[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
"Wulfgar," offered another. "And Drizzt Do'Urden. I heared o' them before."
4
The City of Splendors
They were back to the main road before dawn, thundering to the west, to the
file:///F|/rah/R.%20A.%20Salvatore/R.%20A.%20...d%20Dale%203%20-%20The%20Halfling's%20Gem.txt (20 of 147) [1/23/03 5:31:15 PM]
file:///F|/rah/R.%20A.%20Salvatore/R.%20A.%20Salvatore%20-%20Icewind%20Dale%203%20-%20The%20Halfling's%20Gem.txt
coast and the city of Waterdeep. With the visit to Malchor and the business with
Agatha out of the way, Drizzt and Wulfgar once again focused their thoughts on
the road ahead, and they remembered the peril their halfling friend faced if
they failed in the rescue. Their mounts, aided by Malchor's enchanted
horseshoes, sped along at a tremendous clip. All the landscape seemed only a
blur as it rolled by.
They did not break when dawn came behind them, nor did they stop for a meal
as the sun climbed overhead.
"We will have all the rest we need when we board ship and sail to the
south," Drizzt told Wulfgar.
The barbarian, determined that Regis would be saved, needed no prompting.
The dark of night came again, and the thunder of the hooves continued
unbroken. Then, when the second morning found their backs, a salty breeze filled
the air and the high towers of Waterdeep, the City of Splendors, appeared on the
western horizon. The two riders stopped atop the high cliff that formed the
fabulous settlement's eastern border. If Wulfgar had been stunned earlier that
year when he had first looked upon Luskan, five hundred miles up the coast, he
now was stricken dumb. For Waterdeep, the jewel of the North, the greatest port
in all the Realms, was fully ten times the size of Luskan. Even within its high
wall, it sprawled out lazily and endlessly down the coast, with towers and
spires reaching high into the sea mist to the edges of the companions' vision.
"How many live here?" Wulfgar gasped at Drizzt.
"A hundred of your tribes could find shelter within the city," the drow
explained. He noted Wulfgar's anxiety with concern of his own. Cities were
beyond the experiences of the young man, and the time Wulfgar had ventured into
Luskan had nearly ended in disaster. And now there was Waterdeep, with ten times
the people, ten times the intrigue - and ten times the trouble.
Wulfgar settled back a bit, and Drizzt had no choice but to put his trust in
the young warrior. The drow had his own dilemma, a personal battle that he now
had to settle. Gingerly he took the magical mask out of his belt pouch.
Wulfgar understood the determination guiding the drow's hesitant motions,
and he looked upon his friend with sincere pity. He did not know if he could be
so brave - even with Regis's life hanging on his actions.
Drizzt turned the plain mask over in his hands, wondering at the limits of
its magic. He could feel that this was no ordinary item; its power tingled to
his sensitive touch. Would it simply rob him of his appearance? Or might it
steal his very identity? He had heard of other, supposedly beneficial, magical
items that could not be removed once worn.
"Perhaps they will accept you as you are," Wulfgar offered hopefully.
Drizzt sighed and smiled, his decision made. "No," he answered. "The
soldiers of Waterdeep would not admit a drow elf, nor would any boat captain
allow me passage to the south." Without any more delays, he placed the mask over
his face.
For a moment, nothing happened, and Drizzt began to wonder if all of his
concerns had been for naught, if the mask were really a fake. "Nothing," he
chuckled uneasily after a few more seconds, tentative relief in his tone. "It
does not-" Drizzt stopped in midsentence when he noticed Wulfgar's stunned
expression.
Wulfgar fumbled in his pack and produced a shiny metal cup. "Look," he bade
Drizzt and handed him the makeshift mirror.
Drizzt took the cup in trembling hands - hands that trembled more when
Drizzt realized they were no longer black - and raised it to his face. The
reflection was poor - even poorer in the morning light to the drow's night eyes
- but Drizzt could not mistake the image before him. His features had not
changed, but his black skin now held the golden hue of a surface elf. And his
flowing hair, once stark white, showed lustrous yellow, as shiny as if it had
caught the rays of the sun and held them fast.
Only Drizzt's eyes remained as they had been, deep pools of brilliant
lavender. No magic could dim their gleam, and Drizzt felt some small measure of
relief, at least, that his inner person had apparently remained untainted.
file:///F|/rah/R.%20A.%20Salvatore/R.%20A.%20...d%20Dale%203%20-%20The%20Halfling's%20Gem.txt (21 of 147) [1/23/03 5:31:15 PM]
file:///F|/rah/R.%20A.%20Salvatore/R.%20A.%20Salvatore%20-%20Icewind%20Dale%203%20-%20The%20Halfling's%20Gem.txt
Yet he did not know how to react to this blatant alteration. Embarrassed, he
looked to Wulfgar for approval.
Wulfgar's visage had turned sour. "By all the measures known to me, you
appear as any other handsome elven warrior," he answered to Drizzt's inquiring
gaze. "And surely a maiden or two will blush and turn her eyes when you stride
by."
Drizzt looked to the ground and tried to hide his uneasiness with the
assessment.
"But I like it not," Wulfgar continued sincerely. "Not at all." Drizzt
looked back to him uncomfortably, almost sheepishly.
"And I like the look upon your face, the discomfort of your spirit, even
less," Wulfgar continued, now apparently a bit perturbed. "I am a warrior who
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]