House Millithor in the City of the Spider Queen II

[Brother Shatterstone]

Kilcif: Bugbear/Male (Barbarian/Ranger/Rogue)

Kilcif will fallow the two sisters as a bodyguard if possible as they represent the power of House Millithor and also the money. If they say no he will try to get to know the area as much as possible while looking careful for anything out of the ordinary.

 

[Serpenteye]

Eilos bows and says

"Matron Mother Ki'Willis, it is so good to see you again.

I am pleased to see that you are well, Eilos. Much have changed since the last time we spoke. How fares your research? Are you still loyal to House Millithor? There's a hint of sarcasm in her voice as she asks the last question.

--
later, with Dorina

Ki'Willis takes in the scene in front of her, her eyes glittering in dark amusement. How very tasteful, quite lovely. She acknowledges Umaerth and Dorina with a nod and walks up to the prisoner. Holding Dessa's jaw in a firm grip she looks into the woman's eyes for a moment (ooc: Does she appear to be sane?), a beautiful sneer on her lips. She tightenes her grip before letting go, a trickle of blood runs down off Dessa's cheek.
Turning to face Dorina; She will be enough for me, but we need two more. Do you have any other priestesses of Lolth in store for my daughters? They would seem to be a finite resource. What will you do when the faith of Kiaransalee has reached supremacy? Eventually the world will run out of hands. She smiles disarmingly. I jest of course, I'm sure you will adapt masterfully.
There is much I do not know about your faith, one of the reasons I requested this meeting was to learn more. My perspective is still that of an outsider, I can not convert without a true understanding of the religion of Kiaransalee.

 

[Endur]

Eilos responded to the Matron that his ultimate loyalty has always been to House Millithor, although occassional compromises had been made for survival's sake, and for the sake of magical research.

When Matron Ki'Willis is examining Dessa, she notices that Dessa seems sane, although terrified, full of anger and despair. Ki'Willis also notices that Dessa is very weak and pale, as if she has been nearly drained of blood. Even if freed, she would probably have difficulty standing.

Dorina responds to Matron Ki'Willis with a wicked smile that shows off her fangs,
"When one of your daughters is ready to convert to the worship of Kiaransalee, I am certain that we will be able to find a priestess of Lolth for her conversion ceremony.

"I am shocked that the Spider Kissers did not teach you more about our faith. It is their fear, of course. They are terrified of the power and majesty of the true Goddess of the drow.

"Kiaransalee is the ultimate manifestation of a drow elf.

"She was once mortal, a powerful drow necromancer-queen upon another plane. Her unholy experiments provoked her foolish husband to curse and banish her. She fled into hiding, continued her grisly work with her undead servitors for centuries before raising an undead army to exact vengence upon her husband. Her horde of undead slaughtered all the inhabitants of her plane of existance. As the only being worshipped on that plane of existance, she was elevated to divine status.

"Now she seeks to repeat the feat by slaughtering all life upon this plane of existance. She seeks power both in the mortal realm and the divine realm. She slaughtered the misguided demon prince who claimed to rule the undead and seized his portfolio for her own.

"Kiaransalee grants power to her servants at midnight. Once a year, we celebrate The Graverending, which takes place on Midwinter Eve. On this unholy night, every cleric of Kiaransalee animates as many undead creatures as possible, sending them into the world to wreck havoc upon the living. Besides this annual celebration, we observe various minor devotions every month during the full moon.

"Her dogma is straightforward and appropriate to the drow race. Death comes to all, and cruel vengence will be exacted on those who waste their lives on the petty concerns of this existance. True power comes only from the unquestioning servitude of the once dead, mastery over death, and the eventual earned stature of one of the ever-living in death. Hunt, slay, and animate those who scorn the Revenencer's power, and answer any slight a thousandfold so that all may know the coming power of Kiaransalee.

"The GraveRending is coming soon. Two months and two days from now. The full power of Kiaransalee will be unleashed upon the mortal world. And for the first time, Lolth will not be available to restrain Kiaransalee.

"It will be a night to remember.

"My mother will ensure it."

