F O U R (53 page)

glow faded.and dashed her to the ground. Her hand  slipped away from the amulet, and the An instant later

"We've secured them all, my lady,  a second guard burst into the room.."

nose, whom she had on occasion summoned to her bed.The warrior was a rugged-looking male  with a chipped incisor and a broken "Good," Faeryl replied. "How  many did you have to kill?"

sensible and less bother than tying them up.""Only one, but we could slaughter the rest. If I may say so, it seems more

and Ched Nasad. Even though some sche"It does, but I came here to promote good relations between Menzoberranzan won't exacerbate the situation by committimer has rendered my efng any more outrages than necessaryforts futile, I

.

You soldiers will do as I bade you. Strip  the Ousstyls, gag them, and tie them up."

Talindra groaned and groped feebly for  her knife. Impressed that the matron

was still conscious to any degree at all after the blow she'd suffered, Faeryl  kickedthe blade out of her reach.

"You can't  do this," Talindra croaked,  "not to House Ousstyl. We

and never for                          are mighty get at affront."

Tense as she was, Faeryl smiled.  The matron's arrogance was woefully

misplaced. The Ousstyls were so insignificant they hadn't even known the ambassador had lost the good will of T

riel Baenre. Otherwise, they would never

have accepted an invitation to Faeryl bashed T     feast with such a pariah.

alindra again, this time rendering her entirely insensible, then

she roamed through the castle, exhorting her minions to make haste. Soon all

that her household was relatively small.were wearing the clothing of  the Ousstyls. For the first time, Faeryl was grateful Otherwise, they wouldn't have had enough pilfered garments to go around.

finery of the Ousstyl dignitaries, while the common soldiers had donned She and her lieutenants sported the
piwafwi’

s
 
and mail, and carried the arms of

Talindra's bodyguards.

insufThe outlanders stowed provisions beneatficient, for they couldn't conceal all that much. Wh their mantles. The quantity was ith  luck, they'd  be able to

hunt and forage on the trail. They headed for the mansion's enclosed  stablewhere T                                ,

alindra had left her driftdisc.

Faeryl  noticed  that  some  of  her  retainers  were  sweaty  and  wide-eyed.

she was careful not to show it, she still felt  just as apprehensive herself. W Though as she mad to flout T

riel Baenre's

subordinate priestesses had virt  express  command, especially when she and her W            ually no magic implements left?

ell, no. It would be lunacy to sit

T                on her rump and do nothing, knowing that riel would eventually get around to ordering her arrest. Even if Faeryl weren't

concerned about her own fate, with every  passing hour she grew more anxious to learn what had halted all traffic from Ched  Nasad, and not just because the trade

Richard Lee Byers

143

War Of The Spider Queen

Book 1

Dissolution

was important in its own irrational fear that some misfortune had beright. Absurd as it seemed, she couldn't shake the f

allen the  City of Shimmering  Webs

itself.

She had to know. Any great event aff

injure House Zauvirr and diminish her own status. ecting Ched Nasad Moreover could conceivably never admit it to another                 ,  though she would

,  she cared about  her homeland for its own sake.  Not,  sheassured herself, that she suffered from l

ove,  loyalty,  or

drowlike emotion. Y                   any other soft, un-et Ched Nasad had shaped her into the

was a part of her                    person she was. It ,  and anything that harmed the city would trouble her as well.In any case, having assaulted and robbed her dinner guests, the die w

as cast.

stable. Faeryl dearly wished she could taThe pack and riding lizards hissed and grunted when the party entered the ke some of the reptiles with her  but since T                              ,

alindra hadn't brought any such beasts along with her,  it was out of the

question.The matron's driftdisc was a round, flat stone with an ivory throne fastened on

top, the whole floating about  a foot above the floorsoft white light tinged ever            . The device glowed with a

Since it was Faeryl who'd appropriated so faintly with green.Talindra'driftdisc, sat in the ornate cushioned chair  s attire, she hopped up on the

,  aapparatus to levitate up to the proper dignified height. Shend mentally commanded the endured a bad m

oment

during which nothing happened, and she  was surevehicle in such a way as to keep anyone  else from the Ousstyl had rigged the

platform                     riding it, then the circular ent of the Fifty-second House. rose. It was just sluggish, about  what you'd expected of the equipm

Two of Faeryl's

the open, her retainers form soldiers threw open the ing a proper  columgates, and the party ventured out into nthe room                   around her as soon as they had

.

