Chapter 22 Chapter 19 Bad News

Drizzt walked slowly past the tunnel and the giant's corpse, slowing only so he could grab another piece of roast mutton from the great table.He crossed the supporting posts and walked down the dark corridor, trying to assuage his longing with his common sense.If the giants hid their treasure there, the room where the treasure was kept must be hidden behind a secret door.Or there are some monsters guarding, but it is unlikely to be giants, because if they are giants, they have probably joined the battle. The tunnel was so long that it led straight to the north, and Drizzt remembered that he was walking under the tall cone of Cairn.He passed the last torch, but he was glad to see the darkness.He had spent most of his life in the lightless underground tunnels of their race, and his eyes guided him more accurately in the dark than in the light.

The passage suddenly came to an end, and at the bottom of the road was a fence gate sealed with iron, with iron chains and large locks wrapped around the metal bolt.Drizzt felt a sudden pang of guilt for leaving Wulfgar behind.Dark elves have two weaknesses: first, their insane thirst for battle; and second, their excitement about loot.It wasn't gold, silver or gems that attracted Drizzt, he cared little for wealth, and rarely kept the treasures he won.The real reason is simple, because he might find some magical items that have been unknown for a long time among those treasures, or a magic book left by a powerful ancient wizard.

When he took out a small lockpick from his fanny pack, his guilt was instantly swept away.He has never been formally trained in the art of thieving, but he is as agile and coordinated as any master thief.With sensitive fingers and precise hearing, he wasn't bothered by the clumsy lock.After a few seconds, it was opened.Drizzt listened carefully for sounds behind the door.He heard nothing, so gently lifted the deadbolt aside, listened again, then drew one of the cutlasses, and, holding his breath, pushed the door open. He let out a disappointed sigh as he regained his breath.The room behind the door was lit only by two feeble torches.The room was small and empty except for a large metal-framed mirror in the center of the room.Drizzt deliberately avoided the front of the mirror, because he was well aware of the magical qualities attached to such things, and then moved closer to examine it in more detail.

The mirror was about half a person's height, but because it was supported by a finely cast iron mirror stand, the top was about eye level.The fact that the mirror was lined with silver and hidden in such an unusual room made Drizzt believe it must be more than just an ordinary mirror.But no matter how carefully he observed it, there was still no mysterious writing or any symbols on it that revealed its magical qualities. Drizzt couldn't find anything out of the ordinary, so he walked cautiously to the mirror.Suddenly a puff of pink smoke began to swirl in the mirror, and a three-dimensional image appeared in the plane of the mirror.Drizzt jumped aside, more curious than frightened, watching the growing scene.

The fog was getting thicker, as if it came from a hidden flame somewhere.Then quickly formed a clear human face in its center, a haggard and gaunt face, painted in the traditional custom of some cities in the South. "Why are you bothering me?" the face asked to the empty room before the mirror.Drizzt took another step aside, further out of sight of the ghost.He had considered meeting this mysterious mage.But he also thought that if he made such a reckless face, the stakes his friends would have to pay were too high. "Stand before me, Billing!" the vision commanded.It waited for several seconds, sneered impatiently, and gradually became more and more nervous. "If I ever find out that one of you idiots summoned me, I'll turn you into a rabbit and throw you into a wolf's den!" the image yelled frantically.The mirror flickered for a moment, then returned to its original state.

Drizzt scratched his cheek, wondering what he could do here, what he could find.He concluded that the risk was too great at this point.    When Drizzt turned back through the cavern, he found Wulfgar and Guenhwyvar sitting in the main passage not a few yards from the barred door.The Savage was stroking the leopard's muscular shoulders and neck. "I think Guenhyvar has won your friendship," Drizzt said as he approached. Wulfgar smiled. "He's a good comrade," he said, shaking the leopard playfully. "A real fighter, too!" He started to get up, but a sudden jolt from the ground sent him falling backwards.

The entire cave was shaken, the huge stones shot by the projector smashed open the heavy doors of the cave, and the wooden planks shattered and flew inward.One of the doors had been knocked neatly in half, and the upper pivot of the other door had been knocked off, leaving the door hanging ugly from the lower pivot. Drizzt drew his scimitar and stood in front of Wulfgar to protect him as he tried to gain his footing. A bearded warrior leapt to the overhanging door, holding a buckler painted with a glass of bubbling ale in one hand, and a battle-axe full of cuts and blood in the other. "Come out and play, giant," Bruenor yelled, pounding the ax on the shield, as if their clan hadn't made this cave noisy enough!

