Chapter Two
Slowly, Drizzt began to wake. Slitting open his eyes, he closed them quickly as even that smallest of movements sent daggers through his skull. His hands came up to rub at his forehead and he groaned out loud as another wave of pain crashed over him.
He slowly became aware that someone was in the room with him.
"Catti-Brie?" He called out quietly. This time when he opened his eyes, he kept them open. Turning to his side, he realised that the woman sleeping by the bed was not Catti-Brie, but a stranger. He slowly rubbed at his eyes, trying to get the room to come into focus but failed. It suddenly hit him that he didn't know where he was.
He bolted up straight into a sitting position, only to have the world spin dizzyingly around him. He suddenly felt sick as nausea churned his stomach. Looking to the woman by the bedside, for the first time noticing her pointed ears, he felt a strange sense of dread. Where in the Nine Hells was he?
His breath hitched as the nausea finally won out. Clamping a hand over his mouth, he looked around the room. The elf must have realised this would happen, as there was a bucket strategically placed by the bed. He quickly snatched it up and held it in front of him before he lost the contents of his stomach.
By the time his retching had stopped, his stomach and throat were sore and his head felt like it had a goblin's axe stuck in it. When he came more back to his senses, he realised someone was gently rubbing his back. He slowly turned his head, only to be staring into the green eyes of the elven woman who had been sleeping.
He lifted a shaking hand to wipe at his mouth and hoped that his black skin would cover the blush that had crept into his cheeks. He couldn't remember a time he had felt more embarrassed.
Not only had he just been sick, but he had been comforted by a complete stranger - and an elf no less. One that was looking disapprovingly down at him. Not knowing what to do, he sheepishly handed her the bucket, which she put back into its original place by the bed.
"And that is what you get for sitting up too fast, Drizzt!" she said, before making him lay back down again.
He was about to ask her how she knew his name, but stopped. His friends must have told her, he realised, suddenly glad that it seemed he was the only one to have gotten hurt in their last fight. Instead, he did as he was told and laid back down, though the pillows were now propped up a bit.
The elf handed him a glass of water and he immediately took it, rinsing his mouth out, and drinking the clean water left in the glass. "Thank you." He mumbled, his voice slurring a little. He thought about shaking his head, but changed his mind when he realised it would make him feel worse rather than better.
The elf smiled at him. "My name's Lyavain."
"Drizzt." He replied, though he knew he didn't have to.
"I don't get many visitors here. Especially visitors like you and your friends."
Drizzt closed his eyes. "Ah. Where am I?"
"You and your friends are at my home in the Moonwoods."
His eyes flew open again. "Of course. We were asked to patrol the area to stop a band of orcs that have been spotted near here. Probably from Dead Orc Pass."
Lyavain got a decidedly angry look to her eyes at that. "Unfortunately the orcs have moved into the forest. My people and I are holding them back, but there seems to be more of them every time they come back. There are only small clans of elves in these woods and not enough of us to keep on fluking out of danger."
Drizzt nodded and groaned at the movement. The fight he had been in, before he had woken up here, came back to him and he suddenly found himself angry with a certain dwarf. "Bruenor, you idiot." He mumbled to himself before once again massaging his scalp.
He looked at Lyavain before quickly looking down at the bed again. "How badly hurt was I?" The fingers of one hand started to play with the blanket that was covering him.
Lyavain frowned. "You were cut, but I healed that easily. The blow you took though was powerful and probably bruised some part of your brain. That will heal on its own and it would be wise for you to be as inactive as possible. I haven't got any healing potions with me and I won't use magic to heal this particular injury." Looking straight into his eyes she added, "Best for you to stay in bed."
Drizzt frowned at that idea. He was a naturally active person and the thought of being stuck in a bed did not sit well with him. Thinking this, a wicked yet playful smile showed on his face. "I hope you know I am going to be a bad patient."
Lyavain laughed at this. "I have yet to meet a traveller in need of a healer who isn't."
Drizzt leaned more comfortably into the pillows and thought about all that had happened since leaving Silverymoon with this request from Lady Alustriel. He was beginning to worry about how long it would take for him to heal properly from the hit he had taken. Looking around the room, he had another thing to be worried about if he was to fight.
