"And regardless of which course we choose, we must pass through the place?"
The Bregan D'aerthe scout simply nodded again.
"Then perhaps we should see what we can learn in the trade cavern before we make our decision," Halisstra offered. She could feel Quenthel's eyes on her, but she did not look at the Baenre. "There might be duergar merchants there who could shed some light on the question for us. If not, well, we'll have to provision ourselves there anyway before striking out into the wilds of the Underdark."
"A reasonable suggestion," Pharaun remarked. "There are a dozen mercenary companies based in the City of Blades. Is it not likely that theduergar we fought in Ched Nasad were hired by a drow House, and had no special allegiance to Gracklstugh?"
"They did Gracklstugh's work when they destroyed the city," Quenthel said darkly. She stood and set her hands on her hips, still staring at the sketch on the floor. She thought for a moment, then angrily swept it out with her foot. "We will see what we learn in Mantol-Derith, then. I suspect that time is of the essence, and if we can avoid a detour of twenty or thirty days to skirt the city, we should do so, but if we hear anything to indicate that Grackl-stugh may be closed to our kind, we strike out into the barrens."
Valas Hune nodded and said, "Very well, Mistress. I suspect we will be able to arrange passage unless the duergarare openly at war with Men-zoberranzan. I've dealt with the gray dwarves before, and there is nothing they would not sell for the right price. I will seek out a duergar guide in Mantol-Derith and see what I can learn."
"Good enough," said Quenthel. "Take us to the duergar, and we will - "
"No, Mistress, not 'we'," the scout said. He stood and brushed off his hands. "Most duergar have little liking for drow under any circumstances, less so for noble-born drow, and even less for priestesses of the Spider Queen. Your presence would only complicate things. It might be best if I handled any negotiations myself."
Quenthel frowned.
Jeggred, standing close behind her, rumbled, "I could go along to keep an eye on him, Mistress."
Pharaun barked sharp laughter at the thought and said, "If a priestess of Lolth makes a gray dwarf nervous, what do you think he'd make ofyou?"
The draegloth bridled, but Quenthel shook her head.
"No," she said, "he's right. We will find a place to wait, and perhaps see what news there is to be had, while Valas takes care of the details."
They resumed their march, and soon came to Mantol-Derith. The place was much smaller than Halisstra expected, a cavern not more than sixty or seventy feet in height and perhaps twice that in width, though it twisted and snaked for many hundreds of yards. She was used to the im-mensity of Ched Nasad's great canyon, and the stories she'd heard of other places of civilization underground usually involved tremendous caverns miles across. Mantol-Derith would have been nothing more than a side cavern in a drow city.
It was also much less crowded than she would have expected. The marketplaces in her home city had always been busy places, thronged by common drow or the slaves of nobles engaged in their various errands. The market of a drow city usually hummed with industry, energy, and activity, even if those qualities were peculiarly distorted to match the aesthetic tastes of drow society. Mantol-Derith was comparatively silent and forbidding. Here and there throughout the caverns winding length, small groups of merchants sat or squatted, their wares secured in coffers and casks behind them instead of rolled out on display. No one shouted, or haggled, or laughed. What business transpired there seemed best conducted in whis-pers and shadows.
Creatures from many different races gathered at Mantol-Derith. More than a few drow merchants held various corners of the cavern, most from Menzoberranzan if Halisstra read the blazons on their goods correctly. Mind flayers glided smoothly from place to place, mauve skin glistening damply, tentacles writhing beneath their cephalopod faces. A handful of sullen svirfneblin huddled together in one spot, eyeing the drow with unalloyed resentment. Of course the duergar were present in numbers, too. Short and broad-shouldered, the gaunt gray dwarves gath-ered together in secretive cabals, conversing with each softly in their gut-tural tongue.
Halisstra trailed close behind Pharaun, studying each group as they passed. She noticed that the wizard was trading discreet