Chapter 10 Chapter Eight: The Bloody Field

The barbarian troops entered Bremen's Pass before noon.They looked forward to announcing this glorious march with war songs, but they also understood that some degree of secrecy was important if Dippernazen's plans were to be successfully carried out. When Dubner had marched beside King Halfdan, he had been delighted to see the familiar sight of dotted sails on Lake Doulden.He believed it would be a perfect sneak attack, and then he noticed that some of the boats had raised red flags showing fish caught. "The winner gets more," he chuckled.When the Clan of the Bears left the main force for Tamaran, the barbarians had not yet sung their battle songs, yet the smoke and dust would have told an alert observer that something unusual had happened.They went on to Bryn Shander, and when the main city came into view, they shouted their first cheers.

The combined army of the four towns on Lake Doulden hid in the town of Tamarin.Their goal was to strike quickly and hard against the small tribe attacking the town, finish them off in as little time as possible, and then rush to help Bryn Shander, encircling the rest of the enemy army between the two armies.Kemp of Targos commanded the action on this side, but he promised the local speaker, Agwa, that Tamarin would strike first. As Halfdan's army swarmed into the town, the first buildings were set ablaze.Tamarin is second only to Targos in terms of population among the nine fishing villages and towns, but its buildings are scattered irregularly, with many houses extending over a wide area, separated by roads.Its inhabitants are given privacy and room to breathe, giving the town an air of remoteness that obscures its true numbers.Still, Dibner felt that the place was unusually abandoned.He raised his concerns with the barbarian king beside him, but Halfdan assured him that the rats had simply fled and gone into hiding because of the bear's arrival.

"Pull them out of their holes and burn their houses!" yelled the Savage. "Let the fishermen of the lake hear their women's cries, and see the smoke of their burning towns!" But then an arrow struck Halfdan in the chest, pierced deep through his flesh, and pierced his heart.The stunned savage bowed his head in terror and slashed at the still shaking shaft, but before he could utter a final cry, the darkness of death surrounded him on all sides. Agwa of Tamaran silenced the King of the Clan of the Bears forever with his aspen bow.Then Agowa gave the signal to attack, and the troops of the four towns by the lake of Duerden jumped out.

They jumped from the roof of every house, from every alley and street corner.Facing the onslaught of this large group, the bewildered savages realized that the battle would soon be over.Many were killed before their weapons could be drawn. Some battle-experienced invaders formed small bands, but the forces of Ten-Towns, armed with weapons and shields forged by dwarven blacksmiths, soon advanced, fighting for their homeland and loved ones.These fearless defenders cut down many invaders by virtue of their numbers. In a laneway on the edge of Tamarin, Regis hid under a pony cart as two barbarians fled by.The halfling struggled with a personal dilemma; he didn't want to be seen as a coward, but he wasn't about to jump back and fight someone taller than him.When the danger had passed, he circled back to the back of the carriage, trying to think of his next move.

Suddenly a dark-haired man, whom Regis thought was a member of the Ten-Towns militia, entered the lane and saw the halfling.Regis knew his game of peek-a-boo was over and it was time for him to step up. "Two scumbags have gone over there!" he yelled at the dark-haired southerner. "Come on, if we run faster, we can still catch up with them!" Dibner had something else on his mind, however.He was desperate to survive, so he decided to sneak out of the alleyway and appear as a militiaman in another alleyway.He didn't want to leave behind any witnesses to his betrayal.He walked steadily towards Regis, the slender sword ready to strike.

Regis sensed that something was wrong with the approaching man's behavior. "Who are you?" He asked, but he also expected that Fang would not answer.He felt like he knew everyone in the city, but he didn't think he'd seen this person before.He was already suspecting that this was the traitor Drizzt had described to Bruno. "Why haven't I seen you before..." Dibbernazen's sword swung toward the halfling's eyes.Regis was very alert and always careful, so he suddenly turned to the side, but the sword still cut the side of his head, he couldn't hold back his strength, and fell to the ground spinning.With a ruthless and cold-blooded calm, the dark-haired man leaned towards him again.

Regis scrambled to his feet, then began to back away, the attacker advancing.But then he hit the pony cart.Dubner had moved forward with great steps.The halfling had nowhere to run. In desperation Regis drew his ruby ​​pendant from the vest. "Don't kill me," he begged, holding the chain and letting the sparkling gem dance enchantingly. "If you let me go, I'll give you this, and I'll tell you where there are more!" Dibner hesitated a little while looking at the gem, encouraging Regis. "Of course, it's beautifully cut and worth all the treasures of a dragon!"

