"Maybe a flag or something?" Yazwa whispered, laying close to the dirt of the little hill. Patches of blue sky were growing and growing as the fog faded away. "It's a shipyard, there have to be flags somewhere."

Saiyun grunted, laying face down next to a crouched Jado. "Maybe. But most of the flags would be aboard a ship and there are barely any of those here."

"Right," said Yazwa, crawling up towards the crest of the hill where Aven lay. With the fog gone, it was much easier to see what they were attacking. The town looked like any other walled town, complete with a castle on the far end. What made it different were the dozens of giant piers that jutted out into the water, each with a building two or three stories high on it. All the berths were empty, save one. An unfinished Treasure Ship sat in drydock, it's decks towering over the piers. Yazwa squinted to see if there were any flags flying, but the ship had no masts.

"What are you doing up here?" Aven whispered, ducking down. He was careful to keep his right arm out of the dirt. Four symbols were drawn on it in dark ash. If Yazwa remembered right, they were the string to separate wood and metal.

"Saiyun wants to bring something back that would prove he was here," Yazwa replied. "I said a flag would be a good idea, but there aren't any. What do you think?"

Aven glared at her and pointed back down the hill. "I think you should get back down and wait for the signal."

Nodding, Yazwa did as she was told and crawled back down, taking a look behind her as she did. Their hiding spot had a good few of the town as well as the fort on the northern side of the strait. On the ground the rest of her friends were crouched low, along with fifty or so Vathlanri behind them. The green-haired women lay still and silent, clutching their double-barreled shotguns close.

"I didn't see any flags," Yazwa said with a near giggle. Her hands trembled with excitement as she settled in next to Saiyun. "Aven didn't have any ideas either. What about an officer's sword or hat or something?"

"No," Bill said, cutting in. "You can get those anywhere. Unless you take one from an admiral it's not going to mean anything."

Yazwa furrowed her brow. "Good point. What about-"

"Shh!" hissed Aven, raising his fist up.

Everyone went silent and Yazwa looked over her shoulder at the fort. The only thing she could hear was the rustle of wind in the leaves. As the quiet dragged on she thought she heard something, like the ringing of a bell in the distance. She closed her eyes and held her breath, straining to hear the faint sound.

A volley of cannon fire roared out, making her jump as plumes of gunsmoke rose from the fort. In the bright morning light, she could barely make out the muzzle flashes of the guns. The northern fort was opening up on something. A quick glance up at Aven showed that he was still holding his fist in the air. What was he waiting for?

A second volley echoed across the water. This time clouds of dust rose from the fort as cannonballs slammed into it.

Aven sprang to his feet and shouted something at the top of his lungs before he sprinted over the crest of the hill.

Yazwa was on her feet and over the hill almost before she realized it, sprinting down the slope as fast as her legs would carry her. The Vathlanri let out a battle cry as they followed, dozens of voices screaming for blood. Behind them was the deep rumbled of cannons, ahead of them the shrill sound of bells and whistles. Alarms were being raised all over the shipyard as they realized they were under attack. Yazwa pushed on through the storm of sound, trying to keep pace with Aven as he hurtled towards the gate.

The crack of a musket rang out as he closed in and a puff of smoke lifted off the ground well behind him. A shadow passed over Yazwa's head as Ji sailed through the air, landing behind Aven just as he reached the gate. Yazwa felt a pulse of power in her chest as the gate collapsed into a pile of timbers, clearing the way. Aven and Ji worked quickly to clear the way as Yazwa and the rest barrelled ahead. They weren't finished, but Yazwa leapt over, hitting the ground running. She let out a shout of victory, pride surging in her chest at being the first one in.

Anyone unlucky enough to be out on the street this early screamed and threw themselves into the nearest alley or building they could. As they plunged into the streets there was no risk of getting lost, the berthed Treasure Ship towered over everything else, making an easy landmark to follow. After a few twists and turns they burst out into the wide open street that ran along the berths. Dozens, hundreds of people were running away, racing for the safety of the town as bells and whistles shrieked out their warnings.

"This way!" bellowed Bill, easy to spot over the mass of people. "Follow me!"

Yazwa struggled for footing on the stone road, locking her eyes on their target. Near the massive piers were five normal docks crowded with ships. The middle dock had a building running the full length of it, three stories tall with closed wooden shutters on every floor. Their goal was to get to the dock furthest on the left, drive off the crew, cut the ships loose and drag them out into the water to clear the way. "Come on!" she shouted, racing after him.

