"Fighting the Spider Queen is my duty, and you don't need to bind me with faith. I am genuinely helping you."
The reputation of the drow was already infamous. Illithyria's proposal was not only to thank Tycha for her help but also to use the influence of the benevolent goddess to whitewash the drow.
Tycha merely wanted to drag the elven pantheon into the fray. Corellon, the primary elven deity, was one of the first outsiders to arrive on Faerûn, second only to Aeon. Tycha dared not underestimate him, given his ability to preserve himself under Aeon's watch.
"Regardless of whether Lolth considers me an enemy, I will support your actions."
With the conversation reaching this point, Illithyria no longer insisted. She seized the opportunity to mobilize her followers to leave the Underdark.
Neither Waterdeep nor Neverwinter was too far from the Underdark, but Luskan, adjacent to Neverwinter, posed a problem. The Shadovar Brotherhood entrenched in Luskan and Shim, one of the Seven Sisters of the Silver Hand, were mortal enemies. Countless Shadovar mages had died at Shim's hands, which also cemented Shim's fame as the Storm Queen.
The Pontiff of the Church of Benevolence, the legendary cleric Gwendoline, personally oversaw the operation, blocking the Shadovar mages alongside Shim.
This nearly ninety-year-old female pontiff was the girl who had brought Tycha to the Ilmater temple. The kind Gwendoline had joined the Church of Benevolence as soon as the orphanage was established. With Tycha's special attention, Gwendoline quickly embarked on the path of a cleric.
The belief in protecting the weak had propelled Gwendoline to the pinnacle of becoming a chosen, which greatly pleased Tycha. Tycha wished to see the good rewarded.
"Meg, you lead the clerics in setting up the altar. Remember to open a passage to the Elemental Plane of Water! Helena, tally the supplies sent by the followers of the goddess of wealth. Reserve enough for three thousand people for ten days. Do not open the rest; let the followers of the goddess Illithyria take them!"
Gwendoline methodically assigned tasks to the bishops. "Erica, how much longer until the Knights of the Hand of Mercy are fully assembled?"
"Commander Anton sent a message not long ago, stating they have departed from Waterdeep and are expected to rendezvous with us in two days," the female bishop replied immediately.
"Frick, you and Meg, detach a portion of the cleric corps specializing in the field of health. The knights will arrive in two days. Before they arrive, I need you to prepare for the rescue work!"
"Tack, prepare the prayer ritual. As soon as the altar managed by Meg is completed, we will begin praying. With the altar's power, we can establish a protective field and finally rest. Otherwise, you will have to stand guard!"
The bustling camp was illuminated. Gwendoline led a small team on a patrol. The dark-skinned drow emerged from the cave entrance as the sun set. Their prolonged life underground had made their eyes unable to tolerate excessively bright light sources; the sun's radiance would burn their eyes.
"Followers of the goddess Illithyria?" Gwendoline called out to the hesitant drow. "Those with divine status of cleric level can use divine detection on us. We are servants of the goddess of benevolence."
The blue spell aura relaxed both parties. Looking at the exhausted drow, Gwendoline said to the female cleric at the forefront, "These unopened crates are for you. To save space, the bread has been flattened. Also, you can fetch water from the altar. The goddess has sent an oracle; you can place the holy symbol of the goddess Illithyria on the altar."
The female cleric covered her still-bleeding wound and thanked them softly, then called out in the drow language for her companions to open the crates and share the food.
The drow conferred for a few moments, opening only one crate to begin their meal. Dried meat and bread were distributed to each drow. The young male drow borrowed containers from the clerics guarding the altar, filled them with water, and drank them down in one gulp, then handed the containers to his companions before returning to the opened crate to receive his portion of food.
"Can you eat your fill? You still have a considerable journey ahead of you."
Gwendoline softly asked the female cleric, "There's no need to be frugal. A merchant caravan will deliver a batch of supplies tomorrow. There will be more than enough food."
The female cleric pondered for a moment, then turned and beckoned her companions to open another crate.
Fewer than three hundred drow had escaped the Underdark, more than half of whom were minors. Although elves lived much longer than humans, the size of these children and youths, similar to that of young humans, evoked pity from the benevolent clerics.
On the altar, the holy symbol engraved with a lily glowed with a soft light, and a hemispherical protective dome expanded, allowing both humans and drow to sleep soundly.
The next morning, the merchant caravan arrived at its destination under the protection of the clerics. After unloading the goods, the drow departed with the caravan. The injured had received effective treatment and were sleeping soundly in the carriages. The remaining drow took over the work of the benevolent clerics, protecting the caravan's safe departure.
The Shadovar Brotherhood also launched probing attacks, but Gwendoline easily repelled these scouts without much effort.
When Lu Kui teleported to the camp, Gwendoline had already disposed of the Shadovar mages' bodies. The burning flames purified everything. To prevent the Shadovar mages from using corpse explosion or raising the dead, cremation was the most efficient method.
Gwendoline asked, "How is it? What's the situation in Waterdeep?"
"Shim and I joined forces to deal with a legendary mage, but I suspect he transferred his soul to a backup body before he died."
Legendary mages possessed countless life-saving techniques. In addition to the more common practice of replicating bodies through cloning, copying memories was also effortless for them. After a brief period of weakness, a reborn legendary mage would soon regain their strength.
However, Lu Kui's face showed no relief. She said with a somber expression, "The Shadovar Brotherhood will not be active for some time. The resistance from them can be ignored. But the bad news is that the Spider Queen Lolth is about to ascend to demigodhood. Princess Illithyria's time is truly running out."
As she spoke, a few beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. "We need to speed up! The Spider Queen's clerics are widely searching for the goddess's followers, preparing to use their blood as sacrifices in a bloody celebration to appease the Spider Queen."
Gwendoline was also stunned by this news for a while. Then, she began to consider whether she needed to retreat to Waterdeep and abandon this operation. It required careful consideration to oppose a demigod. Given Lolth's twisted and vengeful nature, after dealing with Illithyria, Tycha would be next.
The lily holy symbol on the altar blazed with light, dispelling the hesitation in Gwendoline's heart.
Tycha had no intention of retreating. If Lolth wanted to make an example of her, she had found the wrong person. Tycha simply did not want to waste time on the Spider Queen. However, if the Spider Queen came knocking, Tycha wouldn't mind breaking her claws and giving her an unforgettable lesson.