Chapter 8 Chapter 6 Pegasus

The dark-haired savage ran into the woods in the frenzy of battle.Drizzt recognized the burly warriors at once as the same ones he had seen following the goblins in the fields, but he was far from sure which side they belonged to. No matter which side they were on, their arrival had caused panic among the remaining orcs.The two fellows fighting Drizzt had no intention of fighting anymore, and their sudden turns showed that they only wanted to avoid this encounter and run away.Drizzt had escaped the fight thanks to them, sure the orcs couldn't get far anyway, and felt it wise to run away from their sight as well.

The orcs fled, but their pursuers caught them in a fight on the other side of these groves.Unnoticed, Drizzt sneaked behind the tree where his bow lay. Wulfgar could not shake off his fighting spirit so easily.Now that his two friends had fallen, his thirst for Orc blood knew no bounds, and the newcomers to the fray shouted to his war god Tempus with an ardor the young warrior could not ignore.Confused by this sudden development, the circle of orcs surrounding Wulfgar relaxed for a moment, and he began to blow snow power. One of the orcs looked away, and Aegis-fang ripped its face off before it could return to the fight before it.Wulfgar squeezed into the gap in the circle, knocking the second orc away as he passed.Just as it was about to turn and reassemble its defensive posture and was still stumbling, the strong barbarian fell down with a single blow.The remaining two turned to run, but Wulfgar was right behind.He threw his hammer, knocking out a life, then lunged at another, pinning it to the ground and finishing it with his bare hands.

When he was done, he heard the last crack of a neck bone, and he remembered that his friends were still in danger.He jumped up and walked back with his back to the woods. The dark-haired savage kept a distance, respectful of his martial arts.And Wulfgar still didn't know what these people were up to.He looked around for his friends.Regis and Bruenor lay side by side where the horses had been tied; he couldn't tell if they were dead or alive.There was no trace of Drizzt here, but there was still fighting going on outside on the other side of the woods. These warriors formed a large semicircle around him, blocking all his way.But they halted suddenly, for the Fang of Aegis had returned to his grasp by magical force.He couldn't beat so many people, but the thought didn't frighten him.He may die fighting like a true soldier, and his death will be remembered.If these black-haired barbarians rushed forward, he knew that many of them might not survive to go back to see their families.He planted his heels into the ground and gripped the hammer tightly. "Let's get this over with!" he called to the night sky.

"Don't move!" A soft but strong whisper came from above.Wulfgar recognized Drizzt's voice at once, and loosened his grip. "Keep your honor, but know that it's not just your own life that depends on you now!" At that time, Wulfgar knew that Regis and Bruenor might still be alive.Immediately he threw Aegis-fang to the ground, and shouted to the warriors, "Good luck!" They didn't answer, but one of them, a muscular man almost as tall as Wulfgar, made his way through the lines and stood in front of Wulfgar.The stranger had only one braid, which stretched over his face and just above his shoulders.His cheeks were painted white with wings.His strong frame and weather-beaten face belied a life spent in the harsh wilderness, and if it weren't for his black hair, Wulfgar might have thought he was a member of the Icewind Dale tribe.

The dark-haired man recognized him in the same way, but he was obviously more aware of the social structure of the Northlands, so he was not confused by their similarities. "You're from Icewind Dale," he said in a less-than-standard Common Tongue. "On the other side of the mountain, where the cold wind blows." Wulfgar nodded. "I am Wulfgar, son of Beornegar of the Elk Tribe. We have a god in common, for I too cry out to Tempus for strength and courage." The black-haired man looked around at the half-orc body lying on the ground. "The gods have answered your prayers, warrior of Icewind Dale."

Wulfgar lifted his chin in pride. "We share a hatred of goblins, too," he went on, "but I don't know anything about you or your people." "You have to learn," replied the brunette.He pointed to the hammer.Wulfgar stood firm and straight, not intending to surrender, no matter what the odds.The dark-haired man looked the other way, drawing Wulfgar's gaze as well.Two warriors reached Bruenor and Regis and picked them up from behind their backs, while the others had retrieved the horses and led them in. "Weapons," the brunette demanded. "You came into our place without our permission, Wulfgar, son of Beornegar. The price for this crime is death. Do you want to see us judge your little friends?"

