Lolth's Prize Part One

Lolth's Prize
Part one

   "The tiers and dungeons of Erelhei-Cinlu reek of debauchery and decadence, and the city's inhabitants and degenerate and effete.( ...) The most popular places in the city are the gambling dens, bordellos, taverns, drug saloons, and even less savory shops along the two main streets. The back streets and alleyways too boast of brothers, poison shops, bars and torture parlors. Unspeakable things transpire where the evil and jaded creatures seek pleasure, pain, excitement or arcane knowledge, and sometimes these seekers finds that they are victims."
			- Gary Gygax, "Vault of the Drow" 1978

   Like in any larger drow settlement, politics in Erelhei-Cinlu were dominated by a number of powerful noble houses. Due to the chaotic nature of drow society, often the number and roster of these houses changed, usually through a violent conflict. Most recently one of the eight great houses, House Kilsek, had rebelled and been actually driven out of the Vault of the Drow entirely. The survivors of the house managed to flee and presumably had settled elsewhere, while a number of minor houses had sprung up like bloated mushrooms to take advantage of the sudden power vacuum.  House Malande was one of those minor houses.

   Soresha Malande had seemingly come from nowhere, an exiled drow noble from a different settlement with little but her own cunning and determination at her disposal. A few decades later, House Malande was an up-and-coming new power in Erelhei-Cinlu, vying for a position as the new eight major house. Many were the rumors of the dark and terrible secrets of house Malande, but so far nobody knew the truth about Soresha's success, not even her own offspring and servants. As it was, House Malande now occupied an elegant but small compound near the outer edge of the Noble District from where Soresha could continue her plotting. With the upcoming festival season, it seemed like plotting amongst the residents of Erelhei-Cinlu in general  was reaching a frenzied pitch.

   In the audience chamber of house Malande, Soresha was holding court right this moment. The chamber was an huge oval room held up by ornate columns around the walls and boldly featuring long scarlet drapes embroidered with the house crest and Lolth's symbol hung between the columns. At the far end of the room from the large double-door entrance was a low stair leading up to a wide podium whereupon Soresha had set her black throne, heavily encrusted with gems spidery carvings. Behind said throne was the heavily protected entryway to the narrow staircase which led into the top floors of the tower and the matron's private chambers. Only three people were known to ever have gone there, and one of those was now dead.

   Soresha reclined on her throne, giving everyone an ample look of her curvaceous black-skinned body as she listened to the report of the returning raiding party. She was wearing one of her casual outfits today, consisting of a top that only barely contained her breasts and a long, fluttering loincloth between her legs. She sat with one leg crossed over the other and casually wagged her stiletto-heeled boot as she playfully tugged at her lower lips with one of her talon-like fingernails.

   "And so, after slaying the last of the defenders, we found this little surface newt hiding inside the wagon. Doubtless she was terrified beyond rational thought by our attack and hoped we wouldn't notice her cowardly whimpering. She was trying to fend us off with a toothpick, and Kalesh would have slain her right there had I not intervened" Morga said in her gruff voice while tossing her disheveled prisoner to the floor in front of the podium.

   The surface woman yelped in fear as she fell on her knees on the polished black stone floor. Her flowing white dress was torn and dirty but still clearly showed how out of place she was in the black architecture of the drow fortress. Her flowing, curled hair was the color of ripe golden wheat, and her soft pale skin was the opposite of the black one of her captors. She swept her hair away from her eyes to look up at the throne with her doe-like blue eyes, displaying a mixture of fear and awe. The matron met the girl's gaze and a cruel smile played across the lips of the drow ruler.

   "And you didn't allow your lieutenant to slay this creature why, daughter?" Soresha asked calmly.

   Morga stepped forward to put her large booted foot on the back of the blonde surface girl, who was struggling to get to her feet. Under the weight of the drow's plated boot she whimpered and was pushed down into the floor again. Morga was tall and unusually muscular for a female drow and she complemented this fierce appearance by always shaving her head fully bald. She had her mother's piercing eyes but much more robust facial features which, while not unattractive, made her look less delicate than her sisters. She almost always wore her heavy, ornate breastplate and plated boots and gauntlets, even at home, preferring to simply add a flowing cape to her combat gear rather than dress up in a gown or robe for celebrations.