They marched away from  the luminous keep that had been their home forfourteen years, past the alleyway where Umrae had died, and onward. F

aeryl

couldn't see Triel's watchers, but she could  feel their eyes on her.  She felt all but

certain they would recognize her.But m

a

watched the Ousstyls enter the residence, ybe not. Most people saw what they expected to see. The spies had were departing. Why would anyone bother to peer closely wand just as anticipated, the petty nobles h

en he was sure he

already knew what was going on?. At th

e moment, it seemed a dubious notion on

which to gamThat was the theoryble her life., anywayHer com

pany left the immediate vicinity of the residence without anyone

hiding and confront the fugitives themtrying to hinder them, which proved nothing. The watchers wouldn'selves, They'd      t pop out of scurry away to rouse a

company of warriors, who'd intercept the daughters and sons of Ched Nasad  in

the street.

Thus, while her expression conveyed  the proper mihaughtiness, her m                   x of serenity and

uscles were stiff, and  her m

avenues. For the m            outh dry as she floated down the ome

Ousstyls'        nt, she was heading for Narbondellyn, site of the modest citadel. It was where the spies would expect her  to  go.Drow did their best to clear the way for the m

atron of even a minor House. She

was grateful for that. Still, heavily laden carts and the like could only pull aside so quickly. The impostors'  progress was necessarily a

nd nerve-rackingly sedate.

Finally, though, they passed Narbondel itself, where the magical glow had

Richard Lee Byers

144

War Of The Spider Queen

Book 1

Dissolution

climbed three quarters of the way to the  top of the great stone column. Faeryl

spotted Talindra's fortress and turned her comapproached the place, som           pany aside. If they actually

e  guard peering down from  the ramparts was bound to

penetrate their disguises.They m

arched south, still without interference. If someone was chasing them,

the  ambassador  was  sure  it  would  have  become  apparent  by  then.  Faeryl  took  a

deep breath, told herself her ruse had succeeded, and tried to relax. She couldn't,

quite. Perhaps when  she reached  the  Bauthwaf, or  better still, Menzoberranyr territory altogether . . .                escaped

The outlanders'  route carried them  to  the west of the elevation that was

Qu'ellarz'orl, its slopes thick with enormous mushrooms. Then, at last, they reached one of the city'

s

Menzoberranyr defended all of them hundred gates to the tunnels beyond. The , but this one at least was a minor exit. Itboasted fewer guards than m

ost.

The fugitives approached boldly,  as if they had every legitimate expectation  ofthe sentries ushering them  through. The guards m

ust have wondered why  a high

priestess would wear an elegant cloak and gown and ride her ceremonialtransport for an excursion into the dirty

,  dangerous caves beyond the city, but a

matron's whim

set about the cum was law in Menzoberranzan. They ofb               fered her obeisance, then ersome  process of unbarring the  granite-and-adamantine

valves—or most of them  did.

One officer eyed Faeryl thoughtfully. He had a foxy, humorous face and was

smaller than most males, which apparently didn't hinder him  when wieldin

the heavy broadsword hanging from  his baldric. Though he carri       ged the blade ofa warrior, he'd  eschewed m

ail—which c

and jerkin possessed of the countless telltale pould disrupt arcane spells—for a cloak ockets of a wizard. Evidently he

was  fighter  and  wizard  both.  When  she  gazed directly at him,

l                              he respectfully owered his head but resumed his scrutiny as soon as she turned her head.

The smShe pivoted around to face him  and asked, "Captain, is it?"all male gave her a smart salute.

"Please, com"Captain Filifar, my  lady, at your service."e  here."

gigantic spiders graven in the leaves of Filifar obeyed. If he betrayed any wariness, it was only in his eyes. The two the gate stirred ever so slightly. Faer lrealized they would em                        y

erge from  the carving and fight for him  if commanded.

"You have the look of an intelligent male," she said, gazing down at him  from

atop the driftdisc."Thank you, m  lady."

"Perhaps you received orders," she continued, "to refuse passage to the ydelegation from Ched Nasad."

"No, my lady ".Filifar'

s  hand twitched ever so slightly. It wanted to reach for either the hilt of

his sword or the spell components in one of his pockets."Your subordinates were content to re

that, but not a sharp boy like you. Somehow you contrived to find oceive their instructions and let it go at ut what theambassador looks like, thus making sure you'

came this way "              d be able to recognize her if she .Filifar'

s  mouth tightened. "My lady," he

well trained. Y              said, "my company is well armed and