Not surprisingly, I was the first one awake the next day. Everyone else was up by midmorning � happy, proud, and no one except Ashlar hung over. Midrot teased him about the folly of trying to outdrink a pair of crafters.

Joss announced that it was time to begin our final preparations, so we went over everything from timing to bell codes to the best way to shoot fire arrows. All this was especially important to me since I hadn't heard it before, and since I was a new addition to the project anyway. Now that we were finally finished we had plenty of time.

"It won't be tomorrow, but the day after, right Joss?" Rolan asked once.

"If we got it right," Joss answered, locking eyes with Ashlar in a gaze so fervently hopeful that I realized Joss and his team had been working on this project long before coming out here and actually starting to build. They'd probably been spying around in the Barons' harbor itself. It's amazing how many little things have to be done right before one simple plan can succeed; just one ship can get sunk.

Kiv returned again that day. Though everyone was glad to see him, Joss informed him firmly that concerned as they all were for Bosney's health, he needn't report every detail of the recovery, and that the runners would all do better to hold their positions until a true emergency came up. Kiv agreed to go back that very evening, and told us that two runners and a lookout were stationed at the first post, and he'd be back at the second with Bosney and the medic. Unbalanced as this distribution seemed, Kiv explained to us how it really was the ideal arrangement.

Ashlar and Jarel, who hadn't been particularly busy during the construction phase of the project, now had the biggest roles of all, and were nervous. The two spent hours reviewing their bell codes over and over again. They invented new codes for every situation that could possibly arise, even including one for: "I can't stand waiting anymore � I have to ring the bell!" Then they made us all listen to every code to make sure we understood so many times that Joss ordered the two young men to hang the bells from their proper positions in the trees. Then he decided we should all get into our positions in case the Barons were also a day ahead of schedule.

Only Chalia, Midrot, and Joss were to stay on this side of the river, with Ashlar up the tree. The rest of us swam across to the other side. I thought it amusing that, though I'd spent nearly all of my missioneering time right next to the river, this was my first time actually crossing it. I was a strong swimmer, and made it across with no problems.

In fact, the mission was going so smoothly it was worrisome. Especially when no Baron ship showed up not only the day it was due, but for three days after. Jossander kept everyone calm, reminding us that even the Barons had delays and setbacks, and that this should be nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, his furious pacing betrayed his own anxiety. None of us were feeling so optimistic about the project anymore. Jarel and Ashlar only slept in shifts, ready to be awakened at any moment, not even relaxing their vigilance when it poured rain for a whole day. Bo and Rolan fretted that the walls of the pit would wash in, but their carefully dug hideouts withstood the storm. The only bright spot was that there was no lightning in the skies, or Jossander would have been forced to remove both lookouts from the trees. Even knowing that Kiv would be spotted, waving a bright yellow flag, long before a ship was in view, it was a long and anxious three days.

Then, practically the second the last drizzle had stopped, we heard Ashlar's excited shout, "Yellow! Yellow flag! We got a yellow flag! Listen to me! You guys hear me? Yellow flag! Yellow flag! YELLOW FLAG!"

"Ash! We hear you! We hear you!" Joss yelled back up. "Don't fall out of the tree!"

"I see it! I see it!" Jarel shouted thirty seconds later from our side of the river. "Yellow flag! Yellow flag!"

Of course, we'd already reacted to the initial warning and, after running around in frenzied circles for a few seconds in the rush, snatched up whatever spare equipment or clothing we'd left lying around outside and scrambled down into the pit. Don't know why we're making such a fuss," Bo remarked, rapidly clasping and unclasping his hands. "It's not as if we're short on time."

We had, in fact, way too much time. The next three hours felt longer even than the past three days of waiting. But the runners, no less excited than we were, had spotted the huge ship from kilometers ahead and then run like they'd never run before. I checked my bow for the hundredth time, went over every step of the plan in my head again and again until I was dizzy. I wanted to get outside and run � get rid of some of this crazy energy � but I was too afraid of missing something. The pit seemed indecently small, even with only three people inside. Bo restlessly checked the equipment time and time again; Rolan just stared with unblinking intensity at the tiny bell. I wondered if we'd all snap from tension before it rang.

When it finally did, we all jumped so high the two tall crafters hit their heads on the roof. In our excitement, in fact, we missed the beginning of the code. We recognized it soon enough, though, as it was exactly what we'd been waiting for. Jarel repeated it several times for confirmation. The ship was in sight, still far down the river.

Impatient as we were, the next code, the one for "Get into position," came sooner than we expected. Bo groaned as he realized what we'd forgotten: large war vessels with their huge sails traveled more quickly than the tiny boats we were used to seeing. The fact that it was windy made the ship even faster. Bo and Rolan stationed themselves with their hands on the metal crank, ready to turn it as fast as they could. I just strapped on my quiver and bow and used a lamp to light one of the torches. We'd left a circle with fuel for a fire, as inconspicuous as we could make it, on the ground above. My job was to rush out, light the fire, and start shooting as soon as the sides of the ship had been penetrated.

The bell suddenly began jumping about, swinging wildly and ringing its head off. The thrust code was the simplest of all, because of the need for action immediately upon reception, and this was it! I heard the successive clanking noises of the screw being quickly turned, the log thrust over the metal and past the flap and through the hole. Water rushed in, despite their best efforts to conform the hole exactly to the shape of the log. They kept turning and I heard the distorted sound of wood being crushed, snapped, and broken. The closed claw had entered. It was all the two crafters could do not to jump for joy right there. But they weren't finished yet. After pushing the log so far they had almost reached the end of the metal track, Bo ordered, "Retract! Retract!" They reversed the direction of the screw, drawing the log back out. They met resistance almost immediately, and I knew they were trying to force the opened claw out through the ship's hull. Suddenly both collapsed and nearly fell over the crank, just as I heard another muffled CRACK! The claw was retracted! The hole was ripped! As the crafters rapidly screwed the log back into its original position, I pushed off the screen and dashed outside to see the damage we'd wrought.

