Bitter Grey Ashes Chapter 62

"This is garbage!" Bodhi hissed angrily, throwing the crumpled letter back into the messenger's blank face.

The thrall bowed as low as he could, backing away from her. Unfortunately for him, he was not fast enough, and her heavy slap connected with his jaw, sending him reeling onto the floor, spitting blood and broken teeth. If that was possible, the glassy, mindless look in his eyes made her even angrier.

"Shaverin, Dhaven, remove this idiot!" She yelled to her minions who were hovering at the entrance to her chambers. "Feed if you like, but clean up the mess afterwards!"

She slammed the door into their faces, scowling at the half-choked scream, followed by the gurgling noises, coming from the antechamber. That was hastily done, she admitted to herself. In the city, overwhelmed with churls and their brood, efficient thralls were hard to come by, and this one was not half as bad as the fool she had disposed of yesterday. Regardless of the lack of sense, her momentary lapse was not anything of consequence. No doubt, by the night's end, her servitors would drag in another screaming peasant or a dimwit farm girl. Maybe that one would be good for something more than a quick meal.

"I should tell them to stay away from the farmers' markets when they hunt," Bodhi muttered scoffingly. "A pickpocket or a street whore would serve my needs much better than another country bumpkin!"

Her real target should have been Saemon and his insolent slackness, she thought derisively. As of late, the pirate's missives became completely irrelevant. With every passing day, he was getting more impertinent; it was almost as if he could sense her weakness, the way that sharks smell blood in the water.

Seething with frustration, Bodhi prowled her chambers like a panther in heat, finally stopping before a small side table. On top of it, sat a hat-sized box of ebony wood, accented with ivory skull and bone designs; the likes of which antiquaries use to store and display especially valuable pieces. A chance procurement delivered by one of her minions on her vague request, but it suited its current contents exceedingly well. The box smelled strongly of embalming fluids and stale perfume, but the fainter, less pleasant note of arrested decay could be easily discerned in the box's less-then-subtle bouquet of odors. Driven by impulse and sudden desire for a diversion, Bodhi fiddled with the lock and flipped the lid open. Were she a mere mortal, the stench would have overwhelmed her senses.

Inside the snug compartment, on a bed of stained, wine-red velvet lay a dead head of a dark-haired, bearded man, with a fancy pearl earring in a pallid earlobe. The grimace of fear distorted his once handsome features, and a deep gash made by a very sharp instrument was still visible on one cheek, although someone had put their best effort to stitch up the rend. The process of decomposition had hardly begun, and if one looked closely, one could still see the remains of makeup, applied to make the deceased look presentable.

Anticipating the coming entertainment, the vampire smirked, and pulled the head out of its cozy nest, giving its nose a rather nonchalant tweak. The neck-stump had stopped bleeding days ago, but the flaps of skin, once carefully stretched and stitched back to the body could not conceal the terrible state of the wound. Whoever had cut off the dead man's head had not been quick or clean about it. The windpipe and the neck muscles looked like they had been cut many times by strokes of a small blade. Not for the first time, the Huntress wondered, if the man was still alive, while his vertebral column had been hacked through with a dagger. Saemon's girl certainly had potential, Bodhi mused idly. Perhaps Jon had sensed it too; he had always been exceptionally good at picking up talented individuals.

Shrugging these musings off, Bodhi positioned the head upright in its nest of red velvet and sprinkled a pinch of aromatic incense onto a coal brazier. Almost instantly, the coals burst into dark flames, filling the room with spicy aroma and killing the stench coming from the dead head. Small niceties like that always made the necromantic rituals more enjoyable. Through the last couple of months Bodhi had killed, tortured, and raised as undead enough innocents to appease her dark mistress. True, she had experienced a setback with her most important task, but it did not feel as if Kiaransalee was angry at her over that failure, as Bodhi's prayers were always answered duly. The Revenancer was fickle and forgetful, and her vain and indecisive nature was somewhat susceptible to manipulations.

