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."In Gromph's mind, the battle for the city was already won.The siege of Menzoberranzan soon wouldend.He allowed himself a moment's satisfaction.He had done the part allotted him, and his city wouldlive."Agreed," Nauzhror said."It is only a matter of time, now."Gromph turned and looked to the other side of the cavern, where rose the high plateau of Qu'ellarz'orl.IfSorcere, Arach-Tinilith, and Melee-Magthere were Menzoberranzan's spine, the great Houses ofQu'ellarz'orl were the city's heart.House after House lined the plateau, with House Baenre dominating by far in both size and power.Squatting in House Baenre's shadow along the rise, bare ly visible from such a distance, were thefortresses of the city's other great housesMizzrym, Xorlarrin, Faen Tlabbar, even Agrach Dyrr.Gromph's eyes narrowed when they fell upon the stalactite wall of the traitor House.Occasional flashesof power and explosions of magical energy lit the Dyrr fortress.The siege by the Xorlarrin magescontinued.Gromph imagined that it would for some time.With Yasraena and her underpriestesses oncemore wielding Lolth's power, the siege could take a long while."The Xorlarrin are also stubborn," Gromph observed."And greedy," Nauzhror said."With House Agrach Dyrr defeated and removed from the Ruling Council." He trailed off.Gromph nodded.When Agrach Dyrr fell, no doubt House Xorlarrin hoped to take its place on theCouncil.Nauzhror observed, "The fall of House Dyrr too is only a matter of time."Gromph nodded again and said, "But I cannot wait."Within House Agrach Dyrr, he believed, was the lichdrow's phylactery, the receptacle of the lichdrow'simmortal essence.Gromph had to find and destroy it if he was to fully and finally destroy the lichdrow.Otherwise, the surviving essence of the undead wizard, embodied in the phylactery and driven by Dyrr'sundying will, would bring itself back together and reincorporate a body within a matter of threescorehours.Were that to occur, the battle between the lichdrow and Gromph would begin anew.And Gromph no longer had a Staff of Power to sacrifice in order to win.Another fireball exploded along the parapet of Agrach Dyrr's wall."What are you thinking now, Yasraena?" he asked softly.Gromph knew that the Matron Mother of House Agrach Dyrr already would have learned of thelichdrow's fall; likely she was scrying Gromph even then.Like Gromph, Yasraena would know that the lichdrow was not fully dead until and unless his phylacterywas destroyed."Did he confide its location to you, Matron Mother?" he whispered."Archmage?" Nauzhror asked.Gromph ignored Nauzhror.He thought it unlikely that the lichdrow would have shared the location of hisphylactery with Yasraena.He imagined that the relationship between the lichdrow and the MatronMother would have been a tense one, not unlike that between Gromph and his sister Triel.Likely,Yasraena no more knew the location of the lichdrow's phylactery than did Gromph.But like Gromph,Yasraena would look first to her own House, the most likely hiding place.She already would be looking for it, Gromph knew.He had little time.He would have to find a waythrough the defensive wards of one of Menzoberranzan's great Houses while it was under siege and whileits Matron Mother and her underpriestessesall once more armed with spells from Lolthwould be awaitinghim.He almost laughed.Almost."Come, Nauzhror," Gromph said."We return to my sanctum.The war for the city is won, but there is abattle or two yet to be fought."Prath, he sent to the young Baenre apprentice.Meet us in my offices.Yasraena stood over the marble scrying basin and watched the image of Gromph Baenre waver and fadeas he and his fellow mage teleported away from the ruined bazaar.There was no sign of the lichdrow.The undead wizard's body had been utterly destroyed.But not his soul, she reminded herself, not his essence, and that reminder gave her hope.Though her heart pounded in her chest, Yasraena kept her expression outwardly calm.With the lichdrow.absent, she was the true and only head of House Agrach Dyrr.It would not do to show alarm.Two of her four daughters, Larikal and Esvena, the Third and Fourth Daughters of the House and each alesser priestess of Lolth, stood to either side of her.Her First and Second Daughters were occupiedsupervising the defenses of the House against the besieging Xorlarrin forces, so it fell to Larikal andEsvena to gather intelligence and spy on the House's enemies.Both were taller than Yasraena, andLarikal bordered on heavyset, though neither was as strongly built as their mother.But both had inheritedYasraena's ambition.Both were as eager as any drow priestess to kill their way to the top of their House.Three males too stood in the chamber, on the other side of the basin.All were graduates of Sorcere andapprentices of the lichdrow.They seemed stunned that their undead master had been defeated.Slackhands hung limply from the sleeves of their piwafwis.Yasraena saw fear in their stances, uncertainty intheir hooded red eyes.It disgusted her but she expected little better from males."The Archmage has retreated to his sanctum," said Larikal."He is beyond our ability to scry." Yasraena vented her frustration on her daughter."You state the obvious as though it were profound
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