Chapter 15 Chapter 12 The Statue with Lavender Eyes

"Shake it down, you idiots," Gisela scolded softly, as the boat approached the brightly lit Waterdeep harbour. "I hope to draw no attention at all when I dock." The three oarsmen, who were half-ogres, muscular and lacking in lightness, complained to each other, but did try to soften the splash of their oars, but they were unsuccessful.Gisela endured the whole time, knowing they had done all they could.She would be happy when this matter was over and she could leave her present three companions.She didn't know their names, only that their nicknames were Ah Ben, Ah Chu and Ah Sha.

She stood at the front of the boat, trying to make out some signs along the shore that would lead her in.In the past few years, she has entered Waterdeep City many times and is very familiar with this place.The most important thing now is that she avoids the long docks and larger boats, and goes to smaller, unobtrusive, less regulated docks, where a temporary berth can be bought for a small fee. buy it. She was relieved to notice that there were only a few guards moving about the pier on this dark night.Even with the splash of the half-ogres, the boat had little trouble entering the set of small docks south of Long Wharf.

Gisela came back, held out her arm to the nearest half-ogre, Ah Chu, and handed it a bag containing three vials. "Drink it and transform into a human form," she explained.As Roo gave her an evil smile and took the bag, she added, "A 'male' human form. Sheila Kree will not tolerate any of you pretending to be a woman even temporarily." This caused another murmur among the brutes, but each of them took a bottle and drank its contents in one gulp.One by one, their appearance changed to that of a human male. Gisela nodded in satisfaction, took a few long, steady breaths, and considered the plan ahead of her.Of course, she knew where the target's house was.Not far from the dock, it is built on a hill above a rocky cove.She knew they had to complete this dark task quickly, because the potion of shapeshifting wouldn't last long, and the last thing Gisela wanted was to walk the streets of Waterdeep with three half-ogres.

Here and now, she decides that if the potion fails and her companions become obvious trespassers, she will abandon them and depart alone, into the depths of the city, where she has friends who can help her get back to Sheila Kree there. They docked the boat in a small dock, alongside some similar boats that bumped noiselessly against the quay with the slight ebb and flow of the sea.With no one around, Gisela and her three "human" guards headed north at full speed, away from the dock and up the winding streets that would lead them to Captain Deudermont's house. Not far away, Drizzt and Catti-brie passed through Waterdeep's north gate, the drow easily ignoring the stern stares at him from nearly every sentry post.One or two recognized who he was and told this to their nervous companions, but it took a lot of reassuring words to assuage the common surface dwellers' fears of the drow.

This didn't bother Drizzt, as he'd been through this scene a hundred times before. "They know you, don't worry," Catti-brie whispered to him. "Some people know," he agreed. "Enough is enough," she said flatly. "You can't expect the whole world to know your name." To this, Drizzt chuckled and shook his head in agreement. "I know that no matter what I've accomplished in life, I'm going to endure their stares." He smiled genuinely and shrugged. "Endure isn't the exact word," he assured her. "No longer."

Catti-brie wanted to respond, but stopped abruptly, her retort being won over by Drizzt's smile, a reassuring one.All these years in Icewind Dale, in Mithril Hall, in Silvermoon, even here, in Waterdeep, and in every town along the Sword Coast, during the years they sailed with Deudermont, she was Around her friends, she works hard to gain acceptance from the world.In many ways, Catti-brie knew that, at this moment, she was more troubled by those stares than Drizzt.This time, she forced herself to get ahead of him, letting those eyes slide off her shoulders, because Drizzt was sure to be doing that.She could see it in his sincere smile.

Sturt stopped and turned to face the guards, the two closest jumping back in surprise. "Is the Sea Spirit here?" the drow asked. "Hai, Sea Spirit?" a guard stammered. "Where? What?" An older soldier walked up to the two flustered men. "Captain Deudermont is not here yet," he explained. "Although he should at least make one last stop before winter." Drizzt's hand touched his forehead in thanks, and he turned away, leaving with Catti-brie. Delly Curty was in a good mood that evening.She had a feeling that Wulfgar would soon return with Aegis-fang, and that she and her husband would finally be able to continue living together.

Delly didn't quite know what that meant.Will they go back to Luskan, to the Cutlass?Will go back to Arum.The kind of life Gard Parker had?She doesn't think so.No, Delly understood that the pursuit of Aegis' Fang wasn't just about retrieving a warhammer -- if that was the case, Delly would have dissuaded Wulfgar from going out in search of the weapon. This quest is about reclaiming Wulfgar's self, his past, his heart, and when this is accomplished, Delly believes, he will also find his way home—his true home, Icewind Dale. "We'll go with him," she said to Colson, lifting the baby girl with her hands outstretched.

