Chapter 13 Chapter 10: Severe Winter

"From Drizzt," Cassius explained, handing the parchment to Regis. "Brought from Luskan by a most unfriendly fellow. A very important mage, at least by his own standards." Regis took the rolled mantle and untied the knots that bound it. "I'm sure you will be pleased," Cassius suggested. The halfling looked up at him suspiciously. "you have seen?" "The mage from Luskan named Valderson claims to have profound wisdom. I should give it to someone whose name he forgot," Cassius explained lightly. "So, yes, I read it carefully, and from the content, it's clear that it's for you or Bruno Warhammer, or for both of you."

Regis nodded, as if satisfied, though in reality he thought Cassius could deduce this without reading the letter.After all, who else could Drizzt and Catti-brie deliver news to?The halfling didn't go any further, though, too concerned with what Drizzt might have said.He spread his hands, and his eyes quickly scanned the words. His face broke into a smile. "Perhaps the savage is still alive," Cassius pointed out. "It seems so," said the halfling. "Or at least, the markings we found on that woman didn't mean that something we all dreaded might happen."

Cassius nodded, but Regis couldn't help but notice a cloud passing over his face. "What's wrong?" the halfling asked. "nothing." "It's nothing," Regis deduced, considering what he had just said, which brought Cassius a little scowl. "What happened to that woman?" "He's gone," Cassius admitted. "died?" "Escaped," corrected the Senator. "One ten days ago. Senator Kemp sent her to serve her sentence on a fishing boat in Targos - not the same boat that put the other villains, because he knew she was by far the most dangerous. Shortly after the boat left she Just jumped off the deck."

"Then she's dead, frozen to death in Pond Doulton," Regis deduced, for he knew the lake and knew that no one could survive long in freezing water even in midsummer, let alone a This season of the year. "The crew believed that to be the case," Cassius said. "She must have cast some spell upon herself, for she was seen emerging from the water, not far from the western end of Targos." "Then she must have died lying on the southern shore of the lake," said the halfling, "or drifted along the shore in a dying stupor." Cassius shook his head the whole time Regis spoke. "Looks like Jule Pepper's a smart guy," he said. "She wasn't found anywhere, and some clothes were stolen from a farmhouse west of the city. Likely that fellow was already on his way to Icewind Dale, and I let her go happily. "

Regis was thinking along the same lines.He wondered if Jule Pepper was a threat to his friend.Jule knew Drizzt, and was obviously probably hostile to him.If she went back to her old hunting party, she might meet the dark elves again. Regis forced himself to calm down, thinking back to Drizzt and Catti-brie, two friends he had been in awe of.He thought it would be sad for Jule Pepper if she had to meet these two, and then he gave up thinking about it. "I must go to Bruno," he said to Cassius.Gripping the parchment tightly in his hand, Regis rushed out of the senator's house and raced across Bryn Shander, hoping to catch a caravan he knew was planning to set off for the dwarven mines that morning.

Fortune favored him, and through negotiation, he got into a carriage full of grain sacks.He almost fell asleep all the way. When Regis finally found Bruenor late that night, he was in a bad mood--a mood common to dwarves since Drizzt and Catti-brie left Ten Towns. "You have brought up fragile stone!" roared the red-bearded Dwarf King to the two young miners, whose faces and beards were smeared with dirt and dust.Bruno took a sample of the rock from the trolley and crushed it with one hand. "Do you think there are minerals worth mining there?" he asked skeptically. "We dug hard," pointed out one of the young dwarves, his beard only half way up his thick neck. "We went down to the deepest cave, hanging upside down..."

"Ha, but you think I'm in the mood to listen to your complaints!" Bruno yelled.The dwarf king gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and let out a growl, shaking as if he were throwing all the anger out of himself. "King!" exclaimed the black-bearded dwarf. "We're going to move better stones!" "Hi!" Bruno snorted. He turned and slammed his body hard into the loaded cart, tipping it over.That outburst seemed to release the tension, and Bruno stood there, staring at the overturned cart and the stones strewn across the aisle, his stubby hands on his hips.He closes his eyes.

