The local Orc Chieftain, Graul, hears of Drizzt’s presence in the area. Scared that the drow was a threat to his authority, he sends some of his minions to kill Drizzt and Guen. They found Drizzt walking with Guenhwyvar through the local forest, enjoying his first spring. He was enamored by the new growth literally springing from the once dead ground. So enamored, in fact, he was caught by surprise by the attacking orcs. Drizzt easily killed the first two attackers, but was taken down by one of their feral wolves, pinned until he could call for Guenhwyvar. Even with the wolf off his back, he was severely disadvantaged, and would have been slain by a third orc if not for the timely intervention of an arrow in the beast’s back. All enemies now dead, Drizzt looks up to see an old, green clad human bearing down on him with a great wooden bow. “You’re my prisoner,” the newcomer stately matter of factly, to which Drizzt responds, “I think not.” Guen moves in to flank the human, and the man reaches out a hand to the great cat. Guen licks the old man’s hand like an old friend.
Intrigued with the bearing and intent of Drizzt, the old man introduces himself as the ranger Montolio Debrouchee. Drizzt soon comes to realize that the man is blind, and is amazed that he could function well, let alone fire an arrow accurately in that condition. Montolio warns him that he had killed minions of Graul, something the Orc Chieftan will not allow to go unpunished. Because of his blindness, the orcs believe Montolio is “bad magic” and will not approach his castle. He tells Drizzt that coming to live with him is the safest place. Drizzt refuses, saying “You would be better served, Montolio Debrouchee, to keep away from me. I bring trouble.” Even after more prodding and assurances of safety from the old ranger, Drizzt still refuses. So, Montolio leaves Drizzt behind, taking Guenhwyvar with him. It was Guen’s trust of the man that changed Drizzt heart. He knew that the great cat’s instincts had never been wrong before, and he did not relish the idea of facing an army of orcs on his own.
Drizzt follows Montolio to his “castle,” which in reality was a grove of massive trees reaching as high as could be seen. Each tree was a living house, whole rooms carved out of the tree’s insides, this internal stairway reaching up into the highest regions of the grove. Wood and rope bridges connected the trees to one another, providing not only easy access across the heights, but also numerous positions from which to watch and defend the grove. In his short life, Drizzt had seen dwelling places more fantastic than this, but none more welcoming. Drizzt hoped that he had finally found a place to call home, but worried that something would find him and destroy it, despite the assurances of Montolio.
Drizzt and Montolio began a long and fast friendship, his only real friend since leaving Belwar behind so many months ago. But more than friendship, Montolio began teaching Drizzt about the ways of the surface world, lessons that were critical to a ranger. He explained the seasons, how to anticipate changes in the weather, the behavior of animals, and the usefulness of plants. Drizzt learned to forage, and how to understand the emotions of an animal by observing its movements. Montolio knew he would progress, quickly, but was continually surprised by the demeanor of this drow, he lived and saw things as a surface elf might. In fact, he seems more attuned than many light elves Montolio had met, seemingly already possessing a natural ranger’s heart.
Having been told of Drizzt’s missing scimitar by the owl Hooter, Montolio takes the dark elf to a hidden armory and bestows on him a fine blade. When Drizzt thanks him for the blade and promises to care for it and only use it when he must, Montolio says, “Oh, you’ll use it now.” At first, Drizzt thought it dishonorable to duel a blind opponent, but was eventually pressed into it by the old ranger. Battling with the flats of their blades, Drizzt found he was easily matched. When fighting in the dark, Drizzt often had the advantage over surface races because of his night vision, but what good was night vision against someone who could fight blind? Drizzt underestimated the old ranger, and was quickly put down. When Drizzt asks how he could have known, the blind man says, “You told my yourself. In attitude. The suddden shuffle of your fee, the way your breathing changed as you prepared to leapâwhat you planned was obvious. You’ve much to learn, elf.” He walked away, leaving the elf standing flatfooted.
When summer came, an unwanted visitor arrived, bringing all his usual bluster and lying with him, Roddy McGristle. He demanded to know from the ranger if he had seen the drow, or knew where he might be found. In addition, his lies about the dark elf continued to grow more extreme, reporting to Montolio that Drizzt had not only killed the Thistledown family, but that Guenhwyvar had also eaten one of them. Montolio lies and tells him he had heard the drow went to a place called Morueme’s Cave, a place 150 miles in the opposite direction through treacherous terrain. After the evil man was gone, Drizzt came and pleaded his innocence to Montolio, something which the old ranger already knew, having spoken to Dove Falconhand, who had not only told of his innocence, but of his rescue of her and her men.
Later on, Montolio began to tell Drizzt about his own personal history. He had once been a warrior in addition to a ranger. He had given his life to the protection of the forest at an early age, and took up a life of adventuring, sometimes fighting with others, sometimes alone. He traveled the length and breadth of the north, putting to death monsters and unnatural things that were a threat to the natural order. His days of travel were abruptly ended, however, when he was washed in dragonfire from a great red dragon. The healers were able to heal him nearly completely, even the scarring of his skin, but were not able to save his eyes, leaving him in his blinded state. Montolio, despising the pity of his companions, came to the forest grove to die, but instead found purpose when he was visited by Mielikki, the mistress goddess of the forest.
