We are all called before MatronNemalzhi, who declares her intention to bear ten or more daughters, to cement the position of her house. Zhe'raen, Ahriman and Zarathustriel hold council, and decide that the best candidate is to be hound in HouseXyrl. Negotiations are quick. They need our metal ores, we need their metalworking skills. Zhe'raen and Ahriman are sent to retrieve the patron (a task only suited to boys) and get to see the inside of the HouseXyrl compound - which gives an old and conservative appearance.
The patron is a young boy, and needs some friendly advice from Zhe'raen before he even dares to approach MatronNemalzhi, while the matron herself consults Zhaunil on how to increase her fertility.
As a gesture to make Lolth bless her new children, an ElfSlave from Zhaunil's dungeon is to be sacrificed, and Xora proceeds to rape him on the altar. Zhaunil leaves the ceremony hurriedly at this point. Later, when Xora tries to ask her why and thus interrupts a meeting between her an Zhe'raen, Zhaunil does not send him away to discuss matters with her sister, but instead files into a rage. The relation between the sisters becomes strained.
Meanwhile, Velve and Xora are out on the town. Velve begins to suspect a coming attack from House 53, HouseTayel and House 44, HouseMieron. He has some dealings with potential double agents in HouseMieron. Meanwhile, Xora tries to distract him with plans of her own concerning the rumored HellfireClub. There is no time to investigate this further, but Xora gives Velve some contacts useful in his current investigation.
Ahriman and Zhaunil feel an infernal presence about the compound. Is this related to the DevilSword that MatronNemalzhi favors and constantly carries? Hard to tell, but Zhaunil convinces MatronNemalzhi to leave the sword locked up, while Ahriman makes a secret deal with the beleaguering devil.
When MatronNemalzhi hears of the coming attack, she orders readiness and prepares the house, while each of her children prepares to contribute in their own fashion. As a part of these preparations, Velve and Zhaunil prepare a pheromone bomb, to be unleashed as a cloud of smoke on unsuspecting attackers. Since HouseMieron is famous for their assassins, great care is also taken to prepare the compound against infiltration - and Zhaunil even agrees to coordinate Sadrak into the general defense plan.