Exile Exile is the second book in the Dark Elf trilogy by R . A . Salvatore . It was later reissued as book two of the Legend of Drizzt series . Summary . The story begins 10 years after the events of Homeland , the events begin in Menzoberranzan , where Matron Malice and the rest of the Do ' Urden family are waging war with House Hun ' ett still . With the help of renegade Jarlaxle and his group Bregan D ' aerthe , the Do ' Urden family win the fight moving them to Eighth position in the Menzo hierarchy . Meanwhile , Drizzt is living out in the wilds of the Underdark . He lives in a small cavern inhabited by himself and a group of Fungus - men or Myconids . The story starts with Drizzt fighting a basilisk invading his territory , which he defeats . He then hears voices from down a few corridors and decides to investigate . He uses his levitation skills to fly onto a ridge to watch . A group of svirfnebli ( deep gnomes ) are mining , and Drizzt watches over them for a while . When the Gnomes have filled their wheel - barrows to the top , they leave to return home . Drizzt follows them , and when they arrive in a cavern outside the city doors , Drizzt sneaks through their defenses and watches them arrive home . He decides not to follow them in , that this adventure had taken him to his limits . Back in Menzoberranzan , Matron Malice goes to council with Matron Baenre , where it is revealed to her that Matron SiNafay Hun ' ett is to join the Do ' Urden family under the alias of Shi ' nayne - the eldest daughter who has returned from her travels of distant drow city Ched Nasad . After several ten - days pass , Dinin and Briza with a small group of soldiers are searching for Drizzt in the tunnels of the Underdark , so that they can capture and kill him , and regain the favour of the Spider Queen , Lolth . Drizzt and Guenhwyvar hear the party , and try evading them , although he doesn not yet realize that the House emblem he carries in his pouch is a locator device . He figures it out after a brief chase , and fits the pouch over Guenhwyver ' s head , so he can confuse and stalk his hunters . The party come to a fork in the passage , so Briza tells three to go one way and two the other , leaving herself and Dinin alone . Drizzt drops down and knocks his brother unconscious with one hilt of his scimitar and with his second he holds it to Briza ' s neck . Briza tries to convince Drizzt to come home , foolishly mentioning him being the new weapons master , after the death of his father Zaknafein - this angers him greatly . She tries casting a spell , only for Drizzt to intercept and launch an attack to block . A fight starts between them , Drizzt ' s new personality of ' hunter ' ( where he lets rage get the better of him ) takes over and he destroys Briza ' s beloved 6 headed snake whip . She pulls out a mace only to be beaten down and have two fingers severed . Dinin goes to attack but sees only his death , and flees from the scene . As Drizzt makes his killing move on Briza , Guenhwyvar pins him to the floor , giving Briza her chance of escape . Enraged at Guenhwyvar , he runs away and when Guenhwyvar disobeys his orders and returns to its own plane , Drizzt realizes that he almost broke his promise to never kill a drow again . Sometime later Drizzt is out hunting , he hears the svirfneblin and decides again to follow them back to their home . He finally decides to hand himself over , hoping that they ' ll let him be allies but they have no idea of what to make of his peaceable actions and bound him , and lead him into their city . In Menzoberranzan , the family of House Do ' Urden gather in the anteroom , where Rizzen is being abused by Matron Malice . They discuss whether or not any of them should go after Drizzt again , Briza and Dinin not being keen at all since their last encounter . Malice hatches an idea , and so a ceremony takes place to bring forth a yochlol ( maiden ) of Lolth . To please Lolth , Malice has decided to sacrifice Rizzen so that they may regain enough favour to carry out her plans . As the yochlol is called , Malice goes to strike Rizzen but instead murders SiNafay , which gives her enough respect from Lolth to perform Zin - carla , a spell with re - animates the corpse of a single dead person but their mind is controlled mentally through the Matron of the House , a gift only given to complete a specific task . And so to hunt Drizzt , Malice re - animates Zaknafein knowing that he alone can destroy Drizzt . In Blingdenstone the city of the deep - gnomes , Drizzt is taken to a single dark room for interrogation . Knowing that death is the only way out of the city , Drizzt accepts this fate . The interrogator believes Drizzt is different but has no power to help him . Drizzt suddenly recalls the survivor of the drow raid many years before , and asks that he may speak to Belwar Dissengulp . In the anteroom of House Do ' Urden , the family are gathered inside with Malice and Rizzen back together . Malice allows Rizzen to strike the spirit - wraith of Zaknafein Do ' Urden , but as Rizzen goes to strike , Zaknafein ' quicker than the other could follow ' kills him . Drizzt meets Belwar , and with the deep - gnome recognizing Drizzt , the drow is allowed to live with the gnome in his home . Although Drizzt is not allowed Guenhwyvar , his armour or weapons he feels at peace in the city . After several ten - days , Drizzt goes outside and meets a group of young svirfneblin . He re - enacts the killing of the basilisk , but lets the hunter get the better of him and faints in the reconstructed ' hands ' of Belwar . After having his hands severed by Dinin , Belwar returned home to be giving mithril attachments , one a pick and the other a hammer , and the title of " Most honourable Burrow - Warden " must to his distaste . Meanwhile , Zaknafein has scouted for Drizzt and came upon his old shelter in the myconid cavern . The myconids see him and attempt to communicate , but Zak kills them all . He also kills a pack of goblins which and later found by a group of deep - gnomes . Zaknafein watches the gnomes and follows their path . Later , Drizzt is reacquainted with Guenhwyvar and goes on a mining caravan with some fellow gnomes , who he later helps get rid of a goblin party . Jarlaxle meets with a councilor of Blingdenstone to give him information from Menzoberranzan ( for a large price ) . Firble the councillor finds out that the destruction wreaked around the Blingdenstone area is caused by House Do ' Urden hunting for Drizzt . Drizzt , having the most joy in the city that he hasn ' t felt in years is unfortunately told he has to leave Blingdenstone by King Schnicktick , because of the threat of Zaknafein and what he could do to the gnomes . As Drizzt leaves the city , Belwar accompanies him , and together they set off into the Underdark . After setting up a decoy encampment , Drizzt and Belwar head off in search of a new home . They come across a cavern of poisonous baruchies , a plant that the native grubber caterpillar eats . They pass the area , only to be chased by the grubber . They find a side passage only to have it become a dead end . Belwar knows there is path on the other side of the wall and cuts it down within a few hours , with thanks to his enchanted mithril hands . Once through , they climb down into another passage and come upon a huge chamber , with a large chasm filled with green acid , which was emanating green light enticing them to it . They cross over the pathway only to be ambushed by a group of bird - men crossovers . Another fight ensues , and during this , Guenhwyvar falls into the acid and returns to the astral plane for healing . They survive and make it far enough away to gain some distance . Drizzt calls Guenhwyvar to his side , much to Belwar ' s disagreement , to find that the feline was scolded and hurt . Drizzt sends Guenhwyvar home and they continue onwards . Zaknafein destroys the decoy camp and is enraged that he had been left waiting for Drizzt for several days . The enraging conflicts the re - animation of the spirit and it task to kill Drizzt and the emotions of the mind of the real Zaknafein . The spirit - wraith again pursues Drizzt . Drizzt and Belwar then see a human wizard , filling buckets in a stream . He turns violent and cretes an explosive fireball at the sight of Drizzt , and escapes them , Drizzt and Belwar only surviving by diving into the stream . After a few days they find a cavern with a lake and three chambers , which they proclaim as home . Zaknafein meanwhile has moved to the grubbers home , and kills the grubber for it ' s trouble . Another few days pass , and the cavern is invaded by a hook horror . Drizzt pounches on it and is about to kill it , when he sees its face and notices it is not actually a hook horror . It was a pech ( humanoid ) , transformed by an evil wizard named Brister Fendlestick and made to wonder the Underdark as a hideous monster . Drizzt and Belwar befriend it and call it Clacker , as it cannot recall its own name . They set off later to find the wizard and attempt to turn Clacker back into a pech . They come across the wizard ' s home , and although he will not let them in , Drizzt puts the onyx figurine into an arrow slit , letting Guenhwyvar enter the building . The wizard reluctantly lets them in , and as he agrees to change Clacker back , he mutters a curse to Clacker under his breath , which Clacker , with his excellent ability to hear , overhears , and with the rage of a hook horror murders the wizard Brister Fendlestick . To his disdain this means he will have to remain a cross between his pech mind and his hook horror body . Zaknafein finds the cavern that is the home of Drizzt , Belwar and Clacker . Although his instincts tell him to wait , Malice is too impatient and sends the wraith off . And by a different route , the trio return only to find the shelter trashed by the wraith . Once again they set off to put more distance between themselves and Menzoberranzan . They come into yet another huge cavern , only to sense danger . There they are all attacked by Illithid s / Mindflayers , and taken under their control . They come to , and are all under the command of Illithid masters in a cavern filled with a huge illithid community and their slaves . Belwar is made a gladiator , Drizzt a massager ( due to his slender soft fingers ) of the Illithid brain , which keeps the Illithid telepathy flowing , and Clacker is left on an island surrounded by a chasm to tend to a herd of rothe . The three Illithid masters who own the three slaves are in their complex , two of them go to the astral plane to observe Guenhwyvar , having obtained the figurine . Zaknafein then enters the region , and the Illithids believe he will make a great asset to the their works . He slaughters the four that come after him , and heads towards the cavern . The two illithids that are with Guenhwyvar return to the material plane , and the panther follows them leaving one trapped forever in the astral plain , ( it ' s astral cord was severed , ) and latching onto the other and returns to help Drizzt . Clacker , trapped on his island observes the commotion and tries to hit the lever with ' missiles ' ( of rothe and gray dwarves ) on the otherside of the chasm to activate the bridge . He succeeds and meets with Drizzt and Belwar , who have regained control of their minds and have found their armour etc . Guenhwyvar also meets them and the four leave . Drizzt meets Zaknafein and duels , only to be saved by Clacker with his unleashing of a super - pech ability . They carry on running , and being pursued by Zaknafein and the illithids . Once a safe distance , Drizzt agrees to head back to Menzoberranzan to see if any drow would help Clacker return to his pech form . On their flight thrrough the tunnels , they once again return to the acid - lake cavern . Clacker , who arrives on the otherside first is murdered by Zaknafein , and Drizzt has a final confrontation with Zaknafein . Back in Menzoberranzan , Malice has deteriorated from constant control of the wraith and loses control of its mind . In the duel , Zak ' s personality returns from the wraith , and explaining to Drizzt quickly about Zin - carla - before Malice regains control - Zaknafein leaps into the acid . Malice screams , but is killed by Briza who takes mantle of House Do ' Urden . Unfortunately for her , a gift of 200 soldiers from House Baenre turn on the Do ' Urden family and kill the soldiers , Briza and Maya . Vierna is kept as a handmaiden for House Baenre , whereas Dinin is taken under the wing of Jarlaxle and his band of rogues . Drizzt is unaware of this , but returns to Blingdenstone with Belwar . They depart from each other after a brief stay , Drizzt knowing that Belwar truly belonged in Blingdenstone . Drizzt is given a few gifts and leaves with a map of the Underdark , to find a passage to the open lands of the Faerûn . The book ends with Drizzt and Guenhwyvar sat upon a mountain edge , watching the skyand awaiting their next adventure .