Apart from a scattering of crates and barrels, the docks were empty. Anyone who had been too slow to flee on land was in the water, frantically swimming away as fast as they could. Euphoria flowed through Yazwa as the rest caught up with her.

"Get these knots undone!" Bill said, stopping to kneel down by a line. "We'll get the one on the left first, then the two on the right! Aven, get to the prow and tie off a towline. Saiyun, get your summon in the water!"

"I'll watch your back!" Yazwa called, following him as he ran down the pier with Jado. She held her staff at the ready, but no attacker leapt out of hiding as the scrambled to a stop at the end of the pier.

"Almost there," Saiyun said to himself as he pulled out a turtle-shaped doll and tossed it into the water.

Yazwa set her staff down and fumbled with a knot, watching as Aven ran to the front of the ship with a bundle of rope slung over his shoulder. The boat rocked and swayed as the Turtle Summon burst to the surface, mouth wide open. "Are you sure you shouldn't use Tanlin?"

Saiyun shook his head, watching the turtle maneuver into position. "Tanlin may be fast, but he can't pull anything that heavy. I used to use the Ijose Turtle for towing ships, I know what I'm doing."

As the knot came undone Yazwa gathered the rope in her hands and pulled it taut, shouting that she was ready. When the ropes were clear they'd help the turtle haul it clear of the docks before starting in the next one. She locked back at the other dock to see how the Vathlanri were getting along. They were undoing the lines and already starting to pull it clear. "Hurry up!" Yazwa called. "We're falling behind!"

Dozens of shuttered windows burst open on the middle pier. Soldiers leaned out the windows, muskets loaded and ready.

Yazwa hurled herself behind a crate as the soldiers opened up in one massive volley. Bullets whistled through the air, blasting a hole in Yazwa's crate and showering her with splinters. A heartbeat later another volley thundered as the Vathlanri shot back. Stray bullets chewed into the dock as a furious gunbattle erupted.

"Ignore it!" Bill shouted over the din. "Is the turtle ready?!"

Yazwa looked over to the boat, Aven was already running back to the dock. A long line was tied to the ship's prow, the end already held firmly in the turtle's mouth.

"Ready!" Saiyun called, taking shelter behind Jado as the bullets whipped by overhead.

Not waiting for the order, Yazwa braced her feet against the dock and pulled on the rope with all her strength. The turtle strained to pull the deadweight, towline pulled taut in its mouth. Bit by bit, the ship started to move. Slowly at first, grinding against the side of the dock as it built up speed. Yazwa shuffled backwards, paying no mind when she broke cover. The roar of gunfire seemed to get louder with each step she took until she reached the end of the dock and let the line go. "One down!"

"Look out!" shouted Saiyun.

A wiry shape sailed through the air, straight at her. Yazwa rolled away, just avoiding its clawed feet as it landed. She scrambled to her feet at the edge of the dock. The summon looked like a man-sized monkey, with a tail, whip thin limbs all covered with spiny barbs. It spun around, crouching for another attack as Yazwa looked down the dock. Her staff was right next to the crate. If she could get to it...

The summon ran at her and Yazwa dove to the side, hoping the momentum would carry it off the dock into the water. But it swerved and dove at her, claws raised.

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Jado lunged forward and seized the other summon in its beak, shaking it like a dog worrying a bone. By the time Yazwa got to her feet the enemy summon collapsed into a spray of broken sticks.

"Thanks!" Yazwa shouted, catching her staff as Saiyun tossed it to her. Summons of all kinds leapt out of the pier windows and dove into the fray. Most did battle with the Vathlanri, but some leapt over the gap in the docks towards her friends. Blinking on her Sight, Yazwa grabbed some white light from the pouch in her belt and slammed it into her staff. As she charged in she saw the ghostly outline of Bill grappling with a six-armed monster. He turned to water and Yazwa swung through the summon and sliced it in two, sending both halves tumbling into the water. A barbed monkey went flying as Ji landed a hard kick to its side.

A bright flash of light caught her attention as a blast of water splashed over the dock. Several big summons appeared in the water at once, along with one that was gigantic. Yazwa blinked her Sight away, catching sight of something huge and green before it slipped under the water, swimming out to sea. A chill ran up her spine as she hurried back towards Bill. "That green thing, was it-?"

"Shipbreaker Yadao!" Saiyun screamed as he came together with them.

Yazwa looked out to sea. A forest of masts dotted the horizon as dozens of small Vathlanri ships made their way towards the berths. "If those summons get to those ships there won't be anything to stop them!"

