Chapter 17 Chapter Thirteen Goofy Spirit

Drizzt Do'Urden, Catti-brie, Deudermont and Harkle left Kardon smoothly and entered the Snowfall Mountains.Drow kept his hood covering his head and face.The people in the town were all attracted by the Sea Spirit, so they didn't pay attention to the few people who left the ship. A group of four easily walked through the gate of the town.They had expected the townspeople to harass the drow ranger, but nothing happened. After the ups and downs of the past few weeks, this is the peace that everyone needs most now. They talked softly on the mountain path, and most of the time it was Drizzt who introduced the rich and colorful creatures in nature-what kind of birds sing with what sounds; deer's home.Sometimes, the conversation will also touch on the task at hand, and everyone will discuss the poem of the blind witch.At this point, poor Harkle would be in a dilemma.He knew that other people missed many important, even crucial parts of the poem.And he has already clarified all the details of this poem according to the records in the fog of fate magic book.But the magician wasn't sure how much he could publish the correct content.Fog of Fate is a passive spell, a means for Harkle to advance the course of history and witness events that never happened.If he allows members in this process to access the contents of the magic book, it is to let this magic actively interfere with the process of history.In that case, he would probably ruin the magic.

If fate required it, Harkle could have used his other magic to go into battle, or provide the necessary information as he did when discussing how to summon the devil aboard Sea Sprite.However, using the Fog of Fate to directly interfere with fate is likely to change the future, and thus destroy the doomed fate.Harkle would never have created a spell for that.Magic has its own boundaries.Poor Harkle didn't know how far he could push that limit.In his forty years of life, he had been surrounded by reckless magicians like himself, and he had seen too many magicians ruined by his own spells.

So when the other three were discussing the poem in full swing, Harkle became a complete echo.As long as what they said was still consistent with the original poem, he nodded in agreement.He avoided all direct questions, but his nonchalant demeanor and constant muttering still caught everyone's attention. The road began to rise rapidly, but it was still smooth, and it was obvious that people here often repaired and used this road.The four gradually left the shadow of the foothills.The end of the road is a flat lawn.Further forward is a steep cliff.When they came here, they finally understood why the Caton people respected the priest so much.

Drizzt and Katie had seen the majestic and tall Mithril Hall; Harkle had used his magic to visit many marvelous places like Luskan's Wizard's Tower; Deudermont sailed all over the Sword Coast.But none of the places they had visited had struck them so much as the wonders before their eyes. It is called Goofy Spirit, a name that is very fitting for this magnificent temple.Soaring minarets and feathery arches can be seen everywhere; huge stained glass windows are spread out into the walls of the temple; gutters are woven into beautiful frames outside the glass windows, and they naturally gather at every corner to form the gargoyle of dripping monsters. neck.The lowest edge of the temple dome is more than a hundred feet from the ground.The three tallest towers are more than twice this height.

Of course, House Baenre's building was bigger than that.Sorcerer's Tower is richer in magical fantasy than it is.But here there is a sanctity and solemnity that is not found anywhere.The whole body of this building is made up of brown and gray stones. They were all ordinary stones, but when they condense together and stand in this place, a magnificent force surrounds them, which makes people dare not look up.It was as if the foundation stone of the temple was connected to the roots of the mountain, and its towers were bathed in the light of heaven. The moving melody and the rich and sweet voice drifted from the temple to the surroundings, and the rocks supporting the heaven and the earth seemed to be singing this beautiful rhythm with deep singing.After a moment of trance, the four of them realized that it was a human voice. If they didn't listen carefully, anyone would think it was the temple itself singing.

This place has a very beautiful view.The pebble path leading to the gate of the temple is hidden in a lush green grove.Carpet-like broad-leaved lawns line the entire temple, and the outermost circle is a wall of colorful shrubs and flowers.The whole place is dotted with undergrowth trimmed into various woodland creatures—a deer, a bear, a big-eared rabbit, and a colony of squirrels. Katie blinked several times when she saw the gardener here.As a child raised by dwarves, this was the most extraordinary dwarf she had ever seen.She pulled Ladriste, motioning his attention to the dwarf, and the others turned their heads too.The dwarf saw them and smiled and nodded at them.

