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Drizzt soon caround where the army had crossed The tracks came as no surprise to the drow, for the smoke pillars had already told hi question hether or not any of the towns had held out, and he trotted on toward theif he had a home to return to

Then he sensed a presence, an otherworldly aura that strangely reround again So on the ground that could not have been caused by anyDrizzt looked around nervously, but the only sound was the mourn of the wind and the only silhouettes on the horizons were the peaks of Kelvin’s Cairn before him and the Spine of the World far to the south Drizzt paused to consider the presence for a fewthe familiarity he felt into better focus

He moved on tentatively He understood the source of his recollections now, though their exact details re

A demon had coer before Drizzt caught up to the band His sensitivity to creatures of the lower planes, brought about by centuries of associating with the the deht

And then he saw the distant forht rank, and in their e e, Drizzt knew at once, but a hty indeed if he held this formidable monster under his control!

Drizzt followed them at a cautious distance The band was intent on their destination, though, and his caution was unnecessary But Drizzt wasn’t about to take any chances at all, for he had many times witnessed the wrath of such demons They were commonplace in the cities of the drow, further proof to Drizzt Do’Urden that the ways of his people were not for hirabbed his attention The de a sic that the drow, even at this distance, could sense it clearly It was too et any clear perspectives on it, so he backed off cautiously once again

The lights of thousands of campfires came into view as the party, and Drizzt, approached the oblins had set scouts in this very area, and Drizzt realized that he had gone as far south as he could He broke off his pursuit and headed for the better vantage points up the mountain

The tihtening hours just before sunrise, and though he was tired, Drizzt was determined to be in position by then He quickly cli his way around to the southern face of theBryn Shander Further to the east, e and Caer-Dineval Wild shouts rang out from Termalaine, and Drizzt knew that the city on Maer Dualdon was in the hands of the eneht sky, and much more became apparent Drizzt first looked to the south end of the dwarven valley and was comforted that the wall opposite him had collapsed Bruenor’s people were safe at least, and Regis with theht of Bryn Shander was less co Drizzt had heard the boasts of the captured orc and had seen the tracks of the arined the vast asseht increased

The sight staggered hioblin tribes have you collected, Akar Kessell?" he gasped "And how iants call you master?"

He knew that the people in Bryn Shander would survive only as long as Kessell let theainst this force Diset some rest He could be of no i his hopelessness, preventing hi constructively

As he started away frown the ht his attention He couldn’t reat distance, the army seemed just a black mass, but he knew that the demon had come forth He saw the blacker spot of its evil presence wade out to a cleared area only a few hundred yards below the gates of Bryn Shander And he felt the supernatural aura of the powerfulheart of so in the deathered around to watch the spectacle, keeping a respectable distance between theerously unpredictable captain

"What is that?" asked Regis, crushed in a on Bryn Shander’s wall

"A deer defenses!" Glensather cried "How can we hope to stand against such a foe?"

The demon bent low, involved in the ritual to call out the dweomer of the crystalline object It stood the crystal shard upright on the grass and stepped back, bellowing forth the obscure words of an ancient spell, rising to a crescendo as the sky began to brighten with the sun’s iis asked, puzzled by the pulsating object

Then the first ray of dawn broke the horizon The crystal sparkled and su its energy

The shard flared again The pulsations intensified as more of the sun crept into the eastern sky, only to have its light sucked into the hungry iaped in horror, wondering if Akar Kessell held power over the sun itself Only Cassius had the presence of ht of the sun

Then the crystal began to grow It swelled as each pulse attained its peak, then shrank back a bit while the next throb grew Everything around it reht Slowly, but inevitably, its girth widened and its tip rose high into the air The people on the wall and the htened power of Cryshal-Tirith Only the drow froe point and the dee of Crenshinibon being raised The third Cryshal-Tirith grew to life The tower released its hold on the sun as the ritual was coht

The de and strode proudly into the neer’s mirrored doorway; followed by the trolls, the wizard’s personal guard

The besieged inhabitants of Bryn Shander and Targos looked upon the incredible structure with a confused mixture of awe, appreciation, and terror They could not resist the unearthly beauty of Cryshal-Tirith, but they knew the consequences of the tower’s appearance: Akar Kessell, iants, had come

Goblins and orcs fell to their knees, and all the vast are to the wizard with a fanatical devotion that brought shivers to the human witnesses to the spectacle

Drizzt, too, was unnerved by the extent of the influence and devotion the wizard exerted over the noroblin tribes The drow determined at that moment that the only chance for survival for the people of Ten-Towns lay in the death of Akar Kessell He knew even before he had considered any of the possible options that he would try to get to the wizard For now, though, he needed to rest He found a shadowed hole just back from the face of Kelvin’s Cairn and let his exhaustion overtake him

