Chapter 29 Chapter 25 Walking in the Sun

Bruno knocked lightly on the door, not expecting any response.As usual, there was no answer from within. This time, however, the stubborn dwarf did not go away.He turned the doorknob and entered the purposely darkened room. Drizzt was shirtless, running his slender fingers through his thick white hair, sitting on the bed with his back to Bruenor.Even in the dim light, Bruenor could clearly see the scar on the drow's back.The dwarf shuddered. He had never imagined that Drizzt had been so badly injured by Artemis Entreri during those frantic fighting moments. "It's been five days, Elf," said Bruno quietly, "do you intend to stay here forever?"

Drizzt turned slowly to face his dwarf friend. "Where else can I go?" he replied. Bruenor studied his lavender eyes carefully, reflecting the light coming in through the door from the outer hall.The one on the left finally opened again, and the dwarf noticed it hopefully.Bruenor had always been afraid that the goblin had blinded Drizzt's eye forever. The left eye was clearly recovering, but Bruno still worried about the blurred eyes.They seem to have lost some of their luster. "How's Catti-brie?" Drizzt asked, sincerely concerned about the young woman, but he wanted to change the subject too.

Bruno smiled. "Can't move yet," he replied, "but her fighting spirit is back, and she doesn't want to lie in bed!" He smiled, recalling an image from earlier in the day.When a servant was trying to help his daughter make a pillow, Catti-brie's stare left the man's face pale. "When her servants bothered her needlessly, she used her tongue as a sword and cursed them to death!" Drizzt's smile seemed forced: "What about Wulfgar?" "The boy is much better," Bruno replied, "he spent four hours getting the cobwebs off his body, and will probably spend the next month with his arms wrapped, but it's too early to knock him down! He's as big as a mountain Tenacious, and almost as huge as a mountain!"

They looked at each other until the smile disappeared.The silence made them all uncomfortable. "The halfling's feast is about to begin," Bruno said. "Are you going? The glutton has a big belly. I think he will serve a very rich meal." Drizzt shrugged nonchalantly. "Go!" Bruno said angrily, "You can't hide your life among dark walls!" Suddenly a thought entered his head, so he paused, "Or do you go out at night?" "go out?" "Go hunt!" Bruenor explained. "Are you going to hunt Entreri?" Drizzt actually laughed this time, smiling at Bruenor's association of his desire to be alone with the killer's distress.

"You're anxious about him," Bruno reasoned, "and he's anxious about you, if he's alive." "Come here," Drizzt said, pulling a loose top over his head.When he started to get around the bed, he picked up the magic mask.But suddenly stopped to think.He flipped the mask over with both hands, and then threw it back on the mirror stage, "Let's go to the dinner quickly, don't be late." Bruno was right about Regis; the table that greeted the two friends was covered with silver and china gleaming in splendor, and the smell of spices made them lick their lips unconsciously as they walked to their assigned seats.

Regis sat at the head of the long table, with a thousand gems sewn on his jacket. Whenever he moved a little on the seat, the candlelight reflected from the gems would be dazzling.Standing behind him were the two mountain giants who had once guarded Puck, their faces bruised and bandaged. Much to Bruno's displeasure, sitting to the right of the halfling was Ravel, and to his left was a fat halfling with tiny eyes.Now he is the deputy leader of the brand new guild. Next sat Wulfgar and Catti-brie, shoulder to shoulder, holding hands tightly, and Drizzt guessed from the pale and weak eyes of both of them that it was only half out of emotion, The other half is out of supporting each other's body.

Weak as they were, they still had smiles on their faces when they saw Drizzt enter the dining room, just like Regis.They hadn't seen a dark elf for almost a week. "Welcome, welcome!" Regis said cheerfully, "If you haven't come! It must be a boring party!" Drizzt took the seat next to Ravel, drawing an anxious look from the timid wizard.The deputy leader of the guild squirmed uncomfortably at the thought of dining with the dark elves. Drizzt smiled slightly, putting the stress of these men's unease behind him; it was their problem, not Drizzt's. "I've been busy," he told Regis.

"Hatching eggs," Bruenor wanted to say as he sat down next to Drizzt, but he wisely held back his tongue. Wulfgar and Catti-brie watched their dark friend from the other side of the table. "You swore you would kill me," the dark elf said quietly to Wulfgar, causing the huge man to collapse into the chair. Wulfgar's face turned crimson, and he tightened his grip on Catti-brie's hand. "Only Wulfgar's power can keep the gate open," Drizzt continued.A deep smile played on his lips. "But, I—" Wulfgar started to explain, but Catti-brie cut him off.