Delly was drawn to the idea of ​​Icewind Dale.She knew the dangers of the region, all about snowstorms and high winds, goblins, snow apes, and other dangers.But to Delly, who grew up in the squalid streets of Luskan, there seemed to be something pure in Icewind Dale, a certain sincerity and purity, and no matter what, she would be in the place she loved. The man she loves grows with each passing day.She knew that when Wulfgar found himself, their bond would only grow stronger. She began to sing, and then danced gracefully around the room, shaking Colson left and right as she twirled and danced.

"Daddy'll be home soon," she assured their daughter, and Colson smiled as if she understood. Delly danced. The whole world looks so beautiful and full of hope. Even by the standards of Waterdeep residents, Deudermont's house was remarkably grand.Two stories high with many rooms.A wide staircase overlooks the hall, which also contains a striking vaulted pavilion housing two massive double wooden doors, each carved with half of a three-masted schooner.When the door is closed, the image of Sea Sprite is clearly visible.A second staircase at the rear leads to the living room, which overlooks the rocky bay and the sea.

This is Waterdeep City, a magnificent city, a city ruled by law.But despite patrolling by the ostentatious Waterdeep Guard and the generally courteous inhabitants, most mansions, including Deudermont's, employ private guards. Deudermont hired two, ex-soldiers and sailors, both of whom had actually served on the Sea Sprite many years ago.They are hired help and friend, sentinel and guest in the house.Although they take their jobs seriously, they can't help but relax.Every day is an inescapable calm.So the two help with chores, work with Delly to fix tiles blown away by the sea breeze, or paint clapboards almost endlessly.They cook and also clean.Sometimes they carried weapons, sometimes they did not, because they knew, and Deudermont knew, that they were here chiefly as a precaution.Thieves in Waterdeep avoid guarded homes. Therefore, during that dark night, the two men were completely unprepared for what happened to the Deudermont house. Gisela was the first to reach the front door of Deudermont's house, and she was accompanied by one of those rough fellows, using a potion of polymorphism, which did a fairly good imitation of Captain Deudermont's appearance.So good, in fact, that Gisela found herself wondering if she was wrong to call this guy a fool.Gisela looked around, saw that the street was quiet, and nodded to Ben, who was standing at the end of the road, between two hedgerow walls.Immediately, the guy was rubbing his feet against the rocks for momentum while sneering wickedly. At a knock, one of the double doors opened, only three or four inches, because, as expected, it was locked with a chain.The door was answered by a big, clean man with short black hair and eyebrows so bushy they seemed to shade his eyes from the midday sun. "Is there anything I can do for you...?" But his voice dropped, for as he surveyed the figure standing behind the woman, it was evident that the figure bore a strong resemblance to Captain Deudermont. "I have brought Captain Deudermont's brother," Gisela replied. "Come to talk to his long-lost siblings." The guard's eyes widen only for a moment, and then he returns to apathy, which is a professional demeanor. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, "but I'm afraid your brother is not in Waterdeep just now. Tell me where you'll be staying, and I'll let him know when he comes back." "We have very little money," Gisela replied quickly. "We've been on the road for a long time. We're hoping to find shelter here." The guard only considered it for a moment, then shook his head.Despite this unexpected turn, his code regarding such matters cannot be compromised, especially with a woman and her child living in the house as guests.He began to explain, and he told them he was sorry, but that they could find lodging at one of several inns for a reasonable price. Gisela was hardly listening.She casually looked back down the street, at the impatient half-ogre.The pirate nodded slightly and let Ah Ben start sprinting. "Maybe you'll open the door for a third member of my team," she said in a beautiful voice. The guard shook his head again. "I suspect—" he began, but then he couldn't go on, he couldn't even catch his breath, because the half-ogre, after running for his life, hit the door, cracked the door panel, and pulled the chain fastening end.The guard was thrown back, onto the ground, and the half-ogre stumbled in and landed on top of him. Gisela and Deudermont's imitators stepped in, weapons drawn.The half-ogre sends away the phantasm, which no longer has the appearance of a human. The guards on the ground started yelling and tried to crawl away from under the half-ogre, but Gisela was there, dagger in hand.With one quick and firm blow, she slit his throat. A second guard enters through a door at the side of the hall.Then, with an expression of purest terror, he sprinted for the platform. Gisela's dagger lodged in the back of his leg, severing his hamstring.Tenaciously he ran on, staggering up the stairs, shouting.Ah Sha caught up with him, pulled him away from the stairs with terrifying force, and flew back down.Another half-ogre was waiting there. Ah Cu walked in, he was still in human form.He closed the door calmly, even though it was