Chapter 14 Chapter Eleven Fork in the Road

"I think we could go faster with a little of that mage's magic," Catti-brie pointed out.It wasn't the first time she had teased Drizzt kindly about his refusal to accept Valderson's proposal. "Then we'll be on our way back, with Wulfgar in tow." "You're becoming more of a dwarf every day," retorted Drizzt, poking a stick at the fire over which a delicious stew was simmering. "If you're noticing an aversion to open spaces, like this road we're walking on, it's time to start worrying." "No, wait!" the drow exclaimed sarcastically, as if he had just learned the truth. "You're not expressing this disgust, are you?"

"You're a poor talker, Drizzt Do'Urden," Catti-brie muttered quietly. "You may be good at wielding twin knives, but can you catch a few sharp arrows?" "I cut your bowstring long ago," the drow replied easily, leaning forward and taking a sip of the stew. Catti-brie actually looked towards Taumariel to see if the string was indeed broken, it was lying on the edge of the log she was sitting on.She smiled, however, and turned to face her friend who was sarcastic. "I'm thinking we may have missed Sea Sprite's last outing for the season," Catti-brie said, serious this time.

In fact, the wind has started to get a little bit bitter in recent days, and autumn is slipping by soon.Deudermont often sails the Sea Sprite at this time of the year, patrolling the waters outside Waterdeep City for a few ten days, and then turns to the south where the climate is warmer and pirates are more active. Drizzt knew this too, and it was easy to see in the scowl that flitted across his angular face.Ever since he and Catti-brie had left Sorcerer's Tower, that small possibility had haunted him, making him wonder if it might have been too selfish to reject Valderson's offer.

"All that stupid magician wanted was a little chat," she continued. "A few hours of your time will please him, and it will save us a ten-day trip—no, I'm not afraid of running, and I don't even bother you, you know! There's nothing in this world other than being by your side. Hurry, there's nowhere I'd rather be, but we have other things to think about, and it's better for Bruno, and better for Wulfgar, if we can find Wulfgar before he gets into more trouble." Drizzt wanted to answer, reminding that if Wulfgar was really with Deudermont and Sea Sprite's crew, he was among good people, with strong allies, at least not weaker than Allies of Hall of Fame.He didn't say it, however, and considered Catti-brie's argument more carefully, to really take in what she was saying rather than reflexively stating a defensive answer.

"Then tell me why you didn't say yes," Catti-brie suggested gently. "You could have gotten us to Waterdeep in the blink of an eye from the mage, and I know you believed that to be a good thing. But you didn't, so can you tell me why?" "Valderson is not a scholar," Drizzt replied. Catti-brie leaned forward, took the spoon from him, then dipped into the stew, took a sip, and brushed her long, thick hair back from her face.She kept staring at Drizzt with a questioning expression that suggested he should elaborate. "His interest in Menzoberranzan has no purpose other than personal gain," Drizzt pointed out. "He had no desire to make the world a better place, but merely hoped that what I told him might offer him some advantage he could use."

Catti-brie was still staring at him, obviously not understanding.Even if Drizzt's words were true, what did it matter in terms of Drizzt's relationship with his wicked kin? "He wants me to reveal some drow secrets," Drizzt continued, unfazed by his companion's expression. "Even if you did, from what I know of Menzoberranzan, Val-Doussen can't use your words to get anything but his own destruction," put in Catti-brie, sincerely, because he had visited Having passed through this strange dark elf city, she also knows the great power of that place very well.

Drizzt shrugged and reached for the spoon, but Catti-brie grinned and pulled it away from him. Drizzt sat back, glaring at her, instead of laughing with her.He is hyper-focused on getting his point across. "Walderson wished to personally benefit from my words, to use my story for his own nefarious motives, and to the detriment of those involved in the messages I conveyed to him. My actions would be immoral to my people in Menzoberranzan, and to Bruenor's people in Mithral Hall." "I don't want to associate the Warhammers with—" said Catti-brie "I didn't compare that way," Drizzt assured her before she could finish. "What I want to say here is only my own principles. If Valdousen wants to sniff out information about a goblin lair so that he can attack them first, I will happily agree, because I believe that such a goblin lair will soon be destroyed. It will cause disaster to nearby creatures."

"Haven't your own people been to Mithril Hall?" Catti-brie asked following his logic. "Once," Drizzt admitted. "But as far as I know, my people have no intention of going back to the surface to loot and destroy." "As far as you know." "Furthermore, in any case, any information I give to Valderson should be such as to prevent the dark elves from invading," Drizzt continued, step by step, so that Catti-brie could not use logical traps. Trapped him. "No, it is more likely that this fool will go to Menzoberranzan, alone or with others, and try to steal a lot of wealth. That will probably only provoke the dark elves' murderous revenge."