The vampire was much more concerned about incurring the wrath of her other divine patron. Lolth was not easily distracted from her purpose, nor did she feel any affection towards Kiaransalee's undead pets. Failing in her mission, Bodhi would have hard time convincing the lesser goddess to overlook the displeasure of the senior deity, although she still had a chance of exploiting the rivalry between the two. The Abyss was beckoning, and the vampire did not relish the thought of returning there. Frowning at these disturbing thoughts, Bodhi muttered the wording of a minor spell, warding the entrances to her quarters and flooding the periphery of the chamber with artificial darkness. The only bright spots in the room remained the immediate vicinity of the brazier and the stand with the dead head.

Next came the turn of a more sophisticated divine ritual. Bodhi had used it many times prior, but still had trouble with wording particularly tricky syllables. The vampire cussed and started the spell over. On the third time, a slow spasm ran through the dead head's facial muscles. Its eyelids flipped open, the bluish lips quivered, emitting a painful sound half way between a moan and a croak. A streak of ichor trickled from the mouth, the yellowing teeth bared in tortured scowl. Lacking the lungs and windpipe, the head should not have been able to speak, yet somehow the Revenancer's magic compensated for that problem.

"I am thirsty, " the head complained hoarsely. "A mouthful of water, a droplet of wine... is it too much to ask for? I have been wondering through those damnable fields of dust for days, and there is no sign of an exit."

"I doubt that when you finally see the gate leading to the Plane of your final destination, you will welcome its sight," Bodhi sneered at his whining. "You are dead, master Eldoth, and it is not likely that your afterlife is going to be any more pleasant than the passage through the Fugue Plane. As for water, I can throw you into a river and it will spill through your yawning gullet without giving you any sense of relief."

"Is it you again?" The head inquired angrily. "Leave me be, vampire! I have heard all of your empty promises and ridiculous threats one time too many. There is nothing you can do to hurt me, and even less to help me. I am done for, butchered, murdered, and buried. The little Calimshite whore did a thorough job of sawing through my vocal cords with her dagger. Let me rot in my grave. I am not going to answer any of your ridiculous questions!"

"True enough, I cannot do much to help you wriggle out of this situation, "Bodhi replied amusedly. "Perhaps, next time you should use a different organ for such an indispensable function as thinking? Oops, my bad! You can hardly be influenced by that particular piece of your anatomy in your present state. One can only wonder, if you are a wiser man now, after your male parts were removed together with the rest of your body."

"Enough of your wisecracks, vampire!" the head spat out furiously. "This latest offence does nothing to improve your chances of getting any information out of me! I won't utter another word whatever you say!"

"An unwise decision, master Eldoth!" Bodhi tsked at the dead head's anger. "I might not be able to bring you back to life, but there are still plenty of other things that I can do for you. Like say, dispense justice on your behalf?"

"And what good would it do me?" The head sneered at her. "We have been over this proposition before. Vengeance, delivered by the hand of another, won't be much of a consolation. The wench would suffer for a few hours, or perhaps days – if your promises are to be trusted – then her soul would settle on some lavishly decorated paradise of a Plane, while I would be condemned to spend eternity in one of the frozen or boiling Hells you described so vividly. To make me talk, you have to promise me something more!"

Ever since she had 'liberated' Eldoth's head from the tomb, toying and bickering with it over the scraps of information it might possess had became Bodhi's nightly routine. Nothing useful ever came of it, yet she persisted in this game, if only for the entertainment it provided. The Huntress doubted that Eldoth knew anything vital about Jon's whereabouts, but his obstinacy made her curious.

"Ah, it is nice to see your resolve waver already," she smirked playfully. "So, there is something you would trade for your information? What if you could extract this revenge yourself? Would you be willing to go through a transformation?"

