Chapter 20 Chapter Sixteen An Unexpected Friendship

As usual, Wulfgar was the first to disembark when the Sea Sprite slid into anchor on one of Waterdeep's many long docks.On this day, although the Savage was quite excited to see Delly and Colson again, there was little elasticity in his step.The last time Deudermont had honestly discussed it with him more than ten days ago had made many things clear to Wulfgar, forcing him to look in the mirror.He didn't like the image in it. He knew that Captain Deudermont was his friend, a sincere friend, who had saved his life, despite the evidence that he had tried to murder the man with Morik.Deudermont had believed in Wulfgar when no one else would.He had rescued Wulfgar without a question at the Prisoner's Carnival, pleading with people to admit that Wulfgar had no part in any plans to kill.Deudermont had welcomed Wulfgaron Sea Sprite, and had diverted the course of his pirate-hunting schooner several times in an effort to find the elusive Sheila Kree.Deudermont deliberately showed Wulfgar an image in the mirror on their way back to the base port, and even if the image made him rage, Wulfgar could not doubt the truth contained in it.

Deudermont told him the truth, as tactfully as he could, who he had been. Wulfgar could not ignore that fact now.He knew his time sailing with the Sea Spear was numbered, at least for this season.If the Sea Spear were to go south, as she usually did in winter—the only winter route, in fact—the chances of encountering Kerry were slim.If the ship wasn't going to go for the Kree, then why would there be any need to have Wulfgar on board, especially if the barbarian warrior and his impulsive tactics were a factor that would cause damage to the crew? That was the sticking point, Wulfgar knew.This is the truth in the mirror.The proud son of Beornegar had never before considered himself anything but a warrior.There had been many times in his life when Wulfgar had done things he wasn't proud of - none more painful than when he slapped Catti-brie.But even then, Wulfgar could hold one thing.He was a warrior, one of the greatest warriors from Icewind Dale, one of the most legendary warriors from the Elk tribe as well as any other tribe.He was the warrior who united the tribes by force and faith, he was the barbarian who threw his warhammer aloft to break the frozen cave-tops of great icicles and make the natural spears fall, Stab into the back of the huge white dragon "Ice Death".He was the warrior who had braved the sun and the assassins of Calimport, and joined a notorious gang of rogues to save his halfling friend.Most of all, he was Drizzt Do'Urden's sidekick, one of the "Hallmates," part of a team that stirred up the topic of legend wherever they went.

But not anymore.He couldn't rightly claim the title of mighty fighter now, not since he'd tried to fight pirates in that disastrous way aboard the Sea Sprite.Now his friend Deudermont—a sincere and compassionate friend—had seen him and showed him the truth, a truth that weakened him.Could Wulfgar find again the heart of courage that had guided him through emotional crisis?Will he be that proud warrior again?The warrior who once united the tribes of Ten-Towns, who helped retake Mithril Hall, who traveled across Toril to rescue his halfling friend, and pursued a disgraced assassin. Perhaps Errtu had stolen them from him forever?Did that demon really shatter the soul deep within the Son of Beornega?Did that demon change his identity forever?

As he walked across Waterdeep and turned towards the hill where Deudermont's house stood, Wulfgar could not really deny the possibility that he had been that kind of person, that he had been that kind of warrior, and that this person was already to him now. Gone forever.Yet he wasn't sure what that meant. Who is he? He kept thinking in his mind until he was about to reach the front door of Captain Deudermont's apartment when a sharp and unfamiliar voice ordered him to stop and be checked. Wulfgar looked ahead, his crystal blue eyes darting around, noticing the many soldiers standing around the perimeter of the house, noticing the splintered wood where the gate was near the lock, where it was lighter in color.

