"01 - Daughter of the Drow - Elaine Cunningham 1.0.palmdoc.pdb" - читать интересную книгу автора (Starlight And Shadows)

unlikely the Baenre weapon master was among them. Triel suspected otherwise.
She'd often sensed that the young male's instincts for self-preservation far
outstripped his loyalty to his house. Whatever the truth behind his
disappearance, Berg'inyon was lost to her. He might be a mere youth—barely sixty
years of age—but he was a strong fighter, and he would be difficult to replace.
Lloth forbid, Triel thought with immense distaste, she might even be required to
take on a patron to fill the role of weapon master!
Yet Triel's most immediate task was to choose her own successor at
Arach-Tinilith. Usually the position of Academy matron went to the
highest-ranking priestess of Lloth in House Baenre. After Triel, that would be
Merith, a commoner taken into the Baenre ranks years ago when her considerable
clerical powers began to emerge. Merith coveted the title of matron mistress,
but this was simply out of tьe question. In any capacity, she was a potential
disgrace to House Baenre. The former daughter of a streetsweeper had no
understanding of the subtle nuances of protocol, no - appreciation for the
intricate warp and weft of intrigue. She was also sadistic in the extreme. In
situations that called for a stiletto, Merith was a dwarven battle-axe. Triel
expected her dear adopted sister to contract a rare, fatal illness any day now.
That left Sos'Umptu, the keeper of the Baenre chapel, as the most likely
candidate. Sos'Umptu was Baenre-born, her favor with Lloth was secure, and her
standing as a priestess impressively lofty. So after due consideration Triel
sent for her younger sister and offered her Arach-Tinilith.
Sos'Umptu, far from being pleased at her promotion, was horrified at the
suggestion she leave the Baenre chapel. Triel coaxed, wheedled, and threatened,
but in the end she conceded that, at least for the time, she herself must fill
both roles. Her younger sister received this decision with a relieved sigh, then
glanced at the door that led toward her beloved chapel.
"No, stay with me a while," Triel said tiredly. "I must speak with you on
another matter. House Baenre needs high priestesses desperately, especially
nobles Baenre-born. You know I have no daughters of my own, nor am I likely to
have any. I must rely on my sisters and their children to rebuild our strength.
You keep the birth records; what can you tell me about our prospects? Any
outstanding talents among the young females?"
The keeper of the chapel cleared her throat. "Probably the most gifted among
them would be Liriel. Gromph's daughter?" she prompted, when Triel showed no
sign of recognition.
Memory fell suddenly into place, and Triel's eyes widened in wonder as she
considered the possibilities. Gromph's pampered, wayward daughter, a high
priestess of Lloth. How preposterous, and how delightful!
From what Triel could recall, Gromph had fathered the child some four decades
past and had inexplicably claimed her as his own. Liriel bore the name of her
father's house, which was almost unheard of in their matriarchal society. Her
mother, a useless beauty from some minor house, had disappeared, and for many
years little had been heard of the child, except disapproving whispers that
Gromph allowed the girl to run wild. With the onset of adolescence, Liriel had
forged a place for herself in the frenetic social life of certain wealthy
circles. Triel had heard tales of Liriel's exploits, which earned the girl
notoriety and admiration in nearly equal parts. Although considered headstrong
and capricious, Liriel reportedly had exceptional powers of mind and magic. What
better use for such talents than the service of Lloth?