To the Basilica, to see Mish'li

"Alright," Teysa said, "We shouldn't waste any time. We probably need to find lodgings. Aliara, why don't you and El'keth--" she was interrupted by a sharp nudge in the ribs. Aliara waggled her eyebrows and jerked a thumb at El'keth, who was staring in round-eyed wonder. A heavy lizard-drawn cart trundled past piled high with strings of sausage and great wheels of cheese. On the other side, a gaggle of brightly-dressed human pilgrims wended their way through the crowd in single file, chanting loud devotions. Everywhere around them were people-- dwarves with beards down to their knees, rakish young drow in frilled jackets and long gowns, crying children and hectoring parents. Above it all was the dull roar of the great bazaar. In between the buildings Teysa could see glimpses of the colorful market tents and smell roasting meat and savory spices.

El'keth clearly could as well. She weaved her head this way and that and slowly circled around on all eight legs, her attention jumping from place to place. Teysa watched her for a moment and sighed.

"El'keth, I know this place is new to you, but we're here on business. If we have time later, we can go looking around, how does that sound?"
El'keth looked down with a solemn expression. "Yes, Teysa," she said. "I am sorry. I should not be distracted. I must remain focused on our task." She sounded so crestfallen that Teysa laid a comforting hand on her nearest leg. "It's ok, El'keth. I know this is a lot to take in. Just try to stay focused, all right?"

"What do you think about the Stone Egg?" asked Aliara. "We know where it is, and we know Dom won't have a problem with El'keth. We can drop off our belongings there and see Mish'li."

Teysa nodded. "Do you remember where to find it? I know it's been a while." Aliara rolled her eyes.

"Some of us don't get lost on the way to the lavatory. Come on, this way, stay close, don't wander off, let's go!"

Teysa found herself quite enjoying the stroll. Her last visit had been under a cloud of fear and superstition. Without that, the City was airy and enjoyable. They passed colorful storefronts whose awnings promised everything from silk robes to fine wines to carved wooden toys. Occasional street vendors tried to sell her bowls of suspicious stew or mysterious meats on a stick. A group of children were standing in a semicircle playing some kind of ball game. El'keth stared at them as they passed and the children stared back, mouths agape, their game forgotten. A couple of nearby drow were eyeballing the drider suspiciously, so Teysa tugged her by the arm and hurried along.

"We want to avoid attention," she said. "People don't like it when you pay too much attention to their children."

"Those were children?!" El'keth asked. "They were so... big! Much bigger than spiderlings. How did their mothers manage it? Their births must have been difficult."

Aliara sniggered, but Teysa tried to explain. "They're not like spiderlings, El'keth. They're born very small and they grow quickly. But they won't be adult-sized for years yet."

"I understand," said El'keth, in a tone that clearly indicated that she didn't. "It seems like a lot of effort and difficulty to go through for a clutch of one. Surely the drider way makes more sense."

Aware that she was treading on dangerous ground, Teysa chose her words carefully. "It's... just different, I expect. I haven't had a baby the human way, so I don't really have a point of comparison."

"Well, do you want one?" The question was delivered in the same innocent tone as always, but it stopped Teysa in her tracks. "A human child, I mean," El'keth continued, oblivious. Teysa took a moment to think before answering. "I don't know, El'keth. I never thought I would have one. It just wasn't important to me. Now I have the spiderlings, and..." she pursed her lips. "I think that's probably the closest I'm going to get, and I'm ok with that. It's not really the same as having a child, but maybe one of them will become a drider, like you. Life is full of surprises. You never know how you're going to feel about something until it happens."

El'keth took all this in in silence. "And you, Aliara?" she asked. "You have borne spiderlings too. Do you feel the same way?"

Aliara's grin disappeared. Her face clouded, and it was a long time before she answered. "El'keth... I'm a half-elf. That means I'm half something else. I lived with my mother when I was small. Then there was the raid, and..." she sighed and threw up her hands. "I'm a mixture. There aren't that many of us, so I never expected I'd marry another half-elf. If I ever had children they were going to be mixed-up too. I knew they would live their whole lives as half-breeds. I guess I just never expected they would be half-spider." She laughed mirthlessly.

"But there is nothing wrong with that!" El'keth exclaimed. "The spiderlings come from mothers of all nations. That makes the warren strong. So my mother taught me." She looked down, then added in a quiet voice, "I would like a child of my own one day."