Wulfgar felt a churning in his belly, his warrior instincts told him clearly that something was very wrong, his heart told him that the danger had befallen Delly and Colson.Part out of rage, part out of fear, Wulfgar roared and rushed straight for the house, paying no heed to the three soldiers rushing up, blocking the way with their huge halberds. "Let him pass!" Wulfgar yelled at the last second before he bumped into the blocking soldiers. "That's Wulfgar back! The Sea Sprite has arrived!" The soldiers parted, the last one smartly rushing back to push the door open, or Wulfgar would have smashed it to pieces.The savage rushed over.

But he stopped abruptly in the hall because he saw Delly coming down the main staircase with Colson tightly in her arms. She stared at him until she reached the bottom of the stairs before trying to force a faint smile.There she broke down, tears welling up uncontrollably, and then she rushed forward, falling into Wulfgar's waiting arms and tender embrace. Time seems to have stopped as the pair stand there, clutching at each other and needing each other's support.Wulfgar could have remained still for hours in fact, but then he heard Deudermont's startled voice behind him, followed by a barrage of curses from Robillard.

Wulfgar pushed Delly back gently, and turned when the two entered.The three of them stood there, looking around blankly, and Delly finally said curtly, "Sheila Kree," to bring a little reason to this eerie scene, and the three of them looked suspiciously at this moment. Deudermont found Wulfgar alone later, the barbarian gazing out of the window as the waves lapped in the distance below.This was the window through which Drizzt and Catti-brie came in to save Delly and Colson. "Excellent friends you dumped in Icewind Dale," the captain pointed out, stepping to stand beside Wulfgar, gazing out of the window instead of at the tall man.Wulfgar didn't answer, and Deudermont glanced in his direction, noticing the pain in his expression.

"You believe you were supposed to be here protecting Delly and the baby?" said the captain frankly.He looked up, and Wulfgar looked down at him, not sad, but not looking very happy either. "You evidently believe so," said the Savage sarcastically. "Why do you say that?" asked the captain. "Because I'm implying that you probably shouldn't have left Waterdeep with the Sea Sprite on its next voyage? So why bother? You joined us to hunt down Sheila Kree, and we won't find her in the south, we're sure to go south of." "Even now?" Wulfgar asked, looking a little taken aback. "After Kerry launched such an attack on your own home? After two of your friends were murdered by her assassins and slumped on the floor?"

"We cannot sail north when the winter winds begin to blow," replied Deudermont. "So our course is heading south, where we'll find plenty of pirates who are on par with Sheila Kree in murder and destruction. But don't think I'll forget this attack on my home," the captain twisted dangerously. She glanced at her face and added. "When the warm spring breeze blows, the Sea Spirit will return and sail straight into the Ice-shifting Sea. If necessary, find Kerry and make her pay the price she deserves." Deudermont stopped to stare at Wulfgar, holding his gaze until the barbarian returned his gaze. "Unless, of course, our dark elf friends help us achieve our goal," the captain pointed out.

Once again, Wulfgar flinched, looking back out to sea. "The attack was almost a month ago," Deudermont continued. "Now Drizzt may be far north of Luskan, and the hunt has begun." Wulfgar nodded, but didn't even blink at the announcement, and the captain could see that the tall man was really hurt. "I doubt that the drow and Catti-brie would welcome their old friends as companions in this fight," he ventured. "You're willing to curse Drizzt so much that you wish he would?" Wulfgar asked deadly.As he uttered these narrow words, he gave Deudermont a cold stare that offered a combination of sarcasm, anger, and a modicum of resignation.

