Chapter 27 Chapter 23 The Broken Helmet

As the dragon skimmed the walkway into Glen Canyon, the air rolled over its black wings like distant thunder in succession.It took the same road that Drizzt and Entreri had just traveled.The two men were now tens of yards above the wall motionless, not even daring to breathe.They knew that the dark master of Mithril Hall had come. The dark cloud, Canying, rushed past them, not noticing them, and flew down into the canyon on its way.Drizzt led the way up the side of the canyon, fingering the stones for possible support, and trusting them entirely in desperation.When he first entered the canyon he heard the sounds of battle in the distance above, and he knew that even though his friends had been victorious so far, they would soon meet an enemy greater than any they had ever faced.

Drizzt decided to stand by their side. Entreri matched the speed of the dark elf, hoping to keep at his side, though his plan of action was not yet firmly formed. Wulfgar and Catti-brie supported each other as they advanced.Regis had been by Bruenor's side, and he was concerned about the dwarf's wounds, though the dwarf himself did not. "Worry about your own skin, glutton!" he continued to yell at the halfling, but Regis could see that his anger had dissipated.The dwarf seemed a little embarrassed by his previous behavior. "My wounds will heal; don't think you can get rid of me so easily! After we escape, there will be plenty of time to deal with these wounds."

Regis stopped in his tracks, with a puzzled look on his face.Bruenor looked back at him, confused too, wondering if he had somehow upset the halfling again.Wulfgar and Catti-brie also stopped behind Regis, waiting for signs of trouble, wondering what had been said between him and the dwarf. "What are you upset about?" Bruno asked. Regis wasn't upset by anything Bruenor said, not even about the dwarves at all.That's because he felt the shimmering shadow, and a sudden burst of cold entered the cave. As soon as it appeared, it turned the mutual care of these partners into an embarrassing situation.

Bruno was about to speak again, but at this moment he also felt the approach of the Dark Dragon.As he looked down the canyon, he saw the tip of the black cloud breaking through the rim, still far below and to the left on the other side of the bridge, but heading towards them at high speed. Wulfgar led Catti-brie aside, and he pulled her along at full speed.Regis hurried back to the reception room. Bruno remembered. The Dark Dragon, the most evil monster ever killed most of his people and forced them to flee to the small passages above.He raised the mithril axe, his feet frozen to the stone below, and he waited.Darkness dipped beneath the arched stone bridge, then rose to the edge of the cliff.Gripping the rim of the chasm in spear-like claws, Shimmering Shadow rose to loathsome majesty before Bruenor, the usurping monstrosity now facing the rightful king of Mithril Hall.

"Bruenor!" Regis yelled, taking out his little mace and returning to the cave, knowing that all he could do was die beside his doomed friend. Leaving Catti-brie behind, Wulfgar turned to face the dragon. The monster's eyes were fixed on the dwarf's unflinching stare, not even noticing that Aegis-fang was hammering at it, and unafraid of the tall barbarian's challenge. The powerful warhammer hit its pitch-black back scales heavily, but bounced off without causing any damage.Exasperated at the impediment of its impending victory, it turned its gaze to Wulfgar. And exhaled.

Complete darkness enveloped Wulfgar, draining all strength from his bones.He felt himself falling downwards, falling forever, though he did not seem to be falling on stones. Tibril rushed toward him screaming, not thinking of her own safety as she rushed into the black cloud exhaled by the Coal Shadow. Bruno trembled in rage for his long-dead compatriots and friends now. "Get the hell out of my house!" he yelled at Shimmer, and charged forward, leaping onto the dragon's back, slashing wildly with his axe, trying to drive the monster over the edge of the cliff.The sharp blades of mithril weapons were more effective against the scales than the hammers, but the dragons fought back.

It kicked Bruenor back to the ground hard, and before he could get up, Shimmer's long neck rushed down like lightning, snapped his mouth open, and lifted him up. Regis fell again, shaking in terror. "Bruno!" he tried to shout again, and this time his words were only a whisper. The cloud around Catti-brie and Wulfgar cleared, but the barbarian was completely affected by Shimmer's venom.He wanted to escape, even though the only way to escape was to rush desperately over the edge of the canyon.Although the shadow dogs were still behind, and it took several minutes to reach them, their barking was already approaching his ears.All the wounds on his body, the wounds squeezed by the golems, the wounds cut by the duergares on his body, all made him painful, and made him wince at every step, although the adrenaline pumped up in his battle had never been before. Dispelled worse and more painful wounds than this one.

