Chapter 31 Chapter 26 Tit for Tat

Although deeply disappointed and angry with the current situation of the battle and the resistance of Shallow Water Town, Oberd still led hundreds of orcs here.As he lobbied the caverns of the Spine of the World, spreading word of the siege of Mithril Hall's dwarven king, many tribes seemed eager to join in the glorious carnage. "The town is exhausted, and their losses are worse than ours." Argen said aloud. Obed stared at Argen with sharp eyes; then he gestured to his son with his eyes. The three tall and strong orcs standing aside were the leaders of the three tribes. "The wizard is supposed to be dead," continued Argon, "a stone hit the top of the tower, and he did nothing at the end of the battle."

"Then why did you run away?" "Too many casualties." Argen's answer was ironic to himself. Obard's eyes suddenly narrowed, which was a signal to those around him to seek cover.Even so, Argen still seemed unresponsive, but this mighty young orc did feel out of breath. "The town will never survive the next attack," Argon insisted, "and now, with our increased number of fighters, it can be easily wiped out." Obird listened to these obvious-sounding estimates, nodded at each word from Argen, and then said, "Not yet." "But the time has come!"

"Lots of casualties!" said Obard. "Let the giants break the wall with rocks first, and use them to bring down the tower. We'll run after them, or leave them open to fire. Then we kill them, all Kill them all." "Half the giants have gone AWOL." Argon formally notified his father. Obard's blood-red eyes nearly burst, his kiss quivered with rage. "The scout following the town has gone." Argen immediately added. "half!" "That's a dangerous scout," Argen said. "A guy with a panther companion." Obard's countenance calmed down almost immediately.Adnon had warned them about Drizzt Do'Urden, just as Donya had vaccinated the giants.Given that the drow had told the orc king all about the dark elf, it didn't seem too bad that half the giants went after him.

"Tell the giants who stay behind and keep throwing stones," Obard instructed him, "take the big ones. Shoot the rockets into the town. Burn it up and pulverize it! Trample it down for me! They surrounded me so tightly that not a single fly could escape!" Argen's sly smile showed his absolute obedience.The two orcs looked at each other with confidence above all else. They believed that Shallow Water Town would be destroyed, and there were not many living creatures in it. A boulder hit the shield over Drizzt's head and bounced off the side quickly, scattering debris all over Drizzt.

Drizzt hunkered down and endured the pounding of the gravel, then tightened the cloth sash around his sprained ankle, and returned to his task almost doggedly.After finishing the treatment, he carefully supported the weight of his body with his injured foot, and nodded slightly when he felt that it could support it. Where exactly to go is still a question. He was still pursued, and five giants had pursued him all night.He sacrificed all the tricks he could get rid of: using the dark enchantment to make a 180-degree turn in the direction of travel, climbing up the big tree and jumping repeatedly between the branches, and changing the route drastically without warning while running at high speed .But these failed to get rid of the giants behind.

Drizzt felt as if someone was guiding them.Considering his first deception at the giant camp last time - when they made him think the giants had drow allies - he could at least make a rough guess as to who or what creature the guide was . Dawn pierced the eastern horizon, and as the dogged pursuer loomed, Drizzt realized that his advantage was rapidly slipping away.He also realized that his partner needed to be sent back to rest. "Xiao Guan." He called softly. Not long after, the mighty black panther crossed the narrow passage above him and landed on the slate that was shoulder-high to her a few feet away.

"Relax and go back to rest, but hurry up," Drizzt said to the panther sincerely, "I will still need your help, and I'm afraid it won't be long." The big cat let out a low growl, and the sound quickly disappeared in the howling wind, then the figure of Guanhaifa dispersed in the air, gradually dematerialized, and finally turned into grayish smoke, completely vanishing into nothingness. A loud noise not far away told Drizzt that he'd better get out of there.He took some solace in the fact that he had removed these giants from the Battle of Shallowwater, and indeed, he had lured them to the far northwest, where the rocks and spiers were everywhere.Drow would occasionally find a hillock that would allow him to see the war-torn town in the distance.Whenever he did, he could only try to convince himself that his friends were safe; they held the town, or, at least, found a way to escape south.

