Author's Note: Although I can see how you can't implement it in the game, it would be so nifty to have lizard mounts available in this story. If only I could slither one in...for really, what could possibly be cooler than riding across the ceiling? (Sorry, just some random Sings jabbering.)
14...Expedition
Solaufein escaped at last. "I will call for you soon," were the matron mother's parting words and they clung to him like spider webbing.
In the House of the Moon, Solaufein found Haer'Dalis stretched out on his bed, idly plucking at a stringed instrument.
"You have a new lute?" Solaufein asked. Although careless in many ways, Haer'Dalis did not take his precious masterwork instruments adventuring, and they were safely back in Athkatla.
"'Tis not a lute but a cittern that I borrowed from an accommodating priestess in the temple. You never told me your Eilistraee was the goddess of song and dance. Did you know all the clerics here can play at least one instrument? Some play many. And have you heard them sing? Their voices are most pleasing."
"In Ust Natha, it was death to worship any but Lolth. I have never actually been in the company of Eilistraeens, until now."
"Indeed? Then you did not know that Eilistraeens dearly love bards? Perhaps our friendship was preordained." He smiled. "You have brought me to my ideal audience, my raven. They tell me there is music most nights, either in the temple or in the taverns. The priestesses passionately collect songs and anyone with new music is in eager demand. Even little Deekin has been approached. We will likely hear his Doom song hummed all over town."
"Wonderful."
Haer'Dalis cocked his head. "You look like you need a drink."
"I need several," Solaufein said. "And a bath." Haer'Dalis moved his legs so that Solaufein could sit beside him. After the silence dragged on, he set aside the cittern and thrust his hand into his pocket.
"Here, I believe you will want this back." He handed Solaufein his medallion.
"Yes," Solaufein said. He gazed at the image of Eilistraee a moment, then sighed and settled the chain around his neck.
"Did the matron mother have information for you?" Haer'Dalis asked. Solaufein saw a certain delicacy in his gaze. He sighed.
"Do all people everywhere play games for power?" Solaufein asked.
"In my experience, they do. Perhaps that is an inevitable consequence of civilization," Haer'Dalis said. "It certainly appears that your people have turned ambition into an art form."
"I thought I had changed," Solaufein said. "Nothing changes for us. She commanded me and I obeyed. I dropped my eyes in her presence like a good little jaluk." He leaned back against the wall.
"We are often called upon to play a part we would not choose. Was it bad then?"
"No. She was quite civil. How that must have galled her, forced to be civil to a dobluth male." Solaufein gave the bard a thoughtful look. "I wonder if it's Lolth's silence or the Seer's presence that has these matrons tip-toeing around so politely? I don't think I've seen even a slave whipped since we got here. Myrune longs for Lolth's return so that the Valsharess and all the rest of us will be put back into our rightful places."
"What did Myrune want?" Haer'Dalis asked. "Beyond the obvious, of course."
"The obvious?"
"You show to advantage, sparring in the ring." Haer'Dalis smirked.
"Do not flatter me," Solaufein said. "I have nothing she couldn't have obtained from any other healthy male. No, she wanted to make an offer."
"And what did she offer?"
"A place in her House."
"Replacing that ass Tebimar?"
"If I'm lucky," Solaufein said.
"And if you're not lucky?"
"She hinted she needed a patron," he said glumly. Haer'Dalis gave him a look under hooded eyes.
"Quite the honor," he said.
"She certainly expected me to lap it up," Solaufein said. "As if I would want any child of mine to grow up in darkness as I did."
"And in exchange?"
"I will be her agent in the Seer's camp. I will tell her what she wants and will obey her in all things. That is our way, is it not?"
"I thought Eilistraee taught differently."
"So did I. So She does. But the matron mother does not follow Her teachings. Neither, I fear, do I." In a voice not meant for his friend's ears, he added, "I wish I had never come back."
"And we cannot offend her."
"Truly, we cannot," Solaufein said. "Have you read through Imloth's reports?"
"I, ah, skimmed them."