"You don't need to go back down there," he said quietly to the two. "Clean yourselves and eat some food. Most ores are fine—but your king needs a little toughening, and I'm alone with my eyes and ears." "Yes, King," said the two young dwarves in unison. Then Regis came from the other end, nodded to the two of them, and they turned and walked away quickly, muttering to themselves. The halfling came and put his hand on Bruenor's shoulder.The dwarf king almost jumped up, and he spun around, fury on his face. "Don't do that!" he roared, though he did calm down a little when he saw it was Regis. "Aren't you supposed to be in Parliament?"

"They can do it without me," the halfling replied, with a grin. "I think you may need me more." Bruenor watched him curiously, and Regis just turned around, directing the dwarf's gaze to the front of the aisle, the two departing. "Criminal?" the halfling asked sarcastically. Bruno kicked a rock and hit the wall, looking as if he was so angry and frustrated again that he was going to explode.But the cloud passed quickly, was replaced by a more usual gloom, and the dwarf's shoulders sank.He lowered his head and shook slowly. "I can't afford to lose my son again," he admitted.

Regis was at his side in an instant, placing a reassuring hand on Bruenor's shoulder.As soon as the dwarf looked up at his companion, Regis smiled broadly and held the parchment up to him. "From Drizzt," the halfling explained. As soon as the words escaped Regis' mouth, Bruenor grabbed the parchment and unfolded it. "He and Catti-brie have found my son!" cried the dwarf, but stopped short as he read on. "No, but they found out how Wulfgar was separated from Aegis' Fang," Regis added hastily, since that was the First Source after all, and that's why it occurred to them that the barbarian might be dead .

