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"Friend of yours?" the old man asked calmly

"Guenhwyvar," Drizzt explained,

"Big cat?"

"Oh, yes," Drizzt answered

The old ht and let the arroly slip, point down He closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and seemed to fall within himself A moment later, Drizzt noticed that Guenhwyvar’s ears cae hu a telepathic link to the panther

"Good cat, too," the old man said a mo - sending the owl flapping away in a frenzy - and casually stalked past the oldto stand beside Drizzt Apparently, the panther had relinquished all concerns that the old man was an enemy

Drizzt considered Guenhwyvar’s actions curious, viewing thereeo

"Good cat," the old ainst the stone and relaxed his grip on the spear

"I ah the naht with the drow "Montolio DeBrouchee"

"Well met and fare well," Drizzt said flatly "If we are done with our o our oays"

"We reed, "if we both choose to"

"Am I to be your prisoner once more?" Drizzt asked with a bit of sarcasm in his voice

The sincerity of Montolio’s ensuing laughter brought a smile to the drow’s face despite his cynicism "Mine?" the old man asked incredulously "No, no, I believe we have settled that issue But you have killed so ant punished Let me offer you a room at my castle The orcs will not approach the place" He showed a wry smile and bent over toward Drizzt to whisper, as if to keep his next words a secret between them "They will not coe eyes "They believe led for the word that would convey the thought, but the guttural language was lirew frustrated

Drizzt silently recounted the course of the battle, then his jaw drooped open in undeniable amazement as he realized the truth of what had transpired The oldover ene, had led his shots Drizzt looked around at the slain giant and orc and his jaw did not close; the old man hadn’t missed

"Will you coain he had to search for an appropriate term - "purposes a dark elf would have to live a winter in a cave with Bluster the bear"

Montolio cringed at his own inability to converse with the drow, but from the context, Drizzt could prettyout unfamiliar ter Graul has ten hundredthat the droas having a difficult ti the offer

"I will not coth The drow truly wanted to go, wanted to learn a few things about this reedies had befallen those who had crossed Drizzt’s path

Guenhwyvar’s lol told Drizzt that the panther did not approve of his decision

"I bring trouble," Drizzt tried to explain to the old man, to the panther, and to himself "You would be better served, Montolio DeBrouchee, to keep away from ," Drizzt replied "If you take me in, if you even allow me to remain near to you, then you will be dooe"

Montolio perked his ears up at the e He had heard that one faer, Dove Falconhand, had been called in to help

"I do not fear dooh ht in a dozen bloody wars and spent an entire winter trapped on the side of a iant with only a dagger and befriended every animal for five thousand steps in any direction Do not fear forsmile "But, then," Montolio said slowly, "It is not for me that you fear"

Drizzt felt confused and a bit insulted

"You fear for yourself," Montolio continued, undaunted "Self-pity? It does not fit one of your prowess Dis with me"

If Montolio had seen Drizzt’s scowl, he would have guessed the forthco answer Guenhwyvar did notice it, and the panther bu

From Guenhwyvar’s reaction, Montolio understood the drow’s intent "The cat wants you to co," he remarked "It’ll be better than a cave," he promised, "and better food than half-cooked fish"

Drizzt looked down at Guenhwyvar and again the panther buroith the action

Drizzt re an ie in a farmhouse far away "I will not come," he said firmly

"Then I must na his bow back to a ready position "Your cat will not aid you this time, Drizzt Do’Urden!" Montolio leaned in and flashed his srees with me"

It was too much for Drizzt He knew that the old man wouldn’t shoot him, but Montolio’s flaky charm soon wore away the drow’s h they were

What Montolio had described as a castle turned out to be a series of wooden caves dug around the roots of huge and tightly packed evergreens Lean-tos of woven sticks furthered the protection and soether, and a loall of stacked rocks ringed the whole complex As Drizzt neared the place, he noticed several rope-and-wood bridges crossing fro up to theround level and with crossbows securely ular intervals

The drow didn’t coh Drizzt had spent three decades in Menzoberranzan living in a wondrous castle of stone and surrounded by ly beautiful structures, but none of the as Montolio’s hoer’s approach Squirrels, even a raccoon, hopped excitedly ah they kept their distance when they noticed that a huge panther accompanied Montolio

"I have many rooms," Montolio explained to Drizzt "Many blankets and ue He had so s he wanted to learn from the drow This seee so base and negative in nature, not designed for coue sportedand for hatred, but not a one for higher eoblin word for friendship could be translated to mean either a teoblin, and neither definition fit Montolio’s intentions toward the lone dark elf

The first task then, the ranger decided, was to teach this drow the coue

"We cannot speak" - There was no word for "properly" in Goblin, so Montolio had to ie," he explained to Drizzt, "but it will serve us as I teach you the tongue of humans - if you wish to learn"

Drizzt remained tentative in his acceptance When he had walked away froe, he had decided that his lot in life would be as a hermit, and thus far he had done pretty well - better than he had expected The offer was teh, and on a practical level, Drizzt knew that knowing the coht keep hier’s ears when the drow accepted

Hooter, the owl, however, seemed not so pleased With the drow - or, more particularly, with the drow’s panther - about, the oould be spending less tihs

"Cousin, Montolio DeBrouchee has taken the drow in!" an elf cried excitedly to Kellindil All the group had been out searching for Drizzt’s trail since the winter had broken With the drow gone from Dead Orc Pass, the elves, particularly Kellindil, had feared trouble, had feared that the drow had perhaps taken in with Graul and his orc minions

Kellindil ju news He knew of Montolio, the legendary if soer, and he knew, too, that Montolio, with all of his anie intruders quite accurately

"When? How?" Kellindil asked, barely knohere to begin If the drow had confused hihly flustered now

"A week ago," the other elf answered "I know not how it carove, openly and with his panther beside him"

"Is Montolio "