Surfacing Ch. 31

"Lolth's servants will come after them?" Gavin asked.

I licked my lips. "Eventually. But first they'll come after me, either down below or up top. If they catch me, then I will go after Auslan and our son. And neither of them will be able to hide from me as they can from Lolth."

Mourn tensed and growled. "Lolth wants you as a hunter-servant?"

"More. Lolth wants me as a replacement for Auranka," I said. "Because of my psionics."

"Ah, yes," Gavin murmured, contemplative. "The next High Priestess of Lolth on Miurag. Of course, this makes sense. The Spider Queen is a goddess of the Elves, and one of her Elves is now a link to the Broken One. The Fourth Throne. She could become a Goddess-Queen in truth."

I heard Mourn's tail slithering again. "Hmm. And an Elder Mind nearest to the City has learned of Sirana and has not decided what to do about her. No wonder the Illithids will...protest this, when Valsharess tries."

To put it mildly. I also had my confirmation that Mourn had heard Rennyn's tale for the birth of the world as well, and Gavin knew much more than he'd ever said.

"Desstroy it all," Vesram murmured, almost too quiet for any but Elf-ears to hear.

Mourn nodded in agreement. "The ultimate goal is still to bring the Consort up to join the Godblood's quest if at all possible... But the priority, the first objective, if they are to have any hope of not being harried by Lolth's agents and others they tell every step away, is not merely to cripple but to destroy Lolth's power on Miurag."

"That includes destroying me, if they succeed in getting me," I said, staring at my round belly and imagining for one vivid moment becoming a Drider.

"They won't succeed," Mourn said with a finality I ignored.

"Just promise you'll make it quick, To'vah. I don't want to exist like that."

The Dragonblood snarled at me. Then forced me to look up and kissed me. I had no idea if that was a promise or not.

"What will be put in Lolth's place?" Gavin asked, ignoring the abrupt display of affection. "The Sisters are only now being vaguely remembered. Not even Manalar has had a chance to fully embrace the Grey Maiden, let alone their oldest Goddesses. Most likely another believer of Lolth will simply step forward and rekindle worship among the populace."

Mourn shook his head. "That is where my sire can help. It would take time for Lolth to make contact again and he would not make it easy for her. Likely not in this generation of Drow. She will try but my sire would be there to block her. He would also be free to hunt down stray Draegloth elsewhere in the Underdark, if he desired."

"So there's no one else, so we can all worship the Dragon instead?" I could not help but say. "He'd love that, wouldn't he?"

"To rule is not a Guardian's fundamental desire, Sirana."

"Then what is?"

"To guard."

"Pfft! Obviously. And be appreciated."

"On occasion. It is likely Lethrix has already located a Drow of some power who has no loyalty to Lolth. He will tap her to fill the void."

"Or him."

"Tapping a male leader would be too large a change, too quickly. Lethrix will select a female, Sirana."

I hadn't stopped glaring at the thought of Lethrix taking over. "Where is it his right to select one at all?"

Mourn shrugged, pausing to think how to explain. "Where the Drow chose to live, Sirana. You are in his territory. He was there long before Ishuna and Lolth led them below, and if the Spider Goddess is shut out by the will of Miurag's natives, then it is his responsibility to shore up the borders to keep her out."

"Lethrix hasn't enjoyed sharing the space with Lolth," Gavin said, "if he helped create you to go against her on his behalf."

Mourn shrugged. "He shares space with all the Underdark and listens to the heartbeat at the core of the world. That is where I can't see as far as my sire can and I would not suggest to know his mind beyond a certain point. I'm sure you understand, Death Priest."

Gavin nodded easily enough, and I even had a solid example why the Deathwalker would indeed understand. How far Nyx seemed able to see was mind-wringing. She had said that Lethrix and Lolth could both see something shifting down there, a seal broken.

Something to do with both the "Dragon's View of the Tomb," which had to be the big cavern in which the City existed, and the Broken One. The more I thought on it, the more I figured this probably had more to do with it than the Dragon simply not wanting Lolth to be worshipped in the Underdark.

Otherwise the To'vah might have moved a few pieces on the board a bit sooner.

I pressed my lips, feeling almost back to normal—if hungry again—and sitting comfortably in Mourn's lap, less angry now. Instead, I was curious. "Was there a Dragon in the desert when we lived there, too?"

