Chapter 16 Chapter Thirteen Winter Comes

"Never liked this place much," grumbled Bruenor, standing with Regis at Luskan's north gate.They had been held for a long time by curious and suspicious guards. "They'll let us in soon," Regis responded. "After all they've always been like this when the weather turns—these are the times when scoundrels pour down from the hills and road bandits wander back into the cities and pretend they belonged there all along." Bruno spat on the ground. Finally, the guard who had blocked them at first returned, along with another, older soldier. "My friend said you were from Icewind Dale," the elder pointed out. "What goods did you bring to sell in winter?"

"I brought myself, and that should be enough for you," Bruno complained.The soldier eyed him dangerously. "We're here to meet our friends, they're on their way," Regis quickly interjected in a calmer tone. He paced between Bruenor and the soldiers, trying to ease the potentially volatile situation - because things were shaky with Bruenor Warhammer involved these days!Desperate to find his lost son, the dwarf is a disaster for anyone who stands in his way. "I'm a councilor of Ten-Towns," the halfling explained. "Regis of Lonewood. Perhaps you've heard of me?"

The soldier's anger was heightened by Bruenor's attitude, and he spat at the halfling's foot. "No." "My companion is Bruenor Warhammer," Regis said, a little theatrically. "Leader of the Warhammer Clan of Ten-Towns. Was, and will soon be, King of Mithril Hall." "Never heard of that either." "But, oh, you will," Bruno muttered.He tried to get around Regis, but the halfling moved quickly to block his way. "You're a tough guy, aren't you?" said the soldier. "Please, good sir, this stupidity should end," Regis pleaded. "Bruno is in bad shape, for he has been separated from his son, and it is said that he is sailing with Captain Deudermont."

This brought a puzzled look to the older soldier's face. "Never heard of any dwarves sailing on the Sea Sprite," he said. "His son was not a dwarf, but a warrior, proud and strong," Regis explained. "It's named Wulfgar." The halfling thought he was making progress in this way, but when Wulfgar's name was mentioned, the soldier put on his most horrified, angry expression. "If you call that fool your son, you're totally unpopular in Luskan!" the soldier announced. Regis sighed, knowing what was coming.The notched ax fell to the ground at his feet.At least Bruno won't be cutting the man in half.The halfling tried to keep up with the dwarf's movement, separating the two in the middle, but Bruenor picked him up easily and turned, throwing Regis behind him.

"You stay there," ordered the dwarf, waving a crooked, boiled finger in front of the halfling's face. When the dwarf turned back, the soldier had drawn his sword. Bruno looked at the sword and laughed. "Now, what do you say about my child?" he asked. The man looked around to make sure he had enough support in the area, and said, "I say he's a fool, and there's a million humiliations I can just throw at this Wulfgar, murderer and One of the rascals!" He almost finished the sentence. He raised his sword just in time to block Bruno's thrown bullet - which was Bruno's entire body.

Drizzt looked back to see a ragged and dirty Catti-brie outside the window, leaning against the window frame, sullen face, Taumriel in her hand. "You've taken too long," the drow pointed out, but his humor had no effect on Catti-brie, who had just killed someone.She stared past Drizzt without even hearing his words.Wouldn't it be a little less torture for her to do this kind of thing? A large part of Catti-brie expected otherwise. Delly Curty jumped up from the ground and rushed to Drizzt, to her crying child.As she approached, she calmed down as the smiling drow held the child, brought it to her, and happily handed Colson over to her, intact though clearly disturbed.

"It'll be easier if you come up right after me," Drizzt said to Catti-brie. "We could have avoided some trouble." "Do you think these look like elven blood?" she grumbled back, pointing to her eyes—human eyes were far from adequate in the twilight of Waterdeep's night. "And, do you think such a climb is easy?" Drizzt shrugged, still grinning.After all, climbing rocks didn't give him any trouble at all. "Then you go back down there," insisted Catti-brie.She put one leg over the window and entered the room slowly, not quickly, because her trousers were torn and her leg was bleeding. "Close your eyes and climb up, then tell me how easy it is to climb those wet rocks."

