Chapter 8 Chapter 6 Exodus

Drizzt watched every movement the barbarian made: Wulfgar's sitting down across the fire from the camp, and his movements as he walked toward dinner.The drow tried to use this to see clearly the state of mind of the barbarian.Did this battle with the giant help?Had Drizzt achieved his goal of releasing Wulfgar's excess energy?Or was Wulfgar worse off than before?Was he apprehensive about this latest blunder, though his action, or lack of action, had actually done no harm? Wulfgar had to realize that he had been bad at the start of the fight, but in his own mind, had he justified himself by his subsequent actions?

Drizzt was as sensitive to these thoughts and feelings as any living being, but, to be honest, he couldn't see the savage's inner confusion, not at all.Every movement of Wulfgar seemed methodical, like mechanical movement: it had always been that way since his escape from Errtu's grasp.All he does seems to be to sustain life itself, showing no pain, satisfaction, faith, or anything else.Wulfgar was here, but it was hard to say he was alive.If there was any passion in those sky-blue eyes, Drizzt couldn't see it. Thus the drow ranger was left with the impression that this battle with the giant was of no avail, neither sustaining the barbarian's desire to live nor burdening his soul.Drizzt watched his friend, Wulfgar tearing a chunk of flesh off a bone, with that constant expression on his face, revealing nothing.Drizzt had to admit that not only had he not found the answer, but he hadn't even looked in the right direction.

At this point, Catti-brie walked over to Wulfgar and sat down, and the barbarian did stop to greet her.He even gave her a smile.She might have succeeded where he had failed, the drow thought.He and Wulfgar had been friends, of course, but the bond between the barbarian and Catti-brie was deeper. This thought caused confusion in Drizzt's mind.On the one hand, he cared deeply for Wulfgar, and would give anything as long as the wounds in the Savage's heart could be healed; on the other hand, it pained him to see Catti-brie so close to that man.He tries to push back the feeling, to lift his spirits, but it's here, it's a fact, and it's not going away easily.

He is jealous. The drow tried to calm down, and quietly left the two of them, leaving them to be alone.He walked up to Regis and Bruno, just as Regis had just swallowed his third supper and looked very excited.Drizzt couldn't help comparing Regis's face to Wulfgar's, who seemed to be eating just to survive.That's the contrast between pragmatism and pure joy. "We'll be out of Icewind Dale tomorrow," Bruno said, pointing to the outlines of the mountains to the south and east.Indeed, they had turned past the end of the mountains, and now they were going south instead of west.The year-round winds in Icewind Dale have turned into occasional gusts.

"How's the boy?" Bruenor asked when he saw the dark elf. Drizzt shrugged. "You almost killed him, you stupid elf," the dwarf feigned anger. "You nearly killed us all! And not for the first time!" "It won't be the last time either," Drizzt promised, bowing deeply at the same time.He knew that Bruenor was only joking, for the dwarves loved fighting as much as he did, especially against giants.Bruenor had indeed been disappointed in him, but only because Drizzt hadn't included him in his original battle plan.The brief but intense battle had dissipated the resentment in Bruenor's mind, so he was just making fun of the drow now as a means of allaying his worries about Wulfgar.

"Did you see his expression during the battle?" the dwarf asked in a playful tone. "That's when Regis showed up with his stinking giant friend and it looked like my boy was about to get smashed, did you see him?" Drizzt admitted he hadn't. "I was in a tough fight at the time," he said. "Guanhaifa is also dangerous." "No expression," Bruno declared. "There was no expression at all. There was no anger on his face when he threw the hammer at the giant." "He brought his anger under conscious control," the drow commented.

"Bah, that's not the case," Bruno retorted. "When we fought Errtu on the ice floes, I saw the boy's rage. It was more rage than all my eyes had ever seen. How I wish I could see it again! Anger, rage , even fear!" "I saw him when I got to the field," Regis said. "He didn't know that this new giant was on his side. And if this giant was an accomplice to those other giants, Wulfgar would be killed easily, and he couldn't resist the attack from that angle. Attack. Even so, he showed no fear. He just stared at the giant, and all I saw was..."

