Insurrection

Well, that answers that question, Pharaun thought. A mere mortal ca

The Master of Sorcere shook his head and sighed as he gingerly gathered the fragmented remains of the mirror.

Why do I go through this trouble? he thought as he tried to figure out where he should discard the ruined thing. Everything I do for everyone, and all I get is grief in return. I'll bet other folk don't go through this much trouble to track down their deities, he thought wryly. I'm sure they just look them up anytime—

The wizard froze in the middle of the room, the begi

Of course! he thought. I've been going about this all wrong. Why didn't I think of this before? We're asking the wrong. .

Tossing the mirror down in a tinkle of glass, Pharaun began to pace, mulling his idea over more carefully. A plan was begi

It was not long after that that Ryld and Valas returned from their own excursions.

The wizard took one look at the pair of them and quickly surmised that their endeavors had not only ended unsatisfactorily but violently. Both drow were glum as well as bloodied and bruised. Valas walked with a slight limp, and Ryld seemed unable to lift his left arm above his waist. Almost as one, they dropped their gear on the floor and dropped down onto their Reverie couches.

«I gather that things did not go well today,» Pharaun commented. «No chance to haul Quenthel's supplies out of here?»

«Three places,» Valas muttered. «We tried three places and got into two scuffles for our troubles.»

«There just isn't a pack lizard to be had, it seems,» Ryld added, rubbing his eyes with his good hand. «If there is, no one is ready to sell it to outsiders.»

«I don't find that hard to believe,» Pharaun replied, «considering that no caravans have entered or left the city in such a long while. Everyone is holding tight to what they have, riding the crisis out.»

Pharaun busied himself straightening his own things while the other two males sat still.

«I'll wager with you for who has to tell her,» Ryld said to Valas. «Rock, knife, and parchment?»

The scout shook his head.

«Let's just make the wizard tell her,» he said, pointing to Pharaun. «He seems to delight so in tormenting her, anyway, so what's one more bit of bad news out of his mouth?»

Ryld nodded, and Pharaun found himself smiling.

«Well, we all have a reprieve, at least for the moment,» the mage said. «She and the other two haven't returned from the storehouse.»

«Really?» Valas asked, sitting up. «I would have thought they'd return before us for sure.»

Pharaun shrugged and said, «As would I, but none of them are here.»

«That's fine by me,» Ryld said, leaning back against the wall and dosing his eyes. «The less I have to see of that damned draegloth, the better off I am.»

Pharaun pursed his lips, realizing that what he was going to suggest next might not set well with either the weapons master or the scout.

«I found out something today, too,» he said quietly.

Ryld opened one eye and looked at the wizard.

«Oh?»

Valas leaned forward on the edge of the bed.

«Have you determined what has happened to the Dark Mother?»

Pharaun chuckled and said, «Not exactly, but I did learn that her disappearance has not been limited to our own race. Other species feel her loss, as well.»

«I don't know whether to consider that good news or not,» the scout said, sitting back again.

Nor do I,» Pharaun agreed, «but I have also learned that something is sealing us out from the Demonweb Pits. I have attempted to scry there in hopes of learning something of the goddess's condition—indeed, if she yet exists—and I could not penetrate inside. A barrier protects it and keeps me, and others, outside.»

«A barrier? You're speaking now of things I have no experience with,» Ryld said. «What kind of barrier?»

«A potent one. I was nearly blasted into powder for my troubles,» Pharaun said, a wry smile on his face, «I have tried it before, even spoke with Archmage Gromph before we left Menzoberranzan. He has experienced similar problems.»

«It sounds as though whatever the Spider Queen is doing, she does not wish to be disturbed,» Valas said.

«If it's her who's doing it,» Ryld countered. «Perhaps another god has erected the barrier to prevent us from seeing her.»

«Exactly!» Pharaun said eagerly. «Surely someone knows—or can find out—what we ca

«I thought that's what our mission was … to discover Lolth's fate,» Valas said. «That's why we've come here.»

