Chapter 23 Chapter 19 Shadows

"This is Glen Canyon," Bruno said, drawing a line on a rough, makeshift map of the ground.Even when Alustriel's potion seemed to have worn off, just stepping into the home of his youth brought back so many memories.He doesn't know the exact location of each hall, but he already has a rough idea of ​​the overall reality.The others huddled around him, struggling to see the sketch in the light of the torch Wulfgar had brought from the corridor. "We can go out the other end," Bruno continued. "There is also a door there, which can only be opened from the inside, on the other side of the bridge."

"Out?" Wulfgar asked. "Our goal is to find the Halls of Mithril," replied Drizzt, adhering to the same arguments he had argued to Bruenor before this meeting. "If the power that defeated the Warhammer family is still inside, it is impossible for the few of us to regain it. We must be careful not to let the knowledge of Mithril Hall be annihilated with our death." "I've got to find out what we're up against," Bruno added. "We can also go out through the door we came in; it can be easily opened from the inside. My idea is to go through the uppermost level to see what is there. I need to see what is there before I call the people of Icewind Dale. How many enemies remain here. Find others if necessary." He shot Drizzt a sarcastic look.

Drizzt guessed that Bruno had more in mind than "see what's there," but he remained silent, satisfied that his proposal had been accepted, and the unexpected appearance of Catti-brie made Bruno's decision even more difficult. careful. "You'll be back then," Wulfgar guessed. "There will be an army following my steps!" cried Bruno.He looked at Catti-brie, a certain longing still in his dark eyes. She saw it right away. "Don't worry about me!" she reproached. "I have fought side by side with you a long time ago, and I have also fought alone. I didn't want to go on this road, but now it has found me, and I will be here with you until the last moment!"

After years of training her, Bruno couldn't disagree with her decision to follow their chosen path.He looked around at the skeletons in the room. "Then put on your armor, grab your weapon, and let's go, if everyone agrees." "This is the path you have to choose," Drizzt said. "Because this is your quest. We will follow you, but we won't tell you which way to go." Bruno smiled at the inconsistency of the statement.He noticed the gleam in the dark elf's eyes, which was usually a testament to his excitement.Perhaps Drizzt's sense of adventure hadn't completely disappeared.

"I'll go," said Wulfgar, "I won't turn back after I've walked through the door after all these miles!" Regis said nothing.He knew he had been sucked into the vortex of other people's excitement, no matter what his own feelings were.He patted the pouch of his new jewels on his belt, then thought that if those rooms were as splendid as Bruno had said, he'd find more in no time.He felt in the bottom of his heart that he would rather walk through the Eighteenth Floor of Hell with these difficult friends than go back and face Artemis Entreri alone. As soon as Catti-brie was dressed, Bruno started leading them on.He strode proudly in his grandfather's shining armor, his mithril ax dangling by his side, his crown securely on his head. "We're going to Glen Canyon!" he yelled as they set off from the entrance hall. "There we can decide whether we want to go out or go down. Ah, splendor awaits us, my friends. I pray I can show you those things this time!"

Wulfgar walked beside him, holding Aegis-fang in one hand and the torch in the other.There was the same grim, longing look on his face.Catti-brie and Regis followed, less eager and somewhat hesitant, but they accepted the road as inevitable, determined to do their best. Drizzt walked beside, sometimes in front and sometimes behind, rarely seen or even heard at all, yet knowing his presence made the steps of the others down the aisle more reassuring. These walkways, like other dwarven structures, are not level and unobstructed.Every few feet there were indentations in the walls, some only a few inches deep, and others extending into the darkness, joining another network of passages.A board sometimes protruded from the side of the wall, sometimes recessed, and these were designed to increase the shadow of the everlasting torches.This is a hidden place, where the dwarves create an atmosphere of isolation and protection.

This horizontal tunnel is actually a maze.No outsider can always choose the right road among the countless forks, intersections and double tunnels.Even with scattered childhood memories and an understanding of the logic of the dwarven miners who built this place, Bruno often went the wrong way, choosing the wrong way more times than the right way, spending as much time going back as going forward . Yet there was one thing Bruno remembered. "Watch your step," he warned his friends. "The tunnel you are walking now is used to defend Mithril Hall, and the trap made of stone will get you down in no time!"

