Author's Note: So, this was a tough chapter to write. Hopefully, there was the right balance of sentiment and drow attitude in the sisters' reunion. Feedback would be much appreciated. Also, skywiseskychan, your ability to read my creative mind is both super awesome and slightly terrifying. Thank you so much for your reviews.
"I think we should probably let them have a private moment," Cessair whispered after the priestess brushed by them, headed for Val's room. Galen was convinced that it was bullshit and something sinister was going on or that the priestess of Lloth was straight out lying to them. But the rogue had seen Val without her mask on and had to admit that the resemblance was uncanny. Combined with the fact that she called Menzoberranzan her home...
Come to think of it, Val had never actually explicitly said that she wasn't a drow. She'd just disguised herself and let them draw their own conclusions. The arcanist was surprisingly good at misleading people without saying anything. Cessair supposed she shouldn't have been surprised, but it did shock her. She'd grown up hearing the stories. Why would a drow agree to help them? Well, maybe to lure them to their deaths. But Val had taken what should have been a killing blow for her, something that would have slain the mage without her strange binding magic. That raised a lot of questions that she definitely wanted answered. She wanted to burst in and confront Val and the new priestess; her gut, however, was telling her not to intrude on this and she hadn't lived this long by ignoring it. Besides, if Val really wasn't on good terms with her family, this could get ugly really, really quickly.
"Leave it alone, lad," Storunn advised sagely even though he didn't like the situation much more than their paladin. "Sisters or no, I've a feelin' they'll be needin' some time."
"You too?" Galen demanded, crossing his arms.
"Call it self-preservation," the dwarf said with a shrug. "I'm gonna get a pint. Meet ye in our room."
On the other side of the door, Lirayne summoned up her nerve. She'd stepped in so quietly that Valyne hadn't heard her and closed out the outside world just as softly. The younger drowess was sitting on the edge of her bed, her mask lying on the bedside table. She could barely believe how much Valyne had changed in just ten years-her exile had done more to her than almost two centuries of simple growing up. There was hardness to her that had been utterly absent before. It made sense...making a way alone in the wilds meant descending to cruelty and violence with abandon. But she could also sense powerful magic radiating from her sister, so dark and corrupted that it felt more like being in the presence of a demon than another drow.
She swallowed hard at that realization and closed her eyes, desperately trying not to think of her last encounter with a demon. Valyne wasn't like that. She had always been the least cruel, the least vindictive, the least evil. Hopefully, that hadn't changed.
When she parted her lips to say her sister's name, no sound came out. She was still terrified, but she knew that if she relied on her anger here that Valyne wouldn't lift a finger to help her. She'd have to show what she really felt, be genuinely vulnerable, and that was even more horrifying and frightening a prospect than the idea of being on the receiving end of her sister's anger. "Valyne," she forced out, voice cracking slightly.
Val's head jerked up and she stared with wide eyes for a moment. Then they narrowed sharply and she was on her feet, hurling a silvery bolt of magic at the wall next to her sister's head. "You!"
"Valyne, please!" Lirayne pleaded, flinching instinctively away from the dangerous magic. "I know you're angry, I do."
"Angry?" Valyne snarled, that vicious black rage surging up from the pit of her stomach. Her sister was fortunate that she was exhausted from binding earlier in the day, otherwise the confrontation would have been far more bloody. "Angry?" Her voice hit a high pitch that had never come out of her throat before. Her whole body was trembling as though it was barely able to contain her emotions. "I was exiled because of you!"
"I had nothing to do with that! It was Zesstra's doing, and I hate her as much if not more than you do," Lirayne said, forcing herself not to explode. Goddess, but did she loathe her older sister. There would be a comeuppance. She held up both hands in a pacifying gesture. "I know I didn't stop her. Maybe I could have, but knowing what I know now, I doubt it."
