House Argith was a Lolthite drow house of the city of Sschindylryn. They notably fell afoul of the demon lord Graz'zt in Tethyamar during the 15th century DR.[1][note 1]
History[]
I am disturbed by your actions. The tone of your last letter was foolish in the extreme. I may tolerate pride in my children, but insolence will result in you being dragged back to the city and flayed.
As for this "gift" that you sent, it appears to be nothing more than a pile of gaudy crystals. Is this another insult, or have you lost your wits? After your recent ravings about these magical "jewels", I am thinking the latter.
Answer me quickly, Daughter. And answer well, or there will be consequences.
During the late 15th century DR, the house sent an expedition to the old dwarven ruins of Tethyamar beneath the Desertsmouth Mountains, seeking the lost treasures within. Instead they found the jewels of ardor, a kind of crystal that had little worth of its own, but had been altered by the demon Graz'zt to appear impossibly valuable. After finding the gems, Talice contacted the Zhentarim and had them send an expert down to the Underdark in order to evaluate the gems. The Black Network sent their man Oldin, who met a dwarven guide and travelled to the drow stronghold, only to be attacked and devoured by umber hulks along the way.[1]
As Talice's obsession with the gems grew, she became convinced that they had been blessed by Lolth, and she herself was an ascendant champion for finding them. She sent a sample of the jewels back to Sschindylryn with a letter containing all sorts of grand claims, but the time and distance rendered the jewels free of Graz'zt's power and returned them to mere shiny rocks. Faced with a raving child obsessed with worthless rocks, her mother sent a reply that pointedly questioned Talice's loyalty and sanity, which prompted Talice to write a response that was outright threatening and seditious with its grandiosity. Her own on-site wizard Ildan Argith remained skeptical of her extraordinary claims, and so he secretly studied the gems and prepared a letter to inform the house's archmage in Sschindylryn that while they were in fact influenced by a demonic power, this indicated Lolth as much as any other Abyssal lord.[1]
Throughout these events, the drow had been ambushing and enslaving the dwarven expedition at the Tethyamar mining outpost nearby, who also sought the gems. They caught many miners and set them to work extracting the jewels, alongside other human slaves brought from Sschindylryn. They also sent a team to Ironvale Deep led by Kir'tan Melarn to recover the Tethyamar Master Manifest, which contained a comprehensive set of logs and maps describing the mines around the city. While the drow enjoyed predating on the disorganized dwarves for a while, their easy dominance came to an end when Gunhild the Watchful finally located the hidden drow stronghold and sent a team to destroy it. They may have impersonated the deceased Zhentarim delegate or used force to break in, but ultimately the drow slaves were freed and the high priestess slain in her own temple, ending their efforts in Tethyamar and ruining Graz'zt's fun as one of his pawns was wiped out.[1]
Members[]
During their expedition to Tethyamar in the late 15th century DR, the house included the following notable drow:[1]
The expedition also contained the following members:[1]
- Kir'tan Melarn, a wizard.[1]
- Phy'xzar, a drider jailor.[1]
- Phyrsinil, a priestess.[1]
- Rauva, a lieutenant.[1]
- Uhlsirayn, a guard captain.[1]
- Velkas, a slave master.[1]
- Zyn, a captain.[1]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ The Mines of Tethyamar is dated to 1487 DR, as it seems to reflect Graz'zt's activities during the Rage of Demons event.