Just then, a boulder rolled into the narrow passage, followed by the roar of giants, and Drizzt had no time to make plans.He climbed to the top of the steep slope as fast as he could without exacerbating his foot injury, sometimes having to use his hands at the same time. Though he was very tired, and he knew it himself, he also knew that giants do not tire so quickly as the shorter races.He couldn't run much longer than he was now; and if the distance between the two sides was too short, he would not be able to cope with the giants who pursued him.If there is only one, or two, he can still try; but it will not work if there are so many people on the other side.Facing five powerful frost giants, even if he tried his best, he couldn't last long.

He needed another response, a different escape plan, and he found it in the cliff where the stones tumbled, a deep, dark chasm.At first, he thought that this small dark cave surrounded by rocks only provided him with temporary concealment, but a gap on the inner wall of the cave appeared before his eyes, and its width could only allow him to pass through.So Drizzt prostrated himself on the ground and slid in.The senses trained in the dark area told him that this was not a small hole in the ground, but a big one. Drizzt backed away, re-examining the area.He let the chase end here?Surely these gigantic giants would return to their posts, throwing boulders, and could his friends afford him to free them from their pursuit?

But what choice does he have?Otherwise, he knew, the chase would end sooner or later. With a helpless sigh, Drow crawled into the small hole, getting closer to the darkness, then sat down, listened to the movement outside, and gave his eyes enough time to adapt to the suddenly weakened light. A few minutes later he heard the giants circling incessantly outside, and their complaints showed that they knew well where he was.After the stones on the entrance of the cave were removed, the cave was a little brighter.In one of the more angry complaints, one of the giants suggested that some orcs be brought in, or that Donia—a drow name, Drizzt discerned—had chased the drow in the cave.