Catti-brie wanted to ask another question, but just sat back and stared at her friend.Finally, she nodded and said, "You're assuming a few things." Drizzt made no objection, neither verbally nor physically. "I can understand your point, but you shouldn't confuse yourself with intentions that are by no means honorable." "You agree with that?" Catti-brie nodded as if in agreement. "Then give me the spoon," said the dark elf more forcefully. "I'm hungry!" In response, Catti-brie stepped forward, dropped the spoon into the pot, and lifted it up to Drizzt's waiting lips.At the last moment, the drow's purple eyes closed against the steam, and Catti-brie withdrew the spoon and brought it to her mouth.

Drizzt's eyes snapped open, his startled and irritated expression taken over by Catti-brie's mischievously teasing gaze.He lunged forward, lunged at her, pushed her back behind the log, and wrestled for the spoon. Neither Drizzt nor Catti-brie could deny the fact that there was nowhere else in the world they would have preferred to go. The walls surrounding the small group of people consisted of dark brown-gray cliff faces and steep patches of green grass.Dotted the sides of the canyon were trees that were really stunted and sparse, unable to take root firmly or extend their roots deep into the hard surface.

This place was a good place for an ambush, Le'lorinel understood, but neither the elf nor the other four members of the pack were at all worried about the possibility.Sheila Kree and her thugs own the canyon.The leader of the group was a brown-haired woman named Jenny, and Le'lorinel saw her make a few subtle gestures towards the top of the mountain.Obviously, there are sentries there. There will be no shouting here, because anyone's words cannot be heard a few dozen paces away.In the distance, Le'lorinel could hear the constant song of the river that split the gorge, which now flowed underground, beneath the left-hand wall, heading south.A little further ahead, the waves roared against the rocky shore.The wind blew down from behind them and into their ears.The frigid winds of Icewind Dale escape the tundra from this mountain pass. Le'lorinel felt a strange comfort in this apparently bleak and uninhabitable place.Elves feel a sense of freedom, away from the chaos and influence of society.Le'lorinel thought to himself, maybe the relationship with Sheila Kree would be more than that.Perhaps after the matter with Drizzt Do'Urden was over, Le'lorinel could stay with the Kree's team, serving as a sentry in this ravine. Of course, it all depends on whether the elf survives the encounter with the dangerous dark elf, and indeed, unless Le'lorinel finds a way to get that magic ring back from Jenny, that seems like a very small possibility indeed. possibility. Without that ring, would Le'lorinel still dare to fight against the dark elves? A shiver ran down the elf's spine, brought on by those thoughts, not by the cold wind. The group walked through several small openings, the natural vents of the caves that the Kree made home, in a hill three hundred feet high on the left, a series of caves that line what is now the river. above.They followed the gorge near a bend and came to a wide natural hollow with a large cave entrance where the river had once cut through the limestone to flow out. Three guards sat in the middle of the right-hand inside cliff, crouching in the shadows, throwing bones and munching on almost raw mutton, their heavy weapons close at hand.Like the three who had accompanied Le'lorinel to this place, these guards were huge, clearly the product of a human-ogre hybrid, and actually more like an ogre. They all stood up when they saw the group approaching, but didn't seem too concerned, Le'lorinel realizing that the sentries along the canyon might have informed them of the entrant. "Where's the boss?" Jenny asked. "Choguruga is in her room," a soldier muttered in reply. "Not Choguruga," Jenny said. "Sheila Kree. The real boss." Le'lorinel didn't miss the frown that accompanied her announcement.The elf readily understood that there was some kind of power struggle going on here, probably between pirates and ogres. One of the guards grunted, bared its dirty yellow teeth, and pointed toward the back of the cave. Three accompanying soldiers produced torches and lit them.These pedestrians continue to meander through countless spectacular natural landscapes.At first, Le'lorinel thought the water was flowing all around them, forming a wide, graceful waterfall along the side of the passage, but as the elf looked closer, the truth was revealed.That's not water, but rocks in special formations created by previous rivers, limestone congealed into the shape of waterfalls, and the water droplets from each rainfall still make them smooth and beautiful. Great passages extend from the main passage, many winding upwards, spiraling into the interior of the hill, others branching off to the same level, often huge, boulder-strewn chambers.All kinds of strange shapes attack the elves, and the elves' keen sense of nature can hardly bear this attack!Images of animals and weapons, entangled lovers, a huge forest, the elves, with their rich imagination, can see anything!Le'lorinel is a creature of the forest, a creature of the moon, and has never been underground.For the first time in his life, the elves had a certain appreciation for dwarves, halflings, gnomes, and all other races who chose the underground world instead of the world under the open sky. No, not all other races, Le'lorinel reminded himself at once.Not counting the drow, the