"Let's go," Bruno announced. "Go?" Regis repeated. "Where are you going?" "Go to Drizzt and Catti-brie. Go to my son!" growled the dwarf.He went down the aisle like a gust of wind. "We're leaving tonight, glutton. You'd better prepare yourself." "But..." Regis began to respond.He stammered out a series of unfinished arguments to the effect that it was too late to leave Ten-Towns in this season.Autumn is coming to an end, no one in Icewind Dale has ever seen a particularly long fall, and winter seems to be coming hungrily to the region. "We'll reach Luskan, don't worry, glutton!" Bruenor yelled. "You should take some dwarves," Regis stammered, following quickly. "Yes, a strong dwarf who dares to challenge the heavy snow in winter and can fight..." "My people are not needed," Bruno assured him. "I have you by my side and I know you will not miss this opportunity to help me find my son." Bruno spoke in a tone that was decidedly declarative, a tone that showed more that he would not listen to any dissenting arguments than what was said. Regis let out a few unintelligible grunts, then could only sigh in resignation. "All my supplies for the journey are in Lonelywood," the halfling finally complained. "Anything you need is right here in my cave," Bruno explained. "We'll go through Bryn Shander on the way, so you can say sorry to Cassius—he'll look after your house and possessions." "Of course," Regis whispered in a purely sarcastic tone, because the last time he left this area, as he had wandered outside of Icewind Dale before, he came back to find that there was nothing left.The residents of Ten-Towns are honest enough as neighbors, but extremely greedy when it comes to looting some abandoned houses—even if they've only been abandoned for a short time. As Bruenor said, the halflings and dwarves were on the road that night, walking under the crystal clear sky and the cold wind, towards the distant lights of Bryn Shander.They arrived just before dawn, and despite Regis begging Bruenor to be patient, Bruenor went straight to Cassius' house, slammed on the door loudly, and yelled, not only waking Cassius, but also Woke up a lot of neighbors. When a bleary-eyed Cassius finally opened the door, the dwarf roared, "You have five minutes!", and pushed Regis inside. According to Bruno's calculation, when the given time had passed, the dwarf broke in, grabbed the halfling by the back of the collar and dragged him out of the door, at the same time humbly to Cassius a few times.Bruno pushed him all the way through the city and out the west gate. "Cassius informs me that the fishermen are expecting high winds," Regis repeated, but even if Bruenor had heard him, the resolute dwarf did not show. "Wind and rain are bad enough, but if it turns into snow and hail..." "It's just a storm," Bruno snorted mockingly. "The storm won't stop me, glutton, and it won't stop you. I'll get you there!" "This time of year is when the snow apes are seen in large numbers," Regis continued. "Just keeps my ax sharp and in good shape," Bruno retorted. "These stubborn beasts." A storm had begun that night, and the icy raindrops kept falling on them, driven by the wind almost horizontally rather than vertically. Regis was soaked to the bone, and he was in a state of distress, and he kept complaining, although he knew that Bruenor couldn't hear him amidst the loud wind noise.At least the wind was blowing right behind them, propelling them forward, as Bruno pointed out now and again and grinned widely. But Regis knew, and so did the dwarves, that the storm came from the mountains in the southeast, the worst direction, and often the worst omen.In Icewind Dale, such storms, if they progress as expected, are known as northwesterly gale.If the gust crosses the valley and reaches the ocean, the cold nor'easter will hold it against the floating ice, sometimes for days. The pair stopped at a farmhouse for the night and were admitted, although they were told they could only sleep with the animals in the barn, not in the main house.They lit a small fire indiscriminately, naked with their clothes drying on the beams, and Regis tried again to summon Bruenor's normal sense. Halflings find this a difficult target. "Strong northwest wind," Regis explained. "The storm could last for a decaday and it could get colder." "Not yet a strong northwest wind," answered the dwarf roughly. "We can wait till it's over. Stay here—or, maybe go to Bremen. But cross the Vale in this storm and we'll be finished!" "Hey, it's just a little rain," Bruno muttered.He bit off a large piece of mutton offered by his host. "I've seen worse—I've played in worse weather when I was a little boy in Mithril Hall. You should see the snow out there in the mountains, slander. Two As tall as a dwarf." "A quarter of that would keep us out of the way," Regis replied. "We'll freeze to death in a place only the Yetis can find." "Hi!" Bruno snorted. "No snow will stop me from finding my son, or I'd be a bearded dwarf! You can turn back if you want - you should be able to get to Targos easily, and they'll dress you Cross that lake, to your house. But I will go on, as soon as I wake up, and I will not stop until I see the gate of Luskan, until I find the Cutlass tavern that Drizzt mentioned in his letter." Regis tried to hide his scowl, but just nodded. "I have nothing against your choice," Bruno said. "If you don't want to do this, then turn around." "But you will continue?" Regis asked. "From beginning to end." Despite the strong calls of common sense, Regis had no intention of abandoning his friend on a perilous path.When