no longer on its hinges. Delly could clearly hear a cry of pain from below, which made her stop singing.She had grown up among the mob, had seen and participated in many, many fights, and she had a rough idea of ​​what was going on down there. "In the name of the gods," she muttered, and stopped a scream that might have exposed her and Colson. Holding the child tightly, she rushed to the door.She opened the door, peered out, then pushed the door wider.She paused, just long enough to replace her stiff shoes, which she knew would expose her, and walked quietly along the corridor, between the walls and the railing.She clings to the wall so she doesn't want to be seen by those in the hall below, and she can tell from the noises - grunts and thumps - where the intruder is.If she had been alone, she would have rushed down the stairs to join the fight, but with Colson in her arms, her only thought was the safety of her child. Delly passed the front stairs, turned a fork in the road, and ran at full speed through Deudermont's private suite to the back stairs.She went down, holding her breath with every step, because she had no way of knowing if anyone else was in the house, perhaps even in the room below. She heard a sound above and knew that there were very few options, so she went straight through the door and into the exquisite living room.At the other end of the wide room, one of the windows was open.A cold wind blew in and lifted the edge of a drawn curtain so that it flapped under the curtain rail. Delly considered the route.These large windows overlook a rocky steep slope down to the bay.That's when she cursed herself for throwing away the shoes, but she knew it didn't make much difference.The slope was too steep, too dangerous—he suspected the intruder was coming from that direction—and with Colson in her arms, she dared not attempt it. But where? She turned to the front door of the house, which opened into a corridor leading to the hall.There are side rooms off the corridor, including the kitchen, where there is a rubbish chute.Thinking that she and Colson could hide there, she rushed to the door and threw it open—but closed it again and barred it as soon as she saw the huge figure approaching.She heard running footsteps on the other side, followed by a loud crash as someone slammed themselves into the locked door. Delly glanced around, at the stairs, at the open window, wondering which way to run.She was so flustered that she didn't even see another figure slipping into the house. The door was slammed again and began to crack.Delly heard a strong man banging heavily against the wood.She backed off. Then there were several running footsteps, and another man slammed himself into the door.The door exploded, and a huge figure fell on a large pile of firewood.A woman came in, and there was a guy standing next to him, and the guy who knocked open the door got up and stood on the other side.They were two of the ugliest, most intimidating guys Delly Curty had ever seen.With little experience beyond Luskan, she didn't know what they were, but from their smudged green skin and huge size she knew they must be some sort of giant. "Not bad, not bad, pretty guy," said the strange woman with a wicked smile. "You don't want to leave before the party's over, do you?" Delly turned to the stairs, but before she even started to take a step there, she saw another brut coming slowly down, eyeing her evilly with every step. Delly considered the window behind her, where she and Wulfgar had spent many hours watching the sunset, or the reflections of the stars on the dark water.There was no way she could get out without being caught, but she thought about the way anyway, and she had the idea to run at full speed and drop herself and Colson on the rocks below, quickly and End everything painlessly. Delly Curty knew these types of murderers and knew she was doomed. The woman and her two partners took a step towards her. The window, Delly decided.She turned and ran, determined to make a long jump to ensure a quick and painless end. But a third giant-like creature came down the stairs at this moment, and Delly's hesitation prevented her from escaping and killing herself.The brut easily grabbed her in its huge arms and clasped her tightly to its sturdy chest. It laughed and turned back, and the other two ogre companions howled to join in its laughter.But the woman didn't seem interested.She walked up to Delly, watching her every inch. "You're Deudermont's woman, aren't you?" she asked. "No," Delly answered honestly, but her sincerity was far from evident in her tone, for she was trembling with fear. She was more worried about Colson than she was about herself, even though she knew that the next moment of her life, quite possibly the last, would be more terrifying than anything she had ever known. The strange woman smiled and walked towards her calmly. "Is Deudermont your man?" "No," Delly repeated, more confidently this time. The woman slapped her so hard that Delly staggered back a step.Yet she was immediately pushed forward, back into position where she could be hit. "She's a gentle one," said the brut with an evil chuckle, and squeezed Delly's arm. "Let's play with her before we eat her!" The other two in the room started laughing, one of them wiggling his hips vulgarly. Delly felt her feet go limp, but she gritted her teeth and strengthened her resolve, realizing that she had a responsibility that