- she'd gotten Ryld to safety. And herself. She'd even managed to recover the Crescent Blade.
Now all she had to do was kill a goddess with it.
Chapter Thirty-six
Gromph waited in the great chamber of House Baenre's temple, watching through Kyorli's eyes as members of the House guard dragged in prisoners, bound at the ankle and wrist, for execution. A company of soldiers from House Agrach Dyrr had attempted to break out of their compound after House Baenre pulled its troops away to fight the tanarukks, but fortunately soldiers of House Xor-larrin had been able to capture them. House Baenre had claimed its share of the resulting prisoners, who were being "sacrificed" in the temple - for all the good it would do. With the goddess silent, did it really matter?
As yet another captive from House Agrach Dyrr was hustled into the temple - one, unlike the others, not too badly damaged - Gromph stepped into the path of the House guard who was dragging him in and held up a hand. The guard came to an immediate and obedient halt.
"Yes, Archmage?"
Gromph squatted, bringing Kyorli down to the level of the pris-oner. Using the rat's eyesight, he stared into the eyes of the captive, who glared defiantly back at him.
Yes. They might just do.
"This captive is not to be exec - sacrificed,"he told the guard. "Take him to Sorcere, instead, and deliver him to Master Nauzhror. Tell the master that I require the battle-captive ... for my own purposes."
From deeper in the temple - behind the adamantine doors that led to Lolth's inner temple - came a high, sharp scream, followed by a drow voice pleading. Slaves, meanwhile, carried the body of the last soldier to have been executed past the spot where Gromph stood and flung it outside at the feet of a riding lizard. A moment later Gromph heard a crunching, gulping noise - the sound of the lizard enjoying its victory feast.
The prisoner looked back and forth between the body being con-sumed by the lizard and Gromph, as if trying to decide which was the lesser evil.
"Thank you, Archmage," the Dyrr cousin said. "I'llserve you well."
Gromph smiled and said, "Perhaps you will. Part of you, anyway." Then, standing, he addressed the guard. "Take him away."
As he waited for the "sacrifices" to end, Gromph craned his head back and squinted up at the temple ceiling. Using Kyorli's eyesight, he could see movement - the quick scurrying of the spiders whose webs filled the great dome above - but no detail. The webs were a white haze, their lines indistinct. Kyorli could see only a limited dis-tance. Rats relied more upon smell and whisker touch than they did on eyesight.
Gromph would have to be careful. Triel had learned from And-zrel about what had happened to Gromph. But for the time being she had been fooled by Gromph's assurance that the potions had fully restored his vision. Like the other nobles of House Baenre, she took no notice of Kyorli - the familiar often rode on Gromph's shoulder - but if she learned that the Archmage of Menzoberranzan was blind, she could deem him weak. And the weak - in House Baenre, as in all the noble Houses of Menzoberranzan - were swiftly dispensed with.
Keeping that in mind, Gromph turned as he heard footsteps approaching from behind the adamantine doors. Looking through Kyorli's eyes, he picked Triel out from among the priestesses who fanned out into the great chamber.
"Matron Mother," he said, bowing deeply. "I have news. Good news."
Triel strode over to where he stood. Whiskers tickled Gromph's cheek as Kyorli strained forward, sniffing eagerly. Gromph saw lines or red crisscrossing the matron mother's face and hair, sprays of blood from the flayings she'd recently inflicted. The serpents in her whip swayed gently, tongues dabbing at the bright blood that had stained a weblike pattern across the front of her white tunic.
"You've heard from Quenthel?" Triel asked.
Gromph nodded and said, "I have."
Ever aware of the political web and his place in it, Gromph omit-ted any mention of Pharaun. Gromph's underling would be spoken of only if specifically asked about.
"Quenthel and the others have discovered the whereabouts of a ship of chaos and plan to sail it to the Abyss," he told Triel. "There they will find out what has becomeof Lolth. Our troubles will soon be at an end. Assuming, that is, that our sister proves worthy of the task you have set her."