I Read What?!

Still not quite caught up. Yeesh.

Anyway, I've reached the penultimate chapter of Exile, and since we've pretty much had our big climax, complete with the loss (and re-loss) of a few characters, I figure I'll probably tackle the last two chapters together.



So we start this chapter back at Casa Do'Urden. Matron Malice has just had her link with Zaknafein broken pretty fucking dramatically. In fact:

Matron Malice could not even scream her denial. A thousand explosions pounded her brain when Zaknafein went into the acid lake, a thousand realizations of impending and unavoidable disaster. She leaped from her stone throne, her slender hands twisting and clenching in the air as though she were trying to find something tangible to grasp, something that wasn’t there.

Sounds pretty painful. What's worse is that Briza is right there, snake whip in hand, ready to make her a predecessor. Snake headed whips are not supposed to be used against Matron Mothers, but Malice has failed at the Zin Carla. Lolth is displeased. And so, Malice meets her end.

Briza is now the Matron of Do'Urden. Fantastic timing too, because Dinin has just arrived with some news:

“You have chosen the perfect moment for ascension,” the elderboy explained calmly, apparently not at all worried that Briza would punish him. “We are under attack.”

“Fey-Branche?” Briza cried, springing excitedly from her seat. Five minutes in the throne as matron mother, and already Briza faced her first test. She would prove herself to the Spider Queen and redeem House Do’Urden from much of the damage that Malice’s failures had caused.

“No, sister,” Dinin said quickly, without pretense. “Not House Fey-Branche.”

Her brother’s cool response put Briza back in the throne and twisted her grin of excitement into a grimace of pure dread.

“Baenre.” Dinin, too, no longer smiled.

Well, fuck.

We shift scenes to Vierna and Maya. They're watching the approaching army. They don't recognize them, like Dinin does, but they think their chances aren't bad. They have those troops from Baenre, after all...

Yeah. Funny how reinforcements suddenly look like a trojan horse.

Maya gets shot with tiny darts, while Vierna's whip turns on her. Her last thought is the realization that Zin-carla failed.

Back to Briza, who is angry. Lolth hasn't given her a chance. Dinin shouts back that Zak was their chance. And yeah, kinda, but we've seen over and over again that Lolth likes initiative and ambition. We saw how Malice sacrificed Si'Nafay after being ordered to take her in. Briza had so many opportunities to overthrow her mother. Instead, she waited passively and let her mother take their whole house with her.

Dinin meanwhile is having a moment:

Dinin did not follow. He stooped over Matron Malice and looked one final time into the eyes of the tyrant who had ruled his entire life. Malice had been a powerful figure, confident and wicked, but how fragile her rule had proved, broken by the antics of a renegade child.

It's interesting to consider the role of male nobles in Menzoberranzan. Because really, they seem to serve very little purpose. They act as agents for their mothers or sisters, but otherwise, they're just there. They don't seem to be valued in terms of marriage alliances, every matron we've seen has taken their...consorts? Sex slaves? from the commoners.

They get more comfortable lives, and killing them is an insult to their mothers, but...that's still not an enviable position.

By this point, Briza's run off to try to do something, so Dinin's alone as the enemies enter the room...

Or are they?

The expected blow did not fall, however, and several agonizing moments later, Dinin dared to glance back over his shoulder.

Jarlaxle sat comfortably on the stone throne.

“You are not surprised?” the mercenary asked, noting that Dinin’s expression did not change.

“Bregan D’aerthe was among the Baenre troops, perhaps all of the Baenre troops,” Dinin said casually. He covertly glanced around the room at the dozen or so soldiers who had followed Jarlaxle in. If only he could get to the mercenary leader before they killed him! Dinin thought. Watching the death of the treacherous Jarlaxle might bring some measure of satisfaction to this whole disaster.

“Observant,” Jarlaxle said to him. “I hold to my suspicions that you knew all along that your house was doomed.”

Dinin is the character that surprised me the most, reading through this as an adult. In Homeland, I mentioned that there were a few times that he could have turned things against Drizzt, if he were so inclined, if he were observant enough to notice Drizzt's issues. I think Exile proves to us that Dinin is that observant. He's the one who saw the writing on the wall, earliest, though he was essentially powerless to do anything about it. Assuming he even wanted to.

Jarlaxle pokes him a bit more, and Dinin elaborates that he'd known his house was doomed when he saw Malice sacrifice Zaknafein, noting that rarely had a house seen a greater waste. Combined with Drizzt's desertion, the House couldn't recover.

Jarlaxle points out that Do'Urden defeated Hun'ett, but Dinin points out that was with Bregan D'aerthe. He saw the foundations of his House crumble and knew, ultimately, that the whole structure would follow.

Dinin has a favor to ask. Basically a quick death. But Jarlaxle didn't spend all this time courting to give up on his new boyfriend that easily.

