Ka and Rose sat in the back of the carriage pulling them through the streets towards the Dwarven palace with identical scowls painted on their faces – nasty enough looks, in fact, to keep Shagbag and his own rag-tag band of dwarves from speaking to, or looking at the drowesses. Ka picked at the diaphanous material chosen by Korgan for their 'uniforms' and her scowl grew darker.
"Ten bucks says this was Dil's idea," she said flatly.
"I'm going to make that dwarf regrets the instant he ever laid eyes on us," Rose said. "I don't know how, but I will. A slave again! Again, Ka!"
"I know, Rose, I know," Ka replied. "I'm aware." She held up her hands which were manacled together and attached by a long chain to her ankles. The manacles weren't actually locked – that would hinder the women when it came time to poison the king – but they were unpleasant all the same.
And besides . . . Rose had been pointing it out incessantly since they'd gotten into the carriage.
"This is the single, most retarded plan in the world," the psion grumbled. "This isn't going to work . . ."
"Of course not," Rose said flatly. "Your little boyfriend came up with it." Ka narrowed her eyes at Rose.
"Are you saying Dil's retarded?" She demanded. Rose raised an eyebrow and mimicked rolling a coin up and down her nose.
"Deny it, Ka, I dare you. Why do you even like him?"
"I .. . . he's cute," Ka said, floundering for a reason she herself didn't even know. "And he's big. And . . . and he's . . ."
"Retarded," Rose said at the same time as Rain went, Retarded.
"He's not retarded!" Ka cried.
"Ka, he can't even levitate," Rose said flatly. "What kind of moron can't levitate?"
"Mezzen can't yet," Ka returned. Rose's expression remained unimpressed.
"Mezzen's what? Eight years old? He's doing pretty well for someone that young. Dil's what? Two-hundred and fifty? And he can't levitate, or probably even spell his own name. Lloth, he probably can't spell yours and it's two letters long."
"Hey, lay off," Ka grumbled. "He's a sweetie at heart, all right?"
"Uh-huh," Rose said, slouching in her seat and crossing her arms, struggling to make the position comfortable with the chains. "I'm sure."
"Oh yeah, 'cause Zoe's such a prize," Ka said going on the offensive. "Stupid moron hasn't even graduated yet!"
"He will," Rose answered calmly. "He'll graduate with honors as a matter of fact. And at least he can spell his name, Ka. And just for the record, he's quite good in bed. Better than Dil would be, I'm sure. Mages are an untapped resource in that respect."
"Ha!" Ka laughed. "Zoe? Good in bed? That's the biggest load of bull I've ever heard."
"Speaking from experience Ka?" Rose asked with a raised eyebrow. "Apparently Dil's not the only one who slept with his siblings."
"Stop that," Ka said, making a face. "You sound like Dil. Lloth, do you know what he dreamed last night? He dreamt of me and Zoe having sex in front of him. It was a worse nightmare than the one about Zoe being bigger than him. Mother of Spiders! He can't get it through his thick skull that we're related to each other!"
"Sounds like he's got some insecurities," Rose replied. "Wouldn't think it to look at him."
"Only at night," Ka answered. "Come daytime he's as confident as all Hell."
"I suppose he's got a reason to be," Rose answered. "He's talented with that stick of his. I'll give him that much." Ka grinned evilly at her.
"That's not the only stick he's talented with," she said. Rose made a face and glared at her.
"Mental images I don't need, Ka, Lloth."
"You swear a lot for a priestess, you know that?"
"Shut up."
***
"You've very good taste, me young drow friend." The dwarven merchant offered him a wide, seedy smile. Mezzen wrinkled his nose in disgust from his position on Zoe's back. It seemed like none of the dwarves ever brushed their teeth. "That pretty little bauble's come straight from the purest vein in these 'ere caverns."
"How much?" Zoe asked, examining the 'pretty little bauble,' recognizing it as exactly that – a bauble. The dwarf pretended to consider.
