Chapter 15 Chapter 12 Gifts

Wulfgar sat high on the northern face of Brunor's Rock, his eyes fixed on the great rocky valley below, looking intently for signs that the dwarves had returned.Often the barbarian came here alone, with his thoughts and the moaning of the wind.Directly ahead of him across the Valley of the Dwarves lay the Cone of Cairn and the northern half of Lake Denishia.Between them is a narrow flat land known as the Icewind Pass, which leads to the northeast and to the open plains. For the savage, the road led to his homeland. Bruenor had said he would be away for a few days, and at first Wulfgar was glad to have a break from the dwarves' incessant nagging and criticism.But then he found that his happiness didn't last long.

"Are you worried about Bruno?" came a word from behind him.He knew it was Catti-brie without turning around. He didn't answer the question, he figured she was just asking, and she wouldn't believe him if he denied it. "He'll be back," said Catti-brie, shrugging. "Bruno is as tenacious as a rock, and nothing in the tundra can stop him." Now the young barbarian really turned to the girl.Long ago, when some pleasant trust had developed between Bruenor and Wulfgar, the dwarf had introduced his "daughter" to Wulfgar, a human woman the same age as the young barbarian.

She was a quiet girl on the surface, but Wulfgar felt that she rarely met such a woman because of her fiery and lively nature.Barbarian girls are brought up to keep their thoughts to themselves, things that are unimportant to men.Like her father, Catti-brie speaks up when she has something to say, and tells her feelings frankly, leaving no room for doubt.She and Wulfgar often had violent verbal arguments, but Wulfgar was still happy to have a partner of his own age, and she would not look down on him because of her life experience. Catti-brie helped him through a lot during his first year as a slave, and treated him with respect when he had nothing (although the two of them rarely see eye to eye).Wulfgar even felt that she had indirectly influenced Bruenor's decision to take him on as his pupil.

She was his age, but in many ways Catti-brie seemed older than he was, and she had an inner quality of grit that allowed her to keep her emotions in check.But in other ways, Catti-brie was always a child, like walking and jumping.This unique balance of liveliness and quietness, poise and uninhibited joy fascinated Wulfgar, and made him tense every time he spoke to the girl. Of course, there were other feelings that put Wulfgar at a disadvantage against Catti-brie.There was no denying that she was very beautiful, with thick brown hair thrown to her shoulders, and piercing eyes of an impossibly deep blue that could see through everything and make any suitor blush when they gazed at it.Besides, there was something more than physical charm that attracted Wulfgar.Catti-brie was a girl he had never met before, and her behavior did not fit the role Wulfgar had been taught on the tundra as a woman.He wasn't sure he liked a woman's independence.But he couldn't deny that he was strongly attracted to her.

"You come here often, don't you?" Catti-brie asked. "What are you looking for?" Wulfgar shrugged.He himself didn't know the answer very clearly. "Is it your hometown?" "Yes. There are things other women don't understand." Catti-brie smiled, brushing off the casual insult. "Then you teach me." She pressed him, with some irony in her tone. "Perhaps my ignorance can bring you some fresh perspective on these matters." She jumped off the rock, skirted the Savage, and sat down on the ledge beside him. Wulfgar marveled at her graceful movements.Just as her personality is a unique blend that is as magnetic as it gets, her physique also feels like a mystery.She was tall and thin, and all her movements were quick and light, but she had been brought up in a dwarven pit and was used to heavy work.

"I'm looking for adventures and vows that haven't been fulfilled." Wulfgar said mysteriously, maybe he wanted to impress this girl more, but it was more to stick to his idea: there are some things that women should care about , and some do not. "You will keep your vow," reasoned Catti-brie, "if you have the chance." Wulfgar nodded gravely. "This is the tradition of our people, the burden that was placed on me when my father was killed. That day will come..." He whispered more and more, and then he looked back longingly beyond the cone of Cairn The vast and empty tundra over there.

Catti-brie shook her head, her brown hair bouncing around her shoulders.She saw through Wulfgar's mysterious appearance, and learned that he intended to take dangerous, even suicidal actions for the sake of his supposed honor. "I don't see what compels you to do these things. I hope your adventure goes well, but if you're doing it for reasons that are only your own, you're wasting your life." "What honor does a woman know?" Wulfgar retorted angrily. But Catti-brie was not intimidated, nor did she back down. "Do you think you're in control just because you have something in your crotch?"

Wulfgar turned away his blushing face, unable to accept that a girl would say such a thing. "Besides," Catti-brie continued, "you can tell me why you're here today. I know you're worried about Bruno, you can't deny it." "You only know what you want to know!" "You really look like him," Catti-brie said suddenly, changing the subject and ignoring Wulfgar's comment. "You're more like that dwarf than you'd like to admit!" she laughed. "Both are stubborn, both are pompous, and neither is willing to admit their feelings for the other. Say what you will, Wulfgar of Icewind Dale. You may lie to me, but to yourself... That's another story!" She sprang up from her seat, then off the rock and ran to the dwarf's mine.

