Chapter 28 Chapter Twenty-Four Tribute to Mithril Hall

The flaming dragon glides lower and lower, the flame's light slowly turning into a small point of light on the floor of Glen Canyon. Drizzt climbed up the edge of the cliff and came to Catti-brie and Wulfgar. Catti-brie was holding the helmet with Baozhao, and they both looked at the other side of the canyon helplessly. .The two of them almost fell when they looked back and saw the dark elf returning from the dead.Even after seeing Artemis Entreri, Wulfgar and Catti-brie were not prepared to see Drizzt. "How did you survive?" Wulfgar asked with a sigh, but Drizzt told him not to ask.The time for an explanation would come; they had more urgent matters on hand.

On the opposite side of the chasm, by the lever, stood Artemis Entreri, his hands stretched forward to grab Regis by the throat, grinning wickedly.The Ruby Pendant now hangs around the Killer's neck. "Let him go," Drizzt said calmly. "We agreed. You can take the gem." Entreri smiled and pulled the lever.The stone bridge began to shake, then broke in two, falling into the bottomless abyss below. Drizzt had thought he was beginning to understand the motives of the killer's breach of trust, and he reasoned that Entreri had taken Regis to make sure they would follow, to continue his personal challenge to Drizzt.But now that the bridge was gone, and Drizzt and his friends had lost their obvious escape route, and the endless barking of the Shadow Dog kept approaching behind them, the dark elf's deduction seemed untenable.Exasperated by his own confusion, he sprang into action.Dropping his own bow in the alcove, Drizzt snatched the Tamari from Catti-brie and loaded an arrow.

Entreri moved just as fast.He rushed to the edge of the ledge, swept Regis' ankle with his leg, and hoisted him above the chasm with one hand.Both Wulfgar and Catti-brie sensed Drizzt's strange connection with the Killer before, and knew that Drizzt was better able to handle the situation.They took a step back and hugged tightly. Drizzt kept his bow steady and aimed, not blinking an eye as he searched for gaps in Entreri's defenses. Entreri shook Regis dangerously, then smiled again. "It's a long way to Calimport, Dark Elf. You may catch me." "You've ruined our retreat," Drizzt retorted.

"It's a necessary inconvenience," Entreri explained. "Even if your other friends can't do it, you will definitely find a way to come here. I will wait for you!" "I'll go," Drizzt promised. "You don't need a halfling for me to hunt you down, bloody killer." "You're right," Entreri said.He reached into his fanny pack, pulled out a small object, and tossed it into the air.He catches the thing just before it falls out of reach and into the ravine.He lost it again.It was some kind of little black thing. Entreri tossed it mockingly a third time, a smile on his face, and Drizzt lowered the bow.

Guan Haifa. "I don't need halflings," Entreri said coldly, and he moved Regis further up the canyon. Drizzt threw the magic bow behind him, but continued to stare at the killer. Entreri pulled Regis back to the edge. "But my lord demands the right to kill the little thief. Make your plans quickly, dark elf, for the hounds are at hand. You stand a better chance of survival if you go alone. Leave those two fellows behind and live!" " "Then please come to me, dark elf. Settle the matter between the two of us." He smiled again, before turning and walking into the darkness of the last tunnel.

"Then he's out there," said Catti-brie. "Bruno said that passage leads directly out of Mithril Hall." Drizzt looked around, trying to find a way across the chasm. "According to Bruno, there's another way," Catti-brie suggested.She pointed to the right, which was the southern end of the cave. "There is a protruding rock next to the stone wall," she said. "But it's hours of walking to get there." "It's running." Drizzt replied, his eyes still fixed on the opposite tunnel. When the three of them reached the slightly overhanging part of the rock, echoes of howling and distant lights to the north told them that the duergar and the shadowhound had entered the cave.Drizzt led them down the narrow path, his back pressed against the wall every inch he moved the other way.The whole canyon lay before his eyes, and the fire still burning beneath, was a cruel reminder of the fate of his bearded friend.Maybe Bruno really fit to die here, in the hometown of his ancestors, he thought.Perhaps the dwarf was finally satisfied with the fulfillment of the longing that had bound him all his life.