   Standing a few feet behind her was her lieutenant and lover Kalesh, a thin drow male with a sinister, gleeful expression on his hawkish face. Kalesh's father had been the original master of arms for matron Soresha up until his untimely death, and as a result Kalesh had lost his best chance at rising to that position himself. Morga had taken him on as a lover and second in command when she realized that the male fostered a burning hatred of almost everything, a hatred that could easily be channeled at the enemies of the house. Kalesh was a skilled fighter, but his lust for personal  power would one day undo him, Morga thought.

   "She dared to pray to one of her so-called 'gods' for salvation," Morga said with a slight bow. "It made me think that such a defiant creature would be fine sport to break for my matron. If my guess was incorrect, I shall remedy my error by slaying her right now."

   Morga drew her long, razor-sharp sword a few inches out of its scabbard, smiling calmly as the slave underneath her boot squirmed in panic. Soresha regarded her daughter shrewdly. The girl was once again attempting to win favor, but there was another side to it. By proving that she was willing to risk her neck attacking a surface caravan and drag a prisoner back to the Vault, Morga hoped to assert her position as the dominant female in clan Malande by implying she was braver than her mother and sisters alike. Morga believed that Soresha had not left Erelhei-Cinlu since before any of her children were born and was trying to imply this was a weakness of the matron.  Soresha smiled and rose from her throne, stepping down the short stairway to the floor where the surface girl writhed. The drow ruler's high heels made a click-clack sound on the black stone as she approached the blonde girl.

   "You were not mistaken, daughter. This is a fine gift, one that shall bring me much enjoyment," Soresha said and Morga's grin widened. "But before I touch such a filthy creature she must be prepared properly. Lysindra!"

   Soresha's oldest daughter a beautiful buxom woman who looked very much like her mother stepped forward from where she had been observing the meeting. She had Soresha's fine features and generous curves, and wore the sacred vestments of a priestess of Lolth, demon queen of spiders. Her outfit and hairdo were significantly less ostentatious than those of her mother, showing her lesser status and submission before Soresha's authority. Lysindra was possibly even more zealous in her worship than her mother, however, always out to fervently prove her loyalty and ability.

   "What is my matron's wish?" Lysindra asked as she bowed down.

   Soresha indicated the surface girl, who was blathering in some alien language and trying to fight back tears. Perhaps she was praying, Lysindra thought. It would do her no good down here.

   "This thing needs to be broken in. I wish for her to be my personal slave," Soresha said in a tone that brooked no argument.

   "Yes mother," Lysindra replied as she straightened up to study her new charge.

   "Make sure she is not permanently injured, daughter," Soresha added. "There's something special about her, and I think she might be more valuable than Morga suspected."

   "Yes mother," Lysindra said, bowing again.

   The younger priestess bent down to tear the new slave to her feet, making Morga withdraw her armored boot hastily from the girl's back. The blonde female kept chanting until Lysindra backhanded her sharply and bent her soft arm behind her back. Morga and Kalesh looked disappointed by the development as Lysindra led the surfacer off. Soresha smiled. By handing the gift off to her other daughter, the drow ruler had shown Morga that while her gift was appreciated, she was still not the favored child of the household, and the gesture also indicated that Soresha dismissed Morga's claim of bravery.

   "I'm not sure that slave is worthy of our matron," said a new female voice after Lysindra had dragged her captive off.

   Soresha turned to see her youngest daughter, Mayena, regarding the scene with her usual calculating expression. The youngest of Soresha's children was more slender and willowy than her sisters, with a thinner face framed by braided white hair. She dressed in skimpy robes which differed from those of Lysindra in design and lacked the large amount of Lolth symbols. Lysindra had inexplicably been born with a mind suited to learn arcane magic rather than martial skills or prayer, and Soresha had allowed her to become a mage acolyte at a young age. Now, mentored by the decayed house wizard Neorik Mayena had become very powerful and quite dangerous.

    "Do explain, daughter, "Soresha said languidly as she turned to walk back up to her throne.

   "She is filthy, contaminated by the accursed sunlight," Mayena began. "Ugly too. We should sacrifice her immediately so as to not have her leave her filthy marks over our beautiful home."

