Chapter 19 Chapter Sixteen Shallow Grave

When Wulfgar awoke before noon, from the exhausting sleep of the previous night, he was surprised to find that Drizzt was already up and beside him busy packing his pack for the long journey. "Today we begin a new class," Drizzt explained to the barbarian. "We'll go as soon as the food is ready." "where are we going?" "First, we go to the dwarves' mines," Drizzt replied. "Bruno will want to see you, to measure your progress," he said to the tall man. "He won't be disappointed." Wulfgar smiled, confident that his new hammering skills would impress the grumpy dwarf. "and then?"

"Then we go to the town of Tamarin, on the shores of Lake Dürden. I have a friend there. That's one of the few friends I have." He blinked quickly, which won Wulfgar a smile. "His name is Agowa. I wish you could meet some of the people in Ten-Towns so you can judge them fairly." "What am I to judge?" Wulfgar said angrily.The dark elf's deep, penetrating eyes watched him.Wulfgar knew exactly what Drizzt was thinking.The elf tried to get the barbarian to know what he considered his enemies, to show Wulfgar the day-to-day lives of the men, women, and children who might have died if the battle on the hillside had not turned out this way. It's his dead soul.Wulfgar was fearless in any fight, but he was terrified to face those men.Already the young savage was beginning to doubt the character of his warlike race; in the town he would meet the innocent faces of his people who were targeted for burning, and it might break the foundations of the world in him.

The two set off shortly afterwards, retracing the tracks they had previously left on the trail east of the Cairn's Cone.The dusty winds continued to blow from the east, battering them with painful gravel as they passed over the exposed sides of the mountains.However, the scorching sun still caused Drizzt to consume a lot of physical strength, they continued to advance at high speed, and did not stop to rest. In the evening, they finally bypassed a branch in the south of the mountain. Although they were very tired, they were in a good mood. "While hiding in the dwarven mines, I even forgot how brutal the tundra winds are!" Wulfgar laughed.

"We can get some protection under the edge of the valley," Drizzt said.He patted the empty water bag beside him. "Come on, I know where to fill this before I go any further." He led Wulfgar westward, and they were below the southern slope of the mountain.The dark elves knew that there was an icy stream near here, whose water came from the melting snow on the top of Cairn's Cone. The brook seemed to be happily humming a song and dancing across the rocks.Birds cooed nearby, then yelled again as the two of them approached.A lynx slipped away quietly.Everything seemed normal, but Drizzt sensed that something was wrong when they reached a large, flat rock that travelers used to use as their camp.He walked on, trying to find some clues to justify his growing suspicions.

But Wulfgar was on his stomach in no time, eagerly dunking his sweaty and dusty face into the icy water of the stream.When he lifted his head out of the water, his eyes regained their brilliance, as if the cold stream had given him life. But then the savage noticed the crimson marks on the rock at once, and along these blood marks he found a fur on top of a sharp rock in the stream. The elf ranger and the barbarian were skilled trackers, and it was easy for them to see that there had been a battle here.They found that the hair on the skin was a beard, which led them to deduce it to the dwarves as a matter of course.They found the footprints of three giants nearby.Following the direction of the trail, they walked south to a sandy beach and found shallow graves.

"Not Bruno," Drizzt said grimly, examining the two bodies. "These are young dwarves, I suppose Honda son of Hammerfell and Duggas son of Argo Rattleblade." "We must hurry to the mines," Wulfgar suggested. "It won't take us long," said the dark elf. "We need to know more about what happened here. Tonight may be our only chance. Are these giants just passing bandits, or is their lair nearby? Are there other monsters?" "Tell Bruenor first," Wulfgar retorted. "Will tell him," Drizzt said. "But judging from their burying of the bodies, if the three giants are still around as I expect, they may return to this area at night." He directed Wulfgar's eyes to the west, where the sky had already appeared Hongxia. "Ready for battle, barbarian?"

With a sound of determination, Wulfgar took Aegis-fang off his shoulder and patted the adamantine handle with his other hand. "Let's see who plays whom tonight!" They hid behind the ledge to the south of the flat rock and waited for the sun to go down as the evening shadows deepened. They did not wait long, for the subgiants who had killed the dwarves were the first to come out of the cave that day, and they were anxious to find new victims.They strode hard down the hill to the big flat rocks by the stream. Wulfgar was about to rush out, but Drizzt held him back, keeping him from showing his whereabouts.The dark elf also wanted to kill these giants, but he wanted to know the reason why they appeared here first.

