Chapter 14 Chapter Eleven In Their Home Field

They were a little nervous when walking along the mountain road. There was only one giant left in the team, and the other three disappeared inexplicably. Drizzt Do'Urden, who was staying on the branch mountain at the same height as the giant, was covered by evergreen plants, and saw clearly how vigilant they were.He understood that he and his companions had to be more cautious in their actions.The giant is the key to everything, Drow thought, and he had said enough to Bruenor and Dagna Jr when the troops set off.Drizzt, convinced that he had caught the vital point, took the initiative and ran in front of the hidden dwarves.He and his fearsome Panther allies stand ready to deliver the decisive blow they've been waiting for.

The trail extends into a narrow, isolated valley, passing through a well-defined grove.Drizzt held his breath and leaned against the tree trunk as the orc wisely sent out scouts to survey the area.He was glad he had convinced Bruno and Dagna Jr.Set up an ambush behind this field. Orc scouts walked through and through the shadows, often kicking up piles of fallen leaves.A pair of orcs took a defensive stance while another pair turned back the way they had come, signaling to move on. The large army marched easily, without much suspicion. The first few orcs passed Drizzt from below.He glanced at Guenhuffa on the other side of the path, and gave the big cat a wink to calm down, but he also asked her to get ready.

More orcs passed by, and then the giant arrived, walking alone with a wrinkled face. Drizzt came to one of his carefully chosen branches, slowly drew the scimitar, and placed them under the cover of his cloak; so that the glowing metal and magical light would not expose him. The giant strode straight ahead, his eyes always looking forward. Drizzt leaped and landed on the giant's shoulder, his scimitar slashing swiftly, and he hopped up another tree beside him as the giant reached out to catch him.The drow ranger didn't do much damage--nor did he want to--but enough, he did draw the monstrous creature, making his arms, eyes, and cheeks pop up.

Guenhwyvar jumped out from the other side and was able to face the giant's throat. She clung to the giant, biting and biting. The giant roared, or tried to roar, and clasped the big cat with his big hands.Guenhwyvar didn't budge, she pounced harder and bit harder, slapping and tearing at the giant's neck, exposing even his arteries. Beside, the orcs rushed over like a swarm of bees, knocking and breaking many branches along the way. "What's that?" an orc cried out. "Damn bobcat!" cried one, "still black!" The giant finally dragged the stubborn Guenhwyvar away, barely noticing that his neck was still tightly bound to the panther.After another effort, the giant pulled the cat closer, put his arms around her and began to squeeze her.Guenhwyvar let out a loud and miserable cry.

Drizzt flinched at the moment, and he sent Guenhwyvar back to the Astral Plane.The giant tightened a little more, and the panther it was squeezing transformed into immaterial smoke. The giant beast stretched its hand to its neck and slapped it frantically, spattering streams of blood.He wobbled back and forth, mis-hitting the stunned orc before finally falling, and fell panting in the dust. "He killed the big cat!" shouted an orc, "just got her under him." A group of orcs rushed forward to help the giant, but the struggling, frightened giant swept them aside.Dozens of orcs surrounded him, focusing on his crooked body, trying to see if it could stand up again.

That's why they didn't notice the prowling drow sliding down the tree into place. That's why they didn't notice that the dwarves were closer, the flyweights at the ready, the melee weapons within reach. There were bellows, whoops, guesses, and retorts from the bewildered orcs.Suddenly, the last orc turned enough to see the approaching army, opened its eyes wide, raised its hand to point, and opened its mouth to shout. The shout was fused, and when it was, two dozen dwarves joined the chorus and leaped forward, throwing the first wave of ranged attacks, and they closed in, sledgehammers, swords, pincers, quick and deadly waving.

In the rear, an orc tried to lead the counterattack—until a scimitar protruding from the back lung stopped it.The other orc nearby then gave orders—until an arrow pierced through the air and pierced the tree trunk next to its head.It cared more about its own life than fighting the dwarves.The quasi-leader squatted down hastily, crawled away with hands and feet and fled. Just as the orcs closest to the dwarves responded defensively, in Wulfgar's name, he swung his warhammer hard, knocking down two orcs at once.He suffered a few itchy bruises but still didn't slow down, nor did he pause his heart song against Tempus.

