Chapter 5 Chapter 3 Bells and Whistles

A gigantic gargoyle looked down menacingly from a height of twenty feet; the statue of a humanoid lizard warrior—perhaps some kind of golem, but more likely just a statue—was guarding the gate, the gate between its far apart legs.Just inside this dark entrance, countless magic lamps fluttered and floated, some of which splashed dangerous sparks.Le'lorinel was unmoved.The elf understands that this school of magic is about visions and prophecies, and he is not afraid.No, the Seer E'kressa's guards and defenses do not impress this seasoned warrior.They are just for show and have no real effect.Le'lorinel didn't draw his sword, and even took off his gleaming silver helmet as he walked through the darkened entrance into the circular corridor.

"E'kressadiknomintue?" asked the elf in the language of the gnomes.Le'lorinel paused under a ladder, waiting for an answer. "E'kressadiknomintue?" asked the elf again, louder and more obstinately. An answering voice floated from unseen air waves. "Who has crossed the darkness and danger, waiting for the dark side of Le'lorinel?" A high-pitched, but still thin voice said in Common Tongue. "When the blood flowing from the black skin stains the sword red, can this satisfy the insatiable? When Le'lorinel turns the noble drow over, will he smile, and will he calm his angry face?"

Le'lorinel really laughed this time, at the intentionally displayed prophecy, at the apparent error in it. "Can I—?" the elf began to ask. "Come on," the question was interrupted immediately, telling Le'lorinel in his tone and abrupt manner that E'kressa wanted him to understand that this question had been foreseen. Le'lorinel sneered as he stepped up the stairs.At the top, the elf saw a door made of hanging blue beads, from behind which a soft light shone.Le'lorinel pushed and walked into E'kressa's main reception room. It was obvious that the place was furnished with many rugs and pillows to sit on, and decorated with mysterious symbols and utensils: a skull here, a huge bat there Wing, a crystal ball on a stand is placed against the wall, and there is a huge mirror with a golden frame covered with strange patterns.

. Le'lorinel had never seen so many stale magical items piled together, and after working for Maskevich all these years, the elves knew they were trivial and useless for anything but facade - perhaps crystal balls exception. Le'lorinel paid little attention to these things, however, because he was looking at E'kressa.Wearing a dark blue robe covered with red swirls and a huge pointed hat, this dwarf seems to be a classic mage image in comics, except of course that he is not tall or imposing .Ekressa was only three feet tall.A great gray beard and bushy eyebrows protruded from under the hat.E'kressa nodded in return, his face turned towards Le'lorinel, but he didn't seem to be looking at the elf.

Two pure white eyeballs protrude from under bushy eyebrows. Le'lorinel laughed out loud. "A blind seer? How representative." "You doubt the ability of my magical sight?" E'kressa replied, arms raised menacingly, like the wings of a noble eagle. "More than you can comprehend," Le'lorinel replied casually. E'kressa held this position for a while, but then, in front of Le'lorinel's laid-back gesture and sarcastic smile, the dwarf finally softened his attitude.Shrugging, he raised his hand to remove the camouflaged white lenses from his gleaming gray eyes.

"Works on farmers," explained the illusionist seer. "Surprise them, really! They always seem to be more eager to give the blind seer an extra coin or two." "Farmers are easily drawn," Le'lorinel said. "I won't." "But I know you, and your mission," Ekressa was quick to point out. "You know Muskevich too," replied the elf dryly. Ekressa slammed one booted foot on the floor in a look of dismay for four heartbeats. "Have you brought your reward?" asked the seer angrily. Le'lorinel tossed a bag of silver coins across the open space and onto the dwarf's anxiously waiting hands. "Why not count with your incredible powers of prophecy?" Le'lorinel asked as the dwarf began to count the silver coins.

Ekressa's eyes narrowed, almost disappearing under thick eyebrows.The dwarf waved his hand over the bag, murmured a spell, and after a moment, nodded and put the bag aside. "You let me do this, I should charge you more," he commented. "To count your pay?" Le'lorinel asked suspiciously. "To have to show you another show of my mighty powers of prediction," the dwarf replied. "So that you don't have to wait while I count them." "It doesn't take much magic to know those silver pieces are the right amount," the elf responded. "Why come here if I don't have the agreed amount?"