Then the opening of the hole was covered by the prying face of the giant.How Drizzt wished he had Catti-brie's bow! More dissatisfaction and complaints followed one after another, but it only lasted for a short while, and the cave immediately became pitch black.The ground trembled under Drizzt's feet as the giant heaped boulders around him. "Nice job," Drizzt said softly. Even so, he didn't care too much about his own safety.Because from the feeling of the air, he can analyze that there is another way out; but how long it will take to get out, he can't say for sure. What he was afraid of was that when he crawled out of here and went back to Shallow Water Town, even the town would no longer exist there. His left arm was almost completely useless. He knew that after being bitten by the sharp beast teeth of the warg, his bones had been shattered, and the torn skin also showed the color of serious pathological infection, but he didn't care. Regis told the charmed orc to urge his mount to move forward, though it was clear that he was putting himself at risk by urging the enraged warg so much.Using only the extremely limited orc language he mastered, Regis managed to convince the orcs that they could find a treasure with enough weapons to arm a small squad of orcs.So the befuddled orc fisted the mount's insubordination, causing it to let go of Regis's arm, and forced the howling creature to load a second rider on its broad back. Of course, the journey had brought Regis neither comfort nor relief.Regis sat in front of the foul-smelling savage orc, his feet dangling from either side of the worg's neck—it was within reach of its mouth. After a day and a night, when they left the battlefield far behind, Regis discovered that the orcs' resistance to the magic pendant had increased.He kept using the Hypnotist Pendant on the orc, not to command it, but to seduce it, a skill the witty halfling had honed years ago in Calimport. Even with the magic stone, Regis had a premonition of his impending disaster.A warg wouldn't just be seduced like that—the pendant wasn't as alluring to the cruel beast as the luscious flesh of a halfling—and orcs weren't known for their patience. Worse still to come, several times, the halfling thought he was going to faint, and then fell off the back of the wolf, his broken arm kept sending the stinging pain, and the pain spread all over his body. He thought of his mates, and then he realized that he couldn't go down, neither to save himself nor to save them. All Regis could think of was to make them run south as hard as they could, hoping to find an opportunity to kill the beast-wolf, or at least a chance to escape.Shaking as he was, Regis knew in his head that he would never surpass the Warg on foot.Early the next morning, when the dawn light illuminated the land, Regis found that they had already completed more than half of their journey through the Fell Pass in the southern mountain range. The orcs were going to sleep, and Regis couldn't stand that.The halfling was sure that as soon as the beast closed its eyes, he would be prey to the worg. "Go into the mountains," he said in the rusty Orc tongue, "and camp here, and the dwarves will find you." The orc shrieked and drove away the wolf. All the way up to the hills, Regis watched every corner and ridge, desperately searching for some escape-like terrain, perhaps a rock face, through which he could slip quietly and disappear into the bushes; Or a river that would wash him away from the other two murderous companions. He saw several such places, but, being too dreadful of the consequences of a failed escape, he took no action. One way he tried to muster up courage was to keep reminding himself that his comrades were still in danger in the North, but he had never been able to translate the desire to escape smoothly into action. And, from the orc's complaining tone, Regis knew something had to be done. "Let's pitch camp," the orc told. Regis stared wide-eyed, looking around in despair.His eyes were focused on the small mace strapped to his waist. He thought it was time to take it out and hit the worg hard on the top of the head.But he didn't take it, no matter what kind of logic, he insisted that he couldn't make a mistake, the blow must knock down the warg, although he doubted that he could do it.Even if his arm wasn't injured, he was not on the same order of magnitude as the Warg, he knew it very well.He would have his throat slit before he could do any harm to it. The only thing keeping him alive was the orc, master of the warg. When the orc stopped his mount suddenly, Regis almost fell off the back of the wolf. They were in a gentle place in the middle of the mountain road.The moment the howling beast turned its head and snapped at his dangling feet, Regis thought of jumping off the worg's back.The warg tried to drive the fleeing halfling at once, but the orc stopped it, cursing.As it turned its face away, the orc kicked it in the rear. The worg retreated to the side of the road, waiting viciously for Regis, its eyes telling him that if the orc fell asleep it would kill him. Seeing numbers all around the small clearing, the halfling found a way to escape.Overcoming fatigue, suppressing fear, and enduring pain, Regis walked over to pick a suitable tree for a moment, and began to climb. "Where are you going?" the orc asked. "I need to find a lookout," Regis replied. "A big dog is enough." The orc meant the warg.The latter stared at Regis, baring sharp teeth. "I'll do it myself!" the halfling