Teysa rested a hand against one leg. "Well, you probably will, right? Spiderlings, at least." El'keth nodded, still staring at the ground. "Yes, but that is not the same as a child. A drider. My mother-- when I ascended, she was overjoyed, and she told me that she had been waiting a long time for an heir. But I also think she was lonely. I know that I have to rule the warren someday, and I accept that burden, but I should not like to be as lonely as that."

The awkward silence was broken by Aliara calling out, "Hey, the Stone Egg! Right there!" She pointed at the familiar facade with its granite sign. The saloon doors were open and the wheezing strains of some wind instrument were filtering out of the Egg's lunchroom.

El'keth proved to be too large to navigate the doors. Teysa was **** to leave her waiting alone outside, but Aliara offered to wait with her. "Don't worry, Tey," she said. "I'll keep her wandering off." She leaned back and propped herself up against El'keth's abdomen. "I'll tell her about our last trip here. That'll keep her occupied." El'keth's expression brightened up at this, and she turned around so quickly Aliara nearly fell over. "I would love to hear your stories, Aliara!" she said. "It would be an honor!" Teysa left them there with a smile and went inside.

The smell of sizzling grease was as strong as she remembered. The hearth at the center of the room was burning merrily, and the tables were mostly full. Two drow waitresses rushed breathlessly to and fro. To Teysa's eye their black leather tops were cut a bit too low, but she reminded herself that the drow had different standards of modesty. Dom himself was in his familiar place behind the bar, though he had been joined by another male drow who polished and poured while the owner counted currency.

He looked up as Teysa leaned against the bar and his weathered face opened up in a broad grin. His teeth were as ruinously crooked as Teysa remembered, though a few of them were now gold. "Look who it is!" he said jovially. "My favorite surface dweller! Where's the other one?"

"She's outside," said Teysa. "And we brought a friend."

"I saw," said Dom, nodding towards the door. "I assume you want a room? For three, if possible?"

Teysa blushed. She had never been good at asking for things. "Well, I know that last time we couldn't pay you, but--"

Dom reached over the bar and clapped her on the back. "Say no more! My business is booming, and I have you to thank! I was officially recognized by the priestesses as a Friend of the Church. People want to stay in the Miracle Room, where Mother Lolth appeared in a vision." Seeing Teysa's stricken expression, he chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Your name's not in circulation. The priestesses weren't keen on giving a surface dweller credit for the new revelations. In fact, they're pretty mum about the whole thing, which is good for business as far as I'm concerned. If people want to believe in a miracle, who am I to stop them?" He rubbed his fingers together. "I can't give you your old room. It's booked out into next year. But I'm sure I can find something for you. And your friend can bed down in the stable if she doesn't mind. I'll lock it up, it'll be as safe as any of my rooms."

"Is that a problem?" Teysa frowned. "I thought all of that inter-species hatred was a thing of the past."

Dom gave her a look so cynical that she blushed again. "Oh yeah, we all hold hands and sing hymns now. Everything's fixed." He blew a raspberry. "Prejudice isn't official anymore, at least, but people take a long time to change their minds. At least nobody threw anything rotten at your friend out there while you were walking, no? Baby steps. Things change a little at a time around here." He looked over his shoulder and barked at the other drow behind the bar in a language Teysa didn't recognize. "Gethren here will give you your key. Sorry I can't talk longer, but you caught me during the lunch rush. Tell your friends I said hello." He gave her a last glittering smile and swept away towards the kitchen.

Gethren, the other bartender, was an older drow with a stooped back and hoary, callused hands. He did not meet Teysa's gaze, instead dropping a brass key on the bar. "Top of the stairs, second on the right," he said, and bowed to her. Teysa nodded her head politely and scooped up the key. She found herself remembering her first night here, months ago, and the sobbing she had heard from her window. Her thoughts turned to the Mourner in her prison of stone, and she shuddered. Aliara was not the only one with bad memories of this City.

Outside, Aliara was narrating the story of their fight with the lizardmen. El'keth listened wide-eyed, gasping in the appropriate places. "His shield exploded!" Aliara said, balling her hands together and throwing them wide open. "Pchhooooowww!" She turned as Teysa emerged. "Hey, babe. Do we have a room?"