Deudermont met his gaze for just a moment, sizing him up.Then he just shrugged and said, "As you wish. But I must tell you, Wulfgar of Icewind Dale, that self-pity is not for you." With that, the captain turned and walked out of the room, leaving Wulfgar alone in deep thought. "The captain says we can stay as long as we want," Wulfgar explained to Delly that night. "Winter till spring. I'll get a job—I'm no stranger to a smithy—and maybe we'll earn our own home next year." "In Waterdeep City?" the woman asked, she looked rather worried. "Maybe. Or Luskan, or wherever you think would be best for Colson, to make her grow strong." "Icewind Dale?" the woman asked without hesitation, and Wulfgar's shoulders sank. "It is a difficult land, full of hardships," Wulfgar replied, trying to remain objective. "Full of strong people," Delly added. "Full of heroes." Wulfgar's expression showed that he was tired of playing the game. "Full of thugs and thieves," he said uncompromisingly. "Filled with thieves fleeing from righteous lands, not a good place for a girl to grow into a woman." "I know a girl who grew up there pretty strong and upright," Delly pressed relentlessly. Wulfgar glanced around, seemed angry and nervous, and Delly knew she had him trapped.Considering his growing gloomy expression, she had to wonder if this was a good thing, and almost suggested that they stay in Waterdeep until the foreseeable future to get him out of the cage. But then, Wulfgar frankly admitted the truth. "I will not return to Icewind Dale. I belonged there, but not now, and I don't want to see that place again. Let my people find their way without me." "Let your friends find their way in your absence, even if they're looking for a way to help you?" Wulfgar stared at her for a long time, gritting his teeth at her accusing words.He turned and took off his shirt, as if the problem had been solved, but Delly Curty was not so easily persuaded. "You mentioned honest work," she said behind his back, and though he didn't look back, he did stop and not walk away. "Honest work, like hunting down pirates with Captain Deudermont? No doubt he will pay you handsomely, and get back your warhammer at the same time." Wulfgar turned slowly, threateningly. "The tooth of Aegis is not mine," he announced, and Delly had to bite her lower lip to keep from yelling at him. "It belonged to a man who is dead, a man who was a warrior and now he is no longer." "You must not mean that!" Delly yelled, rushing forward to hug him. But Wulfgar pushed her away at arm's length, answering her denial with an uncompromising gaze. "You don't even want to find Drizzt and Catti-brie and thank them for saving your little girl?" she asked, clearly hurt. "Or is it not important to you?" Wulfgar's expression softened, and he pulled Delly closer, hugging her tightly. "That's everything to me," he whispered into her ear. "Everything. If I run into Drizzt and Catti-brie someday, I'll be grateful. But I won't go to them—there's no need. They know how I feel." Delly allowed herself to enjoy the hug and let the conversation end there.Yet she knew Wulfgar was lying to himself.Drizzt and Catti-brie had no way of knowing how he really felt. Even Wulfgar himself didn't know, how could they know? Delly didn't know what her role would be to push the warrior back to his roots, or to allow him to accept a new identity, one he was clearly experimenting with.Will it break him down as he returns to himself?Or if he had thrown himself into a relatively mundane life as a blacksmith, would he be forever haunted by his terrible and heroic past? Delly Curty didn't have an answer. Bad moods followed Wulfgar in the days that followed.He used Delly and Colson as comforters, as protection against the emotional turmoil that arose within him, but it was clear to him that even Delly was growing depressed along with him.More than once, she had suggested that perhaps he should persuade Deudermont to take him with Sea Sprite as she departed for the south, which was imminent. Wulfgar understood where those suggestions came from: because poor Delly was so upset she had to listen to his constant whining, she had to sit next to him and watch him torn apart by uncontrollable emotions. He's been out of the house a lot these days, and he's even managed to find some work at the blacksmith's, one of the many smithies operating in Waterdeep. He was working there the day the Sea Spear sailed. The day after that, he was working there when a very unexpected visitor walked in to see him. "Put your gigantic muscles to work, I get it," said mage Robillard. Wulfgar looked at the man