Paths of darkness book 2 the spine of the world

Morik eyed him skeptically for just a moment, then remembered their last contestwherein Wulfgar had, indeed, earned the right to the last swig of the next bottle.. “A ve-count before it

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

I NTRODUCTION

verybody has an imagination

There’s the construction worker who can close his eyes and imagine a Hawaiianvacation There’s the corporate executive with visions of that next big promotion.There’s the stay-at-home mother and her perfectly built “cabana boy” who will sweepher o her feet For a small group of us, we’ve been fortunate enough to be able to useour 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, he paints di erently Hisimagination is brought to life with the magic brush of words He is not only skilledenough to create fantastic worlds littered with dozens upon dozens of magni centcharacters, creatures, landscapes, and wonders, but he has been born with the additionaltalent of being able to take what appears within the fabric of his mind’s eye, and bring

it to life with descriptive, 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 artistic creator Whensomeone like R.A can so e ortlessly make us believe in the world we are reading, weare again reminded why we enjoy and love books so much Unlike some of my singularvisual images that only give a small portion of a story, R.A., like other great authors,will create, build, guide, and attach us to the various characters he shares in each of hisbooks

We then become the beneficiaries of that sharing

R.A doesn’t just imagine epic adventures and legendary characters He doesn’t simplydream of new worlds and new world orders He brings them to life, not only for himself,but for us, his readers, as well From Drizzt Do’Urden to the death of everybody’sfavorite wookie and beyond (and trust me on this one, you may have read a lot from

Mr Salvatore, but you haven’t seen anything yet) he has become one of the mostproli c fantasy/sci- authors of his generation, as well as one of the best storytellers tograce the printed page with his wonderful worlds

For that I am grateful, and jealous, as I can only imagine what it would be like to havethat kind of particular talent Then I pause and smile, because he has done it again, andmade me use my imagination Once again he has caught me in his wonderful trap

—Todd McFarlane

June 2007

D RAMATIS P ERSONAE

Arumn 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.

P ROLOGUE

he smaller man, known by many names in Luskan but most commonly as Morik theRogue, held the bottle up in the air and gave it a shake, for it was a dirty thing and hewanted to measure the dark line of liquid against the orange light of sunset

“Down to one,” he said, and he brought his arm back in as if to take that final swig.The huge man sitting on the end of the wharf beside him snatched the bottle away,moving with agility exceptional in a man of his tremendous size Instinctively, Morikmoved to grab the bottle back, but the large man held his muscular arm up to fend othe grabbing hands and drained the bottle in a single hearty swig

“Bah, Wulfgar, but you’re always getting the last one of late,” Morik complained,giving Wulfgar a halfhearted swat across the shoulder “Earned it,” Wulfgar argued

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

“Lucky throw,” Morik mumbled He knew better, though, and had long ago ceased to

be amazed by Wulfgar’s warrior prowess

“One that I’ll make again,” Wulfgar proclaimed, pulling himself to his feet andhoisting Aegis-fang, his wondrous warhammer He staggered as he slapped the weaponacross his open palm, and a sly smile spread across Morik’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 hisarm and pointing the end of the warhammer out to the open sea

“A ve-count before it hits the water.” Morik eyed his barbarian friend icily as herecited the terms of the little gambling game they had created many days ago Morikhad won the rst few contests, but by the fourth day Wulfgar had learned to properlylead the descending bottle, his hammer scattering tiny shards of glass across the bay Oflate, Morik had a chance of winning the bet only when Wulfgar indulged too much inthe 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 some measure ofcontempt Back and forth swayed the arm Suddenly Morik jerked as if to throw

“What?” Surprised, Wulfgar realized the feint, realized that Morik had not sailed thebottle into the air Even as Wulfgar turned his gaze upon Morik, the little man spun in acomplete 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 ight, so he could only squint intothe glare, but he caught sight of it at last With a roar he let y his mighty warhammer,the magical and brilliantly crafted weapon spinning out low over the bay

Morik squealed in glee, thinking he had outfoxed the big man, for the bottle was low

in the sky by the time Wulfgar threw and fully twenty strides out from the wharf Noone could skim a warhammer so far and so fast as to hit that, Morik believed, especiallynot a man who had just drained more than half the contents of the target!

The bottle nearly clipped a wave when Aegis-fang took it, exploding it into a thousandtiny 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 Thewarhammer got the bottle in time

“Seeming a mighty waste of a good hammer fer just a bottle,” came a voice behind theduo The pair turned as one to see two men, swords drawn, standing but a few feetaway

“Now, Mister Morik the Rogue,” remarked one of them, a tall and lean fellow with akerchief 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 a good haul from a gem merchant atenday back, and I’m thinkin’ that ye’d be wise 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 eyes telling thebarbarian that he didn’t mean to share a thing, except perhaps the blade of his nedagger

“And if ye still had yer hammer, ye might be arguin’ the point,” laughed the otherthug, as tall as his friend, but much wider and far dirtier He prodded his sword towardWulfgar The barbarian staggered backward, nearly falling o the end of the wharf—or

at least, pretending to

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

The slender thug growled and thrust his sword ahead “Now, Morik!” he started to yell,but before the words even left his mouth, Morik had leaped ahead, spinning inside theangle of the curving sword blade, rolling around, putting his back against the man’sforearm and pushing out He ducked right under the startled man’s arm, lifting it highwith his right hand, while his left hand ashed, a silver sparkle in the last light of day,Morik’s dagger stabbing into the stunned man’s armpit

