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ACCEPTABLE LOSSES
Valindra Shadowreen eyes opened wide as she noted the approaching mob She turned to rush to Arkle behind her, wearing a wicked grin
"They coed as if he was hardly concerned Gripped by her fear, the archer Valindra
"You have underestimated our enemies at every turn!" she screamed, and several lesser wizards nearby sucked in their breath and turned away, pretending not to have heard
Arkle?" she replied
"I find itpredictable," Greeth answered "Sadly so, but alas, the cards were played long ago A Waterdhavian lord and the hero of the Sword Coast, the hero of Luskan, aligned against us People are so fickle and easy to sway; it&039;s no wonder that they rally to the empty platitudes of an idiot like Captain Deuderainst them," Valindra accused
The lich laughed again "Our options were lih captains, cowards all, did little to hold back thetide of invasion I feared we could never depend upon those fools, those thieves, but again alas, you accept what you have and make the best of it"
Valindra stared at herif he&039;d lost his ainst us," she cried "Thousands! They gather on Closeguard, and will fight their way across"
"We have good wizards guarding our bridge"
"And they have powerful spellcasters a their ranks, as well," said Valindra "If Deuderainst us, and our wizards would expend their energies long before he ran out of fodder"
"It will be a all the wider
"You have gone mad," Valindra stated, and beyond Arklem Greeth several lesser wizards shuffled nervously as they went about their assigned tasks, or at least, feigned going about them
"Valindra, my friend," Greeth said, and he took her by the arm and walked her deeper into the structure of the Hosttower, away frohts in the east "If you play this correctly, you will find great entertainment, a fine practice experience, and little loss," the arche arcane explained when they were alone "Deudermont wants my head, not yours"
"The traitor Arabeth is with him, and she is no ally of mine"
The lich waved the notion away "Amore Let them lay the blae of such notoriety"
"You seee," the overwizard replied "The Hosttower itself is in dire peril"
"It will fall to utter ruin," Arkle calm
Valindra held out her hands and stuttered repeatedly, unable to fashion a response
"All things fall, and all things can be rebuilt frooing to destroyI&039;h to survive the likes of Deuder the &039;reconstruction&039; of Luskan when he proclaims his victory"
"Why did we ever allow it to coed "Mistakes," he admitted "My own, as well I struck out for the Silver Marches at precisely the worst tih by coincidence and bad luck, or more devious coordination on the part of ainst us, as have even the orcs and their fledgling king Deudermont and Brambleberry on their oould prove to be fornainst us, it would do us ill to reet"
"How can you say such things?"
"Because they are true Aha! I know not all of the conspirators behind this uprising, but surely there are traitors ah captains"
Arkleain "Our enemies are vast, it would seem - even more so than the few thousand who flock to Deudermont&039;s side They are merely fodder, as you said, while the real power behind this usurpation lays hidden and in wait We could fight them hard and stubbornly, I expect, but in the end, that would prove to be the erous course for those of us who really matter"
"We are to just run away?"
"Oh no!" Greeth assured her "Not just run away Nay,to inflict such pain upon the people of Luskan this day that they will long remember it, and while they may call my abdication a victory, that notion will prove short lived inter blows ina father or mother And their victory will not clai anticipated this eventuality, and long prepared"
Valindra relaxed a bit at that assurance
"Their victory will reveal the conspirators," said Greeth, "and I will find my way back You put too much value in this one place, Valindra, this Hosttower of the Arcane Have I not taught you that the Arcane Brotherhood is reater than what you see in Luskan?"
"Yes, my master," the elf wizard replied
"So take heart!" said Arkleers and made her look up into his soulless eyes "Enjoy the day - ah the exciteic, use your cunning to survive and escapeor to surrender"
"Surrender?" she echoed "I don&039;t understand"
"Surrender in a h so that they don&039;t execute you, of course" Arklehed "Blame me - oh, please do! Find your way out of this, or trust in me to come and retrieve you I surely will And from the ashes ill find enjoyment and opportunity, I promise And more excitement than we have known in decades!"
