Hill looked over curiously. Among the Dwarves' power structures, the priests of the goddess of family were the true backbone. Even the most unruly Dwarves usually settled down under the "gentle" gaze of an old mother.
So he wasn't surprised that the observer sent to Luskan was a priestess who seemed fairly low-ranking. They were the mistresses of the hearth and guardians of Dwarven families. They were better at stopping thieves with warhammers and strengthening warriors' defenses. They could heal and purge poisons too, though they were better at treating burns. Of course, their greatest talent was looking after children.
Preserving traditional Dwarven culture, holding families together, raising and educating young Dwarves, and keeping Dwarven society orderly were their duties. Most hot-tempered, impulsive little Dwarves had grown up listening to Berronar's priests speak gently to them. The priests might not hold formal leadership positions, but they commanded extraordinary respect in every Dwarven clan.
Only a priestess like her could decide when to bow her head and ask another race for help. If not for the Spellplague, Berronar herself would have been these small clans' last hope.
The Dwarves' "Revered Mother" often sent an avatar to defend threatened Dwarven clans, especially small ones facing events beyond their control.
Hill tilted his head in thought. If William was right and the Archlich of Thay had planned all this, he could understand why these necromancers had targeted the Mirabar Dwarves.
Normally, most powers left small nonhuman peoples alone. Mirabar's mines weren't particularly rich, and they lay in a remote corner of the Spine of the World. With the Crystal Dragon behind them, the Mirabar Dwarves had been able to live comfortably.
Thay was different. Its people were deeply prejudiced against nonhumans, especially Dwarves and Gnomes. Both were often called racist slurs and subjected