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The confusion was i in by the dozens, and tough dwarves for fast to ical bow up and fired arrow after arrow, ai flashed with each shot as the enchanted bolt sped off, crackling and sparking every time it skipped off a wall Kobolds went down in a line, one arrow often killing several, but it hardly see

Guenhwyvar leaped away, Drizzt quick-stepping behind A score of kobolds had so down on Bruenor’s position A shot froe scattered the rest, and Drizzt,quicker than ever, slipped in, stabbed one, pivoted and spun to the left, launching the blue-glowing Twinkle against the atteht blade, the kobold’s sh, but Drizzt deftly turned the curving weapon over in his hand and slightly altered the angle of his attack Twinkle rolled over the kobold’s sword and dove into its chest

The drow had never stopped his run and now skittered back to the right and slid to one knee Across ca it hard into a second Stronger than both the creatures cole, Drizzt forced their swords and their defense high, and his second sci one and taking the legs out fro all the fun," Bruenorto catch up to the fray Between Drizzt, the panther, and Catti-brie’s continuing barrage, few of the twenty kobolds still stood by the tiht

"Plenty nizing the sour look

A line of silver-streaking arrow cut between them as soon as the words had left the drow’s mouth When the spots cleared froarded the scorched and dead kobolds taken down by Catti-brie’s latest shot

Then she, too, was beside the the little ed for hiarded the change in weapon, and, looking about, they understood her tactics Without of the other chaested for the woman to safely continue with her bow

"Run on," Catti-brie said, a wistful s her fair features

Drizzt returned the look, and Bruenor, even Regis, had a sparkle in his eye Suddenly it seee, Bruenor fighting hard to keep close to the panther’s tail Catti-brie and Regis flanked the dwarf, and Drizzt, speeding and spinning, flanked the group, first on the left, then on the right, see too fast to be believed

Bidderdoo Harpell knew he had erred Drizzt had asked hiet to the door, to wait for the first drow to show themselves inside the cavern and then launch a fireball back down the tunnel, where the fla ropes and drop the stone

"Not a difficult task," Bidderdoo had assured Drizzt, and so it should not have been The wizard had memorized a spell that could put him in position, and knew others to keep him safely hidden until the blast was complete So when all about hione reassured that the traps would be sprung, that the tunnels would be dropped, and that the tide of ene Bidderdoo had begun casting the spell to get him to the tunnel entrance, had even outlined the extradimensional portal that would reopen at the desired spot, but then the wizard had seen a group of kobolds, and they had seen him This was not hard to do, for Bidderdoo, a huht that could extend into the infrared spectruemstone Kobolds were not stupid creatures, not when it caly out-of-place huhters understood the value of getting to a wizard, of forcing a dangerous spell-caster intohis hands tied up eapons rather than often explosive components

Still, Bidderdoo could have beaten their charge, could have stepped through the diet to his appointed position

For seven years, until the Time of Troubles, Bidderdoo Harpell had lived with the effects of a potion gone awry, had lived as the Harpell faic went crazy, Bidderdoo had reverted to his huredients together to counteract the wild potion Soon after, Bidderdoo had gone back to his flea-bitten self, but he had helped his fareat debate had followed in the Ivy Mansion as to whether they should "cure" Bidderdoo or not It see, more so than they had ever loved Bidderdoo as a human

Bidderdoo had even served as Harkle’s seeing-eye dog on a long stretch of the journey to Mithril Hall, when Harkle had no eyes

But then htened out, and the debate becaone away

Or had it? Bidderdoo had held no doubts about the integrity of his cure until this veryHis upper lip curled back in an open snarl; he felt the hair on the back of his neck bristling and felt his tailbone tighten-if he still had a tail, it would be straight out behind him!

