Escape From the Drow

It was no wonder, thought Jade, that the drow slavers wanted Freda so much. Her talent made her worth more than a sack of drawfen gold. More valuable even than Jade with her musical enchantments and her proficiency with the crossbow and garotte. Possibly even of enough value to be spared from the rods and whips of the overseers. So it was incredibly odd that such a treasure could so poorly guarded.

Jade stood up. She felt no residual effects from the beating at all, and even the memory of it seemed to be fading, as though it had only happened in a dream. Certainly the dwarf had some strong magic. Jade bowed down, hands on the ground, drow fashion. "I must thank you," she said. "Enemy or not, we must join together for now. But tell me, can you really do such spells as you made out in your tale."

"Oh yes," replied Freda. "And better. But I am not the only one here with special abilities. Bill is one of the toughest warriors in our army, and Garrett is not far behind. And you certainly seem to be an enchantress of considerable ability, if your performance here is anything to go by."

"She enchanted us?" snarled the halfling who had fed Jade, reaching for his dagger.

"Calm down, Digg," said Freda. "It was her natural charms she used. But let all of us beware if she ever uses her musical magic". Digg seemed to accept this explanation; at least he put away his dagger.

"You dwarfs and half castes are not the only ones here with talent," he said. He indicated the other halfling. "My sister Elma and I are master thieves, from a long line of halfling thieves and burglars. We broke into most store houses in our own village, until we were caught and banished. Unlike most of our race, we developed below ground vision like the dwarfs, for use in our thievery. And now we make a living sneaking into the drow stronghold, and taking their stolen gold and jewellery back to the dwarfs."

Now it was Jade's turn to be angry. "You stole from us?" she cried, moving towards the halfling.

Digg drew his dagger again. "Only what you had already stolen from the dwarfs."

"That wasn't theft; it was right of conquest." The veins in Jade's neck were throbbing, and she made a lunge towards the halfling. But Bill the dwarf was quicker. He stuck out his foot and Jade fell sprawling. By the time she had got up, he was blocking her way, his sword drawn. Jade could see by his stance that this man knew his business and her sense for survival overcame her anger. So she stopped short and allowed Freda to pull her away from the halfling.

"The dwarfs made those beautiful pieces," said Freda softly. "And while I am the first to admit that we dwarfs often think rather too much of gold and gems, I know that people like my father sweat rivers in their making. Their makers are entitled to the fruits of their labour, and nobody has any right to take it from us forcibly. Especially at the cost of bloodshed. Ours and yours," she added pointedly.

Jade remembered how many of her own warriors, her mother' comrades, had died in the raids against the dwarfs, simply so the temples could be richly decorated with the blood red rubies favoured by dwarf and drow alike. "I'm surprised you were not tortured and sacrificed," she said to the halfling. "That is our usual punishment for thieves."

"Oh I am quite aware of that, my blonde darling," hissed Digg, "which is why we never got caught. And why the dwarfs paid us so much for our services. We were not caught recovering stolen property. We were captured later, in a raid. Together with Bill and Garrett. After, I might add, we had given rather more than we got, and took many peroxide bitches in battle."

"Enough, Digg," said Freda, noticing that Jade was starting to get angry again. "Whatever we think about the drow, Jade grew up with them, and knows no other kind. We need to fight side by side, not each other." She beckoned the halfling and his sister over to her, together with the dwarf mercenaries. "Because unless I am very much mistaken, there are more fell enemies than the drow in these caverns." Freda whispered this last sentence, then repeated it in the dwarfen tongue for the benefit of the fighting dwarfs, whose knowledge of the lowland language was rudimentary.

Digg glared at Freda. "What do you mean?" he snapped, but Jade nodded her head.

"Our blonde darling knows," said Freda, with a nod and smile at Jade to acknowledge that she was using Digg's nickname playfully.

"Only that it seemed very strange to me that such a talented war party would be so lightly guarded," said Jade. "It is almost as if the slavers meant for us to escape."

"It wasn't an easy fight, blondie, if that is what you are implying," sneered Digg to Jade. "But of course you took no part in it, so you can't know what it was like for us."