"Aven, Ji!" bellowed Bill. He didn't need to say anything else. Ji had already gathered Aven up in her arms and leapt towards the pier.

"I'll send Jado to help them," Saiyun said.

"No," Bill said as more summons poured out of the windows. "We've got to get these other boats out of here. They can handle themselves, let's go!"

The dock creaked and swayed as a massive summon set foot on it. It stood on two muscular legs with clawed feet that supported a thick, barrel shaped body. A thick, stubby tail swung behind it and at its front was a head with one eye, a wide mouth and a single curved horn on its nose.

"I call this one!" Yazwa cackled with glee as she raced towards the summon.

Yazwa hurtled forward to meet it, staff held high as she bellowed a battle cry. Bullets cracked through the air as the summon kicked barrels and crates at her. She dodged each one by a hair's breadth, knowing that keeping up her momentum was the only way her plan of attack would work. The summon let out a roar and lowered its horn, ready to sweep her off the deck with one blow.

Waiting until the very last moment Yazwa choked up on her staff and dropped on her back, sliding forward on the wet dock planks. The summons horn whiffed through the air above her as she slid through its legs. With a quick swing of her staff she cut its foot off at the ankle as she skidded to a halt.

The summon let out a cry of pain as it fell and its horn smashed through the dock on impact. As it struggled to free itself from the shattered boards, Yazwa leapt up onto its back and severed its head in one blow. With a shudder, the summon revered to a mass of dirt that cushioned Yazwa's fall when she fell to the dock. "Got anything else!?" she screamed, words lost in the din of battle.

Bullets slammed into the dirt around in answer. Yazwa rushed back up to the dock to her friends, coughing as a cloud of gunsmoke grew thicker by the moment. "Are you all alright?" Yazwa asked, diving behind the pile of barrels her friends were using as cover.

"No one's hurt," replied Bill, peering over the top as musket fire poured out of the pier. "We've cut down their first wave of summons, but there will be more as long as the Vao are safe in there."

-

Aven clung to Ji's back as they rose through the air, above the noxious cloud of gunsmoke. At the height of the jump, he took a quick look around. He could see dead Vathlanri scattered around the docks, but more were alive and moving. Some fired back at the pier, while others did their best to pull the boats clear of the docks under fire. Out in the bay he could see the invasion fleet closing in, but now the wakes of a dozen summons were racing to meet them. There was precious little time to avert disaster.

Ji landed lightly on the roof and let Aven go. "I'll go in through one of the windows," she said, dropping into a crouch. "When I clear the room I'll call for you."

"Wait!" Aven shouted before she had a chance to jump. "The Vao are down at the other end. All the big summons came up the docks from the land."

"Are you sure?" asked Ji.

Aven looked down at his arm. The string of ash symbols on his forearm was still intact. "Yes, and we're going in through the roof. Follow me!"

Together they ran along the roof tiles as quickly as they could until they reached the higher roof. Crouching down, Aven placed his palm against the roof and power surged through it. The metal nails holding some of the roof beams together shot out of their holes like bullets. The roof groaned and Aven stepped back as a section of the roof gave way, collapsing downwards and throwing up a cloud of dust.

Aven peered down through the hole as screams of panic wafted up. The room beneath was vast, taking up the entire space like a warehouse. Massive wooden crates much taller than him were spaced out on the stone floor, dust clouds obscuring their contents. A walkway ringed the room, connected by wooden walkways that passed above the crates and stairs that led up from the ground floor. The collapsing roof beams had broken a walkway, but the rest stood intact. Doors led into the pier beneath them, one for each floor.

"Look," Ji said, pointing to the walkways. A man in robes ran to the edge and threw a few things into one of the crates. Three of the barbed monkey summons leapt out of the crate and onto the walkway, hurrying through one of the doors with the robed man close behind.

"This is where they store summoning materials," Aven muttered. "No wonder they got so many out so quickly. There are even more over there."

On the far side of the room several large summons in front of a massive door, ready to go into battle. Around them were a platoon of soldiers and a few men in robes. Outside the door the dull thud of bullets hitting the walls and doors echoed through the room. "What do we do, take out the Vao?"

"That would take too long. We need to let the Vathlanri in so they can clear this whole pier," Aven said, flexing his hand. His arm was starting to tingle, but he was sure he had at least one more use of Purification magic in him. "You go down and create a distraction and i'll blast the doors open. Once they're down, come get me and get us out through the roof. When the Vathlanri storm in they'll shoot anyone they see without green hair."