Yet losing him was unbearable for Drizzt.Bruno's years with me had proved him to be a compassionate and respectable friend, a friend who could be relied upon at all times and under all circumstances.Drizzt could tell himself over and over that Bruenor was content, that the dwarf had climbed to his peak and won his battles, but those thoughts didn't dissuade the dark elf from facing his death directly. sad. Catti-brie shed more tears as the other two crossed the canyon that had become Bruenor's final resting place, and Wulfgar's sighs gave way to his apparent strength.To Catti-brie, Bruno was both a father and a friend, teaching her to be strong and treating her with tenderness.Everything in her life that wasn't supposed to change, her family and her hometown, was burning on the back of a hellish dragon below.

A numbness hit Wulfgar, he felt the cold of inevitable death, and realized how fragile life was.Drizzt came back to him, but Bruenor was gone again.Over and above all joy and sorrow, was a sense of instability, a tragedy that rewrote the hero's imagination and the bard's legend in ways he had never imagined.Bruno died bravely and strong, and his leap covered in fire will be celebrated a thousand times.But that didn't fill Wulfgar's inner emptiness at the moment. They made their way to the other side of the canyon, and began heading north toward the last tunnel and out of the shadow of Mithril Hall.When they came again to the wideness of the cave, they were watched.The duergar howled and cursed at them; the great black shadowhounds growled menacingly and pawed at the edge of the canyon on the other side.But their enemies had no way to reach them except around the ledge at the end, and Drizzt walked unstopped into the tunnel that Entreri had advanced for hours.

Wulfgar followed, but Catti-brie paused for a moment at the entrance, looking back at the large group of duergar gathered across the canyon. "Come on," Drizzt told her. "We can't do anything here, but Regis needs our help." Catti-brie's eyes narrowed and the muscles of her jaw clenched as she fastened an arrow to her bow and fired it.Silver beams roared into the duergar pile, killing one and sending others scrambling for cover. "No weight now," replied Catti-brie quietly, "but I'll be back! Let the greyhounds know the fact." "I will return!"

Drizzt, Wulfgar, and Catti-brie entered Longsaddle a few days later, weary from the journey and still mournful.Harkle and his people welcomed them warmly, and invited them to live in the Ivy Hall for as long as they liked.But while the three of them welcome the chance to relax and recover from their trials, a new path calls for them. Drizzt and Wulfgar stood at the exit of Longsaddle the next morning, beside the well-repaired horses provided by House Harbell.Catti-brie walked slowly down to join them, Harkle a few paces behind her. "Will you come?" Drizzt asked, but already guessed from her expression that she would not be going.