"300 gold," he said after a moment. "But fer you? Mmm . . . 250."
"Tell me," Zojikoe said, idly rolling the amulet around on the table. "Do I look like a bitch?" Dil gave a sneeze that sounded suspiciously like 'yes.' Zoe ignored him and watched the merchant closely.
"Why, no sir, ye do not." Zoe slammed his fist down on the table, startling the merchant, Dil and Mezzen.
"Then why're you trying to fuck me like a bitch?!" He held the amulet up. "This piece of tin isn't worth more than 35 gold pieces, tops!"
"Piece of tin!" The merchant cried. "Dat dere is genuine, 24 karat gold! And that jewel is obviously a grade A ruby!"
"Do you think I'm stupid?" Dil'andau sneezed again and Zoe continued to ignore him. "You think I'm stupid don't you? I might not be a dwarf, but I know a cheap piece of imitation when I see one. This isn't 24 karat. And that isn't a ruby. Lloth, I'd be lucky if it was even some kind of semi-precious stone. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure it's glass. 40 gold pieces."
"Can't do it," the Dwarf said. "Won't do it. I won't be ripped off by a stinkin' Drow."
"I'm not the one doing the rippin', my friend," Zoe replied with a nasty smile. "You're just bitter because you thought you'd get an easy 250 gold. Now are you gonna take the 50 gold or am I going to give you back your piece of tin to wait for the next Drow who just happens to walk through your dirty little city stupid enough to believe it's worth anything more than 50 gold?" The dwarf hesitated, glaring at him, then, sullenly:
"A hunderd gold."
"Not a chance in hell," Zoe replied, dropping the amulet back onto the counter and starting to turn away. The Dwarf caught him by the arm.
"Now, now," he said, "no need to be hasty. I like ye, drow, I do. Ye've a good eye. I'll give you that little thing for 75 gold." Zoe turned back around and raised an eyebrow. He crossed his arms.
"75 gold, and a chain to string it on," he said. The dwarf sighed.
"Ye're gonna drive me to bankruptcy," he growled.
"75 and a chain, or no deal," Zoe said flatly.
"Fine," the dwarf grumbled, holding his hand out. "Done deal. Hand over the cash."
"Put the amulet on a chain and hand it to the boy, then I'll give you my cash." The dwarf threw his hands up in the air and stormed back into the back of his shop to find a chain. "And nothing cheap, either!" Zoe shouted after him. "I want gold or silver!" The dwarf shouted back something nasty enough to send Mezzen into another tizzy of questions. Zoe scooped the amulet up again and handed it down to Mezzen to examine.
"Is that what you wanted?" He asked. Mezzen frowned. It wasn't exactly what he wanted, but it was pretty damn close. The shape was a bit off, and it was a little bigger, but the color was the same and that was what mattered. He put it back on the counter as the Dwarf came back out, a silver chain clutched in his hand. Mezzen nodded at Zoe as the dwarf strung the amulet on the chain and held it out to Mezzen, who took it again greedily, shot the dwarf a mistrusting look, and studied it. Zoe handed over 75 gold pieces which the dwarf took greedily and studied. He bit into one and examined it then waved his hand.
"All right," he said. "I'm done wit' ye. Now git out of me sight. I've real customers to tend to."
"Hmph," Zoe huffed as they left the shop. "Real customers. Bull. I paid him twice what that thing is worth."
"You're a real cheap little bastard, you know that?" Dil asked.
"I'm not cheap, I'm frugal," Zoe said. "And it's not a bad trait to have." He looked down at his adopted son. "What did you want that thing for, anyway, Mezzen? For Rose? She already has one."
"Nope. I'm going to give it to Ka," he answered. Zoe and Dil'andau both blinked in surprise.
"'Scuse me?" Dil'andau demanded.