"Relax, furious dwarf," said Drizzt, laughing. "The sub-giants are dead." Bruno glanced at his friends, then bounded into the tunnel, followed by their rowdy clansmen. "Dead!" cried the dwarf. "Fuck you, elf, I knew you'd leave all the giants to play for yourself!" "What about the reinforcements?" Wulfgar asked. Bruno smiled mischievously. "Have some faith in you, boy. They're piled in a big hole now, and it's too cheap to bury them! There's only one left alive, and that's a poor goblin whose breath lasts only as long as he's still shaking." When you smell your tongue!"

After the incident with the mirror, Drizzt became interested in interrogating the orc. "Have you interrogated it?" "It is silent now," replied the dwarf. "But I have some ways to make it scream!" Drizzt knew better.Orcs are not loyal creatures, but under the power of a wizard, the techniques of torture are usually of little use.They needed something to break the magic, and Drizzt suddenly remembered something that would help. "Go to Regis," he told Bruenor. "Halflings can make half-orcs tell us everything we want to know." "Torture is more interesting," Bruno said reluctantly.But he also knew that the dark elf's advice was wiser.He was very curious and worried about how so many giants fought side by side.Now there are still half-orcs with them...

   Drizzt and Wulfgar sat on the other side of the small room, within reach of Bruenor and the other two dwarves.One of Bruenor's subordinates had already brought Regis back to Lonewood that night. Although they were all exhausted from marching and fighting, they were all too anxious to know the urgent information and couldn't sleep.Once Regis had firmly secured the captive orc's mind with the Ruby Pendant, they went to the next room they shared to talk privately. Bruenor was busy preparing a new menu of stewed giant brains, stewing the disgusting ingredients out of the sub-giant's holed skulls. "Use your head!" he said to Drizzt's and Wulfgar's horrified and disgusted expressions. "A goose by the barn smells better than a wild goose because it doesn't use muscles. A giant's brain probably does as well." !"