The old Wulfgar could have attacked and cursed all of them in a fit of rage.But Wulfgar had learned much from his friends, especially Drizzt.He knew that the Fangs of Aegis could be returned to his hand at his calling, and he knew that Drizzt would not give them up.But this is not the time for bravado. He even made them tie his hands, which was a humiliation that no elk tribe warrior would accept.But Wulfgar believed in Drizzt, and his hands would be free again.Then he will say something that people can't explain. By the time they reached the barbarian camp, both Regis and Bruenor had regained consciousness and were bound to walk alongside their barbarian friends.Dry blood clotted in Bruenor's hair, and he had lost his helmet, but his dwarven toughness carried him through yet another encounter that should have ended his life.

They walked up to the top of the plateau and came to the perimeter of a ring of tents and campfires.The returning warriors shouted to Tempus, waking the whole camp, and tossed a few goblin heads into the middle of the circle, announcing their glorious return.Immediately the mood in the camp was as high as that of the returning procession, and the three prisoners were the first to be pushed in, to be met by twenty or so howling savages. "What do they eat?" Bruno asked, mocking more than nervously. "Feed them whatever you want," Regis replied, drawing a blow to the back of the head from the guard behind him, telling them to be quiet.

Prisoners and horses were assembled in the center of the camp, and around them the Horde danced triumphantly, kicking the orcs' heads into the dust, and shouting praises to Tan for the night's victory in a language their party did not understand. Paz and their heroic ancestor Ustgar. The ceremony lasted nearly an hour, and then it was all over in an instant, and the faces of all the people in the circle were turned to the blinds in front of the door of a huge and richly decorated tent. There was a long silence, until the curtains were finally opened.Out of it sprang a very old man, as thin as a tent post, but exuding vigor beyond his age.His face was painted with the same pattern as the soldiers, but it was more delicate and complex.Over one eye hangs a piece of cloth with a large emerald set in it.His robe was pure white, and whenever he opened his arms, his sleeves looked like feathered wings.He whirled and danced among the ranks of soldiers, and each soldier held his breath and waited for him to pass.

"The Chief?" Bruno asked quietly. "Witch Doctor," Wulfgar corrected him, now that he knew more about the Horde's way of life.These warriors displayed far more awe than an enemy who could kill himself, or even a chieftain. The witch doctor twirled and jumped, landing in front of the three prisoners.He only looked at Bruenor and Regis for a moment before turning his full attention to Wulfgar. "I am Flick High-Eyes," he screamed suddenly. "Priest of the followers of Pegasus! A descendant of Uska!" "Uska!" all the warriors responded in unison, striking each other with their hatchets and wooden shields.