"It's for Ka," Mezzen repeated. "She gave hers away to Rose, so Rose wouldn't have to be scared of the illithids anymore, right?"
"Yes," Zoe said, giving the boy an appraising look.
"And you told me it was very especial to her."
"Special, yes Mezzen, it was."
"So I was thinking that that was really nice of her, but it kind of didn't seem fair since she lost her necklace. So I thought maybe I'd give her this one. It kind of looks like her old one, and I know it's not as special," he said the word carefully to avoid screwing it up again. "But maybe she can pretend that it's her old one . . ." He looked panicked all of a sudden. "You think she'll like it, don't you?" He asked. "I know she doesn't like me very much, but I just thought –"
"I think she'll like it, Mezzen," Zoe said hurriedly before the boy could send himself into a fit of hyperventilation. "If there's one thing Ka likes it's presents." He looked over at Dil. "You might want to keep that in mind. She didn't look too happy about the . . . uniforms you had Korgan pick out for them. You should put that away Mezzen, before you lose it, or someone else decides they want it and tries to take it."
"She'll get over it," Dil replied with a negligent wave, then grinned. "Did you see 'em? Ha! They were practically see through! I can't wait to see the girls in them! Speaking of the girls," he added slyly, "I see you and Rose got on, just swimmingly the other night." Zoe raised an eyebrow at him.
"What makes you think –"
"Oh come off it," Dil said. "You obviously got a piece of something. You've been in too good a mood not to have. You haven't even called me any names yet today. Only one thing can make a man that happy, Zoe my friend, and it's–"
"You're very crude, you know that?" Zoe demanded, cutting the fighter off before he could trigger more hard-to-answer questions from Mezzen.
"What?" Mezzen demanded. Too late apparently. "What makes a man happy?"
"Nothing, Mezzen, plug your ears." Mezzen frowned unhappily at the answer but did as he was told. He had had to plug his ears a lot since they'd gotten into the city. Dil'andau made an indelicate noise.
"I could put it just as pretty as pie and it wouldn't change what it is," he replied. "So . . . did you or didn't you?" Zoe heaved a heavy sigh but cast a glance at the fighter out of the corner of his eye.
"Yes," he said after a moment.
"And?" Dil asked, his grin huge. Zoe smiled a bit to himself in remembrance.
"It was good," he said. "Very good."
"Ha!" Dil cried, clapping Zoe on the back hard enough to make the Mage stumble the next few steps. "Told you my method couldn't fail!"
"Your method!" Zoe cried, rounding on the fighter. "Your method almost got me turned into a drider! That's what your method did! I was insane to even listen to you!"
"Hey, it worked didn't it?" Dil demanded.
"No," Zoe replied flatly. "It didn't."
"Oh yeah?" Dil cried. "Then where'd you get the sex, huh?"
"I got it from caving in and telling her everything!" He paused. "And by giving her a present." Dil stared at him blankly.
"Giving .. . ." He said, amazed. "Giving her something got you that far?"
"I told you," Zoe snapped. "Girls like presents. They just do. Lloth, why does my sister even like you?"
"'Cause I'm cute," Dil'andau answered, already lost in the possibilities of giving Ka something getting him something. He frowned suddenly and looked down at Mezzen. "Hey!" He barked. "Is that why he –"
"NO!" Zoe cried, resisting the urge to strangle Dil'andau. "Dammit, Dil'andau! He's just a boy! He doesn't even know what that is yet! Lloth, you're stupid." Dil'andau growled at him and rolled up his sleeve as though to hit the mage, but a cry from behind them stopped him short.
"THERE THEY ARE!" They all whipped around (except Mezzen who still had his fingers in his ears). Behind them the merchant who'd sold Mezzen the pendant was pointing at them. Behind him were several more dwarves which looked suspiciously like guards of some sort. "They stole a pendant from me!"
"I can't believe this," Zoe said flatly. "I can't believe this . . ."
