Chapter 12 Chapter Nine This Is What I Do

For Trede McNukles, the sight was more painful than anything he had ever witnessed.According to his judgment, the residents of Broken Heel Village have shown generosity and considerate care for Qued and Nick Willig, who have nothing to do with their own village, but have involved themselves in a conflict.Nick Villiger and his arrival did put them in peril, and they received them with an unexpected friendliness and openness from these two dwarves far from the city-state. Now they are paying for it. Qude shuttled among the ruins of the village where only the ruins remained.He drove away the scavenging birds on a dead body, and then closed his eyes in grief. He recognized that this woman was the first few wealthy women he saw after recovering from exhaustion after a long journey here. One of the compassionate ones.

Bruenor Warhammer watched the dwarf's sullen move, the expression on Tred's face.The dwarves were determined to take vengeance even before this event—the dwarven caravan was attacked and slaughtered, and Qued lost a friend and a brother.Dwarves can accept a tragedy like this, inevitable in the world.They usually live on the edge of the wild world, and are almost always busy dealing with endless crises. However, the expression on Qued's tough face is slightly different. It looks more depressed, and to some extent, it should be more painful.In this complicated entanglement, there is also a strong sense of guilt.Tred and Nick Villiger just accidentally came to Broken Heel Village on the way to escape, but the whole village turned into dust as a result.

Simply, brutally, destroyed. Trade's frustration and guilt were palpable as he walked through the smoking ruins; this was evidenced by the fact that he had to kick in the face as he walked past the corpses of so many orcs. "How many do you think there are?" Bruenor asked when Drizzt returned from scouting a village farther away—to more accurately speculate on the devastation at Broken Heel. "A small band of giants," said the drow.He pointed to a fence in the distance, "Three to five, I deduce from the footprints and a pile of stone signposts." "Road sign?"

"They planned this attack," Drizzt deduced. "I guess the giants threw huge piles of stones at the village during the night to weaken the defenses. It went on for a long time, hours at least." "how do you know?" "In some places the walls showed signs of hasty rebuilding before they were knocked down again." He said, pointing to a corner at the far end of the village, "over there, a woman was held down by a stone while the rest of the residents still had time to move away. Stone, drag her out. In the desperation of the continuous bombardment of the stone, a handful of people left the village and tried to sneak up on top of the giant." He turned to the fence, pointing to a relocated stone, It was facing Drizzt where to find the Giant's Footsteps and the signpost. "They didn't come near at all, because the orcs were lying in wait."

"How many?" Bruno asked, "You said a small group of giants, how many orcs attacked the village?" Drizzt looked around at the devastation, his eyes fixed on the corpses, human and orc. "A hundred," he guessed, "maybe more, maybe less, that's about it. Only a dozen of them died here, which means that the villagers have been completely defeated. The boulder thrown by the giant killed Many people, and methodically tore through the defense line. One-third of the armed forces in the village were killed on the edge of the fence, which made the only twenty loyal guards retreat to the town for defense. I don't think The scope of the giant's participation in the battle has extended to the town." His lips were tightly pursed, and his tone was very low, "I don't think they still need to do that."

"We'll give them some color, you know." Drizzt nodded. "You mean a hundred?" Bruno glanced around and continued, "Our ratio is more than four to one." When the dwarf looked at Drow again, he saw Drizzt standing relaxed, his hands resting on the scimitar at his belt, a grim and wistful expression engraved on his face, which made Bruenor feel a little bit Uneasiness, and excitement for adventure, are the same for everyone who knows them well. "Four to one?" Drizzt asked. "You should send half your men back to Pant and Mithril Hall, just to make it more interesting."

A sly smile wrinkled Bruno's weathered face. "Just as I thought." "You're a king, damn it! Don't you know what that means?" Little Dagna's reaction of pouring cold water was not much of a surprise to Bruenor the Dwarf King, who had made a declaration to pursue the orcs and giants, to avenge the destroyed village and Qued's companions.Dagna Jr. thinks from the perspective of his designated bodyguard to Bruno, who has sometimes admitted that he needs protection beyond his own judgment. But in terms of the degree of attention he received, this time was different.Their territory was only a few days' drive from Broken Heel Village, and this operation was his duty, and he was sure to do his part in clearing the area of ​​villains like orcs and giants.