Wulfgar waited for the commotion to pass before introducing himself. "I am Wulfgar, son of Beornegar of the Elk Clan." "I am Bruno—" the dwarf began. "Shut up!" Flick yelled at him, shaking with rage. "Who wants to know about you!" Bruenor shut his mouth and began to entertain daydreams about his ax and Flick's head. "We don't want to hurt anyone, and we didn't mean to trespass," Wulfgar began, but Flick raised his hand, cutting him off. "I'm not interested in your purpose," he explained calmly, but his excitement suddenly returned. "Tempas sent you, that's enough! You are a worthy warrior, aren't you?" He looked around at his people, and their reactions showed eagerness for the challenge at hand. "How many lives did you take?" he asked Wulfgar. "Seven fell before me," answered the young barbarian proudly. Flick nodded in agreement. "Tall and strong," he commented, "let's see if Tempus is with you. Let's test and see if you're worthy to ride with Pegasus!" The shouting began suddenly, and two warriors rushed forward to untie Wulfgar.The third, the warrior leader who had spoken to Wulfgar in the woods, dropped his hatchet and shield and bolted into the circle. Drizzt remained hidden in the trees until the last of the fighting party gave up looking for the rider of the fourth horse and moved away.Then the drow moved quickly, picking up a few things that had fallen there: the dwarf's ax and Regis' mace.When he found Bruenor's helmet, he had to stop and stand still, because it was stained with blood and freshly cut.And one of the corners was broken off.Is his friend still alive? He put the broken helmet in his bag, and followed the team at a cautious distance. He was greatly relieved when he arrived at the camp and recognized three friends.Bruenor stood silently between Wulfgar and Regis.Relieved, Drizzt let go of all his emotions and thoughts about what had happened before, and focused his vision on the situation at hand, contemplating a plan of attack that would save his friends. The dark-haired man held Wulfgar with outstretched hands, inviting Wulfgar, who resembled his blond counterpart, to take them.Wulfgar had never seen this particular type of challenge, but it wasn't too different from the way his own people tested their strength. "Don't move your feet!" Flick instructed. "This is a challenge of strength! May Tempus show us your worth." Wulfgar's determined expression showed no triumphant pride.He raised his hands to the same height as his opponent. The man grabbed his hand angrily, growling at the giant alien.Almost at the same time, before Wulfgar could straighten his upper body and stand on his feet, the witch doctor called out, and the dark-haired man pushed his hand forward hard, causing Wulfgar's back to bend back more than The wrist is still low.Shouts sounded from every corner of the camp; the brunette shouted and pushed with all his might, but when the tense moment passed, Wulfgar fought back. The steely muscles of Wulfgar's neck and shoulders tensed instantly, and his thick arms were red with blood rushing into their veins.Tempus had indeed blessed him; even his opponents were dumbfounded before his divine power.Wulfgar looked his opponent in the eyes, and the determined stare matched the growl, foretelling the inevitability of victory.Then the son of Beornega pushed forward, stopped the black-haired man's attack, and pressed his wrist back to a more normal angle.Once back on equal footing with the opponent, Wulfgar knew that a sudden push would put his opponent at the disadvantage he had just escaped.In that case, the brunette would not last long. But Wulfgar was in no hurry to end the contest.He didn't wish to humiliate his opponent, and more importantly, he knew Drizzt was nearby.The longer he could keep this game going, with every eye in the Horde on them, the more time Drizzt would have to put his plan into action. The two stalemate for many seconds, and Wulfgar couldn't help smiling when he saw a dark figure flash across the camp, among the horses beside the fascinated guard.He couldn't tell if it was his fancy or not, but he thought two lavender flames were watching him from the darkness.Seconds later, he decides, though he knows he's looking for an opportunity by stalling the game.If they stalemate for too long, the Witch Doctor might call a draw. everything is over.The veins and muscles in Wulfgar's arms swelled, and his shoulders lifted higher. "Tampus!" he roared, praising God for yet another victory, and then a sudden burst of power forced the dark-haired man to his knees.The entire camp fell into silence, and even the witch doctor was too shocked by the sight to speak. Two guards came hesitantly to Wulfgar's side. The defeated warrior rose to face Wulfgar.There was no trace of anger on his face, only admiration from the heart, because the Tianma tribe is a very straightforward people. "We welcome you," Flick said. "You defeated Thorin, son of Jerek the Wolfslayer, chieftain of the Pegasus. Thorin was never defeated!" "And what about my friend?" Wulfgar asked. "I'm not interested in them!" Flick replied sharply. "The dwarf will be put on the way out of our land. We have no quarrel with him or his kind, and we don't want to deal with him!" The witch doctor gave Wulfgar a sinister look. "The other is half-crippled," he