Val bared her teeth in a vicious grin that had nothing to do with amusement or good humor. "What do you want?" she asked in a lower, controlled voice. She was calming down gradually, knowing that if she and Lirayne got into a fight, the inn that they were standing in could be leveled. She didn't want to give the duergar cause to imprison or kill her. "Here to lord my exile over me? Or maybe you want a new pawn to help you take out Zesstra?"
"Neither," Lirayne said, stepping forward cautiously. Her younger sister didn't move, but she didn't relax either. "I do need your help. But it has nothing to do with Zesstra. Nothing to do with me being Matron-Goddess knows I don't want that." The last part was barely more than a whisper, but the arcanist still caught it.
It surprised her, though she didn't let it show. For her whole life, she'd seen her sisters fight for power. Lirayne had been as ambitious as any proper noble drowess. But now there wasn't a hint of pride or vanity or arrogance in her bearing. She looked smaller, almost fragile despite her armor. And, Valyne noted with confusion, she looked sincere. "Why should I help you?" the demonbinder asked, affecting disinterest to hide her suspicion. Her connection with her sisters had never really been pleasant.
"I'll do anything," Lirayne said quietly. "Anything you want. Leave Menzoberranzan and the House, even. Just please."
Val couldn't help her sharp inhale. She was looking at a very different Lirayne than the one she'd grown up with. Something had happened, something serious. And really, she wasn't as angry as she had initially seemed with her sister. First of all, Lirayne was right: even if the priestess had wanted to intervene and stop Zesstra's little plot, she wouldn't really have had a way to. The only one who could have spoken up was Keldzar. And yes, their relationship had always been broken and colored by a knowledge that they had been born enemies. But Val could recognize the vulnerability in the way Lirayne wasn't meeting her eyes and she didn't want to inflict more damage than had already been done. She could be cruel and vindictive, but not that cruel.
Besides, the Matron had tried to teach her youngest daughter that whatever their rivalry, she and Lirayne were still sisters at the end of the day. That meant protecting each other when faced with an outside enemy whatever their personal feelings.
"What do you need?" Val said quietly, relaxing out of her casting stance. She noticed the way Lirayne's knees seemed to go weak with relief for a second.
"I..." Lirayne felt her throat start to close again and her eyes burned. When her vision started to blur, she looked away from her sister. Every time she started to think about it at all, her mind went immediately back to that horrible temple and the demon that had held her in its thrall. "I...I can't. Just cast a life detection spell."
Val frowned, fingers flicking as she wove the spell silently. The world around her became hazy and indistinct, colored with vague shadows of people who had left the room. Her sister stood out brightly, aura pulsing with life. And wrapped up in her aura was another, a tiny and distinct life. But there was something wrong with it, terribly wrong. Val reached out with her own magic to divine more. The taint was unmistakable: it was the same one that twisted her own soul. Immediately she let the spell drop and looked up at her sister.
Lirayne stood with her shoulders hunched and her arms wrapped around herself as though she was trying to be as small as possible. Her eyes were haunted, looking off to the left in an effort to hide the hints of tears appearing. Valyne didn't know what the story was, but she didn't need the details to put two and two together. After all, she knew demons better than anyone...particularly the things they so loved to do to unwilling captives. This was no blessing of Lloth with how her sister looked.
Whatever animosity she had felt towards her older sister for their years of fighting faded to a bare shadow in that moment. She crossed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around Lirayne's trembling shoulders. "It's going to be alright," she said with a quiet fierceness. Her sister had been dealing with this all by herself for long enough. "I'll do whatever you need me to, Lirayne. I promise. You're not alone."
Fingers dug into her back, holding onto her tightly. She thought she heard a choked sob from the priestess. "I knew you were the best of us," Lirayne whispered thickly. Her tears were a mix of relief, gratitude, pain, and sheer overwhelming emotions she couldn't identify, let alone name. She suffered them in silence, trying not to let Val realize she was crying. After all, it would have been the first time her sister had ever seen her look so weak.
