Kat ducked, loading her crossbow as a volley of spiked metal balls flew overhead. Below, a pair of smaller, single-masted sailing ships strained against the wind as the moved past the huge lokkel galleon.

She popped up, taking aim for a brief second before firing a crossbow bolt at one of the stallesp on the back of the other ship. Her quarrel hit the mole in the shoulder, spinning it slightly and shaving off a good portion of its hit points.

With a click of her tongue, Kat dropped below the wooden side rail of the galleon, letting an arrow and a mana blast ricochet off the ship’s protective wards as she reloaded her crossbow. Her shot wasn’t enough to kill the stallesp she’d hit, but hopefully it would take it out of the fight long enough to stop it from arming the small catapult on the back of the other vessel.

Kat raced against time, using the loading claw built into her crossbow to pull back the string and slide another bolt home. Then, after taking a deep breath she slipped above the side of the ship again, aligning her weapon on another stallesp and firing.

This time, her shot caught the alien in the throat. The creature dropped the small cask of spiked metal balls it had been carrying and clutched at its ruined neck before stumbling backwards and tumbling over the side of the ship.

She ducked back down as a pair of lokkel stepped past her, chanting the words to some brand of arcane spell. A second later, each of the giant lizard reached out with all four of their arms, unleashing eight arrows of flame into the singular sail of the stallesp vessel. Almost immediately, the oil-treated canvas burst into flame and the remaining moles began swarming all over the surface of their ship, trying to rip down and quench the burning material before it consumed the entire vehicle.

Kat stood back up. She took her time, sighting her crossbow onto one of the struggling aliens before pulling the trigger, burying an arm’s length of wood and metal into the creature’s back. It stood up, glancing in her direction before Kat finished it with a single casting Overpressure. Technically, the battle plan called for her not using her magic until later, saving her mana for the more important foes while letting her lower leveled allies take on their stallesp counterparts, but at the same time, Kat wasn’t planning on leaving her job half done. An injured enemy was an enemy that could acquire magical healing and potentially return to the fight.

For her victim, that wouldn’t be a problem. Blood sprayed from the creature’s wound, slicking the ship’s deck as the stallesp collapsed to the wood, thrashing weakly as Kat’s spell drained the last of its life. She continued reloading her crossbow, eyes seeking any of the stallesp that looked like they might have the potential to restore order to the burning skiff, but it looked like the previous round of attacks had done the trick.

Off to the side, the lokkel wizards that had set the smaller enemy ship alight pulled chunks of white meat from their satchels and popped it into their mouths. Kat knew from experience that the rubbery blubber tasted like musty gum, but so long as you kept chewing it, the specially treated meat would provide a steady trickle of mana and stamina. Not enough to instantly refill your pools, but it would provide a noticeable advantage over a longer battle.

The entire galleon shook slightly as both of its catapults and all four ballistas fired at once. Kat wasn’t entirely sure what enchantments were used on the siege weapons, but she did know that her hair practically stood on end at the mana discharge that heralded the wave of attacks.

One of the smaller stallesp skiffs broke apart entirely, the stone from a catapult expanding suddenly just before it struck, shattering deck plates and blowing a hole in the center of the boat about the size of Kat herself. The other catapult missed entirely, splashing down helplessly far enough away from a stallesp boat that it didn’t even manage to wet any of the moles’ fur.

The ballista on the other hand all struck home, ramming deep into the sides and decks of the stallesp warships before unleashing pulses of elemental energy. None of them managed to destroy a vessel entirely, but the waves of ice and lightning were more than enough to cripple or severely injure large portions of their crews, leaving them more or less helpless as the lokkel marines fired volleys of arrows and spells at them, picking off the survivors.

Then a second galleon closed in, firing its complement of catapults and ballista at the damaged and scrambling enemy ships. None of the catapults managed to strike home, but one landed close enough to a damaged boat that the sudden expansion of the stone managed to capsize it. Moments later, the ballista bolts struck, once again unleashing elemental fury on the surviving stallesp.

