Book 2 the spine of the world

The huge man sitting on the end of the wharf beside him snatched thebottle away, moving with agility exceptional in a man of his tremendous size.Instinctively, Morik moved to grab the bo

The Ore King

The Pirate King

October 2008

The Ghost King

October 2009

THE LEGEND OF DRIZZT

Homeland

Exile

Sojourn

The Crystal Shard

Streams of Silver

The Halfling’s Gem

The Legacy

Starless Night

Siege of Darkness

Passage to Dawn

The Silent Blade

The Spine of the World

Sea of Swords

THE HUNTER’S BLADES TRILOGY

The Thousand Ores

The Lone Drow

The Two Swords

THE SELLSWORDS

Servant of the Shard

Promise of the Witch-King

Road of the Patriarch

THE CLERIC QUINTET

Canticle

In Sylvan Shadows

Night Masks

The Fallen Fortress

The Chaos Curse

verybody has an imagination

There’s the construction worker who can close his eyes and imagine aHawaiian vacation There’s the corporate executive with visions of that nextbig promotion There’s the stay-at-home mother and her perfectly built

“cabana boy” who will sweep her off her feet For a small group of us, we’vebeen fortunate enough to be able to use our imaginations to make a living.For myself, I use pen and ink to draw my visions onto paper Add a splash

of color, and the image is painted for all to view For R.A Salvatore, hepaints differently His imagination is brought to life with the magic brush ofwords He is not only skilled enough to create fantastic worlds littered withdozens upon dozens of magnificent characters, creatures, landscapes, andwonders, but he has been born with the additional talent of being able to takewhat appears within the fabric of his mind’s eye, and bring it to life withdescriptive, colorful, rich, and meaningful verbiage

Because of this, I can describe R.A with one simple word: storyteller.That, for me, is the biggest compliment I can give to another artisticcreator When someone like R.A can so effortlessly make us believe in theworld we are reading, we are again reminded why we enjoy and love books

so much Unlike some of my singular visual images that only give a smallportion of a story, R.A., like other great authors, will create, build, guide, andattach us to the various characters he shares in each of his books

We then become the beneficiaries of that sharing

R.A doesn’t just imagine epic adventures and legendary characters Hedoesn’t simply dream of new worlds and new world orders He brings them

to life, not only for himself, but for us, his readers, as well From DrizztDo’Urden to the death of everybody’s favorite wookie and beyond (and trust

me on this one, you may have read a lot from Mr Salvatore, but you haven’tseen anything yet) he has become one of the most prolific fantasy/sci-fiauthors of his generation, as well as one of the best storytellers to grace theprinted page with his wonderful worlds

For that I am grateful, and jealous, as I can only imagine what it would belike to have that kind of particular talent Then I pause and smile, because he

has done it again, and made me use my imagination Once again he hascaught me in his wonderful trap.

—Todd McFarlane

June 2007

DRAMATIS PERSONAEArumn Gardpeck

The barkeep at the Cutlass,

on Half-Moon Street in Luskan.

Banci

A merchant.

Beornegar

Wulfgar’s father.

Biaste Ganderlay

Sickly mother of Meralda and Tori.

Biggrin

A giant.

Bruenor Battlehammer

The dwarf king of Mithral Hall.

Bungo

A local tough in Luskan.

Camerbunne

The highest-ranking cleric in Luskan.

Captain Deudermont

The pirate-hunting master of Sea Sprite.

Captain Pinnickers

Master of Bowlegged Lady.

Catti-brie

A human woman raised by dwarves.

Creeps Sharky

A one-eyed pirate.

Delenia “Delly” Curtie

A barmaid at the Cutlass in Luskan.

Dohni Ganderlay

A peat farmer, father of Meralda and Tori.

Drizzt Do’Urden

A drow ranger.

Errtu

A mighty balor demon from the hellish Abyss.

Galway

A merchant friend of Feringal’s.

Goodman Dawinkle

A merchant.

Gretchen

An elderly herbalist.

Guenhwyvar

Drizzt’s panther companion.