His beard is green--green!The dwarf divided his long beard into two strands, which were drawn from above his two big ears to the back of his head, and combined with his hair, hanging down to his back.He was wearing a light green sleeveless thin shirt, the skirt of which fell to the knees.He has bare legs.Sturdy muscles can be seen through the thick hair on it.The dwarf's feet were clad only in a pair of thin-strap sandals, with most of the skin exposed to the air. He walked across the lawn to the pebble path thirty feet or so ahead of the four of them; put two fingers in his mouth and turned back to whistle.

"What happened?" A voice came from afar.After a while, the second dwarf left the shadow of the tree next to the gate and appeared in front of everyone.He had broad, muscular shoulders and a yellow beard; he wore brown clothes; a huge tomahawk was strapped behind his back; and on his head was a steel helmet decorated with two antlers. "I said I would help you!" growled the yellow-bearded dwarf at his companion, "but you also promised to let me sleep!" After shouting, the dwarf realized the four visitors, and hurried towards them. The green bearded dwarf walked up to the four of them first.He said nothing, but bowed deeply, and took Katie's hand and kissed it.He made a sound of "Yi, Yi, Yi" and his face glowed red.Looking from Katie to Deudermont, then to Drizzt, and...

He turned back again, his eyes fixed on Drizzt.Then he bent his face up, trying to see Drow's face under the hood. Drow raised his hood, shaking his thick white hair.For Drizzt, meeting anyone for the first time was a hurdle.And in such a remote place, people should have never heard of his name. "Alas!" screamed the dwarf. "An evil drow!" Yellowbeard snarled and rushed towards them, the ax already in his hand. Drizzt was not surprised by their reaction, while his three companions were greatly embarrassed. The genial green-bearded dwarf was still just jumping around in terror; the yellow-bearded dwarf took a more direct and menacing approach.He raised his ax high, and charged Drizzt like a raging bull.

Drizzt remained motionless until the last moment, then moved slightly.The yellow-bearded dwarf crashed into the bushes behind Drow. The green-bearded dwarf stared at Drizzt, and seemed to want to rush too.But when he saw the yellow-bearded dwarf jump into the bushes and cut off a branch with his axe, he ran to his companion in a hurry, pulled him out of the bushes, and hit him on the head again. . "An evil drow!" Yellowbeard didn't stop yelling.At the same time he lifted the handle of the ax again, preventing the green-bearded dwarf from striking him any further. Finally, he finally got rid of the entanglement of the green beard, and jumped to the dark elf again.However, he found that the three men, including Drizzt, were still standing there without moving; only the crimson-haired woman raised a bow, and the silver arrow dangling from it was already aimed at him.