declared. "He will be used as your license to join the tribe, and will be your sacrifice to the Winged Horse." Wulfgar didn't answer right away.They had tested his strength, and now they were testing his loyalty.The Pegasi had given him the highest honor in allowing him to join the Horde, but only if he showed his loyalty beyond doubt.Wulfgar thought of his people, and how they had lived in the tundra for centuries.Even today, many of the barbarians of Icewind Dale would accept this generous offer and kill Regis, seeing a halfling's life as a small price to pay for such a great honor.This left Wulfgar disillusioned with his own people, whose ethics had become unacceptable to Wulfgar's personal standards. "No." He replied Flick without blinking. "He's a cripple!" Flick said. "Only the strong are qualified to live!" "His fate is not for me to decide," Wulfgar replied. "It's not up to you to decide." Fryk ordered, and two guards tied Wulfgar's hands again. "This is a great loss to our people," Thorin said to Wulfgar. "You could have taken a place of honor among us." Wulfgar didn't answer, and he held Thorin's gaze for a while, sharing his respect for each other and understanding of their different norms.They were sharing an improbable fantasy of them fighting side by side, bringing down orcs by twenty, and inspiring bards for new legends. It was Drizzt's time to act.The Dark Elf paused by the horses to watch the result of the race, and to take a more precise look at his foe.He devises plans that will do more than harm, hoping to create a massive show that will scare an entire tribe of fearless warriors and give his friends time to escape the circle in peace. No doubt these barbarians had heard of the dark elves.And no doubt, the stories they had heard about the Dark Elves were frightening. Drizzt quietly tied the two ponies behind the horse.He climbed up, one foot in a stirrup.Then he stood up straight, and flung back the hat from which the cloak was attached.Dangerous glances shot wild from his lavender eyes, and he galloped into the circle, scattering the stunned savages closest to him. Howls rang out from among the terrified tribesmen, and when they saw each other's dark skin the tone of the howl changed to a scream of terror.Thorin and Flick turned to face the coming threat, but not even they knew how to face such a fabled figure. And Drizzt had a trick ready for them.With a wave of his black hand, purple flames erupted from Thorin and Flick, not really burning, but throwing the two superstitious tribesmen into frightened frenzy.Thorin fell to his knees, clasping his hands in disbelief, while the overwrought medicine cat fell to the ground and began to roll in the dust. Wulfgar took his cue from here.The power in his arm surged again, snapping the leather straps around his wrists.His arm didn't stop, and continued to swing upwards, directly grabbing the faces of the two guards beside him, and throwing them on their backs to the ground. Bruno also knew his part.He stomped on the instep of the wild man standing alone between him and Regis, and when the man crouched down to hold his wounded foot, Bruenor slammed his head against his.This man also went down as easily as Whisper in Luskan Rat Lane. "Huh, it can be done without a helmet!" Bruno said in amazement. "Only a dwarf's head will do!" Regis remarked as Wulfgar grabbed the two of them by the scruff of the collar and lowered them onto the pony. Then he mounted his horse too, beside Drizzt, and galloped to the other end of the camp.Everything happened so suddenly that none of the barbarians had their weapons ready or any form of defense. Drizzt swerved his horse behind the pony to take rear. "Go!" he yelled to his friends, slapping their mounts on the rump with the flat side of his machete.While they were still on the run, the other three shouted victory, but Drizzt knew what he had just done was the easy part.Dawn was approaching, and in this undulating and unfamiliar terrain, the native barbarians were easy to catch them. They rushed into the pre-dawn stillness, choosing the straightest and easiest path to walk as much as possible.Drizzt was still watching his back, anticipating that the tribesmen would soon follow this path.But the commotion in the camp disappeared immediately after they fled, and Drizzt couldn't find any sign of pursuit. Now there is only one voice that can be heard, which is Flick singing rhythmically in a language that few of them can understand.The shock on Wulfgar's face made them all stop. "The power of a witch doctor," explained the Savage. In the camp, Flick and Thorin stood alone in the circle of their tribe, singing and dancing through the ultimate ritual of his office, calling upon the power of their tribe's spirit beasts.The appearance of the dark elves completely frightened the witch doctor.He ordered all pursuit to stop before it even started, and rushed back to the tent to get the holy skin for his ceremony, deciding to use Pegasus: Pegasus is the same as a normal horse, except for the A pair of wings that allow them to soar into the sky.It is a holy beast worshiped by the Wusijia people.to deal with these intruders. Flick made Thorin the recipient of the spirit body, the son of Jerek waited for the body to be possessed with stoic majesty, a move he hated