The hybrid nodded. "There is."

"Is it a red Dragon, by chance?"

"Fire-orange. Where Brom's people got the firebird symbol they used."

The Phoenix, the sorcerer had called it. The symbol on his ring, the one that Ishuna would recognize and had told Elder Rausery to be on the watch.

I smiled without showing my teeth. "Mm. Does everyone have their own To'vah looking out for their little corner of Miurag?"

Mourn's tone lightened, hearing my own appreciation. "They do. Whether they know it or not."

*******

All of us except for Gavin eventually returned to the kitchen or in the rooms just adjoining, as we waited for the Druid to come back. There was actually quite a bit of work to do after a successful hunt.

"I will remain here," my Deathwalker said a bit cryptically. "I have something I must work on."

He had mentioned already that he was considering ways to help me against Lolth. He had said that even before I spoke with Nyx and she had shown me what would be necessary, and why, and assured me that Gavin would always help me if he could.

It made me feel strange for a moment, even though he wasn't the only one I had met who might provide me with assistance if I asked and not ask for a straining cost in return. I knew Krithannia and Talov were such contacts, as was Captain Isboern, not to mention the Tilabil and the Wilder. But this was part of their nature; they had done it many times before with others. It was nothing new to them but merely an expectation that I myself had to learn how to respect if I wanted to keep them as allies.

Gavin did not come across this same way. He had not done it many times before with others, I was probably his first. For whatever reason I have never asked too much of him than he could give, and perhaps he had followed my lead.

Beyond that, having insight on a rare, unspoken connection between me, Gavin, and his Matron Greylord... and possibly even with my baby, when I looked back and saw how often Nyx had considered my son whenever magic needed to be done, hinting at the possible best place to give birth even as I'd been on the cusp of losing him...

I just felt strange when Gavin said what he had. It only took a look at Mourn and a chin-nod to Vesram to get all of us to leave Gavin alone. Soon after we met up with Jael and Gaelan who had brought in more water and were sorting out our food supplies. We all got to work, though it wasn't long before the subject of Tamuril came up again.

"I think we should go out and find her," Gaelan said at one point. "At least see what she's up to. She's been gone most of the day."

"Gavin's eyes say she is mostly wandering and meditating," Mourn said. "She has also kept her agreement and has assured me she is not in trouble through the pearl."

"How long ago was that?"

"A few hours but we can give her more time."

"Well, Gaelan's probably got it right," Jael disagreed. "She was there when Tam thought she wasn't in trouble the last time, and the pale one is moody enough, maybe she wants to be chased after in spite of what she said. I get the feeling the Noldor play these games just as much as we do."

"Let's not go that path right now," I broke in. "She regretted what she'd done with the devilbloods. I know it was genuine. She was afraid of having to tell Isboern about this as well, since she seems to only be bringing bad news lately. If Mourn is getting updates through the pearl and Gavin's not concerned with anything Roh or his flyers are seeing, then leave her alone. Do not go tracking her."

"Yes, Lead," Jael said with a sweet, cheeky smile as I glared at her.

Gaelan chuckled but shrugged. "I'll second that. It was inevitable anyway if we'd stayed in the Cloister longer. And the Draegloth already wants to follow you everywhere you go."

Both of them glanced at Vesram, who was crouched by the hearth tending one of two fires currently smoking and drying the meat. The Draegloth blinked at the attention, but proved he was listening as always.

"Ssirranna lead," he murmured, not disagreeing with Gaelan's assessment of him.

I grimaced. "Lead what, exactly?"

"Us, going back underground. When, where, who, why," Jael said with that playful confidence that suited her. Then she looked at Mourn, just as he nodded in apparent agreement with the rest of them. "Though I'll want to hear more on 'how' from him."

Oh, good.

"Seconded," I said with a wry smile as the hybrid looked up. "How many missions have you been on for the Guild, Mourn?"

"On the Surface, with Krithannia and Talov?" He was stretching more meat on a plank as he spoke, his tail relaxed as it waved with his movements, his wings folded as close as he could for the room. "Mm. Two thousand twenty-one. Many more if I count when I belonged to my Aunt."

Gaelan's mouth dropped as she paused plucking a duck. "You don't remember each one?"

