Author's Note: More minor changes.

8...Descent

The stairs descended in a long, rough and irregular spiral that seemed not so much carved as chewed into the living stone. They ended in a small landing at another concealed door.

"Wait here," Solaufein signaled. "I will scout the area." Haer'Dalis raised his brows but did not object. Solaufein slid out the small door and closed it behind him. As soon as the door closed, the illusion that hid it snapped into place. From the outside, the door appeared as nothing more than a slight crack in the rock wall.

He stood still and looked around. They'd left the dwarven mines and worked areas behind and were in a natural cave. Solaufein felt an echoing vastness surround him. His infravision detected no life forms nearby. The air was cool, still and dry. He felt his heart beat faster and yet he felt calm at the same time. The press of earth above him, the chilled silence and most of all, the anticipation of danger that hung over this place like a pall-all of these were familiar and strangely welcoming. I approach the Underdark, Solaufein thought. I am almost home.

His hand strayed to the medallion he wore. Eilistraee, am I wrong to feel this way? Am I unworthy to worship you? You call us drow to the surface but the places of darkness are closer to my heart.

He tapped a signal on the secret door and the others joined him. With the silence broken, his thoughts passed on to more practical concerns. Finding nothing in the large cave, they began a systematic search of the interconnected caverns. Although Deekin swore he would not get lost and Solaufein trusted his own sense of direction, still he marked each passage they entered by scratching a sign or leaving marker stones. He smiled grimly to himself when he found other scratches, other piles of stones.

Deekin crept closer and tugged his sleeve. "Deekin smelling dead things," he warned. Solaufein sniffed but smelled nothing until they worked deeper into the corridor, around a bend and through a low arch where both men had to duck their heads to enter. In a depressed chamber, bodies lay heaped in casual piles like garbage. Which they were, Solaufein supposed. The creatures had been killed elsewhere and dragged here. Several large cave rats looked up from their grisly banquet and regarded him with dark expressionless eyes.

"Faugh," Haer'Dalis said. He pulled a corner of his cloak over his face. "How many orcs would you say lay here?"

"Fifty," Solaufein said. He also saw the larger forms of ogres amongst the dead. "Maybe more." He stepped closer to examine the closest bodies. The kobold lifted a harpy's leathery wing and let it drop.

"Deekin been wondering where Halaster's monsters were. They be dead."

"What killed them?" Haer'Dalis asked.

"Drow," Solaufein answered.

"We must be getting close to their encampment," Haer'Dalis said.

"You are close indeed," said a voice behind him. Solaufein covered his jerk of surprise with a smooth turn towards the newcomer. Deekin squeaked and ran behind Haer'Dalis, who drew both swords. Nathyrra stood before them. She crossed her arms over her chest and nodded to Solaufein.

"Vendui," he said. How silently she moves, he thought with a twinge of annoyed admiration. If we hadn't been so loud, would I have heard her? Or not?

"And I greet you also," she replied in Common. "Your friends know who I am?"

Solaufein nodded. "I have told them of our first meeting. Have you news for us?"

"I do. The forces of the Valsharess are gathered in a great cavern to the north of here. They prepare for war. Once Halaster has been persuaded to open a portal to the surface, they will pour through in a wave of looting and destruction."

"Do you know where he is held?"

"Nau. But nearby, I believe. North of the camp, a tunnel slopes down into another cave or series of caves. I have not explored that area yet, for it is heavily guarded, but it seems logical that Halaster is kept there. That is where we should look if we wish to free him. That is your wish, is it not?"

"Can we do so?" Solaufein asked. "Against so many?"

"We gots to sneak past an army and then more guards? Deekin not be liking this plan."

"If I can get close to where the mage is held, I can free him," she said. She sounded very confident. Drow females always sound confident, Solaufein thought.

"How?" Haer'Dalis asked.

Solaufein saw her give the tiefling an up-and-down look that would have had any sensible male cowering in apology. "I have the means to do so."

"Then why haven't you freed him already?" Haer'Dalis asked.

"I was told to wait for Solaufein."

"Why?"

"Because that is what I was told to do," she said, an edge of exasperation in her voice. She took a breath. "I know you have no reason to trust me. There are no words I can say that can change that." Nathyrra stepped closer to Solaufein. "Words did not bring you here, did they?" It is not me you should trust but Eilistraee. What does She tell you to do?"

Her eyes seemed sincere. That meant little; most drow could lie with their eyes and their bodies as well as their lips. A paladin could sense the truth but Solaufein was no holy warrior. A revelation would be nice, he thought. Perhaps priests and paladins received revelations on demand but nothing came to him. I suppose that is what faith is for, to nudge one to act when dreams and portents are lacking. All my life, I have failed to act until forced to do so. His luck charm sat warm in his pocket, a silent encouragement. Hasn't my luck held so far? This is what I came for, isn't it?

