Insurrection

TWENTY

The moment the doorway opened, Pharaun dived through it, hoping he was doing the right thing by trusting the children of House Melarn with his life. For all the wizard knew, she could have picked that moment to exact her revenge upon the Menzoberranyr for all the injustices they'd inflicted upon her family, her home, and herself. She certainly had a right to.

But the pathway didn't deposit the wizard into some scorching furnace or pit of doom. It was a poshly decorated hall, but unfortunately the mage found himself facing a huge, slavering lizard with incredibly sharp teeth. The being spotted him and advanced eagerly, eyeing the wizard as if he were its next meal.

Reacting quickly, the mage flung himself backward, out of the way of the thing, and willed a spell into being that created a series of floating balls of lightning. As the lizard darted toward him, Pharaun directed the balls to engage the creature, sparking as they did so. The beast jerked and backed away, but Pharaun was relentless, slamming all of the spheres of lightning into it. After the fourth one, the creature sprawled to the ground. It twitched a couple of times and lay still.

«What in the Abyss is that?» Ryld asked, popping through the portal with Splitter up and ready. «Are we in the right place?»

«Fortunately, yes,» Pharaun replied, jumping up. A shiver through the building caused him to stumble forward. «Unfortunately, Halisstra, having never been here before, must not have known about the guard animals inside. Or else Q'arlynd forgot to warn us.»

«By the Dark Mother!» Danifae said, spying the beast as she leaped through into the cell. She had her morning star up in an instant. «Is it dead?»

«I certainly hope so,» Valas said, following close behind.

The scout had his kukris in his hands, and he was looking at the dead lizard. The hall shook again, and part of a wall collapsed, exposing the room to the city outside. Everyone splayed their legs out to try and maintain their balance.

One by one, the rest of the team passed through the portal to join them. Jeggred was the last one to clear the gate.

«The whole city's falling,» the draegloth announced. Halisstra let the doorway wink out once he was safely through. «The falling stonework must be making the entire cavern quake with its force.»

The fiend sounded too matter-of-fact for the wizard's taste.

Halisstra's brother was casting a spell, one Pharaun didn't recognize. He began to radiate an aura of divination magic—Pharaun's ring told him that much—as he looked around, almost as if he was sniffing something out.

«The dormant portal is this way,» Q'arlynd said, leading the group out into a hallway. «Follow me.»

The entourage followed the Melarn wizard through several passages, up a couple of staircases, and into a hallway that obviously hadn't been used in a long time. Several times during the journey, the structure shook, but they were deeper rumbles, vibrating through the whole of the Underdark.

«If this doesn't work. .» Quenthel began.

«It'll work,» Pharaun cut her off. «I'll need a couple of moments to study it, but it will work.»

«You'd better hope so, wizard,» the high priestess muttered.

Q'arlynd led them all to the end of the passage and stopped before an open doorway at the end of it.

«Its in there,» he said, «but it's magically sealed and warded with protective glyphs. I have no way of getting through.»

Pharaun knelt to study the opening. The barrier between the hallway and the larger room beyond was invisible but solid. Pharaun could see that it radiated some sort of magic and reported such.

«If I had the proper type of magic at my disposal,» the Master of Sorcere said, «I'd be able to bring it down in mere seconds, but as it is, I can't do so until I've had a chance to rest and regroup.»

«Do you have another magical doorway at your disposal?» Quenthel asked Halisstra.

The priestess shook her head miserably, reaching out to steady herself against a wall as another rumble rocked the room and everyone in it.

«Well, then, wizard, what are we going to do?» the Mistress of Arach-Tinilith asked. «We can't sit in here while you recharge your magical energies.»

«Quite true,» the mage replied. «Give me a moment.»

«Mizzrym, we don't have a moment!»

As Pharaun studied their predicament, the building shook again, even more roughly. Everyone was pitched to the floor, and behind them a large portion of the ceiling collapsed, with shards of stone showering down.