She staggered into the room, taking several steps forward before gaining full balance, which brought her right in front of Delly Curty and the baby. "Catti-brie," said the woman.Her tone was friendly enough and grateful enough, but it still showed that she was a little uncomfortable seeing Catti-brie here. The woman from Icewind Dale bowed slightly. "You're Delly Cody, unless I'm wrong," she responded. "My friend and I just came from Luskan, from Arum Gadpike's tavern." Delly chuckled, as if breathing for the first time since the battle started.She looked from Catti-brie to Drizzt, whom she had known from the stories Wulfgar had told. "Never seen a drow before," she said. "But I've heard all about you from my man."

Although she didn't want to, Catti-brie opened her blue eyes in surprise at the words.She looked at Drizzt, seeing him watching her knowingly.She just grinned, shook her head, and looked back at Delly. "From Wulfgar," Delly said quietly. "Wullfgar is your man?" Catti-brie asked frankly. "He is," Delly admitted, biting her lower lip. Catti-brie examined the woman meticulously.She knew that Delly was afraid, not of any physical harm, but that Catti-brie's return to Wulfgar's life might somehow threaten her relationship with him.But Catti-brie knew, too, that Delly was confused, because she had no right to be disturbed by Catti-brie and Drizzt's arrival, considering they had just saved her and her baby's life.

"We've come to him," Drizzt explained, "to see if it's time for him to go home, back to Icewind Dale." "He's not alone anymore, you know," Delly said to the drow. "He has..." She wanted to talk about herself, but stopped, and referred to Colson instead. "He's got a little one to look after." "We've heard that, but it seems like a confusing story," said Catti-brie, approaching. "Can I give this little girl a hug?" Delly held the crying baby closer to her. "She was terrified," she explained. "Better with mom."