The dragon seemed ten times stronger than Worf, and he couldn't even take up arms against it, because deep down he believed that Shimmer was impossible to defeat. Despair stopped him where neither fire nor steel could.He staggered back into the other room with Catti-brie because he couldn't resist her deadlift. Bruenor felt his breath explode as jaws of terror crushed him.He held the ax tenaciously, and even managed to strike once or twice. Catti-brie pushed Wulfgar through the door, into a small room where she could take refuge temporarily, and then turned back to the battle scene in the cave. "You bastard son of a lizard!" she said contemptuously as she began to use Tamari.A series of silver arrows pierced Canying's black armor.When Catti-brie learned what her weapon could do, she hatched a desperate plan.She shot the next arrow at the monster's foot, hoping to get it off the edge.

As the arrows whizzed into Shimmer's body, it jumped in pain and confusion.Hatred boiled in the dragon's narrowed eyes on the brave young woman.It spat Bruno's battered body on the ground, and growled, "You need to be afraid, stupid woman! Try my breath, and you'll know you're dead!" The black lungs began to expand, sucking the inhaled The air turned into a hopelessly foul cloud. At this moment, the stone on the edge of the canyon broke and fell. Regis was not at all happy when the dragon fell.He pulled Bruno back into the reception room, but he didn't know what to do after that.With the brutal Shadowhounds chasing ever closer behind him, he was separated from Wulfgar and Catti-brie, and he would not have dared to cross the cavern if he hadn't known for certain that the dragon had gone.He looked down at his old friend's battered, bloodied body, and had no idea where to start helping him, or whether Bruno was dead or alive.

It was only a surprise that made Regis delay his scream, and Bruenor opened his gray eyes and gave him a wink. Both Drizzt and Entreri pressed their backs to the wall as the rockfall from the cliff above came dangerously close.It passed in an instant, and Drizzt moved on at once, desperately trying to reach his friend. But when the black dragon figure descended and passed him, he had to stop and wait nervously.Then he regained his speed and walked towards the edge of the cliff. "How?" Regis asked, staring blankly at the dwarf. Bruno twitched uneasily, struggling to get to his feet.The mithril armor resisted the dragon's bite, but Bruenor was crushed badly by it, with a row of deep gashes and perhaps many broken ribs.Yet the tenacious dwarf was alive and well, and he put his severe pain behind him for more important things - the safety of his friend's life.