The sole undamaged stallesp vessel began wheeling around, its sailors struggling to find what cover they could as the two galleons peppered it with a steady hail of arrows and combat spells. Just as it almost managed to escape the onslaught of the attacking lokkel warships, a pair of ballista bolts skewered it from behind, shredding the skiff’s rudder before they exploded into a vortex metal spikes and wind that all but destroyed the last half of its deck.

The spell and bow attacks shifted from the fleeing vessel to the rest of the floundering stallesp flotilla. A couple of the spellcasters on the burning and crippled ships managed to return fire, and at least a dozen arrows clattered off of the galleon’s wards at one point, but within a minute their attacks tapered off into nothing as the lokkel buried them under a steady stream of metal and magic.

Kat took a deep breath, pushing past the lokkel wizards to make her way to the front of the galleon. Dorrik and Kaleek stood side to side, chatting quietly with a number of other lokkel. Even from a distance, she could make out the trio of aliens with advanced classes, two lokkel and one bird-like alien covered in soft blue down.

The three of them radiated power. Whether it was something inherent to the warriors themselves or their gleaming armor and obviously enchanted weapons, there was just something about them that sent a tingle of danger down her spine. Kat’s mind almost reflexively went back to the moment at the top of the Field Tower when Xander and her had opened fire on a stallesp only for the mole to simply… stop all of their bullets.

That was real power. The ability to simply assert your will on reality. That was why she was climbing the Tower with Dorrik and Kaleek. In order to evolve her class and learn the magic she would need to perform a feat like that. Only once Kat had that sort of capability would she be able to keep her mother and sister safe.

“Miss Kat!” Dorrik called out, waving one of their upper arms as they motioned for her to join them. “It seems that our ranged combatants have driven off the stallesp raiders. Right now we are closing in on their base and waiting to see if the moles manage to launch their own galleon before we arrive.”

“They certainly were trying to buy time for it,” one of the higher level lokkel ground out, chewing steadily one one of the restorative concoctions. Their dull red scales contrasted with the more common black that Kat had begun to associate with Clan Ahn. “Still, unless they get some sort of advanced warning, I don’t think they’ll manage to get away from their dock in time. We’ll still have to deal with their fixed defenses, but with any luck we’ll be able to burn their big ship down in its harbor.”

“Where did they get all of the smaller ships anyway?” Kat asked, glancing briefly at the sinking wreckage of the stallesp fleet before returning her gaze to the pair of squat stone fortresses guarding either side of the compact harbor. “The last I heard, they were using one big vessel in order to overwhelm younger combat teams.”

“Scouts,” the other lokkel responded, tilting their head backward sightly to catch a glimpse of Kat. “They carry enough stallesp to ambush a small team, and they move a lot faster than the big hunks of wood we’re on right now.

“So you’re our expedition’s human,” they grunted. “Dorrik has spoken well of you, and your presence here only confirms their words. I will admit to not being… overly impressed with the reports that came back from first contact with your homeworld, but I make an attempt to judge individuals on their own merit.”

They left their front arms crossed, reaching out with their lower right claw trapping Kat’s hand in a firm, yet painless handshake.

“My name is Akkast,” the lokkel volunteered. “I am one the leaders of this ship’s combat team. My talon and I will likely be occupied with the stallesp’s evolved warriors, but our scouting reports indicate that we outnumber them heavily. By now you should know better than to take the moles lightly, they have an animal cunning to them that makes them more difficult opponents than a race their age should be, but so long as you can tie your opponents up for long enough, we should be able to send someone from my team along to help you out once we’ve finished off the more powerful stallesp.

“I’ve spent enough time amongst Clan Ahn to know Dorrik,” Akkast finished, pumping Kat’s hand one final time before releasing her. “They were one of the most renowned young swordmasters in the entire clan once. Shame about having to start from scratch and all that, but they’ve been rising meteorically ever since. There are a lot of eyes on them, and by extension you. Acquit yourself well here human, and you will be a credit to your race.”

Kat nodded weakly at the lokkel, but they had already returned their attention to the island as it grew off the galleon’s bow. She glanced at Kaleek, and the desoph mouthed something. Unfortunately, whatever magic automatically translated communications in the Tower didn’t translate to lip reading.