"If we wanted your life, we would have done it while you were just waking up," she said. "I mean no harm," Drizzt said to him, "I am a ranger, like you, a child of the forest." The drow spoke to the green-bearded dwarf, for he seemed more sane. "My brother is a druid," said the dwarf with the yellow beard.He was trying to look strong and fierce, but after what he had just been through, it was funny how he did it. "Zoo-bad!" the green-bearded dwarf agreed. "Druids of the dwarves?" Katie was surprised by this. "I have lived with the dwarves for so many years, and I have never heard of druids appearing in this race." Both dwarves looked at her curiously.The way the young woman spoke was undoubtedly a standard dwarf accent. "Then what kind of dwarves are you around?" Yellow Beard asked her. Katie puts Tamari down. "I am Catti-brie, the adopted daughter of Bruno Warhammer, the eighth king of Mithril Hall." The eyes of the two dwarves were wide open, and their jaws almost fell to the ground.They looked at Katie carefully, then at each other, back at Katie, and at each other.They slapped their foreheads hard and made a "smack, smack" sound, and then stared at Katie again. "Hey," the yellow-bearded dwarf pointed a stubby finger at Drizzt, "I've heard of you, Drizzt Durden." "Drizzt Do'Urden." Drow corrected his pronunciation and bowed deeply to him. "Yes," Yellowbeard agreed, "I've heard of you. My name is Ivan, Ivan Stoneshoulders. This is my brother Pike." "My brother," the green-bearded dwarf put his arms around Ivan's broad shoulders.Ivan looked back at the fallen branch. "Sorry, I've never seen a drow before." "You come here... here... this... this temple?" Pike asked. "We came here to find Cadderly Bonnardus," Deudermont replied. "I am Captain Deudermont of the Sea Spirit, and we came from Waterdeep City by boat." "Can your ship travel on land?" Ivan asked. Deudermont waved his hand in denial. "We must see Cadderly," the captain went on. "Our business is urgent." Pike clasped his palms together, pillowed them on the side of his head, closed his eyes and let out a slight snoring sound. "Cadderly is taking a nap," Ivan explained to the group. "He's worn out from those little things. Let's see Ms. Danica before we go to dinner." He winked at Katie. "Me and my My younger brother wants to hear from you about Mithril Hall. It is said that since Bruno left, the management there has been replaced by an old guy." Katie tried her best to hide her surprise, but nodded to Ivan.She glanced at Drizzt, and Drow didn't show any reaction.Bruno left?Suddenly, they both wanted to sit down and have a good talk with the pair of dwarves.The meeting with Cadderly seemed unimportant instead. The interior of the Goofy Spirit is equally awe-inspiring.They entered the main hall of the temple, which was also its central chapel.Although there are at least 20 people here, the vast hall still makes the four partners feel that I am the only one in the world.The gazes of the four people moved upward along the towering columns in unison, passing through the decorative statues in mid-air and the colorful halo covered by the stained glass, and finally landed on the dome covered with fine reliefs a hundred feet high. Ivan managed to get the four visitors, who were obsessed with the beautiful scenery in front of them, to leave the main hall. He led them through a side door and into a room with a general layout.But the structure of the place, the sheer sense of power and exquisite detail still struck them.The arches and doors here are all decorated with exquisite reliefs.The door they had just passed was covered with various runes and carvings.Drizzt believed he could stand in front of that door and watch and study for hours on end.But even so, he still couldn't see every detail above and interpret every piece of information in it. Ivan knocked twice on a door and began to wait quietly.He opened the door only after the invitation was issued by the people in the room. "Let me introduce you to Danica Bonadus," the dwarf said solemnly to the visitors. Deudermont took the lead, and the rest followed suit.As soon as the captain entered the door, he was almost knocked over.Two children, a man and a woman, flew past him.Seeing the stranger, they stopped.The boy had sandy hair and almond-shaped eyes, staring blankly at the drow ranger with his mouth open. "Forgive my children," said a woman on the other side of the room. "It's okay." Drizzt knelt on one knee and beckoned the two children to come to his side.The boy and the girl looked at each other, finally mustered up the courage, and walked cautiously towards Drow.The boy ventured to touch Drizzt's ebony skin.Then he looked at his fingers again, as if he thought there would be black stains on his fingers. "There's no black, Mother," he cried, holding up his finger and looking at the woman, "There's no black." "Hee, hee." Pike's laughter came from behind. "Take these little bastards away," Ivan said softly to his brother. Parker walked up to the children, and the children's faces