Wulfgar watched her go, annoyed as he was, at her swaying hips and graceful steps with admiration.He couldn't stop thinking about why he was so crazy about Catti-brie. He knew that if he thought about it, he would, as usual, find her observations to be on point.    Drizzt Do'Urden had patiently guarded his unconscious friend for two full days.Although he was worried about Bruenor and curious about the magical war hammer, the dark elf politely kept his distance from the secret forge. Finally, at the dawn of the third day, Bruno moved and straightened his body.Drizzt walked away quietly, descending the path he knew the dwarf would take.He found a suitable space and hastily pitched his tent.

At first, the sunlight was just a blur to Bruno, and it took him several minutes to readjust to his surroundings.Then he focused his gaze on the gleaming hammer. He looked around quickly, looking for signs of diamond dust falling on the ground.He didn't find it, and his expectations grew higher.He trembled again as he raised the awesome weapon, turning it upside down in his hands, feeling its perfect balance and incredible strength.When he saw the symbols of the three gods on the mithril, he breathed a sigh of relief.Diamond dust magically melts into those deeply etched lines.Bruno was delighted that his work was so perfect, and he began to understand what his father called the emptiness.He knew he would never be able to make anything as good again, and he wondered if he would be able to lift the hammer again under the circumstances.

The dwarf tried to sort out his confused thoughts, and he put the hammer and chisel back into the box again, and put the scroll in the tube, though the writing on the parchment was gone and would never reappear.He suddenly realized that he hadn't eaten for several days, and his strength had been sucked away by magic, and he hadn't recovered yet.He packed what he could still carry on his back, slung the great hammer on his shoulders, and trudged home. The smell of roasting rabbit welcomed him as he came near Drizzt Do'Urden's tent. "You're back from your trip?" he called out to his friend. Drizzt's eyes were fixed on the dwarf's, not wanting to show that he was too curious about the hammer. "About your question, good dwarf," he said, bowing deeply. "You must have sent a lot of people looking for me to think I'd come back." Bruno acknowledged the claim, but now he just replied absent-mindedly, "I need you." Now that the food is in the air, he has more pressing needs. Drizzt smiled knowingly.He had already eaten it himself, and he had caught this rabbit to roast especially for Bruno. "Shall we eat together?" he asked Bruno. Before he could finish, Bruno rushed eagerly to the rabbit.He stopped suddenly, however, and turned to the dark elf suspiciously. "How long have you been here?" the dwarf asked nervously. "Just arrived this morning," Drizzt lied to him, hoping to maintain respect for the dwarf's privacy during this particular ceremony.Bruenor smirked at the answer, and tore the other rabbit apart as Drizzt put the other rabbit on the fork. The dark elf waited until the dwarf was engrossed in the feast before quickly grasping the hammer.By the time Bruenor reacted, Drizzt had held it up. "Too big for a dwarf," Drizzt said casually. "And it's too heavy for my thin arms." He looked at Bruno, who was stamping impatiently with his hands folded on his chest. "And who will you give it to?" "You have a talent for meddling in other people's business, Elf," replied the dwarf roughly. Drizzt answered him with a smile. "Are you going to Wulfgar?" he asked in mock disbelief.He knew that the dwarf harbored strong feelings for the young barbarian, though he also knew that Bruenor would never admit it openly. "A fine weapon for a barbarian. Did you make it yourself?" Drizzt was genuinely in awe of Bruenor's technique, if his nagging was not to be considered.Although Drizzt felt the hammer was too heavy to use, he could still feel its incredible sense of balance. "It's just an old hammer, nothing," Bruno murmured. "The boy's stick is gone; I can't let him run about in this wild place without a weapon!" "Its name is?" "Aegis Fang: Aegis Fang: Bruenor's life's crowning masterpiece, a magic hammer to be wielded by Wulfgar in the future.," Bruenor replied without thinking.Before he had time to think of the name, the name came to him automatically.He doesn't remember it anymore, but when he chanted the magic incantation during the ritual, it decided the weapon's name. "I understand," said Drizzt, taking the hammer back to Bruenor. "It's an old hammer, but good enough for that boy. Mithril and adamantium and diamonds are just an old hammer." "Shut up!" Bruno snapped, his face flushed with embarrassment.Drizzt bowed and apologized. "Why do you need me, friend?" the dark elf asked, changing the subject. Bruno cleared his throat. "That kid," he said softly.Drizzt saw a lump in Bruenor's throat, holding him back from his next mocking words. "He was free in winter," Bruno went on, "and he hasn't been trained well. He's stronger than anyone I've ever seen, and he's as light as a running deer. The method is still very jerky." "Do you want me to train him?" Drizzt asked incredulously. "Yes, I can't do it!" Bruno exclaimed