Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that you don't recognise. They all
belong to the brilliant R. A. Salvatore. I do, however, own Lyavain. If
asked nicely, you can borrow her.
A/N - Just wanted to say that this idea has been niggling at me ever since I read Sojourn. She-cat's A New Beginning Chapters 36-39 also inspired me to write this story. I have a habit of torturing and hurting my favourite characters, so sorry if this annoys anyone, I thought it interesting and original. I haven't read The Thousand Orcs yet, so if some of the stuff I put in here is wrong (apart from the obvious), well it's not my fault. This is my first Forgotten Realms story, so if it doesn't make sense.well, you know why. I am hopeless with writing the accent of Catti-Brie and Bruenor; hopefully I'll get better. Please be kind and leave a review.
Light in the Darkness
Chapter One
It was a simple fight and one Drizzt knew he could win. His scimitars working in perfect rhythm, he was disappointed with how inexperienced his attacker was.
Off to his left, Catti-Brie sliced down one of the thugs with Khazid'hea, before readying her bow to shoot the other one that was running towards her.
To his right, Wulfgar and Regis were dealing with their own thugs. Regis, using the barbarian for a shield, swung his mace at any enemy that got too close to him.
Bruenor, who was behind him, yelled out something he didn't quite catch, only to be thrown completely off balance when the dwarf ran past him, almost knocking him off his feet. Icingdeath swung too wide and before his extremely quick reflexes could bring his scimitars up to stop the weapon, the hilt of a sword slammed hard into his face. There was a flash of brilliant white light, a moment of intense agony as it felt like something exploded behind his eyes, then everything went black.
Bruenor, realising he had just thrown his friend off balance, turned back around after dealing with another of the young thugs just in time to see Drizzt crumple to the ground.
Before he could flatten the thug for doing that, he spotted Regis now behind the man. One angry blow to the back of the man with a dagger he must have pinched from one of the idiots was enough to fell the thug. Regis glared at the man as if daring him to stand back up again.
Bruenor and the others in the party were still surprised whenever Regis acted like this.
Luckily that was the last of their supposed attackers and the small street they were on was suddenly quieter without the clang of metal on metal. Still, with one fallen ally and the rest of the party shaken, not that any would admit that, it wasn't a good idea to stay out in the open.
Catti-Brie was immediately at Drizzt's side, holding his head in her lap, tracing the cut just above and in between his eyes. It was obvious that someone wanted them alive or else she was afraid he would be dead.
A groan was heard from the man Regis had stabbed, obviously in pain. Pulling out his mace again, Regis gave the fallen man a good sharp thud on the head. Off to one side, the thug Catti-Brie had shot with one of her arrows was hobbling away, an arrow in a . . . most unfortunate place.
"That's me girl." Bruenor mumbled, before peering down his nose at his fallen friend. It was a nasty cut, he thought, and it was still bleeding. He frowned at his own stupidity in the fight.
"Well," he snapped to Wulfgar, "pick him up, boy! Best we get off the road and start lookin' fer a healer of some sort."
Wulfgar nodded and picked up the drow before the companions started to search the small town they were passing through for a healer. They finally came across a woman who would talk to them. She told them that there was a healer just a little past the town.
Saying their thanks, they followed the woman's instructions out of town. After a half-hour and no signs of any house of any sort a healer could live in they began wondering if this was all some jest due to what Drizzt was. It was Catti-Brie who was first to voice it out loud.
"That woman must 'ave been playin' us. There'd be no place on this road fer miles would be to me guessin'." She stated, walking off to the side of the road, and finding herself a rock to sit on by the forest.
Deciding to stop for a quick rest, Wulfgar had soon put Drizzt down on a soft patch of mossy ground, where Catti-Brie began to fuss over the wound with a piece of cloth ripped from her tunic.
Soon, their quick rest was turned into a camping ground for the night, making sure they were off the road first; they found themselves to be near a clearing.
Bruenor, having taken the first watch for the night, was busy trying not to fall asleep to hear the slight noise. He had no doubt that he had been snuck up on when the wolf slowly made its way into the clearing.
He slowly nudged Wulfgar awake and pointed at the beast, knowing how savage the animals could be especially when hungry.
As Wulfgar woke the sleeping halfling and woman, the wolf seemed to totally ignore them altogether. The beast began sniffing about the campsite like a puppy looking for the dinner scraps. It spotted Drizzt and the awake companions suddenly wished they had dressed the wound better than they had.
The wolf loped over to the unconscious Drizzt, lifted its head and let out a long, mournful howl. Another, not too far away answered it. Too close for the likes of the small camping party.