Dippertner's sword was still in front of him, but Regis was counting the seconds the dark-haired man hadn't blinked.The halfling's left hand began to stabilize, while the right hand hidden behind his back tightly held the small but heavy mace that Bruno had tailored for him. "Come on, take a closer look," Regis suggested softly.Dibner had been so captivated by the magic of the Shining Gem that he bent down to see its alluring brilliance. "It's not really fair," Regis lamented aloud, believing that by this point Dibner would not have heard anything he had to say.He slammed the spikes from the mace into the back of Dippernazen's head.Seeing the results of his ruse, Regis shrugged absently.He simply did what had to be done.

The sound of fighting on the street was getting closer and closer to the alley where he was hiding, awakening his meditation.Once again the halfling acted on instinct.He crawled under the body of the dead foe, and struggled underneath, making it look as though he were under the man's weight.When he checked out Dibner's initial blow, he was glad his ear was still there.He wished the sight of him dying, wounded so badly, seemed more believable.    The main force of the barbarians had reached the long, low hill to Bryn Shander, not knowing what had happened to their comrades in Tamarin.Here they parted again, with Heafstar leading the elk tribe to encircle the east side of the hill, and Biog leading the rest straight to the walled city.Now they sang the battle hymn, hoping to further intimidate the terrified people of Ten-Towns.

But the scene behind the walls of Bryn Shander was not what the barbarians imagined.The army of the city itself and the reinforcements of the towns of Kekkoni and Cadineva were all ready with bows and spears and barrels of hot oil. In the sharp irony of the situation, the Elk tribe, who could not see what was happening before the city wall, heard the first scream of death on the hill, and shouted loudly, thinking that the dead must be the unprepared people of Ten Towns.A few seconds later, after Heafstad led his men around the easternmost point of the hill, disaster struck them too.The armies of Meadtown and Dougan's Hole waited, and the barbarians were forced to retreat before they could figure out what was attacking them.