"Give up." The drow said the answer for him. "Accept what fate has made for him." "I don't understand," Bruno admitted. Drizzt could not answer him.Of course, the drow also had his own ideas. He felt that maybe Wulfgar's psychological trauma was too heavy, and his hopes, dreams, passions, and ambitions had all been stolen; but he couldn't turn this idea into Words, the kind understandable to a realistic dwarf.In a way, it was ironic, since as far as he could remember, the closest thing to Wulfgar's current state was Bruenor himself.That was shortly after Wulfgar fell before the Waxmelt.The dwarf wandered aimlessly in Mithril Hall all day, and he was very sad.

Yes, Drizzt realized, that was the point.Wulfgar was mourning. Bruno would not understand.Drizzt wasn't even sure he understood. "It's time to go." Regis interrupted the dark elf's meditation.Drizzt looked to Regis, then to Bruenor. "Carlain invited us to play a game of bones," Bruno explained. "Come along, elf. You have the best eyesight, and I may need your help." Drizzt glanced back over the campfire, where Catti-brie and Wulfgar were talking close together.He noticed that it wasn't just Catti-brie who was talking.She managed to get Wulfgar to join in, and even made him look alive.Drizzt was tempted to stay here and watch their every move, but he would not give in to such weak thoughts, so he followed Bruenor and Regis to the game of bones.

"You don't know how painful it is when we see the ceiling drop over your head," Catti-brie said.She deftly shifted the conversation to that fateful day beneath Mithril Hall.She and Wulfgar had been talking about the happy memories before, in the previous battles, the comrades had won overwhelming victories, and the monsters could be wiped out without paying a high price. Even Wulfgar joined in, talking about his first fight with Bruenor - against Bruenor - when he hit the dwarf on the head with his club and instead of being hurt, he hit him leg, making him unconscious and passed out on the battlefield.As the conversation continued, Catti-brie turned her attention to another crucial event: the casting of Aegis' Fang.It was a work of love, the culmination of Bruenor's career as a blacksmith, and it was born out of pure dwarf affection for Wulfgar.

