Chapter 12 Chapter 9 Embarrassment

Trekking along a slow, gravel trail, they were more walking than riding.Catti-brie was tormented everywhere she went.She had seen the flames of the campfire the night before, and she knew it must be Drizzt.She ran straight to the horse, trying to get on the horse and give chase, using the campfire as a signpost.But Freddie stops her, explaining that the magic horseshoes on their mounts don't keep the horses from exhausting themselves.He also reminded her of the dangers she might encounter in the mountains at night. Catti-brie returned to her campfire, heartbroken.She intended to summon Guenhwyvar and send the Panther to Drizzt, but rejected the idea.The campfire was just a bright spot on the high path, miles away, and she couldn't be sure, rationally, that it was Drizzt.

Though now they were heading in the same direction, along higher paths, steadily but painfully slowly.Catti-brie was afraid she was mistaken.She looked to Freddie, who was stroking his white beard and looking around at the unremarkable landscape, and Catti-brie wished there was a campfire to show them the way. "We'll be there!" the neat dwarf would often tell her, looking back at her sullen expression. The morning passed, and it was noon.Long shadows pile up on the landscape. "We must pitch camp," Freddie announced in the first twilight. "We're going," Catti-brie argued. "If that's Drizzt's campfire, he's already a day ahead of us, regardless of whether we have magic horseshoes or not!"

"I don't want to find that cave in the dark!" retorted the dwarf. "We might find a giant or a cave troll, and I'm sure there are plenty of wolves around here, but a cave would be an exception?" looked at Kitty Brie frowned more and more tightly, and Freddie wondered if his sarcasm had gone too far. "Oh, well!" cried the Neat Dwarf, "we'll see till it's all dark." They walked on until Catti-brie found her horse walking beside her in disbelief, and Freddie's pony nearly stumbled down the valley.In the end, even the stubborn Catti-brie had to back down and agree to camp.

As soon as they were settled, she found a tall pine tree, and climbed almost to the top of it to keep watch.The young woman decided that if there was any light from the campfire, she would go at once, or at least send the panther out. No campfires were lit that night. The morning light suddenly appeared, and the two set off again.Just an hour after setting off, Freddie clapped his hands excitedly, thinking he had found a familiar path. "Not far away," he assured. The trail rises and falls, enters valleys full of rocks and trees, and ascends through exposed weathered rock.Fleet tied his pony to a tree, led the way up the steep face of a mountain, and told Catti-brie that they had found the right place, but they were just trying to find the opening.After climbing the mountain for two hours, they realized that they had climbed the wrong mountain.

In the middle of the afternoon, they discovered that the spot that Freddie had promised was "not far away" was the correct spot.The opening which the dwarves had searched for was not half a mile from where they were when he announced this.But finding a particular hole in the mountains was no easy task, even for a dwarf, and Freddie had only been here once—and that was twenty years ago. He found it at last, and another shadow stretched diagonally across the hills.Catti-brie shook her head after inspecting the entrance and the fire, which had last burned two days ago.Someone took good care of the embers, that's what a ranger would do.

"He was here," the young woman said to the dwarf, "two nights ago." Catti-brie stood up from the fire, brushing her thick auburn hair behind her ears, and looked at the dwarf as if It was his fault.She looked out of the cave, and back to the mountains, where they had seen fires where they had camped. "We won't get here that night," replied the dwarf, "you might plummet off the cliff, and—" "The firelight will guide us," Catti-brie interrupted. "How long?" demanded the dwarf. "We have found a vantage point, a gap in the high peak. Once we go down the valley, or approach the slope, the fire will disappear from our sight. Then we will be in the Where, obstinate Bruno's daughter?"

Catti-brie's furrowed brow quickly stopped the dwarf again.He sighed deeply, raised his hands, and stopped talking. He was right, Catti-brie knew.After that night they were only a few miles deep into the mountains, and the path became dangerous, rising and falling, winding and snaking among the many pinnacles.She and Freddie had gone quite far, at least, to find this place.And even if she summoned Guenhwyvar, there was no way the Panther could track Drizzt that far away. Such logic did nothing to suppress the frustration that was bubbling up in Catti-brie.She had sworn to go after Drizzt, find him, and bring him back.But now, standing in a forgotten hole in the wilderness, she faced the entrance to the Underdark.