Gurdy Harkins

A peasant woman from Auckney.

High Watcher Kalorc Risten

A priest from the Temple of Helm in Luskan.

Jaka Sculi

A brooding young man from the Blade Kingdoms.

Jharkheld

Magistrate in Luskan.

Jarlaxle

A drow mercenary from Menzoberranzan.

Jerem Boll

An important personage in Luskan.

Josi Puddles

Former bouncer at the Cutlass.

Kimmuriel Oblodra

A drow psionicist who serves Jarlaxle.

Lady Priscilla Auck

Spinster sister of Lord Feringal.

Liam Woodgate

Gnome carriage driver for Lord Feringal.

Lord Brandeburg of Waterdeep

An alias used by Morik the Rogue.

Lord Feringal Auck

Lord of the fiefdom of Auckney.

Lord Tristan Auck

Late father of Feringal and Priscilla.

Madam Prinkle

A seamstress.

Mam Gardener

A gnome from Auckney.

Meralda Ganderlay

A seventeen-year-old girl from Auckney.

Mickers

A gnoll bandit.

Morik the Rogue

A thief from the city of Luskan.

Petters

A merchant.

Rai-guy

A mysterious dark elf associate of Jarlaxle’s.

Reef

Former bouncer at the Cutlass.

Regis

A halfling from Icewind Dale.

Rempini Sculi

Jaka’s uncle.

Robillard

Sea Sprite’s wizard.

Sheila Kree

Notorious pirate, captain of Leaping Lady.

Tee-a-nicknick

A half-human, half-qullan pirate.

Temigast

Steward for the lord of Auckney.

Togo

A half-orc bandit.

Tori Ganderlay

Younger of the two Ganderlay sisters.

Tree Block Breaker

The toughest man in Luskan, until he was killed by Wulfgar.

Vohltin

A prelate in Luskan.

Waillan Micanty

A loyal crewman aboard Sea Sprite.

Watcher Beribold

A priest of Helm.

Wulfgar, son of Beornegar

A barbarian from the Tribe of the Elk.

he smaller man, known by many names in Luskan but most commonly asMorik the Rogue, held the bottle up in the air and gave it a shake, for it was adirty thing and he wanted to measure the dark line of liquid against theorange light of sunset

“Down to one,” he said, and he brought his arm back in as if to take thatfinal swig

The huge man sitting on the end of the wharf beside him snatched thebottle away, moving with agility exceptional in a man of his tremendous size.Instinctively, Morik moved to grab the bottle back, but the large man held hismuscular arm up to fend off the grabbing hands and drained the bottle in asingle hearty swig

“Bah, Wulfgar, but you’re always getting the last one of late,” Morikcomplained, giving Wulfgar a halfhearted swat across the shoulder “Earnedit,” Wulfgar argued

Morik eyed him skeptically for just a moment, then remembered their lastcontest wherein Wulfgar had, indeed, earned the right to the last swig of thenext bottle

“Lucky throw,” Morik mumbled He knew better, though, and had longago ceased to be amazed by Wulfgar’s warrior prowess

“One that I’ll make again,” Wulfgar proclaimed, pulling himself to his feetand hoisting Aegis-fang, his wondrous warhammer He staggered as heslapped the weapon across his open palm, and a sly smile spread acrossMorik’s swarthy face He, too, climbed to his feet, taking up the empty bottle,swinging it easily by the neck

“Will you, now?” the rogue asked

“You throw it high enough, or take a loss,” the blond barbarian explained,lifting his arm and pointing the end of the warhammer out to the open sea

“A five-count before it hits the water.” Morik eyed his barbarian friendicily as he recited the terms of the little gambling game they had createdmany days ago Morik had won the first few contests, but by the fourth dayWulfgar had learned to properly lead the descending bottle, his hammerscattering tiny shards of glass across the bay Of late, Morik had a chance of

winning the bet only when Wulfgar indulged too much in the bottle.

