Riza jumped down from the balcony and headed for the gate that lead out into the city. A set of guards took one glance at her and realized that she wasn't a being to be fraked with. Two of the guards quickly opened the doors for her and even bowed to her when she walked out.
Riza walked down several streets garnering even more attention than when she was disguised as a Night Elf. The red and black skinned demoness past Lolths web, through the Darkspires, past Narbondel, she turned on to Way of Killer Hands, she past by Many Eyes Plaza turning again to a branching street off of Mithril Hide and headed for Quellarzorl and then headed for the keep of House Baenre. All of the spies that were following her halted before they got to the boarders that belonged to the most dangerous and most powerful House in all of Menzoberranzan. Riza walked on undeterred and unafraid.
There was a full company of Drow soldiers that met her at the boarder but she was unconcerned and walked right past them while they stared at her in complete shock. She didn't even care about the lizard riders that were hanging from the stalactites and stalagmites monitoring her every move. Riza finally stopped when she reached the giant glowing gate that was supposed to have been placed and enchanted by Lolth herself for some great favor that one of the Beanre Matron Mothers had performed for her. Riza only looked at the gate with contempt.
"Is this all that bug can do," Riza shook her head in embarrassment. "Seriously I was expecting something far more dangerous than a handful of guards and a fraking glowing fence that has what…" she narrowed her eyes at the gate and fence for a moment. "A sticking spell," she face palmed and slid her hand down after, rolling her eyes for good measure. "Pathetic," she cried while stretching out her hand.
The gate that was supposedly infused by the greatest magicks that Lolth had suddenly creaked, moaned and then cried as if the fence and gate was actually like a living thing. The gate twisted in an unnatural way making all of the guards of House Baenre watch in horror and fear. Then the gate snapped and broke, the thing cried out even louder after Riza was done. Riza lowered her arm and again glared at the gate in contempt, even though the gate was now a twisted mangled mess it was still in her way.
Riza closed her eyes in order to summon her god-slayer. Reality Splitter the great scythe that had two blades the main curved one was longer than Riza's arm while the other on the opposite side was about half as long as her arm, there was a spike that protruded out of the top and a great eye opened where the three blades met and were attached to the shaft which had a chain wrapped around it.
The blades and spike glowed red on their edges and turned blacker than midnight where the edges ended. A multitude of skulls adorned the main blade each skull representing either a god or greater demon she had slain during the war with Skath. All of the lizards went wide eyed and scurried away from the scythe wielding demoness after it materialized in her hand. The Drow riders tried to get their lizards back under control but the lizards refused all of their commands. They scurried like roaches when a light came on in a dark room.
"Pathetic," Riza muttered again and smirked when she grabbed the hilt of Reality Splitter with both hands, took a wide stance and slashed the mangled gate.
The shock of her swing sent out a wave in all directions while the blade sent out a narrow red energy wave that disintegrated the gate and kept going. The wave left a nice diagonal slice in one of the giant stalactite's that housed a part of the Baenre Garrison all of the on lookers watched the now severed piece of rock that still had soldiers and slaves inside of it fall to the ground bouncing off one of House Baenre's stables where they kept their lizards. The sounds of the dying Drow and monsters mixed with the roar of breaking stone. A wave of dust and debris accompanied a second shockwave emanated from where the stalactite impacted the ground.
All of House Baenre was awake and were wondering which house or houses had dared to attack their fortress. To their amazement they could only see a single attacker. A strangely dressed demoness carrying a giant scythe was all that they could see. When the dust reached Riza she closed her eyes not just to shield them from the particles but out of her own embarrassment.
"I think I overdid it a bit," she muttered while tasting the dust in her mouth.
"I think that was the understatement of the eonn master," Reality Splitter muttered while shutting its eye.
How was I supposed to know that that weak crathed technique would do this kind of damage. Riza silently scathed more at herself than at her scythe.
Matron Yvonnel Baenre dressed swiftly and ran out the door of her chambers. What kind of horrible spell have we been hit with, she thought. And which house was it that did it! She stopped to look out one of the windows, her eyes widened in fear-filled awe.
The stalactite that housed part of their garrison had been cleanly sliced she could see several of her Drow soldiers looking down at the ground in fear and awe. Several of them were clinging onto the edge where their beds used to be. After they had hoisted themselves up back onto what was left of the floor they too looked down at the carnage below. The bodies of Drow and monsters were mixed into the debris field.
