Compared to the composure of the Northlands Allied Army as the attacking side, the people of Luskan, on the defensive, were feeling far more complicated emotions.
Especially Marshal Kusi, who had narrowly escaped with his life at Steepcliff Ridge beneath the legendary female dwarf's warhammer and the elven priestess's 'Rain of Light Arrows.'
The Luskan marshal, wrapped beneath his armor like a mummy, now stood with both hands braced against the solid city wall, gazing at the Northlands Allied Army deployed across the wilderness beyond the city. His eyes were hollow; no one knew what he was thinking.
Ever since Steepcliff Ridge had fallen, all of Luskan had become a place where every rustle of wind and cry of crane set people on edge.
The wealthy households able to flee early had long since paid exorbitant prices for smuggling ships, escaping to Icepeak Island farther north, or even to Icewind Dale beyond the Spine of the World.
Ordinary civilians, meanwhile, had been conscripted in large numbers by the Luskan defenders through every unconventional means imaginable, turned into militiamen to help defend against a possible attack from the south.
This stain had undoubtedly brought immense pressure and censure upon the non-Spellcaster faction led by Marshal Kusi, from the Arcane Brotherhood and all levels of Luskan alike.
Some Spellcasters had even openly impeached Marshal Kusi, claiming he had most likely been bribed and bought off by the southern allied army, secretly defecting to those Northlanders.
Otherwise, how could they explain why the Steepcliff Ridge defense plan—which had nearly emptied over half of Luskan's alchemical ammunition stores—had failed to hold for even a single day before the position was declared lost?
And this defeated general still had the nerve to come back!
Yet the reason he gave for his defeat before the provisional