"My vision . it's blurry. Will that heal?" He asked, hoping for a positive answer to his question.
Looking at her patient, she smiled reassuringly. "It should, if you stay where you are and not run around too much."
With that Drizzt sighed and decided to get himself as comfortable as he could. About to say something else, he was cut off when the door opened wide letting in his friends. Catti-Brie came in first, followed by Bruenor and Wulfgar. Though he couldn't see because of the bed, he also knew Regis to be there. Looking at his friends, his mood brightened quite a bit.
"Ye're awake!" Catti-Brie stated, walking over to him and wrapping him in a hug he readily gave back.
"About time too." Came the gruff reply from his dwarven friend, before Bruenor hastily said an awkward apology.
"Are you ok?" The rather stoic question asked by Wulfgar. Since the barbarian had left Delly Curtie and Colson in Silverymoon in the capable hands of Alustriel, he hadn't been in much of a talking mood. Drizzt strongly suspected that had something to do with Delly discovering she was with child.
"I would be if I had something to make this headache go away." He replied, once again closing his eyes and rubbing at his head. He started when, opening his eyes again, he found himself to be face to face with Regis. Somehow the halfling had made it onto the bed without his knowing.
"Sorry." Regis said, but the look on his face seemed to say otherwise. "We were all afraid you would have addled your brain with that swing you took."
Catti-Brie scowled at Regis before finally relinquishing her hold of the drow.
Lyavain cleared her throat to get the attention of the whole party now that they were all in the same room. "Until Drizzt is more able to fight, I suggest we all stay here and lay low. My wolf companion, Colt, will patrol the area and warn me of any danger that might be coming. While we wait, I suggest we come up with some strategy as to what to do with the orcs."
"What'd anyone do when facin' a pack o' the stinkin' orcs? Cut 'em down! That's all the battle plan we need." Bruenor stated swing his axe in a threatening way, hoping it will soon bite into orc flesh. Catti-Brie and Wulfgar nodded, both content with finding the creatures and dispatching f them as fast as possible.
All of the companions soon made themselves comfortable, Regis making himself comfortable beside Drizzt even though his dark elf friend was not too pleased to be sharing the bed. They sat talking about the pro's and cons of Bruenor's idea.
There was a long and silent pause. "Maybe we should listen to Lyavain." Regis offered. He was still not completely comfortable with running straight into a battle. He grinned. "Anyway, it will give us something to do while we wait for Drizzt to come back to his senses."
Expecting a reply they all looked to the drow, only to see that, at some point during their argument, he had fallen back to sleep.
Wulfgar, smiling slightly moved so he could lift Regis off the bed without waking their sleeping friend. The dark elf frowned in his sleep and moved slightly, freezing Regis as Wulfgar succeeded in getting him off the bed.
Lyavain picked up the bucket and went to the door, motioning for the others to follow her out. When all were in the next room, the door silently being closed by Catti-Brie, Lyavain went and rinsed out the bucket.
"The rest will do him good." She announced, before the group once again went on to discuss their plans for the upcoming fight.
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Angry shouts woke Drizzt a few hours later. Looking fuzzily around him, he tried to remember where he was. He lay back down when he remembered Lyavain.
He let the noise in the room next to him wash over his ears, suddenly becoming worried at what he was hearing. The clash of steel against steel was ringing in the air, as was the angry shouts of his friends and the unmistakable sounds that orcs make.
For the second time that day Drizzt sat bolt upright, this time simply ignoring the nauseous feeling the move made him feel. Looking wildly around, he spotted his scimitars on the table beside the bed. Belting them to his sides, he immediately walked to the door, disoriented by the effort it took to try and see straight.
Making it to the door and opening it, he saw the room filled with orcs. He felt like he was not ready for this fight when he had to lean against the doorframe to stop the world from spinning all of a sudden.
When one of the orcs came running towards him, his scimitars were immediately in his hands and ran the creature through. Tugging Twinkle out of the orc, he found himself having to fight anyway.