   Soresha turned with a flourish and sat down on the throne, wrapping one leg over the other once again. A shadow disengaged from the rear wall near the door to Soresha's chambers and padded up the stairs to stand next to the throne. With an impassive stoic face and subdued body movements, the lean newcomer nevertheless gave off an air of competence and strength. Kaull was the current master of arms of house Malande, and he always appeared to be at Soresha's side, even being allowed into her private chambers.

   The matron met Mayena's provocative, self-assured stare and knew that the girl was trying to both defame Morga's achievement and challenge Soresha's decision to keep the slave. The unruly nature of her three daughters grew for every day, and Soresha knew that all three were now actively trying to outmaneuver each other to get their mother's favor. And once there, the winner would make an attempt to eliminate Soresha and become ruler of clan Malande as well.

   "Do you presume to tell your ruler what to do?" Soresha asked in a calm but dangerous tone.

   "Not at all, mother. I was simply war-"

   "Then be silent," Soresha said bluntly. "What slaves I take into this house is my decision alone. The girl will die when I so desire, and until then I shall have my fun with her. Now leave my sight, all of you."

   Mayena opened her mouth to protest, but she knew her position was hopeless. She could not continue arguing without betraying her ambition, which would allow one of her sisters to accuse her of disloyalty. The mage girl turned with her cape fluttering and walked towards the exit of the audience chamber. As she was halfway across she was joined by the wizened, hunchbacked elder Neorik, dressed in his crumbling mage robe. The man looked like he was already undead, but he was still the most powerful mage the house had, and as such he had survived all assassination and defamation attempts so far. The two were deep in conversation as they left, as were Morga and Kalesh. Finally alone with Kaull, Soresha threw a glance over at her stoic bodyguard and the matron's face broke into an amused grin.

   "Rather fascinating situation, isn't it?" she asked.

   "It is interesting, my lady," Kaull said, still staring straight forward.

   "I do wonder if any of them suspect my intentions for the girl," Soresha mused, clicking her long fingernails together. "She seems fitting. Very fitting. There's a delightful irony in it that pleases me."

   "Yes my lady," Kaull said.

   "If I'm right, then Lysindra should report her findings to me soon. And then the game can truly begin," Soresha said, leaning back and tapping her lustrous lips thoughtfully.

***

   "The stupid old cow is a fool to give our morsel to that bitch Lysindra" Kalesh muttered as he walked into Morga's darkened quarters.

    Morga's metal-clad fist hit the slender drow male square in the face, causing him to stagger back and grunt.

   "Know your place, Kalesh," Morga said in a growling, dangerous voice. "The girl is not our prize, she is mine. And regardless of my views on my mother, she is still your matron and you will address her as such, male."

   Kalesh snarled with anger, dark spots swimming in his field of vision from the blow. He loathed his situation, and he had always loathed it. He was in a very privileged position for a male, high in the hierarchy of house Malande and close to the daughter of the matron. By all accounts Morga was either first or second in line for the position of head of house when Soresha expired (by natural or unnatural causes). But on the other hand, Kalesh was still just a male, and Morga never let him forget that this meant he was inferior. Has his father not been slain by that freak Kaull, everything would have been different, Kalesh thought.

   "Yes, of course. My mistake," he said quietly, rubbing his sore cheek. "I wish we could be rid of them all now, though. With you as matron, we could-"

   Morga interrupted him with a wave of her hand.

   "Soon, my pet. Soon."

   Kalesh began to open his mouth to protest, but before he could say anything Morga had walked up close and pulled him into a rib-crushing embrace. She leaned in and kissed him and when he returned the favor her teeth bit down on his lower lip, drawing blood.  Stumbling into the darkened chambers, Morga pushed Kalesh over the low threshold into her bedchamber, and roughly shoved him onto the bed. Kalesh knew he couldn't resist her even if he wanted to. As Morga began tearing at her ornate armor, undressing hastily, Kalesh realized he could overlook his hatred of her for a little while. His trembling hands began working the clasps and buckles of his own armor, trying to match her speed.

   Morga threw herself onto the bed after her mate, shoving Kalesh's discarded breastplate aside to clatter into the wall. The bald drow girl grinned widely as she approached him. She climbed onto him and wasted no time impaling herself on his erect member, groaning as she slowly lowered herself onto him. Her muscular legs locked his hips in place, and Morga leaned down to grab his wrists and holding Kalesh in place. He grunted a bit at the weight but was used to it by now. With a growl, Morga began bobbing up and down on top of him. He winced trying to control himself as the combined pleasure and pain sent a jolt through his body. The larger female kept thrusting up and down with enough force to drive him deep into the bed sheets and it was all Kalesh could do to push back against her as much as he could. He felt the breath knocked from his lungs, but still the pleasure was too great to make it unpleasant.

