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Dahlia didn’t even think as she cae Purely on instinct, she ducked her head and thrust her long staff down below She kicked off as she planted the end and soh on the top end of that staff to cartwheel over and across the channel With perfect ht over and back to her feet on the other side of the channel, and ed to wipe the shocked look off her face almost immediately when she noted Drizzt down below, sci at her in disbelief

Dahlia winked at hiy, and as she pulled the staff up behind her, she broke it fast into her flails and ended her cartwheel with a spinning move that had her neeapons irin of an Ashe in at her

Fro to the north, Drizzt was surprised to see Dahlia cartwheeling over the narrow chas to her feet with easy and complete balance Aside froh, Drizzt was shocked to see that the elf warrior had so nearly paced hiically enhanced by the anklets he wore, after all

He watched her go spinning above and past, heard the sound of battle engaged right after, and wanted to scramble up the side of the channel to join her, or at least to witness her fighting

But the drow had his own proble to flank hily He rushed for the narrower channel, speeding ahead of the Ashmadai and the stones they threw at him He spun and backed farther in as he entered, the bottleneck of the narrow ravine forcing his pursuers to stuet at the drow

It was one against three instead of one against a dozen, and those three found themselves hindered by the vertical stone walls, which reduced the warriors on each end of the line to s

Drizzt backed quickly, and when the three took the bait and lunged forward, he reversed hisout wide and down, behind the thrusting spears With hardly a twist, Drizzt deflected those spears inward, nearly crossing them before the Ashed his blades immediately, and in the ju forward and stabbing left, right, and center The Ashmadai tried to cover, tried to retreat, tried to keep some semblance of coordinated defense But Drizzt was too quick for the their parries with ease, sci

The three backed into the next Ashle only worsened

Relentlessly, Drizzt drove on

One Ashed a coordinated throw at the drow, the spear flying in for Drizzt’s chest Before Drizzt couldhi him his defense

A flail flashed before hi off the spear, and the droas relieved indeed to find Dahlia standing beside him

She noted his relief with a wink, and side by side, they pressed forward, whirling blades and spinning flails

Their enemies knew Dahlia, and some called out her name, and their voices were filled with fear Ashmadai poured back out of the narrow ravine and into the wider clearing

"Retreat?" Drizzt asked Dahlia, for that see and disoriented, they could run out the other end of the ravine, run toward their cos

But Dahlia’s srin! So full of life, and full of fight, reveling in the challenge, wholly unafraid When was the last tirin? When was the last tihts flashed back to a lair in Icewind Dale, when he had acco

The sensible move was retreat, but for some reason he didn’t quite comprehend, Drizzt dismissed that out of hand and rushed out beside Dahlia into the wider clearing, where they could be flanked, surrounded even, by their eneht side by side, really, nor did they anization at all to Drizzt and Dahlia’s dance The drow let Dahlia lead the way, and merely reacted to her every turn and leap

She charged ahead, and he cut across her wake to protect her flank She cut in front of him, and he went out behind her the opposite way then stopped fast and reversed his course so that when Dahlia stopped hertheir line of devastation far to the side

And both of theh every step, blades and flail spinning and reaching out to cut, to sting, to drive back their ene to coordinate soin to form, Drizzt and Dahlia moved in some unexpected ht, both sides, see more than a series of i the branch, as silent as a hunting cat He saw his prey below him, oblivious to his presence Barrabus the Gray was shocked to discover that his daring plan had seely worked

He knew that the Thayan chaone out to the north, with her many Ashmadai, and knew that Sylora’s eyes had turned that way, too, toward the rising et past the wards and guards, if he et nearer to this ultimate enemy

If he could be rid of Sylora Salni would allow him to leave forsaken Neverwinter and return to his work in the comforts of a true city

He moved out farther on the branch, over the impromptu encampment set below Sylora was barely a dozen feet in front of and below hi into the stuured he could crouch and spring, and reach her froot the better of him and he crept out just a bit farther until he could see over Sylora’s shoulder into the top of the stuesbowl

Barrabus couldn’t resist He inched out andintently