war of the spider queen 1 dissolution-第107部分

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uld　allow　an　il…lithid　to　send　a　psionic　〃Call〃　to　every　ore　and　goblin　in　Menzoberranzan。
〃Very　good；〃　the　mage　said。　〃I　see　you　were　paying　attention　when　your　teachers　discoursed　on　the　sundry　planes　of　existence。　I　was　indeed　exiled　to　that　layer　of　the　Abyss　where　Lolth　holds　sway。　I　remembered　hearing　that　the　strands　of　the　web　were　hollow　and　that　much　of　the　life　of　the　place　existed　inside。　Well；　I　certainly　couldn't　see　any　source　of　food　or　water　on　the　outside；　let　alone　a　portal　to　take　me　home；　so；　still　dazed　and　sick　from　the　clerics'　attentions；　I　started　crawling　and　searching　for　a　means　of　entry。
〃Eventually；　I　might　have　found　one；　but　I　ran　out　of　time。　The　strand　I　was　traversing　began　to　tremble。　I　peered　about　and　saw　her　scuttling　toward　me。〃
〃Lolth？〃　Syrzan　asked。
〃Who　else？　Her　priestesses　say　she　travels　her　domain　in　a　mobile　iron　fortress；　but　she　must　have　left　it　behind　that　day。　I　beheld　the　goddess　herself　in　the　guise　of　a　spider　as　huge　as　the　Great　Mound　of　the　Baenre。　She's　appeared　to　others　in　the　same　shape　only　smaller；　but　she　was　colosnotsal　when　she　came　for　me。
〃I　was　terrified；　but　what　was　one　to　do　about　it？　Run？　Fight？　Either　effort　would　have　been　equally　absurd。　I　exercised　the　only　sensible　option。　I　huddled　atop　the　thread　and　covered　my　eyes。
〃Alas；　she　denied　me　the　forts　of　blindness。　Her　will　took　hold　of　me　and　forced　me　to　look　up。　She　was　looming　over　me；　staring　down　with　a　circle　of　luminous　ruby　orbs。
〃I　felt　as　if　her　gaze　was　not　merely　piercing　but　dissolving　me。　The　sennotsation　was　intolerable；　I　wanted　to　die；　and　in　a　way；　she　granted　my　wish。
〃Her　legs　were　immense；　but　they　tapered　to　points　at　the　ends；　and；　moving　with　a　dainty　precision；　she　used　the　two　front…most　members　to　dissect　me。　Did　the　process　kill　me？　I　don't　know。　By　all　rights；　it　should　have；　but　if　I　lost　my　life；　my　spirit　lingered　in　my　divided　flesh；　still　sufnotfering　the　horror　and　pain。
〃My　soul　was　conscious；　too；　of　its　own　destruction。　Somehow；　as　the　Spider　Queen　picked　apart　my　flesh　and　bones；　she　was　filleting　my　mind　and　spirit　as　well。　It　irks　me　that　I　can't　describe　how　it　felt。　I　hail　from　a　race　of　torturers　and　spellcasters；　but　I　still　lack　the　vocabulary。　Suffice　it　to　say；　it　wasn't　pleasant。
〃In　the　end；　every　aspect　of　my　self　lay　in　pieces　before　her…for　innotspection；　I　realize　now；　though　I　was　in　too　much　agony　and　dread　to　work　it　out　at　the　time。　When　she'd　looked　her　fill；　she　put　me　back　together。〃
Still　careful　not　to　betray　himself；　keeping　his　mind　focused　on　the　story；　Pharaun　decided　it　was　the　triangle　that　would　power　the　alhoon's　Call。　The　question　then　was　what　to　do　about　it。　The　real　brooch　hung　on　the　chest　of　Syrzan's　physical　body；　back　in　the　material　world。　The　one　inside　his　mind　was　a　sort　of　echo。　An　analogue。　Would　depriving　Syrzan　of　it　acplish　anything？
Pharaun　continued；　〃Do　you　think　she　reconnected　every　subtle　juncnotture　of　my　intellect　and　spirit　exactly　as　they'd　been　before？　Over　the　course　of　the　next　few　years；　I　invested　a　fair　amount　of　time　brooding　over　that　particular　question；　but　it's　unanswerable；　so　let　it　not　detain　us。
〃After　the　Mother　of　Lusts　cobbled　me　together；　she　tossed　me　back　to　my　native　reality；　back　onto　the　altar；　in　fact；　thus　indicating　she　found　me　acceptable。　I　imagine　the　clerics　were　disappointed。　I've　never　known　an　inquisitor　to　rejoice　in　a　suspect's　acquittal。
〃Perhaps　they　took　a　bit　of　solace　in　the　discovery　that　I'd　gone　altonotgether　mad。　They　carted　me　back　to　my　family；　who　strapped　me　to　a　bed　and　debated　whether　it　wouldn't　be　more　convenient　all　around　to　smother　me　with　a　pillow。　Sabal　was　my　advocate　and　guard。　She　couldn't　afford　to　lose　her　staunchest　ally。
〃Let's　skip　over　all　the　raving　and　hallucinations；　shall　we？　Eventually　my　wits　returned；　and　as　I　reflected　on　my　experiences　in　the　Abyss；　I　renotalized　that　while　Lolth　was　infinitely　dreadful　and　malign；　she　was　transcendently　beautiful　as　well。　I'd　simply　been　too　distraught　to　recognize　it　at　the　time。〃
The　magic　of　both　the　ring　and　the　brooch　had　acpanied　the　dreamers　into　the　dream。　Otherwise；　Pharaun　wouldn't　be　able　to　see　the　triangle　glowing。　So　perhaps　if　he　disposed　of　the　talisman　in　this　place；　its　counterpart　in　mundane　reality　would　lose　its　enchantments。
Possibly　not；　also；　but　the　Master　of　Sorcere　felt　he　had　to　take　a　chance。　He　doubted　he'd　get　another。
〃Certainly　she　exemplified　that　supreme　power　to　which　all　dark　elves；　particularly　we　wizards；　aspire；〃　the　drow　rambled　on。　〃I　felt　inspired　that　she　was　our　patron。　She's　worthy　of　us；　as　we　are　worthy　of　her。〃
〃She　impressed　you；〃　Syrzan　said；　its　mouth　tentacles　wriggling；　〃as　even　the　pettiest　deity　can　overawe　a　mortal。　Still；　you're　a　scholar　of　the　mysteries。　You　should　know　there　are　powers　greater　than　Lolth；　entities　who；　if　they　saw　fit…〃
Pharaun　snatched　the　triangular　ivory　brooch　off　the　undead　mind　flayer's　soiled　and　shabby　robe　and　slammed　it　down　on　the　convoluted　parapet　at　the　edge　of　the　bridge。　The　ornament　didn't　break。　In　desperanottion；　he　pulled　ba