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Many miles north of Ten-Towns, across the trackless tundra to the northerne of land in all the Realround in a white-tipped glaze There were no mountains or trees to block the cold bite of the relentless eastern wind, carrying the frosty air fro Ice drifted slowly past, the wind howling off of their high-riding tips in a gri season And yet, the nomadic tribes who summered there with the reindeer had not journeyed with the herd’sthe coast to the more hospitable sea on the south side of the peninsula

The unwavering flatness of the horizon was broken in one s of barbarians this far north in more than a century To accomodate the leaders of the respective tribes, several deerskin tents had been laid out in a circular pattern, each enco of cae deerskin hall had been constructed, designed to hold every warrior of the tribes The tribesorot, "The Mead Hall," and to the northern barbarians this was a place of reverence, where food and drink were shared in toasts to Tempos, the God of Battle

The fires outside the hall burned low this night, for King Heafstaag and the Tribe of the Elk, the last to arrive, were expected in the camp before moonset All of the barbarians already in the encaun the pre-council festivities Great flagons of th sprang up with growing frequency Though the tribes often warred with each other, in Hengorot all differences were put aside

King Beorg, a robustto white, and lines of experience etched deeply into his tanned face, stood sole his people, he stood tall and straight, his wide shoulders proudly squared The barbarians of Icewind Dale stood a full head andas though to take advantage of the wide and roomy expanses of empty tundra

They were indeed round they roamed over, their oftenbearded faces were browned fro the, expressionless mask that did not welcome outsiders They despised the people of Ten-Tohom they considered ealth-chasers possessed of no spiritual value whatsoever

Yet one of those wealth-chasers stood a’s side was deBernezan, the dark-haired southerner, the only man in the room as not born and bred of the barbarian tribes The mousey deBernezan kept his shoulders defensively hunched as he glanced nervously about the hall He ell aware that the barbarians were not overly fond of outsiders and that any one of theest attendant, could break hie hands

"Hold steady!" Beorg instructed the southerner "Tonight you hoist ons with the Tribe of the Wolf If they sense your fear " He left the rest unspoken, but deBernezan kneell how the barbarians dealt eakness The shtened his shoulders

Yet Beorg, too, was nervous King Heafstaag was his pri a force as dedicated, disciplined, and nu’s plan called for the total conquest of Ten-Towns, enslaving the surviving fisher well off of the wealth they harvested fro saw an opportunity for his people to abandon their precarious nomadic existence and find a ed on the assent of Heafstaag, a brutal king interested only in personal glory and triumphant plunder Even if the victory over Ten-Toas achieved, Beorg knew that he would eventually have to deal with his rival, ould not easily abandon the fervent bloodlust that had put hi of the Tribe of the Wolf would have to cross later, the pri refused to go along, the lesser tribes would split in their alliances a This would prove devastating to all their people, for even the barbarians who survived the initial battles would be in for a brutal struggle against winter: The reindeer had long since departed for the southern pastures, and the caves along the route had not been stocked in preparation Heafstaag was a cunning leader; he knew that at this late date the tribes were co wondered what ter took co the asseht, when they all met in the common hall, the atorot lathered in foaamble had been that the tribes could be united by a coone wellso far

But the brute, Heafstaag, re’s colue, one-eyed king hi strides indicative of the no’s proposal and wary of winter’s early onset, the rugged king had chosen toonly for short periods of food and rest Though primarily known for his ferocious proficiency in battle, Heafstaag was a leader who carefully weighed his every iven his people by the warriors of the other tribes, and Heafstaag was quick to pounce on any advantage he could get

Not that he expected any trouble at Hengorot He held Beorg in high respect Twice before he hadof the Tribe of the Wolf on the field of honor with no victory to show for it If Beorg’s plan was as pro, insisting only on an equal share in the leadership with the blond king He didn’t care for the notion that the tribesmen, once they had conquered the towns, could end their no knucklehead trout, but he illing to allow Beorg his fantasies if they delivered to him the thrill of battle and easy victory Let the plunder be taken and warinal agreehts of the ca,hearty and strong! Let those gathered tre had an ear cocked for the sound of Heafstaag’s arrival Knoell the tactics of his rival, he was not surprised in the least when the first notes of the Song of Te reacted at once, leaping onto a table and calling silence to the gathering "Harken, !"

Hengorot immediately burst into commotion as the men dashed froroups of their respective tribes Every voice was lifted in the co of deeds of valor and of glorious deaths on the field of honor

This verse was taught to every barbarian boy fro of Teth The only variance in the words froers Here the warriors sang at crescendo pitch, for the challenge of the song was to determine whose call to the God of Battle was ht up to the entrance of Hengorot Inside the hall the calls of the Tribe of the Wolf were obviously drowning out the others, but Heafstaag’s warriors ’s men

One by one, the lesser tribes fell silent under the doed on between the two re to relinquish superiority in the eyes of their deity Inside the mead hall, men of the beaten tribes nervously put their hands to their weapons More than one war had erupted on the plains because the challenge of the song could determine no clear winner

Finally, the flap of the tent opened ad’s standard bearer, a youth, tall and proud, with observing eyes that carefully weighed everything about hie He put a whalebone horn to his lips and blew a clear note Si to tradition, both tribes stopped their singing

The standard bearer walked across the roo away fro could see that the youthhad chosen his herald well, Beorg thought

"Good King Beorg," the standard bearer began when all cos The Tribe of the Elk asks leave to enter Hengorot and share ether in toast to Te to see if he could shake the youth’s composure with an unexpected delay

But the herald did not blink or turn aside his penetrating stare, and the set of his jaw re, impressed "And wellis not possessed of your patience"

"I announce Heafstaag, King of the Tribe of the Elk" the herald cried out in a clear voice, "son of Hrothulf the Strong, son of Angaar the Brave; thrice killer of the great bear; twice conqueror of Ter of the Tribe of the Bear in single co uneasy shuffles fro, Haalfdane, son of Raag Doning) The herald went on forevery deed, every honor, every title, accu and illustrious career

As the challenge of the song was co of titles and feats was a personal cos, whose valor and strength reflected directly upon their warriors Beorg had dreaded this moment, for his rival’s list exceeded even his own He knew that one of the reasons Heafstaag had arrived last was so that his list could be presented to all in attendance, ’s own herald in private audience upon their arrival days before It was the advantage of a host king to have his list read to every tribe in attendance, while the heralds of visiting kings would only speak to the tribes present upon their i in last, and at a tiether, Heafstaag had erased that advantage

At length, the standard bearer finished and returned across the hall to hold open the tent flap for his king Heafstaag strode confidently across Hengorot to face Beorg