Poised in the shadows, the drow threw his two knives. Both hit home, but Biggrin
hardly slowed.
Drizzt moved outside the cave. He knew that if Biggrin didn't follow him, he
would have to go back in; he certainly couldn't leave Wulfgar to die. The first
rays of dawn had found their way onto the mountain, and Drizzt worried that the
growing light would spoil any chance he had for ambush. Scrambling up one of the
small trees that concealed the exit, he pulled out his dagger.
Biggrin charged out into the sunlight and looked around for signs of the
fleeing drow. "Yer about, ye miserable dog! Ye've no place to run!"
Suddenly Drizzt was on top of the monster, gouging its face and neck in a
barrage of stabs and slices. The giant howled in rage and jerked its massive
body backward violently, sending Drizzt, who could not gain a firm hold with his
weakened arm, flying back into the tunnel. The drow landed heavily on his
injured shoulder and nearly sed and twisted for a
moment, trying to regain his feet, but he bumped into a heavy boot. He knew that
Biggrin couldn't have gotten to him so quickly. He turned slowly onto his back,
wondering where this new giant had come from.
But the drow's outlook changed dramatically when he saw that Wulfgar stood
over him, Aegis-fang firmly in his hand and a grim look stamped upon his face.
Wulfgar never took his eyes off of the giant as it entered the tunnel.
"He's mine," the barbarian said grimly.
Biggrin looked hideous indeed. The side of its head where the hammer had
struck was caked with dark, dried blood, while the other, and several spots on
its face and neck, ran bright with blood from new wounds. The two knives Drizzt
had thrown were still sticking in the giant's chest like morbid medals of honor.
"Can you take it again?" Wulfgar challenged as he sent Aegis-fang on a second
flight toward the giant.
In answer, Biggrin stuck out his chest defiantly to block the blow. "I can
take whatere' ye have t' give!" it boasted.
Aegis-fang slammed home, and Biggrin staggered back a step. The hammer had
cracked a rib or two, but the giant could handle that.
More deadly, though, and unknown to Biggrin, Aegis-fang had driven one of
Drizzt's knives through the lining of its heart.
"I can run, now," Drizzt whispered to Wulfgar when he saw the giant advancing
again.
"I stay," the barbarian insisted without the slightest tremor of fear in his
voice.
Drizzt pulled his scimitar. "Well spoken, brave friend. Let us fell this foul
beast - there's food to be eaten!"
"Ye'll find that more a task than ye talk!" Biggrin retorted. It felt a
sudden stinging in its chest, but it grunted away the pain. "I've felt the best
that ye can hit, an' still I come at ye! Ye can no' hope t' win!"
Both Drizzt and Wulfgar feared that there was more truth to the giant's
boasts than either of them would admit. They were on their last legs, wounded
and winded, yet determined to stay and finish the task.
But the complete confidence of the great giant as it steadily approached was
more than a little unnerving.
Biggrin realized that something was terribly wrong when it got within a few
steps of the two companions. Wulfgar and Drizzt knew, too, for the giant's
stride suddenly slowed visibly.