Bruenor left the next day, Regis was still at his side. The only change the next day was that the wind changed from southeast to northwest, blowing raindrops into their faces, making them even more embarrassed and slowing their progress considerably.Bruno didn't complain, didn't say a word, just hunched over in the wind and fought his way. Regis walked with him, not minding the toil, though the halfling did tuck himself a little behind the dwarf to the left, using Bruenor's broad body for a bit of protection from the wind and rain. The dwarves did give in that day, and took a road further north, which would bring them to another farmhouse along the way, which was quite used to visitors.In fact, when the dwarves and halflings arrived, they met another party that was going to Luskan.They had been delayed two days before, fearing that the mud would jam the wheels of their wagon on the road. "Too early for the season," the lead driver explained to the pair. "The ground isn't frozen yet, so we can't go through it." "Looks like we're going to spend the winter at Bremen," muttered another of the party. "It has happened before, and it will happen again," said the lead driver. "If you wish, we will take you to Bremen." "Not to Bremen," Bruno explained, taking a break from the mutton feast. "To Luskan." The group looked at each other suspiciously, and both Bruno and Regis heard the word "northwesterly wind" muttered more than once. "We don't have a wagon to get stuck in the mud," Bruno explained. "The mud will go up more than half your short legs," said the other, giggling a bit, but Bruno glared at him menacingly, and he stopped immediately. The other group, even the lead driver, demanded more sanity from the two, but in the end it was Regis, not Bruno, who said, "We'll see you on the road. Next spring. When we get back You are leaving." This made Bruenor laugh out loud, and, sure enough, the dwarves and halflings were on their way, stooping out into the cold wind, before the farm family and the other party had even opened their eyes before dawn the next day.They knew they had long since spent their last comfortable night, that finding even a shelter and building a feeble fire would be difficult, that deep mud awaited them, and that there might be deep snow covered with. But they also knew that Drizzt and Catti-brie were waiting for them, and perhaps Wulfgar was waiting too. On the third day Regis did not utter a single whine, nor on the fourth, nor on the fifth, despite their lack of dry clothing, the wind turning decidedly colder, and the rain turning to ice seeds and snow.They marched in single file, Bruenor cutting a trail in front of Regis with unparalleled strength and determination, though mud choked his every step and snow piled up to his waist. On the fifth night, they built a snow igloo for shelter, and Bruno did manage to get a little fire going, but they still couldn't feel their feet.At the current rate of snowfall, they would probably wake up to find these white things higher than the horns of Bruno's helmet. "I shouldn't have taken you with me," Bruenor admitted grimly, which was as close to throwing in the towel as Regis had ever heard from a stubborn dwarf. "Should be trusted that Drizzt and Catti-brie will bring my son back in the spring." "We're almost out of the valley," Regis replied with all the enthusiasm he could muster.This is real.Despite the bad weather, they had made great progress and the pass was already visible, though still a day away. "The storm holds the Yetis in check." "Just because the damn things are smarter than us," Bruno muttered.He practically dipped his toes into the fire, trying to thaw them. They had trouble sleeping that night, fearing the wind would knock down the cupola above them.In fact, when Regis awoke in the darkness, everything seemed completely still—so still!In his heart he thought he was dead. He lay there for what seemed to be days, and finally the dome of snow above him began to lighten, even to glisten. Regis hissed in relief, but where was Bruenor?The halfling turned on his side, propped himself up on his elbows, and looked around.In the dim light he finally made out Bruno's bedclothes, thrown open.Before he could begin to question the sight, he heard a sound near the low entrance of the igloo, and he drew a breath. It was Bruno who walked in, wearing less clothes than Regis had seen in days. "The sun is up," said the dwarf, grinning. "Snow melts fast. We'd better get things and ourselves out before the roof melts and collapses on us." They did not go very far that day, for the warm weather melted the snow so quickly that the mud was almost impassable.But at least they were no longer frozen, so they slowed down and walked steadily.Bruenor managed to find a dry place to pitch their tent, and they had a good meal before spending a restless night full of howling wolves and howling snow-apes. They still managed to sleep for a little while, but when they awoke they had to be amazed, which was wonderful.From the shape of the tracks, a wolf had come in during the night, and carried away a large quantity of their supplies. Loss and fatigue aside, they started the day in good spirits.There was no snow and the ground was hard and dry.They camped that night within the protection of the stone wall, and were startled when another light appeared in the darkness.A little higher above the east wall of the canyon, there seems to be a tent. "Well, go and see what's going on," Bruenor told Regis. Regis looked at him suspiciously. "You can sneak, can't you?" said the dwarf. Giggling helplessly, Regis