The Crystal Shard by R. A. Salvatore

spokesmen together any sooner. It will take me that long to properly instruct Regis on the course of action that he must take with his peers, for he must carry the tidings of the coming invasion"
    "Rumblebelly?" snorted Bruenor, using the name he had tagged on Regis for the halfling's insatiable appetite. "He sits on the council for no better reason than t' keep his stomach well-stocked! They'll hear 'im less than they'd hear yerself, elf."
    "You underestimate the halfling, moreso even than you underestimate the people of Ten-Tbwns," answered Drizzt. "Remember always that he carries the stone."
    "Bah! A fine-cut gem, but no more!" Bruenor insisted. "I've seen it meself, an' it holds no spell on me."
    "The magic is too subtle for the eyes of a dwarf, and perhaps not strong enough to penetrate your thick skull," laughed Drizzt. "But it is there – I see it clearly and know the legend of such a stone. Regis may be able to influence the council more than you would believe – and certainly more than I could. Let us hope so, for you know as well as I that some of the spokesmen might be reluctant to pursue any plan of unity, whether in their arrogant independence, or in their belief that a barbarian raid upon some of their less protected rivals might actually help their own selfish ambitions. Bryn Shander remains the key, but the principle city will only be spurred to action if the major fishing towns, Targos in particular, join in."
    "Ye know that Easthaven'll help," said Bruenor. "They're ever ones for bringing all o' the towns together."
    "And Lonelywood, too, with Regis speaking for them. But Kemp of Targos surely believes that his walled city is powerful enough to stand alone, whereas its rival, Teralaine, would be hardpressed to hold back the horde."
    "He's not likely to join anythin' that includes Termalaine. An' yer in for more trouble then, drow, for without Kemp ye'll never get Konig and Dineval to shut up!"
    "But that is where Regis comes in," Drizzt explained. "The ruby he possesses can do wondrous things, I assure you."
    "Again ye speak of the power o' the stone," grumbled Bruenor. "But Rumblebelly claims that his master o` old had twelve o' the things," he reasoned. "Mighty magics don't come in dozens!"
    "Regis said that his master had twelve similar stones," Drizzt corrected. "In truth, the halfling had no way of knowing if all twelve, or any of the others, were magical."
    "Then why would the man have given the only one o' power to Rumblebelly?"
    Drizzt left the question unanswered, but his silence soon led Bruenor to the same inescapable conclusion. Regis had a way of collecting things that didn't belong to him, and though the halfling had explained the stone as a gift…

6
    Bryn Shander
    Bryn Shander was unlike any of the other communities of Ten-Towns. Its proud pennant flew high from the top of a hill in the middle of the dry tundra between the three lakes, just south of the southern tip of the dwarven valley. No ships flew the flags of this city, and it had no docks on any of the lakes, yet there was little argument that it was not only the geographical hub of the region but the center of activity as well.
    This was where the major merchant caravans from Luskan put in, where the dwarves came to trade, and where the vast majority of craftsman, scrimshanders, and scrimshaw evaluators, were housed. Proximity to Bryn Shander was second only to the quantity of fish hooked in determining the success and size of the fishing towns. Thus, Termalaine and Targos on the southeastern banks of Maer Dualdon, and Caer-Konig and Caer-Dineval on the western shores of Lac Dinneshere, four towns less than a day's journey from the principle city, were the dominant towns on the lakes.
    High walls surrounded Bryn Shander, as much protection from the biting wind as from invading goblins or barbarians. Inside, the buildings were similar to those of the other towns: low, wooden structures, except that in Bryn Shander they were more