«Yes, you are correct,» Pharaun said, nodding, «though this business with storehouses of magic items seems to have become a higher priority. In the interest of bringing us back to the more fascinating part of our little expedition, I have an idea. I want to enlist help from the outside.»

«Help? From whom?» Ryld was sitting up, too.

The wizard began to pace again as he explained his plan to his companions.

«A mere mortal, even someone with my acumen, can't penetrate the veil that has settled over the Demonweb Pits. Something is obviously intent on keeping us out. We need to enlist someone else's help in finding out what's going on there. Someone not of our own ilk.»

Both of the other drow were watching the wizard intently, doubt plain on their faces.

«You can't mean. .» Ryld said.

«Another god.»

The weapons master seemed aghast. Valas said nothing but might have been contemplating the possibilities of such an act—and the ramifications.

«Perhaps a higher being,» Pharaun continued, «especially one m close proximity to the Demonweb Pits—from one of the other layers of the Abyss—could, or possibly even already has, discovered more than we can possibly hope to on our own. Maybe we can convince one of them to tell us what has transpired or is transpiring inside.

«Not directly, of course,» Pharaun added hastily, «but through an intermediary … a follower.»

«You play a dangerous and foolish game, Pharaun Mizzrym,» Ryld said, shaking his head. «The Dark Mother may find such a course blasphemous, a betrayal to the faith.»

«Or she may congratulate me on being so i

«Quenthel will not be happy with this plan,» Valas cautioned. «She will most likely consider it a personal affront to her.»

«Yes, well, Quenthel is too focused on lining House Baenre's coffers to appreciate the larger picture before us. I'm begi

«Never openly. Not to her face.»

«She's not here now, is she? My friend, I play with fire, I know that, but if I don't act where my heart lies then I've failed our race far worse than she. I'm content to steer things from behind the scenes, letting her believe she controls our tempo, our course, but such a method requires patience, more than a little frustration, at times, and the possibility of being thwarted or exposed. It would stand a much greater chance of success if the three of us worked together to maneuver her. I could use your help.»

Valas had his chin in his hand, thinking. Ryld shook his head, lines of worry creasing his brow.

'You fight against mille

«The wizard has already been at it for a couple of tendays. .» Valas said.

«Perhaps, but until now, it was simply him against her; he hadn't brought us into it.»

Pharaun clicked his tongue in exasperation.

«Do you honestly think that she won't hold us all responsible, regardless of the relative levels of involvement?» the Master of Sor-cere asked, «She will blame you simply because you are a male, Master Argith.»

Slowly, Ryld nodded.

«I suppose you're right,» he said. «It still doesn't make me feel any better.»

«I'm not suggesting we bind her with cord and throw her in a box, Weapons Master. All I'm asking is that you support me when I make a suggestion, that you back me, however subtly, when she and I disagree. Help me convince her that moving forward, rather than back to Menzoberranzan, is the wiser course of action.»

«You make sense,» Ryld replied, «but right now, your idea is just that. We must find someone willing to serve as the conduit. Do you know of any such creature?»

«I do,» Valas said quietly.

Pharaun crouched down in front of the scout and asked, «You do? Who?»

«There's a priest I know, a follower of Vhaeraun.»

«Vhaeraun,» Ryld said in a clipped tone. «I doubt we'll receive any aid from him.»

«Perhaps, but Tzirik is actually an old associate of mine,» Valas replied.

At Ryld's surprised look, the scout added, «When you wander the wilds of the Underdark as much as I have, you have to be decidedly more pragmatic than in the cozy confines of Menzoberranzan. Tzirik Jaelre owes me a favor. If we can get to him, I think he might help us.»

Valas turned to Pharaun and added, «Assuming, of course, that you have a notion of what he should do once we get there.»

Pharaun replied, «I will when we find this priest. In the meantime, you keep this Tzirik Jaelre to yourself until I have words with Quenthel. At the right moment, mention that you know him, and we'll show her the wisdom of seeing this through to the end.»

«I only hope the end comes later, rather than sooner,» Ryld said grimly.