   "You're a good pet, Kalesh," Morga said with a grunt "and if you keep doing my bidding you will be well rewarded."

   She leaned down to kiss his forehead and then let her tongue trail down his cheek before she gave him a nibbling, playful bite across the bridge of the nose. Kalesh's cheek was still sore from being punched earlier, and once again there was pain mixing with the pleasure of their coupling. Morga was increasing the pace of her movement, making their muscular bodies slam together repeatedly. Kalesh briefly fantasized of slipping a dagger between Morga's ribs and watching her die for all the humiliation she put him through, but any such thoughts were washed away as she squeezed down on his manhood and thrust down hard.

   Kalesh screamed as he orgasmed, and Morga grunted in response as she came a few moments later. She released one of his wrists and punched him hard across the side of the face as she cried out several names, the last of which was Kalesh's own. The lieutenant cried out as well from the sharp pain and pumped more and more of his seed into her, their hot juices slipping down over Kalesh's body onto the covers. Then the moment was over, and Morga slipped down across his body, stretching out like a great feline predator.

   "My mother likes her gift so much," Morga whispered into his ears as she laid down on top of him "and that will be the tool of my victory over my idiot sisters. Let Lysindra do what she wants. When the girl is released back to our matron's care... that's when we'll strike."

   Kalesh nodded and tried to focus on the words despite how much his head was ringing. He hated his situation. He had always hated it. It was all he had, that burning hatred of every other living being, and it was why he had become such a successful lieutenant to Morga. But one day, Kalesh mused,  one day his hatred would consume Morga, Kaull and Soresha and every hated female in this entire accursed house. He just needed to bide his time.

***

   "We will try this one more time," Lysindra said, her voice tense. "What is your name? Where are you from?"

   The surface girl whimpered, her slender soft hand reaching behind her to touch the raw open wounds left by the lash of the drow priestess. She screamed out in pain as she unwisely touched one of the bleeding cuts, and  tears streamed from her eyes as she sunk down to all fours on the black stone floor. Lysindra sighed and curled her whip up again. Re-educating a slave was one thing, but doing so with one who did not speak the drow tongue was something else. Fortunately Lysindra spoke some surface common, albeit heavily accented and mixed with a smattering of elven and Undercommon words and this was enough to teach the blonde human girl the basics of her new existence.

   "S-sirina... Gillen," the blonde girl whimpered. "I... I am... maiden of... Pelor, may he protect me."

   Lysindra paused as she was about to strike the girl again. A cleric of Pelor? One who had dedicated her purity to the abhorrent sun god as well? This was a delightful treat, one that the matron would be ecstatic to hear about. Instead of whipping Sirina again, Lysindra bent down and tugged the human girl to her feet. She was disheveled and red-eyed from crying, and the long gashes from the whip formed an unseemly cross-hatch of red on her creamy skin. She was dressed only in her tattered underwear and still looked terrified as she intentionally avoided meeting her captor's gaze.

   "Maiden of Pelor..." Lysindra mused. "Oh this is much much better than I had hoped."

   Lysindra whistled loudly, and the door to the torture chamber opened. A junior priestess of Lolth scurried in, showing Lysindra almost as much respect and fear as the slave did. This always pleased the senior priestess who worked tirelessly to make everyone in the household fear her as much as they feared Soresha.

   "Go and inform my mother that she was right. The new slave is a virgin of Pelor, and our idiot soldiers did not ruin that while capturing her. Tell her I will preserve the slave's purity until my mother decides what to do with her. Now go!" Lysindra said in elven.

   "P-pelor protect  me. Pelor m-make his light pierce t-these cursed halls and-" Sirina began before a harsh lash of the whip threw her back to the floor.

   "I did NOT allow you to speak and you will not pray to that accursed god here!" Lysindra screamed.