"Enough has been said about these things," insisted the young woman, smacking Wulfgar's thigh furtively with her fist. "Let's stop talking about what we've gotten over. There's still so much ahead of us." Do it!" "My girl was right," Bruno said airing. "We're sitting here waiting for our injuries to heal, and the days are ticking by! Another week and we're going to miss fighting." "I'm ready to go," Wulfgar declared. "You haven't," retorted Catti-brie, "and I haven't. The desert will stop us before we get on the long road beyond."

"Hmm," Regis made a sound to attract their attention, "about you leaving..." He paused to think about the gazes of these people, so nervous that he didn't know how to express his invitation correctly, "I... Uh! I think... I mean..." "Stop talking." Bruno demanded, he already guessed what the little friend was thinking. "Well, I built myself a dwelling here," Regis continued. "So you'll stay here," reasoned Catti-brie. "We won't blame you, though we will miss you!" "Yes," Regis said, "no, no. There are many rooms and treasures here. If you four are with me..."

Bruno raised a hand to stop him. "It's a good proposition," he said, "but my home is in the Northland." "We have many allies waiting for us to go back," Catti-brie added. Regis saw that Bruenor's refusal would not change, and he also knew that Wulfgar would follow Catti-brie, even if she chose to return to the Nether.So the halflings turned their attention to Drizzt, who had become an enigma to them in recent days. Drizzt leaned back in his chair, thinking about the proposal, hesitating rather than rejecting it immediately, which caught the eyes of Bruenor, Wulfgar, and especially Catti-brie.Maybe life in Calimport isn't really that bad, and the dark elves have a knack for making it through the Shadowlands that Regis plans to rule.He looked directly into Regis' eyes. "I refuse," he said.He turned his head across the table to Catti-brie, who was visibly relieved, and they looked into each other's eyes without looking away. "I've had too many days of walking in the shadows," he explained. Said, "A lofty task awaits me, and a lofty throne awaits the return of its true king." Regis relaxed, leaned back in his chair and shrugged.He had already guessed this would happen. "If you are so determined to go back to the war and I don't help you, I will feel very sorry." The others looked at him curiously, never surprised by the little guy's surprises. "If that is the case," Regis continued, "my agency has reported to me today the arrival of an important person whom I have heard from Bruno's account of your coming to the South. , He arrived at Calimport this morning." He flicked his finger, and a young servant came in leading Captain Deudermont through the curtain next to him. The captain bowed deeply to Regis, and still lower to the good friend he had made on the perilous voyage from Waterdeep. Faster than before. We set sail tomorrow morning; a rocking ship is a good resting place for weary bodies!" "But what about the trade?" Drizzt said. "The market is here in Calimport. There's also the matter of the seasons. We don't plan to leave until next spring." "I can take you to Waterdeep City," Deudermont said. "The current strong wind and ice and snow do affect it. But when you return to land again, you will definitely find that you are closer to your goal." He looked He glanced at Regis, then turned back to face Drizzt, "We have reached an agreement regarding my loss in trade." Regis tucked the thumbs of both hands into the gem-encrusted belt: "I owe you at least that!" "Go!" Bruenor snarled, a gleam of adventure in his eyes. "You owe us ten times more than this, glutton, ten times more than this!"    Drizzt looked out at the darkened streets of Calimport through the only window in his room.It seemed that the street was relatively quiet that night, becoming silent amidst suspicion and intrigue.With a powerful guild master like Bashar Pook down, there is inevitably a power struggle everywhere. Drizzt knew there were other eyes watching him in the street, watching the guild building, waiting for the dark elf to speak, waiting for the chance to fight Drizzt Do'Urden a second time. The night passed slowly, and Drizzt stood motionless at the window, watching the drift of time until dawn.This time Bruno was the first to enter his room. "Are you ready, Elf?" asked the eager dwarf, closing the door behind him as he entered the room. "Be patient, good dwarf," Drizzt replied, "we won't be able to start until high tide, and Captain Deudermont assured me there will be a wait this morning." Bruno fell on the bed with a thud. "That's better," he said immediately, "to give us more time to talk to the little one." "You're worried about Regis," Drizzt observed. "Well," Bruno admitted, "the little guy does a good job around me." He pointed to the onyx statue on the mirror stand. "Also around you. Glutton himself said: there's a lot of treasure here. Puck's dead, so everyone's going to get what they can. Entreri's still around too. I don't like these things. And those ratmen, no doubt wanting revenge on the little things for the pain they got. And the wizard! Glutton said he had controlled him with rubies, but I don't think a wizard would fall into that category Charm magic." "I think so, too," agreed Drizzt. "I don't like that man, and I don't trust him!" Bruno declared. "Glutton has him around." "Perhaps you and I should visit Ravel this morning," Drizzt suggested, "so we can see where he stands."    