Outside Melissan's stronghold in the Marching Mountains, in the dead of night, a large group of the toughest, meanest and most experienced Drow mercenaries on this side of Faerun. These were desperate men and women, exiled with no place to call home. They have seen it all, they have done it all. They had killed, maimed, tortured and destroyed... a scourge on the good people of Faerun. And here they stood, weapons at the ready, armed to the teeth and ready to kill at command.

"Errm, hi... Err, how are you guys doing?" sounded the meek voice of their mistress. In front of the group of cutthroats stood Sendai, a meek and slight girl compared to these mercenaries. She was younger than most and had to stand on a soap-box just in other to meet the height of the shortest mercenary.

"I am, uh, Sendai, your mistress and, well, I, um, I guess we'll go conquering together and stuff... I think..." Sendai said, being very afraid, but not so much of being in front of these scary people, but being in the public's eye.

Not being accustomed to being addressed so by a female leader, the mercenaries were confused and started talking amongst themselves.

"What the mistress means to say," Diaytha, who stood next to her, spoke. "LISTEN UP, YOU SUN-WALKING MAGGOTS! DARE NOT INTERRUPT THE MISTRESS OR I SHALL FLAY YOU AND LEAVE YOUR CORPSES TO FEED THE DOGS... Ahum, mistress?"

"Errm, yes," Sendai gulped. "W-what she said."

"Mistress!" the self-appointed leader of the mercenaries stepped ahead. "We shall follow you to glory, if you but lead us. What shall we achieve in the name of Lolth, mistress? Shall we make war on our vile surface kin?"

"Emmmm," Sendai swallowed.

"Or perhaps we shall raid a human village and slaughter them like roast rothe?"

"Emmmm," Sendai said.

"Or maybe we could pit ourselves against the holy warriors of the surface? Proving that they cannot stand against the might of Lolth..."

"Well, I..."

"Please mistress, share with us your plan!"

"Actually, well, I, you see, I was just thinking and then... I, um... Ummm... What was the question again?" Sendai stammered and started to sweat.

"THE MISTRESS SHALL REVEAL HER PLAN IN DUE TIME! NOW FALL BACK IN LINE OR MY WHIP SHALL FLAY YOUR BACK!! Ahum, mistress?" Diaytha offered.

"Y-yes," Sendai nodded. "What she said..."

"Any more things to say, mistress?" Diaytha asked.

"Oh, ermm, yes, I, um, well, I, um, I am..."

"THE MISTRESS IS PLEASED TO HAVE YOU SERVE HER! PRAY THAT YOU REMAIN IN HER FAVOR WORMS! TO DO OTHERWISE WILL MEAN YOUR DEATH AND YOUR TORTURE IN THE DEMONWEB PITS! Ahum, mistress?"

"Yes," Sendai nodded. "What she said..."

Quickly, Sendai stepped down from the soapbox with such speed that she almost twisted her ankle. Sendai hurried away from the gathering, aching to get inside the compound quickly. Once inside, she pressed her back against the cold stone of the walls and let herself lower to the floor, letting out a heavy sigh in the process.

"Mistress?" Sendai heard the voice of Diaytha. "Mistress, you have forgotten all the pointers I had given you before the speech."

"Sorry, Diaytha," Sendai said. "I... When I saw all those people, I just, well, I kinda forgot everything... Then I thought of your other tip. You know, the one where you think that everyone in the audience is being devoured by spider-demons?"

"A classic," Diaytha nodded.

"Well, I got so queasy I almost threw up and then, well, I kinda couldn't say anything at all," Sendai said.

"You really need to work on your speech skills, mistress," Diaytha said. "A good matron must know how to inspire her troops."

"Inspire?"

"By inspire, I mean, instill the fear of death and torture in them," Diaytha said. "It's a subtle art."

"I... see," Sendai gulped.

"You are going to have to deliver a lot more of those speeches in the future," Diaytha spoke. "When we have enslaved the surrounding surfacer villages, you must keep the slaves under control with the fear your words will bring."

"Slaves? But..."

"Slaves, of course," Diaytha spoke. "Melissan has assured me that we will be taking a lot of slaves during our raids. We will kill the rest and then pillage the villages for supplies. Everything else will be traded with Ust Natha for things we can't get on the surface."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are we doing this?"

Diaytha fell quiet for a moment. "To further the cause of Lolth, naturally."

"How?"

"How what?"

"How are we furthering the cause of Lolth by destroying everything we behold?"

"Well, I... Well..." Diaytha stammered for a moment. "Well, because Lolth says so, of course. Why else?"

"But... what's the point?"

"To increase our race's potential by warfare and chaos, naturally," Diaytha spoke confidently. "It is our destiny to rule the surface and destroy our light-skinned kin by decree of Lolth. We will deliver a contribution to that cause with our action."

"But why?" Sendai said. "Why all the pillaging, why all the murder, why all the slavery? Don't you remember how horrible our lives in the Underdark were? I had to work my hands to the bone every day to keep the floors clean, and need I even mention those horrible hazings you told me about during your first year at the Spider-academy? We were both regularly beaten, Diaytha! Why do we want to bring this treatment on anyone else?"