Mourn shrugged a bit. "Not on demand while awake. If you were to ask me this moment about my seven hundred and twenty-fifth, I could not tell you. But... yes, I can recall each one, given the time and effort. Many such memories are more alike than not, and I do not always learn anything of value. But I kept myself busy on the Surface and it added up."

To gather a network, to collect and hoard weapons and treasure, to travel and learn all he could of the continent... And one of the first things Mourn told me about himself which had made my own jaw drop was that he remembered the "taste" of every piece of metal in his hoard, so it was dangerous to steal from him and hope he wouldn't notice.

For more than three hundred years, I had no trouble accepting the number.

"So you'll lead us on the 'how'?"

"Given enough intelligence from the rest of you, yes."

We nodded in acceptance, looking at each other with a bit of careful relief. From the pure experience standpoint, he was the ranking assassin and operative among us by enough of a long shot that none of us felt the need to say that aloud.

I had only recently realized how glad I was that his Dragonblood seemed to keep him from a pressing interest in ruling the Drow—he truly only seemed to want to guard, challenge, or disrupt, which wasn't the same thing as controlling or dominating. I felt that difference whenever we mind-linked, not to mention it was apparent when he was balls deep in either me or Jael, fucking us how we wanted to be fucked, not choosing for us.

Hells, Innathi even could tell this; that was why she wanted him, too.

A bit later, something I had not seen in a while creeped into the kitchen then. It was a severed hand rather like the one I had seen at Brom's Inn and which Gavin had sacrificed to break that black vial remotely. We all straightened up and went silent, staring at it. It possessed nothing, merely stood up on its stump and signed a simple Drow phrase:

*Pale Elf return.*

We exchanged glances.

"Um, thank you?" I said to the creeper.

It crawled away as we finished up whatever we're working on and prepared to step out of the kitchen. We heard Pilla's feathered wings carry her into the main dining hall, though she made no calls to get our attention. Nonetheless if Tamuril was back, we were admittedly anxious to speak with her.

She didn't have a chance to sit down, though she looked tired as she set down a dark, lumpy sack by her chair. She blinked at us. "Oh. Hello."

"Are you all right?" I asked. "How are things at Manalar?"

She smiled a little bit, taking a seat at the dining table as the falcon perched on the back of it. She massaged the back of her neck as if it was stiff. "Overall well, to both. Thank you for asking."

We all took our previous seats, myself next to the Druid, and Vesram crouched closer to the wall like before. I spared a glance that way and signed asking whether he wanted to take a chair; he shook his head in refusal.

I shrugged slightly. *As you wish.*

It was hard to argue with the Draegloth when he always looked so patient and...not content, that was not the word. Nor was it "undeserving," as I might expect from a slave convinced of his lowness, whether by Drow or by Ma'ab. Vesram was already discussing outright rebellion against the Priestesses, he clearly did not feel either content or undeserving as a silent attendant, standing apart until summoned.

Or rather... Vesram wasn't acting this way because he could do nothing else if he tried. That just didn't feel right. I had to accept that he chose it, for whatever reason. It did make things easier with Mourn and Jael, I had to admit, that the Draegloth did not seek conflict with them, and my instincts already honed for detecting—even expecting—alternate motives or plots wasn't being triggered. The Draegloth was always there, and he heard everything. Just as he had back home in the City. Just as he had among the Ma'ab.

Vesram would need to give us as much intelligence as we gave him, or he could not be allowed to live. We would see soon, but right now I needed to focus on Tamuril.

"So what news?"

Tamuril nodded, looking between us while alternately loosening a finger or two in her glove for reseating it with a firm tug. "I made contact from afar, though please do not ask me how."

Jael made a face at that but said nothing. After all, Mourn had ways to keep in touch with Krithannia and Talov from this far, too—they might have something to do with the pearls, but maybe not, and we didn't require him to explain.

The Druid was nervous; she spoke with a stilted formality I hadn't really heard before. "Willven greets all of you and is elated to hear of our success in claiming this Tower in the name of the Grey Maiden. He was unsettled to hear about the Ice Lord, as this figure is new to him as well."

Mourn nodded; he had that question answered.