insisted. He clumsily climbed up the tree as fast as his arm injury allowed, and was out of reach of the orc in no time. He found a hidden corner and sat down, with his back against the trunk and his feet spread out on the branches, trying to keep himself safe.He considered going ahead and commanding the orcs to go on, but honestly, he knew they all needed to rest, especially the wolf - even if it had worn him to death, a halfling would never shed a tear. Every few seconds, the halfling glanced north, at Shallowwater in the distance, and thought about his friends. He could only hope that they were still alive. "Three houses are on fire," Little Dagna told Catti-brie and Wulfgar, who were praying beside Bruno. They built a field hospital in the tunnel under the Witherglu Tower, where tunnels lead to observation points around the base of the Tower.This is the strongest part of the town, stronger even than the tower above it.For the dwarves hired by Witherglue to build his towers were the first to build these passages, fortified tunnels to survive the inclement weather and repel the oncoming enemies.So they provided them with cover during the months of building the tower. However, the low and narrow tunnels are not suitable for use as bunkers after all.Several of his companions were in the largest room - the only one that could even be called a room - where Wulfgar couldn't even stand upright.He crawled ten feet down the tunnel to get in. "Those buildings are built of stone," said Catti-brie. "A lot of wood was used for their frame," said the dwarf, and he went and sat down beside Bruenor. "The giants threw some fireballs in, and the stone-throwing attacks are still fierce." "They're very organized," Wulfgar said. "Yes," agreed Jr. Dagna, "they've blocked all the roads to the south, and we can't get out." His eyes fell on Bruno, who was pale and weak, with a broad chest breathing There is almost no ups and downs. "Except for that." Bruno opened his eyes and even turned his head towards little Dagna, which startled them all. "You can ride out on a stinking orc," said the dwarf, and lay down again. Catti-brie leaned out to check on Bruno at once, but with a quick glance she saw that he had slipped into a semi-conscious state again. "Where is the bottom of the rock?" she asked, and the dwarf mentioned was the priest who had followed the dwarven expedition when they parted from the main force. "Weatherglu is being looked after, though I think the old mage is dying," replied little Dagna. "Yan Bo said that what he can do to Bruno has been done for the time being. He and I think not too much. That mage may bring a glimmer of hope to our escape." Catti-brie suppressed the urge to yell at the dutiful little Dagna, because she felt that although he was a little unreasonable to Bruno, he was careless when he said it, and he was as good as she was. Bruno's situation was at a loss.Little Dagna was more practical than others. He was the military commander of Mithril Hall, and he always followed the course of action that would bring the best results, and was hardly blinded by personal feelings.Catti-brie understood that, in such helplessness, watching Bruno's life force drain away from him helplessly, he also felt frustrated and defeated. Little Dagna walked to Bruno's bedside, gently picked up the one-horned helmet that symbolized the Lord of Mithril Hall, and buckled it on top of his head. "Even if the way out is opened, I'm not sure if I can survive with him." The dwarf said softly. Wulfgar stood up suddenly, unable to straighten his body, but still standing in front of young Dagna. "Are you leaving him?" he yelled suspiciously. Little Dagna was unfazed by the barbarian's furious stare, looking from Bruenor to Wulfgar, then back to his beloved King. "If taking him means giving up the chance of escaping alive, then I will abandon him," Dagna Jr. admitted, "Bruno knows that if running means getting someone he cares about killed, he would rather die." Here. You know that too." "Let Rock Bottom come back and take care of him." "The bottom of the rock won't help him any more, you heard him say it the last time he came," said little Dagna, "the orcs who took a thousand knives hurt him too much. He needs a more than a rock Better priests, or he needs a lot of priests." Wulfgar stared down at young Dagna, but Catti-brie took his arm and drew his eyes to hers.He only saw compassion for his frustration, complete understanding, and complete approval. "We will make a decision when we see them," said the girl softly. "If we're going south, I'll be carrying Bruenor on the road," Wulfgar said, looking sternly at little Dagna. The commander didn't blink, and after a while, he nodded. "If that's what you want to do, you know me and my boys will do whatever it takes to make sure the orcs don't come near you." That remark calmed Wulfgar quite a bit.He, Catti-brie, and little Dagna knew that the words came from the heart, not from the air.In fact, for the three of them, they all seemed at a loss in the face of this matter.A few hours after the second battle, a small group of scouts ventured out of Shallowwater and returned to report that escape from the orcs' immediate siege was impossible. They were trapped, Bruenor was dying, Drizzt and Wulfgar were gone, there was nothing they could do about it. In order to further confirm the disturbing logic, another thrown stone hit the high tower, and the shouts of "firefighting" gathered in this small smoking room from all corners in the