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Run? That’s it? ’Let’s move, then’

Outside the city’s all, close to the shoreline’s broken, jagged edge, a lazy swirl of dust rose froround, took form

Tool slowly settled the flint sword into its shoulder-hook, his depthless gaze ignoring the abandoned shacks to either side and fixing on the massive stone barrier before hih over this wall Dust could run in streah the rubble fill beneath the foundation stones The T’lan Imass could make his arrival unknown

But the Pannion Seer had taken Aral Fayle Toc the Younger A mortal man … who had called Tool friend

He strode forward, hide-wrapped feet kicking through scattered bones

The time had come for the First Sword of the T’lan I another thousand soldiers, plunged down to fill the streets directly behind Dujek’s position, even as explosions lit the skyline to the south -- along the keep’s roof-line, then directly beneath it, the latter a deeper sound, ruround to rattle the cobbles -- a sound the High Fist recognized The breach had been made

’Time to push forward,’ he barked to his officers ’Take your commands -- we drive for the keep’

Dujek raised his visor The air above was filled with the whispering flutter of quorl wings The second wave of carriers were cliht sky, even as a third approached fro another thousand marines

Sharpers echoed from the city to the east Dujek paused to wonder at that -- then the sky ignited, a grey, rolling wave, sweeping towards the third flight

The High Fist watched, silent, as between two beats of his cold heart a thousand Black Moranth, their quorls, and five corey fla black and deadly, flew three condors

The Moranth of the second wave, who had cli to turn about and race north, reappeared, above the three condors, diving en ht of carriers approaching from the northwest had captured the birds’ attention

Rider and quorl descended on the unsuspecting condors, in successive, suicidal attacks Black-armoured warriors drove lances deep into feathered bodies Quorls twisted their triangular heads, chitinous jaws tearing strips of flesh, even as the collisions shattered their frail bodies and frailer wings