Yvonnel Baenre was shocked even more when her eyes fell upon the fence that was supposed to be impenetrable and unbreakable had become nothing more than a mess of twisted adamantite. She quickly snapped out of it in order to assess the damage. She yelled orders to her daughters when they emerged from their separate compounds. Matron Baenre ordered them to prepare for a counterattack. The Baenre troops who had watched the whole thing unfold didn't even respond to Matron Baenre's orders. They didn't want to tangle with a demoness who was strong enough to do the damage that she did to their home with only one swing of her weapon.
Riza sighed and walked unopposed into House Baenre. Matron Baenre went wide eyed when she abruptly grabbed one of her retreating Drow soldiers and asked him which house attacked them.
He shook his head, his eyes full of fear. "Not a house a single demoness," he said making Matron Baenre let him go as if she wasn't able to comprehend what he told her, he had run off before she finally returned to her senses.
"Why would a demon attack our house," she said aloud.
"I only wanted to get that damnable door out of the way," a tall woman replied coming toward her.
"Mother," Triel cried stepping in between her mother and the demoness. "I will handle this!"
Yvonnel and Riza both seemed shocked by the shorter Drow woman's actions.
"And how are you going to protect me," Yvonnel grabbed her daughter and spun her around to face her. "You can feel the amount of power she holds," she looked past Triel and at Riza who casually leaned up against her scythe and shrugged. "Neither you nor I…nor any Drow in this city—" probably all of Toril she thought, "—has the strength to face her."
Yvonnel held Treil by the shoulders and stepped around her. She faced Riza having to look up in order to look her in the eye. A giant of a demon, she thought.
"My height isn't uncommon where I'm from," Riza replied to Yvonnel's thought.
"You…" Yvonnel said in common. "You're one of the two alien women that appeared in our city this morning!" She looked puzzled for a moment. "I heard that both women were Drow…" Did my spies lie to me, she thought.
"No," Riza shook her head. "My kind can disguise ourselves as different races and Kiras isn't a Drow Elf but a Night Elf."
"Ah," Yvonnel nodded. "I see…" she looked at the destruction behind her. "And what have we done to deserve this attack demon?" She turned back around and viciously questioned.
"Yeah," Riza rubbed the top of her head in shame. "I really didn't think that that low level technique would do that much damage."
Yvonnel, Triel, Quenthel, and Vendes all balked at this.
That was a low level spell! They all thought, making Riza sigh.
"Not a spell it was a technique using my indren'freth," she replied to them.
All the rest of the Baenre noble children had come over get a look at the tall demoness who had attacked them. She didn't mean to do that, Dantrag thought looking at the destruction the demoness had apparently accidentally caused.
Dantrag frowned when Khazid'hea his sentient sword cried in glee in his mind. What power, imagine the destruction I could cause if I was wielded by her hands.
"What is indren'freth," Triel interjected. "I've never heard of that kind of magic."
All of house Baenre turned to Riza who sighed.
She held up her hand and walked past them. Every being watched the demoness stop to stand in front of the debris she had created. Leaning her scythe against her right shoulder she closed her eyes and held up both of her hands. The rocks all raised into the air allowing the Drow soldiers who had the wherewithal to help those who had survived the fall a much easier way to remove them. After all of the bodies that weren't made completely unrecognizable were safely rescued Riza let go the verse making all of the floating rubble fall back down to the ground once again.
Not only is this demoness a powerful telepath she can also use telekinesis, every being there thought.
Riza nonchalantly grabbed the shaft of Reality Splitter and returned to stand in front of the entire Baenre Household.
"How is it that you don't know about indren'freth or the verse?" She asked them.
"I've never heard of either of those," Triel stepped up to stand in front of the much taller and more imposing demoness.
Riza sighed in frustration. "Seriously the bug has left you all in the dark,"
The whole group of Drow grimaced when the demoness outright insulted their goddess. Yvonnel held up her hand in order to prevent her children or her soldiers from enraging or engaging the demoness who apparently had two more powers that they didn't know about, or understand.
"Forgive our ignorance," Yvonnel spat her apology. "But we've never heard of the verse or that indren'freth you were talking about."
"First my name is Riza," Riza pressed her left hand to her chest which aggravated several of the Drow women especially Triel and Vendes who were neither tall nor well endowed. "Second," Riza continued ignoring all of the Drow's inner thoughts. "The verse is how the gods manipulate the universe so where I'm from we shortened it to verse or the power of the verse."
I've never heard of Lolth using a power like that, Yvonnel, Triel, Quenthel, Vendes, and Sos'Umptu all thought.
"It's quite shocking that no being here seems to know how to use the verse,—" Riza closed her eyes and nodded. "—especially when this place is practically overflowing with zah'harrim."
She used another word that neither Yvonnel nor any of the Drow had ever heard before.
"What is zah'harrim," Quenthel asked her.
