F O U R (47 page)

War Of The Spider Queen

Book 1

Dissolution

forehead.

The mistress then took out the silver

struggling girl'             vial. She pinched the dazed, feebly s  nostrils closed, poured  the stimforced her to swallow            ulant into her open mouth, and

.

The effect was immediate. The younger female bucked and thrashed until her

eyes flew open.

imThe high priestess hopped back down to

the floor. "How does it feel? I

agine your heart is hammeDrisinil trem       ring."

"What did you do to mbled like the string of a viol. Sweat seeped from  her pores.e?""That should be obvious to an accom

"You've poisoned me?"       plished poisoner like yourself."

"It'

"I can's a slow toxin. Do as I ordered, and I'll give you the antidote."t  cozen the others like this. They'll see something's wrong with me ".

"The external signs should ease in a  minute or two, though you'll still feel thepoison speeding your heart and gnawing at your nerves. You'll just h

ave to put u

with that."                              p

"All right," Drisinil said. "Just bring the antidote with you when you come toLirdnolu'

s room."

The mistress arched an eyebrow

Quenthel smiled. Catching her m,  and Drisinil added, "Please."ood, the whip vipers sighed with pleasure.

lathering his narrow chest."How did you know your darkness would madden the beast?" asked Pharaun,

found they had enough healing potions to The night before, after he made way back to Pharaun, the two of them had cure all the wounds that either had sustained. Still, despite their restorati

exhausting, as they struggled to survon to full vitalityive the madness of the hunt and watch out , the next few hours proved for Greyanna at the same time. At  last th

ey'd  escaped the Braeryn.Claiming that while Greyanna  was seeking them in the  Stenchstreets, they'd  be

safe in pleasant, prosperous  Narbondellyn, Pharaun had insisted  that  he  and  Rylddispense with disguises and celebrate their sundry discove

ries  and escapes  with  a

visit to one of Menzoberranzan's  finest  public baths.

what he saw as reckless bravado, but not  too vehementlyThe warrior had objected to . Ryldand Pharaun would climb beyond their foes'          supposed that he

made him feel rather wistful.          reach soon enough. The prospect

Over the course of the past few minutes, he'dscrubbing of                  been enjoying the luxury of

down, and thinking about notf the sweat and grime thathing in particular had accumulated on his person, sitting . He  should have known the peace

and quiet  couldn't  last  for  long. Pharaun couldn't

conversation.                    go long without craving

"How did you know that, shrouded in darkness or no, the foulwing wouldn't just keep descending, guided by its  other senses?" the wizard p

ersisted.

The warrior shrugged and said, "I didn't knowThe thing's an animal, isn't it?"        , but it seemed like a good guess.

. It's  a

instincts were sound."Pharaun grinned. "Not really    creature from another plane. Still, your

Ryld shrugged and replied, "I was lucky to get away from there with my life.

Very  lucky ".

"Fire and glare, you're a master of Tier Breche. You'modest. Are you ready to move?"           re not supposed to be

Richard Lee Byers

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War Of The Spider Queen

Book 1

Dissolution

completed the quotidian business They rose from an octagonal pool set in

the black marble floor

of cleaning themselves, headed, and, having for a larger basin where they would luxuriate in steaming, scented mineral w

ater. Later in

the day,  it would be packed, but it wasn't fashionable to  visit the baths so early i

n  the  morning.  They  had  it  to  themselves,  which  was  convenient.  They  could

converse without fear of eavesdroppers.R

yld walked straight down the steps and sat on the underwater ledge. The

warmth felt good on his leg, mended but still a little sore, and he sighed with

contentment. Pharaun made a production of immersing himself in stages,  an

inch at a time, as if the heat were almost more than he could bear.

"I've been thinking about your malaise," the wizard said, once everythi

his head was finally subm                      ng buter"What do you mean?"  ged. "I have a solution."

"Resign from  Melee-Magthere and become  the weapons master of a  noble House. It will have to be one of the lesser ones, of course, you being a

commoner,  but that's  all right. You may see more excitement that way ".

"Why would I do that? It's  not a move  up. It might not be a loss of rank, depending on the House, but still, what would be the point?"

"You're bored, and it would be a change."

"One that would put me  under the thumb of any number of high priestesses.I'd have less autonomy than I do as an instructor."

"I managed to pursue my  own objectives while under my  mother's  supervision. Still, you make a legitimate  point. You might find yourself abhorring the tug of the reins. What'

s  the answer, then?"