When Lirayne had finally collected herself a little and stepped back, Val looked away so they could both pretend that it wasn't obvious that Lirayne's eyes were red or her cheeks wet. The priestess swiped at the offending tears with her hand, incredibly grateful that Val wasn't looking at her with pity. "It was a balor or something equally powerful," she said, hating how weak her voice sounded. "It and its followers have taken over what used to be Niar'hannenlyn. I don't know how it got across...it would have taken a lot of summoners. I couldn't cast. I couldn't do anything."
Val sat down on the edge of her bed and patted the spot next to her. Lirayne sat down after a brief hesitation, recognizing that her sister was trying to make it easier for her to talk-this way, she could look at the wall instead of into someone's eyes. "If you couldn't cast, that means it wasn't just a rogue balor," she said quietly. "It's in the service of something much more powerful. Only a demon lord's influence could disrupt divine magic like that."
It was some small comfort to the priestess that her goddess hadn't, in fact, abandoned her. "What would a demon lord want with this plane?" Lirayne asked softly.
"Nothing good," Val said grimly. "How many were there?"
"Dozens and dozens of cultists and lesser demons. But when I was under its thrall...deeper in the ruins there's a rift, a tear into the Abyss that demons can pass through. It's building an army," Lirayne said with a shudder. She could still see it in her mind's eye, a bottomless well of darkness spawning forth all kinds of demons from masses of twisted, corrupted flesh and mortal sin. "We'll need to know who we're fighting. And we'll need the House."
"Tomorrow, we'll leave for Menzoberranzan," Val said, her voice firm with conviction. "Goddess willing, this won't continue and the city will be left untouched."
"Do you mean to bring your...companions?" the cleric said as diplomatically as she knew how. It was incredibly jarring to think of her younger sister running round with a half elf, a shield dwarf, and what was clearly a paladin from his aura of good.
"I doubt I could get rid of them if I wanted to." The arcanist sighed, flopping back on the bed. "You know, I had them convinced I wasn't a drow for the longest time. It was kind of sad that they bought it, actually. It'll be nice not to have to pretend."
Lirayne laughed for the first time since she'd stepped into those ruins, grinning almost impishly down at her younger sister. "The Matron's pet anything but a drow? I find that very difficult to believe."
"Then you'll love the fact that I survived on the surface for ten years, still paying homage to Lloth every day," Val said lightly, pushing the thoughts of this new enemy to the back of her mind for the moment. She looked over at her sister. "Do you want to talk about the whole child thing?"
The priestess sobered up, again appreciating the fact that her younger sister was giving her a choice. No one else would have extended her such consideration. Something around Lirayne's eyes softened a little. "I...regret how I used to act," she ventured quietly. "I think I might have liked actually talking to my younger sister."
"Start over?" Val offered, surprising even herself. For so long she'd been so angry. Then again, what was the saying? Absence makes the heart grow fonder? Neither of them were very good at showing these weak emotions.
"I can't promise that I'll be very good at it," Lirayne said quietly. "I still have a temper. And you'll probably still drive me absolutely insane. But underneath it...I'll try."
"And I'm certain I'll gleefully act out to annoy you now and again. But I have your back. We both know I don't care about being Matron, so let's just forget about that." It was as close to an apology and reconciliation as they would probably ever get.
"I might like that," the priestess conceded stiffly, pretending to don her normal guard before dropping it again a moment later. "About the...you know...I don't know what to do. I don't feel ready, but maybe I never would be on my own."
"Vith, I'm not ready to be an aunt," Valyne said with just a touch of a smile. "It's a girl, you know."
A secret smile crept across Lirayne's face. "I know," she said softly, hand resting on her abdomen. "When I reach out with my magic, I can feel her push back just a little. It makes up for the vomiting my guts out. She's been a part of my life maybe a month and a half, but I can't imagine not having her. That's why I'm afraid."
Val raised an eyebrow and waited patiently for her sister to continue.
