The Crystal Shard - Book Three - Chapter Twenty One

[kalinara]

So this chapter is basically a short dungeon crawl and a fight scene. Which is not all that interesting to recap, but I'll do my best to relay the important parts.

I don't mean this as a reader's complaint though. I enjoy the fight scenes in this book. So this should be fun.



So we start the chapter with very nice description of the area:

"At the base of the great glacier, hidden off in a small dell where one of the ice spurs wound through broken rifts and boulders, was a place the barbarians called Evermelt. A hot spring fed a small pool, the warmed waters waging a relentless battle against ice floes and freezing temperatures. Tribesmen stranded inland by early snows, who could not find their way to the sea with the reindeer herd, often sought refuge at Evermelt, for even in the coldest months of winter, unfrozen, sustaining water could be found here. And the warming vapors of the pool made the temperatures of the immediate area bearable, if not comfortable."

That's quite vivid, thank you. We're told that the warmth and drinking water isn't Evermelt's only worth though, as apparently a hoard of gems, jewels and precious metals lay below the water. All of the tribesmen knew the story of Icingdeath, we're told, but few believe it because Icingdeath hasn't come out of its lair for many years.

Wulfgar knows better: his dad, whose name is Beornegar by the way, once managed to stumble onto the secret entrance. He didn't know what he'd found at the time, but when he heard the story later, he'd started collecting all the information he could.

Beornegar had gotten himself killed before he could attempt to collect the treasure, but he told his son everything he knew. And apparently Wulfgar, who would have been younger than twelve you recall, has been planning ever since.

I kind of love Wulfgar.

So anyway, Wulfgar heads to Evermelt, bringing a deer he kills along the way. We're told that he vowed to make this journey after his dad's death. Many other warriors, of every tribe, had tried to do the same thing and none returned.

Wulfgar's first challenge is the pool itself. Apparently the waters are deceptively warm and comfortable below the surface, but anyone who emerged into air would be frozen dead in minutes. Wulfgar handles this by skinning the deer and scraping away its layers of fat, which he melts and smears over every inch of his body. Then he wades into the water.

I wish I could edit that Always Sunny in Philadelphia gif right now, because I feel like this doesn't sound right, but I don't know enough about hypothermia or animal fat to disprove it.

Anyway, Wulfgar goes in the water, takes a deep breath, and gets swept by the currents toward the north end of the pool. He ends up getting sucked through a hidden opening in an ice wall, only just managing to hold his breath long enough. He ends up breaking through the surface in a tunnel past the wall, where he could breathe, but is carried down to a waterfall.

I know I said I wasn't going to do a play by play of the action, but I feel like this part is notable. Anyway, Wulfgar can't slow his ride with any handholds, until he gets to the fall itself, when he manages to grab hold of an icicle that widens at top, tapers, and widens again toward the floor.

Wulfgar admires the chasm, breaks some ice, and finds a dead dude entombed within. There's sunlight in the cavern still, and the blubber is protecting Wulfgar from hypothermia. There are tunnels ahead, but only one big enough for a dragon.

So how the HELL did Beornegar find this by ACCIDENT?

Anyway, Wulfgar considers scouting the smaller tunnels for a sneaky way in, but he doesn't want to get lost or waste too much time. If night fell, there'd be no light and it'd be colder than even he can tolerate.

So Ingeloakastimizilian, or Icingdeath, is indeed sleeping inside the ice cavern. We're told that it had made "the same mistake that many of its kin, with their lairs in similar caves of ice, had made" namely that the stream that was its way to exit or enter the caves diminished over the years, leaving him trapped.

Icingdeath isn't starving though, because of their relative inactivity, white dragons can survive many centuries without meat. It is sustained by its selfish love of treasure. We're told it probably could have broken through the ceiling if it really wanted out, but it's comfortable with its treasure, and hasn't moved in decades. It's now somewhat iced over, even.

Wulfgar, being a polite boy, approaches and greets the dragon, "respectfully using the beast's full name" He tells it that he doesn't intend to kill it under these unfair circumstances, but wants to take its treasure. We're told that this is a critical mistake, and a more experienced fighter (even an honorable one) would have killed Icingdeath as it slept.

The mention of treasure perks Icingdeath up, and it breaks itself out of its ice. It tries to breathe ice at Wulfgar, who manages to escape the blast, but knows he won't survive another attempt. However, suddenly a globe of darkness encircles Icingdeath's head.

If you recall this is one of Drizzt's tricks, and indeed, somehow Drizzt is at the entrance of the cave. HOW? Wulfgar knew what to do because of what his dad told him. HOW THE FUCK did Drizzt follow him? Even if we assume he was close enough to see what Wulfgar did, a lot of it was underwater! Did he ALSO get deer fat ahead of time?! How did he know about the waterfall??

So anyway, Drizzt shoots arrows at Icingdeath, who tries to attack, but Drizzt, being well-versed in dragon lore (Of course he is. How exactly a dude who lived underground and then in a cave becomes well versed in dragon lore is an interesting question for another day I suppose) and stays out of reach.

Meanwhile Wulfgar attacks with his hammer. Icingdeath fights back, slamming Wulfgar into a pillar, while Drizzt starts advancing on Icingdeath with his scimitars. He has no strategy, intending to wing it. Wulfgar isn't completely out for the count, he manages to throw his hammer up in the air, where it sends a huge icicle crashing down into Icingdeath's back, driving it into the floor. The momentum sends Icingdeath's neck upward, where it snaps.

Victory!

And the end of a short chapter. :-D But a fun one. Next time, Drizzt gets a new toy and Wulfgar rejoins his tribe!