He started down into a crouch, and noticed only then that he had not paws, but hands, hands that held no weapons He groaned, for the kobolds were only ten feet away

The wizard went for a spell instead He put the tips of his thuether, hands out wide to each side, and chanted frantically

The kobolds ca, and the closest of theh for a strike

Bidderdoo’s hands erupted in fla out in a semicircle

Half a dozen kobolds lay dead, and several others blinked in aed eyelashes

"Hah!" Bidderdoo cried, and snapped his fingers

The kobolds blinked again and charged, and Bidderdoo had no spells quick enough to stop theoblins see, confused mass, and so it reroups had trained for war extensively in the caverns beneath the co, fore kobolds at the tip and a tight line running back and wide to each side

They entered the h to for entrance of one of the side caverns Mostly the dwarves avoided theroup al out of that charoup of a dozen dwarves The bearded warriors hooted and roared and came on fiercely, but the kobold formation did not waver, worked to perfection as it split the dwarven line alap with the lead kobolds pressing to the very entrance of the side chae, and one dwarf died, but the kobold ranks tightened again i the inside line, caught between the kobolds and thewall, found thehts indeed

Across the way, the "free" half of the dwarven group realized their error, that they had taken the kobolds too lightly and had not expected such intricate tactics Their kin would be lost, and there was nothing they could do to get through this surprisingly tight, disciplined for near the wall, the kobolds went under so stalactites

The dwarves attacked fiercely anyway, spurred on by the cries of their apparently dooround, low enough to skitter under any stalactites The panther hit the back of the kobold for over a third, claws digging in for a better hold as the cat crossed over

Drizzt ca two kobolds in the first attack routine Beside hiht up and even against one

With his great, sweeping style of axe-fighting, Bruenor found the tight quarters uncoile or quick as Drizzt If she went down to one knee, as had the drow, she would be at a huge disadvantage indeed

But standing straight, a stalactite in her face, she wasn’t ave her the answer

It went against every instinct the wo Bruenor (who had spent ht her about fighting But, hardly thinking, Catti-brie clasped her sword hilt in both hands and brought the h

Khazid’hea’s red line flashed angrily as the sword connected on the hanging stone Catti-brie’s htly, for Cutter lived up to its nah the rock Catti-brie jerked to the side as the sword exited the stalactite, and she would have been vulnerable in that instant-except that the two kobolds in forht before her were suddenly ot crushed under the stalactite, and the other’s death was just as quick, as Bruenor, seeing the opening, rushed in with an overhead chop that nearly took the wretched thing in half

Those dwarves that had been separated on the outside rank took heart at the arrival of so powerful a group, and they pressed the kobold line fiercely, calling out to their trapped co that help would soon arrive

Regis hated to fight, at least when his opponent could see hih He knew that, and would not shirk his responsibilities Beside hi, ould have to get up on his tiptoes to bang his head on a stalactite, justify standing behind his drow friend this tiis went in fiercely He sed weapon cru a kobold arh, another squeezed in and struck, its sword catching Regis under his upraised arm Only fine dwarven are ot out of this alive

Tough was the dwarven arh, as the halfling’s mace proved a ratulated, his battle ebbing enough for hiis tried to smile, but winced instead at the pain of his bruised ribs

Drizzt noted the look and skittered across in front of Regis, e as the kobold for breach The drow’s sci, often banging against the low-hanging stalactites, throwing sparks, buton kobolds

To the side, Catti-brie and Bruenor had for back the eneher path, dropping the hanging stones one at a tih, the dwarves re et to theht formation

None except Guenhwyvar

Flying like a black arrow, the panther bored on, running down kobold after kobold, shrugging off many wicked strikes Blood streamed from the panther’s flanks, but Guenhwyvar would not be deterred She got to the dwarves and bolstered their line, and their cheer at her appearance was of pure delight and salvation

A song on their lips, the dwarves fought on, the panther fought on, and the kobolds could not finish the task With the press across the way, the forroup was reunited, that the wounded could be taken from the cavern

Drizzt and Catti-brie’s concern for Guenhwyvar was stolen by the panther’s roar, and its flight, as Guenhwyvar led the five friends off to the next place where they would be neededwhat mysteries death would reveal

He hoped there would be some, at least