Guenhwyvar understood its master's wishes and leaped silently among the
broken stones to the side of the trail, circling up ahead of the verbeeg and
settling onto the rock wall above the path. It crouched low, no more than
another of the deepening shadows. The first of the giants passed under, but the
cat waited obediently, still as death, for the appropriate time. Drizzt and
Wulfgar crept in closer, stealthily moving within clear sight of the back of the
patrol's line.
The last of the giants, an extraordinarily fat verbeeg, paused for a moment
to catch its breath.
Guenhwyvar struck quickly.
The lithe panther sprang from the wall and raked its long claws into the
giant's face, then continued its bound over the monster, using the huge shoulder
as a springboard, and returned to another spot on the wall. The giant howled in
agony, clutching its torn face.
Aegis-fang took the creature in the back of the head, dropping it into the
small gorge.
The giant in back of the remaining group heard the cry of pain and
immediately charged back down the path, rounding the last bend just in time to
see its unfortunate companion tumble down the rocky drop. The great cat didn't
hesitate, dropping down upon its second victim, its sharp claws catching a firm
hold on the giant's chest. Blood spurted wildly as the two-inch fangs sank
deeply into the fleshy neck. Taking no chances, Guenhwyvar raked with all four
of its mighty paws to deflect any counter, but the stunned giant was barely able
to raise its arms in response before the deepest blackness closed over it.
With the rest of the patrol now coming fast, Guenhwyvar sprang away, leaving
the gasping giant to drown in its own blood. Drizzt and Wulfgar took up
positions behind the boulders on either side of the trail, the drow drawing his
scimitars and the barbarian clutching the hammer that had returned to his hands.
The cat did not falter. It had played this scenario with its master many
times before and understood well the advantage of surprise. It hesitated for a
moment until the rest of the giants spotted it, then sprinted down the trail,
darting between the rocks that hid its master and Wulfgar.
"Blimey!" cried one of the verbeeg, unconcerned with its dying companion. "A
great huge cat, it is! An' black as me cook's kettles!"
"Be after it!" hollered another. "A new coat 'e'll make fer the one whats
catches 'im!" They hopped over the fallen giant, never giving it a second
thought, and charged down the trail after the panther.
Drizzt was the closest to the charging giants. He let the first two pass,
concentrating on the remaining two. They crossed by the boulder side by side,
and he jumped onto the path before them, jabbing the scimitar in his left hand
deep into one giant's chest and blinding the other with a righthanded slash
across the eyes. Using the scimitar that was planted into the first giant as a
pivot, the drow wheeled behind his reeling foe and drove the other blade into
the monster's back. He managed to free both blades with a subtle twist, dancing
away as the mortally wounded giant toppled to the ground.
Wulfgar, too, let the lead giant go by. The second had pulled up nearly even
with the barbarian when Drizzt attacked the back two. The giant stopped short
and whirled, intending to help the others, but from his place behind the
boulder, Wulfgar swung Aegis-fang in a sweeping arc and landed the heavy hammer
squarely onto the verbeeg's chest. The monster dropped on its back, the air