In the distance they covered at the beginning of the day, they passed many large rooms, almost all unfurnished and square, with no sign of habitation. "These are the defense rooms as well as the reception rooms," Bruno explained. "Most of them are for Emer and his people from Stone Town to bring the handicrafts to the market." They go deeper.An oppressive silence engulfed them, and they heard only the sound of their own footsteps and the occasional crackle of torches, and even these sounds seemed to be suppressed in the stagnant air.For Drizzt and Bruno, the setting reminded them only of their youthful years beneath the surface, but for the other three, the sense of confinement and hundreds of tons of stone overhead was new. experience and made them very uncomfortable.

Drizzt moved from one recess in the wall to the next, taking special care to test the floor with his feet before stepping in.In a shallow dip, he felt something in his leg, and then he noticed a little air coming out of the crack at the bottom of the wall.He called his friends. Bruno squatted low, scratched his beard, and immediately understood the meaning of this breeze, because the air was hot, unlike the gap outside the passage, which was cold air flowing out. "The Furnace," he murmured, not only to himself but also to his friends. "That means someone is down there," Drizzt deduced.

Bruno didn't answer.There was actually a slight vibration in the floor, but to a dwarf who had been rolling among the stones all day, it seemed that the floor spoke clearly; it was the vibration caused by the mining device below-the tackle. Bruenor looked away, trying to gather his thoughts, for he had almost convinced himself (and always hoped) that the pit was empty, not occupied by organized groups, and could be easily retaken.But if the furnace was burning, his hopes were in vain.    "Go to them. Tell them where the stairs are," Dandiba ordered. Mo Kai studied the wizard carefully for a while.He knew he could break Dandiba's waning grip and disobey his orders.In fact, Mokai was surprised that Dandiba had the audacity to call him back so soon, since the wizard's powers had clearly not yet returned.The striped wizard wasn't exhausted enough that Morkai could attack him, but Dendiba had indeed lost most of his power to manipulate the ghost.

