Defend the warren!

Teysa leapt to her feet. "Who? Where?" Her head was spinning from the rapid change of pace. A moment ago, she had been deep in contemplation. Now, all of her senses were sharpened. She could see each bead of sweat on Fen'li's face, hear the ragged rasp of the drow's breath.

"I don't... I don't..." Fen'li gasped. The Matron surged forward and grabbed her around the midsection with both hands. Her eyes blazed as she lifted Fen'li off the ground. "What isssssssssssssss happening?"

Fen'li's mouth moved soundlessly. Her eyes bulged. The Matron shook her like a rag doll. "Drow!" she hissed. "Anssssssssswer me!" Her voice, never very human at the best of times, sounded positively monstrous.

"Matron!" Teysa stepped forward and laid a hand on the Matron's knee, and the huge drider whipped her head around. For a moment, her eyes flashed with volcanic rage. Then her expression softened and she looked up at the drow in her hands as though seeing her for the first time. Fen'li's eyes rolled up in thoughtless terror. The Matron set her down and she took two wobbling steps before collapsing to her knees.

"Jez'ria," she sobbed. "Jez'ria said... to get you... they're in the outer caverns... she's organizing the defense..."

"Who?" the Matron demanded in a croaking voice.

"Don't... don't know... Drow..." Fen'li shuddered from head to toe. The Matron looked down at Teysa with her mouth drawn in a grim line.

"I'll go," Teysa said. "What about..." She flicked her eyes towards El'keth, who was staring at them in undisguised horror. Rhuti was still snoozing in her arms. The Matron turned towards her and nodded.

"El'keth, sssssstay down here with Fen'li," she commanded. "No matter what hyou hear. Ssssstay until Teysa or I come to get hyou."

"But mother..." El'keth began. The Matron hissed at her and she trailed off into silence.

"El'keth, hyou are the future of thissss warren! hYou mussssst sssssurvive, do hyou underssssstand?"

El'keth paused for just a moment too long, then nodded. "Yes, mother," she said meekly. "I will keep the broodmothers safe."

"Teysssssssa, with me," the Matron said. She beckoned Teysa closer, then reached out and grabbed her around the waist. Teysa yelped as she was lifted off her feet. The Matron deposited her on her abdomen. She turned to Aliara and held out a hand. After a moment's consideration, the half-elf took a running start and leapt up. The Matron plucked her out of midair and set her down gently next to Teysa.

"Hold on tightly," she said, and set off.

Teysa threw herself flat and clung to the drider's waist. She could feel Aliara's hands wrapped around her shoulders. This was nothing like riding a horse-- the Matron's abdomen was wide and flat, its surface chitinous. Her eight legs blurred as she raced through the tunnels. Teysa shut her eyes to avoid motion sickness, but she could still feel the wind whipping through her hair. The Matron moved as though her passengers weighed nothing at all. She skittered through the caves faster than any horse, her breath coming in short, sharp grunts.

Gradually Teysa became aware of other noises-- distant shouting, the ring of steel on steel, and the occasional scream. The Matron could clearly hear them, too. She put on an extra burst of speed. The descent to the caves of the broodmothers had taken Teysa half an hour; they made it back to the warren in less than five minutes. The Matron stopped outside the armory and lowered her body flat against the ground. Teysa allowed herself to slide off, then climbed to her feet. She was still a little unsteady and leaned heavily against the cave wall. "Matron, where are they?" she asked. "Can you tell?"

The Matron's eyes narrowed. "The wessssst entrance. Meet me there once hyou are ready." Without another word she scuttled off and vanished into the darkness.

"Tey, what do we do?" Aliara asked, her eyes wide and frightened. Teysa took a step towards the armory and turned back.

"Help me armor up, Li. We have to fight."

"But... but... is this our fight? I don't know, Tey, I really don't... maybe we should just..."

Teysa turned and laid a hand on Aliara's shoulder. "Li, I won't make you do anything. You know that. But if we run away now, and they wipe out the warren, then all our hard work-- everything we suffered-- was for nothing. There are more warrens out there and they'll just keep on doing what they've always done. We have to defend what we've accomplished here. Don't we?"

At first she thought Aliara was going to argue with her, but then the half-elf's gaze fell and she nodded. "Ok, Tey. I'm with you. You know I'm with you. To the end, alright?"

Teysa gave her shoulder a squeeze. "This isn't the end, Li. Come on, help me with my armor."

She dressed in haste, buckling on a cuirass, greaves, and an armored skirt. Her arms slipped into vambraces and steel gauntlets. Aliara helped cinch each piece tight, then lowered a steel half-helm over Teysa's head.

Footsteps rang in the corridor outside and Teysa whirled around with her mace at the ready. Five drow stood outside, and for a moment she tensed to fight. Then she recognized Lil'esh in the lead and the other trainees behind her.

"What's going on?" Lil'esh asked. "We heard screams... fighting..."

"The warren is under attack," Teysa replied. "Fen'li is down in the lower levels. You'll be safe there, you should--"

Lil'esh curled her lip. "Run away? From a fight? Is that what you would do?" She stepped forward and pulled a spear from a wall rack. Behind her, the other trainees fanned out and picked through the weapons on offer. "This is our home," Lil'esh said. "We're going to defend it, same as you. Right?"

There was a chorus of assents from the other drow. For a moment, Teysa couldn't speak. Emotion welled up in her throat. She managed a nod as she blinked back tears. "You'll need armor, then," she said. "Helmets and chainmail at least." A thought occurred to her. "I think it's other drow attacking us. Will that be a problem?"

Lil'esh gave her a wicked grin. "You don't know much about drow, do you, Teysa?" she asked. "There's nothing we hate more than other drow."

Aliara laughed and slapped Teysa on the back with a clang. "She's right, you know," she said. "Come on, suit up."

As the drow pulled on hauberks and searched the shelves for helmets, Teysa turned to Aliara. "I don't know if they're ready," she murmured. "This will be their first taste of combat."

"It has to happen sometime. When did you kill your first man?"

"About three years after I took my vows." Teysa grimaced at the memory. "It was hard. I don't think they really prepared us for the reality of it. I spent most of that night in prayer."

"Really? I was fourteen." Aliara sounded nonchalant. "I was praying, too. I was praying please, let him be dead, don't let him get up again. Sometimes it's kill or be killed."

"I think we could use some prayer right now," Teysa said, and knelt. The drow watched her silently with the awkward expressions of people **** to stand through a national anthem to which they don't know all the words.

"Agamor," Teysa began, "shine Your light on us. Guide our hands to strike true. Blind our foes and wrap us in Your warmth. May Your name be honored in combat today, and if we die, may we awaken at Your side." She stood and surveyed her motley troops.

"Drow!" she called out. "Stay together out there! Stay alive! Remember what I taught you! We're defending here, so just pushing them out is a victory! But if you have to strike to kill... don't hesitate!"

They all stared at her wide-eyed. At first she thought they were frightened, but when she turned to Aliara, the half-elf was gaping at her in awe. "What's wrong?" she hissed. "What's going on?"

"My dear," Aliara replied. "You're glowing."