Regis, the gluttonous Halfling; Bruenor Battlehammer, the Dwarf king, who was badly injured and cursed nonstop; Wulfgar, the barbarian, whose head was still spinning; and Drizzt Do'Urden, who was engrossed in sparring with Chen Jinyang—the four unconventional adventurers made the caravan much livelier. A journey that should have taken only two days ended up taking the caravan more than four.
Since leaving the Underdark, Drizzt had not encountered anyone he could fight to his heart's content—not until now. With no burdens weighing on him, he didn't have to worry about his position, his oaths, or good and evil. He didn't even have to worry about hurting his opponent. He swung, charged, spun, leaped into slashing attacks, and split the air with his blades, unleashing every last bit of his combat skill and artistry. Again and again, he lost himself in the joy of battle. This was the truest expression of his warlike soul.
Every fight left the onlookers in awe. Not everyone had the chance to witness warriors of such caliber face off; some might never see another such contest in their entire lives. The caravan's mercenaries and guards would rather stop and watch than press on. Though Bruenor and his two companions knew the Drow was strong and had fought alongside him more than once, they had never realized his skill was so far beyond their imagination. Faced with Drizzt's techniques, every spectator felt ashamed of their own fighting style. Their methods seemed like utter trash by comparison.
As for Chen Jinyang, everyone found him baffling and unbelievable. He calmly held a longsword and blocked every one of Drizzt's attacks with a simple parry. Now and then, he'd counterattack, forcing the Drow to retreat and start again. Yet everyone thought the calm man was still holding back. Even Wulfgar, a barbarian with fierce pride, had been subdued by Chen Jinyang in a humiliating fashion the first time they met. Once he'd recovered his senses, he'd wanted to reclaim his lost dignity by challenging Chen. But after seeing the two fight, he wisely abandoned the idea.
Chen Jinyang, however, knew how badly things were going for him. The longsword in his hand felt terribly awkward, and his left foot still hadn't healed properly, so he couldn't use it to move quickly on offense or defense. Thanks to his master-level experience, he could easily intercept Drizzt's attacks, but his counterattacks could only drive the Drow back a little. He couldn't press the advantage and keep pursuing him. Of course, if Chen Jinyang unleashed his full strength and attacked with all his might, he could defeat Drizzt, or even kill him. But this was just a sparring match; there was no need to go all out and worsen his injuries. The ill-suited weapon left Chen Jinyang thoroughly frustrated. Even one of the Drow's ordinary scimitars would have been better than this wretched longsword. But that damn Cui Heizi refused to lend him one, especially after seeing Chen Jinyang hold a scimitar in one hand and effortlessly slice a roadside tree, thick enough for a man to wrap his arms around, into three pieces.
The battles over those several days benefited every spectator. The one who gained the most, of course, was Cui Heizi. After fighting Chen Jinyang over and over, he connected all his past combat experiences and finally began to develop his own distinctive fighting style. That style had always been present in his battles, but this was the first time he'd consciously brought it all together and analyzed it. Without these past few days, he might not have realized it even years later—or perhaps not in his entire life. This didn't mean Drizzt's combat ability had suddenly increased by leaps and bounds. Rather, his understanding of battle had matured, and his control over its rhythm had deepened. The benefits wouldn't show up all at once, but in the days to come, Drizzt would find himself growing more and more adept in combat—even when facing the deadly assassin who would remain his lifelong adversary and was already on his trail.
Apart from the two children, who knew nothing about fighting, Chen Jinyang was the one who gained the least. Though he had learned about this world's close-combat techniques by sparring with Drizzt, it had done nothing to improve his own strength. Their systems of cultivation were completely different, and Chen Jinyang didn't think much of Drizzt's skills anyway. What he'd learned in his past life alone was enough to study for a lifetime. If he'd had a decent saber, he could have practiced his forms, but all he had was an extremely awkward longsword, which put him off completely. He vowed to himself that he would get a good saber before doing anything else.
Just as Chen Jinyang began to tire of this style of sparring, they reached the River Mirar. A river more than a dozen zhang wide stretched before them, its current swift and its waves churning, carrying chunks of ice of all sizes. Rocks, some exposed and some submerged, dotted the river and formed a jumble of visible and hidden reefs. These rocks, large and small, provided the strongest foundations for the stone bridge linking the two banks.