"It must mean one thing. I can't let the orcs who need to beat me run around my place and kill people." "Orcs and giants," reminded Little Dagna, "a small army. We're not out—" "We're the ones who came out to kill Tride's mates," Bruno cut him off. "To me they might be the same gang." Qude next to him nodded in agreement. "And a larger party than we thought," argued stubborn little Dagna, "twenty orcs and a few giants, Tred says, but more towns razed than that! You should tell me to go back and get Panter and his men, and a hundred of our best warriors, and then we'll hunt out the orcs and giants who need to be beaten."

Bruenor looked at Drizzt, "Will the footprints disappear then?" He was more pleading than questioning. Drizzt nodded and said, "It won't do any good if we try to surprise them by rushing into the hills with an army of dwarves." "A regular army will kill orcs and giants cleanly," said Dagna Jr. "But that would happen on their chosen battlefield," Drizzt demurred.He looked at Bruno, obviously Bruno had accepted it all. "You're going to raise an army, and we may have a new way to reach the enemy. Yes, we'll defeat them, but they'll see us coming too. We'll face the rain of stones and Their easy-to-defend vantage point—with a cliff or worse, on a cliff—charges. If we stalk them now and attack and chop them up suddenly, it's us who choose and set up the field. That way it won't There are boulders flying here and there and platforms that are very defendable, unless we are on the defensive."

"Sounds like you're looking for fun," Catti-brie sneered.Drizzt's smile showed that he couldn't completely deny what she said. Little Dagna immediately tried to argue again, and really, that seemed to be his role here, but Bruno had heard enough. The king raised his hand to silence his commander. "Go and find the trail, elf," he told Drizzt. "Our friend Tred is about to smash the orc's brains out. I owe him that, as dwarves do." Tred's expression showed that he appreciated the good conclusion of the debate.It seemed that even Dagna Jr. accepted the verdict and said nothing more.

Drizzt turned to Catti-brie, "What about you?" "I thought you wouldn't ask. Did you bring the big cat?" "Soon," Drizzt promised. "Regis and I, to carry messages between you and Bruenor," Wulfgar added. Drizzt nodded. The collective performed their duties so well together that the display of harmony gave Bruenor even more confidence in his decision. In fact, Bruno needed that support.In the depths of his being, repeatedly disturbed by his behavior beyond the bounds of selfishness, he may be leading his friends and followers to an impasse, for he fears, or loathes, what will meet him at the end of the journey. Intriguing political life. But, watching his skilled friends embark on the longing adventure, Bruno shrugged those doubts aside.When they have dealt with this, when all the orcs and giants are dead or driven back into the deep caverns, he will return to Mithril Hall and take his throne with this near victory as his identity and his ideal motto.Of course, there would be bureaucratic camaraderie—a seemingly endless stream of pleasing dignitaries, but there would also be adventure—Bruenor promised himself, thinking again of the secrets of Gauntgrim.Someday he will see the broad road again, and feel the mountain wind blowing through his rough beard. He smiled as he made his promise. He didn't realize that the greater the expectation, the more hopeless the disappointment. "It's full of rocks here, and even if there were such a large number of them, it would be difficult to track them down," Drizzt said after climbing the rocky slope in the north of the village with Catti-brie. "Probably not," the girl replied, motioning for Drizzt to follow. As he approached her, she pointed to a spot of red on a gray stone on the ground.Drizzt knelt down on one knee, took off the glove, rolled it up with his fingertips, moved it to his eyes and examined it with a smile. "They're hurt." "They kept them alive on purpose," said Catti-brie, "like very civilized Orcs." "Good for us," Drizzt said.He made a brief conclusion, turned his head and saw a huge figure turning a corner. "The