because it stripped him of his identity, but he backed down and obeyed categorically own witch doctor. However, when it started, Flick knew that he was too eager to summon spirits in his excitement. Thorin screamed and fell to the ground, curled up in pain.A gray cloud enveloped him, and swirling smoke reshaped him, changing his appearance.His face was swollen and contorted, protruding forward suddenly into the shape of a horse's head.His body also became less human.Flick originally only wanted to borrow some of the power of the Pegasus Spirit from Thorin's body, but unexpectedly its body also came to the scene, occupying this person and turning him into his own form. Thorin was sacrificed. What appeared instead of him was the ghostly figure of a winged horse.The whole tribe knelt before it, even Flick, who couldn't face the image of the spirit beast.But the pegasus knows what the witch doctor thinks and what his people want.Smoke rose from the spirit's nostrils, and it flew into the air in pursuit of the fleeing intruder. A few friends slowed their mounts down to a not-so-slow but comfortable pace.Due to the dawn ahead and no signs of chasing troops behind them, they no longer felt restrained and relaxed a little.Bruenor fiddled with his helmet, trying to press back the recently cut dent so he could put it on his head again.Even Wulfgar, who had been tense a moment before hearing the witch doctor's singing, began to relax. Only Drizzt, always on high alert, did not believe they could escape so easily.It was also the dark elves who first felt the danger approaching. In the dark cities of the subterranean, the dark elves often deal with beings from other worlds, and over the centuries their kind have evolved to be particularly sensitive to the magical fields emanating from those beings.Drizzt stopped his horse suddenly and turned around. "What did you hear?" Bruno asked him. "I didn't hear anything," Drizzt replied, his piercing eyes looking around, looking for some clues. "But something's around." Before they could answer, a cloud of gray came crashing down on them from the sky.The horse reared up in uncontrollable panic, and in the chaos none of them knew what was going on.Then Pegasus took shape before Regis, and the halfling felt a deathly cold soak his bones.He screamed and fell off his mount. Bruenor, riding alongside Regis, charged heroically at the ghostly form.But when he struck the monster with his axe, he found that what he had cut was just a cloud.Then, almost immediately, the monster returned, and Bruno felt the cold of its touch.Stronger than the halfling, he tried to stay on the horse. "What?" he yelled uselessly at Drizzt and Wulfgar. Aegis-fang whizzed past him, flying towards the target.But Pegasus turned into smoke again, and the magic hammer just passed through the winding smoke unhindered. The spirit body returned to its original place in an instant, and fell down towards Bruno.The dwarf's pony turned and fell to the ground in a frantic effort to escape from the thing. "You can't hit it!" Drizzt yelled after Wulfgar, who rushed to help the dwarf. "It doesn't completely exist in this world!" Worf's strong legs steered his frightened horse forward, and when Aegis-fang was back in his hand, he delivered a blow. But again he found that what he was attacking was just smoke. "Then what?" he yelled at Drizzt, his eyes gazing in all directions, looking for signs of the spirit reappearing. Drizzt searched his mind for answers.Regis was still pale and motionless on the ground, and Bruenor, though not badly hurt by the horse's fall, seemed dazed and shivering from an out-of-this-world cold.Drizzt decided on an all-or-nothing plan.He took the onyx statue out of his pocket and began to call Guenhyvar. The genie returned and attacked in renewed rage.He swooped down on Bruenor first, covering the dwarf with his icy wings. "Fuck you, go back to the Demonic Abyss!" Bruno roared in brave resistance. The charging Wulfgar couldn't see the dwarf at all, save for the head of his ax that shot harmlessly through the smoke. Then the barbarian's mount suddenly stood still, and no matter what methods it tried, it refused to get any closer to the strange spirit beast.Wulfgar jumped from the saddle and rushed in, crashing through the cloud and crashing to the ground just before the monster could take shape again, a charge that carried Bruenor and himself out of the enveloping smoke on the other side.Then they rolled away and looked back, only to find that the monster had completely disappeared again. Bruno's eyelids drooped heavily, and his skin took on a bleak blue hue. For the first time in his life, the indomitable soul lost the will to fight.Wulfgar also got a taste of the biting ice in the process of crossing, but Xian was still gearing up for the next round of confrontation with that thing. "We can't fight him!" Bruno said through chattering teeth. "It's here to attack us, but when we fight back, it's gone!" Wulfgar shook his head disbelievingly. "There must be a way!" he declared, though he had accepted the dwarf's argument. "But my hammer can't destroy the cloud!" Guenhwyvar appeared next to his master, crouching low, looking for the great enemy that threatened the dark elves. Drizzt understood the panther's intentions. "No!" he ordered, "not