>TM 4 >LS 2 >PS ON >PL60 >SM6 >CP ON >FO OFF >------L-----------------------!---------------------------R δ335δ To your surprise you see that the attacking ship is Š armed with a large cannon, mounted on the prow. Š Moments after the pirates fire their gun, you hear Š the whistle of a heavy cannonball as it hurtles Š across the deck of the ιPride of Sommerlundι. Š Fortunately the pirates are poor gunners and it Š passes within inches of the main mast before Š splashing harmlessly into the ocean. Sergeant Dryan Š commands his men to return fire and a volley of shots Š from the three swivel guns slam into the bow of the Š pirate ship with devastating effect. Two shots Š penetrate below the waterline and the third severs Š the bowsprit. As it falls into the ocean, it rips Š away sail and rigging which drag more than a dozen Š pirates overboard. In disarray, the enemy vessel Š veers from its collision course and founders in the Š wake of the ιPride of Sommerlundι as it enters the Š Bukimi Channel. Here your ship picks up a prevailing Š wind which propels it away from the second pirate Š raider. Soon both ships have disappeared and, when Š Raker is sure that the danger has passed, he warmly Š praises both the marines and his crew for the skill Š and courage they have displayed. Later, as the ship navigates the narrow strait Š dividing the two Lakuri islands, you pass within a Š few hundred yards of the fire-blackened ruins of a Š beach settlement which nestles in a bay, overshadowed Š on three sides by cliffs. This is Kita Cove, formerly Š a secret base from where Captain Khadro launched his Š pirate fleet. As you stare at the charred remnants of Š the pirate settlement, you try to imagine what it Š must have looked like before the encampment was Š consumed by a tremendous fireball that sealed its Š doom. Suddenly your daydreaming is interupted when, Š to your shocked surprise, you see something moving Š among the ruins. If you possess Kai Alchemy, turn to β158β If you do not possess this discipline, turn to β247β