We'd done our job well! I could see the ship slowly sinking. The other side had also succeeded, and they were hurriedly pushing aside the cover to their pit. Through the rushing of the river and shouts of panic as the Barons realized what was happening, I thought I heard Jarel and Ashlar's jubilant cheers as they raced down through the tree branches.

I threw the torch down into the fire and watched as it immediately started to burn. Then I removed an arrow from my quiver and dipped it in, the shaft behind the arrowhead catching fire and spreading. I quickly picked a relatively still target, aimed, and fired. It was a bull's eye � right through the chest of a Baron soldier. I repeated the procedure and aimed again. Bo and Rolan came up and Jarel came down, each grabbing bows and arrows of their own to help me, though none could shoot as well as I could.

A few Barons scrambled into lifeboats, but most grabbed weapons of their own and began firing at us. As more and more soldiers started shooting, we found ourselves pushed back. We were drastically outnumbered, though still of course in a much better position. I heard a yell from close by and turned to see Rolan fall, an arrow through his side. But I couldn't help him now; I shifted my focus back to the task at hand � avoiding the arrows of the fifty Baron soldiers shooting at us from the ship.

The flaming arrow aspect of the plan wasn't working, I realized. The small fires they started were easily extinguished before they could spread to any crates of explosive weapons. I had to locate and hit the explosives themselves. And soon! The Barons were bound to see what we were trying to do. I scanned the ship as quickly but thoroughly as I could, looking for anything that could be an explosive weapon. I threw myself to my left and to the ground, then rolled behind a tree to get up as an arrow whizzed past me. Pay attention, Bryt! I scolded myself. From my position behind the tree I saw two Barons struggling to carry a large barrel down the stairs of the sinking ship. That must be it, I realized, and rushed to shoot one down before they could take the keg of explosive powder out of range. I missed, and they were gone.

Craning my neck to figure out where they'd come from, I saw two more carrying an identical barrel, and one more keg left behind. Shouting from sheer adrenaline I ran back to the fire and flamed one arrow, then ran around to the other side of a bleeding, moaning Rolan for the best angle. I aimed, forcing myself to stay calm and my hands to hold steady, not letting myself rush. I saw the first two Barons emerge from the stairway and run toward the last barrel, but my arrow would get there first. I let the flaming arrow fly. It sailed straight and true, straight for the center of the target. It never got there.

Three flaming arrows hit that barrel in the instant I'd shot mine. Three flaming arrows from across the river, I realized, where they really had a much shorter, clearer shot.

Then the powder exploded, the barrel exploded, the Barons exploded, the ship exploded. I'd never seen an explosion before; few Cols had and lived to tell about it. It was a glowing, growing orange and black cloud that engulfed the ship and the whole river. Massive heat blew me over and tiny particles sharp as knives burned into my face, but I didn't close my eyes. With each deafening blast of sound another fireball erupted. I could not hear the screams of the dying Barons; the roar of the towering fire was too great.

"Run, Bryt!" a choked voice yelled. I felt myself lifted off the ground by the elbow and then dropped. It was Bo, running past and half dragging Rolan with him. I needed no further urging and ran before the burning cloud could engulf me, too. For the explosion was far more than what we'd expected. If we didn't get out of there, the holocaust we'd unleashed on our enemies would kill us as well.

I ran for a long time, far past the end reaches of the fire, using up all the excess adrenaline that had been building in me for so long and still running more. I finally slowed and stopped and looked around, just then aware of my surroundings. I couldn't see or smell the smoke through the trees anymore, but I knew it was there, and turned to face it. As I glanced around to see where I had taken myself, I locked eyes with Jarel, who'd run as far as I had. His face and uniform were covered with soot and ash. I imagined that mine were, too. Bo and Rolan were nowhere in sight. We didn't say anything; just turned and raced back through the trees toward the scene of the attack.

"Hey!" a voice shouted. I didn't know how long we'd been running. "I was wondering where you guys had got to." I spotted the two crafters. We jogged to them.

"He's badly hurt," Bo continued, his voice serious though excited at our success. Rolan was lying on the ground, conscious but very pale and obviously in quite a bit of pain. Bo had removed the arrow from his teammate's body and was pressing his own shirt into the wound in attempt to curb the bleeding. "We need the medic. Jare, go upriver a ways and swim across. Tell Kiv to bring the medic down here as fast as possible." Jarel nodded and obeyed instantly, giving his wounded teammate a reassuring pat on the shoulder before taking off.

Bo turned to me. "Bryt, can you follow him down and lead them back once the medic gets here? Jarel's not going to remember where we are by that time."

I grimaced. It was such a simple task, and such a vital one. Yet I knew my own limitations. Still, I hesitated, finding it difficult to speak.

"No," I stared at the ground. Bo looked up in surprise. "I can't do it. I can't find my way from here to there." I was disgusted with myself. I kicked a tree nut across the ground in frustration. "Hey, wait..." that gave me an idea. "Maybe I can leave a trail. A trail of tree nuts from here to the river. Kind of a childish thing to do, but..."

Bo waved his hand. "If it'll work, do it. You'll have plenty of time."

So I started gathering tree nuts. Luckily, it was the season for them to fall from the trees, and the forest floor abounded with them. When I was ready to start my trail, I knelt down next to Rolan and whispered, "How much did you see?"

"Plenty," he breathed. "It was awesome, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," I nodded, glad his injury hadn't deprived him of a chance to witness the spectacle. "The most awesome thing I've ever seen."