Chapter 10 Chapter 7 Awakening

The first thing he noticed was that the wind had stopped.He lay on the top of the chimney for many hours, and all the while, even in his semi-conscious state, there was a constant wind around him.This brought his heart back to Icewind Dale, which had been his home for two centuries.But Bruno found no comfort in the anguished groans of the strong wind, which were merely constant reminders of his impasse, which he thought were the last sounds he could hear. The wind had died down now, and only the crackling of nearby flames broke the silence.Bruno opened one heavy eyelid, then stared absently into the firelight, trying to make sense of his situation and his surroundings.He felt very warm and comfortable, with the thick quilt tightly wrapped up to his shoulders.And he was indoors, the flame was burning in the fireplace, not outside the campfire.

Bruno's eyes drifted to the stove, focusing on a neatly stacked equipment. That's his equipment! What remained was his one-horned helmet, Drizzt's scimitar, his mithril lance mail, and his new battleaxe and shiny shield.He stretched his hands and feet out of the quilt and found himself in only silk pajamas. Bruno suddenly felt very vulnerable and sat up on his elbows. A darkness hit him, making him feel dizzy and sick.He fell backwards heavily. His vision returned for only a second, but it was long enough for him to recognize a tall, beautiful woman kneeling beside him.Her long hair, silvery in the flames, swept across his face.

"It's spider venom," she said softly. "This can kill anything but dwarves." Then there was only darkness all around.    Bruno woke up again a few hours later, much stronger and more awake.He was trying not to attract attention, so he looked around with one eye halfway. The first thing he saw was the pile of things. Satisfied that his equipment was still there, he slowly turned his head turned around. He was in a small room, and apparently there was only one room in the whole building, because the only door that seemed to be the one to get out.The woman he had seen before was standing by the door, but Bruno still wasn't sure if what he saw was a dream. She looked out at the night sky through the only window in the room.Her hair is really silver.Bruno saw that its hue was not a trick of the firelight.But it wasn't the silvery gray of old age, the lustrous hair shone with lively life.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," the dwarf began to rattle, every syllable in his voice rough.The woman turned and looked at him curiously. "Can I get something to eat?" Bruno asked, never being able to get him confused about priorities. The woman floated across the room and helped Bruno sit up.A wave of darkness surrounded the dwarf again, but he finally shrugged it off. "Only dwarves survive!" murmured the woman, amazed that Bruenor had overcome these ordeals. Bruno looked up at her. "I know you, ma'am, but I can't find your name anywhere in my memory."

"It doesn't matter," the woman replied. "You've overcome a lot, Bruenor Warhammer." Bruenor lifted his head higher, leaning forward at the sound of his name, but the woman held him back, and continued. "I took care of your injury as best I could, but I was afraid that I would find you too late to treat your spider venomous wound." Bruenor looked down at the bandages on his forearm, finally recovering from the painful moments of his encounter with the giant spider. "How long has it been?" "I don't know how long you've been lying on the broken iron grid," the woman replied. "But you've been resting here for more than three days, too long for your stomach! I'll prepare some food." She started to get up, but Bruno grabbed her arm.

"Where is this place?" The woman's smile made him loosen his grip. "It's not far from where you fell unconscious. I don't dare to move you." Bruno still didn't quite understand the situation. "Is this your home?" "Oh, no," the woman stood up and smiled. "I made it for a temporary use only. If you think you can go, I will leave at first light." The concept of magic flashed in Bruno's mind, making him think of who this person was. "You are the female lord of Silvermoon City, Alustriel!" Bruno said suddenly. "Qingyue Elastre," the woman bowed politely while reporting her name. "Hello, Your Majesty."

"King?" Bruno repeated in disgust. "My living room is occupied by those scumbags!" "Then we'll see," said Alustriel. But Bruno didn't hear the words at all.His thoughts were not on Mithril Hall now, but on Drizzt, Wulfgar, Regis, and especially Catti-brie, the joy of his life. "My friends," he asked earnestly to the woman. "Do you know anything about my friends?" "Have a good rest." Alastriol replied. "They escaped from Mithril Hall, everyone escaped." "Even dark elves?" Ellas nodded. "Drizzt Do'Urden could not have been destined to die in the homeland of his closest friend."

Alustriel's familiarity with Drizzt brought up other memories of the dwarf. "You met him," he said, "on the way to Mithril Hall. You showed us the way. That's how you know my name." "I know where to find you, too," Alustriel added. "Your friends think you're dead, and they're terribly sad. But I'm a gifted wizard, and I can talk to other worlds, and they often leak things that surprise me. When the I knew what happened to Bruenor Warhammer when the ghost Morkai showed me a dwarf body stuck in a hole in the mountain and fallen. I just hope I don't arrive too late."

