Frozen Soul, and other works: Chapter 122 - The Grand Temple of Lolth

The next morning was an… interesting bit of theater, when all the guildies did walks of not-shame and met eachother in the hall as they competed silently for the order on the baths. A walk of actual shame would imply that we found something shameful in our conduct, and our guild had gotten a pretty bohemian vibe to it since the very start. Oh sure, the priestesses were looking ashamed, but then they were still new to the fact that they weren’t in control any more. The rest of the crew didn’t care about their feelings, anyways. They’d be dead soon, so they didn’t matter.

Lexichan and the others planned to find the local adventurer’s guild, and maybe explore the city a bit. I was cool with that, but I still reminded Cookie and Ruva that Drow would be Drow, so they shouldn’t let themselves get separated from Lexichan, especially when they were outside of the ‘tourist’ district.

The rest of us, however, began making a straight-line path to the largest, most impressive single building in the city. And honestly, that was saying something. To picture the scale of the Grand Temple of Lolth in the Drow capitol of Amyaththalas, first picture the Hagia Sophia, Sistine Chapel, and Notre Dame cathedral all rolled into one. Now make it all carved from black stone, and with the entryway shaped to resemble a spider’s head, with magic lighting up and decorating the building so that only someone with darkvision could appreciate it.

The closer we got to the temple, the more pointed looks we got. However, no one stopped us. While it was uncommon for anyone but a worshipper of Lolth or one of her subordinate deities to approach the temple, it wasn’t unheard of, especially when a Chosen was involved. It wasn’t until we got to the antechamber where we were first stopped and questioned by the guards.

“Hold! What business do you have in the Temple, Surfacer? This place is not for the likes of you.”

I looked at the guard who spoke, a male, wearing some very fine armor with a pair of wicked blades at his side. Throwing back my hood to reveal my face, I spoke in a loud voice so that all those around me, including the ones who were trying to not be caught eavesdropping, could hear. “I am Zayn Darkmore, Chosen of Sharess, Knight of the Wyrmwood, Ruler of Lithaes Castle and her surroundings, and Leader of the Aria of the Twilight. I have traveled far and passed through many dangers to come to this point. I have undergone the Trials of the Gods, passed through the Crucible of the Drow, and conquered the Sacred Dungeons that have existed since the time of the Sundering.”

I took a breath, confident that I had everyone’s attention so far, and said, “It was in response to a quest given to me by the Queen of Spiders herself that I walked this path, coming through darkness and flame and the halls of the dead to stand here now. I seek a private consultation with the High Priestess of Lolth, for I have been directed to her by the Spider Queen. As tribute to the Temple and to Lolth, I have brought priestesses of Kiaransalee that I would offer as sacrifice.”

Telling people you are on a quest handed directly from their goddess in the middle of their goddesses most holy site tends to prompt a certain response out of people in this world. It isn’t like in the real world if someone walked into a church and suddenly got the ‘divine inspiration’ to get their band back together to save the orphanage they grew up in, and people just look at you like you’re crazy. No, saying such things in such a place in a world where gods were very real brought attention. Those who lied about having a divine quest from a goddess in their most holy sites tended to get cursed horribly.

Oh, it wasn’t like lying about that kind of thing wasn’t a ‘career limiting move’ in normal circumstances. It most certainly was, if the diety in question took notice. But the world is a large place, and dieties can’t be everywhere at once. That said, they tend to pay more attention to their temples, and a false claim of a divine quest in the middle of their main temple in the world was basically as insolent as slapping them in the face with your cock. That way went all kinds of divine retribution.

So when I didn’t burst into flames, get struck down by horrible curses, or have any one of a few hundred horrible things happen to me, that caused a distinct change in the way the drow around us were regarding our party, and me in particular. Where before there was a cold arrogance and perhaps some amusement at the upstart surfacer, now there was cruel cunning and suspicion, as they tried to figure out how to make this work to their own ends and their own advancement. Or at least to cut off a rival’s advancement. What can I say, drow will be drow.

I noticed a couple initiates who had been listening within the temple proper whispering amongst themselves. Finally, one left, probably to go inform their superiors about what was going on. Probably have to work its way up the chain. Well, I didn’t expect to jump straight into a meeting with the most important religious leader in the city any way.

The other initiate stepped forward, and said, “Let them pass within. We shall take them to a place where they might rest while the Priestesses consult their divinations about what to do with them. The rest of you, continue on with what you were doing, and may you find Lolth’s favor in your work.” Taking the dismissal for what it was, the crowd dispersed as we followed the initiate into the Temple.

