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it."

"Mistress," Minolin said, "he may want to lead you into—"Quenthel silenced the fool with a cold stare, then turned back to Pharaun.

In point of fact, the high priestess didn'"Lead on, Master of Sorcere."     t have to walk all the way to the drop-off to tell that som

ething was badly  wrong in the city below.  The waverin

yell                                 gow glare of firelight  and a foul  smoky  tang in  the air alerted her as soon as

sprinted for the edge, and Pharaun scramshe stepped outside the spider-shaped tembled to keep up wiple. Heedless of her dignity, she th  her.Below her

,  portions of Menzoberranzan—portions of the
 
stone,
 
how  could that be?—were in flames. Impossibly

,  even the Great Mound of the Baenre sprouted a tuft of flame at its highest point, like a tassel on a hat. O

nce

Quenthel's  eyes adjusted to the dazzling brightness, she could vaguely makeout the mobs ram

"You see," said Pharaun, "that'paging through the streets and plazas.s why I ran halfway across the city, dodging

marauders at every turn, to reach you, my  lady. If I may say so, the situation's

even worse than it  may look.  By  and large,  the nobles  haven't

reclaiming the streets. They'                   even begun r

household goblins. Therefore, I suggest you—"e bogged down on their estates fighting their own The m

age was smart enough to stop talking at the sight of Quenthel's  glare.

"We will mobilize Tier Breche," she said. "Melee-Magthere and Arach-Tinilith

can fight. Sorcere will divide its effortthe fires. You will either find m   s between supporting us  and extinguishing

y  brother Gromph or act in his stead ".Pharaun bowed low

.

Quenthel turned and saw that her priestesses and novices had followed her outonto the plateau. Som

ething in their manner brought her up short.

"Mistress," said long-eared Viconia Agrach  Dyrr, one of the senior instructors, rather diffidently, "it m

akes perfect sense for Melee-Magthere and Sorcere to

descend  the  stairs,  but  ..."

"But you ladies have lost your magic," Pharaun said.

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The sisters of the temple gaped at him.

"Y

"A good mou know?" Quenthel asked.any males know," the mapeeking through, "so there's no point in kge replied, just a hint of imilling m          patience e  for it. I'll explain it all later " .

He turned back toward the rest of the  clerics. "Holy Mothers and Sisters,  whileyou may have lost your spells, you have scrolls, talismans, and the rest of the divine implements your order hoards. You  can swing maces, if it comes to that.

You can fight."

"But we've lost too many sisters," Viconia said to Quenthel. "The demons killed a couple, and you, Mistress, by summoning the spiders, slew more. Wedon't dare risk the rest. Someone must endure to preserve the lore and performthe rituals."

"That'

Viconia scowled. "What is, boy?"s far too optimistic," Pharaun said.

"The assumption that, should you remaby," the wizard replied. "It'       in up here, annihilation will pass you s more plausible to assume  that if the ores  trium hbelow                                p

,  they'll climb the stairs to contidevotion to Arach-Tinilith. Surely it woulnue their depredations up here. Yd be m        ou profess ore reverent to engage the undercreatures in the vault below and thus  deny themprofane your shrines and altars. Simi        the slightest opportunity to alongside allies than to wait till they pelarly,  it would be better strategy to fight

"You'              rish and you're left to struggle alone."t know our efforts are needed. Flamre glib, wizard," the Agrach Dyrr priestess sneered, "but you don'e and glare, they're only goblins! I think you're  just  a scareling.""Perhaps he is," Quenthel said, "but how  dare we seek the Dark Mother's  favorif we decline to defend her chosen city in  its hour of need? Surely, then, we  neverwould hear her voice again."

"Mistress," said Viway to please her than brawling with vermconia, spreading her hands, "I know we can find a better in in the street."

Quenthel lifted her hand crossbow and shot her lieutenant in the face. Viconia made a choking sound and stumbled backward. The poison was alreadblackening her face as she collapsed.                    y"I thought I'd already demonstrated that  / rule here," the Baenre said. "Doesanyone else wish to contest my  orders?""If so," Pharaun said, "she should be aware that I stand with the mistress, and I have the power to scour the lot of you from  the face of the plateau ".Ignoring the boastful wizard, Quenthel surveyed her mino one else had anything m              nions. It appeared that uch to say."Good," the Baenre said. "Let us rouse the tower and the pyramid."

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C  h a p t  e r

T   W   E   N   T   Y

T  H  |R  E  E

With Quenthel in the lead, the Academy descended from Tier Breche like a great waterfall. Some scholars tramdown the cliff face. A few  ped after her on the staircase, while others floated ,  possessed of magic that enabled them to fly,  flitted about like bats.

"Perhaps Mistress would care to bide a moment," said Pharaun. At somehe had slipped off to his  personal quarters long enough to wash his face, comb his point hairignorance of Grom, and throw on a new set of handsome clothes. He returned alone, still claiming ph's whereabouts. "This islay of the land. W             as good a spot as any to spy out the e're below some  of  the sminspection."              oke but still high enough for an aerial Since Gromph was still either unavailable or uninterested, the Mizzrym was—with obvious relish—acting in the Archmage’s  stead. It was arguably an affront toHouse Baenre as much as the archmage,  but Quenthel had given the order anyway.

Until her brother returned or the crisis  abated, she needed someone to speak for

Sorcere, and she was sure it would upset  Gromph in an  amusidandy taking his place for so important a task.        ng  way to have this
ragged, jostling stop behind her.  The whip vipers reared to survey the cityscape along with herShe halted, and her minions came to a

.  From the corner ofher eye, she saw Pharaun smile briefly as if he found the serpents'  behavior comical.

Auvryndar may have finished exterminating their own slaves, but a mob keeps "There," said Quenthel, pointing, "in Manyfolk. It looks as if House them penned within their walls."

"I see it, Blessed Mother," said Malaggar Faen Tlabbar from the step behindher

.  The First Sword of Melee-Magthere was a merry-looking, round-faced boy with a fondness for green attire and emeralds. "Wmight be a good place to start. W          ith your permission, that e'll lift  the siege and add the Auvryndar to our own army."

The residents of the Academy reached the floor of the lower cavern, "So be it," Quenthel said

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the business of forming the scholars into squads, with swordsmen awhereupon the instructors, particularly the warriors of the pyramid, set about ndspearman protecting the spellcasters. Then they had to arrange the u

nits into

some semblance of a marching order.

militarLike every princess of a great House, Quenthel had a working knowledge of y matters,  and she watched the attempt to create order  with a  jaundiced

eye."I could wish for a proper army," she muttered.

She hadn'

"I understand your sentiments, Mistress, but they't meant for anyone to hear, but Pharaun nodded.re all we have, and I'm surethat if we'

ve trained them properly,  we have a chance." He coughed. "Against

the thralls, anyway.""Your meaning?"

cunning, miscalculated. If the mages we left upstairs don'"The greatest danger of all is this pall  of smoke. I think Syrzan, for all itsflames, we'll all suffocate, female and male, elf and ore alike, leaving tt extinguish the h