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From the rocks of the northwestern tip of Cutlass Island, a pair of lightning bolts reached out
at Brambleberry's ship, scorching her side, tearing one of her sails. With the strong and favorable
current, though, the ship was able to immediately reverse direction.
Even as Sea Sprite leaned and splashed to life, Robillard and Arabeth filled her sails with sud-
den and powerful winds. They didn't even take the time to pull up the anchor, but just cut the li-
ne, and Sea Sprite turned straight in, bucking the currents with such jolting force that all aboard
had to grab on and hold tight.
Arklem Greeth's wizards focused on Brambleberry's boat for far too long, as Robillard had ho-
ped, and by the time the Hosttower contingent noticed the sudden charge of Sea Sprite, she was
close enough so that those on her deck could see the small forms scrambling across the rocks and
ducking for whatever cover they could find.
From a more southern vantage on Cutlass Island, a lightning bolt streaked out at Sea Sprite,
but she was too well warded to be slowed by the single strike. Her front ballista swiveled and
threw a heavy spear at the point from which that attack had emanated, and as Sea Sprite began
her broadside turn, her prow bending to straight north in a run up the coast, the crack catapult
crew on her aft deck had another ball of pitch flying away. It splattered among the rocks and se-
veral men and women scrambled up from the burning ground, one engulfed in flame, all scre-
aming.
And those weren't even the primary targets, which were to starboard, trying to hide as a bank
of archers the length of Sea Sprite's main deck and three deep lifted and bent their bows.
Three separate volleys went in, enchanted arrows all, skipping off the stones or striking aga-
inst the defensive magic shields Greeth's minions had raised.
But as Robillard had predicted, more arrows found their way than could be defeated by the
enchantments, and another Hosttower wizard fell dead on the stones.
Lightning bolts and arrows reached out at Sea Sprite from the rocky coastline. Boulders and
balls of pitch flew out from the ship line in response, followed by a devastating barrage of arrows
as Sea Sprite veered due west and sped away with the fast current.
Robillard nodded his approval.
"One dead, perhaps, or perhaps two," said Arabeth. "It's difficult work."
"Another one Arklem Greeth cannot afford to lose," Robillard replied.
"Our tricks will catch fewer and fewer. Arklem Greeth will teach his forces to adapt."
"Then we will not let him keep up with our evolving tricks," Robillard said, and nodded his
chin toward the line of ships, all of whom were pulling up anchor. One by one, they began to gli-
de to the south.
"Sea Tower," Robillard explained, referring to the strong guard tower on southern Cutlass Is-
land. "It would cost Arklem Greeth too much energy to have it as fortified as the Hosttower, so
we'll bombard it to rubble, and destroy every other defensible position along the southern coast
of the island."
"There are few places to land even a small boat in those rocky waters," Arabeth replied. "Sea
Tower was built so that defenders could assault any ships attempting to enter the southern mouth
of the Mirar, and not as a defense for Cutlass Island."
Robillard's deadpan expression quieted her, for of course he knew all of that. "We're tighte-
ning the noose," he explained. "I expect that those inside the Hosttower are growing more un-
comfortable by the hour."
"We nibble at the edges when we must bite out the heart of the place," Arabeth protested.
"Patience," said Robillard. "Our final fight with the lich will be brutal-no one doubts that.
Hundreds will likely die, but hundreds more will surely perish if we attack before we prepare the
battlefield. The people of Luskan are on our side. We own the streets. We have Harbor Arm and
Fang Island fully under our control. Whitesails Harbor sides with us. Captain's Court is ours, and
Illusk has been rendered quiescent once again. The Mirar bridges are ours."
"Those that remain," said Arabeth, to which Robillard chuckled.
"Arklem Greeth hasn't a safehouse left in the city, or if he does, his minions there are huddled
in a dark basement, trembling-rightfully so!-in fear. And when we have bombed Sea Tower to
rubble, and have chased off or killed all of his minions he placed in the southern reaches of Cut-
lass, Arklem Greeth will need to look south, on his own shores, as well. Unrelenting bombard-
ment, unrelenting pressure, and keep clear in your mind that if we lose ten men-nay, fifty!-for
every Arcane Brotherhood wizard we slay, Captain Deudermont will claim victory in a rout."
Arabeth Raurym considered the older and wiser wizard's words for some time before nodding
her agreement. Above all else, she wanted the archmage arcane dead, for she knew with certainty
that if he wasn't killed, he would find a way to kill her-a horrible, painful way, no doubt.
She looked south as Sea Sprite came around Fang Island, to see that the other ships were alre-
ady lining up to begin the bombardment of Sea Tower.
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