Mokai decided to obey.He wanted to continue playing the game with Dandiba as long as possible.Dandiba is obsessed with finding the dark elf, and no doubt he will summon Morkai again soon.Perhaps the spotted wizard would have been weaker then. "How do we get down?" Entreri asked Sydney.Polk had brought them to the edge of the Valley of the Guardians, but now they were facing the bottomless abyss. Sydney watched Polk ask for an answer, and the golem quickly ran to the edge of the cliff.If she hadn't stopped it, it should have fallen off the cliff.The young mage shrugged resignedly, looking at Entreri. Then they saw a blur of fire, and the ghost Mokai stood before them again. "Come," he told them, "I am commanded to show you the way." Mokai didn't say anything more, he led them straight to the secret staircase, and then disappeared in the fading flames. "Your Master has been a real help," Entreri commented as he took the first step. Sydney concealed her fear with a smile. "At least four times," she whispered to herself, wondering what happened when Dandiba summoned the ghost.Every time Mokai came to carry out the task, it seemed easier and easier.Sydney followed Entreri down the steps.She hoped Dandiba would stop summoning ghosts, for all of them. When they reached the bottom of the valley, Polk led them directly to the mountain wall and the secret door.It seemed to understand the obstacles it was facing, and stood patiently aside, awaiting further instructions from Sydney. Entreri slid his hand across the smooth rock face and pressed his face against it, trying to find a crack. "You're wasting your time," Sydney remarked. "This door was made by dwarves, and you won't see anything just because you look at it like this." "If there is a door here," replied the killer. "Yes," Sydney assured him. "Pork followed the dark elf's footsteps here, and it also knows that this road leads to the river wall. There is no way for them to get rid of the golem's pursuit." "Open the door then," Entreri said scornfully. "They are getting further and further away from us every second!" Sydney took a deep breath, then rubbed her hands nervously.This was the first time she had the opportunity to use her mana after leaving the Wizard's Tower, and the excess energy she had stored was surging in her body, wanting to vent it out. She changed many different and precise postures one after another, murmured a mysterious mantra, and then ordered: "Bao Sen !" Then she threw her hand forward and pointed to the door. Entreri's belt undid in an instant, and his saber and dagger fell to the ground. "Good job," he said sarcastically, retrieving his weapon. Xini looked at the door, a little at a loss. "It resisted my magic," she said, pointing out the obvious. "For a door made by dwarves, this is not unexpected. Dwarves don't use much magic themselves, but their ability to resist other people's magic is considerable." "Where are we going then?" Entreri said contemptuously. "Perhaps there is another door?" "That's the door we're going in," Sydney insisted.She turned to Pork and growled, "Break it!" Entreri jumped away as the golem walked towards the stone wall. Its big hands hit the mountain wall like a battering hammer, hitting hard again and again, not caring about the damage to its own body.After many seconds, nothing happened, only the sound of fists hitting stones could be heard.Sydney was very patient.She checked Entreri's attempts to argue the line, and watched as the indefatigable golem continued to work.Gradually a crack appeared in the stone, and then another.Pork didn't get tired; he didn't slow down. More and more cracks appeared, and then the clear outline of the door.Entreri squinted in anticipation. Pork threw a final blow, and his hand went through the door, smashing it into pieces and flying around in a heap of rubble. During this day, the entrance room of Mithril Hall, which had been covered in dust for nearly two hundred years, was bathed in sunlight for the second time.    "What was that?" Regis asked softly when the echo of the bang finally died down. Drizzt guessed quickly, but with the sound bouncing off the walls in all directions, he couldn't tell the direction of the source. Catti-brie suspected, too, that she remembered well the broken walls of Silvermoon. None of them opened their mouths to mention it.When they are in immediate danger, the echo of potential danger at a distance does not inspire immediate action.They went on as if they had heard nothing, except that they walked more carefully, and that the dark elves were more often in the rear. Somewhere in the back of his memory, Bruno felt danger looming all around them, watching them, ready to strike.He wasn't sure if his fears were justified, or if it was just his reaction to remembering the horrible days when his own kind had been cast out and knowing the pit was still occupied. He continued to walk slowly because this was his hometown and he didn't want to give it up again. At a certain bend in the corridor, the shadow became longer and longer and began to move. One of them reached out and grabbed Wulfgar. The savage shivered as death chill entered his body.Behind him, Regis screamed, and the suddenly moving shadows began to dance around the four of them. Wulfgar, too startled to react, was struck again.Catti-brie rushed to his side, cutting into the shadows with the short sword she had picked up in the entrance hall.She felt a slight tightening as the blade cut through the darkness, as if what she had struck wasn't exactly in this place.She didn't have time to think about the nature of these peculiar enemies, so she could only continue hacking. On the other side of the aisle, Bruno's attack was even more desperate.Several black arms stretched out suddenly to hit him, but his angry frame couldn't push them away firmly.Time and time again, when the darkness grabbed him, he felt a biting cold. Wulfgar's first instinctive action when he regained his senses was to swing Aegis-fang.But Catti-brie saw what he was about to do, and stopped him with a cry. "Torches!" she cried. "Put fire into darkness," Wulfgar thrust the flame into