"Believe it," Dil'andau growled as the dwarves closed in on them.
***
"Is he eating it yet?"
"I don't know, shut up," Ka hissed, waving ineffectually at the priestess. She closed her eyes and shut out the overly large kitchen they were standing in and reaching out with her mind for the dwarven king. "No," she growled. "He's still talking."
"Dammit," Rose hissed. "Why won't he eat it?"
"I don't know, shut up!" She hissed again. "I can't concentrate with you talking." The door to the kitchen suddenly burst open and a dwarf walked in, amused at the fact that two women jumped at the noise he made.
"'ey!" He shouted. "The King wants some entertainment!" He grinned at them. "I 'ope ye can dance."
"Um .. . . actually . . ." Rose said, but before she could finish her sentence the dwarf grabbed her by the arm and threw her bodily out of the kitchen, Ka following a moment later. They both landed hard on the floor in front of the gathering of dwarves. The short fighters were arranged along three tables, two set parallel to each other, with a third (the King seated at the center of it) set horizontal along the ends of them on the other end of the room. The dwarves laughed raucously and hammered their fists on the table at their appearance. Rose felt the heat of anger and embarrassment rise to her cheeks and it was all she could not to summon something to mess them all up right there.
"Ka," she hissed, pushing herself to her feet. "Use your powers and make him eat that food before I go over there and force feed it to him."
"Sing us a song!" Called one of the dwarves. The hall thundered with agreement. "Let's see ye dance!" Someone else shouted.
"Oh, I'll dance," Rose growled under her breath.
"Do something," Ka hissed. "I can't sing and dance and mind-fuck. It doesn't work that way."
"Um .. . ." Rose said. "Uh . . . what . . . what would you like to hear?" She stepped in front of Ka so that no one would see the vacant look that suddenly crossed her face. "I . . . uh . . . I know a lullaby . . ." That suggestion met with a chorus of boos. "Um . . . uh . . ." She watched as the King's eyes suddenly went distant and he reached for his fork. "Uh . . ." He moved for the plate with the poisoned food, but the dwarf right beside him suddenly reached forward and spilled the King's goblet all over the plate. The King looked as though he would eat it anyway, but a servant suddenly whisked the ruined food away and replaced it with another plate. The King took a huge bite as the servant disappeared behind the girls' backs into the kitchen. Ka and Rose stared at the thoughtfully chewing king with expressions of disbelief..
"A war song!" The King cried suddenly. "Let's hear a war-song!"
"I hate this," Rose whimpered.
"The boys had better be ready when its time," Ka growled, calling to mind the words to her old House war-song. "Or heads will roll."
***
"This is the song that doesn't end!
Yes it goes on, and on, my friend!
Some people, started singin' it, not knowing what it was!
But they'll continue singin' it, forever, just because,
This is the song that doesn't end . . ."
Zoe dropped himself back onto the hard wooden cot in the corner of the small cell they'd been thrown into and covered his pointed ears with his hands. Dil had been singing that song non-stop for the past half hour. Fifteen minutes ago Mezzen had finally learnt all the words and had joined in, pausing only to ask Zoe why he wasn't singing too. Over in the corner Slayer curled up and slept, dead to the noise around it.
Covering his ears, however, provided him no relief, but before he could finally lose his patience and his temper, the door to the jail burst open and two guards strode in, lead by Shagbag, who fixed Zojikoe with the biggest, dirtiest grin he'd ever seen.
"Well now," said the vile little man, "if it isn't Korgan's bag o' tricks and his little friends. You two are supposed to be at the palace." Dil'andau climbed to his feet.
"Would have been," he said defensively, "if the little bastards behind you hadn't decided to lock us up in here."
"Never mind that," Zoe said impatiently, waving Dil off. He forced himself to hide a relieved smile. They would finally be out of the wretched jail. "Let us out, quickly, so we can go finish our job." Shagbag's grin only grew wider, however.