went beyond the impending sacrifice. "Do to me what you want," she said. "I will cooperate with you, as long as you don't hurt my child." When Delly said this, the strange woman's eyes narrowed. Obviously, she was not afraid of Delly taking the initiative. "You'll have fun later," she said to her three companions, then turned her head, scanning each one in turn. "Now go collect some loot. Without loot, you'd be ashamed of the boss, wouldn't you?" The guy holding Delly was nervous about that, but he didn't let her go.Yet its companions were frantically busy, stumbling over each other, trying to satisfy the chief. "Please," Delly said to the woman. "I'm not a threat to you, there's no trouble. Just don't hurt my baby. You're a woman, so you know that." "Shut your mouth," the stranger interrupted her sharply. "Eat them both!" cried the giant who held Delly, taking some cue from the woman's contemptuous tone. The woman stepped forward and held up her hand, and Delly flinched.But this time the slap passed her and hit the startled half-ogre.The woman stepped back and looked at Delly again. "We'll arrange for the baby," she said quietly. "Please," Delly begged. "As for yourself, it's over, you know," the woman continued, ignoring her. "But you tell us what the best loot is, and maybe we'll pity the little one. I might even consider adopting her myself." Delly tried hard not to cower at the base thought. The stranger leaned closer, staring at the child, his smile widening. "After all she can't point us out to the guards, can she?" Delly knew she should say something constructive about this, knew she should overcome the fear and the madness of it all, and steer this woman in the direction that was best for Colson.But it turned out to be too hard for her, and the awareness that she was going to die, that her daughter's life was in danger, and that there was nothing she could do about it, completely stymied her.She faltered and tried to speak, but in the end said nothing. The woman clenched her fist and hit Delly hard, right in the face.As Delly fell, the stranger snatched Colson from her arms. Delly stretched out her arms even as she fell, trying to snatch the baby back, but the big thug hit her chest with a heavy forearm, hastening her fall.She fell heavily on her back, and the brute wasted no time in getting all over her. A bang beside her gave her momentary relief, and all eyes turned to the other brut, standing in the middle of a pile of crumbled cutlery—very expensive cutlery. "Find something for these, you fool!" the woman yelled at him.She looked around the room until her eyes finally settled on one of the heavy, long curtains, and signaled the guy to hurry up. She sighed in disgust, then stepped forward and kicked the guy still on top of Delly, in the ribs. "Quick kill this bitch and it's over," she said. The brut looked up at her, as bold as any of them, and shook his head. To Delly's horror, the woman merely waved the hideous creature in resignation. Delly closed her eyes, trying to let her consciousness fly out of her body. The mob who had dropped the cutlery hurried across the room to the drapery by the open window and pulled it down with a jerk.The brutish creature was about to turn back to the rest of the cutlery, but it stopped, and after removing the curtain to reveal a statue, it gazed at the strange statue.It was a life-size statue of an elf, clad in the attire of an adventurer, apparently made of some sort of black material, black stone or wood.It stood there, eyes closed, two ornate scimitars crossed across its chest. "Huh?" said the rough guy "Huh?" it said again, and slowly reached out to touch the smooth skin. The eyes snapped open, sharp lavender eyes that froze the giant human creature in place, and seemed to tell the brutish creature that its time in this world was, without a doubt, coming to an end. The statue moved all of a sudden, the scimitar slashing left and right, so fast it was like a shadow, the creature couldn't even see clearly.The drow spins its body, gaining more momentum for a more powerful slash.One slash, one scimitar followed by another, sliced ​​the stunned half-ogre open from shoulder to hip.The thing fell, and the drow took a quick step to it.Gripping his right hand behind his back, he drove the enchanted blade deep into the half-ogre's back, crippling its spine, then turned halfway, and with another precise and deadly swing of the knife, crippled the monster's legs. Drizzt stepped aside as the dying half-ogre struggled to the ground. "You should probably let her go," the drow said leisurely to the thing lying on top of Delly, which was staring suspiciously at Drizzt. "Kill him!" growled the female pirate, but before she could, a third half-ogre rushed across the room, past the open window, and made a beeline for Drizzt.On the way, a black shadow leaped over and stopped the guy.The six hundred pounds, combined with powerful teeth and rake-like claws, completely stopped the half-ogre's charge on Drizzt and knocked him back into the middle of the room. That guy rocks wildly, but Panther has too many natural weapons and too much overwhelming power.Guenhive bit his forearm against her belly, then swung his head back and forth, tearing bone and tearing flesh.The panther's front paws kept clawing at the frantic half-ogre's face at such a speed that the other arm could not stop it.Guan's powerful hind legs kicked the half-ogre's legs and torso, the