and Quenthel wondered if he was silently questioning her order. To remind him or his place, she drew her whip - but held it by her side.
Ha!K'Sothra chortled.That pricked his pride.
Valas glanced at the vipers.
"As you command, Mistress," he acquiesced. "We'll keep to the Underdark. But that leaves only one other means of reaching the Lake of Shadows - and it's a dangerous one."
"Go on," Quenthel prompted.
"There is an ancient portal that gives access to a lake. It's a march of about four cycles from here, northward through a series of connect-ing tunnels and caverns. The portal was constructed centuries ago, but I have heard from a reliable source that its magic is still active. Reaching it, however, might prove difficult."
Quenthel nodded, unperturbed by Valas's grim tone. Everything in life was difficult - only those who rose above difficulties were wor-thy of Lolth's favors.
"We'll make for the portal," she told the mercenary. "Pack your things, everyone. We'll set out at once."
"This portal," Pharaun said slowly. "What makes it so difficult to reach?"
"It lies directly under the ruins of Myth Drannor." Valas said nothing more, as if that was explanation enough.
"Myth Drannor?" Pharaun groaned. "Not again. I have no de-sire to stare down a beholder a second time."
"We wouldn't be facing a beholder, this time," Valas said. "Which is probably just as well, since we don't have our 'best warrior' here to dispatch it, like he did the last one."
"Whatwould webe facing?" Pharaun asked.
Valas muttered something too low for Quenthel to hear, but Pharaun's reply was loud enough for her ears to catch.
"Too bad our spiders have lost their venom," he said, glancing at Quenthel and Danifae.
Valas nodded gravely.
Furious at the deliberate slight, Quenthel drew her whip. She snapped it, and the serpents hissed loudly, splattering venom on a stone floor that had been hastily vacated by Danifae.
"You will address your answers to me," she told Valas. "House Baenre has paid for your services, mercenary, not Sorcere."
"I beg your pardon, Mistress," he said, bowing deeply and ad-dressing her in a suitably chastised voice. "Ah . . . what was your question?"
Pharaun turned abruptly away, suddenly interested in placing his spellbooks back into his pack.
What creatures might we face?Hsiv prompted.
Quiet!Quenthel thought back.I can ask my own questions. Then, out loud, she added, "What will we have to fight, this time?"
Rising from his bow, Valas met her eye.
"Wraiths," he said. "Dozens of them."
That made Quenthel pause. Wraiths were dangerous creatures; shadowy, incorporeal. Their slightest touch could drain a living creature's vitality in an instant, and even magical healing would not restore it. Those drained entirely by wraiths became undead themselves, rising as twisted caricatures of their former selves to feed on their own kind. Few ordinary drow had seen a wraith - let alone several dozen of the shadowy creatures - and survived to speak of it.
And that was what Quenthel had been reduced to after all, an ordinary drow. Had Lolth not been silent, Quenthel could have used her magic to drive the creatures back from her, blowing them away like rags in a wind, but without it, she was as powerless against them as any other drow. The thought of facing several of the creatures without being able to turn them made her shiver.
Then she reminded herself that the fate of the drow race hung in the balance. Shehad to find the ship of chaos - it offered her the only chance she had to reach the Abyss and find out what had happened to Lolth. And that meant reaching the Lake of Shadows. Then, once Lolth restored her magic to the drow, Quenthel could return to Men-zoberranzan in triumph. She might, perhaps, even depose Triel and claim the throne of the most powerful House in the city.
Yes,Hsiv thought.You were meant to rule. You must succeed.
Ignoring him, Quenthel returned her attention to Valas.
"Tell me more about the portal," she ordered. "How do you know of it?"
With a slight bow, Valas answered, "I heard about it from a rogue - an odd little fellow who hailed from Gracklstugh. He learned of a vault under Myth Drannor that supposedly had treasure the surface elves left behind during their Retreat. He found a way to get there through the Underdark, but the vault was empty - except for the wraiths. They killed his four companions and nearly killed him too, but he escaped by leaping into a portal. It led to a narrow ledge overlooking the Lake of Shadows. Fortunately, he wore a ring