"Well, now, wizard, yer hardly in a position to be makin' demands," the dwarf said with a rough laugh. "If ye want out of there, ye'll have to be doin' me a favour first." The look on the dwarf's face left very little doubt as to the kind of 'favour' the dwarf had in mind.
Zoe could feel his face go pale as he suddenly came to understand how Shagbag might have earned his name . . .
***
"Where are they?!" Rose hissed, wincing at the wave of heat that came billowing up out of the stove as she attempted to reach in and pull out the cake that had been in there. "The dinner's almost over!"
"They aren't in the palace," Ka reported, her eyes going distant, "or anywhere nearby for that matter." Rose cast her a concerned glance as she pulled out the cake and hastily cast it onto the table in front of Ka, sucking furiously on her index finger which had been burnt through a hole in the gloves she'd used.
"You don't think Korgan . . ."
"Double-crossed us?" Ka finished with a dark frown, gingerly pulling the cake over to her and spreading on a generous dose of icing. "I doubt it. He was sincere about wanting this guy dead. More likely they were jumped by some kind of dwarven thieves and are lying face down in a ditch with their throats slit." Rose looked furious.
"They'd better be," she muttered, "because if they haven't got a good excuse for not being here they will be." Ka gave her current icing job a dubious look, then shrugged and immediately attacked the cake with the icing she held in her hand.
"So what do we do?" She demanded. "We're on our last bit of poison and given the way our night's been going he probably won't eat this either —" they had tried three times after the first to poison the king but each time something had prevented it (the last time the alcohol the king had been drinking had finally kicked in right after he'd finally taken a bite and he'd simply thrown it back up again) – "and we haven't got a fighter to do it the old fashioned way, or a mage to summon a demon to blame it on." She grumbled and stopped talking for a moment, concentrating on arranging the icing to look like a boat – the king apparently had a thing for pirate stories and had requested a pirate cake. To her credit, Ka, who had never seen a boat in her life, wasn't doing half bad. She brightened abruptly. "Hey, wait!" She said. "You're a priestess! Why don't you summon something? Something big. Then we won't have to do anything." She paused and licked a finger, then made a face at the over-sweetness of the icing. No wonder the dwarves had such bad teeth. "Well . . . I'll take care of the King, just to be sure. I don't trust the lucky bugger to die on his own." She frowned when Rose didn't immediately answer and cast the priestess a sharp look over her cake. Rose didn't notice and Ka scowled, not noticing when a large blob of icing landed in a splotch on the boat she had been trying to make, more or less ruining the desired effect. "Well?" She demanded impatiently. Rose shook her head and frowned hesitantly.
"It's not that easy . . ." She said vaguely. Ka frowned dubiously and raised an eyebrow.
"Yes it is," she countered. "I may not be a priestess, but I know how it works. It is that easy."
"But you're not counting . . ." She let her voice trail off and an expression of insecurity (which Ka had never seen before) suddenly flashed across her face. The psion blinked in surprise and stared in consternation at the ruby pendant around Rose's neck which kept her from breaking into the priestess' mind and making the whole conversation that much easier.
"Look," she said flatly, "can you do it or not? Because if you can't, we're going to be stuck here, slaving away for that short little fucker and his friends for the rest of our lives. Somehow I don't think Korgan will go out of his way to rescue us, and Zoe and Dil are obviously not about to hold up their end of the arrangements." Rose still looked unconvinced, so Ka threw her a dark, threatening look. "If you'd prefer I can have Rain send some of his buddies to come and get us . . ." Rose stared at Ka with wide, horrified eyes and shuddered.
"Why do you insist on doing that?" She demanded. "No illithids." She scowled. "I'll kill myself, Ka, I swear it. Don't you dare."
Like I would, Rain muttered in her brain.