"Let's go back to Lady Alustriel," Fleet told her. "Perhaps she has some allies—she has so many!—someone who can more accurately locate the drow." "What are you talking about?" Catti-brie demanded. "It was a heroic pursuit," replied Fleet. "Your father would be proud of you, but—" Catti-brie charged at the dwarf, pushed him aside, and staggered down the depths of the hole, into the darkness of a descending tunnel entrance.She tripped her toe hard against a spike in the ground, but she didn't cry out, or even grunt, not wanting Freddie to see how ridiculous she was.But Catti-brie thought she was absurd, too, as she fumbled in her pack, trying to find tinder, a lamp, and oil.

"Do you know she likes you?" Freddie asked casually. The question stopped the young woman.She looked back at the dwarf.His short black silhouette was set against the light gray night outside the cave. "I mean Alustriel," explained Fleet. Catti-brie made no answer.Beside the beautiful lady Silver Moon, she has no sense of comfort.Consciously or not, Alustriel made her feel small, very humble. "Really," insisted Freddie, "she likes you, and envies you." "An orc would think that," Catti-brie said angrily.She thought she was being laughed at.

"You reminded her of her sister," continued Fleet. "Dorve Hawkhand, a lively woman, if anyone could be called that, it was her." Catti-brie didn't answer this time.She had heard many stories of Alustriel's sister, a legendary ranger, and had really fancied herself like Dove.Suddenly the dwarf's words didn't sound like insults. "Alastriol is sorry," Freddie remarked. "She wishes she had been more like you." "An orc would think that!" Catti-brie yelled without thinking, unable to stop herself.The idea that the legendary Silvermoon Lady Alustria could be even a little bit jealous of Catti-brie is just absurd.

"It's human beings who think that way, I said!" Fred yelled back, "What's wrong with your race, it seems that none of you can correctly estimate your own value? Everyone is either arrogant or underestimated! Elastre likes you , that's what I said, even envious of you. If she's not like that, if she thinks you and your plans are stupid, then why is she asking for trouble? And why, Bruno Warhammer's daughter, she wants to give you this?" He raised one hand, holding something so delicate that Catti-brie couldn't recognize what it was.She paused for a moment to chew on what he had said, then walked back to him. The dwarf carried a thin silver chain and a tiara set with a jewel. "Pretty," admitted Catti-brie, looking at the gray-green gem with a black line running through its centre. "It's not just pretty," said Fleet, motioning for Catti-brie to put it on. She snapped it on, the gemstone against her forehead, and watched almost dazzledly as things around her suddenly flickered and blurred.She could see the dwarf - not just his silhouette, but what he looked like!She looked around in disbelief, looking into the cave.It looked like it was bathed in starlight, and it wasn't very bright, but Catti-brie could make out the spike, and see the other nooks and corners as well. Of course Catti-brie couldn't see herself, the black line in the center of the gem dilated like a pupil. "It's not wise to walk down the Underdark with a bright torch," Freddie commented. "A candle alone can mark you as an outsider and make you a target. And anyway, can you How much oil on your back? The lamp won't work on you before the first day is over. You see, the opal will do the trick." "Opal?" "Cat's eye agate." Fleet pointed to the gemstone and explained, "Alastriol personally enchanted it. Generally speaking, gemstones with this kind of magic will only make you see gray shadows. But that lady prefers starlight. Few in the Realms are blessed with such a gift." Catti-brie nodded, not knowing how to respond.A pang of guilt accompanied her as she re-evaluated her attitude towards Lady Silvermoon.It was absurd that she should express doubts—that she should allow jealousy to cloud her judgment. "I have been asked to try and dissuade you from this dangerous journey," continued the dwarf, "but Alustriel knew I would fail. You are indeed like Dove, capricious and stubborn, always optimistic. She knows You'll go, even to the Underdark," Freddie said, "and, though Alustriel worries about you, she knows nothing can or can stop you." The dwarf's tone was neither humble nor arrogant, and Catti-brie was unprepared for it, and was at a loss again. "Will you stay in the hole tonight?" asked Fleet. "I can start the fire." Catti-brie shook her head.Drizzt was already far ahead of her. "Of course," the dwarf whispered. Catti-brie hadn't heard him, she was already going deeper into the hole, down the tunnel.She stopped and summoned Guenhwyvar, knowing that she would need the help of the Black Panther if she could go any further.As the big cat materialized, Catti-brie looked back towards the hole.She wanted the dwarf to convey her thanks to Alustri, but Freddie was gone. "Come on, Xiaoguan." The young woman said, with a nervous smile on her face, "We have to find Drizzt." The panther explored the entrance of the tunnel, and then walked down, obviously found the way . Catti-brie hesitated for a moment, staring at the opening behind her.And the starry sky outside.She wondered if she would ever have the chance to see these stars again.