Chapter 8 Chapter 6 Icons

The next day, Catti-brie woke up from a fluffy pillow.Soft lace curtains hung in the comfortable bedroom, and the leaking morning light lightly touched her sleepy eyes.She was not used to such a place, even more so than sleeping directly on the floor. She had refused to take a bath the night before, though Madam Alustra had assured her that the exotic oils and soaps would make a pile of lather around her and make her feel refreshed.For Catti-brie, who was raised by dwarves, it was all nonsense, and worse, ways to pervert.She often bathes, but always in the clear water of mountain streams, and never uses any sesame oil from faraway places.Drizzt had told her that the dark elves could follow the scent of their enemies for miles in the winding caverns of the Underdark.Catti-brie bathing in scented oil would be a foolish choice, likely to the enemy's advantage.

But this morning, the sun was shining through the light curtains, and the bathtub was filled with steaming water, the young girl couldn't help thinking again. "You are such a stubborn person." She complained softly to Alustriel, knowing that it was Erastriol's magic power that made the water steam up again. Catti-brie stared at the row of bottles and thought about the long and dusty journey ahead.A road of no return.Inexplicable emotions arise spontaneously, wanting to indulge myself, just this once.Before the real side could argue, she took off her clothes and sat in the warm bathtub, covered with fine foam.

At first, she was still staring at the door of the room nervously, but soon she slid deeper into the bathtub, completely relaxed, feeling warm and comfortable. "I told you so." Catti-brie was jolted out of her stupor by the words.She sat up straight at once, and slid back again, in embarrassment, for there was not only Alustriel present, but a curious dwarf.His beard and hair were snow white, and his silk robe fluttered gently. "In Mithril Hall, we are used to knocking on the door before entering other people's rooms." Catti-brie commented proudly. "I have knocked," Alustriel answered. "You must be intoxicated by the warmth of your bath."

Catti-brie brushed the wet hair back from her face and lathered her cheeks with a handful.She was trying to salvage her pride, ignoring the previous moment of embarrassment, then she shook it off angrily—both suds and embarrassment. Alustri just smiled. "You should go." Catti-brie snapped at the most honorable lady angrily. "Drizzt is indeed on his way to Menzoberranzan," Alustriel announced.Katie-brie sat up straight again, full of anxiety, and the embarrassment had long been put aside when faced with this important news. "I ventured into the spirit world last night," Alustriel explained, "and there are answers to many things. Drizzt traveled north of Silvermoon City, through the Moon Forest, to the place where the Orcs were killed." Mountains surrounded by defiles."

Catti-brie was still confused. "That's where Drizzt first came out of the Underdark," Alustriel went on. "It is said that there is a hole east of that passage. I guess he wants to return to the darkness he left by the same way. go." "Take me there," demanded the young woman, rising from the water, eager to make her forget her shyness by moving. "I'll provide the mount," said Arrastriol, handing over a thick towel. "The enchanted horse will carry you quickly through here. The journey is less than two days." "Can't you just send me there by magic?" Catti-brie asked.Her voice was sharp, and she decided that Alustriel hadn't done enough.

"I don't know where the hole is," the silver-haired lady argued.Catti-brie stopped wiping and almost dropped the pile of clothes she was holding in her hands.Her eyes widened, dazed and helpless. "That's why I've called Freddie," Alustriel explained, reaching out to comfort her. "Fredgar Stonebreaker," corrected the dwarf in a strange singing voice.He stretched his arms exaggeratedly and bowed gracefully.Catti-brie thought he looked like an elf trapped in a dwarf's shell.She frowned the first time she saw him up close.She has lived among the dwarves all her life.Never seen a dwarf like him before - his beard was neatly trimmed, his robes were spotless, and his skin wasn't rough and hard like most dwarves.One too many baths in balm, Catti-brie decided, and glanced contemptuously at the steaming tub.

"Fleet was a member of the adventure team that followed Drizzt after he came out of the Underdark." Alustriel continued, "After Drizzt left that place, my curious sister and The companions followed the elf's path and found the hole, which was the entrance to the underground passage." "I don't know if I should show you the way." Ms. Silvermoon said after pausing for a while, her tone and expression showed concern for Catti-brie's safety. Catti-brie's blue eyes narrowed as she pulled on her clothes quickly.She didn't want to be underestimated, even if it was Alustriel, and she didn't want to let someone else decide her path.

