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"As close as ye’ll find out here," Catti-brie replied "Ye’re a prisoner here suren as I be" She recognized the vulnerability of this proud ance of Sydney and Entreri, and drove her point home hard "They mean to kill ye, ye know that now, and even if ye escape the blade, yell have nowhere to go Ye’ve abandoned yer fellows in Luskan, and the wizard in the tower’d put ye to a bad end if ye ever went back there, anyway!"

Jierdan tensed in frustrated rage, but did not lash out

"Me friends are close by," Catti-brie continued despite the warning signs "They be living still, I know, and we’ll bethem any day That’ll be our time, soldier, to live or to die For ained over, me life’ll be me own But for yerself, the road looks dark indeed! If me friends win, they’ll cut ye down, and if yerunspoken for a few et what they seek, they’ll need ye no , not of fear, but of rage, and pushed hie of control "They ht that they be needin’ a lackey!"

He did strike her then, just once, and recoiled

Catti-brie accepted the bloithout coh she was careful to hide her satisfaction Jierdan’s loss of self-restraint proved to her that the continual disrespect Sydney, and especially Entreri, had shown for hie of explosion

She knew, too, that when Entreri returned and saw the bruise Jierdan had given her, those fires would burn even brighter

Sydney and Entreri rushed through the streets of Silvery the obvious sounds of commotion When they reached the wall, they found Bok encapsulated in a sphere of glowing green lights Riderless horses paced about to the groans of a dozen injured soldiers, and one oldhis beard and studying the trapped goleht of Silver of considerable rank stood i the po and be done with it," Sydney heard the knight say to the wizard

"Oh, no!" exclaimed the wizard "But it is ht snapped back "Just look around - "

"Your pardon, good sirs," Sydney interrupted "I am Sydney, of the Hosttower of the Arcane in Luskan Perhaps I may be of some help"

"Well met," said the wizard "I ae Know you the possessor of this nificent creature?"

"Bok is ht stared at her, amazed that a woman, or anyone for that matter, controlled the monster that had knocked aside some of his finest warriors and taken down a section of the city wall "The price shall be high, Sydney of Luskan," he snarled

"The Hosttower shall olem to my control?" she asked the wizard "Bok will obeyturned loose again"

"Calm, Gavin," Mizzen said to hiolem, if I may Truly the finest construction I have ever witnessed, with strength beyond the expectations of the books of creation"

"I am sorry," Sydney answered, "but my time is short I have ht by the golem and I shall relay it to my master, on my word as a uard

Again Mizzen silenced hier," he said to Sydney He surveyed the area "Perhaps we ain None seem to have been seriously injured"

"Three men have been carried away!" Gavin rebutted "And at least one horse is lame and will have to be destroyed!"

Mizzen waved his hand as if to belittle the claims "They will heal," he said "They will heal And the wall needed repairs anyway" He looked at Sydney and scratched his beard again "Here is olee it has wreaked Just one night"

"And you’ll not disasseed

"Not even the head," Sydney insisted "And I shall coht of dawn"

Mizzen scratched his beard again "A ical prison "Agreed!"

"If that rily

"Oh, where is your sense of adventure, Gavin?" Mizzen shot back before the knight could even finish his warning "Remember the precepts of our town, man We are here to learn If you only understood the potential of such a creation!"

They started away fro into Gavin’s ear Entreri slipped fro to Sydney’s side

"Why did the thing come?" he asked her

She shook her head "There can be only one answer"

"The drow?"

"Yes," she said "Bok must have followed theh the goleh behind the drow and his valiant friends, they would have been down here at the battle, helping to fend it off"

"Then theythe city when Bok saw theuards at the gate Fear not, our prey is close at hand!"

They arrived back at the rooate they had learned of the drow’s party being turned away and now they were anxious to retrieve Bok and be on their way

Sydney started a string of instructions to Jierdan concerning their departure in the rabbed Entreri’s immediate attention was Catti-brie’s bruised eye He moved over to check her bonds and, satisfied that they were intact, spun on Jierdan with his dagger drawn

Sydney, quickly sur the situation, cut him off "Not now!" she demanded "Our rewards are at hand We cannot afford this!"

Entreri chuckled evilly and slid the dagger away "We will yet discuss this," he proain"

Perfect, Catti-brie thought Froht as well have said outright that he meant to kill hiole, Sydney’s suspicions that Bok had seen the drow’s party were confir them down the sa before

Like the previous party, they, too, atched

Alustriel, brushed her flowing hair froreen eyes as she looked down upon the band with growing curiosity The lady had learned fro about the dark elf

She couldn’t yet figure out what part this new group leaving Silverymoon played in the quest, but she suspected that they were up to no good Alustriel had sated her own thirst for adventure many years before, but she wished now that she could somehow aid the drow and his friends on their noble h, and she had no time for such diversions She considered for aa patrol to capture this second party, so that she could learn its intentions Then she turned back to her city, re herself that she was just a minor player in the search for Mithril Hall She could only trust in the abilities of Drizzt Do’Urden and his friends