"Who  says  there  is  one?  Except

,  perhaps,  further  lunatic  holidays  with  you.  I admit, this one broke the tedium

."

A diminutive female gnome carried a pile of freshly laundered and folded

towels out of a doorway on the far wall. Ryld wondered if she was one of theProphet's followers, and if she had any of  the rabble-rouser'

s  duer

stashed som                         gar firepots ewhere in the bathhouse. It felt strange to think of a humble

undercreature that way—wielding stone-burning bombs against its betters."Y

"Wou speak of our errand in the past tense," the wizard said.ell, once you tell the Archmage the runaways are in the Braeryn fomenting

a  pitiful little  goblin uprising,  it'll be over,  won't it?  Grom

transgressions. The Council, having failed to stop our inquiries, will, I trust, ph will pardon  your see no point in continuing to try to kill us. It'll be
 
more to their advantage to let

us go on training wizards and soldiers to serve  them "."Y

followers extermou're very certain the insurrection winated so m       ill be pitiful. Is it because Greyanna's a

R           ny undercreatures last night?"

gotten a little stifyld scooped up a handful of hot water f from his exertions.   and splashed it on his neck, which had

fraction of a fraction of the creatures "No," he said. "The hunters killed plenjam ty of goblins, but they were only a med into every nook and cranny of the

district—you saw the interior of Smylla's  home. Trust me, you still don'understand."                           t really

"I understand that many other such specimens  inhabit the rest of the city as well.

Why,  then, do you doubt their ability to do some  appreciable dama     t  be for want of spirit. The under folk are in  an excellent hum    ge? It can'

or, enflam

Prophet'                           ed by their s oratory,  painting their racial emblems hither and yon, and mupotential informers and unbelievers."                 rdering

Richard Lee Byers

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War Of The Spider Queen

Book 1

Dissolution

"Som"They still lack m

artial training and proper weapons."

e were warriors before the slavers  captured them. Some are thrall soldiers

still. As for the arms, well, when visiting the World Above, did you ever see a cit

burn? I did. I had to torch one m                     yyself to  complete a mission.  The destruction and

loss of life were im

could catch fire and had procedures for dealing with it."pressive, even though the inhabitants knew their buildings "Whereas we don't? Surely you wizards . . . ?"

imPharaun shrugged. "Not reallyprovise som        . Why would it occur to us? Perhaps we could ething, but if we didn't catch  the conflagration early, it might not be

entirely effective.""But you would catch it early. The undercreatures won't rebel all at once, and

that

will make it possible to quash each little uprising as it begins.""You're assuming '

the Call,'  whatever it is, will pass by word of mouth, or at any

rate, that it won't be disseminated rapidly.  You could be right. The noise baffles

may hinder it, but what if the Prophet has some  arcane m

goblin and bugbear at the exact sam           eans of rousing every e  instant?""Do you know of such a m

agic?"

"No."

"And you're a Master of Sorcere. So it's reasonable to assume  no such powerexists."

Pharaun arched an eyebrow.  "Indeed? Thank you for your expert opinion ".R

yld made a spitting sound and said, "Look. You think a rebellion could amount to something. I disagree, but say you're right. Isn't that all the m

ore

reason to report to Gromph immediately?"  s sauntering by. "The diff

that I have yet to succeed."The wizard waved to a goblin slave who wa            iculty is "What?"

"My assignment is to find the runaways.  I glimpsed two of them for a matterof minutes, then lost them. Do you think  the Baenre will deem that s

atisfactory?"

Frowning, Ryld said, "Considering that we did uncover something of interest..."

"Remember,  our great and glorious  Archmage doesn't

esteem. He sent me out as a decoy            hold me in high ,  a tarK                   get for the priestesses to harass.

nowing him  as I do, I'm  sure that if 1 fulfill the letter of our agreement, he'll

swallow his dislike and keep his end,  but should I fall the least bit short, it

will be a different matter ".

"Y

"Can I? Wou can at least tell him the rogues are in the Braeryn."e  sifted through the Stenchstreets as well as any outsiders  could.

We  didn't find the house where the runaways hang their cloaks, and we actuall

have only the flimsiest of reasons for assuming it's in the B        yraeryn at all ".

""I suppose you'Of     re right." course

.  When  am  I  not?  Now,  here's  what  I  intend  to  do:  Find  the  rogues'

hiding place. Discover who  the Prophet is and how his wizardry— or whateverit  i