Arlen asked one of the far-flung Stormhowl men, "The Roaring Storm is really gone, then?"

He looked haunted. "The weather's still risky but we don't see it swirling in the distance every day, anymore. It was there all my life. Now, just empty ocean and spirits know what else."

The news from Gull Crater was still good: training and a newly heartened population, looking forward to a future with safe air and fertile fields.

But then a messenger arrived from Catacomb, exhausted and hollow-eyed. Decim had struck there first. They'd used intense, piercing jets of water to bowl soldiers over and leave them vulnerable to Thoko's men and a force of berserk Mirefolk. A mighty mage had even toppled half of the defense tower, crushing not just the archers atop it but four women and two children who'd taken shelter in the bottom floor. Only one girl of the six was expected to live.

"What!" said Arlen. "Who! How?" Everyone around him was demanding to know, too.

The traveler shook his head. "A wizard at Thoko's right hand. The high chief has retaken the island and punished anyone who defies him. The hostages... the trouble with them is that if he kills them and sends word of it, he only causes revenge. So for this battle Thoko captured our people and have them prisoner right now, ready to slit their throats in plain view."

Arlen breathed hard, picturing innocent people buried under rubble. That part was his fault more than the rest. "Magic shouldn't be able to cut through the walls that easily."

"I saw it myself, sir. It was stronger water magic than I'd ever known before, slicing like a knife."

Arlen growled and swore. He could've added iron plating, if he'd known. But extra powerful magic?

He muttered, "Let's you and him fight."

"What?" said the chief.

"When I spoke with the spirits, they said something about proving myself and how that would decide Thoko's fate.

Because the spirits feel unsure, divided. How might you handle a dispute between two angry, headstrong young men in your village?"

The chief's ears lay back and he worked his jaw. It was the doctor who answered. "A chief such as Thoko might give them weapons, and set them against each other to see who wins."

Catacomb's man shook one fist. "Are you suggesting my people died to some mighty attack because the spirits willed it?"

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Where Arlen had encouraged faith in the island spirits to bring hope to Gull Crater, he now wondered if it was misplaced. Certainly ill repaid. He asked, "Who was the wizard? Do you know?"

"Voz."

Arlen clenched and unclenched his webbed fists. "I see. I'm going to discuss this problem with him personally, soon. And with Thoko."

The Opaline chief said, "We should explain it directly on Decim."

Arlen said, "Do you think he'll likely attack here within the next few days?"

They conferred. Despite how distraught the Catacomb man was, he helped provide more information about Thoko's little army and its plans. The goal of them seemed to be to keep control over Catacomb, then move on Gull Crater next. A messenger went out immediately to warn the people of Gull Crater.

The good news was that Arlen had a little time to create more problems for Thoko, by an indirect approach.

#

Arlen, Meadow, and three fighters from Stormhowl and Opaline came to the place called Newshore Island, or Death Island. It seemed totally uninhabited at first. Jungle right up to the unwelcoming rocky coast.

Then they swung around a tall outcropping and saw the settlement. At a mediocre harbor of muck and driftwood sat a shantytown behind the best manmade wall Arlen had seen any of the natives make. A swampy smell pervaded the area even at sea. Strong current swept them inland. No boats were waiting at the dock.

But soldiers of a sort were. These were men with iron equipment in a more primitive style than Arlen used, more like the products of Thoko's forges. An alarm horn blew and troops with bows came out to the beach to threaten the boat, shouting, "Who goes there?"

Arlen had been warned but hadn't expected immediate attack. "Everyone get down and hold us back." He dived over the side.

The water here was darker and muddier. It took him a while to reach the bottom and bang into it by mistake. That let him begin raising a tower. When he came up for air the archers were waiting for an easy shot or an easy arrest. Without explanation he dived again and pulled his miniature island higher, placing it so that the boat could snag on it and remain offshore.

One of Arlen's men called out, "I said, we're here to help fight! Let us come and speak."

"You're the rebels, aren't you? I see that stone witchcraft he's doing. Stop, now!"

Arlen made sure the boat could hold position, and slowly built up cover. "We mean no harm to the exiled prisoners of this island. If that's you, lower your weapons and we'll talk. In the name of the Free Islands --"

Arrows whooshed. Only one came close. Arlen dived to one side and crashed into the water, then grabbed the pillar and raised it another few inches. "Are you Thoko's men? He just killed women and a child on Catacomb. Stand down, I say, or I'll crush you like we crushed the beast on Gull Island!"

There were two distinct groups on shore now. Thoko's loyalists stood out in the middle, well equipped, clustered to seize the intruders. In an arc to one side were men and a few women who'd been manning that wall. The barrier stood maybe twice a person's height, made of wood and stone, and rippled with some kind of enchantment. Parts of it had collapsed or been rebuilt in new positions, making a shifting battlefront. But that defense was directed against the swampy rainforest, not the coast.

His attention snapped back to the immediate threat. A force of maybe fifty loyalists faced him and his tiny squad. The prisoners they guarded, maybe forty in view at the moment, were barely armed. That group was just watching.

Arlen reached out with his mind and magic to grip a point near shore. The ground felt tense at this distance.

A guard on the island clashed his spear on his shield. "Come close, or go away. Quit wasting our time."