"I understand." Ellas Zhuo nodded.She understood what Katie meant immediately, and it slowed Catti-brie down. Alustre motioned for Freddie to get Catti-brie's backpack.Approaching the dirty thing, the clean-loving dwarf showed disgust on his face, and then he stretched out two fingers and carefully picked it up.He glanced pitifully at Alustriel.She ignored him, so he walked out. "I didn't ask you for a companion." Catti-brie said bluntly. "Frett is just a guide to lead you to the entrance." Erastrire corrected. "That's all. You have a lot of courage and a little blindness," she added.Alustriel left before the young lady could find words to retort.

Catti-brie stood still for a moment, water dripping from her wet hair onto her bare back.In this vast and dangerous world, she is just a weak girl; facing the tall and powerful Alustriel, she is pitifully small.She struggled to get rid of the chaotic emotions in her heart. However, the heart of doubt and fear lingered. Two hours later, after enjoying a good meal and scrutinizing the supplies, Catti-brie and Freddie set off from Sundabar Gate, the east gate of Silvermoon City.Lady Alustriar walked with them, accompanied by guards who kept a reasonable distance from their leader, both respectful and vigilant.

A black mare and a shaggy gray pony awaited the two travelers. "Must I go?" Freddie asked the same question perhaps for the twentieth time since leaving the castle. "Isn't a detailed map enough?" Alustri either smiled or pretended not to hear.As Alustriel's favorite sage, Fleet hated anything that might get him dirty, anything that would keep him away from Alustriel.No doubt a journey to the wastelands near the Orc's Pass would leave him covered in dust and take him far from his dear mistress. "The horseshoe is enchanted, and your mount flies like the wind," Alustriel said to Catti-brie.The silver-haired lady looked back at the disgruntled dwarf.

