to Colson. It is the pact I willingly accepted when I took her from Meralda of Auckney. Even if I were assured that she was safe with the goodly refugees who crossed the Surbrin, I could not abandon my promise to Colson's mother, nor to the girl.
"For yourself there is Gauntlgrym?" Wulfgar asked. "Beside Bruenor?"
"That is his expectation, and my duty to him, yes."
Wulfgar gave a nod and scanned the horizon.
"Perhaps Bruenor is right, and Gauntlgrym will show us an end to this war," said Drizzt.
"There will be another war close behind," Wulfgar said with a helpless shrug and chuckle. "It is the way of things."
"Biggrin," Drizzt said, drawing a smile from his large friend.
"Indeed," said Wulfgar. "If we cannot change the way of things, then we are wise to enjoy the journey."
"You knew that I would duck, yes?"
Wulfgar shrugged. "I figured that if you did not, it was - "
" - the way of things," Drizzt finished with him.
They shared a laugh and Wulfgar looked down at Delly once more, his face somber. "I will miss her. She was so much more than she appeared. A fine companion and mother. Her road was difficult for all her days, but she oft found within herself a sense of hope and even joy. My life is lessened with her passing. There is a hole within me that will not be easily filled."
"Which cannot be filled," Drizzt corrected. "That is the thing of loss. And so you will go on, and you will take solace in your memories of Delly, in the good things you shared. You will see her in Colson, though the girl was not of her womb. You will feel her beside you on occasion, and though the sadness will ever remain, it will settle behind treasured memories."
Wulfgar bent down and gently slid his arms beneath Delly and lifted her. It didn't appear as if he was holding a body, for the frozen form did not bend at all. But he hugged her close to his chest and moisture filled his bright blue eyes.
"Do you now hate Obould as much as I do?" Drizzt asked.
Wulfgar didn't reply, but the answer that came fast into his thoughts surprised him. Obould was just a name to him, not even a symbol on which he could focus his inner turmoil. Somehow he had moved past rage and into acceptance.
It is what it is, he thought, echoing Drizzt's earlier sentiments, and Obould diminished to become a circumstance, one of many. An orc, a thief, a dragon, a demon, an assassin from Calimport - it did not matter.
"It was good to fight beside you again," Wulfgar said, and in such a tone as to give Drizzt pause, for the words sounded more like a farewell than anything else.
Drizzt sent Guenhwyvar out to the point, and side-by-side, he and Wulfgar began their trek back to Mithral Hall, with Wulfgar holding Delly close all the way.
PART 1 Chapter 5 TAKING ADVANTAGE
Clan Grimm has turned north," Toogwik Tuk told his two companions on a clear, calm morning in the middle of Ches, the third month of the year. "King Obould has granted Chieftain Grimsmal a favorable region, a sheltered and wide plateau."
"To prepare?" asked Ung-thol.
"To build," Toogwik Tuk corrected. "To raise the banner of Clan Grimm beside the flag of Many-Arrows above their new village."
"Village?" Dnark asked, spitting the word with surprise.
"King Obould will claim that this is a needed pause to strengthen the lines of supply," Toogwik Tuk said.
"A reasonable claim," said Dnark.
"But one we know is only half true," Toogwik Tuk said.
"What of General Dukka?" asked an obviously agitated Ung-thol. "Has he secured Keeper's Dale?"
"Yes," the other shaman answered.
"And so he marches to the Surbrin?"
"No," said Toogwik Tuk. "General Dukka and his thousands have not moved, though there are rumors that he will assemble several blocks...eventually."
Dnark and Ung-thol exchanged concerned glances.
"King Obould would not allow that collection of warriors to filter back to their tribes," Dnark said. "He would not dare."
"But will he send them around to strike at the dwarves at the Surbrin?" asked Ung-thol. "The dwarf battlements grow higher with each passing day."
"We expected Obould would not proceed," Toogwik Tuk reminded. "Is that not why we coaxed Grguch to the surface?"
Looking at his co-conspirators, Toogwik Tuk recognized that typical doubt right before the moment of truth. The three had long shared their concerns that Obould was veering from the path of conquest, and that was something they, as followers of Gruumsh One-eye, could