“I serve no one!” Adamar roared, his yellow eyes ablaze with furious pride. “Not drow or deity!” “I see,” Haresk noted calmly, “and other than those who fell at the Standing Stone, how many serve you?” Sneering in seething rage, the drow wizard said nothing, only glaring with unrestrained hatred, but his silence was sufficient answer. “So, none than,” the High Councilor of Mistledale said dismissively, before questioning; “Why waste your time on such a senseless act of vandalism? Even if the Stone’s high magic wouldn’t restore it over time, defacing it gains you nothing… the pact that it represents has stood for thirteen centuries and will stand until the are no more men and elves in the Cormanthor.” “Spite!” the drow spat, as if it was all that needed to be said. Pausing to allow him to elaborate, which he apparently had no intention of doing, Haresk continuing in the level tone of experience official; “You have been charged with the crime of vandalism against the Standing Stone and hostility against the Dalelands by Willow Amblecrown, paladin of Chauntea and captain of the Riders of Mistledale, supported by these witness,” he motioned to indicate Coran and Taenya, who stood by the paladin to the side of the chamber, “this is not a trial… your guilt is not in question here, nor is your punishment… you will be executed as a self-professed enemy of humanity and by extension Mistledale. But for such a small group to be operating so near to a larger contingent such as this so-called ‘house Jaelre’, I suspect that you were either once part of them and split from them for some reason or were rebuffed by them. In either case, I afford you an opportunity to exercise you ‘spite’ and tell us everything you know about them and any other group of drow operating in the Cormanthor.” Snarling with hatred, both for the weak fool before him, and those who, in his mind, betrayed him, Adamar thought for a moment. He knew he would be put to death the moment the humans and the Dark Maiden’s priestess captured him, the fact that they bothered to heal him instead of simply killing him then only showed how idiotic they were, but if he was to die, why not strike one last spiteful blow, so, in a condescending tone, he began; “Jaelre is a house built upon sand… its so called ‘lords’ spend their greatest efforts to corrupt the ancient mythals of the Cormanthor elves to defend them from you and the other drow… magic well beyond their skill and knowledge… while their rank and file starve. They tried to convince us that once the old high magic is under their control we will have mastery over the forest, but they have no idea how to survive in these dreadful lands. Their hunters return with empty quivers, but no game, and half the mushrooms scrounged from this toxic place are poison. So, they send us to steal what we need from you… like common thieves. We are drow, breed to be the superior race… not graveling goblins begging for scraps! As for the others, clan Auzkovyn pollutes themselves with wretched cast-offs unfit for even your kind… lesser elves, half-breeds and even humans… and the refugees from Maerimydra pathetically cling to their old ways of Matron rule, expecting Lolth to answer their prayers and save them from their own stupidity… they are worse off than Jaelre.” Haresk and Nerval sat in silence and listened attentively as the hateful drow’s ranted, knowing that what he said had to be the truth… as he saw it… due to the candle’s magic. Both men recognized that the chaotic nature of the drow made them ripe for desertion, and possibly rebellion, if their leaders couldn’t provide for their basic needs, which meant that they were both weaker than suspected and more desperate. It seemed the Dales’ greatest ally was the Cormanthor itself, and the drow’s inexperience in the ways to survive in it. But if this Auzkovyn clan was accepting surface elves, half-elves and humans in their midst then they were in a better position to last with in the forest, which meant they would be the greater threat in the long run. But for now, the Jaelre drow were the ones that needed to be dealt with… and like any population, their greatest vulnerability was from within… all they needed to do was find a way to exploit it.