and Sea Sprite, who are already at sea hunting pirates, and were, in fact, in pursuit of one such vessel even as I flew off to collect Wulfgar," Robillard explained, but the drow's smile only widened.
"Your magical talents allow you to search far and wide in a short time," Drizzt explained. "We know the approximate location of our prey, but with the ups and downs of the snow-covered mountains, they could be just beyond the next rise without our ever knowing it."
"My skills have been honed for shipboard battles, Master Do'Urden," Robillard replied.
"All we ask of you is aid in locating the pirate clan, if they are, as we believe, holed up on the southwestern edge of the mountains. Certainly if they've put their ship into winter port, they're near the water. How much more area can you scout, and how much grander the vantage point, with enchantments of flying and the like?"
Robillard thought the words over for a few moments, brought a hand up, and rubbed the back of his neck. "The mountains are vast," he countered.
"We believe we know the general direction," Drizzt answered.
Robillard paused a bit longer, then nodded his head. "I will search out a very specific region, giving you just this one afternoon," he said. "Then I must return to my duties aboard Sect Sprite. We've a pirate in chase that I'll not let flee."
"Fair enough," Drizzt said with a nod.
"I will take one of you with me," the wizard said. He glanced around, his gaze fast settling on Regis, who was by far the lightest of the group. "You," he said, pointing to the halfling. "You will ride with me on the search, learn what you may, then guide your friends back to the pirates."
Regis agreed without the slightest hesitation, and Drizzt and Catti-brie looked at each other with continued surprise.
The preparations were swift indeed, with Robillard gathering up one of the empty packs and bidding Regis to follow him outside. He warned the halfling to don more layers of clothing to battle the cold winds and the great chill up high, then cast an enchantment upon himself.
"Do you know the region Drizzt spoke of?" he asked.
Regis nodded and the wizard cast a second spell, this one over the halfling, shrinking him down considerably in size. Robillard plucked the halfling up and set him in place in the open pack, and off the pair flew, into the bright daylight.
"Quarterling?" Bruenor asked with a chuckle.
"Lookin' more like an eighthling," Catti-brie answered, and the two laughed.
The levity didn't seem to sink in to Wulfgar, nor to Drizzt who, now that the business with Robillard was out of the way, understood that it was time for them to deal with a much more profound issue, one they certainly could not ignore if they were to walk off together into danger with any hope of succeeding.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
He saw the world as a bird might, soaring past below him as the wizard climbed higher and higher into the sky, finding wind currents that took them generally and swiftly in the desired direction, south and to the sea.
At first, Regis considered how vulnerable they were up there, black spots against a blue sky, but as they soared on the halfling lost himself in the experience. He watched the rolling landscape, coming over one ridge of a mountain, the ground beyond falling away so fast it took the halfling's breath away. He spotted a herd of deer below and took comfort in their tiny appearance, for if they were that small, barely distinguishable black spots, then how small he and Robillard must seem from the ground. How easy for them to be mistaken for a bird, Regis realized, especially given the wizard's trailing, flowing cape.
Of course, the sudden realization of how high they truly were soon incited other fears in Regis, and he grabbed on tightly to the wizard's shoulders.
"Lessen your pinching grasp!" Robillard shouted against the wind, and Regis complied, just a tiny bit.
Soon the pair were out over cold waters, and Robillard brought them down somewhat, beneath the line of the mountaintops. Below, white water thrashed over many looming rocks and waves thundered against the stony shore, a war that had been raging for millennia. Though they were lower in the sky, Regis couldn't help but tighten his grip again,
A thin line of smoke ahead alerted the pair to a campfire and Robillard immediately swooped back in