"That's legit. What else do you think we might want to know?"

"I was going to save this for after we liberated Halaster, but actually I suspect you'd appreciate knowing it now - I have a second mission, which is to attempt to convince you to come back with me to the Underdark and help defeat the Valsharess."

"All of us, or just Belmarniss?" Garrus asks.

"All of you but Belmarniss especially."

"I feel so special," Garrus says drily.

"Is there a reason we can't go there and do that first? Just haven't leveled enough, or -"

"Except for the rare occasions when the Valsharess takes to the field herself, she spends her time in a more or less impregnable fortress in her capital city of Menzoberranzan. Our plan is to weaken her forces in the Underdark and taunt her until she's forced to attack us in person, making her vulnerable. Having Undermountain open while we do this would give her the option to ignore us and focus on Waterdeep, giving her a foothold in the surface world. Which would be bad."

"And she can't just ignore you if she doesn't have an alternative angle of attack? Why not?"

"We don't intend to give her the option," Nathyrra says. "We've identified several key supports for her army, and even as we speak our agents are sabotaging them. If she ignores us, her forces will crumble out from under her. Add to that the fact that her army will devour its own tail if she sits on it too long, and the fact that the Valsharess is actually a very spiteful and impulsive person, and it's practically guaranteed that if we're the only target around she'll come for us."

"How's she maintain an army like that?"

"She is powerful enough to cover for her faults... which, considering the magnitude of her faults, says something about how powerful she is. And she knows to delegate most of the actual work."

"How powerful is she?"

"As recently as a few months ago, no moreso than any other Matron Mother. Which is to say, ruthless and powerful, but kept in check by her peers. But then Lolth, Queen of Spiders and goddess of the drow, disappeared... and drow society was thrown into utter chaos. The Valsharess seized on this opportunity. She summoned a powerful Duke of the Nine Hells, an archdevil she bound to her service. Drawing on this enslaved devil's power, she became a conqueror of the Underdark."

"An archdevil? That's, uh, unexpected based on my planet's drow situation. I guess less so if she's enslaving him. Any idea what happened to Lolth?"

“We don't know. What we do know is that her clerics are not receiving spells, her layer of the Abyss is sealed to entry, and the society she ruled with an iron fist has descended into chaos."

"Wow. Uh, what will happen to the power vacuum if and when the Valsharess is out of the picture?"

Nathyrra winces. "Still a lot of chaos, to be perfectly honest, but inwardly rather than outwardly focused. The other major matron mothers were exterminated by the Valsharess, and the minor ones aren't powerful enough to take control of a significant chunk of the drow population like she did, so there won't be a conquering army rolling across the Underdark, which is preferable to there being one, we think. I'm expecting to be very busy in the aftermath, propping up the least loathsome candidates."

"Exciting. Okay, I think I'm sold."

"I'm glad. Do you have any other questions, or shall I return to scouting?"

"Who are you really?" Enserric asks. "Because you're not a scout, you know too much."

Nathyrra blinks. "Oh - that wasn't an intentional omission, actually, I just didn't happen to mention it. I'm the rebel spymaster. Not the only one, of course, but I'm probably the most important."

"Is there a way we can identify who's with you and who's lying to save their skins?"

"We don't use double agents much - our spies are typically either invisibly watching our enemies, or scriers who stay far from the action. Any double agents who do exist aren't going to be tramping around Undermountain with her footsoldiers."

"Okay, but if we find someone who isn't planted among an obvious Valsharess contingent and they're like 'I'm with the rebels, help', how do we tell."

"It's unlikely... but not impossible. Oh, I know, you can ask them 'Who does your house serve?' They might say 'the Seer' or 'Eilistraee' if they're faking, but if they're an actual follower of Eilistraee - or they've been around them long enough - they'll know the answer is 'My house serves all who have need'. You'd think it'd be obvious, but most drow find such an answer surprisingly unintuitive."

"Cool, good to know. I might look into this Eilistraee character later but it seems not the time."

"She's been a very positive influence on my life. But yes, let's save the evangelism for a later date."

"Would it be out of your way to show us down the secret passage?"

"Not at all," she says.

She leads them to the passage, which as promised is within earshot but not line of sight of the drow encampment. Then she leads them through the passage, and they're past the encampment.

"Thanks!"