Valindra stared at hione froet," said Greeth "Get to the coast and our wizards set in defense, and take your shots as you find them Make them hurt, Valindra, all of thenificent mind that this is a te victory"
"When?"
The simple question rocked Arklem Greeth back on his heels a bit, for Valindra&039;s tone had made it clear that she understood that her tiht not be one and the same
"Go," he bade her, and nodded toward the door "Make them hurt"
Half-dazed with confusion, Valindra Shadowmantle, Overwizard of the North Tower, in reat Hosttower of the Arcane of Luskan, a that when she left it, she would never again enter It was all too overwheles
They crossed the bridge fro, swords banging against shields, voices raised in hearty cheers
On the other side of the bridge looround unblemished by the naval bombardment, and atop that wall, two score wizards crouched and waited, accompanied by a hundred apprentices armed with bows and spears
They unleashed their fury as one, with the leading edge of Bra strides from the wall Men and ladders went up in fla bolts Spears and arrows banged against shields and ar to the ground
But Lord Braes who had enacted wards on shield and ht forth watery elementals to quickly defeat the fireballs&039; flarave wounds, to be sure, but not nearly to the devastating effect the Hosttower&039;s front line of defense had hoped, and needed
Volleys of arrows skipped in off the battle blasts shook the wall, chipping and cracking the stone The front row of Braap ran a concentration of strongblasts led them to specific points on the wall, where they went to work, srity of the structure
"Pressure the top!" Lord Brambleberry yelled, and his archers and wizards let fly a steady strea the Hosttower defenders low
"What ho!" one haroup fell back as some of the Waterdhavian wizards heard the beckon and sent a trio of powerful blasts at the indicated spot The first rebounded off the broken stone and sent the coh, broke through, sending stone chips flying into the courtyard, and the third blew out the section&039;s support, dropping blocks and creating an opening through which a man could easily pass
"What ho!" another team leader called from another spot, and a different trio of wizards was ready to finish the work of the sledges
At the saainst the walls Initial resistance froave way to calls for retreat
The Hosttower&039;s first line of defense had killed Brambleberry&039;sBrahouls sent by Arklem Greeth, and excited by the sh
As soon as the charge across the bridge had begun, the warships, too, went into swift action Knowing that the Hosttower&039;s focus had to be on the eastern wall, half a dozen vessels weighed anchor and filled their sails, crashing in against the current They let fly long and far, over the western wall and courtyard to the Hosttower itself, or even beyond it to the eastern courtyard Crewed by a bare unners, they knew their role as one of diversion and pressure, to keep the defenders outside of the Hosttower confused and frightened, and perhaps even to score a lucky throw and kill a few in the process
To the south of them, another half a dozen ships led by Sea Sprite sailed for the battered surrounds of Sea Tower, leading their assault with pitch and arrows, littering the rocky shore with destruction in case any of the Hosttower&039;s wizards lay in wait there
More than one such defender showed hi to flee back to the north
Robillard and Arabeth welcoreatest energies for the confrontation with Arklem Greeth and the main tower, neither could resist the tereater evocations of their own
"Hold and lower!" ordered Robillard, who remained in command of Sea Sprite while Deudermont rode at Brambleberry&039;s side
The ship dropped her sails and the anchor splashed into the dark waters as other crewmen ran to the s their cues from Sea Sprite, the other five ships acted in concert
"Sails south!" the man in the crow&039;s nest shouted down to Robillard
Eyes wide, the wizard ran aft and grabbed the rail hard, leaning out to get a better view of the leading craft, then of another two ships sailing hard their way
"Thrice Lucky," Arabeth said, co up beside the wizard "That&039;s Maimun&039;s ship"
"And what side does he choose?" Robillard wondered He er against his tele
It was indeed Mai forward at the prow of Thrice Lucky, his crew readying boats behind hily, the ship&039;s catapult was neither armed nor manned, and no archers stood ready
"The boy chose well," Robillard said "He sails with us"
"How can you know?" Arabeth asked "How can you be certain enough to continue the landing?"