"If he didn't love you so much, he couldn't have made such a perfect weapon," she said to him.Seeing that her words had had an effect, she took the opportunity to subtly change the subject again, talking about Bruenor's feelings for Aegis-fang after Wulfgar's apparent death.Of course, this ultimately points to the memory of the day Wulfgar fell, the memory of the evil Waxmelt. To his relief, Wulfgar did not tense up when she said this, but remained with her, listening to what she had to say, and speaking his own when the time was right. "All the power left my body," Catti-brie continued. "Never have I seen Bruno come so close to breaking down. But we all stand up and fight in your name to destroy our enemies." There was a light in Wulfgar's eyes that he hadn't seen in a long time.Catti-brie paused, giving him time to digest her words.She thought he would answer, but he didn't.Time passed quietly by second by second. Catti-brie moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his back and resting her head on his broad shoulders.He didn't push her away, and even moved to make them both more comfortable.She had expected more, hoped that Wulfgar's feelings would be completely released.But at this point, although she hadn't achieved that goal, she felt that she had achieved more than she should have hoped for.Love didn't resurface, but neither did anger. It takes time. The next day, the companions did come out of Icewind Dale, which can be seen from the change in the direction of the wind.In Icewind Dale, the wind blows from the northeast, carrying the chill of the sea of ​​ice packs.At the intersection of the mountains and the coast, the wind is no longer so violent, and the wind here is only a slight gust compared to the perpetual cold wind in Icewind Valley.And as they continued south, the wind picked up again, swirling around the towering Spine of the World mountains.But unlike the icy winds that Icewind Dale is named after, this is a mild wind.This is the warm wind blowing from the warmer places in the south, or the Sea of ​​Swords, and when it meets the mountains that block the way, it spins. Drizzt and Bruenor acted as the outposts of the group all day, partly for vigilance and partly to give Catti-brie and Wulfgar some privacy.Catti-brie was still talking, trying to bring Wulfgar to a better time and place.Regis sat in the carriage all day among the food that exuded a strong smell. There were no accidents that day.But Drizzt found a very worrying mark, the footprint of a huge, booted giant. "Greedy ghost's friend?" Bruno asked, squatting down beside the Ranger. "I suppose so," Drizzt replied. "That halfling's magic is too strong." Bruno muttered. But Drizzt knew the magic power of the ruby ​​pendant very well, and also had a general understanding of the ability to resist magic, so he couldn't agree with this statement. He knew that the giant was not stupid, and he could escape the control of magic not long after he left the team.It's likely that before they'd even walked more than a few miles, the giant wondered why he stooped to helping the halfling and his eccentric friends.Then, shortly after that, he'd forget about the whole thing altogether, or get mad at being so cheated on. And now, Drizzt deduced from the path of the footprints that the giant seemed to be following them. Maybe that's no coincidence, maybe it's because it's a different giant—Icewind Dale has never been short of giants, after all.Drizzt couldn't be sure of the answers to these questions, so when he and Bruenor shared dinner with them, they didn't talk about the footprints, nor did they suggest increasing the number of night guards.Even so, Drizzt himself went out to watch the night, not only to guard against the giants, but also because he didn't want to see Catti-brie and Wulfgar together.In the dark of night, he could think alone, and let his mind run wild, while he reminded himself time and time again that Catti-brie would make her wise choice. Drizzt recalled little things in which he could appreciate Catti-brie's intelligence and honesty.As the full moon languidly rose over the distant Sea of ​​Swords, the drow felt a strange warmth.Although he could barely see the light of the campfire, he knew he was among his friends. Wulfgar stared into the depths of her blue eyes.He knew that she had brought him into the subject on purpose, that she had slowly and carefully smoothed his wounds, that she had broken down the walls of his anger with her tender touch; and now, she wanted, she demanded Seeing what was behind the wall, she wanted to see the demons that tormented Wulfgar so much. Catti-brie sat quietly, waiting calmly and patiently.She had induced Wulfgar to tell some horrible stories, and then probed deeper; she demanded that he bare his soul, his fears, to her, though she knew that was too much for this strong and proud man. It's hard to say. But Wulfgar did not refuse her.He sat there, his thoughts whirling wildly; he looked long into her eyes, his breathing became a gasp, and in his chest his heart beat violently. "I've remembered you dearly for so long," he said quietly. "Down there, amidst the smoke and dust, I still remember my Catti-brie. There was never a moment when I wasn't thinking of you. Never." He paused to catch his breath, and Catti-brie laid her hand tenderly on his. "Sights that so many human eyes should never see," Wulfgar said quietly, and Catti-brie noticed his sky-blue eyes moisten. "However, when I fought them, they all appeared in your image." Catti-brie smiled, but it did little to comfort Wulfgar. "He's using it against me," the man continued, his voice lower than before, almost like a roar of some sort. "Errtor knew my mind, and used my mind against me. He showed me the end of the Waxmelt fight, and I saw the Waxmelt jump on you and tear you apart, and then it Going to Bruno again..." "But, didn't the Wax Melt Demon send you to the lower planes?" Catti-brie asked.She tried to convince Wulfgar with logic. "I don't remember," Wulfgar admitted. "I just remember falling on the stone, the occasional pain of the wax melter biting my chest, and then there was only darkness, until I woke up in the courtyard of the Spider Queen. "But even your image...you won't understand! The only weapon I could have used against Errtu was twisted and turned against me. The last hope was burnt from my heart, and I was empty !" Catti-brie moved closer, her face less than an inch from his. "But there is hope