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pact, sweeping past Drizzt and making him hop in surprise.
The creature came forward and let fly a sweeping right hook, and Drizzt fell low, barely esca-
ping the hit, which smashed hard into the burning building, crushing through the wooden wall.
From that hole came a blast of fire, and as it retracted, Drizzt leaped for the broken wood. He
planted his foot on the bottom rim of the opening and came up flat against the wall, but only for
the brief second it took him to swing his momentum and leap away into a backward somersault
and turn, and as he came around, climbing higher across the alleyway, he somehow managed to
sheathe his blades and catch on to the rim of the opposite building's roof. He ignored the stun of
the impact as he crashed against the structure and scrambled, lifting his legs just above another
heavy, fiery slug.
As fast as he went, though, the elemental was faster. It didn't climb the wall in any conventi-
onal sense, but just fell against it and swirled up over itself, rising as flames would climb a dry
tree. Even as Drizzt stood tall on the roof, so did the elemental, and that building, too, was fully
involved.
The elemental shot a line of flames at Drizzt, who dived aside, but still got hit-and though
Icingdeath helped him avoid the brunt of the burn, he surely felt that sting!
Worse, the roof was burning behind him, and the elemental sent out another line, and another,
all designed, Drizzt recognized, to seal off his avenues of escape.
The elemental hadn't done that in the alley, the drow realized as he drew out his scimitars yet
again. The creature was smart enough to recognize a web, and knew that such an assault would
have freed its intended prey. This creature was not dumb.
"Wonderful," Drizzt muttered.
"To the bridge!" Deudermont ordered, running from the collapsing wharf to the collection of
rocks and crates, stone walls and trees his crewmen were using as cover. "We have to turn the
wizards from Brambleberry's men."
"We be fifteen strong!' one man shouted back at him. "Or fifteen weak, I'm saying!"
"Two fireballs from extinction," said another, a fierce woman from Baldur's Gate who, for the
last two years, had led almost every boarding charge.
 Deudermont didn't disagree with their assessments, but he knew, too, that there was no other
choice before them. With the collapse of the bridge, the Hosttower wizards had gained the upper
hand, but despite the odds, Brambleberry's leading ranks had nowhere to retreat. "If we flee or if
we wait, they die," the captain explained, and when he charged northeast along the river's nort-
hern bank, not one of the fifteen sailors hesitated before following.
Their charge turned into a series of stops and starts as the wizards took note of them and began
loosing terrible blasts of magic their way. Even with the volume of natural and manmade cover
available to them, it occurred to Deudermont that his entire force might be wiped out before they
ever got near the bridge.
And worse, Brambleberry's force could not make progress, as every attempt to break out from
the solid structures at the edge of the bridge was met with fire and ice, electricity and summoned
monsters. The earth elemental was finally brought down by the coordinated efforts of many sol-
diers and friendly wizards, but another beast, demonic in nature, rushed out from the enemy wi-
zards' position to take its place before any of Brambleberry's men had even begun to cheer the
earth beast's fall.
Deudermont looked downriver, hoping to witness the return of Sea Sprite, but she was far into
the harbor by then. He looked forlornly to the southeast, to Blood Island, where Brambleberry
and the bulk of his forces remained, and was not encouraged to see that the young lord had only
then begun to swing his forces back to the bridge that would bring them to the south-bank main-
land and Luskan's market, where they could march up the riverbank and cross along the bridge
farther to the east.
This would be a stinging defeat, the captain reasoned, with many men lost and few of the
Hosttower's resources captured or destroyed.
Even as he began to rethink his assault, considering that perhaps he and his men should hunker
down and wait for Brambleberry, a shout to the north distracted him.
The mob rushing to enter the fray, men and dwarves with an assortment of weapons, terrified
him. The northwestern section of Luskan was known as the Shield, the district housing merc-
hants' storehouses and assembling grounds for visiting caravans from Luskan's most important
trading partner, the city of Mirabar. And the marchion of Mirabar was known to have blood con-
nections among the Hosttower's highest ranks.
But the rumors of a rift between Mirabar and the Arcane Brotherhood were apparently true.
Deudermont saw that as soon as it became obvious that the new force entering the fray was no
ally of the Hosttower wizards. They swept toward the wizards' position, leading with a volley of
sling bullets, spears, and arrows that brought howls of protest from the wizards and a chorus of
cheers from Brambleberry's trapped warriors. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]