The wind rose in a sudden, fresh blast. Our cloak of Augmented mist was torn apart, and the island appeared ahead of us as a looming pillar of rock, marble, and ice.
“We’ve lost our cover,” Vesma whispered.
“We’re close. It served our purpose,” Faryn murmured from beside her.
The boats accelerated at another signal from Beqai. Slight creaks and the faint splash of parting waves echoed over the swirl of water. Kumi clasped both hands around the magical carving as she urged our craft closer to the target.
The scouts raced through the water until they were mere feet from the docks.
And that was when everything went to hell.
A burst of light raced out from hundreds of lanterns and glowing stones as they were ignited or activated on the walls of the guild house. The swimmers, previously little more than flickers amid the waves, became pale bodies against the sudden wave of light.
“Now!” screamed a furious voice.
Glittering points flew through the air with a hiss like a pit full of angry snakes. The air above us turned into a rain of Ice Spears as the Resplendent Tears Guild chose offense as the best form of defence.
“There goes our diplomacy!” I shouted. “Shields up!”
Vesma, Kegohr, Veltai, Yo Hin, and I all raised Flame Shields on our arms. We brought them together to form a shield wall that resembled an ancient Roman tortoise formation of pure flames. Frozen projectiles struck our shields, melted away, and fell harmlessly into the water.
Our allies weren’t so lucky. Spears skewered the scouts near the docks along with a few individuals who stood exposed at the bows of the foremost boats. Beqai had called up a wall of water to shelter his barge, but others didn’t possess his mastery of the ocean. Some of the more gifted Augmenters protected themselves with Wild variants of Ice Armor techniques, but other warriors fell as the hail of ice sliced into their unprotected bodies.
The first blood of the battle had gone to our enemies.
It was time to hit them back.
As the first volley of enemy Ice Spears abated, Beqai lowered the wall he had summoned in front of his barge. He raised his arms and half his tentacles and waved them back and forth. The Qihin king swayed with the rhythm of the waves. A lucky Ice Spear hurtled toward him, and one of his bodyguards knocked it out of the air. The king’s focus remained unbroken.
The sea around us churned as Beqai swayed and chanted. Mist rose from the waters, not only the individual clouds of our approach but a vast mass that billowed around us and turned the clear air white.
“Members, soldiers, and staff of Resplendent Tears!” the king bellowed. We have not come to fight! Your Guildmaster, Horix, has committed a great crime. He has stolen the precious Qihin relic, the Depthless Dream. He kidnapped my daughter. I wish only for your Guildmaster to pay for his iniquities. You do not all have to suffer for what he has done.”
There was silence as the fog shrouded us in thick, white clouds.
A response came a moment later when shards of ice rained down upon us. The mist obscured our enemy’s view of us, and the accuracy of the frozen projectiles vanished as they splashed into the water around our attacking force.
“The time for diplomacy is over!” Kumi yelled to her father as she dodged a spear. “We must storm the guild house and retrieve the trident.”
Beqai nodded slowly before he raised his tentacles once more. “Forward!” he bellowed to the troops. “Keep moving!”
Oars rattled in their ports and splashed in the water as the boats surged ahead and plowed furrows through sea and mist. Drums beat, and commanders shouted out the rhythm as warriors bent to their oars. The thrumming beat of the instruments of war obscured the splashes as more warriors leaped into the water and swam toward the shore.
The mist made it harder for the enemy to pick their targets, so, instead, they hurled Ice Spears indiscriminately into the fog. There were thuds as the frozen missiles embedded themselves in prows, masts, and decks. Screams echoed out across the water as the enemy spears pierced allied flesh.
I couldn’t help but think that King Beqai’s plan to take only Cadrin and Guildmaster Horix from the guild had just been destroyed.
The swimmers reached the island and climbed out of the ocean with dripping weapons and focused determination. This left them more vulnerable than ever, exposed to the sight of the enemy and with little cover. Guild Augmenters hurled their missiles over the tops of crates, aiming from the safety of the battlements. Their attacks landed among our scouts and caused mayhem among our vanguard.
Our boat burst from the front of the mist into the water just off the docks as flames trailed from our Flame Shields.
Kumi let go of the carving at the rear and rushed down the boat. She pushed the fire Augmenters aside to get to the prow. We kept our Flame Shields firm to protect her as the guild filled the air with five-foot-long splinters of frost. The boat’s momentum kept us on track toward the docks, even without Kumi’s magical direction.
Kumi raised her arms with a great flourish and started to sing. Strands of water rose from the surface of the ocean and stretched out across the docks. They caressed the wounds of the injured fishfolk and wrapped around their deepest injuries. Wild healing magic flowed from Kumi and mitigated the harm that the Ice Spears had done. Warriors jumped back to their feet, healed and reinvigorated, and darted toward the guild house. Some raised small shields of rough ice or bucklers to provide a defense against the hailstorm from above.
Our boat hit the docks at an angle. Wood scraped against stone, and the planks shuddered beneath our