Lirayne swallowed hard. "I read the books in your study. I know there aren't more half demons because of how hard the pregnancy is. How often they miscarry. Not to mention the nightmare that's birth," the priestess said. She knew that without the help of powerful healing magic and a lot of luck, usually the mother died in labor and often the infant did too. "That's what I really want your help with. I don't care what happens to me. But I don't want to lose her."
"You're going to make a good mother," Valyne said, Lirayne's words reminding her strongly of their own mother's protective streak. "I promised I would do whatever you need." She smirked a little, adding a touch of teasing humor to lighten the grimness of the conversation. "I think it's sweet that a priestess like you has feelings."
Her older sister growled and gave her a fiery glare. "If you ever tell anyone that I've gone this soft in the head, I don't care how powerful of a mage you are: I will end you."
"That's the Lirayne I remember," Val said with a smile, getting up and donning her mask. Immediately, the aura of corruption was disguised. Now Lirayne could understand how her sister managed to function alongside a paladin without risking death. "Well, since you're traveling with the others, I think introductions are in order. Also, don't be alarmed if you find yourself wanting to beat the paladin's face in. I have that exact urge all the time."
They walked together down the hall to the room Galen and Storunn were sharing, more relaxed in each other's presence than they had been in years. Things were still far from perfect. But, at least for now, they had a truce. Val's knock was answered almost immediately by Cessair, who looked at her with wide blue eyes. "Is everything okay?" the half elf asked with open concern. Drow though she obviously was, Val was still a friend.
"We need to talk," Valyne said softly. "But first, I think introductions were in order." She stepped in and graciously motioned for the priestess to join them. "This is my older sister, Lirayne. Yes, she is a priestess of Lloth. No, she does not plan to sacrifice anyone here. Galen here is a paladin of Torm and Storunn is a competent warrior."
The shield dwarf chuckled. That was as close to a compliment as he'd ever gotten from the masked woman. He was a gruff, quiet sort himself, so he didn't really mind. His personal opinion of Val had risen significantly after Cessair told him more of the details of the fight, of course omitting the reason they were in the fight and the demon channeling.
Cessair watched Lirayne uneasily. She'd learned to deal with Valyne's prickly nature and frigid shoulder pretty quickly, but something told her that the cleric ran hot in her passions rather than cold. The priestess of Lloth's attitude towards her seemed a mixture of bafflement and disdain, which was at least preferable to hatred. "I'm just a troublemaker they keep around for discrete work," she said with a forced cheer, giving the older drowess a little wave.
Lirayne's lip curled slightly, but she said nothing. The teachings of Lloth were very, very specific when it came to surface elves. At least the girl wasn't wearing a symbol of Corellon. Then there would have been blood, no matter how friendly she was with Valyne.
"So you are a drow, then," Galen said roughly, standing up. He was wearing his armor, though he'd set his shield aside. His hand was on his sword and mistrust was etched into every feature. "Why did you agree to help us? Why were you on the surface? A plot of Lloth's?"
"I suggest you move your hand away from that little butter knife and clear cobwebs out of your ears," Lirayne said sharply, cutting in. She wasn't in the greatest mood at the moment and had never accepted insubordination from any male. "The ones between them are obviously beyond hope, but perhaps one of your companions can be persuaded to translate our explanation into whatever language it is that you troglodytes speak."
Val smiled behind her mask. The day Lirayne stopped being a raving bitch to people who annoyed her would be the day Lloth left the Abyss to kiss up to the Seldarine. It was strangely refreshing to have someone on her side.
Galen's face had turned a color that looked almost purple, but he was shattered out of his anger by a laugh from his half sister. "I can definitely see the family resemblance now," Cessair said impishly.
"Aye," Storunn said, stroking his beard to hide his smile. "Give the lass a chance to explain. She did take a hit for Cessair."
