Extinction Extinction by Lisa Smedman is the fourth book in the War of the Spider Queen series . Summary . The group of drow adventurers — Quenthel Baenre , Pharaun Mizzrym , Jeggred Baenre , Valas Hune , Ryld Argith , Halisstra Melarn , and Danifae Yauntyrr - - continue to seek answers about the Silence of Lolth after fleeing House Jaelre . Quenthel sends Halisstra to Menzoberranzan to report on their progress , then orders Pharaun to summon the glabrezu Belshazu in order to determine a way to return to the Demonweb Pits . While the others are distracted with the demon , Ryld sneaks off to join Halisstra . After this point , the novel revolves around three distinct plot threads . After abandoning the group , Halisstra and Ryld run into followers of Eilistraee once again . Halisstra , her faith in Lolth now shaken , decides to convert to the worship of Eilistraee , despite Ryld ' s doubts . The two continue to develop a relationship that they even come to term " love , " an emotion usually unknown to the drow . After killing a spider as a test of Eilistraee — an unforgivable act in pure defiance of Lolth — Halisstra has a vision telling her that her destiny is to find an ancient magical blade called the Crescent Blade . The blade is said to be able to cut through anything ; she realizes she can use it to slay Lolth . The blade , however , has been lost in the Cold Fields by Halisstra ' s ancestor , Mathira Melarn , so Halisstra sets out to find it , Ryld following despite being ordered to stay behind . The guardian of the blade ( in that the blade lay in its stomach ) is a purple worm , which Ryld helps defeat after Halisstra is swallowed whole by the worm . However , Ryld is badly poisoned ; Halisstra retrieves the blade and summons a mount to ride to the forest edge seeking help . Once there , she collapses with cold . She awakens to Feliane and Uluyara , priestesses of Eilistraee , healing her and Ryld of their wounds . Meanwhile , in the World Below , Quenthel , Jeggred , Danifae , Pharaun , and Valas follow Belshazu ' s lead for a route into the Abyss : a ship of chaos that can traverse the planes . They travel to Lake Thoroot and Valas , given a spell of water - breathing by Pharaun , scouts out the water on the search for Zanhoriloch , an aboleth city where they might locate additional information about the ship of chaos . Valas is captured by the aboleths , who turn him into a mutated sea - dwelling drow . Valas manages to escape and contacts his companions . Pharaun returns him to drow form via polymorph spell ( which can potentially be dispelled ) . Pharaun and Danifae then go to Zanhoriloch to parlay with Oothoon , the matriarch of the aboleths . Pharaun openly offers to give her Quenthel as payment to knowledge of the whereabouts of the ship . Danifae warns Quenthel , who turns the betrayal around by working with Oothoon to fake her death and allow Pharaun to be eaten . However , a contingency spell cast of Pharaun allows him to escape and the group sets off together again , this time for the Lake of Shadows where the ship of chaos is located . They find the ship stuck in a permanent whirlpool , but Pharaun is able to bind the uridezu captain and set it a sail . Throughout all of this , Menzoberranzan has been under siege . Gromph Baenre , missing for several weeks after being imprisoned by Lichdrow Dyrr , escapes his prison with the help of his rat familiar Kyorli and a mindflayer named Sluuguth , whom Gromph tricks , through promises of great power , into casting a spell that frees him and imprisons the caster in an axe of souls . After bolstering the defense of the besieged city , the freed Gromph gathers the mages of House Baenre to attempt to kill Nimor Imphraezl through a special scrying gem . With each attempt either the spell is turned against the caster , or Nimor uses one of his rings to retreat to the Plane of Shadow before he can be killed . Taking advantage of this , Gromph and Andzrel Baenre approach Nimor in the disguise of tanarukk warriors from the Scourged Legion . Gromph tricks Nimor into holding a prism of light that has been covered in glue . When he retreats to the Shadow Plane , he is then trapped there since a patch of shadow is required in order to return to the Material Plane . However , the light from the magical prism leaves Gromph blind . His attempts to heal his eyes fail , so he masks the disability by magically viewing the world through the eyes of his rat familiar . Locations . Surface Underdark