"Where's the boy and Catti-brie?" he demanded immediately, the sound of Shadow Dog howling loudly in the background making his tone sound desperate. "In another room," he said, pointing to the area of ​​the cave beyond the door on the right. "Katie!" Bruno yelled. "How are you?" Catti-brie froze for a moment, because she hadn't expected to hear Bruno's voice again.Then she yelled back. "I'm afraid Wulfgar is out of battle! It's probably a dragon's magic, though I can handle it! But I'm leaving myself! The dogs are coming sooner than I'd like!" "Yeah!" Bruno agreed, having to reach out and grab the sore spot when he yelled. "But can you still see the monster now?" "I didn't see it, and I didn't hear it!" came an uncertain answer. Bruno looked at Regis. "It fell, and then disappeared." The halfling answered his questioning look, and he didn't quite believe that Shimmer would be defeated so easily. "Then we have no other choice!" Bruno shouted. "Let's cross the bridge! Can you bring the boy here?" "He's lost the will to fight, that's all," Catti-brie replied. "We'll get over!" Bruenor grabbed Regis by the shoulder, lending support to his nervous friend. "Let's go then!" he yelled in a confident, familiar voice. When Regis saw the familiar Bruno again, although he was very scared, he still smiled.Without further persuasion, he walked out of the room side by side with the dwarf. Just as they took the first step towards the canyon, the black cloud of Shimmering Shadow once again rose to the edge of the cliff. "Did you see that?" Catti-brie cried. Bruenor fell back into the room, seeing the whole dragon all too clearly.The fate of destruction approached him from all sides, without relaxation, without escape.Despair negated his resolve, not for himself, for he knew he had followed the logical course of fate to return to Mithril Hall, engraved deep in his heart from the day his compatriots were slaughtered, but His friends did not deserve to die like this.A halfling didn't deserve to die here, he'd always found a way out of every trap in the past.Boy doesn't deserve to die here, there are too many glorious adventures waiting for him on his way. Girls don't deserve to die here either.Catti-brie was his adopted daughter whom he loved.She is the only truly radiant light in the Warhammer mines of Icewind Dale. The fall of his dearest friend, the dark elf, who had volunteered to help, was too high a price for his daring selfishness.Now he faces losses that he cannot afford. His sharp eyes scanned the small room.There must be other options.If he had ever trusted the gods of the dwarves well, now he asked them to give him one thing.Give him a choice. One wall in this room was covered with cloth.Bruenor looked at Regis curiously. The halfling shrugged. "It's a storage place," he said. "No money. Not even a weapon." Bruno won't accept that answer.He rushed to the curtain and opened all the boxes and bags.Dried food, some wood, a special cloak, a leather bag of water, a small barrel of oil. Glitter Shadow swooped back and forth down the canyon, waiting in the vast cave environment befitting it for trespassers who he believed would be driven out by the Shadowhounds in no time. Drizzt had almost reached the height of the dragon, and he had no one but the safety of his friends as he pushed forward to face the danger. "Hold on!" Entreri yelled to him from a short distance below. "Are you really so determined to die?" "I'm going to kill that dragon!" Drizzt yelled back. "I will not cower in the shadows and watch my friends be destroyed!" "Is it worthwhile for you to die with them?" Came a sarcastic answer. "You're a fool, dark elf. You alone are better than all your poor friends put together!" "Poor?" Drizzt replied suspiciously. "Poor thing is you, killer." The dark elf's denial hurt Entreri more than he'd expected. "Then pity yourself!" he retorted angrily. "Because you're more like me than you'd like to believe!" "If I don't go after them, you're right," Drizzt continued, calmer now. "Because in that case, my life would be worthless, less valuable than yours! If I accept the ruthless and empty rules that govern your world, my whole life will become but a lie." He started to continue to go up, fully prepared for death, but he found that he was so different from the killer who was following him, and he finally felt relieved. He also takes comfort in knowing that he is free from the genetics of his blood. Bruenor came out through the drapes, a wild, smug grin on his face, his oil-soaked cloak slung over his shoulders, the small oil barrel tied behind his back.Regis looked at him in utter bewilderment, yet he had already sort of guessed what the dwarf was planning and couldn't help worrying. "What are you looking at?" Bruno said, blinking. "You're mad," Regis replied, the more he watched the dwarf, the more he understood his plan. "Hey, we talked about it before we set off!" Bruno snapped.He fell silent suddenly, his wild light softening into concern for his little friend. "I should have been nicer to you, Glutton," he said, feeling more comfortable than ever in his apology. "I never had a more loyal friend than Bruenor Warhammer," Regis replied. Bruenor took the jeweled helm off his head and threw it at the halfling, further confusing him.Fumbling around on his back, Bruenor undid a strap that held his knapsack to his belt, and pulled out his old helmet.He ran a finger over the broken horn, and smiled as he remembered the wild adventures that had left the horn broken.And the cut he'd made with Wulfgar when they first met as enemies all those years ago. Bruenor put the helmet on, which was much more comfortable given the fit, and Regis began to see him as an old friend again. "Save that helmet, please," Bruenor told Regis. "That's the crown of Mithril Hall!" "Then it is yours," Regis argued, taking the crown back to Bruenor. "No, that's not my right, nor my choice. No—no, Regis, the Halls of Mithril no longer exist. I am Bruenor of Icewind Dale, and I have been for two hundred years. Yet I Your brain is too stupid to notice this!" "Forgive my old bones," he said, "I believe my thoughts will run through my past and my future." Regis nodded, then asked with genuine concern, "What are you going to do?" "Just do what you have to do!" Bruno snapped, and suddenly his snarl was there again. "You'll have a chance to get out of this damn place when I rush over!" He yelled threateningly at the halfling, keeping him from approaching, then moved quickly, grabbed a torch from the wall, He rushed through the door and into the cavern