dark-skinned demons of those dark spaces.Of course, there is beauty there too, but only in the light of the torches. The group moved on, almost in silence save for the crackling of torches, for the floor was clay and smooth and soft.They descended for some time along the main cave, which was the bed of the main river in days gone by, and they passed several other outposts, some guarded by half-ogres, one guarded by two real ogres, and One is guarded by ordinary-looking human pirates, as can be judged from their clothing and weaving. Le'lorinel had little interest in any of this, he was too worried about the impending meeting, the plea he was about to make to Sheila Kree was so important.With Kree's assistance, Le'lorinel may be able to find the end of this long and painful road.Without the Kree's goodwill, Le'lorinel would likely end up dead, abandoned in one of these side roads. Worse still, the elf knew with sensitive instincts that Drizzt Do'Urden would still be alive. Jenny turned abruptly aside, down a narrow side road.Both Jenny and Le'lorinel had to keep going on all fours, crawling under a low hanging solid boulder.Their three larger mates had to get down and crawl on their stomachs.On the other side is a wide cave, of spectacular shape, extending to the upper left, with a stalactite ceiling high above. Jenny, however, didn't look at it at all, focusing on a small hole in the floor as she walked to a ladder built into the wall.She went down, followed by a guard, then Le'lorinel, then two others. A long way down, perhaps a hundred steps, they came to another passage, and a short time later to another cave.It was a huge cave, opening to the southwest, towards the rocky bay and beyond to the sea.Water poured in through the many openings in the walls and ceiling, where the rivers emptied into the sea. The Bloody Keel was parked in the cave, and it was covered with sailors, repairing the damage to the transmission and hull. "Now that you've seen so much, you'd be wise to pray to whatever god you know that Sheila Kree will accept you," Jeyne whispered to the elf. "There are only two ways to get out of here: as a friend, or as a corpse." Le'lorinel didn't doubt these words for a moment, seeing that the ship was covered with vicious crew members, all of whom were cruel and ruthless. Jenny took the lead out of another exit, which snaked up again, entering the mountain from behind the cave that served as a dock.The passage smelled of smoke and was lit with torches all the way, so the escorting guards extinguished their own torches and set them aside.They climbed into the mountain, higher and higher, past storerooms and barracks, through an area that Le'lorinel thought was reserved for pirates, and through another area of ​​foul smell, where food The place where the human and demon tribes live. Several pairs of wistful eyes fixed on the elf as they passed the ravenous ogres, but none came close enough to touch Le'lorinel.The elves realized that they had a great deal of respect for the Kree, just from the fact that they weren't causing any trouble.Le'lorinel had enough experience with ogres to know how unruly they were in general, and was ready to treat any smaller humanoid they came across as a feast. Presently they came to the highest level of the hill, and stopped at the edge of an open cave with a row of portals.Jenny gestured for the other four to wait while she walked to the door in the middle of the room, knocked, and disappeared inside.After a while, she came back. "Come here," she commanded Le'lorinel. When the three brutish guards came to escort the elves, Jeyne held up her hand to keep them away. "Go get some food," the brown-haired woman instructed the half-ogres. Le'lorinel glanced curiously at the departing half-ogres, unsure if this meant Sheila Kree believed Jeyne's words, or if the pirate was simply too confident, or too well-protected to Don't worry. Le'lorinel thought it must be the latter. Sheila Klee, wearing only breeches and a thin sleeveless shirt, stood inside the room among the piles of furs, gazing out the window at the open water.When Jeyne announced Le'lorinel's name, she turned, a broad smile on her freckled face, her green eyes gleaming under the red locks of her hair. "I have been told that you fear for my life, Elf," the pirate chief pointed out. "I am very touched by your concern." Le'lorinel stared at her curiously. "Jennie said, you came to warn me of a dark elf," the pirate explained. "I'm here to kill the dark elves," Le'lorinel corrected. "It's just a lucky coincidence that my actions will benefit you as well." Sheila Kree laughed, and she came and stood facing the elf, towering over Le'lorinel.The pirate's eyes traveled up and down, surveying Le'lorinel's slender, even delicate figure. "Lucky for yourself, or for me?" "To both, I guess," Le'lorinel replied. "You must hate this drow a little bit to be here," Sheila Kree pointed out. "More than you can possibly imagine." "Can that tell me why?" "It's a long story," Le'lorinel said. "Well, since winter is coming soon and the Bloody Keel is still in dock, it seems I have time," Sheila Kree said with another smile.With a flick of her arm, she pointed at some piles of furs, beckoning Le'lorinel to come over to her. They talked for the rest of the afternoon, Le'lorinel honestly recounting Drizzt Do'Urden's many lapses, albeit with prejudice.Sheila Kree listened intently, and so did Jeyne, and so did the third woman, Bellany, who came in shortly after the elf began telling the story.All three seemed more than amused, more than a