After an initial moment of confusion, however, Heafstar regained control of the situation.These fighters have experienced many battles and do not know what fear is.Even with the damage in the initial attack, they were still outnumbered by the army in sight, and Heafstar was sure he could deal with the fishermen quickly and get his men into position. Next, the troops of the Eastern Exile rushed down the Eastern Road clamoring, advancing on the left flank of the barbarians.Heafstad remained unmoved.But just after ordering the troops to change their formation to resist this batch of new enemies, another ninety battle-hardened dwarves wearing heavy armor came from behind.These fierce dwarves formed a wedge with Bruenor at the tip.They charged into the elk tribe, cutting down the savages like a low-swinged scythe through tall grass. The barbarians fought valiantly, and many of the fishermen of Ten-Towns fell on the eastern slopes of Bryn Shander.But the enemy was more numerous than the elk tribe, and surrounded on several sides, the barbarians shed much more blood than the enemy.Heafstar frantically tried to regroup his men, but entire formations and ranks crumbled around him.It was the day of his greatest fear and humiliation as the barbarian king learned that if they did not fight their way through the siege to the safety of the tundra, all his warriors would die in this field . Heafstar himself was never defeated in battle, and he led the way out.He bypassed the dwarf army with as many warriors as he could muster, seeking a way between the dwarves and the army of the Eastern Exiles.Most of the Horde was felled by Bruenor's men, but some rushed out, heading for the Cairne's cone. Heafstad made his way through the Iron Wall, killing two dwarves as he passed, but the gigantic king was suddenly engulfed in an impenetrable sphere of utter darkness.He lowered his head and rushed over, returning to the light, only to find himself facing a dark elf.    There will be seven more marks on Bruno's ax handle, and he is now facing the eighth enemy today, that is a tall and slender barbarian youth, young enough to have no stubble on his tanned face, but very Experienced to carry the elk tribal banner.Bruno wondered curiously about the appealing gaze and calm face as he charged at the young man.He was surprised not to find in the young man's face the brutal flame of a savage's bloodlust, but instead saw a wary and understanding depth.It pained the dwarf to find himself killing such a young and extraordinary man, and his pity made him hesitate when the two fought. However, this young man was as fierce and fearless as his race was born, and Bruno's hesitation gave him the opportunity to strike first.With deadly precision he struck his enemy's head with the pole of the standard, which snapped in two.The surprisingly powerful attack dented Bruenor's helmet and sent Bruenor bouncing.Yet he was as hard and tenacious as the rock he had mined, and Bruenor put his hands on his hips and stared at the young barbarian, whose weapon almost fell to the ground in overwhelmed amazement that the dwarf hadn't fallen. "Stupid boy," Bruno growled as he slashed at the young man's leg.Didn't anyone ever tell you not to hit a dwarf on the head? ’ The young man tried to stand up again, but Bruno hit him in the face with the iron shield. "The eighth!" cried the dwarf, as he ran away for the ninth.But he glanced back, shaking his head at the waste of such a tall and strong young man, with intelligent eyes that could match martial arts, a rare combination among the wild and fierce natives of Icewind Dale.    When Heafstar found out that his new opponent was a dark elf, his anger redoubled. "A dog of sorcery!" he roared, raising his gigantic ax high into the air. As he spoke, Drizzt flicked his fingers, and a purple flame burned from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.Heafstar growled in terror of the magical flames, which didn't actually burn his skin.Drizzt rushed forward, his scimitar whistling, constantly crossing high and low, and the barbarian king could not block two elusive knives at the same time. Blood dripped from the wound, but Heafsta seemed to shake off the cuts from the scimitars with a flick, as if they were only slightly uncomfortable for him.The big ax swung down, and although Drizzt blocked the blow, his arm went numb.The barbarian swung his ax again.Drizzt spun to avoid the deadly blow, but Heafstad lost his balance and fell a few steps, giving Drizzt a chance to fight back.Without hesitation, Drizzt slashed one of his knives deep into the barbarian's side. Howling in pain, Heafstar backhanded the dark elf.Drizzt thought the blow he had thrown was deadly, but the blunt side of Heafstad's ax caught him in the ribs and sent him flying.He was extremely surprised by the barbarian king's tenacity.The savage rushed at once to kill the dangerous foe before he could gain a foothold. But Drizzt was as quick as a cat.After rolling in the air, he landed on the ground, and met him with another scimitar that he held firmly.Heafstad's ax was still held helplessly above his head, and the startled savage couldn't stop before his belly sliced ​​the point.He glared at the dark elf, and struck down with the axe.Drizzt had already confirmed the savage's superhuman strength, and he took defensive action.He stabbed under the first with the second knife, slicing across Heafsta's lower abdomen. Heafstad's ax fell limply to the ground, and he clutched at the wound to keep his stomach from spurting blood.His huge head hung from side to side, and it felt like the world was spinning and he was sinking endlessly. Ignoring the pursuit of the dwarves behind, several barbarians rushed over desperately and caught the barbarian king before he fell to the ground.They desperately wanted to protect King Heafstad, two of them picked him up and carried him away, while the other two faced the dwarves swarming like a tide. Although they knew that doing so would surely kill them, their wish Just give your comrades enough time to bring the king of the clan to safety. Drizzt rolled away from the savages, then jumped to his feet, trying to go after the two men carrying Heafstad.He had an ominous feeling that the terrible barbarian could live even with such a wound, and he decided to get the job done.But when he stood up, he also began to feel dizzy.The side of his cloak was stained with his own blood, and he suddenly found himself out of breath.The midday glare of the sun burned in his night-fit eyes, and he was drenched in sweat. Drizzt fell into the darkness.    