Drizzt wasn't thinking in the same way as Wulfgar was.They didn't want to leave the area, and didn't want to miss anything Regis had to say, so they huddled in a corner of the room, having a private conversation. Bruno tried desperately to hear what they were saying, for he was interested in what was being said. "Half goes to the last one in the kitchen," Wulfgar insisted, "and half goes to the leopard." "Then you are only half in the pit?" Drizzt retorted. "Agreed," Wulfgar said. "Let's split the one in the hall, and finish Billing in the middle." Drizzt nodded. "If you add them all up, I killed ten and a half, and you killed ten and a half." "And the leopard counts as four," Wulfgar added. "Leopard counts as four," Drizzt repeated. "Well done, friend. You have your own record now, but I have a hunch that there are more battles ahead, and my years of experience will lead me to the final victory!" "You're old, good elf," Wulfgar teased, leaning back against the wall, smiling confident teeth showing between his golden beard. "Just wait and see. Just wait and see." Bruno was smiling too.Partly for the good-natured rivalry between the two friends, partly for his continuing pride in the young savage.Wulfgar could keep up with a veteran like Drizzt Do'Urden. Regis emerged from the room, a gloominess hanging over his usually jovial face dampening the relaxed atmosphere. "We're in big trouble," the halfling said darkly. "Where are the half-orcs?" Bruenor asked as he pulled the ax out of his waist, misinterpreting the halfling. "It's in there, all right," Regis replied.The halfling was happy to tell his new friend all about Akar Kessell's plans to attack Ten-Towns, and the number of men he mustered.Regis visibly trembled as he told friends the news. "All the orc, goblin, and subgiant tribes in the Spine of the World region have united under one mage named Akar Kessell," the halfling began.Drizzt and Wulfgar looked at each other, and they recognized Kessell's name.Originally the barbarians thought Akar Kessell was a giant frost giant when they heard the sub-giant mention it, but Drizzt thought very differently, especially after the mirror incident. "They're going to attack Ten-Towns," Regis went on. "Even barbarians led by a one-eyed, strong chieftain have joined their ranks!" Wulfgar's face flushed with anger and embarrassment.His people actually fought side by side with the orcs!He knew who the chieftain Regis was talking about was that Wulfgar belonged to the Elk tribe and had once carried the banner beside Heafstad.Drizzt also recalled the One-Eyed King painfully.He put a comforting hand on Wulfgar's shoulder. "We are going to Bryn Shander," the dark elf told Bruenor and Wulfgar. "People out there need to prepare." Regis felt that it was not going to help, so he backed down.If the half-orcs' estimation of the military strength is correct, even the ten towns together cannot resist the invasion.The halfling murmured quietly with his head bowed, not wanting to warn his friends too much, "It's time for us to go!"    Although Bruno and Regis were able to convince Cassius of the urgency and importance of the news, it took several days to get all the speakers together for a meeting.Late summer was trout season, and by then the great fish caught by the last caravans to Luskan were about to come ashore.The representatives of the nine villages and towns whose livelihood depends on the fishing industry know their responsibilities to their villages, so it is difficult for them to withdraw from the lake even for a day. Besides Cassius of Bryn Shander, Muldoon, the new speaker of Lonelywood (who counts Regis as the hero of the town), Glen Suther of the East Exiles (the comm always With the exception of Agova of Tamarin (who is very loyal to Bruno), the atmosphere of the meeting was not welcoming of this news. Kemp still harbored a grudge against Bruenor due to the events of Drizzt after the Battle of Bryn Shander, which was especially divisive in the meeting.Before Cassius had a chance to start the meeting, the brash speaker from Targos jumped from his seat and pounded his fists on the table. "Go to your reading ceremony, just spread it out!" Kemp growled. "What right have you to bring us up from the lake, Cassius? While we sit at this table, the merchants of Luskan prepare their journey!" "We have news of an intrusion, Speaker Kemp," said Cassius calmly, knowing the fisherman's anger. "I wouldn't call any of you here at this time of the year if things weren't urgent." "So those rumors are true?" Kemp sneered contemptuously. "You say someone invaded? Fuck him! I know more than the council's bullshit!" He turned to Agwa.Despite Cassius' efforts to mediate and bring to the table the basic principles of the warring towns of Targos and Tamarin, the conflict between them has escalated over the past few weeks.Agowa promised to attend the meeting, but Kemp firmly objected.So with the matter hanging in the balance, the timing of an emergency meeting couldn't have been worse. "What a dastardly attempt!" Kemp snarled.He looked around at the speakers around him. "This is a despicable move by Agova and his conspiring supporters to benefit Tamaran in the competition with Targos!" Buoyed by the skeptical atmosphere that Kemp raised, Kakkoni's new spokesman, Jamon, pointed the finger of disapproval at Kedi Neva's Jessine Brandt. "What part did you play in this conspiracy?" he spat at his worried opponent.Jamoeng got the job because the previous speaker was killed in a battle with the Dineva ship on Lake Dinesha.Dorin Ruja was once a friend and boss of Samon, and his policy towards the hated town of Kedi Neva was even tougher than his predecessor. Throughout this initial quarrel, Regis and Bruenor sat quietly in the background helpless and panicked.Finally Cassius knocked down his gavel, its handle splitting in two, and the scene fell silent, allowing him to get to the point. "Give me a moment of silence!" he ordered. "Stop the nasty criticism and listen to the messengers of bad news!" The others sat down and fell silent, but Cassius feared that the damage had already been done. He