Chapter 3

Nightal 13 1732 DR, Year of Wild Magic

"What do you mean we can not leave the gates!" a furious Jepetto. "Shadimir is still out there." The deep gnome's voice was loud enough for everyone in the fest hall to hear.

Regis placed a hand on Jepetto's shoulder, but quickly took it away once he saw the glare in the svirfneblin's eyes. "Calm yourself Jepetto," Regis said in a quiet voice. "It was ordered by King Bruenor Battlehammer himself. With these attacks going on, no one is allowed to wander the streets this late at night without an escort."

Jepetto shook his head while Regis left his table and walked over to another table that was being occupied by a red haired female human. Regis tried to talk to the woman, who Jepetto knew to be King Bruenor's daughter Catti-brie. The woman ignored the halfling, and then continued to read the black book she held in her hands.

"These dwarves probably couldn't tell day from night," Jepetto mumbled as Elros walked over and lay next to his feet. The deep gnome smiled and scratched the snow tiger on his head.

Battle-hammer walked over and sat next to his creator. Many dwarves and gnomes present in the fest hall cast odd glances at the construct. Some of them silently praised the deep gnome's craftsmanship and detail, while others criticized it, saying that construct was a poor substitute for the real King Bruenor Battlehammer.

Jepetto turned once more and looked over at Catti-brie's table. The red haired woman saw the gnome's eyes and responded with a glare of her own, then she went back to her book.

"At least you got here safely," Shadimir shouted from the fest hall's doors.

Before Jepetto could turn to meet his friend, Elros's eyes snapped open. Upon seeing his master, the snow tiger ran over to the hunter, and then stopped at his feet.

"Good to see you Elros," Shadimir said softly as he scratched behind the snow tiger's ears.

"Did you just get in?" asked the deep gnome as Shadimir and Elros walked over to his table.

"I would have been here soon," Shadimir remarked," but Bruenor's guards at the gates were questioning me. Another dwarf just got attacked."

Jepetto sighed. "I guess that would explain why we're being kept here. Oh, and Alustriel's chariot flew off when we landed."

The hunter nodded and took his eyes off of Jepetto for a moment and noticed Bruenor's daughter Catti-brie staring at him. Her blue eyes were full of anger.

Kill...Kill...I want to rip...I want to taste blood.

Shadimir shook his head. He wondered where that voice in his head came from.

"Shadimir, are you feeling all right?" asked Jepetto.

The undead hunter looked back at Jepetto and nodded. "I thought I heard...never mind."

The svirfneblin raised an eyebrow and asked," Are you sure?"

Shadimir nodded once more, then added," We should go see Bruenor."

"Why he looks like he could be me brother," Bruenor Battlehammer commented as he threw an arm around Battle-hammer.

"Me brother!" Battle-hammer shouted as he and Bruenor stood next to each other. Many of the guards and soldier that occupied the throne room were confused, as they had great difficulty telling the construct and Bruenor apart.

Shadimir, who had found it hard not to laughed, stepped up to King Bruenor and said," Regis tells me that these attacks have been happening for days now."

"Aye lad they have," Bruenor explained. "We've found dwarves who are either turned to stone, bitten and paralyzed, or turned into a block of ice. It's unusual."

Shadimir looked at Jepetto, who shrugged. "Either its some sort of creature, or a powerful spell caster," the deep gnome suggested.

"Well whatever it is, our dwarves can't catch it," said the dwarf king. "It all started when me guards found those two dead dwarves who were explorin the tunnels."

Shadimir quickly turned to Jepetto and said," Jepetto we can start from there." The undead hunter turned back to Bruenor and asked," Do you have anyone who know anything about these attacks, or who could help us."

Bruenor shrugged. "Me boy Wulfgar went off to find Drizzt and Aliyah. Ye'd might want to ask me girl, but she's been acting a bit odd. All she does is sit around and put her nose in that book of hers."

Jepetto and Shadimir looked at each other, both of them remembering seeing Catti-brie with a black book at the fest hall.

The hunter turned to Bruenor and bowed. "We'll keep you informed on what's going on."

"Ye best do that, and just so he know," Bruenor said in a calm voice," there's no hard feeling about Aliyah. If it were any other woman, I'd have the elf's head for breaking me girl's heart...but Aliyah saved my life once."

Shadimir nodded, though he wondered when Aliyah had saved the dwarf king's life.

He looked at Jepetto, and together they left the king's throne room, concentrated on the task at hand.

Let me rip you...Let me taste you...Let me kill you...

Those words echoed in Shadimir's mind as he and Elros moved down the quiet streets. Though no one was allowed unescorted, Shadimir had gotten special privileges to do so. Jepetto and Battle-hammer were back at the palace, watching the owl egg that Shadimir had found earlier in the evening.

When the hunter and his animal companion turned the corner, they both saw a small puddle of blood on the ground. Shadimir looked up, seeing what he thought was an ice sculpture of a stout dwarf, wearing armor.

Shadimir closed his eyes and prayed to the gods to keep this dwarf's soul safe. He wasn't sure if the clerics or wizards could restore the dwarf back to flesh.

Nevertheless, Shadimir, along with Elros, raced back to the palace to inform King Bruenor of what just happened.