“In my present state, I won't qualify for any dignified form of undeath, and being raised as a headless zombie is not the fate I would seek for myself," Eldoth's head said mournfully. "I would rather try my chances with Kelemvor."

"I don't need you r permission for the ritual. And once I raise you as undead, you would be entirely under my control."

"But you won't gain anything from it," the head pointed out dryly. "Otherwise, you would have done it a long time ago. My soul would be doomed to reside in a rotting corpse for as long as it shambles around, but my wits would be lost to the ravages of decay. If you need something I know, you have to pay for it. So far you have not been able to meet my price."

"You are a persistent one," the vampire growled, feeling more and more annoyed. "I hate bothering the Lady of the Dead with such a minor nuisance, but you leave me no choice. Mind, however, that when she answers my call, you will have to face her in person, and her bouts of temper are legendary among the kindred. If you end up in a Pillar of Skulls gracing the fields of Baator, you will have only yourself to blame for your insolence."

Truth be told, Bodhi was bluffing. After her hounds had lost Joneleth's trail, she had tried to contact Kiaransalee directly, performing all the proper grisly rituals. But even after the slow, painful death of the sacrifice, her mistress had refused to answer the call. Bodhi was not much concerned – in all her previous communications with the Revenancer, the goddess had always been the active side, manifesting at will at a place and time of her choosing. She could stay silent for decades, then, all of a sudden, manifest herself via some grisly portent. Based on that experience, Bodhi believed that Kiaransalee would contact her when the time was ripe.

"You've tried to intimidate me before, but so far your threats have failed to materialize," Eldoth's head snapped sullenly. "Your 'mistress' appears to be permanently busy with other matters."

"Many claim they commune with the gods," the head sneered at her. "Precious few actually do. Prove that you are among the latter, vampire, or stop bothering me with your summonings. I would rather rely on the judgment of the Master of the Crystal Spire, than become a plaything for another female psycho."

"Deviant!" Bodhi spat in anger. "You will pay for this impertinence! Kaiaransalee, wise and cunning Lady of the Dead, Revenancer of the Deceased, Vengeful Banshee that never forgives, Mistress of the frozen Hell of Thanatos! I implore you to punish the blasphemer, who scorns your powers, and denies the splendor of forever-living through death!"

Even after Eldoth’s latest snide remarks, she did not truly hope to draw the Revenancer's attention. Kiaransalee was not in the habit of helping her failed minions. Rather, Eldoth’s stubbornness made Bodhi angry enough to use all of the goddess' titles in a single address, in a vain hope to awe him into obedience. But when she finished listing the Lady of the Dead's many names, the air in the darkened chamber began to crackle with chill.

This time Kiaransalee did not bother with assuming her glamorous avatar of a beautiful drow female, but showed up in her true form – that of an undead lich-queen. Under the flimsy veils of black silk, the goddess' ebony skin looked parched and wrinkled, stretching over the skeletal thinness of her tall frame. Her waist-long hair hung dry and brittle as pale veils of graveyard lichen; the shriveled breasts were covered only with the wealth of silver necklaces and chains, and the usual multitude of silver rings studded the crooked, bone-thin fingers. Sitting cross-legged on a slab of something that resembled a grave-stone, the Vengeful Banshee broke in mad giggles, showing a mouthful of brown, rotten teeth and a leathery strip of a tongue that looked like a spoiled piece of meat. Glowing red eyes, sharp as gimlets, peered at Bodhi from the deep hollows of the skull-like face. Awed at the sudden success of her summoning, the vampire dropped to her belly, cowering before the apparition that floated in the air before her.

"Foolish pet," Kiaransalee rasped at the prostrate vampire with an air of amused disdain. "I should not have bothered with corrupting such a weakling. Certainly, you were a novelty at a time... but your tricks are running stale, and I am getting tired of your ineptitude. No wonder you have failed in your most important task. How could you possibly manipulate such a shrewd male as your brother, when you could not bring to heel an animated head without my help?"

