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Drizzt took the lead as the four co as h they hadn’t slept in many hours, their encounters in the City of Sails had sent a burst of adrenaline through their veins and none of theht, a crispy tingling that would havehis eyes to it The river, rushing swiftly and high frolow, its whitecaps catching the starlight and throwing it back into the air in a spray of bejeweled droplets

Noruard down They felt no danger lurking near, felt nothing but the sharp, refreshing chill of the spring night and the mysterious pull of the heavens Bruenor lost hiis in ar, so despondent about his ill-fated encounter with civilization, felt his spirits soar He thought of sihts on the open tundra, when he had dreamed of what lay beyond the horizons of his world Now, out beyond those horizons, Wulfgar found only one ele instincts that denied such cohts, he wished that Catti-brie, the worown to cherish, ith hiht

If the others had not been so preoccupied with their own enjoy, they would have noticed an extra bounce in Drizzt Do’Urden’s graceful step as well To the drow, these hts, when the heavenly dome reached down below the horizon, bolstered his confidence in the most important and difficult decision he had ever made, the choice to forsake his people and his homeland No stars sparkled above Menzoberranzan, the dark city of the black elves No unexplainable allure tugged at the heartstrings fro

"Howin darkness," Drizzt whispered into the night The pull of the mysteries of the endless sky carried the joy of his spirit beyond its normal boundaries and opened his mind to the unanswerable questions of the h his skin was black, there remained in his soul a semblance of the hareneral these feelings truly ran a his people Did they remain in the hearts of all drow? Or had eons of subliuished the spiritual flareatest loss that his people had suffered when they retreated to the depths of the world was the loss of the ability to ponder the spirituality of existence siht

The crystalline sheen of the Mirar gradually dulled as the lightening dawn dimmed the stars It came as an unspoken disappointment to the friends as they set their camp in a sheltered spot near the banks of the river

"Be knowin’ that nights like that are few," Bruenor observed as the first ray of light crept over the eastern horizon A gli that the normally practical dwarf rarely enjoyed

Drizzt noted the dwarf’s dreahts that he and Bruenor had spent on Bruenor’s Cli place, back in the dwarf’s valley in Ten-Towns "Too few," he agreed

With a resigned sigh, they set to work, Drizzt and Wulfgar starting breakfast while Bruenor and Regis exaru, Bruenor had pressured hi for a very definite reason, aside froh the dwarf had is had co on the road out of Ten-Towns in a last-is knew the land south of the Spine of the World better than any of them Bruenor himself hadn’t been out of Icewind Dale in nearly two centuries, and then he had been just an unbearded dwarf-child Wulfgar had never left the dale, and Drizzt’s only trek across the world’s surface had been a nightti many of the places the companions would need to search out, if they were ever to find Mithril Hall

Regis ran his fingers across theto Bruenor his experiences in each of the places listed, particularly Mirabar, the reat wealth to the north, and Waterdeep, true to its name as the City of Splendors, down the coast to the south

Bruenor slipped his finger across thethe physical features of the terrain "Mirabar’d bethe mark of the city tucked within the southern slopes of the Spine of the World "Mithril Hall’s in is considered the dwarf’s observations for just a er down on yet another spot, by the scale of the saddle," he said "Halfway to Silveryood place to search out our course"

"A city?" Bruenor asked, for the mark on the is corrected "There are not many people there, but a family of wizards, the Harpells, have lived there for many years and know the northland as well as any They would be happy to help us"

Bruenor scratched his chin and nodded "A fair hike What is admitted, a bit disheartened as he remembered the place "Wild and orc-filled I e had another road, but Longsaddle still seeer," Bruenor reis recalling more and more as they went A series of unusual and unidentified ht line due east of Luskan to the river network south of Lurkwood - caught Bruenor’s eye

"Ancestral ardt"

"Uthgardt?"

"Barbarians," answered Regis grimly "Like those in the dale More wise to the ways of civilization, perhaps, but no less fierce Their separate tribes are all about the northland, wandering the wilds

Bruenor groaned in understanding of the halfling’s dishting prowess of barbarians Orcs would prove much less formidable foes

By the time the two had finished their discussion, Drizzt was stretching out in the cool shade of a tree overhanging the river and Wulfgar was halfway through his third helping of breakfast

"Yer jaw still dances for food, I see!" Bruenor called as he noted the ht filled with adventure," Wulfgar replied gaily, and his friends were glad to observe that the brawl had apparently left no scars upon his attitude "A fine meal and a fine sleep, and I shall be ready for the road once et too comfortable yet!" Bruenor ordered "Ye’ve a third of a watch to keep this day!"

