...They ponder their next move

Some time later, Teysa awoke with a start. The familiar, comforting weight of Aliara in her arms brought back memories of the day before; the half-elf was curled up with her head resting against Teysa's chest. She leaned down and kissed Aliara gently on the top of the head, eliciting a quarter-turn over and a sound like "wstfgl." Gently, Teysa extricated herself, and stood up. She immediately regretted it; she was sore from the neck down, and when she pulled off her robe, she could see livid yellow bruises on her limbs and belly. Cringing, she dragged the robe back on, and pulled on the soft slippers that lay discarded on the floor. Padding over to the door so as not to wake Aliara, she twitched aside the beaded curtain. "Mish'li?" she said, looking left and right. She had had enough exploring unfamiliar drow temples for a lifetime, and had turned around to go back to bed, when a hand descended on her shoulder from behind.

Teysa yelped and nearly jumped out of her slippers. She spun around to see Mish'li backing away with her hands held up in surrender. "I'm sorry!" said the priestess, her face blanching. "I didn't want to wake you... I've been speaking with some of the others. A lot has happened since you've been out." She beckoned Teysa and held one hand out towards the door. "Will you come with me? There are some things you should hear."

Teysa looked back at the bed. Aliara was curled up still, her chest rising and falling. Her elven side showed through more when she was asleep, Teysa reflected; her high cheekbones, the slight point to her ears. She was resting peacefully. Turning back to Mish'li, Teysa nodded. "We'll let her rest. Do you have somewhere else to talk?"

Teysa followed the priestess down the hall to a small common area, where two other drow were already sitting at a round stone table. One wore the familiar black robes; the other, the black steel armor of the Fangs. Teysa tensed at the sight of him, but his helmet was off, and his expression was friendly. She sat down warily, wincing slightly at her bruises as she did so.

Mish'li sat beside her and turned, resting her elbows on the table and steepling her fingers. "After you were safe, we sent a delegation down into the tunnel. We found some... artifacts of historical interest in the walls. At the end of the tunnel, there were signs of a cave-in, and we have excavators down there now-- but they say it could be weeks or months until they break through, assuming they're lucky and there are no further rockfalls." She paused. "Is that what you found?"

Teysa had never been much of a gambler, but she tried to keep her face level. "I'm afraid it's all a blur. I don't remember much of what happened after I ran away from the Empress..."

The armored guard grimaced, but said nothing. Mish'li politely cleared her throat. "Yes. That brings me to my second point. The Empress has not been in contact with any of the hierarchy of the Church, or any of her guard commanders. In her absence a council of senior religious and military figures has assumed temporary control. Currently they are debating the best way to... disseminate their findings among the populace. It appears that we have been unsuccessful at controlling the spread of rumor, however, so our hand may be ****."

Teysa smiled. "You said 'our.' Are you on this council?"

Mish'li coughed again. "Yes. It was... decided that, as the primary point of contact with you-- not to mention one of the first to be contacted by Mother Lolth, whose intervention the Church is treating as a genuine miracle-- I would be an asset to the council's business. It is in that capacity that I'm meeting with you now, to debrief you on your experiences. It is the opinion of several very senior clergy that you have witnessed a direct manifestation of Mother Lolth, which would be... well, it would be unprecedented." She struggled to retain her professional demeanor. "Please, Teysa, if there's anything you can tell us... anything at all..." The other two drow at the table looked at Teysa, their eyes pleading. She fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Well, Mish'li... the truth is... I really would like to tell you, but it's all very unclear to me still. But I know the carvings are important. You've seen them, yes? The story they tell? I think it's a little different than the one you've been telling yourselves..."

Mish'li nodded. "Yes. The revelations are clear. Large sections of holy writ are being revisited. The canon is in flux. It's a difficult time for the Church, but we all seem to be rowing in the same direction." She looked nervous. "At least for now."

"So, what will become of Aliara and me? Are we prisoners? Guests? What?" Teysa was starting to grow annoyed. "Are we just going to wait here while you decide what your Goddess wants you to do to us?" She knew that Mish'li had done her best for them, but it seemed that in face of literal divine intervention, the drow's first instinct was to form committees.

Mish'li frowned. "I'm sorry. This is messy. People don't change overnight, especially not a millennia-old church. Real life isn't like stories. It's not neat. They're doing their best, really they are. You're not a prisoner. It was decided--" she paused, then smiled. "That is, I pushed hard for-- well, they, that is, we, want you to be an ambassador. To the driders. We want you to tell them what we've found. Things are going to change around here for them. The City will be a, a welcoming place. We can offer, uh, trade concessions, safe passage, things like that." She waved a hand vaguely. "There's a document. A treaty, I guess? We'd like you to deliver it."

Teysa nodded along. Inside, her mind was whirling. She had fully expected to be imprisoned, perhaps even executed. The Empress would certainly insist on it. But the world was upside down, now. The Goddess had spoken. One thing she knew for certain: she would be eager to leave the City. She had had time to reflect on where she wanted to be, and it wasn't here. Oddly, though, the idea of returning to the surface held no allure for her. She wasn't sure if she could get used to seeing the sun again. A terrible blasphemy for a paladin of Agamor, but... maybe it was her duty to carry His light into dark places.

"Sure," she said. Mish'li sagged in visible relief. "That's great news! We have traveling clothes and packs ready for you. You can leave whenever you're ready!"

Teysa smiled. "Eager to be rid of us, eh?"

She had meant it as a joke, but the pained expression that crossed Mish'li's face told her she had struck a nerve. "Not exactly eager, no, but... some of the senior priestesses think that the sooner you're out of the city, the better. Your presence is, uh, destabilizing."

Teysa could understand that. She had shattered thousands of years of drow tradition overnight. They would be happy to see the back of her. "I'll go wake Aliara up, then. We'll leave this afternoon."

Teysa's head spun all the way back to the bedroom. What did she want? To be a messenger? An ambassador? She was free, free in a way she hadn't been since... well, since before she had been captured in the first place. This wasn't her fight, was it? It wasn't even a fight any more. It was politics, the continuation of war by other means.

Aliara was sleeping right where Teysa had left her. The paladin laid down on the bed and gently lifted Aliara's arm out of the way, draping it over her waist and putting her own arms around her lover's shoulders. She looked down at the half-elf's peacefully sleeping face. As if she could feel Teysa's gaze on her, Aliara shifted and mumbled. Her eyes fluttered open. "Tey," she said, in a groggy voice. "I had the weirdest dream last night." She looked around. "Oh. So what's next for us?"

Teysa smiled. The words felt strange in her mouth, but she could feel the truth of them. "Li, we're going home."