immediately glowed.Pike put the thumbs of both hands in his ears, and the rest of his fingers moved wildly. "Oh, oh!" the children yelled and chased their "Uncle Pike" out of the room. "You should really see how my brother teaches them both," Ivan said to Danica. She smiled and rose from her chair to greet the visitors.He looked at the dwarf in front of him kindly, "The twins are lucky to have friends like Pike and you." The dwarf, who was as hard as a rock, immediately lowered his head, but his face was flushed. Drizzt could see that the woman was a warrior.Her steps are light and soundless, and each step is perfectly balanced.She was slender, an inch or two shorter than Katie, weighing no more than a hundred and ten pounds, with muscles well distributed in every part of her body.Her eyes were even stranger than his children's, almond-shaped eyes of a rich tan, life blazing from them like stars in the sky.Her golden-red hair was as thick as drow's white hair, and they hung over her shoulders, reflecting the gorgeous colors of life. Drizzt looked at Katie again, feeling the similarity in spirit between the two women. "Let me introduce Drizzt Durden to you," Ivan said, taking off his antler helmet from his head, "Katie-brie, daughter of Bruno of Mithril Hall; Deudermont, captain of the Sea Spirit from Waterdeep; Yes..." The yellow-bearded dwarf looked at the thin magician, "May I ask your name?" "Harkle Hubbell... er, Harkle Hubbell," Harkle stammered, apparently fascinated by Danica's presence, "from Longsaddle." Danica nodded, and she said "nice to meet you." Finally, she turned her eyes to Drow. "Drizzt Do'Urden," the ranger corrected the dwarf's pronunciation. Danica smiled slightly. "They want to see Cadderly," Ivan said to Danica. Danica nodded, her eyes still on Drizzt. "Go and wake him up, he won't wish to miss these rare guests." Ivan ran out immediately. "You've heard of us?" Katie asked her. Danica looked at her and nodded. "Your names travel further than you think. We've all heard of Bruenor Warhammer and his battle to retake Mithril Hall." "And the war with the drow?" Drizzt asked. Danica nodded again, "We don't know much, and I hope you can tell us the full story before you leave." "Do you know that Bruno left Mithril Hall?" Katie asked suddenly. "Cadderly knows more than I do," Danica replied. "I heard that Bruenor gave his throne to his ancestors." "Gundalon Warhammer," Drizzt said. "That's all I know, but where the king went with his two hundred loyal men I don't know." Drizzt and Katie exchanged glances, and they both guessed where Bruno was going. At this time Ivan came back, followed by a healthy old man.The old man wore a light tan tunic and trousers of the same colour; a light blue silk mantle was thrown back over his shoulders, and a blue wide-brimmed hat trimmed with red was on his head.In the center of the front of the hat there is a gold and porcelain inlaid pendant, which is shaped like a lighted candle standing over one eye.All four of them knew that this was the holy symbol of Dene, the god of literature and art.The man was almost six feet tall, and despite his advanced age, was still very muscular.Most of his remaining hair has turned silver, and only the traces of the former brown hair can be roughly seen.The partners always had a strange feeling when they looked at him.It was a long time before Drizzt realized it was his eyes, gray eyes with sparks of light, the eyes of a young man. "I am Cadderly," he bowed warmly and humbly to the crowd. "Welcome to Goofy Spirit, home to Dene, Omar, and all good gods. You have seen my Wife Danica?" Catti-brie looked from old Cadderly to Danica.The latter was not much older than Katie, definitely not over thirty. "And your twins," Ivan said with a smile.When Katie looked at Danica, the dwarf couldn't help but glance at her.Drizzt and Deudermont could sense that the dwarf didn't mind the couple's age difference.This led them to deduce that Cadderly's aging was probably not a natural process. "Oh, yes, the twins." Cadderly couldn't help but smile sillily at the thought of those two lawless goblins. After a while, the pastor smiled shyly at everyone.He was grateful that these noble guests hadn't volunteered that sensitive question. "Twenty-nine," he told them straight to the point, "I am twenty-nine." "I'll be thirty in two weeks," Ivan added. "You're not looking at a hundred and six-year-old man!" "It's because of this temple," Danica explained to the group.Although she tried her best to control her voice, there was still a little sadness and anger in it. "To the glory of his god, Cadderly poured his life force into this place." Drizzt stared long and hard at the young woman.He knew that Cadderly's choice had come with a great sacrifice for this strong warrior.He could feel the anger in her, but it was buried deep within her, overlaid by her deep love for this man and admiration for what he had done. Katie has lost her lover, so she can also understand Danica's feelings.But she also knew that this woman needed