suddenly. "He's seven feet tall, he can't imitate a dwarf's foot cut!" The dark elf looked at his frustrated companion curiously.Like others close to Bruenor, he knew that there had been a close relationship between the dwarf and the young barbarian, but he could not guess how close. "I don't want to be with him for five years, only to have him killed by a stinking tundra snow ape!" It was also nerve-wracking to guess what he wasn't supposed to know. "Are you doing it or not?" Drizzt smiled again, but this time without sarcasm.He remembered fighting the tundra snow apes five years ago.It wasn't the first time Bruenor had saved his life that day, and it probably wouldn't be the last time he owed the dwarf a favor. "The gods know I owe you, friend. Of course I will train him." Bruno purred and grabbed a second rabbit.    The sound of Wulfgar's hammering echoed across the dwarf's hall.Exasperated by the revelations during his discussions with Catti-brie, he returns here to work like hell. "Stop your hammer, boy," came a gruff voice behind him.Wulfgar turned on the spot.He was so absorbed in his work that he didn't notice that Bruno had entered.A casual smile appeared on his face out of relief.But he immediately covered up this weakness and resumed his serious expression. Bruno admired the young barbarian's enormous height, muscular figure, and ragged blond beard just growing on the golden skin of his face. "I can't call you boy anymore," said the dwarf. "Call me what you please," Wulfgar retorted. "I am your slave." "Your heart is as wild as a tundra," Bruno said with a smile. "You have never been and will never be a slave to any human or dwarf!" Wulfgar's defenses crumbled at the compliment, which was unlikely to come from the mouth of a dwarf.He wanted to answer, but didn't know what to say. "I never considered you a slave, boy," Bruno continued. "You worked under me to pay for the sins of your people, and I taught you much in return. Put down your hammer now." He paused to reflect on Wulfgar's fine handiwork. "You are a good blacksmith with a keen sense for stone, but you do not belong in the mines of the dwarves. Now is the time for you to feel the sun on your face again." "Are you going to set me free?" Wulfgar said softly. "There's no door!" Bruno snapped.Pointing at the savage with his stubby finger, he growled menacingly, "Don't forget, you'll be mine until the last day of autumn!" Wulfgar bit his lip to keep from laughing.As usual, the clumsy mixture of dwarven compassion and anger confused him again, and made him uneasy.However, this was no longer a shock to him.Four years of being with Bruno had made him anticipate this outburst of anger and ignore it. "Quickly end what you're doing here," Bruno instructed. "I'll take you to see the master tomorrow morning, and you have to obey him as you obey me!" Wulfgar could not bear the thought of being another man's slave, but he had to accept unconditionally the five years and one day of obedience to Bruenor, and he would not humiliate himself by breaking the oath.So he nodded. "I won't keep my eye on you," Bruno continued, "so I want you to swear now that you will never again take up arms against a single resident of Ten-Towns." Wulfgar stood firm. "I won't do that," he replied forcefully. "When my period of obligation to you is over, I will leave here completely free to do whatever I like!" "Fair enough," Bruno agreed.Wulfgar's stubborn ego increased the dwarves' respect for him.He paused to examine the proud young warrior, and found himself relieved at the role he had played in Wulfgar's upbringing. "You hit me on the head with your stinky flagpole and broke it." Bruno began to say with some hesitation.He cleared his throat.This last step in the matter made the tough dwarf uncomfortable.He wasn't sure he could do it without showing emotion or stupidity. "When your agreement with me expires, it will be winter. I can't let you go out into the wilderness without a weapon." He quickly walked back to the aisle and brought the warhammer. "Aegis' Fang," he said gruffly as he tossed the hammer to Wulfgar. "I will not impose any restrictions on your will, but for the sake of my conscience, I hope you can swear that you will never harm any residents of Ten-Towns!" As Wulfgar's hand approached the adamantine handle, Wulfgar felt the value of the enchanted hammer.Mysterious words filled with diamonds caught the glow from the forge, and reflected countless dancing lights that filled the room.The barbarians of Wulfgar's tribe are always proud of the fine weaponry they possess, and will even judge a man's worth by the quality of the sword and spear he wields.But Wulfgar had never seen a weapon as finely crafted and powerful as the Fang of Aegis.He told himself right away that he would pray to them all night for such a wonderful reward from Fate.They deserve his thanks. So did Bruno. "I swear." Wulfgar stuttered, overwhelmed by the terrific gift, speechless.He managed to calm himself before he could continue, but by the time he could look away from the hammer, Bruenor was gone. The dwarf stomped along the long corridor back to his room, muttering to himself, cursing himself for being weak.He hoped not to meet his kindred.He looked around cautiously, then wiped his wet gray eyes.