Teysa dangled the key between her hands. "One of us, and he said El'keth could sleep in the stables. Will that be ok, El'keth?"

The drider's nose wrinkled, but she nodded. "Yes, Teysa. It will be good to try new experiences." Her lack of enthusiasm was clear.

"Well, it's just for a night," Teysa added quickly. "Let's drop off our packs and go see Mish'li."

The trip to the Basilica was uneventful. The wide plaza was as Teysa remembered, patrolled by black-armored Fangs. Rows of novices scurried past them, sweeping the tiles and carrying buckets of water from the fountains. A line of them had assembled on the Basilica steps and were carrying out rolled carpets, while other novices unrolled and scrubbed them with heavy brushes.

One of the foot patrols beelined straight for their little group and the leader held up a gauntleted hand. "What is your business in the Basilica?" he asked. The other two held their pikes casually, but Teysa could tell that they were ready to jump into action at any moment. She held up her hands, palms outward. "We wish to make an appointment to see Mish'li. Tell her Teysa and Aliara have come with a guest." The leader's eyes flicked up at El'keth and registered only the most momentary surprise. "Very well. Follow me closely," he said. For a moment, he looked as though he wanted to add something, then turned on his heel and marched towards the Basilica.

They passed under the shadow of its great portico. This close, the scale of the building was awe-inspiring, even for those who had seen it before. Twenty men holding hands could not have encircled one of the vast columns supporting the lintel. El'keth craned her neck to see upward. Her mouth hung open. Even Aliara walked a little closer to Teysa, as if intimidated by the size of the place. The great double doors of the Basilica were open, a passage wide enough for fifty drow abreast, but the guard led them to a much humbler door set in the wall. He gestured at a long bench set against the building. "This may take some time. You should make yourselves comfortable."

Without waiting for a response he disappeared into the doorway. The other two guards took up positions on either side of it and stared straight forward. Neither of them seemed interested in explaining further, so Teysa took a seat on the bench. Aliara leaned against a pillar, and El'keth remained standing, shifting nervously from foot to foot. None of them spoke. The imposing wall of the Basilica seemed to have a gravity all its own, compelling reverential silence even in nonbelievers. Teysa's eyes followed the massive friezes that wound their way along the pillar. Drow and spiders cavorted along with creatures of myth.

After what seemed like an eternity, the guard captain returned. Accompanying him was a familiar figure. Mish'li was a young-looking drow with high cheekbones and deep-set, almond-shaped eyes. She wore the robes of a priestess, which Teysa noted were much more elaborate than on her last visit. Her hair was piled up in plaits that wound around and through the lattice of a silver tiara. She smiled when she saw them, but it was a weary smile, and her face had a drawn tightness to it.

"Teysa!" Mish'li cried, and threw her arms wide. Teysa embraced her, and Mish'li kissed her on the cheek. "And Aliara! My dear, you've come back to us!" Aliara also received her hug and kiss, and then Mish'li turned to El'keth. "You, I do not know, but I welcome you all the same. All of Lolth's daughters are welcome at Her holy house."

"I am El'keth, Your Excellency," said the drider. Mish'li's eyes widened and she laughed. "Excellency! I think the High Priestess would be jealous to hear you say that. No, El'keth, I am but a humble servant of our Mother Below. My name is Mish'li."

"Not that humble," Aliara said. "You look like you've come up in the world a bit since we saw you last."

Mish'li waved a hand dismissively. "There has been a great deal of... reorganization, shall we say, in the past months. We are all servants of Lolth. I was merely in the right place at the right time." She sagged slightly, and all of a sudden she looked very tired. "I apologize for making you wait. There is so much to do lately, and not enough time. What brings you to us?"

"It's... rather sensitive, Mish'li. A problem I thought you might have some insight into. Could we speak in private?"

"Of course!" Mish'li said. "Please, right this way!" She led them towards the gigantic main doors. Nobody gave them a second glance as they passed through. Inside, the antechamber was truly massive, its pillars nearly as large as those outside. El'keth stared at the frescoes that lined the walls. Smaller doors lined the walls. Mish'li led them towards one, an arch large enough to accommodate the drider, which led to a chapel large enough to comfortably seat a village's worth of parishioners. It was empty apart from them. She closed the doors behind her and turned. "What can I do for you, Teysa?" she asked.