The outer parts of the city were in flames as screams resounded with the clash of swords. The smell of death and smoke swept over them with an errant wind as the sun beat down eternally. The cries of battle resounded, but more so the sounds of breaking timber. The Sornians were landing even now, heedless of the defeat that had just been dealt. You could see their blue uniforms distantly and pikes glinting in the glaring sun.

So much, the better. Sahshir had been hoping for an opportunity to fight on land without the swaying of a ship. Now, at last, he could do battle in conditions most favorable to him.

"Look at that," said Nagos with a whistle, leaning over the ship's prow with interest. "Haven't seen a town this large in flames before. Asrif always hits smaller targets. I hope the people found somewhere safe." He looked at his men. "Head inward; we'll strafe the fleet and blast their ships to the waterline!"

"But that'll have us firing into the city," said Narcissa, glancing to where the Dinis ships had joined them. "Let me and Sahshir land with our guards; we'll flank them and finish them off."

"The enemy outnumbers us," noted Sahshir, though privately, he liked Narcissa's option better. "In a prolonged engagement, we'll lose."

"They are heaping their plunder on those ships, King Nagos," said Yin, peering through a spyglass.

Nagos took the spyglass and looked through it before a roguish smile came to his face. "Then we'll steal the treasure ships. But, first, Admiral, take the fleet and keep it hidden here. While you do that, I'll take this ship and seize them.

"Once the enemy knows we're stealing everything they own, they'll give chase. And you'll spring the trap."

"What if they detect and move to engage them?" asked Yin.

"Then I'll just draw them back here, and you can spring the trap then," said Sahshir, drawing the Sword of Order. "Either way, we win. The Dinis ships should be used for this."

"Very well then, King Sahshir," said Yin. "Safara coil around you."

It was fortunate that whoever was commanding the Magnious fleet was overeager. No one was watching them much when loot and plunder were so close to hand.

Sahshir frowned as messages were relayed between the ships. As they did, the Dinis vessels got into position, rallying troops and shouting orders. They were obviously preparing for a boarding action. "It is written: Those who are overeager to strike will strike too far," said Sahshir after a moment.

"Written where?" asked Nagos.

"In the texts of Baltoth," said Sahshir. "He teaches us that mastery over the world requires more than courage, but perfect control."

"Yeah, well, their fleet is bigger than ours, so we can't fight them directly," said Nagos.

The gangplank was lowered, and Sahshir and Narcissa moved across with their guards. There Sahshir met Marius, who nodded to him. "King Sahshir, you are with us again."

"Captain Marius, are your men prepared?" asked Sahshir as they set out.

"We are," said Marius. "When we meet the enemy in battle, they will feel the wrath of Dinis."

"Good," said Sahshir.

They said little as the crews sent them sailing out into the open toward the port. As they did, someone called a warning. Evidently, they had finally been noticed, and Sahshir saw men rallying up to the vessels.

More is needed, however. They had been advancing into the city quickly. Too quickly.

Soon they went up alongside the treasure ship, and every soldier stood as they closed. At last, they were in range. Sahshir sprang over the gap and landed there. He cleaved a pike in half before cutting the throat of the wielder. As the gangplank was set down, he parried a strike and cleaved another man. Then, twisting away from a sword, he cleaved the legs out of a man and then finished him. Rolling forward to evade a stroke, he turned and slashed a man through the heart.

Then he was surrounded and fighting for his life near the treasures. He ducked under an axe blow and ran the man through but found others hemming him in. Soon he'd be overwhelmed if nothing was done. Then came the horn call. Suddenly, the legions were streaming across the plank and attacking Sorn from behind. Narcissa cleaved down two men with one strike, shattering their shields. Finally, Marius and his men smashed through them, and the battle began.

Sahshir saw battles raging across the Sornian Fleet as he drove his sword through a man. Dinis had boarded several vessels, but not all were so poorly defended. There was Garrick, his massive blade cutting through shield and armor alike. None who came before he lived, and soon a counterattack was being waged against the borders.

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"For Calisha!" called Sahshir, cleaving down an officer.

"For Zigildrazia!" cried Narcissa as she cut a man in two.

"For the Serpent!" cried Marius and his men.

At last, the enemy had fled or been killed. Similar scenes were playing out across the decks of the ships. Garrick had seized and sailed a vessel to join the battle on another boat. Another Sornian ship had driven the attackers off at a high cost. But by and large, they had gained the victory.

Marius raised a horn to his lips and blew it as sailors took charge of the treasure fleet. "Prepare to withdraw! Pull back at once!" called Marius. "We have our prize."

And so it went, the ships being pulled from the port, not all, but enough to draw attention. They had lost a few ships, but Sorn had suffered worse. The word that the plunder they had gathered was stolen had spread by now. A mass exodus was being done by the Sornians, remanning their ships and coming after them. Horns were blown, and attempts were made to make an orderly formation, but they were beyond reason.

