“His name is Entreri,” Drizzt replied, “and we will find him a hard catch, by my measure of him. He flies for Calimport.”

“Harder still,” Wulfgar added, “we had him placed on the road.” He explained to Malchor, though Drizzt knew the words to be aimed at him, “Now we shall have to hope that he did not turn from its course.”

“There was no secret to his path,” argued Drizzt. “He made for Waterdeep, on the coast. He may have passed by there already.”

“Then he is out to sea,” reasoned Malchor.

Wulfgar nearly choked on his food. He hadn’t even considered that possibility.

“That is my fear,” said Drizzt. “And I had thought to do the same.”

“It is a dangerous and costly course,” said Malchor. “The pirates gather for the last runs to the south as the summer draws to an end, and if one has not made the proper arrangements, …” He let the words hang ominously before them.

“But you have little choice,” the wizard continued. “A horse cannot match the speed of a sailing ship, and the sea route is straighter than the road. So take to the sea, is my advice. Perhaps I can make some arrangements to speed your accommodations. My student has already set the enchanted shoes on your mounts, and with their aid, you may get to the great port in short days.”

“And how long shall we sail?” Wulfgar asked, dismayed and hardly believing that Drizzt would go along with the wizard’s suggestion.

“Your young friend does not understand the breadth of this journey,” Malchor said to Drizzt. The wizard laid his fork on the table and another a few inches from it. “Here is Icewind Dale,” he explained to Wulfgar, pointing to the first fork. “And this other, the Tower of Twilight, where you now sit. A distance of nearly four hundred miles lies between.”

He tossed a third fork to Drizzt, who laid it out in front of him, about three feet from the fork representing their present position.