"Another test?" the dwarf asked. Le'lorinel snorted lowly. "Impatience is a stupid habit of men, not of elves," Ekressa reminded. "I foresee that if you are so hasty in your task, destruction will befall you." "Great," a sarcastic reply. "You're only making it harder, you know," said the dwarf in a deadpan tone. "But I can assure you that I will have all the patience it takes to get rid of Drizzt Do'Urden, and I don't want to waste time standing here," Le'lorinel said. "I have too much preparation to do, E'kressa.

The dwarf considered this for a moment, then just shrugged. "Indeed. Well, let's see what the crystal ball tells us. I hope it's your quest, and maybe Le'lorinel will win or lose." He waddled like a duck toward the middle of the room, Then turn to the crystal ball. "Just the process and nothing else," Le'lorinel corrected. E'kressa stopped suddenly, turning slowly to face the odd creature. "Most people want to know the outcome," he said. "However, I know, as you know, that any outcome is not predetermined," Le'lorinel replied.

"There is a possibility..." "That's all. Oh great seer, if you tell me I shall win the battle against Drizzt Do'Urden, I shall kill him, as he deserves, and I shall Wipe the bloody sword off his white hair, so what else do I need to do?" "Joy?" Ekressa asked sarcastically. "Oh great seer, what should I do if you tell me I will lose this battle?" Le'lorinel continued. "Give up what I can't? Abandon my people and make them suffer because that drow is still alive?" "Some people think he's a really nice guy."

