Besides, Pharaun had already encountered one horror atop a spire. He had no desire to encounter another.

"The caves," Quenthel said, nodding.

"Yes, Mistress," hissed one of the female heads of her whip. "The caves will be safer."

"Silence, Zinda," Quenthel gently admonished her whip.

"Safer?" Jeggred said and sneered. "Safety is the concern of cowards, timid priestesses, and weak mages." He eyed Quenthel and Pharaun meaningfully in turn.

Pharaun smiled at the draegloth, turned his gaze to Quenthel, and said, "I would remind your nephew that it was Mistress Danifae who suggested that we seek shelter to avoid the danger of the Teeming. Does that mean you think her timid, Jeggred?"

Pharaun took a moment to enjoy the look of consternation on Jeggred's face before he said,

"Perhaps not, then. But in any event, it appears you would prefer to linger on the surface until we return. I think it an excellent idea. Thank you, Jeggred. Your bravery will be remembered in song."

He offered the draegloth an insincere bow, and Jeggred snarled and bared his fangs.

Pharaun ignored the oaf-showing a dolt to be a dolt brought him only small satisfaction-and eyed the open mouth of the chwidenchas' hole.

To Quenthel, he said, "I can seal the cave opening behind us with a spell, and we can wait for as long as need be. When the storm passes and the violence ends, I can get us back through, and we can travel then."

Quenthel nodded, and said, "An excellent idea, Master Mizzrym."

Jeggred snorted with contempt, and Quenthel fixed him with a stare that could have frozen a fire elemental. The serpent heads of her whip rose up and offered the draegloth a stare of their own.

"Nephew?" she said and made the word sound like an insult. "You wish to say something more, perhaps?"

Jeggred opened his mouth, but Danifae's hand on his arm stopped him from saying whatever words he had thought to offer.

Instead, Danifae smiled her disarming smile and looked to Pharaun.

"Master Mizzrym has offered sage counsel," she said, as though to Jeggred but really to

Quenthel. "And Mistress Quenthel is wise to heed it." She let that sit a moment before she cocked her pretty head and frowned. "Though, I've never before seen a male demonstrate such persuasion over a priestess of Lolth."

Pharaun almost laughed aloud at the transparency of the play. Danifae hoped to weaken the relationship between Pharaun and Quenthel by intimating that the high priestess relied to an unseemly degree upon Pharaun.

"Hardly persuasion," he replied. "But perhaps if she were not the only priestess in this little band to have demonstrated wisdom, she would not have to rely on the paltry suggestions of a mere male."

Jeggred glared at him, fangs bare. Pharaun stared back at the oaf.

Danifae showed no sign that she had heard Pharaun. She had eyes only for Quenthel.

The Baenre priestess met Danifae's stare with one of her own, gave a tight smile, and said,

"Some males serve a purpose, battle-captive." She too let that sit a moment before adding, "Of course, one must be careful in choosing which males best suit the purpose at hand." Then she let her gaze settle contemptuously on Jeggred. "A priestess with a poor eye for choosing her male servants is often a dead priestess. Perhaps your draegloth has some sage counsel of his own to offer on the matter?"

"Counsel?" Jeggred snarled. "Here's my counsel, you-"

"Jeggred," Danifae interrupted and patted one of the draegloth's fighting arms. "Be silent."

The draegloth said no more.

"Your dog is well-trained," Pharaun said, and Jeggred started to lunge at him.

Danifae caught his mane, and he halted in mid-stride. Pharaun held his ground and smiled.

Again, Danifae did not acknowledge Pharaun, instead saying to Quenthel, "No, Jeggred has nothing to say at the moment. He is a male and offers his counsel only when solicited by me."

Pharaun could see the anger brewing behind Quenthel's eyes. She walked up to Danifae-not even Jeggred dared get in her way, though he did stay beside the battle-captive-and stared down at the smaller female.

"My nephew has never been known for his intellect," she said.

Danifae smiled and stroked the draegloth's arm. "No, Mistress Quenthel," she replied. "Just his loyalty."

Quenthel's expression hardened. She gave Danifae one last glare before turning to Pharaun and saying, "And I rely on only Lolth, male."

When he heard those words, Pharaun knew that Danifae had accomplished exactly what she had hoped.

"Of course, Mistress," he said, and nothing more, for there was nothing more to say. The damage was already done.

Behind Quenthel, Danifae offered him a knowing smile through the cuts on her face. Jeggred offered him a snarl of undisguised hate.

He ignored them both and said to Quenthel, "The cave, Mistress?"

She nodded and replied, "The cave. But first. .»

The high priestess withdrew from an inner pocket of her piwafwi the wand of healing that she had stolen from Halisstra Melarn back in Ched Nasad. She touched it to herself and whispered the command word. The cuts on her face closed, the burns diminished, and her breathing grew easier. Afterward, she walked over, and without asking permission, touched it to Pharaun and repeated the process. Much to his relief, his nose healed, the charred mess of his hand regenerated, and the innumerable cuts and scratches on his torso closed.

"Thank you, Mistress," he said with a bow.

Quenthel did not acknowledge his gratitude. She put the wand back in her cloak, turned to

Danifae, and said, "No doubt, you will tend to yourself and your loyal draegloth."

Pharaun offered Danifae a sneer. Likely, Danifae could tend to no one. Though Lolth had reawakened and both priestesses had spells at their command, it was rare for a priestess of Lolth to store many healing spells in her mind. Priestesses of Lolth destroyed, they did not heal.

Quenthel could heal herself and Pharaun fully only because she had Halisstra's wand.

To his surprise, Danifae smiled at Quenthel and said, "Lolth will tend to us. As always."

"Quite so," Quenthel replied with a cunning look.

Pharaun straightened his robes. At his feet, the cave mouth yawned. It sank almost vertically into the rock. Webs lined its walls, and stink leaked from it.

"After you, Mistress Danifae," he said and gestured down at the cave, all the while thinking,

After all, there might be something dangerous down there.

Danifae twisted her beautiful face into a sneer and said, "Come, Jeggred, Master Mizzrym remains timid."

The draegloth took her curvaceous body in his inner, smaller arms and lifted her from her feet.

"How quaint," Pharaun observed.

The draegloth stared holes into the mage.

One of Danifae's legs escaped her cloak. She wore tight-fitting breeches, and the curve of her thigh and hip drew Pharaun's eye, despite himself. She caught him eyeing her and did not cover her leg.

"Descend," she said to Jeggred, all the while smiling seductively at Pharaun.

Jeggred touched his House Baenre brooch and levitated down into the cave mouth.

For Quenthel's benefit, Pharaun signed after Danifae, Whore.

He looked up to find Quenthel staring at him, her expression unreadable. She drew her whip and stepped to the cave opening.

"Seal it behind us, mage," she said.

She touched her own brooch and followed Danifae and her nephew down, whip bare and ready in the event of an ambush.

Pharaun stood a moment at the edge, watching the top of Quenthel's head sink into the darkness. Quenthel had said to Danifae that some males served a purpose-he needed to make certain that she continued to think him one such.

For a moment, for a single tempting heartbeat, he considered abandoning her, abandoning the quest, but quickly dismissed the idea as ill-advised. Lolth was awake, and her priestesses again wielded the power of their goddess; things were returning to normal. Besides, Pharaun would be answerable to Gromph and House Baenre upon his return to Menzoberranzan for any direct or indirect harm he caused Quenthel.