In one corner of the battlefield, Catti-brie was in pain and excitement.She picked up the bow for a while, and put it down again.A broken finger wouldn't give her the precision she would dare to shoot near her friends.Nor did she know Drizzt's position among the crowd of orcs that crowded the callsigns. She was extremely saddened to be out of the fight.But she saw that things were going better than they had imagined.They caught the orcs by surprise, and the irascible dwarves were about to extend their advantage. What made Catti-brie all the more excited and inspired was Wulfgar's actions.He strides confidently, striking each fatal blow swiftly and swiftly.This was no longer the man who was going to marry him, he was hesitant and timid and too conservative back then.Now he wasn't the man who had abandoned them when they set out to destroy the Crystal Shard.

This was the Wulfgar she had known in Icewind Dale, the man who had followed Drizzt into Billing's lair with great interest. This was Wulfgar who had led the barbarians in the tundra against Akar Kessell's slave army.This was the son of Beornegar who had returned to them fully from Errtu's clutches. Catti-brie had to smile as she watched him stride toward his foe, for she knew instinctively that none of the swords and clubs could harm him today, and he held them down miraculously.Aegis-fang knocked the orcs away, as if they were children, trivial troubles.An orc rushed at him hiding behind a small tree, which made Wulfgar's roar grow louder, his cries louder, his weapon swung more forcefully, and the tree and the hiding orc were wiped out. .

By the time Catti-brie looked away from Wulfgar, the battle was over, and the remaining orcs outnumbered the dwarves by at least one to three.The orcs fled in all directions, and many of the orcs left their weapons on the ground as they fled. Bruenor and Dagna Jr. directed the troops forward quickly and properly, killing as many as they could.Wulfgar chased the orcs running past, chopping them to the ground. On the other side, away from the battle, Catti-brie saw a group of three scurrying into the forest, so she raised her bow, but couldn't fire arrows at them in time. The shadows in the wood deepened, and they were drawn into a magical darkness.A few screams followed, telling her that Drizzt was there and that he was in complete control of the situation.