the center of the shadow.Immediately the shadow flinched, dodging aside as the light appeared.Wulfgar tried to catch up and drive them further away, but tripped over the halfling, who huddled in fear, and fell to the stones. Catti-brie picked up the torch and waved it wildly to make sure the monsters wouldn't dare come. Drizzt knew these monsters.These things are common in the realms of the dark elves, sometimes allied with their race.Again he summoned his natural strength, illuminating the shadows with magical flames, and rushed to join the fray. These monsters are humanoid, like shadows of men; but their edges are constantly shifting, and they blend with the shadows around them.They were far outnumbered by this company, but their good comrade, the darkness that had given them shelter, had been taken by the fire of the Dark Elves.Without cover, these living shadows were defenseless against the attack of this group of people, so they all slipped into the nearby rock crevices all at once. This group of partners is not here to continue wasting time.Wulfgar lifted Regis from the ground, then followed Bruenor and Catti-brie down the aisle quickly, with Drizzt covering their retreat behind. They had gone through many turns and halls before Bruno dared to slow down.Troubling questions haunted the dwarf's thoughts again, about the fantasy of reclaiming Mithril Hall, and the wisdom of bringing his best friends here.He watched every shadow now with terror, anticipating a monster at every turn. The dwarves, on the other hand, undergo a more subtle emotional shift.It had been haunting his subconscious since he felt the floor shake, and the fight with the monster had brought it to the fore.Regardless of his previous boasting, he had accepted the fact that he no longer felt like home.His memories of this place, those good memories of his people's prosperity here in the early years, have all been removed because of the atmosphere of terror that pervades here.So much has been taken away, not just shadows under the unquenchable torches.Here once was the statue of his god, Dumathoin the Keeper of Secrets, and now only the denizens of darkness are hidden. All Bruno's companions felt his frustration and frustration.Wulfgar and Drizzt had expected it before they came in, they knew the situation better than anyone else, and they cared more.If returning to Mithril Hall represented the high point of Bruenor's life, as the creation of Aegis' Fang did, then it was the downhill point of his life.And this is still assuming that the adventure is successful, if this journey fails in the end, what kind of blow will it be to him? Bruenor pushed hard, his vision focused on the trail leading to Glen Canyon and the exit.During these long weeks on the road, and when he first came in, Bruno wanted to stay here until he got back everything that was rightfully his, but now all his feelings were crying out to him: Run away and don't come back! Because of his respect for his long-dead clansmen, and the friends who had been with him for so long for the adventure, he felt that he should at least go through the first floor.He hoped his sudden dislike for his homeland would pass, or at least he'd be able to find some light in the darkness of Mithril Hall.He felt his namesake ax and shield warm in his hands, and he stiffened his bearded jaw and moved on. The aisle began to slope downward, and there were fewer and fewer halls and small passages beside it.The hot wind coming up from below at this part of the road was a constant torment to the dwarf, a constant reminder of what was down there.Shadows here are less able to hide, however, because the curved arcs of the walls are smoother or more squared.After rounding a sharp turn, they came to a large stone gate, the only stone slab blocking the entire passage. "Is this a room?" Wulfgar asked, gripping the heavy knocker.Bruno shook his head, not quite sure what was in there.Wulfgar pulled the door open, revealing another extension of the corridor, and another unmarked door at the opposite end. "Ten Gates," Bruno said, remembering the place again. "Ten gates on the downhill," he explained. "There's a latch on the back of every door." He stepped into the gate and swung down a heavy metal rod with a hinge at one end that easily lowered across the door and snapped over the lock. "After these ten gates, there are ten gates uphill, and each gate has a bar on the other side." "So if you're going to run for your life from the enemy, you go in and lock the door," Catti-brie reasoned, "and meet your people in the middle who are fleeing from the other side." "Between the two doors in the middle, there is a passage to the lower level." Drizzt added, seeing the simple but effective logic behind this defensive building. "There's a trap in the floor," Bruno confirmed. "Perhaps a place to rest," said the dark elf. Bruno nodded and continued walking.What he recalled was correct, and a few minutes later they had passed the tenth door, entered a small oval room, and faced another door bolted on their side.In the very center of the room was the floor door, which seemed to have been sealed for many years, and which was also fastened with a bolt.There were many similar dark alcoves in the surrounding walls of the whole room. After a quick inspection to prove that the place was safe, they sealed the exit and unloaded their heavy equipment, because the heat from their bodies was stuffy inside, making them feel oppressed. "We're in the middle of the first floor," Bruno said absently. "Tomorrow we'll find the canyon." "And where?" Wulfgar asked, the adventurous soul in him still wishing to pierce the depths of the mine. "Get out, or go down," Drizzt replied, making his answer to the first answer so emphatic that the second was almost impossible for the barbarian to learn. "We'll know when we get there." Wulfgar took a good look at his dark-skinned friend, trying to pick out a hint of his old sense of adventure, but Drizzt seemed as eager to get away as Bruenor.Something here distracted from the drow's usual influx of enthusiasm.Wulfgar could only guess that Drizzt was also battling