Staying near the door, afraid that he might need the support, he battled anything that came his way. When three of the enemies decided to fight him at once, he realised he should have left the fighting to his friends. He found himself having to twist his way out of the reach of short swords as the orcs began swinging them at him.
Bringing his weapons in front of him, he barely felt the nick as one of the orcs got a slash in on one of his arms. Having to twist his way out of the reach of the other two, he soon let his weapons go wherever they felt like, trusting them more than himself at the moment.
By the time he felled the first one of the three, he knew he needed help badly. Tiring quicker than usual, his head pounding and his vision failing to tell him where exactly a weapon was, he cried out to his friends to help.
One fell instantly, a silver arrow slicing through its body and into the wall beside him. The one arrow was all that had come though and he found himself turning to thank Catti-Brie who was wildly using Taulmaril to the best advantage against the two archers at the main door.
For the second time in as many days, he felt a sharp pain as he was hit in the head, this time, however, he stayed conscious. Spinning quickly about, he just as quickly killed the last of the three orcs.
Hearing a commotion, he spun about ready to face the next orc that came to him, only to see what was left of the now much smaller pack run out of the house and back to their hiding spot.
He knew he should have been in pain, but standing there at the wall all that ached in him vanished. He was surprised when his vision blacked out for a second only to come back and show him a worried looking group of people standing over him.
He realised he was on the floor and couldn't get back up again. He closed his eyes, willing away the distorted faces of his friends only to feel something touch his lips. Opening his mouth, he felt the taste of a healing potion as it passed his tongue, issuing its healing warmth through his body.
Not knowing what to do now, he did the first thing he could think of, he let himself fall into dark unconsciousness.
A/N - Again the poor chap gets hit in the head. Aw well. Thank you to the four people who review first chapter. It is quite easy to guess what this story is about by the title, I just had no idea how to get him to that point. Lol, mind you I have no idea what blows to the head can do as, for one as skinny as I am, I have been told I have a thick skull, or at least strong bones . my experiences hurt like hell, but I got over it pretty quickly, though I should have had a concussion and didn't. Lucky me.
Slowly, Drizzt began to wake. Slitting open his eyes, he closed them quickly as even that smallest of movements sent daggers through his skull. His hands came up to rub at his forehead and he groaned out loud as another wave of pain crashed over him.
He slowly became aware that someone was in the room with him.
"Catti-Brie?" He called out quietly. This time when he opened his eyes, he kept them open. Turning to his side, he realised that the woman sleeping by the bed was not Catti-Brie, but a stranger. He slowly rubbed at his eyes, trying to get the room to come into focus but failed. It suddenly hit him that he didn't know where he was.
He bolted up straight into a sitting position, only to have the world spin dizzyingly around him. He suddenly felt sick as nausea churned his stomach. Looking to the woman by the bedside, for the first time noticing her pointed ears, he felt a strange sense of dread. Where in the Nine Hells was he?
His breath hitched as the nausea finally won out. Clamping a hand over his mouth, he looked around the room. The elf must have realised this would happen, as there was a bucket strategically placed by the bed. He quickly snatched it up and held it in front of him before he lost the contents of his stomach.
By the time his retching had stopped, his stomach and throat were sore and his head felt like it had a goblin's axe stuck in it. When he came more back to his senses, he realised someone was gently rubbing his back. He slowly turned his head, only to be staring into the green eyes of the elven woman who had been sleeping.
He lifted a shaking hand to wipe at his mouth and hoped that his black skin would cover the blush that had crept into his cheeks. He couldn't remember a time he had felt more embarrassed.
Not only had he just been sick, but he had been comforted by a complete stranger - and an elf no less. One that was looking disapprovingly down at him. Not knowing what to do, he sheepishly handed her the bucket, which she put back into its original place by the bed.
"And that is what you get for sitting up too fast, Drizzt!" she said, before making him lay back down again.
He was about to ask her how she knew his name, but stopped. His friends must have told her, he realised, suddenly glad that it seemed he was the only one to have gotten hurt in their last fight. Instead, he did as he was told and laid back down, though the pillows were now propped up a bit.