"Go! I'm as strong as ever!" Bruno was angry. He raised his fist and slammed it heavily on his chest.As soon as he shifted his weight, there was a sudden stabbing pain in his back, which made him curl up. "Arrows from a crossbow," explained Alastriol. Bruno thought for a moment.He has no memory of being shot, but his memory of escaping from the dungeon is clear.He shrugged, chalking it all up to a mindless desire to fight. "So one of the gray scumbags shot me..." he began, but then he thought of a woman pulling an arrow from his back for him, and suddenly he blushed and looked away.

Alustrie graciously changed the subject. "Eat your dinner and rest," she ordered. "Your friends are safe...at least for now." "where are they--" Alustri interrupted him with a palm outstretched. "I don't know enough about this," she explained, "you'll have your answers soon. Tomorrow morning, I'll take you to Catti-brie in Long Saddleback. She can tell you More things." Bruenor wished he'd run to the human girl he'd picked up from the wreckage after the goblin attack right away, so he could hug her tight and tell her everything was alright.But he reminded himself that he hadn't expected to see Catti-brie again before, so he could endure another night.

A few minutes after he finished his dinner, he drifted off into a peaceful sleep, exhausted, washed away from any restless fears that had kept him from resting.Alustriel guarded him until contented snores filled the house. Satisfied to hear the loud snores of a healthy sleeper, the Mistress of Silvermoon finally leaned her back against the wall and closed her eyes. It's been three long days.    Bruenor watched in amazement as the building that had sheltered him disappeared in the first rays of morning light, as if the darkness of night had given it some real building material.He turned to say something to Alustriel, but saw that she was performing some kind of magic, facing the pink sky, her hands outstretched as if to catch the sun. She clenched her fist, brought her hand to her mouth, and blew on the magic.Throwing the light she had caught in front of her face, she uttered the last word of the spell: "Flame!" A glowing red orb landed on the stone, burst into a ball of fire, then took shape quickly, becoming a burning carriage with two horses.They appeared to be burning forms, but the ground was not burning. "Pick up your things," the mistress told Bruno, "it's time to go." Bruno stood motionless for a moment longer.He had never liked magic, except that which enhanced weapons and armor; but he could not deny that it was useful.He packed up his equipment, took the trouble to put on the mail armor, picked up the shield, and then walked to Erastriel behind the carriage.He followed her into the car somewhat reluctantly, but the thing didn't burn and felt as solid as wood. Alustriel took the reins of fire in his slender hand, and shouted.She pulled, and the wagon flew into the morning sky, and they flew out, round the mountains to the west, and to the south. The stunned dwarf let his gear fall to his feet (his chin resting on his chest) and clung to the side of the wagon.Mountains rolled beneath him; he noticed that the ruins of the dwarven town of Stonestone were deep beneath his feet, and a second later they ran away behind him.The wagon roared across the vast grasslands, skimming west along the northern edge of the Troll Wastes.As they flew high above Nesme, Bruno was relaxed enough to utter obscenities, remembering how badly he and his friends had been treated at the hands of the patrols there.They passed over the Dessalins River, which from the sky looked like a shining snake, winding through the fields, and Bruno also saw a huge barbarian camp in the far north. Elastre let the fire carriage fly south again, and a few minutes later, the famous Ivy Pavilion in Huber Hill, Longsaddle Town came into view. A group of curious wizards had gathered on the hill to watch the approach of the chariot, cheering gloomily as usual when Alustriel appeared magnanimously, trying to maintain a different atmosphere.Someone in the crowd began to turn pale as the red-bearded, pointed-nosed, horn-helmed Bruenor Warhammer came into view. "But... you... aren't... already... dead," Harkle Huber stammered as Bruenor jumped from the back of the carriage. "Nice to see you, too," replied Bruno, wearing only his pajamas and helmet.He scooped up his equipment from the wagon and dropped the pile at Harkle's feet, "Where's my girl?" "Yes... yes... girl... Catti-brie... ...Where? Oh, there," he babbled, flicking the fingers of one hand nervously to his lips, "here she comes!" He took Bruno's hand and hurriedly led the dwarf Run to the Ivy Pavilion. They met Catti-brie on the way, just out of bed, walking slowly down a long hall in nothing but a fleece robe.The young woman's eyes widened as she saw Bruno rushing towards her, the towel in her hands dropped to the floor, her arms hanging unconsciously at her sides.Bruno buried his face under hers and hugged her waist so tightly that he squeezed the air out of his own lungs.As soon as she recovered from the shock, she hugged back ten times tighter. "I pray day and night," she stammered, her voice shaking with sobs. "I swear to God, I thought you were dead!" Bruno didn't answer, he just tried to steady himself.His tears wet Catti-brie's robe, and he felt the gazes of the Harbell family around him.He felt very embarrassed, so he pushed open the door beside him, and