"House Maeviir owns the farms and herds that feed us. She owns the mines that provide ore for the smithies that churn out our arms and armor. She owns the majority of the slaves and like it or not, those slaves provide the labor that keeps the city running. Her house wizard appears to have control over all magical goods sold in the market. Without Myrune's support, we might as well pack up and return to the surface. That, alas, is not an option for me, thanks to my curse."
In a move, Haer'Dalis suspected, intended to avoid Myrune as much as to learn more of the area, Solaufein announced he would explore the caverns outside the city. His expedition included Nathyrra, a squad of Commander Imloth's more seasoned scouts and one of Eilistraee's clerics.
"A drow party," Haer'Dalis remarked.
"You are welcome to join us," Solaufein said.
"Thank you, but no. I do not wish to pose as a slave. I may be a mere male but servility does not suit me." He laughed at Solaufein's expression. "I tease you, my friend. I know I cannot move as silently as you, nor see so well in these caverns. And indeed, I have already made other plans."
"You are going down the river with Valen Shadowbreath?"
"Aye, he has finally agreed to take me. A town of avariel, here in the Underdark? This I must see. You know, I actually met an avariel once, in Athkatla, of all places. She was the most beauteous elf."
"To be honest," Solaufein said. "I thought the winged elves were creatures of myth."
"They are rare, now. Hunted almost to extinction by your people, or so she told me." He gave Solaufein one of his sideways looks. "So it is a non-drow party that we are forming. Deekin is coming as well."
"What, just the three of you? That does not seem wise. Surely Imloth can spare you some warriors."
"Valen seems unconcerned. Cavallas the Boatman prefers not to ferry a large group. Having seen the size of his conveyance, I find myself agreeing."
"I don't know..." Solaufein said.
"This town could be very useful to us. The avariel have powerful mages, clerics and warriors. Their ability to fly gives them rather obvious advantages, not just on the field of battle but as messengers, spies and scouts. If we can induce them to join our cause, they would make valuable allies. More than that, perhaps they have a portal to the surface. We need to know how they arrived here and we need to learn this before our enemies do."
"And you are curious to see why they are here."
"And I'm curious. Yes, of course, I'm curious. Aren't you?"
The gates of Lith My'athar opened into a huge cavern that had long ago been cleared of natural obstructions and hiding places.
"At least we can see what's coming," Solaufein said dubiously. "Maybe."
"I don't like it either," Nathyrra replied. Solaufein frowned. Such an open field would surely favor the larger army. Only so much could be done with traps and mines, which would no doubt be triggered by the Valsharess' slave troops. She could afford to have slaves charge the gates in wave after wave of suicidal rushes, clearing the way for her more deadly forces.
"Lith My'athar was only a minor holding of House Maeviir, used to provide food for her House and occupation for her slaves and craftsmen. It was never intended to survive a serious siege," Nathyrra said, clearly following his own thoughts. "With the Dark River behind us, we are bottled up here."
He wondered if Gulhrys and the other Lith My'athar mages could somehow shape the ground to a more defensible conformation. There was no time to build more conventional defenses. Perhaps the mages could erect a series of barrier walls or even towers, where archers and mages could fire down on an approaching army. It was something to discuss when he returned. Beyond the cleared cavern, the ground rose in sharp folds as if it had been squeezed in a giant's hand.
"Is the ground stable in this area?" he asked. Ust Natha, being close to the surface, had not experienced as many earthquakes as other parts of the Underdark.
"Not really. You must watch for fissures," Nathyrra told him. "Poisonous gases rise from deep below us. Probably these same gases poison the Dark River. Luckily they have a foul smell so we are warned when they seep out."
They had traveled for a cycle before one of Imloth's scouts found signs of other drow.
"The Valsharess' scouts, no doubt," Nathyrra said. "They probe us constantly." She gave him a thoughtful look. "Let us hunt," she said.
Communicating only in drow sign, they followed the enemy scout. Before long, they realized that he was one of a much larger group. Nathyrra signalled for them to withdraw.
"A raiding party?" Solaufein asked.
"What can twenty do against our walls?" Nathyrra asked. "No. They are here for some other purpose and I would like to know what that is. I will enter their camp and see what I can learn."
"How will you do that?"
Nathyrra gave him a scimitar smile. "Do you forget? I was one of the Valsharess' hand-picked assassins. I know all the pass signs. I will be back in a cycle, probably much sooner. Wait here."