The roads at either end of the stone bridge were extremely difficult to navigate. They first had to unload the wagons, then lead the horses across with the wagons empty. The cargo had to be carried across by hand. This was what greatly limited the amount of Mirabar's mineral wealth that could be transported south along the long road. A magic bag looked small, but filled with food it weighed six or seven hundred pounds, even after its magic had cut the weight in half. Fortunately, the caravan had three strongmen: Chen Jinyang, Phinia, and Wulfgar. They sped up the transport considerably, but even so, it took an entire day to carry all the food across and reload it onto the wagons. Mirabar's city center was only two or three li beyond the bridge, and its gray-white walls were already visible in the distance. But after a full day's work, the exhausted caravan had no strength left to go any farther. They set up camp where they were and rested for the night. Everyone was utterly spent. Chen Jinyang was exceptionally strong and did all right, though he was drenched in sweat. Phinia and Wulfgar, the two main workhorses, were in worse shape and could barely muster the strength to eat. The only ones still full of energy were the injured men, including Bruenor, along with the lazy little Elf girl and the two youngsters who hadn't lifted a finger.
Hey! How come we haven't seen Regis all day?
Huh! Why had the fellow shown up just in time for dinner? The chubby Halfling stuck out his belly and put on an exhausted expression, but his feet carried him straight to the campfire. He grabbed some cooked food and was about to stuff it into his mouth when two voices scolded him at once, exposing his act. "Halfling! Where have you been all day?" "Glutton! Where have you been all day?" Startled, Regis quickly took a big bite of grilled sausage, then turned around with a fawning grin to face his accusers. He'd disappeared for the entire day and tried to talk his way out of it with jokes. The people who'd worked hard all day didn't have the energy to bother with him, but those few idlers with nothing better to do weren't about to let him off the hook. The irritable Dwarf and Aelf, the troublemaking Elf girl, were especially eager to torment him. The Dwarf king had been on the verge of an outburst ever since learning he was going home, while the Moon Elf had been getting the better of little Mishaer for days and was in a terrible mood. When they saw the Halfling standing there like a perfect punching bag, how could they possibly let him go? With a few other bored souls joining in, they tormented the poor Halfling until he was practically in heaven and hell at once.
Mirabar! The North's premier mining center and the richest city north of Waterdeep, it was also a prime target for greedy monsters. The next day, Chen Jinyang led his companions, still sore and aching despite a night's rest, to Mirabar's southern gate. Beneath the towering gray-white stone walls stood a narrow metal gate, wide enough for only two or three horses to pass abreast. The caravan's heavy wagons couldn't get through. Chen Jinyang and the others, who had never been to Mirabar before, stared in dismay. Damn it! Did they have to carry everything by hand again?
The mercenaries and the Longsaddle guards, who had been to Mirabar several times, showed no surprise. One of the guards hurried away from the caravan and called up to the four sentries on the wall, who stood with shields and halberds. Then one of the sentries ran down from the wall and disappeared. The caravan waited a short distance from the gate. Those who hadn't rested well leaned listlessly against the wagons. Alos and little Mishaer, who were on their first trip away from home, gazed in amazement at the smooth, thick flagstones beneath their feet and the massive, forbidding walls. Bruenor twirled his trademark red beard and boomed, "I like this city! This is what a Dwarf's city should look like! I'll bet my beard this place was built by Dwarves! Otherwise, I'll be a bearded gnome!" The Elf girl, always looking for trouble, chimed in, "Shorty! Does not having a beard mean you're not a gnome anymore?"
"Damn Elf! You hairless, pale freak! Looking for trouble?" The Dwarf king's red beard quivered with anger.
Regis chipped in with a grin. "That's not a gnome! That's a beardless Dwarf!" He didn't often get the chance to get back at the Dwarf king, who was always picking on him, so the Halfling was sure to seize the rare opportunity—especially since Bruenor was injured and couldn't retaliate physically.
While the group joked and bickered, the heavy, solid-metal gate swung open. A tall, beautiful woman with long, dark hair parted down the middle walked out with exceptional grace. Two guards followed behind her, dressed in armor and carrying longswords and steel shields. Their bright silver armor glinted in the crisp morning sunlight. The shields bore Mirabar's royal emblem, decorated with feathers: a deep red double-headed axe set against a black background.
The elegant woman, her eyes gleaming bright blue, approached the caravan and spoke in a soft, clear voice. "I am Sunderland Starglim, magistrate of Mirabar! Can someone tell me why Elrago Habel isn't here?" Everyone turned to look at Chen Jinyang. Aside from the four adventurers who'd joined them along the way, the mercenaries and guards knew only that Habel had appointed Chen Jinyang as the temporary leader before leaving at once. They had no idea why he had left, and naturally assumed Chen Jinyang knew. Only three people knew about the deal between Chen Jinyang and Elrago: the two of them, and Alos, who had been involved in part of the transaction.
Chen Jinyang calmly stepped forward to face the beautiful magistrate and replied, "I'm the temporary caravan leader appointed by Mr. Elrago. Something came up, so he had to return to Longsaddle."
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