"Falseness fools people, doesn't it?" Le'lorinel commented. E'kressa started to answer, but then just sighed, shrugged, and continued to stagger towards the crystal ball. "Tell me your thoughts on the road ahead," he instructed. "Does the extra payment guarantee confidentiality?" Le'lorinel asked. E'kressa looked at the elf as if that was actually a stupid question. "If I ever run into this Drizzt, why should I tell him?" he asked. "And he is half a world away from me, why did I meet him?" "You're already spying on him?" E'kressa caught a signal in the elf's eager voice, and the elf's longing made him straighten his shoulders and puff out his chest proudly. "Maybe so," he said. "Maybe." Le'lorinel took a big, resolute step in reply, walking straight to the crystal ball, across from the dwarf. "find him." E'kressa began to cast spells.With his arms drawn high above his head in circles, he sang in an unfamiliar language that Le'lorinel did not understand, and it came out of his mouth in an unusual voice. Gray eyes snapped open.E'kressa bent down nervously. "Drizzt Do'Urden," he said quietly but firmly. "Drow doomed, for such a long and careful plan can have only one outcome. "Drizzt Do'Urden," the dwarf repeated, the name slipping rhythmically from his lips in a bewitching voice, like a mystic spell. "I saw... I saw... I saw..." E'kressa stopped and let out a "hmm", then stood up straight. "I saw the distorted face of an overzealous, bald elf in a ridiculous mask," he explained, bending to look around the crystal ball, then to Le'lorinel's round-eyed face. "Do you think maybe you should back off a little?" Le'lorinel's shoulders slumped and he sighed deeply, but the elf complied. E'kressa rubbed his chubby hands, continued to cast spells, and then bent down again. "I saw it," he said again. "Winter wind, deep snow, I hear the wind... yes, yes, I hear the wind in my ears, I hear the running elk." "Elk?" Le'lorinel interrupted him. E'kressa straightened up and stared at the elf. "Elk?" Le'lorinel repeated. "For rhyme, huh?" "You're such a troublesome fellow." "You are a little annoying," replied the elf. "Why do you have to speak in rhymes once you get into divination? Is that a seer's rule or something?" "Perhaps preference!" the dwarf replied excitedly, slamming his stiff boots on the carpet on the floor again. "I'm not a farmer to be deluded," Le'lorinel explained. "Don't bother, save your silly language, you don't get extra coins for creating atmosphere, visual or auditory effects." E'kressa muttered a string of curses under his breath and bent down again. "Elk," Le'lorinel said, snorting. "You laugh at me one more time, and I'll send you to the Abyss to chase Drizzt," the gnome warned. "Then I'll come back from there to repay your kindness," Le'lorinel retorted. "I promise, I learned an illusion from an enemy, a guard formed by manipulating light with the help of entities, with the ability to stealthily stealthily escape your eyes." "Oh, but I can see everything, silly boy!" At this statement, Le'lorinel simply smiled, which proved to be the most forceful response the elf could give, although E'kressa clearly did not understand the profound irony of his proud attitude. Then both the elf and the gnome sighed, both tired of the pointless bickering, and the gnome shrugged and leaned back to look into the crystal ball again. "Gondaron Warhammer is said to be in poor health," Le'lorinel suggested. E'kressa spoke a few cryptic words, swinging his short arms back and forth along the curve of the sphere. "The eyes of the prophet wandered to the hall of mithril, to the throne and the bed frame covered by the canopy, and the dim light flickered on and off," the dwarf had just started, but stopped because he heard Le'lorinel clarified impatiently. Clear your throat. Ekressa stood up straight and looked at the elf. "Gondaron is sick," the dwarf confirmed, without the mysterious voice and annoying rhyme. "Ah, yes, nearly dying of it." "Dwarf priest, yes," answered the dwarf. "That said, any healing powers are useless against a dying king. There's no saving it. "It doesn't matter," Ekressa continued, bending down to observe the picture again, in addition to observing the actual scene, he also wanted to feel the atmosphere. "No wounds, I'm afraid, except the wounds left by time. No disease, except something that knocks everyone down, if he dies of no other accident." Ekressa stood up again, blowing a breath that made the gray eyes A fluffy eyebrow in front raised. "Old age," explained the dwarf. "The ninth king of Mithril Hall is about to die of old age." Hearing this, Le'lorinel nodded. "Where is Bruenor Warhammer?" asked the elf. "The Ninth King lies on the bed of mourning," said the dwarf dramatically. "The tenth king welcomes the dawn of the next day!" Le'lorinel folded his arms in annoyance. "Have to say," the dwarf explained. "That's up to you," replied the elf. "If you must." "Indeed," E'kressa interjected hastily. "Where is Bruenor Warhammer?" asked the elf. The dwarf spent a long time looking into the crystal ball, muttering to himself, and once even pressed his ear to the smooth surface in order to hear more clearly what was going on in the distant kingdom of the dwarves. "He's not there," Ekressa said shortly afterwards, confidently. "Not bad for you, too, because if he comes back with the dark elves, do you want to go deep into a dwarven stronghold?" "I'll do what I have to do," replied calmly and firmly. E'kressa giggled twice, but stopped suddenly when he saw Le'lorinel's