little interested, and Le'lorinel relaxed more as time went on. Bellany and Jenny both applauded when the story was over, but only for a moment before they stopped and looked at Sheila for some hint. "A good story," the pirate leader asserted. "I find that I take your word for it. You see, there are a lot of things to check before we let you go free." "Of course," Le'lorinel agreed, bowing slightly. "You lay down your arms and we're going to put you in a room," Sheila explained. "I don't have any tasks for you right now, so you can rest and recover from the long journey." With that, the pirate held out her hand. Le'lorinel only considered it for a brief moment before concluding that Kree and her lieutenants—particularly the one named Bellany, whom Le'lorinel judged to be a spellcaster and possibly a witch—were really just However, the handing over of weapons is regarded as a symbol.The elf smiled at the violent pirate, and handed him dagger and sword. "I suppose you thought it was humorous," Drizzt said flatly, his voice interrupted only by the occasional gasp as he tried to breathe. He lay on the ground, face down in the dirt, with the six-hundred-pound panther sprawling casually on top of him.As he and Catti-brie continued to feign feigned feuding over the stew, he summoned Guenhwyvar to hunt, but she whispered something in Guan's ear, and the panther, apparently out of femininity, snapped With a flying pounce, Drizzt was knocked down. A few feet away, Catti-brie was completely enjoying her stew. "You look kind of ridiculous," she confirms, between sips of soup. Drizzt scrambled desperately, almost slipping out from under the panther.Guenhive's huge foot landed on his shoulder, stretched out his long claws, and quickly grabbed him. "Just keep fighting, Kwan's going to get himself a big meal," Catti-brie pointed out. Drizzt's purple eyes narrowed. "There's still a small question about repayment," he said quietly. Catti-brie snorted, then knelt close to him.She raised the ladle full of stew, blew gently on it, and reached towards Drizzt slowly, teasingly.Almost touching his mouth, she suddenly withdrew it and it disappeared into her mouth. Her smile faded quickly, however, as she watched Guenhwyvar dissipate into a puff of gray smoke.The leopard protested, but Master Drizzt ordered her to leave, which she could not ignore. Catti-brie ran quickly into the woods, Drizzt in hot pursuit. He jumped from a distance, grabbed her, pushed her to the ground, pinned her down, and then used his amazing agility and deceptive strength to turn her over and restrain her.The firelight disappeared behind the trees and shrubs, and only the light of the stars and the half-moon reflected her beautiful face. "You call that repayment?" She sneered at Drizzt above her, who straddled her, pinning her arms to the ground above her head. "It's just the beginning," he swore. Catti-brie started laughing, then suddenly stopped, and the way she looked at Drizzt became serious, even concerned. "What's wrong?" asked the sharp drow.He stepped back slightly, letting go of her arm. "With a little luck, we'll find Wulfgar," Catti-brie said. "That's what we want, yes," agreed the drow. "How do you feel about that?" she asked candidly. Drizzt sat up straight, staring at her hard. "How should I feel?" "Are you jealous?" Catti-brie asked. "Are you afraid that Wulfgar's return—I mean, if he's going to come back among us—will change something in your life that you don't want to change?" Drizzt chuckled helplessly, impressed by Catti-brie's frankness and sincerity.The drow knew that something was starting to burn between them, something long overdue but still amazing and unexpected.Catti-brie had been in love with Wulfgar, and even got engaged to him before he seemed to die in Mithril Hall, so what would happen if Wulfgar were back among them now—not that The Wulfgar who got away, not the Wulfgar who slapped Catti-brie hard, but the one they used to know, the one who had occupied Catti-brie's heart? "Am I hoping that Wulfgar's return won't cast any negative light on our relationship?" he asked. "Of course it is. That being said, do I want Wulfgar back among us? Of course I do. I pray that he will climb out of the darkness and become the man we both knew and loved people." Catti-brie lay comfortably still without interrupting Drizzt, her interested expression prompting him to explain in detail. Drizzt shrugged and began to speak. "I don't want to live my life in jealousy," he said. "And, in particular, I must not have such thoughts about any true friend. I am as concerned about Wulfgar's return as you are. If this proud and noble barbarian, this barbarian who has ventured by my side once again Back in my life, my joy will be even greater. "As for our friendship, and what might grow out of it," Drizzt continued quietly, but with the same confidence as before, that it was an inner guide leading the drow out of the evil Morso The City of Bligh, always supported him through so many difficult adventures and made so many difficult decisions. He smiled wistfully and shrugged. "I try to live my life the best way I can," he said. "My actions are sincere and well-meaning, and I wish for a good friendship, and I hope for the best. Whether Wulfgar comes back to us or not, I can only be the drow you see before your eyes. If you Mind, in my mind, with more thoughts between us, that would be it. If not..." He paused, smiled, and shrugged again "That's what you are, and you're so talkative," Catti-brie said. "Did it ever occur to you that you should shut up and kiss me?"