Unas's tribe did not advance any farther.
The colossal beast stopped in the waters five kilometers off the coast.
The giant lobster took the tribe down into the deep sea, and the warriors of the Bonecrusher Clan vanished with it.
They regrouped in a deep undersea valley. Its floor was broad and flat, with no coral reefs that would let the enemy repeat their old trick.
Their last crushing defeat had made these ocean predators a little more cautious.
Night fell.
Scout Captain Kash surfaced without a sound.
His mission was to survey the terrain around Minas Tirith Harbor.
He started with the harbor's outer side, facing the North Sea.
He swam close to the towering mountain cliffs as waves crashed against the rocks with a thunderous roar.
Facing the rock wall with the wooden fortress behind him, Kash tried digging his tentacles into the stone, searching for purchase.
But... not only was the rock smooth.
He looked up. It was far too high.
The sheer cliff pierced the clouds in the darkness. Any warrior who tried to climb it would only exhaust himself partway up, then be smashed to pieces by the reefs and waves below.
A dead end.
Kash sank beneath the water, moving his limbs as he turned toward the side of the harbor facing the Grey Sea.
As he approached the shore, the water grew murky and warm, and the seabed beneath him rose higher and higher.
Thick mud enveloped his tentacles. Every step sank deep into it.
He tried to pick up speed, but could barely move, as clumsy as a dazed young crab.
He could easily imagine what would happen if the sea beasts charged here. This seemingly flat, open tidal flat would become an enormous mud trap.
And those cunning land dwellers might