before Regis could step over to stop him. The dragon's back skimmed the edge of the canyon, flew low to the depths under the bridge, and returned to its cruising altitude.Bruno watched it for a few seconds, to feel the regularity of its course repeating. "You're mine now, bug!" he growled, before rushing forward. "It's one of your tricks, boy!" he yelled into Wulfgar and Catti-brie's room. "But as long as I decide to jump on the worm's back, I will never miss it!" "Bruno!" Catti-brie screamed when she saw him running down the canyon. But it was too late.Bruenor lit the oil-soaked cloak with a torch, and raised the mithril ax high in front of his face.The dragon heard him coming, and turned suddenly to look near the edge of the cliff, and was as startled as his friend the dwarf when he saw Bruenor leaping down the cliff with his shoulders and back covered in fire. He was impossibly strong, as if all the ghosts of the warhammer had put their hands on Bruno's handle and lent him all their strength, and Bruno's first blow cut the Mithril ax deep Into Shuoying's back.Bruenor fell from behind, but he grabbed the handle of the ax that had been thrust into the dragon's body, even though the oil barrel had burst under the impact and sprayed flames all over the monster's back. Shuoying let out a sharp cry in rage, and flew around in different directions, and even hit the canyon wall. Bruno is not going to be dumped.He frantically grabbed the handle of the axe, waiting for an opportunity to draw his weapon and strike again. Catti-brie and Regis rushed to the edge of the canyon, calling helplessly for their dying friend.Wulfgar shuffled in too, still wrestling with the shadows of despair. When the barbarian saw Bruenor lying and bathing in the fire, he dispelled the dragon's magic with a loud roar, and threw out Aegis-fang without hesitation.The warhammer hit the side of the dragon's head, and Shimmering Shadow flew unsteadily from side to side again in surprise, cutting off part of the other wall of the canyon. "Are you crazy?" Catti-brie yelled at Wulfgar. "Take your bow," Wulfgar told her. "If you are a true friend of Bruenor, don't let him fall in vain! The Fang of Aegis returned to his hand, and he threw it again, and hit again. Catti-brie had to come to terms with this reality.There was nothing she could do to save Bruno from his own chosen fate.Wulfgar was right, she could help the dwarves get what they wanted.She blinked away the fear that had descended on her, picked up the taumari, and began shooting silver arrows at the dragon. Both Drizzt and Entreri watched Bruenor's leap in awe.Drizzt cursed his own helplessness as he charged forward, almost to the edge of the precipice.He called out to his remaining friends, but amidst the commotion and the dragon's roar, none could be heard. Entreri was immediately below him.The killer knows that his last chance is upon him, though he risks losing the only rival in his life.As Drizzt was about to crawl towards his second foothold, Entreri grabbed him by the ankles and grabbed him off. The flames found a crack in Shimmer's scales, burning the dragon's flesh.The dragon wailed loudly in pain that he thought he would never experience. The hammer hit with a bang!Continuous piercing of silver lines!and dwarves!He hit the ax relentlessly, as if unaware of the fire around him. Shuoying rushed along the canyon, suddenly making movements such as descending, throwing back, turning over and so on.It was shot by Catti-brie's arrows every time it turned.Wulfgar grew wiser with each throw, finding the perfect time to throw his hammer.He waited for the moment when the dragon was about to fly over the large boulder that jutted out, and then with one throw of his force the monster slammed into it. Flames, stones, and dust fell wildly with each thunderous impact. Bruno persisted.He sang to his father, or earlier ancestors, that the Dwarf had pardoned his sins, content that he had satisfied the souls of his ancestors, and given escape to his friends.He felt neither the bite of flame nor the impact of stone.All he felt was the dragon's flesh trembling under his axe, and Shimmer's cry of pain echoing across the valley. Drizzt fell from the canyon wall, desperately trying to get some footing.He landed on a ledge of rock twenty feet below the killer and stopped his fall. Entreri nodded approvingly, for the dark elf landed exactly where he expected it to. "Goodbye, trusting fool!" he called down to Drizzt, and began to climb the face. Drizzt had never trusted the killer's sense of honor, but he trusted Entreri's reality.This attack has no actual effect. "Why?" he called back to Entreri. "You can get the magic pendant if you don't get me down!" "The gem is mine," Entreri replied. "But you will pay!" Drizzt declared. "You know I'll follow you, Killer!" Entreri looked down at him with an amused smile. "Do you understand, Drizzt Do'Urden? That's my purpose!" The killer quickly climbed to the edge of the cliff and observed the top carefully.On the left, Wulfgar and Catti-brie continued to attack the dragon.On the right, Regis was so engrossed in the spectacle of battle that he was oblivious to anything else. When the halfling's worst nightmare arose before him, he was utterly taken aback, and his face paled in terror.He dropped his jeweled helm on the ground and limped forward in terror as Entreri grabbed him silently and made his way to the stone bridge. Exhausted, the dragon tried to find another way to defend himself.Yet its rage and pain had pushed it too deep into the fight.It has been hit too many times, and the silver beam is still shot at it again and again. The dwarf, still untired, curled up and drove the ax into its back. The dragon fought back one last time in the fight, trying to shake its neck, at least to exact revenge on the cruel dwarf.It didn't move for a split second before the fang of Aegis hammered into its eye. The dragon turned in blind rage, lost in a swirl of dizzying pain, and crashed headlong into the ledge. The shock shook the cavern to its foundations, nearly knocking Catti-brie over, sending Drizzt off his perilous footing. Bruenor saw the last sight: a sight that made his heart beat again with victory: Drizzt Do'Urden's piercing lavender eyes bid him farewell from the darkness on the mountainside. The Dragon of Darkness was covered in wounds, flames burned it, and it glided and rolled, sinking down into the deepest darkness it knew, the darkness from which it could never leave.That was the abyss of Glen Canyon. And on its back is the orthodox king of Mithril Hall.