A ragged formation rushed after them, heedless of caution, into the range of the crescent moon. Nagos' ships came round the bend and cut between the Dinis fleet and their enemies. And then came the cannon fire. The flash of the guns was blinding if you looked at it; the sound of them was deafening, so your ears went ringing with it. Nagos could be seen walking among his men and making his presence known. Men were torn apart by the metal balls on the Sornian ships. Their comrades fired back with ballista and bows, and several men on deck fell to the arrows.

Nagos motioned to healers, who rushed forward to treat them at once. Another volley was loaded and shot as an arrow lodged in a shield near Nagos. He looked at it with interest before drawing a ceremonial sword and raising it.

It was too late.

Sahshir did not get a good look at what happened; too many vessels were in his way. But he heard the neverending pounding of guns goes on for far longer. The sound of splintering wood was everywhere. And the screams of the dying could have drowned out the cries of the damned in hell. Smoke rose like a demon, ever higher, as husbands, sons, fathers, and brothers were slain en masse.

When Sahshir came aboard the flagship, he saw the legions and men of Chaminus commiserate. Yet, as he watched, he felt genuinely miserable. Although he understood the need, this form of war was... distasteful.

Battles ought to be contests of skill, of steel on steel, or arrows against arrows. But these guns had turned it into a massacre. He knew that Nagos' men constantly drilled under Admiral Yin. But what bothered him was that it didn't matter how skilled their enemies were. They were lambs to the slaughter.

Nagos was a chillingly effective leader, however affable he might be. It was quite clear that he had been raised by pirates now. He had seen death and blood and knew how to deal with it, even if not by his hands. Sahshir went up to him now as things calmed down, picking his way over the gangplank and bodies. Narcissa was cleaning her leather armor at the same time.

"How did you know they'd pursue?" asked Narcissa, curious.

"Soldiers don't care about nations and gods," said Nagos with a shrug. "Even if they think they do. They want to get rich. So Sorn has a standard procedure where all the loot is piled in one place and then evenly distributed. Extra rewards are handed out according to personal valor.

"We'd taken everything they've won by stealing the ships."

Sahshir looked to the distance and noted that not all Sornians had fallen into the trap. Some were drawing back to the island, who had been wise enough not to attack.

"Let us pursue and destroy those," said Marius.

"No, let them go!" said Sahshir quickly. "Order the ships to let them go!"

"What, why?" asked Nagos.

"If we trap the Sornians on the island, they'll burn the place to the ground," said Sahshir. "We've got to give them an avenue of escape."

Nagos shrugged. "Sure, whatever you want. I guess we could save the slavers' lives. They are people, I guess."

Marius looked faintly offended by this, but he said nothing. Sahshir did not blame him. What did Nagos have against slavers anyway? It would be best not to bring it up here, however.

Even as it happened, Sahshir saw vast crowds of soldiers rushing up to try and leap into the ships. There were too few to be taken away. Through the spyglass, Sahshir saw Garrick calmly take his men off the vessel. He spoke quickly to them, and they headed into the city.

The vessels were drawing off, and as Sahshir and company landed, they faded into the distance. Then, leaping onto the pier, he led the men into the city. At the same time, Nagos sent many of his ships to act as a rearguard. So Nagos was with the attack, holding his sword forward as he advanced. Slightly behind heavily armed guards, of course.

They did not meet resistance.

Nor did they meet many bodies. Instead, the further they went, the more signs of looting they found alongside many living people. There were a few armed bodies around, possibly local militia. Yet there wasn't any sign of a serious scuffle.

By all accounts, Sorn walked in.

And now they were walking out.

Their path soon led them to the outer wall, facing the island. What fool would build fortifications only on the interior? Invaders from the sea were the principal threat. Scaling to the top of the wall, they saw Garrick leading his forces inland. They carried no gold or jewels but more significant numbers of practical supplies. Bags of flour, and tools, many of which looked to have been looted from the city. They were heading into the swamp.

What was the man thinking?

It hardly mattered; the men were too tired to pursue. Nagos moved to the back of the wall and looked down on them from above. Why were there crenelations on the back? Who would besiege them from within?

"Victory!" called Nagos to his assembled forces. "We have victory!"

"Hail Nagos, King of the Seas!" called someone.

"HAIL THE KING OF THE SEAS!" called the men of Dinis and Chaminus alike. "HAIL! HAIL! HAIL!"

It was a strange moment. As Nagos heard the title spoken, though his posture did not change, his face was struck with horror for a moment. He shuddered and looked around at the flames before looking at Sahshir. "Get a fire brigade together; we've got to put those out. Now!"

It was the first time Sahshir had seen Nagos afraid of anything. And he was terrified. Sahshir got the fire brigade. As he did, he wondered what had possessed his friend to make his hour of glory like poison.