"Forgive me, Mistress!" Bodhi pleaded from her position at Revenancer' feet. "Not everything is lost. I have located Joneleth and his cohorts. He could not have gone far. My minions are hot on his heels even now!"

"You mean they are sniffing around his cooling trail, baffled by his disappearance?" The Revenancer cackled with glee, enjoying Bodhi's discomfort. "I would have snuffed out your undeserved unlife a long time ago, if watching you stumble was not so entertaining. Your latest gaffe was even clumsier than your loss of face to the Spawn of Bhaal! For now, Master Demadan E’resse is beyond your reach, but luckily for you, he is also out of the grasp of his former Queen and lover. The elves have had him for a while, but he has managed to slip through their fingers, in the same manner, as he did with you."

"I am at my Mistress' disposal," Bodhi replied meekly, trying to guess if Kiaransalee's tone meant the goddess was not truly angry. "I suspected that the elves of Suldanessellar might have had a hand in Joneleth's disappearance, but without my Mistresses' help, it would have taken me longer to locate him. If it pleases my Mistress, I shall send my minions to scout the surroundings of the tree-city."

"Be silent, fool!" Kiaransalee snapped in response to the vampire's simpering zeal. "Luckily for you, I am no longer interested in your brother’s fate. Following her foolhardy nature, the Queen of Bugs forced me to play a role in her obsessive feud with her former consort. But her hastiness is becoming her undoing, as Corellon thwarted her latest attempt to conquer his protected domain." Kiaransalee grinned widely, cackling with hard-to-conceal delight. "Lolth has fallen silent," she informed her baffled minion, "or very nearly so. Ever since her disastrous attack on Evermeet, which weakened her badly, the Demon Spider has hardly been seen or heard from. Her servitors maintained the semblance of normal order, but I could sense that something was amiss. Recently, I had my suspicions confirmed. Lolth is gone from her lair in the Demonweb Pits! No one has seen or heard from her for weeks, and her priestesses are beginning to feel the impact of her silence, wondering if they have angered their mistress."

Bodhi's head was spinning. Listening to the Revenancer's excited rant, she tried to appraise the new possibilities that Lolth's departure had opened to her. Kiaransalee's private hatred for her superior was obvious – not that Bodhi had had any doubts about the state of relationship between the two drow deities from the start of her current adventure. Cringingly, she remembered the ending of her audience with Lolth.

"Why such an interest in a smallish elven settlement in the middle of nowhere, lotha dalninil?" The Spider Queen challenged the lesser deity. "You are hardly the one to be interested in darthiir and their affairs."

Kiaransalee cringed, shifting her eyes away from Lolth inquisitive stare. Unable to withstand the pressure, the Banshee shrieked and trashed like a rag doll in the hands of a small child. When her fit of temper subsided, she flipped her long grey hair away from her skeletal features, peering at the superior goddess like a cornered rat, but the Spider Queen only smirked at that display of impotent rage.

"The mere existence of Suldanessellar and her Tree Guardian prevents me from exploiting the corrupted mythal of Myth Rhyn that spans the burial grounds of the deceased kingdom of Keltormir," the Revenancer finally explained. "Once the Tree is defeated and the elves are driven out, I can take possession of those giant catacombs in the heart of the forest of Tethyr. Some of the corpses entombed there are that of the ancient illithiri, once allied with the forest-dwelling tribes of Keltormir."

"I knew you were up to something!" Lolth glowered at the Revenancer, who was cringing under that scrutiny. "So, you were planning to acquire a nearly endless supply of the dark-elven corpses, buried before the Grand Descent. An ambitious plan indeed! I shall keep an eye on your activities in the area, making sure Ust-Natha remains the stronghold of the spider-kin. Still, I find it is amusing that your scheme entailed such a long waiting time, and yielded nothing of substance. You have targeted the wretched tree-city for almost two centuries, but reaped no rewards."