The three armies waiting in Bryn Shandri quickly killed the first line of invaders, and then drove the rest of the barbarians halfway up the mountainside.Fearless, the valiant savages, thinking that time would give them the advantage, regrouped around King Biog, and began walking steadily and cautiously towards the city. When the savages heard that men were charging up the east slope, they assumed that Heafstad had finished his battle there, knew that there was resistance at the front gate of the city, and came back to help them attack the city.Then Biog saw the Horde fleeing north to the Icewind Pass, the road across from the Bremen Pass, between Lake Dinesha and west of the Cone of Cairn.The leader of the clan of wolves knows his men are in trouble.Since he declared that the point of his spear would pass through anyone who dared to question his order, he ordered the men around him to charge in the opposite direction without explanation, hoping to reunite with Halfdan and the bear tribe. Together, rescue as many of his men as possible. Before he had fully turned the army around, he found Kemp and the four towns of Lake Dürden behind him, and the huge army had hardly lost at Tamarin.The army of Bryn Shander, Kekkoni, and Cadineva came out of the walls, and Bruenor came around the hill with the dwarves and the other three armies of Ten-Towns. Biog ordered his men to form a tight circle. "Tampus is watching!" he shouted to the men. "Make him proud of his people!" Nearly eight hundred savages remained, and they fought on in the belief that their gods would bless them.They held on for almost an hour, singing battle songs and watching their comrades fall, but then the lines were breached and melee broke out. Less than fifty people escaped alive.    As the fighting drew to a close, the exhausted warriors of Ten-Towns began to count the casualties.More than 500 of their companions were killed, and more than 200 more were seriously injured and dying.Yet it was not a great loss compared with the two thousand savages who died on the streets of Tamarin and on the slopes of Bryn Shander. Many heroes appeared that day. Although Bruno was eager to return to the battlefield to the east to find his missing comrades, he couldn't help but stop when he saw the last man who was honorably carried up the slope of Bryn Shander. down. "Glutton?" said the dwarf in surprise. "My name is Regis," the halfling retorted from above, crossing his hands proudly across his chest. "Pay your respects, good dwarf," said one of those carrying Regis. "In a battle, Regis, the spokesperson of Lonewood Town, killed the traitor who was leading the way for the enemy, but he himself was seriously injured!" When the parade passed, Bruno smiled and said contemptuously: "I bet there must be many details left in this story!" He said to his friends who were laughing around him. "Otherwise, I'm a bearded dwarf!"    Kemp of Targos and one of his lieutenants were the first to reach Drizzt Do'Urden as he fell to the ground.Kemp stomped on the drow with the toe of his bloodstained shoe, and heard a vague groan in response. "He's alive," Kemp told the deputy with a smile. "What a pity." He kicked the seriously injured dark elf again, this time more enthusiastically.The other smiled and agreed, and raised his foot to join in the fun. Suddenly, a gauntleted fist struck Kemp in the waist, sending the speaker flying over Drizzt and down the slope.His deputy turned just in time for Bruno's second punch to hit him directly in the face. "Try it yourself!" growled the irate dwarf as he felt the man's nose smashed by him. Bryn Shander's Cassius saw this from the top of the hill, yelled angrily and ran down the hill towards Bruenor. "Someone should teach you some diplomatic etiquette!" he scolded. "Stand there and don't come, you son of a swamp pig!" was Bruno's threatening response. "Dirty you owe this black elf your life and your home!" He yelled at everyone who could hear him, "You treat him like a villain!" "Talk to me carefully, dwarf!" Cassius retorted, tentatively grasping the hilt of his sword.The dwarves lined up before the leader, and Cassius's men gathered around him. Then a third voice came clearly. "Be careful yourself, Cassius!" Agwa of Tamaran warned. "If I had the courage of a dwarf, I would do the same to Kemp!" He pointed north. "The sky is clear," he shouted, "but if there were no Dark Elves, there would be smoke from the burning of Tamaran now!" The spokesman for Tamaran walked with his companions to join Bruenor's line.The two gently lifted Drizzt off the ground. "Don't worry about your friend, brave dwarf," said Agwa. "He will be cared for in our town. Neither I nor Tamaran will judge him by the color of his skin or the reputation of their race!" Cassius' anger exploded. "Tell your soldiers to get the hell out of Bryn Shander!" he yelled at Agovar, but it was an ineffective threat, since Tamaran's men had already left. Satisfied with the safety of the dark elves, Bruenor and his people set out to find the rest of their companions on the battlefield. "I'm not going to forget this!!" Kemp yelled at him from the bottom of the hill. Bruenor spat at Targos's speaker and moved on. The alliance of Ten Towns crumbled when the common enemy fell. end All around the hill, the fishermen of Ten-Towns walked among the fallen enemies, plundering what little they had of their possessions, and driving their swords into the