Lolth's Cleric

As Old Dwarf Tiger had suspected, Dishana Jadiel, the "lucky one" chosen by the Matriarch Council, was in a thoroughly foul mood.

The journey from Gershon City's filthy, complicated sewers to Zelandia had been anything but pleasant. Just the blood splattered over her as she slaughtered Goblins along the way had nearly made her throw up.

Fortunately, after she'd left the labyrinthine tunnels and entered Zelandia, she'd found a slow-moving Dark River where she could bathe.

Drow generally felt little shame about being seen naked. But as a priest of the Spider Queen, she still had several subordinates hang up their discarded Silk Robes to form a screen around her, veiling her graceful figure so that even anyone who happened to glimpse her couldn't see clearly.

Behind the screen, Dishana fought to suppress her fraying nerves. She lit two sticks of incense made from Abyssal Fish Brain Matter mixed with fish oil. Once pale smoke, carrying a faintly sweet, fishy scent, began to rise, she placed the Divine Emblem of the Spider Queen—a depiction of a spider with a woman's upper body—among the incense.

Abyssal Fish possessed innate Psionics as powerful as those of Mind Flayers. When their brain matter was combined with fish fat and burned as incense over a long period, it not only sharpened the mind but also induced a blissful, relaxing sensation, as though one had taken refuge at the Spider Queen's side. For this reason, it had been popular among Lolth Cult priests for centuries.

Then Dishana took a three-foot-long Serpent Whip from her luggage. She repeatedly lashed her naked body, leaving vivid welts, and, biting her lower lip against the pain, prayed to the Spider Queen's Divine Emblem:

"Spider Goddess, Mistress of the Underdark, Weaver of Schemes and Misfortune, Dishana begs you to pour hatred and fear upon the world. Lay thorns and suffering upon me, strip away my hesitation and weakness. I will become the instrument of your will, spreading suffering and calamity. I beseech you, my goddess Lolth. I beseech you, my goddess Lolth."

Feeling the Divine Power within her—though faint, it filled her with strength—Dishana finally found a little comfort and a sense of belonging. Strength and composure returned to her face. She seemed a completely different person from the one who had looked ready to buckle under the pressure.

She lifted the curtain and addressed her Drow subordinates, who were shamelessly playing naked in the river. "Get ready. We're leaving. And don't forget why we came to this filthy mining pit."

The tallest and strongest of them, the female captain of her guards, didn't even bother drying off. She climbed onto the bank, tossed a gauzy robe over herself, and said, "Dishana, we all know that investigating some supposed Magic Fluctuation at a time like this is a bullshit assignment. Anyone who can wield magic on that scale would wipe the floor with all of us. Why don't we just stay here quietly for a few days, then make up some excuse to report back? Given your standing in the Jadiel Family, your sisters probably wouldn't be able to use this against you."

Dishana looked at her guard captain as if she were an idiot. "How is wasting time any different from wasting our lives? Besides, they're already going after me for redeploying troops without permission on the battlefield. I might be able to hide from them for a while, but not forever."

When the captain lowered her head and fell silent, Dishana sighed and continued, "Jiaer, you don't need to worry so much. Remember, our mission is only to investigate. We're not required to fight that being to the death. Everything has two sides. Things in Gershon City couldn't get any worse for us, so perhaps this Desolate Land will turn out to be an opportunity. Rather than worrying about how dangerous that being is, we should be more wary of the plots my dear sisters may be laying behind our backs. They've been biding their time and preparing in secret for decades. Now that they've finally got this chance, I doubt they'll let it slip by."

"As long as you have a plan, Master." Seeing her mistress regain her usual composure, Jiaer relaxed as well.

Dishana had brought only four trusted followers, including her guard captain. It wasn't because she'd arrogantly decided against bringing a larger force. Nearly all her subordinates had perished in the earlier ambush, and she'd had no choice but to risk defying the Hold the Line Order to escape that deathtrap and save her last few trusted followers.

A true deathtrap! Not because of the mindless Psionic Slaves at Iron Melting Fortress, but because of a massive wave of Mutated Creatures that had suddenly appeared in recent days!

Mad! Brutal! Devouring everything! Fearless of death!

They seemed to have materialized out of nowhere, rising from the depths of the earth. They had even seriously affected the situation between Gershon City and Iron Melting Fortress.

According to the conclusions reached by the Matriarch Council, the large-scale mutation seemed connected to the minor earthquake a few days ago. As a result, Gershon City and Iron Melting Fortress had returned to a standoff, while more High-Tier Professionals had been sent into the depths to investigate the source of the mutation.

Until they uncovered the real cause and determined whether the outbreak would keep spreading, the leaders on both sides would hardly be able to sleep at night.

Some Drow even suspected that a Demon Lord had opened a huge passage deep in the Underdark, allowing a sliver of Abyssal Will to slip through and mutate the surrounding Native Creatures into frenzied, chaotic monsters that devoured everything.

This sort of thing wasn't exactly rare in the history of Coriel. But whenever it happened, it brought terrible disaster, leaving devastation for thousands of miles.

If that suspicion proved true, it wouldn't just be a Demon sleeping beside their bed. Both sides would have built their nests on the lip of a volcano. If the Abyss let out so much as a fart one day, everyone would be sent spinning into the sky together.

Of course, that was the worst-case scenario. Scholars had dissected the mutated monsters, and so far they hadn't found any signs of Abyssal Corruption. The creatures seemed more like they'd been infected by some unknown virus.

For now, though, none of this had anything to do with Dishana. If the sky fell, someone taller would hold it up. All she wanted was to complete her mission and, if possible, use this opportunity to restore some of her severely weakened strength.

"I've heard that this place, which they've named Zelandia themselves, is ruled by a Duergar called Tiger. Duergar are generally decent fighters, and quite a few escaped slaves who used to be Professionals have fled here. If I can bring that force together..."

With this seemingly wonderful prospect in mind, Dishana entered the Marketplace of Zelandia. At this hour, nearly all the miners had gone to the West Mining Area to dig for ore and make money. Only a few old, weak, and injured people remained, along with the Dwarves busily moving equipment around.

Dishana glanced at her fellow Drow, dressed in revealing clothes and leaning idly against doorways. She turned away in disdain and focused on a Dwarf approaching nearby.

This was a common trait among Drow: rather than trust their own secretive kin, they preferred to believe outsiders.

She decided to give it a try, took out a Drow Silver Coin, and handed it to him. Getting straight to the point, she asked, "Do you know what caused that Magic Fluctuation here four days ago?"

The Dwarf she'd approached looked her up and down, hesitating as his eyes darted about.

Dishana smiled and handed him another silver coin. The Dwarf pocketed the bribe, scratched his head, and answered with an earnest look, "Oh, that? Almost everyone in Zelandia knows. Our Guild Leader and the Boss of Hogg Mining developed a Steam Bomb together. That fluctuation might've been from it going off."

Dishana nearly vomited when she heard this. She'd wasted two Drow Silver Coins to learn what was apparently common knowledge throughout Zelandia.

What she didn't know was that if she asked any of the Dwarves who had stayed behind at this time, she'd get the same rehearsed answer, one given on the orders of Old Tiger and Li Wei.

Only by asking the Drow who lived in the Red Light District might she learn the truth they'd buried.

Drow culture was, at times, this theatrical and ironic.

Updating now; I'll revise it later. Thanks to [xiaotang246] for the Hundred Rewards.