here." The dark elf remembered something Guenhwyvar had done a few months ago.In order to rescue Regis from the shattered tower bricks, Guenhwyvar led the halfling through many realms.Drizzt mounted the leopard, clinging to its thick fur. "Take me to where the ghosts are," he instructed. "Go to its realm, where my knife can actually cut deep into its body." When Drizzt and the leopard disappeared into their own clouds, the goblin reappeared. "Keep swinging!" Bruno told his partner. "Keep it smoked so it doesn't attack you," "Drizzt and Panther are gone!" Wulfgar yelled. "They've gone to the place of the ghosts," Bruno explained. It took Drizzt a lot of time to get his bearings.He was in a different entity, a dimension where everything, even his own skin, was the same shade of gray, and everything was distinguishable only by a thin, vibrating black line in its outline.His keen senses were useless, for there was no light or dark, no identifiable light source to use as a guide.And he found that he had no foothold, there was nothing substantial below, and he couldn't tell which side was up and which side was down.These notions do not apply here. He saw the outline of Pegasus jumping and changing in different realms, it wasn't completely somewhere in it.He tried to get close to it, and found that mental activity could be the driving force, so that his body automatically followed the instructions of his will.He stopped in front of the changing lines, and the magic scimitar set up a posture, waiting for the target to strike. Then the silhouette of Pegasus emerged fully, and Drizzt swung his knife across, caught in the black quivering lines that surrounded its form.The lines begin to shift and bend, and the profile of the scimitar begins to disintegrate, for even the blade, made of steel, has a different composition here.But the steel is still stronger, and the machete regains its curved edge and ruins the Yokai's lines.There was a sudden shock in this gray darkness, as if Drizzt's slash had disrupted the balance of this world, and the monster's lines were trembling in pain. Wulfgar saw the sudden puff of smoke, almost taking shape again. "Drizzt!" he called to Bruenor. "He found the monster on fair terms!" "Then get ready!" Bruno replied anxiously, although he knew his role in this battle was over. "The dark elf will bring it back long enough for you to have a chance to attack it." Bruenor hugged himself, trying to drive the deadly cold from his bones, before collapsing onto the halfling's motionless body. The goblin turned to Drizzt, but the scimitar swung again.Guenhwyvar joined the fray, his giant claws digging into the black outlines of the enemy and tearing them apart.Pegasus staggered away from them, knowing that it had no advantage over enemies on the same plane.His only hope is to retreat into the material world. Wulfgar was waiting there. As soon as the smoke regained its shape, Aegis-fang hammered at it.Wulfgar only felt for a moment that he had hammered something solid, and he knew he had hit the mark.Then he disappeared again. The goblin returned to Drizzt and Guenhwyvar to face their merciless stabs and rakes.It shifted back again, and Wulfgar shot quickly.With nowhere to retreat, the monster is under attack from both worlds.Each time it materialized before Drizzt, the drow noticed that its lines were getting thinner and more vulnerable to attack.And each time a cloud of smoke formed in front of Wulfgar, its density gradually diminished.The friends were victorious, and Drizzt watched triumphantly as Pegasus dropped its physical form and drifted away in the gloom. "Take me back." The weary dark elf instructed Guenhwyvar.A moment later, he was standing on the ground beside Bruenor and Regis. "He'll wake up," Bruenor replied calmly to Drizzt's questioning eyes. "I guess he's passed out, not dead." A short distance away, Wulfgar also bent over a figure, bruised and twisted, and half-animal in appearance. "Torin, son of Jerick," Wulfgar explained.He looked back at the barbarian camp. "Frick did it. He has Thorin's blood on his hands!" "Perhaps Thorin's own decision?" Drizzt suggested. "Impossible!" Wulfgar insisted. "When we met in the challenge, I looked at him with respect. He is a warrior. He would not agree to such a thing!" He took a step away from the corpse, allowing the mutilated remains to emphasize his respect for the possessed person.Thorin's appearance did not change after his death, and his face remained that of a half-human, half-horse demon. "He is the Chieftain's son," Wulfgar explained. "He has no way to refuse the witch doctor's request." "At least he accepted his fate bravely," Drizzt commented. "Chief's son?" Bruenor hummed through his nostrils. "We seem to have more enemies behind us! They will come to us for revenge!" "Me too!" Wulfgar declared. "This blood debt is on your head, Flick High Eye!" He shouted into the distance, and his shout echoed among the peaks of the cliffs.Wulfgar looked back at his friends, anger flared in his face, and he declared ferociously, "I will avenge Torrin's humiliation!" Bruno nodded, approving of the barbarian's adherence to principle. "It is an honorable task," agreed Drizzt, drawing his sword and pointing east in the direction of Longsaddle, the next stop on their journey. "But another day."