An orc escaped and ran towards her position, so she lifted the Taumari to bring it down. Just then, it tripped over a bump in the ground ahead and fell heavily, and Catti-brie just shook her head and grinned as she saw Regis's tiny frame stretch out and stand up.The halfling thrust forward, swinging his mace repeatedly, then stepped back with a look of disgust as the dark red liquid spattered.He raised his head to notice Catti-brie, shrugged and lay back on the grass.Catti-brie looked around, her bow ready to fire, yet she slung it on her back, retracting the arrows into the magic quiver that was always full. The short but intense battle is over. No race in all of Faerûn is more tenacious than the Dwarves, and few among the Dwarves match the tenacity of the Warhammers, especially those who have survived the harsh conditions of Icewind Dale.The battle was over for a long time, and even after the dwarves reorganized their formation, only a few dwarves discovered that they had been injured in the battle. Some of the wounds were deep and severe, and at least two would have been fatal if there hadn't been a gang of priests accompanying them to cast healing spells, give aid, and bandage the wounds. Wulfgar was one of the many wounded, a proud and strong barbarian, wounded by too many orcish weapons.He only grunted his displeasure as the dwarf washed his wounds with stinging solution. "Are you all right?" Catti-brie asked, finding the Priest's Savage sitting stoically on the rock, waiting to be overloaded with work. "I took a few hits," he answered truthfully. "Nothing hurts like the one Bruno hit me on the head when I first met him, but..." He stopped the conversation with a big smile, and Catti-brie thought this might be the most beautiful encounter of her life. Then Drizzt, stroking his hands, joined them. "It broke on the handle of the orc's knife." He explained with a wave of his hand. "Greedy?" Catti-brie asked. Drow nodded toward where Catti-brie saw Regis tripping the orc. "He couldn't have ended the fight without searching for the body," Drizzt explained. "He said that was against the rules." They sat down and exchanged only a few words.Immediately, a noisier argument attracted their attention. "It's Bruno and little Dagna," remarked Catti-brie. "Let me guess what it's about." She and Drizzt got up to leave.Wulfgar didn't follow, and when they turned to question, he waved them away. "He's hurt more than he claims," ​​Catti-brie said to Drizzt. "But he can stand after a hundred injuries like that," Drow assured her. They sensed the crux of the argument as soon as they arrived, as Catti-brie had guessed. "I told you, I will return to Mithril Hall, which means that I will return to Mithril Hall in the future!" Bruno yelled, and poked little Dagna's chest with his finger. "We have suffered a loss," replied Little Dagna.He still sticks to his hapless duty of trying to protect the stubborn dwarf king. Bruenor turned to Drizzt. "What do you think?" he asked. "I'm adamant that we should go down the villages, all the way to Shallowwater. We shouldn't let them run off without a memory." "But the orcs are all gone," put in Little Dagna, "and all their giant allies." Drizzt knew himself to disagree with these inferences at all.The clothes of the giants and their neatness showed that they were not bandits, but belonged to a larger tribe.Still, he decided to keep this potentially damaging news a secret until he gathered more information. "'These' orcs, 'these' giants," Bruenor growled before the drow had time to answer, "are there more of them running around in groups?" "That's all the more reason to retreat, reorganize, and let Panter and his men join," Dagna Jr. said. "We're taking Pant and his boys to Shallow Water Town, and the last thing they have to worry about is the stupid orcs," Bruno said. Several people around him, including Drizzt, appreciated the joke's tension-breaking banter.Little Dagna, who was still frowning, didn't seem to understand. "Well, there's a point in what you say," Bruno admitted later. "I think so too, we have a lot of responsibilities here and I don't want to give up on any of them. We have to get the wounded back. Then tell The people of this area are concerned with the crisis and prepare for them. We must also prepare ourselves to fight closer to Mithril Hall." Little Dagna began to react, but Bruno made a downward gesture and continued: "So we will send a group of people to accompany the wounded, and lead Pante and his boys to lead a hundred people to guard Order to station in the Valley of the Dead. They can lead another two hundred men to the banks of the Surbrin River north of Mithral Hall. We will form a circle and clean it up." "Nice plan, I agree," said Dagna Jr. "Nice plan, you have no choice but to do it," Bruno corrected. "But..." Little Dagna went on, as Bruenor turned to Drizzt and Catti-brie. The dwarf king turned to face his commander. "But you have to go back to Mithril Hall with the team escorting the wounded." Little Dagna asked. Drizzt was sure that Bruenor's ears were smoking at the words, and almost as sure that the next few minutes would be a struggle to wrest Bruenor from little Dagna's beard. "You mean to tell me to run away and hide?" Bruno asked as he walked towards the dwarf, his nose almost touching that of young Dagna. "I'm telling you that it's my job to keep you safe!" "Who gave you the responsibility?" "Gundalen." "Then where is Gundaren now?" "Under a bunch of cairns." "Then who replaced him?" "Of course it's you." Bruno pretended to be puzzled, put his hands on his hips and smirked at little Dagna, as if the logic of succession had been fully demonstrated. "Yes, Gundaron told me you would say that," commented Little Dagna, as if frustrated. "So what do you do when he tells you I said that?" The other dwarf shrugged and said, "He's just laughing at me." Bruno punched him on the shoulder, "Go, get things done as I said." He ordered, "Bring fifteen, not counting my girls and boys, halflings, and drow." "We also had to send at least one priest to accompany the wounded back." Bruno nodded, "Then we'll just keep one." With that done, Bruno joined Catti-brie and Drizzt. "Wulfgar is with the wounded," Catti-brie told him. She led him to the rock where Wulfgar still sat, his leg bandaged. "Do you want to go back with my team?" Bruenor asked as he moved closer to get a better look at the many wounds. "No more than you," Wulfgar replied. Bruno laughed and cut off the subject. Then a dwarf—seven of them wounded, one still carried on a dying stretcher—took the downhill south that would bring them home.The remaining fifteen, led by Bruenor, Tred, and Dagna Jr., flanked with Drizzt, Catti-brie, Regis, and Wulfgar, took the northeast route.