Uviok Zabi

Drow Female

Level 45 Webmistress (Priestess) / Rogue

Titles: Devout, Kinslayer, Spiderkissed

I smiled, but didn’t say anything, not when my hood was still down. I’d judged correctly, it seemed when none of my eavesdroppers were within the 10’ radius of my Passion’s Heat perk. It had taken a while, but I was starting to get the hang of managing the troublesome perk, it seemed. The inside of the temple was just as grand as the outside, decorated in black stone with silver and gold streaking through tastefully to provide some color, where that color wasn’t supplied by magical effects. Silver spiderwebs could be seen in many places, and I noticed that there were several giant spiders living in the eaves, no doubt both guardians and the ones who received some of the sacrifices made here.

The initiate was dressed conservatively, for a drowess, in a slinky black gown that hugged her form quite nicely and hinted at all sorts of joys underneath. It was closer to something Morticia Adams would wear, rather than what a normal person would consider religious wear, but then, she was only an initiate, and they probably dressed more conservatively to be reminded of their place. After all, the thinking was that by deliberately wearing little armor or clothing, you projected confidence and strength. Both that you were beyond assault, and that you could handle any who tried. The lower ranked you were, the more vulnerable you were, and the more armor you needed. Of course, the higher-ups didn’t wear just regular clothes, but heavily enchanted magic items that were likely far better than a suit of full plate for keeping their insides from seeing their outside.

She took us away from the main worship areas, and into a more private area. This was clearly used for meetings that had to take place on temple grounds, but weren’t advisable to be shown to the general public. From what I could tell, there were some impressive privacy wards on the room, as the sounds of worship outside died off completely when the door closed. Looking around I spotted several comfortable chairs, a couch, and an idol of Lolth in her drow form gazing imperiously over the room.

The initiate looked over at us, still haughty and yet polite, in that way that only elves, regardless of their affiliations can do. “Please understand that the High Priestess rarely accepts visitors from outside the clergy unless she summons them herself, and even more rarely does she consent to see a surfacer, no matter their cause. It may be a while as she consults her divinations about whether to meet with you or if it would be best to reschedule.”

Looking over at her, I gave her my best smile, and said, “Oh, I’m sure I can find something to entertain me while I wait.” Yes, this was deliberately baiting the perk to see if it would activate, but having suitable places to experiment on something like this was NOT exactly common. There were some vagueries in the perk that I hadn’t gotten around to testing. Like what would happen if, on my first meeting with someone, they saw and heard me from outside of the radius, and then moved into the radius when I spoke?

Passion’s Heat

Upon first meeting you, those who would be attracted to someone of your race and gender are filled with lust for you, and those whose level is lower than yours, or whose CHA is over 500 lower than yours may try to act upon their passions without thinking when they see your face and hear your voice, regardless of the situation, unless they have an iron will. Creatures above your level have more control, and will not throw themselves at you unless their CHA is 1000 or more lower than yours. Keeping your face hooded or otherwise hidden by mundane disguise or magical illusion prevents this effect from happening. This effect only occurs when you first come within 10’ of an individual who has reached adulthood.

Turns out, the perk didn’t count that as part of the first meeting. Which, I considered, was a good thing. It gave me a little more control over who was trying to jump my bones, after all. But with that experiment done, I looked at the initiate and smiled. “Perhaps you can help keep me occupied while we wait on your mistress? You could tell me what being an initiate is like, and I can share some of Sharess’s… wisdom with you. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

She might not have succumbed to the Passion’s Heat perk, but even without using things like Charming Gaze or any of my Charm spells, attempting to seduce the girl, given the difference in our CHA scores, and my Godly 4 Seduction skill (amplified by both my pheromones and the Silver-Tongued title, among my other effects) was like shooting fish in a barrel using a howitzer. She bit her lip for only a moment, uncertain, before throwing caution to the wind (and her dress to the floor).

“I-I’m only doing this because a liason with a chosen, and a possible child of that coupling, would be a major boon for me and my house. It isn’t like I like you or anything!”

I nearly swooned at the sight of a naked tsundere drowess. Ok, not really, but damn, that was super-effective. I’m pretty sure I heard Sharess giggling in the background as I stepped towards the drowess. “Oh, so you want a child to increase your standing, hmm? Well, why don’t you start by bending over that chair, there, so I can properly prepare you.”

“That’s one.” “Yes, but we haven’t even met the high priestess yet.” “And the bet was for until we got back to the inn.” “Yes, that’s why the first bet was three.” “I still don’t know how you thought he’d get a dozen, when an orgy or threesome only counts as one.” “You think he can’t?” “When would he get the tme? We still have stuff to do, right?”

I ignored the chatter from the peanut gallery, as they discussed some kind of bet that I’m sure had nothing to do with me in the slightest. But if I was the entertainment for the morning, I might as well make myself entertaining. With that thought, I turned to my work with renewed gusto, to the initiate’s delight.

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