   The junior priestess scurried off as her mistress was distracted by by her new slave's disobedience. Lysindra hauled Sirina back to her feet and dragged her away towards a low stone bench encrusted with worn spider motifs. The priestess forced the human girl down on her back and turned to a small bench filled with various tools. She put the whip down and turned back to Sirina with a wicked-looking dagger in a firm grip. The slave's eyes went wide.

   "N-no, p-please," Sirina said pleadingly as the dagger fell.

   Instead of cutting her skin, Lysindra neatly severed the frayed straps holding Sirina's underwear in place. With her free hand the priestess tore the garments off, revealing Sirina's large, soft breasts and her clean-shaven tight womanhood. The drow grinned as she exchanged the dagger for a small metal pincer and leaned in to examine her new prisoner. A quick examination of Sirina's femininity confirmed that she was indeed unsullied, something so rare for a slave in the Vault that it was practically unheard of.  Lysindra's mind raced with the possibilities for such a prize as she intently ignored the slave's whimpering.

   "Yes. Yes, mother will like you," Lysindra said almost soothingly in her broken common. "We need to teach you to understand the basics of our tongue first, and then to obey. And then... oh the possibilities."

   Sirina looked utterly horrified, but to her credit managed to stop herself from blurting out another prayer to Pelor. Lysindra was sure that the human was still praying in her thoughts, but that didn't matter. Had Pelor not interceded on Sirina's behalf by now, the sun god would not reply to any further prayers. The drow turned to the table full of tools to pick up a pair of clamps connected by a thin chain.

   "But first we need you to get motivated," Lysindra said.

   With a firm snap she put the clamps in place on Sirina's nipples. The human girl yelped and tried to blink her tears away as the cold metal bit down on her soft, supple flesh. Lysindra gave her no time to get used to the pressure before tugging Sirina up from the bench and onto her feet. The girl whimpered as the drow turned her around and traced a finger along one of the bloody lines left by the lash.

   "You'll learn to appreciate and even love pain. We will form you, shape you into the perfect, obedient servant for mother," Lysindra mused.

   Regardless of what the slave girl thought would happen, the sudden result was something entirely different. Lysindra spoke a few short words and called on the power of her deity, and suddenly the  bloody wounds criss-crossing Sirina's back closed up as if they were never there, leaving but a dull ache. Lysindra turned her around again, studying the girl. She roughly tugged and pulled at Sirina's posture, changing the stance of the girl to what the drow thought was a submissive yet sensual stance for a slave. She pushed Sirina's legs apart, tickling the girl's sex briefly with the tip of one nail before withdrawing and smirking at the human's flushed reaction. She made Sirina stand with her hips thrust out and her head held at a slight angle, as if awaiting an unspoken command. Lysindra grabbed the chain connecting the two nipple clamps and tugged it, forcing Sirina to straighten her posture and thrust her bosom out, biting her lips at the sensations.

   "Better. No slouching, we can't have you embarrass us," Lysindra said, roughly punching the blonde girl in the shoulder when she slacked her stance for a moment. "You will hold this position until I tell you to stop."

   Sirina winced but held the pose as well as she could. Lysindra kept circling her like a hungry predator, constantly admonishing and correcting tiny flaws in the slave's behavior. Then the priestess gave Sirina a venomous smile and went over to sit down on a chair by the small torture table nearby. As the cleric of Pelor made a twitch as if to relax, Lysindra screamed.

   "Don't you DARE! I did NOT tell you that you could stop, surface filth!"

   Sirina grimaced and pulled herself back into her pose, standing there like a statue as sweat beaded down her pale skin. Lysindra followed one particularly shiny bead of fluid as it trickled down between Sirina's soft breasts, and the priestess of Lolth chuckled.

   "Your kind sicken me, with your blind faith in false gods and toxic doctrines. How can you continue to live in such searing falsehood when the cool, comforting truth of mother Lolth lurks just beneath the surface of your blasted world?"

   Sirina did not answer, seemingly focusing very hard not to collapse.

   "But in a way, even your heresy will come to serve Lolth. Your self-chosen purity is a treat that the Queen of Spiders will not be able to resist. Therefore, we must preserve it, pristine and perfect, until the day comes."

   The blonde cleric's eyes were roaming around the chamber. She studied the blackened metal tools, covered with dried blood. She saw the chipped, gashed tables. She saw the bubbling vials and burning braziers. The human girl looked like she might faint.

   "You may relax," Lysindra said simply, and softly.

