Chapter 31 Chapter Twenty-Five

The ceremony continued unaffected by all the accidents in the courtyard, and Matron Baenre's pride grew higher and higher.She didn't know that Danzhuo and Bo Yinyong had left the shrine, and that her vicious Datak had been killed by the knife, and the rebellious ranger who killed him was exactly what Matron Baenri wanted other ruling families The one my mistress saw. All Matron Baenre knew was the sweetness of power.She gathered the most powerful alliance in the recent history of the drow, and she herself was the leader of this alliance.She outwits the cunning Kyo Ozahn, and terrorizes the city's second-most powerful, Maze Barrisango.Goddess Lolth was smiling brightly at Matron Baenry, and she was sure of it.

All she heard was singing instead of fighting; all she saw was the majestic vision of the Spider Queen shifting between spider form and drow form.How could she, and the rest of the drow staring at the awe-inspiring figure, be able to see a thousand feet above the Domed Temple, see the fierce battle on the footbridge connecting the stalactites above Baenre's house? ※※※※ "A passage!" Catti-brie yelled at Drizzt.She pulled him back, turning him to face the drow corpse still floating in midair. Drizzt looked at her, not understanding what she was talking about. "Up there!" she cried.Catti-brie took her bow and fired another arrow.The arrow branch sank into the root of a stalactite, but failed to pass through.

"I tell you, it's up there!" she explained. "There's a passage, right on top of the cave!" Drizzt looked there suspiciously.He wouldn't question Catti-brie's words, but he didn't know how they'd gotten to that passage.The nearest trail was a good twelve feet away from that spot, and from where they were, it would have been a long detour, at least a few hundred yards, to get to that trail. "What's going on?" Entreri yelled, running back to his trailing companion.He looked behind them and saw the looming figures of the drow gathering behind them.

"There may be a passage above us," Drizzt explained quickly. Entreri's yelling showed that he didn't understand the value of the news, but his yelling only pushed Catti-brie into action.She raised her bow and shot one arrow after another, aiming at the solid foundation of the stalactite. A fireball exploded on the walk not far behind them.Both the metal and the rock at the hit place were melting and deforming, and the entire stone bridge was trembling non-stop, and it was about to break apart. Catti-brie turned and fired two quick arrows, knocking down one of the drow elves and forcing the others back behind the nearest stalagmite.And in the darkness ahead, came the roar of Guenhyvar and the sound of the crossbow.

"We have to go!" Entreri poked at them, trying to pull Drizzt away.But the ranger stood firm, watching with confidence as Catti-brie fired another arrow into the sky.The arrow branch slammed into the loose stone. The stalactite that was used as a target crunched and swayed to one side.After a while, it fell straight down.Drizzt thought at first that it would hit the vaulted shrine, glowing with purple faerie fire, but it only sank into the ground not far from the shrine.Broken into hundreds of pieces. Drizzt had keen ears, and when he noticed the hole left by the fallen stalactite, he couldn't help but widen his eyes, a look of hope flashing across his face. "Wind," he announced breathlessly, "wind from the tunnel!"

Indeed.The whistling of the wind that can never be misheard.In order to balance the air pressure inside and outside, the wind poured in from the hole in the zenith. "But how do we get there?" Catti-brie asked. Entreri now believed that there was a passage above, and had begun to grope in the bag.He took out a long rope with a grapple at the end and waved it in his hand.With a flick of his hand, he hooked the trail closest to the passage.Entreri ran to the nearest fence and knotted the rope, while Drizzt jumped on the rope and climbed without hesitation.Quickly, he climbed up as soon as possible, and his confidence returned to his heart.

But that confidence evaporated when he saw a drow appear out of nowhere.He came out of hiding, and the sharp sword struck the rope. Drizzt leaned over the rope, clutching desperately at the long rope.Two slashes separated the rope from the grapple, and the fallen Drizzt swung back and forth like a pendulum ten feet below his companion's path. The drow's smug smile was erased by a sudden flash of silver light. Drizzt began to climb, stopping to tighten as a short dart whizzed by.Another short dart passed by. He looked down and saw a group of pursuers approaching, shooting at him while floating up.

