A male Drow, Sarith is sullen and keeps to himself, rebuffing attempts to talk to him. He is disgraced by his imprisonment but is resigned to his fate, since there doesn't appear to be anything he can do about it. Sarith is accused of murdering one of his fellow Drow warriors in a fit of madness, but he has no memory of it. He varies between believing the whole thing is a setup to discredit and destroy him, and fearing that it is all true—which, in fact, it is. He is being held until he can be sent back to Menzoberranzan as a sacrifice to Lolth and an example to others.
Unknown even to the other Drow, Sarith is infected with tainted spores from Myconids corrupted by Zuggtmoy, the Demon Queen of Fungi. The initial infestation of the spores caused Sarith's bout of madness, and his health and sanity continue to deteriorate as the spores grow within his brain.