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DEUDERMONT&039;S GAUNTLET

Three spears flen the alley alth Desperate defenders angled bucklers to deflect or at least mini lines, for a lithe figure sprang from an open , tumbled to the street, and a pair of curved blades worked fast to chop at thethe a new andtheir i blades of the deadly dark elf

"Whatrepeatedly to enco them!" cried one of the spear them!" the leader of the defenders retorted "Thee war!"

"Murderers!" cried a spear around you!" Drizzt cried "Your disputes can be resolved, but not until" He ended there since, with another cry of, "Murderers!" the speared On the opposite side, the defenders responded with, "Lying thieves!" and siht in the middle

Suljack, or Taerl? The question swirled in Drizzt&039;s thoughts as the choice becaent With which Ship would he side? Whose claie with so little infor questions played through hiscrushed between the opposing forces, and the only answer he could fathom was that he could not choose

He belted his sci upon the wall and pulling himself up out of harm&039;s way He found a perch on a sill and turned to watch helplessly, shaking his head

Fury drove the Suljack crew Those behind the leading wall of flesh who couldn&039;t punish their eneers, even pieces of wood or stone they s

Taerl&039;s defenders see a proper shield wall to defend the initial collision, showing patience as the rage of the attackers played out

Drizzt didn&039;t have the detachment necessary to admire or criticize either side&039;s tactics, and didn&039;t have the heart to even begin to predict which side would win He knew in his gut that the outcome was assured, that all of Luskan would surely lose

Only his quick instincts and reflexes saved his life as one of Suljack&039;s et a clear shot at Taerl&039;s defenders, instead lifted his crossbow at Drizzt and let fly The drow dodged at the last instant, but still got slashed across the back of his shoulder before his mithral shirt turned the bolt The effort nearly sent hi from his perch

His hand went to his scimitar, and his eyes discerned a path down the wall and to the alleyway near the archer

But pity overruled his anger, and he responded instead by calling upon his hereditary power to create a globe of darkness around the fool with the crossbow Drizzt understood that he had no place in that fight, that he could acco positive with coed at hi to the roof and e and pain behind him

They were before him as well, however, just two streets dohere twothe avenue separating the Ships of Bara the rooftops above thehters, but whether it was Ship Baraainst Baraht, or perhaps even another faction all together, he couldn&039;t tell

Off in the distance, halfway across the city, near the eastern wall, flauard at the h Captain Kurth instructed one of his sergeants "And set patrols to walk the length and breadth of the shoreline"

"Aye!" replied the warrior, clearly understanding the urgency as the sounds of battle drifted to Closeguard Island, along with the s a pair of soldiers with him

"It&039;s mostly Taerl and Suljack&039;s crews, I&039;h captain

"Baram&039;s in it thick," another added

"It&039;s uess," said another of theto stand beside Kurth as he looked out to the htly

That proh ru, the idea that Taerl and Bara was not so far-fetched, particularly given the coe that Suljack had thrown in with Deuder He knew full as going on in Luskan, as pulling the strings and inciting the riots "Will there be anything left when that fool Crow is through?" he eant standing beside hiht, Kurth nodded appreciatively at the man

A stark cry, a shriek, fro and interrupted Kurth&039;s contemplation He turned, his eyes and the eyes of everywith shock as an uninvited guest entered

"You live!" one man cried, and Kurth snickered at the irony of that notion

Arklem Greeth had not "lived" in decades

"Be at ease," the lich said to all around, holding up his hands in an unthreatening manner "I come as a friend"

"The Hosttoas blasted apart!" the man beside Kurth shouted

"&039;Twas beautiful, yes?" the lich responded, shtened up alh Captain Kurth "I would speak with you"

A dozen swords leveled on Arklem Greeth

"I understand and accept that you had no real choice but to open the bridges," said Arklem Greeth, but not a sword lowered at the assurance

"How are you alive, and why are you here?" Kurth asked, and he had to work very hard to keep the tremor from his voice

"As no enemy, surely," the lich replied He looked around at the stubborn warriors and gave a profound, but breathless, sigh "If I caulfed the lowest floor of this tower in flae that would have killed half of your Ship before you ever realized the source," he said "Please, my old friend You know et you alone to be rid of you"

Kurth spent a long while staring at the lich "Leave us," he instructed his guards, who bristled and muttered complaints, but eventually did as they were told

"Kensidan sent you?" Kurth asked when he was alone with the lich

"Who?" Arklehed "No I doubt the son of Rethnor knows I survived the catastrophe on Cutlass Island Nor do I believe he would be glad to hear the news"

Kurth cocked his head just a bit, showing his intrigue and a bit of confusion

"There are others watching the events in Luskan, of course," said Arklem Greeth

"The Arcane Brotherhood," reasoned Kurth

"Nay, not yet Other than myself, of course, for once more, and sooner than I expected by ued by this curious collection of rogues we call a city No, my friend, I speak of the voices in the shadows &039;Twere they who guided me to you now"

Kurth&039;s eyes flashed

"It will end badly for Captain Deudermont, I fear," said Arklem Greeth

"And well for Kensidan and Ship Rethnor"

"And for you," Arklem Greeth assured him

"And for you?" Kurth asked

"It will end well," said the lich "It already has, though I seek one "

"The throne of Luskan?" Kurth asked

Arkleh "My day in public here is done," he admitted "I accepted that before Lord Bras, of course Expected, accepted, and well planned for, I assure you I could have defeated Bra so, I would have invoked the wrath of the Waterdhavian lords, and thus caused more trouble for the Arcane Brotherhood than the minor setback we received here"

"Minor setback?" Kurth indignantly replied "You have lost Luskan!"

Greeth shrugged, and Kurth&039;s jaw clenched in anger "Luskan," said again, giving the naht

"It is but one city, rather unre hireat wheel, a center of weight for regions of riches, north, east and south, and with the ays to move those riches"

"Be at ease, friend," said Greeth, patting his hands in the air "I do not diminish the value of your beloved Luskan"

Kurth&039;s expression aptly reflected his disagreement with that assessment

"Only because I know our loss here to be a te," Greeth explained "And because I expect that the city will remain in hands competent and reasonable," he added with a deferential and thoroughly disar board Kurth

"And so you plan to leave?" Kurth asked, not quite sorting it all out He could hardly believe, after all, that Arklee arcane - would willingly surrender the city

The lich shrugged, a collection ofwith the o away, I wish to repay a certain traitorous wizard Two, actually"

"Arabeth Raurym," Kurth reasoned "She plays both sides of the conflict,between Deudermont and Ship Rethnor"

"Until she is dead," said the lich "Which I very much intend"

"And the other?"

"Robillard of Sea Sprite," the lich said in a tone as close to a sneer as the breathless creature could ination of that fool"