She stepped away from the front of the ship, walking a couple paces back from the cluster of soldiers and waiting for Kaleek to join her. Kat might not be able to guess the exact words the otter had said, but the roll of his eyes was universal enough to drive his point home.

“Congratulations on meeting Akkast,” Kaleek whispered with a smirk. “They were something like an ally of Dorrik and I in our first ascent up the Tower. They’re a skilled archer that managed to learn a field of arcane magic, so their skillset is in demand in the lower levels. Plus, they’re honorable to a fault. Not the sort to welch on deals or not show up where and when their presence was requested, but still-”

“Would it be possible for them to be less condescending?” Kat asked. “A credit to my species? Is there even a way to say that that doesn’t make my blood boil?”

“When I first met Akkast they complimented the desoph as an ‘up and coming species,” Kaleek replied, whiskers twitching with amusement. “We’ve been part of the consensus for over a thousand years, Kat. Plus, I was just here to make friends, vent frustration, and to not disappoint the elders in my pod. Why would I even care about what other desoph on other planets were doing?”

Kat chewed on her lip as she looked back to the front of the ship. Akkast stood at the head of a crowd of warriors, leading conversation as they pointed out various portions of stallesp defenses. At one point they barked something out, and almost all of the higher level lokkel began laughing immediately. Only Dorrik and the bird alien didn’t respond.

“I know that Akkast said that we only needed to find and hold a couple of the stallesp that descended from a higher floor,” Kat began, running a hand through her hair, “but I’d prefer to not owe them one for a timely rescue. What do you say we hurry through our targets and provide an assist for Akkast instead?”

Kaleek’s face broke into a broad grin, and he slapped Kat playfully on the shoulder.

“Now you’re speaking my language Kat,” he responded with a chuckle. “The easiest way to know that I’ve been replaced by a flash clone is to ask me if I want to kill a whole bunch of stallesp. If I say know, someone got to me. Plus as much as I… respect Akkast, sticking one down their gullet like this sounds fun.”

“Good,” Kat said, giving the otter a quick thumbs up. “Once we find our first set of enemies, hold your target still for a second. I should be able to outpace mine, and I have an idea to finish yours off quickly.”

“I normally don’t approve of kill stealing,” the desoph replied, “but I think I’ll make an exception just this once. I’ve seen what you can do with a knife, and it’s pretty clear you’re going for an assassin’s build. It’d be a shame not to use you to quickly finish a couple of the moles before they realize what they’re in for.”

“Glad to know we’re on the same pa-” Kat began only to be cut off by an alarm from the front of the galleon.

Overhead, a ball of rock grew in the sky, suspended on unseen hands of mana. Barely a second after the spell began, the ball narrowed, turning into a half dozen spears of stone that burst into flame before raining down on their ship.

The avian warrior at the front of the galleon threw their talons up into the air, spitting out a quick invocation in a high breathy voice before a hemisphere of glowing energy sprang into being.

Burning spears struck the barrier like hammer blows from the sky. The entire shield shook, driving Kat and dozens of lokkel sailors to their knees as the vibrations from the titanic spell thrummed through the air and through the wooden structure of the galleon.

With each strike the shield shrank, covering less of the galleon. Fire, wind and burning hot chunks of stone whipped around Kat, stinging her cheeks and hissing as it turned the water surrounding their ship into steam.

Then, barely two seconds later, the bombardment was over. The shield flickered, cracks covering its clear surface as it barely managed to stay coherent. Behind Kat, a pair of lower level lokkel scurried up a mast, the claws on their six limbs gouging slivers out of the wood as they ascended to put out a number of small fires on the galleon’s sails.

“Someone get Kra’Tkrat a mana potion!” Akkast bellowed, waving one of their upper claws. “The enemy is unleashing siege spells and we will need his wards if we want a ship to return too. Everyone else? To your stations. Weapons teams, I’m going to you to give everything you have to cover the landing craft. Now isn’t the time to skimp on mana!”