there stood a shirtless Harbell family inside, who was taken aback. "Sorry, it's me—" the wizard began, but Bruenor grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into the middle of the hall, leading Catti-brie into the room.The wizard turned to go back to his room, only to be hit hard in the face by the door.He looked helplessly at the gathered clansmen, but the burst of laughter from those people told him that it was useless to look again.The wizard shrugged and continued with his morning routine as if nothing had happened. It was the first time Catti-brie had seen the Resolute Dwarf actually cry out loud.Bruno didn't care, and didn't do anything to prevent this from happening. "I pray day and night, too," he whispered to his beloved daughter, a human child he adopted fifteen years ago and treated him as born. "If we'd known then," Catti-brie began, but Bruno put a finger gently to her lips to hold her back.It didn't matter; Bruno knew Catti-brie and the others couldn't leave him alone if they thought he was alive. "I don't know why I'm still alive," the dwarf replied. "The fires haven't touched my skin at all." He began to shudder as he recalled his weeks alone in Mithril Hall. "Don't mention that place again," he begged. "That's over. Don't mention it!" Catti-brie, knowing that the army to retake the dwarven homeland was imminent, began to shake her head, but Bruenor didn't see her move. "Where are my friends?" he asked the young woman. "When I fell, I saw the eyes of the dark elf." "Drizzt is alive," Catti-brie replied. "So did the killer who hunted down Regis. He came to the edge just as you were falling, and took the little one away." "Greedy?" Bruno sighed. "Well, there is also the leopard of the dark elves." "Is he still dead..." "Not dead, or so I suppose," Catti-brie answered quickly. "Probably not yet. Drizzt and Wulfgar chased that villain south, and they knew his destination was Calimport." "It's been a long journey," Bruno murmured.He looked at Catti-brie, confused. "But I thought you were with them." “I have my own way to go,” replied Catti-brie, her face suddenly serious. “I have a debt to pay. " Bruno understood right away. "Hall of Mithril?" He almost choked up and couldn't speak. "You want to go back and take revenge yourself?" "Myself?" Catti-brie repeated.Now is the time to let the true King of Mithril Hall know. "No, I wouldn't be so stupid to die. A hundred tribesmen have come from the north and the west," she explained. "Wullfgar's people will come in considerable numbers." "Not enough," Bruno replied. "Occupying those halls is an army of duergar." "Eight thousand more will be coming from Fort Adaba through the east and north," Catti-brie continued gravely, without slowing down. "King Harbrun of Adeba says he wants to see Mithril Hall restored! Even the Harbells have promised to help." Bruenor pictured in his mind the coming army—wizards, barbarians, dwarves like rolling walls, with Catti-brie leading the way.A slight smile made his frowning brows relax temporarily.He looked at his daughter with a respect he hadn't shown before, his eyes wet with tears again. "They couldn't have knocked me down," Catti-brie yelled. "I must see your portrait engraved among the kings of Mithril Hall, and let your name get the glory it deserves!" Bruno pulled her into his arms, wrapping his arms around her tightly with all his strength.In the past and future years, all the laurels and honors he has won can't compare with the word "father".    That evening, Bruno stood solemnly on the southern slope of Harbell Hill, watching the last ray of light in the western sky disappear and the vastness of the southern plain.His thoughts were on his friends, especially Regis the Glutton, that annoying halfling who had undeniably found a soft corner in the dwarf's stony heart. Drizzt would be all right (always be all right with Drizzt), and with the mighty Wulfgar at his side, it would probably take an entire army to deal with them. But Regis... Bruenor didn't suspect that the halfling's way of worrying about nothing (with a half-apologetic, half-happy shrug at every step) would end up bogging him down in mud that his short legs couldn't crawl out of.The gluttonous ghost stole the guild leader's ruby ​​pendant really stupid. But discussing right and wrong didn't dispel the dwarf's pity for his halfling friend's problems, nor Bruenor's anger at his inability to do anything about it.For his part, he was here, and he too had to lead the armies that would gather to glory and victory, crush the duergar, and bring some prosperity back to Mithril Hall.His new kingdom would be the pride of the North, producing something comparable to what was sold here in ancient times across the world through various trade routes. It had been his dream, and it had been his life's goal for nearly two centuries after those dreadful days, when the Warhammers were all but wiped out, mostly children, and driven from their homeland to Icewind. the barren mines of the valley. Bruno's lifelong dream had been to go back, but right now it felt utterly empty to him.But his friend was desperately chasing him south. The last ray of sunlight also disappeared in the sky, and the stars began to twinkle and come alive.It's night, Bruno thought with some relief. This is the time of the dark elves. His smile faded immediately, however, because Bruno changed the angle, and the future was dark. "Night," he murmured. This is also the time of the killer.