Tamuril looked at me. "He was intrigued how much you seemed to learn to speak without voice and to move or apply force to objects with your will. He knew there had to be a teacher, he pressed me on this. You understand why this would be of great concern to him."

I frowned a bit. "So what did you tell him?"

"Under his oath that he would protect the knowledge as he protects anything related to his quest," she assured me, "I told him there was an ancient Elf who had something to do with the recovery of your missing Red Sister as well as your training, and who is opposed to the Ice Lord."

"How are you so sure about that?" Jael asked with arched brow.

Tamuril swallowed. "I heard what he said, Lord Indrath. H-he said Sirana's skill was based in the Dragon legends rather than those of the psions, so I know she received support and guidance for raw talent rather than instruction from an unknown source of his own kind."

Mourn grunted, not terribly pleased but we all needed to accept that things were changing and certain secrets couldn't be kept quite as quiet as before. "I take it this was a relief to him as well."

"It was," Tamuril said, looking to him next. "The only trained psions to whom Willven does not have some connection are those in the Underdark." Slowly her gaze shifted to me again. "I have confirmed for him this is still true, and Willven expressed his admiration for what your teacher was able to do for you, Sirana, when you had such need and refused his help."

I nodded, remembering more the Tilabil with fondness, as it seemed fairly safe to do so. "Can psions find each other over long distances, kind of like how you just spoke with him?"

Tamuril's posture shifted uncomfortably. "If they could...Willven would have known his son had died long before I walked across the land to tell him."

Good point. And awkward. I shifted myself.

"So a 'connection' means something else," Jael filled in for me.

Tamuril nodded, willing to give us this as her eyes flicked toward the stairway and the soft-soled footsteps we all heard coming. "Human psions are...very rare compared Human mages, which are themselves rare. What I mean there is a blood connection somewhere in those few trained groups Willven has found outside his own family. They all have some Paxian traits, and none of them thought it was a good idea to try to gain influence or power over the mundane public, being so few in number."

"Definitely odd for Humans," Gavin said wryly as he walked in to join us. He was either taking a break from his work or his curiosity of what Tamuril would be saying got the better of him.

Tamuril understood the remark but wasn't judging as she tried to explain. "These other groups all had one warning 'dream' in common: draw the wrath of the gods and be destroyed. Or that's how they tried to describe it to Willven. It did not always make sense or be that clear but that was the direction they all went, independently: only to find each other and remain hidden."

"Odd," Jael commented.

Mourn and I glanced at each other. It made sense to me. Of course, I hadn't been born this way so I supposed I never had that shared warning. Or felt that pull. I was drawing a lot of attention from the gods, though.

"Except Isboern himself," my younger Sister continued. "He did exactly that. Drew the attention of a God and he gained influence and power with the 'mundane public.'"

Tamuril pursed her lips. "Yes. Willven answered a call. Something changed for him. He's unlike all the others." The Druid's clear, green eyes slid to me. "Except you. He was quite happy to find you, if he did not make that clear."

"Actually, he did," I said. "I was just less 'happy' to find him."

Gaelan was smiling, amused as she propped her head on her elbow. "Meaning this Human Captain Isboern has more in common with a Drow than his own secret family right now?"

"In a way, I suppose," Tamuril said a bit softly, and I lifted a soft thought when she glanced at me. *Willven...and myself.*

I blinked. Hm. "Outcasts of exiles, all of us?"

That actually had Mourn and Gavin smiling.

"Astute," the Deathwalker commented. "Few will thank us for altering things as quickly as we must."

"Few will even know," Mourn returned, "or be able to see its scope. We've already met those that will and the challenge has been accepted."

It sure had been.

"So what did Isboern have to say about Sirana?" Jael prodded. "Anything more he can do from this distance? I don't figure he can leave the city at this time."

"Not without leaving the sacred pool and his people crippled and vulnerable, no," the Druid agreed, again looking at me. "He is willing to try a day-long lesson to try and convey how to mask your mind from other telepaths once he and I have recovered from today. It would take both of us, and we would need at least three days' rest before we try. He said he will prepare and anticipate for the third or fourth day. If he senses nothing by the end of the fifth, then he will know you've declined."

She gently cleared her throat. "Neither of us know how effective this will be against those in the Underdark, and you would need time to recover afterward as well."

"Sounds grueling," I said. "Would I be able to stop and eat?"