«Thar is getting tiresome,» Quenthel complained, regaining her feet with a horrid scowl on her face. «I will not die trapped in a cage like some animal. Not after all I've been through.»

Growling deeply, Jeggred bounded across to the door and began to attack the invisible opening, raking his claws ineffectually against the barrier. A crackle of electrical energy raked over his body, but it didn't stop him from throwing himself at it again and again. His efforts were fruitless.

«Jeggred, stop it!» Quenthel said at last. «You're not helping.»

With another deep-throated growl, the draegloth backed off.

«If we don't get through there,» Danifae said to Pharaun, measuring each word for emphasis, «we're all going to be pulverized. Do something!»

«All right, all right,» the mage replied, holding up a hand, «The problem is, we have no way to open the door from the inside. The magic that seals us out here keeps me from using even a simple spell. If I was over there, I could simply remove the barrier manually, but that's easier said than done. That's all. Such a simple trick, and yet impossible. .»

He looked at them all miserably.

«Wait,» Ryld said, stepping over near the wizard. «Move back.»

Raising Splitter high over his head, the weapons master swung the blade down hard against the barrier. The enchanted weapon sliced into it with a flash of light, and Pharaun saw the magical emanations from the seal fade from view. The blade had dissipated the magic.

«Thank the Dark Mother,» someone said as the entire group rushed into the chamber beyond.

«All right, wizard, lead us out of here,» Quenthel said, sounding desperate, «and hurry!»

«We'll be departed in a moment,» Pharaun said, gesturing for Q'arlynd to show him the way.

The Melarn wizard led the group into the large chamber, which looked like a library, though all the shelves were empty. Several statues lined the walls. Q'arlynd headed toward a spot on one wall, near the back of the room. It was an archway, but it led nowhere at the moment, filled instead with worked stone blocks. It did, however, glow with faint dweomers of transference.

«Here,» he said.

«Excellent!» Pharaun replied, grinning as he studied the spot more closely. «Now, I'll just need a moment to—»

The mage's words were cut off by yet another tremor in the floor. This was followed by another, and another, again definitely different than the previous rumbling. Turning to look over his shoulder, Pharaun groaned. A massive statue of iron was striding slowly but inexorably toward them, and with each step the floor trembled under its weight.

«Lolth preserve us,» Ryld said, dropping into a defensive crouch. «What is that?»

«Its a magical construct,» Pharaun answered. «A golem. I can't do anything about it.»

Ryld leaped forward to slice at the huge thing. His blade struck against the side of the construct and skittered off.

Pharaun shouted, «If it exhales, don't breathe the vapors!»

Jeggred snarled and leaped at the golem, slashing at it. In response, the huge construct swung one massive fist around and caught the draegloth squarely in the ribs, sending him flying across the room with a painful grunt. Jeggred was down on his hands and knees, shaking his head.

Ryld moved in again, wary of the huge sword in the golem's other hand. When the weapons master found an opening, he lunged forward, swiping at the metallic hide of the construct. Sparks flew as Splitter cut a deep furrow across the golems flank. Ryld spun and ducked down, trying to stay behind the thing.

Another tremor rocked the chamber, and part of the ceiling collapsed behind the golem, sending bookshelves flying as shards of wood. Pharaun went down on one knee from the shaking, then looked up to see that part of the room on the far side had not just collapsed but had completely broken away and disappeared. The Dangling Tower was coming apart around them, just as House Melarn had done. Beyond the jagged edge of the room, Pharaun could see the smoky glow of the burning city. They were indeed running out of time.

«Forget the fight,» Quenthel said, grabbing the wizard by the collar of his piwafwi and spinning him to face her. «Just get that portal open. Now?

Pharaun nodded and turned away as Jeggred leaped back in beside Ryld. Valas, Halisstra, and Q'arlynd also circled the construct, each of them waiting until the thing turned its attention to another before sliding in to gain an attack. Ignoring the fight behind him, Pharaun concentrated on studying the magical glows from the portal. He needed a few moments to determine the key that would activate the thing.

