Qilue walked at the front of the group, looking imperious in her silver robe. She never once looked back at her priestesses, expecting them to follow her without question or pause, as they always had done. The scabbard at her hip was empty, and Qilue held the Crescent Blade in her hand. Its blade rested lightly on her shoulder, just below her ear. Cavatina wondered if the sword were whispering to the high priestess, even now.
"Praise Eilistraee you've returned, Lady Qilue," Cavatina said. Her fingers moved in a silent question at her side, where only Rylla would see them. When?
Just now, Rylla replied.
Cavatina silently groaned. The high priestess must have heard Leliana speak her name-and the snatch of conversation that had followed. Out loud, Cavatina continued, "We found a portal in one of the tunnels south of the river. It leads to caverns below the level of the old mine. We sighted oozes down there. I'm worried the Pit may have developed a breach."
Leliana shot Cavatina a quick look, obviously noting Cavatina's use of the words "may have." Fortunately, the Protector was well behind Qilue, and the high priestess didn't notice.
"Troubling news," Qilue answered in a flat voice, without even breaking her stride. The high priestess's shoulders had tensed, Cavatina noted, at the word "portal," then relaxed again at the mention of it being south of the river-a location that was nowhere near the ancient temple.
Detection? Cavatina signed to Rylla.
No evil seen. You try.
Leliana had dropped back slightly, forcing Cavatina and Rylla to shift awkwardly to hide their silent conversation. The Protector obviously realized something serious was in the offing-even if she had no idea, yet, what it was. She watched them out of the corner of her eye.
Cavatina was forced to sign with Leliana watching. Report dretch, she suggested.
Rylla moved up beside Qilue. "Lady Qilue, there was an intrusion you should know about. A dretch was spotted…"
As Rylla sketched out the events that had followed the dretch's discovery, Cavatina dropped back another pace and sang under her breath-softly, so Qilue wouldn't hear her. Her prayer took hold, causing the holy symbol that hung against her chest to softly vibrate. She scanned the Crescent Blade, looking for the bruised purple aura that accompanied evil. To her surprise, the sword was clean.
Had she been wrong about Wendonai being inside the Crescent Blade?
Rylla glanced back briefly. Cavatina flicked a quick message at her. Nothing.
Illusion?
Doubtful. Cavatina had never heard of a balor capable of conjuring illusions.
Banished? Rylla signed without looking back.
An excellent question-one that Cavatina didn't know the answer to.
"The oozes concern me more than one lone dretch does," Qilue told her battle-mistress. "They're the real threat to the Promenade. Are the seals on the Pit intact?"
"Yes, Lady," Rylla answered. "I checked them myself, earlier today."
Cavatina, still well back, whispered a second prayer. The silver aura that accompanied holiness sprang into view around the high priestess. But it was fainter than it should have been: a dull gleam, rather than a sheen so bright it caused the eyes to ache. The silver glow was faintest near the hand that gripped the Crescent Blade-the hand whose wrist was marked with a small, still-visible scar.
The Crescent Blade itself was devoid of an aura. For an item forged from moon metal and consecrated to Eilistraee, that was telling indeed.
Wendonai must have been inside it, Cavatina decided, even if he wasn't there now. Perhaps, having done Lolth's bidding by persuading Qilue to open a portal to the Pit, he'd departed. The Spider Queen could very well have restored his corpse to life, allowing him to return to the Abyss.
All well and good, but it left a gaping hole. With Wendonai departed, there was nothing to prevent Qilue's priestesses from pointing out to the high priestess what she'd been tricked into doing-and then reversing it. Lolth might be insane, but she was cunning. She wouldn't have overlooked this flaw in her plans.
The more likely possibility-vastly more terrifying-was that Wendonai had departed the Crescent Blade for a living host: Qilue.
Cavatina shifted her song a second time, and saw what she'd missed before: a faint purple glow, just above the scar. That was where Wendonai must be hiding.
She fought to hide the revulsion she felt. The situation was more grave than she'd dreamed. Was Qilue's mind still her own? Was this a demon Cavatina was talking to?
No. Some part of Qilue remained. A significant part. Or her aura wouldn't have shone silver at all.
Cavatina prayed that Wendonai wasn't listening in on her thoughts. If he'd heard what had just passed through her mind-or was listening to whatever Rylla was currently thinking-he'd counter whatever they tried next. She prayed that redemption was an armor he couldn't penetrate.
There was still time to arrange an exorcism-as long as nothing happened to tip their hand. No rash moves, she decided. Nothing that would force the demon to react before they were ready. She'd play along, make her report, and slip away as quickly as she could to make the necessary preparations.
Cavatina directed a sending at Leliana-a carefully worded one that wouldn't send the Protector into a panic. This may be an imposter, not Qilue. I need to question her without alerting her. On my signal, sing a truth psalm. Do nothing more.
Leliana's lips tightened. She nodded.
They approached the High House. Rylla reached for the door, but Qilue blocked her. "Thank you for your report, battle-mistress. Please return to the Mound, and re-inspect the seals on the Pit."
"Surely someone else can tend to that, Lady." Rylla nodded in the direction of Cavatina and Leliana. "It's important that I hear what these two have to."
"Do it," Qilue said in a terse voice. "Now. A thorough check, this time, or I will hold you personally responsible for whatever follows. As will Eilistraee."
Exorcism, Cavatina spelled while the high priestess's back was turned. Prepare.
Rylla stiffened. Hopefully, the high priestess would think this a reaction to the insult she'd just handed her battle-mistress. Rylla bowed stiffly and hurried away.
Qilue watched her leave, then pulled the door open and motioned for Cavatina and Leliana to enter. Cavatina tensed. Was the demon taking them somewhere out of the public eye, somewhere it could attack?
Qilue directed them to the room at the very heart of the High House: the chamber that housed her private altar. A holy place, filled with Eilistraee's blessings. Was the demon trying to prove something? That Eilistraee's relics were of no consequence?
As Leliana paused before the door, she caught Cavatina's eye and lifted one eyebrow slightly. Cavatina decided the time was not yet ripe. She would play this move out, and see what followed. "After you, Protector," she said.
Qilue closed the heavy stone door behind them.
The circular room, shot through with hair-thin threads of moonlight, had walls painted with a mural of a forest. When the stone door was closed, the illusion was complete. Moss, sustained by magic, carpeted the floor, filling the shrine with a woodland smell. A pedestal plated in gold, its top even with Cavatina's eyes, stood at the center of the room. Perched atop it was a rust red, deeply pitted rock the size of a loaf of bread: a fragment of the boulder that had parted from the moon and streaked through the sky on the night Ghaunadaur's avatar had been defeated.
Qilue raised the Crescent Blade above her head and began to dance around the altar. As the high priestess passed behind the pillar, Cavatina caught Leliana's eye and nodded before beginning her own dance. Leliana lifted her blackened singing sword and joined in, her lips moving in a whispered song. She spun her blade in a tight circle above her head-a gesture that looked as though it were part of her dance, but was actually part of her spellcasting.