absolutely no sympathy.Their conversation, Cadderly's and Danica's expressions, and this hallowed hall told Katie that giving sympathy to Danica belittled the sacrifice and would detract from the glory of Cadderly's life's accomplishments. The eyes of the two women fell into each other's eyes, and they never separated for a long time.Danica's almond-shaped eyes met Katie's large sky-blue eyes, and she seemed to know what Katie was going to tell her.Kitty wanted to tell her, "At least you have your lover's child." The young woman wanted to tell her about her painful loss, and that was before Wulfgar left... All of this turned into a heavy sigh from Katie. Danica knew the story, but she just accepted Katie's gaze wordlessly. She understood the woman's heart and was deeply moved by it. Pike soon returned, and there were eight people in the room again.He told everyone.The children fell asleep in the garden, with several priests beside them.Over the next two hours, everyone exchanged stories they knew.Drizzt felt that he and Cadderly had a lot in common, and they even had many very similar adventures.They have all encountered red dragons and escaped safely; they have all broken free from the shackles of their past.The two talked endlessly, like Katie and Danica.Although the dwarf brothers were eager to hear more of Mithril Hall's stories, they found it difficult to insert themselves into the small talk of the four.Gradually, they gave up and turned their attention to Harkle.The magician has also been to Mithril Hall and participated in the Drow War in person.He is also an excellent storyteller, no matter how ordinary a story is in his mouth, he can fantasize colorfully. Deudermont never got into the lively conversation.He found himself missing the sea and his ship, longing to sail the harbors of Waterdeep again, chasing pirates across the endless ocean. If it hadn't been for a priest knocking on the door, they might have talked all afternoon.The pastor told Danica that the children were awake.The woman was about to leave with the dwarf, but Drizzt called her back.Drow took out the panther statue.Summon Guenhuffar. Ivan took a few steps back.Pike screamed, but it was a happy scream.The dwarven druid had always been fond of the majestic animal, though the black panther could shave off all his beard with a single paw. "The twins were happy to play with Guenhiffa," Drow said. The big cat walked out of the room slowly, and Pike followed closely behind her.He grabbed the panther by the tail and let her drag him along. "I will never be happier than my younger brother." Ivan said, still a little scared. Danica was naturally concerned about whether the panther would harm the children, but she didn't ask Drizzt.She knew that Drizzt would never let her out if Black Panther really wasn't to be trusted.She just smiled and bowed, and left Ivan.Katie was going to check it out too, but Drizzt's suddenly serious expression told her it was time to talk about business. "You're not here just to tell stories, though those stories are wonderful." Cadderly sat up straight, hands folded in front of his body, ready to listen to what the visitor wanted. Deudermont recounted the whole story; Drizzt and Katie made necessary additions; and Harkle added here and there a useless bit of brilliance to the story. Cadderly said after repeatedly confirming the poem of the blind witch of Kavi Island: "The riddle she spoke may be very different from the real situation." "It is possible," agreed Deudermont, "but my friends cannot ignore the riddle." "If what the witch said is true. That is, a friend is in distress, it must be my father Zac Nafein. He has fallen into the hands of evil." Drizzt explained to Cadderly . "It may have been one of Lolth's servants who seized him, or the matriarch of a ruling family in Menzoberranzan." Harkle bit his lip. He knew there was a mistake, but he had to strictly abide by the restrictions of the spell.He had carefully read the blind witch's poem word by word, and read it at least twenty times, and that poem had been clearly engraved in his mind.But he cannot go beyond the scope of the spell to reveal these contents.The Fog of Fate can only facilitate what is meant to happen, but if Harkle used this spell to forcefully change the course of fate, what would happen in the end?Cataclysm or better outcome?Not even the gods would know. Cadderly nodded, not denying Drizzt's speculation, but he couldn't think of a role for himself to play here. "I think our current enemy is one of Rose's servants," Drizzt continued, "an alien creature from the abyssal realm..." "I learned long ago that evil cannot be feared," Cadderly said quietly. "We have gold." Deudermont thought that the price he proposed must not be lower. And Drizzt understood the priest's true thoughts better.In the short time he spent with Cadderly, Drow saw his heart and mind clearly.Cadderly would not ask for gold, he would not ask for anything.So when Cadderly said: "As long as it is a soul, it should be saved", he was not surprised at all.