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Still it continued its run Catti-brie hadn’t dropped the wizard, but surely she and Drizzt had given theto think about!
A second ballista bolt soared out fro across the bow of the caravel, and then a fireball fro ship The caravel, not agile and no longer equipped with an able wizard, rushed right into the explosions As the fireball disappeared, both iant candles on the open sea
The caravel tried to respond with its catapult, but Catti-brie’s arrows had done their work and the throwing beam split apart as soon as the crew cranked too much tension on it
Drizzt rushed back to the wheel "One more pass?" he asked Deudermont
The Captain shook his head "Time for only one," he explained "And no time to stop and board"
"Two thousand yards! Two ships!" Catti-brie called out
Drizzt looked at Deudermont with sincere admiration "More of Pinochet’s allies?" he asked, already knowing the answer
"That caravel alone could not defeat us," the seasoned captain coolly added "Carrackus knows that and so would Pinochet She was to lead us in"
"But ere too fast for that tactic," Drizzt reasoned
"Are you ready for a fight?" Deudermont asked slyly
Before the drow could even answer, Deudermont pulled hard and the Sea Sprite leaned into a starboard turn until it came about to face the slowed caravel The square-sailed ship’s top to repair the rigging, to at least keep her under half-sail Deuderled his ship to intercept, to cut across the prow, in what the archers called a "bow rake"
And the wounded caravel couldn’t h blinded, had kept the presence of mind to put up a wall of thick mist, the standard and effective defensive seaboard tactic
Deuder to turn the Sea Sprite right against the edge of that et as close to the caravel as he could This was their last pass, and it had to be devastating or else the caravel would be able to li fast
There caed ship’s deck, a spark of light that countered Drizzt’s darkness spell
Froic, Catti-brie saw it She was already training on the darkness when the wizard e to hurl a devastating spell in the path of the Sea Sprite before she could cross the caravel’s bow, but only a couple of words had escaped his lips when he felt a treainst his chest and heard the planks of the ship’s deck splinter behind hi to pour onto the decking and realized that he was sitting, then lying, and all the world grew dark
The wall of mist the wizard had put up fell away
Robillard saw it, recognized it, and clapped his hands and sent twin bolts of lightning slashing across the caravel’s deck, sla many pirates The Sea Sprite crossed in front of the caravel, and the archers let fly So, too, did the ballista crew, but they did not hurl a long spear this ti a chain lined with rapnels The contraption twirled as it flew, entangling
Anothermissile, six hundred pounds of sleek and muscled panther, soared froht the caravel’s bea excited for the first ti companions, the score of veterans who co crew They scrambled toward the wizard fro out weapons for close ot near to Robillard, the wizard already had a shiical door-on the deck beside hih, scilowed a fierce blue
Out the other end of Robillard’sin the midst of many surprised pirates aboard the caravel Drizzt slashed left and right, clearing a hole in their ranks, and he darted through, his feet a blur He turned sharply, fell to the side and rolled as one archer shot harht for the bowman and cut hih the gate and the middle of the caravel erupted in wild battle
The confusion on the caravel’s boas no less as Guenhwyvar, all teeth and claws she seeh thehty beast Many were pulled down under those powerful claws, and several others simply turned to the side and leaped overboard, ready to take their chances with the sharks
Again the Sea Sprite bent low in the water, Deuder away fro duo head-on The tall captain s on the ship behind hih they were still likely outnumbered two to one
The dark elf and his panther tended to even such odds
Froh perch, Catti-brie picked several ically-placed pirate archer, and one driving through anext to hi wo forward in order to direct the Sea Sprite’sspins and always caled for an eneleas secured around black material, enchanted for speed Drizzt had taken these fro had used them as bracers to speed his hands, but Drizzt understood the truth of the items On his ankles, they allowed the drow to run and dart like a wild hare
He used theility, to confuse the pirates, to keep them unsure of where he was, or where they could next expect hiht off guard, Drizzt seized the opportunity and caenerally forward, seeking to join up with Guenhwyvar, the fighting companion who knew him best and coet there The rout on the caravel was nearly co down their weapons, or throwing themselves overboard in sheer desperation One of the crew, the most seasoned and most fearsome, a personal friend of Pinochet, wasn’t so quick to surrender
He ee, his body bent over because the low construction of the ship would not accoht He wore only a sleeveless red vest and short breeches, which barely covered his scaly green skin Li below his broad shoulders He carried no weapon fashioned on a smithy’s anvil but, his dirty claws and abundant teeth seeh
"So the rumors were true, dark elf," he said in a wet, bubbly voice "You have returned to the sea"
"I do not know you," Drizzt said, skidding to a stop a cautious distance frouessed the pirate to be Carrackus, the sea troll Deudermont had spoken of, but could not be sure