"I am quite aware of that, shorty," responded Jade. "But I know the drow, and whatever our other faults we are not fucking stupid. A top healer and a useful spell caster like Freda would normally have twice the guard she was given. According to her story she gave the drow guards the slip before she was caught, so they would know about her obvious prowess. And then we have two fighters like the dwarfs; and enchantresses of my ability don't spring from the rocks either".

Jade paused to think. "And I bet the slavers knew you and your sister as well. Though they would not have told the priestesses or they would have had you disembowelled. There is somebody in charge here, who wants us to escape. Probably a drow commander, but no friends of the priesthood."

Jade thought of Trieste. Certainly this was the type of strategy her mother would have favoured. But Trieste was dead, and Jade could not think of any other warriors of her mother's prowess. Unless her mother's creepy boyfriend had something to do with it, Jade thought suddenly. He was also a talented military strategist, and he had been close to Trieste, and knew how her mind worked. It would be just like him to sacrifice three of his own men to make the escape seem more realistic. Clever bastard, thought Jade.

"Oh you think a lot of yourself don't you, my half caste temple trash," spat Digg, whipping out his dagger again. Bill stepped between them, his sword drawn.

"Jade is quite right," said Freda softly, "and keep your voices down. We don't know whether we are being spied upon and how much the drow can hear. The drow want us to do their dirty work for them and clear these mining caverns so they can use them again. I come from a mining family and I can see that there are rich lodes in this chamber. I am sure we are not expected to survive, but if we do we will be so weakened that the drow will have no difficulty hunting us down and killing or recapturing us. If we die in the caverns, the hope is that we take out enough of their inhabitants with us to make any mopping up operation easier."

Freda repeated her information in the dwarfen tongue. "Then what do we do?" asked Bill. "Whatever it is, we either serve the hateful drow slavers or die." The two dwarfs, the halflings and Jade looked at Freda intently. There was no doubt who they had chosen as their leader.

Freda stood silently, thinking to herself. "I wonder," she said. "Could we possibly make a deal with whoever it is." She turned to Jade. "Who do the drow fear most?" she asked. "What is it we are likely to be fighting?"

But Jade did not answer, because she was almost certain she knew. There was only one creature so fell that the drow would be willing to sacrifice so many talented slaves to get rid of it. And there was no way to negotiate with such a creature. She turned pale and slumped against the wall.

#

Maxi could not hear what was being said, but the spying ball gave him a clear view, and he knew the prisoners had fully recovered from the fight. He gasped in wonder after Freda cast her healing spell. What could he not achieve in battle with a healer of her prowess? The acolyte priestess burst into the room, accompanied by her superior the Secretariat Priestess Meriem, a close associate of the newly inaugurated High Priestess. Meriem was missing a finger, the result of an unsuccessful sacrifice to the Spider.

The priestess screamed at Maxi "They've escaped! Do something, you useless male imbecile!"

She swiped at Maxi with her long fingernails, and Maxi quickly moved his head backwards to avoid losing an eye. The nails rasped at Maxi's face and drew blood.

Maxi called his men. "Twelve of you. Down to the cavern. Move!" He bowed to Meriem. "We will need the key, O Priestess."

"Do you think I will trust it to a useless lummox like you?," Meriem yelled. "I'm coming with you." She grabbed her crossbow, a poisoned bolt already cocked and ready, and ran ahead of Maxi. Maxi and his men ran quietly behind her, as the priestess opened the bejewelled double doors from the operations room into the mine caverns.

Meriem was not leader material. She did not have the strength of purpose or the charisma to beat off the various contenders for High Priestess, nor was her mind clever or imaginative enough to navigate through the devious pathways of thought required for her to watch her own back, while ensuring the backs of her opponents were well exposed to her own machinations.

She was however useful enough in a fight, and her combat spell capabilities were meticulous if not outstanding. She also had the rare talent of knowing her own limitations, and was therefore content to hitch herself to the rising star of another, and not to shine too brightly herself. As such, to Meriem went the honour of holding the sacrificial bowl when the older High Priestess was supplanted by the younger. And with it the honour of personally flogging the temple slave who had dared ply such seditious melodies in the presence of the Holy of Holies. To Meriam also went the appointment as priestess to the mining and temple outpost that Jade was sent to in captivity.