   It took Sirina a few moments to process the order, and then she slumped to the ground in a sobbing, twitching pile. Lysindra got to her feet and strode over, putting her boot on Sirina's bare back and smiling.

   "You're learning well. You will make a fine slave to mother, and a fine meal to Lolth."

***

   Mayena gritted her teeth as she let her senses extend into the small floating black orb in front of her. The surface rippled and became cloudy before displaying the hazy image of her sister and some male engaged in vigorous copulation. Mayena sighed and tried to ignore the tingle in her crotch as she gestured at the orb, changing her scrying focus elsewhere. The image shifted to show her sister Lysindra,  shouting at the blonde slave girl. Mayena noted that her sister seemed to be making good progress on the prisoner before shifting her attention again. Her scrying flickered from room to room but detected nothing of interest beyond the daily goings-on of the drow household. Frustrated, the mage tried to make her gaze focus on her mother's private chambers near the top of the central tower, but as ever before her orb displayed nothing but static. Mayena spat a curse and released the spell, making the orb go an opaque black again.

    "That stupid cow Morga is no doubt conspiring to use her capture of this slave to her benefit, using that dullard Kalesh as a pawn," Mayena mused as she stood up and rubbed her chin with her spindly fingers. "And Lysindra is busy conditioning the surface girl to a proper slave, and maybe more. A catspaw? A sacrifice?"

   Mayena began pacing around her chamber, her pale eyes flickering over the shelves packed with magical items, potion ingredients and spell focuses. She fervently wished she could scry more efficiently within the Malande fortress, but whatever mystical barrier Soresha had erected disrupted Mayena's best attempts, and caused her magical spying to be blurry at best even outside of the matron's direct influence.

   "And mother, no doubt aware of the plans of Morga and the ambitious scheming of Lysindra, probably has plans of her own. But what?"

   Mayena kept searching for an answer as she paced restlessly. Then suddenly it struck her. Her mother and Lysindra's great interest in this surface girl surely was related to -

   "The Feast of Lolth. Yes!," Mayena said excitedly.

   The Feast was the annual great celebration dedicated to the goddess of the drow. The nobles of all the surviving and new houses of Erelhei-Cinlu would gather at the magnificent temple of Lolth and give praise to the Spider Queen, trying to outdo each other with ever more valuable sacrifices and offerings while the commoners celebrated through depravity in every corner of the city. Surely Soresha intended for this girl to be the crown jewel of house Malande's sacrifice for this year, putting the house and its matron head and shoulders over everyone else. Yes, that made sense. Even great house Eilserv would have to take notice of Soresha and her kin.

   "Clever, mother. Very clever. But I'm afraid that plan has a few flaws which I will do my best to correct," Mayena said with a thin smile.

   Sending a magical summons, the young drow mage sent for her mentor Neorik. She needed to make plans.

***

   The days passed. Had her arrival not been such a huge occasion, Sirina might already have been forgotten among the daily intrigues and petty squabbles that constantly rippled through the drow household. But as it was, she was still fresh on almost everybody's mind when matron Soresha's summons went out that all members of house Malande of any standing were to convene in the audience chamber again. As Morga, Mayena and their respective advisors slowly filed into the large chamber together with various other higher ranking members of the household they were greeted by Soresha dressed in her most elaborate ceremonial priestess uniform.

   Her garments were sewn from the finest dark grey silks, forming thin spider web patterns over her nubile body while leaving portions of her dark skin strategically exposed. Her breasts were embraced by two larger spider patterns and the gown tapered off into a loincloth between her thick, lustrous thighs. Her feet were encased in a pair of high-heeled dark boots and she wore matching gloves which ended with a hook between her fingers. Soresha's hair was set up in a complex but graceful hairstyle involving many strings of beads and pearls and a large black spider clasp on top of her head holding the whole thing in place. There was some murmuring between the assembled drow wondering what the occasion was. Kaull hovered like a shadow a few feet behind Soresha's throne as usual, and stood ever alert even as the matron raised her hand for silence.

   "I have an important announcement to make," Soresha began in her most imperious voice. "A great gift has been bestowed upon us, one that will work to elevate our house greatly in power. The Feast of Lolth approaches. As is custom, the appeal for the favor of the Queen of Spiders will involve sacrifice, and this year we have a sacrifice that will make all others pale."