Go away, she retorted flatly. I haven't got time for you right now. She turned back to Rose before the illithid could argue and picked up the half-iced cake. "Look man," she snapped, "whatever your problem is, get over it. I'm going out there to give them this fucking cake, and then if he won't eat it, I'm just going to kill him. If you haven't got something big and nasty out there by the time that happens, we're both screwed. Either way at least I won't have to spend any more time in this shitty palace . . ." She moved away before Rose could argue and pushed herself out the door to a raucous chorus of catcalls and other noises.
"Dammit, Ka," Rose scowled, whirling around in a fury. "You don't understand . . ." She hurried over to a mirror hanging on the far wall of the kitchen and stood before it, wincing at her own appearance. She had been relieved of everything that marked her as a priestess of Lloth to avoid arousing suspicion of her actual power and purpose. She sighed bitterly as she grabbed a candle off the wall and lit it.
"This is going to look so bad . . ." She murmured, steeling her courage and starting to pray.
***
Mezzen stared at the closed door that was blocking his view of Zojikoe and the ugly dwarf who'd gone in there with him. They'd been in there for fifteen minutes, and though he couldn't say why, Mezzen felt distinctly uneasy about the whole situation. He turned to ask Dil'andau what they were doing in there, but the drow fighter was busy picking his teeth and humming a bawdy song to himself. Mezzen quickly decided that Dil might not be the one to ask. He turned back to the door and turned his mind inward instead.
What are they doing in there? He inquired mentally of his old master.
They're . . . playing, Mezzen, replied the illithid in a pained tone he usually used when he really didn't want to talk about something.
Playing what? Mezzen asked. How come I can't play? Why didn't Zoe look happy if they were just playing? The illithid sighed heavily.
You ask too many questions, Mezzen. You're far too curious for your own good, the illithid grumbled. It fell silent for a moment, but couldn't help but add: Why don't you go ask your new mother. I'm sure she'll tell you. After all, she knows everything. Rotten, lying thieves usually do. Mezzen rolled his eyes but declined to comment. He had learnt early on that Rose was a touchy subject with his master, and vice versa and had decided as a general rule not to discuss one with the other. They each had their own way of dealing with it: his master by adding in catty little remarks which Mezzen ignored, and Rose by simply ignoring the fact that the boy was mentally attached to one of the 'tentacled freaks' that had locked her in a closet.
Why won't you tell me what they're doing? He asked petulantly. Don't you like me any more? He could feel the illithid soften.
That was a very mean thing to say, Mezzen, you should know me better than that. I'm doing this for your own good, you know. You're too young for it, his master replied. That's not for you, Mezzen. Maybe when you're older. Mezzen pouted, but his eyes narrowed slyly.
Fine, he said. Then maybe I will ask Rose. She probably knows more about it than you anyway, since she's a drow too . . . He felt a little guilty about the sudden surge of hurt and panic he could feel in his master, but in general he didn't feel guilty for long about things that got him his way, and this was no exception. The illithid hesitated for a long moment, but eventually his urge to show up Mezzen's new 'owner' got the best of him.
Mezzen .. . . when a man, loves a man very much, sometimes they – He was cut off as the door that Mezzen was staring at suddenly burst open and Zojikoe came running out, the keys clutched tightly in his hand.
"Ha!" Dil practically crowed. "I always knew you were gay." He made a face suddenly. "But with a dwarf? Fuck, Zoe, I thought you had standards."
"Shut up," Zoe snarled, "and keep your voice down. I didn't do anything, all right? I put the stupid . . ." He bit off the word 'fucker' when he realized Mezzen was staring at him with wide eyes, " . . . jerk to sleep with a spell. We have to get out of here before he wakes up. Lloth, I hope the girls are okay." He jammed the keys roughly into the lock on the jail and ripped open the door. "Come on, we have to get to the palace before something goes wrong.."