gloomy expression. "That's better for you," said the dwarf, waving the image in the scrying crystal ball to cast another divination spell.He ignored the crystal ball, closed his eyes, and continued to cast spells—summoning some kind of existence in another world to obtain some signs and guidance. A strange image came to his mind, like hot and gleaming metal.Two symbols stood out clearly, two patterns he recognized, though he had never seen them so intertwined. "Dumathoin and Crangedon," he muttered. "Domathoin and Morden." "Three dwarf gods?" Le'lorinel asked, but E'kressa stood still, eyes rolling anxiously, as if not hearing. "But now?" the dwarf asked quietly. Before Le'lorinel could ask what the seer was talking about, E'kressa's gray eyes suddenly widened. "To find Drizzt, you really must find Bruenor," the dwarf announced. "Then go to Mithril Hall," Le'lorinel reasoned. "That's not it!" screamed the dwarf. "Because there is one identity that is more pressing in the eyes of the dwarves, as a father than as a king." "A riddle?" Ekressa shook his hairy head violently. "Find the dwarf's proudest handiwork," the gnome explained. "Find the dwarf's proudest kin. Either way, but this sounds better," the gnome admitted. Le'lorinel looked extremely puzzled. "Bruenor Warhammer once created an item, a powerful magic item, beyond his ability as a craftsman," Ekressa explained. "He was forged for a cherished man. This piece of metal will attract dwarves more than the vacancy on the stone throne of Mithril Hall." "What's that?" Le'lorinel asked, his eagerness palpable. "where is it?" E'kressa leaped to his small desk and pulled out a piece of parchment.As Le'lorinel charged straight up to him, he cast another spell, this one translating onto the parchment the image previously magically engraved into his mind.He held up his work, which showed several symbols representing dwarf gods tangled together. "Find this sign, Le'lorinel, and you'll find yourself at the end of your long journey," he explained. E'kressa cast again, this time showing lines on the back of the parchment. "Or this," he explained, holding up the new image to Le'lorinel, which looked very similar to the original. The elf gently took the parchment and stared at it with wide eyes. "One is the sign of Crangedon, overlaid with the sign of Dumathoin, who guards the secrets beneath the mountains. The other is the sign of Malden, veiled in the same manner." Le'lorinel nodded, and gently turned the parchment over reverently, like a sage studying the writing left by an ancient lost civilization. "I believe in the far west," the dwarf explained before Le'lorinel could ask. "Waterdeep? Luskan? Somewhere in between? I'm not sure." "But you believe it's in that area?" asked the elf. "Did your predictions tell you, or was it a logical deduction, considering that Icewind Dale is just north of those places?" E'kressa considered the words for a moment, then simply shrugged. "Does that matter?" Le'lorinel glared at him hard. "Do you have a better way?" asked the dwarf. "I paid you a lot," reminded the elf. "You got your reward, and it's in your hand, worth ten times the price," the dwarf asserted, obviously satisfied with his performance today. Le'lorinel looked down at the parchment, those lines formed intertwined symbols, deeply branded on the brown paper. "I don't know of any direct connection," admits the midget. "I also don't know how the symbol, or what bears the symbol, can lead you to what's bothering you. But my magic allows me to see where you end up. Other than that, I don't know." "Is this end point rewarding for Le'lorinel?" the elf asked, although he had previously thought such prophecy was of little value. "I don't see that," said the dwarf smugly. "Can I guess?" It was only then that Le'lorinel realized that the emotion in asking such a question had betrayed him, so he made an excuse. "Spare me," said the Elf. "I can do it in rhyming lines," the dwarf offered with a very smug grin. Rhyming lines would pay off, Le'lorinel wanted to say, and it would be a song, an eager song, when the dainty elven dagger cut the tongue out of the mouth of the smug dwarf. But the elf said nothing, and the thought died away, for the image on the parchment diluted all other thoughts. Here, in the hands of Le'lorinel, is the goal he pursued all his life. With this, the elf has no more rage. With this, the elves had too many questions to ponder, too many preparations to do, too many fears to overcome, and too many fantasies to enjoy seeing Drizzt Do'Urden, the false hero, killed Remove the disguise and reveal your true colors. Choguruga lay back on five huge pillows and stuffed chunks of mutton into his fanged mouth.The female ogre was eight and a half feet tall, not too tall, but with legs as thick as an old oak trunk and a fat waist, her bloated body weighed more than seven hundred pounds. Many male waiters run to and fro at the Central Tavern, the largest tavern in Golden Bay, bringing her food and pleasure.They always court Choguruga because of her unique and strange appearance.His skin was lavender, rather than the yellow common to his people, and it matched her long, fatty blue-black hair.The color of her eyes was somewhere between her skin and her hair, appearing to be a deep purple or a shade darker than pure blue, depending on the lighting around her. Choguruga was actually used to being surrounded by twenty men from the Boom tribe, but since her recent alliance with the human pirates, which has improved the status of women in