Regis looked about, perplexed, always quick to recognize an increase in his workload "A third?" he asked "Why not a fourth?"

"The elf’s eyes are for the night," Bruenor explained "Let him be ready to find our hen the day’s flown"

"And where is our way?" Drizzt asked from his mossy bed "Have you cosaddle," Regis replied "Two hundred miles east and south, around Neverwinter Wood and across the crags"

"The name is unknown to is explained "A faood-natured hospitality I spent soar balked at the idea The barbarians of Icewind Dale despised wizards, considering the black arts a power employed only by cowards "I have no desire to view this place," he stated flatly

"Who asked ye?" growled Bruenor, and Wulfgar found hi to hold a stubborn argu by his father

"You will enjoy Longsaddle," Regis assured him "The Harpells have truly earned their hospitable reputation, and the wonders of Longsaddle will show you a side of ic you never expected They will even accept" He found his hand involuntarily pointing to Drizzt, and he cut short the statement in embarrassment

But the stoic drow just sis "Your words ring of truth, and I have come to accept my station in your world" He paused and looked individually into each uncomfortable stare that was upon him "I know my friends, and I dismiss my enemies," he stated with a finality that dismissed their worries

"With a blade, ye do," Bruenor added with a soft chuckle, though Drizzt’s keen ears caught the whisper

"If I et so in his friends’ abilities to keep him safe

They passed a lazy day in the shade beside the river Late in the afternoon, Drizzt and Bruenor ate a is soundly asleep, at least until they had eaten their own fill

"We’ll stay with the river for a night round That’d clear us of the wood and lay open a straight path ’fore us"

"Perhaps it would be better if we traveled only by night for a few days," Drizzt suggested "We know not what eyes follow us out of the City of Sails"

"Agreed," replied Bruenor "Let’s be off, then A long road before us, and a longer one after that!"

"Too long," erous glare He was nervous about this trek and about bringing his friends on a dangerous road, and in an emotional defense, he took all complaints about the adventure personally

"To walk, I is quickly explained "There are farmhouses in this area, so there h price in these parts," replied Bruenor

"Maybe" said the halfling slyly, and his friends could easily guess what he was thinking Their frowns reflected a general disapproval

"The crags stand before us!" Regis argued "Horses ht for every mile of our hike! Besides, it would only be a loan We could return the beasts ere through with the’s proposed trickery, but could not refute his logic Horses would certainly aid therowled

"And about is

"We’ll is was contented, confident that his friends would opt for the horses He ate his fill, then scraped together the supper’s ar

They were on the trail again soon after, and a short tihts of a small settlement in the distance

"Take us there," Bruenor told Drizzt "Mighten be that Ru missed the conversation at the caument, or even questioned the dwarf After the disaster at the Cutlass, he had resigned hi the other three decide which trails they were to take He would folloithout co his hammer ready for when it became needed

They moved inland away from the river for a few ether inside a stout wooden fence

"There are dogs about," Drizzt noted, sensing theoes in alone," said Bruenor

Wulfgar’s face twisted in confusion, especially since the halfling’s look indicated that he wasn’t thrilled with the idea "That I cannot allow," the barbarian spouted "If any a us needs protection, it is the little one I’ll not hide here in the dark while he walks alone into danger!"

"He goes in alone," Bruenor said again "We’re here for no fight, boy Ruis sht fully in the trap that Bruenor had clearly set for hiis had insisted, but with the grudging permission came a measure of responsibility and bravery on his part It was the dwarf’s way, of absolving hiar re, but Regis knew that the young warrior otiations "You stay with the others," he explained to the barbarian "I can handle this deal alone"

Mustering up his nerve, he pulled his belt over the hang of his belly and strode off toward the sreeted hi back - the ruby pendant probably wouldn’t do his - but then he saw the silhouette of a man leave one of the farmhouses and start his way

"What do you want?" the farate and clutching an antique pole arenerations

"I a to appear as pitiful as he could It was a tale the farmer had heard far too often

"Go away!" he ordered

"But - "

"Get you gone!"

Over a ridge some distance away, the three coh only Drizzt viewed the scene in the di The drow could see the tenseness in the fare the deep resolve in thescowl upon his face