“Then what is my fate?” he asked. “Will Matron Baenre take me in?” Dinin’s tone showed that he was not excited about that possibility.

“Matron Baenre has little use for males,” Jarlaxle replied. “If any of your sisters survive—and I believe the one named Vierna has—they may find themselves in Matron Baenre’s chapel. But the withered old mother of House Baenre would never see the value of a male such as Dinin, I fear.”

“Then what?” Dinin demanded.

“I know your value,” Jarlaxle stated casually. He led Dinin’s gaze around to the concurring grins of his troops.

“Bregan D’aerthe?” Dinin balked. “Me, a noble, to become a rogue?”

Quicker than Dinin’s eye could follow, Jarlaxle whipped a dagger into the body at his feet. The blade buried itself up to the hilt in Malice’s back.

“A rogue or a corpse,” Jarlaxle casually explained.

It was not so difficult a choice.

Never let it be said that Jarlaxle can't be smooth.

--

We skip ahead a few days. Dinin is processing his new status with aplomb, and Jarlaxle has a new goal. He wants to go after Drizzt, with Dinin's help. But Dinin's rapidly proving himself to be the smartest character in this series:

“No,” Dinin said suddenly.

Jarlaxle turned a wary eye on him.

“I’ll not go after Drizzt,” Dinin explained.

“You serve Jarlaxle, the master of Bregan D’aerthe,” the mercenary calmly reminded him.

“As I once served Malice, the matron of House Do’Urden,” Dinin replied with equal calm. “I would not venture out again after Drizzt for my mother—” He looked at Jarlaxle squarely, unafraid of the consequences—“and I shall not do it again for you.”

Jarlaxle is also no slouch in that department though. He recognizes that he wanted Dinin in the group because of his experience and skill and because he's hot. He seems to be reconsidering his plans to hunt Drizzt, and leads Dinin off to plan for new adventure.

--

The last chapter takes us to Belwar and Drizzt. There's a lot to deal with. Drizzt has just saw his father die, AGAIN, for him. It's both horrifying but uplifting. Zaknafein was in there and he'd found his way out, for love of his son.

And, acid bath or not, at least Drizzt is getting a chance to say goodbye this time. It seems to be helpful.

Clacker isn't forgotten either:

Drizzt thought the pech a beautiful thing, a beauty inspired by the peaceful smile that at last had found its way onto his tormented friend’s face. He and Belwar said a few words, mumbled a few hopes to whatever gods might be listening, and gave Clacker to the acid lake, thinking it a preferable fate to the bellies of the carrion eaters that roamed the Underdark corridors.

Aw.

So Drizzt and Belwar head back to Blingdenstone. Belwar thinks Drizzt will be allowed to stay. Drizzt, meanwhile, is focused on his father's warning about Malice.

“How long shall we battle, Matron Malice?” Drizzt asked the blank stone when the burrow-warden had gone. He needed to hear his reasoning spoken aloud, to convince himself beyond doubt that his decision had been a wise one. “Neither gains in the conflict, but that is the way of the drow, is it not?” Drizzt fell back onto one of the stools beside the little table and considered the truth of his words.

“You will hunt me, to your ruin or to mine, blinded by the hatred that rules your life. There can be no forgiveness in Menzoberranzan. That would go against the edict of your foul Spider Queen.

“And this is the Underdark, your world of shadows and gloom, but it is not all the world, Matron Malice, and I shall see how long your evil arms can reach!”

It's a beautiful speech, but um, loses a bit of impact considering we know Malice is dead. It makes me think that maybe in an original draft, Malice survived to plague Drizzt another day.

I like Malice's fate in this book. I think it's fitting. But I do think maybe the series suffers a bit for it. When we meet the drow again, inevitably, the villains will be House Baenre. And while they're certainly more powerful and more formidable than Do'Urden ever was, there isn't really enough of a personal tie anymore. There's not enough impact. (Vierna will carry what she can, but it's not the same.)

I do think this is why the Menzoberranzan computer game recasts Legacy with the Do'Urdens as the adversaries rather than House Baenre.

Anyway, Belwar comes out, pissed. Apparently Drizzt is still not welcome. Drizzt laughs, much to Belwar's anger and frustration. But Drizzt doesn't intend to stay. Belwar is happy to leave with him (and Drizzt is being permitted to stay for a tenday, it's worth noting). But Drizzt says no. He's not planning on staying in the Underdark. He's going to do as his father said. He's going to go to the surface.

Belwar protests, but Drizzt reminds him that the surface isn't really a place for svirneblin. He deserves a place of honor in his own city. Belwar, after some convincing, accepts Drizzt's decision and gives him the light-giving brooch, saying not to forget him.

Aw.

So we end the book rather like Homeland ended: with Drizzt and Guen heading off alone. But maybe there's a bit more optimism this time. Afterall, the surface awaits.