The elf handed him a glass of water and he immediately took it, rinsing his mouth out, and drinking the clean water left in the glass. "Thank you." He mumbled, his voice slurring a little. He thought about shaking his head, but changed his mind when he realised it would make him feel worse rather than better.
The elf smiled at him. "My name's Lyavain."
"Drizzt." He replied, though he knew he didn't have to.
"I don't get many visitors here. Especially visitors like you and your friends."
Drizzt closed his eyes. "Ah. Where am I?"
"You and your friends are at my home in the Moonwoods."
His eyes flew open again. "Of course. We were asked to patrol the area to stop a band of orcs that have been spotted near here. Probably from Dead Orc Pass."
Lyavain got a decidedly angry look to her eyes at that. "Unfortunately the orcs have moved into the forest. My people and I are holding them back, but there seems to be more of them every time they come back. There are only small clans of elves in these woods and not enough of us to keep on fluking out of danger."
Drizzt nodded and groaned at the movement. The fight he had been in, before he had woken up here, came back to him and he suddenly found himself angry with a certain dwarf. "Bruenor, you idiot." He mumbled to himself before once again massaging his scalp.
He looked at Lyavain before quickly looking down at the bed again. "How badly hurt was I?" The fingers of one hand started to play with the blanket that was covering him.
Lyavain frowned. "You were cut, but I healed that easily. The blow you took though was powerful and probably bruised some part of your brain. That will heal on its own and it would be wise for you to be as inactive as possible. I haven't got any healing potions with me and I won't use magic to heal this particular injury." Looking straight into his eyes she added, "Best for you to stay in bed."
Drizzt frowned at that idea. He was a naturally active person and the thought of being stuck in a bed did not sit well with him. Thinking this, a wicked yet playful smile showed on his face. "I hope you know I am going to be a bad patient."
Lyavain laughed at this. "I have yet to meet a traveller in need of a healer who isn't."
Drizzt leaned more comfortably into the pillows and thought about all that had happened since leaving Silverymoon with this request from Lady Alustriel. He was beginning to worry about how long it would take for him to heal properly from the hit he had taken. Looking around the room, he had another thing to be worried about if he was to fight.
"My vision . it's blurry. Will that heal?" He asked, hoping for a positive answer to his question.
Looking at her patient, she smiled reassuringly. "It should, if you stay where you are and not run around too much."
With that Drizzt sighed and decided to get himself as comfortable as he could. About to say something else, he was cut off when the door opened wide letting in his friends. Catti-Brie came in first, followed by Bruenor and Wulfgar. Though he couldn't see because of the bed, he also knew Regis to be there. Looking at his friends, his mood brightened quite a bit.
"Ye're awake!" Catti-Brie stated, walking over to him and wrapping him in a hug he readily gave back.
"About time too." Came the gruff reply from his dwarven friend, before Bruenor hastily said an awkward apology.
"Are you ok?" The rather stoic question asked by Wulfgar. Since the barbarian had left Delly Curtie and Colson in Silverymoon in the capable hands of Alustriel, he hadn't been in much of a talking mood. Drizzt strongly suspected that had something to do with Delly discovering she was with child.
"I would be if I had something to make this headache go away." He replied, once again closing his eyes and rubbing at his head. He started when, opening his eyes again, he found himself to be face to face with Regis. Somehow the halfling had made it onto the bed without his knowing.
"Sorry." Regis said, but the look on his face seemed to say otherwise. "We were all afraid you would have addled your brain with that swing you took."
Catti-Brie scowled at Regis before finally relinquishing her hold of the drow.
Lyavain cleared her throat to get the attention of the whole party now that they were all in the same room. "Until Drizzt is more able to fight, I suggest we all stay here and lay low. My wolf companion, Colt, will patrol the area and warn me of any danger that might be coming. While we wait, I suggest we come up with some strategy as to what to do with the orcs."
"What'd anyone do when facin' a pack o' the stinkin' orcs? Cut 'em down! That's all the battle plan we need." Bruenor stated swing his axe in a threatening way, hoping it will soon bite into orc flesh. Catti-Brie and Wulfgar nodded, both content with finding the creatures and dispatching f them as fast as possible.
