Tangled webs - Elaine Cunningham [50]
The ranger shook his head. "Hrolf and his men fight well. They also have the magic of a drow and the might of a berserker on their side. I saw that human destroy a giant squid. All things considered, the odds are not so bad as they might seem."
Sittl considered this. "i think calling reinforcements would be a wise precaution. Since you will no doubt wish to stay in honor of your pledge, i will see to it." He smiled a little and placed a webbed hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Promise me, though, that you will watch the battle from a safe distance."
Xzorsh nodded, grateful for the understanding and support. "But the sea elves are long gone. Whom will you summon?"
The other elf's smile broadened and turned wry: "You've been so concerned with the humans oflate that you've forgotten there are as many peoples below the waves as above!"
The ranger acknowledged this gentle hit with a feigned wince. Sittl grinned, then turned to swim swiftly away to the west.
Left alone, Xzorsh turned his full attention upon the coming battle. As he watched the large warships close in, he wondered whether his assessment might have been overly optimistic, and he hoped Sittl's reinforcements would not be too long in coming.
*****
Five days after his ships left the docks ofLuskan, Rethnor spotted another vessel, far to the west and silhouetted against a twilight sky. The High Captain took up a spyglass and peered into it. He gave out a derisive sniff. For some reason the ship had dropped sail, and it had turned so that he looked straight at the ridiculous wooden figurehead-a garishly painted statue of a woman with elven ears and improbable curves.
"What in the Nine Hells is that? An elf ship?" "Ruathen," one ofhis men put in, "That's the Elfmaidi seen her before. Captain's one Hrolf the Unruly. He was run out of Luskan three years ago for tearing apart the Seven Sails inn."
A slow smile crept over Rethnor's face. He'd found not only his quarry, but also a way to deepen the mist that concealed Luskan's plot against Ruathym. Waterdeep had forced Ruathym and Luskan to form the Captains' Alliance. Let the meddling southerners think their efforts had borne fruit and that the two groups of Northmen were working in harmony to tamp down the threat of piracy. He, Rethnor, would serve up Hrolf to both Waterdeep and Ruathym village, and in the process buy himself good faith with both cities. The elf-ioving officials ofWaterdeep would readily accept Hrolf in the role of villain. The man had a wild reputation-not to mention possession of those pickled sea elves. As for Ruathym-well, there had been many strange happenings on the island of late, and the beleaguered people might well grasp at any explanation presented them. According to Rethnor's sources on the island, Hrolf was considered to be something of a rogue.
The Captain sent orders to his two other warships to flank the Ruathen vessel, taking the central attack himself: "As soon as we come within range, fire the ballista over her deck. Take care not to sink the ship," Rethnor cautioned. "We need her whole, crew and cargo."
He raised the spyglass again and recoiled in astonishment at the sight before him. Standing on the deck of the ship, framed by a flying cloak that glittered darkly in the dying light, was a black elf: A female, at that. She was a tiny thing, all hair and eyes, with ears like a fox.
Rethnor swore under his breath. He'd amassed power and wealth through his ability to craft multilayered plots and through his ability to plan ahead for each possible move his opponents might make. Unlike most Northmen, he did not consider chess to be an effete pastime. But he played most of his games in the back rooms and the battlefields that led to power, with living beings as pawns and warriors. He knew all of his players and opponents well. He knew what to expect from the sailors and fighters of Ruathym and was even confident ofhis ability to overcome one of their berserker warriors. But despite the stories he had heard all his life-or