The Icewind Dale Trilogy by R. A. Salvatore
The Icewind Dale Trilogy is a fantasy series set in the medieval-inspired world of the Forgotten Realms, featuring a diverse group of four friends embarking on thrilling adventures in the northern region known as Icewind Dale. Central to the narrative is Drizzt DoUrden, a drow elf who has rejected his dark heritage, alongside his companions: Bruenor Battlehammer, a proud dwarf seeking to reclaim his ancestral home; Catti-brie, a compassionate young woman raised by Bruenor; and Regis, a halfling with a mischievous past. The story unfolds as they confront various threats, including a malevolent wizard and his army, while navigating the challenges of their unique backgrounds and friendships.
The trilogy begins with **The Crystal Shard**, where the group establishes their reputation while battling an evil apprentice named Akar Kessel. The adventure continues in **Streams of Silver**, focusing on their quest to reclaim Mithril Hall from gray dwarves and a dragon. The final installment, **The Halfling's Gem**, sees them rescuing Regis from the clutches of a deadly assassin, culminating in a climactic reunion that highlights their bonds of friendship. Throughout the trilogy, themes of bravery, loyalty, and the struggle against prejudice are explored, making it a rich narrative for fans of fantasy literature.
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The Icewind Dale Trilogy
First published:The Crystal Shard (1988), Streams of Silver (1989), and The Halflings Gem (1990)
Type of work: Novels
Type of plot: Fantasy—heroic fantasy
Time of work: A medieval period
Locale: A world known as Forgotten Realms
The Plot
Set in a medieval world inhabited by humans and a host of legendary creatures, the Icewind Dale trilogy presents the story of four friends, each of a different race, in their adventures across the Forgotten Realms. During the battle of Ten-Towns against an evil apprentice and his army of humanoids, the heroic quartet establishes a reputation for bravery, trickery, and unequaled fighting prowess. At the break of winter, they set out in search of the homeland of their dwarven comrade. The band secretly is followed by an infamous assassin, who captures their halfling friend, returning him to the master of the thieving guild from which he had escaped. The halflings three friends follow, determined to rescue the little thief at any cost.
The trilogy begins with The Crystal Shard, which introduces the main characters of the trilogy and explains the relationships among them. Drizzt DoUrden, a black elf who has forsaken his peoples evil ways, is the central character. He is tall and slender like his surface-born cousins, but his black skin marks him as an evil underground drow, feared and despised by all races. Through underground survival, Drizzt became an unparalleled warrior, making him a valuable ally despite his deceitful heritage. Bruenor Battlehammer was the first to realize this, and thus befriended Drizzt.
Bruenor is a proud dwarf. Although he is short and stocky, the notches on his battle axe tell the story of his abilities in combat. His only dream is to return to his lost birthplace, Mithril Hall, where his ancestors had lived and prospered for centuries before being driven out by evil gray dwarves and a black dragon. For the moment, he leads the dwarven clan Battlehammer and lives with a young abandoned girl, Catti-brie, whom he had raised as his own daughter. Also living among an unfamiliar race, Catti-brie listens sympathetically as Drizzt speaks of the difficulties his heritage has forced upon him.
Another of Bruenors companions is Regis, known as Rumblebelly to the dwarf. Once a member of a prominent southern thieves guild, he moved to the isolated north, fearing for his life. The halflings quick fingers had gone too far in acquiring the magical ruby pendant of his guild master. A lazy half-man, Regis loves nothing more than a large meal and a long nap.
During the Ten-Towns battle against an alliance of barbarian tribes, Bruenor captures a young warrior. In exchange for his life, Wulfgar serves Bruenor in the dwarven mines for five years and a day, during which his bulging muscles and friendship with the dwarf grow steadily. To aid Wulfgar after his period of indenture, Bruenor forges a magical warhammer, Aegis-fang. After many combat lessons from Drizzt, Wulfgar is ready to face any foe with his mighty weapon.
The Crystal Shard sets the characters in Icewind Dale, the northernmost reaches of the fantasy world of Forgotten Realms. Here on the icy tundra, ten towns struggle to survive, trading goods with dwarves and with caravans from distant cities. The Ten-Towns had been safe until Akar Kessel stumbled upon the crystal shard, Crenshinibon. Kessel, once a weak wizards apprentice, becomes an outlet for Crenshinibons lust for power and devises a plan to destroy the Ten-Towns. The magic of the crystal shard helps Kessel mass thousands of goblins, orcs, and ogres. With the help of the demon Erttu, Kessel takes four towns without resistance, surrounding the capital and leading to the storys climax.
Wulfgar and the newly converted barbarians arrive just in time, and with the help of Bruenors dwarves they begin to meet the humanoid challenge. When Drizzt defeats Kessel in view of his evil army, the enemy loses hope. Within hours the Ten-Towns are saved. That winter, the joyful residents begin to rebuild. Not everyone, however, feels at home. Bruenor decides to make the journey to discover and reclaim his lost homeland.
Streams of Silver begins the following spring, when Bruenor, Wulfgar, and Drizzt set off on the quest for Mithril Hall. Before they reach their first destination, Regis joins them without supplies or, seemingly, just cause. He alone knows of the assassin who follows them. Artemis Entreri had been assigned by Pasha Pook, the underworld overlord of the large southern thieves guild, to return Regis and the ruby pendant he had stolen to Calimport. Entreri is a heartless weapons master and the deadliest assassin in the Realms; he is the dark image of Drizzt’s former self.
As the heroes find the hidden entrance to the Mithril mines, Entreri’s evil host closes in for battle. The two matchless warriors, Drizzt and Entreri, fight valiantly until a trapdoor is tripped, sending the drow and the assassin into the depths below. While Bruenor mourns the loss of his dearest friend, the group travels deeper into the mines, only to find them infested with gray dwarves and the mighty dragon that had driven out Bruenors ancestors. The companions, against great odds, succeed in destroying the beast. Miraculously, the two masters survive, Entreri escaping with Regis as hostage and challenging Drizzt to follow.
The gem that hangs around Entreri’s neck as he races back to Calimport becomes the focal point for The Halflings Gem, the final novel in the trilogy. Pasha Pook is delighted with the return of his precious ruby pendant and the traitor thief who took it. After escaping the evil-infested Mithril Hall, however, Drizzt, Bruenor, Wulfgar, and Catti-brie fight their way through wererat guards and the realm of Chaos to see Regis installed as leader of the guild. With their halfling friend now safe, the band of warriors returns to the north, where Bruenor calls on the aid of his dwarven kin to recapture Mithril Hall. The trilogy ends when the companions reunite for the marriage of Wulfgar and Catti-brie.