dwarves are ready to go down the road," Wulfgar announced. "We found a way for them to go," said Catti-brie, pointing to the stone. "Is this the color of the ore or the blood of the captive?" Wulfgar asked. The question killed the smiles on both Drizzt's and Catti-brie's faces, neither of whom had thought of the unpleasant possibility. "Ore, I guess," Drizzt said. "I see no sign of mercy from what has happened to the village. If it's otherwise, we'd better move quickly." Wulfgar nodded, and walked away with a wink to Regis, who was about to deliver a message to Bruenor, Young Dagna, and the others. "He seems relieved," Catti-brie said to Drizzt after Wulfgar left, and Wulfgar, who was drifting away, returned to his post in the dwarven advance team. "His new family is comfortable enough for him," Drizzt replied, "enough for him to forgive his mistakes." He took a step forward, but Catti-brie grabbed his arm.When he turned to face her, he saw a serious expression on her face. "His family makes him comfortable, and it doesn't hurt at all to see us here in action, shoulder to shoulder." "We can only hope that someday we will live a little more than Wulfgar," Drizzt replied with a grin. "Not long." He left Catti-brie and hopped the rocky gravel slope with such ease that Catti-brie couldn't even try to keep up with him.She understands the patterns they track.Drizzt would constantly move in vantage points around her as she tracked cautiously.When her own attention was fixed on her feet, the drow was like her second pair of sharper eyes. "Hasn't it been too long since you called a big cat out!" she said to Drizzt as he brushed past her.And he waved his hand to deal with her. The blood had been easy to track as they moved swiftly for hours, and by the time they found its source—a dead orc who had fallen to their relief by the side of the road—the trail couldn't have been more definite.There are not many roads out of the mountain, and the winding road ahead of their only trace is almost impossible to cross, even for giants with long legs. They asked their liaisons to bring letters to the back, just waiting for the dwarves to come and set up camp. "If the tracks don't break, we'll catch them in two days," Drizzt promised Bruno over dinner. "The orc has been dead for three days, and our enemies are moving slowly and aimlessly. They may be closer than we expected, and may have turned back from the lower regions to find food." "That's why I doubled the guards, elf," Bruenor replied gagging, "I don't want to be caught by a hundred orcs and a bunch of giants in my sleep!" That was exactly how Drizzt hoped to find the hundred orcs and the handful of giants. They marched all day the next day, and Drizzt and Catti-brie detected many signs of recent passage, such as numerous tracks in the creek valley.Also, persistent signs that made Drizzt's guesses about the size of the enemy's army more confident also pointed the way. The drow and Catti-brie knew that the orcs and giants were making no effort to hide themselves, or watch out for the obvious stalking behind them, as they approached swiftly. How could they?Broken Heel Village is the same as other villages on the wild frontier. It is a sheltered place. Under normal circumstances, even the complete disaster and destruction of the village will take one to twenty days or several months before other villages in the area can be covered. Residents know that this is true even in the summer when the merchants are busy.Except for a few commodity distribution centers like Mithril Hall, this is not an area with frequent business exchanges, and the rugged mountain roads here are not a place frequented by travelers.Broken Heel Village is not on the main commercial road, it is on the border with a dozen or more communities - most of the residents are hunters - if there were, it is very rare to be able to be seen on the map Mark it out. These sites are desolate, uncultivated lands.From the understanding of Drizzt and Catti-brie, the orcs and giants are of course very aware of this, and those who don't agree with their enemies will set up guard posts on the way to ensure safety after slaughtering a village. hold