Caroak

Winter Wolves have more akin to monsters and demons than animals, and so Caroak stood in opposition to everything that a ranger such as Montolio Debrouchee stood for. Hateful, but cautious, Caroak had always left Montolio alone, but now began thinking about how to dispose of both his hated enemy, and his new dangerous ally, Drizzt Do'urden. 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.

While the battle is raging at the front entrance to the grove, Caroak and his wargs were sneaking into the grove through the thick growth behind the defenders. Their plan was to come up on them from behind and tear them apart, but little did they know the rear was guarded by the most silent, and possibly most deadly of the grove's defenders, Guenhwyvar. The black panther jumps on the winter wolf, and at first they seem evenly matched, Guen easily evades the freezing breath of the wolf and goes for the jugular. Caroak the Great Winter Wolf is dead, and the remaining wargs flee in terror.