Entreri yanked the rope to help the ranger back onto the walk.As soon as Drizzt's hand reached the edge of the walkway, the assassin yanked him up, retrieving the rope from his hand.He stared at it, wondering how he'd be able to get it up that walkway that was nine hells away without the grappling hook.Entreri grumbled and tied the rope into a noose, turning around to look around for his target. Drizzt was kneeling on the bridge, and was about to rise when a thunderbolt struck the walkway directly below them.Both the Ranger and Catti-brie fell over from the shock.Drizzt fell again, clawing at the edge of the walkway with only his fingertips, and a groove had already been cracked in the stone beneath Catti-brie's feet.

A crossbow bolt from below struck the stone face in front of Drizzt's eyes, and another struck the sole of his boot but failed to pierce.But Drizzt had already been lit with demon fire, turning him into a striking target. The ranger looked down at the dark elf who was getting closer and closer, and called out the instinct in his heart to throw out the dark enchantment.Drizzt climbed the stone bridge to find Catti-brie shooting at the dark elves chasing down the walk, while Entreri pulled back the thrown lasso, cursing all the time. "There's nowhere to hook it," the assassin grumbled, without saying what that meant.Behind and below them were dark elves chasing after them, and the path under their feet was in jeopardy from magical attacks.And at this moment, as if they wanted to draw a perfect ending to their end, the group saw Guan Haifa running back from the front, obviously defeated.

"We will never surrender," Catti-brie whispered, with unwavering conviction in her eyes.She shot another arrow back, then bent down on the bridge, stretched her arms out of the bridge and opened her bow.The drow mage in the air had just passed through the dark ward thrown by Drizzt, and his wand was pointed at the walkway. Catti-brie hit her wand with an arrow, splitting it in two, and cutting a deep gash across the mage's shoulder as she screamed past.More of his screams were not from pain, but from fear at the sight of the shattered wand.He knew exactly how the uncast magic would end.Showing typical drow selfish devotion, the mage threw his wand down, right in the middle of the ascending ranks of companions.He accelerated his floating speed, and escaped from the unseen burst electric fireball hidden in the dark barrier at full speed, and escaped the terrified wailing of his companions.

