...and to the exit

They moved in a vast, shifting cloud, Teysa, Aliara and Mish'li in the middle. All around them were priestesses. Some were young, in plain novice's robes; others were quite senior, including their guide, who had introduced herself as Pel'nika. They stole glances at Teysa, then held ferocious whispered conversations among themselves. They seemed to be in awe of her. Where she walked, they scattered before her, as if afraid to get too close. The procession threaded its way through the ornately decorated halls of the Empress's personal apartments. No guards stopped them-- the few that they saw peeking their heads out fled before them. They marched past the Empress's "toyroom," and Teysa shuddered. Did the priestesses know what went on in there? She didn't want to ask, for her own sanity.

Some thoughtful priestess had brought a pair of soft slippers, and Teysa was grateful for the kindness. Just seeing carved flagstones and lit braziers again was calming. Her experience below the earth had been surreal and disorienting. She tried to focus on the little details. She was back in the real world again, a world of doors and furniture and people, not a primordial cave beneath the earth.

Ahead of her, the procession had stopped, and she craned her neck to see what was happening. Pushing her way to the front of the pack, she saw a line of armored guards. Their visors were down, but their body language was tense and nervous-- several of them shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, while others were perceptibly hunched. Two of them stood aside, and the Empress strode out from between them. Her face was flushed, her hair hanging limp. She wore her crown, but none of her other finery; she was wrapped in a plain dark robe. She stabbed one finger venomously at Teysa. "You!" she growled. It really was a growl, an animal sound that started in her throat and erupted from her in a strained bark. "You bitch! Guards! Take her!"

There was a moment of uncertainty. None of the guards seemed to want to be the first to move. They looked at each other, at their Empress, and at the assembled mass of clergy. Then, reluctantly, two of them stepped forward. They held their spears cautiously, as though they were poisonous snakes. "Ma'am," one of them began, "you should-"

Pel'nika stepped forward and tilted her chin up. One imperious hand held out was enough to stop the guards in their tracks. "You will not!" she barked, and pointed at the Empress. "They come under a higher authority than yours, Your Excellency." A cynical part of Teysa's mind thought that the priestess was enjoying her newfound authority a bit too much, but she was grateful for the protection. Fatigue had set in bone-deep. She struggled to remain standing. Next to her Aliara was swaying as well. If this is the end, then so be it. I will not run from them anymore.

The guards were clearly struggling. They hesitated and looked back and forth from their Empress to Pel'nika. No help was forthcoming from their peers-- the armored line seemed to be wavering, drawing away from the Empress like a tide. Her eyes bulged furiously. "What are you waiting for? Cut them down!" Her voice was cracked and manic. The two unlucky guards who had stepped forward looked at each other, then stepped back. Ignoring their Empress, they each dropped to one knee. Their spears clattered on the floor. The Empress's howl of rage was drowned out by the echoing clang as the rest of the line, as one, kneeled as well. They genuflected with one hand raised to their foreheads. Spitting curses, the Empress turned on one heel and fled down the hallway.

"Let her go," said Pel'nika in a lofty tone, though it did not appear that any of the guards had been ready to pursue her. "We must continue." The armored drow fell in around the priestesses as the procession resumed. Their boots echoed on the flagstones and set up a marching cadence. Teysa tried to follow it, but she was practically stumbling now. Wordlessly a pair of novices surrounded her and lifted her arms over their shoulders. Two more scooped up Aliara as they marched on.

Up ahead, Teysa could see a vast pillared hall. The ceiling was high and vaulted. Frescoes on the walls depicted heroic drow battling subterranean enemies and raising the Basilica stone by stone. Somewhere, far overhead, a bell was tolling: over and over and over, its dull chime rang out across the city. Inside, it echoed oppressively.

One end of the hall was open to the outside. The vast double doors had been flung open to the great plaza outside. The plaza was bare; here and there, small groups of furtive drow ran across it. There was no sign of the guard patrols, or indeed of any authority; Teysa wondered what was happening in the larger city. The magnitude of what she had done was just beginning to filter through her exhaustion. She was too tired to worry about it, or what her eventual fate might be. Just keeping her eyes open was a challenge.

At the doors, Mish'li and Pel'nika held a brief, whispered conference. Mish'li approached Teysa, beaming broadly. "Come, my dear. We've-- I'll, that is, if you'd like..." she trailed off, cleared her throat, and began again. "You can stay in my quarters in the Chapel. Aliara too." Teysa nodded blearily, and a small group detached and set off across the plaza: Mish'li, two priestesses who may have been the two that accompanied her under the earth, and Teysa and Aliara with their escorts. As they crossed the threshold of the Basilica, Teysa felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She was still bone tired, and the high cavern ceiling somewhere overhead wasn't the sky, but she felt closer to Agamor than she had since they'd entered the Basilica.

Mish'li led them in through a back door and, after a surprisingly short number of turns and stairs, they found themselves in her small, comfortable room. In one corner was a plain-looking bed, and despite its narrow frame and lumpy straw mattress, it was the most beautiful thing Teysa had ever seen. She didn't even bother to remove her robe. She collapsed forward and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.