"I'm with you," he said. Nathyrra caught the look that passed between him and Haer'Dalis, apology crossing skepticism.

"Perhaps it is time for your friends to return to the surface," she said. "I believe I can get the two of us to Halaster but I do not know how to explain the presence of those not drow."

"You could go warn Durnan," Solaufein said, with a rueful gaze at Haer'Dalis. "He will need to know what we've learned. Should we fail-"

"Neither of us plans well for failure," Haer'Dalis said. His eyes glinted in excitement. Why would that surprise me, Solaufein thought. "'Tis better to succeed, no? I find I have no desire for us to be parted as yet."

"Nor do I," Solaufein said.

"A surfacer adds to our danger," Nathyrra said. "A lot."

"I can mask my form for a time." Haer'Dalis spoke the words of a spell. Magic swirled. His skin darkened and his hair lightened and within the course of a dozen breaths, he'd taken on the appearance of a drow male, complete to the red eyes.

"How you do that?" Deekin asked.

Haer'Dalis grinned. "I once had the opportunity to be of service to a silver dragon. She taught me this spell."

"Tell me of this dragon," Deekin said. His tail twitched with eagerness.

"Another time and I will," the tiefling said. "My spell isn't as good as hers for I cannot seem to disguise my height. Nor can I sustain this spell indefinitely."

Nathyrra walked around him. Her lips turned up in a slight smile. "This is good," she said. "Very good. If I had not seen you cast it, I'd never have detected the spell. Solaufein is tall so if you stand together, your height might not be so noticeable. Can you speak our language?"

"Xas."

"With a rather vile accent," Solaufein said.

"I blame my teacher," Haer'Dalis said. His lips turned up.

Nathyrra gave him a critical look. "Try not to draw attention to yourself."

"What about me?" Deekin asked. "Deekin not looking drow."

"A slave, perhaps," she said.

Deekin thrust out his narrow jaw. "Deekin haves to be a slave? Deekin not liking to lick boots. Deekin yet to find a tasty boot."

"Sorry," Nathyrra said. "We all have to do a bit of boot-licking from time to time."

"Deekin always doing more than his share."

"Follow me, males, and if we are stopped, let me do all the speaking."

"Gladly, mistress," Haer'Dalis said.

Nathyrra gave him a suspicious look. "Dropping the eyes is good," she said. "The smirk, however, is likely to earn you lashes."

"My apologies, mistress."

"That's better. I guess. Something about you still makes my hand itch for a whip."

"I have that effect on women, I'm told."

"I believe you." Solaufein thought she smothered a laugh. "There's still something not right. Your posture? Your expression?" She shrugged. "Look to your friend. He shows the perfect amount of deference."

Solaufein pushed down a familiar flare of resentment. I do, do I? Perhaps that will change.

Nathyrra knew a secret passage that skirted the drow forces. They climbed, hidden from view inside a tunnel that rose above the floor level.

"This tunnel not natural," Deekin said.

"It is not," Nathyrra said. "It was made by formians."

"The ant people? Deekin not be liking the ant people. Bad experience."

Nathyrra shrugged. "Halaster has a colony of formian slaves that delve through Undermountain at his command."

"We going the wrong way," Deekin said. "We be going up, not down."

"We'll be going down soon enough."

They walked for hours, only stopping to drink from their water skins and eat a morsel of trail food. At last, the tunnel opened into a shallow gallery far over a vast plain, dotted by cook fires and tents.

"That be a lot of drow," Deekin whispered.

"Xas and this is only a small fraction of the Valsharess' army," Nathyrra said. Solaufein could hear the murmur of voices rising from the distance-these drow made no attempt at silence. They must be feeling extremely confident, Solaufein thought, yet he wondered that their leaders allowed such a breach of basic discipline. He'd led many a skirmish during his time as war leader for Ust Natha, but never anything on this scale. This was like a surfacer army. But we do not fight like surfacers. Who thought this was a good idea? This does not play to our strengths.

He couldn't imagine how this many soldiers could be properly led. Even to feed so many mouths would take an extraordinary feat of organization. These caverns could not possibly support so many, even if they ate Halaster's monsters. Hungry soldiers fought poorly and would desert at the first chance. When he mentioned this to Nathyrra, she nodded.