He should have looked up, otherwise he would have known it was Catti-brie who had shot another arrow through his back.The threat was over, or at least postponed, and Catti-brie stood up for another duel with the dark elves in pursuit.They couldn't hit Catti-brie with their crossbows, and they didn't expect to go as far with their javelins, but the young lady knew what they were planning, ready to cause a catastrophe. Guenhwyvar is no ordinary panther, she has intelligence far beyond her kind.Quickly approaching his trapped companions, Guenhwyvar immediately sensed their plight and hope.Black Panther was badly wounded, taking a dozen poison darts, but her loyalty to Drizzt was above all else. Entreri stepped back and yelled as the panther rushed to snatch the rope from him.The assassin reached for his weapon, thinking the cat was about to attack him, but Guenhwyvar knocked Entreri and Drizzt back a few feet and then slammed to the right, leaping into the air. Guenhive's feet raked the smooth stone surface of the walkway, trying hard to stop.But the momentum of the big cat was so strong that Guenhive clung to the rope and fell from the end of the opposite path, hanging twenty feet below. More concerned for the cat than himself, Drizzt instinctively jumped on the taut rope and walked over, not caring that Guenhwyvar's hold on the rope was only temporary. Entreri pulled Catti-brie back, motioning for her to follow Drizzt. "I won't walk on a rope!" Desperate, she widened her eyes in fear. "Learn then!" the assassin retorted roughly, shoving Catti-brie so hard that she almost fell off the walkway.Katie-brie stepped on the rope with one foot, tried to shift her weight, but immediately backed away, shaking her head and refusing to go any further. Entreri jumped over her to the rope. "Good shot!" he said, "get ready to loose this end!" Catti-brie didn't understand what he meant, but she didn't have time to ask, because Entreri had already run across the rope bridge as smoothly as Drizzt.Catti-brie shot down at the pursuers, and had to turn back and forth to deal with the dark elves chasing Guenhwyvar from the other side. She had to take care of the flanking enemies, and she had no time to aim, and her arrows barely hit a single enemy. Catti-brie took a deep breath.She mourned her unknown future, but then, with a resigned sigh, she broke into a determined smile.If she would go down, every additional enemy Catti-brie knocked down gave Drizzt another point of chance to be free. ※※※※ Among the dark elves in the spacious hall of Banrui's house, some have heard and felt the movement of the stalactites hitting the ground of the courtyard, but they only noticed it slightly, because the walls of the hall are thick stone walls, and the hall It was also mixed with the singing of two thousand drow singing the goddess Lolth. It was a while before Matron Baenry noticed the impact.Soantu, her daughter who was in charge of the church, finally found the opportunity to whisper in her ear that something had happened in the courtyard. Matron Baenre would find it painful to interrupt the ceremony.She scanned the faces of the other matrons, scrutinized her competitors, and made sure they all supported her and her plan.However, she still allowed Soantu to send a few elite guards from the shrine to check it out—but be careful. Then the first mistress returned to the ceremony, smiling, as if nothing unusual had happened—except, of course, for this unusual family gathering.Matron Baenre reveled in her family's power, and the only thing she feared was interrupting a sacred ceremony, which might weaken her standing in the eyes of Goddess Lolth. There was no way she could have imagined three fugitives and a panther just above the shrine, far above. ※※※※ Bending over the stone bridge to comfort his wounded dear companion, Drizzt did not hear Entreri fall behind him. "We can't help the cat!" the assassin snapped, and Drizzt turned back, seeing at once what a dire predicament Catti-brie was in. "You left her!" the ranger yelled. "She can't make it!" Entreri shouted at him. "It's just that it hasn't come here yet!" Drizzt was so angry that he stretched out his hand and wanted to draw the knife.Entreri ignored him, turning to look at Catti-brie, who was kneeling on the stone face, groping for something the assassin couldn't see. "Untie the rope!" Entreri yelled. "Catch it and swing it!" Drizzt couldn't believe that he was so stupid that he didn't understand Entreri's plan. He let go of the handle of the knife and knelt down to help Entreri hold the rope together.As soon as Catti-brie cut the rope, the six-hundred-pound cat would fall with it.Drizzt had no illusions that he and Entreri alone would be able to hold the cat, but at least they could keep the other end of the rope from pulling back too quickly, at least Catti-brie There is a moment to hold on to the rope. Despite Entreri's yelling from the opposite side, and the dark elves pressing on either side, the young woman didn't immediately run to the ropes.She ended up running up and away, yelling, "It's so tight!" "Damn it, she doesn't have a knife." Entreri realized he had made a mistake. Drizzt drew his machete flash and jumped back to the rope bridge, intending to fight to the death beside his beloved Catti-brie.But the young girl bowed Taomari on her back and jumped onto the rope bridge, still with a look of fear on her face.She was hanging under the rope bridge with her hands and feet locked in tight ropes.ten.fifteen.She's only half