Page 9 (1/2)
Book 2
Allies
8 To the Peril of Low-Flying Birds
The cos later in the afternoon, to their absolute relief It had taken them some tiasus, particularly the halfling’s pony, which had bolted early in the fight when Regis had gone down In truth, the pony would not be ridden again, anyway; it was too skittish and Regis was in no condition to ride But Drizzt had insisted that both horses and both ponies be found, re his companions of their responsibility to the far the way they had appropriated the beasts
Regis now sat before Wulfgar on the barbarian’s stallion, leading the ith his pony tied behind and Drizzt and Bruenor a short distance back, guarding the rear Wulfgar kept his great arh to allow Regis so sun at our backs," Drizzt instructed the barbarian
Wulfgar called out his acknowledges
"Rumblebelly couldn’t find a safer place in all the Realar has done well"
"Aye," the dwarf agreed, obviously pleased "Although I be wondering how er I can keep to callin’ him a boy! Ye should have seen the Cutlass, elf," the dwarf chuckled "A boatload of pirates who’d been seeing naught but the sea for a year and a day couldn’t’ve done ar was ready for the many societies of this orld," replied Drizzt "Noorry that the world may not be ready for him You should be proud"
"Ye’ve had as much a hand in him as meself," said Bruenor "He’s me boy, elf, surer’n if I’d sired hiht to his own fears on the field back there Ne’er have I viewed such courage in a huone to the other plane He waited - he hoped, I tell ye! - for the wretched beast to coe the hurt to "
Drizzt enjoyed this rare moment of vulnerability from the dwarf A few times before, he had seen Bruenor drop his callous facade, back on the cliht of Mithril Hall and the wondrous memories of his childhood
"Aye, I’to follow his lead and trust in his choices"
Drizzt could only agree, having coar had united the peoples of Icewind Dale, barbarian and Ten-Towner alike, in a coainst the harsh tundra winter He still worried about bringing the young warrior into situations like the dockside of Luskan, for he knew that many of the finest persons in the Realuilds and underground power structures of a city, and that Wulfgar’s deep coainst him
But on the road, in the wild, Drizzt knew that he would never find a more valuable companion
They encountered no further proble ca route frosaddle on the way No landuide them, as Drizzt had anticipated, but because of his plan in keeping ht line southeast, their direction frois seesaddle He alone of the group had been to the ho Harpell fae, and often outrageous, place again
His excited chatting only heightened Wulfgar’s trepidations, though, for the barbarian’s distrust of the dark arts ran deep Aar’s people, wizards were viewed as cowards and evil tricksters
"How long must we remain in this place?" he asked Bruenor and Drizzt, ith the crags safely behind them, had coet soure a better place to go" Wulfgar had to be satisfied with the answer
Soon they passed so curious stares from the men in the fields who leaned on their hoes and rakes to study the party Shortly after the first of these encounters, they were riders, representing the outer watch of the town
"Greetings, travelers," said one politely "Might we ask your intentions in these parts?"
"Ye ht" started Bruenor, but Drizzt stopped his sarcastic remark with an outstretched hand
"We have cois replied "Our business does not concern your town, though we seek the wise counsel of the farider "The hill of the Ivy Mansion is just a few saddle proper" He stopped suddenly, noticing the drow "We could escort you if you desire," he offered, clearing his throat in an effort to politely hide his gawking at the black elf
"It is not necessary," said Drizzt "I assure you that we can find the way, and that we saddle"
"Very well" The Longrider stepped his mount aside and the coh," he called after theet anxious about people near the boundaries of their land"
"They are kindly folk," Regis explained to his companions as they moved down the road, "and they trust in their wizards"
"Kindly, but wary," Drizzt retorted,to a distant field where the silhouette of a mountedwatched"
"But not bothered," Said Bruenor "And that’s more than we can say about anywhere we’ve been yet!"
The hill of the Ivy Mansion cos, two that reseh, was unlike anything the four coles every few feet, creating niches within niches, and dozens and dozens of spires sprouted froled roof, no two alike A thousand ere visible froer than an arrow slit
No one design, no overall architectural plan or style, could be found here The Harpells’ e of independent ideas and experiical creation But there was truly a beauty within the chaos, a sense of freedom that defied the ter of welcome
A rail fence surrounded the hillock and the four friends approached curiously, if not excitedly There was no gate, just an opening and the road continuing through Seated on a stool inside the fence, staring blankly at the sky, was a fat, bearded man in a carmine robe
He noticed their arrival with a start "Who are you and what do you want?" he deered at the interruption of his is, "come to seek the wisdom of the reknowned Harpells"
The is turned helplessly to Drizzt and Bruenor, but they could only answer hi what more was required of them Bruenor started to roup’s intentions when another robedout of the mansion to join the first
He had a few quiet words with the fat s," he offered the coe’s shoulder " - for he has had an incredible run of bad luck with sos will not turn out, weld is really a fine wizard," he continued, patting the shoulder again "And his ideas for crossbreeding a horse and a frog are not without merit; never mind the explosion! Alchemy shops can be replaced!"
The friends sat atop theirdiscourse "Why, think of the advantages for crossing rivers!" the robed ht I assist you?"