Meanwhile, the other thug, thinking he had an easy, unarmed target, waded in Hisbloodshot eyes widened when Wulfgar brought his right arm from behind his hip,revealing that the mighty warhammer had magically returned to his grip The thugskidded to a stop and glanced in panic at his companion But by now Morik had thenewly unarmed man turned around and in full ight with Morik running right behindhim, taunting him and laughing hysterically as he repeatedly stabbed the man in thebuttocks

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

“I can hit a falling bottle,” Wulfgar reminded him The man stopped abruptly andturned back slowly to face the huge barbarian

“We don’t want no trouble,” the thug explained, slowly laying his sword down on theboarding 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, staringhard at the weapon

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

The thug looked up at him incredulously Then, seeing the barbarian without aweapon—except, of course, for those formidable fists—the man scooped up his sword

Wulfgar had him before his rst swing The powerful warrior snapped out his hand tocatch the man’s sword arm at the wrist With a sudden and ferocious jerk, Wulfgarbrought that arm straight up, then hit the thug in the chest with a stunning right crossthat 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 and popping hisshoulder out of joint The barbarian let go, allowing the thug to fall heavily back to hisfeet, then hit him with a vicious left hook across the jaw The only thing that stoppedthe man from ipping headlong over the side of the wharf was Wulfgar’s right hand,catching him by the front of his shirt With frightening strength, Wulfgar easily lifted thethug from the deck, holding him fully a foot off the planking

The man tried to grab at Wulfgar and break the hold, but Wulfgar shook him soviolently that he nearly bit o his tongue, and every limb on the man seemed made ofrubber

“This one’s not got much of a purse,” Morik called Wulfgar looked past his victim tosee that his companion had gone right around the fleeing thug, herding him back towardthe end of the dock The thug was limping badly now and whining for mercy, whichonly made Morik stick him again in the buttocks, drawing more yelps

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

“Shut up!” the barbarian roared, bringing his arm down forcefully, bending his headand snapping his powerful neck muscles so that his forehead collided hard with thethug’s face

A primal rage boiled within the barbarian, an anger that went beyond this incident,beyond the attempted mugging No longer was he standing on a dock in Luskan Now

he was back in the Abyss, in Errtu’s lair, a tormented prisoner of the wicked demon.Now this man was one of the great demon’s minions, the pincer-armed Glabrezu, orworse, the tempting succubus Wulfgar was back there fully, seeing the gray smoke,smelling the foul stench, feeling the sting of whips and res, the pincers on his throat,and the cold kiss of the demoness

So clear it came to him! So vivid! The waking nightmare returned, holding him in agrip of the sheerest rage, sti ing his mercy or compassion, throwing him into the pits of

torment, emotional and physical torture He felt the itching and burning of those littlecentipedes that Errtu used, burrowing under his skin and crawling inside him, theirvenomous pincers lighting a thousand res within They were on him and in him, allover him, their little legs tickling and exciting his nerves so that he would feel theexquisite agony of their burning venom all the more.

Tormented again, indeed, but suddenly and unexpectedly, Wulfgar found that he was

no longer helpless

Up into the air went the thug, Wulfgar e ortlessly hoisting him overhead, though theman weighed well over two hundred pounds With a primal roar, a scream torn from hischurning gut, the barbarian spun him around toward the open sea

“I cannot swim!” the man shrieked Arms and legs ailing pitifully, he hit the waterfully fteen feet from the wharf, where he splashed and bobbed, crying out for help.Wulfgar turned away If he heard the man at all, he showed no indication

Morik eyed the barbarian with some surprise “He can’t swim,” Morik remarked asWulfgar approached

“Good time to learn, then,” the barbarian muttered coldly, his thoughts still whirlingdown the smoky corridors of Errtu’s vast dungeon He kept brushing his hands along hisarms and legs as he spoke, slapping away the imagined centipedes

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

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

“Then go to your friend,” Morik instructed The man started to slowly crawl 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 and forcing thatvacant gaze to focus “For me I would hate to start a night with a death on our hands.”

With a sigh of his own, Wulfgar reached out his mighty hands The thug on his kneessuddenly found himself rising from the decking, one hand holding the back of hisbreeches, another clamped around his collar Wulfgar took three running strides andhurled the man long and high The ying thug cleared his splashing companion, landingnearby with a tremendous belly smack

Wulfgar didn’t see him land Having lost all interest in the scene, he turned aroundand, after mentally recalling Aegis-fang to his grasp, stormed past Morik, who bowed indeference to his dangerous and powerful friend

Morik caught up to Wulfgar as the barbarian exited the wharf “They are stillscrambling in the water,” the rogue remarked “The fat one, he keeps foolishly grabbinghis friend, pulling them both underwater Perhaps they will both drown.”

Wulfgar didn’t seem to care, and that was an honest re ection of his heart, Morikknew The rogue gave one last look back at the harbor, then merely shrugged The twothugs had brought it on themselves, after all