tunnel. "Thirty people died in the town," Little Dagna informed them, "including the twelve who died after the first attack." "Nearly a third of the casualties," Catti-brie said. "Nearly all the men—and some of them were excellent fighters," said the dwarf. "Two of us were dead ourselves, and five were too wounded to go on fighting. If they came again, we would hardly hold on." "We must hold," Wulfgar said gravely. "Seeing your performance on the fence, I'm almost convinced by you." The dwarf replied. "Almost?" Catti-brie asked. Little Dagna, seeing the collapse of the tower overhead as an extension of the underground fortification, could only shrug in response. "If you can't keep it, you die," said Catti-brie. "We must escape," said little Dagna. "Or get support," Catti-brie said, "Regis has escaped from town, and although I don't know if he died in the wilderness outside, I went to ask for help," she glanced at Worf as she explained. Plus, "Just after Regis jumped off the wall, the Warg Rider charged." After the battle, the companions searched the town as far as they could, but they found no sign of Regis.This gave them hope, though, really, they feared that the halfling would either be captured or killed. "Even if he gets away, I don't expect him to do anything but take care of himself," said Dagna Jr. "How long will it take him to get to Pente? Ripper Squad. How long will it take to muster an army of reinforcements?" "As much as there is," Wulfgar said, "we must hold on till that hour." Little Dagna wanted to say something, as if to refute this point of view, but he only sighed. "Stay with King Bruno," he said to Catti-brie. "If anyone can keep his heart beating, it's you. Don't let him catch cold. If he goes to another world, For me and my lads, I wish him the best of luck." His eyes fell to Wulfgar. "Would you help me and my boys fortify the defense?" he asked Wulfgar. After nodding his head and looking resolutely at Catti-brie, the barbarian straightened his blood-stained body, crawled out of the tunnel, and started repairing the defense line. They can only do their best and obey the destiny. Just as he was about to fall from the branch, he regained his balance. When he realized that he almost fell and where he was, the halfling struggled to swallow his heart into his chest.Just falling from a tree wasn't a big deal, but Regis knew what was waiting for him on the ground: a hungry wolf baring its teeth. He sat down at once, looking down at the makeshift camp, where the orc was snoring comfortably in the shadow of a few stones; and the worg, just under the tree where Regis was roosting. great.Regis thought. The sun was high in the sky, and it was a clear and warm day, and Regis told himself that this was a unique opportunity, and he had to find a way to get out of here.After the orc woke up, would he still be regarded as one of his own?Was the idea of ​​finding a weapon, which he had promised it with the pendant, still unbreakable in the mind of the dorky orc?If not, can he use the magic pendant again?How could he approach a hostile orc with a hungry worg waiting to fill his teeth? Regis bowed his head, trying to hold back his sobs, all hope was too remote for him.He really wanted to go back to Shallowwater and be with his friends, and if he was going to die—and he was sure he would—it would be with Bruno and the other friends, with the friends who had been with him all the way. We, die together. Instead of just dying, he shouldn't have been eaten alive by a cruel warg on a small mountain ridge. "Stop thinking about it!" Regis scolded himself, much louder than expected. The warg below raised his head, let out a long low growl, and then buried his head in his paws again. "No time for self-pity," the halfling whispered. "Your friends need you, Regis, so what are you going to do, sit here and cry?" No.He made a decision, then sat up straight and shook his head resolutely.Just such a movement caused his broken arm to throb.It's time to wake the orc, if it's still under the Ruby Pendant's influence; if it's out of control, let's hope there's another way to hold it.If he was going to be forced to fight the Orc Wargs, then he would do what he could and die. It was worth it for the friendship he had with his friends who had risked themselves time and time again for his sake. Feeling taller than ever, Regis rolled from the branch to a low point of support, then climbed to a vantage point in the trunk where he could wake the orc and judge its behaviour. Hearing something leap into the camp, he stopped his slide suddenly and turned his head sharply to the side. It was an old boot. The worg pounced on it and tore at it with its fangs -- its teeth gripped it firmly, and suddenly there was a succession of small bursts in the boot. The warg screamed and jumped into the air, doing a full somersault. The most striking creature Regis had ever seen joined the worg's dynamic dance steps—a green-bearded dwarf in a light green cloth robe and slippers, with a black pot on his head.The dwarf waggled his fingers at the warg, muttering something.The warg stopped howling, and its forward pounce froze in mid-air.I saw it with its ears back and its eyes wide open. With what could only be described as a scream, the warg fled with its tail between its legs. "Hee hee." The dwarf laughed. "What?" yelled the awakened orc, cutting off his angry cries--as it does when a tomahawk cuts its head off. Behind the fallen orc came another dwarf, this one with a bright gold beard and more usual