All over the ship, people sprang into action. Lokkel planted their claws on the sides of the catapults, glowing lightly blue as they transferred their energy into the enchanted weapon emplacements. Meanwhile, Kat, Kaleek, Dorrik and dozens of lokkel ran for the smaller landing craft lining racks along the ship’s starboard side.

The galleon wheeled around with glacial slowness, presenting its port to the island while the catapults and ballistae on its deck peppered the stallesp harbor fortresses with magically enhanced projectiles. As soon as the landing craft winch was protected by the ship’s bulk from the island’s armaments, it lowered the first six person boat into the water.

The first overleveled team, three lokkel in gleaming silver armor, jumped into the boat, followed a moment later by another three. Four of the lokkel grabbed oars, two per side, and seconds later the ship shot away from the galleon even as the deck crew hooked the winch up to another landing boat.

Another boat splashed down into the water, explosions rocking the stallesp forts as all three galleons focused their fire on them in the background. Overhead, Kra’Trat had cast another shield, and with the amount of siege weaponry aimed at the mole base, the stallesp couldn’t marshal the time or energy to repeat another silver tier spell like the first one.

Then, Kat’s boat hit the water. Almost without thinking, she cast Levitation on herself and Dorrik. Kaleek jumped down of his own accord, easily beating the two of them as they floated down into the oversized rowboat. A moment later, a trio of lokeel joined them, each wearing leather armor with bands of dark metal embedded in them.

One of their companions nodded respectfully at Kat before grabbing an oar while another lokkel scrambled past her to take up their position on the other side of the ship. Ahead of Kat, Dorrik took up a slot alongside the remaining lokkel as Kaleek planted one of his furry feet on the prow of their boat.

He glanced once over their companions before turning to Kat and nodding. With sure, practiced motions, she reached up, cutting through the rope that secured their rowboat. Already, the deck workers overhead would have the next landing craft secured in its own rope harness, ready to descend the moment they left.

“We’re clear!” Kaleek shouted, his teeth flashing white against the roiling ocean behind them as he grinned at the rest of the boat. “Now put your backs into it! I know that the lot of you can’t swim, so the sooner we get to shore the better. I’d prefer not to die, but if it has to happen I want it to be with my sword hilt deep in some mole, plastered by an onager halfway to shore!”

As one, the lokkel heaved, their oars churning the water around their ship. Then they jerked forward, the momentum forcing Kat to reach down and grab one of the metal bars running across the row boat’s deck for balance.

The shield on the galleon shuddered, deflecting another high end attack. Kat had no way of knowing if the stallesp had cast another spell or if one of their weapon emplacements had found their range, but regardless of the cause, she breathed a sigh of relief as their landing craft rounded the edge of the great wooden vessel and entered open water.

Between their galleon and shore, the water churned. Mana from a half dozen spells fought for control of the waves as spellcasters from both sides struggled to hinder or aid the landing boats.

At least a half dozen of the smaller ships were approaching the harbor forts, forging forward against a hail of arrows that sleeted down at extreme range. Planks and the dorsal fins of harbor sharks marked where spells or heavier weapon emplacements had managed to destroy one or two of the ships.

Kat dismissed that concern from her mind as she shifted her focus back to the stallesp emplacements themselves. Already one was burning, a good portion of its stone outer walls reduced to rubble by the focused attacks of the lokkel fleet. The other still had active wards, reflecting the waves of lightning fire and ice coming off of the ballista bolts back into the waves.

As she watched, it returned fire, a catapult launching a metallic sphere high up into the air. For a second the object glinted in the sunlight before it pulsed with mana, spraying a geyser of green liquid toward one of the other galleons.

A wall of force that immediately reminded Kat of Gravity Plane sprang into existence, catching the stream and accelerating it downward into the water just in front of the ship. Almost immediately, the green liquid began to hiss and bubble, releasing a cloud of steam that began to eat away at the wards and heavy wooden planks of the galleon.