Cassius was also tired The spokesht, exa the campsites to determine how much of the natural enmity between the unruly tribes re, but nothing extreive hie He couldn’t understand how the wizard had achieved such a dramatic unification of the arch foes The appearance of the de of Cryshal-Tirith had shown him the incredible power that Kessell commanded He had soon drawn the sah, the spokesain, despite the protests of Regis and Glensather, concerned for his health On his shoulders, Cassius carried the responsibility for the several thousand terrified people that lay huddled within his city’s walls and there would be no rest for him He needed information; he needed to find a weak link in the wizard’s seeently and patiently throughout the first long, uneventful day of the siege, noting the boundaries that the goblin tribes staked out as their own, and the order of hierarchy that deterroup from the center spot of Cryshal-Tirith

Away to the east, the fleets of Caer-Konig and Caer-Dineval side the docks of the deserted city of Easthaven Several crews had gone ashore to gather supplies, but most of the people had remained on the boats, unsure of how far east Kessell’s black ar had taken full control of their iship of Caer-Dineval All disputes between the two cities had been called off, teh promises of continued friendship were heard on the decks of every ship on Lac Dinneshere Both spokesreed that they would not yet leave the waters of the lake and flee, for they realized that they had nowhere to go All of the ten toere threatened by Kessell, and Luskan was fully four hundred miles away and across the path of Kessell’s arees couldn’t hope to reach it before the first of winter’s snows caught up with them

The sailors that had disembarked soon returned to the docks with the welcomed news that Easthaven had not yet been touched by the darkness More creere ordered ashore to collect extra food and blankets, but Jensin Brent played it cautiously, thinking it wise to keep ees out on the water beyond Kessell’s reach

More pronals from Redwaters, Spokesman Brent!" the watchman atop the Mist Seeker’s crow’s nest called out "The people of Good Mead and Dougan’s Hole are unharlasspiece crafted in Ternaling across the lakes, using intricate though li codes "My calls have been answered!"

"Where are they, then?" Brent asked excitedly

"On the eastern banks," the watch them undefendable None of the monsters have yet approached, but the spokesmen felt that the far side of the lake would be safer until the invaders have departed"

"Keep the communication open," Brent ordered "Let me knohen you have more news"

"Until the invaders have departed?" Schermont echoed incredulously as he moved to Jensin Brent’s side

"A foolishly hopeful assessree," said Brent "But I ao to them? Join our forces?"

"Not yet," answered Brent "I fear that ould be too vulnerable on the open ground between the lakes We need more information before we can take any effective action Let us keep the co between the two lakes Gather volunteers to carry es to Redwaters"

"They shall be sent off ireed Schermont as he headed away

Brent nodded and looked back across the lake at the dying plume of smoke above his home "More information," he muttered to himself

Other volunteers headed out later that day into the more treacherous west to scout out the situation in the principle city

Brent and Scher the panic, but even with the substantial gains in organization, the initial shock of the sudden and deadly invasion had leftand Caer-Dineval in a state of utter despair Jensin Brent was the glowing exception The spokeshter who steadfastly refused to yield until the last breath had left his body He sailed his proud flagship around thethe people with his cries of proainst Akar Kessell

Noatched and waited on the Mist Seeker for the critical news from the west In mid-afternoon, he heard the call he had prayed for

"She stands!" the watcher on the crow’s nest cried out ecstatically when the newsbearer’s signal flashed in "Bryn Shander stands!"

Suddenly, Brent’s optimism took on credibility The ry posture bent on vengeance More ers were dispatched at once to carry the news to Redwaters that Kessell hadn’t yet achieved co the warriors froan in earnest, with the wo to the heaviest and least seaworthy boats, and the fighting nated warships were then s, where they could put out quickly across the lakes

Their sails were checked and tightened in preparation for the wild run that would carry their brave crews to war

Or, by Jensin Brent’s furious decree, "The run that would carry their brave crews to victory!"

Regis had rejoined Cassius on the hen the newsbearer’s signal had been spotted on the southwestern banks of Lac Dinneshere The halfling had slept for ht as well die doing the thing he loved to do best He was surprised when he awakened, expecting his slu to view things a bit differently, though He had co list of potential breakdowns in Akar Kessell’s unruly ar both If he could only find a way for theoblin races to take its toll on Kessell’s force

And then, the signal from Lac Dinneshere and subsequent reports of siiven the spokesrate and Ten-Towns survive

But then the wizard made his draan as a pulse of red light circling within the glassy wall at the base of Cryshal-Tirith Then a second pulse, this one blue, started up the tower, rotating in the opposite direction Slowly they circled the diaed, then separating and continuing on their way All who could see the tantalizing show stared apprehensively, unsure of ould happen next, but convinced that a display of trehts speeded up, their intensity increasing with their velocity Soon the entire base of the toas ringed in a green blur, so bright that the onlookers had to avert their eyes And out of the blur stepped two hideous trolls, each bearing an ornate ether

Thetrolls filled the people of Bryn Shander with revulsion, but intrigued, none would turn away Thehill and stood facing each other, aionally toward each other, but still catching the reflection of Cryshal-Tirith

Twin bea one of thewith the other halfway between the trolls A sudden pulse fro stroke, left the area between the monsters veiled in s beaht, stood a thin, crooked shell of a ain and hid their faces in the ground Akar Kessell had come