Meriem's new appointment was a promotion to be sure, but not a very prestigious one, with nobody except a gormless male garrison to rule over, plus a few dozen drow labourers and a few hundred slaves. The mines however were profitable when operational, and Meriem knew that if she were successful in returning them to production, she may be destined for better things.

After opening the doors, Meriam intended to let the men go through the passage to the chamber, but instead she lost consciousness as Maxi's arm crooked round her neck with expert precision and squeezed. Just hard enough. Two of Maxi's men followed him into the passage, carrying the acolyte priestess between them. Her robe and dress were totally dishevelled and Maxi was demanding an explanation.

"We had to have some fun with her first, boss," said the first soldier. The second soldier sniggered.

"And how do we explain her state if she is found by the Secretariat guard?" demanded Maxi.

"Easy," guffawed the second soldier. "Let them think the dwarfs did it. I bet they would like to".

"There's something in that," conceded Maxi. "Let's hope they fall for it, or you're dead".

The unconscious bodies were dumped inside the passageway. The two men made to rush back out, but not quickly enough. Maxi's fists smashed into their groins, and they doubled over into the dark passage. Both men screamed. Quite loudly, Maxi noticed with satisfaction. But just in case, he also fired a crossbow bolt up the passage. It struck the door at the end with a clang, as Maxi moved back into the operations room and slammed the doors.

#

Jade was just about to answer Freda's question, when the cries and thud were heard. Freda cursed herself for leaving the doors unguarded, even for a moment, and she handed a dagger to Jade, before stepping back and preparing a spell. The fighters looked shamefaced for neglecting their guard, but quickly moved into place. The halfling siblings crouched by the door, their captured drow crossbows cocked and ready.

"Open the door and rush them," said Jade.

"Are you mad?" snapped Digg, "we let them come to us, then we jump them!".

Jade bit back her retort, instead answering more persuasively. "Did you not hear the cries? They were cries of pain, not triumph. At the moment they are at a disadvantage, but if we don't rush them they will rally forces and attack us."

Digg was about to argue, but Freda had already flung open the door, revealing the two drow soldiers and the priestesses, stumbling to their feet and grabbing their weapons. Meriem prepared a spell, but it was never cast. Instead, she had to duck and weave to avoid the two bolts from the halflings, and her concentration was spoiled.

Bill and Garrett charged the soldiers and met them head on. Meriem and Jade glared at each other. "You!" they both snarled simultaneously, as both prepared spells. The acolyte threw down her weapons and backed into a corner, but Meriem was too experienced and worldly to be affected by Jade's enchantment. But resisting the enchantment did snap her concentration a second time, with the result that the magical fire she discharged was too weak to do much damage, and was easily dodged by Jade, the two halflings and Freda.

In the meantime, Bill had dispatched the drow soldier with lightening sword-work that was too fast for the eye to follow. The second soldier had barged past Garrett, using his shield to knock the mercenary against the wall. The drow moved straight towards Jade, now locked in a battle of wills against Meriem; both trying to bend the other to their bidding. Jade was a better natural enchantress, but Meriem had the strength of her goddess to add to hers, and was slowly drawing Jade into a mental morass of fear and confusion that would gradually suck her into the web of the demonic Spider.

As the drow soldier rushed Jade, Freda hit him with a spell. He screamed as magical steel tore through his armour, and stepped back, away from the spell, aiming his crossbow at Freda, who was now vulnerable. But before he could fire, the drow was struck from behind. Elma was wiping her dagger clean as he hit the ground.

Meriem's mind was distracted by the enchantress Jade, so she had not been able to engage with any of her strong range of destructive spells. With both her guards defeated, she was an easy target for the bolts of the halflings and the swords of the dwarfs, who hacked her down with little difficulty.

The fight had lasted less than a minute, and was over with no injuries, except to the pride of the sheepish Garrett, who got up slowly from the wall, where he had been thrown.