Catti-brie smiled at her, giving her a look of genuine enthusiasm. Leaving Delly and Catti-brie behind in the living room, Drizzt dimmed their joy at the rescue a bit by confirming just how brutal the gang really was.He found two home guards killed in the hall, one lying by the door and one on the stairs.He then walked outside the house and kept calling until someone finally answered. "Go and call the guard," Drizzt instructed the neighbor. "A most horrific murder has taken place." The drow returned to Delly and Catti-brie.He found Delly sitting with the child, trying to silence her cries, while Catti-brie stood by the window, gazing out, and Guenhifar curled up on the floor beside her. "She has a rather long story to tell, about our Wulfgar," Catti-brie said to Drizzt. The drow looked at Delly Curdy. "She talks about you two a lot," Delly explained. "You should know the path he traveled." "Soon," Drizzt replied. "But not now. The officials will be here soon." The dark elf finished scanning the room, his eyes falling on the bodies of the intruders in turn. "Do you know what might have caused this attack?" he asked Delly. "Deudermont has made many enemies," Catti-brie reminded him from the window, without even looking back. "It's nothing out of the ordinary," agreed Delizan. "Many people want Captain Deudermont's head, but I don't know of any particular plans in the works." Drizzt paused before answering, wanting to ask Delly what she knew about the pirate who supposedly possessed Wulfgar's hammer.He looked at the fallen intruders again, and his eyes stayed on the woman. Based on his encounter with Jule Pepper in Icewind Dale and what he learned from the Rogue Morik, he realized that this pattern of behavior was consistent.He crossed the room, ignoring the din of officials, toward the front door, until he reached the dead woman, still pinned to the wall by Catti-brie's arrow. "What are you doing?" Catti-brie asked, as Drizzt was tugging at the collar of the dead woman's bloodstained coat. "Just pull that damn arrow out and let her fall." Catti-brie was clearly unnerved by seeing the dead woman, seeing the man she had just killed, but Drizzt didn't try to pull the guy down.Not only that, but her current position provided him with the best viewing angle. He took out a machete, and with the sharp edge cut a bit of the clothing, allowing him to pull it under the dead woman's shoulders. The drow nodded, not surprised at all. "What's the matter?" Delly asked sitting in her seat, she finally calmed Colson down. Catti-brie's expression showed that she was about to ask a question, but when she considered Drizzt's angle of viewing the woman and the knowing expression on his black face, Catti-brie's expression changed immediately. . "She's branded," Catti-brie replied, though she remained on the other side of the room. "The sign of the Fang of Aegis," Drizzt confirmed. "Sign of Sheila Kree." "What does this mean?" Delly asked worriedly, rising from her chair and walking towards the drow, holding her child close as if it were a living, sentient piece of armor. "That means Wulfgar and Captain Deudermont captured Sheila Kree, so her friends tried to fight back?" she asked, eyes shifting nervously from the drow to the woman at the window. "Or could it mean that Sheila Kree sank the Sea Sprite, and now comes to end everything connected with Captain Deudermont and his crew?" She said, her voice rising as she finished, provoking a strong unease. "Or it doesn't mean anything, it's just that the pirate heard that Captain Deudermont was chasing her and wanted to launch the first strike." Drizzt's answer was not convincing enough. "Or say nothing at all," Catti-brie added. "Just a coincidence." The other two looked at her, but no one, not even Catti-brie, believed the story, even for a moment. Moments later, the door was knocked open and a group of soldiers rushed into the house.Some of the soldiers turned to the drow at once, crying out at the sight of a drow, but others recognized Drizzt, or at least, Delly Curty, and by her gesture saw that the danger was over. .They pulled their companions aside. Catti-brie walked away with Delly Curdy in her arms, and beckoned Guenhuffa to follow while Drizzt explained to the officials what had happened.The drow didn't stop there, he also went on to explain the personal grudge between Sheila Kree and Captain Deudermont that is likely to be rising. After placing some soldiers on guard around the house, Drizzt went upstairs to the two women. He found them in good spirits, Catti-brie rocking Colson, Delly resting on the bed with a glass of wine in hand. Catti-brie nodded to Delly, and without further ado, Delly began telling stories about Wulfgar, telling Drizzt and Catti-brie all about the barbarians, the fall in Luskan , the trial at the Prisoner's Carnival, the escape to the North with Morik, and the circumstances that led him to adopt the child. "I was surprised when Wulfgar returned to the Cutlass," Delly said at last. "He is for me!" When she said that, she couldn't help but glance at Catti-brie, a little nervous, a little superior.However, the expression of the auburn-haired woman hardly changed. "He came to apologize, oh, but he appreciated all of us," Delly continued. "Let's go, the three of us—my man and my boy—to find Captain Deudermont and find Aegis' Fang for Wulfgar. He's out to sea now," Delly finished, gazing westward. outside the window. "I hope so." "Sheila Kree hasn't met Sea Sprite yet," Drizzt said to her. "If she does, then her boat is down there in the icy water, and Wulfgar is on his