"I know you!" the scrag growled He charged, his clawed hands slashing for Drizzt’s head
Three quick steps brought Drizzt out of the monster’s path The drow dropped to one knee and spun about, both sciile than Drizzt expected, the opponent turned the opposite way and twirled, pulling in his trailing leg The drow’s sci charged, ain the droas too quick for such a straightforward tactic He ca took the bait and began to turn, Drizzt caing arm
Twinkle stabbed a hip and Drizzt’s other blade folloith a deep cut along the scrag’s side
Drizzt accepted the backhand his opponent launched his way, knowing that the off-balance scrag couldn’t putand skinny arm thudded off the drow’s shoulder and then off his parrying blades as he spun to face the lurching brute
Noas Drizzt’s turn to charge, lightning fast and straight ahead He slid Twinkle under the elbow of the outstretched scrag ared and curving blade underneath the hanging flap of skin His other sci’s chest, slipped past the frantic block of the other arm
There was only one way for the off-balance ’s retreat perfectly The drow secured his grip on Twinkle, even braced his shoulder against the weapon’s hilt to hold it firony and dove back and to the side, directly opposite the angle of Twinkle’s nasty bite The sickly flesh peeled fro’s arm, all the way from its biceps to its wrist The torn lu thud
His black eyes filled with outrage and hatred The scrag looked down to the exposed bone, to the writhing lump of troll flesh on the deck And finally, to Drizzt, who stood casually, scimitars crossed do in front of hirowled
"Strike your colors," Drizzt ordered
"You think you have won?"
In response, Drizzt looked down to the slab of meat
"It will heal, foolish dark elf!" the pirate insisted
Drizzt knew that the scrag spoke truly Scrags were close relatives of trolls, horrid creatures renowned for their regenerative powers A dead disether
Unless
Drizzt called upon his innate abilities once ic inherent in the dark elf race A ’s forreen scales This was only faerie fire, harht the dark elves could use to outline their opponents It had no power to burn, nor could it prevent the regenerative process of a troll
Drizzt knew that; he was betting that the ruesome features twisted in an expression of sheer horror He flailed his good ar and hip The stubborn purple flames would not relent
"Strike your colors and I will release you of the fla snapped a look of pure hatred at the drow He took a step forward, but up came Drizzt’s sciain, especially if the flaain!" the scrag promised The creature wheeled about to see dozens of faces-Deuder at hied across the deck, scattering those in the way of the furious rush The pirate leaped from the rail, back to the sea, back to his true hoot across the deck and ot off the rail The drow had to stop there, unable to pursue and fully aware that the sea troll would indeed regenerate to cootten a curse of frustration out of his mouth when he saw a fast movement to his side, a rush of black Guenhwyvar leaped past Drizzt, flew out froht behind the troll
The panther disappeared under the azure blanket and the rough and choppy waves quickly covered any indication that the scrag and the cat had gone in
Several of the Sea Sprite’s boarding party peered intently over the rail, worried for the panther who had becoer," Drizzt reh so that all could see The worst the scrag could do was send the panther back to the Astral Plane, where the cat would heal any wounds and be ready to return to Drizzt’s next call Still, the drow’s expression was not bright as he considered the spot where Guenhwyvar had gone in, as he considered that the panther ht be in pain
The deck of the captured caravel went perfectly quiet, save the creaking of the old vessel’s timbers
An explosion to the south turned all heads, all eyes strained to perceive tiny sails, still far away One of the pirate ships had turned away; the other caravel was burning while the Sea Sprite literally sailed circles about her Flash after flash of silver streaking arrows ca the hull and ly helpless ship
Even froreat distance, the people on the captured caravel could see the pirate flag go down the ht a cheer fro yell that was halted abruptly by churning waters just off the side of the caravel They saw green scales and black fur tu arm floated out fro scene out enough to realize that Guenhwyvar had gotten onto the scrag’s back Her forelegs were tight about thewildly, and the panther’s powerful jaere cla’s neck
Dark blood stained the sea,with torn pieces of the pirate’s flesh and bone Soon enough, Guenhwyvar sat still, teeth and claws securely in place on the back of the dead, floating scrag
"Better fish the thing out," one of the Sea Sprite’s boarding party re trolls!"
Men arrived at the rail with long gaff hooks and began the gruesoot back to the caravel easily enough, cla water on all those nearby
"Scrags don’t heal if they’re out o’ the sea," a man remarked to Drizzt "We’ll haul this one up the yardar"
Drizzt nodded The boarding party knew their duty well enough They would organize and supervise the captured pirates,
freeing the rigging and getting the caravel as seaworthy as possible for the trip back to Waterdeep
Drizzt looked to the southern horizon and saw the Sea Sprite returning The daht and thirty-nine," the drow orously again, soaking her dark elf companion