Its ears swivelling in the direction of the sound, the wolf suddenly took off like an overeager dog. It was likely meeting with the rest of its pack.
The tired party sighed after a few minutes of silence and began to get comfortable in their bedrolls when they heard the deliberate snap of a twig.
They were armed in a matter of seconds, all waiting for the inevitable wolf pack to come crashing into view looking for fresh meat. Instead, they were all surprised when an Elvin woman stepped into their camp, the wolf from before at her side like the obedient pet it seemed to be.
"Halt. Please put down your weapons. I mean no harm to you." She said in the melodic tones of her people, she pointed to the wolf. "My friend here told me someone was injured and so I came to see."
Looking towards Drizzt, Catti-Brie frowned. "Who are ye?!" She asked, though her question came out more a demand.
To her credit, the elf looked a little embarrassed. "My name is Lyavain and I live nearby, in the forest. I am a healer."
Looking at each other, the four companions took Lyavain to where the injured Drizzt was. Upon seeing a drow, she scowled.
"Please help him." Wulfgar said, hoping that when his mentor woke, he wouldn't have a muddled head. The others nodded.
"He's a good friend of ours." Added Regis, putting an emphasis on the word 'good'.
Lyavain didn't look too pleased, but bent down to look at the visible wound on the dark elf's face. The blow, while not very deep in its cut, had been hard enough to knock down a small giant.
Feeling the wound, she could feel a soft spot under the skin. It was amazing to her to see the drow still alive, the softness indicating a serious head injury. She had only seen this once before, to an elf in her clan, who got hit by a bugbear's morningstar. He had died though.
Searching through the pack she carried on her back, she took out what she was looking for. A salve to stop the bleeding and starting the healing of the wound. Any damage done on the inside would have to heal itself. She dared not use magic after her last failed attempt on her fellow elf.
She turned back to the worried friends of the dark elf. "I have stopped the bleeding and the wound should heal nicely. It might be an idea to bring him back to my house though, keep him as comfortable as possible. There is a bad injury on the inside, but I cannot do anything about that. The best thing for him is to rest and not move too much."
Getting back to her feet, Lyavain allowed the others to follow her to her home. Lyavain knew she was doing the right thing here. Drow or not, she was not going to fail this one.
A/N - Next chapter, Drizzt wakes up and everyone sits down and has a long talk about certain problems that have popped up.
A/N - Just wanted to say that this idea has been niggling at me ever since I read Sojourn. She-cat's A New Beginning Chapters 36-39 also inspired me to write this story. I have a habit of torturing and hurting my favourite characters, so sorry if this annoys anyone, I thought it interesting and original. I haven't read The Thousand Orcs yet, so if some of the stuff I put in here is wrong (apart from the obvious), well it's not my fault. This is my first Forgotten Realms story, so if it doesn't make sense.well, you know why. I am hopeless with writing the accent of Catti-Brie and Bruenor; hopefully I'll get better. Please be kind and leave a review.
Light in the Darkness
Chapter One
It was a simple fight and one Drizzt knew he could win. His scimitars working in perfect rhythm, he was disappointed with how inexperienced his attacker was.
Off to his left, Catti-Brie sliced down one of the thugs with Khazid'hea, before readying her bow to shoot the other one that was running towards her.
To his right, Wulfgar and Regis were dealing with their own thugs. Regis, using the barbarian for a shield, swung his mace at any enemy that got too close to him.
Bruenor, who was behind him, yelled out something he didn't quite catch, only to be thrown completely off balance when the dwarf ran past him, almost knocking him off his feet. Icingdeath swung too wide and before his extremely quick reflexes could bring his scimitars up to stop the weapon, the hilt of a sword slammed hard into his face. There was a flash of brilliant white light, a moment of intense agony as it felt like something exploded behind his eyes, then everything went black.
Bruenor, realising he had just thrown his friend off balance, turned back around after dealing with another of the young thugs just in time to see Drizzt crumple to the ground.
Before he could flatten the thug for doing that, he spotted Regis now behind the man. One angry blow to the back of the man with a dagger he must have pinched from one of the idiots was enough to fell the thug. Regis glared at the man as if daring him to stand back up again.
Bruenor and the others in the party were still surprised whenever Regis acted like this.
Luckily that was the last of their supposed attackers and the small street they were on was suddenly quieter without the clang of metal on metal. Still, with one fallen ally and the rest of the party shaken, not that any would admit that, it wasn't a good idea to stay out in the open.
Catti-Brie was immediately at Drizzt's side, holding his head in her lap, tracing the cut just above and in between his eyes. It was obvious that someone wanted them alive or else she was afraid he would be dead.