this view. When the two joined the dwarves for supper the next night, Drizzt reiterated his prophecy to Bruenor with supreme confidence. "Tell your people to sleep well," he said. "We shall meet the enemy before sunset tomorrow." "Before sunrise the next day, our enemies will all be dead," Bruno promised.As he said this he looked at the dwarf who had invited him to dine with him. Tred nodded grimly and appreciatively, and then went back to munching on his leg of lamb with great interest. The terrain here is a rocky fault covered with dense evergreen vegetation, set in the shadow of steep mountains that rise into the sky. The gust of wind howled and fell, circling and lingering between the mountain walls.The winding and curly stream flows and dances along the slope, embellishing the blue-gray mountain curtain with a silver chain.To the inexperienced traveler, the course of these mountains can be quite disorienting, causing them to go back and forth, up and down, and back and forth, until they are completely off their intended destination, or present them with a broad road, and finally Then it suddenly showed a 500-foot cliff. Even with wilderness as attuned to Drizzt and his friends, climbing the mountains can be a challenge.Now that the correct path to follow was clear to the mighty drow, they could follow the orc legion with confidence.But as the trail became more and more obvious, it was a difficult problem to find a way to outflank the retreating legion. On the high ground on the hill where the cluster of trails served as a general turn, Drizzt found a leaking print.He crouched before a puddle of ooze, its edges blurred by a fresh bootprint. "The footprints are new," he explained to Catti-brie, Regis, and Wulfgar.He stood up from a squatting position, rubbing the mud with his fingers, "less than an hour." The companions scanned the surroundings quickly, focusing most of their attention on the higher ridge that sank to the north. Catti-brie was the first to notice the activity there, a hulking giant walking, leaving a trail of rubble broken by his tread. "It is time for Guenhwyvar to play," Wulfgar said. Drizzt nodded and unfastened the figurine from his belt buckle, then set it down on the ground, calling to Guenhwyvar to come to him. "We should pass a message to Bruno, too," the Savage said again. "Go ahead," Catti-brie replied to Wulfgar, "your long legs will get you there earlier than the smaller ones." Wulfgar nodded, which made sense. "We'll be better at locating and tracking the dwarves while you lead them," Drizzt added.He winked at Regis, who had already moved west rather than north. "Outflank?" "I'll go this way, you go north, she goes east." Regis explained. All three of his friends laughed, glad to see Regis reverting to his old ways—because the giant they were following traveled from west to east, and Regis went west because he was sure that his friend would be ahead of him. Find orcs and giants. "Guanhwyvar and I head north, straight for the enemy," Drizzt added. "She alone will not arouse suspicion. We will meet again here before sunset." With a final nod and an air of determination they took their own paths, and each moved swiftly along the appointed route. Being alone in this wilderness, without Drizzt or anyone around to protect him, gave Regis a strange feeling.While still living in Ten-Towns, the halfling had often ventured out of Lonewood alone, but almost exclusively along familiar paths, especially the one that brought him to the shores of the Great Lake of Dulden and his favorite fishing pond. way. Being out in the wilds with known dangerous enemies is also eerily exhilarating.Despite the very real fear, Regis couldn't deny that there was a surge of energy in his small frame.It was the invigorating undercurrent, the trembling of the goblin that might lurk behind the rock, or even the giant, at the danger of aiming at him as a catapult. In fact, it wasn't an experience that Regis had planned to define his existence, but he knew it was an inescapable risk, a rewarding one, one he had to accept. He also hoped that he was not the first to meet the orcs, the tail of the crane that fell behind the main force.The