way from her friends. The dark elves rushed forward as soon as they realized that there were no more arrows flying.The leading drow had almost reached the end of the rope bridge, holding a crossbow in his hand, and Catti-brie was the easiest target! But the dark elves rushing forward suddenly stopped and scrambled back.Several jumped directly off the stone bridge. Drizzt didn't understand what was going on in front of him, and he didn't have time to think about it—a fireball exploded on the opposite path, bursting into flames right where the two dark elf pursuers met.The wall of fire rushed towards Drizzt, who stepped back and threw his hands in front of him. At that very moment, Entreri's cry came again.The flames on the walkway across the way had burned the other end of the rope, and the rope was slipping quickly under their feet.Because Guenhive's weight couldn't be balanced with Catti-brie's. Entreri and Drizzt rushed to grab the rope, and it stopped slipping—Genhhvar bravely let go of it, realizing that he would be dragging Catti-brie down into the stone bridge.The big cat plunged straight into the darkness. The stone bridge walkway on the opposite side creaked and fell in two.The stone hit a dark elf who was floating in the air and narrowly escaped the explosion of his wand just now. The other elves who were standing on the stone bridge all fell to the ground.Most of the living dark elves can float into the air without being thrown to death.But the explosion did buy the fugitives valuable time. Catti-brie was flushed by the heat wave of the explosion, and with several clusters of flames burning on her cloak, she calmly climbed up the rope and grabbed Drizzt's extended hand. "Let Kwan go back!" she pleaded, panting, her lungs still burning from the heat, and Drizzt understood immediately.He took Catti-brie with one hand, and reached into Catti-brie's waist pocket with the other hand, took out the statue and sent it back to Guenhuffar.He just hoped the magic would work before the panther hit the ground. Drizzt pulled Catti-brie up the walk and hugged her tightly.Entreri had recovered the grapple by this time and tied it to the long rope.With a deft toss, he let the rope pass through the hole Catti-brie had just shot through the stalactite blast. "Go!" said the assassin to Drizzt, and the ranger immediately started to climb up, while Entreri quickly made a few turns of the rope around the metal fence of the walkway to stabilize it.Catti-brie was second up the long rope, but not as fast as Drizzt.And Entreri cursed loudly, saying she would be caught by the enemy for being so slow. Drizzt had seen the dark elves levitating from directly below, but it would take them a while to get this high. "No one!" Drizzt shouted down the passage above—he was greatly relieved to see that it was indeed a passage and not just a small room. Entreri let go and jumped onto the long rope that dangled just below the opening. Drizzt pulled Catti-brie up, staring at the climbers below.He could have cut the rope and let Entreri fall to his death, and there was no doubt that the world would be a better place without the assassin.But Drizzt's integrity made him keep his promise, keep Catti-brie's promise.He didn't deny that it was Entreri who had risked them all this far, nor would he have betrayed the assassin at a time like this. As Entreri approached the opening, Drizzt reached out and pulled him up.Catti-brie opened the Tamari bow and walked back to the cave to see if any dark elves were following.At this time, she noticed something else: the purple demon fire on the huge dome temple burning not far below her.She imagined what would happen if Guenhuffa broke through the roof and fell into the shrine.The look on the faces of drow at high family ceremonies—the idea brought her something else.When she looked at the domed shrine and the cave above the shrine again, she smiled maliciously. This is an uneven natural passage, but it is enough for three people to walk side by side.Suddenly there was a flash of light piercing the darkness ahead, and the group immediately understood that they were not the only ones here. Drizzt ran forward with two knives in hand, intending to clear the way.Entreri was about to follow but stopped, seeing Catti-brie inexplicably turn back and take another route. "What are you doing?" the assassin asked, but she didn't answer.She just put an arrow on her bow while counting her steps. She stepped back with a yelp as she passed a side road, and a drow sprang at her from inside, but the dagger in his chest killed him before he could strike a sword.Entreri rushed to meet the next drow running out, yelling at Catti-brie to turn around and follow Drizzt the other way. "Hold it!" She just left this sentence and continued walking in the opposite direction. "Hold it?" Entreri murmured, cutting down the second opponent to meet the third, but the other two drow that followed slipped through. ※※※※ Drizzt hunched over the uphill path, even jumping up a curved wall so as not to slow him down. "Courage is commendable!" Came a congratulations in drow language.The ranger slowed down and stopped, and saw Danzhuo Banrui and Boyinyong Banrui sitting leisurely on the lizard mounts, blocking the middle of the passage. "A courageous attempt!" Dandra repeated, but his smile mocked the entire escape, making Drizzt feel that all their efforts were just for fun for the proud master of martial arts, just for this inevitable victory. It's just to add some fun to the hunting.