"Well fought everyone," said Freda. "And kudos to Jade for her insistence we attack straight away. The priestess was dangerous and I'm glad we did not give her time to prepare any of her demonic spells."

"Where is the bitch I charmed?" snarled Jade. "We need to get information from her."

There seemed little doubt from her tone of voice what form of interrogation technique Jade favoured.

"No torture," said Freda quietly.

"That won't be necessary," said Jade, "much as I would enjoy doing it."

The group wandered down to the end of the passage where the acolyte was slumped against the wall. It only took a few seconds to find the bolt shaft sticking out of her neck, and realise that their enemy would not be talking to them -- or anyone else.

"So who's the rotten shot?" snarled Jade.

"Not me, Blondie," said Digg indignantly. "All my bolts hit their target. I watched them."

"Nor me," said his sister. "We would be ashamed to miss at such short range."

"I'm sure neither of you missed," said Freda gently. "You're forgetting our friends who set us up. She turned to Jade. "You were about to tell us who the drow fear most."

Jade gulped, then pulled herself together. "It goes right back to the history of the drow," she said, then began her story.

Chapter 5 - The Über-drow

"When the elves were formed from the earth, they were not destined to be as the men or dwarfs," began Jade. "Or the half men," she added, with a sneering glance towards the halflings. "Instead the gods wove a spirit of frivolity among their make up, so they spent their time playing in the woods like children, eschewing desire for material possessions. The gods for some reason approved of this irresponsible decadence, so they blessed them and make them immortal.

"But not all of them. Some of the elves turned their backs on this dissolute living, meaning as it did the rejection of wealth, power and everything else that made life worth while. We revolted against the elven gods and became the dark elves -- the drow, devising a strong underground world where the tougher females ruled the weaker males. Males could achieve positions of prestige by using their physical strength and purely functional mind to its best advantage, but the power must be held by the females, with their greater resilience, empathy and spiritual insight into the divine. For this reason we sought out the Spider Goddess and worshipped her as our own, as one who had also refused to bow to the pleasure seeking gods of the overland."

Jade paused and thought. "Maybe we overdid it a bit," she pondered. "But on the whole our existence is a whole less pointless than the above ground elves, with their endless frolics - and their repulsive sex lives."

Freda shook her head in bewilderment. Did Jade not know that among elf and dwarf, human and halfling, even among the barely civilised half-orc communities, the sophisticated but depraved drow colonies were looked upon with loathing and dread? Freda herself had often made fun of the somewhat flighty elves and wished they could be more down to earth like the dwarfs, but surely the drow were carrying rebellion too far. Especially when they sacrificed immortality and lived for such a miserably short time.

She decided to mention this. "Was it worth losing your immortality?"

"The drow never lost that," replied Jade. "If we chose we could be immortal too. But what is the point of living for ever, achieving nothing? Most of us die in battle or at the hands of other drow. But I have heard about a drow woman who lived for over a hundred years after she was trapped in a cave alone after a rock fall. She burrowed her way out and lived above ground." Jade shuddered at the thought. "Apparently a human found her and she lived with them, and then with their children and grandchildren as part of their -- family." Jade hesitated over the unfamiliar word that had no equivalent in her own tongue.

"Then one day we recaptured her, but she died soon afterwards. For some reason, after being re-exposed to our way of life, she got eaten up from inside, and a great lump consumed her belly."

The others muttered to each other. "Cancer," whispered Garrett in his own language, after Freda had interpreted Jade's story.

Jade continued. "It's a disease that seems to eat up every drow cunning enough to reach a certain age. But the experience of that captured woman leads me to believe that immortality is possible, if we wanted it. I have also heard that not all the elves are immortal. Some of them also succumb to the growths when they get old."

"I have heard that too," said Elma. "I have also heard that it is the bad elves, the ones that get too close to the drow, or to the renegade dwarfs."

"The wages of sin are death," muttered Freda suddenly, then as the others looked at her in a perplexed manner she explained. "A human traveller once said this to me. He came from a far off tribe of farmers and herders. He told me that his god had conquered death, so immortality was possible, but that even the righteous among them were too eaten up with evil to attain it. They compared life to the way that they sowed the seeds, and then reaped what they sowed."