"If I could go with you, I would," Catti-brie replied. "You will find halflings, I am not worried. I have other vows to fulfill." "When?" Wulfgar asked. "I guess next spring," Catti-brie said. "House Harbell's magic has set things in motion: they have called upon the people of Icewind Dale and King Harbron of Fort Adbar for help. Bruenor's people will set out before the week is out, and from Ten-Towns Bring many allies. King Habrun promised to send 8,000 troops, and some members of the Habel family also agreed to help." Drizzt thought of the subterranean cities he had seen in the lower levels of Mithril Halls, and the hustle and bustle of thousands of duergar, all armed with shiny mithril gear.Even with the entire Warhammer Clan and friends from Icewind Dale, eight thousand war-accustomed dwarves from Adebar, and the magical power of the Harbells, it would be hard to win. Wulfgar also understood the dangers of the task Catti-brie was about to face, and he had doubts about his decision to go with Drizzt.Regis needed him, but he couldn't leave Catti-brie in her time of need. Catti-brie felt his inner struggle too.She walked up to him and kissed him suddenly and passionately, before bouncing back. "Do your work well, Wulfgar, son of Beornegar," she said. "Then come back to me!" "I'm also Bruenor's friend," Wulfgar argued. "I also saw him in Mithril Hall. When you go to honor him, I should be by your side." "You have a friend who needs you alive now," Catti-brie snapped at him. "I can make the whole plan. You go save Regis! Give Entreri what he deserves, and fast. Maybe you can get to Mithril Hall in time." She turned to Drizzt, a hero most trusted. "Please keep him safe for me," she pleaded for him. "Guide him the quickest shortcut, and the way back!" Seeing Drizzt nod, she turned back to Harkle, and walked toward the Ivy Hall.Wulfgar did not follow.He trusted Catti-brie. "For the halfling and the panther," he said to Drizzt, gripping Aegis-fang and watching the road ahead. The dark elf's lavender eyes suddenly caught fire, and Wulfgar took an involuntary step back. "There are other reasons," Drizzt said sternly, looking out across the vast Southlands, where the evil monster he could become was now.He knew he was destined to meet Entreri again on the battlefield, and defeating the killer would be a test of his self-worth. "There are other reasons." Dandiba's breathing became difficult when he saw a sight, Sydney's dead body huddled in the corner of a dark room. The ghostly Mokai waved his arms, and the scene was replaced by the image of the bottom of Glen Canyon. "No," Dandiba screamed when he saw the golem's remains lying headless on the rubble.The spotted wizard visibly began to tremble. "Where are the dark elves?" he pressed the ghost. With a wave of Mokai's hand, the sight disappeared, and it stood still, amused by Dandiba's concern. "Where are the dark elves?" Dandiba repeated, louder this time. Mokai started laughing at him. "Find out for yourself, foolish mage. My service to you ends here!" The ghost spewed flames and disappeared. Dandiba leaped frantically from his magic circle, kicking over the burning copper basin. "I'll torture you a thousand times for your rudeness!" he yelled at the emptiness of the room.His mind turned to other possibilities.Sydney is dead.Polk is dead.What about Entreri?Where is the dark elf and his friends?Dandiba needs to know the answer.He couldn't give up looking for Sumo Yuetian, and he couldn't deny the power he was looking for.A deep breath stabilized him as he concentrated on casting the spell.He saw the bottom of the canyon again, and he focused the image in his mind.As he chanted the mantra throughout the ceremony, the vision became more and more real, more substantial.Dandiba experienced it in full: the dark, shadowy cavities of the stone walls, the air flowing almost imperceptibly through the chasm, and the hard, broken rock jutting out beneath his feet. He stepped out of his thoughts and went into Glen Canyon. "Pork," he said softly as he gazed down at his great masterpiece, now a mass of twisted and mutilated limbs. The thing moves.As it struggles to stand up before the man who created it, a rock rolls aside.Dandiba watched in disbelief, amazed that the mana he had poured into the golem was still functioning after such a terrible fall and damage. Polk stood up before it, waiting. Dandiba looked at the thing for a while, thinking about how to fix it. "Pork!" he said to Pork in particular, with a hopeful smile on his face. "Come on, my pet. I'll take you home and heal your wounds." Polk took a step forward and pushed Dandiba against the wall.Still not quite understanding the situation, the wizard began ordering the golems to go away. But Pork's remaining arm stretched out, grabbed Dandiba by the throat, and lifted him into the air, suffocating him and preventing him from giving any more orders.Dandiba grabbed the arm and started beating, helpless and confused. A familiar smile came into his ears.A ball of fire appeared above the golem's severed neck, transforming into a familiar face. Mokai. Danshiba's eyes bulged in fear.He finds that he has crossed his boundaries and summoned the ghost too many times.In fact, he hadn't actually let Morkai go back since the last meeting, and he thought that even if he did try to force the ghost back from the physical world, he might not be strong enough to do it.Now he stood outside the protection of the magic circle, his life in the hands of the enemy. "Come on, Dendiba," Morkai smirked, and the arm of the golem he controlled would begin to twist. "Come to this kingdom of death together, where we can slowly discuss your betrayal!" The sound of bones shattering echoed among the stones, and the fireball spewed flames and died out.Both the wizard and the golem fell, lifeless.Far away in the canyon, amidst the half-buried rubble, the flames that burned the dragon's body died out, reduced to smoking ash.Another rock shifted and rolled aside.