Solaufein wasn't comfortable letting her leave alone but there seemed nothing he could do to stop her. He and the patrol settled down. With her absence, the others seemed more at ease. Although they did not speak against her, it was clear that she made them all uncomfortable. Solaufein knew little of the Red Sisters but the others began to share tales of their exploits. In particular, the priestess, Haelra, seemed to know much of the Valsharess' elite assassins. If Nathyrra was capable of even a tenth of the feats attributed to the Red Sisters, he may have seriously underestimated her. Her own mannerisms may have misled him, for she did not generally assert herself as most noble females did. Had he been foolish enough to mistake this for weakness?
I must pay more attention. I must be more alert. I must see below the surface. I have been away from the Underdark too long if I have forgotten these basic truths.
Nathyrra slipped into the camp hours later, unseen by the scouts on watch (to their chagrin). Her eyes glowed with excitement.
"You learned something," Solaufein said.
"I have. We have long been aware that there is a hive of beholders nearby. These drow were sent by the Valsharess to finalize an alliance with them and turn them against Lith My'athar."
"How do you ally with beholders? What do they want?"
"The Valsharess offered gold and slaves. The beholders accepted the slaves but they wanted more. They asked for the use of a drow war party."
"Why?"
"You're going to love this. During the course of tunneling, the hive broke into a new cavern recently. Something down there killed their slaves."
"What kind of something?"
"Spiders."
"They want a drow war party to kill spiders? Do they know so little of us?"
Her eyes glittered. "It gets even better. A couple of beholders took more slaves to the new cavern to kill the spiders. The beholders didn't come back. But one of the slaves survived. He said there was something down there that ate all magic. The beholders fell out of the air like stones and their eye beams didn't work."
"Something ate their magic? You mean a dead magic zone?"
"Perhaps but the beholders think it is more than that. The cavern contains the ruins of an ancient city, a city they have not been able to investigate. The beholders believe their magic is being devoured by an artifact in the ruins and they want it destroyed."
"Are there artifacts that can do that?"
Nathyrra shrugged. "Who can say?"
"But if there is...and we can retrieve it..."
"My thoughts exactly," Nathyrra said.
"Can we kill this war party and replace them?"
"I've taken care of it. In a few hours, we can go through their camp and deal with any survivors. Also we can retrieve any documents they may have brought from the Valsharess."
"Survivors?"
"I poisoned their stew pot. I used a fairly slow acting poison-didn't want anyone getting sick too soon. That makes the others nervous. And there's always the chance that someone wasn't hungry. Speaking of hungry, I'm starving. Do we have anything better than travel bread?"
Solaufein shook his head. "Everyone is carrying their own rations."
"You know, I always think that wise." She gave one of her subtle smirks.
Solaufein took the precaution of having one of the scouts watch the enemy camp to ensure no one escaped. But there was no need to hunt down stragglers. Everyone had eaten the stew.
"Lady Silverhair, this is bad," said Haelra, when they entered the camp. Solaufein wasn't sure how the sight of men who'd puked up their guts from poison was any more horrifying than having those same guts spilled from wounds. The smell was not so different either. On the patrol leader's body, they found a letter from the Valsharess that held equal shares of promises and threats. They also found a goodly treasure of gold and jewels. Solaufein gave the heavy chest a thoughtful look. He allowed everyone to help themselves to a share of the loot before he directed the now-cheerful scouts to bury the chest in a pile of loose rock. Perhaps they could retrieve it on the way back to Lith My'athar but it seemed foolish to overburden themselves now.
"Does the Valsharess number many mercenaries in her army?" he asked.
"Many," Nathyrra said. "Mostly duergar. They have little love for her but a great love for the gold she gives them."
"Perhaps we can hire some away from her."
"I doubt our pockets are deep enough," she replied. "Besides, no mercenary wants to get caught fighting on the losing side and let's be clear. Our prospects do not look good."
"Ah, but what do they know? We have Eilistraee on our side. Lolth is silent. Who does the Valsharess have?"
"An archduke of the Nine Hells." She gave him one of her quirky smiles.
dobluth-outcast
jaluk-male
