Once upon a time in a region called Icewind Dale, there was a wizard apprentice named Akar Kessel. He was so lame that he can't even cast a major spell. One day he made a deal with some wizards to kill his master. He then killed his master, but got betrayed, and was left by the wizards in the middle of the icy mountains named The Spine of The World. He wandered aimlessly and got stumbled upon an evil and sentient artifact named Crystal Shard. The artifact granted him tremendous power but corrupted his mind, and made him vow revenge against the people of the Ten Towns of Icewind Dale. He then assembled an army consisted of Orcs, Goblins, Frost Giants, Barbarians, and a Balor as the general of his army.
Fortunately, there were some people at Icewind Dale who were aware of the situation. A Drow Ranger, Drizzt Do'Urden, and his friends, Bruenor Battlehammer the Dwarf, Wulfgar the Human Barbarian, and Regis the Halfling. Drizzt made Regis warned the council of Icewind Dale of this situation, but only some of the representatives paid heed. Some others don't even care. Then, it's up to Drizzt and his friends to save Icewind Dale.
The day finally came. The army of Akar Kessel marched through the Ten Towns of Icewind Dale, razing and burning every city in their way, and finally reached the last bastion of the men of Icewind Dale. Regis went out for negotiation with Akar Kessel, successfully delayed the destruction of the last city. Meanwhile, Drizzt made contact with the Balor, and managed to banish the demon for a hundred years to the lower plane with his newly gained scimitar, the Icingdeath. Bruenor and his fellow dwarf try to kill as many goblins and orcs as they could by setting traps and lured the horde to them. Wulfgar return to his barbarian tribe, challenged the barbarian king, defeated him, and lead the barbarians to help the Ten Towns.
Drizzt then ran into the base of Akar Kessel, the Cryshal-Tirith, and confront Akar Kessel there. They fought and went together through a portal to a top of a snowy mountain. Kessel tried to cast an offensive spell at Drizzt, but the heat produced by the Crystal Shard melted the mountain snow, and triggered an avalanche. The avalanche swooped Akar Kessel, buried him and the Crystal Shard miles below the snow. Fortunately, Drizzt managed to survive the avalanche.
Shortly after the battle ended, Drizzt received a message that Bruenor was mortally wounded and wished to talk to him. Drizzt hurried to meet his friend, and was made to promise Bruenor that he would accompany the dwarf in his search of his ancestral home, the Mithral Hall, and found out that the mortal wound was a fake.
The battle of Icewind Dale left the towns heavily damaged. Wulfgar then made an agreement with one of the council member that his people would help to rebuild the Ten Towns, in exchange that his men would have a better living in the Ten Towns.
Drizzt, Bruenor and Wulfgar then set out on a quest to find the Mithral Hall. Regis appeared and joined the party, as he was running from Pasha Pook's assasin, Artemis Enteri, sent to find Regis for stealing Pook's magical gem. The story ends here and will be continued in "Streams of Silver".
Well, I can't wait to read "Streams of Silver", but now I have to finish reading "Homelands" first. There are interesting things you can learn from "The Crystal Shard", such as:
- Never underestimate the grudge of a betrayed person. Backstabbers beware.
- Never cast heat-emitting spell or artifact on top of an icy mountain.
- And finally, never made a promise to a "dying" friend. You usually regret it later.