Then a ballista bolt hit the heavy catapult atop the remaining fortress. It wasn’t strong enough to penetrate the building’s wards, but that didn’t stop the bolt from shattering in a flash of magic and building a dome of roots that encased the weapon emplacement.

Distantly, Kat heard cheering from the galleons as the heavy attacks from the stallesp stopped, leaving only the smaller and more easily deflected attacks from the fortification’s ballista.

Catapult stones continued to rain down on both forts, pummeling their walls and forcing the warriors on their battlements behind cover. The stallesp would still pop out, carefully picking shots at the advancing landing craft, but it was far from the overwhelming waves of arrows that had assaulted the first couple of ships to try and slip past them.

Just as those initial ships began to land, each sporting enough arrows from their deck to resemble a porcupine, Kat’s landing craft came into the stallesp archers’ range. She cast Gravity Plane, twisting to move the shimmering wall of force to catch the handful of inaccurate arrows fired in their direction.

The spell grabbed the projectiles, stealing none of their forward momentum, but instead directing them sharply downward into the waves in front of her boat. To an outsider, it almost looked like their landing craft was simply pushing forward through a gentle rain as the arrows, bolts, and sling stones plopped and splashed around them, but Kat was practically biting through her lip as she struggled to keep track of all the incoming attacks.

Luckily, her upgraded reaction attribute was up to the task. The key was to avoid the attacks that were set to overshoot them. In those cases, intervening with Gravity Plane would likely do more harm than good. For the rest, it was a matter of forcing the plate of energy to move as fast as her mind could shift it in order to intercept and disarm the projectiles. If it were only one fort, her task might be easier, but despite the severe damage done to the burning structure, there were still a handful of stallesp manning its walls and making her life difficult.

As they approached, her task only increased, the arrows carrying more velocity and giving her much less time to measure and judge their approach. A handful made it through. Most buried themselves in the sides of the landing craft harmlessly, but at least one struck the lokkel rowing in front of her.

Without missing a beat, Kaleek jumped backward from the prow, pulling the crossbow bolt from the grimacing lizard’s arm with a swift, sure motion before upending a potion of some sort on the injury. With a hiss, an acrid burning smell filled Kat’s nostrils, and she tried not to think about how painful the healing salve must have been, but the lokkel only missed a handful of strokes before it was back to full strength, helping propel them past the looming fortresses.

Just as they passed the two forts, the burning one on the left exploded, one of the mana reservoirs powering its wards finally penetrated by a ballista bolt. Heat and wind assaulted Kat as she frantically repositioned Gravity Plane to catch the torso sized chunks of masonry and slam them into the water before they hit her ship.

A sling bullet slammed into her lower back as she ignored the remaining fort, the attack’s force blunted heavily by her enchanted armor, robbing her of a good fifteen percent of her mana reserves and leaving a bruise nonetheless.

Then, they were through, through the gauntlet of fortifications with all passengers intact and into the small but deep harbor the stallesp had carved into the side of the island. A number of residences and what looked like a makeshift adventurer’s hall lined the sandy beaches of the island, but it was hard to care about such mundane things.

In the center of the harbor loomed a galleon, almost ten percent bigger than any of the ships that had brought the lokkel attack force to the island. Stallesp ran about its deck, trying to prepare the ship to sail, and at least a couple were cranking the winch of a catapult built into the ship’s bow.

Ahead on the beach were a handful of abandoned landing ships. Even as Kat watched, another lokkel boat slid ashore, disgorging its five surviving warriors. They ran up the beach, joining a cluster of other individuals that were trying to battle their way through a cluster of stallesp that were guarding the gangway that connected the galleon to the small village.

“There she is Kat,” Kaleek remarked from next to her. “The ships outside the harbor have the remaining fort dead to rights, but that boat is our last true obstacle. If we take her, that’s the battle. Hundreds of younger avatars avenged and a substantial setback for stallesp plans in the Tower.”

“Then let’s storm the thing,” Kat responded, wiping the sweat from her brow as she popped one of the cubes of restorative ‘gum’ in her mouth. “I’ve had enough of being on the defensive. It’s time to make the stallesp feel the sting too.”