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Revjak’s sh to take in his ears when he saw that the rumors were true, that Bruenor Battlehammer had returned to Icewind Dale The two had lived side by side for the first forty years of Revjak’s life, but during that time the barbarian had little experience with Bruenor, other than as enear had united the nomadic tribes and cast them into the war as allies of the folk of Ten-Towns and the dwarves of Clan Battlehaoblinoid minions

On that occasion, less than a decade before, Revjak had coth and fortitude of Bruenor and of all the dwarves In the feeeks that had followed, before Bruenor and Wulfgar had set out to find Mithril Hall, Revjak had spent ed a fast friendship Bruenor was going to leave, but the rest of Clan Battlehammer would remain in Icewind Dale until Mithril Hall was found, and Revjak had taken on the responsibility of tightening the friendship between the giant barbarians and the diminutive dwarves He had done

such a fine job that o south with Clan Battlehaht to reclaim Mithril Hall, and there they had stayed for several years

It seeotten all of that, for when the giant warrior entered the tent to join in thewith Bruenor and Stu scowl

"Sit, Berkthgar," Revjak bade the ar held out his hand, indicating that he would re, Revjak kneering over the seated dwarves If hardy Bruenor was bothered at all, though, he didn’t show it He reclined comfortably on the thick blanket of piled skins so that he did not have to crook his neck to look up at the standing Berkthgar

"Ye’re still looking like yer last ar

"Why has a king coar retorted

"No reat-great-great-great grandfather"

Revjak looked at the dwarf curiously "Gandalug?" he asked, rear had told hiinal Patron of Clan Battlehammer and the founder of Mithril Hall, had returned from the dead as a prisoner of the drow elves

"The same," Stumpet answered

"Yerself can call ar, who huffed and looked away

"Thus you have returned to Icewind Dale," Revjak intervened, before the discussion could turn ugly It seemed to the barbarian leader that Bruenor did not appreciate the level of antipathy Berkthgar had cultivated for the dwarves-either that, or Bruenor simply didn’t care "You’re here to visit?"

"To stay," Bruenor corrected "Theout the things that’ve crawled in and fixing the supports We’ll be taking ore in a week and haoods the day after that"

Revjak nodded "Then this is a visit for purposes of business," he reasoned

"And for friendship," Bruenor was quick to reply "Better if the two go together, I say"

"Agreed," Revjak said He looked up to notice that Berkthgar was chewing hard on his lip "And I trust that your clan will be fair with its prices for goods that we need"

"We’ve got the ot the skins and thethat we need," Berkthgar interjected suddenly and vehe the look for just afrom the dwarves," the warrior stated "All that we need is provided by the tundra"

"Bah!" Bruenor snorted "Yer stone speartips bounce off good ar replied dryly "And if we come to ith Ten-Towns and the allies of Ten-Towns, our strength will put the stone tips through anything a dwarf can forge"

Bruenor sat up straight and both Revjak and Stu that the fiery red-bearded dould pounce upon Berkthgar for such an open threat

Bruenor was older and wiser than that, though, and he looked instead to Revjak "Who’s speaking for the tribe?" the dwarf asked

"I aar

Berkthgar didn’t blink "Where is Aegis-fang?" the giant ht, the point of it all, the source of the arguhty warhaar, the barbarian lad who had becoar pressed, and it seemed to Bruenor that the warrior hoped the ansould be yes "Is it hanging useless as an orna on here She and Bruenor had discussed this very point before they had set out on the return to Icewind Dale Berkthgar would have preferred it if they had left Aegis-fang in Mithril Hall, hundreds and hundreds of miles away from Icewind Dale So far away, the weapon would not have cast its shadow over hireat sword,

Bankenfuere, the Northern Fury Bruenor would hear nothing of such a course, though Aegis-fang was his greatest accomplishment, the pinnacle of his respectable career as a weaponsmith, and even more importantly, it was his only link to his lost son Where Bruenor went, Aegis-fang went, and Berkthgar’s feelings be daed for a ure out the best tactical course Stumpet was not so ambivalent "The haed by Bruenor, who ar’s scowl deepened and Stuive ye all ye’re needin’," the priestess howled "Why’re ye caring for a dwarf-iant barbarian didn’t reply, but it see the upper hand here

"Of course that oord ye wear strapped to yer back was not ot it in trade, and it, too, was probably hed at her, but there was no h seemed more of threat than of mirth

"Who are these dwarves who call thear asked "And yet they will not give over to the tribe a weaponold," Bruenor warned

"And you are getting old, dwarf," Berkthgar retorted "You should not have returned" With that, Berkthgar stormed from the tent

"Ye should be watchin’ that one," Bruenor said to Revjak

The barbarian leader nodded "Berkthgar has been caught in a web spun of his oords," he replied "And so havewarriors"

"Always full o’ fight," Bruenor rear was indeed one to be watched, but in truth, there was little Revjak could do If Berkthgar wanted to split the tribe, enough would agree and follow him so that Revjak could not stop hie for the leadership of the united tribe, he would have enough support so that Revjak would find it difficult to refuse

Revjak was too old to fight Berkthgar He had thought the

ways of the barbarians of Icewind Dale changed when Wulfgar had united the tribes That is why he had accepted the offered position as leader when Wulfgar had left, though in the past such a title could be earned only by inheritance or by combat, by deed or by blood

Old ways died hard, Revjak realized, staring at the tent flap through which Berkthgar had departed Many in the tribe, especially those who had returned fro nuic for the freer, wilder days gone by Revjak often happened upon conversations where older reat wars, the unified attack upon Ten-Toherein Wulfgar was captured by Bruenor

Their nostalgia was misplaced, Revjak knew In the unified attack upon Ten-Towns, the warriors had been so cohtered that the tribes had barely survived the ensuing winter Still, the stories of ere always full of glory and exciteedy With the excite with the return of Bruenor and the dwarves, many remembered too fondly the days before the alliance

Revjak would indeed watch Berkthgar, but he feared that to be all he could do

Outside the tent, another listener, young Kierstaad, nodded his agree Kierstaad was truly torn, full of adar but also for Bruenor At that le entered into the youngwas in the dale!

"Might be the same stor the black wall that loomed on the eastern horizon before the Sea Sprite

"But stronger," Deuder power from the water" They were still in the sunshine, six days out froht to the Moonshaes, by Deuder

The first hints of a head wind brushed against the tall captain’s face, the first gentle blows of the gales that would soon assault them

"Hard to starboard!" Deudero north around it, north around the Moonshaes," he said quietly, so that only Robillard could hear "A straighter course to our port"