the tribe, the men are literally bumping into each other. Run around to provide her with food and clothing. Except, of course, Brugger, the harsh foreman of the Golden Cove, the largest, scariest, ugliest ogre ever to operate in the Spine of the World stretch.Many people have rumored that Brueger wasn't even a pure ogre, but had a bit of mountain giant blood, since he stood closer to fifteen feet tall than ten, with arms as thick as Choguruga's legs, so Rumors are not easily dismissed. Choguruga, with Sheila Kree's help, was the head of the ogres along the shores of the Golden Bay, but Brugger was the brawn and the real head whenever he wanted to.He had grown even more terrifying since Sheila Kree had entered their lives and given him a gift of immense power.That gift was a forged warhammer, which enabled Brugg to widen caves with one hard blow. "Back again?" said the female ogre as Sheila and Bellany stepped into the cave. "What snacks did you bring to Choguruga this time?" "A wrecked ship," the pirate leader replied sarcastically. "do you want to eat?" From across the room came Brueger's giggles, like distant rolling thunder. Choguruga looked in his direction angrily. "I have Basenk, now," the female ogre reminded. "I don't need Brugger." Brueger frowned so that the eyebrows stuck out of the deep-set eye sockets, and the frown would have been comical if it hadn't been for a monstrously muscular monster.Basenk, the bastard son of Choguruga and Brugge, has recently become an issue between the two of them.Usually, in ogre societies, when the son of the chieftain grows up to be as strong and as fearsome as his father, while the father is still young, the older ogre will knock the son down again and again to keep him in the tribe status.If this doesn't work, the son is killed, or at least banished.But this is no ordinary group of ogres, and the Booms are a matriarchy, not the usual patriarchy, and Choguruga won't tolerate Bruegel's behavior - at least not to Basenk, anyway. do it. "As soon as we reached the open water, we saw a familiar figure appear on the horizon," Bellany explained, clearly in disgust, as she did not want to witness the famous battle between Choguruga and Brugge again. "Bassenc Controversy". "Choguruga guesses it's three sails?" the female ogre asked, accepting the temptation to change the subject, and held up four fingers at the same time. Sheila Kree shot Bellany a disapproving look—he wanted no less respect from the ogres for her anyway—and she turned to Choguruga with the same expression. "He's a stubborn guy," she admitted, "and one day he'll even come with us to Golden Bay." Brugger giggled again, as did Choguruga, both reveling in the thought of fresh human flesh. Sheila Kree joined in the laughter, and though she wasn't in the mood to laugh, she motioned for Bellany to follow her out of the exit on the other side of the house and into the passage leading to their quarters, higher up in the hills. . Sheila's room was not as large as the room shared by the ogre chiefs, but it was quite pleasantly furnished, with ornate lamps casting soft light on every hidden corner of the uneven walls, and exquisite carpets piled up So high that they almost jumped over it. "I'm sick of that Deudermont," Sheila said to the witch. "He probably wants that," Bellany replied. "Maybe we'll get so tired of running away, so tired of running away, that we'll engage Sea Sprite in open water." Sheila looked at her most trusted partner, smiled approvingly, and nodded.The bad-tempered pirate knew that Bellany was a good partner for her in every way.She was always thinking, always thinking ahead of the consequences, and for decades, the addition of this clever and capable witch had greatly enhanced the strength of the Bloody Keel.Sheila trusts her absolutely - Bellany was the first to be branded with the intricate pattern on the side of Aegisfang's mithril hammerhead when Sheila decided to brand it.Sheila even loved Bellany as a sister, and in spite of her excessive self-esteem, and though she was always a little too kind and soft-hearted for their captives for Sheila's stern style, Sheila knew it best not to ignore Bellany Say anything. In the past few months, Deudermont's ship had chased the Bloody Keel three times in the open sea, although Sheila was not even sure that the Sea Spirit had seen them the first time, and doubted whether the latter two had really identified them.But maybe Bellany is right.Perhaps that was Deudermont's way of tracking down elusive pirates.He'll chase them until they tire of dodging, and when they finally turn and fight... Sheila Kree sent a shudder down her spine at the thought of engaging the Sea Sprite in open water. "We won't be fooled," Sheila said, and Bellany responded with an obviously relieved expression. She didn't want to get entangled with the powerful and legendary Robillard of the Sea Sprite. "Not out to sea," continued Sheila Kerry, walking across the room to one of the few openings in the dark cave of Golden Bay, a natural window overlooking the little bay and the reef beyond. . "But his pursuit cost us profit and we have to make him pay." "Well, maybe one day he'll be foolish enough to chase us into the Golden Cove. We had Choguruga's folk rain boulders onto his deck," Bellany replied. But Sheila Kree stared out at the cold water, at the waves, unsure if she could keep the patience, above which she and her Bloody Keel were supposed to be sailing in pursuit of more fortune and fame. There are other ways to win this personal contest.