"You are astute," she said. "The chaos is unbelievable. They serve the Valsharess out of fear but she has no true leaders amongst her forces. Those who do speak of these problems do not please her. They do not speak up for long." She mimed a blade across her throat. "Even her Red Sisters, her hand-picked assassins, dare not take initiative. This is why it is taking so long to conquer Undermountain. This is the weakness we will exploit to penetrate her camp." She motioned to the tunnel ahead. "From here, we go down."

Although the walking was easier, the descent took longer and included a rest period. Nathyrra, Solaufein noticed, studied a spell book.

"You are a wizard?" he asked when she packed it away.

"Among other things," she replied and then closed her eyes. Solaufein took the hint and moved away. He had many questions but had to agree that at this time, rest was more important.

Once rested and fed, Nathyrra led them onward. The tunnel ended near a jumble of huge loose boulders. Nathyrra signalled silence and led them in a winding route that avoided several informal guard posts. Solaufein thought the guards looked lazy and bored. The cavern narrowed to a funnel shape and as they approached the throat of the funnel, drow became more numerous.

"Now the fun begins," Nathyrra whispered.

Nathyrra breezed past several groups of guards with nothing but an arrogant hand signal, one he did not recognize. The sentries responded to Nathyrra's signal with more than the usual amount of deference, Solaufein thought. He kept his face bland while his thoughts seethed. Who is this woman? Does she lead us to a trap? But no, what would be the point of this subterfuge, she could have betrayed us to the first guards we met.

They continued in silence but Solaufein was warned by the slight stiffening in her back. A woman approached. Battle cleric, he thought as he took in the heavy armor and the flail at her side. This could get nasty. Nathyrra made no attempt to avoid her. Instead, with an imperious gesture, she beckoned. The cleric opened her mouth to speak but Nathyrra cut her off.

"Tell me, priestess, which of the Red Sisters guards Halaster? Is it Sabal?" The cleric hesitated, brow wrinkled. "Speak quickly, I have much to do."

"Ah, no, Sabal left on a mission some time ago and I do not know when to expect her return. Elgluth oversees the mad mage. May I have one of my males send a message?"

"You may not. You may tell me where I can find Elgluth." The cleric hesitated again. In a lower voice, Nathyrra said, "I would see my sister. Now."

The cleric dropped her hand to the hilt of her flail. Solaufein all but quivered with alertness but the woman made no move to attack. She touches her weapon for comfort. Nathyrra frightens her. How very strange, to see a priestess show fear. Is this due to Lolth's silence? His face remained blank but inside he could feel a feral smile grow.

"Of course," the cleric said. "I will have you escorted to her."

"I need no escort," Nathyrra said with a voice that dripped with disdain. "Direct me."

"This corridor leads to a set of doors," she said. "The ritual chamber is within."

Nathyrra gave a stiff nod and beckoned for the others to follow. They trooped down the tunnel in silence. From here, it gets tricky, she signaled to Solaufein. She met his eyes and then touched her dagger. Be ready to fight.

The doors at the end of the corridor were massive, made of dark wood and reinforced with wide bands of steel. The lustrous wood reflected the light of an ornate brazier that smoldered on a small table. Judging by the paraphernalia that littered the table, this brazier was used not for some arcane purpose, but to make tea.

Two male guards stood by the doors and radiated an air of alert competence. A woman in the garb of a cleric of Lolth paced before them. How does it feel to be a cleric of a silent goddess, Solaufein wondered. Could the Spider Queen truly be dead? What would it mean if she was? Everything!

Nathyrra strode towards the cleric but for a moment her head turned to Solaufein and her eyes cut to the guards. Solaufein took casual steps towards the farthest, eyes assessing his armor. Clever Haer'Dalis needed no signal. Appearing to study the carvings on the door, he moved close to the other guard.

"What do you want?" the cleric barked.

"I am here for Elgluth," Nathyrra said with equal crispness.

"Elgluth is not to be disturbed, by her express order."

"She will wish to see me." Nathyrra smiled. "She will wish that very much."

The cleric opened her mouth. Before she could speak, Nathyrra jammed her long dagger into the woman's eye. One of the guards leapt forward but Solaufein had his sword out. He chopped a hard blow at the man's outstretched neck. The other guard staggered when Haer'Dalis slammed into him. His shout was cut off when the bard's sword pierced his throat. Within a dozen quick breaths, all three lay dead.

Nathyrra pressed her ear to the wooden door.

"I don't think they heard anything," she whispered. "Drag the bodies away."

"Where? There's no real cover," Solaufein said.

"You're right. Get them away from the door at least. Maybe no one will notice."

Solaufein thought that unlikely but he and Haer'Dalis pulled the three bodies to the side. With a quirk of his lips, Haer'Dalis arranged them so they sat with their backs to the wall, like they had stopped for a tea break.