"Quar-Valsharess must have grown bored with the tale of my blundering pet," Kiaransalee hissed, glaring at Lolth defiantly, "or she would have noticed that I twice had that despised tree-settlement on the brink of becoming the city of the dead. My carefully planned scheme of corrupting their Archmage worked out nicely. Their despicable Tree of Life nearly perished in flames, set by Bodhi, while her brother struggled to control the powers of the mythal. If not for his vanity, that compelled him to summon the storm and quench the wildfire, Suldanessellar would have become the field of charred bones and roasted flesh. But even so, the devastation of the city was so severe, and the general mood so desperate that their Queen was driven to commit her gravest mistake, turning her fallen lover into a de facto walking corpse, and deeming that a 'mercy'."

"That was hardly your doing," Lolth pointed out sharply. "It is my understanding that Ellesime conceived the idea on her own."

"She was desperate and had no time to think things through, so her devotion to ancient history and Elven tradition made her turn to Corellon example!" Kiaransalee cackled gleefully. As it often happened, the Banshee's madness took hold of her, and her fit of insanity soon turned into a session of ululating shrieks. When Kiaransalee was finally able to control herself, she continued, a little flushed with embarrassment, but still eager to brag about her success.

Bodhi's lips tightened and pulled up, baring her fangs. Quickly, she averted her face, making sure the goddesses were too preoccupied with their conversation to notice her reaction. Bodhi’s severance from the Spirit of Arvandor was the thing of the past, superseded by her willing embracement of undeath. She could hardly remember the pain or the sense of deprivation. Still, it was a humiliating memory, and the one she did not care to relive.

"Charming," Lolth scowled at the Revenacer. "It seems the idea of such a punishment has been floating in darthiir's minds for ages. They were always eager to follow their patron's example." She clenched her teeth in suppressed fury. "Still, after the tree-city escaped her fate, there was no sense in maintaining the link with the darthiir bitch." The Spider Queen glowered at Bodhi, cowering on the floor next to the mushroom throne then turned her attention back to defiant Kiaransalee. "She failed you, and was driven into Exile, and yet you rewarded her with more power."

"A hastier planner would have abandoned the failed servitor to her fate," the Revenancer sneered at the senior goddess. "I gave her another chance by granting her the powers of her chosen form of undeath. Unbeknown to herself, Bodhi continued to serve me, even when I did not bother to commune with her. As a fledgling vampire, she needed to feed and procreate." Kiaransalee cackled, shaking in silent laughter. "That involved creating more undead and strengthened my power. My servant thrived in her brother's confidence, steering his madness towards the desired outcome, thus in place of one useful tool, I gained two. Irenicus's study of death and its glories was fruitful, and his many experiments multiplied the ranks of the undead of all types and races. Eventually, the Shattered One designed an impressive plan of a revenge attack on the tree-city. I will not claim the advanced knowledge of that scheme, but its implementation granted me even more rewards. Many have perished at his hands, some were corrupted and stripped of their souls, making them my subjects. Death was waiting on the steps of the accursed city. Their shell of magic was weakened enough for Suldanessellar to fall into the hands of Irenicus's hellish minions. I was not my fault that Ust-Natha was ruled by your chosen vessel! Were the invasion guided by one of my worshippers, Suldanessellar would have become a bone-yard, stopping being a problem and turning into a lovely depository of corpses."

"Keep your claws off my worshippers, dirty carrion eater!" Lolth snapped at the lesser goddess, rising from the throne to her full height. Once again, a troop of yochlols slid from their webs, forming a semi-circle around Kiaransalee and her small band of undead servitors. "If I catch you poaching among the spider-sworn one more time, I will declare a Great Running aimed at your clergy, scorching your live and undead crones alike from all the settlements of the Children!" Despite her diminutive stature, Lolth towered over the taller and thinner Lady of the Dead like a predator ready to pounce. Something in the Spider Queen's eyes, glowing with poisonous malice, made Kiaransalee cower, shrinking away from her more powerful rival.