"Damn it," one of the giants complained. "Not even a dwarf to be found." "Bad luck," growled another. "This is the last day for us to come out." Its partners looked at it curiously. "Another regiment will arrive tomorrow," the subgiant explained. "Our numbers will be doubled. That's a bunch of disgusting ogres and orcs who should get out. The leader won't let them out again until everything is done again." "Twenty more in that disgusting hole," complained another. "It's going to drive us crazy!"

"Then let's go." The third complained. "There is no prey here, and we have no time to waste." The two adventurers behind the rock wall became nervous reflexively when they heard that they were about to leave. "If we can get to that rock," Wulfgar reasoned, pointing casually at the rock where the giants had ambushed the night before, "we can kill them before we're seen!" He turned anxiously to Drizzt, but He flinched when he saw the dark elf.The lavender eyes burned with a light Wulfgar had never seen before. "There are only three heads," Drizzt said, his voice still on the edge of a fragile calm that could explode at any moment. "We don't need a raid."

Wulfgar didn't know how to deal with the elf's sudden change. "You taught me to take every advantage in battle," he said carefully. "Yes, in combat," Drizzt replied. "But now it's revenge. Let them see us, let them feel the approach of a terrible fate!" When he walked out of the mountain wall, two knives appeared in his thin hands, and his firm steps represented the unshakable promise of death . One of the giants yelled in surprise, and when they saw the dark elf appearing in front of them, they were too frightened to move.Terrified and confused, they formed a defensive line between the boulders.The sub-giants had heard the legends of dark elves, and some dark elves had even joined the army of giants, but Drizzt's sudden appearance still surprised them.