***
Vendui, Priestess, the handmaiden said, her expression unimpressed. Rose clutched Ka's pendant in a white-knuckled grip and fought the urge to put it back on. She'd had the distinct impression this wasn't going to go well when the glowing light which takes the reason for your summoning and determines it's worthiness didn't even give her the chance to say what she wanted. It had taken one look at her and immediately the handmaiden (the tentacled handmaiden) had appeared. The tone the yochlol was using was doing nothing to help her confidence. We've been wondering when you'd finally try this.
A crash and a frantic shout from the room outside sounded despite the heavy doors in the way.
"HEY! THAT'S NOT YOUR CAKE, FUCKER! THAT'S THE KING'S CAKE!"
Neither Rose nor the handmaiden acknowledged Ka's shout.
"Greetings," Rose said, the look on the handmaiden's hideous face not doing anything for the butterflies in her stomach either. "Um . . . first, I would like to, uh . . . apologize for the lack of . . . of . . . carnage in Lloth's name on my account. I . . . know I've been lax, but I can –"
Save it, Rose, snapped the handmaiden. We know all about what you've been up to for the last few months, and I don't really think I need to tell you that Lloth is unimpressed to say the least.
"NO! DON'T EAT THAT! ARGH!"
Rose swallowed thickly and barely managed to withhold a wince.
"I . . .. humbly beg the forgiveness of the great Spider Mother for my transgressions," she said stiffly.
Don't fret, Rose, the handmaiden said in a bored voice. You stand higher in Lloth's eyes than some— The handmaiden muttered something Rose couldn't quite make out but she could have sworn she heard the words 'Matron Streeka'Xukuth' and 'stoned' – even if you have wasted the past few months gallivanting around the Underdark instead of performing the proper rites and sacrifices inherent in your position, let alone any kind of acceptable amount of worship. You are not beyond redemption yet.
"What . .. . what must I do to redeem myself and regain Lloth's favor?" The handmaiden grinned nastily at her, suddenly becoming interested in their conversation – a fact which made Rose more nervous than ever.
It's quite simple really, she said, looking deeply pleased at something. Give up the boy. Sacrifice him to Lloth.
There was another crash from the outside room and a loud thud. "IF I CATCH YOU EATING SOMEONE ELSE'S CAKE AGAIN, I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A SLICE OF KA'S SPECIAL PAIN CAKE!" Rose forced herself to keep her expression neutral – no mean feat all things considered, even if she had more or less expected this.
"W-What boy?" She asked desperately. "There is no boy." The handmaiden glared at her.
Don't push it Rose, it snapped mentally. Rose struggled to keep her breathing even.
"But . .. . I can't just . . . Dil'andau!" She gasped suddenly. "I'll sacrifice Dil'andau instead! Would that do it? Would he count?"
No, snapped the handmaiden. It's the boy or Lloth's favor, Rose. Rose looked as though someone was slowly cutting off her airflow.
"But . .. . Mezzen's just . . ."
Look at yourself, Rose! The handmaiden cried exasperatedly. You are a priestess of Lloth! And instead of acting like one you're wasting your time wandering aimlessly around the Underdark and doting on a foolish little heathen child instead of on your Goddess – the only one who should be receiving your devotion.
"No!" Rose gasped, her voice strangled. "No! It's not like that! He's just a boy! He . .. . he needs me . . ."
Precisely, the handmaiden said. He is a boy. A needy little boy who is distracting you from your true tasks. It rolled its eyes suddenly at the expression on Rose's face. This shouldn't even be an issue! He's not even your boy. What's wrong with your brain?!
"Yes he is," Rose said, immediately defensive. "He is mine! He's my son! Zoe and I . . . I mean, I've adopted him! He's a Velve'Pa'Das now!"
House Velve'Pa'Das no longer exists, the handmaiden snapped.
"Streeka'Xukuth then!" Rose cried desperately. "They'll have to take he and I in when we go back to Ched Nasad! Tradition demands it!"