All of the companions soon made themselves comfortable, Regis making himself comfortable beside Drizzt even though his dark elf friend was not too pleased to be sharing the bed. They sat talking about the pro's and cons of Bruenor's idea.
There was a long and silent pause. "Maybe we should listen to Lyavain." Regis offered. He was still not completely comfortable with running straight into a battle. He grinned. "Anyway, it will give us something to do while we wait for Drizzt to come back to his senses."
Expecting a reply they all looked to the drow, only to see that, at some point during their argument, he had fallen back to sleep.
Wulfgar, smiling slightly moved so he could lift Regis off the bed without waking their sleeping friend. The dark elf frowned in his sleep and moved slightly, freezing Regis as Wulfgar succeeded in getting him off the bed.
Lyavain picked up the bucket and went to the door, motioning for the others to follow her out. When all were in the next room, the door silently being closed by Catti-Brie, Lyavain went and rinsed out the bucket.
"The rest will do him good." She announced, before the group once again went on to discuss their plans for the upcoming fight.
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Angry shouts woke Drizzt a few hours later. Looking fuzzily around him, he tried to remember where he was. He lay back down when he remembered Lyavain.
He let the noise in the room next to him wash over his ears, suddenly becoming worried at what he was hearing. The clash of steel against steel was ringing in the air, as was the angry shouts of his friends and the unmistakable sounds that orcs make.
For the second time that day Drizzt sat bolt upright, this time simply ignoring the nauseous feeling the move made him feel. Looking wildly around, he spotted his scimitars on the table beside the bed. Belting them to his sides, he immediately walked to the door, disoriented by the effort it took to try and see straight.
Making it to the door and opening it, he saw the room filled with orcs. He felt like he was not ready for this fight when he had to lean against the doorframe to stop the world from spinning all of a sudden.
When one of the orcs came running towards him, his scimitars were immediately in his hands and ran the creature through. Tugging Twinkle out of the orc, he found himself having to fight anyway.
Staying near the door, afraid that he might need the support, he battled anything that came his way. When three of the enemies decided to fight him at once, he realised he should have left the fighting to his friends. He found himself having to twist his way out of the reach of short swords as the orcs began swinging them at him.
Bringing his weapons in front of him, he barely felt the nick as one of the orcs got a slash in on one of his arms. Having to twist his way out of the reach of the other two, he soon let his weapons go wherever they felt like, trusting them more than himself at the moment.
By the time he felled the first one of the three, he knew he needed help badly. Tiring quicker than usual, his head pounding and his vision failing to tell him where exactly a weapon was, he cried out to his friends to help.
One fell instantly, a silver arrow slicing through its body and into the wall beside him. The one arrow was all that had come though and he found himself turning to thank Catti-Brie who was wildly using Taulmaril to the best advantage against the two archers at the main door.
For the second time in as many days, he felt a sharp pain as he was hit in the head, this time, however, he stayed conscious. Spinning quickly about, he just as quickly killed the last of the three orcs.
Hearing a commotion, he spun about ready to face the next orc that came to him, only to see what was left of the now much smaller pack run out of the house and back to their hiding spot.
He knew he should have been in pain, but standing there at the wall all that ached in him vanished. He was surprised when his vision blacked out for a second only to come back and show him a worried looking group of people standing over him.
He realised he was on the floor and couldn't get back up again. He closed his eyes, willing away the distorted faces of his friends only to feel something touch his lips. Opening his mouth, he felt the taste of a healing potion as it passed his tongue, issuing its healing warmth through his body.
Not knowing what to do now, he did the first thing he could think of, he let himself fall into dark unconsciousness.
A/N - Again the poor chap gets hit in the head. Aw well. Thank you to the four people who review first chapter. It is quite easy to guess what this story is about by the title, I just had no idea how to get him to that point. Lol, mind you I have no idea what blows to the head can do as, for one as skinny as I am, I have been told I have a thick skull, or at least strong bones . my experiences hurt like hell, but I got over it pretty quickly, though I should have had a concussion and didn't. Lucky me.