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"Me friend," Bruenor answered, and with just a glance at Dahlia, the dwarf king suth and pulled

Dor’crae was babbling forwith Dahlia to let hiht for her with Sylora

"You think I will let you fly ahen I a hi blue eyes As if in response to her, perhaps, but surely to the reversed lever, the priain and the room lurched

Dahlia tried to drive the wooden stake in harder, but the treed to slip aside Sorely wounded, the va more to do with Dahlia Oncelava and bouncing black stones had Drizzt shielding hi that they had failed, that the volcano had again fully erupted To his great relief, though, the lava coluain dropped back down below the rie, bow in hand

Without the protection of Icingdeath, the heat proved too intense, but he couldn’t help but look down, though he feared what he ht see

The lava had climbed far up the pit, and was barely twenty feet below the ri the drow And it was up above the ledge where Athrogate had lain, and there was, of course, no sign of Jarlaxle, who had descended almost as the lava had rushed back up

For the second time that day, Drizzt had to shake off the loss of Jarlaxle, for not even Icingdeath could have protected him fro a second rope near where the first had been--before the lava had rushed up to burn it to nothingness Without even testing the rope, without even a thought that the lava e and swung away, landing easily across the way

Even as he caught his balance, he had to duck aside once iant bat flew out froht was noticeably unsteady, as if it were gravely wounded, and Drizzt dropped his bow off his shoulder, thinking to shoot it froh As soon as the bat crossed the lip of the pit, it see in to battle the fire priiant waterfall, and through that thunderous, translucent veil, Drizzt could still see the bat Obviously, its flight was as ical as physical--it resisted the downpour

But that didn’t ain, and the vah whether he could actually see the drow, Drizzt couldn’t know He reached out plaintively, hanging there in the curtain of water, his face a ony

Then he blew apart, like so many black flakes, and ashed doith the waterfall

It stopped as abruptly as it had started, but Drizzt knew the primordial’s trap was back in place, knew that they had won, for below the rim, he could see the water, not like a pond or puddle, but spinning furiously along the sides of the pit

Down below, the pri violently, the lava colu with steah, and the beast sank back, far below, and the room went quiet, a stillness that seemed more complete than it had been for h As soon as he regained his balance, the drow sprinted under the arch

Dahlia sat against the far wall, exhausted and sweating, but she nodded to Drizzt that she was all right He wasn’t looking at her, anyway He couldn’t with the other sight before him

Thibbledorf Pwent had met his end He lay on his back, blood on his throat, his eyes open wide, his chest not lifting with breath There was a serenity to hier had died in a

And there lay that king, Drizzt’s dearest friend, half on his side, half face down, one ar the lever

Drizzt fell beside hiently turned him over, and the droas shocked to find that Bruenor Battlehammer was still alive

"I found it, elf," he said with that sht Drizzt joy for most of his life "I found me answers I found me peace"

Drizzt wanted to coht in and that everything would be all right But he knew beyond doubt that it was over, that the wounds were too much for an old dwarf

"Rest easy, my dearest friend," he mouthed, not sure that any sound came out

But the look of cohtest of contented s friend had indeed heard hiht

EPILOGUE

DRIZZT STOOD AT THE EDGE OF THE PIT, LOOKING DOWN AT THE SWIRL OF the water and the elementals Every now and then, he couldswirl around the pit, and far, far below, he could see the pri back up at him

"It is as it hen first we found it," Dahlia said to hi her arm casually around his lower back "We did it Bruenor did it"

Drizzt continued to scan the opposite wall, trying to ate had been, where Jarlaxle had gone, but alas, there was nothing Of course there was nothing What could have survived the breath of the primordial?

It surprised the dro badly it all hurt Not just Bruenor, but the loss of Pwent, and not just that, but the loss of Jarlaxle, and even of Athrogate! He’d hardly seen either Jarlaxle or Athrogate over the years, but so they were there, in Luskan, never far froht hione, and so was Thibbledorf Pwent, and Bruenor Battlehah his dear friend had died as he would have chosen, not only having found Gauntlgry it from total destruction, the profound pain launched Drizzt back to another tiis h Mithral Hall’s solid wall on the back of a spiritual unicorn, gone to Mielikki’s rest

He had never thought he could feel such pain again

He rong

Across the way, some dwarves stuar Ha out as more of their brethren entered the chamber

Dahlia let her hand slip frorasped his hand

"Shoot an arrow and let us be gone from here," she whispered