You aren't helping anything by bringing them up, the handmaiden said dryly. A worse House I have yet to see . . . except, perhaps, Venorik'Zress . . . who, I can't help but notice, you have also attached yourself to. She shook her head. Stop stalling, Rose. The boy must die. He is clouding your judgment and making you soft. He knows nothing of your people. He has been ruined by the illithids, and Lloth has no patience for ruined drow.
"But he's not ruined," Rose said frantically. "I can . . . I can save him! I swear it! And he's not a heathen! I've already started his education in the Drow ways and religion! He'll know how to worship Lloth properly soon –" The handmaiden suddenly laughed coldly.
Education?! It cried. "We worship Lloth because she's cool." Your words I believe. You call that an education?
" – and when he grows up he'll be the best fighter and mage this side of anywhere!" Rose continued, ignoring the handmaiden's jibe. "All for Lloth! He'll fight in her name! I swear it! I do!"
You're running out of time, Rose, the handmaiden said shortly. And I am out of patience. Prove your loyalty to Lloth and kill the boy, or be cast out and stripped of your powers and status. The drowess stared helplessly back at the handmaiden.
"Have . .. . have my years of service meant nothing, then?" She asked, playing her last card. "I've served Lloth faithfully my whole life. I've dedicated myself to nothing else. Does that come to nothing? Has it all been for nothing?"
Will you kill the boy? The handmaiden countered.
"No," Rose whispered, her voice barely audible.
Then yes, the handmaiden replied, her voice harsh. It has all been for nothing. She shook her head in disappointment. You could have been great, Rose. And you've cast it all aside for the sake of a mere child. From now on you will find nothing but death anywhere Lloth is worshipped. She made a gesture that Rose recognized and from the other room panicked screams suddenly erupted, overridden by a loud roar and the skittering of dire spider legs. Not for you, the handmaiden said darkly at Rose's perplexed look. King Theodoric has been harassing Drow surface parties for some time now, and Lloth has grown tired of his meddling. Enjoy what time you have with your boy, Rose, if you can. And know that you've given up everything you ever wanted for him. And then she was alone in the kitchen.
Maniacal laughter echoed from the other room. "EAT SPIDER, JERKASS!"
Rose finally allowed her knees to give out and collapsed, trembling onto the floor. She closed her eyes tightly and choked back a terrified scream.
Meanwhile, out in the dining room, Ka watched with a wide grin as the dire spiders and the balor that had appeared out of nowhere ripped through the dwarves gathered, cutting a bloody swath through the room and leaving dwarven bodies and pieces everywhere. Once every last dwarf in the room was dead the summoned creatures all disappeared in individual flashes of light. After the last one left, Rose finally dragged herself out of the kitchen and stumbled weakly into the dining room. She looked around with dead eyes at the carnage in the room. Ka frowned.
"What's with you?" She demanded. "You look like someone ate your kid." Rose shot her a baleful look that made no sense to the psion – who was once again cursing her decision to leave Rose with her father's pendant – and turned away.
"Let's just . . . go find the boys," she said quietly. But the suggested action proved to be unnecessary when the door to the dining room suddenly burst open and Zojikoe and Dil'andau burst in, panting, out of breath, and striking a dynamic pose.
"This party's over!" Cried Dil.
"No shit," Ka said nastily. "No thanks to you two champions. Where the hell were you?"
"Where's Mezzen?" Rose demanded. Zoe blinked at her expression and the urgency in her voice.
"I . . .. left him in a closet back down the hall. Figured he might not be ready for this kind of carnage up close. Didn't want him hyperventilating over whatever we –" But Rose was no longer listening, and was instead running down the hall and calling for the boy. Zoe watched her perplexedly, then whirled around and frowned at Ka.
"What did you do to her?!" He demanded.
"As if you killed them all without me!" Dil'andau cried, offended. "That was very selfish of you."
"Shut up, Dil," the siblings said at the same time. "Just shut up."