suspiciously, his expression changing from surprise to suspicion.As he stood up to take a good look at his visitor, he gripped the huge hammer he had just been using, ready to throw the tool in the person's face if he started to cast any spells.For Wulfgar knew that the Sea Sprite was out of dock long ago, and he also knew that Robillard was well known among the thugs of the pirate society, and that other mages could use magic to imitate him.With the previous attack on Deudermont's house, the savage didn't want to take any chances. "It's me, Wulfgar," Robillard said with a chuckle, clearly reading every ounce of doubt in the savage's face. "I'll be rejoining the captain and crew in a few days—really, a rudimentary spell that teleports me to a point on the ship I've set up for these kinds of situations." "As far as I know, you've never done this before," Wulfgar pointed out, skeptical, clutching the hammer as tightly as ever. "I've never been forced to play a confused savage's nanny before," retorts Robillard. "Now then," came a stiff voice.In came a man with hair, beard, and gray all over his body, his skin stained with soot and as dark as his hair. "What are you going to buy or fix?" "I want to speak to Wulfgar, nothing else," Robillard said curtly. The blacksmith spat on the ground and wiped his mouth with a dirty cloth. "I didn't pay him for the conversation," he said. "I pay him to work!" "We shall know," the mage replied.He turned back to Wulfgar, but the smith rushed forward, pointing a finger at the mage, reiterating his point. Robillard turned to Wulfgar with a disgusted expression, and the barbarian knew that if he didn't calm down his irritable boss, he might soon lose his job.He patted the blacksmith on the shoulder kindly, with strength that overwhelmed even the lifelong blacksmith, and Wulfgar led the man away. When Wulfgar returned to Robillard, his face was angry. "What do you want, mage?" he asked stiffly. "You come here to laugh at me? Come and tell me how good it is for me to leave Sea Sprite and stay on dry land?" "Mm," said Robillard, scratching his chin. "I guess some of it is true." Wulfgar's crystal blue eyes narrowed menacingly. "But no, my big man, fool...whatever you are," Robillard pointed out, not showing the slightest bit of nervousness, if any, at Wulfgar's dangerous position. "I came here, I guess, because I have a loving heart." "It's well covered up." "On purpose," the mage replied without hesitation. "So tell me you're going to stay at Deudermont's house all winter and work here...?" he finished with a derisive snort. "Would you be glad if I left the captain's house?" Wulfgar asked in reply. "What are your plans for that house? Because if you have, then I'd be happy to leave, immediately." "Calm, angry giant," said Robillard, in a tone of utter humility. "I have no plans for the house because, as I've told you, I'll be rejoining the Sea Sprite soon, and I didn't say there was any family left ashore. You should pay more attention." "Then you're just trying to throw me out," Wulfgar reasoned. "Get out of the house, out of Deudermont's life." "That's quite a different matter," replied Robillard flatly. "Did I say I was kicking you out? Or, did I ask you if you were going to stay?" Wulfgar, tired of the wordplay, and Robillard at the same time, gave a little growl, and went back to his work, pounding and banging on the metal with his heavy hammer. "The captain told me to stay," he said. "So I'm going to stay until I can earn enough money to buy my own place. I should have left now—I'm not going to be in debt to anyone—but I have Delly and Colson to look after." "Unaggressive," Robillard muttered softly, but loud enough—and Wulfgar knew, it was on purpose—that Wulfgar could hear. "Good plan," said the mage louder. "You will carry out the plan while your former friends jump into action to try and get back the magic hammer. They may be killed. You are too stupid to hold the hammer. Very well, young Wolverine Fuga!" Wulfgar stopped working and stood up abruptly, the hammer dropped from his hand, jaws parting in surprise. "It's true, isn't it?" the mage asked firmly and calmly. Wulfgar wanted to answer, but there were no effective words to use as armor against the brutal and direct onslaught.He could answer with discretion, he could say something to make himself feel better, but the simple fact was that Robillard's observation was correct. "I can't change what's happened," said the thwarted Savage as he bent to pick up his hammer. "But you can work on righting the mistakes you make," Robillard points out. "Who are you, Wulfgar of Icewind