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"You shall find little else," Old Night said "For the words of Mithril Hall are lost to the ages The book merely states that the flow of mithril soon ceased, to the ultimate demise of Settlestone!"

Bruenor wasn’t listening He had to read it for hie, no nificance

"What of this Settlestone?" Wulfgar asked Old Night "A clue?"

"Perhaps," the old herald replied "Thus far I have found no reference to the place other than this book, but I am inclined to believe from the work that Settlestone was rather unusual for a dwarven town"

"Above the ground!" Bruenor suddenly cut in

"Yes," agreed Old Night "A dwarven coround Rare these days and unheard of back in the tie"

Regis let out a cry of victory

"Your enthusiasht "Even if we discern where Settlestone once lay, the trail to Mithril Hall h a few pages of the book, then replaced it on the table "So close!" he growled, sla his fist down on the petrified wood "And I should know!"

Drizzt moved over to him and pulled a vial out from under his cloak "A potion," he explained to Bruenor’s puzzled look, "that will ain in the days of Mithril Hall"

"A ht "And not to be controlled Consider its use carefully, good dwarf"

Bruenor was already e of a discovery he had to find He quaffed the liquid in one gulp, then steadied hiainst its potent kick Sweat beaded on his wrinkled brow and he twitched involuntarily as the potion sent his is and Wulfgarhis shoulders and easing him into a seat

Bruenor’s eyes ide open, but he saw nothing in the room before him Sweat lathered him now, and the twitch had become a tre if he had done right in presenting the dith such a te opportunity

"No, me father!" Bruenor screaht I do without ye?"

"Bruenor," Drizzt called ht explained, fa-lived races, particularly elves, when they sought memories of their distant past Norh Old Night looked on with grave concern, for the potion had returned Bruenor to a wicked day in his past, a memory that his ainst powerful emotions Those emotions would now be laid bare, revealed to the dwarf’s conscioushiht instructed "Let hies of his heroes They will aid in rehout his ordeal"

Wulfgar lifted Bruenor and bore hie to the Cha him in the center of the circular floor The friends backed away, leaving the dwarf to his delusions

Bruenor could only half-see the iht between the worlds of the past and present Ies of Moradin, Dumathoin, and all his deities and heroes looked down upon hi a sedy Dwarven-sized suits of arly crafted axes and warhahest glories of his proud race

The iain, the falling of his clan, of Mithril Hall, of his father

"Daylight!" he cried, torn between relief and lament "Alas for me father, and me father’s father! But yea, our escape is at hand! Settlestone" he faded from consciousness for a moment, overcome, "shelter us The loss, the loss! Shelter us!"

"The price is high," said Wulfgar, pained at the dwarf’s tor to pay," Drizzt replied

"It will be a sorry payis "There is no direction to his raainst hope?"

"His ht him to Settlestone, with no ar observed

Drizzt drew a scimitar and pulled the cowl of his cloak low over his face

"What?" Regis started to ask, but the droas alreadyHe rushed to Bruenor’s side and put his face close to the dwarf’s sweat-lathered cheek

"I am a friend," he whispered to Bruenor "Co of the hall! My allies await! Vengeance will be ours, hty dwarf of Clan Battlehalories of the hall!"

"Secret," Bruenor gasped, on the edge of consciousness

Drizzt pressed harder "Ti!" he shouted "The way, dwarf, we must know the way!"

Bruenor asped in the knowledge that the drow had broken through the finalthe hall

"Louder!" Drizzt insisted

"Fourthpeak!" Bruenor screah run and into Keeper’s Dale!"

Drizzt looked over to Old Night, as nodding in recognition, then turned back to Bruenor "Rest, ed!"

"With the description the book gives of Settlestone, Fourthpeak can describe only one place," Old Night explained to Drizzt and Wulfgar when they got back to the library Regis remained in the Chamber of the Dwarves to watch over Bruenor’s fretful sleep

The herald pulled a scroll tube down froh shelf, and unrolled the ancient parchment it held: a map of the central northland, between Silverymoon and Mirabar

"The only dwarven settleh to a ive a reference to a nu the southernmost peak on the southernmost spur of the Spine of the World, just north of Nesme and the Evermoors "The deserted city of stone is simply called "the Ruins" now, and it was commonly known as Dwarvendarrohen the bearded race lived there But the ras of your companion have convinced me that this is indeed the Settlestone that the book speaks of"

"Why, then, would the book not refer to it as Dwarvendarrow?" asked Wulfgar

"Dwarves are a secretive race," Old Night explained with a knowing chuckle, "especially where treasure is concerned Garumn of Mithril Hall was deterreed of the outside world He and Element that included intricate codes and constructed na mercenaries off the trail Nahout the tomes of dwarven history Many scholars have probably even read of Mithril Hall, called by some other name that the readers assumed referred to another of the many ancient dwarven homelands now lost to the world"

The herald paused for athat had occurred "You should be away at once," he advised "Carry the dwarf if you et him to Settlestone before the effects of the potion wear away Walking in his ht be able to retrace his steps of two hundred years ago back up the ate of Mithril Hall"

Drizzt studied the ht had marked as the location of Settlestone "Back to the west" heAlustriel’s suspicions "Barely two days ar moved in close to view the parchment and added, in a voice that held both anticipation and a measure of sadness, "Our road nears its end"