"Quar-Valsharess, I have spoken out of turn," the Revenancer croaked, backing away from the mushroom throne and almost stumbling into one of the many spider-webs draping the cavern. A massive black spider hissed at her from the shadows. "I shall speak of Suldanessellar's affair no more, if it displeases you!" Kiaransalee screeched, retreating further away from the giant arachnid. Lolth nodded and the yochlol backed off, climbing back into its perch at the ceiling of the cave.

"If you are wise enough, your shall keep to the oath of fealty that you have sworn to me," the Spider Queen declared haughtily. "My only interest in your pathetic servant was the link to her brother, pardoned by my former 'beloved'. I want Corellon's plan of redeeming the wretch shattered in the most painful and humiliating fashion." She tilted her head, looking Bodhi straight in the eye. "Vampire, I don't care how your brother's downfall is achieved. Cause him to deliver the city of Evereska into the hands of her enemies; compel him to tear the beating heart out of the chest of the daughter of Rillifane and eat it whilst still warm; push him into madness and make him swear allegiance to Gruumish the One-Eyed, so he will haunt the forests and glades of the surface world, slaughtering his fairy kin. I leave the details to your imagination! You have time until the winter equinox to complete your mission, and I suggest that you think about the consequences of failing me." She silenced Bodhi's eager reassurances, making a gesture of dismissal.

"In the mean time, I have a surprise of my own almost ready for my former lord and husband. I hope he will like the wrappings." A secret little smile played on the Spider Quieen' s plump lips, making her look even more astoundingly beautiful and alluring. At the same time, a string of tiny spiders crawled out of the corners of her mouth, scattering over the lower part of her face, and somewhat spoiling the effect.

Many months had passed since her summoning from the Abyss into Lolth's abode in the Demonweb Pits, but Bodhi remembered it as if it only happened yesterday. She had been given the 'scent' of her prey and released on the Prime as a bloodhound put on trail of a game. Trying to carve out a niche for her private interest in the two goddesses' game, while playing them against each other was a dangerous enterprise, but in the circumstances, Bodhi had no other chance of survival.

"What a fascinating tale, Great Mistress," she addressed Kiaransalee with a coy smile. "The Spider Queen reaped what she sowed with her hastiness and the lack of proper organization. You, on the contrary, are famos for your diligence and attention to detail. Perhaps, averting your eyes from Suldanessellar and my brother's fate is a bit premature? After all those centuries of waiting, the forest of Tethyr is like a ripe fruit, ready to fall into your lap. Now that Lolth is no longer a factor, you can finalize your designs without her interference, proving your superiority as a patient planner. I can locate Joneleth, and turn him into a valuable tool serving your cause. He will be more than eager to destroy the hated tree-city. As the saying goes -- third time is the charm!"

"I do not doubt that you would love to put your hands around Queen Ellessime's throat," Kiaransalee cackled with mirth. "And you are stubborn enough to pursue your brother to the end of the world and beyond if need be. Yet, I am no longer sure I can trust in your ability to deliver what you promise. My time is too valuable to continue wasting it on a plot that went stale decades ago. Now that Lolth is out of my way, all I have to do is stretch out my hands and pick up the threads of her disintegrating web of power."

"But my Mistress has nothing to lose by allowing me to engage in this final episode of the Hunt!" Bodhi protested eagerly. "If I fail to deliver Suldanessellar, it is going to be my failure alone. If I prevail, my Mistress will claim the spoils of my success, granting me whatever meager crumbs she feels appropriate for a loyal servant."

"Since sending you back to the Abyss would require more effort than letting you continue your hunt, I might let you carry on," Kiaransalee replied tetchily. "I am in a lenient mood today; you should thank the late Queen of Bugs for your deliverance. But don't expect any more help from me – from this moment on, your will be on your own!"