unpleasant memories of his own past in similarly dark surroundings. The sharp young savage guessed right.The dark elf's memories of the Underworld fueled his hopes of leaving Mithril Hall, but not from any emotional agitation caused by returning to the surroundings of his hour.Drizzt's deepest memory of Menzoberranzan now was that of dark things living in dark holes beneath the ground.He felt that they were now in the ancient halls of the dwarves, which was more terrifying than the surface dwellers could imagine.He's not worried about himself.He has dark elf instincts and is able to face these monsters in any situation.But his friends, save the experienced dwarves, were at a great disadvantage in battle, and had they remained in the mines, they must have faced the monsters at a disadvantage. And Drizzt knew there were many eyes on them. Entreri got up and put his ear to the door, as he had done nine times before.This time, the sound of the shield falling to the ground made a smile appear on his face.He turned to Sydney and Polk and nodded. He finally caught his prey. The door through which they had entered shook with an unbelievable blow.The group of companions who had just finished their long march and stopped to rest looked back in surprise and horror when the second blow smashed the stone gate into pieces.The golem rushed into the oval, kicking Regis and Catti-brie aside before they could draw their weapons. The monster could have stomped them flat, but it was Drizzt Do'Urden who attracted all his senses.It ran past the two to find out where the dark elf was. Drizzt wasn't surprised, he dodged into the shadows at the edge of the room, and rushed for the broken door so no one else could come in.However, he couldn't escape the magical detection of Dandi Baga's body on the golem, and Pork turned and walked towards him almost immediately. Wulfgar and Bruenor met the monster head-on. Entreri entered the room immediately after Polk, taking advantage of the commotion the golem had caused to slip through the door unnoticed, then dodged into the shadows in a pattern similar to that of the drow.When the two of them reached the midpoint of the wall, they both encountered a figure so similar to themselves that they had to stop and look at each other before making their moves. "I've run into Drizzt Do'Urden at last," Entreri said contemptuously. "Then you have the advantage," Drizzt replied, "because I don't know anything about you." "You will know, dark elf!" said the killer.he laughed.They met in a blur, Entreri's brutal saber and jeweled dagger meeting Drizzt's swinging scimitar. Wulfgar slammed his hammer down on the golem with all his strength, and it didn't even pretend to defend because it was so intent on chasing Drizzt.Aegis-fang smacked its back, but it paid no attention and started walking towards its prey again.Bruenor and Wulfgar glanced at each other in disbelief, and chased after it again, raining hammers and axes on it. Regis lay motionless against the wall, knocked unconscious by Pork's kick.But Catti-brie was on her feet again, sword in hand.The graceful posture and skill of the fighters by the wall made her stare blankly for a while. Sydney was just outside the door, equally fascinated, for the battle between the dark elves and Entreri was unlike anything she had ever seen before, two masters with swords wielding them in absolute harmony. weapons. Both of them accurately anticipated the opponent's movements, countered the opponent's counterattack, and stepped forward and backward in the deadly battle.Both reacted immediately to each other's movements, and the only thing that made the onlookers feel the reality of the battle was the jingling of steel and steel when the scimitar and saber collided.They move in and out of the shadows, seeking the slightest advantage in an even battle.Then they slid into the darkness of an alcove in the wall. Once they were gone, Sydney remembered her part in the battle.Without hesitation, she took a wand from her belt and pointed it at the barbarian and dwarf.As much as she wanted to see the battle between Entreri and the dark elves over, her sense of duty told her to get the golem out of the way and catch the dark elves as soon as possible. Wulfgar and Bruenor knocked Pork down to the stone floor, Bruenor ducked between the golem's legs, Wulfgar gave him a hard blow, and Pork fell. However, their advantage did not last long.Sydney's arrow of energy hit them, its force sending Wulfgar flying backward into the air.He rolled over and stood near the opposite door, his leather vest charred and smoking, his whole body tingling with the aftershock of the shock. Bruno was hit straight to the ground, where he lay for quite a while.He wasn't badly hurt, the dwarf was as hardy as a rock, especially resistant to magic, but as his ear was pressed to the floor a peculiar rumbling noise he heard caught his attention.He vaguely remembered hearing the sound as a child, but he couldn't pinpoint its source. Where the dark elves and killers were just now, there is only dust floating around.Time seemed frozen to Bruno.He was fixed in that moment of fear.A heavy stone fell from the ceiling of the alcove, snatching away the dwarf's last useless hope. The motion of the stone trap only added to the violent vibrations in the room.The walls were cracked and stones from the ceiling were loose.From one of the gates, Sydney called to Pork, while Wulfgar unlatched the other, shouting to his friends. Catti-brie jumped to her feet and rushed to the fallen halfling.She begged Bruno for help as she dragged his ankles toward the far door. But the dwarf was dazed for a moment, staring blankly at the ruins of the alcove. A wide crack opened in the floor of the room, threatening to cut off their escape.Catti-brie gritted her teeth and made up her mind to rush forward to a safe place.Wulfgar yelled at the dwarf, even looking back for him. Then Bruenor stood up and walked towards them slowly with his head down, almost hoping in desperation that a crack would open under his feet and let him fall into the black hole. Only in this way can he be freed from unbearable grief.