"Guenhwyvar! Where
are you?" Drizzt called into the night. It wasn't normal for the
panther to
vanish from Drizzt's senses while on this plane of
existence, and he was worried.
"Bah! Leave th'
cat alone. It can take care of itself," Bruenor told him, not
leaving his blanket
by the fire.
The two had gone on a
'diplomatic excursion' to the city of Silverymoon. It can also
be said that
Bruenor the King had gone to argue with the city
council, Bruenor the Dwarf had gone to bash
some orc heads during the
journey there and back, and Drizzt had gone to visit the vast library
and his friend, the ruling Lady of Silverymoon.
"She never disappears
like this without letting me know, unless something's wrong. But I
sense
nothing," Drizzt said, not taking his keen eyes off the
trees.
Bruenor sat up. "Okay,
ye're makin' me nervous. C'mon, sit down an' eat sumthin'.
It'll be
alright."
Drizzt wasn't
comforted, but even so, he came back from the treeline and ate the
biscuit and stew
that Bruenor gave to him. "Maybe you're right,"
he said, grasping at possibilities. "She's
probably off hunting.
She'll be back in the morning. Let's get some sleep."
"Now ye're talkin'! I'm exhausted."
Drizzt watched and
smiled as Bruenor threw himself to the ground and began snoring
immediately. Right away, though, Drizzt looked back to the edge of
the clearing. He had
several close friends, but the magical panther
was his oldest and dearest friend. Bruenor was
right, though. She
could take care of herself. Also, should anything happen, Guenhwyvar
could
just escape to her own plane of existence.
With those last
comforting thoughts, Drizzt slipped into the meditative state that
elves call sleep.
In this way, he could both keep watch and rest.
It was a strange dream
that Drizzt had. He could see nothing but smoke. Someone was
muttering, he didn't know what. He could hear Gwenhwyvar growling
in protest to…something.
In the morning, when Bruenor awoke, he was alone.