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When the last tre friends picked their way through the rubble and the veil of dust back to the oval chareat cracks in the floor that threatened to s them up, Bruenor scrambled into the alcove, the others close on his heels

No blood or any other sign of the two master swordsmen was anywhere to be found, just thethe hole of the stonework trap Bruenor could see the edgings of darkness beneath the pile, and he called out to Drizzt His reason told hiainst his heart and hopes, that the drow could not hear, that the trap had taken Drizzt from him

The tear that rimmed his eye dropped to his cheek when he spotted the lone scion’s lair, resting against the ruins of the alcove Solemnly, he picked it up and slid it into his belt

"Alas for ye, elf," he cried into the destruction "Ye deserved a better end" If the others had not been so caught up in their own reflections at that ry undertone to Bruenor’sIn the face of the loss of his dearest andthe wisdoedy, Bruenor found his grief uilt He could not escape the part he had played in bringing about the dark elf’s fall He re the quest, feigning his own death and pro an adventure the likes of which none of them had ever seen

He stood now, quietly, and accepted his inner torrief, was equally deep, and uncos The barbarian had lost one of his e, brutish warrior to a calculating and cunning fighter

He had lost one of his truest friends He would have followed Drizzt to the bowels of the Abyss in search of adventure He firet them into a predicahting beside Drizzt, or coainst his teacher, the e of his liar had envisioned his own death beside the drow, a glorious finish that the bards would write and sing about long after the enemies who had slain the two friends had turned to dust in un barbarian did not fear

"Ye’ve found yer peace now,the drow’s tormented existence better than anyone Catti-brie’s perceptions of the world were more attuned to Drizzt’s sensitive side, the private aspect of his character that his other friends could not see beneath his stoic features It was the part of Drizzt Do’Urden that had demanded he leave Menzoberranzan and his evil race, and had forced him into a role as an outcast Catti-brie knew the joy of the drow’s spirit, and the unavoidable pain he had suffered at the snubbings of those who could not see that spirit for the color of his skin

She realized, too, that both the causes of good and evil had lost a chae of Drizzt The world would be better for the loss of the assassin

But the price was too high

Any relief that Regis ht have felt at the deer and sorrow A part of the halfling had died in that alcove No longer would he have to run - Pasha Pook would pursue hiis had to accept some consequences for his actions He had joined up with Bruenor’s party knowing that Entreri would be close behind, and understanding the potential danger to his friends

Ever the confident gae had never entered his head Life was a gae, and never before had he been expected to pay for his risks If anything in the world could te’s obsession with chance, it was this, the loss of one of his few true friends because of a risk he had chosen to take

"Farewell,to Bruenor, he then said, "Where do we go? Hoe get out of this terrible place?"

Regis hadn’t meant the remark as an accusation, but forced into a defensive posture by the uilt, Bruenor took it as such and struck back "Ye did it yerself!" he snarled at Regis "Ye bringed the killer after us!" Bruenor took a threatening step forward, his face contorted by e and his hands whitened by the intensity of their clench

Wulfgar, confused by this sudden pulse of anger,did not back away, butthat Bruenor’s anger could be so consu picking yer ith no concern for what yer leaving behind - and yer friends pay for it!" His anger swelled with each word, again al its own th

His next step would have brought hiis, and his motion showed thear stepped between the two and halted Bruenor with an unry trance by the barbarian’s stern posture, Bruenor realized then what he was about to do More than a little eer beneath his concern for their immediate survival and turned away to survey the remains of the room Few, if any, of their supplies had survived the destruction "Leave the stuff; no ti the choked growls fro this foul place far behind us!"

Wulfgar and Catti-brie scanned the rubble, searching for soree with Bruenor’s demands that they press on without any supplies They quickly cah, and with a final salute to the ruins of the alcove, they followed Bruenor back into the corridor

"I’e afore the next rest," Bruenor exclai walk"

"And then where?" Wulfgar asked, guessing, but not liking, the answer

"Out!" Bruenor roared "Quick as we can!" He glared at the barbarian, daring hiue

"To return with the rest of your kin beside us?" Wulfgar pressed

"Not to return," said Bruenor "Never to return!"

