Old Adventure, New Companion
"Bah, ye've lost yer wits, elf!" Bruenor grumbled and rubbed his hands together to warm them against the chill.
"Have not," Drizzt replied, taking the comment in stride. "You've lost your own if you can't see it."
"Oh, I can see it, but how do ye expect us to get at the thing?" Bruenor asked.
"We slide down, of course."
"Bah, ye're mad," Bruenor stated but dutifully trudged to peer over the slope leading to the hibernating dragon. It was a white dragon, albeit a small one. It was roundabouts of fifteen feet long. Its snow white scales glimmered in the beam of sunlight focused upon it by a hole in the roof of the cavern. Its breath came slowly, it was deeply asleep. The dragon's tail swished gently back and forth and it shifted slightly, away from the light. Surrounding the dragon was a copious amount of coins, nearly all platinum.
"Oh come on, we can take him," Drizzt said, "What about Icingdeath?"
"That was luck on Wulfgar's part and ye know it! I'm not saying we can't take it, but I'd feel better if it didn't have a ten-day to freeze me while I'm sliding down the damned wall!"
Drizzt glanced up at the skylight above. "Would you feel better if we went through the ceiling?" he asked, a grin creasing his smooth features.
"All right, all right," Bruenor conceded and set down at the mouth of the slide. He gripped both sides of the wall and pushed off with all his strength, his fiery hair and beard flying about to make it look like his head was on fire. He yelled ferociously and the dragon's head snapped up but drew back in surprise at the dwarf's odd appearance.
Drizzt launched himself down the slide about the time Bruenor reached the bottom. He drew his scimitars as he fell and landed lightly at the foot of the slope. He watched Bruenor advance towards the dragon, which was now on it's feet and was considerably more imposing. Its head rose fully twenty feet into the air, and housed teeth that glinted like daggers.
Bruenor went into a roll when he was in close proximity to the dragon and rose beneath its stomach. He rose into a vicious uppercut, but it never reached it's mark. The dragon rose onto it's hind legs and easily avoided the attack. The dragon slammed back onto the ground and the resulting shockwave knocked the sturdy dwarf off balance. He wasn't able to ready a defense for the clawed hand that launched him into the air and about ten feet to the left. He groaned and rose into a sitting position and tried to shake away the stars swimming before his eyes. When this was accomplished he saw Drizzt tap a few blows on the dragon's leg. He dodged a snap from the dragon's maw and launched a few quick slices at the long, slender neck.
"Keep at it elf!" Bruenor rumbled. He gripped his axe and rushed back into the heat of battle. The dragon was still preoccupied with snapping at the agile dark elf, so Bruenor ran to the tail, which was hammering cracks into the stone floor. He braced himself and spat into his hands. He covered the rest of the distance at a run and jumped as high as he could. He latched on to the tail with an arm and both legs. He used his free arm to hammer at the tail with his axe. After a couple of strikes he felt his axe bite into the tough flesh of his foe and the flow of its blood. A terrible roar filled the cavern and Bruenor felt the wind as the dragon beat its wings. It rose about a dozen feet into the air and flew towards the walls of its lair. It turned on its side and drug its tail along the wall. Bruenor dropped his axe, all attack efforts forgotten. He desperately clung to the tail, his entire body painfully vibrating. The tail separated from the wall and cracked back against. The last thing Bruenor remembered was a bright flash of lighting.
Drizzt hurriedly readied his next shot, his previous one had merely grazed the dragon's neck. He placed another arrow and raised Taulmaril for a second shot. The dragon beat him to the punch. A freezing cone of icy cold rushed at him, and he dodged as quickly as possible. His left foot, along with the tail-end of his cloak were unable to escape the blast. He gasped in shock at the unbelievable cold and his movement ceased. The dragon landed over him and bent its head down to peer at him and grin in triumph. As it started to unleash a terrible roar, Drizzt let go what he suspected would be his final shot. The arrow thundered up into the top of the dragon's windpipe. As its eye widened in surprise, the roar became a hiss. The long neck swayed and the dragon tried to fire another blast of cold. All that appeared were a few flakes of crushed ice.
Drizzt drew the finely crafted onyx statuette from within his cloak and set it upon the ground. "Guenhwyvar, come to me!" A mist developed around the figurine and his panther companion appeared just as the dragon began to fall. Guen apparently already grasped the situation and dragged Drizzt out of harm's way. "Thank you," Drizzt said and scratched the panther's head. "Find Bruenor, make sure he's ok," he said and Guen rushed off in search of the dwarf. Drizzt waited for several minutes before he heard, "Stop licking me ye damned cat!"