Calliope cracked her knuckles, casting a glare across the water at their Blood Axe auxiliaries. She wished they would shut up but supposed she ought to be grateful they appeared to be sailing in to the attack. A canny commander might see the chance to hang back and then catch the Witch between the Dalib Sahara fleet, such as it was, and the Blood Axes, perhaps be hailed as the savior of the city if all went well. Luckily none of the Blood Axes appeared to be as treacherously minded as she was or perhaps they just lacked the imagination.

"I think I can manage something," Calliope replied with a serpentine grin. In truth since she had returned to her nest she had been filled with a desire to wreak vengeance on those who had sold her out to the Blood Axes, under normal circumstances Calliope was cold, a plotter, but on this occasion she was in a mood to see something burn. Fortunately Dalib Sahara was handy. The fleet which protected the city, was, like alot of things in Arad Lind, impressive to look at but not tremendously effective. A half dozen ships lay at anchor at the mouth of the bay. Five of them were galleys, similar to, though larger than, the Blood Axe vessels. The sixth ship was a Galleon, purchased or taken from a northern fleet at some point in the past. It wasn't a modern design but the high hull and the heavy guns it could carry made it a serious threat. Whether there was anything other than guttersweepings aboard was another matter and likely not many of them. In Calliope's experience the Princes and Emirs of Arad Lind found it more pleasing to tell their Sultan that his ships were crewed by a hundred men and then keep the pay and rations assigned for seventy of them for themselves. That had hindered Calliope's own attempts to intrigue with them in the past, but it would work to their favor today. Unfortunately the ships were only part of the problem, two massive batteries were perched on either arm of the bay behind adobe walled fortifications. The guns were not new, and the crews were likely to be unpracticed, but they were still a serious threat even to the Weather Witch.

"Our arrival has been noted," Markus commented peering at the shore through his enchanted glass. Even without the magnification Calliope could see a large flame begin to billow from one of the many towers along the waterline, quickly turning crimson as some chemical or other was cast into it. Even so it was another minute or so before the first bells began to ring, and there was still no sign anyone onboard the guardships was awake.