THE MOON DANCER'S LAMENT by SZORDRIN SH'YALVA

Disclaimer: this story is what is known as "allegorical"! Ask Szordrin Sh'yalva what that word means.

[The frontispiece of this book has a hastily drawn illustration of a female drow being stabbed by a robed figure under a circular sphere]

Suddenly, it was time! We all know that there exists true evil in the world, but there is one more insiduous than all others. I am, of course, talking about

[a crude illustration of a hideous drow female with teeth that jut out of her mouth, going to the edges of the book, in front of a blank sphere]

Moon Dancers. I will tell you a completely true story, which really happened, that was relayed to me by a derro in the Spider's Web bar after I plyed him with drink and managed to make him somewhat coherent with intelligence spells. Of course, I know they're not allowed there, but in this case he was dressed in an elaborate disguise with rothe hide and a pickaxe making him appear as a very light-colored duergar.

I digress. The derro began his testimony - supposedly it was the first day of the first month of some year, by the derro's count year 1. It was at this time that our antagonist, a drow female by the name of Bad from the dead house Worse, arrived to Andunor.

[an illustration of several boxes in front of which a stick figure is drawn appears here. Large letters saying "ANDUNOR" are over the boxes]

The places and names the derro gave me were completely different from the places and names which exist now, meaning that truly, this was very long ago - or made up. And in any case not referring to any real happenings. The moon dancer, in her idiotic subterfuge, began infiltrating the houses and organizations of past-Andunor. She, according to the derro, who is of course insane, convinced matrons of her belief in Lolth, she convinced kobolds of her acumen, she convinced orogs of her strength - she even convinced slaves of her servility! That was the extent of how much she perverted the virtue of lying to her own ends.

At this point in the derro's telling he started attempting to slice open my thigh, telling he was trying to "get the weakness out" of me. As a drow male I was used to this, but, for the benefit of you, the reader, I managed to use a stick and some solid arguments to make him continue it, although we were kicked out of the bar.

[suddenly a rather well-done illustration of a drow and derro appears, both of whom are very battered and bleeding from their mouths and noses]

Bad of House Worse thus came into power and wealth. And what should she use this for? For her own benefit? No! For the benefit of others. She found a male, named Szordrin, who she found sleeping under the tables in the top floor of the hub, and she used her wealth and connections to help him live a comfortable life. All while telling him her lies, which I will not repeat here for obvious reasons.

And it was not only Szordrin, but many other Andunorians. And it thus came to be that House Freth, otherwise unmoved by local politics, began to take notice of what was happening and sent out their devils and members to resolve the situation.

[the hastily scribbled illustration is just a smear with words like "flaying" and "beheading" barely visible under it]

The Moon Dancer ultimately got captured, tortured to insult her false and weak goddess, and ultimately sacrificed to Lolth. Szordrin, for his part in accepting the help of a Moon Dancer, got executed as well. Which I found to be a good moral lesson.

At the end the derro, who I did not make up, told me that the Moon Dancer represented the weakness of the city, which was destroyed by the power of House Freth and Lolth. Which was really sort of a strange thing to say, but that's how it happened, and it was a derro so who knows!"