chanting one of the litanies as the spiders destroyed herFinally the shrieking stopped, uncovering the sound of Vlondril ecstatically . After another moment, that noise ceased as well. Drisinil noticed her aunt'
s corpse slumped among the
carnage, though she only recognized it by the jade gown. Molvayas's face was swollen and bloodied beyond recognition.
Quenthel gazed up at the living and called, "We asked Lolth for a sign, andshe gave us one. My foes are dead and I remain, robed in the goddess'
s sacred
leadership no more or else die in agony for their efspiders. I am the Mistress of Arach-Tinilith, and my minions will question my frontery ".The surviving priestesses and novices hastily paid her obeisance.
. We
an end to these nightly attacks. W"Good," the Baenre said. "You are wise, and so I make you a vow will put e will regain our magic. We will hear Lolth'svoice again. W
e will make our order and our temple greater than ever before.
Now, clear away this mess."
well. Drisinil couldn'The spiders began to disappeart quite tell if they were simply scuttling away or , from the room and Quenthel's person as
teleporting out."I did it," the student said. "I brought the traitors together for you. N
ow
please give me the antidote." ,Quenthel smiled and said, "There is none."
"What?"
"I didn't poison you. The liquid was simply a stimulant to combat drowsiness. I
gave you enough to make the effect alarming, but it'll wear off.""You'
"I would have administered a slow poison had I been carrying one, but as I re lying! Playing with me!"
Richard Lee Byers
134
War Of The Spider Queen
Book 1
Dissolution
was not, I had to improvise."Drisinil felt a sur
ge of bitter humiliation and a need to demonstrate she wasn'tentirely a fool.
"Well," she blurted, "then, you've tricked everyone all the way around. I know
Lolth didn't control those spiders. You did. You read a scroll or used some sort
of charm before you entered the room.""If so, does it matter?" A yellow arachnid crawled out of Quenthel'
s snow
hai yr and onto her shoulder. She paid it no mind. "Lolth teaches that the
and strong m cunning ust master the foolish and weak. However you look at it, thisoutcome is in accordance with her will. Now
, let's talk about your future."Drisinil swallowed. "Y
"I did, didn't I?" a smiling Quenthel ou promised to spare me."replied. "Unlike some, we Baenre generally keep our w
ord. A
transactions. However reputation for fair dealing facilitates certain
"I understand. Of course I', I never promised not to punish you."ll take
appropriate." a flogging or whatever you think "That's quite agreeable of you. How about this, then? W
e'll nip off the other
eight fingers and cut out your tongue as well."For a moment, Drisinil thought she hadn't heard correctly
.
"Oh, no. I firmly believe you engineer"Now you're joking." ed the plot against me, and I intendto make sure you don't get up to any more mischief. Ever. If you can't
communicate, work magic, or grip a weapon, that should take care of it.Obviously, it won't be possible for you to continue at Arach-Tinilith, and I
wouldn't count on the warmest of welcomes when you return home. I doubt
Mez'Barris Armgo will have much interest in a grotesquely crippled and
thoroughly useless daughter. She may even consider you an embarrassment tobe killed or locked away."
Enraged, panicked, Drisinil lunged, but never landed a blow. Powerful hands
bashed her over the head. Her legs folded beneath hergrabbed her from behind, hauled her back, and something hard and heavy . She would have fallenif not for her captors holding her up.
Quave's voice sounded over Drisinil's shoulder. "We've got her, Mistress "."Thank you," Quenthel said. "Take her to the penance chamber and s
ecure
her ".
"Y
"I'des, Mistress," said Quave. "1 assume you' like to," said the Baenre, "but there' ll do the cutting yourself."
attention. You can do it. Enjoy yourself. Just m
s another matter demanding my
ind she doesn't die of it. They can
drown in their own blood when you take the tongue."
Pharaun relaxed in the chair, enjoying the feel of the barber's fingers kneadintonic into his scalp. It wasn'tnonetheless. as relaxing as a full-body m gassage, but soothing
The barber chattered away, and the wizard periodically responded with anoncommittal, "Indeed," or a grunt. Like, he suspected, tonsorial customers ofall races in all ages of the world, he wasn't actually listening.
