arm, his scimitar drawing a deep gash. The ebon skinned elf dropped his sword and half turned to look back in horror at this drow who was not an ally. Stumbling, the surprised drow focused ahead, just in time to catch a gnomish hammer in the face.
The gnome didn't understand it, of course, and as the dark elf fell, all he thought about was readying his hammer for this second enemy But Drizzt was long gone.
With the priestesses down, a gnome shaman ran over to the felled elemental. He placed a stone atop the pile of rubble and crushed it with his mattock, then began chanting. Soon the elemen tal reformed, as large as ever, and lumbered away like a moving avalanche in search of enemies. The shaman watched it go, but he should have been watching his own situation instead, for another dark elf crept out behind him, mace held high for a killing strike.
The shaman realized the danger only as the mace came crashing down.., and was intercepted by a scimitar.
Drizzt shoved the shaman aside and stood to face the stunned drow.
Friend? the fingers of the drow's free hand quickly asked.
Drizzt shook his head, then sent Twinkle slamming against the drow's mace, batting it aside. The ranger's second scimitar quickly followed the same path, ringing loudly off the metal mace and knocking it far out to Drizzt's left.
Drizzt's advantage of surprise was not as great as he had sup posed, though, for the drow's free left hand had already slipped to his belt and grabbed a slender dirk. Out of the folds of the drow's piwafwi cloak shot the new weapon, straight for Drizzt's heart, the evil drow snarling in apparent victory
Drizzt spun to the right, backsteppirig out of harm's way. He brought his closest scimitar back across and down, hooking the dirk's hilt and pulling the drow's arm out straight. He completed his spin, putting his back tightly against his opponent's chest, wrapping the outstretched arm right about him. The drow tried to work his mace into an angle so that he could strike at Drizzt, but Drizzt was in the better position and was the quicker. He stepped away, then came back in, elbow flying high to smash into his oppo nent's face, once, twice, and then again in rapid succession.
Drizzt flung the drow's dirk hand out wide, and wisely reversed his spin, getting Twinkle up just in time to catch the swinging mace. Drizzt's other arm shot forward, the hilt of his scimitar crushing the drow's face.
The evil drow tried to hold his balance, but he was clearly dazed. A quick twist and snap of Twinkle sent the mace flying into the air, and Drizzt punched out with his left hand, Twinkle's hilt catching the drow on the side of the jaw and dropping him to the floor.
Drizzt looked to the gnome shaman, who stood open mouthed, clutching his hammer nervously. All around them, the fight had become a rout, with the revived elemental leading the svirfnebli to a decisive victory
Two other gnomes joined the shaman and eyed Drizzt with sus picion and fear. Drizzt paused a moment to consider the Svirfneblin tongue, a language that used the melodic inflections similar to sur face Elvish alongside the hard consonant sounds more typical of Dwarvish talk.
"I am no enemy, " he said, and to prove his point he dropped his scimitars to the ground.
The drow on the floor groaned. A gnome sprang upon him and lined his pickaxe up with the back of the dark elf's skull.
"No!" Drizzt cried in protest, starting forward and bending low to intercept the strike.
Drizzt stood up straight suddenly, though, as a searing flash of pain erupted along his backbone. He saw the gnome finish the dazed drow, but couldn't begin to contemplate that brutal action as a series of minor explosions went off down his spine. The lip of some devious, flat edged club ran down his vertebrae like a board snapping across a picket fence.
Then it was over and Drizzt stood motionlessly for what seemed like a very long time. He felt his legs tingle, as though they had gone to sleep, then felt nothing at all below his waist. He fought to hold his balance, but wobbled and fell, and lay scratching at the stone floor and trying to find his breath.
He knew that the darkness of unconsciousness, or a deeper darkness still, was fast approaching, for he could hardly remember