Catti-brie did not answer immediately, nor did she thank Alustriel.Since the meeting this morning, she hasn't spoken to Alustriol again, and she has always shown a cold attitude. "With luck, you'll reach the opening before Drizzt," Alustriel said. "I beg you to explain to him and take him home. He is not fit to be in the Underdark, not any more." "Where Drizzt goes is up to him," Catti-brie retorted, but she was actually implying that it was up to her to go where she went. "Of course." Alustrie agreed, flashing another smile—the kind that made Catti-brie feel small. "I did not hold you back," Alustriel pointed out. "I did what I could to help you follow the path you chose, whether I thought it wise or not." Catti-brie chuckled. "Do you have to add the last sentence?" she replied. "Am I not entitled to my own opinion?" Alastriol asked. "The right to publish, and to impose upon the listener." Catti-brie commented.When Alastriol understood the reason for her attitude, she showed a surprised expression. Catti-brie smiled again and rode on. "You love him," said Alustriel. Catti-brie reined in her horse and turned sideways.Now it was her turn to look surprised. "You love that drow," Alustriel said, more like reiterating his opinion, stating his own opinion, than clarifying a matter that required no explanation at all. Catti-brie moved her lips as if she wanted to say something, but then turned around and walked away. "It's a long way," Freddie grumbled. "Then come back to me quickly," said Alustriel, "and take Catti-brie and Drizzt with you." "As you wish, ma'am," the dwarf replied obediently, kicking his horse and galloping. "As you wish." Alustriel stood at the east gate, watching, watching long after Catti-brie and Freddie were out of sight.This was not the first time Alustriel wished he hadn't been encumbered by his duties to rule.Truth be told, Alustriel would have pulled a horse and galloped beside Catti-brie, or even ventured into the Underdark.If necessary, seek out the great drow who has become her friend. But she can't.Drizzt Do'Urden, after all, was just a tiny existence in the vast world, a tiny existence in the endless stream of begging audiences that Lady Silvermoon's busy court had to face. "Go, Bruno's daughter." The beautiful silver-haired lady whispered. "Let's go, goodbye." ※※※※ On the stony path leading into the hill, Drizzt let go of his mount.The warm wind was blowing and the sky was blue, but the trail was still a bit muddy after a storm had swept through the area a few days earlier.Finally, fearing that the horse might stumble and break its leg, Drizzt dismounted and led it carefully. He had seen the elf following him several times this morning, for there was little concealment on the trail, and on a vertical journey like a climb the two riders were not far apart.So when he turned a bend, he was not very surprised to see the elf approaching him from a parallel road. The white-skinned elf also led the horse and walked slowly. Seeing that Drizzt was like him, he nodded approvingly.Then he stopped twenty feet away from the drow, seemingly not knowing how to react. "If you're here to tend the horses, you'll have to ride carefully, or walk with me," Drizzt yelled.The elf nodded again, letting his sleek black horse walk beside Drizzt's black and white horse. Drizzt looked ahead, at the rising mountain road. "This is my last day with the horse," he explained. "Actually, I don't know if I'll ever ride again." "Aren't you going to come out of the mountains?" asked the Elf. Drizzt brushed his flying silver hair, a little surprised that the other party would draw such a conclusion, and a little surprised that the words actually hit the mark. "I'm looking for a grove not far from here," he said. "That used to be the home of Monterey Dibloch." "The blind ranger," the elf said. Drizzt was surprised by the elf's answer.He pondered over his companion's answer while carefully sizing him up.There was nothing in the moon elf to suggest he was a ranger, but he knew Monterey. "The name of Monterey Dibloch is well suited to legend," the drow asserted aloud. "And what about Drizzt Do'Urden's name?" the moon elf asked in amazement.He laughed at the change in Drizzt's expression, and added, "Yes, I know you. Dark elf." "Then you have the upper hand," Drizzt said. "My name is Tarasher," said the moon elf. "What you encountered on the road through the moon forest was not just an accident. When our people found out that you were traveling on foot, we thought it was Alifen who saw you." Best chance." "The girl?" Drizzt speculated. Tarasher nodded.In sunlight, his figure appears almost translucent. "We don't know how she would react to seeing a drow. We apologize." Drizzt accepted the apology with a nod. "She's not from your tribe," he guessed, "or at least she wasn't from your tribe when she was very young." Tarasher didn't answer, but the dark look on his face suggested that Drizzt was right. "Her people were slaughtered by the drow," Drizzt continued, fearful that what he had guessed would be confirmed. "What do you know?" Tarasher asked, his voice as sharp as the first conversation. "I was part of that commando," Drizzt confessed.Tarasher reached for his sword, but Drizzt clamped down on his wrist like lightning. "But I didn't kill any elves," Drizzt argued. "The only ones I want to deal with are my kind that came to the surface with me." Tarasher relaxed and withdrew his hand. "Elefin hardly remembers the tragedy. She talked more about it when she was asleep than when she was awake, and then she would sleepwalk." He stopped and looked directly into Drizzt's eyes. "She mentioned purple eyes," he said, "and we don't know how. And she wondered too much. Purple is not the color drow eyes are supposed to be. Our rumors are so Said." "Indeed not." Drizzt confirmed.Remembering that horrible day long past made his voice so distant.She is that elf girl!It was her who made the young Drizzt go desperately to save him; it was her eyes that made Drizzt get out of doubts and understand that the way of his people was not what he really wanted. "So, when we heard that Drizzt Do'Urden, the drow friend who helped the Dwarf King take back Mithril Hall—the drow friend with the purple eyes, was here, we thought it was Ariffin facing the past. Perfect timing," Tarrasher explained. Drizzt just nodded again, he was more concerned with reminiscing about the past than the mountain scenery in front of him. Tarasher said no more.Evidently, Alifen had seen the past, and this scene almost broke her. The moon elf refused Drizzt's offer to take the two horses away, and later that day the two remounted and