Eilistraee gave careful thought to the question. Kiaransalee, goddess of vengeance and queen of the undead, hated Lolth as much as Eilistraee pitied her. The once-mortal necromancer queen had, after her ascension to demigod status, joined Lolth's assault on Arvandor, but her fealty to the Spider Queen was fitful and forced. Since Lolth's assumption of Moander's hegemony of rot, death, and decay, Kiaransalee had smoldered with jealousy-and had lashed out in anger more than once against her former ally. If Kiaransalee entered the game, Lolth would have to watch her back.

"On whose side would you play?" Eilistraee asked.

"Neither side," Kiaransalee croaked. Another cackle of laughter burst from the gap between realms: a dry sound, like bones rattling in a cup. "I'll play against both of you at once."

Eilistraee nodded. She'd expected this. Kiaransalee knew that Eilistraee and Lolth would never unite their forces. And her hatred of both of them ran deep. Eilistraee felt certain it would be a three-way game to the bitter end.

Lolth swept a hand over the board and its hundreds of thousands of pieces, and spoke to Kiaransalee. "What use have you for the drow, banshee? Have you suddenly developed a taste for the living?" She scoffed. "I thought you preferred to line your bed with the husks of the soulless. After all… who else would have you?"

Inarticulate rage boiled out of the crack between realms. Abruptly, it switched to wild, mocking laughter. "Spider Queen," it burbled. "Who else would have you, but insects?"

Lolth reclined lazily on her throne. "You betray your ignorance, banshee," she retorted. "Spiders are not insects. They are creatures unto themselves. Arachnids."

A pause, then," 'Arachnids' they may be, but they squish just as messily as insects."

Fury blazed in Lolth's coal-red eyes. "You wouldn't dare," she hissed.