One of Riza's eyes popped open and stared down at the shorter elf. "In the common tongue it translates to dark power, or power of the dark, I've also heard Judicator's Baltrix and Nos refer to it as the personification of the negative verse." Riza tapped her finger against her chin a few times. "But I've always called it the zah'harrim or the zah for short."
"And how do you use this power," Dantrag crossed his arms over his chest. "Can males also use this verse too, or can it only be used by females?"
"Uh," Riza opened both eyes to look at him, taking a quick glance at the sorjin that was screaming at her telepathically she ignored it and answered his question. "Both Baltrix and Nos are males and they are or were far more gifted with verse use than even I am."
The Drow all expressed different reactions the women began muttering among themselves while the males all seemed elated by what she'd said.
"Yes," Quinthel interrupted the muttered debates that were happening silencing them all she even gave the males who were in eyeshot contemptive glances. Don't think for one minute that we'd ever let you males have abilities above our own. Her thoughts seemed to get across because she heard several of the males swallow.
"How does someone gain this power," Yvonnel eyed Riza with worry and wonder.
Riza raised her finger. "Powers, plural" she cheerfully said. "When a being is able to use the verse they are also able to tap into their indren'freth as well."
This caused more than a few Drow to gasp.
"What is indren'freth," Triel eagerly and hungrily asked again.
Riza furrowed her brow and looked at the destruction behind her. "Umm," she pointed at the pile of rock that the Drow soldiers and slaves were in the process of clearing up. "That," she shrugged.
They all gave her blank stares.
"I still don't understand," Dantrag said with a huff.
Riza's cheeks puffed out in frustration.
"Master," Reality Splitter started to warn her. "Please don't…"
Too late the ground around Riza began to shake which made all of the Drow that were standing around her and by her back away from her in a hurry. The ground shook even more violently and suddenly she was engulfed in flames of blacks and reds.
All of the Drow ducked and shielded their eyes with their hands and arms. All of the Drow and slave monsters cleaning the debris dropped everything and hit the ground when Riza unleash a wave of energy out into Menzoberranzan.
Yvonnel and all of her children as well as her soldiers knelt in complete awe when they looked upon Riza who was lighting up the whole compound with the flames she was producing. The raw energy made the hair on their arms stand up and even frepple dotted their dark skin.
Matron Baenre had tears form in her eyes and the drops hit her skirt. The rest of her children were just as mesmerized as their mother. Triel and Quenthel were especially overcome.
After a while Riza shut off her indren'freth, stretched and let out a satisfying sigh. "It's been forever since I've been able to produce that many krenns of energy. Id'rthic Emperor and his laws kept preventing me from doing so…welp this isn't Firaxia and this definitely isn't the Marcisian Empire so I can practically do whatever the frak I want to and Ao or whatever the name of the god in charge of this universe is can go frak off!" She held up Reality Splitter to the ceiling while also holding up her middle finger with the other. "You hear me AO I said you can go frak yourself!"
All of the Drow and even the slaves were completely overwhelmed. Not only did this woman insult their goddess but without even the least bit of hesitation or fear she blatantly insults the god who oversees all of the other gods.
This woman is insane, Dantrag and the other males thought.
I want her, Triel, Vendres, Quenthel and Yvonnel all thought.
Riza snapped her head around and glared at the women. "I don't think so!" she gave them a conniving grin. "The reason I came here was to inform you that the insect you worship has abandoned the Drow of House Do'Urden. So, I'm here to tell you that Kiras and I have decided that we're going to protect it from now on. Now you—" she squinted at Yvonnel "—can go and tell the rest of the houses to frak off, unless of course they want to get me really drathed off." She glanced at the destruction behind her. "Then I'll show you what I'm like when I actually get serious…"
All of House Baenre paled because of what she said and the way she said it. If this demoness can accidently take out our magically reinforced gate along with a barracks full of soldiers with a single attack, and she can also insult Ao the god above all gods without even a care, then what happens when she gets serious, every being thought.
"Oh I didn't take out your gate on accident," Riza coughed into her fist. "That was in my way while I was trying to see you," she eyed Matron Baenre. "But," she glanced at the damage she'd caused. "I wasn't trying to take down a stalactite filled with soldiers—" Riza closed her eyes and rubbed the top of her head. "—so sorry about that!"
Riza swung Reality Splitter around making it vanish in a flash of red sparks and black smoke. She gave the stunned group a slight bow before she headed back through the broken fence leaving all the Drow of House Baenre in a state of shock. All of the Drow in Menzoberranzan had heard and or felt what had happened inside House Baenre so not a single Drow Elf even attempted to tail her while she walked, whistling along the way back to House Do'Urden.
