Chapter 27 Chapter 22 The warning is clear

Ivan initially scoffed at Pike's suggestion of drifting down the Surbrin River to the east gate of Mithral Hall; however, on the third night of camping after they left the Moon Forest, Ivan was surprised Yes, Pike had slipped out in the middle of the night to collect fallen tree trunks, for the river was already at their feet.By the time Ivan's snores had given way to morning yawns, his green-bearded brother had built a raft of sufficient size, made of logs fitted together, and fastened with vines and ropes. Ivan's first reaction was naturally very suspicious. "You idiot, you're going to drown us both!" he said, standing with his legs crossed and slapping his hips, as if expecting Pike's classic response to such insults: jumping on top of him.

Pike just smiled and pushed the raft into the water.The raft rose and fell with the waves in a little inlet by the river, and was so perfectly balanced that it barely sank when Pike jumped on it. Under Pike's coaxing and deception, and countless reminders of his sore legs, Ivan finally followed his brother and stood on the raft, "Just try!" But Ivan hadn't finished his final intention, Pike had rowed the raft into the middle of the river and down the river. This journey was so comfortable and quick that Ivan, who could not complain originally, became quiet.Pike had made the raft beautifully, and made two very comfortable armchairs, and even hung a little hammock at the stern.

Ivan didn't ask where his brother had learned the trade, but he knew that Pike's eccentric druid spells must be at work here—obviously, indeed!Some of the wood, such as the chair he was sitting on, didn't seem to have been carved, but just grew into this shape; and the oar in Pike's hand was carved with delicate leaves and forest patterns. It is a skilled woodcarver, and it will take at least ten days to make it.And these pikes were made in just one night. They had enjoyed their first day on the Surbring, and at Pike's suggestion they sailed through the night.Floating in gentle currents with a dome of twinkling stars above your head is an unforgettable experience, especially for Pike.Even Ivan, the real dwarf, grew a little more envious of the elves living under such a charming summer night sky; or, at least, according to him, a little more understanding of the elves' love of starlight.

The next day, the river flowed along the eastern edge of the Spine of the World, gradually approaching the towering peaks. After the river entered the rocky terrain, on the right bank of the river, sometimes the gray rocks on both sides formed a dazzling barrier, dotted with some green patches, and occasionally interspersed with white snow lines.This sight didn't make Pike feel boring at all, but Ivan raised his vigilance.After all, they had only recently fought the orcs, and wouldn't this place be the ideal place for an ambush? With Ivan's insistence, they returned to the shore on the second night.In fact, the rivers get fast and treacherous in this area, and it's never wise to sail at night.Moreover, these two dwarves also need supplementary food.

Then came a rainy day, although it was only a drizzle, it still made them soaked inside and out, and they were extremely embarrassed.The mountains receded a bit, the river bank to the east was farther away, and the peaks to the west were no longer so steep, but much gentler. "Do you think we can find them today?" Ivan asked first. "Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm," Pike replied. It occurred to both dwarves what the real purpose of their journey from the Temple of the Goofy Spirit was.They had come to visit Mithril Hall and attend the coronation of King Bruenor.Thinking of the magnificent dwarf hall that he was about to witness, the magnificent sights that the two brothers had never seen in the hundreds of years since they could remember, made Ivan feel even more relaxed and happy.His thoughts took him back to the distant past; it seemed that he heard the clang of the hammer on the metal again, and smelled the smell of mead mixed with coals and sulfur.In his memory, he saw the thick and tall stone pillars supporting the majestic hall in his hometown.He believes that the legendary Mithril Hall will definitely surpass the already outstanding works in his hometown.

Surely, Ivan thought, as much as he loved Cadderly, Danica, and their children, it would be a time to be back among his own people, to such a place the dwarves aspired to. Extraordinary travel. He turned to look at Pike as he dreamed of his expectations, thinking, or rather hoping, that a place like Mithril Hall might allow this "'calabash doctor'" to find the dwarf in his blood. those things.Ivan couldn't help wondering what wonderful art he would make with stone and metal, the stuff of real dwarves, if Pike had done those dwarves' work as carefully as he had carved the raft out of wood. Taste.