"Because I know Maimun"
"His heart?"
"His purse," Robillard clarified "He knows the force arrayed against Arklem Greeth and understands that the Hosttower cannot win this day A fool he would be to stand back and let the city s, but a fool is not a at the trio expertly navigating the fareat speed "As our crews disee We should hold three at full strength to meet them if they attack"
Robillard shook his head "Mai to pick the bones of the dead, and he understands which bones will be meatier this day"
He turned and strode back a for his crew to continue He enacted another spell as he neared the gangplank and gingerly hopped down onto the water - onto and not into, for he didn&039;t sink beneath the waves
Arabeth copied hissea Side by side, they walked swiftly toward the rocky shore, s all around them
Two of the newcomers dropped sail near the fleet and Sea Sprite, their crews si the s in through the narrow, rocky channel
"The young pirate knows his craft," Valindra marveled
"He learned from Deudermont himself," said Robillard "A pity that&039;s all he learned"
The wall had fallen in short order, but Lord Brambleberry&039;s forces quickly came to realize that the defenders of the Hosttower had fallen back by design The wall defense had been set only so the tower&039;s wizards could have time to prepare
As the fierce folk of Luskan crashed into the courtyard, the full fury of the Hosttower of the Arcane fell upon theical bolts, and conical blasts of frost so intense they froze a man&039;s blood solid fell over them that of the first several hundred who crossed the wall, nine of ten died within a few heartbeats
Ah, were Deudere by powerful Waterdhavian wizards Because the pennants of their leaders still stood, the rest of the are undeterred The second volley didn&039;t match the first in intensity or duration, and the warriors pushed on
Undead rose fro corpses given a grioyles, ical animations sent to turn back the tide
The folk of Luskan didn&039;t turn in fear, didn&039;t run in horror, with the undeadtheht in the first place And while Lord Brae roan stallion, a spectacular figure of strength, two others inspired the tall on a blue-eyed paint ht hope to the heart of every commoner in the city
And there was the other, the friend of Deudermont As the explosions lessened and the Hosttower&039;s e, so it became the time of Drizzt
With quickness that rounded in the i injured on a bed, the drow burst through the leading ranks and met the enemy monsters head on He whirled and twirled, leaped and spun through a line of ghouls and skeletons, leaving piles of torn flesh and shattered bones in his wake
A gargoyle leaped off a balcony fros wide, clawed hands and feet raking wildly
The drow dived into a roll, soled its wings to intercept, and cah into the air, his blades working in short and devastating strokes So completely did he overwhelround before he did, already dead
"Huzzah for Drizzt Do&039;Urden!" cried a voice above all the cheering, a voice that Drizzt surely knew, and he took heart that Aru the ranks
Magical anklets enhancing his speed, Drizzt sprinted for the central tower of the great structure in short, angled bursts, and often with long, diving rolls He held only one sciurine "I need you," he called to Guenhwyvar, and the weary panther, ho and fire rained down around Drizzt as he continued his desperate run, but every blast came a little farther behind him
"He moves as if time itself has slowed around him," Lord Brambleberry remarked to Deudermont when they, like everyone else on the field, took note of the dark elf&039;s spectacular charge
"It has and it does," Deuder expression Lord Bra that a droas joining his ranks, but Deudermont hoped Drizzt&039;s exploits would earn hi city of Waterdeep
He&039;d bequite an impression on the minions of Arklem Greeth in short order, as well, by Deudermont&039;s calculations
If he hadn&039;t already
Even e had emboldened his co the blasts and assaults frohouls, shooting gargoyles from the air with so many arrows they darkened the sky
"Many will die," Braress of the insurgent arree, but he knew, too, that they were battling hty wizards, and any proclamations of victory were surely premature
Drizzt ca to a fast stop, his face a mask of horror, for he found himself wide open to a balcony on which stood a trio of wizards, all frantically waving their ar
Drizzt couldn&039;t turn, couldn&039;t dodge, and had no apparent or plausible defense