Extinction

He'd surfaced near the northeastern tip of the island that lay at the center of the lake. Herds of rothe milled aimlessly on its banks. Behind the island, Gromph could make out the glowing spire of Narbondel. Someone had been casting magical fire into the enormous, natural rock pillar in Gromph's absence to mark the start of Menzoberranzan's "day," but for how long? Had he been gone for a month, a year?

As the sphere drifted closer to the island, Gromph once again tried to contact Kyorli but without success. Had the rat simply not had enough time yet to reach the city? Or was something else delaying her? When the lichdrow had imprisoned Gromph, an army of duergar, augmented by tanarukks, had been marching toward the city. Did Gracklstugh's forces block the approaches to Menzoberranzan? Even if they did, surely a rat could slip through their lines.

Gromph tried again.

Kyorli! Are you there?

From somewhere close at hand came a faint tickle of thought?Kyorli, swimming in the lake? Gromph reached out to it, but it was gone.

Something nudged the sphere, rocking it gently.

Kyorli?

Gromph opened his eyes in time to see a hand break the surface of the lake beside him. Enormous purplish fingers wrapped around the sphere, then pulled it underwater. The fingers, coated in a thin layer of slime, smudged the outer surface of the sphere, but through the streaks, Gromph could see a bulbous face with four writhing tentacles where a nose and mouth should be. The illithid's eyes were white and devoid of pupils, but Gromph could sense that it was staring at him as it sculled gently with its free hand, maintaining a position just below the surface of the lake.

Its voice forced itself into Gromph's mind, probing like an infestation of roots through soft, unresisting soil.

A mage, it observed. How delicious!

Chapter Nine

Halisstra's first impulse, as the priestess blew her horn, was to thrust her sword into the woman, but something made her hesitate.

Ryld, however, was quicker to act. He leaped to the still sizzling body of the troll, yanked his short sword from it, and sprinted toward the priestess.

The stranger was quicker, however. Dropping the horn, she sang out a single note and brought her hands together. As her fingers interlocked, branches whipped into place in front of her, weaving themselves together. Ryld crashed headlong into the barrier and was hurled back by it, at the last moment turning his fall into a controlled roll.

As Ryld sprang to his feet, Halisstra heard another woman's voice sing out from the forest behind her. She spun to face the new threat and saw someone moving through the forest. In that same instant dozens of crescent-shaped blades appeared from out of nowhere and began flashing in a tight circle around her and Ryld. The chest-high wall of spi

Ryld touched his brooch and sprang into the air, but his ankles were immediately caught by the bushes around him, animated by the first priestess's spell. He slashed at them with his sword but the enchanted bush was growing, sprouting new branches faster than he could sever them. For every branch he slashed through, three more sprang up to take its place.

At the same time, the barrier of spi

Through the barrier of blades Halisstra caught glimpses of the priestess who had slain the troll?and the two others who had rushed to join her. Each was nearly naked, like the first, and held a sword in her hand. One of them?the one who was sustaining the barrier of blades?was small for a drow female and had dark brown hair. It took Halisstra a moment to recognize the woman under the black dye she'd rubbed onto her skin?dye that had started to run in the rain?but when she did, she cursed her ill luck. There would be no way that Halisstra could convince the priestesses she was an i

Feliane, a moon elf, had seen Seyll die. Thanks to the magical charm Halisstra had placed upon her, she had readily believed Halisstra's story that she'd stabbed Seyll by accident, after slipping on a wet rock. But once that charm had worn off, Feliane would have realized the truth.

Ryld gave up slashing at the bush that held his feet and stared longingly at his greatsword, which lay just outside the barrier of whirling blades. He glanced at Halisstra and winced.

"If I had Splitter. …"

He didn't have to finish; Halisstra knew exactly what he meant. Had he been able to reach the greatsword, he could have used it to dispel the priestess's magic.

It was up to Halisstra, then.

"I am the one who killed Seyll!" she shouted at the priestesses over the whir of the spi

She laid Seyll's sword and crossbow on the ground, then yanked the chain mail tunic up and over her head. Tossing it beside the weapons, she removed the final thing she'd taken from Seyll's body: the priestess's magic ring.

Avoiding the advancing barrier of blades, she placed the ring on the ground as well and addressed herself to Feliane.

"As Seyll lay dying, she said she had hope for me still. She knew that guilt would force me to redeem myself for the treachery I had committed. That's why I came back, instead of returning to the Underdark, to beg Eilistraee's forgiveness for what I've done."

The whirling blades had passed over Seyll's weapons and chain mail without harming them and had come close enough to force Halisstra back into Ryld, whose legs were completely entangled in the bush that had grown up around him. He twisted at the waist and gave Halisstra a sharp look. She must have sounded very convincing.

Halisstra ignored him, concentrating instead on Feliane. Could she use her voice to overcome the priestess's resistance a second time?

The whirling blades paused in their advance. They were so close Halisstra could feel the wind of them passing; one step forward and she would be cut to pieces.

"Prove yourself," Feliane said. "Swear to come up into the light, to serve Eilistraee and forsake Lolth. Swear it?by the sword."

Halisstra considered?but only briefly, one eye on the barrier of blades.

What harm could it do? she thought. Lolth is dead?or so close to death that it makes little difference.

Even if she did rise again, the Queen of Spiders appreciate and rewarded treachery?especially if it was directed against the goddess who was her chief rival. Halisstra could always turn her back on Eilistraee and be welcomed back into the fold.

Halisstra held out a hand to Ryld and said, "Loan me your sword."

Ryld gave her a quick, searching look, then complied.

Halisstra took the short sword from him and thrust its point into the ground. Then, as she had seen Eilistraee's followers do, she circled it, holding the hilt with her left hand. The barrier of blades didn't leave her much room, and so keen was Ryld's blade that when Halisstra brushed against it, the steel nicked her knee. She ignored the tiny wound and completed the circle.

"I so swear," she told Feliane.

Off in the distance, she heard the sound of a hunting horn. Another priestess, belatedly coming to join the others? The priestesses, also having heard it, exchanged nods.

The barrier of blades disappeared. In the abrupt silence that followed, Halisstra heard the snap of a branch. The first priestess negated her spell, loosening the branches that entwined Ryld. Angrily yanking himself free, he pulled his shortsword out of the ground and assumed a ready stance as the priestesses approached.