"Because that's what being a Drow is all about," Diaytha said, a flash of anger crossing her eyes at hearing Sendai's heretical words. "It is too weed out the weak and bring out the strong! It is the hope of any Drow who endures pain to one day be the one to inflict pain on others! It is a driving force for our rage."

"Well, it's a pretty stupid driving force," Sendai scoffed.

"This is how it has always been for the Drow... and this is how it will always be. You, Mistress, are now in a position of power, whether you like it or not and you are expected to act accordingly," Diaytha said.

"What if I don't want to?" Sendai said.

"I... I will forget I heard your words of weakness, mistress," Diaytha said. "I will ascribe it to your nerves today. Just remember... those surfacers never did anything for you, so there is no reason to give them any sort of reprieve," That said, Diaytha walked away, towards the dining hall of the compound.

Sendai sighed as she walked into her large bedroom. The huge bookcases at the wall were now completely filled with books and scrolls, and on her desk, a stack of new magic books were lying, waiting to be devoured by Sendai's eager eyes.

Still, Sendai had no wish to read today. Instead, she walked towards the mirror near the wash basin at the back of the room and stared into it for a while. She saw a short, slightly unkempt, young Drow in a plain robe looking back at her. Nothing remarkable.

"I'm not quite Drow, then," Sendai whispered. "So what am I?"

The Drow hear some skittering behind her, and turned around to greet her life-long friend.

"Hey, Larriaz," Sendai smiled at the large spider. "What's new with you?"

The spider seemed to shrug for a moment.

"Bored?"

The spider seemed to sigh.

"You know," Sendai looked back at the mirror. "When I was a cleaning lady in the Underdark, I used to dream about being a mage, having power over others and, well, not being hurt so much. But now that I got it... I'd really want to go back to being a cleaner... Not the beatings, I don't want to go back to that, but... simpler existence..." For the first time, Sendai realized that she had never been truly happy since she had left the Underdark.

Sendai turned towards the spider. "Oh, Larriaz, let's slip away when no one's looking. I can use my magic to change our appearance. We can be free in these strange lands and I might get a job as maid at an inn in a place far from here!"

Larriaz skittered for a bit and shook her head.

"I know," Sendai sighed and plopped down on the fluffy bed. "They'll just find us and catch us again... Melissan has eyes and ears everywhere. I really wish she could have found that other elf she keeps talking about and had taken her into the Five instead of me. From what I've heard of her from Melissan, she'd make a good warlord and pillager."

Larriaz skittered again.

"I know, Melissan will have our heads on a platter if we don't do what she says," Sendai said. "Diaytha is naive to think she'll let us go our own way because we are the so-called 'superior' Drow. I... I don't think she'll leave any of us alive in the end. Sweet Lolth, Larriaz, what have we gotten ourselves into?"

Larriaz seemed to sigh and then skittered again.

"You're right, maybe the opportunity to slip away will present itself someday, if we wait for it."

"So why did you bring us here," Sendai said as she, Larriaz and Diaytha stepped from the magical portal she had created. Truth be told, Sendai was happy to be away from the Marching Mountains and Melissan for a while.

Sendai looked around, and found that she and her friends were standing at the foot of a high mountain, in a wooded area at the edge of the Marching Mountains. In front of them was the mouth of a cave. It was hidden by illusionary magics, but Sendai recognized the spell immediately : it was Drow magic, meant to keep an entrance hidden from all but Drow eyes.

"Ah, Mistress, you will be so pleased," Diaytha spoke. "I learned of this small hidden trade-outpost from a male in the group. It was abandoned some century ago, but should be relatively intact. It's very remote, yet accessible, and large enough to contain a large group, easily defensible. A good safe haven for our people."

Diaytha led Sendai into the compound. Quickly, it was revealed to be indeed in a shabby state. Cobwebs were everywhere, broken armor, weapons and pieces of equipment littered the ground and several wild animals had been indulging themselves in these caves. The shiny obsidian had long dulled with dust.

"Diaytha!" Sendai yelled.

"I know, mistress, I know," she sighed. "It's a fixer-upper, but still, it should suffice."

Sendai ran off, towards a small door. "You're wonderful!"

"What?" Diaytha blinked. "Where are you going?"

"Broomcloset!" Sendai yelled back from the room, while she could be heard inside throwing and dragging some equipment about. Out she came, brandishing a mop, a bucket and a small cart with cleaning supplies. "I'll be mopping this floor till it shines!"

"But, mistress," Diaytha said. "We can get slaves to do that... It's not appropriate for the Mistress to..."

"Hey, I'm the mistress here, I can do anything I want!" Sendai said as she started mopping. Besides, it'll keep my mind off things.

"I'd, um," Diaytha said, "I'd better make sure none of the mercenaries see you like this."

"Oh, come on," Sendai smiled, "if they do, I can just say I'm testing if the place still can achieve the luxury our race is due, no? It's important for any Drow mistress to ensure that we have a place that is worthy for us to dwell in, no?"

"Ermm, yes," Diaytha nodded. "What you said..."