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LIVING NIGHTMARE

I need to get you new h "We done a thousand miles and more from Mithral Hall," Bruenor reminded "And pushed them hard all the way Even with the shoes" He shook his head Indeed, the fineat least, but had perforon, every day Aided by the n and construction of their load, they had covered ht cross in a tenday

"True enough," the drow admitted "But they are weary indeed" Drizzt and Bruenor looked at each other curiously as Pwent shouted, "I want one o’ the boar

"Bwahaha!" Athrogate yelled back "Be sure that I’! And when theame, I squeeze him on the flanks and fart them into flame! Bwahaha!"

"Bwahaha!" Thibbledorf Pwent echoed

"Can we just harness the a hand at the other tarves "I’ll nail the ical shoes on their feet"

"You understand the pain I’ve known for the last decade," Jarlaxle said

"Yet you keep him around," Drizzt pointed out

"Because he is strong against e," said Jarlaxle "And I can outrun him should we need to retreat"

Jarlaxle handed the mule off to Drizzt, who sloalked the weary beast around to the back of the wagon, where he had just tethered its partner Their days of pulling the wagon were over, for a while at least

The hells-born night as he tried to put it in the harness

"He’s not liking that," said Bruenor

"He has no choice in the ed at last to harness the beast He clapped the dirt off his hands and moved to climb up beside Pwent and Bruenor on the jockey box "Keep the pace strong and steady, good dwarf You will find the de himself up, encountered the skeptical expressions of both dwarves "I give you my mount, and you would have me walk?" Jarlaxle asked as if wounded

Pwent looked to Bruenor

"Let him up," Bruenor decided

"I’ll protect ye, !" Pwent declared as Jarlaxle took his seat next to the battlerager, with Pwent between the mercenary and Bruenor

"He’d kill you before you ever knew the fight had started," Drizzt remarked as he walked past

Pwent’s eyes ith alarm

"Oh, it is true," Jarlaxle assured him

Pwent started to stutter and sta?" the battlerager asked

"Just shut up," said Bruenor, and Jarlaxle laughed

The dwarf king snapped the reins, but instead of htmare snorted fire and turned its head around in protest

"Please, allow rabbed at the reins, which Bruenor relinquished

With no ht the wagon The only thing that slowed the pace was the drow’s deference to the tworoad

And indeed it had been long, for they had covered , and the Snowflake Mountains were in sight, though fully a day’s travel away

Jarlaxle assured theical beast could continue after the sun had set, that it could even see in the dark, but out of continued deference to the iven the journey their all, Bruenor called for a halt thattheir cahtate did likeith his des and boulders to fashion so, though, and Jarlaxle and Bruenor had just untied thein protest

"What’s that about?" Bruenor asked

Jarlaxle tugged the reins of his ht down, hard, but the creature snorted in protest and pulled back

"Wait," Drizzt said to the beside the seated Catti-brie, and when the others looked to hier on his guard, his eyes locked on the trees across the road

"What’re ye seeing, elf?" Bruenor whispered, but Drizzt just shook his hand, which was outstretched toward the dwarf, bidding him to silence

Jarlaxle quietly retied thebetween Drizzt and the trees

Drizzt slid Taul it

"Elf?" Bruenor whispered

"What in the Nine Hells?" Thibbledorf Pwent howled then, from behind the trio

Bruenor and Jarlaxle both looked back at hiray and black skin dragging itself over the boulders toward Pwent and Athrogate Drizzt never turned his gaze froh saw another of the same monster crash out of the underbrush