«Hurry!» Quenthel said, watching him over his shoulder.

Pharaun gave the high priestess a very deliberate look.

«Don't rush me,» he said flatly, and continued studying.

Behind the mage came a deep grunt, and Ryld slid up against the wall in a heap. The weapons master shook his head, apparently trying to clear the cobwebs, and regained his feet.

«Hurry,» the weapons master hissed, «I don't know how long we can keep this thing off you.»

Pharaun rolled his eyes and bent to his task once more. He tumbled onto his side as the floor bucked with another foundation-crumbling shudder.

«I've just about got it,» the Master of Sorcere said, when half the wall next to the portal exploded in a shower of rock and dust.

Fragments of debris smacked into the wizard, knocking the breath from him as he went sprawling. He felt the floor shift, not just from buckling but because the whole building was tipping. He knew it was going to break away soon, and their chances for escaping the city would disappear with it.

The mage struggled up into a sitting position and looked around. What was left of the room was considerably smaller than before. The iron golem teetered near the edge of the floor, then took a step toward its nearest foe, causing the stone beneath its feet to groan. Everyone in the group lay sprawled, half buried in rubble and dust, and just beyond Valas, the floor was gone, replaced by the void of the city. The rock groaned and shifted again as the golem took a step toward the scout, and Valas rolled toward the opening.

«Jeggred,» Pharaun yelled, «grab Valas!»

Even as the words left his mouth, Valas, who seemed considerably dazed, tumbled the rest of the way over and dropped over the edge, disappearing from sight.

The draegloth, who had been caught beneath a large section of collapsing rubble, let out a snarl of fury so unearthly that it chilled Pharauns blood. Shoving his way out of the debris, the enraged fiend leaped across the distance and dived over the edge after the scout.

The golem swung its sword toward the demon, but it was too slow. With Jeggred out of sight, the golem focused its attention on its next victim. Q'arlynd Melarn lay facedown, unmoving, close to it. Nearby, Danifae was sprawled across the shattered remains of a bookcase, the wound on her forehead bleeding freely. The golem took another step, and Pharaun nearly fell as the stone floor popped and protested.

We're not going to make it, the mage thought, trying to figure out a way to distract the golem from killing the unconscious pair.

Out of the corner of his eye, Pharaun saw Ryld regain his feet.

«Help them!» the wizard shouted to his friend, pointing to Danifae and Q'arlynd.

The weapons master had a deep gash across his forehead, but his red eyes seemed clear, and when he spotted the forms of the battle captive and the Melarn mage, and the golem moving toward them, he nodded.

The room tilted over some more, and Pharaun slid across the floor a few feet. The blackness of the vast cavern of the city yawned before him. He ignored it and looked to Ryld.

The weapons master measured his distance from the golem, who had gotten close enough to Danifae that it raised its sword high, preparing to deliver a killing blow. Ryld sprang forward, charging as fast as he could, aided by the downhill slope of the floor. When he was within a few feet of the construct, he leaped into the air, extended both feet, and hit the golem with a pile-driving kick to its midsection. The force of the blow drove Ryld back up the slope of the floor, and the golem barely seemed to move.

But then Pharaun saw that it was teetering. The construct took a step back to steady itself, and had the floor been level, it probably would have worked, but the weight of the golem, coupled with the slope of the floor, caused it to overbalance. Another step backward brought the toppling construct near the edge of the floor, and the room shifted more, sinking and increasing the slope. Then, with one final off-balance step, the golem shifted forward again, falling up the slope rather than down. It dropped to one knee and reached out for Q'arlynd, who was shaking his head as he returned to consciousness.

The fractured stone could no longer hold the constructs weight, and it gave out beneath the golem. Even then, the construct latched on to the wizard, gripping him tightly. Q'arlynd screamed in agony. Ryld took two steps forward to save the wizard, but both Q'arlynd and the golem slowly, ponderously went over, slipping from sight.

