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.And the corpses of two drow males, as cold as their stone tomb, gave off the dull, bluish glow peculiar to lifeless flesh.Liriel hurried toward the dead elves.She dropped to her knees and began to search the bodies.Her efforts turned up a number of fine knives and trinkets, but not the amulet she sought.Swallowing her disappointment, the female sat back on her heels and considered the situation more closely.The males had been commoners, and neither wore an insignia that claimed alliance to one of Menzoberranzan's noble houses.They were well armed, but even so it was odd there were only two.Liriel dared the Underdark alone because of the magic she commanded, but only drow wizards went out in such scant company.These males had no spellbooks, no bags of strange components, no wands or other magic weapons.They were definitely trained fighters, probably thieves, and nothing more.Both of the dead males had suffered strikes from the dragazhar's fangs and wing claws, but none of these wounds were deep enough to prove fatal.These drow had likely been killed by strikes from the deepbats' poisonous tails.Liriel rose to her feet and conjured another globe of faerie fire.Holding it high, she surveyed the cavern.The bodies of a dozen dragazhar littered the cavern, attesting to a long and bitter fight.Was it possible these two drow had fought alone?But no, there were weapons scattered on the cavern floor, more than these two dead drow could possibly have wielded.Two fine matching swords, slender and carved with runes, caught Liriel's eye.She stooped and ran her fingers along one of the shining blades; magic throbbed through the sword like a pulse.These were priceless weapons, the pride of the drow who had wielded them.She abandoned the idea that the surviving drow had fled, leaving the bodies of their two comrades behind.No dark-elven fighter would leave such weapons unless he was long past need of them.A few paces beyond the discarded weapons, Liriel saw a spattering of cold, dried blood.She searched for several moments before she found the next splotch, some ten feet away.Suddenly she understood what had happened here.Deepbats usually took their prey back to the lair for leisurely snacking, especially if they felt threatened.A battle with drow would certainly qualify as that—Liriel marveled the dragazhar had persisted so long against such odds.They must have needed food very badly.It was odd, though, that they'd left two bodies behind.After a moment's hesitation, Liriel once again began to follow a bloody trail.The deepbat lair must be very close.As large as the dragazhar were, they could not carry the bodies of full-grown drow very far.As she suspected, the cave was not far away.Its mouth was placed high on the rocky wall of the tunnel, a near-horizontal slit that seemed too narrow to admit the giant bats.Liriel leaped up, grabbed the ledge, and hauled herself up for a peek.Only a few adult dragazhar were in the cave, asleep and hanging by their tails from the cavern's ceiling.There were also many young, perhaps forty or more.These baby dragazhar were rather cute, with their well-groomed, jet black fur and plump, small bodies.They hung sleeping in a neat row, by all appearances sated and content.Liriel nodded as several pieces of the puzzle fell into place.The necessity of feeding so many young had driven the dragazhar to attack a drow party.The bats had left the two poisoned dark elves behind, probably because the baby dragazhar could not feed upon poisoned flesh.Judging from the number of young, Liriel estimated the cave was home to several hunting packs of bats—at least three or four score of adults.That was certainly enough to destroy a small party of drow fighters-She carefully scanned the low-ceilinged cave.Few drow ventured into such areas, but those who did claimed they were veritable treasure troves.Liriel had a very specific treasure in mind.The drow cast a cautious glance over each shoulder.The tunnel was dark and silent for as far as she could see.The bats were out hunting again, except for the few nursemaids left behind to tend the young.Liriel realized her chances were not good; on the other hand, they'd never be better.Liriel pulled herself up onto the ledge.Clutching her piwafwi close, she edged into the lair.The acrid smell of bat guano assaulted her, and she blessed the enchanted boots that allowed her to walk without the sickening crunch that should have heralded her intrusion.She had not gone far when her foot nudged something soft.She crouched for a closer look.It was the body of a tall drow male—or what remained of him.Fine chain mail had turned aside the fangs of the deep-bats and left the torso mostly intact, but the limbs were little more than bone.Two other bodies lay nearby, in no better condition than the first.If Liriel had needed a reminder of the importance of stealth and silence, she could not have asked for a better one.Carefully she patted down the partially eaten bodies.She found a good supply of poisoned darts and several very nice knives.Usually she would have taken such items, but these bodies would be searched later, and she did not want anyone to suspect she had already been hi the cave.Several moments passed before Liriel found what she sought.One of the dead drow wore a leather pouch, suspended from his neck by a long thong and hidden beneath the chain mail vest.In the bag was a three-inch dagger, tucked into a rune-carved sheath that hung from a broken chain.Clutching the amulet triumphantly in her hand, Liriel backed out of the lair.She hurried back to the relative safety of the glowing cavern and examined her trophy more closely.Yes, it was the very trinket she had glimpsed in Fyodor's mind.She understood now how such a thing could lure a man into the Underdark.This, if it was indeed the Windwalker, was a unique magical treasure, an artifact from a long-gone era of strange and powerful sorcery.Finding such a thing was a worthy We quest.Possessing it was worth all the risks Fyodor had taken.Would take.With that thought, Liriel's triumph evaporated and her face creased in a scowl.Of course the human would return, and if she had found the dead merchants, he might also.The man had certainly shown himself to be strong and resourceful.But without the benefit of elven boots and the shielding invisibility of a piwafwi, he would no doubt join the drow fighters as food for the deepbat young.Liriel did not stop to ponder why she should care about the matter one way or another.There was no time to waste, and she quickly formulated a plan that would accomplish what needed to be done
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