Of course, if Pike hadn't summoned an unbelievably ugly bird to stand on his forearm in the middle of Ivan's contemplation, and had a long and detailed conversation with it, Ivan's budding little vision, probably would be more convincing to himself. "How about chatting with your kind?" Ivan asked sarcastically after the vulture flew away. Pike turned to his brother with startling seriousness; he pointed to the west bank of the great river, and rowed that way. Ivan wisely did not argue with him.There have been many times when the information his goofy-looking brother gleans from the beasts has proven to be crucial.Coupled with the fact that the river has become more turbulent and rapid, Ivan has long been looking forward to being able to stand on solid ground.

As soon as the raft touched the shore, Pike immediately grabbed his big bag of food, put the cooking pot on his head, jumped ashore, and ran towards the high ground far away from the shore.A moment later, Ivan overtook him on the top of a small rock pile. Pike pointed to the southwest, a moving mass of black dots against a background of gray and white mountains. "A group of dwarves," Ivan noticed. Shading the sun with his hands, he squinted his eyes to examine carefully.After a while, he nodded, confirming his discovery.They were indeed dwarves, and must have come from Mithril Hall; they were scurrying about, seeming busy fortifying the fortifications.

He turned to look at his brother, only to find that Pike had run straight for the fortification.They ran side by side over rolling hills, downhill and up a steep mountain road. Not long after, they suddenly heard a loud command: "Stop! Report your name! Friends are welcome, enemies are dead!" The two brothers recognized the seriousness of the words, and stopped at the same time in front of the closed iron gate outside the stone wall. A burly red-bearded dwarf in full battle armor rushed out from the iron gate. "Well, you don't look like orcs, and you don't smell like orcs," he said, "but I'm not sure what you look or smell like," he added, eyeing Pike.

"'Gourd doctor'." Pike replied. "Ivan Stoneshoulder is at your service. I guess you must be serving under King Bruno. This is my brother Pike. We set out from the Snowfall Mountains of Caton, High Priest Cadley Bonardus We have come to witness the coronation of the new king." The soldier nodded, his expression showed that although he didn't fully understand what Ivan said, he at least got a rough idea and felt that the explanation was reasonable. "Kadli is a friend of the drow who was with your soon-to-be king," Ivan explained, and the warrior nodded knowingly. "He's going to take the throne, isn't he?"