Halisstra cried out, «No! from the other side of the room.

She ran to the edge, but the weapons master grabbed her and held her back, shaking his head.

Disheartened, Pharaun turned back to the portal. He thought he'd it figured out and reached forward, ready to activate the magic of the portal, and stopped. Something felt. . wrong. The room shifted over some more, and the wizard was forced to begin levitating to maintain his position. Behind him, he heard one of the females give a startled scream, but he ignored it. Peering at the magical emanations, he realized that he was seeing something illusory. He hadn't noticed it before, but understanding what to look for, it was much clearer.

«Pharaun,» Quenthel yelled as everyone gathered around him, «if you can make that thing work, do it! The whole city is going down!»

Shaking his head at what he'd been about to do, the mage began to cast a spell, one that he'd not expected to need that day but was thankful for. He fished an ointment from one of his many pockets and dabbed a bit on each eyelid. Suddenly, everything about the archway became plain to his vision. He could see the runes that had been hidden from his view before, scribed into the stone around it. He cast a second spell, one to decipher the script, and found what he was looking for. The writing contained the trigger word.

«I've got it!» he shouted. «Get ready!»

Pharaun stepped back, uttered the triggering word aloud, and the portal shimmered to life, glowing with a deep purple hue. The whole thing took on a sense of depth, of distance. The stone in the center of the arch faded and was replaced by a shimmering curtain of light.

Pharaun turned back to his companions and shouted, «It's ready! Step through!»

Quenthel was the closest, but she hesitated.

«Where does it go?» she asked.

«I don't know,» Pharaun admitted. «The script inscribed on the perimeter mentions something about a city, but I don't recognize the name. We'll find out on the other side.»

Quenthel shook her head.

«No. Someone else must go through first.»

Ryld, Halisstra, and Danifae were gathered around, with the weapons master helping to keep Danifae from sliding down the floor to her death. The rest of them were levitating.

Ryld pushed Danifae toward the opening and said, «I'm right behind you!»

The master of Melee-Magthere nudged the battle captive into the arch. Danifae cast one last, aggravated look over her shoulder, nodded, and leaned forward into the archway. In a flash, she was gone. Ryld lunged forward a heartbeat later, followed by Halisstra.

Pharaun looked at Quenthel.

«Well?» he said.

«You first,» she replied, still gazing at the gate in trepidation.

«I can't,» the Master of Sorcere explained. «I must go last. Because I opened it, the portal will shut behind me.»

«What about Jeggred?»

«I will wait for them as long as I can,» Pharaun said as another groan emanated from the stonework around them.

The remains of the building tilted some more, and Quenthels eyes widened.

«There is no more time. Go through!» Pharaun said, and he pushed Quenthel toward the opening.

In a fury, the high priestess spun around, her hand reaching for the whip at her side. The five snakes were writhing madly, lashing at the mage even from where they hung, but the building lurched and tipped and Quenthel couldn't hold on. She stumbled against the wizard, and the snakes snapped ineffectually against his piwafwi.

Pharaun caught her and set her on her feet again.

«Please,» he said to her. «We don't have time for this.»

Quenthel's scowl faded slightly, and she looked at the wizard with a slight smirk.

«If I didn't know better, I would think you're getting soft, wizard.

With that, she backed into the archway and was gone.

Pharaun shook his head in wonder and turned to see if there was any sign of Jeggred and Valas. The floor was slanted at a fairly steep pitch, and the mage slid down its surface toward the edge to peer over the side. Below, he could see the two of them, rising as rapidly as Jeggred's levitation would allow. Chunks of stone and other debris was falling into the void beyond them, and Pharaun knocked a fragment loose from the edge of the crumbling floor. He cringed as he watched it tumble toward them, but it shot past, barely missing them.

Finally, almost excruciatingly slowly, the draegloth and his charge reached what was left of the structure. Together, the three of them worked their way toward the archway, which still glowed with an intense light.