   Soresha snapped her fingers, and Lysindra entered the audience chamber from a side door, dressed in robes resembling her mother's only somewhat less opulent. She pushed Sirina in front of her, and a collective gasp rose from the drow onlookers. The human girl had been carefully dressed up in a skimpy slave outfit amounting to little more than a set of ornate gold  jewelry covering her groin and breasts, matched with a few armlets and anklets. Her curly golden hair was set up in a long ponytail with similar glittering jewelry and makeup had been expertly applied to her face to give it a dark contrast to her natural complexion. Soresha once again motioned for silence as Mayena led the slave over to stand at the foot of the stairs leading up to the matron's throne.

   "Through luck and cunning we have obtained this surfacer to be the prime offering to our Dark Lady. Once sworn to one of the false gods of the surface folk, she will serve me as a personal slave until the time of the Feast," Soresha said.

   Sirina appeared to shudder as she tried to stop herself from crying, no doubt ruthlessly trained by Lysindra.

   "Through this offering  our great house shall rise up among our fellows, perhaps to become more favored than accursed Eilserv itself. Through my leadership, and through your loyalty, house Malande shall be supreme!"

   A roar of approval rose from the drow crowd, led by Lysindra screaming out exultations to their matron and to Lolth. A few voices did not join in the chorus of praise, however.

   "This is an outrage, we captured her. She is our prize! She's not even men-" Kalesh hissed to Morga, but was silenced by the muscular woman elbowing him savagely in the side.

   "Be silent you fool," Morga hissed back "this is not the time."

   After a few minutes of cheering and dark oaths to the glory of house Malande, the crowd once again fell silent as Soresha raised her hand to speak.

   "Now, let this be known to all. Tell your underlings well, for each one of you will be personally responsible for your servants and slaves. The offering must remain pure and whole to be given to Lolth at the appointed ceremony. Therefore she may not be touched or violated until this time, by ANYONE. On pain of death. Is that understood?"

   "Yes matron," the gathered drow chorused.

   "Then let us return to our duties," Soresha said, dismissing the group with a wave.

   As Morga turned to storm out of the hall, her face contorted in barely restrained rage, she was halted by a call.

   "Daughter, I have need of you."

   Morga turned in her step, gesturing to Kalesh to depart with the other servants. The lieutenant glared with barely restrained hostility at her but still turned and left the chamber. Morga sighed and tried to compose her expression into the appropriate mixture of joy and obedience as she walked back towards the throne where Soresha, flanked by Kaull and Lysindra holding Sirina by the shoulder.

   "Yes, matron?" Morga said, bowing.

   "Daughter, it occurred to me that while Lysindra has trained my new pet well in matters of behavior, she is still poorly orientated in our glorious home. I would have you escort her down to the kitchen, the temple crypt, the library and any other places of importance so that she can memorize the way there. As my personal slave she will need to be able to fetch me things, after all," Soresha said with a wicked smile, reaching out to pet Sirina's golden hair.

   "Escort..." Morga began, but quickly realized the danger. "Ah, of course mother. It shall be done."

   Morga had a strong suspicion that Soresha knew her feelings all too well and was now testing her daughter's loyalty. Should Morga fail to swallow her bile at being overlooked for her part in securing Sirina, she would no doubt be harshly punished and lose valuable trust from her mother, all of which would jeopardize Morga's eventual takeover.

   "Very good. Now run along my dear, Morga will show you around," Soresha said playfully and smacked Sirina's rump, making the slave yelp and step forward towards Morga.

   The imposing bald drow woman sighed and grabbed Sirina by the shoulder, pushing her towards the door. She took great care not to be rough with the girl, since she knew the pristine nature of Sirina was very important to Soresha's plans. As the two left, Soresha, Kaull and Lysindra retreaded to the matron's private quarters as if none of them had noticed Morga's near-open disgust. But even as she ferried the blonde slave towards the door, Morga's mind was working as fast as it possibly could. She just needed to be patient and strategic. She needed to be smart. Sirina and Morga exited the door to find Kalesh and Morga's two personal bodyguards waiting for them. The thin drow man raised an eyebrow at the blonde slave.

   Morga knew what had to be done to alter the plan to her liking.