 

[Serpenteye]

The Matron walks closer to Dorina, a pensive but amused expression on her face.
" Interesting... 'The petty concerns of this existance.' How should one interpret that passage? Most people's everyday concerns could be considered petty, though they are often essential to the individual. Is everyone deserving of cruel vengeance simply for the crime of living? If animation as an undead is considered an elevation in stature, doesn't that offset the acts of vengeance inflicted upon the sinner before her death? Especially if one animates the victim as a sapient form of undead, as you seem to favour."

 

[Endur]

Without changing the expression on her face, the tone of Dorina's voice grows cold.
"All shall serve the Goddess. Those who serve willingly will be rewarded by the Goddess as I have been rewarded. Those who serve unwillingly suffer eternally. But all serve the will of the Goddess."

 

[Serpenteye]

"Ahh, I see." I see theology is not your area of expertise. I doubt you are truly as favoured by the goddess as you'd like to believe you are. "That is, as always, the essence of religion. I can consult the books for further details."

"There is another matter of equal importance that we need to discuss. The process of conversion will obviously bind us to Kiaransalee, but I will not be beholden to any other mortal or undead being. House Millithor must remain autonomous, under the will of the Goddess. We will serve you at her direct command, but we will not accept an inferior status by default.
L'Tarannen Del'elgluth will continue to serve as a base for the forces of Kiaransalee, and we will respect your right to Morcane's share of the complex, but House Millithor will remain the owner of the other share. This will have only marginal practical effect, but it's an important issue on principle. The war-effort will continue, it will in fact be considerably strengthened by the contribution of our House. The presence of Kiaransalee will be strengthened by our willing conversion and her victory will come sooner than it would otherwise do."

 

[Endur]

Dorina's tone softens and sounds almost compassionate.

"Of course, Matron Ki'Willis.

"You need not fear becoming beholden to any mortal or undead, for my mother is far beyond either state of being. You will come to understand that my mother is the physical embodiment of the Will of the Goddess. When serving Irae, you serve the Goddess made flesh."

As Ki'Willis listens to the expressionless Dorina speak, Ki'Willis realizes that it is much harder to tell when one of the undead is lying. The living have tell-tale betrayals in the face and the voice when they lie, the dead lack those tell-tale displays.

 

[Serpenteye]

That has to be a lie. Irae cannot be allowed to hinder my ambitions, if she will not compromise she must be removed. Unless she is truly an Avatar So she is the Avatar of the Goddess? Truly? Such a direct intervention by a Diety upon the mortal plane must surely provoke countermeasures by other Gods.Kiaransalee must have great plans for Maerimidrya.
You spoke of the GraveRending, a flood of undeath sweeping across Toril. How would this be accomplished? And how would you prevent other Deities from interfering? Lolth is just one of a hundred Gods active on this plane. Kiaransalees power must be great indeed.

 

[Endur]

Dorina continues,
"Truly, Matron Ki'Willis. My Mother's representation of Kiaransalee is the focus of prophesy and a story of epic proportions.

"What am I about to tell you must not be revealed to another living soul.

"The GraveRending is accomplished every year through rituals, but in the past it has always been limited in scope by Lolth's opposition. This year, Lolth will no longer oppose the GraveRending.

"Already, my Mother has summoned the Undying Temple of Kiaransalee to this plane of existance and has created a portal to the Negative Energy Plane. She plans to use the Undying Temple and the Portal to raise the tens of thousands of dead in Maermydrya and Myth Drannor into the greatest horde of undead the world has ever seen.

"All life will be scourged from this planet. The other Gods of Toril pale in significance before Kiaransalee's might."

 

[Endur]

When Quertus returns from the family meeting to the Inverted Tower, he gets to work on scribing spells from scrolls into his new spell book. The first spell in the new spellbook, Analyze Dweamor, had already been scribed before arriving in Szith Morcane. Today, he should finish scribing Permanency. And tomorrow, while the warriors raided the surface, he would finish scribing Dominate Person.

Icho, back in quasit form and eyeing the large stack of scrolls, says, "Master, if you have an extra pen and another book, I could scribe some of these scrolls for you."