When they came to the wizard's door, Bruenor's knocking changed a little, from the soft knock he'd knocked on Drizzt's door to the harder and harder blows.Ravel jumped out of bed and ran to see what had happened and who was knocking on his new door. "Good morning, wizard," Bruno muttered as he pushed the door open as soon as the lock was unlocked. "I guess so." Ravel murmured, and he looked at the fireplace and the firewood piled next to it, which was his old door panel. "Welcome, good dwarf," he said as politely as possible, "and Lord Do'Urden." When he noticed that Drizzt had followed him, he added quickly, "It's so late and you haven't started yet." ?" "We have plenty of time," Drizzt said. "And we won't go until we're sure the glutton is safe," Bruno explained. "Greedy?" Ravel repeated. "The halfling," Bruenor yelled, "your master." "Ah, yes, Lord Regis." Ravel said thoughtfully, folded his hands on his chest, and gazed into the distance. Drizzt closed the door, eyeing him suspiciously. When Ravel looked at the dark elf who didn't blink, his eyes returned to normal.He scratched his cheek, trying to find a place to run away.He saw that he couldn't fool the dark elf.Maybe if it's a dwarf, definitely if it's a halfling, but not this one.The fire that burned in those lavender eyes could see through his appearance. "You don't believe I've been under the spell your little friends have cast," he said. "Wizards can dodge wizard tricks," Drizzt replied. "Exactly," Ravel said as he slid into a chair. "Go! Then you're a liar too!" Bruno snarled, reaching for the ax at his waist.Drizzt stopped him. "Even if you suspect that I am not enchanted," said Ravel, "you need not doubt my loyalty. I am a practical man, and have served many masters in my long life. Puck was the most Brilliant, but he's gone now. Ravel will serve his master again and live." "Or find a chance to be the leader," Bruno commented, anticipating an angry reaction. Instead, the wizard laughed heartily. "I have my own skills," he said, "and that's the only thing I care about. I live my life and I like to go where I want to go. I don't like the challenges and dangers of being a guild master." He looked at Drizzt, because he was the more rational of the two, "I will do things for Regis, and if Regis is overthrown, I will do things for the person who replaced him." This line of thinking convinced Drizzt, and convinced him that the loyalty of wizards was beyond the reach of gems. "Let's go," he said to Bruno, and started walking towards the door. Bruenor could trust Drizzt's judgment, but he couldn't bear not to drop the final threat. "You got me, wizard," he yelled at the door. "You almost killed my girl. If anything bad happens to my friend, I'll take your head for my life!" Ravel nodded, but said nothing. "Take good care of him," said the dwarf with a wink, and slammed the door shut. "He hates my door," said the wizard sadly.    An hour later, the group gathered inside the guild's gates, Drizzt, Bruenor, Wulfgar, and Catti-brie dressed in their adventurous attire, Drizzt slipping the magic mask loosely hanging around the neck. Regis joined them, dragging the servants behind.He could walk to the Sea Spirit with these difficult friends.Let his enemies see all these incredible allies of his, thought the cunning new guild master, especially the dark elves! "Before we go, I have one last proposal," Regis declared. "We're not staying," Bruno retorted. "It's not like I'm telling you," Regis said.He turned directly to Drizzt, "I want to ask you." Drizzt waited patiently for his question, as the halfling rubbed his hands eagerly. "Five thousand gold coins!" Regis said, "buy your leopard." Drizzt's eyes doubled in size. "I promise you, I will take good care of Guanhaifa!" Catti-brie hit Regis on the back of the head. "What a disgrace," she scolded, "you know more than that about dark elves!" Drizzt calmed her down with a smile. "Treasure for treasure?" he said to Regis. "You know I must refuse. Guenhwyvar cannot sell you, though I know you mean well." "Five thousand gold coins," Bruno said angrily, "if we wanted this money, we would have taken it before we set off!" Regis blushed in embarrassment, seeing how absurd the proposal was. "Are you so sure we crossed the world to save you?" Wulfgar asked him.Regis looked at the barbarian in bewilderment. "Perhaps we are here to save the leopard," Wulfgar continued gravely. The glazed look on Regis' face was more than any of them could bear.Not long after, a burst of maniac laughter broke out, the few of them hadn't laughed like this for months, and it even infected Regis. "This," Drizzt suggested, when everyone fell silent again, "just use this instead." He took the magic mask off his head and threw it at the halfling. "Aren't you supposed to wear it before you get on the boat?" Bruno asked. Drizzt looked at Catti-brie for an answer, and her smile of approval and admiration wiped away any doubts and fears he had ever had. "No," he said, "the people of Calimshan may judge me as they please." He opened the door, letting the sunlight into his lavender eyes. "Let the world judge me as they like," he said, looking down into the eyes of each of his friends with genuine contentment. "You know who I am."