"The door is unlocked and unwarded," Nathyrra said. "Sloppy. I will slip inside and take a quick look around. You two take the guard's places." She frowned at Deekin. "You, try to be inconspicuous." Nathyrra's lips moved. Between one blink and the next, she disappeared from sight. Silent on its hinges, the door opened slightly and then closed again.

"Deekin knows an invisibility spell too," the kobold said.

"So do I," Haer'Dalis said. "And it has come in handy on more than one occasion."

"It won't be so handy here when your steps are as loud as a frost giant," Solaufein said. "I have a ring that makes me invisible but I can only use it once a day, then it must recharge."

"An invisibility ring? Where did you get it?" Haer'Dalis asked.

"It was a gift from the Bhaalspawn."

"Lucky you, to have the lady's favor."

"You should have no complaints in that arena," Solaufein said.

"Indeed I do not." The tiefling gave a reminiscent smirk that Solaufein found highly irritating. "Ah, but these relationships, no matter how intense, seldom last. Love, like everything, decays and dies."

"For you, perhaps."

"For everyone. Come now, my dear raven, you cannot tell me your experiences differ so drastically from mine."

Solaufein frowned and made no reply. Tension knotted his shoulders as they waited but no drow approached. It was with relief that he heard the door behind him ease open. Nathyrra's invisible hand pressed his shoulder.

"We have a problem," she said. Solaufein's gut tightened as she described what they had to face. "The ritual chamber is very large and open. Halaster is kept at the far end of the cavern and that is where the guards are stationed. There are more than I expected."

"How many?" Haer'Dalis asked.

"Let me finish," she snapped. "The room is well lit, presumably for the mage's benefit. There is an open gallery that runs along the back of the room and it is manned by at least a score of bowmen. There are swordsmen at floor level. I counted ten, as well as a couple of clerics and a mage I know to be competent. And then there is Elgluth, the Red Sister who leads the interrogation of Halaster."

"We cannot hope to fight so many, especially without cover," Solaufein said.

Nathyrra squeezed his shoulder. "I agree. We will not be able to bluff our way past Elgluth. She knows me."

Solaufein heard a moan which rose to a shriek and then, even more disturbingly, broke into manic laughter.

"What be that?" Deekin asked.

"Elgluth tortures Halaster," Nathyrra said with disapproval. "The mage is held by rune stones made to twist and bind and reflect his power against himself. They can be used to send a surge of the most exquisitely honed pain through the one they bind, a pain that no human could withstand for long. Yet instead of using their magic, Elgluth must play with her knives and pincers, like a child tearing the legs from an insect. She has to get her hands bloody." She snorted. "Elgluth was always a fool and that is lucky for us, for she could have broken Halaster days ago if she had used the tools she was given." She paused. "If I can get close enough to the rune stones, I can speak the words of unbinding and release the mage."

"You know much of this," Haer'Dalis said, and his brows rose in interrogation.

"I do," Nathyrra said. "I designed the spells and made the rune stones myself. I am the Red Sister known as Alurl Faen. That means Best Wizard, tiefling."

"You a Red Sister?" Deekin squeaked.

"I was." She laughed. "Do not worry, small male. I serve the Mother Seer now, and through her, Eilistraee. We must find a way for me to approach the wizard. Once we free him, it is my hope that he can draw upon the powers of Undermountain to attack our enemies, or at least to escape so he can strike at them later."

"If he escapes without us, won't that leave the four of us in a bad position?" Solaufein asked.

"Yes. Spells of teleportation are not reliable here in Undermountain. The room has no other exits that I saw."

"We can all turn invisible," Deekin said.

"If that was enough, I could have freed Halaster already. I need time, uninterrupted time, to cast my spells but as soon as I begin, the drow mage will sense my presence. What we need is a diversion."

"Something to draw off the mage? An orc attack would be nice," Haer'Dalis said. "Too bad they're already dead." Another of Halaster's eerie cries rang out. He pressed his lips together.

"Drow lady know spell to animate dead?" Deekin asked.

"In fact, I do," she said. "I cannot raise that entire room of orcs but a few-"

"Deekin thinking we got a few dead bodies right here."

All eyes cut to the three drow. "Yes," Nathyrra said. "So we do. And I could cast a magical flame over them to make them more fearsome. A supernatural attack may draw the mage's attention."

"Deekin can summon big spiders."

"You're full of ideas, kobold."

"I, too, have a summoning spell or two," Haer'Dalis murmured. He eyed the doors. "How wide will these open, I wonder?"


nau-no

vendui-greetings

xas-yes