unfortunates who were still alive. But there was a tinge of pity amidst the bloody spectacle.A mead townsman turned a limp, unconscious young barbarian onto his back, ready to end his life with a dagger.Bruenor came to them and recognized the boy as the standard-bearer who had dented his helmet, so he told the fisherman not to stab yet. "Don't kill him. He's only a little boy, and he must have no idea what he's doing with his people." "Fuck you!" said the fisherman angrily. "Then let me ask you, will these bitches have mercy on our child? One of his feet is already in the grave." "I'll say it again, you don't touch him!" growled Bruenor, his ax thumping impatiently on his shield. "I am very persistent!" The fisherman yelled back, but he had seen Bruenor in battle and knew he'd better leave him alone.He sighed bitterly, and left to find other unprotected victims. The boy rolled over on the grass and moaned. "So you're not dead yet!" Bruno said.He knelt by the teenager's head, grabbed his hair and pulled it up, looking into his eyes, "Listen to me, boy. I'm here to save your life, and I don't quite know why , but don't think you've been forgiven by the people of Ten-Towns. I want you to see the tragic results your people have brought. Maybe you have the killing factor in your blood, and if that's the case, then let those The fisherman's knife is here to finish you off! But I feel you are different, and you'll have time to prove it to me." He continued: "You will serve me and my people in our mines for five years until you prove yourself worthy of life and liberty." Bruno saw that the boy had passed out again. "Then never mind," he murmured. "You listen to me before you do all this, don't doubt!" He put the Savage's head back on the grass, gently. People who saw this were quite surprised, but no one really knew what they saw.Not even Bruenor himself, no matter how he guessed, could have foreseen that this boy, Wulfgar, would be the man who would change the history of the tundra.    Far to the south, on a great road between the towering peaks of the Spine of the World, Akar Kessell relaxed in the leisurely life that Crinshinibon offered.His goblin slaves had brought another girl from the caravan to play with, but now something else caught his attention.Smoke rose in the sky in the direction of Ten Towns. "Savage," Kessell guessed.He had heard rumors of a union of the tribes when he was in the Eastern Exiles with the wizards of Luskan.But it's none of his business, why should it be his business?He now has everything he wants in this magic crystal tower, and he doesn't want to go anywhere else. In his own will, there is no other desire. Crenshinibon is an artifact that comes to life through its own magic.And part of its life is conquest and control.The Crystal Shard isn't content to stay on an isolated mountain, where the only servants are lowly goblins.It wants more, it wants power. When Kessell saw the Pillar of Smoke, his subconscious memory of Ten-Towns aroused the desire for the Crystal Shard, so it hinted at Kessell with its power. A sudden sight captured Kessell's deepest need.He saw himself sitting on Bryn Shander's throne, possessed of immeasurable wealth, revered by his entire court.He imagined how the mages in the sorcerer's tower in Luskan would react when they heard that Akar Kessell had become ruler of Ten-Towns and Icewind Dale?Especially Eldruk and Dandiba.Will they offer him a robe then? Although Kessell was content with his current life of leisure, the idea appealed to him.He continued to fantasize, looking for a way to achieve his ambition. He ruled out ruling the fishermen as he ruled the goblin tribe, because even the dumbest goblins had resisted his mighty willpower for a while.When the goblins leave the power range of the tower, they regain the ability to determine their own actions and flee to the mountains.No, this simple law of governance cannot possibly be effective for human beings. Kessell considered whether to use the powerful power he felt in the Magic Crystal Tower, which was more destructive than anything he had ever heard, even the Wizard's Tower.This can be helpful, but it's not enough.Even the power of the broken magic crystal is limited, and it is necessary to absorb new power in the sun to replenish the consumed energy.Besides, the people in Ten Towns were too many and too scattered to be controlled by a single force, and Kessell didn't want to destroy all of them.Goblins are all well and good, but a wizard wants real people to bow down before him, like the ones who've been tormenting him throughout his life. In his life before he got the Crystal Shard. Finally, his thinking reached an inevitable conclusion.He needs an army. He thought of the goblins he manipulated now, who would blindly grant their every wish, and even gladly die for themselves (in fact, some have done so), but there were not enough of them to occupy the vast three a lake area. Then the Crystal Shard quietly gave the wizard an evil idea again. "In these vast and rugged mountains," cried Kessell, "how many caves and caverns are there? How many goblins, ogres, even trolls and giants live here?" Visions began to take shape.He saw himself at the head of an army of goblins and giants, sweeping across the plain, no one could stop, no one could resist. People will tremble because of him! He leaned back on the soft pillow and called for a new maid.He had a new game in his mind, which he had dreamed about in a strange dream before; make her beg, sob, and finally let her die.The wizard knew he would carefully consider the possibility of becoming Lord of Ten Towns.But there was no rush; he had plenty of time.The goblin could always help him find another plaything. Clinshinibon also seemed calm.It planted a seed in Kessell's heart that it knew would grow into a plan to conquer Ten-Towns.But like Kessell, there's no need to rush it. The Crystal Smasher waited 10,000 years before returning to the world to see this opportunity to regain power.It can wait.