Ji nodded. "Stay safe," she said as she jumped in through the hole in the roof.

Following her down, Aven landed gently and scanned the dust-shrouded room. The walkways were empty so he ran across them, trying to get as close to the doors before anyone realized they were there. When he was halfway across a scream rang out through the warehouse, followed by an eruption of gunfire. Aven crouched low and drew his knife as hurried steps rushed up from below. A man in fancy robes scrambled up the stairs, eyes widening in shock as Aven stepped forward and sunk his knife into his belly. The man gasped and Aven shoved him backwards, knocking down anyone unlucky enough to be on the stairs behind him.

One of the summons in front of the door bellowed and turned to face Aven. It was the size of a bull, with two muscular legs ending in talons and a long, thick tail. A single purple eye locked on Aven as it aimed the sword-like horn on its nose at him. The creature surged towards the stairs and smashed them to kindling with its bulk. Aven leapt clear of the stairs as they collapsed, landing in a roll and scrambling behind one of the crates for cover.

Above him Ji flew through the air, chased by a snake-like summon with short clawed arms running the length of its body and nothing but a black beak for a head. Its claws seized the walkways for support as it chased her up to the ceiling and out of Aven's line of sight.

The horned summon slammed into the crate, sending Aven running. The time surprise bought them was running out and the two of them couldn't survive against a room full of Vao on their own for long. Aven ran deeper among the crates as the summon chased after him, close enough to feel its breath. His hopes of losing the creature were dashed as it kept pace with him through each turn.

Aven stumbled on a piece of the fallen ceiling and it slowed him down just enough. The summons horn slammed into his back, cutting it open and sending him bouncing to the ground. Only by twisting his body did he avoid the creatures clawed feet as it rushed past him, scrabbling to slow down on the smooth stone floor. It turned, letting out another scream as it charged.

Gritting his teeth, Aven held out his knife and slowly backed up until he hit one of the crates. If he couldn't outrun the thing, he'd have to outfight it. The summon bore down on him, horn lowered and putting on one last burst of speed as it closed in. Aven waited for the very last second to dodge left, his teeth rattling as the summon slammed into the crate, burying its horn deep into the wood. It dug in its heels to pull free, but Aven was upon it, sinking his long knife into the summons eye over and over again until it reverted to a pile of stones.

As he pulled his knife free another pair of horned summons appeared around the corner. Aven bolted, searing pain in his back as the new summons took up the chase. Cleverness wouldn't save him, he had to get to the door.

With the summons close behind he turned a corner and spotted the door. The summons were gone, but a few soldiers remained, standing guard and frantically reloading their pistols. They called for him to stop, but he only ran faster. A few managed to shoot at him, but their shaking hands made their shots go wide, whistling past him. One drew his sword but Aven easily dodged his wild swing, darting around him and slamming into the door at full speed.

Even with the wind knocked out of him, Aven managed to surge power into the door. Nails ricocheted off the walls like bullets and the heavy hinges slammed into the ground as the door collapsed into a pile of timber. Aven coughed as he rolled out of the way of the falling wood, leaping to his feet with his knife drawn.

The soldiers were gone, running for the cover of the crates as the summons rushed for the open door. A hail of bullets met them as the Vathlanri opened fire. "Ji!" Aven shouted as the beaked snaked rushed to join the battle. "Ji, we have to-"

Ji landed in front of Aven and picked him up before he had a chance to finish his sentence. With one leap she propelled them up through the hole in the ceiling. "You're hurt," she gasped as she let him go. "There's blood all over your back."

"It's shallow," Aven wheezed, crawling over to the hole in the roof just in time to see the summons collapse into piles of stones, gunned down by a thunderous volley. The Vathlanri were surging into the building over the pile of wood, from above Aven could see the soldiers and robed men running deeper into the building.

"The wakes are gone," Ji said, tapping Aven on his uninjured shoulder.

Turning around, Aven looked out into the bay and breathed a sigh of relief. The Vathlanri fleet was still approaching in good order and the frothing wakes of the summons were nowhere to be seen. Even if they had dived, the Vao below wouldn't survive much longer. On the docks below more boats had been dragged clear as the gunfire from the pier slackened. It wouldn't be long before

An avalanche of thunderous booms tore through the air, rattling Aven's teeth. His relief turned to horror as he saw clouds of gunsmoke rise from the deck of the berthed treasure ship.