claws sank in, and ripped straight back. The surviving half-ogre rolled off Delly and stood up.It raised its weapon, a heavy broadsword, and charged at the drow, intending to split Drizzt in two. The swung sword cut only into the air, and the quick-witted drow easily dodged the blow with a side step, then thrust the Flash into the fellow's stomach and leaped away again. The half-ogre scratched at the wound, but only for a moment.It quickly struck with a straight thrust. The scimitar "Ice Death" in Drizzt's left hand easily pushed the broadsword aside.Drizzt stepped forward to stand beside the advancing half-ogre, and stabbed it hard again with the Flash, this time scraping the point of the scimitar across a thick rib. Howling, the half-ogre turned and swung his sword violently, hoping to cut Drizzt in two.Again, the sword just cut through the air. The half-ogre stopped and froze because it couldn't see where its opponent was. "Strong, but slow," came the drow's voice from behind. "Bad combination." Howling in fear, the half-ogre jumped to the side, but "Ice Death" was even faster, slashing the side of its neck hard.The half-ogre took three steps, reached for his slit neck, dropped to one knee, then fell to the ground, writhing in agony. Drizzt was about to walk over to stop it, but he changed direction, stopped coldly, and stared fiercely at the woman who had retreated to the wall, by the cracked door of the room.The baby girl was in her arms, a narrow and deadly dagger at the child's throat. "What is a dark elf doing in Waterdeep?" the woman asked, trying to appear calm and confident, but visibly shaken. "If you want to make this house your goal, I'll leave it to you. I promise I'm not interested in talking to the officials." The woman paused, glaring at Drizzt, a smile that eventually appeared on the She already recognized her face. "You are not a drow coming up from the dark depths of the earth as part of an invading force," the woman pointed out. "You sailed with Deudermont before." Drizzt bowed to her, not even bothering to try to stop the last half-ogre he had badly wounded from crawling towards the woman.Across the room, Guenhwyvar crept up along the wall, outflanking the woman, leaving another torn ogre dead in a pool of his own blood. "Who are you, an uninvited guest at the Deudermonts' house?" Drizzt asked. "With some unacceptable companions." "Give me Colson!" pleaded another woman—Delly Curty, obviously.He was still on the ground, propped up on his elbows. "Oh, please. She didn't do anything." "Quiet!" the pirate yelled at her.She looked back at Drizzt, deliberately turning the menacing dagger over and over the child's throat. "She's going to get her baby back, alive," the woman explained. "Once I get out of here, free to escape." "You just think you have bargaining power," Drizzt pointed out, taking a step forward. At this moment the half-ogre reached its leader.With great difficulty it kept itself in a kneeling position in front of her, its arms climbing up the wall, pulling itself up and resting on its knees. Gisela took one look at it, then with a flick of her hand, she drove the dagger deep into the creature's throat.It fell gasping, dying slowly. The woman was obviously not new to fighting, and she brought the dagger back to the child's throat in an instant. This swift movement made Delly scream, and Drizzt and Guenhwyvar wanted to attack her for a moment.But only a temporary thought, because the dagger snapped back into place too quickly, and no doubt she'd make it work. Drizzt looked at the woman's dying ogre companion. "I couldn't take it with me, and I couldn't leave it alive," she explained. "Neither can I let you take the baby away," the drow replied. "But you can, because you have no choice," she declared. "I will leave this place and I will send someone to tell you where to retrieve the unharmed baby." "No," Drizzt corrected. "You're going to give the baby to her mother, then leave this place and never come back." The woman smiled at this point of view. "Before I even hit the street, your panther friends would grab me and throw me down," she said. "I assure you," Drizzt offered. The woman smiled again. "I want to accept a pledge from a drow?" "Then I want to accept the promise of a thief and murderer?" Drizzt replied quickly. "But you don't have a choice, drow," the woman explained, holding the baby up close to her face, looking at her with a weird, indifferent expression, and holding the dagger around Colson's neck Swipe back and forth. Delly Curty whimpered again, buried her face in her hands. "How do you stop me, dark elf?" the woman sneered. As soon as she spoke, a ray of light like blue lightning passed through the room, passed over Delly Curty's lying figure, brushed against Colson's delicate flesh, and was nailed between the female pirate's eyes, She pushed back against the wall and was pinned there. Her arms flung wide and out, twitching fitfully, and the baby fell from her grasp. But it didn't fall to the ground, because when Drizzt heard the familiar sound of the bowstring, he bent over and rolled forward, and came to the pinned woman, stretched his hands forward, and gently caught Colson.He stood up and stared at the pirate. That woman is dead.Her arms twitched a few more times, and then she slumped and hung there, her head nailed to the wall.She can no longer see or hear anything in this world. "It's like this," Drizzt told her anyway.