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Chapter Two.

Conspiracies.

Vrae'Jysala Qed'Vursys, third daughter of Matron Mother Phyrbreena Qed'Vursys, sighed as she sat back in her chair. The slender female lifted her slim, delicate hands and pressed them against her eyes, feeling with relief their warmth pressed against her eyelids. She sighed and let her body relax, though only slightly, for to relax in back-stabbing Menzoberranzan amounted to about the same thing as pressing a dagger against your own throat.

The female abruptly dropped her hands from her eyes and eyed the unwelcome paper in front of her with utter hate. "Xsa." she muttered beneath her breath, the drow word for 'damn.'

A second look brought an even more profound curse from the female.

As Keeper of the Chapel, the K'lar d'Lolth Lani, (Location of Lolth Keeper), Vrae'Jysala was in charge of the overall condition of the family chapel, the birth records, the death records, thetrade records, etc. etc. etc. So far, what she saw was not what she liked.

"Oh, xsa dos jal ulu uoi'nota." she muttered venomously, straightening sharply so that her chair verily tipped over. A goblin slave, stripped to the waist and graced with vicious scars across its hunched back and shoulders, lept to catch the chair and right it. It did not exactly suceed, sliding across the floor to collapse entangled with the chair, but Vrae'Jysala was too preoccupied to pay attention to the terrified slave - much to its profound relief. Resting one hand easily on the reassuring, cool adamtite handle of her snakewhip so casually worn at her slender waist, the drow stalked from the room, scattering slaves in her wake. When a group of goblins did not move fast enough to suit the ill-temperedVrae'Jysala, a swift snap of the whip literarily swept the vermin from her path. The female was in no mood to look upon the ugly groveling things.

Stalking from the Room of Records to her own private chambers, Vrae'Jysala collapsed into a chair, somehow making so exhasted an act look amazingly graceful. Black cloth wrapped around theHigh Priestess, but that alone would have been inappropriate to the eyes of a surface dweller as it alone showed off her lithe and shapely legs, arms and graceful neck to a great degree. Black robes, loosely worn over the cloth dress, covered the female's legs and arms and were embrodiered with the sacred red-and-purple symbols of Lolth that marked her as a High Priestess of the Spider Queen. When she moved, one could see the silver glint of chainmail beneath the robes and cloth dress. On a slender belt adorned with rubies and sil'ilos, the rare violet-colored gems found only in the Underdark, hung her trusted snake-whip and two slender maces designed to look like spiders and blessed by Lolth, along with a slender dirk, her hand-crossbow, a case of darts and four scroll-cases for when there was no time to recite spells. Daggers rested at her wrists, in her boots, and at her waist.

Despite her guardings, Vrae'Jysala did not expect to do battle this day. This was her place: no one entered without her knowledge.

Stretching delicately, themaroon-eyed drow femalerose from the chair and began to pace the room, head bowed and hands clasped behind her back, thinking hard.None ofthe kobolds or goblins were fool enough to get inher path.

Afterabout several minutes of this, Vrae'Jysala halted suddenly and snapped a commanding glare upon the nearest slave, a rather skinny goblin. "You." the goblin froze and stared pointedly at the floor. "Get me LiNeerithra Qed'Vursys."

The slave scurried for the door, too slow for Vrae'Jysala's impatience. "Now." she snapped after it as it broke into a run.

SIghing, the female slipped onto the floor, robes and dress whispering against the stone, and fell into a meditative position. Silently she searched herself for the inner core of cool patience that she had always within her. She used it to burn away the hot impatience of her anger and let it take the anger's place, feeling the mental coolness wash over her. The physical coolness as the anger faded happened moments later.

Now fully composed, Vrae'Jysala rose and swiftlytucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, running her hands down her dress, smoothing it. Moving to the chair once more, she satdown in it and rested her hands comfortably on her arms of the chair, leaning back slightly but positioning her feet so she could leap out of the chair imeadiately, should the time arise.

The goblin slave scrambled back in, this time with a drow female a few years younger than Vrae'Jysala in tow. "Mistress LiNeerithra Qed'Vursys, Mistress."the goblin bowed repeatedly and stupidly to both females as it backed out of the room.

LiNeerithra swept in, nodding regally to her sister and spreading her hands. "Well met, my dear sister."

Vrae'Jysala aknowledged this with a nod of her own. "And you. Please do be seated, my dear adopted sister. We have much to . . . discuss."

LiNeerithra nodded again and seated herself in the chair.

"The birth rate of females in the city has gone down." LiNeerithra binked."In fact, our family is one of the few that has more female children than males."

LiNeerithra nodded.

"Many of the upper Houses grow week - you know why."

"Lack of priestesses and clerics alike."

"Correct. There was one family in paticular - House Tovsr'raen - that is unusually week."

"Oh? How so?"

"A young - very young - matron, not yet seen her hundreth year, and only two daughters, neither of them High Priestesses yet. The youngest is not even out her childhood!"

"What rank does House Tovsr'raen hold?"

"Eigth House."

LiNeerthra nodded. House Qed'Vursys, asTwelth House, would profit from a coop against Tovsr'raen. Considering, she leaned back, eyes on her sister. "And, if we were to inform Matron Phyrbreena about this weak House, would that by any chance inturrupt our plans?"

Vrae'Jysala shook her head. "No: not that I know of. I believed for a minute they might, but I know how to avoid that unwelcome event."

LiNeerithra nodded. "In that case . . . "

Vrae'Jysala smiled. "To us." She proclaimed, lifting one of her maces into the air. LiNeerithra imeadiately tipped her chair back out of range.

Vrae'Jysala smiled. "Fear not, dear sister, I do not seek your death. Be a good girl and toast with me."

LiNeerithra, not seeing any plot, but certainly not trusting the devious drow, responded in kind, keeping her weapon out long after Vrae'Jysala had replaced her own.

"You may leave now." Vrae'Jysala gestured towards the door. LiNeerithra, ever suspecting, narrowed her eyes slightly but rose to leave.

"Oh, and dear," LiNeerithra froze. Vrae'Jysala hid a smirk behind her words, "if you happen to see our dear cousin Greyayne, do inform her that I would delight in being in her company again. So much we have to discuss. You must join us."

LiNeerithra smirked at her sister. "My pleasure, Vrae'Jysala. Of course." Inclining her head, the drow left the room.

Outside the door, she paused and allowed herself to breathe. She had not been found out, after all. Glory be to Lolth, that was close! Shaking her head, the female composed herself and swept away.

Inside the room, having risen from her chair, Vrae'Jysala nodded to herself.

Things were indeed going as planned

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