A shadow passed over the warrior's face, but his rough face immediately brightened, and he understood that there was no malice in the words. "We haven't crowned him yet, because he hasn't returned from Icewind Dale yet." "We were worried about missing it," Ivan said. "If he came back directly, you would have missed it," the soldier explained, "but he and his men found the orcs on the road, and they chased them, intending to drive them back to the stinking cave." Ivan nodded, sincerely envious of them. "The king in charge," he said.The soldier couldn't help but feel elated when he heard this. "Just a small group of orcs, no big deal, it won't take long," he explained.He then turned to one side, and motioned for the two brothers to come in, "There is a shortage of ale outside us," he explained as he walked, "We came out of the hall in a hurry to set up camp here, and my brothers were at the same time. There is also a camp set up on the west side." "Just a small group of orcs?" Ivan asked suspiciously. "We are never careless, Ivan Stoneshoulders," the warrior explained. "We've fought a lot lately. Not too long ago, those hateful drow crawled out of their deep holes .I don't know about the Cotton or the Snowfall Mountains you're talking about, but it's a wild area." "We just had a fight with the orcs," Ivan replied, turning around, pointing to the east and nodding. "Over the Moon Forest. My brother got us a little lost." "Ooh," Pike said, not paying attention to the accusation in that statement. "Okay, you got us here very quickly, and even threw us into the elf den!" Ivan admitted, turning his head to look at the warrior again, "There are orcs crawling out everywhere, right? So just right, I guess we've come to the right place!" These words were spoken by a real dwarf. The warrior appreciated the tone and patted Ivan on the shoulder hard. "Show me what you're building," Ivan suggested. "Maybe I have one or two of those little southern tricks you haven't heard of." "You want to go out?" came a soft voice, a voice that Drizzt Do'Urden was thinking about. He looked away from the little bag he was packing for the journey, and looked up to see Catti-brie approaching.The two had talked very little these days; Catti-brie was often alone there brooding, leaving Drizzt bewildered. "Just to make sure those orcs were indeed driven away," the drow replied. "Witherglu has dispatched a patrol." Drizzt smiled suspiciously. "Well, as I thought; but at least they know the district." "I'll get acquainted soon too." "I'll get the bow later, and I can cover your flanks," the girl suggested. Drizzt looked up at the night sky. "It's going to be a very dark night," he said. Catti-brie felt a slap on the face, she looked around helplessly, and then her eyes stayed on Drizzt's face. "This trinket I brought is for such occasions," she said. She took out the cat's-eye collar she always wore from the pouch at her waist, the gadget that could use magic to enhance vision in low light. "This is not as good as the drow's vision," Drizzt replied. "There are rolling rocks all around, making it difficult and dangerous to walk on." Catti-brie wanted to argue that she had used the collar to break into the Underdark before, and that none of this had been seen as an obstacle before; but Drizzt cut her off before she could speak. "Remember the cliff outside Deudermont's house?" he asked. "You almost didn't climb it. It just rained here, and the nearby rocks must be as slippery as they were then." Catti-brie felt another slap from him.He was telling the truth, and she couldn't keep up with him during the day, let alone at night.However, did he mean that she would hold him back?For the first time since he had foolishly decided to return to Menzoberranzan alone, was he going to refuse his friend's help? He nodded, smiled slightly, threw the bundle over his shoulders, stood up, and turned around. Catti-brie clung to his arm, forcing him to look at her instead. "You know I can do it," she said. Drizzt watched her for a long time.The serious expression on his face gradually softened and turned into a slight nod. "There will be no better companion than you in this world." He said frankly. "But you want to go out alone tonight." Catti-brie was stating the truth rather than asking. The drow nodded again. Catti-brie pulled him closer and hugged him tightly.This hug contains warmth and love, but also a little bit of sadness. Drizzt left Shallowwater not long after.Guenhwyvar did not follow him out, but he held on to the figurine, knowing that if needed, the big cat would come at his beck and call.Fifty feet beyond the torchlit gates, the drow melted into the shadows, part of the black night. He had seen Shallowwater patrols several times that night, and heard their voices long before they came into view. Drizzt easily avoided them each time.He didn't need company, but his restlessness didn't dull his focus.Like a seasoned drow warrior he scoured his prey in the dark fields, silent as a shadow, darting along trails and woods.He didn't expect to find anything; but years of experience told him that if he blindly believed in his expectations, he would only push him to the brink of disaster. So he wasn't surprised when he found the orcs.Drizzt's drow's keen eyes noticed the footprints beside a circle of resting stones.They were new, probably recent, but there was no campfire or any sign of torches.It had been dark for some time, and all the patrols that Shallowwater sent out were made up of humans, and they all carried torches. Someone has been here before, and the creatures are human-sized, and they can walk in the dark without needing any light.The fact that they were orcs, based on recent events—the drow had judged there to be two from the footprints—was not hard to deduce. Their traces are not hard to find.These two creatures must have been in a hurry, and didn't care to hide their tracks.In less than half an hour, Drizzt knew he was very close. Not for a moment did he think that Catti-brie or anyone else would be better with him; not for a moment did he take his mind off the task at hand, from