I Read What?!

So last time in the Halfling's Gem, we started the action phase of the story, as our heroes search the sewers for a way into the thieves' guild to rescue their friend.



We rejoin Wulfgar first. If you recall, he's just been separated from the rest of the group. Now he's found himself in a square, unadorned stone room. The way is blocked only by a portcullis though, which means Catti-brie is more than capable of using her bow to cover his back while he attempts to lift it.

Unfortunately, while Wulfgar is incredibly strong, the bars are greased. So that's not going to work. Wulfgar's going to go onward instead, to see if he can find something. The others are so intent on him that they miss Entreri dropping down farther along the tunnel behind them. He could take Bruenor and Catti-brie out easily, but they're not his target.

I don't know why this annoys me. But it does. The problem is, I'm never sure if we're supposed to think Bruenor, Catti-brie and Wulfgar are supposed to be formidable or not. Just like I'm never sure how smart they're supposed to be. We'll spend a whole book talking about their impressive martial progress, then get a throwaway line like this that implies they're sitting ducks. We'll see them think their way out of problems well enough, until suddenly they need to be callow, naive fools so that Drizzt can be the wise and cautious teammate who notices things aren't right.

Thing is, there's two of them. So even if he could stab ONE in the back, the other should be able to fiht back and given him SOMETHING of a challenge, even if they won't win.

And okay, maybe it's just Entreri being overconfident, but in the context of the dumbing down instances I've mentioned, it's just aggravating.

Oh well.

Anyway, the scene shifts to Rassiter. He's found bodies of other ratkin. They apparently revert halfway through their transformation at death and die in agony. Ouch. Rassiter realizes that his trap worked, but at a really fucking high price. He wonders how many the "master swordsman" (Drizzt of course) had killed.

Then he understands, when he comes face to face with Drizzt. He's a DROW! Rassiter thinks that a drow prisoner would gain Pasha Pook's favor and elevate him above Entreri once and for all.

For his part, Drizzt is in a rough spot. When I complained about Drizzt's boring cliffhanger, I was wrong. I'd missed something important. Among his enemies is a "sundew", which is a kind of monster that absorbs and engulfs its prey. And Drizzt has now become trapped by it. My fault, Mr. Salvatore. Not yours.

Anyway, Rassiter happens to have a waterskin of vinegar, hopefully enough to dissolve the sundew and set Drizzt free. He wants him alive, after all. He's about to prod at Drizzt to see if he's still alive, when he's interrupted by Artemis Entreri.

Rassiter ends up fleeing, while Entreri studies Drizzt. He can cut him free, or let him die a slow death. The scene shifts as Entreri says "And so you die", wiping slime from his dagger.

Yeah, I'm not fooled by this, dude. Entreri didn't lure Drizzt all the way here to let something else kill him.

--

For Wulfgar's part, he's exploring the trap he's been caught in. There's a screen blocking a side of the room, and there's something behind it: a hydra. It attacks.

--

Back to Entreri, who seems to be having a whole fucking crisis here:

"You disappoint me, drow," Entreri continued. "I had thought you my equal, or nearly so.
The bother, and risks, I took to guide you here so we could decide whose life was the lie! To prove to you that those emotions you cling to so dearly have no place in the heart of a true warrior.

"But now I see that I have wasted my efforts," the assassin lamented. "The question has already been decided, if it ever was a question. Never would I have fallen into such a trap!"

...

But of course, things aren't what they seem!

Drizzt peeked out from one half-opened eye and raised his head to meet Entreri's gaze.

"Nor would I," he said, shrugging off the limp tendrils of the dead sundew. "Nor would I!"

The wound became apparent in the monster when Drizzt moved out. With a single thrust, the drow had killed the sundew.

A smile burst across Entreri's face. "Well done!" he cried, readying his blades.

...you know, I really could ship them. Just a little.

Anyway, Drizzt asks after Regis, and Entreri confirms that they're alive. Well, perhaps. It gets Drizzt angry, but he keeps control.

Meanwhile, Entreri continues to taunt, and he hits home when he brins up the mask, telling Drizzt to put it on and pretend he is what he's not.

They keep fighting.

"So easy?" Entreri asked him as they squared off again. "Do you think that I sought this fight for so long, only to die in its opening exchanges?"

"I do not figure anything where Artemis Entreri is concerned," Drizzt came back. "You are too foreign to me, assassin. I do not pretend to understand your motives, nor do I have any desire to learn of them."

"Motives?" Entreri balked. "I am a fighter - purely a fighter. I do not mix the calling of my life with lies of gentleness and love." He held the saber and dagger out before him. "These are my only friends, and with them - "

"You are nothing," Drizzt cut in. "Your life is a wasted lie."

"A lie?" Entreri shot back. "You are the one who wears the mask, drow. You are the one who must hide."

Ooo. Ouch.

But Entreri's timing is off. A few days before, that might have stung, but thanks to Catti-brie's insight, they just ring hollow. On one hand, I like this, because it is the culmination of a well established plot, and we saw the way Drizzt's perspective changed. On the other: of fucking course, Drizzt is too wise to fall for that.

...I never claimed to be rational.

"You are the lie, Entreri," he replied calmly. "You are no more than a loaded crossbow, an unfeeling weapon, that will never know life." He started walking toward the assassin, jaw firm in the knowledge of what he must do.

Entreri strode in with equal confidence.

"Come and die, drow," he spat.

--

Back to Wulfgar vs. the hydra. It's too fast for him to really prepare an attack sequence. Catti-brie is having more success, but we're told "tears rim[] her eyes in fear for Wulfgar." She holds them back at least, but of course the chick is weepy. She makes up for it by getting one head between the eyes, which seems to paralyze the monster briefly. It gives Wulfgar the opportunity to crush another head.

Bruenor yells out tactical advice, while the hydra keeps Wulfgar inside the room. At one point, it gets him by the arm and almost tears it off. But Wulfgar gets free. He finds another door.

--

Back to Entreri and Drizzt. Entreri gets first blood, but Drizzt gets a great retort: "Last blood counts for more."

--

Bruenor calls after Wulfgar, while hearing the sounds of Drizzt's battle. He's relieved by that. Wulfgar announces that he's safe. In fact, he's found himself in a furnished gambling den, likely in the guildhouse itself.

There's an emotional exchange between Catti-brie and Wulfgar, before she leaves with Bruenor to help Drizzt. (She doesn't want to go, but she can't help Wulfgar here.)

--

Drizzt is fighting still. He thinks about Catti-brie's words and sublimates his hate of Entreri, focusing on the priority of rescuing Regis.

Entreri on the other hand is having an emotional crisis:

The visage of Entreri, the man who proclaimed superiority as a fighter because of his lack of emotions, often twisted violently, bordering on explosive rage. Truly Entreri hated Drizzt.

For all of the warmth and friendships the drow had found in his life, he had attained perfection with his weapons. Every time Drizzt foiled Entreri's attack routine and countered with an equally skilled sequence, he exposed the emptiness of the assassin's existence.

Anyway, Drizzt draws Entreri's blood this time. Entreri takes flight down a corridor and Drizzt goes after him. He runs into Bruenor and Catti-brie, who follow him as he gives chase.

The chapter ends here.