«The others are waiting on the other side,» Pharaun explained, motioning to the doorway. «I have to go last. Hurry!»

Without hesitating, Jeggred leaped through the archway and vanished. Valas scrambled to go after him just as there was one final, bone-rattling tremor, and the remains of the room began to free fall. Pharaun gave the scout a good shove and dived in after him.

The portal sealed up and its light faded. A heartbeat later, what was left of the Dangling Tower, including the wall where the portal had been anchored, shattered into a million fragments as it struck a web street below.

Aliisza cringed when she saw the fury in Kaanyr Vhok's eyes. He was displeased that she had neglected to keep him apprised of the situation in the drow city, and even her explanation of her troubles, the difficulties she had encountered with the drow, did little to soften his mood.

«So you say the entire city is ruined?» the cambion growled, pacing. «Brought down by a horde of miserable gray dwarves?»

«Not just gray dwarves, darling, but the drow themselves. They squabbled among themselves so much that they lost control. It destroyed them.»

«How could this have happened? Not that I bear any regret at the fall of the overly proud dark elves, but they do not seem to be the type who would allow such a travesty to occur to their great city. The forces of the Underdark are clearly out of balance.»

«I know,» the alu-fiend said, moving close to her mate, «but there is a reason.»

«You know what it is?»

«Yes, love, but your pacing is putting me on edge. Sit down, and I will tell you.»

Kaanyr Vhok sighed, but turned and plopped himself down in his throne.

«All right,» he said, patting his lap. «Tell me.»

Aliisza sashayed over to Vhok and settled herself into his lap. She had missed him, she realized, more than she'd thought she would. She leaned around and began to nuzzle his ear.

«Mmm,» he said, «I missed you,» echoing her own thoughts. «But before we get to the 'welcome homes, tell me what you found out.»

Aliisza giggled as his fingers stroked her arm.

«They've lost contact with their goddess,» she whispered, blowing the words softly into his ear.

«What?» the cambion rumbled, sitting up straight and nearly dumping the demon on the floor. «Are you serious?»

The alu-fiend folded her arms beneath her breasts in a huff.

«Of course I'm serious,» she sniped. «Lolth has vanished from their sight, and they're trying to figure out why, but of course, them being—what did you call them? Oh, yes—'overly proud dark elves. Them being overly proud and set in their ways, they warred with one another to the point of bringing about their own extinction.»

«I see. Well, with Lolth out of the picture, I suppose if you wanted to gain a little retribution for some wrongs inflicted upon you in the past, now would be the time to do it,» the cambion said, staring absently into the distance.

«So, are you thinking of exacting a little revenge?» Aliisza said, nuzzling against her lover's neck again.

«Maybe,» Vhok replied. «We'll have to see. I guess it won't be against Ched Nasad, hmm?»

«Mmm,» Aliisza purred, squirming, as Kaanyr Vhok's fingers began to roam over her body again. «I guess not.»

All thoughts of the ruined City of Shimmering Webs left her then, for a good, long while.

High above the ruined City of Shimmering Webs, a single dark elf sat upon a perch of stone near the roof of the great cavern and watched. The smoke was heavy there, thick and acrid, but it didn't bother him. He stared down at the destruction and smiled.

He was not attractive, not by drow standards, certainly, and few of any other species would look on him and think him handsome in the least, but he didn't mind that either. What he sought was much more substantial than beauty.

They will be pleased, Zammzt thought, watching as fires slowly burned away, as whole sections of the city crumbled and collapsed, dropping into the murky depths of the cavern below. It is a good first step. There is still much to be done, but it is a good first step.

Shaking himself out of his reverie, the drow stood and stretched.

I must go, he thought, somewhat regretfully.

He was proud of what he'd wrought, and he wished to stay and observe it a bit longer, but the others would be waiting.

Sighing, he turned his sweeping gaze over the ruins of Ched Nasad one last time, then stepped into the darkest recesses of the shadows and vanished.