rule of House Maeviir. It is how daughters succeed their mothers. They do not inherit rulership, as surfacers do. Rather, they must seize it for themselves."
"I wish more drow were like you and Nathyrra," I sighed. The Seer laughed, a melodic, almost musical sound.
"It might surprise you to know that once, I too was a typical drow daughter, plotting to overthrow my mother, watching out for signs of treachery in my sisters. Had you told me back then what I would become, I would have laughed in your face and had you executed for daring to speak such slander."
"So what changed?"
"I found the goddess. Or rather, she found me. She bade me travel to the surface, and observe our surface kin. I spent much time there, sleeping by day, and celebrating beneath the moon by night. In ones and twos, others began to join me. We established a small settlement deep within a forest, where few surfacers ever came. But when we heard rumours about the Valsharess, we knew that we must return to the Underdark, to fight against her."
"And the fact that Lolth had disappeared had nothing to do with your return?" I asked skeptically. The Seer smiled.
"I'll admit, we did wish to capitalise on the spider-queen's absence. We wanted to try to bring more of our brothers and sisters into our fold, to educate them about Eilistraee and show them the surface."
"So why doesn't the Valsharess try to stop you like she tried to stop me?"
"Because the temple of Lolth is warded against teleportation magic... which is why it was such of a surprise when Halaster teleported you right in front of me. I suppose it's possible that the wards are weakening, in Lolth's absence... or perhaps Halaster's magic was merely more powerful than the wards. Regardless, all of the assassins sent against me have been unsuccessful, and after I converted the last one to our cause, the Valsharess has sent no more."
"Speaking of assassins, I suppose I better go and have a word with Matron Myrune," I sighed. "I haven't decided what I'm going to do about her yet, but I think I should talk to her, maybe get a feel of where she is, before I make a decision."
"That sounds like a wise plan," said the Seer, standing. "Know that whatever decision you make, you have my full support. I will not hold anything against you if you should wish to kill Myrune, or if you don't and she later betrays us. Do what your heart tells you is right."
The Seer left, and I put on my boots, and belted my weapons around my waist. Then I looked at myself in the mirror. My long brown hair was neatly in place after Deekin had braided it earlier. My somewhat dented armour was well-polished and clean, and my grey cloak fell down from my shoulders. Deekin was right, I would need to replace the cloak with one of better quality material.
"Ahem," said a voice from closer to the floor. I took Enserric out of his scabbard and sat down on the bed with him across my knee.
"What is it?"
"I couldn't help overhearing your dilemma. I could help you, you know."
"Help me? How?"
"If you decide the Matron needs removing from life, I can help you."
"Of course you can. You're a weapon."
"Yeeees," said Enserric, and I got the feeling that he was planning something. "So, are we going to be taking your delightful companions?"
"I suppose. What do you think of them?"
"I don't think you should trust either of them. One's a drow, the other's a tiefling."
"And Deekin?"
"Well... I suppose he's trustworthy enough. I mean, he begged to be allowed to come with you to this cesspit of corruption, right? A sure sign of a true friend. Or a bonafide lunatic."
"Well, since you're here with me, I guess we all get to be lunatics together."
"True enough," he said. I put him back in his scabbard and went to look for my 'delightful' companions.
o - o - o - o - o
I was silent as Nathyrra led me to the main residence of House Maeviir. I was in no mood for talking, and I was glad that the others had the sense to keep their own mouths shut. We stopped in front of a pair of guards.
"Matron Myrune is not accepting visitors," said one of them, running his eyes over myself and my companions.
"She's accepting me," I said, taking Zesyyr's ring and holding it up for him to see.
"Zesyyr gave you that? She's ready to move now?" he asked, his eyes darting franktically around. He lowered his voice and took a step towards me. "Some of the guards inside are still loyal to Matron Myrune. Others are wavering between her and Zesyyr. Those ones won't fight you, but they won't help you, either. Hurry and go inside and we'll summon the Matron. If you act quickly, you can probably kill her and Captain Tebimar before they even realise what's going on."
We were ushered inside the hall and taken to a large room. There were several doors in the room, and each one was guarded by a drow man. I wondered which of them were loyal to Myrune, and which were the waverers. In any case, we didn't have to wait long before an elegant drow woman and a drow warrior were led into the room to stand before me. Here, I found myself at a slight disadvantage. A good indication of a surface elf's age was the colour of their hair; it tended to go white as they aged. In the underdark, most of the drow had silvery-white hair. The woman in front of me could have been a hundred years old, a mere child as far as elves go, or five hundred. I suspected it was closer to the latter; from what I understood, Matron Mothers were rulers of houses. It wouldn't be likely that a young woman would rule.
"Who is this sufacer Tebimar? Why did your guards let her in?" Matron Myrune asked the man beside her. He himself carried a tall scythe, and I sensed an aura of magic around the weapon. He was obviously a capable and seasoned fighter, to be given such a powerful weapon.
"I'm not sure, Matron Mother. Allow me to find out for you." He turned towards me, running a frank eye over me. I knew I wasn't anything much to look at; just another surfacer, as far as he was concerned. Still, he did show some measure of politeness as he addressed me. "Who are you? How did a human female like you get past the guards outside?"
"My name is Sinisalo, I work for the Seer," I explained simply.
"Sinisalo, the Seer's great saviour. I've heard of you. But what business do you have here in the House Maeviir tower? How did you get past the guards?"
"Die, you horrible elven bint!" Enserric cried suddenly from inside his scabbard. Matron Myrune's face twisted with rage, and she raised her hands to cast a spell. At the same time, Tebimar brought his scythe defensively in front of him with the grace of somebody who knows that they can fight and fight well.
I groaned in dismay as my companions leapt into action. This had not been what I wanted! I merely wanted to talk to the Matron, but Enserric had forced my hand. Valen immediately stepped towards Tebimar, swinging his huge flail at the elf. Meanwhile, Nathyrra silenced the Matron with a spell, so that she could not call out or cast magic of her own. Deekin had loaded his crossbow and was firing at the guards who were rushing towards us.
Unhappy with Enserric's behaviour, I left him sheathed in my scabbard, and fell to using my short sword instead. I slashed at the guards as they approached, parried and blocked their blows before attacking again. It wasn't so much a fight as a dance; the most deadly of all dances. But it wasn't a dance that lasted long. The guards had not been expecting our ambush. Even as Nathyrra slit Matron Myrune's throat, and Valen brought his flail down on Tebimar's head, splattering elf blood all over the floor, half of the guards were laying down their weapons. Panting, I checked that Deekin was okay, then turned to face Zesyyr, who had made a sudden entrance as soon as her mother had died.
"Well done, surfacer," said Zesyyr. She handed me a pouch. "This if for your services. The standard contract rate. Twenty thousand gold."
I threw the pouch to Deekin, not wanting anything to do with the drow's blood-money.
"Now I must consolidate my position as head of House Maeviir. The guards will see you out."
And she dismissed me as easily as that. My companions and I were shown to the door, and it was promptly locked behind us. I hoped that any change would prove to be for the better.
"Come on," I said to my friends. "Let's go and speak to this... Cavallas. I don't want to stay in Lith My'athar any longer. This place makes me sick."