Lirayne sat down in a chair to the side despite the glare it earned her from the paladin. She gave him a sweet smile (just a touch gloating) that prompted him to shift uncomfortably. She was as curious as these surface dwellers to hear how her sister had ended up beyond the Night Beneath posing as something other than a drow.
"I was exiled from Menzoberranzan because of my oldest sister. Not Lirayne," Valyne said. She fully intended to keep this as simple and devoid of detail as possible. A lot of things had happened in the Wilds that she wasn't keen on sharing with anyone. "Drow family isn't exactly...close knit. I made it out of the more dangerous areas with the help of my old mentor." She caught the priestess's quizzical look. "No one you know. Anyway, I traveled around for a few years with her in the Underdark until we headed for the surface to escape any divine scrying Zesstra, my oldest sister, might have at her fingertips. I'd perfected my disguise magic, so I created a new persona and made some new friends. The Sword Coast was surprisingly easy to navigate after Menzoberranzan. I had a very profitable business and a comfortable life."
"So why leave it?" Cessair asked. She cleared her throat slightly before continuing. "I mean, I know we had that promise token. But you could have sent someone else with us. I'm sure you have someone at least familiar with Underdark in your employ."
Val paused, considering this. She had a hard enough time sorting through her conflicted feelings about her home and her exile from it. Explaining it to someone else was nigh impossible. "I wanted to return to Menzoberranzan," she said finally. "I had been waiting until I felt strong enough. But when you strode in all but demanding my help...it just felt like it was finally time. That waiting made little difference."
Galen frowned, staring straight at those burnished steel eyes. He hated that he couldn't see her face, but there was sincerity in that gaze. She wasn't telling them everything, but she had told them enough. "And the priestess?" he said, pointedly looking over at Lirayne.
"The Underdark has something of a demon problem," Valyne said quietly. "My sister is the one who discovered it. She came seeking me out to help. The situation is well beyond a few summoners. We could very likely be looking at the activities of a demon lord."
The paladin's eyes widened. "Surely they cannot cross over from the Abyss." For all his flaws, he was well versed in the lore of evil creatures. He knew that demon lords could be as powerful as gods themselves, if not gods in their own right. After all, Lloth was technically a demon lord as well as the goddess of the drow. He looked over at Cessair. "The sword aside, sister, this isn't something we can ignore. If a demon lord could cross over, much more than just Menzoberranzan is at risk."
"Sword?" Lirayne said, raising an eyebrow as she looked at her sister.
Val's expression was mercifully hidden behind her mask. The little quirk of her lips and one eyebrow would have betrayed her amusement at the irony of the situation. "A blade of Corellon lost to the depths during a drow surface raid," she explained. "They came to me to ask for my help reaching Menzoberranzan to reclaim it. Cessair's elven side is connected with it."
Lirayne could read between the lines: these surface dwellers did not know the identity of the raiders and it was better that things remain that way. "I know the blade of which you speak," she said instead, focusing on the three adventurers. "You waste your time if you ever intend to return it to the sunlit realms. It is devoted now to Lloth and bears the touch of the Demonweb. You could not lay a finger on it without being harmed by the magic within it."
Cessair looked stunned and almost betrayed. There were hints of tears gathering in her eyes. Her chance to prove that she was not a stain on the heritage of her elven father, not a mistake...gone, just like that. "Are you certain?" she whispered, voice wavering.
"Absolutely," Lirayne said firmly. "My sister may be far more learned in lore than I am, but I am intimately familiar with divine magic. However, if you still wish to slay the champion who wields it, I have no doubt that Valyne and I would both cheerfully assist. Keldzar is a wretched worm on his best days and those are exceedingly rare."
Valyne's stomach knotted tightly at just the mention of his name and her hands clenched into fists. Duergar were not the only ones who could hold grudges. However, anger would not serve her at this point. She had a more pressing matter in the half elf's current state. They needed the scoundrel to keep the peace and the party working together, something she couldn't do if she was consumed by doubt. The half elf didn't seem to even notice the comforting arm her brother had placed around her shoulders. "Lirayne, play nice with the boys," she said, going over and taking the rogue by the upper arm with a much gentler touch than she had used in the alley. "Cessair and I need to talk."