Dale? And more importantly, who do you wish to be?" There was little friendliness in Robillard's acerbic tone and forceful posture, his arms crossed defiantly across his chest, and his expression was one of utter arrogance.Still, the simple fact that the mage showed total concern for Wulfgar's plight still surprised the barbarian.He had thought that Robillard's only concern with him was getting him off Sea Sprite, and it was not without reason that he thought so. Wulfgar's angry stare at Robillard faded to a self-deprecating giggle. "I am what you see before your eyes," he said, displaying himself with open arms, his leather blacksmith's apron visibly showing. "No more and no less." "A person who lives a lie is quickly consumed by the lie," Robillard points out. Wulfgar's smile suddenly turned to a scowl. "Wulfgar the blacksmith?" Robillard asked suspiciously, and snorted. "You're not a worker, and if you think this newest profession is going to hide you from reality, then you're fooling yourself. You were born a fighter, you were raised to be a fighter, you trained to be a fighter, and you've been drawn from this profession Delighted. How many times has Wulfgar charged into battle with the song of Tempus on his lips?" "Tampas," Wulfgar said contemptuously. "Tampus abandoned me." "Tampus is with you, and the faith of the warrior tradition sustains you through your trials," Robillard retorted emphatically. "All your trials." "You have no way of knowing what I endured." "I don't care what you put up with," Robillard replied.His statement, and the great power in his voice, actually made Wulfgar back away. "I only care about what I see right now, a man living a lie, causing pain to those around him and himself, because he doesn't have the courage to face who he really is." "A warrior?" Wulfgar asked suspiciously. "Yet it was Robillard who kept me out of the profession. It was Robillard who told Deudermont to throw me off Sea Spear." "You don't belong to the Sea Spirit, I'm sure of that," the mage replied calmly. "At least not right now. Sea Sprite is not the right place for someone who's rushing ahead in pursuit of his inner demons. We succeed because each of us knows our place in the fight against pirates. But I also know that you don't belong Here, as a blacksmith, in a shop in Waterdeep. Heed my words here and now, Wulfgar of Icewind Dale. Your friends are in grave danger, whether you admit it or not, for You did this. If you don't join them now, or at least talk to them, and change their plans, there will be serious consequences. If Drizzt Do'Urden and Catti-brie seek Step into danger with the Fang of Aegis, and whatever the outcome, you will spend the rest of your life blaming yourself. Not so much for your foolish loss of your hammer as for your cowardly refusal to join them." The mage stopped abruptly, and just stood and stared at the barbarian. The barbarian was comprehending the facts in these words, with a blank expression. "They've been gone for nearly a month," Wulfgar said, his voice lacking confidence. "They could be anywhere." "They must have passed through Luskan," answered Robillard. "I'll be able to get you there today, and from there, I have contacts who can guide our pursuit." "You will join the search?" "Searching for your former friends, yes," replied Robillard. "Searching for Aegis' Fang? We'll see then, but it doesn't seem to be my thing." Wulfgar looked like a breeze could knock him over.He rocked back and forth, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, staring blankly ahead. "Don't turn down this opportunity," warns Robillard. "This is your chance to answer the questions that torment you so much, and your chance to end the guilt that will forever weigh on your shoulders. I offer you this chance, but life's road is too tortuous Now, there are always unexpected twists and you can't risk expecting that kind of opportunity to come your way again." "Why?" Wulfgar asked quietly. "I have clearly explained my inferences about your current situation and my belief that you should take immediate action to correct the wrong course," Robillard replied, but before the mage could finish his thoughts, Wulfgar I'm shaking my head. "No," the Savage declared. "Why you?" Robillard didn't answer right away, and Wulfgar continued, "You offered to help me, but you showed me no friendship, and I didn't try to take you as a friend. But you came, Offer advice and assistance. Why? Out of your former friendship with Drizzt and Catti-brie? Or out of your desire to get rid of me, away from your precious Sea Sprite?" Robillard looked at him slyly. "Yes," he replied.