who was. She decided to speak plainly and not waste time on flattery or subtlety, as it was clear any such efforts would be lost on the ruler of Gracklstugh. She offered a small bow, and straightened.
"Kaanyr dispatched me to ask a few questions about what happened in Ched Nasad, and to perhaps explore some other issues," she said. She glanced at the other gray dwarves standing nearby. "Does everyone here enjoy your confidence?"
Horgar frowned, and muttered something in Dwarvish. Several of the advisors or nobles moved off, returning to whatever duties they had else-where. A pair of heavily armored guards in black surcoats remained behind, as well as another important-looking duergar, a scarred fellow in armor who wore a tabard marked with a red symbol.
"My Stone Guards stay," Horgar said, then indicated the scarred dwarf. "This is the clan laird Borwald Firehand, marshal of Gracklstugh's army."
Borwald returned Aliisza's nod of greeting with a sullen glare. She shrugged and got back to the point, deciding to match directness with directness.
"A duergar clan - Xornbane, wasn't it? - attacked the drow city of Ched Nasad, and precipitated its destruction. Kaanyr Vhok wonders if you set them to it."
"Clan Xornbane are mercenaries," Borwald answered. The scar he carried creased the side of his bald head from cheekbone to three inches behind the ear, leaving a visible indentation. "Whatever job they took in Ched Nasad is an issue of commerce, not of Deepkingdom policy. You should take up the matter with them."
"I would, but survivors are hard to find," Aliisza said. "As near as we can tell, they trapped themselves in the city they burned." She returned her gaze to Horgar Steelshadow and asked, "So, did they destroy Ched Nasad with your blessing?"
"With my blessing?" The duergar prince thought for a moment, then said, "I am not unhappy that the City of Shimmering Webs fell, but I did not dispatch Clan Xornbane to do that piece of work. Khorrl Xorn-bane was hired by one of Ched Nasad's matron mothers to help her de-stroy those Houses ahead of hers. I did not choose to interfere with Xornbane's business."
"In that case, Xornbane's choice of tactics seems spectacularly un-sound. They delivered their employer a smoking ruin, and sustained horrible losses in doing so," Aliisza observed.
"I am afraid that I was at least in part responsible for that," said a melodious voice to one side.
From the shadow of a pillar in the great hall a slim form emerged, a rakish drow of short stature and catlike grace. He was a handsome fellow, impeccably dressed in garments of black and gray, and he wore a matched rapier and dagger at his hip.
"On behalf of my fellows," the newcomer said, "I arranged for Khorrl's troops to be provided with the stonefire bombs that proved so effective in the slave uprising in Menzoberranzan. I did not imagine they would de-stroy Ched Nasad in its entirety, of course."
Aliisza raised an eyebrow and said, "I did not expect to find a dark elf in the confidence of the prince of the duergar."
"I am something of a sellsword," the fellow replied, "tasked with ef-fecting certain changes in a handful of Houses in Ched Nasad and Men-zoberranzan." He offered her a slight smile that didn't reach his intense eyes. "Call me Nimor."
"Nimor," Aliisza replied. "Whatever your purpose, you certainly ef-fected a change in Ched Nasad. What do you have in mind regarding Menzoberranzan?"
Horgar shifted uncomfortably and asked, "What interest is this to Kaanyr Vhok?"
"Well, had we known that someone meant to attack Ched Nasad, we might have offered our assistance," Aliisza replied. "My lord scents oppor-tunity in the dark elves' difficulties. If someone were considering a similar effort to lay low Menzoberranzan, we might be willing to take on partners in our business."
Borwald sneered, "I doubt the Deepkingdom would have any need of a few hundred rabble squatting in fungus-grown ruins."
Aliisza suppressed her annoyance.
They're duergar, she told herself, abrasive and crass. This is how they are.
"Your intelligence is somewhat out of date," she said. "My lord com-mands over two thousand hardened tanarukk warriors, each of them as strong as an ogre and three times as smart. We have built forges and armories, per-haps not as grand as those of Gracklstugh, but sufficient to arm and armor our soldiers. We command auxiliary troops as well - bugbears, ogres, giants, and such - more numerous than our tanarukk legion." She leveled her gaze on Borwald and added, "We don't have the strength of the Deepkingdom, Firehand,