A groan was heard from the man Regis had stabbed, obviously in pain. Pulling out his mace again, Regis gave the fallen man a good sharp thud on the head. Off to one side, the thug Catti-Brie had shot with one of her arrows was hobbling away, an arrow in a . . . most unfortunate place.
"That's me girl." Bruenor mumbled, before peering down his nose at his fallen friend. It was a nasty cut, he thought, and it was still bleeding. He frowned at his own stupidity in the fight.
"Well," he snapped to Wulfgar, "pick him up, boy! Best we get off the road and start lookin' fer a healer of some sort."
Wulfgar nodded and picked up the drow before the companions started to search the small town they were passing through for a healer. They finally came across a woman who would talk to them. She told them that there was a healer just a little past the town.
Saying their thanks, they followed the woman's instructions out of town. After a half-hour and no signs of any house of any sort a healer could live in they began wondering if this was all some jest due to what Drizzt was. It was Catti-Brie who was first to voice it out loud.
"That woman must 'ave been playin' us. There'd be no place on this road fer miles would be to me guessin'." She stated, walking off to the side of the road, and finding herself a rock to sit on by the forest.
Deciding to stop for a quick rest, Wulfgar had soon put Drizzt down on a soft patch of mossy ground, where Catti-Brie began to fuss over the wound with a piece of cloth ripped from her tunic.
Soon, their quick rest was turned into a camping ground for the night, making sure they were off the road first; they found themselves to be near a clearing.
Bruenor, having taken the first watch for the night, was busy trying not to fall asleep to hear the slight noise. He had no doubt that he had been snuck up on when the wolf slowly made its way into the clearing.
He slowly nudged Wulfgar awake and pointed at the beast, knowing how savage the animals could be especially when hungry.
As Wulfgar woke the sleeping halfling and woman, the wolf seemed to totally ignore them altogether. The beast began sniffing about the campsite like a puppy looking for the dinner scraps. It spotted Drizzt and the awake companions suddenly wished they had dressed the wound better than they had.
The wolf loped over to the unconscious Drizzt, lifted its head and let out a long, mournful howl. Another, not too far away answered it. Too close for the likes of the small camping party.
Its ears swivelling in the direction of the sound, the wolf suddenly took off like an overeager dog. It was likely meeting with the rest of its pack.
The tired party sighed after a few minutes of silence and began to get comfortable in their bedrolls when they heard the deliberate snap of a twig.
They were armed in a matter of seconds, all waiting for the inevitable wolf pack to come crashing into view looking for fresh meat. Instead, they were all surprised when an Elvin woman stepped into their camp, the wolf from before at her side like the obedient pet it seemed to be.
"Halt. Please put down your weapons. I mean no harm to you." She said in the melodic tones of her people, she pointed to the wolf. "My friend here told me someone was injured and so I came to see."
Looking towards Drizzt, Catti-Brie frowned. "Who are ye?!" She asked, though her question came out more a demand.
To her credit, the elf looked a little embarrassed. "My name is Lyavain and I live nearby, in the forest. I am a healer."
Looking at each other, the four companions took Lyavain to where the injured Drizzt was. Upon seeing a drow, she scowled.
"Please help him." Wulfgar said, hoping that when his mentor woke, he wouldn't have a muddled head. The others nodded.
"He's a good friend of ours." Added Regis, putting an emphasis on the word 'good'.
Lyavain didn't look too pleased, but bent down to look at the visible wound on the dark elf's face. The blow, while not very deep in its cut, had been hard enough to knock down a small giant.
Feeling the wound, she could feel a soft spot under the skin. It was amazing to her to see the drow still alive, the softness indicating a serious head injury. She had only seen this once before, to an elf in her clan, who got hit by a bugbear's morningstar. He had died though.
Searching through the pack she carried on her back, she took out what she was looking for. A salve to stop the bleeding and starting the healing of the wound. Any damage done on the inside would have to heal itself. She dared not use magic after her last failed attempt on her fellow elf.
She turned back to the worried friends of the dark elf. "I have stopped the bleeding and the wound should heal nicely. It might be an idea to bring him back to my house though, keep him as comfortable as possible. There is a bad injury on the inside, but I cannot do anything about that. The best thing for him is to rest and not move too much."
Getting back to her feet, Lyavain allowed the others to follow her to her home. Lyavain knew she was doing the right thing here. Drow or not, she was not going to fail this one.
A/N - Next chapter, Drizzt wakes up and everyone sits down and has a long talk about certain problems that have popped up.