F O U R (13 page)

War Of The Spider Queen

Book 1

Dissolution

surreptitiously cataloging every potential thsee that his friend's eyes lingered on the  web-shaped sava boards for areat. Still, Pharaun was amused to

n  instan

which was likely all the time he required to  analyze the four co        t,ntests  in  progress.Sava was an intricate gam

e  represen

least that was what it currently representeting a war between two noble Houses—atd. Pharaun had seen an  antique  set thatrecapitulated in miniature the drow'

s  eternal struggle with another  r

pieces had gone out of fashion long before           ace, but such had wanted to be the dwarves.       his birth, probably because no player

With its grid like board regulating moveme

capacities, sava resembled gam      nt and its playing pieces of varying es devised by machaos in their blood the drow had found a way to introduce an elemny cultures, but celebrating the ent of

randomness into what would otherwise unfold with a mechanical precision. Once

per game, each player could forgo his normal move to throw the sava dice. If the spider came up on each, he could move one  of his opponent'

s  pieces to eliminate

dark elves'any man of its own color within its nor propensity for doing down theimal reach, a rule that acknowledged the r kin even in the face of a serious

external threat.

Pharaun, who privately considered himself cleverer than Ra little chagrinned that he couldn't defeat the weapons master at sava, but alas, his yld, had always been

friend wielded mother, priestess, wizard,  warrior, ore slave soldier,  and dice as

brilliantly as he did a sword. Indeed, he  claimed that fighting  and sava were the same thing, though Pharaun

The wizard clapped R  had never quite understood what the assertion meant.yld on the shoulder  and said, "Play.         in their gold. Just remember to make c            Amuse yourself. W

can learn. Meanwhile, I'll try my luck in the cellaronversation while you'"    re at it. See what you .

Ryld nodded.

Pharaun navigated his way across the crowded room to the bar.  Behind it on a stool sat wizened, one-legged Nym, an

unwavering misanthropy rivaled any demon the Master elderly male who for sheer surlyof Sorcere had ever ,

obscenities, and orders at the goblin thconjured. The old retired battle mage was happily engaged in snarling threats, suspended the harassment long enough to accepralls pouring drinks, but he grudgingly

tendered a worn, numbered leather t      t a handful of gold. In return, he ab with several keys attached.

another flight of steps. At the bottom Thus equipped, Pharaun walked through the arch beside the bar and down waited the real business of the Jewel Box and the reason Nym had not seen

In Menzoberranzan, where a goddess and he fit to hang a placard outside.r priestesses reigned supreme, fewfemale dark elves ever found it necessary  to sell their bodies. O

nly a  handful of

degradation. Accordinglythe sick and infirm, dwelling  in the most abject need,  had ever stooped to such a intimate companionship woul,  one might assud find his choice limited tome that any male  wishing to purchase

specimens or the females of one of th           these rare unappealing e inferior species.But that wasn't  quite the case, at least not if a male ha

reason was that, while they generally de        d a heavy purse. The cloakers, svirfneblin, and other      voted their military efforts to fighting

cities on rare occasions waged war on one acompeting civilizations of thenother       Underdark, drow .yielded fem                  Once in a while, such conflicts

ale prisoners.

ate thing to do with such potentially dangerous captiveswas interrogate, torture, and kill themThe prudent, legitim       . That fact notwithstanding, Nym  had on

several occasions managed to bribe officers to give him  their prisoners, whom  he

Richard Lee Byers

33

War Of The Spider Queen

Book 1

Dissolution

then smuggled into Menzoberranzan and down to the cellar ofthe Jewel Box.

Nym tion that a goodly num had gone to all this trouble based on the shrewd and well-proven

assump            ber of  Menzoberranyr males would pay

handsomely for the privilege of dominating a female, and in his establishmen

one could do anything one wanted with                  t, custom                a captive. Nym  would even provide a

stipulation being that one mer with a bastinado, a brazier of coals, thumbscrews . . . his only ust pay a surcharge if one left a permanent mark.Since the brothel's existence was an open secret, Pharaun wasn't

sure why  the

matron mothers hadn't shut it down. On the face of it, it certainly seemed to

encourage disrespect for the ruling gender.  Perhaps they felt that if a male had  arefuge in which to act out his resent

ments, it would make him all  the  more

deferential to the females in his home.  More likely,  Nym  was slipping them  a

substantial portion of the take.At any rate, the Jewel Box seemed a reasonable place to seek information

concerning rogue males, especially if  one had a spy in place. Pharaun wasn't confident that he did anymore, but one never knew

.

The stairs emptied into a hallway of  num

grunts of pain sounded faintly from  behind bered doors. Moans of passions and several of them. It was busier thanusual.