Richard Lee Byers
135
War Of The Spider Queen
Book 1
Dissolution
The barber'sthe front, and it was m stall, a little box redolent of unguents and pomades, was open at ore interesting to gaze out at the sights of the Bazaar. A commoner strode by carrying a clucking chicken, imported from the Lands of
Light, in a box. A merchant had probably promised the fellow the fowl would lafor years to com y e, though in reality, such birds rarely thrived in the Underdark. A portrait painter rendered his subject, the enchantments in the brush enabling himto fill the canvas with astonishing speed. An armorer drove a rapier through a bound, gagged kobold to demonstrate the sharpness of the point.Cowl up, mantle drawn close around him, and Splitter hidden by the charm ofconcealment Pharaun had cast on it, Ryld loitered across the way in a tent withthe sides folded up. There, games of all sorts were on display. The hulkinswordsm gan stood pondering a
sava
board, where he'd set up a problem with the onyx and carnelian pieces.north. SomA change came over the scene beyond the doorway, and people looked to theelane. A ragged, furtive-looking com started to squeeze up against the stalls, clearing the center of the mdirection. oner hurried away in the opposite
Ryld sauntered to the near edge of the tent, glanced where everyone else waspeering, then gave Pharaun a subtle nod, confirming what the wizard had alrguessed. A patrol was headed their way eady
.
Pharaun wished the guards could have waited just five more minutes, but alas,he would have to go to work before the barber finished with him. A tragedy, but it couldn't be helped.their tread silent thanks A moment later the patrolto their enchanted boots. In marched by, casting stern at least nominal cglances hither and yon, ommand was a priestess of Arach-Tinilith armed her were a teacher from Melee-Magthere with a polished wooden wand. Assisting and Gelroos Zaphresz, one of Pharaun's junior colleagues in Sorcere. It was unfortunate. Possessed of a comical ditties, Gelroos was congenial co store of jokes and mpany. At least if Pharaun murdered the other mage today
, he wouldn't haveassassinate him tomorrow to worry about Gelroos trying to
.
In addition to its officers, the patrol consisted of a number of warriors-in-training, boys whom Ryld had almost certainly instructed at one time or another.Pharaun wasn't particularly worried about them. His fellow teachers were the real threat.
The Master of Sorcere waited until surprising the barber the guards had marched past then, stood up, and handed the craf, he tossed aside the hair-sprinkled cloth covering his chest, services. He touched a finger to his liptsman a gold coin, a prins in wordless explancely overpayment for his ation of what he actually wanted to buy. He picked up his
piwafwi,
whose elegance he'd obscured the stall, and peeked out.with a minor illusion, swirled it around his shoulders, walked to the doorway of they'The patrol had tramped about twentyd turn a corner, so Pharaun had attained as much sepa yards down the lane. Any farther and ration from the enemy as he was going to get. He draped a fold of silk across the lowethen stepped out into the open, brandished r half of his face, recited an incantation. His half-barbered hair stood on end, a glass marble and a pinch of rust, and and the air around him smelled of ozone. A crackhim, then shot down the aisle. ling blue-white spark appeared in the air before When it reached the patrol, the flickering point of radiance exploded, shooting
Richard Lee Byers
136
War Of The Spider Queen
Book 1
Dissolution
burned, and fell, as they possessed neitherflares of lightning in all directions. Many of the callow young sold
iers danced
the spiritual strength nor the protective ,talismans that might have minimized thei
Unfortunately, the sizzling, jumping arcs r injuries and kept them on their feet. of power struck a handful of vendors
but the aisle was simply too cramped.and shoppers as well. Pharaun hadn't particularly wanted to harm noncombatants,
smoking, blackened, and blistered, The rest of the patrol began to pivot. The captainbut if he was anything like R from Melee-Magthere was yld, his burns
weren't likely to slow him down. Gelroos and the priestess looked as if the
lightning hadn't even touched them. faster than the other two, raising her baton. Thanks to his silver ring, Pharaun The female was spinning around a hair
could tell it was a spider wand, a weapon capable of entangling him in sticky webbing.
He had no intention of enduring that kind of humiliation. He rattled off astring of magic words and thrust his arm out. Five slivers of arcane force
leaped from his fingertips, hurtled across the intervening space, and slammed into the cleric's torso. She stumbled backward and collapsed.
A wiry male with deep-set eyes, and a trace of a scholar's stoop, Gelroos peeredup the street and called, "Master Mizzrym!"