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The Aleran woodcrafters who fought to hold the ships together were no exception Marcus watched as the four ered drunkenly down the ladders to the ground Then they sha themselves a bottle of soions had created Dazed legionares and limp-eared Canis, united by a torturous common foe - or at least by a coilantly in place His ship had been brought to a halt better than eighty yards from any of the others, and sentries had been posted fore and aft, port and starboard Against the backdrop of rippling white ice, anyone who approached would be spotted ith of an Aleran ship parked parallel to the larger Caniust of unseasonably chill wind had driven a cloud of snow and sleet into the air, swirling it around therunted with effort, and hacked a hole in the sheet of ice a little larger than his own foot He put a hand down through the ice to the bare earth beneath, called upon his earth fury, Varound quivered, the ice cracked, and the cold earth sed both hi a sound

The Cane clutched at Marcus's armored shoulder with one paw-hand, and the steel plates creaked in protest at the strength of the grip Marcus gritted his teeth and tried to keep the dae to the ice sheet to a minimum as he parted the earth around them as if it had been water He held a coh to force Sha to hunch over almost double Marcus was acutely conscious of the Cane's hot, panting breaths sliding over the back of his neck

"Easy," he said "We're fine"

Sha growled "How long will it take to reach Khral?"

Marcus shook his head "Depends on the ground between here and there Earth will only take a moment If there's in"

"Already have"

Sha let out a pensive ru"

"No," Marcus said "But the earth around us is, and carrying us with it" He took a shuddering breath He hadn't used a tunneling crafting in fifteen years He'd lost his appreciation for how strenuous they were Or perhaps he was just getting old "I need to concentrate"

Rather than make any affirood to ith a professional

The ground between their entry point and Khral's ship was heavily scattered with lacier, freed fro thaw, h would have been possible, but stone was an order of h it doubled the distance the tunneling had to travel, Marcus judged that, even so, he would coh time would be a concern It took them nearly twenty minutes to reach their destination, which was under the safety , if only barely

It was i layer of ice upon the surface, but it was easy to sense the pressure of the ship's weight, transferred through the ice and pressing down upon the soil He guided the tunneling to the ship's aft and began to nudge slowly upward The temperature inside the little bubble of air suddenly dropped, and the earth of its curved top was replaced with chill, dirty ice

They couldn't afford to sireat whip-crack bolts of sound Sha went to work He drew a tool fro blade the shape of a crescent rip suspended between thethe wielder's knuckles The blade was toothed like a saw, and the Cane went to ith great, ripping motions of his arms and shoulders It took hie enough for hih, and when the block of ice fell in, the black-stained hull of a Canim ship was revealed above it

As the Cane carefully stowed the odd knife, Marcus rose, laid a hand on the wooden hull, and called upon his wood fury, Etan As his fury surged into the ship's hull, he felt his own senses extend through its superstructure The timbers were all under strain, of course, and the evidence of recent, heavy furycrafting was everywhere Excellent Aentle touches would never be noticed

Marcus murmured to Etan beneath his breath, made an effort of will, and watched as the tiathered and puckered like a suddenly opening mouth Sha watched this with his eyes narrowed, then nodded once and slithered through the opening Marcus waited for a few breaths, so that Sha would have ti ca in the deep shadows of the ship's aft cargo hold

Sha went to the edge of the hatch, centered himself in the hold, and took seven quick silent paces directly toward the stern He turned directly to his right, took two ers on the hold's ceiling He glanced at Marcus, to be sure the Aleran had seen the spot

Marcus nodded and slid up to stand in the indicated position Sha turned to interlace his fingers, creating a stirrup of his hands Marcus stepped up into the Cane's grip and found hihtly upward until he could touch the Cani He focused on the planks, narrowed his eyes, and with a sudden spreadingapart just as he had the hull Even as the opening gaped, Sha heaved, and Marcus found hih the hole The stench of rotten blood and musky Cane flooded his nostrils He landed on one knee, oriented rapidly, and found a lean, reddish-furred Cane sitting on his haunches at a low table, a dozen rolls of leathery parchment spread out before him over its surface Khral

Marcus took tift steps and s the Cane by sheer surprise and s raked at his face, until he drove a hard fist upward, slaan to let out a cry

Surrounded by wood and far froain, to borrow of the fury's power, and as a result he was at a lethal disadvantage in close combat with an adult Cane He delivered a quick, hard strike to Khral's throat The bloasn't nearly strong enough to be lethal, but it did turn a second atterabbed hold of Marcus's ar him halfway across the cabin