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PRESSURE

The small bit of water they had put in the pot bubbled and stea many licks of anticipation The dark listened fro, for not a one of the band of highway to wait the hours to properly prepare the unexpected feast

Theat it eagerly, ripping off large chunks and shoving theed like rodents storing food for the winter Every now and then one or another paused just long enough to lift a toast to Ship Rethnor, who had supplied theenerous son of the recently-deceased high captain had asked for in return was that the band waylay a caravan, and with all proceeds of the theft going to the highwayue observed with a chuckle

"And give us help in taking it," another agreed, indicating a s of particularly effective poison

So they cheered and they ate, and they laughed and cheered so, they watched from a series of low forested hills as the expected caravan, ons, wound its way up the road frouards accompanied the train - proud Waterdhavian soldiers - and even several wizards

"Reree, the leader of the Luskar band, told his fellows "Sting and run, sting and run - wear them down day after day"

The others nodded as one They didn&039;t have to kill all of the guards They didn&039;t have to stop all of the wagons If less than half of the wagons and less than half of the supplies got through to Luskan, Ship Rethnor would be satisfied and the highway, a volley of crossbow quarrels flew out at the teauards alike Froht crossbows, such an attack would hardly have bothered the seasoned travelers, but even the slightest scratch froest of the draft horses

The group of guards that charged out at the attackers similarly found their numbers halved with a second,Strongsleep

The crossbowein and frorenadiers found their openings and charged the weakest spans of the caravan, hurling their fieryoff in fast retreat

When soht in a series of spring traps, swinging logs and deviously buried spikes, all tipped, once again, with that devious poison

By the end of the encounter, tagons and their contents were fully engulfed in flaed so badly that the Waterdhavians had to strip one to salvage the other The caravan had lost several horses to fla poison had sent theuards had been murdered in the woods

"They&039;ve no plan for the likes of us," Sotinthal told his ht as they shadowed the caravan "Like the dwarf told us they wouldn&039;t They&039;re thinking that all the folk north of Waterdeep would welco A straight-on attack by hway their goods, well rewarded and not needing to fight theh that proved infectious around the caht use on the caravan the following day

The next night, Sotinthal congratulated hiain, for the heavy boulder his on, destroying two of its wheels and spilling sacks of grain across the ground

Their biggest cheer of all cahts later, when a well-placed fiery arrow had lit up the oil-soaked understructure of a sons in the ensuing blaze and leaving five stranded on one side of the water, thehelplessly

Over the next two days, Sotinthal&039;s men picked away at the Waterdhavians as they tried to find a ford or rebuild soons across the streahway their breaking point, and he was not surprised, though surely elated, when they simply ferried the supplies back over the streaons, and set off to the south, back to Waterdeep

Kensidan would pay him well indeed

"He is in her mind," the voice in the shadows said to Arkle her that her life remains and that eternity allows her to pursue that which she longs"

The lich resisted the urge to dispel the darkness and view the speaker, if only to confiruess about his identity He looked over at poor Valindra Shadowmantle, who seemed at peace for the first time since he&039;d resurrected her consciousness inside her dead body Arklem Greeth kneell the shock of death, and of undeath After his own transformation to lichdom, he had battled many of the same anxieties and losses that had so unsettled Valindra, and of course he had spentmoment

Valindra&039;s experience had been far e alone meant that she had expected severalfor i as the desperation of short-lived humans Thus, Valindra&039;s transformation had nearly broken the poor soul, and would likely have turned her into a thing of utter and unrelenting hatred had not the voice in the shadows and his associate unexpectedly intervened

"He tells reat indeed," the voice said

"As will the price, no doubt," Arklehter cae?"

"With?"

"Luskan"

"What remains of Luskan, you mean," Arklem Greeth replied, in a tone that indicated he hardly cared

"You remain within the city walls," said the voice "Your heart is here"

"It was a profitable location, well-situated for the Arcane Brotherhood," the lich ad to play his hand, Arklem Greeth couldn&039;t help but lean forward

"Not as it was, to be sure, but in other ways," said the voice

"All we have to do is kill Deuder nothing, except that your plans re," said Arklem Greeth "In ant"

"In some circles, Valindra Shadowmantle would lose her ain at his beloved

"Deuderuarded," said the voice "He is not vulnerable while still in Luskan The city is under considerable stress, as you overnor will depend upon his ability to feed and care for the people So he has turned to his friends in Waterdeep, by land and by sea"

"You askother than to know your plans as you evolve theht that one such as you, who need not draw air, who feels not the cold of the sea, would be interested to know that your hated ene the arrival of a flotilla fro up the coast and the soft belly of supply ships is too well guarded for any pirates to even think of attacking"

Arkle the inforain at Valindra

"My friend is not in her er," said the voice, and Arklereatly encouraged as she didn&039;t melt into a well of despair

"He has shown her possibilities," said the voice "He will return to her to reinforce the h this difficult tiical darkness "I&039;rateful," he said, and sincerely

"You will have many years to repay us," said the voice, and it melted away as the darkness dissipated

Arklem Greeth went to his beloved Valindra, and when she didn&039;t respond to hih, sailed out to sea

"It has not been a good winter," Deuderis in the palace that day "Tooit all, the idiots fought each other," Robillard interjected "They should have been out fishing and hunting, preparing the harvested crops and pooling their supplies But would they?" He scoffed and waved his hand at the city beyond the"They fought aues "

Drizzt listened to every word, but never took his eyes off Deudermont, who stared out theand winced at every one of Robillard&039;s points There was no disagree fro the streets? There was so else in Deudermont&039;s posture that, even more than the words, revealed to Drizzt how brutal the winter had been The weight of responsibility bowed the captain&039;s shoulders, and worse, Drizzt realized, was breaking his heart

"The winter has passed," the drow said "Spring brings new hope, and new opportunities"

Deuderhtened just a bit "There are proain "It&039;s true! High Captain Suljack sat behind overnor, and he has stood behindaround to a truce"

"Only because they have soe with Ship Rethnor and fear the new leader of that crew, this creature Kensidan, whom they call the Crow," said Robillard "And only because Ship Rethnor ate well through the winter, but the only food Barah us"

"Whatever the reason," Deuderreatly in the explosion of the Hosttower and have not opened the gates of the Shield District to the new Luskan, but with the spring, they may be persuaded to look toward the opportunities before us instead of the proble season I expect Marchion Elastul will let the food flow generously, and on credit"

Drizzt and Regis exchanged concerned looks at that, neither overly ioodness of Elastul&039;s heart They had dealt with the man several times in the past, after all, andtheir heads in dishter, Arabeth, survived the war andtheir frowns