“Never will it hit,” Wulfgar muttered as Morik reached back to throw.The little man paused, and once again he eyed the big man with somemeasure of contempt Back and forth swayed the arm Suddenly Morik jerked

as if to throw

“What?” Surprised, Wulfgar realized the feint, realized that Morik had notsailed the bottle into the air Even as Wulfgar turned his gaze upon Morik, thelittle man spun in a complete circuit and let the bottle fly high and far

Right into the line of the descending sun

Wulfgar hadn’t followed it from the beginning of its flight, so he couldonly squint into the glare, but he caught sight of it at last With a roar he letfly his mighty warhammer, the magical and brilliantly crafted weaponspinning out low over the bay

Morik squealed in glee, thinking he had outfoxed the big man, for thebottle was low in the sky by the time Wulfgar threw and fully twenty stridesout from the wharf No one could skim a warhammer so far and so fast as tohit that, Morik believed, especially not a man who had just drained more thanhalf the contents of the target!

The bottle nearly clipped a wave when Aegis-fang took it, exploding it into

a thousand tiny pieces

“It touched water!” Morik yelled

“My win,” Wulfgar said firmly, his tone offering no debate

Morik could only grumble in reply, for he knew that the big man was right.The warhammer got the bottle in time

“Seeming a mighty waste of a good hammer fer just a bottle,” came avoice behind the duo The pair turned as one to see two men, swords drawn,standing but a few feet away

“Now, Mister Morik the Rogue,” remarked one of them, a tall and leanfellow with a kerchief tied around his head, a patch over one eye, and a rusty,curving blade weaving in the air before him “I’m knowin’ ye got yerself agood haul from a gem merchant a tenday back, and I’m thinkin’ that ye’d bewise to share a bit o’ the booty with me and me friend.”

Morik glanced up at Wulfgar, his wry grin and the twinkle in his dark eyestelling the barbarian that he didn’t mean to share a thing, except perhaps theblade of his fine dagger

“And if ye still had yer hammer, ye might be arguin’ the point,” laughedthe other thug, as tall as his friend, but much wider and far dirtier Heprodded his sword toward Wulfgar The barbarian staggered backward,nearly falling off the end of the wharf—or at least, pretending to.

“I’m thinking that you should have found the gem merchant before me,”Morik replied calmly “Assuming there was a gem merchant, my friend,because I assure you that I have no idea what you are talking about.”

The slender thug growled and thrust his sword ahead “Now, Morik!” hestarted to yell, but before the words even left his mouth, Morik had leapedahead, spinning inside the angle of the curving sword blade, rolling around,putting his back against the man’s forearm and pushing out He ducked rightunder the startled man’s arm, lifting it high with his right hand, while his lefthand flashed, a silver sparkle in the last light of day, Morik’s dagger stabbinginto the stunned man’s armpit

Meanwhile, the other thug, thinking he had an easy, unarmed target, waded

in His bloodshot eyes widened when Wulfgar brought his right arm frombehind his hip, revealing that the mighty warhammer had magically returned

to his grip The thug skidded to a stop and glanced in panic at his companion.But by now Morik had the newly unarmed man turned around and in fullflight with Morik running right behind him, taunting him and laughinghysterically as he repeatedly stabbed the man in the buttocks

“Whoa!” the remaining thug cried, trying to turn

“I can hit a falling bottle,” Wulfgar reminded him The man stoppedabruptly and turned back slowly to face the huge barbarian

“We don’t want no trouble,” the thug explained, slowly laying his sworddown on the boarding of the wharf “No trouble at all, good sir,” he said,bowing repeatedly

Wulfgar dropped Aegis-fang to the decking, and the thug stopped bobbing,staring hard at the weapon

“Pick up your sword, if you choose,” the barbarian offered

The thug looked up at him incredulously Then, seeing the barbarianwithout a weapon—except, of course, for those formidable fists—the manscooped up his sword

Wulfgar had him before his first swing The powerful warrior snapped outhis hand to catch the man’s sword arm at the wrist With a sudden andferocious jerk, Wulfgar brought that arm straight up, then hit the thug in the

chest with a stunning right cross that blasted away his breath and his strength.The sword fell to the wharf.