restless halfling, deep in his own thoughts, did not notice them until he was in the middle of their line. Drizzt didn't like what he saw.With his stomach on the ground, Drow was lying on a high stone platform overgrown with rocks, staring at the camp of hundreds of orcs—this was as he expected.Just outside the camp, four behemoths appeared: the huge frost giant, not the little thief who hangs out with the orcs as most people imagined.They were graceful creatures, neat and well-groomed, with ornamental bracelets, rings, and furs that were neither new nor worn. These giants belonged to a larger, more organized clan—apparently the Old Grayhand Chieftain—a name unknown to Drizzt and the dwarves of Mithril Hall—organized at the Spine of the World stretching into this area, Part of many minions. If the Old Greyhand lent some of his mighty warriors to an orc clan, it would have more serious implications than a razed village and a troop of ambushed dwarves. Drizzt looked around, wondering if there was some way he could get closer to the giants, to try and eavesdrop on their conversations. He could only hope that they were speaking in a language he could understand. Although there is no reliable barrier between him and the orc camp, and the cliff cannot be climbed down; besides, the sun is already very low in the sky, if he seems to be at the appointed time and appointed place, it will not be long before he meets his friends Can be delayed. He lingered for a while longer, watching from a distance the limited communication between the giants and the orcs.His curiosity was piqued by the sight of a tall, strong orc, dressed in some finery for the filthy procession, approaching the four giants with a large ornately ornamented ax at his back.The orc was not as hesitant as the others, who were either bringing food to these behemoths or trying, as humbly as possible, to get around them.The orc - Drizzt knew it must be the leader, or at least one of the leaders - strode toward the giant with definite motives, and, far from trembling visibly, turned with joy. Trying to hear whatever odd news he could—even if it was a good laugh—Drizzt barely noticed a patrolling orc approaching—until it was all futile. Catti-brie spotted from a vantage point that orcs and giants had encamped far to the west of the ridge she entered the ascent.She realized that Drizzt had probably been watching their camps long ago and she could go there, but her calculations told her that if they could see each other, it would probably be just long enough to accompany Drizzt back from there their agreed place.That being the case, the girl ran to the east of the enemy camp as soon as possible, and checked the road below the path that the giants and orcs were likely to cross in the morning-of course they would break camp early and march through the night, which would undoubtedly benefit the orcs, even though the giants were not big might like it. What is certain is that, with her strategist's eye as the adopted daughter of Bruenor's Warhammer, she seeks out powerful strike positions: the narrow strip of road, where the dwarves can perch up to hurl stones and whirling hammers at their enemies... Despite her multiple roles, the girl was the first of the four to return to the assembly point.Wulfgar returned shortly thereafter, accompanied by Bruenor, Dagna Jr., and Tred McNuclis. "They camp almost due north of here," said the girl. "How many?" Bruno asked. Catti-brie just shrugged, "Drizzt will figure it out. I'm just surveying the terrain ahead, like when and where we should attack tomorrow." "Have you found the massacre site that will delight us?" Catti-brie gave a smirk, and Bruno rubbed his hands together eagerly, then winked at Tred and nudged him again. "You will have your revenge, friend," the Dwarf King assured him. As in previous cases, good luck saved Regis' life again.He slipped briskly behind a nearby rock, unnoticed by the small group of orcs, who were arguing over the uneven distribution of the spoils of the village raid. They scrambled, shoved and yelled, and decided to share the spoils in private, when they suddenly fell silent.Instead of chasing the large army along the