The mage strolled down the passage until he found number fourteen. He

hesitated for an instant, then scowled and turned the larlock. The door swung open.              gest of his keys in the

Seated on the bed,  shackles  clutching her wrists  and ankles,  Pellanistra looked

much as he remembered, the same  powerful, shapely limbs and heart-shaped

face, with only a few more scars where one down two hard, as well as a split lip and  closed, pufor another of her visitors had pressed fy eye where a m

ore recent

caller had beaten her.

She lifted her face, saw him,  and  charoutstretched. Then she staggered as  one of her governing enchantmged with her long-nailed hands

ents riddled

her body with pain, and an instant later hthe wall. She lost her balance and fell on her rump.it the end of the chains securing her to

"Hello, Pellanistra," Pharaun said.

gobbet of saliva fell well short of the wizard'She spat at him, then screwed up her  face at another flare of punishment. The "Much as I dislike descending to the obvious," Pharaun s soft, high boots.

to observe that you're onl               said, "I feel compelled his hand. "Come on, let's sit and have a tay hurting yourself." He stelk, just like in the old days. I'll even pped forward and extended

remove the shackles if you wish.""We had a bar

gain!" she said."I refuse to have an extended conversation with someone sitting on the floor. It

compromises my dignity as  much as it does yours. Come on, be sensible. Takemy hand."

She didn'

unassisted. He caught a whift do that, but, chaif of some flowery scent that Nym had forced hns clinking, she did clamber to her bare feet er to

wear.

"Now, isn't that better?" he asked.  "Do you want the manacles off?"

"W

"I wish you'e had a compact, and I was holding up my end."d invite me to sit down.""You abandoned me!"

Pharaun spread his slender,  long-fingered hands and said, "All right, priestess.

Richard Lee Byers

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War Of The Spider Queen

Book 1

Dissolution

If you think it necessary, we'll belabor the self-evident a bit longer.  Yes, I recruited you into my service. Yeway to earning your liberati    s, you were doing splendidly—well on your something about it."    on—but my circumstances changed. Surely you heard

"Yes. Ykilled her twin, and you were powerless to ou backed the wrong sister, and stop it. If you hadn'Greyanna made a t turned tail anfool of you. Shed  runaway to Sorcere, she would have slain you, too."

Pharaun smiled crookedly.  "I  don't think I'll encourage the bards to put it quite that way when they compose the epic story of my life."

"But after you established  yourself up on Ticome and go as you pleased, you  could have returned here."er Breche, after you were free to

"I have, on occasion, just not to  call on you. I thought  it might be a  little awkward."

"I could have helped you the same as before.""Alas, no. After my withdrawal  from House Mizzrym, I no longer had a stake in the power struggles within my  family or among the noble Houses, either. I no longer needed intelligence about such matters. The only rivalry that concerned me  was the one among wizards, and even if you number the foremost practitioners of my  art amtheir newly invented spells in your ears. When it comong your guests, I doubt they whisper the esoterica of es to our discoveries, we wizards are a closemouthed breed ".

"You don't know what it was like for me  . . . is like for me, abused and degraded by my  inferiors, constrained in body, mind, and soul, unable to commune  with  Lolth.  ..."

Pharaun raised his hand. "Please,  you're embarrassing yourself. You sound like a whining human, or one of our foul cousins in the World Above. Cease this tirade, take a breath, and think, then  you will realize, enemthat m                       y of Menzoberranzan, y  concern for your well-being has always been, at best, limited. How could it be otherwise? Sentiment certainly wasn't  strong enough to make mespend a fortune buying you free of Nym,  or,  if he and I couldn'break you out of here. Not when you hadn'          t strike a deal, t  fulfilled the terms of our covenant.

As you no doubt recall, you were supposed to provide me  useful information over the full course of twenty years.  I admit it wasn't  your fault that you couldn't,  but  still, that's  just the way things fell out."

"Fine," she gritted. "You're right, I'm being ridiculous. In forsaking me, you simply behaved as any sensible drow  would. Now what in the name  of the Dem

He nodded at the other end of the roomonweb do you want?"        and said, "May we  ... ?"

She gave a curt nod, and they seated  themselves, she on the mattress of her wide octagonal bed and he on a cushioned granite chair

.

"This is much nicer," he said. "Would you like me  to send for some  wine?"

"V"Just get on with it."ery well. I imagine my  plight will amuse you. After the goddess knows how many years breathing the rarefied and dispknowledge to eager young minds, advancing assionate air of scholarship, imthe f           parting rontiers  of  the mystic  arts—""Murdering other wizards for their talismans and grimoires."

He grinned. "Well, that was implied, of course. Anyway, after all that, I find myself again embroiled in the more mundane aspects of life in our noble metropolis. There's a puzzle I must solve on pain of the Archmage's severedispleasure, and I will be grateful unto death and beyond if you help me  unravel