ceded the floor to Regis. Regis was really frightened by what he had heard from the goblin captives, and he recounted enthusiastically the battles in the Gap of the Vale and the Cave of the Subgiants that his friends had won. "And then Bruenor caught a goblin escorting the giant," he said emphatically.Some of the speakers had noticed how these monsters came together and breathed deeply, but Kemp and others were more suspicious of the imminent threat of hostile villages and towns, and they had already concluded in their minds the purpose of this meeting, So still don't believe the words. "The orcs tell us," Regis went on grimly, "that a powerful wizard, Akar Kessell, is coming, with his army of goblins and giants! They are coming to conquer Ten-Towns!" He thought himself The acting skills will work. But Kemp was furious. "A goblin, Cassius? You told us to come up from the lake because of a stinking goblin?" "Halfling stories are nothing new," added Shamon. "We've all heard of a goblin captive wagging its tongue and talking gibberish just to keep its worthless head!" "Perhaps you have other motives," Kemp sarcastically cast another glare at Agois. Although Cassius fully believed the bad news, he still leaned back in his chair and said nothing.With tensions on the lakes as high as ever, and with the last of the trades looming before the depleting season, he'd expected things to turn out this way.When the council was once again caught in a clamoring situation, he looked helplessly at Bruno and Regis, and then shrugged. In the commotion that followed, Regis took the Ruby Pendant out of his vest and nudged Bruenor with his elbow.They looked at the pendant and each other in desperation, hoping that the magic gem would not be used. Regis grabbed the gavel, gained the right to speak, and was acknowledged by Cassius.Then, just like five years ago, he jumped onto the table and walked up to his main opponents. But this time the result was different from what Regis expected.Kemp has spent much of the past five years reflecting on Parliament before the barbarian invasion.The speaker was happy to see how the whole situation had turned out, and really knew that he and the entire Ten-Towns owed him a debt of gratitude for the halfling's warning.But he is extremely unwilling to let his position be easily shaken.He was aggressive and his favorite thing was not fishing but fighting, but his mind was sharp and he was alert to danger.He had observed Regis several times in the past few years, and had deliberately listened to stories about halflings persuading others.The burly speaker avoided meeting Regis' eyes as he approached. "Fuck off, liar," he snarled, deliberately turning his chair around so his back was on the table. "You have a very strange way of convincing people of your point of view, but I will not fall for your tricks again!" he said to the other speakers: "Beware of halflings! He has a magic, it is true of!" Kemp knew he had no way of proving what he claimed, but he also knew it wasn't necessary.Regis looked around, flustered, unable to answer Kemp's charges against him.Even though Agwa of Tamaran was tactfully trying to cover it up, he stopped meeting Regis' eyes directly. "Sit down, you liar!" Kemp sneered. "After we figure out who you are, your magic won't work!" Bruno, who had been silent until now, suddenly jumped up, his face contorted with rage. "You say it's a deception too, dog of Targos!" challenged the dwarf.He untied a pouch from his belt and rolled its contents, the head of a subgiant, off the table toward Kemp.Several speakers jumped back in fear, but Kemp was unfazed. "We've dealt with giant thieves many times," he replied grimly. "Rogue?" Bruno repeated in disbelief. "We killed forty of them, not counting the orcs and ogres!" "Just a bunch of monsters passing by by chance," said Kemp, still calm, stubborn. "And you say they're all dead. So why have a meeting for such a thing? If you want compliments, well, you'll get them! Strong dwarves." His voice narrowed maliciously, and he was pleased I saw Bruno blushing and thick-necked. "Perhaps Cassios can speak before all Ten-Towns, and praise your exploits." Bruno's fists were pounding on the table, and he glared at everyone around him, blatantly threatening anyone who would follow Kemp's insult. "We're here to help you preserve your homeland and your Kindred!" he roared. "I hope you believe what we say, and do something to stay alive. You can also listen to the dog of Targos and do nothing. Whichever you choose, I've heard enough! You can do whatever you want, and I hope your gods will be kind to you!" He turned and walked out of the room. Bruno's stern tone made it seem to many of the speakers that the matter was genuinely serious, not a hoax by desperate captives, or a plot planned by Cassius and co-conspirators.But Kemp was proud and arrogant, and he was sure that Agowa and his non-human friends, halflings and dwarves, used the theory of an invasion to take advantage of the superior Targos, and would not change Opinion.Kemp's status in Ten-Towns is second only to Cassius, so his opinion has a lot of influence, especially for the residents of Kekkoni and Cadineva.With Bryn Shander's neutrality unassailable, he was determined to gain a favorable position in Targos. There were still many speakers who were skeptical of the old enemy and were willing to accept Kemp's explanation in order to avoid Casios making any resolutions of the council.The lines were quickly drawn clearly. Regis watched as the opposing sides came and went, but the halfling's credibility had been shattered, and he had no leverage for the rest of the meeting.In the end, there are very few things to decide.All Agowa, Glen Suther, and Moulton could do was force Cassius to declare publicly: "We're going to warn all families in Ten-Towns. Let people know our bad news, and reassure them that I There will be a place within the walls of Bryn Shander for everyone who seeks protection." Regis glared at the speakers who were divided into two factions.Without unity, the halflings doubted how much protection Bryn Shander's walls could offer.