way, they just sat there and sent a few orcs back to find some food. In this way, Regis got an excellent position to eavesdrop on the orcs' nonsense, which answered many of the halfling's doubts and made him want to ask more. Drizzt couldn't have been in a more disadvantaged position than he was lying face down between a rock and a slab, and he was talking to someone, something that came from behind him - most likely an orc. —Stay on a stone platform.He ducked his head and drew the hood of his cloak tight, hoping the creature would miss him in the dim light.And when the footsteps approached, Zall understood that he had to take another countermeasure. Bending his knees hard, he leapt out, spinning and drawing his scimitars, swinging them as fast as he could to form a defensive position and try to draw a straight thrust from his attacker.If the creature was straight forward, Drizzt would take a step back. Yes, it was an orc, but this orc didn't rush forward.It stepped back some distance, raised its hands, waved wildly, and dropped its weapon to the ground at its feet. It spoke something that Drizzt could not fully understand, though it was very similar to the goblin language that the drow understood.He could tell it was admiring in an almost apologetic tone.It seemed the orc recognized the drow and feared he was coming to invade. This apparent fear did not surprise Drizzt, for the goblin race was often intimidated by the drow, the most powerful of the races, but he sensed that this time was different.The orc wasn't surprised at all, and it seemed that it wasn't unexpected for Drow to appear around here. He wanted to question the creature further, but when a dark figure flashed to the orc's side, he knew he had lost his chance. Guan Haifa leaped out from the slanting stab with great force, and leaped with all his strength until he was as high as the orc's chest. "Guan, don't!" shouted Drizzt as the big cat flew by. The orc's throat sprayed blood and was thrown to the ground.Drizzt ran to turn it over, trying to stop the bleeding from his throat. Then he realized that the orc had no throat at all. He thought dejectedly of an opportunity lost; he was grateful that Guenhwyvar had seen danger from afar and had come to his rescue.Drizzt shook his head helplessly at this. He hid the orc body in the crevice of the stone as much as possible without leaving any traces, and walked to the assembly point, Guenhyvar followed him beside him.He unearthed more questions than answers. "There are lots of places we can make as we wish," Catti-brie explained to them as they assembled on the heights below where the enemy was, "and we'll fight the battle we want." No one objected, and Bruno had a worried look on his face. "There are too many giants," he said, and the others turned their attention to him. "Four men are enough for a good fight. I think we'll attack them before daybreak. Cut the numbers down." "It's not an easy task, and we want to surprise it tomorrow," Catti-brie added. They discussed several possible solutions back and forth.Like luring the giants to a secure location to fight the beasts outside their main camp.There's no shortage of such resources here, but getting them hooked can be tricky. "There will be a way..." Drizzt said his first word about the plan. Replaying the scene of its reaction when meeting the orc in his mind, Drizzt wondered if his blood was about to make trouble again. The six, plus Gwanhayfa, agreed on a spot, except that Drizzt stepped aside and returned to where he had just overlooked the camp. He was there only a moment, his piercing eyes piercing the night sky, and he recognized a force approaching the lonely camp of giants. Then he was gone, vanishing like a shadow. "He'll hit them from the right," Bruno said when he reached the agreed ambush. The dwarf was facing a screen of rocks, and the rough and rugged path wound in front of him. "Can you go up there, glutton?" Regis, standing at the foot of the rock, had already begun to chart his path.He had observed several routes leading to the foothold he was going to, and he just wanted to find an easier one for his less agile companions. "You want to join the fray?" he