the danger and need before him. Drizzt saw them under the cover of a mass of low-hanging branches.A pair of orcs were crouching on the edge of a ridge, peeping at the brightly lit Shallow Town in the distance through a cluster of lilacs. The drow leaned forward step by step carefully. The twin knives were in his hands in an instant.The nearest orc turned and nearly jumped to find the curved blade at his throat.The orc obediently raised his hands; the other foolishly reached for his weapon, a short, stubby little sword. It struggled to draw the sword, and even made a quick stab.But Drizzt spun the weapon down and out, with the scimitar in his right hand still pressed against the other orc's throat.He could easily have killed the attacking orc—after parrying the blow, he could have stabbed the orc in the chest—but he wanted captives, not prisoners, so he slashed in, right before the orc's ribs. Hold back, hoping the threat will stop the orc from struggling. . But the orc was so stubborn that it jumped backwards—just off the north side of the ridge, and below it was a cliff more than thirty feet away. Drizzt's scimitar was pressed against another orc, and he leaned out from the edge of the cliff, watching the falling orc first hit a ledge of rock, then pop out, roll and slam into the stone pile below. . Another orc took the opportunity to escape. Once again, Drizzt had ample opportunity to kill it, but instead of doing it, he chased after it. The orc scrambled across the scattered rocks toward the woods.He also fell down in a downhill place, and then rushed up the slope on the other side.As he ran wildly, he kept looking back, thinking (or hoping) that it had left the dark elf far behind. In fact, Drizzt followed closely beside him without any effort.As he turned a tree—the same tree Drizzt had been watching them a few minutes earlier—the drow charged straight up, leaping up the lower branches and slithering along them. Running, the body maintains perfect balance.At the side of the trunk he jumped onto a branch that extended to the other side, ran along the branch with equal ease, rolled forward at the end, and fell easily to the ground.The drow knelt down on one knee, pointing both knives at the orc who was charging towards him. The orc screamed and turned away, but a double-jab feint from Drizzt knocked him off balance. Drizzt quickly withdrew his knife and leaped forward, kicking out with his hind legs, hooking the orc's hind legs and tripping him, slamming face-down on the rocky ground. But the orc wasn't really hurt, he was about to get up with his hands on the ground, but the pair of knives on the back of his head reminded him that it's better to lie down quietly. The light and noise of torches not far away told Drizzt that this little commotion had alerted a nearby patrol.He called out to them, drew them to him, and begged them to take the captive back to King Bruenor and Witherglu, while he continued to patrol the surrounding area. Hours later, when Drizzt returned to Shallowwater, the look on Bruenor's face left the drow puzzled.Drizzt had expected the dwarf to be disappointed at the orc's refusal to speak, or furious at the tragedy at Broken Heel. But those were not the expressions on the faces of his red-bearded friends.Bruno was pale and full of anxiety. "What do you know?" Drow asked his friend, sitting in the chair next to Bruno, enjoying the warmth of the roaring fireplace in the house the Shallowwater residents had provided them. "He said there were thousands of orcs out there," Bruno explained grimly. "Besides the orcs, there were also giants surrounding us, ready to smash us down." "A ruse to soften his captors," Drizzt surmised. This didn't convince Bruno. "How far did you chase, Elf?" "It's not too far," Drizzt admitted, "I basically just walked around the town, checking out the small party that might be making trouble." "The orcs say there are plenty of their dirty mates down here in the south." "It might as well be a cunning lie, if he is a lie." "No," said Bruno, "if that were the case, the orcs would say it was north. That would be more convincing, and harder to verify. Instead, say they were on the flat south, and it would only take one The patrol can find out the truth. And the howling pig can't think more in that situation than he can say, if you know what I mean." He did understand what the dwarf meant, and that was why he shuddered. "He confessed quickly," said Bruenor, and the dwarf reached for a mug of axe and raised it to his lips. "Looks like there will be another fight before we return to Mithril Hall." "That upset you?" "Of course not!" retorted Brunorik, "but a thousand! That's a lot of Orcs." Drizzt smiled reassuringly, and reached out to pat Bruenor on the arm. "My dear dwarf," he said, "you and I both know that the orcs are just for show!" The drow leaned back in the chair, thinking in his mind that this might be extremely serious news. "Maybe I should go out again," he said. "Glutton, Wulfgar, and Catti-brie are on their way," Bruno explained, "and the town has sent out their own patrol, and old Weatherglue has promised to use the Wizard's Eye to go Find out. We'll know before dawn whether the orc is telling the truth or not." Indeed, Drizzt realized, and he relaxed in his chair.He closed his lavender eyes; he was glad to have these strong companions around him, especially if things were as bad as the orcs said. "I also asked Little Dagna to make a serious plan. If there are really too many orcs, we can all retreat; or, if there are not so many, we can also hold here." Bruno continued, watching him fall into a deep sleep friends to go. "Maybe we'll have a lot of fun! Guess what, I was so glad I didn't get persuaded to go straight home, Elf! Ah, that's the kind of life any good dwarf would dream of—slapping an orc in the face Ah, don’t even think about it, I will give you the share of my kills, don’t think about it! I will kill more than you, my girl and my boy combined.” He drank a glass to himself. "There's room for more than a hundred notches in my axe, Elf! And that's only on the sharp side!"