dwarven attire—not counting the large antlers on his helmet. "You should kill that damned dog too," cried the yellow-bearded dwarf. "I'm starving!" The green-bearded man shook his finger reproachfully, and Regis descended from the tree as quickly as his arm injury allowed. "Who are you?" he asked. Both dwarves turned, and the one with the yellow beard almost knocked him down with the axe. "I'm not one of the orcs... not like you think!" "No, no, no!" Regis waved one hand obediently, while the other drooped by his side. "I'm from Shallow Water Town." "I've never heard of it," said the yellow-bearded dwarf. "Bruenor Warhammer..." Regis went on. "Ah, you've got your point at last!" said the yellow-bearded dwarf. "Ivan Stoneshoulder is at your service, little man. This is my brother—" "Pike!" Regis yelled. He had heard much of Drizzt and Catti-brie's deeds, despite the fact that no words could accurately describe Pike Stoneshoulders' strange appearance. "Well," Ivan said, "now tell me, little man, how do you know about us, and what the hell are you and those two guys doing here?" "There's no time," Regis said, his tone full of anxiety again. "Bruenor's in trouble—they're all in trouble, and I get Mithril Hall...no, Thiberdorf Panter in secret Go to the camp built north of Silverhall." "Very well, we're going there too," said Ivan, "to the Panther's side. We made a great detour in the road, but a bird told my brothers where they were; , another bird told us about the Orc and his big dog." "He and Bird get along pretty well, don't they?" Regis asked dryly. "That's right. There are also friendships with trees and the like. Come with us, and he will take you where you want to go before you open your mouth." "It's too late," Regis said to Brother Stoneshoulders, as well as to Thiberdorf Panter, and the leader of the second dwarf settlement.It is twenty miles away from the Valley of the Guardians, and there is still a rough road to reach the deep valley that is the gateway to Mithril Hall. "Bruno and the others have no chance of waiting another four days for the army to be called back here." "Bah, they only need three days!" said one of the outpost's little chieftains, a short-tempered little man called Circle Kicking Rock, who said without hesitation, "Have you ever seen a dwarf go crazy?" Do you look like you're running?" "Three days is too long!" Panter yelled, who had been looking north since Regis and Brother Ivan brought the danger to Shallowwater. Indeed, Thiberdorf Panter has never turned his head back since Bruno left him alone in the south like a watchman. "We only have a hundred and ten people!" Circled said, "According to the little man, these one hundred and ten people can't make a fortune at all!" "We're the Ripper squad!" Panter yelled back at him, "The orcs may think that they can win in numbers, but you'd be wrong if you think so!" "You'll also take the priest with you," said Regis, knowing that they had to move at once, and that his friend might be in dire need of healing spells. With a long sigh, he pinched his waist and looked away. "If we make it in time, we'll have a chance to show our talents," he echoed. "Strengthen the defenses, treat the wounded, and so on. Getting into town isn't going to be easy, though it sounds." Pike on the side jumped onto Ivan and murmured a few words in his ear excitedly. The rest of the people turned around to watch and listen, even though they couldn't even distinguish a clear sound. "My brother made some berries that let us save energy and go full speed," Ivan explained, "so we don't have to stop to eat and drink. It allows us to make as few stops as possible and get to our destination earlier." "Talk about it, things will become easier." I didn't quite believe his circling words all the time.Before he finished speaking, Pike jumped on Ivan and whispered in his ear again. Ivan's expression was a bit sour, full of confusion, and then he began to shake his head, but unable to stand up to Pike's more excited persuasion, Ivan slowly calmed down and listened more attentively to Pike's words. Eventually, Pike jumps off, and Ivan stares at him in disbelief and asks, "You really want me to talk?" "Hee hee hee." "What?" Thiberdorf Panter and Regis asked in unison. "Ah, my brother has a plan," Ivan said hesitantly, "crazy plan." "Exactly!" Pike shouted, shaking his fist. "But a plan is a plan," Ivan continued, casting a glance at Pike. "Do you really want me to tell you?" "Hee hee hee." "Huh?" Urging in circles. "Well, shall we keep talking here, or do we act?" Ivan retorted. "Do you have a wagon?" "Yes." Circled replied. "Can you get a lot of wood? Especially the rafters for the stone walls?" After looking around in circles, he nodded slowly. "I think it's more appropriate to tell you on the way," Ivan said, "because, we can't leave your king alone in trouble, and because..." He kept his mouth shut, only looked at the giggling Pike, and then said , "Because after you hear it, you will feel that it would be better to wait for the army to gather." "Hee hee." Pike laughed. Within an hour, a hundred dwarves and Regis set out from the outpost.Behind the line are trucks loaded with tons of lumber. Pike wasn't pulling a cart, or even walking.Instead, he hopped from one van to another, casting druid spells on the wood; giggling as he figured out how to use them in his own schemes.Despite the grim situation, despite the fact that they faced the fact that they were engaged in an all-or-nothing fight, Pike couldn't stop laughing.