asked Trede McNucles, who stood beside him, looking greatly shocked by the mad plan and the tactful cooperation of his companions. "What number are you running?" the dwarf asked back. "I was thinking you should put the weapon back on your back and follow me," Regis replied with a grin, and the halfling focused on climbing up. "I'm not a disgusting spider!" Qued yelled at him. "Then do you still want to fight?" Those were the last words Regis wanted to say, and the last he could—to make Tred, the swearing, whining, marauded dwarf, proud and honorable, along the footing Regis had adopted. climb.It took him a long time to reach the stone platform, and when he arrived, Regis was sitting comfortably, leaning against the mountain wall, twenty-five feet above the ground, and it had been a long time. "Try if you can push that rock off." The halfling said and nodded to the side.There, a rather large rock was wedged into the platform. Trede looked suspiciously at the thousand-pound block of solid granite. Catti-brie couldn't wait for an answer and went straight to Wulfgar to confer.The Savage ran aside, and returned a moment later with a long, thick branch that had been broken off.He stood under the stone platform, trying to reach it as much as possible.When it was evident that he could not reach his companion with the branch, he threw it away. Regis grabbed it and carried it to his side.Smiling, he handed it to a bewildered Tred. "You will see," the halfling promised. On another stone platform at the side, which was almost as high as the ledge where Regis and Tred stood, Guenhwyvar let out a low growl.Poor Tred seemed even more uncomfortable. Regis just smiled, turned around and looked at the way he had come. Drizzt's confidence in the plan grew a little when he heard them talking in a language close enough to the Common Tongue. He was on the edge of the camp, leaning out from the shadow of a large rock.Neither the orcs nor the giants set up guards, obviously gaining a sense of security from the victory. The giant's conversation was mostly one-liners, giving Drow little substantive information; but that didn't get him much attention either.He was more interested in getting a chance to approach one of them who was alone, to confirm his judgment: these guys knew the drow well. Almost an hour later, he got a chance.A giant was snoring, and the sound was like an avalanche.The other, the only female in the four-person team, lay next to him, sleepy if not asleep.The remaining two are still chatting, although they have been talking to each other due to sleepiness.Finally, one of them stood up and strolled away. Drizzt took a deep breath—it was no easy task dealing with creatures as formidable as the frost giants.Coupled with their huge stature, powerful strength, and terrifying fighting power, there is an essential difference between the frost giants and their hilly giants who can only talk nonsense, and the close relatives of the ogre.According to rumors, they have quick minds and are not easy to fool.Drizzt had to consider his lineage, and the reputation that had given him a head start. Under the cover of the shadow, he crept to within a few feet of the sitting monstrosity. "You've missed your chance to get rich," he said softly. The giant, who was obviously asleep, moved slightly and propped his body up on his elbows.When he turned to face the speaker, he asked, "Who?" Seeing the dark elf, the giant moved even more, and it quickly returned to an upright posture with its upper body. "Donya?" it asked.All he heard was a name, a drow name, and Drizzt had never heard of the man. "I'm her partner," he whispered back. "You're missing a fortune." "Where? What is it?" "In that village. A huge pile of gems and jewels, all buried under a collapsed building." The giant looked around and moved closer. "You let it out?" he asked skeptically, clearly not at all sure that this drow, 'any' drow, could come and reveal such news. "I can't take that much," Drizzt explained, "I can't take the lower tenth of that. When I took the baby in my arms and took it away, I suspected there were more hidden in one piece. I removed it." Under the closed stone slab." The giant