rode across a high mountain pass.Drizzt remembered that road very well.He missed Monterey, Monkey, his mentor on the surface, a blind old ranger who shot arrows guided by the hooting of an owl.It was Monterey who taught young Drizzt that the image of God was both the embodiment of the feelings that animate Drizzt and the conscience that guides the rebellious drow.Merikki was her name, the satyr goddess, and it was under her silent guidance that Drizzt Do'Urden walked during his time with Monterey. The road underfoot snaked away from the ridge, up a steeper slope, and across a splintered boulder.At this moment, a well of emotion surged in Drizzt's heart.He was afraid of what he was about to see.Perhaps a group of orcs—the vile humanoids that roam the land—have taken over the old ranger's enchanted grove.Perhaps a conflagration had consumed it, leaving a barren scar across the land? Led by Drizzt, they entered a thick undergrowth and walked slowly along a narrow but clean path.He stopped his horse and turned to look at Tarasher. "Here comes the Grove," he said, and slid off the saddle, and Tarasher did the same.They led the horses to the bushes to hide, and side by side they sneaked to the other side of the bushes. This is Monchi's grove.It is about six yards long from south to north.It is three yards wide.The pine trees grew tall and straight—no fire had battered the woods, and the rope bridges made by the blind ranger were still there, tied high and low from tree to tree.Even the low stone wall stood intact, not a single stone was displaced, and the grass grew low. "Someone lives here," Tarrasher deduced, since the place was clearly not deserted.He looked at Drizzt, and found that the drow looked solemn, holding two knives, one of which was shining with a soft light blue light. As Drizzt scrambled out of the bushes and skimmed toward the stone wall, Tarasher stringed his longbow.Then the moon elf rushed out to keep up with his fellow drow. "When we entered the mountain, I saw many traces left by orcs." Talasher said softly.He drew the bowstring, nodded solemnly and said, "For Monterey?" Drizzt nodded in response, and glanced into the stone wall with his head.He thought he would see the orc, and he planned to see the orc's corpse next. The drow froze suddenly, his hands limp by his sides, and he suddenly forgot to breathe. Tarasher bumped him to ask questions, but he didn't respond.So the moon elf held the bow and looked into the wall. He didn't see anything at first, but he followed Drizzt's still, focused gaze to the south, and in a gap between the trees, a branch licked as if something had just scratched it.Tarasher saw a flicker of color in the shadows.a horse.he thinks. It stepped out of the shadows, a strong horse with gleaming white fur.Its unusual eyes were blazing red, and ivory-colored horns jutted from its forehead, half as long as the elf's height.The unicorn looked in the direction of the two of them, scratched the ground, and snorted. Talasher immediately fell down, and pulled down Drizzt Do'Urden, who was stunned beside him. "It's a unicorn!" the elf said silently to Drizzt, and the drow reached into the collar of his cloak, clutching the unicorn-head pendant that Regis had carved for him from a steelhead trout bone. Tarrasher pointed behind him at the dense bushes, signaling that it was time for him and Drizzt to leave, but the drow shook his head.Composure returned, and Drizzt poked his head out of the stone wall again. It was empty, and there was no sign that the unicorn had ever been there. "We should go," Tarasher said, making sure the unicorn was no longer around. "Relax, the woods at Monterey are well looked after." Drizzt sat on the wall, staring intently at the pine forest.A unicorn!The symbol of Melika, the symbol of pure nature.For a ranger, there was no creature more beautiful; and for Drizzt, there was no better guardian to guard the grove of Monterey Dibloch.He hoped to stay here for a while longer, hoping to take another look at the mysterious creature, but he knew that time was running out, and what awaited him was an endless dark corridor. He looked at Talasher, smiled, and turned to leave. However, he found that the way across the clearing was blocked by the strong unicorn. "How did she do it?" Tarasher asked.There was no need to whisper any more, for the unicorn stared straight at them, pawing the ground nervously and shaking its powerful neck. "It's him," Drizzt corrected, noting the horse's snow-white beard, the hallmark of a male unicorn.A thought flashed through Drizzt's mind, and he slid the scimitar back into its sheath and jumped from the saddle. "How did he do it?" Tarrasher corrected. "I didn't hear the hooves." The elf's eyes lit up suddenly, and he looked back at the grove. "Unless there is more than one unicorn here!" "Only one," Drizzt assured him. "There's something magical about unicorns, like this one, as evidenced by the fact that it pops up behind us and into our presence." "Go around the south," whispered Tarrasher, "and I'll go north. As long as we don't scare it..." The moon elf stopped, seeing that Drizzt was already on the move—straight over the wall walk over. "Be careful," Tarasher warned him. "Unicorns are beautiful, but they are said to be dangerous and elusive." Drizzt held up a hand behind him to silence the elf, and continued walking slowly from the stone wall to the unicorn.The unicorn hissed and shook its head, its long mane danced wildly, and its hooves stomped heavily on the ground, digging a large hole in the soft grass. "Drizzt Do'Urden," Tarasher warned. For whatever reason, Drizzt should go back.The unicorn easily knocked him over and trampled him into the meadow, and with every step the drow drew closer, the huge spirit beast grew more and more agitated. It didn't charge, however, nor did it lower its horns to stab Drizzt.Soon, the drow was only a few steps away from it, and he looked so small standing next to this majestic spirit beast. Drizzt held out a hand, fingertips out slowly and carefully.He touched a strand of the unicorn's thick, shiny fur, and he took a step closer, caressing the muscular neck of the gorgeous spirit beast. The drow could barely breathe.He really hoped that Guenhuffa would be by his side to see this most perfect creation of nature with his own eyes.He wished Catti-brie was here, for she would be as moved by the spectacle as he was. He turned to Tarasher, where the elf was sitting on the stone wall, smiling reassuringly.Tarasher's expression suddenly turned into astonishment, and when Drizzt turned his head, he saw his hands caressing the empty air. The unicorn is gone.