their sheaths and began his measured advance. In his head his sentient sword, hungering for this fight perhaps more than the weapon master himself, telepathically agreed. Hardly.
"What are you about?" Entreri screamed when Guenhwyvar bounded past him, giving no apparent regard to his opponent. The flustered assassin took out his frustration on the lone drow facing him, hitting the unfortunate soldier with a three cut combination that left him off balance and with one of his arms severely bleeding. Entreri probably could have finished the fight right then, except that his attention was still somewhat focused on Catti-brie.
"I'm just digging holes, " the young woman said, as though that should explain everything. Several more bow shots followed in rapid succession, chipping away at the hard stone of an enormous stalactite. One arrow went through then, back into the cavern below.
"There is fighting ahead, " Entreri called. "And dark elves will soon be floating through that hole in the ceiling."
"Then be done with yer work!" Catti-brie shouted at him. "And be leaving me to me own!"
Entreri bit back his next retort, gnawed on his lips instead, and determined that if he was alive when this was all over, Catti-brie would wish that she was not.
The drow facing the assassin came on suddenly, thinking that his opponent was distracted and thinking to score a quick victory But Entreri's sword snapped left, right, and straight ahead, batting aside both weapons and scoring a minor hit, again on the bleeding arm.
They were no more than a tumbling ball of fur and scales, Guen hwyvar and the subterranean lizard locked in a raking, biting jumble. With its longer neck, the lizard had its head far to the side, biting at Guenhwyvar's flank, but Guenhwyvar stubbornly kept a firm hold on the base of the lizard's neck. More deadly still, the pan ther 's claws were inside the lizard's reach, affording Guenhwyvar a distinct advantage as they rolled. The panther's front claws kept a tight and steady hold, while Guenhwyvar 's rear legs tucked in close and began a vicious kicking rake, tearing at the reptilian beast.
Victory was at hand for the beleaguered panther, but then Guenhwyvar felt a wicked sting in the back, the sting of a sword.
The panther whipped its maw about in a frenzy, tearing out a chunk of the lizard's shoulder, but the pain brought blackness, and Guenhwyvar, already battered from the run along the walkways, had to give in, had to melt away into an insubstantial mist and follow the tunnel back to the Astral Plane.
The torn lizard rolled about on the stone, bleeding from its neck and sides, its belly hanging free of its skin. It crept away as swiftly as it could, seeking a hole in which to crawl.
Berg'inyon paid it no heed. He simply sat back on his own mount and watched the impending battle with more than a passing interest. He started to load his hand crossbow, but changed his mind and just sat back.
It occurred to Berg'inyon then that he stood only to gain, no matter who won this contest.
Hands out, his sword blades resting across his shoulders, the weapon master casually walked up to stand before Drizzt. He started to say something, so Drizzt thought, when a sword abruptly whipped out. Drizzt heaved his own weapon up to block, heard the ring of steel on steel, then Dantrag sliced out with his second blade, and punched ahead with the hilt of his first.
Drizzt could hardly register the moves. He got Twinkle up in time to block the second blade, and got punched solidly in the face. Then he was struck in the face a second time as Dantrag's other hand flew up, too quick for Drizzt to catch.
What magic did this drow possess? Drizzt wondered, for he did not believe that anyone could move so quickly
The razorlike edge of one of Dantrag's swords began to glow a distinct line of red, though it seemed no more than a dull blur to Drizzt as the weapon master continued his lightning fast routines. Drizzt could only react to each move, snap his blades this way and that and take some relief in hearing the ring of steel. All thoughts of countering the moves were gone; Drizzt could hope only that Dantrag would quickly tire.
But Dantrag smiled, realizing that Drizzt, like any other drow, could not move fast enough to effectively counter.
Twinkle caught a slice coming in at Drizzt's left; Dantrag's other sword, the glowing one, arced out