Passage to Dawn

Passage to Dawn is a 1996 fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore, and it serves as the fourth and final installment in his Legacy of the Drow series.

Plot summary

Six years after the events of Siege of Darkness, Drizzt Do'Urden and Catti-brie are aboard the Sea Sprite alongside its captain, Deudermont; its wizard, Robillard; and its formidable crew. The ship has become a feared presence on the Sword Coast, with few pirates willing to challenge its wizard, drow ranger, panther, archer, or ballista. For six years following the Battle of Mithral Hall, they have hunted pirates.

The balor Errtu, who needs Drizzt to break his banishment, takes on Deudermont’s form but is exposed when it hints at a mysterious island. Deudermont seeks the island to learn who sent the creature. The crew travels to Mintarn for information about the enigmatic Caerwich, surviving a pirate attack with the magical arrival of Harkle Harpell, who joins them. After a long and perilous voyage, they reach Caerwich, where they encounter dangers and an old hag who delivers a riddle to Drizzt and Catti-brie.

Drizzt interprets the message to mean his father is alive and held by the balor Errtu. The companions seek more information from a fiend of the Abyss through a priest. On the return journey, a storm nearly destroys the Sea Sprite, but Harkle’s spell magically transports the damaged schooner to a lake in the Snowflake Mountains, near the residence of the priest Cadderly Bonaduce.

The companions then go to Icewind Dale, where the crystal shard Crenshinibon lies—the place Errtu is most likely to appear. The shard is found and taken by Stumpet Rakingclaw. A wizard summons Errtu, but the balor breaks free and flies to Icewind Dale, seizing Crenshinibon from Stumpet, capturing her soul, and using her body as bait to lure Drizzt. Stumpet’s body leads the companions to the Sea of Moving Ice, where they are attacked by Taers sent by Crenshinibon.

They defeat the creatures with the arrival of Revjak and his warriors. Berkthgar and his men, also following the companions, arrive, and the heroes make the barbarian realize his mistakes. The companions proceed to Cryshal-Tirith, where they battle Errtu’s minions. Regis infiltrates the tower and, with cunning and willpower, locks Crenshinibon in a box that contains its power.