stood up from the rock where he had been sitting enjoying his dinner, belching and rubbing his full belly. "Get all the gas out before you sneak up on our friends," suggested the dwarf. Regis belched again, patted his belly, then sighed resignedly (as he seemed to do often around Bruno), turned and set off into the dark night, leaving Bruno to do the cleaning. The halfling crept up a steep rock face, and the smell of boiled venison made him feel that Bruenor might be right to send him out.Perhaps they would find a band of rangers willing to share their game, or a band of merchants who had driven out of the Vale before them would be happy to employ them as bodyguards on their journey to Luskan. Lost in delightful fantasies, Regis grinned how his mouth longed for the deliciously scented venison, and almost rolled himself over the ledge.Prudence dominates halflings more, though, and that's a good thing.As he slowly pulled himself up, just high enough to peer over the ledge, he saw that these were not rangers or merchants, but orcs.Bulky, fetid, ugly, vicious orcs.Ferocious mountain orcs, clad in snow-ape pelts, were feverishly tearing at the tendons of venison, crunching cartilage and bone, cursing at each other, fighting for every piece of flesh torn from the beast they were cooking. It took Regis a moment to realize that his arm had grown weak, and he had to brace himself before falling thirty feet down the cliff.Trying not to cry out, trying not to pant too loudly, he climbed slowly back down the ledge. Before, things would have ended like this, with Regis stumbling back down below, then running to Bruenor to report that there was nothing to gain.But now, backed by the confidence that comes from the hardships of the road, he has struggled for months to play an important role in the heroic deeds of his friends. It was ignoring him, which still irritated him, so Regis decided that now was not the time to go back.Far from it. The halfling planned to make a venison dinner for himself, and one for Bruenor.But how? The halfling moved slightly to the side.Once out of the firelight, he peered over the ledge again.The orcs were still engrossed in their feast.When two orcs reached for the same piece of meat at the same time, a fight almost started, the first even tried to bite the second's outstretched arm. In the commotion that ensued, Regis climbed over the ledge, belly pressed to the ground, and crawled behind a rock.Moments later, as another altercation broke out in the camp, the halfling chose a route, moving ever closer. "Oh, but now I've made it," Regis moved his lips silently. "I'll be killed, for sure. Or worse, caught, and killed when Bruno comes to me!" Thoughts of this potential weighed heavily on the little halfling.Regis knew that the dwarf was a formidable foe, and the orcs would feel his terrible wrath, but they were big and strong, and there were six of them after all. The thought that his friend might be killed nearly stopped the halfling. Just a little bit. Eventually, he got close enough to smell these ugly, brutish creatures and, more importantly, to notice some of their details.One of them, for example, wore a rather expensive gold bracelet with a clasp that Regis knew he could undo easily. A plan began to take shape. In that hand the orc with the bracelet held a large piece of venison, a hind leg.The vicious creature held it up to the chewing mouth, then lowered it to the side, up and down, in a predictable repetition. Regis waited patiently for the next fight between the orc and the orc to his left, because he knew it would happen, as all had happened, one after another.When the orc wearing the bracelet stretched the venison defensively to the right, warding off the attack of the orc on its left, a small hand reached out from the shadows, and with a swipe of its small fat fingers, the bracelet was removed. The halfling dropped his hand, but to the right instead of retracting it, and threw his loot into the pocket of the orc sitting to the victim's right.Entering, light and silent, Regis carefully hung the end of the chain where it could be seen from the outside. The halfling stepped back quickly behind the stone and waited. Moments later, he heard the victim start screaming. "Who took it?" the orc asked in its own rough language, which Regis could understand. "Take what?" growled the orc on the left. "You took the best piece for yourself, you glutton!" "You took my chain!" roared the victimized orc.It swung out the deer's leg and smacked another orc's head hard. "Oh, so now, how did Turk get it?" asked another in the group.Ironically, this is the one with the chain hanging from the outside of the pocket. "You've been keeping your hands out of Tuk all night!" Things quieted down for a little while.Regis held his breath. "You're right, aren't you, Kinnik?" the victimized orc asked in a sly tone, and Regis knew what the simple-minded fellow saw. A terrible struggle ensued, and Regis' victim leaped to his feet, swinging the haunch with both hands like a club, aiming at Kinnik's head.The attacked orc blocked it with a strong arm, slammed forward, grabbed the other by the waist, and shoved poor Turk, pushing him aside.Soon, all six were fighting - pulling each other's hair, hitting each other, punching each other, and biting each other. Regis tiptoed away a short while later, with enough venison in hand to satisfy a hungry dwarf, and an even hungrier halfling. . And on his left wrist, he wore a newly acquired gold bracelet, which fell easily out of the pocket of the orc who had been falsely accused of being a thief.