Drizzt enjoyed their nervous twitches, pausing to savor the moment. "What is your purpose?" one of the giants asked cautiously. "Friends of the dwarves," Drizzt replied with an evil smile.When the largest of the giants charged forward without hesitation, Wulfgar jumped beside him.But Drizzt instantly pointed at its weakness, making it afraid to move forward.He said calmly, "You are dead." The sub-giant was immediately surrounded by lavender flames.It yelled in fright and took a step back, but Drizzt followed nimbly. Wulfgar felt an overwhelming urge to throw Aegis' Fang, as if the hammer were acting of its own volition.The war hammer roared across the night sky, hitting the giant standing in the middle, sending its burst body into the overflowing stream. Wulfgar's throw was powerful and deadly, but he was worried about how he would use his remaining knife against the third giant.The giant also discovered this and rushed over frantically.Wulfgar used the knife. But he found that the tooth of Aegis magically returned to his hand automatically.He didn't know that Bruenor had put this special power on the weapon, and he didn't have time to stop and think about it now. The largest giant was terrified, but with nowhere to run, he frantically attacked Drizzt.The monster raised its heavy club aloft, exaggerated by exasperation, and in no time Drizzt thrust the blade through its leather armor and into its bared belly.The giant hesitated only for a moment before continuing its powerful blow, but the nimble dark elf had plenty of time to dodge.Then the attack knocked the giant off balance, and Drizzt stabbed two more small holes in its shoulder and neck. "Are you watching, boy?" the dark elf called delightedly to Wulfgar. "It fought like one of your kind." Wulfgar was busy with the remaining giant, maneuvering Aegis-fang with ease to parry the monster's powerful attack, but he was still able to Glance at the battle beside him.The sight was a grim reminder of the values ​​Drizzt had taught him.For the dark elf was playing with the sub-giant, using its uncontrollable rage against it.The monster struck deadly again and again, but Drizzt was always quick to strike and out of the way.The blood of the subgiant was pouring from more than a dozen wounds, and Wulfgar knew that Drizzt could take care of it at any moment.But he was surprised that the dark elves were enjoying this game of torturing each other. Wulfgar hadn't hit his opponent hard yet, and he waited, as Drizzt had taught him, until the opponent was exhausted.The barbarian saw that the frequency and strength of the giant's attacks had decreased significantly.Finally, the sweaty and heavy-breathing giant staggered, revealing a flaw in its defense.Aegis-fang hammered up immediately, and again and again, the giant fell. The sub-giant that Drizzt fought was already on one knee, and the dark elf nimbly sliced ​​off its hamstring.When Drizzt saw the second giant fall before Wulfgar, he too decided to end the game.The giant swung in vain, and Drizzt slid right into the opening of the swing, and a scimitar stabbed through, but this time with the weight of his entire body on top of it.The blade passed through the giant's neck and went straight to the brain.    Soon, when Drizzt and Wulfgar were resting on one knee and pondering the outcome of the battle, Drizzt suddenly had a question in his mind. "Huh, Hammer?" he asked simply. Wulfgar looked down at Aegis-fang, and shrugged. "I don't know either," he said honestly. "It automatically returned to my hand." Drizzt smiled to himself.he knows.He was thinking how incredible Bruenor's workmanship was, and how much the dwarf must have cared for the boy for giving Wulfgar such a wonderful gift! "There are twenty subgiants here," Wulfgar complained. "And twenty more came," Drizzt added. "Go to Bruno at once," he ordered. "Those three just came out of the den; I shouldn't have trouble finding out where the others are." Wulfgar nodded in agreement, yet he looked at Drizzt with concern.The improbable rage that was hidden in the eyes of the dark elf before attacking the sub-giant disturbed the barbarian, who did not know that the dark elf could be so passionate. "What are you going to do when you find their lair?" Drizzt said nothing, but smiled wickedly, adding to the savage's anxiety. "Meet me here in the morning, and I won't be having fun by myself without you!" "I'll be back before the first light of dawn," Wulfgar replied coldly.He turned and disappeared into the darkness, speeding forward under the starlight. Drizzt set off as well, following in the footsteps of the three giants westward over the mountainside of the Cairn's Cone.At last he heard the giant's muffled voice, and saw the hastily constructed wooden cave door cunningly hidden half way up the rocky knoll. Drizzt waited patiently, then saw a second group of giants emerging from the cave.When the giants went back, the third team came out.The dark elves tried to see if the missing three giants would put the place on alert.But the sub-giants were almost always disobedient and unreliable, and Drizzt confirmed from the snippets of dialogue he heard that the companions the giants assumed to be missing had either lost their way or ran away.When the dark elf left a few hours later to work on his next project, he was sure he could still surprise the giants.    Wulfgar ran all night.He passed the message to Bruno, and started running back before the whole clan could be awakened.His long strides had brought him to the boulder an hour before the first light of dawn, before Drizzt had returned from the giant's lair.He went back behind the stone wall and waited, worrying more and more about the dark elf with each passing second. At last he could bear no more fear, and began to follow the track to the Giant's Cave, determined to find out what had happened.He hadn't gone twenty feet when he was hit on the back of the head by some hand, and he turned reflexively to see who hit him, and his surprise turned to delight when he saw it was Drizzt. Drizzt had arrived shortly after Wulfgar's, but he continued to hide, to see if the impulsive barbarian would trust their pact or act on his own. "Don't doubt the agreement before the time is up." The dark elf scolded severely, and at the same time was very moved by the barbarian's concern for him. Wulfgar had no chance to respond to him, however, for immediately they heard a hoarse, familiar cry. "Give me a giant that screams like a pig butcher!" Bruno led a group of people, standing on the stone and shouting.These enraged dwarves came here with incredible speed.In less than an hour, Bruno's clan was assembled and set off after the barbarian, and they followed the wild speed of the barbarian. "It's good to see you," Drizzt shouted as he walked over to the dwarf.He found Bruenor looking at the bodies of the three sub-giants with grim satisfaction.Fifty dwarves (half their kin) livid and ready for battle surrounded the leader. "Elf," the dwarf greeted with his usual delicacy. "Did you find the nest?" Drizzt nodded. "A mile to the west. But don't make them a priority. They're not going anywhere else, but they're going to have guests here today." "The boy told me," Bruno said. "Twenty reinforcements." He swung his axe. "I don't know why, but they can't get to the hole! Anyone know which way they will go?" "North and east is the only way," Drizzt deduced. "Go down the Icewind Pass from somewhere, and go around the north side of Lake Dinesha. Your people will meet there, and then?" "Of course," Bruno replied, "then they must go down to the gap in the valley." There was a gleam in the corner of his eye. "What are you going to do?" he asked Drizzt. "And the boys?" "He followed me," Drizzt insisted. "He needs to rest. We watch their den." The hungry gleam in Drizzt's eyes gave Bruenor the impression that the dark elf had more on his mind than just looking. "Crazy elf," he whispered. "I guess you want to do them all alone!" He looked curiously at the giant's body again. "And annihilate them!" Then Bruenor watched the two adventurers carefully, trying to see whose weapon killed whom. "Boy take out two," Drizzt answered the dwarf's unspoken question. A rare smile spread across Bruno's face. "Two of them and one of you? Don't lie to me, Elf." "Don't guess," Drizzt retorted. "I just think he needs a little more practice!" Bruenor shook his head, surprised at how proud he was of Wulfgar, but he wouldn't tell the boy, and kept shaking his head. "Don't lie to me!" He shouted again, and then walked back to his own people.The dwarves began to sing an ancient melody that once echoed in their lost homeland of Mithril Hall. Bruenor looked back at his two adventurous friends, and wondered earnestly what would be left in the giant's cave when he returned here with his people.