"Then Drizzt has died in vain!" Wulfgar stated bluntly "He sacrificed his life for a vision that will never be fulfilled"

Bruenor paused to steady hiar’s sharp perception He hadn’t looked at the tragedy in that cynical light, and he didn’t like the irowled at the barbarian "A warning it is to us all to be gone from the place Evil’s here, thick as orcs on mutton! Don’t ye sone froar replied evenly "As often they have before But I as!"

"Then ye’re sure to be a dead warrior," Catti-brie put in

Wulfgar glared at her "Drizzt came to help take back Mithril Hall, and I shall see the deed done!"

"Ye’ll die trying," er off his voice now "We came to find me home, boy, but this is not the place Me people once lived here, ’tis true, but the darkness that creeped into Mithril Hall has put an end to me claim on it I’ve no wish to return once I’m clear of the stench of the place, know that in yer stubborn head It’s for the shado, and the gray ones, and may the whole stinkin’ place fall in on their stinkin’ heads!"

Bruenor had said enough He turned abruptly on his heel and sta into the stone with uncois and Catti-brie followed closely, and Wulfgar, after a moment to consider the dwarf’s resolve, trotted to catch up with them

Sydney and Bok returned to the oval chae was certain the companions had left Like the friends before her, she made her way to the ruined alcove and stood for aon the effect this sudden turn of events would have on her mission She was amazed at the depth of her sorrow for the loss of Entreri, for though she didn’t fully trust the assassin and suspected that hefor the saht, she had come to respect hi started?

Sydney didn’t have a lot of time to mourn for Entreri, for the loss of Drizzt Do’Urden conjured more immediate concerns for her own safety Dendybar wasn’t likely to take the news lightly, and the mottled wizard’s talent at punished in the Hosttower of the Arcane

Bok waited for a e, but when none was forthco the mound of rubble

"Stop," Sydney ordered

Bok kept on with its chore, driven by its directive to continue its pursuit of the drow

"Stop!" Sydney said again, this ti!" The blunt statehts into motion Bok did stop and turn to her, and she waited a moment to sort out the best course of action

"We will go after the others," she said offhandedly, as hts with the stateolem "Yes, perhaps, if we deliver the dwarf and the other co the drow to die"

She looked to the goleed to offer any encouragement

"It should have been you in the alcove," Sydney"Entreri could at least offer soestions But no matter, I have decided We shall follow the others and find the tiht take them They will tell us e need to know about the Crystal Shard!"

Bok renal Even with its olem understood that Sydney best kne they could complete their mission

The coe caverns, s and walls stretched out into the blackness, beyond the glow of the torches, leaving the friends dreadfully aware of their vulnerability They kept close together as theythe some horrid creature to swoop down upon them from the darkness above

The ever-present sound of dripping water paced theh every hall, accentuating the emptiness of the place

Bruenor remembered this section of the cootten i, where all of Clan Battleha Garumn, or to meet with iies set for coest dwarves were present at the s, and Bruenor recalled fondly the randfather, King Garu’s techniques for capturing the audience, and instructing the young Bruenor in the arts of leadership that he would one day need

The day he beca of Mithril Hall

The solitude of the caverns weighed heavily on the dwarf, who had heard the of ten-thousand dwarves Even if he were to return with all of the re members of the clan, they would fill only a tiny corner of one chaone," Bruenor said into the emptiness, his soft whisper louder than he had intended in the echoing stillness Catti-brie and Wulfgar, concerned for the dwarf and scrutinizing his every action, noted the reuess the memories and emotions that had prompted it They looked to each other and Catti-brie could see that the edge of Wulfgar’s anger at the dwarf had dissipated in a rush of syreat hall loo them Turns and side exits broke off every few feet, but Bruenor felt confident that he knew the way to the gorge He knew, too, that anyone beloould have heard the crashing of the stonework trap and would be coate This section of the upper level, unlike the areas they had left behind, had ar doused the torch and Bruenor led theloom

Their caution soon proved prudent, for as they entered yet another i him, and motioned for all of thee, but saw at once the sincere look of dread on Regis’s face