looked around again, and his movements showed that it was very interested.Not far away, one of his companions snored, coughed, and turned over. "I split with you, you can also be with your companions, if you are sure you need them." Drizzt said, "but not with the orcs." The evil smile on the giant's face told Drizzt that his guess about the relationship between the two races in the enemy camp was basically confirmed. "Then let's talk, but not here." Drizzt said and disappeared into the shadows. The giant looked around again, then bent down and followed him, sinking into the night with longing, and quietly followed a gravel path to a clearing sheltered by a steep wall. On the top of the tall giant's head, on the protrusion about ten feet above the stone wall, two pairs of curious eyes were watching. "What will Donya Sodor think of this?" asked the giant. "Donya doesn't need to know," Drizzt said. The giant's shrug told him more, that Donya - whoever she was - was not the commander in chief of the army but probably just a contact.This relieved the dark elf a little.He loathed the idea—giants and orcs commanding an army of drow. "I'm taking Gretha with me," the giant declared. "The friend who was talking to you?" The giant nodded, "We want two, you get one." "That doesn't seem fair, does it?" "You can't move the slab." "You can't find the slate either." Drizzt continued to tease it, trying not to arouse his suspicion before his partner moved to the target location. He felt that he didn't need to maintain the status quo for much longer. Drow wasn't surprised when a blue arrow shot from behind him, skimmed past him, and thumped the giant's chest. The giant roared, and the injury was not serious.Drizzt drew his scimitar and jumped to face Catti-brie, still playing the role of ally of the giants. "Where did it come from?" he cried. "Pick me up, and maybe I can see." "Straight ahead!" roared the giant. He began to bend over to assist the drow, and Drizzt turned sharply, running up his thick, tree-trunk arms.他的弯刀狠狠地在巨人的脸上割下去，牵出了鲜红的血流。 巨人怒吼着去抓他，但是卓尔早就跳开了。另一支幽蓝的箭矢嘶嘶地从他身后袭来，再一次重击了巨人。 巨人一边扭掉了箭，一边继续冲向崔斯特，知道像木头爆裂的一声传出。布鲁诺•战锤遍是凹痕的战斧砍进了他的膝后部。 巨人吼叫着，蹒跚着，捂住了伤口。凯蒂布莉儿又一次用箭射中了他，这次瞄准的是脸。 尽可能地忽略掉这一击，巨人抬起脚，分明是要把布鲁诺踩扁。 而后小达格纳冲出来，把战锤正砸到他的支撑脚上，把他砸得直单脚跳。 旋即是一声“坦帕斯” 的呼唤，尾随而至的是一记锤击，这次战锤旋转着破空飞来，扭转了战局。 艾吉斯之牙当胸坠颈击中了巨人，冲力把他打得背撞向山壁。沃夫加随锤前来，利用魔法力量召唤它回到自己的掌握，然后在巨人恢复前疾奔，以一记势大力沉的扣击砸碎了他的膝盖骨。 这野兽的嚎叫是多么凄厉啊！ 凯蒂布莉儿的下支箭没入了他的面孔。 石台上，作为杠杆的树枝紧紧地架在屈德的肩膀。他呆呆地看看巨人，又看了看瑞吉斯。 他以前曾在许多场合和巨人作战，但是他从没见过如此干净利落的战斗。 他的目光从瑞吉斯转移到关海法身上。大猫就蹲伏在左近的一块石台上，注视着战况的发展，不止是那样，当她又把头转回东边时，她的耳朵竖了起来。 瑞吉斯向石台方向伸出手，指示目标巨人已经就位。 屈德满意地咕哝了一声，把杠杆插得更深更稳，接着用力推挤已经移位的大石。巨石倾倒滚动，下面刚刚从昏眩恢复了神智的可怜巨人，受到了来自卓尔、野蛮人、女郎、两个狂野矮人来自四面八方的冲击，正准备形成防御，不料一块重达千磅的花岗岩正砸到了它的脑袋上。从他脖颈发出的'克拉克拉'的响声，经过石壁的反射，与巨石落地弹跳的声音形成了共鸣。 瑞吉斯为这漂亮的一击向屈德敬了个礼，可是他的轻松只持续了一小会儿。因为直到那时半身人和矮人才明白，是什么激起了关海法的敌意，并且让她脱离战斗。另外一只巨人正沿着小径冲锋，后面还跟了一只雌性巨人。 瑞吉斯看看屈德，“我们应该能再找一块石头吧？”他说，声音蘸润了一丝恐惧。 他们后边的关海法一跃跳到冲过来的巨人肩膀上，他迈着沉重的步子接着向前冲，屈德耸耸肩，在大猫让它分心的时候，依样画葫芦地抡起大斧，结实地在他脸上来了一下。即使是坚硬岩石的对撞，也弄不出比屈德的斧子剁碎巨人头骨更大的声响。 瑞吉斯不禁缩头，只从上面看着。 “或许我们应该去找一块大石头。”半身人说道，尽管矮人不可能听到他了。 屈德顽固地紧抓住斧柄不放，费了好大力气才保持悬在巨人脑后的姿势。他趁着巨人绊倒跪地的时机，从上面滑到地上。 屈德从已死的巨人后背站起，转身加入对剩下一只野兽的争斗——抑或是试着加入——他随即被深深嵌入头骨的斧子抻了回去。 他听到从一旁下面传出的一声呻吟，并且在那是意识到——他也是小队里惟一一个注意到的——小达格纳刚才处在一个倒霉的位置，巨人轰然倒地的时候，他被压在这个大块头身子下面了。 崔斯特开始反击了，他沿小径直冲向狂怒的雌性霜巨人。他看到巨人举起手臂，手里抓着一块石头作势欲投， 他作出反应，用卓尔的天赋能力， 在巨人眼前召唤出一团黑暗结界。 卓尔急速向侧边闪开， 被掷出的石头砸在他刚刚站立的地面， 砰然作响。石头迅疾地反弹，撞到沃夫加的肩，把他砸得飞起，而后又险些砸到凯蒂布莉儿石头把陶玛里从她手中砸脱，弓弦划破了她的手指。她双膝着地，抓着手指，脸上凝注了痛苦。 崔斯特奔向巨人。这个庞然大物对着他扫起一脚，卓尔一个跳空翻正好在脚扫过时避开，然后他轻巧地落地，绕过半圈，致命的弯刀在粗大的小腿上留下了深深的伤痕。 接下来布鲁诺奔至，斧子劈向巨人的另一条腿的胫骨。巨人一挥巨掌把他拍到一边。但矮人把之后在石头上的碰撞硬抗下来，重新调整了步伐，又正了正独角头盔，向巨人摇了摇指头。 “现在你把我惹火了，你个馕肿的兽人。” 巨人又是一脚朝崔斯特踢过去，但是他的反应快过攻击。他一次又一次地跳开，一旦她露出空当，就绕到后面，狠狠砍她一刀。 见败局已定，巨人踢出了距离稍短最后一脚，并没想击中卓尔而只求挡住他。雌性巨人转向南方顺着山路，而不是小径逃跑，在山上她的长腿会更有利。 她试着跑。 艾吉斯之牙迫近，扣中了雌性巨人拖曳的脚踝，横在两脚之间，让她绊了个跤。 她重重跌在地上，被这一下撞得气息散乱。 她想站起来，但是没机会了。崔斯特到了那儿，跑到她的后背上。关海法也在那儿，跳到她的肩上撕咬它的后颈。凯蒂布莉儿用受伤的手，小心翼翼地提着相当锋利的卡兹赫，也赶到了那儿。布鲁诺拿着斧子，沃夫加唤回锤子跟在他身后，也到了。 屈德护卫着受惊，但伤得不重的小达格纳，走了过来。 在众人身后的石台，瑞吉斯欣然望着。当看到第一个倒下的巨人又动了时，他叫出声来。 尽管晃晃悠悠地，巨人仍然挣扎着站起来了。沃夫加跑回来，拽着艾吉斯之牙抡起迎头就是一阵要命的捶打。 “我从没见过这样的。”屈德在小队回到等待着的矮人主力部队处时承认。 “就是清理战场。”布鲁诺解释。 “每人能比布鲁诺王做得更好！”小达格纳补充。 “没人，除他之外。”布鲁诺说着向崔斯特努了努嘴，后者正边走边照看着凯蒂布莉儿的手。 她至少也有一根指头骨折，不过看上去无论如何不愿放弃参战。 这小队今夜不会休息了。有一处新战场正待规划；在那里，他们要为一场更为浩大的战斗做准备。