way back to Waterdeep." "You can't know that," Delly said. "But we'll check that," Catti-brie put in firmly. "Winter is coming soon," Deudermont pointed out to Wulfgar, as the two stood by the rails of the Sea Sprite, which was moving at high speed.They had seen no pirates for the past few ten days, and no merchant ships except for the last few sailing south out of Luskan. Wulfgar had no objection, having grown up in Icewind Dale, he knew the seasons well--a dramatic and rapid one in this far north.He also saw the signs, the wind had obviously become colder, the wind direction had changed, and now it was blowing more from the northwest, from the icy waters of the Ice Shifting Sea. "We won't stop at Luskan, but head straight to Waterdeep," Deudermont explained. "There we will get the ship ready for winter sailing." "Then you don't intend to stay in port during the winter," Wulfgar deduced. "Not going to, but our route will be south of the port of Waterdeep City, not north," Deudermont's explanation pointed. "Maybe we'll patrol around Baldur's Gate, maybe even further south. Robillard has made it very clear that he prefers a busy winter and has mentioned the Pirate Islands to me many times." Wulfgar nodded grimly, knowing that the captain was politely asking him to disembark at Waterdeep and stay there with Delly and Colson.He took it not so much from what Deudermont actually said, but from Deudermont's leading tone. "You'll need my strong arms," ​​Wulfgar said unconvincingly. "We're unlikely to find Sheila Kree south of Waterdeep," Deudermont said explicitly. "No one has ever seen the Bloody Keel sail south of the Magnificent City. It is said that in the winter months she keeps her ship in the docks, wherever that docks may be." In this way, he said it plainly and straightforwardly.Wulfgar watched him, trying not to be angry.Logically, he understood the captain's reasoning.He had to admit that he had been of little help to Sea Sprite's recent achievements.While this only made him want to get back into the fight more immediately, he understood that Deudermont had more to worry about than a warrior's sensibilities. Wulfgar found it difficult to get the words out, but he said reasonably, "I will spend the winter with my family. If you will allow us to use your house all winter." "Of course," said Deudermont.He tried to smile, and patted Wulfgar's shoulder lightly, which meant his hand had to reach quite a distance. "Enjoy the time you have with your family," he said calmly and with great compassion. "We'll find Sheila Kree in the spring, and I promise, the Fang of Aegis will be returned to its rightful owner." Every fiber of Wulfgar's body wanted to reject the whole situation, to shout out to Deudermont that he was not a bad fighter, that he would find his way back into the fight, with all the rage, and more importantly Yes, with all the discipline, that's what a great team needs.He wanted to explain to the captain that he would find a clear path, he wanted to assure the captain that as warrior Wulfgar, son of Beornegar, he was waiting to be freed from the prison of emotion and find his way back. But Wulfgar reserved those thoughts.With his recent dangerous defeat in battle, he had no right to argue with Deudermont, but to accept mildly the captain's polite pretext to get him off the ship. They would reach Waterdeep in ten days, and Wulfgar would remain there. Delly Curdy found Drizzt and Catti-brie packing their belongings and preparing to leave the Deudermont house early the next morning. "Sea Sprite may be back soon," she explained to the pair. "Probably," Drizzt repeated. "But I'm afraid there's been news of Kree's encounter with Sea Sprite farther north. We'll go to Luskan, meet some friends there, and follow a route that will take us to Kree or Wulfgar. track to go." Delly thought about it only for a moment. "Give me a moment to pack and get Colson ready," she said. Before Delly could finish the thought, Catti-brie shook her head. "You're going to slow us down," she said. "If you go to Wulfgar's, then I should go with you," she replied firmly. "We're not sure we'll be going to Wulfgar's," Catti-brie replied with all sincerity, and her tone was appropriately calm. "It is very likely that Wulfgar will be here soon, with the Sea Sprite. If that is the case, it would be best if you meet him here and tell him all you know." "If you were with us, and the Sea Sprite was anchored in Waterdeep, Wulfgar would be very worried about you," Drizzt explained. "You stay here—now the guards will keep you and your children safe." Delly thought about what the two said for a while, her soft figure visibly trembling.Catti-brie saw this clearly, and certainly understood it. "If we meet Wulfgar first, we'll come back here with him," she said, and Delly visibly relaxed. After a while, she nodded in agreement. Drizzt and Catti-brie were assured by the officials that Deudermont's house, as well as Delly and Colson, would be guarded day and night, and they left a short while later, "We're going back and forth," Catti-brie pointed out to the drow as they walked out of the great city's north gate. "And all the while, Wulfgar was out sailing, sailing back and forth. We just hope our lines meet soon, though I think he'll land in Waterdeep while we're heading for Luskan." Drizzt didn't smile at her humorous words and tone.He looked at her, and stared at her intently, giving her a moment to reflect on the attack the night before, and the hint of danger, before saying darkly, "We just hope Sea Sprite is still afloat and Wulfgar is still afloat." alive."