Galen exchanged a look with Storunn. They both had giant soft spots for his half sister and hated to see her like this, but neither of them really knew what to say. This was probably territory better left to Val, as much as they hated to admit it even in their thoughts. "We'll get acquainted," the paladin said quietly. He definitely didn't trust her still, but he did think she wouldn't hurt Cessair. He looked over at Lirayne, who had relaxed out of bitch mode. "So you'll be joining us in our travels, then? Do you know where we're headed next?"
Lirayne gave him a graceful nod, relaxing back and crossing one leg over the other. The drowess was used to being watched, so she noticed the way Galen's eyes shifted involuntarily. It was reassuring in a way to know that even though he was a paladin and a human, she still could exert some influence with charisma. "We'll be traveling to Menzoberranzan. About two weeks travel-I only arrived here so quickly because of a teleportation circle. This fight will require a much larger force than the five of us, though I have no doubt we'll be the ones tasked with cutting the head off this particular serpent," Lirayne said. The idea made her want to shudder with dread, so instead she diverted herself with humor at the human's expense. The drowess smirked slightly at Galen and lowered her voice half an octave. "See something you like, paladin? You're certainly looking hard enough."
A drow male would have made a pass right back, knowing it was never wise to turn down a priestess. Galen's reaction was far more entertaining. His whole face went completely red and whatever he had planned to say died in a sputter as he tore his eyes away and focused on the ceiling.
Storunn chuckled despite his dislike for drow in general. He'd say this for the dark elven women: they could definitely give better than they got. "Be gentle, drow," he said with gruff humor. "On the surface, they keep their choir boys on a short leash."
Lirayne winked at the paladin, causing him to choke a little bit on air. "Oh, that can be arranged."
Out in the hall, Val stopped with Cessair and faced the half elf. The blue eyes were still glossy with tears that the rogue was doing a fine job of keeping contained. She'd had a lot of practice, her childhood less than ideal. "The relic doesn't matter," Val said. "You need to let it go, Cessair."
The half elf's head snapped up sharply. "Of course it-" she started, an uncharacteristic anger in her voice.
It was a defense mechanism every drow knew and used: hide your feelings of weakness with anger. Val cut her off before she could even get started. "Cessair, if you walked up to a temple of Corellon with Lloth's head on a platter, it wouldn't change a thing," she said firmly. "Oh, they'd beam and pat you on the back and praise you to your face. But behind your back, behind their eyes, you will always be not quite an elf and not quite a human to them. And you don't owe anything to them."
Cessair was quiet for a moment, blinking hard as she absorbed the words. It was strange to hear any kind of reassurance coming from a drow. But here Val was, looking absolutely convinced of everything she was saying. These weren't platitudes meant to make her feel better like her mother had always given her.
"Always own who you are," Val said, her voice taking a slightly stern tone. It was the same one Siniira had used in private when she was lecturing her youngest on what it meant to be a leader. "The world dealt you a bad hand. But you survived. You're stronger for it. Everyone who really knows who you are, who sees past your blood, knows you're more than good enough. The only person who matters who hasn't gotten that message is you."
"You...actually think that?" the half elf asked, stunned.
"I wouldn't waste my time with you if I didn't." It probably wasn't the most inspirational motivator the rogue had ever been given, but Val preferred blunt honesty with the people who were following her. Whether the arcanist liked it or not, she'd ended up in charge of their little group. That meant taking care of the people with her, surface dwellers or not. At least it was Cessair she had to give this talk to and not Galen. That would have been as pleasant as gouging her own eye out with a blunt, red-hot needle.
Cessair took a deep breath and nodded almost to herself. She did feel better. "Right. Let's go kill us a demon."