The High Priestess

Teysa and Aliara fled headlong into the depths of the Basilica. The time for subtlety was long past. Both women were naked, sweaty, and covered in bruises, but they struggled onward with grim determination. There would be no escape the way they got in: the only direction left to them was forward. Aliara favored her left leg as she ran, trying to keep up the pace without falling back into a limp.

The corridor they ran through was brightly lit and almost cheerful. The walls and floor were smooth white stone shot through with delicate veins of gold and silver. Every so often, a door interrupted the monotony, and Teysa noted with surprise that they were wooden. Almost nothing down here was made of wood, but these doors were a dark mahogany, etched with spiraling patterns along the jambs. It must be a sign of wealth. We're in the Empress's private chambers. Teysa supposed she should be afraid at the implications of that, but her capacity for fear had long since been reached. With the adrenaline of escape pounding in her ears, it was just another detail.

Abstract mosaics in turquoise and lapis lazuli meandered along the ceiling. Their feet slapped against the smooth flagstones as they ran. Teysa thought that the hallway might be canted slightly downward, but she couldn't say for sure. Her bare feet ached and every step sent a jolt up through her protesting knees. Still she ran.

Up ahead, the corridor twisted off to the left. Teysa tried to slow herself down and stumbled a few steps before coming to a stop. Aliara ran on for a few more yards before noticing and stopping herself. Teysa crouched down, hands on her knees, fighting to catch her breath. She leaned against the wall and slid down.

"Li... we should... take a minute... might be guards..."

Aliara walked over and sat down beside Teysa. She didn't even appear winded, but then, she hadn't had to entertain the Empress just a few minutes before.

"Maybe. But we haven't seen any so far. I think these might really be her private chambers. You saw the doors?"

Teysa nodded, too exhausted to frame words. Her mouth hung open and her tongue lolled as she gasped for breath.

"Well," continued Aliara, "then we might be alone in here. Should we try to find some clothes?"

"Wouldn't... wouldn't do any good," Teysa took a deep breath, and continued. "If we meet anyone, they'll know for sure we don't belong. It's only a matter of time until she recovers and alerts her guards. We can't waste time."

"What are we looking for, then?" asked Aliara.

"Some sign of Siri'ka. She must have made it this deep. Maybe she's a captive in here somewhere."

Aliara's jaw dropped.

"Still? After everything? You're still trying to complete this mission? Tey, we should be dead a dozen times over. The mission's over. We failed. We have to get out."

Teysa managed a weak smile. "Well, we should look anyways. We're not walking out the front door. Maybe the Empress has a secret escape tunnel? In case the city falls. Aren't drow paranoid about that kind of thing?"

Aliara broke into a grin. "Of course! Tey, that's genius!" She threw her arms around Teysa and hugged her close. "Come on up, let's go. We should go deeper. They like to build deep." She stood and held out her hand, which Teysa took gratefully. "Lead on, paladin. Agamor must owe you a favor by now."

They resumed their journey, moving at a brisk walk. There was no sense in making more noise than necessary. The passageway wound and spiraled around itself, occasionally forking or entering a staircase. Teysa followed the downward path, always downward. The halls grew rougher and less finished, the braziers dimmer and farther apart. Up ahead, another spiral staircase descended into darkness. No flickering glow came from below-- one last brazier was fitted to the wall next to the staircase, the embers inside throwing off just enough light to cast a thousand flickering shadows across the walls and ceiling. A basket next to it held a half-dozen decrepit torches, along with hundreds of cobwebs.

Teysa gingerly fished one of the torches out of the basket and touched it to the glowing embers. It sputtered to life with a hiss, like a torpid lizard angry at being woken up. The torch gave off barely enough light to navigate the steps. Teysa turned to Aliara. "Li, ready to-"

Her voice cut off. Aliara wasn't alone. Somehow, without either of them hearing her, a drow woman in a nondescript black robe had snuck up behind them, and now held a serrated knife to Aliara's throat. The half-elf's eyes rolled with fear. This close, the drow looked positively ancient, but she was gripping Aliara's arm with her free hand tight enough to bruise. When she spoke, her voice was thin and brittle, but carried the unmistakable tone of one used to being obeyed.

"You. Surface dweller. Put the torch down. Yes, just on the ground. Slowly."

Carefully, her other hand held palm outward, Teysa bent down and dropped the torch. Laid on the floor it threw dancing shadows across the ceiling. Teysa held up both hands in a gesture of surrender. "We surrender. Please, don't hurt her!"

"Shut up!" The venom in the crone's voice took Teysa by surprise. "Just shut up! You don't know anything! Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"We were prisoners of the Empress. We escaped. I promise you, she is alive. We didn't hurt her."

The drow sneered. "I don't care if you gutted that vicious little trollop. You'd be doing me a favor. I see she used you both in her favorite way. I hope you got some satisfaction out of it."

Aliara swallowed carefully, then spoke up. "Riv'een..."

"Shut up, I said! I'll core the apple of your throat, you mongrel filth!" The drow's eyes bulged wildly. Her voice came out a screech. But the name had focused Teysa's attention. "I know you..." the paladin began. "Riv'een. You're the High Priestess. We were at your service. The story of creation."

Riv'een twitched the knife-- not much, but enough to draw a tiny bead of blood from Aliara's neck. "Not one more word. Tell me what you've seen." Her eyes flickered to the staircase, then back to Teysa's face. "Maybe I'll let you go. But I need to know... what you saw down there."

This isn't just anger. She's terrified, Teysa realized. She's scared out of her wits. What is she afraid of? What's down there?

"Why do you care? What does it matter? You're going to kill us anyways, aren't you?"

Aliara looked frantic, but Teysa ignored her. She had to stall for time. The High Priestess's eyelid twitched, but she did not cut. Instead, she bared her teeth in a snarl. "Don't play games with me, surface cunt! You'll tell me what you saw down there, or I'll... or..." she trailed off. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth shrank to a tiny O. The knife clattered to the floor. A noise like a boiling tea kettle escaped Riv'een's mouth, a high-pitched whistle that seemed to go on and on. Then darkness fell.

It was as sudden as it was complete. The brazier was snuffed in an instant. The torch guttered and died as though doused in water. Blackness descended on the three of them. The whistling abruptly stopped, and in the sudden silence, Teysa heard a faint but unmistakable sobbing.

It sounded like someone in the throes of utter grief, someone who had suffered the most devastating loss imaginable. Teysa felt tears welling up in her own eyes at the sound. There were no words, just haunting moans that sent a shiver up her spine. The sound echoed oddly off the walls, making it impossible to tell where it came from. It continued for a few seconds more, then faded away into the distance. Silence reigned for a second or two before the brazier and torch abruptly flared back to life.

Aliara was ashen, her eyes wide and staring, shaking slightly. At her feet lay the crumpled body of the drow priestess. One look was enough to satisfy Teysa that she was dead. She stepped over the body and gathered Aliara in her arms. "Li, did you-"

"I heard it too, Tey." A violent shiver wracked her body. "So did she. Tey, I'm scared."

"Me too, Li. But we have to keep going. This must be it. This must be what Siri'ka found. Down there."

Aliara nodded. "Down it is, then." She reached out one trembling hand. Teysa took it and squeezed it. She hefted the torch in the other hand and stepped onto the staircase. Down below, the gloomy abyss yawned open to great them.