Artemis Entreri strolled his deadly way down the main avenue. Normally, he wouldn't come to such a pitiful little backwater of a village, but there had been rumors that Drizzt Do'Urden had once resided in the nearby forest. Artemis hungered for a chance to defeat Drizzt as a starving man hungers for food. The very thought of a defeated Drizzt Do'Urden yielding to his superior prowess was enough to banish sleep for the rest of the night, replaced by restless fantasies of the event.
A baker dashed out in front of Artemis, and the assassin pinned the unfortunate craftsman with a double-barrelled dagger glare. He jerked back. Artemis smirked as he strode by the terrified baker. No, not even a mauling from a pack of dire worms could scratch the deadly man's polish. He slowly rotated his injured wrist. It was healing nicely, already reduced to an angry pink stripe; the last village's Wisdom obviously knew his craft backwards and forwards.
Idly, Artemis wondered whether Drizzt was still in fighting form. Perhaps he had abandoned his foolishly noble quest and settled down to a quiet life with some woman, forsaking his blades for flock of fluffy-furred sheep and a warm bed at night. If so, this was certainly the place to do it. Most had never heard of Baldur's Gate, Waterdeep, Icewind Dale, or even Calimport. Almost everyone had a strange wolf-hunting contraption consisting of a crossbow stock attached to an octopus-like set of tension strips; however, few even knew how to hold a sword.
Then Artemist recalled Drizzt's indomitable spirit, his flashing lavender eyes and penchant for charging into other planes for friends. He let out a bark of laughter, muttering, "Fat chance of that!" No, Drizzt would be ready to fight. The sky would fall before the drow turned his back on combat. Artemis Entreri was certain of that. "You and I, we're two sides of a blade, drow," Artemis murmured softly. "Fighting is in your blood, is your blood, as is mine."
Artemis briefly considered waiting until his wrist had fully healed before confronting Drizzt. The drow was a devilish fighter; Artemis had a hell of a time defeating him even with magic neutralized and Kimuriel helping. Just as he completed the thought, Artemis rounded the corner...
And gaped in horror at the scene he saw before him. A mob of screaming townsfolk surrounded the drow, beating upon him with farming tools!
"NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO! OFF, FIENDS!" Artemis shrieked, drawing sword and dagger. The assassin descended like The Devil's Own Fury upon the citizens of Twelve Wars And Still Standing Mundane As Ever. In a trice five died under the raging human's flashing blades. The man seemed surrounded by a tornado of red-dripping steel, stopping any who dared approach he and the drow with a lightning combo that left the bold one staring at the many different organs of his own body - if he still had a body.
The few survivor's of Entreri's assault drew back, confused by the sight of a human defending a drow with his life. They, however, did not comprehend the complex mind of Artemis Entreri, who yearned to face off against the dark elf. To the Calimport-born assassin, it seemed the obvious choice to ensure that Drizzt reached the battlefield alive.
Artemis fixed them with his patent-pending double barrelled dagger glare, one by one. Each glanced away quickly, quailing under his stormy glower. Without looking down, he stomped savagely upon Drizzt's hand, forcing the drow to release his boot dagger. He glared them down again, not speaking. A few began to edge away. Deciding that they were sufficiently cowed, Artemis growled, "This is none of your business. Return to your homes and say nothing." He swept his glare over them again. "Now!" he barked. Instantly they turned tail and fled.
Entreri, however, had other ideas. He leapt, landing silently behind one unfortunate fellow. The first warning he got was Entreri's sword dropping down over his head, coming to rest just in front of his throat. The second was the pressure of Entreri's dagger above his kidneys.
"Where is the nearest doctor?" the assassin hissed, prodding the man's kidney.
The poor drunkard, only a few minutes before animated by mob mentality and prejudicial hatred, suddenly swooned backwards. Entreri just barely managed to jerk away in time to keep the falling man from impaling himself on Entreri's dagger.
Disgusted, Entreri turned back to Drizzt. "Get up, drow."
Drizzt didn't stir. Again Entreri ordered, "Up!" This time he emphasized it with a kick to the ribs.
That was exactly what Drizzt had been waiting for. THe drow curled his aching boady around the leg, dagger in hand. Entreri had no chance. He felt the dagger dive deep into his knee, then Drizzt's body jerk in a twisting undulating. Entreri's knee popped out of its socket with a wet crack! The surprised assassin went down, although he managed to fall over the drow. The two grappled silently, painfully, punctuating their no-holds-barred brawl with short, agonized grunts and gasps for air. Entreri, however, was more experienced. Siezing a nearby rock, he bashed it down into a particularly nasty gash on Drizzt's forehead. Drizzt rammed his knee into Entreri's crotch, eliciting a bitten-off howl. Again and again the stone descended, brutally pulverizing the flesh and bone of Drizzt's chest and shoulder.
The two lay there, limbs tangled, panting softly and glaring hatred. Slowly, trembling with fatigue, Entreri's arm raised again, poising the rock for another strike. Drizzt, however, beat him to it. Twisting to raise both arms, fingers entwined, the drow clubbed the assassin. Artemis fainted, his suddenly limp arm bringing the stone down once more.
Drw and human, goodly ranger and evil assassin, the pair remained there on the street, unconscious.
A/N: Whew! That was a lot longer than any of my previous chapters. How do you like it? Please review!