In response to his tale, Drizzt says, “I have no god, and nor do I want one.” He goes on to tell about his disgust with his people and the evilness of Lolth, asserting that to follow a god is folly. He insists that he will follow his heart instead. Montolio counters by saying that Drizzt has a god, but just does not know its name. As proof, he points out the likeness of heart Drizzt shares with Guenhwyvar, and the great cat herself is the entity of the panther, a creature of Mielikki’s domain. “You know Mielikki’s laws as well as I. You’ve been following them all your life, you just didn’t know it.” The ranger’s words struck at the drow’s heart, hitting him fully with the ring of truth, causing Drizzt to finally acquiesce and say, “I-I wish to learn more our yourâour goddess.”
Drizzt’s enemy, Roddy McGristle turned and looked for allies, even such creatures he would normally never have contact with, Graul the Orc Chieftain. Roddy knew that Graul’s minions had been unable to find the drow, so Roddy informed them he was with the ranger, and that they were plotting together against the orcs. A consummate liar, Roddy went on to convine the Orc Chieftain that they were planning on rousing all the elves, and dwarves, and forest animals against the orc tribe. This roused the ire of Graul, who then decides to muster his forces and attack the grove. At that moment, Tephanis and Caroak stride into the cave, promising to rouse the worgs against the ranger and his grove. The war was about to be joined. Hooter, having spied the preparations for the orc and worgs, flies back and tells Montolio of all he has seen. War is finally coming to the grove, a war which Montonlio had been prepared for for years.
Graul, Caroak, and Roddy were quickly successful in amassing a fairly large force in a short time, a group consisting of a hundred orc warriors, a few giants, and a dozen wargs. Together, they set out down the crags and crevasses of the high peaks and moved methodically toward the grove of Montolio below. In that very same grove, Montolio explained to Drizzt how he had known this night would come, expeciting it for five years. He had played out every possible scenario in his mind, and had stockpiled the necessary weapons and supplies to defend the grove all on his own. He now felt he had a greater advantage with Drizzt and Guenhwyvar at his side. So they began to prepare for the battle, readying weapons, calling in animal allies, and setting traps until all they could do was wait. They did not have long to rest.
From behind his seemingly overwhelming force, Graul calls for the attack. Orcs and wargs stream toward the grove, looking to tear apart any living thing they met, whether sentient being or plant. From high above on the rope bridges, Drizzt ran from crossbow to crossbow, each of which was already loaded with large bolts, and began firing into the crowd with deadly accuracy. He made every shot count, not daring to miss and lose any slight advantage over the attacking hoard. Montolio, hiding in the shadows, used the grunts and clanking armor to give him targets, their loudness creating beacon bright targets for the blind man. The bear Drizzt had bedded down with during his first winter, and other animals came out of the woods and slew orc after orc, quickly thinning the number of enemies against the grove’s protectors.
When Drizzt gets to his last arrow, he finally sees McGristle in the fray below him. While he wanted to put his personal grief at an end by killing the lying hunter, he also spied the Orc Chieftain Graul next to him, and he reasoned that killing Graul would end the attack for good. His choice made, he fired at the orc, but Roddy noticed the arrow at the last moment and pushed the orc out of the way. Drizzt’s final shot had been wasted. All the traps have been sprung, and both Montolio and the drow were out of arrows, so they drew their swords and leaped headlong into the remaining enemies. Whether orc, warg or giant, the two rangers were more than a match for their enemies, leaving no recourse but to run from the grove as fast as their feet would carry them. Even after all this, Roddy prodded Graul to go in himself and fight back, believing the two of them were more than a match for the rangers. Graul knew his men would follow him if he led another charge, but the Orc Chieftain was not one to risk his own life. He bashed Roddy upside the head, knocking him unconscious, and ran for his life. The battle was over. Life in the grove returned to normal, and Montolio and Drizzt passed the remainder of the summer peacefully. Montolio taught Drizzt everthing there was to know about every plant and animal in the region, but more importantly, Montolio taught him how to learn for himself. Drizzt learned to observe the world around him, looking and listening for the hints that Mielikki gave him in his heart. When fall came, Montolio began to slow down dramatically, he tired easily, and suffered from back and joint pain. He warned Drizzt that his time in the world would not last much longer, and that the drow should prepare for what comes next. When Drizzt says he will stay and watch over the grove, Montolio tells him it is not the life for the young drow, and makes him promise he will leave the grove and go in search of his place in the world. Reluctantly, Drizzt does just that. One day, while foraging for the food to store fo the coming winter, Drizzt arrived back at the grove just as the first snows were beginning to fall. Usually, the grove was full of life, birds flitting around and animals playing beneath the trees. This day, everything was silent, and suddenly Drizzt knew the day he had been dreading had finally come. He rushed through the grove, finding Montolio resting against one of his beloved trees, finally at his eternal peace. Drizzt buried Montolio in the midst of the grove, then waited out the winter in the safety and warmth of the grove. Montolio’s favorite animal, the owl Hooter, stayed on until one day late in the season, then he took flight and never returned. When spring came, the animals did not return, and the grove became on unsettling place. Drizzt fulfilled his promise to his dead friend, and set his face away from the grove to travel the world once again.