"Harkle Harpell?" Regis snickered The man bowed
"Bruenor of Icewind Dale, I be," Bruenor proclaimed when he had found his voice "Me friends andthe words of the wizards of Longsaddle" He noticed that Harkle, distracted by the droasn’t paying any attention to hie the reaction of the reputedly learned rider back on the road had been surprised, but not outraged, and Drizzt had to learn if the town in general would be e
"Fantastic," weld, too, had now noticed the black elf and seemed interested for the first tie?" Drizzt asked
"Oh, yes, please do co unsuccessfully tohis horse out in front, Wulfgar started them up the road
"Not that way," said Harkle "Not the road; of course, it is not really a road Or it is, but you cannot get through"
Wulfgar stopped his rily, his years of distrust for practitioners of theover in his frustration "May we enter, or not?"
"There is no foolery, I assure you," said Harkle, hoping to keep the weld cut in
"One of those," the fat lared at hiweld explained "A warrior trained to hate that which he cannot co ha his own unreasonable anger, and looked to his friends for support He didn’t want to spoil Bruenor’s plans for the sake of his own pettiness
"Go ahead," Regweld insisted,to the center of the road "Take up your hammer and throw it at me Satisfy your heartfelt desire to expose the foolery of a wizard! And strike one down in the process! A bargain if ever I heard one!" He pointed to his chin "Right here," he chided
"Regweld," sighed Harkle, shaking his head "Please oblige hiar looked once weld settled it for hi was out and twirling through the air before the fat ht in on itswould have crossed over the fence line, it sible as stone Resounding like a cere, the transparent wall shuddered and waves rolled out along it, visible to the astounded onlookers as es behind the wall The friends noticed for the first ti on the surface of the transparent wall
Aegis-fang dropped to the dust, as though all power had been drained frorasp
Regweld’s laughter was more of victory than of humor, but Harkle shook his head "Always at the expense of others," he scolded "You had no right to do that"
"He’s better for the lesson," Regweld retorted "Huis had bitten his lip for as long as he could He had known about the invisible wall all along, and now his laughter burst out Drizzt and Bruenor could not help but follow the halfling’s lead, and even Wulfgar, after he had recovered from the shock, smirked at his own "foolery"
Of course, Harkle had no choice but to stop his scolding and join in "Do coed the friends "The third post is real; you can find the gate there But first, disar’s suspicions ca the sis ordered, "or you shall find a bigger surprise than the last one"
Drizzt and Bruenor had already slipped froued, but not the least bit fearful of the hospitable Harkle Harpell Wulfgar threw his arear frois’s pony, after the others
Regis found the entrance easily and swung it open for his friends They ca flashes of light
When their eyes cleared again, they found that the horses and ponies had been reduced to the size of cats!
"What?" blurted Bruenor, but Regis was laughing again and Harkle acted as though nothing unusual had happened
"Pick the," he instructed "It is nearly time to sup, and the meal at The Fuzzy Quarterstaff is particularly delicious this night!"
He led the the center of the hillock Bruenor and Wulfgar felt ridiculous carrying their hly enjoyed the whole outrageous spectacle, having learned on his first visit that Longsaddle was a place to be taken lightly, appreciating the idiosyncrasies and unique ways of the Harpells purely for the sake of ais kneould serve as yet another exareat, it was apparently unsupported, and its narrow planks were completely unadorned, even without handrails
Another robed Harpell, this one incredibly old, sat on a stool, his chin in his hand,no notice of the strangers whatsoever
When Wulfgar, in the front beside Harkle, neared the bank of the streais snickered, knohat the big man had seen, and Drizzt and Bruenor soon understood
The stream flowed UP the side of the hill, then vanished just before the top, though the co before them Then the strea down the other side
The old ar "What can it ed on the barbarian’s ar looked around for an escape, not wanting to even grab the oldhis frail form Just as abruptly as he had come, the old man dashed back to the stool and resumed his silent pose
"Alas, poor Chardin," Harkle said sohty in his day It was he who turned the stream up the hill But near a score of years now he has been obsessed with finding the secret of the invisibility under the bridge"
"Why is the stream so different from the wall?" wondered Drizzt "Certainly this dweo the wizard community"
"Ah, but there is a difference," Harkle was quick to reply, excited at finding someone outside the Ivy Mansion apparently interested in their works "An invisible object is not so rare, but a field of invisibility " He swept his hand to the strea that enters the river there takes on the property," he explained "But only for as long as it remains in the field And to a person in the enchanted area - I know because I have done this test h the water and fish within appear nore of the properties of invisibility and may actually reflect a tear into the fabric of a wholly unknown plane of existence!" He saw that his exciteone beyond the comprehension or interest of the drow’s coo, so he cal for your horses is in that building," he said, pointing to one of the loooden structures "The underbridge will get you there I must attend to another ar, not cohtly onto the first wooden planks of the bridge, and was promptly thrown backward by soe," cried Harkle, pointing under the bridge "You cannot cross the river this way by the overbridge; that is used for the way back! Stops any arguar had his doubts about a bridge he could not see, but he didn’t want to appear cowardly before his friends and the wizard He erlyfor the invisible crossing There was only the air, and the unseen rush of water just below his foot, and he hesitated
"Go on," coaxed Harkle
Wulfgar plunged ahead, setting himself for a fall into the water But to his absolute surprise, he did not fall down
He fell up!
"Whoa!" the barbarian cried out as he thunked into the botto ainst the botto down instead of up
"You see!" screeched the wizard "The underbridge!"
Drizztinto the enchanted area with an easy tuhtly on his feet beside his friend
"Are you all right?" he asked
"The road,for the road, and the orcs It is safer"
Drizzt helped hiued every inch of the way against standing upside-down under a bridge, with an invisible strea above his head
Bruenor, too, had his reservations, but a taunt fro, and soon the corass of the natural world on the other bank of the streas stood before them, and they moved to the smaller, the one Harkle had indicated