The vampire could not believe her good luck. Not only was she free from the time-constraint that Lolth had imposed upon her, she also had the Revenancer's leave to do as she pleased with her brother, and the city of Suldanessellar.

"You won’t not be sorry, Great Mistress!" Bodhi lifted her head and rose to her knees, staring at the apparition's midsection with an expression of complete adoration. Under the curtain of many silver necklaces goddess’ skin looked mummified and filthy, but she preferred that sight to the mad gleam of Kiaransalee's undead eyes.

"I have heard this tune from you many times before," Kiaransalee grumbled as her apparition began to fade in the air. "This is your last chance. Dont' waste it on feeding your vanity with worthless cat-and-mouse games."

"Wait Mistress, please don't go yet!" Bodhi cried out hastily. "What should I do with the decapitated fool that denies your powers?"

The dead head sitting on its perch made a half-choking sound, drawing Kiaransalee's attention.

"You!" The Revenancer frowned at Eldoth’s head, suddenly remembering his presence. "You have heard too much to leave you out of it," she frowned at the perpetrator. "Let me make you at the very least useful!"

She made a quick motion with her right hand, and murmured a short incantation, pointing her claw-like finger, studded with silver rings, at Eldoth’s forehead.

The head quavered, shrieking like a wounded animal. Its skin began to peel off, baring swaths of pale-red muscles imbued with streaks of white tendons and yellow fat. A row of wiggling tentacles sprouted below its chin, forming a fringe resembling the lower end of an octopus. Its teeth lengthened and crooked, even as its jaw dropped down and extended to accommodate the growing teeth. A long red tongue dribbling with greenish saliva lolled out of that horrid mouth. At the same time the head's ears grew in size, shifting up towards its brow. Behind those grotesque organs sprouted another pair of appendages, quickly unfolding into a pair of bat-like wings that ended with wickedly sharp claws. In a few moments the transformation was complete. The horrid-looking monster took wing, flapping around the chamber with all the elegance of a huge, clumsy bat. Its wild, desperate shrieks added to the general unpleasantness of its appearance.

"This is called a vargouille," Kiaransalee cackled at Bodhi's stunned expression. "A rare form of undead, renown for their special abilities to paralyze their victims with a shriek. Consider this my parting gift: once Master Eldoth learns how to best use his new form, he would become a very efficient addition to your troupe. He can scout and steal, incapacitate enemies with his voice, and deliver messages. Oh, and he is bound to your will, of course, so you can deal with him in whatever manner you think fit."

A slow, delighted smile, spread on Bodhi's face as she followed the creature with her eyes, considering the possibilities. "Thank you Mistress," she said finally. "I have very good idea what his first mission will be!"

Her only answer was silence. Hastily, Bodhi turned around to face the goddess, but Kiaransalee was gone, leaving behind the stench of graveyard and the shrieking, flapping monster the color of dried blood.

Kelemvor, the god of death and the dead, and master of the Crystal Spire in the Fugue Plane.

Long before the Elves first travelled to Abeir-Toril from the original Elven homeland of Tintageer on the magical world of Faerie, Lolth was known as Araushnee, the "Weaver of Destiny", a lesser deity of the Seldarine, the Elven pantheon of gods. She also happened to be the beloved consort of Corellon Larethian -- the head of Elven pantheon, and mother of his two children. After an unsuccessful attempt at assassinating him, Corellon Larethian severed Lolth from the Spirit of Arvandor and banished her to the Abyss.

The abandoned, mythal-cloaked city of Myth Rhynn lies deep in the Wealdath within a densely forested area known as Mytharan Woods. Myth Rhynn once served as an elven burial ground, with each tree marking the entrance to an underground crypt. The dead of ancient Keltormir rest in the lower tombs, and the elves interred after Keltormir’s fall occupy the upper tombs.

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