Wulfgar jerked the arm again, lifting the man right from his feet andpopping his shoulder out of joint The barbarian let go, allowing the thug tofall heavily back to his feet, then hit him with a vicious left hook across thejaw The only thing that stopped the man from flipping headlong over theside of the wharf was Wulfgar’s right hand, catching him by the front of hisshirt With frightening strength, Wulfgar easily lifted the thug from the deck,holding him fully a foot off the planking

The man tried to grab at Wulfgar and break the hold, but Wulfgar shookhim so violently that he nearly bit off his tongue, and every limb on the manseemed made of rubber

“This one’s not got much of a purse,” Morik called Wulfgar looked pasthis victim to see that his companion had gone right around the fleeing thug,herding him back toward the end of the dock The thug was limping badlynow and whining for mercy, which only made Morik stick him again in thebuttocks, drawing more yelps

“Please, friend,” stammered the man Wulfgar held aloft

“Shut up!” the barbarian roared, bringing his arm down forcefully, bendinghis head and snapping his powerful neck muscles so that his foreheadcollided hard with the thug’s face

A primal rage boiled within the barbarian, an anger that went beyond thisincident, beyond the attempted mugging No longer was he standing on adock in Luskan Now he was back in the Abyss, in Errtu’s lair, a tormentedprisoner of the wicked demon Now this man was one of the great demon’sminions, the pincer-armed Glabrezu, or worse, the tempting succubus.Wulfgar was back there fully, seeing the gray smoke, smelling the foulstench, feeling the sting of whips and fires, the pincers on his throat, and thecold kiss of the demoness

So clear it came to him! So vivid! The waking nightmare returned, holdinghim in a grip of the sheerest rage, stifling his mercy or compassion, throwinghim into the pits of torment, emotional and physical torture He felt theitching and burning of those little centipedes that Errtu used, burrowing underhis skin and crawling inside him, their venomous pincers lighting a thousandfires within They were on him and in him, all over him, their little legstickling and exciting his nerves so that he would feel the exquisite agony of

their burning venom all the more.

Tormented again, indeed, but suddenly and unexpectedly, Wulfgar foundthat he was no longer helpless

Up into the air went the thug, Wulfgar effortlessly hoisting him overhead,though the man weighed well over two hundred pounds With a primal roar, ascream torn from his churning gut, the barbarian spun him around toward theopen sea

“I cannot swim!” the man shrieked Arms and legs flailing pitifully, he hitthe water fully fifteen feet from the wharf, where he splashed and bobbed,crying out for help Wulfgar turned away If he heard the man at all, heshowed no indication

Morik eyed the barbarian with some surprise “He can’t swim,” Morikremarked as Wulfgar approached

“Good time to learn, then,” the barbarian muttered coldly, his thoughts stillwhirling down the smoky corridors of Errtu’s vast dungeon He kept brushinghis hands along his arms and legs as he spoke, slapping away the imaginedcentipedes

Morik shrugged He looked down to the man who was squirming andcrying on the planks at his feet “Can you swim?”

The thug glanced up timidly at the little rogue and gave a slight, hopefulnod

“Then go to your friend,” Morik instructed The man started to slowlycrawl away

“I fear his friend will be dead before he gets to his side,” Morik remarked

to Wulfgar The barbarian didn’t seem to hear him

“Oh, do help the wretch,” Morik sighed, grabbing Wulfgar by the arm andforcing that vacant gaze to focus “For me I would hate to start a night with adeath on our hands.”

With a sigh of his own, Wulfgar reached out his mighty hands The thug

on his knees suddenly found himself rising from the decking, one handholding the back of his breeches, another clamped around his collar Wulfgartook three running strides and hurled the man long and high The flying thugcleared his splashing companion, landing nearby with a tremendous bellysmack

Wulfgar didn’t see him land Having lost all interest in the scene, he turnedaround and, after mentally recalling Aegis-fang to his grasp, stormed past