   "Kalesh, take this surface scum and show her around. Take her to the library, temple, scullery, the whole thing," Morga said with a dispassionate tone. "The Matron did not say I had to perform this menial order myself."

   Kalesh's eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed in anger. They flickered between Morga and Sirina, and he raised his hand.

   "Menial? And you're ordering me to do it instead? Me, the one who personally saw to it that this little morsel was captured? I deserve glory for this offering, I deserve praise. Not to be sent off as a watchdog while your cow mother takes the credit!"

   Morga balled her hands into fists and gritted her teeth, making a slight movement towards Kalesh while Sirina pushed back into one of the black stone walls, seemingly terrified to end up in the crossfire between the two drow.

   "You will do what I say, male," Morga hissed. "Our time WILL come, but that time is not now. Until then I have more important things to do, and you do not. You may follow my order and play watchdog, or you may end today in the torture chamber for mutiny. Which will it be?"

   Kalesh almost shouted something that would securely land him in that cell, but snapped his mouth shut violently. Anger was virtually boiling in Kalesh's eyes as he forced himself into a stiff bow. Morga and her bodyguards relaxed.

   "It shall be done, my lady," Kalesh said. "I shall give the wench a tour of our splendor."

***

   "Keep going, morsel" Kalesh hissed, poking Sirina's lower back with the pommel of his sword.

   They were heading down one of the tunnels in the bottom level of the stronghold, beneath the cavern floor of Vault of the Drow itself. The tunnel was only dimly illuminated, and Sirina kept nearly stumbling. Kalesh had wasted no time ferrying the blonde slave through the first few important areas of the compound, but he still felt a seething ball of barely contained rage bubbling in his gut.

   "You stupid surface cow, you have no idea how much I wish I'd gutted you when I killed your protectors," Kalesh said as Sirina stumbled again. "At least then there would be no debating over who should get the credit for you."

   "P-please master... I don't... want any of this," Sirina whimpered in her broken but adequate elven.

   "Of course you don't! You want to be up there, in the accursed sunlight, prancing around in meadows while singing nonsense prayers to your phony god," Kalesh responded.

   "P-Pelor is NOT false, he i-" Sirina began, but was silenced by Kalesh rapping her forcefully across the back of the legs, making her fall to her knees.

   "Shut up! Just shut your simpering, stupid mouth! I'm tired of being a servant. Servant to the old guard captain, then servant to Morga, and servant to that bitch Soresha... and now they would have me be a servant to a SLAVE?"

   The lieutenant's voice was cracking and he felt the blood rush in his vein as a long bottled-up rage bubbled to the surface and threatened to engulf him. Sirina turned to look at him in utter fear.

   "They think you're more valuable than me. They really think so. The fools. The damn, stupid idiots. I'll show them. I'll show them all," Kalesh's voice rose as he regarded the blonde girl, helpless before him.

   Suddenly his mind simply snapped. He no longer cared. He would have his revenge.

   "In fact, I'm going to play a little joke on them. You'll be offered up to Lolth, sure. But you won't still be pure when it happens, and then Soresha and her stupid priestesses will be in deep trouble."

   Kalesh pushed Sirina back to her feet and into the underground chapel dedicated to Lolth. Lamps illuminated the temple room from their positions in alcoves along the walls and the pale light cast grotesque shadows from the many statues and idols set up around the unholy chamber. To the slave girl's horror, her assailant began tearing at his pants, revealing a stiff bulge which threatened to tear through the fabric.

   "Yes. Yes. You're my prize. Nobody else's. Not Morga's, not Soresha's, not Lolth's. My prize, and now I'm claiming you," Kalesh said as he tugged his pants down, revealing his erect manhood.

   Sirina tried to scramble back but only slipped to land on her rump as the drow man approached her, towering over her like a gaunt shadow in the dim illumination. She kicked for his groin but he easily sidestepped the clumsy attacked and swooped down upon her like a bird of prey.

   "No, master. No p-please. The mistress said nobody may-"

  He backhanded her with his right hand and grabbed her shoulder roughly with the left, hauling her up to stare into his face.

   "I don't care what she said! You're mine, you hear! You were always mine, and now I'm claiming you!"

   Kalesh's hands began groping at the human woman's nubile form, tearing at her skimpy slave outfit.

   About thirty seconds later, Kalesh died, much to his surprise.

TO BE CONTINUED...