again," she said softly. "Errtor is gone, exiled for a hundred years; the Spider Queen and her dark elf minions haven't come to Drizzt for years. That road is over, and there are others before us The road. It’s like the road to the High Spirit Monastery and Cadley. After leaving there, we may go to Mithril Hall. After that, we will choose to go to Waterdeep City and board the Sea Spirit with Captain Deudermont. Come on an unfettered voyage, ride the waves and chase pirates... "There are so many possibilities in front of us!" she continued.She smiled, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement. "But first, we need to make a truce with our past." Wulfgar listened to her attentively, but he just kept shaking his head, reminding her that it wasn't as simple as she made it out to be. "All these years you've thought I was dead," he said. "And then I thought you were dead, too. I thought you were dead, and Bruenor was dead, and Drizzt was put to death on some drow-mother's altar. I gave up hope, because no more possible." "But you now know that was a lie," she said. "There will always be hope, there must be hope. That's the devil, Errtu's lie. Those devils steal your hope, because without hope there is no power, without hope there is no freedom. And their greatest Fun is to imprison the mind." Wulfgar took a deep breath, trying to comprehend the words fully.He thought about every word Catti-brie had said, and they were irrefutable; besides, he had indeed escaped from Errtu's grasp.But he thought again of the pain in his heart... And it took Catti-brie a long time to understand what Wulfgar had been showing these days.She understood now that it wasn't just pain and terror that bound her friend.There is only one emotion that can bind a person so much.By the time Wulfgar recalled that memory in his own mind, he had found answers to questions about why he had given up, why he had surrendered to Errtu and his men, why he had lost all courage and The answer to the contempt of the enemy.Yes, Catti-brie looked at him, and the answer was obvious to her.During Wulfgar's years as Errtu's captive, nothing but guilt had tormented him so much. Of course, this seemed ridiculous to Catti-brie.Anything Wulfgar did or said to get through his days in the Abyss, she could forgive.She will forgive anything.But it's not ridiculous, she reminded herself quickly.The pained look on the big man's face said it all. Wulfgar closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.She was right, he told himself over and over again.The past is past, it was a past event, a lesson.Now we are all together again, healthy and adventurous together.Now he knew the mistakes of his engagement to Catti-brie in the past, and could look at her again with a renewed desire. When his eyes opened again, she noticed a little more calmness in his eyes.Then he came forward and kissed her tenderly; it was just a light kiss, a touch between the lips, as if asking her permission. Catti-brie looked around quickly and realized that they were really alone.Although the others were not very far away, all those who were not asleep were so absorbed in the game that they would not notice anything else. Wulfgar kissed her again, this time urging, forcing her to consider her feelings for the man.does she love him Of course, she loved him as a friend; but was she ready to take that love to a different level? She really doesn't know.She had decided to give Wulfgar her love, to marry him, to have children for him, to spend the rest of her life with him. But that was so many years ago, a different time, a different place.And now, she might have feelings for someone else; and to be honest, she hadn't verified whether it was this new feeling that was deeper, or whether she had a deeper feeling for Wulfgar now. And now, she had no time to prove it, for Wulfgar kissed her even more intensely.She didn't respond accordingly, so he stepped back three feet and stared at her coldly. She looked at him, on the edge of this catastrophe, the dividing line between past and future; she realized that she would have to give him her love.She pulled him back and kissed him, and they hugged tightly, Wulfgar leading her to the ground, where they writhed, caressing each other wildly. She let him lose himself in passion, letting him touch her and kiss her; while she tried to be content with her chosen role, hoping that what happened tonight would bring Wulfgar back to the world of the living. . And it works.Wulfgar knew her hope, felt her hope.He revealed his heart and soul to her, throwing away all defenses; he felt comfortable in her arms, in her sweet smell, in her unique tenderness. He is free!Only in this short moment did he truly enjoy his freedom.It's so joyful, so beautiful, and most of all, so real. He rolled over on his back, and his strong arms lifted Catti-brie to him.He nibbled at the nape of her neck, and then, when he had reached a certain point of pleasure, he turned his head to look Catti-brie in the eyes, sharing the joy of the moment. An evil banshee from the Demonic Abyss was staring back at him. Wulfgar's mind raced, through Icewind Dale, back to the Sea of ​​Packs, back to the ice cave, back to the fight with Errtu; In fog and terror.These were all lies, he realized.Fight, escape, and get back among your friends.It was Errtu's deliberate lie, to rekindle his hope so that the demon could kill him again.It was all a lie, and he was still in the Abyss, haunted by a banshee, and dreamed of Catti-brie. His strong hand seized the monster's jaw and pushed it away, and with his other hand he struck a powerful blow; then he lifted the prostrate monster and threw it with such force that it fell on in the dust.Wulfgar rose to his feet with a growl, scrambling up his trousers and fastening his belt.He stumbled to the fire, and in spite of the pain he grabbed a flaming stick, and turned to attack the wicked succubus. Turn around and attack Catti-brie. He recognized her again.She was disheveled, on her hands and knees, blood dripping from her nose.She tried to look up at him.There was no anger on her battered face, only bewilderment.The weight of guilt nearly crushed the Savage's strong legs. "I'm not..." he muttered. "I will never..." He gasped helplessly, and then let out a breathless cry; Wulfgar rushed to the other side of the camp, dropped the torch, and gathered his luggage and hammer.He ran into the darkness of night, into the endless darkness of his tormented mind.